When the bleedin obvious isn’t actually obvious after all, what do you do? Answer – listen to your body!

It has been a rather tumultuous time for us lately (great British understatement!) Hence the lack of a post last month.

Last June, a brush with Covid highlighted pre-burn out and how I really had to set boundaries and curtail my activities, even though it was the very last thing I wanted to do.

Since then, things took a nosedive, til, at the end of January, things came to a head. I have for many years, felt that I had discovered the very bottom of the barrel, however, each time, something new would come along to make me realise that no, actually, life could get worse. I’ve been pushed to the absolute limit in terms of what I could take physically, mentally and emotionally.

On my birthday (as it happened), I finally reached the end of what had been a very long rope! Less than 24 hours later, the pressure lifted and with it the circumstances that had been causing so much trauma. Yay! – except I was pretty much on the floor energetically speaking. Thinking was done through a fog. Trying to cope with simple tasks could throw me into tailspin – and as for doing two things at once…! This, despite the fact that I am, and have been, an excellent plate spinner – occasionally while doing the tango at the same time! 😉

So – when, quite by chance I came across an opportunity to attend a short course of webinars to learn a new healing modality, the obvious answer to that would be – forget it! Or would it? Because, you see, I wasn’t (given that I’m not quite that stupid) looking for that at the moment. The healing modality had been on my radar for a while, but I hadn’t felt drawn to explore it. Until now, that is.

Given the bonkers timing it seemed logical to draw up a list of questions to ask myself. Like:

Have I gone mad? (good opener!)
What makes me think I’ll be able to have the brain power and focus to take it in?
Am I just looking to ‘collect’ another healing modality; learning for the sake of learning?
Can I afford the time and money?
Shouldn’t I wait and see if the opportunity comes up again at a more convenient time?

By the next morning, however, I was suddenly very clear that this course was drawing me like a magnet. Forget the dos and don’ts, the shoulds and should nots. My instinct was telling me in no uncertain terms that this was something I needed to do. Now. Not at an unspecified future time.

I’ve had a lot of experience of listening to my intuition so I know when it’s yelling at me. Hence, I signed up.

So, what happened? Did I fall over? Could I possibility fit anything more into my overcrowded head? Well, yes, as it turns out. The course was exactly what I needed – needed to know and needed to do. Perfect! But at the maddest time imaginable for me, personally. Which brings me to my point.

Logic and common sense are great. Thinking before you act can be important, but there are times when you have to do the wild thing (no – not THAT wild thing!) 😉 even though it might seem ridiculous.

Our brains are very clever and they’re used to being in charge but they don’t know everything. So, at the end of the day, don’t assume that what looks good on paper will be good in real life, or, that just because something was true once it will be true again.

Circumstances change, people change, energies fluctuate. Even what your body needs, or can tolerate, in regard to food and drink can change daily. So, it’s always wise to check in with the part of you that might know things your brain doesn’t. And if that intuitive knowing seems ridiculous, then question it by all means, but let it have its say, because sometimes the thing you least expect is exactly what you need.

Why we stopped offering healing sessions – and how to avoid burn-out

Back in August we stopped offered healing sessions to clients with the idea that we needed a break and could recommence in September, but it is now nearly the end of October and we’re still out of commission. Out for the count more like!

Particularly for me, my body got to the stage where it ‘refused to cooperate’ in terms of doing energy work on other people. After all, if you want to give energy, you have to have some first! Which is, rather, the moral of this story! If you’re constantly giving out, whether it’s looking after your family and friends, or being run ragged at work. If you never give yourself a break, always put yourself and your needs last, then — eventually — however fit and healthy you are, however strong-willed, there will come a point where your body will make its feelings known. And when you ignore those feelings or those physical symptoms then your body will try something else.

Now, I hate to be negative and I don’t like people who proclaim that certain things will happen to you, as though it is ordained from on high, so please don’t take it like that! I am just talking from my belief and my experience.

If you’re the exception to this great — keep going if that’s what you want — but otherwise, please pay attention to the signals that your body is giving you that it has had enough and you need to make some changes. Otherwise, it will just start shouting louder and eventually, as with me, it may take over completely and make the decision for you!

Which, of course, is where I am now, and I am fortunately in a position that we can still keep going even without the income from clients. Phew! It’s not ideal though, especially since the energy work is really my raison d’etre — my ‘prime directive’ if you like — and NOT doing it feels very strange, as though part of me is missing. However, I got myself into this — gotta put my hands up here! — and so I’ll have to do the work to get myself out.

