Mental Health Mantra 67/365 and Dog Mantra For Day 68 of 365, meet Bailey who is a Golden Retriever and nearly 2 years old living in America. I was captured by Bailey's photograph on his Mama, Alia's stories. I drew Alia's Muse in 2013 so it is lovely how full circle this comes round. She was one of the original 76 women who featured in Muse Mantra Colour Meditations / a colouring book I created from drawing the 76 women in an online self development group. This time, it's Bailey's turn. Bailey popped into Alia's life only a few weeks before her son was diagnosed with cancer. The first six months of Bailey’s life were pretty lonely, as they were navigating the treatment. Bailey became extremely close with Alia's son and helped him through his difficult times. Now they are both happy, healthy and vibrant! Bailey's Dog Mantra is definitely to Live the Most of Every Day. Live with Joy. Embrace the wisdom of nature. His favourite place is on a nature trail. Bailey reminds us to live each day as if it’s our first and our last, with fresh eyes and wisdom. Drawing Bailey I tapped into this essence and his knowingness, he really is a wise being and his spontaneity is clear to see. It is a reminder for me to find the joy around me and live that joy, even if small snapshots. The joy of turning up to a table full of paints and colours, brushes and paper, is a daily joy. Find the Joy Live the Joy. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
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Mental Health Mantra 62/365 and Dog Mantra Meet Monk. He's a standard wire haired Dachshund and is a LOVER and a Buddhist MONK. He's just amazing. and adorable" say's his Anna Joti. He lives with 2 other dogs (who you'll meet in March as well.) Monk is known to find himself resting his head on his Anna's meditation cushion (seen here in purple), he contemplates, he thinks. Anna told me "Monk has a look... he has such depth and whites to his eyes, that when he looks up at you, he looks directly into your soul - he just sees you ...... deeply." I love this message from Monk - it is rich with so much wisdom for us humans. There is no judgment from our beloved dogs. They see us. They encourage us on. They nudge us forward. Thank you Monk! Keep seeing, keep shining Star Seeds. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 54/365 I opted for a different way today. This time putting down and drawing first the flowers and bottles, then going back in to fill with watercolour paint, pencils and pens. Pretty much anything that is around me. It got me thinking about Neville Goddard's book Feeling is the Secret, which I have been re-reading and studying again. He talks about how sensation precedes manifestation and is the foundation upon which all manifestation rests. As he writes "think feelingly only of the state you desire to realise. Feeling the reality of the state sought, and living and acting on that conviction is the way ....... " This book is an eye opener, if you haven't already read it, you can read/listen to it here. We're talking quantum physics. It felt well matched with this Mental Health Mantra, because stepping into the feeling of spring, of feeling like spring, of spring flowers, is a place where I'll reside, despite all the things coming up for me and needing to be 'done.' There are more huge life changes along the path in the next few months, and I have to step into the feelings of what it is I actually desire. And Reside There. Stay Tuned In Starseeds. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 51/365 It knows. It always knows. It's just we drown it out. I knew something wasn't right and my gut instinct was trying to let me know. My gut tells me and I will trust that gut. I knew something wasn't quite right. She was trying to tell me something. I sensed it. But others don't hear what I say, and think that perhaps, I am being highly sensitive. Yes that's right. I knew she was communicating to me that something needed to be explored. Today I got confirmation that my gut instinct knows. Listen / and act on your gut instinct. Keep listening sunbeams. Your gut instinct knows. Let go of all that is clouding it out. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 43/365 It has been a day and a half and my emotional tank is dry. The heating didn’t come on first thing so I had to navigate no heat and organise engineer, hot water, temporary heaters. It was 0 degrees here, very cold for Liverpool! Up since 3am with Luna who was really poorly with sickness and she is my baba and communicates it all with me. Ended up at the vets in the afternoon for check over. Some how, with many layers on I managed to sit down and complete this flower mantra for day 43 of 365. It is an interesting thing that I will ponder upon because it wasn’t early in the day like usual but when I could grab half an hour. Still, having done 42 images so far, it was so important to somehow grab some time to do it. I am going to take this mantra today and sing my way under the duvet *think of all you need is love* and hopefully I'll drift off listening to high frequency music. Sleep renews and reboots Love 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 40/365 I woke up at 5am, couldn't get back to sleep, made myself a cup'o'tea and stepped into my studio space. The sun was breaking over the houses, it peaked in as I painted, more and more. It was lightly snowing and sunny. It felt like a Winsor and Newton-inks morning. They are highly pigmented, I just love watching them move over the watercolour paper. I have a pot of brushes, all sizes - it's the brush size that is so instrumental in the way the colour and water merge, separate, fizzle and dry. It's magical. A great watery meditation. At the same time I was listening to Snatam Kaur. I was so blessed to go and see her live in Toronto when we visited Canada in 2017. What an enlightening event, with such energy in the room. I left BUZZING. It was super lovely too as I met my Buddy from the interwebs Angie, who lived about an hour from Toronto, we ate lovely food and then went to the concert. It reminded me of what power we all have in our interconnectedness, it helped me through today as I navigated my ship. It is Day 40 of writing here, 40 Mental Health Mantras. 