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A Bump or Two

Posted in Gratitude, Health, Reading, Uncategorized, tagged #A Bump or Two, #Diana Gabaldon, #soldier on, bluebells, Cross-stitch, Digestive biscuits, Earl grey tea, sleep on March 4, 2014| 5 Comments »

image from clicktop10s.blogspot.com

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
― Tom Bodett

It’s been a tiresome week in many ways and I have a way to go before things smooth out again. So, in the words or a tiresome ad during the winter months it’s time for me to “soldier on!”

There’s nothing dramatic happening really, I’ve simply let myself get really tired and that is one of the worst things someone with Chronic anything can do. For the first time I can remember I’ve given myself permission to take it easy without beating myself up. It’s a strange feeling and it takes a little getting used to.

I actually slept on and off for most of the day. I’m surprised we don’t have sunshine in the middle of the night, or moonlight and darkness at noon. That’s how unusual this is. It’s also the first time I’ve been so well looked after, cosseted even.

image from hqwallbase.com

Now I’m about to drift off again smelling my favourite Bluebells….. I’ll try to pop back online and put the link to Cee’s #Share Your Week challenge. Until then, I have a beautiful Earl Grey cup of tea, a nice Digestive biscuit and I might just try to focus on a page or two of Diana Gabaldon’s “Cross Stitch”.

If I’m missing for a wee while you know where I’ll be……zzzzzz.

Blessings, Susan ♥

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In Search of….part 4. New Worlds Open

Posted in Accidents, Blessings, Books, Gratitude, Health, Identity, Life lessons, Lyme Disease, Personality, Reading, Soul Growth, Spiritual, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged acceptance, Accidents, BEing present, Cessna plane, Friendship, frustration, Inner-peace, Living from the heart, Lyme disease, Mediumship, memories, Mindfulness, Motivational, pain, Paranormal, Past Life Regression, Psychic, Soul Growth, Spirituality, Warrumbungle ranges on October 2, 2013| 6 Comments »

image from spirit_elements-www-josephinewall-co.uk

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” ― Roald Dahl

The years when I was able to follow where I was ‘led’ were simply marvelous. I felt as though the whole world was there for me to explore and learn. There was nothing which enthralled me more than to find another book, another person to talk to, another course to do, all to expand the knowledge I longed for.

I was fortunate; I met some truly wonderful and generous people who taught me so much. Some of the lessons I learned were not so good, but obviously I needed them. One of the circles I regularly attended brought together people with a wide range of talents. Some were fledglings, like me, and others were seasoned psychics and mediums. The people I was drawn towards were the ones who were quiet yet knowledgeable, as opposed to those who pushed themselves to the fore, to show how “good they were”.

Pendulums and dowsing, psychometry, tarot, were all taken as learning experiences. Meditation became a foundation practice and eased a great deal of the pain I had after the car accident. There were some wonderful experiences, some I cannot explain rationally and the feelings…. it felt as if my entire body was a receptor for energies I had only dreamed of being able to sense.

image from http://www.ojasyogacenter.com

The difficulty I had with my back caused more problems and eventually I had to stop attending the circle I really enjoyed. My Reiki had ‘blossomed’ and I had many favourable comments from people who came to me for healing. My nightly self-healing helped me to keep going, but day by day there seemed to be an eroding of comfort and ability to do the everyday things.

By this time I had met a psychic who was striking out on her own. She was thrilled to find someone who understood what she was doing and also had the admin talents she lacked. It seemed a perfect match. At the time I was learning about Past Life Regression and wondered if our ‘connection’ was due to some past life we had shared. It’s possible and it could account for what happened.

One thing which disturbed me, and has since then, is the number of mediums who ‘advertise’ themselves as “world-famous” or “clients from around the world”, and of course, “100% accurate.” So much of what I learned has shown me that the interpretation of messages from the other side can be misunderstood by the medium, often by the client because of the heightened emotion and inability to remember facts at the time. I also hasten to add that there are many real and honest mediums and psychics out there, some I know and would recommend in a heartbeat. However, that’s an aside at present.

image from http://www.psychicsong.com

Things went swimmingly for a while. I set her up with media interviews, arranged her tours and appointments and held her hand when she met the journalists. I also went with her when a family asked her to help them to locate their missing husband/son. He drove a truck, interstate and had gone missing from the vehicle on his way back to Queensland. The truck was found in New South Wales with its load intact but he had vanished. I was picking up so many things by this time that I was enthusiastic about going with her to “look for some answers” for this family.

They drove us out to Moree, stopping at various places along the route he would have taken to pick up whatever we could. By the time we reached Moree I realised that Anya (not her real name), was asking me what I was picking up before she spoke to the family and then, almost word for word telling them what I had just talked to her about. I was feeling suspicious but not ready to give up on her yet. The next day we were going up in a small plane and flying over the Warrumbungle range, since the feeling was he had been dumped somewhere in the area.

