Category Archives: Metaphysics & Intuition

Meditation & Mindfulness, Metaphysics & Intuition

Mindfulness Exercises to Reduce Stress and Create Inner Calm

Leave a comment

Mindfulness has become so popular that it’s used as a tool for stress relief right across our society, even in schools. The modern practice of mindfulness is a westernised version of a Buddhist meditation, which teaches that thoughts don’t need to be controlled. It upends the notion that we need to control our thoughts and encourages us to become the observer rather than the thinker.

Essentially mindfulness draws on awareness to help us be present in every moment. Supported by extensive studies, it is a potent tool to combat the high stress levels we all experience every day. Like other forms of meditation, it improves our mental health while increasing our brain processing power. Mindfulness is a very simple technique that can be used every day to find inner calm.

 Mindfulness practices are often taught secularly, but their roots reach back to ancient teachings and traditions.

Mindfulness is also known by terms such as mindful awareness or enlightenment. It has a rich history, and its roots are steeped in many ancient religious and more recently, secular traditions, in particular Buddhism and Hinduism.  

The Beauty Of Mindfulness

Part of the beauty of adopting a mindfulness practice is that the many health benefits can be gained anywhere, anytime and either in a group or alone. Even just two or three minutes a day can trigger the benefits.

While breath is an important aspect of mindfulness, it takes many forms and can be adapted to suit every individual. These forms include awareness, meditation, yoga, walking meditation or becoming mindful during everyday activities such as washing the dishes, showering, eating or drinking tea.

In simple language mindfulness is non-judgemental awareness

Most of us rush through our day, our week, our lives, without noticing our surroundings and remaining unaware of deeper currents. This leaves us operating on autopilot. In this state we become vulnerable to life upsets and stress. We are left to fall back on the old stories that underpin our subconscious beliefs, which drives us to repeat long-held practices that do not support our growth.

Develop Conscious and Intentional Awareness

In the midst of navigating this busy-ness, what’s far more crucial to our wellbeing is what’s really going on behind the events in our lives. When we are always rushed and overwhelmed we generally fail to notice the real story behind what’s happening. If we do happen to get a small glimpse of that story, we quickly respond with an opinion about it rather than gaining real clarity by stepping back and just observing. 

Mindfulness, a conscious and intentional awareness, gives us the means to avoid living on autopilot. By developing our ability to observe and really notice things happening around us and to us, we become tuned into how we habitually react and respond to them, without attaching any personal judgement.

We are able to notice what’s going on without becoming drawn into the drama.

We develop an ability to observe with greater awareness which helps us make wiser decisions for ourselves and our life, to carry us forward in greater clarity without anxiety and overwhelm.

However, being able to draw on heightened awareness coupled with greater calm and acceptance doesn’t just happen automatically. We need to develop this ability within ourselves, and like any new mind skill, it takes practice and time.

Initially we may only be able to sustain a mindful state momentarily. But if we are committed to changing so we can shift from a state of constant overwhelm and drama into one of open, stable, grounded calmness. We can begin to expand our mindfulness and start noticing change quite quickly.

7 Mindfulness Exercises To Reduce Overwhelm

To change how you respond to drama and stress you have to break old habits while also developing new ones. This means you no longer automatically react to triggers and instead, are able to step back, observe with awareness, and identify both the trigger itself and the way you normally respond. Once you become aware of this habit within yourself it becomes easier to break it apart.

These simple mindfulness exercises will help you develop conscious awareness to reclaim a calmer, more coherent presence when faced with life’s challenges. Practice them over and over until you start to notice yourself staying calm without reacting.

1. Awareness Exercise

This exercise helps develop your ability to observe with clarity by uncovering where you place your attention through the day. It also highlights what distracts you from staying calmly in the present moment.

Take a few minutes to walk around the place you are right now, a room at home, work or even outdoors. It doesn’t matter where it is, just go with the place you are in.

Do this without holding any intention or expectation about what will happen or what you hope to achieve in the practice. Just move to whatever draws your attention.

Do this for about three minutes. Then write down on paper preferably, or in your phone, whatever you noticed, what drew your attention or where your thoughts shifted during that time. It’s important to actually record these.

You may:

  • Have past thoughts rise up
  • Wonder about future job opportunities
  • Create vague plans for a family holiday
  • Try to find a solution to a problem
  • Criticise yourself
  • Remember something you’ve forgotten to do
  • Think about how tired or hungry you are
  • Became sad, lonely, frustrated, angry, guilty or any other emotion about something or someone

2. Breath Of Life Exercise

A minute or two of deep breathing from your abdomen helps to bring you the calming benefits of mindfulness. This is partly because when you’re completely focused on the movement of your breath you can’t think of other things, you’re living in the moment.

The emotional response to a challenge and the subsequent chaos of your thoughts throws you into a downward spiral of anxiety and overwhelm. Focused breathing takes you out of your thoughts and into your body so you can’t continue to be caught up in the drama.

Breathing from your belly is something you need to cultivate as your automatic way of breathing, all the time. Most people only use the top of their lungs to breathe which is inefficient. Once you set the intent to make abdominal breathing your natural breath it is easy to simply switch your attention to your breath whenever you need to quickly ground yourself to deal with stress.

I describe this process in detail in this blog post about using deep breathing to reduce stress.

Basically, sit up straight in a chair with your feet on the floor or stand. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing, drawing the breath down deep into your abdomen.

Follow each breath in and out. It can help to place your hands on your belly and feel it rise or expand with the in breath and fall or contract with the exhale. After one minute open your eyes and go about your day.

Your diaphragm, belly and chest should expand as you breathe in and soften as you breathe out. Your shoulders should not move up and down when you do this breathing correctly.

Practice whenever you can so you can immediately and automatically turn your attention to a minute or two of deep breathing whenever you need it. You’ll discover it immediately calms you and reduces any strong emotional feelings or anxiety you might experience.

3. 4-4-4 Exercise

This is another simple breathing exercise to focus your awareness and strengthen your mindfulness practice.

1. Turn your attention to your breath.

2. Inhale steadily to the count of four.

3. Hold your breath for the count of four.

4. Exhale for a count of four.

5. Hold for another count of four.

Repeat this for a minute or two.

Do this exercise in conjunction with abdominal breathing.

4. Water Immersion Exercise

Water is linked with our emotions so this next exercise is useful because our emotions are triggered by stress and are released through this mindful practice. This exercise focuses your attention on the input you receive through your senses.

The shower is a great place to pay attention! 

Whenever you take a shower develop mindfulness by becoming aware of your five senses.

Notice the action of turning on the taps. Notice the feel of the water as you step under, the feeling of it on your skin as it flows down your body.

Smell the aroma of the soap and notice the sensation on your skin as you lather. Observe how your skin feels after the soap is washed away. Feel the steam around your face and watch it as it drifts upward.

Now turn down the hot water for a few seconds and then turn it back up, noticing the change in temperature.

Throughout keep your attention focused on what you sense – what you feel, smell, taste, see and hear.

5. Pause For An Entrance Exercise

For mindfulness to become a positive part of our life it needs to become second nature to us. This exercise helps us start acting mindfully in even the smallest activities of our lives so we start to engage mindfully all the time, without having to think about it.

Generally we rush through doors moving from one space to another without consciously making the shift from the first space to the next.

As you approach a door, pause, before reaching for the handle. Take a couple of mindful breaths. Then go ahead and open the door. As you pass through the door pay attention to closing the door behind you before turning to the new space.

Take a moment to mindfully move your attention to the new space before moving into it.

Do this process and take a moment to pause, whenever you move from one space to a new one, even if a door is not involved.

6. Mindful Eating Exercise

This exercise is similar to the shower exercise and aims to focus your awareness on your senses.

Often we rush through our meal, eat on the run, or engage in other activities while we eat. Mindful eating has two basic principles – slowing down and engaging fully with all our senses.