40 days can really shift and integrate a new practice. I feel these days are just getting started. Flower Mantras so far have been really healing for me. This mantra 'I call on the light within' comes from one of Snatam's songs with GuruGanesha Singh it felt like it needed its own space to shine. If you'd like to listen to the song, it's below. Sit back close your eyes. Take a deep breath through your nose. Gently breathe out through your nose Find your own breathing rhythm continue for 11mins 20 seconds Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 36/365 I sat down at my table today to put brush to water to paper. I was feeling very discombobulated. I could hear my mind tell my self that I was stupid to even begin to commit to this 365 days practice, being just in the 5th day of February and number 35 painting, I sensed that this was going to really challenge my Head Self, (think of Headmistress) to encourage me to keep going. I heard lots of negatives, I heard lots of what's the points and who cares? I felt I was stumbling and bumbling through. Then I remembered the day was Feb 5th, the day when my Grandpa Jules passed away in 1960, 8 years before I came along, I was named after him, His names was Julius. He was a tailor, he was also a sign writer. Despite never knowing him physically, I have always felt very connected to him because my Mum, his daughter Sheila, kept his energy going, She would tell me funny stories, isms, and things they did together. I then heard this in my forebrain. Let go of the outcome Jules. I stepped away from my table and went to go something less boring instead, *playing ball with the dogs* and when I returned a few hours later, I saw something in this image. Some strange kind of flower seed pods, I picked up my pens and began outlining, ink and dipping pen, and some Signo markers, *lovethem. I am 'a pen person,' no denying it. I am surrounded. They are abundant in my life. They are always involved somewhere along the way, so sticking with watercolour with no other pen medium is unlikely during my #365creativedays. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this - it was deeply meditative. It calmed my mind and soothed my soul. I was pondering as I painted about seeds and how we don't tell the seed off for not doing things quickly or perfect, we go and check on the seed and say 'well done seed for doing your best at reaching the surface.' We are happy to see the seed is growing and moving towards the light. It then all came together for me. It's kinda abstract but something in it just says..... Let go of the outcome. This has other connections to me right now on a personal and professional level. Maybe to you too? Let go of the outcome. Let go of attachment. Let go and Let flow. It is SO IMPORTANT to FEEL right now. Keep feeling, keep connecting to that intuitive intelligence. 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 33/365 The time I spend with colour and water is very relaxing for my nervous system, I find I calm my breathing down and no sooner have I begun, I check in with the time and about an hour has gone. Today, being the second day I revisited paintbrush and pad, I felt irritated that it was all going wrong, I felt the inner critic jump on board, telling me what a fool I was to even begin to think I could do this for 28 days - not only that, but I had committed to myself that I was going to write about it on here. Add into that mercury is in retrograde, so yep, you guessed it, technology is playing up. Suddenly my printer has decided it doesn't have scanner in built anymore and it just has removed it from the command screen. I uninstalled the printer, reinstalled, turned everything off and on and of course, blew a few times. Nope. It wasn't having any of it. Thankfully I don't get worked up, I know these times. (I am hoping this journal entry uploads). This quote of Eckhart Tolle is very apt for me - and maybe for you. This is an opportunity to step back and witness the unfolding, the breaking down of paradigms that are no longer serving me, that goes for internal and external. I have found in my own spiritual practice that the more I work on my own self, the projection of the external, changes. Our internal perceptions form the external projections - of course this happens vice versa. The external projections form our internal perceptions. Not a great way of living as we are constantly detached from our own source, and subsequently guided by what is out there, rather than trusting our own inner connection to universal law. Tolle reminds me of this today for this Flower Mantra. Peace begins with me. Keep shining star seeds and trust your intuitive guidance. Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul
Mental Health Mantra 31/365 I am pleased as punch that I made it through writing a journal entry every day in January. I can now subtract 31 from 365 = 334. Doing these have got me into a little flow-like pattern, which has helped me this month to navigate my husband's radioactive iodine ablation treatment.