I had an amazing time! I loved the small Cessna and flying over the Warrumbungle range was thrilling. Each time the plane hit an air pocket and dropped, Anya squealed and I laughed. It was unfortunate but I found the ride so much more than I had ever expected that it was too hard not to laugh with joy, even though we were there for a serious reason. I was sitting with “Sarah”, the man’s sister and she appreciated the comedy as we tried to chat over the noise of the engine. On a serious note, there were things I picked up as we flew low over the range, but in areas only a local or a mountain goat could easily get to. Impenetrable is the word for the area.

image from http://www.golden-highway.com.au Part of the Warrumbungle range

As far as the family were concerned it must have been a total wash out since we couldn’t really point to a definitive spot and say “He’s there!” They continued to look but told me they were never able to get the closure they wanted.

After that she became obsessed with a missing boy who was in all the papers. I told her I believed he had been picked up by someone the police hadn’t yet spoken with and that he was already dead. She focused on finding his remains. Call me insane, but I went along with her when she wanted to search an area of scrub and bush where she felt he might be found. It was between Maleny and Eumundi and a well-known Lyme tick area, although I didn’t know it then. It appears my Lyme disease may have begun at this point. My health became worse. I had another accident on the way home from her place in Eumundi and even though I wasn’t driving it exacerbated my back problems.

Shortly after this she met someone, gave me goosebumps but she was in love. He didn’t want me to work with her and life became difficult. Suffice it to say that at the end of another eighteen months she parted company with her love, it cost her dearly and I hadn’t been paid for twelve months. She has now resurfaced as a “World famous animal communicator” and despite trying to simply “say hello” has so far refused to see or speak to me. So sad! A lesson learned or so I thought!

image from http://www.morecustomersnow.com.au

Another lady, a psychic medium, with a mean temper, although I didn’t know it at the time, had been chasing me to work with her… doing the same thing. From everything she said about Anya, it appeared she knew what she had been doing and assured me she was ethical. This was to be the next chapter of my life.

Next week: The Universe makes me sit up and take heed of the message.

Blessing Susan xx

If you’ve missed the earlier chapters of the story you can find them here, here and here.

“Don’t beat yourself up for not knowing the answers. You don’t always have to know who you are. You don’t have to have the big picture, or know where you’re heading. Sometimes, it’s enough just to know what you’re going to do next.” ― Sophie Kinsell

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Life’s Labyrinth or Reality

Posted in Books, Coping Skills, Creativity, Lyme Disease, Motivation, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged coping skills, Inner-peace, Lyme disease, Magic, Motivational, pain, Robert Jordan, self acceptance, Wheel of Time on July 11, 2013| 1 Comment »

image from dreamworlds.ru –

Ever since my daughter introduced me to this film I’ve been fascinated with it. It is Labyrinth with David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly. I love the imagery and the messages it puts across. I can empathise from the outset with Sarah who lives in her fantasy world, memorising the lines to her favourite story. What I wouldn’t give to have some of her costumes! (Yes I still love dressing up). I especially love the ball scene where she dances in a beautiful ball gown.

image from wendyroby.tumblr.com –

At this point everyone may be wondering what the purpose is in this ramble. It’s really simple, pure unadulterated escapism. I have heard this film described as a horror movie but whilst for a children’s movie there were scary parts in it, I thought it was a wonderful example of a young girl growing up. She finally had to realise that whilst she could retain her childhood innocence and wonder there was another world waiting for her too.

Jared, the Goblin King wants to control her, feed off her emotions by telling her he had “turned the world upside down… all for you”. In reality he was changing reality to keep her enmeshed in his world where he could order things to his needs. When she finally remembers her lines “You have no power over me”, the spell is broken and she returns to reality.

Yet what is reality? Is it the hours we spend hunched in pain and agony as illness rips us apart. (poetic license). Yet tonight that is precisely what it feels like. My innards feel like a volcano is erupting, violently and often, and I cannot rest or even forget for a few moments what is happening. (Thank you Lyme disease). Hence my escape into something as far from my reality as possible. It is permissible to use whatever means we can at times like these.

image from pinktentacle.com

Of course I did consider using the film Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones as my example but there’s no idyllic subterfuge hidden within its drama. Love the film but I needed that total opposite to illustrate the difference. I would much rather be Jennifer Connolly in a beautiful ball gown, even in a fairytale than stuck in molten magma, the bowels of the earth ripping and tearing and spewing forth in fearsome splendor.

Now that I think of it, as an avid Robert Jordan fan I could use the imagery of a Darkhound or a Myrddraal as my nemesis. I suppose it all depends on what most resonates with you. I love Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series so either will be suitable for me.

image from onlyhdwallpapers.com

Then again perhaps I would like to be Moiraine, an Aes Sedai, wielder of magic and able to be healed by another. That sounds fine right about now.

Back to meditate for some rest.

image from totalbalance.com.au

“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.”
― Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House

Blessings one and all in our own form of escapism or coping skills. Susan x

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Synchronicity or Serendipity?