Whether you are eating a full meal or a simple snack bringing mindful awareness into the process gives all the normal health benefits of mindfulness as well as improving our digestion.

First, don’t eat on the move, sit down or at least stop.

Before you begin to eat look at the food, notice the colour, shape or anything unusual about it. Bend close and breathe in the aroma, noticing what you identify; close your eyes if it helps.

Pick up your food or touch it and notice what it feels like. Is it heavy or light; warm or cold; soft or hard, slippery, fluffy, squelchy? Notice any utensils you’re using, the weight, surface, shape, the detail.

Now take a small bite. Let the food sit in your mouth before you chew it and notice it on your tongue. Notice the texture. Savour the taste. Notice how it feels as you swallow it.

Listen for sounds throughout the process, the crinkle of paper as you unwrap it, the clink of the cutlery, the scrape on the plate and the sound as you chew.

Take time to become deeply aware of the process and the sensations you experience at all stages.

7. Time Out Exercise

To remind you to continue to develop your mindfulness practice keep a timer near you, on your desk, beside your bed or wherever you spend your time.

Whenever you notice anything holding your attention or curiosity, such as an interesting sound, a bird outside the window or the play of light on the wall, start the timer for one minute. As you continue to notice, slow your breath continuing to focus on whatever caught your eye.

When the timer beeps check in with yourself. How do you feel? Do you feel calmer, peaceful, more relaxed?

The Core Message

Mindfulness is both a noticing, or awareness, of all that surrounds you in the external world, and an acceptance of whatever you notice both within and outside yourself, without judgement. That part is important!

The goal when developing a mindfulness practice, is to have it become an automatic way to move through your day, not something you need to focus on. So, the more you do it the less you’ll have to remember it.

In order to make mindfulness a regular and automatic part of your life it helps to involve daily activities in your developing practice. For example, set the intent to deep breathe for 30 seconds every time you pick up your keys, or climb the stairs, turn on the tap or any other action you regularly take. You can use any routine activity to helps you strengthen mindfulness.

Begin to incorporate these exercises into your daily routine whenever you remember and use them to help you move out of feelings of stress, overwhelm, anxiety, or confusion. 

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for general health information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider for medical conditions before trying treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2026. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ancestral Wisdom, Metaphysics & Intuition, Nature's Rhythms

Winter Solstice: Reflection and Renewal

Leave a comment

And so, we arrive at Solstice, a powerful energetic gateway and brief pause between endings and beginnings. This moment marks a threshold between the dying and rebirth of the Sun’s light, reminding us that even in darkness the light will always return. Over the past few days, the energy has been drawing inward inviting us to align ourselves with nature to celebrate renewal within the darkness. This is a quiet moment of stillness to slow down, pause, go within and listen to the whispers of our soul.

Winter Solstice Energetic Gateway

Solstice is a potent and sacred energetic gateway occurring twice a year in June and December. It marks a power point on the Wheel Of The Year when abundant celestial potential flows out.

Solstice holds spiritual and magical power. It is a time when our soul whispers become clearer and the heightened energy makes it easier for us to access guidance from the refined energetic realms.

The Ancients were aware of this and celebrated the day with powerful ceremony, designed to shape the consciousness and expression of their society.  Much of the ancient meaning has been lost in modern celebrations. But, when you understand the Solstice esoteric meaning of rebirth and renewal, this energy can be used to expand creative power and generate transformation in meaningful ways through the rest of the year, in both your own life and that of your world.

During Solstice the doorways to the Higher Realms are ajar and the veils that separate the worlds thin. Under this influence we become more attuned to the energies around us as well as to other dimensions.  When we consciously attune with this Power Portal, we can open strong and clear engagement with our True Nature, our Highest Self.

Solstice: Conscious Transformation and Evolution

Today’s Solstice offers us a moment of integration, where Heaven and Earth, time and eternity, Matter and Spirit align.  This meeting of energy and matter provides a conduit through which limitation, restriction and false thinking can be transformed and released, allowing new awareness to emerge and grow.

This is a turning point in the cosmic cycle which guides us to slow down and go within.  The energies support our introspection to reflect on where we’re at, and whether our actions and dreams are in alignment.  We can use this moment of confluence to make intentional decisions and conscious choices to carve our way forward.

Whether you are experiencing the Winter or Summer Solstice, whether it’s time to release in Winter or create in Summer, this moment supports you to receive deep insights and deliberately create opportunities for conscious transformation.

This energetic turning point opens a potent portal of time to disrupt your pattern of everyday living. Take this Solstice moment to focus light on your pathway for the upcoming year.

Solstice and the Zodiac 

At the June Solstice the Sun moves into the sign of Cancer, the crab. This is a time to bring our focus to how we use our emotional potential.  It is a time to ‘feel’ and to honour those feelings without judgement. Practice compassion and patience with both others and yourself and whenever you feel hurt seek out the lesson it holds.

The Solstice-Pineal Gland Connection

Within our physical body our pineal gland plays an important role at Solstice.  The pineal gland is associated with the Third Eye chakra and is considered the organ of universal connection and the seat of consciousness. It possesses the ability to help us awaken and transcend into a higher state of being. 

The pineal gland enables the intuitive Third Eye which receives cosmic energies through the Crown Chakra, to link the physical world to the spiritual and inter-dimensional realms beyond time.

This tiny gland is sensitive to light and darkness and is directly influenced by sunlight.  At Winter Solstice it helps awaken our dream state, activate our clairvoyant gifts and ignite our imagination. 

Honour Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year.  This is a time before the return of the Light when daylight is at its weakest and darkness reigns supreme.

At this time of the chrysalis, we are invited to go within and enter the dark depths of the soul.  Solstice serves to remind us that we are an integral part of the cycle of Nature.

Known as both Solstice and Yule to the Ancients, Winter Solstice celebrates the rebirth of the Sun.  It honours the first, tiny spark of life nestled in the darkness of the womb, in both nature and ourselves, which will later give rise to the new.  As with Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice also celebrates the light, however at this time, in its polarity of darkness.

This is a sacred time of inner reflection in which to embrace the night, practice meditation and make space in your life for new beginnings.  It is a time to invite healthy abundance and growth into your life.

Winter Solstice is a time to withdraw from the busy-ness of life and to take a well-deserved rest.  It is a potent time to be alone with your thoughts and intuition to rediscover your Inner Light.  Sit with who you really are, your True Nature, and gain strength from within.  You don’t need to investigate or journal what emerges, just to surrender and BE with your feelings.

Solstice, whether at the height of Summer or mid-Winter honours the light and this can be represented practically with fire. Flickering candles or a roaring bonfire reminds us of the warmth and life-giving light of the Sun.

Solstice Ritual for Grounding and Awakening

Just as the natural world responds to the energy and light at Solstice, we too can feel the energetic shifts when we tune in. Set aside time today or tonight to do this simple Solstice ritual to connect with the Earth, Spirit and nature.

Find a quiet, dark space where you can be alone.  If possible, retreat to somewhere calm and quiet in nature, the forest, the beach or your own garden, where you can immerse yourself in these potent Solstice energies to harmoniously tune into the rhythm of the Earth.

Light a single candle to invite in the Light. Settle, relax and ground yourself with steady, deep breaths. After a few breaths, take your awareness to your feet and notice your connection with the earth.  As you engage with that connection feel the energy rising from the Earth through the soles of your feet and travelling up through your whole body.

Bring your awareness back to your breath. Observe your feelings as they emerge in the darkness.  Don’t engage with them, simply observe and then release them.  Open yourself to consciously receive whatever it is you need to move forward through the coming year with clarity and grace.

As you maintain your connection with the Earth place your hand on your Heart Centre and become aware of your connection to Source.  As you merge with both Earth and Spirit notice the bridge you have created between the two, the rainbow bridge. Know that YOU ARE this bridge and that both Matter and Spirit reside within you.

