THE FLOOD RESPONSE
In the
1974 flood, I was 26 years old with a 16 month toddler and an 8 week old
baby. Over the weekend of the flood my
husband was away on a retreat for three days.
Our home was not damaged.
Like many
thousands of other people at the time, I had an almost obsessive response that
I had to do something and help those people whose houses were submerged. The fact that I had an 8 week old baby didn’t
enter the equation. My father had died
ten days before my daughter was born, so my mother was the most likely person
to help.
So she
came to stay and I went off every day for a couple of weeks. What was driving
me to do that: go out into stinking, filthy mud and sludge rife with germs and
infection and bring it all home to two small vulnerable children? I’d never really thought about it until I
watched it all on television this time round.
I
couldn’t help notice how different my response was this time. There was no obsession or need to be
involved. I watched with compassion but
didn’t volunteer to help clean up. I
found it interesting that my response was so different. I told a few friends and they said they
hadn’t volunteered and were feeling very guilt.
I didn’t feel guilty.
What
happened in those 37 years between the floods to change my response so
dramatically? Maybe just 37 years of living.
As Louise Hay would say…. Change the ‘should’ to ‘could’ and then ask the question.
I should have gone to help.
I could have gone to help, so why didn’t I.
When you seriously ask a question like that, the true answer usually comes in a flash from nowhere. You have to catch it quickly before logic takes over and convinces you of another meaning.
My answer
to that question might seem apparently harsh, “It’s not my stuff. This time it’s not my stuff.”
Therein
lies a huge dichotomy: dichotomy being described as a separation into two
divisions that differ widely from or contradict each other.
The apparent contradiction:
On the
one hand the philosophy I embrace believes that there is only One. While it is a collective, it is still
One. Therefore the flood is “my stuff’.
On the
other hand, to function effectively within a physical body within the
complexity and multi-dimensions of that One, I must define who I am, which
demands boundaries. Therefore the flood
is not “my stuff”.
The I
Ching would teach that I am defined by what I am not. Being apart from or separate to something is
an illusion, but at the same time it is the only way to define a specific.
In spirit
we are all One, but in the physical expressions of that One as mind, body and
emotions we are not able to comprehend or absorb the totality of Oneness within
our consciousness. Our limited minds and
emotions would go into overload and crash.
We have to choose which pieces of information we accept into our
personal space and allow to impact upon us and which pieces of information we
allow to pass us by, and in the process make no judgment especially of
ourselves.
I have
come to believe that emotions are like a beam of light pointing to an issue in
our life that needs attention. When our
emotional responses no longer rise to a level that they have done in the past,
maybe, just maybe, we have resolved some of the underlying issues attached to a
specific event.
If you
try to understand life from a logical and physical level, nothing makes
sense. It can be cruel with no mercy. But there is always a much
bigger picture which may not be visible at the moment and needs time to unfold.
Wisdom silently imbues her creation
Veiled in mystery, all is well
With love and blessings
The Courier Mail printed my letter to the editor in an abbreviated form on Sat 22.1.11. See below.
Entering
a new nine year cycle
I have
written about this before, but as I begin a new nine year cycle, I think it is
a timely reminder to find out what phase your life is in and what you might
expect to be coming.
When I
wrote my manuscript “Wisdom in Retrospect” I realized how clearly our lives are
defined by cycles. Through my basic
knowledge of numerology I was able to determine the beginning and end of each
nine year cycle. And with my
understanding of astrology, I was able to follow a natural progression of my
life.
I spend a
clearly defined nine years of transformation, where many things and people left
my life. I likened it to the sun sign
Scorpio whose concern is life, death and rebirth.
Once I
had recognized, cleared and transformed my life, there was space to expand and
bring in the new. True to the natural progression of the Zodiac, the following
nine years were ones of expansion and learning, instinctively associated with
Sagittarius. I began to travel, became
interested in metaphysical and energy healing and re-established my philosophy
on life.
2011
begins a new cycle for me and I can already identify the changes that have
begun and will continue to expand during the next nine years.
Looking
back on the last eighteen years, I can see where I cleared a lot of old
thinking, and expanded my horizons through travel, education and
philosophy. True to the next phase of
natural progression, it is time for the zodiac sign Capricorn to influence my
life. It is time to speak with my own
authority and take control. With
Capricorn being the natural ruler of the tenth house of career and how I am
publicly perceived, it is quite likely that the perception of who I am will
change in relation to my work. It is
time to teach what I have learnt.
In the
last few months, I have discovered Facebook and already I can see the impact it
is having on my ability to share my thoughts about life in general and what I
have learnt from working on feet for many years.
May I encourage you to look at your life cycles. It’s not hard.
To find out which year of a cycle you are in simply add:
The date of your birth, with the month of your birth, with the year you are looking at. You must add them all as single numbers:
e.g. to find the year of a cycle someone born on 16th November is in for the year 2011:
1+6+1+1+2+1+1=13
then add 1+3 to arrive at a single number of 4.
The
issues attached to specific numbers can be found in many places on the web, but
I will suffice to say that a person coming into a year four could well be able
to recognize a pattern or repetitive issues which need addressing. Year four can often be about foundations:
building foundations for what is to come or reassessing the foundations on
which your life and relationships are built.
