Being Authentic

"With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity." Keshavan Nair

Identity is an elusive concept. We feel we must define ourselves using a relatively small selection of roles and conscious character traits, even if none accurately represents our notion of “self.” The confusion surrounding our true natures is further compounded by the fact that society regularly asks us to suppress so much of our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual vibrancy. Yet we are, in truth, beings of light—pure energy inhabiting physical bodies, striving for enlightenment while living earthly lives. Our true selves exist whether we acknowledge them or not, often buried under fears and learned behaviour. When we recognize our power, our luminosity, and our divinity, we cannot help but live authentic lives of appreciation, potential, fulfilment, and grace.

At birth and throughout your childhood, your thoughts and feelings were more than likely expressions of your true self. Though you may have learned quickly that to speak and act in a certain fashion would win others’ approval, you understood innately that you were no ordinary being. There are many ways you can recapture the authenticity you once articulated so freely. Meditation can liberate you from the bonds of those earthly customs that compel you to downplay your uniqueness. Also, communing with nature can remind you of the special role you were meant to play in this lifetime. In order to realize your purpose, you must embrace your true self by letting your light shine forth, no matter the consequences.

Rediscovering who you are apart from your roles and traits takes time and also courage. If, like many, you have denied your authenticity for a long while, you may find it difficult to separate your true identity from the identity you have created to cope with the world around you. Once you do find this authentic self, however, you will be overcome by a wonderful sense of wholeness as you reconcile your spiritual aspect and your physical aspect, as well as your inner- and outer-world personas. As you gradually adjust to this developing unity, your role as a being of light will reveal itself to you, and you will discover that you have a marvellous destiny to fulfil.

Have the courage to be yourself. Leave behind the fear that you will be judged, you may be, but those who love you, will love you for 'Who you really are, not who you portray yourself to be'.

Affirmation: I step forward, into the light calm and confident in 'who' I am.

I look in the mirror and like what I see!

In the hour of Advirsity, Be not without hope,

In the hour of adversity,

Be not without hope,

For crystal rain falls

From dark clouds

I Know I’m not the only one who will breath a huge sigh of relief at seeing the back end of 2009. There’s always a sense of relief and a strange fearful optimism that comes with ever New Year.  Oddly I can never reflect on the old year until I have entered the new. I lost many people last year, mostly people who were too young to die and more than one would think of as being a reasonable quantity in anyone’s book, but a friend put it in perspective when she said, ‘Well you shouldn’t know so many people’, and I suppose proportionally I lost no more than the average man. Ironically, each passing caused me to reflect on the vast amount of friendships I have formed both here and abroad through firstly my Calligraphy and Lettering Art and secondly my Spiritual beliefs. Almost all the connections and friendships made are from one or the other of these parts of me that I feel so hard to separate from the ‘Me’ within, the ‘Self’. When you hold your spiritual practices close to your heart it often challenging to ‘Believe’ that whatever happens, all is working out for the higher good.

Looking inward for a time helps us re-evaluate our goals and dreams. It gives us time to shake off that which is no longer working and reach for that which we truly desire. It’s when things seem at their very worst that we grow the most…. Often in leaps and bounds and looking at what there is to be grateful for can help us push away the negativity that can cripple even the strongest person.

Non of us can go through life without being battered around and punched in the gut now and again, for if we suffer no pain, we don’t know the joy of love. If we do not suffer loss, we don’t recognise and appreciate the gains. All in all, what we need to do during the bad times is hold on tight for the ride and reach out for that glimmer of light in the far distance and watch it grow ever so slowly larger,. Eventually the darkness fades and the light returns anew.

Lets make this year, a year of creativity. One where we fill the world with colour. Make art, make love, make new friends. Loose the fear of your art not being ‘good enough’, the act of creating is enough in itself. Create for the sheer pleasure of making something. Learn a new hobby, walk more in nature, play more and connect with your inner child. Build sandcastles on the beach, blow bubbles in the air, sing, dance and laugh more, loose that fear and above all else, fight adulthood at all costs!

I hope you have made your ‘Wish List’ for the year ahead. Fellow friends and bloggers, leave a comment and link if you publish your list. For those without a blog…. Is it not time to create one?

