Life isn’t meant to be hard, it’s meant to be joyful.  

We all know that intellectually but how many of us really know it? How many of us live it?

Not me for sure. Well, not ‘old’ me but I think ‘new’ me is finally getting the message.

As a society we’re determined to work hard – whether that’s in our jobs, our parenting, our evolving consciousness or our relationships.

We end up forgetting about fun and don’t even recognise that as a problem.

We get attached to the idea that we can do it all without support and anything less would be failure.

Have you noticed how so many of us feel unsupported yet find it difficult to accept support when it’s given to us?

We refuse support because we’re suspicious that it comes with strings attached or we fear that it will undermine our ego’s need to be capable.

Sometimes we’re oblivious to support because we’re so hard-wired to be independent that we can’t even see support when it’s offered to us.

“It won’t get done unless I do it” we say, “My shoulders are big enough to carry this.” Yet quietly we wonder “Does life have to be this hard?”

We keep struggling on bravely, determined to do it all on our own.

Secretly we wish we had more support and long for ease but don’t know how to attract those qualities.

Without even realising it, we block support from other people because we’re sending out a message to the universe that we don’t need anything.

“I am a closed unit: self-sufficient and complete and I don’t need any help” we say with every molecule of our capable beings.

Other people get the message and leave us to it, so we continue to feel unsupported and get locked in that self-perpetuating cycle.

Stuck in that pattern, we miss out on new opportunities, unexpected joy and loving support.

The Bach Flower Remedy for this state is Oak. Oak supports the greatest amount of other species in the woodland. Oak is resilient, capable and strong.

Often we only realise we need oak when our backs ache, we feel exhausted or have a breakdown. We have gone beyond the limit of what is humanly possible.

If you’re naturally an Oak personality like me, you will have more strength and endurance than most but this pattern carries a message from your Soul.

The message is to let go of excessive feelings of responsibility and follow your joy instead.

By taking Oak flower remedy the energy starts to shift; the pattern begins to unravel. You taste a different, kinder way of being. By realising you can’t do it all on your own, you open up to help from others.

As your inner state shifts, your outer reality rearranges itself more kindly to reflect that.

I know the unbalanced Oak state so well. I think it’s ingrained very deep in the Scottish psyche: as a race we tend to be hard-working, responsible, independent, “strugglin’ on” against the odds.

Over the past couple of weeks I have begun to move into a different way of being.

I’ve always felt like I carry the weight of the world upon my shoulders.

That I carry this huge burden that only I can carry and nobody else can help me with it.

For years I had a recurring dream where I was pushing a boulder up a mountain, struggling against its weight. Falling down, being toppled by that boulder night after night and the mountain seemed to get steeper and steeper.

One night last year I finally pushed the boulder over the top of the mountain and lay exhausted at the summit.

I’ve been working to release this pattern of struggling without support for a long time. When we have been carrying a pattern for a lifetime, it doesn’t disappear overnight. There are no quick fixes when it comes to inner work. We release what we can handle and then we revisit the same issue again when we’re ready to do another round with it. Ready to work deeper until we can let it go once and for all.

Days ago I saw myself laying the burden down by the side of the road. I finally saw that it was too heavy for me to carry on my own so I put it down, and skipped along the road into the sunshine without it.

I’m navigating my way through this new way of being; where life doesn’t have to be so hard. I don’t have to do it all on my own.

I’ll be honest, it’s weird. It’s unfamiliar terrain but I want to share a message from the part of the road that’s bathed in sunshine.

You don’t have to do it all on your own. It’s not humanly possible. Let it go.

That’s not how we’re designed.  If it was we’d be laying eggs that grow into our young without needing fertilisation by a mate, like the New Mexico whiptail.

We are all part of the whole, so none of us were ever meant to do it all on our own. There is another kinder state of being. I hope you will find your way there.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS:

• You don’t need to be responsible for everyone else. It’s not your job.
• You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.
• You don’t need to keep going until nothing is left.
• You don’t have to do it all on your own.
• You don’t have to wear yourself out.
• You can choose joy instead of duty.
• You can let others support you.
• You can put the burden down.
• You can choose the easy way.
• You can let go of struggle.
• You can take a break.
• You can feel free.

Life is not meant to be hard. Choose joy.

Want to heal the patterns that are blocking your path to joy? They’re often so ingrained that we need practical and energetic support to unravel them.  The Emotional Healing Package is full of resources to heal your heart, release old hurts and live your life with greater joy, awareness and acceptance.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are” – Anais Nin

You’ll receive:

♥ Two powerful guided meditations,

♥ Emotional Healing Workbook,

♥ Email consultation with me,

♥ Combination of flower and crystal essences chosen just for you,

♥ Report telling you all about your essences and how they heal.

Click here to find out more.

P.S. Receive a huge 25% discount on this package when you sign up to the Flower Spirit mailing list.

Photographs courtesy of Jason Smalley

For months I’ve felt uncertain about where to focus my energy. Usually my passion pulls me heart-first into the decisions I need to make.

I’m an all or nothing person. I know the highs. I know the lows.

I did not know this space between.

This is not a dark space of pain or sadness or despair.

This is not a bright space of joy or excitement or passion.

This space feels like an empty bowl. Not empty in a meaningless kind of way, but empty nonetheless.

I could push myself into making things happen to fill the bowl. My notebook has pages of things to do but none of them feel right or bright or ready.

I don’t think they fit me any more.

I have made some fundamental shifts recently and now I’m navigating this space of in-between, discovering its secrets.

All through my life I’ve crafted my dreams with my own bare hands.  I’ve initiated, created and manifested.

I’ve always been someone who makes things happen; who throws so much enthusiasm at an idea that it takes form and builds momentum.

Yet I have no energy for that just now and things aren’t flowing.