Posted in Blogging, Books, Challenges, Creativity, Family, Motivation, Photography, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged acceptance, Amatuer photography, Amazon Kindle, Australia, Blogging, Books, coping skills, Family, frustration, Gratitude, Inner-peace, Journals, life lessons, Local birdlife, Local wildlife, Motivational, Relationships, sadness, self acceptance, Self Development, Serendipity, Sleep, Soul Growth on February 7, 2013| 2 Comments »

image from http://www.lovingmaryforever.com –

“You must match your energy, your vibration, with that of the universe, bringing it to a higher frequency where it synchronizes with the object, person, or situation you require.”
― Stephen Richards

image from http://www.josephinewall.co.uk

“Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.” Lawrence Block

I have been laid up in bed, more than a little irritated at everything in general and myself in particular. It’s all a rather fruitless exercise. In other words, a glorious waste of time. What made it worse, at least so it seemed to me, was I lost my “mojo” or I thought I had, as a dear friend called it in her blog, “Lost your creative mojo?”.

The strange thing was, I couldn’t sleep, at least not at night. As soon as the lights went out my eyes popped open and I felt like a proverbial owl, gazing steadfastly into the dark hoping for – well something to happen. Now, I’ve been in this little pickle before, and there is little use fighting it by counting sheep. All it succeeds in doing is putting me off lamb for a while. (Apologies to any vegetarians, but in actual fact I eat little meat anyway).

I had, over a period of many hours, used all of my meditation tapes, CD’s, chants, visualisation, and I wasn’t having any joy. So, I decided that I had to change tack. The very thing which was causing my nocturnal interruptus was going to be there in the morning and it wouldn’t let me rest until I made a decision. Yet making that decision was giving me a migraine and an ulcer. You’ve probably worked out that the “problem” was family oriented. It’s the one which usually causes the most angst.

Diversionary tactics were called for. After a decade I picked up my crochet and started that. This in itself was a huge thing for me and was part of my ” 2013 Creative Challenge“. By itself it was a huge help and I enjoyed it immensely. The satisfaction of seeing this fragile mat take shape under my hands was uplifting. However, I was conscious of not overdoing it, since it has been more than a decade since I had been able to do anything, thanks to a ‘minor’ accident. This was my finished mat a few days ago. It has taken me two days to get it onto my blog….

One Pineapple mat – for Mum.

After the crochet I went for my trusty Kindle and read until my eyes felt as though they were hanging out of my head on stalks. I’m quite sure I could have auditioned for a sci-fi movie without any prosthetics required. By this time I was feeling somewhat surreal, staggering around like someone who had been on a three-day bender and I hadn’t had a drop!

image from ereaders.venturebeat.com

I’ve managed to find a super little book light which makes reading at night a breeze. Once again, my accident over a decade ago had stopped me reading until late last year. My love affair with books has been rekindled… pardon the play on words. Most of my books are heavy-duty tomes and I want to make sure that when I finally pick them up it’s not going to cause any problems. The Kindle has sorted that out beautifully. Once again, thanks to Ray.

Yet eventually, pounding headache, eyes hanging on dry stalks and a raging backache also put a stop to that. Then came the journal. In my heyday it was called a diary… how’s that for dating things! I used to keep one regularly. Nearly slipped up and said religiously, but I don’t want to cause offense to anyone. Yes, you may detect that I am feeling lethargic, tired, slightly slow in the thinking department, in short all the signs and symptoms of the sleep deprived. Yet, despite that it served a tremendous service.

image from my.opera.com

As has my foray for a picture to break up my meandering. I’ve written volumes but haven’t thought to add pictures or any of my scribbled drawings before this. My journal has now been given a new lease of life. Each dawn I grab a few pictures as the world, down in Australia at least, wakes up. I listen to the beautiful serenade from the rainforest birds and the general waking up of the local wildlife whilst I wind down. I do my final meditation of the ‘morning’ for everyone out there and then lay down again. In my own way I wind up my day/night with thoughts of the world and my prayers and wishes for a better day for everyone wherever they may be.

Perhaps that’s what causes the final flourish of the magic wand. After this meditation I drift off to sleep, only to wake two hours later in excruciating agony as all the muscles in my neck, head and back let me know they have seized up. My body has betrayed me yet again.

My dear, sweet, long-suffering husband, helps me to the bathroom, since I look like a question mark and he worries about whether I can find my way there and back again and I am ensconced in the spare room, which has my old bedroom suite in it. I have learned that sleeping alone in a water bed when your back and so on are protesting, is not a good proposition. As I doze in two hourly increments throughout the day, he supplies me with tea, coffee, toast, all the supplements to help me and a strong arm to get me to the bathroom and back. My angel in truth.

