Happy Halloween

Well we forgot to buy pumpkins until the last minute, and guess what? They'd sold out, everywhere, apart from a couple of pidgey ones in the supermarket which had already started to go mouldy. I wasn't so desperate, so we came home empty handed. 

However we did hit on the idea of carving a couple of melons, which had surprisingly good effects. We stocked up on a tin of sweets, the ones in the big red tub. Not mentioning particular brands, of course. Last year we were positively inundated by people coming in droves, at one point I suspected that they'd been dropped off by double decker bus there were so many of them. 

This year so far however there haven't been as many which might leave us with the unfortunate situation where there are sweets left over, what to do, what to do? We were lucky this year that we found lots of reduced price items in the supermarket, meaning we could get far more for our money. I felt happy because I could agree to more things, after all it is only for one day only, it seems silly spending a huge amount on costumes etc. Especially as we don't have too many more years of trick or treating left before the teenage off-spring get tired of the whole thing. 

I guess I am in two minds about halloween. I like the dressing up bit, (though some would argue that I don't need to, cheeky!) I quite enjoy going trick or treating, although I totally appreciate that it can be quite intimidating having people banging on the door in the dark. Especially if the first bunch of people that turn up come on a double decker bus like a plague of locusts and completely wipe out your supply of goodies in super fast time. 

The funniest thing was the time we were out trick or treating one year and a lady opened the door, we asked trick or treat and she replied 'I'll have a treat please!' nice one lady. We laughed and even now we tend to do the same, usually we get puzzled looks from the poor kids at the door who haven't a clue what we mean!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Releasing your fears to the angels

What are you worrying about? Whatever it is,  release it to the angels, they will help guide you towards a desired outcome. It may be that you won't be given exactly what you want, but eventually it will make perfect sense. The angels can only help you if you ask for help, they cannot interfere with a human's free will. Always remember to give thanks for your angels help.

If you find it hard to ask for your angels help directly you could try writing down your worry on a piece of paper, and either burning it to release the worry, or if you prefer you can keep it in a special box with a lid on. Once it goes in the box try not to think about it anymore. Truly release it and let the angels take care of it for you. Always take some steps in the direction you wish to head, in addition to asking the angels to help. If you are worried about getting a perfect job ask the angels to help you find a suitable position, and then fill in your CV, do some applications, keep your ears and eyes peeled for job opportunities. Watch out and listen out for people talking about jobs that are on offer, you might find the angels send you a sign letting you know that they have received your message. You may feel drawn to visit a place only to find once you get there that there is the ideal job noted in a shop window, or you might over hear a conversation where someone is actively seeking a person to fill a position just like you want to do, for a great salary package. If you're looking for a partner, and you ask your angels for help with finding one, again listen out for invitations to groups, meetings, events, parties etc. You may feel drawn to go somewhere and end up meeting your ideal partner. Also accept invitations from a range of people, you don't know who might introduce you to someone who is your ideal partner. Don't have too many set ideas about what you're looking for, the tall dark handsome adonis may not be as great a match as the short blonde chap in the corner, so don't rule anything or one out!

Believe that what you wish for (if it suits your higher purpose) is out there. It may be that its not in your best interests, so it might not happen, but even so something great will be there for you in its place.

Trust in your angels, they never leave your side, even if you can't feel them or see them they're always there, waiting for you to ask them for help.

Time to change the world..

Isn't it ridiculous how it's always the sweet, cakey, fatty, salty, sugary stuff you see on offer at the supermarket. You don't get such great deals on the fruit and vegetables. People over eat on the cheap stuff, causing them to get over weight, which in turn puts pressure on the health service, which has to be paid for generally in taxes. If you simply made public transport more efficient, subsidized any healthy activity, made fruit and vegetables cheaper, they wouldn't need to spend so much on health care, thus we wouldn't need to make so much on tax. If you made food and other utilities more affordable, people wouldn't have to work such long hours making the money to spend on things related to work, or things to save time because they work every hour that god sends. Stress would be reduced, people would be able to gain extra qualifications, pursue hobbies, and take time to spend with family and relax a while, thus further reducing the strain on the health service.

My Perfect Day

What do you do when no one's looking? If you had a whole free day to yourself, what would you do?  If just for one day you had no responsibilities, no timetable. It was just a totally free day.

