Everyday Alchemy

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 was sat in beautiful Regents Park in London yesterday with some good friends having a picnic. One of the things that we had to do was create a playlist of 10 songs to share with the rest of the group. As I had compiled mine, I wanted to share some songs that reminded me of some formative summers when I was at university. Interestingly, it didn’t dawn on me until I heard my song list playing that the first two songs were “There’s no other way” by Blur and “There’s only one way of life” by the Levellers. Seems that even at the age of 18 when these songs became significant, my guides somewhere were trying to tell me something!

This weekend has been one of remarkable insight actually and many “aha’s”…but one of the biggest ones is something that I have actually known for a very long time but never quite integrated until now.

Really, when it comes down to it, you just have to stop listening to other folk and follow your own knowing.

I have spent so much of my life either actively soliciting other people’s advice, being given it directly or even just feeling the gentle pressure of other points of view grafting themselves to my world view. It is not that we can exist in a vacuum, or even that other people’s viewpoints aren’t with merit. Indeed, there is an exercise called the Johari Window which can be done with people who know you which points to blind spots in our own self perception.

However, I am minded to note a piece of “wisdom” that I have felt compelled to share this week with a few people…and it is interesting that I am making this statement. Feedback from other people often says more about them and what they need to hear than it ever does about the receiver. Think about it….all feedback is passed through the filters, perceptions, prejudices and so on of the giver. What they perceive to be the subject that the receiver could do with feedback on might be entirely different to the receiver’s point of view.

What am I trying to say here? By all means, listen to some extent or another to what other people have to say on a subject. However, don’t EVER let that be a substitute for your own internal vibes, your own internal knowing. Other people who may well be very insightful and operate at a high level of consciousness will never really know what is going on in your world…certainly never anymore than you do even if you are not fully aware. Always take feedback and opinions with a massive dose of salt and check in with your vibes to see if the feedback resonates for you.

That resonant quality for me is the important factor. When it has that kind of quality, the statement just stands out from the rest of the conversation. It is almost as if a highlighter pen has been applied to that part of the conversation. Different people experience this phenomenon in different ways. For me, I just know. I can’t explain it, I just know (actually I can….google “claircognizance”!).

As my teacher Sonia Choquette says, to start hearing your own little internal voice, you have to stop listening to everyone else’s! So next time you are in a quandary and are not sure what to do, put your hand on your heart. Take a deep breath and say “My intuition/guides/guidance (whatever word works for you) say….” and fill in the blank with whatever comes to you. Do not hesitate and just blurt out what comes to you…and say it out loud. This legitimizes your guidance and if you name your guidance, you own it. Play with this for a while and see what comes to you. It sure beats listening to everyone else and you might just be surprised where your vibes take you!

Sometimes you just have to go with it.

Sometimes you just have to move, take a direction in the direction of your hopes and dreams even if you haven’t got a clue what they are or how to get there. We don’t always have the luxury of knowing the destination – we have to be willing, in the spirit of adventure, to take the first step and let the journey unfold as we walk it.

That good old nugget of the journey being as important as the destination.

Except that, for me I don’t always know where I am heading other than some vague notion or intuition or feeling that I am following and learning to have faith in. I do know that it is leading me in a right direction and that the journey, in this case, is more important than the direction.

Despite my best efforts to stay still and stay safe and secure for a while, my spirit is having none of it. I have been moody, manic and depressive in mood of late. As Abraham Hicks tells us, these feelings are not bad. They are just feedback that something is out of whack and things can be better if we make choices that lead us to a better feeling. For me I see this as my spirit making it so uncomfortable for me to stay put that any direction or motion is better than inertia.

Remember that the essence of or spirit, of our life force is fire – that is what “having a fire in the belly” refers to. When was the last time you saw a static and inert fire? It is non-existent. As spirits in physical form we have to keep moving, changing. Otherwise we get what I have called “osteoporosis of the belief system”. We simply so rigid and stiff that we lose the ability to flow, to adapt and change. So for me, my spirit wants me to move and sooner or later, I will move as I don’t like feeling like crap for too long!

So it is time for me to start following the yellow brick road as it were and go in search of the magic that I know is out there (or in here as the case may be). Just following a feeling but beats being stuck staring at my navel .

New Year…it was only 4 days ago and yet it feels like an age ago. Hard to believe that the holidays were less than 2 weeks ago. Such is life in the crazy, manic, information age. It is sometimes hard to stop and savor the delicious moments that occur in life!