Bright Blessings,

Sue xxx

Hand Made Greeting Cards added to website

The GREETING CARDS section has been added to my shop!

Dance Like No-ome is Watching...

Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt and
Dance like no-one is watching

I love this quote and I have written it out countless times over the years. I think it resonates with the eccentric, Pixie, alter ego. Side of me. The one where in the right company I’m apt to do something out of the ‘norm’…. but I do have to be in the right company! Life is too short to be serious, embarrassed or shy.
The quotation was brought back to me during a post from The Daily OM, a website that I love for inspirational thinking and so often works in synchronicity with how I am feeling and what I am thinking of at the time. Regular readers of my blog, know how much I love inspiring or self development insights and so I would like to share the post with you….

November 19, 2009
Like No One Is Watching
Shake Your Tail Feathers

Most of us express our distinctiveness in many ways throughout our lives. Although, as we proudly share our offbeat traits and preferences with the world, we take great pains to downplay those eccentricities we ourselves deem odd. Instead of living lives coloured by these quirky impulses, we seek out socially acceptable outlets for our peculiarities. We may not realize that we are editing ourselves in this way because our individual societal awareness is unintentionally attuned to the attitudes of the people we encounter each day. Over time, we have learned to suppress some of the most fun aspects of individuality. To rediscover and embrace these buried traits, we need only ask ourselves what we would do if we knew for certain that no one would judge our choices.

Visualizing this day without judgment can help you better understand the idiosyncrasies that are an important part of who you are but seldom manifest themselves in your existence. Perhaps you secretly dream of replacing grown-up, conservative clothing in favour of a changing array of costumes. You may envision yourself painting your car electric-green, hugging the trees in a crowded local park, singing joyous songs as you skip through your community, or taking up an exciting hobby like fire spinning. Try not to be surprised, however, if your imagination takes you in unexpectedly simple directions. In your musings, you may see yourself doing things such as breaking out in dance or dying your hair a fun colour.

Regardless of the nature of your suppressed peculiarities, ask yourself what is really stopping you from making them a part of your life, and then resolve to incorporate at least one into your everyday existence. Life as we know it is so short. Making the most of years we are granted is a matter of being ourselves even though we know that we will inevitably encounter people who disapprove of our choices. When you shake your tail feathers like no one is watching, you will discover that there are many others who appreciate you because you are willing to let go of any inhibition. By doing this you help others know it is okay. No one else in the world is precisely like you and, each time you revel in this simple fact, you rededicate yourself to the celebration of individuality.

To find more inspiration...go to The Daily OM Website... and indulge yourself!

Quotation - Enjoy...

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so love the people who treat you right,
forget about the ones that don't,
and believe that everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance, take it.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy,
they just promised it would be worth it

I Need your help

I belong to a very special bunch of people. They are an eclectic mix of Wise Women. They are Creative Spirits, who have a lot to offer. For probably years I've been thinking of writing a book, but over the last year or so I've been toying with the idea of a collaboration. This collaboration will involve many people who I have grown to know and love through their Blogs, on Facebook and other Creative Groups of which I have the pleasure of being a member of.

The book itself will comprise of Photographers, Writers, Poets and of course all this backed up with Calligraphers and Lettering Artists.

The title of the book is to be something like " Things I have learned so far.... " and I hope the content will reflect and impart words of wisdom and inspiration to uplift the spirit and guide them on their journey.

Full credit to the artists and creators will be given and I will include a list at the back of the contributors Websites or Blogs.

For those who do not consider themselves Artistic, send me a quotation or two. You can send one line or a paragraph, one photograph or a series of photographs.....So whether Writer, Artist, Calligrapher, Lettering Artist, Poet or Creator of any kind,contact me direct on this email: letteringartist@gmail.com to register your interest and I will be in touch in due course. And please, feel free to pass this around to anyone who you think may be interested.

So.....Just "What is a Potboiler?"

Well....according to About.com it says that it's work of a low or poor quality, I wouldn't go that far and I've blogged about it on my Inspired by Script Blog.
As I am without a website at the moment and another will take quite some time to redo, I've took to selling my work through my studio blog.

As most of my traffic comes through my Creative Spirit (hello you lovely people and followers xxx) I will inform via this blog when I update....so please forgive the intrusion.