And I wonder who I would be if I didn’t make things happen. How life would be if I welcomed it in instead of rushing out to meet it.

I feel like I am shedding my skin, shrugging it off like a pair of tights. One foot is standing naked on the ground while I try to keep my balance long enough to slip off the other leg too.

I’ve tasted the possibility of how the future will be different but I’m not quite in it yet.

I’m noticing the doors that are already open, rather than rushing around trying to build new doors or hammering against those that won’t yield.

Decisions have been made. Opportunities have been embraced. And now I’m floating somewhere between what was and what will be.

I am learning so much about trust and patience and surrender. I am letting go of my need to make things turn out a certain way.

Momentum will gather. The shift will come. All in its own perfect time.

Yesterday during a session with this man he said: ‘This is how it feels to experience who you really are”.

I cried a little. I smiled a little. I softened more into the truth of myself.

I’m still smiling now because this is so much the Soul lesson for Taureans like me – trusting enough to surrender control.

And I’m smiling because I’ll turn 40 at the weekend and I always imagined I’d have all the answers by then.

Somehow I get the feeling that it’s only when we stop trying to find the answers that we discover the truth.

Water lily photographed by Jason Smalley.

“Life itself – our human lives – is a gift. Our lives, our talents, our abilities, our privilege to be human are given to us, and like all gifts they are not to be hoarded. They are not to be devoted, like the capital of classical economics, to the endless increase of me and mine, but must be passed on lest they stagnate and decay.” Charles Eisenstein, The Ascent of Humanity

Your life is a gift. My life is a gift.

Are you appreciating the beauty of your gifts and sharing them with others or are you hoarding your gifts, scared to let them shine in the bright light of day?

RECOGNISING THE GIFTS:

You might not know what your gifts are.  You might know your gifts very well but you still falter sometimes when it comes to sharing them.

Have you noticed how much easier it is to appreciate other people’s gifts than it is to appreciate your own?

Here’s an interesting thing: when you honour the gifts that you value in others, you get more comfortable with sharing your own gifts too.

So… here’s what to do. Pick a handful of people you love – real life friends, partner, family and/or virtual loves like the bloggers you adore or famous people you admire.

Write down three qualities you appreciate them for: three gifts that they pass on to you whenever you come into contact with them.

Let me illustrate with some of my favourite bloggers and the gifts I receive from reading their words. If you don’t know any of them yet then you’re about to discover their gifts too!

1. Hiro Boga – gifts of quiet wisdom, intuition and loving warmth
2. Jane Alexander – gifts of outrageous humour, intelligence and emotional vulnerability
3. Fiona Robyn – gifts of emotional vulnerability, bold creativity and intelligence
4. Susannah Conway – gifts of bold creativity, emotional vulnerability and quiet wisdom.
5. Amy Palko – gifts of loving warmth, bold creativity and quiet wisdom.
6. Alexandra Franzen – gifts of bold creativity, intelligence and outrageous humour

Hmmm, recurring themes here: quiet wisdom, intuition, loving warmth, bold creativity, intelligence, outrageous humour and emotional vulnerability.

Do I recognise these qualities in myself?

Oh yes.

Do I appreciate them as much in myself as I do in others?

Not until I did this exercise!

Read what you’ve written about the qualities you most love in the people you’ve chosen. Do you recognise their gifts in yourself too? Are you sharing these gifts with the world or are you holding back?

There might be qualities you’re not quite ready to accept as being your gifts.  Trust me, if you love it in someone else, it’s your gift too. We can only recognise a quality in someone else that is part of us too.

When I receive the gift of outrageous humour from Jane and Alexandra I reconnect with my inner minx: that risque, laugh-until-it-hurts side of me that doesn’t get out to play as often as it used to.

This is the part of me that glued prune stones to the kitchen floor and drew on legs with marker pen so my flatmates would think we were over-run with cockroaches when the tension about cleaning rotas got too much.  This is the mischievous shiny-eyed pixie part of me that is irreverent and risque, bright and bold and has fun with life. Classic Jane here and classic Alexandra here.

When I receive the gift of loving warmth from Amy and Hiro I reconnect with the divine mother archetype. I read their words and I feel loved and nurtured without being cossetted or indulged. It’s a strong love and I see it in myself, so loving and protective towards the people in my life.

It’s the part of me that sits in consultations with clients, hearing their pain and their doubts and their fears and loving every single cell of their beings.  This is the unconditional part that holds a container for love that is so much bigger than the problems that come to me. Classic Amy here and classic Hiro here.

When I receive the gift of emotional vulnerability from Fiona and Susannah I feel the sisterhood of understanding and I appreciate their honesty. I’m reassured that they write about the days when they struggle with themselves because the truth is, we all struggle sometimes.

It’s human, it’s real and I trust them much more than someone who tries to paint a picture of perfection. That raw (sometimes painful) emotional honesty is absolutely loveable in them and, by recognising that, I love it more easily in me too. I’m real, I’m honest, I feel everything, I cry often, even when I’m happy! Like Fiona and Susannah, I’m not afraid to put my heart on the line. I put my heart on the line in the Emotional Healing Package and it’s more powerful as a result. Classic Fiona here and classic Susannah here.

The gifts we appreciate in others are always reflections of the bright light of those gifts within ourselves.

Let’s shine, let’s radiate those gifts so that the whole world becomes brighter. I have this image of us as millions of fireflies lighting up the dark……

SHARING YOUR GIFTS:

The way to share your gifts with others is to keep showing up in the world, just as you are.

When you’re not trying to be perfect or better or different you’re sharing your gifts.

When you’re being YOU with all your beauty, talents, wisdom, skills, creativity, insecurities and contradictions you’re sharing your gifts. You don’t need to try to share your gifts, you just need to stop stopping yourself!