While it
takes time to work out your cycles and remember your stories, the rewards will
be well worth the effort. When I did
mine I was amazed to see how many new experience entered in a year one and how
many long term commitments ended in a year nine. May I encourage you to try it for yourself.
AUSTRALIA DAY FIREWORKS
Stop Australia Day fireworks, give the money to Queensland.
This topic has appeared several times on my Facebook wall
over the past week. I chose not to
support it for several reasons.
Firstly the fireworks would have been ordered and prepared many months ago. I’m sure they have been sitting in some warehouse for many weeks waiting for Australia Day. I doubt if cancelling the order would be possible.
Secondly the most important thing this state needs at the
moment is a strong and stable economy. If
small and large businesses, as well as governments, begin to cancel current
contracts and commitments in favour of supporting flood relief, they could be
putting the economy at risk.
If all my clients cancelled for a month because they wanted
to put that money to the flood relief fund, I would need to cut my spending
which would flow on to retail and other outlets that I normally support. The initial action, even though well
intentioned, would begin a chain of negative responses.
If an employer greatly reduced his casual staff for a month
because he wanted to put that money to the flood relied fund as well, many
people would feel a negative impact.
I have heard it said repeatedly over the past week, that it
is essential to get back to normal as soon as possible. What is more normal than celebrating
Australia Day with fireworks? And this
year we have got so much more to celebrate when we consider the bravery, the
heart ache, the destruction and the camaraderie of Australians.
Rather than cut the fireworks out this year, I would support
increasing them and making them something like the year 2000 celebrations, for
this is more than the beginning of a new millennium. It is the beginning of a new era for
thousands of Australians, and the transition has been heart wrenching,
devastating and painful.
The mind disputes yet the heart knows
Wisdom silently imbues her creation
Veiled in mystery, all is well
With love and blessings.... Glenda
When I finished writing this article, I decided to email it to Letters to the Editor at the Courier Mail.... wait and see what they thought.To find out more about the metaphysics of your feet and body, visit me on Facebook at Holistic Reflexology
PUTTING IT OUT THERE
“Put it out there” has become a somewhat common term over the past years. It equates to, visualization, focused meditation and prayer.I have heard said many times, “Be careful what you pray for, you might get it.”
Whether you know about universal law or not, doesn’t matter. Whether you believe in universal law or not doesn’t make any difference. Whether you agree with it or not is utterly irrelevant. Whether you consciously put it into practice or subconsciously focus on what you want or don’t want, it cooperates with you.
What you focus on, you create. What you continually have in the forefront of your mind, you draw to yourself. Focused thought creates. Depending on how strong and focused your thought are, how much emotion is attached, whether it is something that has come from within you or is something you are told you need by others, are a few of the determining factors as to how quickly you will draw whatever it is to yourself and see it physically appear in your life.
I find in myself four levels of response, giving me the ability of four levels of focus.
I can focus my thoughts, logic or mind. If I am not able to control my thoughts and mind, then I can find scenarios going over and over in my head, till they are driving me almost crazy. I will find myself creating something from a negative perspective which I do not want.
I can focus my emotions and feelings, but they can be very changeable and move rapidly. I might want one thing today and another tomorrow.
There is the focus of the subconscious as it connects to the unconscious survival patterns I learned as a child. If I have not recognized and addressed these patterns then they can sabotage my life well into my adult life.
I can also focus on the utter conviction of knowing. The knowing of the heart, some would call it. It is like a flash of intuitive lightning that defies all logic. It appears without any warning and leaves you somewhat stunned but at the same time crystal clear as to what path you will follow next.
Once we know that something is in our highest interest and are able to override our fears and logic, and step outside any behavioural patterns that have held us captive, things begin to change. Once we combine all four levels of response and focus all of them in the same direction, changes will appear.
This is an example of listening to my inner knowing which made no sense to me. It is taken from my next book “Wisdom in Retrospect”
When I came back from Peru in June 2003 many people asked, “Where are you going to next?”
“Sedona!” was the automatic answer.
I wasn’t quite sure where such determination came from, but I knew that Sedona in Arizona was very important on my ‘must do’ list.
From the beginning of this cycle I had been attending many Seminars, Workshops and Conferences. I had also studied much in the metaphysical realm and attended several Practitioner Courses and was involved with vibrational healing. I was becoming more convinced that I created all the circumstance that surrounded me, even if I didn’t quite understand how, and I was beginning to take responsibility for what was happening in my life.
It was not uncommon for me to look around the internet to find what conferences my favourite authors were speaking at. A friend had told me about someone she liked who would be in Sedona in May 2004. I hadn’t heard of this person, but I thought I would check it out anyway. The website advertising the Conference was magnetic. When I opened the site, the energy jumped out of the screen and possessed me. I felt I needed to take a few steps backwards, so I wouldn’t be blown away. I was being called, not to the conference, but to Sedona itself. Lush green grass, back-dropped by the contrasting red rocks of countryside; I was being seduced. The more I looked at that photo with such desire and wanting, the more it was begging me to come. But of course logic said, “Don’t be stupid, you haven’t got the money.”
Keep in mind that I never had the money to travel, but when I needed some funding for a specific trip, it always arrived.
