Tags

  • Published on

    Be aware of your state of mind

    blog
    Self doubt has a sneaky way of stealing your dreams

    So why do I feel anxious?…
    Anxiety is an emotion that lets you know things are changing or not quite right, for you . If you are not sure why you are anxious, I can assure you it is not helpful to chase it down. Everybody is different, and looking for “why” distracts from the “how” which in turn keeps you in fear based thinking. Anxiety is skipping a few steps in your thought processes and landing in the place where you have no personal power before you realise you have no personal power. In other words, you are sitting in thought number 5 when you haven’t dealt with thought number 1. 

    What to look out for…

    Be aware of and name your feelings…
    Your ability to know what you are feeling at any time will help you manage any runaway thoughts and misdirection. It is very easy to be afraid of feelings, they are uncomfortable or can feel like you will lose control. Naming the feeling gives you distance. Once you take a step back from yourself you can look objectively at the emotion. It is in this moment you can catch your breath and realise there is no immediate danger. 

    Don’t give your emotions a story…
    Once you can identify the feeling, you are still feeling it. The discomfort does not dissipate immediately. In order to self soothe there is a desire to assign a story to that feeling, invoke a memory about the last time you felt like this. You think that if you solve the past memory the feeling will disappear. This will not happen, in fact it can severely slow the healing process. If you can, catch yourself before you dive in too far. This emotion is not this particular story, or any past story. It is just an emotion. 

    The past is the past…
    The past may be remembered but it is over. The unique set of circumstances around your story no longer exist. Acknowledge the current emotion, let it sit with you without context and I guarantee it will pass with no residual feelings. You can even dredge up that old story and it will no longer pull you back in. It is not easy, it takes practice and it is worth every effort you are prepared to give it. Once you peel back the redundant emotional layers you have plastered over your stories you will uncover the masterpiece that is the true you. Your true self. That is an amazing discovery. You might even begin to like yourself.

    What is spirituality?…
    Spirituality is different for everybody. My belief is that when I am living my personal truth, being honest with myself and my intentions, adjusting where necessary to align with my Soul Purpose then I am being spiritual. Who I am as a person is defined by my reactions to my everyday life. I use my experiences to understand myself better. I objectively look at my responses and check in to see if they still align with my current beliefs and values. It’s very nuanced and the best way I know to get to know the real me. What does spirituality mean to you? 

    One other very important thing… no judging myself at all, ever!
    ​
    Just one more thing…bloody empathy…
    Check in with your feelings. Is this really about you? Are you being affected by someone else’s emotional state? You can not really take on someones else’s stuff however you can be emotionally triggered by their reactions. Use these methods to help you distance yourself from other people and their drama. Again, this takes a lot of practice but worth the effort. 

    My final word on anxiety…
    In the time that I have worked with people I have been made aware of how their energy reaches out to the physical world and latches onto anything that gives them some meaning. I see the energy like cords or stretchy things that extend from the aura. Sometimes there are only a few, mostly there are too many to count (I wish I could draw what I see). I have always been shown by my guides that this is what exacerbates anxiety. The individual reaches for meaning in the physical world and gets tangled up in every body else’s business, thinking that this is their business. If you are feeling something and there is no immediate resolution or reason for your emotion then you would begin pulling in energy from everywhere around you, almost like a panic, to make sense of things. This distorts your own emotions and before you know it you are down the rabbit hole, sometimes taking years to recover. I like to remind my clients that we are energy, that we receive our wisdom from a higher source of power…The Universe/Spirit/God/Goddess… This power is not outside of us, it is within us and we are a manifestation of that power. If you want peace, go to the source. Learn to commune with the Spirit world/the universe/nature. 


