Everyday Alchemy

Ever have one of those days where you just didn’t know what to do with yourself? There is stuff to do but you feel listless and unfocused? Don’t give yourself a good talking to or “pull your bootstraps up”. Go softly, go gently and get yourself into a good state. Bullying yourself or psyching yourself up might shift things temporarily but rarely leads to any long term benefit.

Instead, take this time to slow down, reconnect with your spirit and allow the friendly universe to show you the way forward. This is the time to just breathe deeply, take a look around you for what is good in your life and do all those other things that raise your vibe.

• Connect with your soul family – there is nothing like conversing with those people who get you and accept you, just as you are. They don’t try to fix you or change anything. Although often when we are listless we want answers, that injection of love is what we need most.

• Feed your spirit – the word “inspired” come from the latin “inspirare” which means to take in spirit. So,let inspiration nourish your soul. This might be something creative like painting or writing. It might be dancing or singing. It might be taking in a good dose of beauty by walking in nature or getting some beautiful flowers. All help to give your spirit a recharge.

• Don’t just do something, sit there – for me, listless energy can feel depressed or manic. The best thing to do here is to sit down and get centred. Meditation or visualisation is even better. The listless energy is often free floating anxiety about the past or future, so bring yourself into the present by taking at least 10 very long slow deep breaths (Stacey Mayo’s excellent One Minute Meditation is also great). Touching the earth by sitting or getting your hands into dirt will help ground you as well.

• Get back in your body – this can mean exercise if that helps you but personally that doesn’t make me feel great at times like this! Instead, this is a great time to get physical, mundane stuff done. Washing, ironing, washing up, clearing out clutter (see my previous blog post – Spring fever – time to clear the clutter!). Putting your full attention on this is almost meditative, and I always get a sense of achievement from getting something done.

• See where the goodness is – it might seem like an old cliche, but nothing can help you feel you feel better more quickly like counting your blessings. It is often the last thing I want to do…but as they say, you get more of what you focus on. So, sit down with pen and paper and make a list of what is working. Put all the obvious stuff that everyone always says – health, friendships, whatever it is. It really does work.

All of this is going to help you slow down and hear the guidance of your spirit. Listening to that is the real key to feeling good and getting back on track.

What is your spirit saying?

I can’t even begin to express just how profoundly grateful I feel at the moment.  Things are flowing, I am feeling very present and in the moment.  I feel like I am being given the keys to the kingdom…or at least my kingdom a.k.a. my life .

Not even sure where to begin but the beginning is a very good place to start. It all begins when you make a decision to follow something that you are passionate about and feel like things just aren’t going to feel right unless you do. The point here is the word FEEL i.e. not think!  Then you follow it.   At first it is like walking with a stone in your shoe.  Until you answer the call of the very thing that your are passionate about, life is distinctly uncomfortable…sometimes just a little bit and sometimes a whole lot.   And sooner or later, it just gets on your nerves so much that you just have to say “Oh f&$k it” and just run with it, even if you don’t have a clue how or what to do. Making sense? Bear with me on this one.

This is otherwise known as following the creative urge.   Literally just following the urge to create for the hell of it.   Not to solve a problem or to get away from something.  Just creating because you want to.   This is an urge that I have had for a very long time but because I was busy trying to be an Intuitive Guide and Teacher and work at that because I thought I knew what it was and what it looked like. It never occurred to me that the creative flow might just reveal that to me and that I could have fun along the way.   So, recently I just had to say “oh f£&k it” and follow the urge.  Who would have thought?  Me…Mr Serious as I had become over the last few months/years/decades.  It all started with finger painting.  Then walks in the park (Regent’s Park is amazing…who knew? Everyone apparently except me who was busy doing other stuff!).   A very formative kid’s birthday party evening spent playing video games and assorted silliness with my friend Ian.  The point is, all this is fun and it is frivolous, but it is not escapist. It is following the creative urge.   Finding out that there is no “right” ways to create.  There is no “right” way to play.  There is no “right” way.  To quote my last blog, “there’s only one way….and that’s your own”.

It is funny because I thought I would be writing a blog giving lots of tips and all those serious points about life that other personal development blogs share.  But I guess at this stage, just sharing bits of the journey are enough.

