Everyday Alchemy

I dream of the ancient redwood forests, timeless, eternal, living, breathing.

I dream of the mountains stretching into the sky, as they have done for millions of years.

I dream of the vast blue ocean an the crashing of waves.

I dream of a time when there was only stillness, vastness, eternity.

I dream of now.

What do you dream of today?

Spring is most definitely in the air so it’s time to blow away the cobwebs and get moving.  Spring means it’s time to get clear, lighten up and let go.  Ready to release all that stuff that is cluttering up your life?

Why on earth would I want to do that?
Old stuff weighs you down energetically.  Everything has a vibration and if it’s just clutter, it zaps your vibration.  Plus, there’s no room for anything new and cool to come into your life.  So, let nothing be in your life that doesn’t give you a strong, positive vibe.  Only keep what you love.  Get that done and you will feel energetically a hundred times lighter AND  give all those new manifestations room to materialize as well.

Great, but I have so much stuff…where do I even start?

1. Know your intentions – you are going to get rid of anything that doesn’t support your intentions and leave you in a high vibe.  This isn’t the time to hold onto stuff “in case you might use it later.”
2. Get prepared – having your clearing strategies ready.  Where possible, don’t just toss things into the landfill!  Get boxes ready for anything you can recycle or donate.  Know where your recycling point is and where your donations can go.  That way, when you are tossing stuff, you can just take it straight out.  If you need to just get rid of stuff, do it.
3. Start in the easiest place…the bathroom – go in and get rid of all the old lotions, potion and half used bottles.  All the old samples, that eye cream that you used once.  All of it.  Don’t you feel lighter already?!
4. Keep up the momentum…bedroom time – while you have momentum, clear out all the old clothes that no longer fit, are no longer flattering, out of style.  The acid test? You have to feel great in it.  Not slouchy or slumpy…GREAT.  Few great pieces = easier to mix and match and feel good all the time.  Donating clothes also gives someone else the chance to feel great as your stuff may look great on them.
5. What’s next? – all the other places that clutter hides…you know where!  The kitchen, the garage, that old pile of magazines that you will never read.  Time for it all to go.
6. Manage the anxiety – old stuff contains memories, often cherished.  So, getting rid of stuff can cause anxiety and upset, especially if you take your time with this.  The best analogy is ripping off the plaster.  Do it quickly and the pain goes quickly.  Remember, you are clearing energetic clutter as well.
7. Keep the things that you love and cherish them – the remaining things will raise your vibration and truly mean something to you.  Love it and love the feeling of lightness and clarity that you now have.

So get moving, get busy and bring simplicity back to your life.  Prepare to feel lightness, clarity and a Spring back in your step!

What are you going to clear?

Sat here on the balcony of the apartment overlooking the park, I am struck by the sheer beauty of Spring in London. The birds are singing, the sky is blue(ish) and the trees are coming back to life. Life spreads across the land and the greening begins to happen.

We are coming to the Vernal Equinox – Alban Eilir – the time of balance between the light and dark, and the brief repose before the action that the returning light brings. The days get longer and the sun gets higher.  Spring hits full pace at Beltane on May 1st.

The time of balance

This is a time of balance. We are not yet at the time of action and enthusiasm that the summer brings. Instead, pause & consider the past six months of dark, the insights gained, the seeds you have planted (from the Winter Solstice). The seeds in nature are just beginning to poke through the soil and, likewise, our insights and seed thoughts begin to come into manifestation ready for us to attend to and care for. So, this time of year also asks us to look forward to the next six months of light before the Autumnal Equinox to see what actions to take in the outer world to manifest what we want to reap at harvest time.

The coming of Air and the time of movement

The coming of Air signifies the coming of movement after the stasis of Earth over winter. The insight of the Equinox is also that balance is not static…for me balance is about rhythm and flow. Finding the right rhythm for your own being and coming into flow with the rhythms of our environment. Air reminds us to breath deeply now that the breeze begins to warm and to allow space for Spirit to move. The coming of Spring is also a celebration and the new energy rising is all about dancing with life!

The time of clarity and insight
Air is also the element of the mind and balance, lightness and breath bring us a clear and nimble mind. Air blows away the cobwebs and clears a space in the muzzy mind waking from Winter. Certainly the new light in the morning makes it easier for me to jump out of bed! Take action by all means but take the time to check in with yourself as to whether it is the right action for you at this time. Does it make you feel lighter or heavier? Air is light and loves to dance. Bear this in mind and take action that raises your spirit, lifts your heart and clears your mind!