Your gifts are the essence of who you REALLY are.

Having the courage to be authentic and shine your light is the gift that gives other people permission to do the same. I think that’s a gift worth sharing, don’t you?

So appreciate your gifts, celebrate your uniqueness and know that you are as beautiful and precious as life itself.

Let’s remember, always, that life itself is a gift and it’s not to be hoarded.

Let’s share our gifts freely without censoring our spirits.

Let’s show appreciation for other people who do the same.

ALIGNING YOUR ENERGY:

Need some energetic support to get into the gift-sharing vibration?  Soul Blends are combinations of deep-acting flower and crystal essences that release energetic blocks and align you with your Soul energy. These are the Soul Blends I recommend for recognising and sharing your gifts more easily:

Self-Love Soul Blend will help if you’re finding it hard to accept yourself just how you are. By taking this blend, you’ll discover acceptance, love, compassion and forgiveness for yourself and radiate these qualities out into the world.

Authentic Expression Soul Blend is an empowering blend to help you discover and express your authentic truth. It releases fears about being judged and expressing your true self so you can radiate your true light with courage and confidence.

Live Your Dreams Soul Blend is dynamic blend to help you manifest your highest potential. It will give you the clarity, courage and confidence to use your gifts to live the life of your dreams. You’ll release self-doubt and practical fears so that you can turn your dreams into reality. 

Buy each blend separately here or get a delicious discount when you buy all three blends as a special Gift Sharing Bundle for the special price of £25 (approx. $40) + £3.50 (approx. $5.50) p&p.

Buy Gift Sharing Bundle at the special price here:

Please note, Paypal has changed how postage preferences are calculated which means p&p may not be addded to your order automatically. If this happens I’ll send you a Paypal invoice for postage and packing. Thanks for bearing with me while this is resolved!

SHARING GIFTS:

It feels so good to get into the gift-sharing vibration. Are you with me?

1. Write a blog post about the gifts you appreciate in others and how you do/don’t see those gifts reflected in yourself.
2. Send an email or a letter to someone who inspires you (I emailed Charles Eisenstein to share my appreciation with him).
3. Print off the gift card shown below that I’ve made as a gift for you, post one to yourself (second class so you forget to expect it) and send the other one to someone (else!) you love.
4. Leave a comment telling me about the gifts you appreciate in other people and yourself.
5. Be brave, be true, be YOU.

With love from my inner firefly to yours!

Beautiful images courtesy of Jason Smalley.

We wouldn’t exist without plants.

In the BBC documentary ‘The Power of Flowers’, Professor Iain Stewart revealed how the greatest changes on the planet have been driven by plants.

The earliest plants evolved specifically to attract insects to interact with them. These insects drove the evolution of all mammals, which is where our human story began.

Plants are our oldest ancestors, our wise friends and messengers of unconditional love.

Every plant has a unique message to share; a distinct personality and a particular essence just as every person has.

When you think of a tiny white snowdrop it conjures up different feelings to when you think of a tall yellow sunflower. When you think of a mighty oak it conjures up different feelings to when you think of a little blade of grass.

The highest concentration of energy of a plant is held in its flower. This knowledge is not new; it’s the most ancient healing in the world. Indigenous people have always relied on plant spirit medicine to tell them how a plant heals by tapping into the knowledge encoded in each plant.

Every single day, whether you realise it or not, you are surrounded by a vast network of healing and wisdom from the plants that are growing near you.

We share techniques in our Barefoot Breathing e-course that open up your heart and eyes to the healing messages of nature, learning what medicine the plants in your neighbourhood offer you.

I feel so blessed to be able to tap into this knowledge as I spend time in the garden or walk to the park or take the long route back home from the post office just so I can marvel at what’s in flower.

As the sunlight of spring transforms my garden into a little haven of flowers again, I’ve been spending time with each of the flowers soaking up their love.

Letting the bleeding heart soothe my heart when it feels raw and tender and aching.

Allowing the tulips to remind me that I need never lack confidence in my work because when we do our life’s work we are embodying our oneness with the divine.

There are messages the flowers want YOU to know; messages of love and beauty and ancient wisdom.

Every week I’ll be sharing Friday’s Flower: a healing message from a flower to all subscribers on the Flower Spirit mailing list.

Please note, if you’re on the Essence of Wild mailing list you won’t receive these messages unless you also subscribe to the mailing list on this site.

Every week I’ll be closing my eyes, going within and asking which flower has a message it wants to share with you.

When this idea fell into my head I knew I’d want to share the messages of the Bach Flower Remedy plants first because their messages are so universal.

There are 38 Bach Flower Remedies. There are 38 weeks left in 2012. There’s something rather perfect about that, don’t you think? It feels like a cosmic YES to sharing the messages of the flowers in this way.

This week I’m sharing the first message that the flowers want you to know here. Future messages will be sent by email and you can sign up below.

Clematis vitalba

Clematis wants you to know that it is safe to be here; fully present in your sacred body on this precious earth.

You have dreams and visions that the new world needs, but you must be fully present to manifest them.

You might be feeling ungrounded or forgetful or scattered or needing lots of sleep just now.

Clematis encourages you to come back from the dream worlds of your imagination and rejoice in your connection to the earth.

Consciously feel both your feet on the ground. Spread out your toes. Feel the heels, the soles and the base of your toes kissing the earth beneath you when you walk.

Imagine magnets on the soles of your feet connecting you to the earth’s magnetic field or visualise roots burrowing deep down into the earth.

There is only this moment.

Clematis reminds you to draw your energy back from the thoughts that take you into the future so you will be here now.

There is only ever this moment.

If you feel a strong resonance with clematis, click here to buy Clematis Bach Flower Remedy from Crystal Herbs.