Below are some pictures of my 'Potboilers' for a closer look, do go and have a look at my other blog here inspiredbyscript.blogspot.com

I know that a lot of Creative Folk who have a blog sell their work and are reluctant to blatantly offer their work through their blogs...so I'm encouraging everyone who does to GO FOR IT! There is no need for embarrassed or feel you are being pushy, people have a choice. Who are you to deny them that right?

And here's a closer look....

I would rather spend my money on buying something hand crafted and unique and supporting a fellow artist, so if you do sell, please leave a comment with a link to your blog.

Unfortunately Etsy (although the sellers are worldwide) doesn't get the support and is not really well known in the UK.

Goddess Lovers....just go and have a look at this!

I've known Cari for longer than I care to remember.....12 years at least and possibly as long as 15! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun! We belonged to an amazing bunch of folk, worldwide and all Calligraphers or Lettering Artists and we belonged to a huge group... LONG before Social Network Sites came into being. We formed deep friendships and talked about not only our love of our craft, but our personal family issues too. Since Blogging and Facebook came onto the scene, we have forged even stronger bonds and we are getting closer and even more open about our individual spiritual paths.

For all you Goddess lovers out there (and even those who aren't) go and take a look at this post on Pagan Prayer Books the article is wonderful. What's even more wonderful is the link to The Giaian Tarot with it's gorgeous paintings of the cards, done in a rather unique way, and the descriptions are poetry in themselves and have a lot of inspiration.

Also on Facebook was a link to this book Earth Psalms where the writer Angela Magara rewrites the Psalms from a Goddess perspective. Angela also has a blog at Angela From The Center

Tomorrow I'm teaching at North East Scribes, and so looking forward to it. I hope the Lively Lettering and Contemporary Calligraphy goes down well. It's always inspiring in itself to get together with others and share so creative energy!

Lettering Art on Canvas - Rumi Quotation Let The Moving waters Calm Down

I've been working on a canvas today...... (Click on the pictures to enlarge)
Tomorrow (or should I say today - judging by the time!) I will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of two very good friends of mine Mrs Mog otherwise known as Amber Moggie or she who shall not be named (it;s all part of the mystery she tells me) and Mr Mog otherwise known as The Woodworker extraordinaire!

Now way way back in June Amber Moggie blogged about this shawl isn't it amazing and as I already have two shawls made by her, but neither of them Red, I just had to have it! That was the start of my 'Red' phase...and something that seems ongoing with me. Red is the colour of passion....hmmm not much happening in that department, but I seem to have an uncontrollable urge to buy RED stuff! Anyway, here is a sneak preview of the canvas I have done for her in return.

It's 16" x 20". Acrylic paint with silver pen and the lettering is done in FW Acrylic using a folded ruling pen and Brause nibs....specially flown in from the USA as I'm left handed and they have to be cut specially. No one supplied left handed Brause in the Uk and I find Wm. Mitchels terrible. I'm too heavy handed for them.

I've done a few Rumi Quotations lately and never even realised that this was one of his....just goes to show, you're never too old to learn something new!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share it with you before the presentation (*grin*)

I'm planning on doing a few stocking fillers both canvases and prints which will be sold as stocking fillers. As my website is down I'll post on here when I add them to my other 'Inspired by Script' blog and they're up for sale.

We Are All Creative!

Oh yes we are....EVERY single one of us!

Keep away from people

who try to belittle your ambitions.

Small people always do that,

but the really great make you feel

that you, too, can become great.

Mark Twain

I *love* Mark Twain quotations and this one reminds us to follow our bliss, despite others telling us otherwise.

I hear time and time again people say...'Oh your work is lovely, I 'wish' I was creative.... but I'm not', well have I got news for you, WE are ALL creative, each and every one of us. We are born creative. As children we play. We create pictures on paper and patterns in sand, we build things and make things. Only as adults we unlearn to create.

If you have an inbuilt desire to create (and I think there is more need for that today than ever before) then there is absolutely nothing standing in your way.

Our creativity is sparked by many things, it can be a simple walk in the park, a visit to an art gallery or craft show, some pretty colours contained in wool....so many things. You really have to leave behind your fear of being wrong, making a mess of something and get rid of that belief that you are not creative. Forget that past criticism that made you feel so useless at what you were trying to do.