Enjoy this time. From here on in we are all about the quickening into the fire season of Summer. Reflect, clear out the clutter of house and mind, open the window and let Air blow through. Celebrate by dancing, singing and keeping it light. You can put your head down and plow into action later. For right now, breathe .

I love this time of year! I get very Charlie Brown about the holiday season and really do try to get down to the true spirit of the Holiday season. As one of life’s optimists, I love all the tidings of comfort and joy, good cheer to all men and that stuff. I am also a sucker for all the tinsel, carols, sparkly glittery things and presents are always nice!

This year more than most recently though, I have found myself getting stressy and anxious over all the consumerist aspects that seem to cloud the festive season. I am not talking about the current economic climate but rather just the general craziness that goes on around Xmas.

Fortunately, Nature provides a wonderful antidote to all of this. At 12.05pm GMT on Sunday 21st December the Winter Solstice occurs. This is the time of the longest night, the longest dark and its symbolism is hugely significant. The solstice represents the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. As Mara Freeman describes it, it is as if one performance of the plays of our lives is over and we get to take a deep breath before the next one starts.

For me, the solstice has two particular aspects that are both equally important.

Firstly, it is the time of the greatest dark. It is the time when trees and plants are most fully retreated below the surface, animals are hibernating and the natural world appears to be in a state of slumber. We are in the heart of winter when we retreat indoors and use what we gathered at the harvest time to get through the long dark.

For me personally, this means a time when I personally go inside more and reflect on what has happened in the past year. In essence, it is a time of reckoning when we have the opportunity to face what has happened during this cycle, good and bad, and make peace with it. It is both a very healthy and very necessary process to come to peace and end things before we can move on.

Symbolically, this means that we have to face these things alone in the dark which can sound really scary! But reflecting on what has happened, realising that we some responsibility in virtually everything that happens to us and facing our fears helps us to realise the great creative power each of us has, and that we can make different choices during the next cycle. Taking this step helps us to realise our own power and ensures that the past does not necessarily create the future. We CAN change.

Secondly, and just as important, is the return of the light. Just as it is always just darkest before dawn, when we come through the long dark of winter, we can find hope in the gradual return of the light. From this point onwards, the daytime becomes just a little longer and the cycle of growth into spring and summer begins. The Solstice represents the early dawn of the year. The light is but a mere flicker at this point, it is just the seed of light that exists within the darkness but it does gradually get stronger. This is still not a time of action, but the inner reflection now shifts from past to the future and the upcoming cycle.

This is a wonderful time to plant the seeds of what we want to grow and nurture in the coming year. Like the seeds we plant in the ground, these intentions will organically grow by themselves and our job at this time of year is to gently tend and nurture them. The time for action comes later – right now we can relax and reflect on the vision we wish to create for the next cycle and have faith in ourselves and the world around us that these seeds will grow and come to fruition.

For me, observing the Solstice and the symbology it brings helps keep me grounded and calm during the other mania of the holidays. It also helps me to connect with what I really want from the holidays, which is generally about connection with my loved ones, peace and gratitude. So, if you are looking for some peace, calm and groundedness during this time of year, here are some things you might want to consider to get you in tune with your own rhythm and the spirit of the season…

• Reflect on the past year – take some time to sit quietly, be still and consider what has happened during the last year, both good and bad. Journal if you wish to. What stands out for you? What was your role in the event and what choices did you make? What can you learn from the situation. Take time to get perspective – see that there are somethings that you simply have no control over and in other situations you have the power to affect the outcome.
• Experience the dark – just sitting in a dark room without other distractions can be hugely relaxing, allowing us to let go of stress and become still. There is nothing to do but be present for a while. Letting ourselves let go and just chill out gets our heads out of the way and opens up our creativity…which is always a good way to get to happiness and purpose.
• Plant metaphorical seeds – what is it that you want to create in the next year? What is it that you want to grow? Take some time to think about your intentions (and I mean intentions rather than goals…goals for me are intentions with action plans…the actions can come a bit closer to spring and you will organically know what to do). Give your intentions room to breathe, change and grow…and you might be surprised at what comes up….in a good way!
• Plant physical seeds – now is a great time to get a packet of seeds and stick them in a plantpot. Over the coming days and weeks, you spend time tending and nurturing the seeds as they start to sprout and mature. This is not only a great metaphor for your own intentions, but also means that you will have something beautiful, vibrant and alive by spring!
• Use your own power and choose – as challenging as the holiday season can be, by reflecting on what has gone past lets us know that we have choices and we can chose to experience the holiday as we wish to…both as an intention and in the moment. So, if your family are driving you up the wall or the turkey is taking forever, make a choice for extreme self care and do what you need to do to really look after yourself. This is usually the choice that best serves others as well.
• Enjoy the break – as it is the time when the year breathes a deep sigh of relaxation as well, take time to do the same. The pressure may be on to go to this party and that dinner, but take a cue from nature and take some time to really look after yourself and put your own care first. As counter-intuitive as this may feel, making sure that you have time for rest and renewal will give you more vitality to enjoy the holidays and the upcoming spring!