As you continue to breathe become conscious of the rhythm of your breath bringing gentle, restorative and healing energy to recharge you.

For a few more minutes just sit and enjoy the feeling of rejuvenation and renewal.

Embrace the Return of Light

Winter Solstice is a moment of pause which doesn’t demand any grand gestures. It’s enough to simply pause, rest deeply, reflect, dream and open yourself to inner growth.

This is the time for a fresh start, so declare that you are open to new and inventive ways to grow.  Then get out of your own way.  Be observant and watch for the intuitive sparks the Universe sends in your direction.  Remember these messages will be subtle and may appear in many different ways.  Be ready to take action to nourish your inner light of creativity as you move forward towards Spring.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Ancestral Wisdom, Conscious Mindset & Stress, Metaphysics & Intuition

Access Your Personal GPS to Activate Your Intuition

1 Comment

Intuition is a type of intelligence that you always had,

even before you knew anything else at all. 

Right from the very beginning it quietly speaks

to you in small whispers that guide you towards

what’s best for your growth and happiness.

It can be difficult at times to consciously make choices that are aligned with your highest good. In challenging times confusion and indecision reign so you waver when facing complex alternatives. At times you may feel tempted to say, “I’ll just let the Universe guide me about which direction I should take, or what I should do next”. But this way of thinking gives away your personal power. It can leave you drifting aimlessly through your life experience.

It’s up to you to choose your life trajectory, it’s not enough to expect that somehow the Universe will guide you. You have to CHOOSE to take control of your life. But if that’s to be truly effective and create more than just the ‘Law Of Average’ for you, you need to learn to recognise your intuition and then to work with it effectively. Intuitive directed intelligence is a powerful support to help you make important decisions about your life direction and rise above the Law of Average.

Intuitive directed intelligence is a powerful tool to help you make important decisions about your life direction and to rise above the Law of Average.

Your Personal GPS

Imagine your intuition is a personal GPS system which works in a similar fashion to the GPS in your car.  If you have installed it correctly, you know how to use it properly.  Once you’ve switched it on you can rely on it to get you from where you are now to where you want to be, from point A to point B, in the most direct fashion.  You can expect that it will keep you clear of any traffic jams or roadblocks and take you by the fastest, most direct route to where you’re going.  And at the same time, it will give you good fuel economy and be efficient.

Intuition is just like a GPS for your life.  When you have all the components in place to make it function properly and know how to use it effectively, you can rely on it to guide you through life and get you to where you want to be in the best way possible.

The quality of the direction and support you get from your intuition is entirely dependent on how well you set up your intuitive GPS and how well you interact with its intuitive prompts. 

This relies on three important tools, Peace, Precision and Perception.

  • Peace is about creating a static-free environment where you can immediately recognise your intuition whenever it shows up.
  • Precision relates to giving your intuitive GPS precise directions.
  • Perception refers to the way you interpret the messages you receive.

ACTIVATE YOUR INTUITION

STEP ONE:

Go to your heart to generate coherence

Research by the HeartMath Foundation recently revealed that the intelligence carried within your heart out-powers that of the brain by 10 to 1. Because the heart is the first organ formed in the body, many more lines of information are developed from the heart TO the brain than there are from the brain to the heart. Much more information travels from the heart than from the brain.

Whenever we become stressed, our heart begins to race from fear, anxiety or overwhelm which means that our access to the problem-solving capabilities of our intuition is completely cut off.

Our brain has two types of power. The left brain deals with analytic and logical thoughts, and the right brain with creative thoughts. When we bring together our heart intelligence and our brain intelligence, we create a powerful middle ground of agile creativity which opens channels to our higher wisdom to solve problems and download new ideas.

Intuition thrives when all levels of our mind, that is, our brain, our heart and our gut, come together to function as a whole.

Action

Calm your mind with a meditative practice.

Create a vessel of peace and coherence to hold your intuitive process.

STEP TWO:

Peace. Clear out the static of stress

Stress is the number one obstacle that prevents you unleashing the power of intuition. Stress is like having static on your GPS. Whenever you’re too busy, have a deadline to meet, have too much to do, or are feeling overwhelmed in any way, you cannot access the creative power of higher wisdom.

When you are feeling stressed you become less efficient and less effective. You simply cannot bring up creative and innovative ideas and solutions when you’re stuck in your head, analysing and worrying over a problem or looking to others for advice. It’s impossible.

In order to break the patterns of stressful thought you need to remove yourself from your mind and its thought patterns, because your mind itself is the source of the stressful thoughts. You must relax your mind and clear out the static in order to allow intuition to speak instead. As Albert Einstein said, “You cannot solve a problem on the same level of thinking that created it. ” You need to shift your mind on to a new level in order to access intuitive wisdom and creative problem solving.

Action

Create more Peace.

Take a break, get outdoors and breathe.

STEP THREE:

Precision. The power of asking

Probably the most important step in this process is that of carefully creating a properly worded question. Just as with your car GPS, if you’re not really clear and exact about where you want to go, you’ll end up in the wrong place. You need to be really precise about both your starting point and your destination. Using simple language, ask exact and precise questions of your intuition. This is where most people slip-up in the beginning of this process. They don’t get clear solutions because they ask vague or ineffective questions.

Just as for a GPS, your strong starting point relies on a strong direction request. Questions need to be worded in the present moment, positively oriented and results based in order to get a more potent intuitive result.

Action

Get super clear about what you DO want and what your ultimate vision or goal actually is, rather than focusing on what you are afraid of or trying to avoid.

Make your questions precise.

STEP FOUR:

Forget what you know in order to expand your Perception

People who believe they know everything have great difficulty accessing intuition. Intuitive solutions emerge from the non-linear and non-rational part of the mind. They don’t often follow traditional ways of thinking. So unless you’re open to alternative ways to solve a problem you will limit how intuition can communicate with you.

When you know little or nothing about something you are not limited by what you DO know. Your mind is open to all possibilities. When you give yourself permission to forget what you’ve been taught your mind becomes open and accessible to all possibilities. This is why beginners luck can be so potent.

Action

Be willing to see, learn, and experience new things, however they may show up

STEP FIVE:

Perception – Pay Attention

Intuition speaks the language of the Creative Mind. It uses the language of symbols, and images, music, or art, and it draws on our senses to guide us.

Once you have formed a precise question to ask for direction from your intuition. This is the time to Pay Attention.

Call in the power of awareness and notice what you begin to notice through your day, and also in your dreams at night.

Anything that captures your attention, a song on the radio, a comment from a friend, a graffiti image, or a line in a movie could all hold the perfect answer. This is your intuitive GPS whispering to you. It’s up to you to notice and take action

Action

Watch more, speak less

STEP SIX:

Have fun, play, and take inspired action

Intuition thrives in an environment of peace, ease and grace. It speaks much more clearly in a mind that is not overwhelmed with stress or burdened with the need for perfection. It provides direction through a flexible and agile system that is open to any and every possibility.

Intuition is that voice that speaks to athletes when they’re in the zone, or artists, writers and musicians when they’re in the flow. It’s even that cautionary voice that warns us to be careful on a dark street. It is the detached whisper of inspiration, and it holds no emotion. It is calm and solid.

If you can recapture that feeling where life is a joy even when it’s challenging, and make this your starting point, intuition can begin to speak to you as clearly as any solid real-life coach.

Action

Lighten up! Laugh! Take inspired action

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Metaphysics & Intuition, Nature's Rhythms

New Moon Clarity: Discover Personal Insights for Lunar Manifestation

Leave a comment

The New Moon is an especially potent time to birth anything new into your life. Creating a New Moon Ritual is a powerful way to stimulate new beginnings and bring about change.

Often when you live a life of wellness you get focused on the physical, eating healthy food, getting exercise or avoiding toxins. But the physical body is only the starting place. For good health it is equally important to focus on the other levels in addition to the physical. You need to manifest change on each of the levels of mind, body, emotions and spirit.