My art teacher told my mother I would be better off taking another subject at 'O' level than art, for I had no talent, not even for Graphic Design...Well Mr Kettlewell (who happened to specialise in sign writing himself!) BAH ****-in humbug to you!!!! Ha Ha Ha!

And to a VERY well known top calligrapher (she who shall not be named and shamed here on my blog and in public) who told me I would be better off doing anything else than calligraphy... here's the two fingered salute to you too. Oh and I remember the poor timid ladies that came into my classes, cautiously telling me that they weren't sure whether they could learn calligraphy or not, because they were...LEFT HANDED!! Dread the thought....they said it like it was some catching disease...almost whispering it, you cannot imagine the look on their faces when I slowly learnt forward, with a pitiful look and said.....'So am I! It's great isn't it, we're one of only 10% of the population' *wink*

So, don't let ANYTHING or ANYONE stop you....the world needs us creatives and remember, if there were no creative people, nothing and I mean NOTHING would be developed and new things would just not happen.

For To Create,

Is To Touch The Spirit!

Are You An Innerpreneur?

I'm not sure whether or not you have noticed this little picture on my side bar over the last couple of days? If you haven't visited the site yet I ask you to do it right now! Go HERE I almost guarantee you will LOVE what you see, identify with it fully and it will answer a lot of questions.

Well....hands up if you are an Innerpreneur!

And please join the message board on the site, it's very new and very quiet and could do with a bit of spicing up. I'm not going to give any more away...I will leave it to you here's the link again:

http://www.elasticmind.ca/innerpreneur/index.php/2008/06/06/are-you-an-innerpreneur/

Motivation, Inspiration and Uplifting Quotations

Well folks I'm having problems uploading photos to blogger tonight.
I was asked at the weekend where a good quotation site can be found, so I'll give you some links to great Motivational and Inspirational Websites.

My long tome calligraphy buddie Teri Martin bot only has a wonderful website, designs pages for scrap booker and offer a free Quote of the Day, but she also has a fantastic achieve of Quotations searchable by words.

Motivate Us Dot Com is another great site with a large range of categories.

Follow Your Dreams dot com is another great site but I must admit I haven't been there for a while. It's still active though cos i've just tried it.

Inspirational Quotes is wonderful for shorter quotations perhaps more suited to cards.

Best Spirituality dot com A large range of Quotations from a wide variety of spiritual teachers and philosophers

And I've just found All Spirit Blog definitely worth checking out.

Salutation To The Dawn from the Sanskrit

Here's my second entry for the exhibition at Ripon Cathedral. I remember so clearly the first time I heard it, it was during a Hatha Yoga Class that I attended. Ahhhh happy days. Our tutor also covered Ayurveda Medicine and philosophy. I had already studied Tibetan Buddhism so the philosophy sat easily with me. My waking up routing every day was 3 full rounds of the Salute to the Sun.....crippling at first! Ohhhh I must get back to my Yoga.

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR A BETTER VIEW

The words are as follows:

Listen to the salutation to the dawn,
Look to this day

for it is life,

the very life of life,
In its brief course lie all the verities

and realities of our existence.

The bliss of growth,

the splendour of beauty,
For yesterday is but a dream

and tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well spent

makes every yesterday

a dream of happiness

and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well therefore to this day.
Such is the salutation to the dawn.

Sadly, no matter how many pictures I took of this piece, they never came out. The piece is framed and on sale for £95.

Exhibition Piece - Dreaming of Oneness by Jamie Sams

Oh I do hope that either one or all of these pictures enlarge

I was asked to submit a couple of pieces of work for the North Yorkshire Calligraphers Annual exhibition that is to be held at the prestigious Ripon Cathedral. The exhibition opened on Friday and will run for the month of October. Many of the pieces of work are for sale (including my own). 4 pieces actually sold as the exhibition was being hung!

As their founder and honorary President, I must admit I was feeling under pressure to 'produce the goods'. I felt really difficult knowing that many of the group are now up to my level!
For my first piece I chose a poem from the book Dancing The Dream, by Jamie Sams.

The poem is called Dreaming Oneness and goes like this....