So there we are. The three things which are keeping me semi sane: My Crochet, Kindle and Journal. Is that Synchronicity or Serendipity, I really can’t decide. Now the cotton wool filled brain appears to be letting up a little, I may have another string to my bow – my blog, which despite my challenge to myself to blog every other day, has gone awry this week. I don’t think the tapestry will make it into the bed as it may prove too uncomfortable for my husband. He is generous enough at sharing the bed with everything else. (I wonder if a puppy will have any luck?)

And, there we have it. The reason for my absence. I have been thoroughly pumped at receiving my Award for my blog, and since I felt somewhat better, decided to let you know why I was MIA. I will try to stay on track, although a specialist appointment mid next week may throw me off. That, and my brothers, which is another topic for another day.

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A Memorable Year in Photos

Posted in Christmas, Creativity, Family, Love, Photography, Reading, Writing, tagged acceptance, Barn Owl, BEing present, Bird Watching, bird watching, Blogging, Camera, Ceremonies, Christmas, Coping Skills, Family, Friendship, friendship, full moon, Gratitude, gratitude, happiness, holidays, inner peace, Life, life, Living from the heart, Local wildlife, Love, Marriage, memories, Mindfulness, Motivational, nature, New Beginnings, new beginnings, New Year, New Year's Eve, outdoors, Photography, Soul Growth, soul growth, soul mates, special occasion, Tawny Frogmouth, unconditional love on December 30, 2012| 1 Comment »

They “year” began with New Years Eve at Ray’s parents in Moruya. A beautiful day and night set the tone for the year to come. It was a wonderful few days, seeing the sights – a finding a great little crystal shop. Needless to say I came home with bags of crystals. (We drove or it wouldn’t have been possible).

A Tawny Frogmouth let himself be known early on and has been a visitor ever since. We have at least four different owls living in the area, from a Powerful Owl, the Frogmouth and what looks like a Barn Owl, plus a very reclusive one we hear often but haven’t managed to get a good photo of yet.

Owls being my favourite birds, it was a real blessing seeing one so soon after we moved into our new home.

Presented to the guests, husband and wife

May was a brilliant month, and after months of preparation our wedding went off superbly. Here we are presented for the first time as Mr and Mrs Jamieson, can you tell how happy we were – and are. I’ve restrained myself to one photo, it’s hard to know which ones to use and there are so many!

Couldn’t pass the day up without showing off how fabulous my son and daughter looked on the day either.

One of my favourite gifts came from my husband shortly before we were to go away, a Nikon 150 camera. It is fantastic and even an amateur like me can get some marvellous shots. Most of all it made it super easy to have something to remember all the marvellous things which happened throughout the year. A few lessons and I might make a reasonable photographer!

The Little Blowhole at Kiama, dodging salt spray to get a good picture.

We had been so busy during the year that we hadn’t had a break – even after the wedding, so we spent a glorious week at Kiama, exploring the area and having a well-earned rest. The Blowholes were in fine form and we saw lots of whales passing by. Here’s the best picture we managed to get of the whales passing.

Occasionally I wished for a super zoom on my camera so I could get more photos – they really are beautiful creatures.

Humpback passing Kiama whilst we were there.

I found Nicole’s blog and became motivated to get back on track with my spiritual growth. It has been a wonderful year of rediscovery and discovery of new exciting things.

Thanks to Nicole we had a fantastic ceremony provided for the Blue Moon in August. This was taken just after the “Releasing Ceremony” and the crystals were in the bowls of water. The next night we had a “Becoming Ceremony” which finalised the entire ritual. It was an awesome feeling and really made us feel great. My blogging journey began shortly after this. Reading and writing have always been passions, now they are intertwined beautifully.

With lots of work in between we went back to Moruya to celebrate my father in law’s 80th birthday bash in October. It was a beautiful day and night – in fact they outdid the younger guests. It seems stamina comes with age! The cake was superb, it was only spoiled by the fact we couldn’t bring any home with us!

On the way home we stopped at Coffs Harbour for the night and the next day were greeted by this beautiful water dragon on the decking near the water feature. He was so tame he let us get really close. Obviously very used to all the visitors, he’s probably quite the model by now! See he even gave us a good pose for the camera.

Back home we were back hard at work but love to take a walk around the garden at the end of the day. Here the neighbours horse came over to say hello and was really friendly. My first ‘kiss’ from a horse – strangely enough it was a special moment for me and I’m blessed Ray got the photo and so filled with gratitude that the horse was so friendly.

I’d love to know the identity of this little fellow but just love his colouring.

We have lots of honey eaters visiting with the flowering trees. Some like this fellow seem totally oblivious to our presence and let us snap away merrily as he feeds. His colouring is ‘electric’!

We were graced by a family of kookaburra who came down several times a day to take a dip in our pool as the weather became hotter. They made lots of noise but it was worth it. Occasionally there would be a line up of all the different birds waiting to take a dip. It was really funny watching them take off one by one and then ruffling their feathers out as they waited their next turn.