    Here are some tips:
    Meditate - I can’t stress this enough. Meditation helps you find yourself. Helps you find that centre of calm so that you can hear your Soul talking to you. If you think you can’t meditate, then it’s time to redefine what you think meditation is. Give me a call or message me and we can talk about it. 
    Be kind to yourself. Compassion is a state of being, not a state of doing. Start by being compassionate with yourself. When you are feeling your feelings, look at them with wonder and see how you actually cope with your circumstances. I bet you do not give yourself enough credit for the amazing way you live your life.
    Spirituality = Self Awareness. Learn about yourself. Be honest with what you find out. If your beliefs need to change, change them. Change your mind if you need to. Forgive yourself if you find you have been reacting in an inappropriate manner, give thanks you are able to adjust said behaviour. 

    A Mindfulness exercise:
    Take 5 deep breaths, to the navel, slowing the breathing down and focusing your mind on the breath going in and out. 
    Take note of something you can hear. It could be a car on the road or a bird outside, even roadworks. Name it and acknowledge it. Next take note of what you can see in your immediate environment. What catches your eye straight away? Name it and acknowledge it. Next, touch something, feel the texture. Name it and acknowledge it. Next, smell something. Identify it and acknowledge it. You don’t need to taste anything but you can include this too. You might taste the air or some food you happen to be eating. Again, name and acknowledge it. This exercise brings you back to your inner self. Once you are there, check in and acknowledge the anxiety. Has it calmed? If not, do you have an immediate cause eg. Walking across the road, being careful of traffic. If not, acknowledge the anxiety as something “other” and go about your daily tasks. The feelings will eventually make sense, resolve on their own or just disappear.

    With Love

    ​Vicki xx


  • Published on

    Intuition vs Instinct

    blog
    Have you ever had anxiety and wonder how you will get through the day?… 

    When anxiety becomes very intense for periods of time and then it wanes, you wonder how can that be? What causes it to be intense sometimes and disappear others times. I believe some forms of anxiety are because we are incredibly psychic/empathic and we have lost the ability to function effectively in a world that is overloaded with stimuli. There are many different therapies out there for managing your anxiety, especially when it interrupts your life to the detriment of your physical health. I have accessed those mainstream and alternate therapies since my 20’s, with much success. Neither is better than the other and I think they perfectly  compliment each other. This is my story about anxiety and how I have managed it over the years.

    My first life - the 80’s…

    During my early to mid twenties I experienced some of the worse anxiety I have ever known. It was the 80’s and nobody talked much about mental health back then. It affected my whole life and left me physically crippled with fear for about 2 years. 

    I had something special deep in my Soul…

    I wanted to fight for myself! And a deep sense of “this is not what my life is meant to be!”. In those days my psychic abilities were at their most basic level, that is instinct. So I fought, and I had a win, of sorts. I did operate on a reactionary level without reflecting on what this action, or the next, would bring to me. This is how instinct is used. You react. Mostly it works, but ilife feels like a pinball game and you are being bounced from one drama to the next, sometimes without a breath! For so many years we live like this. Having said that, my instincts directed me to the perfect counsellor, and with that I began the healing process. I began the lessons of Self Awareness and learning to hone my intuition. Although, I had no idea this was happening at the time.

    So how come I can’t get my messages?….

    Well, it all relates to how you listen for those messages. In those early days, in order to stop the crippling panic attacks, I had to listen/feel the subtle physical changes that meant another attack was coming. Once I was able to do this I developed tools to cut them off at the pass. Something I hadn’t considered until I reflected on it was that my body is the messenger here. When it comes to intuition, it’s not the loud, confusing voices in my head, it is the subtle language of the body.

    You can replace your instinctive reactions with meaningful intuitive choices, really!…

    By tuning in to your body’s subtle shifts and changes you too can begin to use your intuition and find decision making meaningful. Intuition is honing the brow chakra, or third eye. This is where we decide if our ideas, dreams, decisions and thoughts are fantasy or grounded. I am going to state this again - your thoughts are not your intuition. Your thoughts can come from a place of fear as well as wisdom so to rely on them solely tends to cloud the issue.
    ​
    Over the years I found these activities to be quite useful.