At this particular time I had not long returned from Peru, my son was soon to be married in another state, and I was planning to go back to South America with my sister in January 2005. So in May 2004, to give this conference in Sedona a second glance, let alone a second serious thought, was not very practical from every angle possible.
May came and went, and so did the conference. A few months later I was still playing around on the internet, keeping up with what was on offer. I decided to have a look at where the next Reconnective Healing Conference was going to be. I checked out the website, clicked the link to Seminars and guess what came up? The Conference was not only to be held in Sedona, it was to be at the same hotel as the previous one I had been looking at, and it was advertised with exactly the same photo.
I knew this was my second chance. I knew I had to go.
I knew I had no money. This time I knew it didn’t matter, it would come as always.
My logical mind still didn’t see eye to eye with some of my new beliefs. It was usually somewhat stretched when I did things like this, but it was slowly getting used to being freaked out. It was slowly learning it wasn’t in control like it used to be. While I believed I could draw this money in, my old patterning was so entrenched, it wasn’t always easy to put into practice what I believed.
The Conference was to be in October. I had about three months to get it organized. I immediately went to the travel agent to book the flight. I thought I’d have about a month before I had to pay, but that wasn’t so. As I finalized the details, the agent told me that to hold the booking I would have to pay for it within twenty-four hours.
“OK,” I said. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tomorrow came, and the seeds of doubt had begun to break through and sprout during the night.
Logic said, “You are mad to even consider it.”
Intuition confirmed, “This is your second chance. You have to go.”
The following day arrived and I thought I would stop at a Coffee Lounge before I went to the Travel Agent. The only possibility I had of paying was my credit card. I sat in the Coffee Lounge telling myself, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I most probably would have sat there for some time longer, but I felt this invisible force on either side of me, literally picked me up and deliver me to the Travel Agent. I felt I was being propelled along without being able to stop.
I paid for the trip on my credit card and then decided to go straight home and calm down. I couldn’t remember where I had parked my car. I have been known to forget where my car was in the past, but this time I couldn’t even remember which car park it was in. I think I had terrified myself so much from what I had just done that my mind was in hiding just in case I came up with anything else it couldn’t handle. I walked around for about thirty minutes and found myself in a downstairs car park. I was hopeful I was in the right place but had no idea where to begin looking. I thought if I walked home and came back about 7.00 pm in the evening all the other cars would have gone and I would be able to find it easily. I eventually found it. I didn’t have to walk home.
Of course the money came for the trip. It always did. I have this arrangement with the Universe that all of my trips will be fully paid for or funded before I leave home.
I came home thinking I had been short changed by a couple of hundred dollars, but I had put something on my credit card while bringing home cash. The amount I needed for that trip was supplied almost to the cent.
New Year Resolutions
One of my resolutions was to teach myself how to set up a Facebook local business page which I am slowly managing to do. The other resolution, like many other thousands of people, was to lose some weight. I joined a gym twelve months ago, but that didn’t work for me. A few days ago I came across an online Channel 7 website that was promoting the wonders of the Acai Berry. I hadn’t heard about it but it sounded like it was giving amazing results. Using the link to the Acai site I found they were offering a free trial. It was suggested that a person trial the Acai Berry product and a Colon product. The cost was $7.95 P & H for each one. That sounded a good deal to me. Even though I searched the website, I couldn’t find the cost of the product, but at 10pm at night, that didn’t seem an issue to be overly concerned with. Nor did I think about any terms and conditions when no little box appeared before I paid to ask if I had read them. So excitement overrode logic and I signed up for the free trial. The following morning I went back to the Acai site to once again look for the cost of the product, and noticed in very small soft print at the bottom of the page Terms and Conditions.
I had just signed up to spend $400. On a second look the Terms and Conditions were also on the Channel 7 site, once again in soft print at the bottom and they were different. They inferred I had signed up for $300.
What to do?
If I cancelled within the period of the trial I could have the order cancelled. I couldn’t find the period of the trial. I decided the sooner I cancelled it the better. I phoned the US number…… Optus regrets that the number you have called has been disconnected. So I hit the Contact Us button and sent an email. It immediately bounced back to me. Calm down Glenda…. ring Visa. They were very reassuring but couldn’t do anything until my account had been charged.
I found 2 more email addresses and resent the original email. I think the one where a person was supposed to send their Before and After photos had a problem, because I couldn’t send or receive anything for the next few hours after I used it because of some huge file attachment. There was a British Phone number which I phoned, but it rang out.
I had done all I could, I would have to wait until my Visa was charged before I could dispute the charge.
First thing the following morning I received a phone call from someone in the US. They were offering me some deal if I didn’t cancel, but I wasn’t interested. The lady was very nice.
LESSON… Read the small print
MORAL….. How often does our excitement and expectation override our common sense and logic?
I’m
planning to write regular short articles on this blog, something like the
newsletters I used to write years ago about life in general and lessons for
learning. I’ll put more of the holistic
reflexology information on my Facebook page, Holistic Reflexology. Click here for my Facebook Page
Thanks for reading.
BOOK LAUNCH 17 October 2010
EXCITING NEWS....I spoke at the Reflexology Association of Australia Conference in Brisbane recently Oct 2010. The title of the Conference was "Celebrating Research".