We were surprised and pleased to find another water dragon sunning himself at home. When he was in the pool area I “chased” him around the pool – from the upstairs balcony, to get some photos of him. It was so funny seeing me trying to run around to capture a good shot. As soon as I had him in focus he would take off again after some other tidbit he’d spied.

Christmas seemed to arrive so quickly. It was a special time for us – the first one as a married couple (old-fashioned isn’t it?) and getting the decorating done together with the family coming down to celebrate Christmas Day together. We were grateful we could all be together and Ray and I felt blessed that our family could get together when so many couldn’t.

The last full moon of the year, December 2012. Even with the inclement weather we were able to get some beautiful photos of the moon through the trees and the weather remained fine for our ceremony. The meditation from Nicole was a beautiful way to complete a wonderful year.

As always we are mindful that not everyone has been as fortunate as ourselves. Like most people we have had our ups and downs. At times it felt as though the downs were holding mired in one place for far too long, but 2013 will be a wonderful year – for everyone. Throughout 2012 we have tried to remain mindful of what has been happening for us, being present at the important events was easy, how could we not. Being present when things were tough was harder, but we managed and it felt very heart centered in being able to do that. Ill health has been a drag but I’m hoping that with a new move, hopefully to a place with some space around it will give me the right atmosphere to get on top of things. Country life seems to beckon.

For myself, the unconditional love I have been so grateful to find with Ray has made this a wonderful, love filled year. Heart centered and soul centered, we have felt the growing and stretching of our soul growth throughout the good times and the hard times. We have also felt, and been awed by the presence of spirit, our loved ones who are no longer with us – in the flesh at least. It has made each special occasion that little bit more extraordinary and that is something I am incredibly grateful for.

The records for 2013 are now about to begin!

” Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. “ Ralph Waldo Emerson

HAPPY 2013 EVERYONE. Blessings and stay safe.

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Blog – Why? Who wants to know?

Posted in Creativity, Identity, Reading, Writing, tagged acceptance, art, awareness, Blogging, blogging, Communication, computers, coping skills, Coping Skills, friendship, Gratitude, gratitude, Life, life, managing stress, Publishing, relationships, Self Development, soping strategies, teaching, Telepathy, Writing on December 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

image from themutt.wordpress.com – Even Snoopy had something to say.

“Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch. “ Tim Berners-Lee

Why do some people blog? Why do they spend their time communicating on a vast range of topics to an unknown audience? Is there some primal urge to “spread the word”, to “teach”, or simply to share our ideas with whomever they resonate with?

It’s a strange compulsion, this urge to write, especially when you sit down without the vaguest notion of what you are going to write about. Nevertheless you get your computer out, sit at your desk, or in my case, ensconced in bed and start to ‘write’. Why, I wonder, do we still refer to it as writing when it most obviously isn’t? I suppose we have a need to create order and a point of reference.

image from http://www.coolpctips.com – Progress in effect.

Laptops have taken over with their ease, portability and ever decreasing size. So in order to keep manual records will we always use computers in some form or another?

What happens when the world changes a little more and we no longer need letters, books, or computers to communicate our ideas to each other? When, for example, telepathy rules the day? Will we still have this urge to create using the written word, or will we perhaps have mind controlled computers? Almost mind-blowing really.

image from http://www.paranormalsource.com –

Can you imagine a think tank where everyone is telepathic and ideas are shared at lightning speed? Just thinking about the time gained which can be better utilised to – blog! Yet that doesn’t really answer the question of why some of us decide to blog.

It’s true that few of us will ever be published authors, yet the urge to write is still there. Could this be the reason for so many scribblings? At times I have sat down and typed out my blog, only to find that someone else has written almost the same thing, but managed to publish already. For a while I found that very disturbing, and I wondered if I should publish my work at all. With an established blogger who has already gathered a following ‘your’ attempt may go completely unnoticed. A writers worst nightmare, to have a ‘published’ work and be largely or totally ignored. Quite a conundrum.

image from http://www.businessinsider.com –

In reality, the urge is a deep desire or need to speak to another person, to communicate your ideas, thoughts, feelings, and hopefully, not just have someone like what you are saying but also to comment on it. It then truly becomes a communication.

Whilst satisfying publishing your blog, is there much rationale behind it if it is unread by anyone else? Receiving a comment about it is an amazing feeling. It means that somehow I have managed to reach another person. In truth, everything I write is a statement about something which is important to me. So like all writers there is a part of my heart and soul in the words I write.

So, I blog because I care if something I say has a meaning for someone else. It may be that some little thing I’ve written may help someone in some small way, and in a large part it eases the loneliness of being stuck in bed, without the energy to get out and about as I would like. It is my tenuous link to an outside world I feel cut off from.

So I may not be a Pulitzer prize winner, I may never receive any great recognition for what I say, but it is better than losing the ability to think, to communicate and interact with someone ‘out there’. If I can get that message to those who need that lifeline then I would count my blogging a success.

image from http://www.technologywoman.com

Blog away my friends, we are making history and this may be a lasting record of who and what we were and thought in times to come. I am grateful I can be a part of history in the making and live my life to its fullest learning whatever comes my way until I can get out there and find it for myself. Even then I will still be blogging – it must be in the blood!