    • Meditate - a particular type of “connect with your body” meditation will help. Here is one I have made to get you started - CLICK HERE
    • Make time to daydream - I’m not talking about hours here, just a few minutes a day. Let your mind wander where it will, don’t question the content, just let the feeling your body gives you whether there is merit or not - even if it is really far fetched. Your Soul is filtering things, like sleep dreaming. What will happen, when you let yourself daydream? Your true course of action will begin to reveal itself and you will trust the yourself and the actions you take.
    • Intuitive messages require a level of trust between your mind and body, neither must be the boss. When they work in balance, life is a wonderful thing. The mind will try to dominate as it is the early warning system for danger. Since we are not usually in any physical danger these signals can become a little warped. Journalling helps clear the mind. Try writing every morning, even if you can give yourself 5 minutes. You are emptying the rubbish, much like we do on our computers. Here is a link to an exercise for journalling.
    • If you’re not sure about a decision, take a breath. No-one is asking you to rush. If you don’t feel ok about something, give yourself a time out. If someone is asking you to make a big decision and rushing you then that is not your problem, it is theirs. Chances are they are stressing out and looking for you to make something right for them. That is not your responsibility. 
    Self Awareness is personal power and the power of Spirit in action!!

  • Published on

    Whenever you are in this moment may not be part of your plan but it is part of your journey

    blog
    Is there a bigger picture here?…..
    How can you reconcile the position you are in at the moment if nothing feels right and no matter what you perceive to be the issue you are still moving slowly, backwards or not at all? If you’re
    in this position right now, let me reassure is not always a bad thing. I know it feels frustrating but the devil is in the detail here.
    When I say detail…
    All the moments in your life, the signposts along the way, have a deeper meaning. Our first instinct is to search for that deeper meaning. You’re going to get stuck and feel frustrated if you go looking. Let me let you in on a secret, if you can’t find the meaning immediately then it’s not time to know. Your insights will only emerge once the self work is done. So chasing the “reason” is not going to make one bit of difference and creates suffering where there is no need. 

    So what difference would it make if I did know the reason now?…
    Change takes energy, motivation and courage. We need to be able to trust ourselves and working through a life puzzle provides you with life skills and resilience to build that trust. KNOWING the reason can make you lazy because it’s easier to shelve “I’ll get back to that later”. UNDERSTANDING the meaning goes deeper into the Soul and gives you personal power. And who doesn’t want to unlock that power.

    We all want life to be easier, don’t we?…..
    How you embrace change is a personal choice. Being in that moment, then the next moment, that is where true power lies. In these moments you can tune into your SELF, you can actually feel the calm. You can take that calm and make it your reality. Our version reality is what we perceive of our material world and the creation of that reality is how we rationalise that information, the assumptions we make. If your past conditioning is talking to you and making you feel uncomfortable then your reality is ready for a change. 

    I feel out of place, like I don’t belong here….
    Want life to be better? Your past is probably pulling you backwards. It’s time to take a look at your beliefs. Have you outgrown them? Becoming self aware means you no longer act on instinct, you act on intuition. That is true personal power. It’s called choice. 

    Some things to ponder…
    “Let life happen”. Stop analysing every detail looking for meaning. If you don’t get it straight away then you don’t have all the information yet. Just get on with the task at hand. The world of Spirit that guides and loves us will give you the heads up when it’s time to act. 

    “Sometimes it’s not about you”. Often times our world can influence our reactions and emotions. Foster self awareness. Knowing yourself puts you in a better position to know others.

    “You perceive what you believe”. A gentle nudge or a full on push will shove you out of any tunnel vision. Just roll with it and laugh. Humour is the best remedy.
     
    The power you think you have is only a tiny fraction of what is available. The power of the spirit world runs through you all the time. Take time out to learn how to tap into this power. 

    Mind your own business. Use your objectivity when something doesn’t feel right. Be judgemental, by all means, it’s a useful tool. Persecution based on that judgement is not cool. Be discerning.

    You’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself. Give yourself a break. This moment, this moment, this moment. They are the only things that matter. Find the fun, it makes the journey so much easier. 

    Remember, perception is the result of past conditioning. How you were raised, what you were taught in school. It’s not wholly negative or wholly positive. You will find that the most profound experiences which have been kept as a memory, form your current perception of the world you live in now. Those uncomfortable feelings are a message that something we considered “right” needs to be challenged if we want to make real changes for the better. 