New Moon Rituals are a great way to address change in all four aspects of yourself, the mind, body, emotions and spirit. Ritual helps you to clarify needs, to form that need or desire into a goal and to set an intention to achieve it.

Harness New Moon Energy for Manifesting

Once every month I remind my social media followers the New Moon is coming up so they can prepare their Lunar Manifestation List. Some always prepare for the New Moon. But for the many who have never done New Moon ritual the response is often confusion.

For years I’ve held space for nurturing and empowering New Moon Red Tent Circles to coincide with the New Moon. They’re a wonderful supportive space for busy women to take a few hours’ time out just for themselves. They provide space to tune into yourself and identify what’s not working in your life, what’s really p*ssing you off, and most importantly, where you need to make changes and exactly what you want to start in your life.

It all happens within a group of women who offer unconditional support for you to gain understanding and clarity. All in the group can share without comment or advice from others and can even vent if they need. Everyone usually gets amazing insights.

Within the circle you also receive some self-care and sometimes a little creative play. Recently we played with finger paint. I had never done this before, and it was So. Much. Fun.

Why Hold New Moon Circles

The simple answer to why Circles are held at the New Moon is it allows us to harness potent energy brought by the New Moon together with Ancestral tradition.

Throughout history indigenous societies always honoured the time of the New Moon because it is the time when our intuition (those gut feelings you get) are at their strongest, especially for women.

Test this out for yourself. Keep track of what messages your subconscious sends to you in the few days around the New Moon. These messages often come through your dreams. Take notice if you wake up suddenly knowing the answer to something that has been troubling you.

This is also the time when many, especially women, feel extra weary. Your body may feel heavy, feeling overcome by sleepiness in the afternoon, craving early nights or you may feel less like going out and socialising.

This is you telling yourself that it is the best time to slow down and go within. This is the best time to access the intuitive and ancestral knowledge you already hold for a better, happier life.

The time of greater awareness varies from one person to the next but usually is for a few days around the New Moon time. Because the actual time of the New Moon varies from one location to another you need to check for the exact time and date in your area. Remember to set your own location in the search.

Lunar Manifestation Lists

Before closing my New Moon Red Tent Sessions each month, I always invite each person to create their own Lunar Manifestation List.

It’s so easy for us to roll along, one week passing to the next until we suddenly notice that another whole year has passed us by. We develop the habit of non-awareness.

Using the New Moon to set a Lunar Manifestation Intention List is simply a form of getting clear on your wishes for the month, like a monthly goal setting. But it is far more than just ‘goal setting’ as this one really comes from our heart and our highest wisdom.

Lunar Intentions for the Highest Good

It’s important to set your intentions for what you really do need in your life. So before starting our list we spend time going within to connect with our Highest Self for guidance. Whatever you decide to include on your list frame it with the intention of stimulating personal growth.

You may wish to change a bad habit, or release a relationship you have outgrown or invite one you are now ready to welcome in. There may be a material possession you would love. You may need more self-nurturing. Perhaps you would like to undertake some form of service to others or to allow others to be of service to you. It may even be to change the way you view a situation.

Whatever it is you wish to create can be added to your list.

Be Precise

When I look back on my own lists I am struck by how often what I wrote down came about.

For about 18 months I kept adding ‘New Car” to my list. But no new car appeared. Then one month I got precise and I wrote down the make, the model, the extra features and even the colour of the car I wanted. Six weeks later that exact car was sitting in my driveway, and I got it for an awesome price too.

When I got really serious and was more specific about my list, my focus and my energy was directed towards achieving that goal, like an arrow flying towards a target.

Take Your Time

Don’t just dive in. The result will most likely be superficial. This is time you need to get real. Spend time before starting to really tune in to your subconscious, your inner knowing. Allow it to guide you to discover deep insights about how to change for the best.

You can simply sit and write your list but if you spend some time beforehand to really tune in to yourself you receive greater clarity about the deeper issues that are holding you back. Also, you may find something you are ready to receive into your life that you were not yet aware of.

If you meditate this is an awesome way to tune in to your intuition.

If you prefer someone else to guide you through a meditation there are many guided visualisations available on Youtube. (I am creating a series of suitable guided meditations for the New Moon which will be available later this year.)

Keep things Simple

You don’t need to meditate, it’s not essential but it does lift your ritual to a higher level.

Simply taking some time to go somewhere quiet, some place where you won’t be disturbed is enough. It may be a special space in your home or somewhere you love in nature. Wherever you choose just make certain you are somewhere you will not be interrupted. (For busy Mums it may even mean locking yourself in the toilet!) Just find somewhere quiet and peaceful.

New Moon Red Tent Ritual

Make sure you have pen (it can be coloured) and paper with you. Your Lunar Manifestation List needs to be written by hand, don’t add it to your notes on your phone. A journal is perfect for keeping your Lunar Manifestation Lists together if you’d like to keep them to look back at later.

If you wish play some uplifting music, light a candle or do anything that has special meaning for you. But make sure it doesn’t intrude and draw your attention away from listening to your intuition.

When you are seated comfortably take a few moments to relax yourself. Start by loosening your toes and work your way up your body. Finally feel your shoulders drop, your jaw relax and your forehead un-crease.

Now take a few deep belly-breaths. As you breathe in imagine the Indigo Light of Intuition entering your body along with your breath and spreading through every cell of your body. As you breathe out feel the stress of your day and any negative thoughts you are holding leave your body along with your breath.

As you breathe in the Indigo Light on each breath feel yourself connect more deeply with your inner knowledge. Allow your breath to relax into a natural rhythm and sit for a while opening yourself to any thoughts or ideas that flow in.

Be creative and open

If thoughts about what you need to do today are blocking out anything else then maybe what you need to manifest right now are some organisational techniques so you can get all that stuff out of your thoughts. Bringing in techniques such as this will free up lots of brain space for other things in your life. So put it on your list.

What you need may come to you as a picture in your mind-eye, you may hear it or have a clear thought or even just a sudden flash of inspiration. Be open to receive.

Write your list in the present tense, as if it is already happening.

You can’t wish for change in others, that it for them to determine themself. However, you can wish for changes to yourself that may then affect them later or that support you in the situation.

Add up to ten things to your list. More than ten becomes too many and lessens their impact. Less is fine, simply putting greater focus on what you do add, but you do need more than just one or two.

Each New Moon of the year is associated with a different part of your life and your list is more potent when you focus your wishes on that area of your life. This New Moon at the start of Aquarius is about BIG Plans and seeking freedom in your life. This Moon also brings a link with the past and might be the perfect time to discover a new way to renovate, restore or revitalise an old problem or relationship.

Just one more step to do, which is to speak the list out loud. Giving a voice to your intentions empowers them and anchors them in the front of your awareness.

Finishing Your Lunar Ritual

When you have finished, thank your Higher Self, your angels, or simply the universe, blow out the candle and you are done.

Lunar Manifestation Lists are not like affirmations. You don’t have to keep repeating them. Once you have done the ritual you can put the list away.

What you do with your list is up to you. Some women burn their list, others put them under their pillow, some even bury them. I keep my Lunar Manifestation Lists in a journal as later I like to have the reminder of the power of positive intent. Sometimes reading through them refocuses me when I feel I’m getting nowhere.

Benefits of a New Moon Ritual

There is no time frame around when the things on your list manifest. If you find you’re including the same thing for month after month your intention may need to be re-phrased (as I did with my car). Or it may simply not be right for you or not what you need at this time.

Often when your intent is strong and focused you will find changes start to occur about two weeks later around the time of the next Full Moon.

I hope you decide to adopt this wonderful practice into your life. It literally only takes a few minutes and by regularly setting yourself this focus you’ll receive great benefits.

Catherine Bullard trained as a Red tent Facilitator with the Moon Woman at Star Of Ishtar.

Disclaimer

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue.

