recreation
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.
The True Meaning Of Spiritual Surrender
When life becomes too challenging, and things begin to fall apart for us, we usually seek spiritual guidance and comfort.
In these circumstances we often tend to hear terms like surrender, release and acceptance. We are told to just let it go and simply be in the moment.
But what does it really mean to surrender? It’s a term often used in spiritual and metaphysical circles. Is there even such a thing? And if so, what does it entail?
According to the dictionary, surrender means to stop fighting and admit defeat. It also conjures up the vision of waving a white flag. But is spiritual surrender truly nothing more than throwing in the towel, and graciously accepting our defeat?
I prefer to explore the meaning of spiritual ‘surrender’ through the metaphor of a painting I made, which is my way of meditating and reflecting on life.
The painting is of an angel and I even named it Surrender. I chose this name, because it is the energy this angel emanates. His pose and posture also symbolizes the act of surrender.
At the time of working with the energy of this piece, I was in the process of leaving the security of a mainstream finance career, to establish myself as a full-time artist, energy healer and spiritual reader. Meanwhile, I was also very busy navigating a family separation and divorce. There were so many major changes in my life, and so much about my future and my life path that remained uncertain and unknown.
A Beginner’s Guide To Forest Bathing
The spiritual healing practice of forest bathing, also known as tree bathing or Shinrin-yoku, is more than just a casual walk in the woods. It’s a conscious, mindful immersion into the living energy of the natural world.
In a time of constant motion and information, nature offers a different kind of wisdom. When you enter the woods with humility and presence, the trees respond. They speak in stillness, they heal without fanfare, and they remind us of the sacredness that lives in all things.
Originating in Japan in the 1980s, Shinrin-yoku was developed as a form of eco-therapy to combat stress, burnout, and disconnection from the land. But long before it became a modern wellness trend, it was an everyday way of life our ancestors took for granted.
At its essence, forest bathing invites you to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with nature as a living, healing presence.
It isn’t about hiking or exercise. There is no goal to achieve. You don’t have to meditate, journal, pray, do or achieve anything at all. Simply being with the trees and plants is enough.
When we stop and listen, we realize the forest has its own language, and it welcomes us into an ancient dialogue of peace and renewal. Trees are masterful purifiers. They filter the air of toxins and breathe out oxygen rich with life force.
When we stand near trees, they seem to do the same with our energy. They absorb some of our anxiety, tension, and fear, and offer us steadiness, grounding, and quiet wisdom in return.
Protect Yourself From Toxic Noise And Psychic Junk
How often do you consider the health of your auric space or personal energy field, which is constantly being bombarded with so much negative energy these days. Are you doing enough to protect yourself?
First and foremost, you need to have healthy boundaries. Each of us needs and deserves to have a safe place, a sense of self-worth, and protection from others. Think about what happens to a beach that is battered constantly by waves. It will wear down and eventually disappear. If you don’t have boundaries, your very identity will be like those grains of sand.
Learning to connect back to the Earth and nature is essential to our well-being. This can be as simple as walking without shoes in a natural space, or by keeping plants in your living space. When we are separate from our natural selves, we lose perhaps the most important part of our soul.
By walking in nature, you are literally reconnecting. Like a lightning bolt discharging energy when it strikes solid ground, you are releasing all the negative energies that accumulate in your body. Take a friend, or walk your dog if you have one.
If these energies, and their associated negative effects, are like frantic little animals in the cage of our bodies, we need to find ways to calm them. Centering rituals using meditation, candles, crystals, or whatever individual tradition you may follow, need to be part of your day, just like meals and baths.
The Sweet Nectar Of Romantic Relationships
The energy of the hummingbird brings immense wisdom to be shared with us. When he appears it is always such a treat, as I have learnt so much from this amazing bird, including about love and romantic relationships.
When the hummingbird comes into my life asking to be painted, my vision blurs. I can then only see my artwork clearly and the brush strokes needed to finish his painting. I have learned that sometimes our own vision needs to become blurred, so that what we are seeking can be shown to us.
I have also learned that the ‘narrowed vision’ of hummingbird is vital to the health and vitality of our relationships, especially those of a romantic nature. When we keep our focus firmly on the present moment and the feelings we share with our partner in this moment, rather than on the negative thoughts, concerns or expectations, we blur out the noise.
This allows for a breaking away from the old energy patterns and lack consciousness that too often govern the roles played out in our relationships. It allows for a simplicity to arise in the communion and communication with our partner.
The hummingbird gathers nectar from the flower through its power of focus and natural instincts. It trusts its own innate nature to choose the flowers that will nourish and feed it. Finding trust in our own feelings and intuition is important, so that our relationships are nourished and allowed to blossom from within.
Finding More Balance In A Busy World
Do you ever feel the busier you become, the harder it is to remain focused and stay in control of everything? Then you are not, I promise you, alone! Sometimes life can seem like you are always juggling and struggling, but not always winning as a result.
As a professional psychic, I have always been of the opinion that if we want something to manifest in the material world, we have to get the inside of ourselves, as well as our lifestyles, balanced and more harmonious first. Otherwise, we would simply attract more chaos.
By putting ourselves in a healthy, positive, and balanced place, we not only draw more abundance to ourselves, but we also achieve a less stressful lifestyle as a result.
This is not just spiritual philosophy; it’s energetic truth. The Universe is always responding to the vibration we emit. When we’re frantic, overextended, or emotionally scattered, we become magnets for more of the same.
But when we take steps to ground ourselves, reconnect with our inner guidance, and honor our natural rhythms, something beautiful happens: the energy around us begins to shift.
This shift isn’t just internal because others begin to notice it too. Opportunities feel more aligned, relationships grow more authentic, and daily life feels less like a struggle and more like a sacred flow. In essence, when we become energetically clear, we create space for the Universe to meet us halfway. That’s where true transformation begins. Continue reading
Are You Experiencing A Spiritual Awakening?
As a psychic reader, I sometimes have clients who quietly confess that they are afraid they might be “going crazy.”
In truth, they are usyally just experiencing the early signs of a spiritual awakening. These profound shifts in your awareness and energy can feel disorienting, yet are deeply meaningful.
So, how can you tell if what you’re feeling is part of a spiritual transformation rather than a personal unraveling?
The term ‘spiritual awakening’ is somewhat overused these days in metaphysical circles. Just about anyone who has a ‘woo-woo’ moment, or gains deeper insight into a situation, or suddenly sees chakra colors, seems to believe they are having a true, full-blown ‘spiritual awakening.’
Spiritual awakening does tend to occur spontaneously, and from what I’ve witnessed, the more open-minded the person is and the less attached to outcomes they are, the more available or ‘ripe’ they are for a spiritual awakening to occur.
Just the other day a client was telling me of her experience while peeling a carrot over the kitchen sink. She said she was looking down at her hands, watching them, and wondering what was animating them?
It can be a strange moment when you discover that you are not really who you thought you were. It can be disorienting, to say the least, to see yourself from such an objective position. However, if you know ahead of time that this is perfectly normal, and others have experienced these signs too, it can make your life a lot easier.