    The best part of self awareness…NOW YOU GET  TO CHOOSE











    • Having to complete tasks before moving forward
    • Tying up loose ends










    Picture
  • Published on

    February 23rd, 2020

    blog

    Sometimes you just need to stop…

    The last couple of years I had been struggling to find purpose, find momentum and especially keeping faith. My work life and personal life were not flowing and I really threw everything at it! The spiritual work I was so successful at felt like it was stalling but it wasn’t. I was falling, but didn’t know it. This was the beginning of the descent. 
    Image description
    calm after the storm, need to meditate, need time out to reflect, the mind is overwhelmed and you need time out to reflect, restoring peace and equilibrium, a period of inactivity, putting your house in order, contemplation 
    So why did it seem the tools were not working?… 
    They really didn’t and I certainly began to question my understanding of my true purpose. I felt like I was being kicked out, but I wasn’t. The real healing was the discomfort I felt. Discomfort...the agitation we need to push us to make changes. This part always reminds me of how an oyster creates a pearl.
    I was heading for some big life changes. Discomfort made me look within at how I could move forward. My Soul knew this and my guides facilitated this. It is never pleasant but sticking with it is definitely rewarding.
    I have been using my healing practices and meditations for the past 30 years and always without fail I could pull through whatever the situation (and I have had some very traumatic experiences this lifetime). This time nothing worked. It was unsettling to say the least. In the end, all I could do was succumb.
    ​And that’s exactly what I did. I surrendered to the darkness…I was all in, my surrender had to be heartfelt for any change to occur. 

    ​
    In the void…
    I felt like I’d lost my way. I felt like I’d lost my faith. I felt like I’d lost my purpose. I had lost hope, I felt nothing.
    Throughout this special time the power of Spirit was around me, I knew they were there, I could feel them but I felt I was just not getting any traction.
    Have you ever felt this way? It was a bananas time.
    ​While I thought that I was abandoned it seems there were other things at play, like healing and creating the new pathway I was destined to walk.
    Meanwhile….
    • Time out means time to reflect. While I may not have understood the method or the destination I did take note of the messages. I was not abandoned by Spirit. The energy of the Spirit world was always around me. I saw and felt this constantly. Journalling is very good for reflection.
    • Synchronicity - I saw energy flow everywhere - right time, right place - seemingly by accident (it’s never by accident). To me this is always a sign that I am guided and loved. I never questioned or tried to work it out, I just Know that when I see a sign I’m on track. 
    • Special friends - I kept close only those that supported me and respected me - My Tribe. It’s important to find your tribe.
    • My healing and reading work, really any work that keeps you grounded - this never left me. Whether I am working or not, I am enveloped in the love and power of Spirit. 
    • I followed my intuition, not my instincts (There is a difference and I will discuss this in a future blog) - sometimes I was a little foggy but I showed myself compassion and took my time. Eventually I got the message.
    • I used the mantra of Ho’Oponono and the vibrational healing of Solfeggio toning. This kept me grounded. ​
    Picture
    Voluntarily surrendering hope, Resignation, acceptance that there is nothing more you can do other than give up, Leaving a relationship and knowing that even if leaving does not solve anything you are not going back, No matter what you have sacrificed, or tried to change, things are never going to work, Abandoning your dreams, Leaving the past behind, abandoning or relinquishing hope.
    ​The abandonment must be heartfelt to be successful

    Picture
    The end of something that has been lived out, A cycle has ended and you are on the threshold of a new cycle, Time out before the next life event, Allowing things to end, Mourning and letting go of your old life so you can enter your next life free from unfulfilled feelings, Limbo
    Picture
    A sacrifice for a greater good, Time out, Time is suspended, Giving up the power of the conscious mind to gain greater knowledge of the Spirit world, Sacrifice as an act of faith, The unconscious mind, Timing is not quite right to move forward, Being held up and waiting for time to pass before you are released