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Metaphysics & Intuition, Nature's Rhythms

Set Successful New Year Resolutions With A Releasing Ritual

Leave a comment

As the year slides to its close the energies of the New Year may already be affecting you. You may already be formulating goals and plans that you would like to birth in the year ahead as New Year resolutions begin to form. You may even be plotting pathways to achieve those goals.

If you are someone who likes to get a jump on the New Year so you to enter the New Year already clear about how you’ll achieve your goals for 2015 it pays to prepare ahead. One way to set the foundation for success with your goals is with a simple New Year Release Ritual.

For the past few weeks I’ve been surprised as I hear myself talking about things that will happen for me in 2015, ideas and plans I hadn’t even noticed were forming in my brain or my heart. But apparently these ideas were solidly there just waiting for me to notice.

Many have already formed plans even if they’re not yet conscious of them and you may find you are doing the same. This year-end you’re being urged to get real about what you want for yourself, to set a considered plan of action, and to get to it now.

It’s way too easy, especially in these fast-paced times to allow your life to slip past. Days flow into weeks, into months, years and suddenly a decade has passed you by. Trying to look back and see the detail of your life pathway becomes more and more difficult as time moves on if you’ve neglected to mark points along the way.

 

Markers for Your Life

In times past traditions and ceremonies provided marking points in people’s lives. They provided moments in people’s consciousness when they paused, finding time to take stock of themselves and their life.

We still hold on to some of these traditions – 18th or 21st birthdays, weddings, funerals – but many milestones are no longer honoured or even remembered. Many traditions we do still hold no longer require us to examine and consider ourselves and how our life to date has evolved.

We no longer have many occasions where we pause and examine our progress in life, acknowledging our achievements and successes, appreciating our blessings, recognizing our lessons, and planning changes.

 

Set Strong Foundations For Goal Success

Trying to establish goals and resolutions to guide you along the pathway to achieving your dreams without first pausing and taking time to appraise the road you have just traveled is like building your home over a sink-hole. Without solid footings the structure of your life will simply collapse.

A Release Ritual is your opportunity to establish a firm base on which to build your future. It doesn’t take long to do and provides you with deep insights and clarity to steer you to better results.

As the energies of 2014 begin to unravel set aside time to draw together the threads of the year just passed. Find the space for yourself to weave them into a strong support that will carry you into 2015. Take time to examine your experience, the rainbow of coloured threads of your life, both the weak strands and the strong, threads of extreme beauty, and threads of fragility.

Once you have examined the weave of your last year the signs that point to the new directions you need to follow next become apparent.

weave basket-228294_640

 

Old Year Releasing Ritual

Begin your reflection by settling down in a quiet corner with a pen, paper or a journal, and a relaxing herbal tea or coffee. Light a candle to signal the start of your ritual if this has meaning for you.

Life has a habit of drawing you back to the same old lessons, over and over, spiraling round, often revisiting them under another guise, until you reach awareness and understanding of that particular lesson for your life. Each time you revisit the lesson gets louder, as if the universe is shouting so you will hear.

turquoise star

To save yourself treading these same old well-worn paths yet again next year, begin your release of the old year by writing down the illuminating life lessons you learnt in 2014. What were those ‘Aha’ moments? What great insights occurred?

turquoise star

Next add the dreams that came true for you. It’s easy to forget what the dreams you once held even were once they have actually happened, and just as easy to forget how dearly you held them, hoping they would eventuate. Remember to include the small dreams as well as the huge ones. The small dreams of life often grow into the big important ones.

turquoise star

What did you achieve in 2014? Remember to include the small glories not just the major ones. What did you learn you could do that you didn’t realise before?

You’re now ready to consider how you have grown in the last 365 days.

turquoise star

How have you changed? What have you learnt about yourself? What changed you? What is it you now know about yourself that you didn’t know before? Write them all down.

turquoise star

What did you discover you had outgrown? What no longer serves you? What, or who, did you release from your life?

turquoise star

How did you surprise yourself – what did you do that you didn’t know you capable of? What have you done that swells you with pride? Was there something you were able to do that you have never managed before? Were you called to step up, and you did?

turquoise star

What was there in this last year that was a source of grating disharmony? What can’t you tolerate any longer? By now you know what it is you just have to change in your life. Write it down.

turquoise star

If there’s anything you need to get off your chest about this last year, do it now. Rant if you need to. If you feel the urge to cry honour it, it will bring release and relief.

turquoise star

Now finally, write down what it is you are grateful for, the gifts you received from 2014. Include every little thing. As well as the big stuff in my life, I include small joys in my gratitude lists like my morning cup of tea, or the slightly creepy but endearing smile my gorgeous dog beams at me whenever I arrive home.

Finished?

March 2014 004

 

Closing Ritual

And now dear friend, you are ready to release the Old Year. You are now ready to face the year ahead. You are ready to set your resolutions, to clarify your dreams and your goals, to decide what is achievable for you, and to stride forth with purpose into the New Year.

Take some time now to close down your releasing ritual.

Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply through your nose, down into your abdomen. Hold briefly and then breathe out slowly through your mouth making a small sound as you do. As you breathe out give thanks for the past year, for all your experiences, your joys and pains, the lessons you have been given and the insights you have received.

Breathe in again, drawing in with your breath the green light of healing, deep into your abdomen. As you hold it briefly allow the green light to flow into every cell of your body until your whole body shines with its emerald green glow. Breathe out again, slowly. Sense any negativity you have been holding in the cells of your body, any disharmonies from your past year, flow from you with your breath. Feel your shoulders relax as the weight is taken off them. Feel your body sink into your chair.

Once more breathe in deep into your abdomen this time drawing in the golden light of possibility. Feel it flow freely through you bringing renewed energy to your body, clarity to your mind, and generosity and fulfillment to your heart.

As you slowly release your breath allow the energy of the past year to ride on it. Allow it to float away, knowing that you hold within you all the loving positive energy you have earned in the last twelve months. You will always have the knowledge and insights you have gained.

Take your time and when you feel ready open your eyes and welcome with joy the new energies of the coming year.

welcome the new year-570883_640
Metaphysics & Intuition, Nature's Rhythms, Uncategorized

Red Tent Soul Sister Sanctuary

Leave a comment
Copy of Join forces in harmony

Have you ever joined with a circle of women where you take the time and space to connect with your inner knowing? Would you love insights and clear pointers about the direction your life needs to follow right now?

The Red Tent Soul Sister Sanctuary helps to restore balance in your life and nurture your personal spiritual growth, as well as providing you with a deep sense of nourishment to fuel your soul and fill your heart.

If you are in Melbourne this coming weekend this is your opportunity to experience for yourself.

To discover more about the event read on…

With the Winter Solstice just behind us, we journey this month under the Cancer Dark Moon.

The energy of both the Winter Solstice and Cancer is very feminine and enables us to connect strongly and deeply with our innermost feminine intuition. This is our time to seek supportive nurturing, not only for those we cherish and hold, but for ourselves as well.

As we prepare to emerge from the darkness of winter, it is an excellent time to connect with our highest knowing and focus on what we need to nurture and support ourselves, so we then may nurture and support those in our life.

Women instinctively know that gathering with other like-minded women offers enormous psychological and energetic benefits.

The Red Tent Soul Sisters Sanctuary is an opportunity to take time-out from your busy life to reconnect with your inner self, to let your inner child out to play, to share and to be supported in a sisterhood of exchanged knowledge, insights, gifts, wisdom, guided meditation, laughter & art, all within a safe and sacred space, while consciously journeying with the cycles of the moon and universe.

Traditionally the Red Tent was a place where women would gather to tune in to their feminine wisdom and receive insights for themselves, their families and for the greater good of their community. It would take place during the dark moon when the Moon is shadowed from the Sun by the Earth, and when feminine intuition is at its most heightened.