My presentation was "Research from a Different Perspective, using metaphysical beliefs to attain consistent results"
To support what I had to say, I wrote a book. Against all odds I finished it and launched it at the conference.
41% of the people who attended purchased a copy. It's available for sale from my website or by phone.
When I looked at the last time I posted to this blog, I
couldn't for a moment say it was current news.
What I realized recently was:
If you are the sort of person who is overly accommodating and you justifiably complain only once. The response is “What’s wrong with her?”
But if you are difficult to get along with from the beginning and for some reason decide to be nice, then it is overly appreciated.
Mmmmm…. Isn’t life interesting?
And another thing I learnt today…..
When you are ready to move on in life the perfect person arrives to assist you
Like the saying goes……
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
Wisdom in Retrospect
They say you never finish a manuscript...... You abandon it.
I began writing my book in June 2008 and finished the first copy by December
that year. Then it sat for over 12 months while I became frantically
involved in other things. With great encouragement from someone who has
been published, I began to make the suggested changed and have finally finished
it.
Actually I thought I had finished it 6 times, but now I
think I have.
What's it about?
I talk to so many clients about the same things. I find myself
repeating the same story. Not only did I want to share what I had learnt
over the years with others, but I wanted others to be able to recognize their
own life lessons and make sense of the senseless.
I wrote down all the major event and turning points in my life and put them
into a chronological time line; then I divided that line into Nine Year
Cycles. I realized that most of the profound changes happened in a Year
One of a new cycle or were seeded in the last year of the previous one. I
also could see that many things that had been essential to me for many years
left my life in a Year Nine; or I finished a project like this book in a Year
Nine.
The book contains 65 lessons of life that I have learnt over almost the same
number of years. Each chapter contains a story, a comment from the perspective
of Now and some questions for the reader to consider so that they might uncover
the wisdom of their own experiences.
I have written almost 120,000 words, a feat I never thought possible for
myself. Actually I wrote several thousand words more, but edited them
out. That was quite a discipline to achieve; to spend the time and effort
in writing something and then deleting it.
Curves
When I joined Curves early in 2009, I decided I would attend every day until I made it to 100 visits and receive my 100 tee-shirt. By the end of 2009 I had not even been 50 times. My lifestyle had become so frantic that my health was taking second place.
So I decided as my new year’s resolution to reach my 100 visits by my birthday. That meant I would have to attend the Gym every day it was open and I would have one day to spare. I made it.
Dementia
A lot of women in their sixties are faced with elderly parents/relatives who are not coping living on their own.
Some months ago I had to make the decision of putting my auntie into care. I had taken on being her Carer when she was assessed as high care, dementia secure and refused to consider Nursing Care. I was visiting her home twice a day to look after her, but as the year progressed, it became obvious that she could no longer look for herself and be safe. Of course, she was absolutely convinced that she was doing OK.
The advice from the Geriatrician was not to engage her in any conversation regarding her future. I was advised to find a Nursing Home for her and simply take her there on the pretext that we were going for a cup of coffee, and leave her there. That suggestion brought tears to my eyes. How could I be so cold and cruel? As the months progressed, my auntie was more convinced that she was managing while I could see the opposite. I was planning to go away, time was running out and the deadline was fast approaching.
I chose a Nursing Home that was brand new, beautiful and extremely expensive. Money wasn’t the issue, I think I felt so guilty about what I was about to do, I wanted what I believed to be the best.
The staff told me that in the first few weeks she hovered around the front door with all her clothes, packed ready and waiting to go home. Sometime we have to make difficult decisions.
At first my thoughts were concerned with what I was doing to her, but when I could bypass the emotion, I remembered that nobody can do anything to another person without their approval on some level of their consciousness. This was all part of my auntie’s contract to being here.
Fire.. Earth.. Air.. Water
Changes To How I Explain
An Astrology Chart
I
recently had an Astrology client. It was
left up to me to decide what issues to cover.
In the past I would prepare an in depth Natal Chart, and then look at
the Transits. Of course I would also
have a glance at a Solar Return and Secondary Progressions. All of this would be typed up, discussed and
recorded; leaving the client utterly and totally in information overload, with
pages to take home and read.
I decided
to explain Charts differently. There are
always a few things that literally jump off the page at me. Firstly, use the obvious for the focus of the
reading. Secondly explain the North Node
and Chiron. Then look at the natal aspects.
I am not
going to record the session anymore or offer page upon page of explanations but
work from my intuition and trust what comes.
Write some simple notes and explanations as I go. Sitting with the chart for an hour or so on
my own will help me connect with it, and chatting with the client will help
direct and clarify the unfolding issues.
I enjoy working with clients who offer some feed back as I go; making it
a two way exchange of information, rather than me doing most of the talking as
if I was giving a presentation.
One lady
once told me how grateful she was for the explanations. She had always seen herself as a failure in
certain areas of her life, but after the reading saw the whole situation
totally differently.
Energy for Living
WEBPAGE
I have
once again changed this website around and deleted what has reached a use-by
date. The trick to keep moving along in
life is to recognize what has reached its use-by date. Once you recognize what has to change, the
longer you hold on to it, the longer you prolong the agony. Remember Chaos comes before Order, but how
long the Chaos remains is up to you.
