beauty
How To Have A Peaceful Christmas This Year
A
s magical a time of year as Christmas may be, it can still be somewhat stressful.
Nevertheless, with a little pre-planning, you should be able to get your Xmas off to a good start and enjoy the celebrations to the maximum without experiencing too much stress and drama in the process!
How good is that? Here’s how.
Set Clear Intentions
Let go of the idea that Christmas must be traditional and ‘perfect,’ and that you must make it that way for everybody. Set instead a clear intention for what your ideal Christmas will be.
After that, all you need to do is make plans that go along with your vision. Having established what Christmas really means to you, you can then use it as a guide to prepare your celebrations.
Keep It Simple
Simplicity ensures peace and calm, whereas complexity causes stress and drama. It really is as simple as that! It is imperative that any Christmas plans you make are as simple, straightforward and as streamlined as possible. Doing so should help to create a sense of calm and empowerment, which you will no doubt need to take into the New Year with you.
Thorns Are Only There To Protect The Rose
Each time we turn to unnecessary conflict, things turn into chaos. It stirs up the aura around each person involved. The ripples of anger and hurt affects everyone involved.
This doesn’t mean we can’t ever stand up for ourselves, or disagree. In fact, statistics prove that couples who never argue most often don’t last in their relationships.
A good storm now and then can clear up things and allow us opportunity to express the things we have been suppressing.
But often we hold it in for too long, and then it blows up. When this happens, the drama is often worse than it needed to be. We say things we later regret. We are even surprised by some of the things we say when we get this upset! Where did that come from?
Then, as time goes on, we want to make amends. Yet, those words caused a hurt that never really leaves. Sometimes an apology is no longer enough.
I know that it is hard to do, but it is mostly for the best not to stir the pot when it is already too late. The wisest way to handle issues is to bring them up early on. Talk and work them out before they blow up.
Love is like a rose. Roses are so beautiful, with their sweet smell, the velvet petals, brilliant colors, and heady scent. It overwhelms the senses.
Staying Spiritually Nourished In A Digital World
If you’re feeling stuck in cycles of anger, sadness, anxiety, or fatigue, take a moment to ask yourself: what am I consuming?
This question goes far beyond food. Are you consuming negativity online? Are you surrounding yourself with people who drain rather than uplift? Are you spending more time in front of a screen than under the sky?
Everything you consume and engage with in this world either feeds your inner light or diminishes it. Everything you watch, listen to, interact with, and invite into your life.
This truth is simple yet profound. We may not always realize it, but the choices we make each day either nourish our spirit or cloud it.
In today’s world, it’s easy to become entangled in habits, distractions, and energies that gradually drain our vitality. The barrage of social media updates, the constant hum of technology, processed foods, fear-driven news cycles, anger, jealousy, dishonesty, and gossip. All of these things can chip away at the divine light within us, if we let it.
On the other hand, there are sacred and intentional choices that can uplift and energize us. Fresh fruits and vegetables grown with love from the Earth. Gentle sunlight warming your skin. Time in nature, listening to the rhythm of the trees and the whispers of the wind.
Loving and conscious relationships. Forgiveness. Kindness. Generosity. Dance, art, singing, and the tender beauty of genuine joy. These are not luxuries. They are lifelines to your highest self. They feed your light. Continue reading
The Power Of Creativity To Transform And Heal
Creative play is a crack, or a doorway into another part of ourselves… into our intuitive and spiritual nature. To explore our creativity is to open that door of possibility.
It is easy to doubt our creativity when we compare ourselves to others, and to great artists of the past. Through their life stories and work, the master artists left reminders, showing us that creativity is not something we are taught, but rather something we are. Tapping into this is about experiencing this for ourselves, in whatever form that may be.
I took up painting as a hobby in my late 20s. It began as a desire to learn to paint, although I held the belief that I wasn’t really creative, given my Finance and Accounting background. I had never considered Art to be healing, or that it held personal healing benefits.
At the beginning of my journey, I immersed myself in art books and read about other artists. I also joined a local art group. In class one day, I felt inspired to paint the Buddha. From the moment I picked up my brush to paint him, I could feel a presence by my side and I could see in the blank canvas the face that was to appear, long before it was visible to anyone else. That painting is the piece that changed the direction of my life path, as I embraced my creative and spiritual gifts.
