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Harmony issue 03 - January 2016

Harmony - your mindful life - FREE monthly magazine from Dawn Breslin

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1


<strong>Harmony</strong><br />

mindful life design<br />

2


Hi, Welcome I’m Dawn Breslin, the founder of <strong>Harmony</strong><br />

Magazine. If you don’t already know me, I’m a Hay House<br />

Author, personal& spiritual development teacher and Host<br />

of the Dawn Breslin Show.<br />

<strong>Harmony</strong> magazine is an off shoot of my NEW Harmonizing<br />

brand and in the following pages, I’m excited to share with<br />

you ideas on how to live a heart centred life, one which will<br />

bring you fulfilment, passion, peace love and grace, something I believe so<br />

many of us need this in this ever-changing fast paced world we live in.<br />

I have created this monthly magazine as an inspirational, proactive<br />

emotional well being guide, something which may offer you tools, hints and<br />

tips on how to manage your energy, raise your vibration and cultivate your<br />

full creative potential.<br />

Each month I’ll share with you NEW ideas about moving out of the pain of<br />

stress, stuck~ness, anxiety, depression, burnout, debt and despair.<br />

My mission is to help you find ways to live in alignment with your true feelings<br />

and to inspire you to re-evaluate your ideas about what success really means<br />

to you.<br />

I’ll help stir your thoughts around creating a nourishing daily rhythmic lifestyle<br />

design. Why? Because I know that when you take the time to live in a deeply<br />

nourishing way, you will gain access to your abundant inner well of creativity,<br />

energy, inspiration and vitality.<br />

Each month I will feature articles written by conscious creatives,<br />

entrepreneurs, authors, teachers, healers and leaders who are shaping our<br />

new way of living and being in the world.<br />

If you feel your work is in alignment with our message and you'd like to share<br />

your wisdom with our community, I’d love to hear from you.<br />

It’s a pleasure to share with you.<br />

Dawn X0<br />

Find out more about my work at<br />

www.dawnbreslin.com<br />

3


The Playlist<br />

Music impacts our mood, it<br />

uplifts our spirit, it holds us<br />

close when we are sad, it<br />

rocks us gently into quiet<br />

relaxation when we are<br />

stressed or tired. If you enjoy<br />

listening to new music, you<br />

might like this bunch of varied<br />

tracks on Dawn Breslin’s<br />

Spotify playlist. The playlist is<br />

listed as <strong>Harmony</strong> Magazine<br />

<strong>January</strong>.<br />

Cold Outside ~ Ruth Moody<br />

Giving Up Everything ~ Natalie Merchant<br />

Open ~ Rhye<br />

Lay Down With You ~ Frazey Ford<br />

Fire ~ Willemijn May<br />

Raoui ~ Souad Massi<br />

Fever To The Form ~ Nick Mulvey<br />

XO ~ John Mayer<br />

1973—Acoustic ~ James Blunt<br />

You Are Never Alone ~ Lucinda Drayton<br />

4


Contents<br />

<strong>January</strong> 6<br />

<strong>January</strong> Rituals 8<br />

<strong>January</strong> Do’s and Don’ts 10<br />

Allow your heart to design your life 14<br />

Breaking the stress habit 16<br />

Pause, Breathe, Notice: The power of Mindfulness 18<br />

Rise up, raise your vibration and shine 24<br />

Reiki & Healing Grief 30<br />

5


<strong>January</strong><br />

6


Happy New Year to you!<br />

In times gone by the New Year was seen as the<br />

gateway to the light, the start of another cycle of<br />

changing seasons and the coming of the lighter<br />

days, a time which brings promise of rebirth and<br />

awakening for all of us.<br />

Many of us feel the urge to turn everything upside<br />

down on <strong>January</strong> the 1 st , we feel sluggish in the aftermath<br />