It is almost the time of the Autumn Equinox when the daylight and night time are of equal length, matching the Spring Equinox. However, now we are heading further into Winter and the darkness begins to take more and more of our time. Even though it might still be sunny, there is a chill in the air that reminds us that Winter is just around the corner. I love this time of year and find its symbology rich and enchanting. In modern life, we tend to be somewhat out of touch with the seasons and the natural world, so I like to take this time to remind myself of what the Autumn brings.

It is almost like the world takes a one deep breath each year….breathing and focussing in over the Autumn and Winter and breathing and focussing out over Spring and Summer. This is the time of the harvest when the seeds have sprouted and grown and are now ready to be reaped and turned into fuel for the long cold of Winter. So it is with us as well. When we are in tune with the rhythms of nature, we more naturally plan ahead and sow the seeds of what we want during Spring…it is a time of promise and hope. We then take action throughout Spring and Summer to grow these seeds into goals and dreams that we have. At the start of Autumn we come to the time of fulfillment and achievement…things naturally come to fruition and we come to celebrate and reflect on what has happened. It is the time of baking bread and making wine. In nature, this is an absolute illustration of the Law of Cause and Effect i.e. you reap what you sow!

The seed is also a big symbol of this time of year. In the spring, we sowed the seeds that would grow into the our goals and dreams. The Spring is the time of promise and hope. At harvest time in the natural world the plants we reap provide the seeds for planting next year. The new seeds are a distillation of all that has gone before…they not only share the DNA of the seeds planted in Spring but they contain all the adjustments and experience that the plant has had to make to survive over summer. So it is with us as well. As we reflect on what we have harvested, so we gain experience that informs us of the seeds that we want to sow next year.

At this time of balance between the light and the dark, we prepare for the winter and the beginning of the inner cycle. It is the evening of the year, as we prepare for night. It is still a time of activity as we have to make provision for the coming cold, but things start to slow down and the outwards signs of life become less visible in the natural world. Trees shed their leaves, flowers pull back, the forests show one final blaze of glory before going bare (a great time to visit New England in the US!). It is at this time of year that I like beginning to think about what I am going to do over winter and how I am going to focus on my inner life rather than launching whole new projects.

I believe that there is real value and benefit in being in tune with the rhythms of nature – that we can learn much from nature that will bring more peace, understanding and alignment in our lives. So, if the spirit of the natural world takes you at this time of year, here are some things you might like to consider to mark the time of year and your own life…

• Journal – write about what has happened during spring and summer – what has come to pass, what has been achieved, what has come to fruition. Celebrate your successes and note the learning of all that has happening, both good and the more challenging!
• Share with a friend – spend time with someone special to really slow down and share what is going on in your life…both what has happened, what you have reaped and what you are beginning to think about sowing in the coming season. Talk about your conscious intentions for winter and the inner work that you might like to do. Take the time and space for your friend to share the same about their life with you.
• Go for a walk in the woods – notice what is changing in nature, what is still alive and what is beginning to retreat. See how this reflects your own life.
• Bake bread, make jam! – this season is literally all about harvesting the fruits of the earth so what better way to do this than to use the fruits of the earth to make food that you love.
• Share your bread, jam, cake and wine with friends! – this is not only a time of reflection but also of celebration! In years gone by, this would mark the start of the time when people were forced to spend time indoors together by the weather. Without modern conveniences, that was a long time to be in forced company so people had to find ways to get on with each other and bring enjoyment. So, get together with friends and have a party! Share bread, cake, jam and wine…share stories of your success and triumphs, share stories of your learning. Set an intention to spend conscious time with people you love celebrating the harvest in each others lives.