Moonlight Goddess speaks to us of repressed emotions, healing and reflections.
 
What a timely goddess to step up in front of me.  For the last 2 weeks consciously, I’ve been fighting with love.  You can’t really fight with love, can you?  that’s too ironic.  But that is what I’ve been doing. I’ve met a man, a man that I feel deeply connected to.  A man who after spending a weekend with him, I knew I would marry.  And yet I’ve been fighting this love.  I’ve wanted to kick it to the ground and leave it there.  I’ve wanted to keep convincing myself that it’s OK to love and remain detached.  I’ve even contacted my old lover of whom I had stopped seeing when this man came into my life.  I had a good arrangement with the lover – no strings attached, no discussion of future plans, no meeting of each other’s children or family and definitely no commitment other than to be respectful and have fun.  Perfect arrangement I say, especially for someone who had stepped out of a 25-year marriage three years ago.  Nothing happened with the said lover, I merely contacted him and asked of his arrangements for the evening, to which he replied “I thought you were in love” and I said “yes I am, but Im thinking about sabotaging it”
I have been kidding myself with being in love, when my girlfriends all say Wow so happy for you etc etc, because this love takes up my precious time. It means changing my plans and arrangements from full steam ahead (of who knows where) to include and consider someone else.  I’ve had to reconsider what I want my future to look like and how I wish to live and, god forbid sharing my bedroom, my inner sanctum space with another person. Fuck Fuck Fuck
So, I’ve sat with this for a time, and the possibility of going back to the other arrangements I had, and I had to do some deep reflecting of myself and my repressed emotions. Thank you, Moonlight Goddess.
And this is what I came up with. Im scared.  Im so darn frightened of what emotions this love may bring with it and what old emotions have been tapped into stirring now that love has awoken them.
The emotions go something like this.  They are old, some of them are tied up with my marriage, some are newly tied into who I have emerged into being in my 3 years of being more single than in a relationship.
And it is here I must honour and disclose that I had a beautiful relationship in between husband, lover and this new man in my life but I knew somewhere deep down in my heart that that man was not going to be my soul love, but we would teach each other so much goodness in the time we were together.
When I pulled the Moonlight, Goddess card this morning it all made sense.  In surrendering to this love, to this beautiful man who wants to do forever with me, who wants to plan for future times.  Im frightened, a little like a cat that’s been cornered. My fear stuff has gone into overdrive, my brain is busy enough as it is so the idea of dealing with love has just been put in the almost too hard basket by me.  Until I made contact with the old lover and I remembered that everything is within my choice and what I really wanted to do was to explore this relationship with the man who had just handed me his heart.  I want to explore it and be brave and be vulnerable and be sassy and be independent and be all the great and awesome things I am anyway but to just hand over some of the control and replace it with carefree compassion for myself, my heart, my man and my future. 
 
Rock on Goddess of the moonlight – I love the insights you bring.
 

One should never underestimate the importance of sovereignty. Our place in the world. The importance our soul places on being of worth, of being connected to others and to truly matter.
When everything that has indicated who you are in the world shifts, you too shift with it. A little like the lava of an erupting volcano, everything in its seething heat is forever changed. The landscape becomes different. There is a time where the destruction is raw and dangerous. Where roads and landmarks and security changes, shifted or evaporated forever. After a time, I am told there is growth again. I have witnessed this on the big island of Hawaii when Pele goddess of passion overflowed. After a time there is space once again for growth. Seemingly out of the cold black hard lava there is greenery sprouting, then a forest as lush as any prehistoric scenery.
New paths are formed, new gateways, new everything.
This thought holds me dear as I too go through the motions of such enormous change. I remind myself it is only new and fresh in the scheme of a volcanic eruption. Give it time dear one, for you to will blossom again after the blackened earth and heart rebuilds, less cindered and worn. You too will blossom again

 
EACH AND EVERY DAY WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO START AGAIN IN SO MANY WAYS:

• To create our wildest dreams
  
• To rethink our responses to situations
• To consider the people we spend time with and how they affect our wellness
  
• To follow our careers and passions
• To learn to respond rather than react to situations

 At the midline of my life it was time to start again from scratch – or was it?