This mantra came through in my morning meditation: You are stronger than you realise. In fact, it came through as I am stronger than I realise, but when I came to complete this, I knew it had to be YOU. Because you are stronger than you realise. There's an inner golden thread that keeps us upright, not falling in a heap on the ground, despite what is thrown out in our path. You are that strong. Feel it, say it, believe it. Tomorrow being the 1st of February, I am going to create 28 Flower Mantras for 365 Mental Health Mantras. I'm changing up the medium so will connect with watercolour, inks and dipping pen. Let the Mantras begin! PS f you're so called, let me know what affirmations/mantras are helping in the comments below. Take care sunshine, keep vibing and connect to your intuitive intelligence. 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 30/365 I pulled a card today from The STARSEED Oracle by Rebecca Campbell and two cards popped out. The first was The Courageous Peony - multifaceted, unique nature, let yourself be seen. The second, I Remember - soul plan. The fated life vs the destiny life. They resonated big time with me. As I am navigating this period of time, moving through and out. The Courageous Peony talks about how flowers don't open and close according to who walks by, they embrace all of what they are and show it to the the world around them. The peony doesn't try to compete with the rose, nor the tulip, they own what they are and trust the timing fo their true nature. This card calls me to do the same. The second card I Remember talks about the difference between the 'fated life' and the 'destiny life' - and right now I am face to face with the choice to follow the destiny life over the fated life. To trust the path my soul is calling me towards and to remember that this was a prearranged moment. With everything on my soul's journey I feel that there are some messages to take back to my journal, to sit in meditation and remember just who I am and why I'm here. Every decade in my life, there has been a story to share, a life event that has shaken me, yet made me stronger and more resilient. Now as things ramp up, both in the external world via government controls and global agendas. I am embodying the energy of The Courageous Peony, owning my own unique ness and light agenda. I am also being asked to remember my soul's greater plan and surrendering to it, there is a reason why all this has happened to me. I send you light and connection to your intuitive intelligence. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 25/365 If there's one thing that has been the deepest learning curve these past 18 months, it is to stay in the moment, or as I heard today 'Take care of your current day.' I have to keep pulling my mind back in from the overwhelm of what is still to come... in the next 6 months. It can lead me down the garden path of pure apprehension and I have to just stick with what I have in this current moment. When I heard this, it resonated with me as my mental health mantra for today. Just take care of your current day. What is in this now moment. Be there. It's a daily challenge to keep a check on mindset and mind chatter. This is where transformation occurs, it is however, a daily practice. How can you take care of your current day? Keep shining :) "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 24/365 Today I went to the storage unit where our home contents have been stored since August 2019. Long story but it was only meant to be for 4 weeks and the circumstances, grief and drama, that followed could not be made up by any Coronation Street scriptwriter. I had to give the key to the Manager and we went to have a look inside and whilst there, I picked up a big basket bag of mine and a curver box with a lid. Both items that held things from my studio, which I haven't seen in 18 months. Unpacking them and saying hello to things that were in my studio felt like I was unearthing a time machine. I sat fondly looking through sketch books, affirmation books, diaries, I found my tibetan singing bowl, my inking pen, a framed Muse Mantra, plus a new stash of watercolour paper. I felt lit up. I felt abundant.