The Cancer Moon

The Cancer moon is ruled by the element of water and is represented by the archetype of the Crab, who shows her hard exterior to the world in order to hide and protect her vulnerability within. This new moon takes us through a concentrated cascade of emotions where trusting and respecting our feelings brings awareness of personal needs.

So come and journey with us, join with a variety of beautiful women of all ages, cultures, and walks of life. This is a time and place where every woman is honoured for her own feminine wisdom and experiences, all of which allow us all the opportunity to learn and grow from each other.

Each RedTent gathering includes a sharing circle, insights for the coming month, guided meditation, setting intentions and a shared supper (or lunch).

You leave feeling deeply soul-nourished and filled with purpose.

WHEN: Saturday 28th June
TIME:   11.00am for 11.30 start – 2.00pm
COST:   $20
WHERE: Indigo Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 563 Whitehorse Rd,. Mitcham Vic 3132

 

Please bring a small plate of food to share for lunch afterwards


PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITATION




BOOKINGS & PAYPAL PAYMENTS ACCEPTED

Booking online is recommended to secure your cushion.

To book via PAYPAL please ckick the yellow  CHECK OUT WITH PAYPAL button below

paypal checkout


Conscious Mindset & Stress, Meditation & Mindfulness, Metaphysics & Intuition

Chasing Happiness

1 Comment

“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”    

~  Dalai Lama XIV  ~

For many people the pursuit of happiness is the main focus of their life. This week what happiness is all about has popped up on my radar in a number of ways.

Apparently, according to the Sydney Morning Herald on May 28th this year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says ‘Australia is still the world’s happiest nation’. Their happiness gauge is based on the majority having paid work, the national economy side-stepping the worldwide recession, people working fewer hours, the existence of a stronger sense of community, and that most people said they have more positive experiences than negative in an average day.

But is this how to define happiness? Is happiness all about the economy and what we possess?

According to the Greek philosopher Epicurus external goods such as status and luxury are not good for us, and putting value on them, and pursuing them is not good for us at all.

Epicurus believes we need to abstain from external desire in order to achieve tranquility. He says the path to tranquility is through choosing the simple things in life.

A quick scroll through my Pinterest feed affirms that this is one belief firmly ascribed to by many others today.

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”   ~ Dalai Lama ~

Happiness is Age-Related

Apparently, our level of happiness is age-related as a study by Hannes Schwandt, a research associate at Princeton University shows. People are happiest at the age of 23 and then again at 69 and life slumps for most people in the mid-50’s, when many battle with regret.

Young people in their early twenties feel very optimistic about their future which, while it equates to happiness can easily turn to misery if the expectations and dreams are not met.

Our happiness is age-related
Our happiness is age related

So, what is it that makes sixty-nine-year-olds happy? Have they come to terms with their failures?

The research showed that the elderly have lower expectations and so are less disappointed. But is this all? It reminds me a little of Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh who never expected anything good.

Is it that they have stopped seeking happiness in the material world, so they are able to find happiness in other ways?

Focus Affects Happiness

Of course, this piece of research presents a perfect example of what happens when you focus on the past or the future.

The famous quote “carpe diem” may have come from the Roman Horace, but many others, including Epicurus also had something to say about living in the moment. Epicurus advocated living in the present moment as it is the only time at which we have any control. He said that by focusing on the past and future we dis-empower ourselves, but when we focus on the present moment, we re-empower ourselves. This has become a very popular approach. It forms the basis of many Buddhist practices and many of the techniques of modern psychology are also based on this concept.

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.”     ~  Dalai Lama XIV  ~

Internal State Affects Happiness

It is widely accepted that happiness is not to be found in the trappings of the world but as the result of our internal state of mind and approach to life. Happiness lies within.  As Elizabeth Gilbert said in her book Eat, Pray, Love, “We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy’s fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure–your perfection–is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the busy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.”

Leave the busy commotion of the mind...and enter into the stillness of the heart
Leave the busy commotion of the mind…and enter into the stillness of the heart

Key to Happiness

However, there is no one thing in life that many agree can be said to be the key to happiness. It seems that many psychologists have given their advice as to what the answer is and there are any number of blogs with lists advising how to achieve a happy life.

Finding happiness seems to boil down to our need to make changes both to the way in which we assess the positive and negative about our life, as well as the attitude we adopt as the purpose of our life.

Greater Purpose

Psychologist Martin Seligman believes the key is to recognize our strengths and virtues and then to use them for a purpose greater than our own. This concept is one that is ascribed to widely.

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.” Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

The Other Centred Universe

Srikumar Rao, the author of Happiness at Work thinks our biggest obstacle is the belief that we are powerless and the victim of circumstance. He believes that we are the creators of own existence, and that control lies within the attitude with which we approach our work, and by association our life. As he says, “The knowledge we have that we are responsible for living the life we have is our most powerful tool”.

Rao advocates inhabiting the “other-centred universe”. This is a world where our focus lies on others. And is a wisdom that forms an important part of Eastern spirituality. If we are motivated by an attitude of focus that is outside ourselves, of looking for ways to achieve in our life that will be of benefit to others rather than focusing on satisfying our own wants and desires, then we will find happiness in our life.

“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” ~  Dalai Lama  ~

Happiness Through Health Crisis

For many people a disaster may seem a huge negative in their life but in hindsight, can in fact turn out to be a positive. When serious illness forces someone to stop and let go in order to undergo treatment and healing, they are offered an opportunity to turn their life in a different direction, one that can ultimately lead them to a happier life. Often this is a much simpler life.

Changes are made on many levels. Frequently the person finds they need to address their nutrition and they adopt a natural, wholefood diet, including the discovery of superfoods. The often seek out and adopt practices like meditation that allow them to sit in stillness. They recognize the generosity of others around them and begin to regularly express gratitude for those others as well as for the small, simple joys of everyday life.

Importantly, their approach to their life can undergo a radical change which leaves them focused on the world outside themselves. Leaves them asking what they can do to improve and benefit the world and the individuals around them. It leads to a generous approach to life.

Pursuit of Happiness

So, back to the things that reminded me this week about the purpose of life and the pursuit of happiness.

Firstly my free ‘Kindness Cards’ from the Wake-Up Project arrived in the mail. These are beautiful little cards to leave behind when you anonymously perform a random act of kindness. They tell the person that an act has been performed and invites them to repeat the game with someone else, to pay it forward.

Secondly, I entered a competition on Pinterest to create “My Happiness Board”. I am not sure if entering a competition to win a great prize constitutes the true pursuit of happiness, and it has created some stress for me, however, once the event is over, I will slowly build the board to hopefully inspire others.

Thirdly, I re-read a favourite book in which one oft-quoted line is “it is what it is”. Forget about putting a positive spin on life. Life is what it is. We have to make the best of what it is. It could be better, it could be worse. But it isn’t, it just is.

Happiness Depends on Ourselves

Look for your strengths, the things you may not even recognize, and use those strengths to address ways in which you can make the world a better place. Practice kindness, be generous with what you can offer. Accept what life gifts back to you. When you reach the age of sixty-nine you may very well realize that the lemons of your life were indeed gold.  As Aristotle reminds us “Happiness depends on ourselves”.

And lastly, take note of Gretchen Rubins’ advice and try to notice and give credit to others that are living a life focused on giving what they have to offer to others. 

“The belief that unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish is misguided. It’s more selfless to act happy. It takes energy, generosity, and discipline to be unfailingly lighthearted, yet everyone takes the happy person for granted. No one is careful of his feelings or tries to keep his spirits high. He seems self-sufficient; he becomes a cushion for others. And because happiness seems unforced, that person usually gets no credit.”

~ Gretchen Rubins ~

Acknowledge your strengths, the things you may not even recognize as they come so easily to you, and use those strengths to address ways in which you can make the world a better place.