I’ve looked for a very long time – I’ve looked for how to balance my needs with giving myself completely to others, especially my family.
You know what it led to?
Burnout
Breakdown of marriage
Bust ups with my passions & brilliant opportunities to start again.  Which is what led me to consider the very question of where our story starts and where exactly it ends!  Have you ever considered the story of your mother and your mothers mother?  If not, start to discover theses stories - they may just hold some gem.  If you dont think its worth doing, and you have children, then I ask you to consider the worth of your daughter knowing your story and how it impacts their projection in life.

Having a marriage dissolve was beyond painful for me, selling the family home and leaving my beloved community broke parts of my heart and confidence, holding on while every transition happened felt out of control at times, but out of the ashes I knew after a time that something new would birth.  I just needed time and the right people in my life.
Amidst the personal grief work I was doing, I had an inarguable desire to continue creating space for other women to do their healing because I know there is something profoundly necessary and magical when women have the opportunity to gather in a safe space to share their stories and listen to other women.  In order to remain connected, strengthened and supported. We need this now more than ever, as the modern-day stresses and commitments are placed on us.
Women DO all the time, and what we NEED is to just BE.
Ever since I attended my first transformational retreat, I’ve fallen in love with the truth telling and intimacy that is created when a group of women gather around a common intention, with a skilled facilitator leading the way.  I have now stepped back up to be the facilitator of all things women and Goddess in love, living and learning and Im so looking forward to sitting in the Goddess space with you soon. xxx


 

August is such a beautiful month to sit in wonder of what winter has delivered.  The mornings are still crisp, but the sun is peeking through more often and there are incredible things happening in nature.   New buds are forming on trees, and the earthworms are cleaning up the winter debris.  I have noticed a Magpie family foraging around in my garden, which is a sure sign spring is on its way, and the whales are moving down the coast.

With five weeks until spring now is a good time to reflect and shine a light on the good things that winter brought you, like a little more time to snuggle on the couch, or trying out some slow cooked recipes.  Hopefully you had an opportunity to sit around a fire with friends, chatting, laughing and gazing into the flames.  Take this moment to name five good things that winter blessed you with.

My five have been:

1.         Taking up writing

2.         Joining a Power Yoga class

3.         Picking fresh Broccoli & Cauliflower from the garden

4.         Turning off the computer earlier and snuggling on the couch

5.         Planting the bare soil with Indigenous plants for all to enjoy for years to come

“As you start your journey, the first thing you should do is throw away that store bought map and begin to draw your own”  - Dell

Exercise for August:  Start stretching.  Yoga and Pilates classes can cater for each and every body.  Over winter our bodies are not as limber, our joints can become tight and our muscles contract in the cold.  Also our lymphatic system gets a bit sluggish – from all those slow cooked dinners on the couch! So go find a class or look one up on You tube (I suggest any by Australian Yoga journal) and commit to 1-3 hours per week with some of the benefits including:

·       Flexibility

·       Strength

·       Balance

·       Joint stability

·       Spinal health

·       May lower blood pressure & blood sugars

·       Decreased cortisol and stress

·       Increases self consciousness and meditation



Recipe spot

As we have reached the peak of winter and are now moving steadily into spring, it is a good time to consider how your health and vitality have stood up.  Have there been any signs that aspects of food or lifestyle need to change?  Invigorating your body can have some great benefits now, so go and purchase a good quality body brush loofah or make the following recipe and use 2-3 times a week to exfoliate and nourish your skin – the biggest organ of our body.  Always start from the feet and work your way up the body, using sweeping motions toward the Terminus (chest) whilst visualising yourself assisting the lymphatic system in detoxing the body.  Don’t forget under your arms, breasts and stomach, which are all  lymph node areas.  If you are able to get time in a sauna, hot room or bath add this to your weekly routine also, as well as lots of water, herbals teas and nourishing soups.