Thank you to Jason Smalley for the beautiful images.

The force of it so great it couldn’t be put on one side to wait until I was ready to look at it. A crisis so apparently huge that I simply had no choice but to surrender to feeling it all.

Today I’m feeling gentle and centred, the calm after the storm. Lighter, clearer; grateful for the love of my friends and the miracles that happen when we surrender.

Humbled by the inner peace that we find when we fall into the arms of acceptance.

Healing our emotions is Soul work but sometimes our emotions can seem frightening or overwhelming or something we really don’t have time for.

We spend so much time in our minds we often can’t even get in touch with our emotions at all. We talk about them without allowing ourselves to really feel them in our bodies.

Most of us make a judgement about which emotions are positive and which are negative. We want to experience the ‘good ones’ like joy, love, enthusiasm and forgiveness but we shy away from the ‘baddies’ like anger, shame, fear and depression.

From a Soul perspective there’s no good or bad. There’s no positive or negative. There’s no judgement. There’s simply opportunities to become more of ourselves; to open our hearts to more and more love and acceptance.

We find wholeness when we accept all of our emotions as they arise, without judging those that we want and those that we don’t want.

There is a huge power in simply accepting what is. The relief is Soul-deep. The kind of relief that makes your whole body soften.

Our Souls know only love, so they are always guiding our personalities to the perfect circumstances for us to heal the parts of us that are not love.

Our emotional reactions are simply way markers guiding us back to our true nature of love.

Sometimes the emotional wounds are subtle.

You know when someone makes a throwaway comment and you feel angry, worried, uncertain or lacking in confidence? That’s a way marker guiding you home. You might not have known those feelings were there if they hadn’t been triggered.

Sometimes the emotional wounds are not so subtle.

They shout so loud that we can’t hear anything else – like yesterday for me.  Those times when life throws us something so painful or confusing or shocking that we have no choice but to crumple and allow ourselves to feel.

Raw. Vulnerable. Agonising.

When we are in the greatest emotional pain, we are closest to the light because we’re feeling the pain so very deeply. Instead of turning our backs on it, we’re turning our hearts towards it.

Rumi says it best. “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

So whether you’re feeling the loud unavoidable shout of pain or the gentle whisper of something you need to notice, there is one thing I know.

When you lean into the relief of acceptance you will be held.

Take 10 slow deep breaths in through your heart, out through your heart.

Notice how you feel now, in this moment.

Tune into where your emotions are resting in your body.

Soften into acceptance. It is what it is.

When you stop chasing it away you allow it to heal.

You will know when it is healed. You will feel the lightness of spirit and the relief in your body.

It won’t hurt anymore.

There are no fast-track miracle cures to get there.

Emotional healing takes practice, awareness, patience and love. Most of all it takes acceptance.

Acceptance takes you home. Back to the place of love where you really belong.

Need a helping hand to guide you into the arms of acceptance?

The Emotional Healing Package is full of resources to tend to your heart and heal your emotions.

A powerful blend of guided meditation, healing exercises, Soul wisdom and vibrational medicine for deep healing.

You’ll receive a guided meditation designed to take you gently into the heart of your pain and unblock what is ready to be released.

Explore and understand your emotions with the emotional healing workbook including 14 exercises to get you feeling and journalling.

You’ll release subconscious patterns with a combination of deep-acting flower and crystal essences, personally chosen by me to bring you the healing your Soul is yearning for.

Receive a 25% discount on the Emotional Healing Package when you sign up to my mailing list. Click here to explore.

A mum was hurrying along the pavement towards school, sucking deeply from the cigarette she dangled over her baby’s buggy as the carrier bag holding 6 cans of cider bashed against her leg.

Instantly I could feel myself judging her; thinking she’s a bad parent and *ouch*, that felt pretty uncomfortable to notice.

So then I’m judging ME for judging HER so negatively.  I think I’m so open-hearted and loving but I can’t pretend the thought wasn’t thunk. I can’t pretend a judgement wasn’t made because it was. In an instant. A heartbeat.

It turns out that my heart isn’t as open and unconditionally loving as I thought it was and I feel disappointed in myself.

Then from somewhere wise inside of me the voice says lay your hand upon your heart. So I do.

I place my hand on my heart chakra in the centre of my chest and close my eyes. I focus on my breath for just a moment; my breath flowing in and out through my heart. A breath.  A heartbeat.

I needed that. I needed to return home to my heart space. I’d been there earlier but I’d dropped out of it again. Standing there, with my hand on my chest I feel my heart expand and find some love and compassion and acceptance.

So I’m all pleased and feel that I have momentarily become a divine being with the secret to everlasting love and happiness until….. the next time.

Same day. Moments later. Unbidden, unexpectedly a little niggle. A trigger. A critical thought. *Ouch*. Clearly not divine being after all!

But I’m laughing now. This is funny and illuminating; this practice of mindfulness, this shining a light on what I need to notice.

So I lay my hand on my heart again and close my eyes for a moment.

And I wonder how many of these judgements and critical thoughts are passing through my mind on any given day.

So I start a little experiment and decide to pay more attention: to notice whenever I have a negative thought about myself or someone else.

I’m not going to pretend I didn’t think it and I’m not going to try to cancel it out with a positive thought.

I’m not going to analyse what it’s mirroring to me and I’m not going to tell myself a story about what it means or where it came from.

Over the days that follow I’m simply going to stay mindful and place my hand on my heart every single time I think an unloving thought.

I begin to recognise these moments as cues to return home to my heart.

I’m not really a stranger to criticism and self-criticism. It’s the same energy that underpins both. When we are intolerant of ourselves we often project those feelings out onto other people because it’s less painful than owning it in ourselves.

There was a time when my self-criticism crippled my creativity. It’s a pattern I’ve explored in depth, unearthing the roots of it from childhood.