Can we spend at least 10% of our day doing something that lights us up? If we can, we may begin to feel a little calmer. Whatever that means for you.... maybe singing a song all the way through, learning to bake something or stretching out. Start with 10%. I have been doing my upmost to shift this and vibrate on a frequency that is higher than the one we are seeing. Lighting up ourselves, individually has a huge knock on effect. Don't let anyone tell you that your light energy contribution doesn't matter as it won't change anything. It does and it will. Keep shining that light sunbeams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 23/365 This mantra appeared just as I sat down to do this, I am seeking stretch, I feel I have got into limited patterns of moving, it doesn't feel beneficial for me at all. I then kept hearing in a North Eastern accent, "Stretch Love." It reminded me of the way DCI Vera Stanhope would say it (big fan) she was passing me a message - I heed the call. " Ey pet." I have two super gorgeous yoga mats that I designed myself and they are waiting for me to fall upon and stretch. This body of mine needs stretching and moving. Badly. I feel stuck. Today I woke up to a very large snowfall, I had my green smoothie, but didn't go to a new green place because, well, it was all white. Tomorrow is another day. Keep shining star beams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul"
Mental Health Mantra 22/365 I may have written in earlier journal posts, I often see what message comes through as I'm creating the piece. Today it zoomed through like Speedy Gonzales. Let the green stuff be the guide. This is a huge message for me because I have felt quite hemmed in, isolated, not getting enough green stuff. Green stuff is very wide ranging and it means all sorts of things to me, and I am sure it will mean lots of other things for you too. Green stuff - obviously green stuff means grass, nature, trees, mountains. It also means houseplants, potting plants, soil (ok not exactly green but helping the green stuff to grow.) I'm a huge fan of pottering outside, gardening, clipping back. Green stuff also means green veg. kale, broccoli, sprouts, leeks, green apples, celery cucumber, all helping to reduce inflammation and provide me with a high dose of nutrients in a hit. Whether I'm out in the green stuff, eating the green stuff or tidying up the green stuff, for instance houseplants, or watering them, making them feel nice, my frequency barometer shifts up a notch, I can raise my frequency level and feel a high vibe. It may not last long because life throws us curve balls. The point is, I can let the green stuff be the guide and see where it leads me. The colour green is hugely calming too, whether that be a green face mask, painting with a green colour pallet, green nail varnish, green eyeshadow... you get the gist. This weekend I am connecting to the green stuff. Wake up and make up to a green smoothie Organise, water and tidy the houseplants, Tidy up my orchids / they need some more bark. (I have found my new love of orchids for 5 years I have kept returning year after year.) Visit some new green stuff that I haven't been to yet. Paint some green pallet Dig out some green eyeshadow/ I think I have turquoise but it's near enough. Let the green stuff be the guide. Keep shining folks, know that your light energy is always there shining bright. Despite the knocks. You Got This! 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 19/365 I wake up and ask myself this question today. I feel there's something I need to do and so I have to go to my toolkit and see what it is that resonates. In my book that I'm currently writing, ReBalance Me, I have 7 ways to wellness, they are Boost, Nourish, Cocoon, Support, Create, Care and Move. To answer this mantra today, I go look in each of these ways and ask myself what I need, what's the message coming through. What's resonating? Sitting quietly I close my eyes, letting my breath flow in and out of my nose. In those few minutes, I realised I needed the following prescription for the day, to rebalance me. ReBalance-Me Prescription for Jules : )