“I tried always to do better: saw always a little further. I tried to stretch myself.” ― Audrey Hepburn

Being an awesome human being is a part of everyone’s awards in life.

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A message from Spirit

Posted in Books, Christmas, Family, Reading, tagged acceptance, BEing present, Christmas, David Gemmell, Family, Gratitude, gratitude, Guides, happiness, Inner-peace, Life, life, Living from the heart, Magic, Mindfulness, Motivational, Raymond Feist, religion, right timing, Shopping, Spirit helpers, Spirits, Sword in the Stone, The Twelve Days of Christmas, unconditional love, Universe on December 15, 2012| 4 Comments »

image from psychicconnextions.blogspot.com

Time is passing and never so quickly as this lead up to the festive season. The original countdown of “the Twelve Days of Christmas” was something played in all the shops, churches and homes all around me when I was growing up. At times I miss the reminders from my childhood, they had a certain familiarity to them. We could, with absolute certainty, mark down the days to “the big one” after hearing this song every day. Like the Advent calendars our children used to love opening up each day, they formed a reliable measure of time, time already passed and time still to go. It had its own way of engaging the mind, heart and spirit and increasing that wonderful anticipation of what was to come.

It didn’t matter if you were religious or not, the celebration would go on and the true roots of the celebration and songs were lost in the annals of time. It’s how religions overtook each other and left only remnants behind. It’s also only in recent years that the arguments over what we are celebrating and who the celebrations belong to have arisen to cast a cloud over what has been a joyous time between the darkness and dreariness of winter and the coming of spring. Perhaps it is easier to remember why Christmas was celebrated with such joy when you recall the old days, the conditions people lived under and how the turning of the seasons held such an importance to them.

Yet that is another story in itself. Battling my demons, and when I say this I think of a children’s animated movie called “Sword in the Stone”.

image from tumblr.com

After a monumental and hilarious battle between the witch and Merlin, the witch finds herself bested, confined to bed , green with purple, red and blue polka dots covering her and the antidote – sunshine. On hearing this there is a wonderful rant and she screeches “I hate horrible, wholesome sunshine”. I’m sorry to say sunshine and I don’t mix. I burn like flammable material, finish up looking like a well cooked lobster minus the butter sauce, but nowhere near as tasty! I hide from one air conditioned place to another throughout the heat of the summer, grateful for the sunshine and rain, in moderation, but equally grateful to return to cooler days as autumn finally arrives. But I digress, these were the demons I referred to.

The Universe looks after us at all times, even when unasked, even if we don’t believe. I do believe and I was immensely grateful that I was paying attention to what was happening today. I was in one of my favourite haunts, a bookstore, searching for a gift for my daughters boyfriend. No hardship there, it took my attention from aching back and feet and the truckload of packages we were juggling. I had seen the book I thought would be ideal but decided to ponder a little more as I lost myself amongst the shelves of books. With time and my back telling me I needed to make a decision I asked Ray to collect the book I had seen an hour earlier.

He was standing not two feet from me with the book in his hand when it suddenly flew out of his hand and landed in the aisle. The lady standing next to him looked startled to say the least, but then again, so did I. Rule number one, and totally inviolate, you cannot buy a book or give one as a gift if it has been on the ground before being given to the recipient. Especially if it may have, heaven forbid, a crinkled edge. A dog-eared book is a sacrilege! Yes I have strange “rules”. The book was fine but for me that was it, that book would not be leaving th shop with me. It was also the only one of its kind in the store.

image from thebaremidriff.blogspot.com

We left, one gift not purchased and I was sore and disappointed. On the way home my phone rang. I was not really inclined to answer but I knew it was my daughter calling, “thank heavens for little girls” (Maurice Chevalier), and I knew I needed to take it. We talked of Christmas and shopping and gifts, and books, a book for her boyfriend. I could buy David Gemmell or Raymond Feist, (I almost bought this), but put it back when I saw a Brent Weeks omnibus. It was the omnibus which went flying. This was the ONLY book I could not buy she said – because she had already bought it for him, but Raymond Feist would be brilliant!

I may have to make another trip to a bookstore – such a hardship for me (ahem!) but I know what I will be buying. (Well, at least one of the books I will buy). I am so grateful Spirit was watching over me today and helped me from buying the wrong thing. Talk about ‘right timing’, I was trying to be so mindful of all the recommendations she had passed on previously and had started to get tired. I was fully present with the situation, in my favourite store I am always fully present. Ok, I was fully present with the task at hand. Even in a bookstore I eventually still get tired. I was concentrating on her boyfriend, being fully present with all I knew about him and what I was trying to do, because buying a book a really important, it has to fit with the receiver or I’ve failed! I thought I had succeeded when, whoosh, through the air it went. I got the message, and I fully accept that without Spirit’s help I would have bought the wrong thing and would have had to exchange it – if I could.