In this case, the ‘work’ is ‘no work’ and I have been listening hard to what my body wants, whether it is doing more exercise and getting out in the fresh air, growing things in the garden or taking up a new creative hobby. In fact, it is sobering to think that I have so many hobbies that I don’t ever indulge in!

So maybe it’s time to learn from my mistakes and ask yourself what do you like to do outside of work, whether work is looking after your family, or a different career. And do you do it?

Just from a basic self-care point of view, are you (at least trying) to eat right, exercise enough, get a reasonable night’s sleep, limit your screen time and do things to keep yourself grounded? Any of those would be a great start.

And before you start with the ‘oh, buts’, think about how you’d have to make it work if you didn’t have a choice, or what advice you’d give to someone else in your position.

Multi-tasking is good, like listening to a podcast in the car, or on the bus, going to bed half an hour later to give you time for some self-care or getting up half an hour earlier (not my personal favourite I have to say!)

What are you doing that you don’t really HAVE to do, or you feel obliged to do, or you feel others would criticise you for giving up? What do you do that really makes your heart sink and drains your energy for the rest of the day? And what would happen if you stopped doing it?

Would the world REALLY end? Do the sheets really have to be washed every week? Can you let the garden go wild for a bit? Just because you’ve always done something for someone, does that mean you have to do it for ever?

And all the time, ask yourself the question — what if you really couldn’t do it anymore and the choice was out of your hands? Of course, that’s a cop out. Some of us would rather wait for our bodies to pack up, and make the decision for us as it takes away the responsibility, but, as always, it’s your decision.

You’re in charge. I know it might not always feel like it but, not making a decision is still making a decision. And with the world the way it is, now would be a very sensible time to take extra care of yourself.

Cosmic Cats and the Zodiac

Daniel has recently been working on a series of illustrations exploring the western zodiac.

The zodiac itself is made up of twelve signs, each with a unique energy or feeling. Every sign has one of four elements and a ruling planet/planets. These affect the signs in various ways.

When you observe the zodiac as a whole it reveals a complete narrative, initiated by the fiery spark of Aries and completing with the transcendental power of Pisces. As the narrative progresses there are moments of light and darkness, expression and introspection… All are necessary aspects to drive the narrative forwards.

After Pisces, we jump back to the beginning with Aries. However, this is always with a greater level of experience and awareness!

Autumn is part of another cycle. A cycle of seasons. As we move into autumn, consider taking some time for yourself to self-reflect. The zodiac is just one of many cycles that can affect our daily lives. Cycles like the zodiac allow for growth and expansion by their design (if you allow them).

Unfortunately, some cycles can be destructive. It is up to us individually to use discernment to identify these cycles and to disempower them. This, as always, begins with awareness…

What cycles are you currently participating in? Are they serving you? Take some time to sit with those questions and see what answers come to you.

If you are interested in exploring astrology further or booking a reading, we can highly recommend Soul Sloth Astrology with Colbe Barrett.

Daniel spent time meditating with all of the signs individually before bringing their energies onto paper. You can visit Instagram to see the completed set of illustrations.

“I’ve been working on a series of channeled drawings exploring the different energies and aspects of the zodiac. (Featuring our cat, Moo!) I had a lot of fun working on these and experimenting with various compositions and colours. I also used a mix of traditional and digital media with a technique I hope to explore in future artworks.”

– Daniel Saunders

Prints available on Redbubble, as well as T-shirts, and other merch.

You can also support Daniel’s work by visiting Ko-Fi and
“buying him a coffee”!

Don’t rise up — ground in! The myth of ascension and why it’s missing the mark.

If you’ve been surfing anywhere in the metaverse you will have come across talk of ascension – something, we should all be aspiring to because, apparently, all the world actually needs is for humanity to ‘rise up.’

Isn’t that great? Take a look at humanity. There are a lot of good people in the world, but do you actually see them ‘rising up?’ No, neither do I. It would take a miracle. And if you’ve been watching the world over the last few decades you’ll realise we are about all out of those!

But what about God? Angels and archangels. Higher vibrational beings. Aliens from outer space. Are they helping us at all? Well, yes, actually. There are a ton of higher vibrational energies being directed at earth and have been for a while.

All sorts of beings are working to raise the vibration of earth and trying to help humanity, which is great. Unfortunately, there seems to be a problem.

These helpful energies are bouncing off, or getting stuck, before they can ground down into the lower and more physical vibrations. And why is that? Well, suffice it to say that unfortunately, good is not the only energy out there!

That is a problem, because in order to manifest things into the world we need to bring our visions down from the clouds of our imagination to a level where they can become physical.