of the festive period and the effect of the<br />

long dark nights may have already taken their toll.<br />

When the gradual light of <strong>January</strong> comes around,<br />

hope naturally blossoms in the heart. This is a time to<br />

celebrate new beginnings, to throw out clutter (and<br />

our bad habits!) and make space for the new.<br />

This is the time to focus our hearts and minds on the<br />

changes we desire in the days and months to<br />

come.<br />

7


<strong>January</strong><br />

Rituals<br />

by Maddie Millett<br />

8


Spend time alone.<br />

After the bustle of Christmas, connect with who<br />

you are in the stillness of solitude. Really enjoy<br />

the sense of peace you feel in being alone.<br />

Breathe deeply and enjoy your own presence.<br />

Interacting with others is fun and rewarding<br />

but we all need time to recharge and<br />

refill our own energy. Take time to connect<br />

deeply. By nourishing yourself, your sense of<br />

peace will be apparent to those around you.<br />

Go outside.<br />

Take a bracing walk alone to clear away the<br />

cobwebs and find clarity. Help focus your heart<br />

and mind by removing all distractions - go out<br />

into nature, contemplate the cycles of growth,<br />

the rise and fall of the seasons. Contemplate the 5 feelings you would love to feel<br />

each day. Sense the weather and the landscape around you. Take a notepad and<br />

pen and leave the phone behind! Sense thoughts which bubble up from within.<br />

Clear your system.<br />

Tune in to what your body really needs. How could you improve your health and<br />

overall sense of well being this month?<br />

Think about ways you would like to move your precious body. Perhaps gentle movement,<br />

dance classes, long nourishing walks, are what your body secretly craves.<br />

Make your choices fun and fulfilling, not a tough chore which fills you with dread.<br />

Maybe it’s time to clean up your internal system too...how about making some<br />

clean, simple, nourishing food choices; perhaps it’s time to cleanse your digestive<br />

system and give it a fresh start for the New Year.<br />

Create a vision.<br />

Sit quietly on your own, or with one or two close, supportive friends. Find a selection<br />

of beautiful magazines. Go through them, instinctively pulling out any words or pictures<br />

which call to you - don’t overthink it, go with what would make you feel happy,<br />

nourished or fulfilled. You may be surprised at the overall picture that suddenly<br />

comes together when you arrange your collage.<br />

Let this collage become your guiding vision for the coming year. Images speak to us<br />

on an unconscious level and can deeply motivate us to bring into being our dearly<br />