Take me gently into the dawn,

Where my dreams become the light

Uniting with the radiance of the sun

Shedding the indigo of my spirits flight,

Return me to the waking world

With vivid images imprinting my heart

Grasping the maps of newborn paths

Allowing my life to become living art

Jamie's Website can be found here http://www.jamiesams.com/

Honest Blogger Award - Because SHIfT HAPPENS!

This award was ceated in response to the following post '
Telling It Like It Is'

WE ARE Honest Blogger!
the Sisterhood of
SHIfT HAPPENS!

As honest bloggers we:

(Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Add To...As You Wish)

* Speak our truth from the heart and tell it like it is.

* Share openly and honestly our true feelings without fear of judgement, Blame or shame.

* We write to share our achievements so others can also share our joy.

* We write about our bad times too, knowing that the love and support of others is around us and perhaps heal another’s pain in the process..

*We are human beings will real feelings and emotions and REFUSE to hide behind a mask.

* We dare to be different

* We are Free Spirits

* We realsie that by spilling out, we lighten our load.

* We acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses and don't see them in terms of success or failure.

* We laugh together and cry together

* We are all following our own journey in our own unique way

* Above all else, we may lie on the floor, screaming and kicking, or feel like life is collapsing around us once in a while….but at the end of the day, we drag ourselves up, dust ourselves off and rise to fight another day.

For we are Warrior Women and we write not to please others, stroke our own egos or be judged, we blog because we care!
Our blogs are our therapy, and through sharing SHIfT HAPPENS! This award was created in particular for the following Honest Bloggers for they have opened their hearts in public and gained many friends in return.... You are truly wonderful people! In no particular order, girls, ladies and goddesses all I present to you, the following Honest Bloggers....drum roll please...

Samantha at The Everyday Witch

Cj at Cj's Whine and Cheeze and The Compost Heap

Ambermoggie at The Mogs Blog

Sue at Spirit Whispers

Ceri at Chez Ceridwen

Leanne at Dorset Days Laoi at Solstice Dreaming

Sue at Green Whispers

Beth at Be Yourself

Rose at Living On The Wotchy Side

Tevor and Liz at The Diary of a Wotchcraft Shop in Avalon

Mel at From Clutter To Shine and Creative Clutter

Moonroot at Moonroots Blog

Oh and there's probably 100's more I could add!

Please accept this Award in the spirit in which it was intended. Feel free to take and use the picture and do with it what you will. (She Grins) You can add your own reasons for awarding someone it if you pass it on, you can add links to your blog, you have no obligation at all, I just wanted to let you know that you are one helluva Honest Blogger!

For other Honest Bloggers.... and there are many out there, please feel free to take the award either for yourself or someone else, the choice is yours. Leave a comment and or link at the end of this post....so others can celebrate your or their Honesty!

Affirmations - What they are and how to use them

I really feel like I could write a book about this, so this post will probably be much longer than I intend….. nothing new there then lol.

First off……..

For anyone who’s a cynic about these things, you really have to be committed and try them ad hopefully it will prove to you that WORDS HAVE POWER! More importantly, what you say to yourself magnifies, whether it’s negative or positive. We have all been guilty at one time or another of pulling ourselves down. It’s east to think the worst of ourselves. Usually the words we choose to use to ourselves are designed to chip away at our self esteem and confidence to such a degree in severe cases it can lead to depression and a general feeling of unworthiness. Very often these negative self beliefs have been sown by someone else. A comment made in jest can so easily play on your mind. Other times you can create them all by yourself.

If you practice Affirmations I will practically guarantee that you will see an improvement. I say practically guarantee, because you really have to WANT to change and some degree of responsibility for that lies on your shoulders.

Long before the book The Secret came out (a book I absolutely abhor by the way, as it equates money and possessions as affirmations) where was I (jumps off soap box!) yes long before The Secret and The Laws of Attraction came out, a lot of us were already practicing Affirmations.

So……

Put simply an Affirmation is ‘The 3 P’s’
It’s POSITIVE
It’s PERSONAL to you
And It’s PRESENT… ie you speak it as if it’s already happened.

If you think about it logically, a lot of negative self talk can bring you down to rock bottom. Feeding the sub conscious with thoughts that you probably wouldn’t even say to your worst enemy….
I’m so fat!
I’m so thin!
I’m so stupid!
I hate myself!
I’m just an idiot!
I’ll never have any money!
I’m always so skint!
Everyone hates me!
Everyone takes me for granted!
Etc. etc. etc….BLAH BLAH BLAH

Now if you can talk yourself into believing these things about yourself, it stands to reason that doing the opposite will make you believe the good things about yourself, and in turn attract those things to happen and right before your eyes.