Go out.  Play.  Enjoy the coming Autumn and the falling leaves.  Go kick the leaves as they fall.  Be a child again, even if just for a short time.  Give yourself permission to just be.  Create.  Something profound…or not profound.  Finger paint.  Sing.  Don’t give a stuff about what other people think.  It doesn’t matter what, just enjoy it. Enjoy your life right here and right now.  Not at some point in the future (something about journeys not destinations).  Let yourself feel – all of it.  And, then let go.

Maybe this is just assorted ramble right now, but that is fine…for right now, it’s just about creating magic.

I just stumbled across this which I wrote in March 2007. I had forgotten about it until now when I went back and found it. I found it interesting, as much for what has changed as for what has remained. But the fundamentals are still there. For your delectation, I present…

THIS I BELIEVE…

I believe that there is a way of things. I believe that there is a natural indeterrable order, a unifying force that connects us, binds us and guides us through subtleties and urges, visions and feelings to connect in whichever way we can with those around us, those in community with us and the environment that surrounds and protects us. I believe that life is basic, simple…that it is our stretching and reaching that bring complication and disillusion and that the answers that we are looking for are usually there, under our noses. It does not have to involve stress or hardship, at least most of the time, and that most of the time when these are present, they are of our creation.

Everyone has the right to live free and equal. We all bring incredible gifts to the party, variations in colour, creed and theme that add to the wonderful mixture of creativity and life-force. I know that often these things seem to get in the way, that we look for differences and divides to feel comfortable and safe as we feel challenged by the greater things we have in common. However, I know that when I am able to reach the highest part of myself, I can see beyond the barriers and, whilst it may be hard and scary, I can usually reach out and connect across the great divide. I believe that we all have this amazing power to connect, to feel and to see the divine grace that resides within each one of us. As we see this, we see reflected in it our own magnificence, our own innocence and our own greatness…our divinity. It is our soul, that part of us which is home regardless of our individual identity or beliefs. We are all connected, brother and sister in common unity.

I believe we are here doing the best that we can do at any given time. Our way of greatness and in seeing the magnificence of the world is in birthing the part of us that gifts the world the most. It is in our creation that our greatest purpose and meaning is to be found. It is what we create, how we use our life and our time here that determines what meaning we find. It is through this route that we tap into our greatest source of pure energy, pure aliveness where all is well and there is infinite possibility. It is through heartfelt feeling and desire that we connect and through connection that we create. It is in stillness that we find inspiration, the spark of life through which we channel our universal energy and create the renewal and rebirth of all things.

I believe in hugs and kisses and personal touch. We have such artificial boundaries at times in the name of decency, morality or business. I believe however that touch brings a level of communication and intimacy that goes beyond the rational mind. It opens our hearts, opens our souls and causes us to celebrate our bodies for the amazing creation they are. When we touch, our personal barriers are released even for a moment, and our souls bloom and flourish. We get out of our own way.

I believe in the connection that meaningful community brings. We grow, share and teach from experiencing life’s greatest experiences in deep connection with others. We expand our world, our vision, our sense of possibility, our sense of nourishment and our ability to serve something greater than ourselves through conscious communication and feeling in common with others. I believe that both in work and in play, lovingness and friendship can lower the greatest mountains and raise the deepest valleys, allowing us to soar in the great blue sky that life is.

I believe in the justice that exists in the natural order of all things. It is our right and duty to live, love and create. It is also our duty to break down barriers, see the truth and acknowledge the deep sense of peace and harmony that just exists in the green world around us. Nature is dependent and interdependent, there is no one thing that can live in isolation, that can exist without being part of a much greater whole. Everything is everything.

I see a greater world where all is in balance, all is in harmony, all is true. I believe that this is possible and real. We all have our part to play by expressing our gifts, bringing our love and unleashing our creativity.

I believe in the dignity of each person, regards of what they look like, what they believe in or who they fuck. I believe that this is untouchable, that it is one of the few fundamental truths out there. Everyone has the right to dignity and the true expression of their soul, regardless of how much money they have, where they live or what they do. I believe that we are all born equal and we ALL have the right to equal opportunity and to have a fair break in life. We all have the right to food, shelter, education, sanitation and a certain quality of life now that we are in the dawn of the 21st century. Part of that responsibility is to help others and the world that we live in, to not just receive to but give in equal measure and realise that this world is not just ours to consume. That there are consequences for generations to come and we are merely here as tenants for our time on this earth.

I believe in the sun on my face, the wind against my skin, the water that glistens and the earth beneath my feet. I feel the spirit in these things, the connection to that thing that is greater than me or any individual. I feel the flow of life in these things and I feel happy, alive, radiant and content.