held dreams.<br />

9


<strong>January</strong><br />

Do’s and Don’ts<br />

by Maddie Millett<br />

10


...set intentions<br />

Do...<br />

Meditate on what truly lights your heart up for this coming<br />

year.<br />

...focus on what you want to feel<br />

Rather than material aspirations you wish to achieve - imagining<br />

how you want to feel sets up a subtle message to your inner<br />

compass; your unconscious mind. If you focus only on<br />

your end goal then it is out of reach, something you don’t<br />

have yet, and this is a negative motivation.<br />

...start slowly, start small<br />

By just taking one small do-able step you are getting into<br />

flow, and this creates it’s own forward momentum. You will<br />

feel encouraged and are more likely to carry on.<br />

11


Do...<br />

...focus<br />

Pick one thing at a time to work on. You may have many exciting<br />

ideas and plans, but this can easily cause overwhelm.<br />

Picking one thing to do at a time doesn’t mean you will give<br />

up on all your other ideas, but it might mean you get more<br />

things done!<br />

...decide<br />

Try juicing or find a really good multi-vitamin or probiotic -<br />

give your digestion and brain a chance to clear after the<br />

possible excesses of Christmas. We can all overindulge over<br />

the holidays, but now is a chance to give yourself a boost<br />

back into healthier ways - your mind and body will thank you<br />

for it!<br />

...follow your heart<br />

Allow the adventure of your life to unfold! Be daring - what<br />

have you secretly always wanted to try, but you thought it<br />

was crazy, or you wouldn’t be ‘good enough’? You don’t<br />

know till you try! Let yourself experiment, it might not work out<br />

but then again, you might find yourself following a whole new<br />

path you’d never even imagined before<br />

12


...go over the top<br />

Don’t...<br />

With the New Year’s resolutions! It may be tempting to try and<br />

get rid of every bad habit you’ve ever had, but your enthusiasm<br />

will wane pretty quickly this way.<br />

...give up<br />

Try to ‘give up’ everything at once, rather replace the not-sohealthy<br />

habits with new, nurturing, healthier ones. Remember, all<br />

it takes to embed a new habit is 21 days.<br />

...change everything<br />

Try to change everything at once, overnight. Take small, bitesized<br />

actions.<br />

...be too rigid<br />

Be rigid about goal setting.<br />

Sometimes the end you had in<br />

sight will shift, this is OK, but be<br />

careful not to get too sidetracked.<br />

Discern the difference<br />

between a new exciting path<br />

and just plain old boredom and<br />

allowing yourself to be distracted<br />

from a goal that restricts you too<br />

much.<br />

Try to control your life with planning<br />

- take positive action and<br />

then allow what you want to<br />

come to you.<br />

13


Allow your heart to<br />

design your life<br />

As part of my new Harmonizing<br />

process, I love to use heart<br />

based intention setting to help<br />

align clients with their true nature<br />

as I guide them into living<br />

their fullest potential.<br />

In contrast to mind centred goal setting formulas<br />

which are based on creating a desired outcome,<br />

a strong supporting belief and an action<br />

plan to reach our goal, heart based intention<br />

setting is a much more gentle, natural unfolding<br />

process, one which complements the life we<br />

are already living and can offer immediate positive<br />

results.<br />

Heart based intentions don’t put us under pressure;<br />

they actually work in the opposite way,<br />

they add immediate value to our lives and potentially<br />

take the pressure out of it.<br />

To create our heart based intentions we need<br />

to cultivate the time and space to tune in to our<br />

deep emotional yearnings, as we begin to take<br />

time to listen to our cravings we will begin to<br />

hear the calling of our heart.<br />

14