Natural Therapy Pages
WEBPAGE
I wanted
to include a series of photos to give visual effect to what I do in
Reflexology. There was only the option
to add one photo. Other webpages on the
site had several photos. How did they
manage to do it? I had to be able to
figure out a way to do it myself.
Are you a
person who wakes in the morning peacefully; who comes out of a relaxed sleep
and spends a little time adjusting back into the pace of life? Do you allow yourself a few minutes
transition? Quite often in the
transition I will find the answers to some of my questions that my logic isn’t
able to work out.
How to
put the photos up on the webpage came in one of those moments. I realized that it wasn’t one photo I could
upload, but one file. So I decided to
put all the feet photos together in Publisher, save them as a jpg file, edit
and crop them and upload them as one. It
worked.
There
were most probably many ways to do it, and maybe mine wasn’t the most efficient
and technically correct, but it worked for me.
It’s not about the end result, it’s about what I learn on the way.
I
remember another incident several years ago.
I was trying to install a group mail programme. I installed it OK, but I couldn’t get it to
work. For over two weeks I tried
everything. So finally I went to bed
asking who ever could help me to show me what to do. As I woke the following morning, I saw a
television screen with a detailed explanation in picture form of what I needed
to do. I got up immediately, turn on my
computer and did exactly what I had just seen in my dream state. Everything worked perfectly.
Dreams
can very specific and directional when they need to be.
My
husband doesn’t like to throw any out. “It might
come in handy one day” he tells me. “But you gotta
know where to find it,” I would respond.
So with our
first shed filled to overflowing, and every empty square inch of space in the
house or yard being taken advantage of to house more ‘stuff’, we ordered a new
shed.
I did
make 5 negotiated trips to the dump while my husband was away for a few days.
And I did keep to the guidelines…… well almost.
I was
quite optimistic that this new shed would accommodate all the ‘stuff’ which
cannot be thrown out and invades my house and yard.
I was telling a relation about the new shed and they laughed. “You know what a bigger shed means, don’t you?”
“Yeah……. but I have to live in hope, don’t I.”
“You’re kidding yourself. A bigger shed just means more junk.”
While all
sorts of ‘stuff’ may initially belong to someone else, it eventually becomes
your ‘stuff’ if you let it go unattended for long enough.
Yes….… a
bigger shed could mean more junk, but I choose to be optimistic and believe
that the junk problem is finally about to be addressed. We all need to be optimistic and hope, or
there are some areas in our life we would just give up on.
Reflexology Association
of
I have
taken on the position of Secretary for the Queensland Branch and also accepted
a position on the National Board and am looking forward to being the Treasurer
for the next few years.
Eastside Practitioner
Exchange
I’m
enjoying hosting an Exchange for Reflexology practitioners. An educational component is included to allow
building CPT points. It’s held on the Third
Tuesday evening and Thursday morning of the month. NOTE: Change for
August 4th Tues and 4th Thurs
Tuesday 7pm to 10pm,Thursday 10am to 1pm
Topics…
July: Mixing Modalities. August: Healing
Crisis.
All
practitioners are welcome.
Gemini Birthdays
Congratulations to my mother who turned 93 recently and my auntie and my granddaughter turned 92 and 2 and share the same birthday
Shock
horror! I have put on a few kilos over
the past months. I have
been going to Curves. I love Curves, the
ideal place for women to exercise. The problem
with me is….I haven’t
got there as often as I had hoped I would.
Why?My life borders
on hectic, blur and ridiculous dotted with moments of collapse and regroup.
Then again I don’t eat very regularly; which means the body will store what it is given because it doesn’t know when the next lot of food might come along.
Meaning……
I need to look at what is taking priority in my life.
I thought
recently…. If I can’t get to Curves at least 3 times a week for just 30
minutes, there is something radically wrong with my lifestyle. After my
weight-in last week, which I hadn’t done for 3 months because I hadn’t had
time, I decided to re-prioritize.
I was delighted
to see how many older women belong there.
I spoke to one lady while I was stretching one day and she told me she
was 83. Good health and exercise go hand
I hand.
The staff
at Carindale Curves are helpful, supportive and encouraging. If you are thinking about joining a gym, I
highly recommend you try Curves before you join any where else.
CPT Reflexology Practitioner Exchange
In March I began a Practitioner Exchange for RAA members to earn CPT Points. Any practitioner who would like to come is welcome. It will be held on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 10 am to 12.30 pm. If there is sufficient interest I would be happy to have an evening session as well. Please contact me if you prefer to come along in the evening.16 April: Topic... Feet and Emotions
21 May: Topic... Feet and Chakras
18 June: Topic... Feet and Elements
All the educational components will be associated with metaphysics. I have added a page to the website to explain how I think. This may help explain why I arrive at the conclusions I do.
- I was thinking as I woke up this morning...We might only take what seems to be a few things with us as we travel through this life, but can still carry a heavy load.
- I recently joined Curves. Only after a few visits I can feel the difference. When was the last time you did something for yourself?
50 Plus but who's counting?
In
between working on feet and keeping busy in many other ways, I’ve spent the
past 7 months at my computer writing a book… something I have wanted to do for
some years.