    I am ALWAYS working on my self awareness.
    ​Self Awareness is the only thing that reveals the power of Spirit within.
  • Published on

    In My Next Life

    blog
    My next life….
    I’ve had many incarnations this lifetime. Life is circles within circles, just like the journey of The Fool in the Tarot and the stories of the suits of the Minor Arcana. I’d like to share with you the wonderful story of how I ended up travelling and how keeping focused on your dreams does actually work. 
    It was 2002 and I was working at a festival with a friend, doing readings and loving the vibe of the music around me. It was the very first time I had put myself out in a public place to do readings. Sure, I’d done plenty at home and within my circle of friends but this was the next stage of committing to the work of Spirit. I had a full time job at the time, family responsibilities and doing readings, healings and meditation classes were the things that kept me in touch with my Spirit Nature. I loved it!! After some initial nerves I was right into the swing of it. It was this weekend that showed me the power of healing you can bring with readings and connecting with people in a wider community. I decided on that very weekend that I when I retired I would get a campervan, travel the country, follow the music festivals and take my show (readings and healings) on the road. It was one of those bliss moments you never forget. When the power of the spirit world connects with your heart on a cellular level and you just know your true purpose. I’ve had many of those moments along the way and they have never steered me wrong. 
    But I was a long way from retirement….
    And I had a family to look after. I didn’t abandon the dream, I knew one day it would be a reality. What happened from that day on was that every decision I made was based on that outcome, I just didn’t know at the time.
    A lot of life happened in the mean time, some great, some not so great and I had nearly forgotten the dream. I was at one of the lowest parts of my life just recently and that dream came back to me, at just the right time. Spirit gave me a nudge, it was time to put this plan into place. 
    Talk about creating your reality….
    The thing with insights and dreams and such is they require action and choices at the right time. Sure there is fear but if you listen with your heart, fear will recede and faith will propel you forward. It was exactly the right time to begin making plans to travel but where did I start. So many paths to follow, so many things to consider. I did tie myself in knots wanting to get it right, as you do. So I began to try to control. 
    Guess what happens when you try to control your dreams….
    You get shut down, you get knocked over, you get stuck. I like to think that these days I’m better at getting out of my own way but I still try to control the narrative to some degree. So, I paused, took a breath and I stopped the struggle. I waited for the opportunities. Sometimes it’s not about forcing an issue, more that you are ready for the opportunities. The power of spirit gets you ready to step through the door when the opportunity arrives, with no fear. That is called life, that is why self awareness is so important.
    Getting out of your own way…
    In the end, I found the campervan of my dreams, I live the life I’ve always dreamed of and the bonus (yes, often when you surrender to the power of spirit there is a bonus) I met someone to travel with. I am having adventures I would never have been able to do on my own and I am living beyond what I ever could have conceived. That is the power of surrendering to spirit.


    This power is available to everybody….
    It’s not easy following your heart, it requires giving up what you think you know and surrendering to the flow of the Universe. It requires Self Awareness so that you can discern when and what is your TRUTH. Everybody has their own path and way of finding that path. For me, I found true purpose the minute I began to meditate, the first spiritual book I read (The Celestine Prophecies) the time I picked up my first deck of Tarot Cards (The Mythic Tarot) , the first crystal I tuned into (a beautiful clear quartz necklace), the first healing I participated in, the first (of many) teacher I listened to. I have hundreds of personal stories about how the power of spirit changed everything for me. If this way of living resonates with you then I encourage you to follow it, you won’t be disappointed. 


    Recommendations…
    • Read books about other peoples experiences, this helps you see what is possible
    • Find your tribe, whether it is a local meditation group or an online community. Being with likeminded people really helps build your self confidence.
    • Practice. Find a way to do what you love. It does not have to be anything professional or measured. Immerse yourself in your creative self, surprise yourself.
    • Go to courses, learn new things. 
    • Very important, learn about yourself. Self Awareness is THE MOST important job/career/vocation you could ever have. Meditation is good for this.
    • Meditation gives you insights. Being alone with your thoughts and being ok with being alone with your thoughts is priceless.
    With Love, Vicki xx