I would start off with breakfasting on scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, on a couple of slices of hot freshly buttered toast, washed down with a glass of fresh orange juice. I would read for a while, just until I had fully woken up. A luxuriously long shower would be next, followed by slipping into some comfortable clothes, perhaps leggings with a smart but comfortable jumper. I would go downstairs and spend a little time writing, writing has to be my first love. There is nothing I like more than tapping away at my keyboard, perhaps with a candle lit on the desk next to me. I love having some music on in the background, it might be Rock Music or Classical, depending on my mood. After a large mug of fresh coffee I would go for a brisk walk down to the sea, breathe in some fresh air. Once I got back, I would warm up some homemade soup, and read a little bit more whilst I was drinking it. In the afternoon I would meet a good friend for a little shopping, maybe go to a mall, so it doesn't matter what the weather is doing. I hate getting wet.  After a delicious dinner, probably Italian, in a little Trattoria somewhere complete with candlewax dripping down the wine bottle candle holders and a good Red vino, we would head to the cinema to catch the latest chick flick. On the way home we'd  stop off for a couple of cocktails. Once back home we'd chat till the sun comes up. Eventually slipping between crisp, clean sheets and falling into a deep restful slumber... Perfect!

Could it be your EMOTIONAL environment that's causing illness?

Could environmental factors affect health? Not simply the physical factors like living in a damp environment, or where there is little or no sanitation, where it's dirty or cluttered or where you're cold etc but more of an emotional environment.  A place where there isn't enough support and emotional nourishment? Where needs of only some of the people are met, but not everyone in the household gets their needs met. Where people are criticized for each little misdemeanor, where its not safe to explore other options than the one prescribed by the other members of the household. Where there is so much shouting, that smaller voices can't be heard. When its not possible to say the things you truly think, or behave authentically for fear of ridicule or belittlement or shame. All of these things diminish the self, making it turn inward. An emotionally nourished body is free to grow unhindered.

Think about the times when you've been ill, maybe just before the time that you became ill. What was going on in your life at that point?  Did someone do or say something that quite literally 'turned your stomach'? Were you 'holding something back' (constipation)

 Did you have a recurring illness that simply went away when the emotional stimuli went away too?  Did you get a cough, and then when you managed to 'get off your chest' what you needed to say, the cough went away? Did you get a sore throat at a time when you couldn't say what you wanted to say? Did you get angry or frustrated and end up with some kind of inflammatory condition, be it an ulcer or a skin rash or any illness ending in 'itis' (meaning inflammation) If you took away the source of the emotional discomfort, chances are the 'dis-ease' would also vanish.

When you've been brought up with constant criticism, its possible to continue to criticize yourself long after the original person has left your life, died or moved away. It's like their echo continues long into the night. This I strongly suspect can lead to illness, to great lumps of negative energy building up, ulcers breaking out.

If your emotional environment isn't very healthy  (and not everyone does live in an emotionally healthy environment, some people don't realise that it isn't very healthy, they're so used to playing out roles that were set so many years ago, that they can't see that actually they're not being supported or that they are pushing their own needs to one side in order to meet the needs of other people) you might find that you have illnesses that simply won't go away.

How do you overcome this? Either you have to retrain the people in your life to be more supportive and meet your needs or leave them entirely to create for yourself an emotionally kind environment. It may be that before you try to retrain those around you, you have to adjust your own thinking a little, to reflect the fact that you too have needs that need to be met. It might mean that you have to decide what really matters to you, and to begin to prioritize these needs.

 It might mean adjusting the way you allow people to speak to you or treat you, so that they understand that you are important too. If you're used to not having your needs met, this can be a challenge at first. It can be a revelation. It might mean making new boundaries, and if necessary writing them down so you can refer back to them, It could be something as simple as not letting people get away with cancelling an arrangement at last minute - as your time is important too. It could be asking them to ring ahead if they know they're going to be late to meet you. It could be acknowledging that you're happy for them to have some 'me' time but actually you too need a bit of time off away from the kids, the pets, the household responsibility etc. Eventually you will find that your needs are being met, because you've been brave enough to isolate that you too have needs (and lets face it we all have needs, its healthy and its human to do this) you might find that the other people around you view you with a healthier sense of respect because of this. Who knows where this might lead?