These subtle thoughts and<br />

feelings are the keys to<br />

our emotional wellbeing<br />

and are essential for soul<br />

growth.<br />

By giving ourselves what our heart authentically<br />

needs, our mind, body and<br />

soul dynamically move into alignment,<br />

our energy increases and a natural<br />

state of flow begins to arise within us.<br />

Flow is the state where life feels easy,<br />

fun and hugely enjoyable. It’s the opposite<br />

state to wading through treacle<br />

and feeling stressed as we try to do<br />

everything on our list.<br />

When we refocus our lives to include<br />

routine and ritual which honours our<br />

true needs; our stress and tension begin<br />

to melt and our energy, motivation, vibration<br />

and attraction power begin to<br />

amplify.<br />

So, how do we create<br />

heart based intentions?<br />

It’s simple really, all you do is choose 5<br />

words which would give you the feelings<br />

you crave each day. The words<br />

can be anything from:<br />

calm, peace, fabulous, confident, happy,<br />

relaxed, motivated, empowered,<br />

wondrous, loved, fun, inspired, fulfilled,<br />

feminine, sexy, sensual, joyous, balanced,<br />

beautiful, abundant, creative<br />

….. you get the idea!<br />

Your heart knows the difference between<br />

material desires and what is really<br />

good for you. Your heart knows what<br />

you can give yourself to thrive in the<br />

NOW.<br />

Once you chose your 5 very different<br />

words: ask yourself how you could<br />

weave these 5 words/feelings into each<br />

of the different aspects of your life.<br />

-Daily work<br />

-Relationships<br />

-Health.<br />

For example, if you would like to feel<br />

more loved.; ask yourself how you can<br />

act with love, kindness and compassion<br />

towards yourself in the areas of work,<br />

relationships or health.<br />

Make a list of things you need to start<br />

doing and a list of things you would like<br />

to stop doing to reach these feelings.<br />

Once you have created a list for each<br />

of your words, think of ways you can<br />

begin to integrate these intentions into<br />

your life with immediate effect. You<br />

may wish to create a vision board with<br />

your 5 words to help anchor your intentions.<br />

After three months of living in alignment<br />

with your heart based intentions, you<br />

will definitely feel the difference and by<br />

regularly reviewing your intentions, you<br />

will move closer and closer to your natural<br />

life design.<br />

The journey to your heart’s<br />

desire is one where you<br />

will learn so much about<br />

yourself and your place in<br />

the world.<br />

15


16


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17


Breaking the<br />

stress habit<br />

So much of what we do is habit; we<br />

do it because ‘that’s the way I’ve<br />

always done it’ or because we don't<br />

know of another way to do it. Thankfully<br />

habits can be changed, and a<br />

willing attitude to change the way<br />

you live is the first and biggest step<br />

to stress recovery.<br />

18


I wonder how many bad habits<br />

you feel you would like to give up<br />

this year? Maybe you would like<br />

to cut down on wine, stop smoking,<br />

stop working so hard, stop<br />

eating bad food or stop losing<br />

your rag …<br />

When we become less<br />

stressed, things which are<br />

not so healthy or things we<br />

feel we need to ‘give up’<br />

can actually begin to fall<br />

away naturally.<br />

It’s a proven fact that as soon as<br />

you begin to enjoy life more fully,<br />

you need less of the bad stuff to<br />

get you through.<br />

So perhaps instead of considering<br />

giving stuff up this <strong>January</strong> you<br />

could opt to introduce more stress<br />

free ways of living to help you<br />

clear out the habits which aren’t<br />

working for your overall emotional<br />

and physical wellbeing.<br />

Pushing through and constantly<br />