This prescription helped me to shift things today. Do you have a toolkit of stuff that you turn to? Hands up, don't we forget? Especially when we are dealing with stress, high anxiety, apprehension, add in the blanks you're dealing with currently, ______________, __________________, ________________. I remembered I need reminders and repetition, which is why I'm creating these Mental Health Mantras, to send calm and soothing messages to my subconscious mind. Sincerely hope this helps you too. Keep centred starseeds on your own intuitive intelligence. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 17/365 It has been a fatiguey day today, tiredness pervades me. This feels familiar, making me feel a tad jittery because I was so incapacitated when in my 20s with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. I made my way through that tunnel by the time I was 30 but it was a decade's long haul. I find that all that I learnt then, about healing, wellness and holistic health has been the foundation pillar of my journey these past 32 years and I built upon these pillars to support me through my life. Today as I was finishing off this 17th Mental Health Mantra, the phrase kept coming through "Your light makes a difference." Lorie Ladd on You Tube who I adore, reminds me of this often, especially in these times. It made me recognise that even feeling fatiguey today I can choose to be light and sit in that space for a while. For me, it was about turning my attention to light, being outside in nature, in the garden, watching the seagulls circle me, we have a crowd of them that hang out in south Liverpool / considering we're really only 4 miles from the River Mersey, they're never that far away. I realised that my light can make a difference. Even when I feel fatiguey and tired. I made a lovely lentil shephard's pie early in the day, so that I knew it was ready and I could settle into the day. I played crazy tennis ball games with the girls who just loved it, lots of waggy tails. In my meditation practice I can beam my light out on to Planet E and beyond, I can channel Reiki healing blessings to all. It only stops when I stop. I will continue to keep that focus and keep that relaxation meditation practice so that I can send light beams out. We all need that right now. To step back into our bodies and connect to our soul, to raise the light and vibration and send that out to all - that does mean me too. I need this too. What I know for sure .... is that you don't need to be some meditating guru and sit cross legged, what you need is the commitment to sit. In a chair. On a bed. Inside, outside,. Just a commitment to sit and connect to your breathing. Start there. It really is all that it is. You will find your light, and yes, it makes a difference. I was introduced to this quote back by Peter Russell who I met in New Mexico in 2004 on my adventure. "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." I loved that when I heard it, made complete sense to me. My commitment to sit is here. Sending out oodles of light to you whomever your are, reading this. Trust your intuitive intelligence. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
People often ask me how I integrate and weave Reiki into Muse Mantra Portraits How can a 2D piece of paper/canvas absorb Reiki and what does that mean anyway? I find myself talking about this a lot, so I thought I would share my ritual, whether I’m working with paper or canvas. If you’re not familiar with Reiki, it is a wonderful energy system that can be used in any part of your life. It's pronounced “ray-key” which means Rei “spiritual” or “sacred ” and ki “energy.” Together they are translated in the West to mean “Universal Energy.” Ki has the same meaning as Chi in Chinese, Prana in Sanskrit, and Ti or Ki in Hawaiian, however, whatever you choose to call this energy, it’s the same vital energy force of all things. Energy in ArtHave you ever looked at a piece of art and felt the energy within the painting? Or perhaps been drawn to an image on a greeting card in a shop? Are you pulled to certain colours and felt soothed by them? As a Reiki Master and having worked with it for the last 15 years, I know that everything is energy; you can feel it, hear, see it and sense it. Ultimately I am infusing the 3 of the symbols I use into the paper. You've heard of using a proxy when giving Reiki, often we can use a teddy bear, or plant or a photograph to send the Reiki, in drawing an illustration of you, I am weaving in the symbols directly into the pencil, pens and markers. You won't see it in the finished piece, but you'll feel it. Any Muse Mantra will become a totem or a talisman for your daily journey. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass onSo what do I do? There are three parts: 1) Setting up the Space: I always take time to set up the zone and space where I’m working. As I gather my things together, and lay them out, I will light incense, a candle and put on some mantra music – I love Snatam Kaur and Deva Premal. 2) Quiet Time: Sitting down, ready to start, I get quiet, and relax. Here I will invite in my Reiki, Spiritual and Animal Guides. I activate my hands with Reiki and ask for it to flow freely within the sketch/or the colour. I wrote my own private prayer so this is where I’ll say it. After I have done this, I then cast my eyes over the collection of photographs that I have of the person I'm drawing. The photos are for me to get a sense, a feeling of who they are. I never create the same image from a photo. 