New Year…also the time of new goals, dreaming big and, of course, resolutions (which are so often gone and forgotten by St Patrick’s Day)! I usually look forward to this time of year being a person who loves beginnings, fresh starts and exciting possibilities. However, this year I found myself having a very interesting reaction to a lot of the positive psychology and spirituality blogs which I have never had before.

Many of the articles are wonderful, positive and motivating. There is often a theme however that caught me this year. The need to dream big, the need to be astonishing, remarkable, powerful, set exponential growth goals (“grow your business by 500% in the next year!”), create a magnificent obsession. All good stuff and absolutely necessary as far as I am concerned. However, the problem was not so much what they were saying so much as the urgency and fodder for the ego that these kind of sentiments can create.

Because we live within the artificial construct of the Gregorian calendar, there can be immense pressure to draw a clean slate at 1st January and come up with a massive new life purpose and goals because we think we should…making this year the best year of our lives and all that. The pressure and panic that can ensue from this arbitrary transition can really give the impression that we have missed a trick if we don’t come up with some thing impressive for the New Year. Indeed, this kind of thinking often leads us to goals that we think we want or we think we should want. We may not be anywhere near the level of creativity, honesty and openness that we really need to be at to truly hear what our heart and spirit want for us. In reality, life is more organic than that.

So, once again, I come back to the rhythms of the year that Nature and Spirit follow and it all seems much more creative, more nurturing and more authentic. We are a few weeks after the Winter Solstice where the light just started its ascendence. This was the time to plant the seeds of what we want in the next cycle.

For me, that is exactly what this time of year is all about. Nurturing the seeds, tilling the soil, reflecting. We may not know exactly what we want, but we can plant the intention to discover and excavate those life-affirming desires as winter descends. January is a month to dream and reflect. To gather inside by the warmth of the fire and look forward to the upcoming journey through the year. It is a time to look inside primarily and allow this to inform what the external will look like. It is a time of peace and rest in nature, and so it can be with us as well. There is plenty of time in Spring and Summer to jump into action. Now is the time to imagine, to allow the seeds of creativity to germinate into grand visions of the future.

I often find myself revving up for action at this time of year, and the reality of the human world is that so does everybody else. However, for the sake of mine and our collective sanity, I really advocate doing only what is necessary and no more. Allow self-nurturing, self-care, imagination and dreaming this month. In metaphysical terms, doing this raises your vibration and your consciousness, making you far more aware of what you truly and deeply desire and giving access to ways of bringing those things about that your head and your ego alone would never come up with.

Yes, we can make the decisions to be remarkable, amazing and astonishing now. We can resolve to have the best year of our lives. Right now though is the time of intention – let those intentions come to you and let yourself daydream…allow it to be organic and you will be surprised with what you come up with…and how the Universe meets you to help in the creative process. With that in mind, here are 5 things that can help you in the process…

1. Accept where you are with love and honesty – like every great endeavour, it is great to have a strong and wonderful idea of where you are heading, but you also need to have an accurate picture of where you are right now, without blame, without judgement. Come to a place of peace and acceptance of where you are and you create rich, fertile ground for your seeds of intention to grow in.
2. Become aware of what you appreciate in your life – starting a practice of writing everything that you appreciate about each day, every day will have a profound impact on your life. Your general level of positivity and happiness will go up and you become aware of that which truly makes your heart sing…so you can create intentions that truly reflect what you want rather than what you think you should want. Also, this raises your vibration and the Law of Attraction means that you can not help but get more positivity in your life.
3. Live the questions – The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke said, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…Do not now seek the answers that can not be given you because you would not be able to live them and the point is to live everything. Live the questions now…” Sara Ban Breathnach in Simple Abundance reminds us that the answers always come but we need to know which questions are truly worth asking.  What do you need as well as what do you want? What do you want to create?  Why are these intentions important?  This month, ask the questions and allow the answers to come to you organically as you dream and reflect.
4. Place extreme self-care at the top of your priorities – this may be the month when the human world gets back into action, but Nature reminds us that this is still a time of peace and recovery. So, especially this month, take plenty of time to go about your life and make simple choices that support your self-care. This can be nice indulgences such as a hot bath in privacy or getting a massage, but can also mean choosing to get to bed early and giving journeys plenty of time so that you don’t have to rush.
5. Inspire your dreaming – January gives us long, dark evenings indoors in which to engage in inspiring conversation, listen to music that uplifts and relaxes us, read books that stimulate our imagination and take us to far away places. Take this time to fuel and nurture your imagination and see what dreams and visions truly bring you to life.