being busy are commonplace in<br />

many lives these days, and the<br />

challenge we face is giving up<br />

these habits when there is simply<br />

so much to do.<br />

Perhaps you can identify with<br />

some of the following stressful<br />

thoughts and habits which keep<br />

us stuck in exhausting ways of living<br />

life?<br />

Telling yourself it will all fall apart if<br />

you were to let something/<br />

someone go.<br />

Telling yourself you are not allowed<br />

to take a break<br />

Telling yourself you can’t possibly<br />

slow down until everything is done<br />

Thriving on the buzz, the adrenaline<br />

rush of constant demands on<br />

your time<br />

Responding to constant distractions<br />

such as phone calls, emails,<br />

Facebook<br />

Taking on too much responsibility<br />

or too many commitments.<br />

Spending weekends doing jobs<br />

around the house<br />

Is all this busyness what<br />

you really want? Do you<br />

quietly crave time for<br />

yourself or some time out<br />

to simply Be?<br />

Learning to live in the moment, to<br />

be mindful, helps you to live in a<br />

peaceful state of inner calm and<br />

can help you review your<br />

thoughts and habits. The process<br />

may seem counterintuitive at first,<br />

however learning to change the<br />

way you think is a beautiful first<br />

step to letting go the stress and<br />

strain you feel inside.<br />

In the next article, Harmonizing Expert<br />

Maggie Kay will talk a little<br />

about how mindfulness can help<br />

us change the pace and perspective<br />

of our lives.<br />

19


Pause, Breathe, Notice<br />

The power of Mindfulness<br />

20


Harmonizing’s very own mindfulness expert, Maggie<br />

Kay spent many years as an ordained Buddhist. She<br />

is now a life, business and spiritual coach as well as<br />

an author, coach trainer and meditation teacher.<br />

www.maggiekaywisdom.com<br />

There is a world of difference between a life lived on automatic<br />

pilot - where we feel out of control and stuff seems to just<br />

happen to us (reactive) - and one where we feel calm and<br />

centred enough to behave and guide things the way we want<br />

to (creative).<br />

Amazingly, one simple skill can totally flip the switch between<br />

‘mind reactive’ and ‘mind creative’ and allows us to be masters<br />

of our own destiny. (Interestingly enough, the word reactive<br />

and the word creative are made up of the same letters!)<br />

That skill is mindfulness.<br />

Mindfulness comes from the Buddhist tradition and describes a<br />

state of being where we feel relaxed yet in command of ourselves<br />

and able to make the best choices in response to what’s<br />

going on in our life. We can see things clearly. We feel poised.<br />

We feel confident.<br />

With a little practice, everyone can learn to be more mindful.<br />

Here is an easy way to help flip your mindfulness switch to the<br />

on position.<br />

Pause, Breathe, Notice.<br />

‘Pause, breathe, notice’ describes the practice of mindfulness<br />

in three words.<br />

Mindfulness is about being fully present, aware and alert to<br />

whatever is happening in the here and now – everything you<br />

can see, hear, smell, taste and touch, right in this moment.<br />

21


Everyday Mindfulness<br />

Most of the time our minds<br />

are full of thoughts and feelings<br />

that take us away from<br />

what is happening right<br />

now.<br />

We don’t “wake up and smell the coffee”<br />

because we are too busy worrying about<br />

the bill that’s just arrived in the post to notice<br />

the delicious aroma.<br />

One of the fastest and easiest ways to experience<br />

being mindful in the moment is<br />

to pause whatever you are doing, take a<br />

few slow deep breaths (closing your eyes<br />

for a moment if it’s safe to do so), and notice<br />

all the physical sensations of your<br />

breath filling and emptying from your<br />

body.<br />

Pausing, breathing and noticing your<br />