Now I’m seeing another subtle layer of this pattern; another journey around the spiral and this time I’m putting analysis to one side.

I’m ignoring my head and dropping down into my heart. Over and over. I’m pretty sure that’s where the real healing happens.

So day by day, moment by moment I keep on returning to my heart when I get my cue.

And I realise that every time you have an unkind or unloving or critical or judgemental thought about yourself or someone else, it’s your heart beckoning you home.

It’s your heart’s way of saying ‘hey you need some more love energy, come top yourself up’.

It’s your heart sending you an invitation to get to know your own divinity.

And then I notice that the critical thoughts are getting less and less and I’m feeling more loved-up.

More at one with the world.

More at peace with myself.

In fleeting moments feeling closer to my divinity.

Then after a week of regularly returning to my heart like this, something wonderful happens. 

3.15pm. School gate.

The mum I’d felt so critical of is darting across the road and I watch her. All I can see is how beautiful her skin is, how much youthfulness and joy is in her step, how soft and loving she looks.

All I can see is her beauty and her divinity.

I really want to run up to her and tell her she’s beautiful and give her a big cuddle to share the love that’s flowing out of my heart. But I don’t. My son’s already warned me to exhibit less of the hippy behaviour at the school gate (he says he’ll die of embarrassment if I ever wear the turquoise woollen shawl again!)

But it blows my mind in the simplest of ways because here we are, you and me and everyone else. We are all just human beings with all our love and all our not-love stewing away inside us. And every single time we experience the not-love it really is just a reminder to come back to our hearts again.

Being critical and judgemental and intolerant is one of those insidious patterns that we usually pick up in childhood as a way to protect ourselves from absorbing criticism. It’s a defence set up by a bruised heart and a faltering sense of self.

But oh it runs deep, echoing through adulthood and it stops us from being at peace with ourselves.

It’s the voice that stops you from resting because no matter how hard you work it tells you it will never be good enough. It’s the voice that stops you from being creative and courageous because it tells you that someone else has already done it better than you.

But it’s just an old pattern that doesn’t need to be part of the future.

Beech flower remedy clears this pattern energetically.

Have you ever visited a beech woodland? You hear the trees moaning and groaning, like they’re complaining and criticising. They don’t tolerate many other plants growing under them and it’s hard for other trees to flourish near them.

Doesn’t that say it all?

I love the way Edward Bach describes the benefits of taking beech flower remedy: ‘to be able to be more tolerant, lenient and understanding of the different way each individual and all things are working to their own final perfection’.

That’s the beautiful thing – we are all working toward our final perfection in our own unique way and it’s the journey to the heart that takes us there.

So every time you feel the criticism or self-criticism rear its ugly head, simply place your hand on your heart and take a deep breath.

In a heartbeat you’ll be home, getting to know your own divinity.

Criticism can open your heart to more love but you need to be willing to let the love in.

Want to work with me one-to-one?

I’m getting beautiful feedback about the TRANSFORMATION PACKAGE which is a personalised combination of Soul medicine for deep transformation over 3-4 months.

We’ll work together closely to make sure you receive all the support you need to clear the blocks that are holding you back, whether they’re emotional, mental, physical or spiritual.

You’ll have three one-to-one consultations and regular check-ins with me plus all my favourite Soul medicine to get you transitioning lovingly from where you are now to where you want to be.  We’ll shine a light on conscious and subconscious blocks and clear them with love, awareness, energetic tools and practical steps. There will be practices to help you return home to your heart space and I offer a free 30 minute consultation to see if this approach is right for you.

Ready to transform your relationships, your working life or unhealthy patterns? Click here to find out more.

 Images of beech trees and beech flowers courtesy of Jason Smalley

Suddenly I spot a surge of pink over by the pond and my belly does a flip of excitement.

It’s the hellebores that I thought wouldn’t flower this year, and I’m so excited I want to go flying barefoot out the door to greet them. So I do.

Bare feet squelching over boggy flooded garden, oblivious to the rain I crouch down by the pond and suddenly I’m crying with joy and gratitude in the presence of these rich gorgeous blooms.

‘I’m so glad you’re here, I’m so pleased to see you’.

Unfolding in fluted layers they’re looking down to the earth, and I know I have to make a flower essence from them.

I was talking to a client earlier this week about essences that would help her to fully embody her female power; her womb wisdom and ancient Shamanic knowledge.

I spent hours pouring over my books trying to find the perfect blend for her but this, this is the energy that I could sense she needs.

This is the energy that wasn’t in any of my books or any of the websites I felt guided to.

To see the heart of the hellebore, you need to gently turn their faces up to the sun. They’re happier looking down to the earth but oh look inside!

When I look at these flowers I am reminded of the mysteries of the female body and the female cycle and the womb as the heart of creativity.

Crouching next to them, I feel that I am tapping into the knowledge of my ancestors going way back, way way back and the wisdom of Mother Earth herself.

I spent some time with these wise hellebore sisters and then turned heel to come in for my camera and promptly fell flat on my face in the mud. I’m still quite muddy and it’s fantastic! I feel wild and ancient and earth goddessy and alive and so much more present in my body than I’ve been all week.

So there is hellebore medicine to explore here; wisdom and healing from these gorgeous blooms.

And I know what books and websites say about hellebore, but I can’t help thinking that’s just part of the story and there is so much more for us to discover.

I’m looking forward to learning from the flowers themselves all about their unique medicine. I’ll make a flower essence when the weather is right,  meditate and journey with them and I’ll ask them to tell me how they heal.

I’ll open myself up to the sensations in my body, the impressions in my mind and the visions in my inner sight and then I will know them as well as I know myself.

Do you feel touched by their power and beauty too? I’d love to hear about the impressions you pick up from these flowers. How do they make you feel? What do they make you think of?