50 Plus but who’s counting?
Making
sense of the past
Finding
hope in the future
Understanding
the chaos
And
knowing all is well
The book
was written primarily for the older baby boomer generation who have spent their
years working hard, rearing their children and giving their all; to arrive at a
point where they ask ‘Is this all there is?
When is it my turn?’
The book
contains sixty-five independent short stories taken from my life
experiences. Each concludes with a Life
Lesson learnt from the perspective of Now, together with some questions to
stimulate the reader’s own stories, find their deeper meaning and see their
life from a different perspective.
I divided
my own life into cycles of nine years, added my stories and discovered a theme
for each cycle. The most profound
changes were seeded in the final year of a cycle or unexpectedly presented
themselves in the first year of the next.
As life experiences were arranged in chronological order, a
comprehensive picture presented itself; much clearer than looking at individual
events. Patterns emerged as one cycle
flowed into the next.
The book
seeks to unfold for the reader the metaphysical meaning of life amidst a busy
lifestyle.
50 Plus but who’s counting? has been written to lead the
reader to discover their own philosophy, live it fully, and experience a
freedom and freshness that may have escaped them for most of their life.
* * *
Now comes
the task of having it published; all 122,000+ words. Mercury is in retrograde until 1 February, so
I won’t think about it for the moment. The
Universe can be quite creative how it goes about doing what we ask, so I’m open
to any possibility.
Somehow I managed to delete the April News Blog, so I have added it again today. I wrote it not long after I returned from America and UAE.
April News 2008
Thank you for finding my Newsletter…
Ten years
ago, I would write a newsletter every 3 months.
It has been some time since I wrote the last one, but in the future I
will post regular articles to the website instead of photocopying, folding and
stamping. Times… they are achanging and so are we. Tension and problems only arise when we
continue to hang on when we know we have past the use-by date.
I’ll begin
with the light hearted latest news; always keeping in mind that light hearted
and happy can hold as many life lessons as dark and dreary.
I have
just returned from
EVERYTHING I NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT LIFE I HAVE LEARNED FROM FEET
I was invited
by someone in the Reflexology Association to be guest speaker for a monthly
meeting. I was asked to speak about my
journey and how reflexology had been a part of it. “Journey” talks can be a little boring, so I
thought I needed a fresh approach. I
decided to do it from a different perspective.
I liked the idea of “All I need
to know about life I have learned from …….”.
So I added the word ‘feet’ and the talk took form; but like always, I
went that one step further and got postcards printed to emphasis my point.
All the
sayings are related to feet, soles or souls, stand, toes…. You get the idea.
I enjoy
speaking in public, but with my Mercury (thought and communication) in Pisces
(vague and idealistic), I can sometimes jump around a lot and extend others a
little as I go.
UNIVERSAL PREPARATION……
NO THANKS…
I DON’T WANT TO DO
THAT….
And because
we don’t understand what is going on, we don’t co-operate
When we
approach life from logic, it doesn’t always make sense. Let me tell you about a lesson in logic I
learned from my 3 year old grandchild recently while in minus degrees in
As most
people would know when the temperature is -3° or -4° and especially when it is
minus 13°, it will be cold outside, no matter what the temperature of the house
is. Children appear
to live in the present moment; so why would a child want to put on 5 layers of
clothing inside a house when it is heated and the child is not cold?
All that
clothing doesn’t make sense. He’s warm
and cozy.
Have you
ever been in a position where the Universe has repeatedly been trying to
prepare you for something and you won’t take any notice and refuse to
co-operate.
Have you
ever been in a position where you have said in retrospect “If only I had
listened to the clues?” In retrospect
the clues are so loud, you can’t miss them.
The
Universe, God or our Higher Consciousness knows what is ahead, even though we
may not, and is trying to get us to put on those extra layers of clothing to
make the next part of the process of life more comfortable.
Sometimes
we just have to become extremely uncomfortably (and for this example freeze)
before we listen to Guidance.
Wouldn’t
our lives be more comfortable, flowing and content if we trusted that we are
being looked after by a Higher Power, and that everything is exactly how it is
meant to be, and some of the things that come our way that don’t make sense to
us are merely Wisdom in disguise.
COLD WEATHER… -13° to +2°
I thought
snow would be good fun. It was for about
48 hours, and then I was over it.
It looked
so beautiful just after it had fallen.
Beautiful is not always practical.
TALK ABOUT BEING LOOKED AFTER….
If you
need help, just ask.
Arriving
at
We had two
physical angels to help, one light bulb and something put in our pathway too
big to miss.
By the
time we arrived in
The
As we
walked from the plane up the walkway into a sea of people in the arrival area
there was, parked right in front of me, an Emergency People Mover. My daughter didn’t see it, she just took
off. I knew instantly that if we were to
have any hope of making the next plane, this was the answer to my prayer. The vehicle would take about 12 people. Nobody was on it and the lady driver was just
sitting there…. Waiting for us…
I was
carrying the baby and a lot of hand luggage.
I asked the lady driver “Was our situation a big enough emergency and
could she take us to get the other plane?”