breath for a few moments like this is instantly<br />

soothing and refreshing. When you<br />

open your eyes again, you will feel a bit<br />

different – maybe a lot different!<br />

Find two or three regular times in the day<br />

to practice this, for example, sitting down<br />

with your first morning cuppa, traveling on<br />

or waiting for the train, at the end of your<br />

lunch break, when you get in from taking<br />

the kids to school, just before going to<br />

bed.<br />

Before you read any further, take a moment<br />

right now to decide when in the day<br />

YOU will practice ‘pause, breathe, notice’<br />

and flip your mindfulness switch on.<br />

As well as having an immediate effect,<br />

practicing ‘pause, breathe and notice’<br />

brings more and more spontaneous experiences<br />

of calm mindfulness into other<br />

parts of your everyday life.<br />

You can also play with extending your<br />

mindfulness to other things other than the<br />

breath. The principle is the same - allow<br />

yourself to become fully absorbed in the<br />

physical sensations of whatever you are<br />

doing, for example, while you are walking,<br />

eating, making love, being in nature or<br />

even doing housework.<br />

Mindful walking – the whole body moving,<br />

all the things you sense around you<br />

Mindful eating – enjoying every mouthful,<br />

every taste and texture<br />

Mindful love-making – being fully present<br />

with the sensations rather than thinking<br />

Mindful being in nature – appreciating<br />

beauty, contrast, shape and colour<br />

Mindful housework – aware of all your<br />

movements, like a dance.<br />

Continued on page 22<br />

22


23


Continued from page 20<br />

As well as creating a ‘little gap of calm’, being<br />

more fully present and absorbed in the moment<br />

with even simple, everyday activities can<br />

make them much more interesting and pleasurable.<br />

One of my favourite Zen Buddhist teachings is<br />

to “wash the dishes to wash the dishes.” In other<br />

words, don’t do the dishes feeling resentful<br />

you have to do them, hurrying because you<br />

really want to be sitting down watching TV. Instead,<br />

relish what you are doing. ENJOY all the<br />

physical sensations AS you wash the dishes.<br />

Just WASH the dishes, fully absorbed in washing<br />

the dishes. It is so much more pleasurable this<br />

way. Honestly, try it!<br />

This is because there is a connection between<br />

mindfulness and love. When we love something<br />

or someone, we naturally want to give<br />

more of our attention to it/them. Likewise,<br />

when we truly give our whole attention to<br />

something or someone, we appreciate, understand<br />

and love it/them more.<br />

So go ahead and flip your mindfulness switch<br />

on. Light your life with calm, creativity, mastery,<br />

pleasure and love – it can be as simple as<br />

breathing!<br />

24


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25


Rise up,<br />

raise your<br />

vibration<br />

and shine<br />

Lessons in Self Love, Kindness & Compassion<br />

26


Forgiveness is the<br />

greatest act of<br />

self-love<br />

How can you forgive - and why should you?<br />

At first forgiving someone may seem unnatural, it could seem as if you<br />

are condoning another's harmful acts or words and being passive<br />

about the hurt you received however true forgiveness comes directly<br />

from your heart, and once you learn to let go the attachment of whatever<br />

happened in the past, it really can set you free.<br />

Forgiveness is not about saying what the other person did is alright, it is<br />

about being able to let go of the hurt, taking long-simmering resentments<br />

off the boil and releasing your pain because the only person who<br />

is hurting from you holding on to the memory and emotion is you! Forgiveness<br />

towards others is a huge act of self compassion.<br />

In the same way we need to learn to forgive others, it is equally useful to<br />