These flowering hellebores have been the most joyous discovery of my week. What have you discovered this week? Share your week-end reflections over at artherapist.ca.

Abraham Hicks

image by Jason Smalley

Self-love is the foundation that all other love is built on: our love for family, partner, friends, strangers and planet.  When we fall in love with ourselves we fall in love with the world.

The greater our ability to feel self-love, the greater our ability to radiate unconditional love all around us but sometimes it’s easier said than done.

In honour of St Valentine’s Day when everyone’s thinking about love (either through gritted teeth or with blissful delight) I wanted to create a package of Self-Love Soul Medicine. These resources will help you shift your vibration into self-love for those times when you feel unloving or self-critical or self-doubting or self-hating or self-rejecting or forget for a while that you are already absolutely perfect just how you are.

You access your true nature of love when you release the vibrations from your energy field that are not love.  This Soul medicine is designed to help you realign with the love that’s always inside you, deep in your heart even when you can’t feel it.

Self-Love Soul Medicine = Self-Love Meditation + Self-Love Soul Blend + Love Poster/Wallpapers to Download

The meditation and poster/wallpapers are free for you to enjoy and I’m offering the Self-Love Soul Blend with a 10% discount until Monday 20^th February.

Want to go straight to the freebies? Scroll down to the bottom of the page, beautiful soul and download!

Want to meet the stars that feature in the Self-Love Soul Blend?  I combine 6 flower essences and one gem essence to release unloving vibrations from the energy field.

HANDEL ROSE

Positive qualities: positive self-worth, releases patterns of self-criticism and self-sabotage

Handel Rose is for when there are feelings stuck in the heart chakra that create low self-worth. If you didn’t receive enough nurturing and a positive image of yourself from your parents in childhood it can be difficult to recognise your own innate value and self worth as you grow up. This can lead to feelings of never being good enough, experienced as inferiority, self-criticism, self-sabotage, needing to prove yourself or feeling undeserving.

STARGAZER LILY 

Positive qualities: unconditional love, femininity, self-acceptance

Stargazer Lily carries the vibration of unconditional love and is aligned to the planetary energy of Venus, making it a very soft and feminine essence to take. It helps to soften harsh attitudes towards the self that get in the way of showing yourself kindness, gentleness and love. It increases the vibration of love opening the heart to more and more unconditional love for self and others.

RUBY RED ROSE

Positive qualities: forgiveness, self-forgiveness, love, compassion, acceptance

One of the biggest barriers to self-love that we experience is lack of forgiveness towards self and others. True forgiveness comes when we can accept all of life’s circumstances as the perfect experiences for our Soul’s growth.

Ruby Red Rose is attuned to the Ruby Red Ray of forgiveness, promoting the healing vibration of forgiveness from deep inside. As Ruby Red Rose is taken, it gently transmutes old pain and sorrow held in the heart chakra leaving love and compassion in its place.

RUBY

Postive qualities: divine love, confidence, self-esteem, leadership, divine inspiration

Ruby is a master gem for the heart chakra promoting self-esteem and confidence. It creates balance in spiritual endeavours and promotes divinely inspired leadership.

Ruby opens the heart to receive love as well as to give it and releases barriers created by holding hostility and anger towards the father or father figures in your life.  As the heart chakra becomes more balanced, you’ll feel more joyful, flexible and able to make decisions from the heart.

LAVATERA

Positive qualities: positive body image, sensuality, self-assurance, inner power, clear boundaries

Negative judgements about our bodies or certain parts of the body can be a huge barrier to self-acceptance and self-love.

Lavatera fosters greater love for the body and the ability to see the body as a sacred vessel for spirit. It awakens greater pleasure in the sensuality of the body, releasing dislike and negative judgements about the body.

As subconscious patterns of punishing or rejecting the body are released, it becomes easier to honour the body with positive food and lifestyle choices.  Lavatera brings confidence and clarity about your needs and the ability to express them.

 APPLE:

Postive qualities: self-acceptance, radiant confidence, receiving abundance

When we have difficulty accepting ourselves we find it difficult to receive from others – whether that’s love or kindness or compliments or abundance. When we focus on feelings about what we’re lacking on a personal level, this feeling of lack underpins our relationship to the world around us and we fail to notice and receive the abundance that’s there for us.

Essence of Wild Apple Blossom essence releases blocks to self-acceptance so that you’ll radiate your light into the world with confidence and receive greater abundance.

SWEETHEART ROSE:

Positive qualities: unconditional love, the ability to give and receive without expectation

Unconditional love is to love someone regardless of their actions or beliefs and that includes ourselves! We may think we need to be or do something different before we’ll be able to fully accept and love ourselves when the truth is we are all already perfect just the way we are.

Unconditional love is the vibration of pure love without conditions or expectations that is our true nature and Sweetheart Rose will help you to connect with the bliss and joy of unconditional love held deep within your heart.

The Self-Love Soul Blend will help you discover acceptance, love, compassion and forgiveness for yourself and radiate these qualities out into the world.

25ml Self-Love Blend: £10  + £2.50 p&p worldwide.

Click here to view full range of Soul Blends.

Feeling raw, tender, vulnerable or unable to tap into your inner source of love? Listen to the 20 minute Self-Love Meditation. This guided meditation will help you reconnect with love; the true nature of your Soul.

Download the meditation for your MP3 player by right clicking or control clicking on the download link below and selecting ‘save link as’

I’ve created this loving reminder for you to download in 4 different formats featuring beautiful apple blossom (one of the stars in the Self-Love Soul Blend) photographed by Jason Smalley:

Click here to download and print poster

Right click or control click (Mac) on the image and select ‘save link as’ to download iPhone/iPod touch wallpaper

Right click or control click (Mac) on the image and select ‘save link as’ to download iPad wallpaper

Right click or control click (Mac) on the image and select ‘save link as’ to download screensaver.