We might all have a ‘higher self’ but ultimately we’re here in physical bodies. So we need help at the physical level. And quite frankly, if all we’re doing is thinking about attuning to higher vibrations and how to ascend, then we’re doing the wrong thing!

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with tuning in to higher vibrational energies and beings, but on its own, it’s just all too airy fairy to do any actual physical good.

I realise this might all sound rather negative and yes I am absolutely having a rant, but never fear, there is some very good news!

The energies that the planet and its people need in order to become more enlightened as a species are already waiting for us. And instead of ‘rising up’ to meet them, we need to pull them down — or ground them in — to our level.

Imagine them as balloons. If we float up to meet them, we can hang there in the sky, being about as helpful as a chocolate teapot, but if we grab their strings and pull them down, then all that peace, love and pure intent can manifest through us into the physical world.

So if you really want to do some good in the world, for god’s sake don’t float off into the ether. It might be nice up there but it’s a total cop out. The world needs you and it needs you down here, in the present moment, in your physical body acting as a grounding force for these wonderful energies that are being directed at the planet.

There’s nothing to say you can’t pop out and in and take an occasional trip in a balloon 😉 but at the end of the day you came to earth for a physical experience and earth needs you here and present to usher in the new age of love and light, that everyone is talking about.

So, walk barefoot on the earth, go on a digital detox, be mindful and conscious of being in your body. Tune into those wonderful energies hovering over the planet and deliberately draw them down onto the planet where they are so desperately needed.

One word of warning however — not all the energies aimed at the planet are as pure they ought to be — so use your discernment. If you are absolutely sure what you are grounding in, then do it.

If not, you can help by staying as grounded as possible in your physical body. We all watch TV and scroll mindlessly on our phones, but be aware, and try to keep it down.

Do more exercise, go out in nature, don’t spend every minute looking at a screen (she says while typing – but bear with me!) and, above all, try to be mindful of being in your body and in the present moment.

This is what the world needs right now. Tempting as it is to just float off away from everything, hang on in there and you can help humanity usher in a new age.

Are you moving forward in your life or are you stuck in the same place no matter what you do? There might be a reason for that!

What does going forward in your life mean to you? No, what does it really mean to you? Humans are many layered and you have to dig deep if you want to find your real motivation — but it’s worth doing, as once you’ve uncovered it you can find out why you’re not succeeding. Once you have all the facts then you’re in a position to make a decision.

Maybe you want to sell more products, or attract more clients. If you suddenly get hoards of people knocking at your door (or your website!) asking for appointments what might that change mean for you? What will it require from you? Will you have to make a decision? How will your life have to change in order to get what you want?

Your subconscious fear of having to make changes, take accountability, meet demand, be responsible for people etc are all things that might hold you back energetically from getting what you want.

You have to decide what is best for you, what you can handle and then do it —or not do it. You don’t have to worry as all the control is in your hands, but in order to take control you need to know what the parameters are. You need to know what the likely consequences of change are and whether you can handle it — both consciously AND subconsciously.

So, ask yourself the questions. Do I really want this change? And see what the little voice within says. If you get a no when you expected a yes, then it’s time to ask another question. Why is that? What will it mean for me/my life/my family? You might be surprised by the response.

This is where you find out whether you and your subconscious are on the same page. It’s not just about the ‘little voice’ though – it’s noticing how it feels when you think about it. You might find those feelings contradict how you think you feel about going forward, in which case — congratulations! You’ve just discovered what was getting in the way of your success – and all because you were not aware that part of you was feeling that way.

Human beings are complex and many layered so if there is part of you that is saying no, it makes the energy of your focused intent less powerful which attracts less people/less money/less success — whatever it is you were working on.

So, what do you do now you have that useful nugget of information? Well, you ask more questions. For example, if you feel fear or panic when you think about getting what you want, then you need to ask yourself (your inner self) why that is.

Listen for the little voice that tells you you’re frightened of more responsibility or having to rely on your own judgement, or the possibility of overwhelm. Whatever it is, it’s information. Talk to yourself like you would another person. Give yourself advice, and see where that takes you. Hopefully to a place of better clarity and from there you can decide whether going forward is something that you really want, or something that you actually can’t cope with.

Just remember, it’s up to you. Nobody else really knows what you should do or what is right. So cut out the noise from society, family, friends, social media — even your partner or mentor. Because they don’t know what is right for you exactly at this moment. Only you can decide that, once you have consulted with all the layers of yourself. It’s time to step up to the plate, affirm sovereignty over your life, and get to it. Or don’t! It’s your choice.