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!

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.

What a crazy few days it has been in the media! And, they are just the ones that are covering what is going on. It seems like every day, some bank has folded or needs bailing out, the stock market has crashed and that the end of the world is nigh. In these times it is hard not to get dragged into the quagmire, feel like everything is going to pot and there is just nothing you can do about it.

What is clear though is, although things might be tough right now, we are ultimately the creators of our own experience and we will always make ourselves right. So if we think things are going to be ok, usually one way or another they are. If we get caught in the quagmire of hopelessness, guess what we experience!? Here some strategies for being ok and even prospering during the “credit crunch”…

1. Keep your head about you and don’t let “them” grind you down. As Douglas Adams said on the cover of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, “DON’T PANIC!”. It is very easy to lose your centre and react to the constant stream of bad news in the media, the rising food prices etc. However, the first thing to do is the exact opposite…keep calm, keep sane and keep perspective.
2. Stay away from the media – no news is good news! One of the best ways to keep calm and not lose your centre is to steer away from the media as much as possible. I don’t mean bury your head in the sand but the vast majority of reported news is bad, and this period means big business for the media. This impacts both your state of mind and your vibration. We are hit by millions of pieces of information a day, so look really look after yourself and make conscious choices about what you want to take in. Uplifting music, favourite magazines, good books…they all work!
3. Know your vision and keep focused on that. The law of attraction says that like attracts like. So, if you have a vision of where you want to head, a dream or a goal, keep focused firmly on that to the best of your ability. You are then putting out positive vibes to the universe. You are either less likely to be blown off course, or will be able to respond to changing circumstances in a way that best supports you.
4. Notice what is really good about this period. This one is a real challenge and a really big request. Really try to see what is good about this situation. Maybe, it is bringing you to really get to grips with your finance and giving you the resolve to sort things out. Maybe it is asking you to focus on great things in life that aren’t connected with money. This isn’t about putting a happy face on the situation but rather just trying to find the smallest piece of good. Again, the law of attraction applies here…you get more of what you focus on.
5. Notice what is really great about your life – count your blessings. This is one that can work anytime, but is very powerful now. It may seem trite when things feel bad, but we always have things in our lives that are blessings. This can be as basic as having good friends, someone smiling at you on the bus and so on. And again, the more you do it, the better you will feel and the calmer you will be .
6. When the negativity hits, change the thought! Most commentators on the law of attraction agree that our emotions are our guide for how in the flow we are. When you are feeling bad in anyway, you are acutely aware of what you don’t want. So, when this happens say to and ask yourself, ”I am feeling bad because I don’t want [fill in blank], so what do I want?”. When you have that focus on that until you feel better and better!
7. Go for the long term – know that sooner or later the storm will pass. The other thing that tends to blow us off course is the relatively short term mindset that gets instilled in times of panic. One way to keep perspective is to keep an eye on the long term and know that, sooner or later, things will work out. That is not to say that we won’t have bad experiences, but then you have already had those in your life and survived to tell the tale. So take the lessons from your past and apply to the future.
8. Don’t tighten your belt to the detriment of joy – give yourself some treats. No matter how bad things may seem, there always needs to be room for joy as without it we are merely surviving rather than living. Giving yourself and your loved ones things that uplift you will always be an investment well rewarded. And of course, the best things in life are free (or don’t cost much!), so see what treats you can give yourself for next to nothing. Maybe a hot relaxing bath, a walk with a really good friend, settling down to read that novel you have meant to but never had the time.
9. Easy does it – go easy on yourself. Life always has to be worth living and we tend to be our own hardest taskmasters, especially in times of seeming scarcity. Even if you use this phrase as a little mantra, it can help avert panic and give a sense of calm in the moment. I have used this many times to just get myself present in the moment and calm down. It not only helps me feel better but helps my productivity massively as well.
10. If the worst does happen, keep perspective…go back to 5 and count your blessings. Should the worst happen, whatever that means for you, allow yourself to feel all the feelings and release them as they happen. Then, as soon as is appropriate, flex that muscle of appreciation and start mining for the gold in your life that is good. There will always be something, no matter how small, and just focusing on that will help you get back on your feet quicker than you can say “credit crunch”!

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.

It is just 2 days to go until the iPhone 3G is launched simultaneously in 70 countries. I am quite a geek when it comes to all things Apple so I have a tendency to track what is going on in the media and on the web leading up to a product launch. Things are bubbling on high heat out there in anticipation for the iPhone 3G. In the UK, O2 sold out all of their pre-orders in less than 3 hours. A line formed outside the 5th Avenue store in New York on Monday, even though the product doesn’t go on sale until Thursday. And even I am sore tempted .