All I knew about our next flight was that is was going to
If a
person was easily embarrassed, this was not the place to be. The lady driver obviously knew how far we had
to go, and how quickly we had to get there.
She drove so fast through all those people it’s a wonder that she didn’t
knock someone over. I think her hand
stayed on the horn the whole time, warning everyone to get out of the way. She knew which Concourse to go to, but
stopped at the Departure Board to find out the gate number. When we got to the Gate, there was a very
quick visit to the toilet with the 3 year old.
When I got back to the Gate my daughter said that there had been an
announcement for the final passengers to board immediately or their seats would
be given away. People wait at the gates
with Stand-by tickets like vultures.
We had
just made it. There is no way we could
have run the distance, even if we knew where we were going. “Someone” was looking after us. My worst nightmare, was to get this far,
after so long with the little darlings and miss the flight, with the
possibility of over-nighting in
Revisiting
the event, as I write this, brings up more emotion that when I was actually in
the experience. Most probably a lot of
the emotion was suppressed at the time, simply as a coping mechanism; and when
it is triggered later, all of it comes up.
The over whelming emotion that is surfacing is gratitude for I know
Someone or some higher power is very close looking out for me. The only thing we have to do is ask for help.
I see this
pattern happening often with people.
Emotions are suppressed and when they finally surface, they can come as
fury unleased.
I REMEMBER THAT
Have you
ever heard a song and been taken back in an instant, through a memory, to an
event that is so real that you can almost smell the atmosphere and touch the
surroundings. I think we all have.
I was
watching an Andrew Lloyd Webber concert on TV and the orchestra began playing
the overture from “Sunset Boulevard”. I
was immediately sitting in the 10th row of a London Theater. It was November 1995, and I was waiting for
the show to begin. I can remember how I
felt as I sat there that night and as the music began I said to myself “I am
going to love this”. I could remember
the clothes I had on, what I had done all that day, and getting in a London Cab
and going home afterwards.
It’s
scarey how much we store in our subconscious and it only needs such a little
prompting for it to surface.
It’s not
just the happy memories that we store, we keep the painful ones stacked down
there as well; and it takes so little to trigger either one.
Ho’oponpono
teaches that I am responsible for everything in my life. I can create by listening to Divine Guidance
or dredging up an old painful memory and creating with that.
When I am
prepared to accept responsibility for my creation, without judgment, and bring
love and gratitude to it, somehow it is transformed.
“I’m
sorry, I love you” is a simple and effective response to something I would
rather not have manifest in my life.
Who do you
say these words to…. I say them
to myself. I love you, my self, and I am
sorry for creating something from a past memory. I have
seen how these few simple words change lives.
…Earth is crammed with Heaven
And every common bush afire with
God
And only he who sees
Takes off his shoes
The rest sit round it and pluck
blackberries…
Elizabeth Barrett
Browning
And
everything is a part of It
The
negatives as well as the positives
And when I
realize that all is perfect, over and above any personal value judgment
I will bow
in respect to all creation
And my
days of hapless wandering and searching for meaning and justification of self
will be left far behind.
I may not
understand, but I will rejoice and trust in the perfection of all,
I will
happily accept those who choose a different path to mine, for in my freedom is
the giving of freedom to others to simply be…..
While I
must take off my shoes,
I must
allow others to sit and pluck blackberries
and know
that all is well……..
I
recognize that the Universe is trying to communicate with me constantly
Whether it
be to prepare me for something
To let me
know help and support is at hand
Or bring
me something great and wonderful.
Earth is crammed with Heaven and
when I see it, blackberries aren’t important any more.
I might get a few prickles in my
bare feet, but I won’t even notice the pain.
BACK TO THE
MEMORIES….
If you are
sentimental or a romantic at heart, and are old enough to remember “An Affair
to Remember” or more recently “Sleepless in
I wanted
to see that famous scene at the top of the
Remember another old saying I heard in another movie years ago…..
Nothing will ever match up to the
memory of such and such….
Not even such and such himself.
Things are
never the way we remember them. Our
minds have the ability to canonize or demonize
Besides
being nearly blown off the building on one side, it was a great view.
NO COMPARISIONS…
The only
measure we have of how far we have matured, grown, or advanced is to compare
ourselves to ourselves of the past. The
only person limiting me is me. Another
thing I did in
Everyone
was so friendly. Maybe the ground floor
is more for tourists and the serious buyers are taken upstairs. Didn’t matter anyway. It was fun.
YOUR CHILDHOOD FANTASIES… EVERYONE
ONE OF THEM
A little
trivia.....
If anyone
ever wanted to relive some childhood fantasy, then The Disney Shop was the
place to visit. Every Disney character
every created, in what ever form you could image was there. From key rings, to games, to lollies, to
costumes, shirts. paintings, china statues etc. etc. etc. Three full floors of them. Of course the higher you went, the more
expensive the merchandize.
GROUND ZERO
I was asked
several times what it felt like to be there.
It’s like many other special places, there are so many tourists, it’s
not possible to connect with the essence of the place. One poster was particularly sad and I felt
the memorial to be erected was emotionally cold and separate.
ONLY IN 
I must
tell you quickly about the basket ball game.