forgive ourselves. Human beings make mistakes, it’s part of our soul<br />

growth on the journey of life. Once we embrace our imperfections and<br />

commit to learning from our lessons, we can chose to love ourselves<br />

and let go the shame and guilt we feel. It may be useful to remember<br />

that when you ‘got it wrong’ you were probably doing the only thing<br />

you knew how to, with the knowledge, understanding and wisdom you<br />

had at that time. Hindsight is a great thing!!<br />

Life lessons (otherwise known as 'mistakes'!) allow us to grow and when<br />

we let ourselves off the hook and learn from the experience, we can<br />

move on, release the pain, lighten up our energy and propel our lives in<br />

a more positive direction.<br />

So, who do you need to forgive?<br />

27


Giving Up<br />

Perfection<br />

Do you have unrealistically high expectations?<br />

Do you believe you have to do everything on your own, never<br />

asking for help? Do you constantly criticise yourself inwardly<br />

- how you look, your weight/size, your achievements in life,<br />

your parenting skills, your performance at work, your relationship<br />

or even the lack of one?<br />

The perfectionist habit is toxic, it can kill creativity, spontaneity<br />

and mystery of living, it can kill our dreams our hopes and<br />

desires, it can squash our self esteem and rob us of the joy of<br />

living. Trying to be perfect holds us hostage in a metaphorical<br />

straight jacket, it’s a cold, painful and harsh place to live.<br />

In reality, life, love, mystery and fulfilment all live on the other<br />

side of perfection. Accepting our quirkiness, our uniqueness<br />

and our imperfections is an essential part of being human. To<br />

feel liberated, free, to build strength and resilience, it is so important<br />

that we get things wrong. When we embrace imperfection,<br />

the dance of life begins..<br />

To blossom into your fullest potential, to feel liberated and<br />

free, it makes sense to cultivate gentle ways of giving up the<br />

‘perfection’ habit. Instead of judging and criticising yourself,<br />

make a commitment to find a tone and a language to offer<br />

yourself the compassion, love and kindness you would offer<br />

to a child.<br />

This is your golden ticket to increased self esteem,<br />

strength and freedom!<br />

28


Daily Gratitude<br />

Do you count your blessings<br />

each day or do you find yourself<br />

focusing on what you don’t<br />

have in your life?<br />

Life can feel tough at times, and when we<br />

are deep in difficulty there often feels like<br />

no way out. When our thoughts and mood<br />

plummet, it can feel impossible to see the<br />

good in anything.<br />

By making a regular routine of noticing<br />

what you are grateful for - seemingly simple<br />

things such as a roof over your head,<br />

food on your table, your children's laughter<br />

or the support and love of good friends<br />

can raise you out of your slump and turn<br />

things around.<br />

Just taking a moment or two to breathe<br />

deeply, acknowledging that all is okay<br />

right now in the present moment you are<br />

breathing in, can ground us and anchor us<br />

to the positive force once more.<br />

At the end of each take a moment to<br />

make a note of what went well, give yourself<br />

praise for ALL that you did and all that<br />

you ARE.<br />

You are a wonderful, unfolding<br />

human work of art!<br />

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Life Drains<br />

What or who is stealing your energy & personal power?<br />

Do you give more than you receive in your relationships? Do people close to<br />

you want to unburden their problems to you, but have no time when you<br />

want them to listen to you? Does your work light you up inside? Do you get to<br />

use all your many talents and skills to your full advantage? Think about your<br />

home, would you like to redecorate in a new style, or finally get those repairs<br />

done? Is worry eating away at you about things that might never happen,<br />

about your health and your finances? Many aspects of modern life can sap<br />

you of your vital energy, so that you have little left for the things you love in<br />

life. How much time do you spend on social media, phone calls and worrying<br />

about the problems of others or what they think of you?<br />

Perhaps it’s time to do an energy review.<br />

Trust that life will unfold just as it’s meant to, with your best interests at heart.<br />

Think of all you could do and be once you free yourself and your life from<br />

what is draining your juicy power!<br />

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Saying No and<br />

Setting Boundaries<br />

What stops you from saying No?<br />

Having strong boundaries does not mean you become<br />

cold or you must cut yourself off from others, this powerful<br />

energy tool, can be a positive way to define who you<br />

are, what you want and what is not acceptable to you.<br />

So what stops us from setting these necessary boundaries?<br />

For most people it’s fear of displeasing others, fear of rejection<br />

and loss of approval from others.<br />

How important is gaining approval from others to you? .<br />

Pushing your needs to the bottom of the list all the time<br />

doesn't make you happy, it doesn't make you a better<br />

person. Ironically rejecting our own needs makes us a less<br />

pleasing person to be around, as we lose sight of who we<br />

are and we function as a lesser version of ourselves.<br />

On the flip side, saying Yes to the things, people, places<br />

and activities which light a spark within our soul is a vital<br />

for inner strength, confidence and joy in life.<br />

Stepping out of your comfort zone to state your likes and<br />

dislikes and claim your real, vital, true-colours self can be<br />

uncomfortable at first, but the joy, strength and sense of<br />

freedom you will gain is rich reward.<br />

Make a list of the things you would love to<br />

say no to.<br />

by Maddie Millett<br />

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Healing Grief<br />

with Reiki<br />

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Lorna is a Reiki Master Teacher leading reiki classes, gatherings<br />

and shares in Scotland. As well as Reiki, Lorna also offers<br />

many holistic therapies, talks, events and workshops including<br />

Aromatherapy, Sacred Healing, Space Clearing, Goddess<br />

Empowerment ~ information can be found on<br />

www.lornamclean.co.uk<br />

Grief is the last act of love we<br />

have to give to those we loved ~<br />

Where there is deep grief, there<br />

was great Love ~ Ahh the Great<br />

Mystery of it All…<br />

Having lost my son Jonathan at the age of 17 in a road traffic accident,<br />

I understand the depths of Grief. I also know there is so much<br />

fear and taboo around the idea of Death.<br />

In the same way as each individual on the planet lives in their own<br />

unique way, each of us grieve in our own unique way too, what<br />

feels right for one person may feel completely wrong for another.<br />

Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a much loved pet, a divorce or<br />