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before following any of the treatment suggested on this site, particularly if you have an ongoing health issue. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2012. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content

Source articles

History of Happiness

http://www.smh.com.au/business/australia-the-worlds-happiest-nation-oecd-20130528-2n87z.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/people-happiest-20s-60s-article-1.1407789

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/09/the-happiness-project-book/

Ancestral Wisdom, Conscious Mindset & Stress, Metaphysics & Intuition

Pause, Before Life Passes You By

Leave a comment

It seems people constantly speak of how fast the world is today, of how hurried they feel. We talk constantly about how fast the year is flying by in our fast-paced world and many people feel overwhelmed by the demands of life in 2013. We all know that we should be taking time out to relax, to re-group, to re-new. But there is simply no time!

Life races on.

Suddenly it is mid-year, the end of the year, ten years later, and that’s when we really feel confused about where all that time went.

In times past there was far more awareness about marking the important times in our lives. Families and communities lived a slower, more measured life and were able to recognise and acknowledge the passing of time more easily. They would gather for birthdays, religious celebrations, housewarmings, engagements and marriages. In many indigenous societies they would also mark the passing of the seasons and the lunar calendar.

But today many of these occasions for celebration have disappeared, while other celebrations are done in such a way that may not hold the same meaning or have a significant effect on the person.

We have all stopped pausing to take stock of our life.

Time to Assess Our Life

Making the effort to stop and mark points in our life forces us to take the time to look at where we have been and how far we have come since the last time we examined our life.

When my clients feel despondent about their health, I often read back their history notes taken months or years earlier, during their consultation. This allows them the opportunity to actually recall how bad their health was in the past and compare it to how much better they are now. Frequently as they improved, they stopped remembering how bad they had felt or how incapacitated they were when they first came to see me. When I remind them, they are able to then appreciate their vast improvement and to go on with a renewed positive outlook. Taking the time to review their life experience provides them with life marking points for later.

However, I don’t see this as simply a time issue. All too many of us are our own harshest critics. We set standards and expectations for ourselves at impossible levels and we fail to recognise our achievements, let alone acknowledge them.

When we pause and assess where we are in life, what we now do differently, what we’ve learnt, how we view the world around us or engage with the people we encounter differently, we create a marker that we can use to compare and notice changes within ourselves. It allows us to realise that although we feel we are racing through our life in fact we are also changing and growing. When we take this pause it affords us a chance to recognise ourselves as the wonderful person we are and perhaps to judge our faults less harshly.

Marking Our Milestones

We have just celebrated a 21st birthday in our family and I insisted we hold a celebration for close friends and family. My son was very reluctant and in fact resistant. But partway through the night he told me how glad he was that I had forced him have the event.

Through the week since the celebration I have watched with joy as his reflections have allowed a wonderful self-appreciation to blossom, and he is bubbling with plans for the next few months. I am sure that without marking this significant occasion he would have drifted on through the year, and perhaps his life, without this exuberance about himself and the possibilities that life offers him.

Our lives now run 24/7. Everything seems to be available at all hours of the day or night. Stores no longer close up on the weekend; movies run non-stop and we can find what we want at any hour, day or night. The world is on permanent ‘GO’. Nobody seems to make the space to ask, ‘Where have I come from, and where might I go from here’.

Tapestry of Our Life

The lyrics of the opening verse of ‘Tapestry’ by Carole King have always resonated with me, and whenever I hear them, I cannot help but pause and reflect on my own life tapestry.

My life has been a tapestry
Of rich and royal hue;
An everlasting vision
Of the ever-changing view;
A wond’rous woven magic
In bits of blue and gold;
A tapestry to feel and see;
Impossible to hold.

~ Carole King

Consciously Weave Your Personal Life Tapestry

Instead of racing on with your life, never noticing or appreciating the intricate and beautiful pattern of the life tapestry you are weaving, take some time out for reflection.

Try to make a regular time each week to ‘take stock’ of what you have done, what you achieved, what you learnt, how you could change things. Perhaps even start a journal in which to record your thoughts. Then do the same monthly, then every year on your birthday.

Mark your life path. Find something you love to do, maybe a meal with friends, a facial or massage, walk a labyrinth, see a show, take a balloon flight, whatever you love to mark the important occasions in your life. This is an acknowledgement of your worth and of the contribution that you are making to those around you and the earth as a whole.

Take some time out to reflect on the rich and royal tapestry of your life.

Do you already have a practice that helps you to reflect and take stock? Leave a comment below and tell me what you do, or what you plan to do, to make ‘acknowledgement’ space in your life.

Hawaiian Tapestry by Jay Wilson Take some time out to reflect on the rich and royal tapestry of your life Photo credit: Daniel Ramirez
Photo credit: Daniel Ramirez

 

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Conscious Mindset & Stress, Meditation & Mindfulness, Metaphysics & Intuition, Self Care & Sleep

Get Down To Earth By Grounding Yourself

1 Comment

This year I decided to ditch my footwear inside the house, ever since learning more about Barefoot Earthing or Grounding. This is a radical new health practice that is quickly gaining momentum as word about its benefits spreads. Its impact can be quite far-reaching and yet it is incredibly simple to do, costs nothing, is always available and feels great.

Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you take off your shoes to walk barefoot? Well it seems there is a scientific explanation, and research into the practice of Grounding has found that it can significantly improve all sorts of health problems. It can help your energy levels, reduce stress, improve your sleep, decrease muscular inflammation and stiffness as well as other chronic pain, reduce anxiety, improve circulation, prevent free-radical damage and associated premature ageing and even heal injuries faster. It brings you back into a state of equilibrium where your body is best able to heal itself. Those who use the practice on a regular basis report great results. I am certainly finding I have less aches and pains whenever I walk round without shoes than when I leave them on.

It all has to do with electrical fields.

These days we live completely immersed in electro-magnetic waves (EMFs) from a huge number of everyday items including mobile phones, computers, wireless technology, many electrical appliances, and even compact fluorescent lights. The air in our houses, our workplaces, our schools and in some outdoor places is full of electro-pollution, harmful positive ions produced by this multitude of electrical contraptions that surround us.

These positive ions contribute to ill health.

Electrical Stress

Electrical stress is now recognized as a significant contributor to many health problems and in fact a new chronic illness. The term ‘Diabetes Type 3’, has been coined to describe illness believed to be caused by electropollution. 

Surrounding yourself with sources of negative ions helps rebalance this disharmony, as does being in places where negative ions are in abundance such as waterfalls or the ocean.

The surface of the earth is electrically conductive and has a permanent supply of free electrons sitting just above the surface. The charge on the earth surface is negative and anything that is close to the surface will also carry that charge.

Your body also has an electrical field, sometimes referred to as the biofield or the aura. When your bare feet are in contact with the earth negative electrons can easily pass into you.

Grounding allows an electron exchange between you and the earth. This helps to prevent a build-up of harmful electrons in your body as well as promoting a discharge of the positive ions from your body into the earth. Simultaneously you receive a flood of free electrons from the earth.

When the ions within your body and within the Earth are different an ion exchange occurs. This neutralizes free radicals in your body which cause inflammation and are responsible for many health problems. The flood of electrons immediately ‘re-balances’ you, which is why you feel so good when you walk outside barefoot.

In case you got lost in that explanation, simply, standing on the earth rebalances the electromagnetic field of your body, helping to strengthen your immune system, and boosting both your health and your wellbeing.

For most of our existence humans have gone barefoot and often slept directly on the ground. Things now are very different. As well as being surrounded by electromagnetic pollution we are cut off from receiving the rebalancing benefits from the earth because the shoes that we now wear have rubber and synthetic soles that insulate and block transmission of the natural beneficial energy of the earth. It’s just like how rubber gloves can provide protection from electrical shock. Your shoes act in much the same way.

How to Ground Yourself

Take your shoes off and stand or walk barefoot on grass, beach, bare earth, even concrete when it is laid directly on the earth, although not if it’s painted or sealed, whenever you can.

To gain the full health benefit you need to walk around on the earth for about thirty minutes.