It was at a huge stadium filled with home team supporters hoping for
victory. I expected some sort of
entertainment at half time and I wasn’t disappointed. There were two mats put down side by side,
about 100 meters long. One end had a
shelf about 30 centimeters off the ground that held a ball. The team was at the other end. The team being 4 dogs that would race up to
the ball, grab it and bring it back so that the next team member could go. That was fun enough, followed by the dog team
racing the people team. Of course there
was a band with four huge tubers doing there own thing in the middle of the
stadium floor, gymnasts standing atop of each other to 4 levels, and of course
the cheer squad.
I could
understand all of this for half time, but for time out. Not quite as bad, but I had to wonder what
was wrong with a few minutes TIME OUT for everyone.
Right
judgment is no judgment is allowing.
I was disappointed
to see large numbers leaving when it was obvious that the home team wasn’t
going to win. What happened to the
genuine old fashioned love of sport.
Maybe winning has just become all too important.
HOME SWEET HOME… SO WHAT’S DIFFERENT……..
It was a
week before my grandson’s 3rd birthday and I wanted to buy him some
presents. I had to get him something
from his great grandmother and great aunt as well. We went to a shopping Mall. The only covered one in
Their food
has so much added sugar; no wonder obesity is a major health issue
The taxi
door didn’t close properly, the seat belt didn’t do up, the boot (sorry trunk)
was so full of personal junk we could hardly put the pram in.
Couldn’t
purchase over-the-counter pharmaceuticals that are readily available in
The mail
box is next to the front door and the postal clerk comes right up and puts your
mail in it.
Harmony is
found in…. right judgment
Right judgment
is no judgment
No
judgment is acceptance
Acceptance
embraces gratitude…… the path of peace and harmony
WHOEVER SHOWS UP IS ME…
Whoever or
whatever shows up in my life is an expression of some part of me. If I refuse to accept it as such, then I can
be sure that it is a part of me that I disown.
On some level of my consciousness I am giving permission to another to
bring this part of my disowned self to my attention; to accept and heal. We fall short in this exercise as most times,
we tend to judge the other person or the circumstances as good or bad. Judgment will put us off track.
What we
have to realize is that when someone arrives who we don’t like, we are well
able to deny any connection whatsoever to the self. But there always is.
If I believe
a theory, then I believe it. I don’t
believe it if I like the result, and reject it when I don’t like the
results. If I believe something then I
begin at that point and try to figure out what is actually happening.
So
believing that I am responsible, whether consciously or unconsciously, for
everything in my life, I look at the person who is “pressing every button I
have”, and know that there is a connection between the two and it’s not by
accident. I look for the core issue that
both people share. The core issue will
be the same. The expression of the core
issue will most probably be different.
Someone in
your life may be angry, aggressive and always yelling. You don’t yell and
scream, so how is that person reflecting you.
The angry aggression is only the expression of a core issue. The core issue could be lack of discipline. Once I
get to the core issue, then I need to look at where in my life I either lack
discipline or I am rigid and unbending.
Maybe the
boss is rude, a bully and manipulative.
The core issues might a feeling of
powerlessness, so he has to control others to feel secure. You may not be a rude bully but as quiet as a
mouse. You might have to look at areas
in your life where you have allowed others to take control. You may need to stand in your own power.
You may
have someone who is always telling you what to do; a person who knows the best
way you should do everything. The core
issue here could be an overwhelming sense
of responsibility. You may not tell
others what to do, but you may be overwhelmed by guilt and responsibility that
you carry for others or be totally irresponsibly on the other hand.
You may
find someone who does not appreciate your efforts and all you do. Core issue appreciation. You may not love and appreciate yourself.
BELIEFS.....
I can’t
prove what I believe is true.
Nor can I
prove a lot of what I say is true.
But at
this time in my life, it works for me.
What I
believe brings me peace of mind, good health, and a lifestyle I am happy with.
When I
want to expand any area of my life, I have to seriously look at what belief I
am holding on to that is limiting that area and work on it. And ‘working on it’ could be as simple as
acknowledging it and releasing it.
My basic
beliefs…
My belief
in God or a higher power hasn’t changed but my concept of that Higher Power/
God has.
I am
responsible. I have created everything
that shows up in my life, either consciously or unconsciously, often through a
complex inter-connected web to many others.
Good and
bad are relative as they belong to an individual’s personal value system. Right and wrong fit into that same category.
Beliefs
are things you can change. Even if you
have held a belief for many years, it can be changed.
Changing
your beliefs will change your life.
What you
believe you think about.
What you
think about with emotion you create.
NEW WEBSITE
Be careful what you ask for. You will usually get it. I was thinking that my website needed to be revamped and freshened. I only thought seriously about it, but the Universe took notice and arranged it for me. I was not able to make any changes to my old site, so I had to rewrite the whole thing. Well, I most probably would have taken ages to get around to doing it; I was just hurried along. I could have jumped up and down and complained about incompetent people, but I chose to accept that nothing happens to me. I do not live in victimhood and that on some level of my consciousness I allowed this to happen.
So here I am finally adding a blog to my website.
I have wanted to do this for ages, but was always too busy.
Now I will publish my newsletter on line rather than all that photocopying, folding and stamps. In retrospect we can eventually see the good in every situation.