So an affirmation about say….
I NEVER have enough money
Should be changed to
I ALWAYS have enough to get by on.

I am so fed up
Should be changed to
I am happy

I feel ill
Needs to be changed to
I am healthy

I actually sell Affirmation cards, but would like to do a giveaway for anyone who these cards will be of use. The idea is that you pick one card out a day and say it repeatedly to yourself. I used to write them on post it notes and leave them all over the house…on doors, fridges, mirrors…anywhere I would look frequently over the day.
How To Get Your FREE Pack…
1) Leave a comment on my blog
2) Email me direct at inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk so I can email you a PDF which you can them print out, cut up and use.
3) Place the word AFFIRMATION in the subject line to save it getting lost into all the spam!
4) Please note, you MUST been signed into Blogger Anonymous comments will not be accepted and you MUST be able to read PDF Format.
5) Offer ends this Sunday (24th May) and your files will be sent early next week. This will save me missing anyone out and also save time too!

Simply open the PDF and Print onto card!

After that....if you want a set you'll have to pay for them like everyone else lol.

Books That Could Change Your Life....FOREVER!

There aren’t many of us that reach adulthood, unscathed, well balanced and well adjusted human beings. Virtually all of us at one time or another, will have events that make us sit up, take stock and look really hard and deeply at our lives. We can choose to hide away in the hopes that if we ignore it, it will go away. It doesn’t! It may take many years to rear it’s ugly head and the world feels like it’s crashing down around you. Those who bury their inner most pains, fears, sadness, anger, resentments and many other negative feelings can suffer terribly with anxiety, depression or even worse a complete and absolute nervous breakdown.

On my blog I try and be as open and honest as I can. Hopefully connecting to others and hopefully identifying ways of thinking, feeling and changing our beliefs about ourselves and life in general. We are after all, human beings with many, many emotions, some good, some bad….but at the end of the day, whatever we go through can lead to one of two things, either you’re a survivor or a victim. Be assured though, whatever your weaknesses either now or in the past, you are not alone. I hope by wearing my heart on my sleeve you may find help, inspiration, comfort and support.

We all have challenging situations in life, all through our lives. We all have to face up to our inner selves at some point in order to grow. Some of the most painful and frightening situations in our lives are the greatest teachers. With this in mind, I want to share with you, the 5 most important books that changed my life, my way of thinking and probably set me on a wonderful path of self discovery that I share with others on a regular basis. I hope that this particular blog entry comes just at the right time to help even just one person….for if it does, it will be time well spent. I hope to blog more about this over the next few weeks and for far too long, it’s where I’ve wanted my blog to go. To motivate, to heal, to inspire. I could post these on a separate blog, but feel that my main blog is where people will find it most readily. Anyway….on with the post……

YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE
At 23 I was diagnosed with pre cancerous cells of the cervix. Pretty terrifying at any age, but with a 4 year old son….even more frightening. For 3 years I was told that there was nothing to worry about, and the cells could change back just as quickly. Then after repeated smears and regular check ups, they decided, well actually, we were probably wrong and you need a hysterectomy. Yeah right! Like hell I thought!
The book You Can Heal Your Life was a particularly hard one for me to read, but I found it fascinating as to how our thoughts, beliefs, fears, anxieties and anger etc. can actually lead to a physical condition, basically that I caused this on myself! Some of the book I was ready to accept, some not, some I accept now later in years, some I will never accept (and that’s my choice). However, probably the most valuable thing I learnt from the book was the power of Affirmation. Something I am still really big on today (more about this coming soon).
(read some of the book here) By the way.... just for the record...I was clear of cancer after 1 year of diagnosis with minimal treatment and have been clear ever since. While I do not advise anyone to try this route, in my case it was an option and one that I decided to take. Fortunately it worked for me.

YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE LUXURY OF A NEGATIVE THOUGHT
Just after reading this book I came across another called You Can’t Afford The Luxury of a Negative Thought. With the subheading of: For People With Life Threatening Illnesses, including life itself! I learnt many things from this book and it’s an easy one to dip in and out of. It’s been well used over the years (as have all these books I recommend!) But one of the most important things I learnt, is that if you have an illness, and one person has survived, there is no reason why you should not be the second. If no one has survived, then there’s no reason you should not be the first. This philosophy was to be proved with my long term pen friend, who had such a severe form of cancer, he should basically have been dead before he saw the consultant! As the longest anyone had survived this cancer was 6 months. I talked to him, sent him a copy of the book and kept in regular contact. He went down in the Lancet Magazine as the longest survivor of Oats cancer, living a further 8 years and dying at the grand old age of 88!

LIVING MAGICALLY
Then a chance meeting with a friend who called round for coffee, showed me the book Living Magically by Gill Edwards. A book based on metaphysics and self awareness which was to open many avenues and doors for me, and enabled me to once again look at the bigger picture and tackle the demons within. It was probably the beginning of my spiritual journey as I know it today and lead to many, many paths of self discovery. It’s not fluffy or super spiritual hocus pocus nonsense, just a good all round starting point for anyone wanting to see past the world we live in and explore new ways of thinking.
(You can browse some of the book by clicking here)

CREATIVE VISUALISATION
Along side all these books on self awareness, taking responsibility for my mental, emotional and physical health and well being came the deep need to learn to meditate. I had tried so many times to meditate but found it so hard to quieten the mind, still those thoughts and cut out the outside world. After reading and trying just one of the exercises (the pink bubble technique) I found that at last I could meditate and visualise to the extent that where I ended up, I didn’t want to come back from! Lol. The Book Creative Visualisation worked well with the other self help/self awareness books I was reading and more and more I was committing myself to take charge of myself and my own health. Some of the tools I still use today and get others to practice too, if you want to see more (read some of the book here)

FEEL THE FEAR....And do it anyway!
Feel The Fear….and do it anyway is another book I advocate. It’s a fantastic motivator which helps you move through your fears whether money, relationship, you job or other situations which hold you back in life. The aim of the book is to offer readers a path of re-learning, by means of which they can get rid of faulty thinking, feel the fear and push through it to turn anger into love and indecision into action.

SELF ESTEEM AND PEAK PERFORMANCE
I suffered severely with S.A. D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and Winters were a nightmare. Every year was the same. Once the light started to fail and the weather grew colder, my moods became so low I was probably borderline suicidal. Only sufferers of this disorder can identify with the absolute disperse that this condition brings and the abject misery that it inflicts not only on ourselves, but those around us.
I didn’t read a book by Jack Canfield, but listened relentlessly to an audio set of about 8 tapes. I listened to them back to back day in and day out while I worked. The audio book was called ‘Self Esteem and Peak Performance’. It was primarily as a sales and marketing tool but very bound up with the Self Esteem side of things. His audio books are now available to the wider public (click here for a list). Jack Canfield is now recognised as one of Americas leading motivational and life coaches. One of the ‘old school’ who probably inspired most of today’s self healing and self awareness coaches all over the world. Jack has also written or co written Chicken Soup FOR The Soul, which many of you will be more familiar.

So I share with you these books in the hope that they help someone somewhere. You are not alone. Learning about self awareness, self improvement and self help techniques to get you through is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary, it’s a sign of strength. I’m not saying that by learning and reading these books will prevent you from ever suffering again. We cannot avoid crisis’s happening. Crisis is not dependant on how rich you are, how healthy you are or how good and or clean you live your life. The just happen…to everyone at some time of other. What you will gain however are methods and tools to help guide you through, tackle those unwanted thoughts and behaviour patterns that hold you back and give you the chance to live your life in joy, happiness and wisdom.

Hand Made Books Added to my Etsy Shop

Quick email. Really miffed at eBay and decided that My Etsy Shop is the best place for my work. Ebay, apart from putting up their shop prices to extortionate prices are now trying to persuade people back.....in my usual untactful way, I ask everyone to boycott them. Their fees are crazy and if anything goes wrong they absolve themselves of every responsibility and tell you it's 'Against Ebay Policy'.