I’d like you to imagine we’re standing beside each other in an elevator, zooming up from the basement when you catch my eye and ask me what I do.

“I’m a vibrational medicine practitioner” I say and you raise an eyebrow, inviting me to elaborate. It’s good we’re standing so close because my voice is quiet and you can tell I prefer one-to-one conversations to group discussions.

I start to talk, drawing pictures in the air as I describe how vibrational medicine works and how I use it with people.

“Everything in nature vibrates at a particular frequency.

Scientific research has shown that different parts of our bodies have their own vibration and a healthy organ has a different vibration from an unhealthy one.

Similarly a loving thought has a different vibration from a hateful thought, and angry feelings have a different vibration from vulnerable feelings.

Take a moment to call to mind a time when you felt absolutely furious. Remember your feelings of rage and notice how your body responds. You might feel heat and notice your heart pumping or your body shaking. There may be a sense that you’re solid and immovable. You might frown or set your jaw solidly as your entire energy field responds to the emotion of anger.

Now let that feeling go as you take a few deep breaths to release it.

Now think of a time when you felt really vulnerable and insecure. Remember the feelings of uncertainty and notice how your body responds to that. You might feel small or cold or wobbly. There may be a sense that you’re not even really here and you could fall over or stumble easily. You might go pale, look down or even huddle up to protect yourself. Notice how different that feels to when you felt anger.

Now let that feeling go as you take a few deep breaths to release it.

Emotions are energy in motion and they’re meant to come and go easily, but often unhealthy emotions get stuck in our energy fields and we need help to release their vibrations.

That’s where I come in.

As a vibrational medicine practitioner I’m tuning into the vibration or energy of the patterns and issues that someone brings to me so I can match them to the most appropriate vibrational medicine to bring balance.

Our personal vibration is made up of the frequencies of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies interlinked together.  Every thought, feeling, belief and action contributes to our unique vibrations as individuals. That vibration or energy is constantly changing depending on what we’re eating, how we’re moving our bodies, what we’re doing, how we’re feeling, what we’re thinking and how we’re responding to life.

If you’re feeling really apathetic, haven’t left the house all day and you’ve been eating takeaway pizza and watching TV, your vibration will be much lower than if you’re feeling in love with life, you’ve been on a big walk in gorgeous countryside and you’ve had a green smoothie for breakfast.

Different flower and and crystal essences have different vibrations that correspond with the energy of particular emotions or beliefs or parts of the physical body. Essences that balance anger are different from essences that release feelings of vulnerability. Essences that energetically support the functioning of the heart are different from essences that support the reproductive system. 

Each essence contains the life force or vibration of a particular flower or gem or crystal. Think about an oak tree and the qualities it embodies. If you were to describe an oak tree what sorts of words would you use?  Words like strong, resilient and steady? These are the very qualities that oak flower essence restores when you take it.

If you were to describe a rose you might describe it as soft, romantic and beautiful.  Roses have long been regarded as symbols of love and all rose essences work on the heart; in one way or another opening it up more and more so we can experience divine love.

When you match the most resonant essence to an emotion or belief or physical issue, the vibration changes and deep transformation takes place.

Vibrational medicine (like flower and crystal essences) changes your vibration, so that you’ll feel better from the inside out. This makes them incredibly potent tools for personal growth and transformation.  I’d like to share this quote from Abraham Hicks with you:

“The amount of time it takes you to get from where you are to where you want to be, is only the amount of time it takes you to change the vibration within you. Instant manifestation could be yours if you could instantly change the vibration.”

I wonder where you want to be? What’s the vibration that needs to change so you can get there?

As you take essences, your vibration changes because you’re releasing the energy of old beliefs and emotions and disharmony. Most people say they feel lighter and closer to their true nature while they’re taking essences.

When we use vibrational medicine, we bring balance to our personalities and expand our consciousness.

We move deeper into our hearts and discover the nature of our own souls, experiencing more love and peace.

We realign with our truth, joy and purpose and and we feel it in every single cell. Life flows, we feel creative, inspired, fulfilled, joyful and truly alive.

From this place of greater alignment with our true essence, we manifest what we’re really here for.

We feel loving, expansive and connected and our inner light shines for all to see.”

Edward Bach, the pioneering medical doctor who discovered the Bach Flower Remedies in the 1930s would have been good at writing an elevator speech. In around a hundred words he expresses what it took me over a thousand to say:

“The action of these remedies is to raise our vibrations and open up our channels for the reception of our Spiritual Self, to flood our natures with the particular virtue we need, and wash out from us the fault which is causing harm. They are able, like beautiful music, or any gloriously uplifting thing which gives us inspiration, to raise our very natures, and bring us nearer to our Souls: and by that very act bring us peace and relieve our sufferings. They cure, not by attacking disease, but by flooding our bodies with the beautiful vibrations of our Higher Nature, in the presence of which disease melts as snow in the sunshine.”

So when people ask what I do, maybe all I need to say is “I help people to find peace and relieve suffering” and maybe all you need to say is “thanks for reminding me I need to pop into here and here on the way home!”

Want to work with me one-to-one?

I recommend the new TRANSFORMATION PACKAGE which is a personalised combination of Soul medicine for deep transformation over 3-4 months. I got creative dreaming up all the ways I can combine my skills to support clients and this is the result!

We’ll work together closely to make sure you receive all the support you need to clear the blocks that are holding you back, whether they’re emotional, mental, physical or spiritual.

You’ll have three one-to-one consultations and regular check-ins with me plus all my favourite Soul medicine to get you transitioning lovingly from where you are now to where you want to be.  We’ll shine a light on conscious and subconscious blocks and clear them with love, awareness, energetic tools and practical steps.