I am very happy, truly grateful for my Guidance, love shopping with my husband (it’s a special treat), have that wonderful feeling of peace inside because I know Spirit is with me always, and I can spread my attitude of gratitude around the world for everyone to share. Thank you Nicole, thank you Ray and thank you, my wonderful spiritual helpers and Magical Beings everywhere.

image from virtualbeauties.blogspot.com

May you find magic in your life today and everyday within the small or large appearance of gratitude in our lives.

“When we become more fully aware that our success is due in large measure to the loyalty, helpfulness, and encouragement we have received from others, our desire grows to pass on similar gifts. Gratitude spurs us on to prove ourselves worthy of what others have done for us. The spirit of gratitude is a powerful energizer”. – Wilferd A. Peterson

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Sensory Imperceptions

Posted in Books, Family, Reading, tagged acceptance, BEing present, Family, frustration, Gratitude, gratitude, happiness, Life, Love, memories, Motivational, patience on October 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.”
― Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

writing

image from writelife.net

Our whole lives are made up of words. For most of us they are the medium we communicate through, and at times I wonder how on earth I would manage if words didn’t exist. The deaf cannot hear what is said but must rely on sign language to bring what is said to life, but the richness of the words is lost somehow. The blind can hear what is said but cannot see what is described, and must rely on braille to read. I wondered what it would be like to have, what to me is an integral part of my life, removed from me.

I had always been blessed with 20/20 vision, read copiously, did craft work and always wondered what I would do, or how I would react if I was unable to do the things which made me happy, and more importantly, relaxed me and fed my imagination. As fate would have it, in a small way I was about to find out.

When I was pregnant with my second child I suddenly found I was getting a lot of headaches when reading. The same thing happened with my tapestry and crochet work. Headaches! It annoyed me since I was getting too huge to do some of the things I had been used to doing. (Gardening, especially weeding becomes problematic when one is unable to bend down and get to the ground, far less get back up again!) Now I was having trouble reading and doing my craft work. I was not happy. A hippopotamus was lumbering around my home or a beached whale was inhabiting my lounge room. It was all a matter of how I felt at the time. It was a time when you are more present than at any other because your awareness of the changes within your body are a constant reminder of life.

pregnant lady

image from bigstockphoto.com

In desperation I found myself at my optometrist. As far as I was concerned he wasn’t very helpful. The pressure of vitreous fluid inside the eye changes during pregnancy, hence affecting vision. Wonderful, not only did I have to share my home with a beached whale I also had to put up with a sightless mole blundering around! I was slightly mollified to hear that in “most” cases it went back to normal after the birth.

Humpf! After my daughter made her appearance, not a moment before the nine months was up, my eyesight became much worse. More bad news was to follow, I had to wait at least three months before anything would be considered, in case it returned to normal.

I blundered around, barely able to see and unable to focus, terrified of sticking a safety-pin into my daughter as I changed her nappy. Worse still was changing my son, who at eighteen months was like a live eel on the change table. I’m not sure what was worse, fearing I would stab him with a safety-pin or him falling off the table as he writhed around and I tried to catch him. Stepping on him as I tried to move around and he crawled faster than I could walk. That too was a nightmare.

wearing large glasses

image courtesy of flickriver.com

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So I got some glasses, eventually, and both my children survived. I was the only person to get stuck, repeatedly, by the safety pins, fall over the toys and bang into cupboards. All in all, a good outcome for most.

It did however, give me a miniscule taste of the difficulties faced by the blind and the deaf. I know that the challenges I had almost drove me crazy. I applaud anyone with any kind of challenge handling those situations. I complained about my glasses, bitterly at times, as I became hot and they repeatedly slipped off my nose! I cursed as I had to wear them to dry my hair (heated up again, and fogged up) and because of pure vanity, had to wear them to put make up on – too hilarious for words. At times there was more make up on the glasses than on me! Not to mention the millions of fingerprints from my adorable children who thought they were the goal to grab each time they got close enough to them, especially if they had food on their hands!

Quite a few years later I had lasix surgery and put away my glasses for good. It is reassuring to be able to see unaided again, although I will never forget what it was like for that brief year. I am grateful for the advances with eye surgery. When I first began wearing glasses it was impossible to correct my vision with the lasix surgery. It was a test to my patience waiting until they developed the process whereby they could do it. Patience never was my strong suit!

I now listen to my husband cursing his glasses as he peers over the top of them to see me as we talk and curse again as he goes back to work and they aren’t where they should be – or more often he has put them down and cannot find them!

autumn colours

image courtesy of nationaltrust.org.uk

The colours of life are almost too beautiful for words.

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A tangerine and russet cascade of kaleidoscopic leaves, creates a tapestry of autumn magic upon the emerald carpet of fading summer.

Judith A. Lindberg

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Did someone say Book?