3) The Creative Act (sketch/colour) I now just let this process flow – I begin to sketch. I note down any thoughts, feelings or messages I’m getting, which I can share with them when we connect later. Whether this is for an individual or for a family, the process is the same. During this time, I like to listen to any sonic music, sometimes classical. After I have finished the sketch I then move on to the colour-fill. I make sure to haven lemon water by my side. I’m never without lemons : ) When I’m happy with the finished illustration I will invoke the distant healing symbol within the piece, sending a blessing to the person who I’m creating, even if they have passed over. I also create portraits of animals and do the same. In the past couple of years I have been choosing crystals, laying the illustration down on a crystal grid - the crystals add more insight to the process and I love discovering the ones I have chosen and their meaning. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass on. Julia xx 27 years ago, I stumbled upon a practice that helped me in a very dark time of my life. I didn’t know back then anything about mood boards or vision books, we’re talking the 90’s, nobody talked about stuff like that! Here I was, stuck in bed, dealing with a long term disabling health problem called M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). I was 22 and had been ill for 2 years, my life was on hold, in storage, locked up, paused. I didn’t know how long this was going to continue but it ended up lasting a further 7 years. My self-esteem was in the pan and my confidence … well, let’s put it this way, I had none. Being ill was robbing me of everything. I was desperate to find a way out of this shitty space, but energy wise, I had limited reserves. Having a shower or washing my hair took every ounce of me. I was itching to look forward to a life that oozed wellness, I longed for a career that made me jump for joy and a relationship that shook my world, fulfilling and loving and all that jazz. I ached for travel and yearned for my own space again, because I was living back with my parents having had a 2-year independence-break, working in the world of commerce in a different city. There were dreams, but I just couldn’t see them properly. I was tired all the damn time, the dreams, well, they were fuzzy and deep, deep inside. I had always been a rock steady journaller, head stuck in a notebook where possible and pen in hand, I had written tonnes of pages on finding my way through these health troubles and scratched out some desires and goals but I was completely stuck. I couldn’t see a way through. I wanted to feel less anxious about the way my life was going. Looking around me, I saw other sufferers ill for 20 + years and I cried myself to sleep, hoping this was not going to be me. I was stressed out about the recovery statistics, I was flapping about which way to turn and my gut instinct and intuition were taking a real beating. Somewhere along the way, an idea popped into my mind, it could have been from Oprah’s ‘remembering your spirit’ segment right at the end of her show, which I devoured, it was the only positive thing I was seeing on TV at that time, in spite of it being ridiculed in the press, or I may have just been sent a direct message in dream time. What and how, the ideas all merge into one. This idea kept growing inside of me that instead of writing my dreams in my journal, I would find a new blank notebook and rip out images and words from the magazines that I had piling up in my room. Images that inspired and motivated me. This became my little go-to task of the day, nothing fancy or ‘the secret-like’ but just little-old-ill-me, ripping images with glue stick in hand. I didn’t make big collages back then, it was just small and simple. I would rip and paste an image that my insides loved, a colour, a phrase, a word. If my gut instinct loved it, I’d rip it out. I recognised after a few months that this little practice was boosting my inner spirit, it gave me a lift. I felt hopeful. I began to see similar images popping out, animals featured a lot, dogs in particular, craft, art, making, design, bright colours, scenes from nature, travel, words that were big and bold, things like ‘do it, lush, loving, boss’ I felt a sense of warmth growing deep in my belly, not sure what it was but it felt like – knowing - knowing that I was finding my heart again, somewhere amongst the pages. I could play in here, it was safe, fun and non-judgmental. This very early visual notebook turned into a cool tool that let me hear whispers of my intuition, it showed me that I could give myself some space to dream. It soothed me when I felt exhausted drained and lifeless. I felt small nudges of what’s next. I got to see a visual cue of my soul and what I was desiring. Like