Other ways to ground yourself and reap the benefits are to swim in lakes, rivers, or the sea; wear shoes with leather soles; purchase and use an indoor grounding mat or an earthing bed sheet.

The reason I am able to benefit from earthing when walking barefoot indoors is because my floor is made of unglazed slate sitting on a concrete slab which is set directly onto a rock shelf on the side of a hill. There are no substances between my feet and the Earth that block the passage of negative ions. You would not get earthing benefit in a home raised above the ground, or with glazed tiles covering the floor, or a layer between the concrete and tile, or with other floor coverings.

If you would like to read up on Earthing get a copy of the book EARTHING – The Most Important Health Discovery Ever?  by Clint Ober, Dr Stephen T Sinatra and Martin Zucker.

Remember though, Grounding is not a substitute for medical treatment and if you have a medical condition you need to consult your healthcare provider.

Taking your shoes off and walking barefoot in the sea helps to rebalance your energetic field.

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

© Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health, 2024. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Catherine Bullard and Happy Holistic Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Source articles:

http://www.barefoothealing.com.au/

https://www.naturalnews.com/028967_electropollution_diabetes.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/11/04/why-does-walking-barefoot-on-the-earth-make-you-feel-better.aspx

Conscious Mindset & Stress, Meditation & Mindfulness, Metaphysics & Intuition, Uncategorized

Combat Stress In Your Life With Meditation

5 Comments
The pace of life has increased exponentially over the last few years and we are all living with increasingly rising stress levels
The pace of life has increased exponentially over the last few years and we are all living with increasingly rising stress levels

“We are fragmented into so many different aspects. We don´t know who we really are, or what aspects of ourselves we should identify with or believe in. So many contradictory voices, dictates, and feelings fight for control over our inner lives that we find ourselves scattered everywhere, in all directions, leaving nobody at home.
Meditation, then, is bringing the mind home.”
― Sogyal Rinpoche

Stress plays a major part in the development of many illnesses. It is known to affect many body functions including the reproductive system, cause eczema and psoriasis, cause dry mouth or ulcers and musculoskeletal pain as well as affecting the immune system as a whole.

The pace of life has increased exponentially over the last few years. As we take on more and more in our lives and the influx of information bombards us faster and faster, we live with increasingly rising stress levels. The cause or focus can be our work, family, finances, aging parents, the planet, our own health or any of the myriad of commitments we all have in our life. Some may even stress about whether they’re allowing enough download time to counter the stress they have. Almost all of us, including children, are affected to some degree.

DE- STRESS

I often suggest to clients to offload the effects of this stress in their life by adopting the practice of meditation. Some say they have tried it but just can’t maintain focus. But for others the idea is somewhat daunting and many dismiss the idea out-of-hand. Introducing something new requires planning, and for someone already stressed allocating scarce time seems to only escalate their problem. Some even find the whole prospect a bit ‘woo-woo’ and uncomfortable.

But the fact remains that meditation is a wonderful way to de-stress, and it does not have to be difficult, or to require big chunks of your time. It doesn’t even need to actively involve ‘chakras’. You don’t need to join a class either as it is entirely portable. And it does not have to include burning incense, crystals, difficult yoga poses or the need to ‘get it right’.

Finding the right meditation for you

There are many different ways that the benefits of meditation can be obtained and it’s simply a matter of finding the one that fits you and your life, and then making that a regular part of your day.

There is a misconception that in order to meditate you need to completely shut down your mind. For most people the mind chatter just keeps on intruding, constantly pulling them out of that calm, quiet, thought-free place we all seek.

The truth is that in order to be able to meditate in that way takes many, many years of practice. For the majority thoughts wander in and out, and it’s ok. The key is to accept that your thoughts will wander, and to simply consciously pull them back again whenever they do, by focusing once more on the meditative technique that you are using.

The thing is, meditation does not have to be a big major undertaking. Sure there are yogis who can sit and meditate all day. But there are also others who do it throughout their day in bursts of a few minutes. And many more who allocate a set amount of ‘me-time’ when they are able to do their practice, and re-group.

MINDFULNESS

Walking Meditation

The enlightened Buddist monk Thich Nhat Hanh advocates doing walking meditations. These offer you the opportunity to transform an everyday practice into a healing and nourishing way to develop mindfulness, awaken your consciousness and to bring some peace into a life over-run with stress.

Basically, they are meditation in action. You become mindful of the action of walking and try to keep your mind focused on the experience of walking and breathing. This makes it a lot easier for ‘monkey minds’ to deal with as it gives the flighty mind something on which to concentrate. You can hear him explain it here and watch him demonstrate this form of meditation to a group of followers.

Walking Meditation is a good form of meditation for women, who often benefit from active meditation as it is more yang, or masculine. I learnt the practice of this powerful technique from this wonderful Walking Meditation Kit – comprising book, DVD and CD. Meditation Oasis has clear detailed instructions for doing a walking meditation to get you started right here.

If you find you prefer active meditation Osho offers a number of  dynamic meditations you may like to try.

Guided Meditation

Many people prefer a guided meditation as they find having a voice directing the practice helps them to maintain their focus. Here is a simple ten-minute relaxation meditation that I came across recently. I like it for its simplicity, her gentle, soothing voice and because it incorporates conscious muscle relaxation – perfect for releasing stress. I believe this is one you could even do at your desk if things start to get on top of you at work.

If you are having difficulty actually relaxing any muscles in these meditations one tip is to tighten each muscle momentarily. This allows you to relax the muscle on release. Use this technique until you are able to relax the muscles at will.

BREATHE

Deep Breathing Mindfulness

One of the simplest ways to start meditating is to practice consciously watching your breath, often called mindfulness . It comes out of Buddhist tradition but is not ‘religious’ in itself. It is all about ‘being present’ and allows for your mind to do its own thing while you develop, over time, the ability to detach from the thought. That sounds complicated, but in fact it is very simple.

Here are two variations of a calming and simple meditation that focuses on the breath, again from Meditation Oasis. Breathing Meditation is one of the simplest forms of meditation and yet is also one of the most powerful. You may discover you never need to look any further!

Other Forms of Meditation

Of course, there are many different types of meditation that can be used to fulfill all sorts of purposes. Many have heard of Transcendental Meditation which derives from Hinduism. Zazen meditation involves just sitting for long periods. Kundalini is gaining in popularity and focuses on the rising stream of energy that exists in humans.

Guided visualisations can be a very powerful way to opening your awareness. I use these in my Women’s Circles often with wonderful results. They involve concentration on an image or imagined environment or experience.

Another form of meditation that I have found particularly powerful is the practice of Qi Gong, a Taoist meditation technique. Qi gong is related to tai chi but not the same.

There are others as well and you may like to investigate some once you have established a regular meditation practice in your life.

I am a big fan of not taking on big loads; maybe I have an inner sloth, who knows. But if there is an easier pathway then I am always willing to give that option a go first. One way that always makes things a little easier to achieve is to break tasks down into their smallest bites and to then tackle those one at a time.

If the prospect of meditation seems a bit daunting to you then start small. Start out by adopting a five minute breathing meditation, or if that is too much make it three minutes. Or start by doing a quick body relaxation every day at your desk or before the kids come home from school, or before going to bed at night. Or maybe even do it for a few minutes a few times through the day. Sometimes I picture myself meditating like a Zen monk. But it is far more likely I will be sitting in my car catching a few brief moments to centre my breathing before plunging back into the chaos of life.

Soon you will find that it is easy to meditate.

“Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity.”
― Voltaire

This is how I picture myself meditating...but it is far more likely I will be sitting in my car catching a few brief moments to centre my breathing before plunging back into the chaos of life

Disclaimer.

All information and opinions presented here are for information only and are not intended as a substitute for professional advice offered during a consultation. Please consult with your health care provider before trying any of the treatment suggested on this site. 

Source articles:

A Step-by-Step Guide to Walking Meditation – Wildmind