Turning up to a blank canvas, is like saying yes to life and the unknown of what lays on our path. And there are many benefits of saying ‘yes’ to painting. Painting allows us to express ourselves through our work, it allows us a time and space to reflect on our life and the meaning we attached to our experiences.
Inner Journey To The Mystical Isle Of Avalon
Sometimes when the pressures and demands of modern life become too much, I retreat to one of my favorite places in the universe: the mythical island of Avalon.
This legendary island of Celtic mythology is steeped in legends of healing, psychic learning, sacred crafting, and the life and times of King Arthur. Its name translates as “Isle of Apples,” emphasizing its association with fertility, abundance, and otherworldly beauty.
In folklore, Avalon, or Insula Avallonis, was a sanctuary of deep spiritual and psychic knowledge and was known as a training ground for pagan priestesses dedicated to the Great Mother Goddess. These women dedicated their lives to spirituality, honing their skills in clairvoyance, herbalism, weaving, and deep devotion to the Divine Feminine.
But Avalon was not only a sanctuary for women. Men were also an integral part of its story. Merlin the magician is inextricably linked to the history of the island, having trained the young Arthur there for his kingship.
Avalon is also entwined with many other tales woven through the lives of King Arthur, Guinevere, Morgan le Fay, Merlin, Nimue (the Lady of the Lake), and others. Legend also has it that King Arthur was brought to Avalon by his half-sister, Morgan le Fay, to heal after being badly wounded in battle.
The question of whether Avalon really existed straddles the line between myth and reality. Some historians and researchers speculate that Avalon may be based on a real place. Glastonbury, England, is often associated with Avalon because of its mystical aura and ties to Arthurian legend.
The Spiritual Wisdom Of Butterflies
My grandmother was a poet. When I was a child, she wrote a beautiful poem about me. It was about a fairy girl who spent all her time outside chasing butterflies. The poem had a poignant message:
In time, the pendulum swings,
and you can’t hear the butterfly’s wings.
It was her way of reminding me to hold on to my youthful passion, to nurture the light within, and to resist life’s inevitable disappointments.
This wisdom has stayed with me long after her passing, and in the years since, butterflies have become more than a reminder of her — they’ve become her messengers.
Butterflies often appear in my life when I’m feeling overwhelmed, under attack, or grieving a loss. They flutter around me, landing gently on my skin and hovering close as if to whisper a reminder: “Don’t let anyone steal your light.”
These delicate creatures have become symbols of resilience, hope, and the enduring connection between my grandmother’s spirit and my own.
Butterflies hold deep spiritual significance across cultures and belief systems. They are seen as symbols of transformation, freedom, and the soul’s journey.
Their life cycle — from caterpillar to cocoon to winged beauty — mirrors our own processes of growth, healing, and self-discovery. They teach us that even in our most confined and vulnerable states, there is the potential for magnificent change.
The Mystical Healing Power Of Flowers
If you were to walk into my garden in England, one of the first things you might notice is a beautiful hanging basket full of purple petunias. I put it there for a number of reasons, and not just to admire its beauty. No, it is where it is because of how it makes me feel.
The energy of flowers is metaphysically powerful and can help you achieve emotional and spiritual well-being. My purple petunias make me feel motivated and full of well-being.
Okay, this may seem like a bold statement, but flowers are truly magical in that they can help increase your productivity and overall happiness, soothe any sensitivities in your life, and motivate you at the same time. And yes, they can do this for you just by looking at them.
So, how do flowers work their magic on us? Mother Nature puts a lot of time and effort into creating beautiful flowers. In fact, a single flower can take weeks or even months to fully develop, making it the part of the plant with the highest energy vibration. When you work with such masterpieces of nature, you are indeed working with the most powerful and purest of energies.
Each flower carries its unique vibrational frequency, which interacts with our own energy fields. This interaction can lead to subtle yet profound changes in our mental, emotional and spiritual state. For example, the vibrant purple hue of petunias resonates with the crown chakra, enhancing our connection to higher consciousness and promoting a sense of peace and clarity. Similarly, the delicate structure and soothing colors of flowers like lavender can harmonize our energy, reducing stress and fostering relaxation.