Harmony issue 03 - January 2016
Harmony - your mindful life - FREE monthly magazine from Dawn Breslin
Harmony - your mindful life - FREE monthly magazine from Dawn Breslin
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<strong>Harmony</strong><br />
mindful life design<br />
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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 />
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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 />
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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 />
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<strong>January</strong><br />
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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 />
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<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 />
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<strong>January</strong><br />
Do’s and Don’ts<br />
by Maddie Millett<br />
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...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 />
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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 />
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...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 />
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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 />
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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
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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 />
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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 />
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Pause, Breathe, Notice<br />
The power of Mindfulness<br />
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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
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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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