Perfectly Imperfect Christmas. HO HO HO

Christmas time makes me laugh. A shallow, false laugh that doesn't quite reach my eyes I might add. The time when you should have perfect homemade Christmas puddings, hand crafted gifts where you even make your own wrapping paper. Slaving over a hot stove for hours to achieve honeyed carrot perfection, a glossy gleaming picture perfect Turkey, which isn't still bleeding in the middle, sprouts that have a little crunch, but not teeth-breakingly so, nor soggy. FOR GOODNESS SAKE!! STOP!!! THINK!!! Next time you read an article about 'having a perfect Christmas'  RUN! put it down and. don't give it the time of day to even read it. It will fry your mind. 

Settle instead for a perfectly imperfect Christmas, where you have as much fun as possible, and do as little as possible in the kitchen. Roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings are both now of a suitable standard that with a little roughing up would pass for homemade. Same goes for gravy, carrots and other veg can be bought in pre-prepared, but avoid frozen sprouts, they tend to be flavourless and soggy, not matter what you do to them. So that leaves the turkey. Again shortcuts can be made, you don't have to buy a whole turkey, a turkey crown will do for most medium sized families. A turkey roast joint would be enough if there's just the two of you. Or if you really want the maximum time -saving - try a turkey dinner, if you eat it out of the tray there won't even be any washing up. 

Merry Christmas everyone

Perfectly Imperfect

Do you feel under constant pressure to be perfect? To be the perfect parent, the perfect child, the perfect partner, the perfect boss or employee? You're not alone. There is a lot of pressure, particularly from the media, for us to be always doing everything better, faster, earlier. To have more material things, a bigger house, a better car, foreign holidays at least twice a year. For our children to get straight A's (even better A star's) for them to pass their driving tests first time. TOO MUCH PRESSURE! Whatever happened to being the best you can be, trying your hardest and patting yourself on the back for doing a good job to the best of your ability. To be proud of what you had and what you'd achieved? What happened to loving yourself despite all your humanity. Despite the fact that you're tired with trying to be all things for all people, chasing your tail just to make ends meet. Love yourself anyway, you're perfect just the way you are 

Look inside

We sometimes think we need someone else to make us whole or complete, that we have to have outside help for problems and that we need rescuing from our own lives. What we often forget is that everything that we need, all the answers are already inside us, buried deep within. We just have to create a quiet space in order to access them. Sometimes meditation can help, but often messages from our heart can come through if we're busy doing something else entirely, be it baking a cake, taking a walk, cycling, swimming, or simply doing the housework. Even cleaning out a cupboard or doing the ironing can occupy the busy part of our mind long enough to have access to whats' stored deep within us.  

Some people offer prayers when they need a helping hand, which is fine. Prayers are simply clear intentions, often when we've worked out what we need an answer to, we can then simply listen out for the answer which is stored deep within us. 

Often we know what's right by listening to our bodies, our 'gut'  instinct is usually very accurate. Also you can tell when you're not on the right track by the other signals your body gives to you, in the form of aches and pain (or other dis-ease). When something isn't functioning properly your body will let you know. Sometimes you need to think back to what was happening in your life just before you became ill, to find out what the source of the problem is. Often if you clear that, the dis-ease also disappears.

Think BIG

The thing about the Universe is it knows no limits. Humans are experts on limited thinking. If there was a degree programme available in thinking small and talking ourselves out of things, we'd all get first class honours. Sometimes the reason we don't get what we want is because we simply don't think big enough. Imagine I gave you an unlimited budget and told you to go buy yourself a treat. There is no limits to the size of the treat, or the cost of the treat, but still you come back with a relatively small treat, you go for the sensible option. You don't feel satisfied because its not really what you wanted, its just what you felt you should get. The universe scratches its head for a while, wondering why on earth you've gone and bought something so small when you could have had literally anything. 

People go for jobs with limited salaries, thinking that's all they can get, but the universe is unlimited, it knows no limits so why limit yourself in this way? We're brought up not to be silly, to choose hard work over easy living, that hardship is what matters. Why do we do this? Why do we think that there are limits on us and what we can achieve, sometimes even on what we are worth? That we have to be perfect in order to be lovable. Why is this? Who told us this has to be like this? Probably well meaning if somewhat misguided parents. They were brought up to believe similar things themselves, and have watched the ways others have worked. They have lost the ability to daydream, to think big, to plot and plan and see what is possible. So start today and live the dream, stop listening to those who tell you its not possible. Show them that they are wrong, that things are possible, that you really can live the dream