UK Sellers on Etsy are growing in numbers. etsy is far more geared up to Hand Made Goods. Their fees are low, so UK makers and shakers....open a shop...IT'S FREE! And the most important thing is it's totally interactive with chat rooms and like minded groups. What does need to happen though is more of the UK sellers to spread the word and let people know about it, by promoting it on as much material and by word of mouth as is humanly possible.
Anyway.... if you want to see my New Journals CLICK HERE

Be Careful What you Wish For

Oh yes! Be VERY Careful What you Wish For!

Above photo is by Denis Brown’s Wishes Series

One of the things I hate to hear is someone saying to another ‘Be Careful’. It contours up and says to the unconscious mind that they are not safe and something terrible is more likely than not going to happen to them. So when I say, Be Careful What You Wish for, I mean it as in be careful what you put out there, for what you wish for will come true, whether your wish is a prayer or a spell, and what you put out there comes back to you 3 fold, so when wishes come true make sure your really ready for whatever comes your way.

As Beltane fast approaches the earth waking up with great velocity. The God and the Goddess and joined in union, the male and the female of plant, animal and human are bouncing about with renewed energy and natures flow is in full swing.
The Pixies market garden (well it certainly looks like one!) is well on it’s way and my original ‘Wish List’ created in January is well on it’s way to being completed, and that’s without even trying! I have planted for what feels like weeks and weeks and much to my amazement, things are starting to grow. I’ve planted, potatoes, carrots all colours and varieties, parsnips, courgettes, peppers, runner beans, French beans and broad beans, beetroot, spinach, aubergines (doing very nicely) and sweet corn (also doing very nicely). My salad stuff is starting to grow too, spring onions, radish, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and other salad leafs, hopefully the Pixie will eat cheap this year. I’ve been vegetarian for 25 years now so eating rabbit food holds no fear lol.
I’m enjoying coming home at night and watering the plants, there’s something really wonderful about getting back to nature and compost up your nails. It did play havoc with the French manicure I had last week though.
Ah well, every blessing has it’s down sides.

’m looking forward to my friend Ambermoggie and Mr. Mog’s, coming to stay for a couple of days next week, a great surprise for Beltane and it will be so good to catch up. I met them both around…. Hmmm must be 7 or 8 years ago now. We were close the minute we met and have stayed in touch ever since. I’m so looking forward to seeing them again, so it will be a short week at the studio, ahhhh the joys of working for yourself!

I also wished for an exhibition and it seems to have plopped right down on my lap. It will be scheduled for October, plenty of time for advertising, press releases and marketing, hopefully with a preview evening. We’ve (Me and Spirit Whispers) have decided to call it ‘The Spirit of Nature' a subject close to both our hearts. We are holding a joint exhibition which lessons the burden and pressure of getting a stack load f work out. Although 5 months sounds a long time, it isn’t. We’ve already had 4 months of this year! And before we know it Summer Solstice will be here…. Yes folks it’s only 7 weeks away! So, it will be all hands on deck for the next few months. Funny how things work out, looks like the Pixie is going to be busy, busy, busy and so glad I only have myself to please and no one else to consider, cook for, clean for, wash for. Once your kids are all grown up, it’s the time when we women, finally find time for ourselves, and it looks like I better enjoy it while it lasts, for I had a dream that Grandkids will be on the way far sooner than I think! And I think my son Paul and Sarah will be a tad bit shocked as to how fast they come along too! Lol.

All photos are of Denis Brown’s Wishes Series

How Do You See Deity?

I’ve known about Alex Langstone’s for a couple of years now and have been visiting his blog Spirit of Albion regularly over that time. I find his posts interesting and informative and connect with him on many levels.
During the OBOD course one of the questions asked is ‘How Do You See Deity?’ a question that I find very hard to explain. I ‘know’ it inside and outside of me, but trying to put it into words to explain to anyone else becomes almost impossible. Then I read this wonderful article Pantheism by Elizabeth which is so well thought out and eloquently put, I wanted to share it with you . Further articles can be found at Alex’s Druid Grove of Bega site.
So click on the link here to read the article.


So how do you see Deity? Please either leave a comment and/or link to your post by adding you link to your comment.

Well, that said, it's another beautiful day, so I'm off into the garden to worship the sun god, and tend lovingly to my mother earth! Ain't life perfect, just the way it is. No matter what struggles we go through in life... the Wheel just turns naturally and without any intervention from man! Bliss!