Posted in Books, Identity, Love, Reading, tagged identity, J. R. R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Life, life, Love, reading, Wheel of Time on September 27, 2012| 3 Comments »

“A home without books is a body without soul”. by Marcus Tullius Cicero

home library

image courtesy of cindysbookclub.blogspot.com

I love reading, always have and by now, really don’t believe that will ever change. In this move to the digital format I am losing something I’ve always treasured. It’s that moment when you first open your new book, fresh from the bookstore. It has a crisp feel, fresh, new, the smell of paper and ink and the knowledge that it hasn’t been read by anyone else. A freshly brewed cup of tea by my arm, my book in hand and I’m set for an hour or so. Ok, if I’m honest I may have to take a few breaks but I can be lost for the entire day, or night. It’s a wonderful feeling. I can fully engage my characters, even insert myself into the story as one of the characters and then I’m also living an entirely different life from the sometimes mundane one we have to tread day by day. Reading the last page is torturous. You hope and pray the author has a sequel (or three) in mind and you can pick up once more where you have to leave your other life. It truly is a marvellous escape and apart from the cost of the book (yes, it isn’t always inexpensive) it harms absolutely no-one, yet allows you the opportunity to live in a magical, foreign landscape for a time.

“Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don’t we consider it his duty to escape?. . .If we value the freedom of mind and soul, if we’re partisans of liberty, then it’s our plain duty to escape, and to take as many people with us as we can!”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

By now I think you can gather that I’m a totally absorbed by good print media. I’m afraid I cannot, nor would I sully my description of a good read, to include the many tabloids abounding today. (Papers, magazines, take your poison). In their attempt to capture audience they have devolved to publishing half-truths or total fabrications without license for who they hurt in the process. We are bombarded by half researched , ill-conceived and dangerous posturing from our ‘purported leaders’ and passed on as gospel by the journalists who write the stories. I don’t altogether blame the journos, most have so many strictures placed on them to conform to “the powers that be” that they are unable to print the truth any longer if they wish to continue to work. I will now hop off my soap box and return to normal viewing!

woman reading book in front of tree
image courtesy of katarinahalimloves.wordpress.com

I have my trusty kindle now. After many years of looking longingly at my library – which needs a removal truck just to carry them all, I finally relented and bought one so I could once again immerse myself in my favourite form of escapism. Looking day after day at my books, many of which are three or more inches thick, I could not hold them up because of the pinched nerve in my neck, which also stopped me from propping the book up and looking down at it. After all, what good is a good story if it’s over with before you’ve managed to really sink your teeth into the story? Torment and torture on a daily basis. Withdrawal symptoms which had reached a magnitude undreamed of. I’m sorry, but that is how it felt, each and every day as I walked longingly past my treasured friends, running my fingers lovingly across their spines and wishing to be able to find a reading nook and curl up and lose myself temporarily within their covers. (sigh!)

kindle reader
image courtesy of xbitlabs.com

One of my all time favourite escapism novels has been written by Robert Jordan, an amazing writer and wonderful storyteller. His Wheel of Time series is huge – thankfully, and I add more condolences to his family at his passing a few years ago. Such was his passion and dedication to his craft that, on finding out he was terminally ill, he spent his remaining time dictating his unfinished series, numbering fourteen novels now, each larger than the first, to his wife and a ghost writer to complete after his passing. We are now, that is all this avid fans of this series, awaiting the final instalment of this marvellous series. He is, in the area of science fantasy, in my opinion at least, one of the marvels of our time. He managed to capture his audience on book one, have so many sub plots and storylines running that you could draw a mind map to follow the convolutions, but so vivid, so incredibly believable that not for one millisecond did you doubt that you were right there, in the midst of the chaos and magic! He reminds me of J R R Tolkien, and J K Rowling, different times and places but with an ability to transport their audience to a place totally unfamiliar at first but captured within moments in the brilliance of their writing. Ooops there I go again, waxing lyrical. (I hope this doesn’t count as a soapbox too?)

This is by no means the topic I was going to write about – it has taken on a life of its own and I will have to go back to my identity crisis later. My kindle is calling, and my darling husband has just brewed me a pot of French Earl Grey tea. He has already learned one cup of reading time is simply not enough – wonderful man! It’s a wonderful and gratifying thing that I can have so many loves in my life, the love of a good book, the amazing love of a wonderful man whom I adore and cannot bear to live without, the love of my fragrant garden, the wildlife which visits me daily, especially my Boo Book Owl. My family, my friends, the wonderful people who have honoured me by reading my blog. Love you all dearly. I’m learning and need to sort out how to tailor my meandering thoughts so that I know you’ll enjoy the saunter through my musings as much as I enjoy writing them. Perhaps that’s the message from my divergence into the world of reading; it’s what moves the author which eventually moves the reader. Hmmmm. Profound in its simplicity.

I’m away to my kindle and Robert Jordan, French Earl Grey and I’ll be back later.

Wheel of Time series