I said. I felt Hope Full. Fast forward to the present day and this has become a crucial part of my creative healing toolkit that helps to rebalance me and also my clients. Five years ago, I began designing Muse Mantras and I discovered that each card I was designing could be a prompt for a vision page, a little question to help with the focus of the page: for example, how my body wants to feel relaxed, or how my heart wants to feel joy, or imagining the possibilities. It gave me another way to vision and I loved it. So I decided to pull it together and ran it as a course and offered it out there in cyber land, such a gorgeous group of women joined me to sample this programme. “This course increased my confidence and positive outlook, such a great idea.” Kerry “It’s so inspiring to look at my visions, I so wish I had done this earlier.” Rachael. “As I went through the magazines, I felt images and words jumped out at me, they made me feel really positive, happy and warm, I love that this is ‘being the me I want to be’ and I feel I’m entering a transition process, this course is helping me.” Kerry “I have just had the most wonderful hour – I started to select images and words last night and then this morning I felt I just had to vision first, before anything else. I am so glad I did. Gaining visual clarity around where I find joy feels like it has opened a doorway to the next steps of my life.” Mary “I’m doing this on my kitchen table and loving it. I’m going to reflect on my whispers but I think my right to enjoy the good life is a theme and I also believe my page is giving me permission to be myself. Loving the course.” Jan. I knew then it wasn’t just me. Now when I turn to magazines, glue stick and vision book, I truly recognise that this is a beautiful mindfulness practice and choosing a muse mantra card sends my inner traveller ‘bon voyage’, as she navigates her way through, listening to the whispers of her soul. I find my breathing slows down, I begin to feel differently about where I’m at and where I want to be. I feel braver. I feel calmer. I feel less stressed about what’s happening around me and I can feel the rumblings of transformation. My body, mind and spirit reconnects and rebalances. As I create these empowering spirit loving vision books, I can see the map of my inner world emerging. I can choose to follow these maps and be guided by the imagery and words, or I can just experience the beautiful process I have just had, allowing the imagery and words to connect to my intuitive know-how. I was one of the lucky ones, I emerged from that ill health tunnel when I was 29, it was a long slog to wellness, pretty much the whole of my 20s – a HUGE crisis but one that taught me many things about health, wellbeing and healing. I learnt that our health experiences are vast and deeply connected, one can’t be separated from the other. I found my way out because I became my own private investigator, I became my own healer. I researched and read so much around complementary therapies and western medicine, I studied an honours degree in Health to explore it from all modalities and the routes to wellness and qualified as a Counsellor and gaining my adult education teaching qualification I taught Health & Holistic Wellness within colleges and university. I found my way back. Most of the time I felt alone in a bubble of illness, I didn’t have anyone to turn to who had overcome a crisis in this way, I had to fathom it all out and this was pre-Google. I had to resort to libraries and the yellow pages! Yet, I developed and created some fundamental practices, my Seven Ways to Wellness, which are the bedrock for my life and for living. ‘Create’ is the 5th Way to Wellness and Visioning is contained within there. As a mindfulness practice, I truly believe it is one path to help with managing and mastering stress and anxiety and coming back to a centre point of balance. I really don’t want people to feel alone like I did, so I took all that I experienced and now help people to rebalance. I have felt well for the past 20 years, I have had ups and downs but never returned back to that dark place. As I step into my fifth decade this year, I intend to embrace this new age and deal with new life-changes that are presenting themselves daily, using my '7 Ways to Wellness', because they are just as important to me now as they were 29 years ago. Visioning is definitely one of the keys that helped me. Give it a go : ) I am putting the finishing touches to Vision with the Muse a self paced e-course to take you through creating 7 Vision Pages in a Book based on 7 Muse Mantra Cards from The Deck, so stay tuned.
In the meantime if you're in the Oxfordshire area, I'm running a workshop called Vision with the Moon, Sunday Jan 28 at The Wychwood Inn. All the details are here. Hope to see you then Julia xx |