the loss of a job ~ there are so many life events which can stimulate<br />

feelings of grief.<br />

From my own deep and sacred experience of grief, I found Reiki to<br />

be one of the best ways to heal, it has helped me in so many ways.<br />

Emotionally, spiritually and physically it can help us find a sense of<br />

peace and calm. It is food for the Soul and has the ability to lift us<br />

up, raise our vibration, our hope and our will to continue.<br />

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What is Reiki?<br />

Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a Japanese word for<br />

which there is no word in English - the nearest translation<br />

is 'universal life energy'. It is an ancient healing<br />

system which was brought to our attention by<br />

Dr. Mikao Usui and was developed as a therapy in<br />

the early 20th Century. It’s a powerful holistic and<br />

non-invasive therapy and if you haven’t already<br />

tried it out it can have a deeply relaxing and profoundly<br />

calming effect.<br />

What I love about it is it’s a simple, safe, natural and<br />

holistic way of treating dis-ease within the body. It’s<br />

a gentle energy which can promote balance and<br />

harmony within and around the body and as a holistic<br />

treatment, it can be used alongside orthodox<br />

healthcare and assists in developing a healthier<br />

and more resourceful state of being. The benefits of<br />

just one session really can be felt for several days.<br />

What can I expect in a Reiki session?<br />

Usually the recipient will lie down to receive a Reiki treatment. The practitioner's hands<br />

resting lightly on or above the fully clothed body will bring through gentle warming vital<br />

energy. The recipient will go on to absorb as much Reiki energy as their body requires. It<br />

has a profoundly calming effect which is particularly effective in relieving stress.<br />

Often just one session of Reiki can begin to make a difference and once you have experienced<br />

this beautiful energy you will be ready to come back for more.<br />

How will Reiki make me feel?<br />

The feeling of Reiki varies from individual to individual. Frequently mentioned are sensations<br />

of flowing energy, tingling, warmth, pulsing, waves and even coolness. Some people<br />

however, feel little in the way of sensations, nevertheless, as Reiki seeks out blockages<br />

and imbalances, a deep and warm relaxation comes over the body as it's natural ability<br />

to heal is reinforced.<br />

Living with loss.<br />

I have always walked a peaceful path; many times I have been asked if I am Buddhist.<br />

My answer was always that I couldn’t be that disciplined! My life experiences have given<br />

me much compassion, courage and strength. Some thought I would lose my faith in the<br />

great mystery after my son’s accident; however this family tragedy only served to help<br />

me understand even more deeply that we are all divinely connected.<br />

I believe the energy we currently call Reiki has always been with us and is ultimately a<br />

vibration of love, this same love is both around us and within us. I believe we are all spiritual<br />

beings having a human experience in this emotional body suit and because of this<br />

we will feel every emotion under the sun as our loved ones complete their purpose for<br />

being here on this Earth.<br />

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It’s perfectly normal to feel the sadness however, what if we were to contemplate the<br />

possibility that death may simply be a rebirth and there is a possibility that we will all<br />

meet again, the grief of losing your loved one forever takes on a new meaning.<br />

“If we can begin to change the way we look at death and dying, and accept that we<br />

are much more than a physical body then we can begin to see death not as an end result,<br />

but as a process of soul healing, it is the defining moment when the physical self<br />

transcends, evolves and returns to our original form of spirit” ~ Phillip Hawkins<br />

My particular blend of Reiki.<br />

I have been consciously connected with Reiki since 1996 however more recently I have<br />

received the teachings and ignitions to Usui/Holy Fire Reiki. This beautiful NEW form of<br />

Reiki is a gift to the World. It is a powerful, yet gentle vibration of energy, and provides<br />

transformation and purification, healing, empowerment and guidance. These new<br />

teachings have profoundly influenced my ever evolving personal practice.<br />

What's noticeably different about this form of Reiki is<br />

It works continuously<br />

It can spontaneously heal <strong>issue</strong>s as they come up<br />

It heals relationships and interactions with others<br />

It releases worry and replaces it with a sense of safety<br />

Find out more at lorna@lornamclean.co.uk<br />

See Lorna’s story in <strong>January</strong> on the Dawn Breslin Show<br />

dawnbreslin.com<br />

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I’d love to stay connected with you...<br />

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