So what is it about Apple that makes them sooooo popular that people are clamoring to get their products?

Think about this in pure creativity and manifestation terms. In general terms, most commentators on the Law of Cause and Effect and the Law of Attraction will say that you need to have a clear vision of what you want to manifest in your mind with an emotional response linked to that. In other words, you have to feel like you really want it by creating the feeling of already having it…in essence the intention is treated as if it has already come to pass. To generate £1,000,000, one has to have a clear picture in one’s mind of the intention and then a real emotional set-up for how one would feel (in a positive sense) if £1,000,000 had already manifested. In theory, if one holds this intention and belief for long enough and doesn’t waver then the Universe has no choice but to deliver £1,000,000. So, why aren’t we all millionaires?

Well, this is where Apple has it right in my opinion.

We tend to think of the Law of Attraction in the context of manifesting “things”; material goods that will make us feel better. This is kind of like the Dell mentality. Focus purely on the thing and what it does and I will feel better. Apple have taken this and refined it to a much greater degree. No other technology seems to inspire such loyalty from its converts. Why is this?

IMHO, it is because Apple products appeal to that side of us that is not purely functional and not even just success or improvement driven. Apple products are seen as things of beauty, of creativity. They are seen to innovate and revolutionise. They inspire their users. They bring about a sense of possibility. As far as it is possible for a material thing to do, Macs appeal to some of the higher values of their users, and in doing so, raise their vibration.

I will never forget the day after I was laid off from my job at PwC. I walked into a computer store feeling spat out by the corporate machine and the store had a Mac lab. There on the wall was some marketing display say “Mac users are different, Mac users are creative blah blah blah”. I was caught hook, line and sinker. Looking at all the other vast arrays of grey and beige box PCs, the Mac range was stylish and cool and I would obviously be stylish and cool as well, and armed with my new iBook, anything was possible. Who’d have thunk?? Buying an iBook the day after I was laid off got me into an incredibly good and productive state. Yes, that is right, it absolutely raised my vibration.

And that is the point. When you feel stuck in your life, you absolutely have to look for ways to raise your vibration. Having vision boards, gratitude journals and the like are completely ineffective if they are not raising your vibrational state. At a lower vibration, you simply do not have access to all of the resources that you have at a higher level e.g. the guidance and intuition that will lead you to your manifestation. You can focus all that you want to and try to feel good, but it is dealing directly with your vibration that is going to help your grand vision to manifest. Whenever I sit down at my Mac to do work, I actually feel inspired by all the things that are possible, not just because it is a computer but because it is actually quite beautiful. Not quite like a thing from nature, but you catch my drift.

So, if you are wondering why something isn’t manifesting, it’s time to start working with your vibration directly. So, here are 5 of my favourite ways to raise my vibration in the moment (that could work for you…):

• Music – live music is especially good when you can ride the vibe of the crowd. However, whatever music inspires you is good. Classical music has a pure, beautiful vibe that cleanses and harmonises the upper chakras. Sometimes a good kick of storming rock music to power up the lower chakras is just what’s needed. Whole Lotta Rosie, anyone??
• Nature – this works for me every time. I go for a walk in my local wood and it grounds me and calms me instantly and I feel the energetic shift. For you, it might be as simple as simple as getting your fingers into the earth.
• Meditation – yes, it did have to be here somewhere. I am not a natural meditator by any stretch, but I find that when I don’t I get really antsy and anxious. It is great to find one form of meditation that works for you and stick with it, but for those days that I just can’t settle down I like to use guided mediations by Cheryl Richardson and Sonia Choquette. Even escaping outdoors or to the little room for 5 minutes of quiet can really help.
• Dancing or Jumping – well, many say exercise but that sounds too much like hard work to me. I love to go crazy and dance to loud music (usually in the privacy of my own home!) and I really like to let myself go. It loosens all the tension and I usually end up in a heap on the floor laughing so hard that my sides are aching. Sometimes just jumping up and down does it for me as well…reminds me of being on a trampoline or my bed when I was 7.
• Laughter – often is the best medicine, preferably with other people. Just force yourself to laugh for 15 seconds and you will soon find that you are laughing pretty spontaneously. And, if you need something specific to laugh at, there is bound to be something for your taste on youtube.

Or you could also go and buy an Apple product…!