Good enough to eat Body Scrub:

1 cup coconut oil                                                                          

½ cup Shea butter

½ cup raw sugar or salt

¼ cup ground coffee

5-10 drops of your desired essential oil – suggestions: spearmint/ lemon/ orange/

*I use organic product where possible and Doterra essential oils

Warm the butter and oil in a double saucepan until they are just warm and mixed together.  Add all other ingredients, with love and prayers of good health.  Pop into a beautiful jar and place in the bathroom, along with fresh flowers, a sweet smelling candle and full intentions of being nurturing to yourself.

Workplace Wellness:

Set up a reminder in the office that goes off every hour.  You can set it to tranquil music or dance music or mix it up.  However you choose is fine, the important thing is to stand up every hour and move for 2-5 minutes.  You can stretch, jog on the spot, strike a Yoga pose, and do walking lunges to the tearoom. Doesn’t matter what it is, just so long as you do it every hour, which will have a positive  affect on your health and wellness, decreasing your risk of heart attack significantly and increasing your joy and productivity.

July is smack bang in the middle of winter.  It’s a good month for self-nurturing and hibernation, spending time in replenishment and self-reflection. It is easy to deny ourselves enough quiet time and rest so winter is a good time to consider working with stillness and recharging our batteries in more ways than one.  Rest more, snuggle on the couch, read great books, start a journal, rug up and walk in the rain, sit on a mountaintop and feel the wind blowing a gale.  Thank winter for its great part in sustaining life and slow down to enjoy it.

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change” – The Buddha                 

Exercise for July:  Go dancing. There are plenty of different dance classes available and the benefits of dance are many.  It’s indoors so you don’t have the excuse of inclement weather! You can meet people, have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously and attain a great cardiovascular workout.  There is such a wide range of both physical and mental benefits including:

• Improved condition of your heart and lungs
• Increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness
• Increased aerobic fitness
• Improved muscle tone and strength
• Weight management
• Stronger bones and reduced risk of osteoporosis
• Better coordination, agility and flexibility
• Improved balance and spatial awareness
• Increased physical confidence
• Improved mental functioning
• Improved general and psychological wellbeing
• Greater self-confidence and self-esteem
• Better social skills.

·        

Recipe spot

Its important to listen to our bodies needs and embrace food as a natural medicine.  Where possible its better to eat foods that are in season and locally grown as this will give you the richest of foods and nutrients- the ultimate nutrabullet straight from the source!  Winter is about slowing down, which includes slow cooked foods; more warming beverages as well as eating nourishing Yin rich foods such as high proteins, roots foods (Leaks, potatoes, parsnips) that are traditional winter foods.  They help to ground us, slow us, and nurture us. 

·       Winter Blood Warming Tea                                                                                                                             

·       5-6 of all the following per pot:

·       Clove                                  Star Anise

·       Cardamom pods                  Cinnamon Bark

·       Black pepper seeds

·       Add 1-teaspoon size:

·       Fresh Turmeric & ginger

·       Fresh Lemon grass and basil

·      
Place all ingredients in a mortar and pestle and bruise to release all their goodness.  Pop into a teapot, add boiling water and seep for five minutes.  All these ingredients are nourishing winter herbs used to produce warmth and expel decongestant in the body.

Workplace Wellness:

The British tradition of tea drinking dates back to the 1840’s and high teas have made a comeback.  Start a High Tea Time Tradition in your workplace.  Ask HR to indulge in a beautiful teapot for the tearoom and a selection of locally made teas, as well as a divine treat. When having your High Tea Time chillax, use your finest china and allow yourself the nectar of slowness and connection with your fellow employees.