Ready to transform your relationships, your working life or unhealthy patterns? Click here to find out more.

These beautiful images are by Jason Smalley

Hermiker Diamond by Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com

Have you ever wondered how to make your own flower and crystal essences? I’ve made flower essences many times (and will be talking about how you can make your own here this spring) but I’ve never made a crystal essence or gem elixir so I was excited to see a video on creating a gem elixir by Stephanie from Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy when she shared it in the Goddess Circle.

Stephanie’s enthusiasm is infectious so I’m sure you’ll get inspired by her video too. She’s sharing some of her crystal wisdom plus a burst of Florida sunshine with us today so get comfortable, you could be making your very own gem elixirs soon too. N.B. Gem elixir, gem essence and crystal essence are all different words for the same thing (like flower remedy and flower essence).

You say you make the gem elixir before noon which is the same as in the flower-essence making tradition. Is the weather significant too? I try to make elixirs on a sunny summer’s day since that’s when the pranic energy from the Sun is most potent. Although I don’t think the Sun is necessary every time you make a gem elixir, if I’m going to make a batch of it for myself or to sell, then I will be sure to use the pranic Sun energy since I know this will give my gem elixir that powerful energetic boost! That’s why making several mother gem essences to store & work from makes things very easy because then I can just pull from that whenever the fancy strikes me to whip up an elixir…even at 2 am!

How do you preserve the gem elixir after you’ve made it? After I’ve made my Mother Essence, the original batch, I preserve this in high proof vodka with a 1:1 ratio and store in glass jars that I keep in a cool dark place. I then stick notes of intentions that correspond with the energies of the stones on the outside of the jar a la Dr. Emoto. For instance, if I’ve created a gem elixir for Love with rose quartz and perhaps rhodonite, I will write “I Love You” all over the outside. This sets up the energetic frequencies of love and helps to further program the water molecules.

Then from my Mother Essence, I will make a myriad of other items homeopathically. So I can add a few drops to a pitcher of water in the fridge & now my whole pitcher is filled with Love Vibes! We can drink from that sweet stuffs all week now. Or I can use it to make hot tea with. I may plop a tumbled rose quartz into that pitcher just for some extra added oomph….& because it’s pretty!

Do you use rough stones rather than polished? For gem elixirs that I’m making a Mother Essence from, I use whatever I have on hand as long as it’s not toxic. You can refer to my list here. If I will be leaving the stone in my water for ingesting then I prefer a well washed tumbled non-toxic stone.

When would you use a gem elixir rather than meditating or using a stone in other ways? It’s all intuitive. I go off of instinct on this. Gem elixirs certainly lend themselves more easily to anything long term or if I don’t have time to meditate. Many times, I am awfully unromantic about the whole thing…I may just feel I need something for the day & hastily plop a tumblie in my water bottle in the morning. And then sometimes, I’m very ceremonial about the whole process like I was recently for 11-11-11. I was whipping up gem elixirs all day, using my copper pyramids, Sun prana, my other crystals for amplification, my compass for directional alignments, I was going to TOWN & loving every minute of it!

I’m used to combining gem elixirs with flower essences but you use them in other exciting ways too. Tell me more! Yeah, I go pretty nuts with it. I’ll make all sorts of sprays, anointing oils, bath additives, tea, drinks (cocktails even!) Here’s a cute drink I LOVE to make (non alcoholic…hiccup!):

Citrine Hibiscus Soda Pick Me Up:
Hibiscus and rose hips are both full of vitamin C, which is damaged by heat. That is why I use a cold method to make this soda. This is a delicious & beautiful drink.

• 1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers (I grow my own)
• 1 tablespoon dried rose hips
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• Fill glass ½ full with club soda (soda water)
• 1/2 lemon
• Citrine gem elixir water
• 1 citrine stone in the bottom of the bottle or glass to continuously charge it

Which is your all time favourite gem or crystal for heart healing? Rose Quartz, not only is this the “love stone” but it brings about caring soothing compassion.

Which stone do you recommend for manifesting dreams? Herkimer Diamonds are known to enhance our dreams & visions by opening up spiritual gateways, making them extremely useful for dream work.

If you had to choose one stone for helping you to listen to your soul wisdom which would it be? Chrysanthemum Stone is great for doing any kind of soul work & discovering exactly what your soul’s purpose is in this life.

A big heartfelt thank you to Hibiscus Moon for sharing her sparkling gems of wisdom with us and now it’s time for the big sparkly Hibiscus Moon Giveaway!

Want to win a Crystal Grids Template Package?

• Crystal grids help focus your intentions intently like a laser beam on your dreams, enacting positive change.
• You’ll know exactly how to set up, activate & maximize the power of a crystal grid.
• Crystal grids are like a manifestation-amplifier for any area of your life — money, health, relationships, happiness.
• This package allows you to delve right in to the untapped power of communicating your dreams to the Universe & MANIFESTING with clarity!

To take part in the giveaway, leave a comment below by 9th February saying you want to participate. Read all about the Crystal Grids Template Package here and you’ll receive a free Create Your Own Sacred Space with Crystals eKit when you join Hibiscus Moon’s mailing list.

Hibiscus Moon in her own words:

Crystal Blessings. I’m Hibiscus Moon & I’m an author, workshop creatrix, teacher, mystical goddess & crystal junkie who LOVES teaching about crystals.

As a self-admitted complete & total science geek, I bring a dose (maybe a smidge more than a dose) of science to the topic of crystal healing, while trying to make sure we’re all still having lots & lots of fun! I live with my hubby, Frank & kitty, Topaz in bustling beach town, Pompano Beach, FL.

You can find out more about my products, book and classes here: http://hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com/

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