HERBALIST - JUNE

Wednesday 24th was the day for my appointment to see Jan the Herbalist for my monthly check-up. Thankfully there was no repeat of the performance I had when leaving to go to the Clinic for the food sensitivity re-test, so I was able to pop into the Hospice Charity shop first, to drop off another bagful of bits, before crossing the road and going into the Clinic.

Ann, the receptionist, was back and there was time for a natter with her while Jan completed some phone calls. Ann is now walking around without a stick and her recuperation and healing are going really well - the surgeon did a great job, as the scar over her knee is extremely neat and streamlined...... and it will fade over time. She was glad to be back at work and it was lovely to see her looking so well and moving about so freely.

Jan had finished by this time, so she took me through to the Reiki room for our consult. It must be something about that room, as I found myself telling her all about Sunday's incident with my DSis's horrible neighbour and the associated upset. I'm glad I did, as she was able to offer different perspectives on what happened: no matter what I'd said or done it wouldn't have made any difference, as he wouldn't be able to see anyone else's point of view; asking the Angels to help him was a waste of my time and energy, as he clearly has no intention of changing his behaviour (he is someone who deliberately sets out to trigger the negative response/reaction he wants and expects) and if he knew wouldn't thank me for it anyway because he can't see that what he does is wrong; I need to concentrate on myself for now, to get back to good health; she once again stated that I was psychic, and that I had potential to do so much good to help those who want help I shouldn't waste time on those that haven't asked and don't want it, or I'd soon burn out. I felt a lot calmer after speaking with her about this.

She asked how I'd been, apart from that: well, before then I'd felt great - lots of energy and motivation, so the de-cluttering session was maintaining the right momentum; much brighter and happier in myself, with hardly any grief related/brooding problems - until the stroppy neighbour chose Father's Day to behave badly and I felt like I'd been pushed back ten steps; occasional digestive problems, though they were much less than they used to be, and still a few monthly niggles but even those seem to be gradually lessening.

Jan seemed pretty pleased with the progress so opted to leave the herbal mixture for my hormones and blood pressure as is, with one exception: the addition of slippery elm to help with the digestive problems. Meantime, I was to stop drinking the Cleanse tea (too harsh for me at the moment) and to drink plenty of Harmonise, Love, Relax and Chamomile teas to calm and soothe and to help me regain the more positive and happy frame of mind I had been in prior to Sunday. As there's no Reiki session before July she did suggest that I phone Aureen and have a chat with her, should I feel the need, as Aureen would probably be able to give me more Spiritual insights on things.

Next it was through into the treatment room to be weighed: I was 12stone 4lbs last month and I was...... 12stone 4lbs this month. I was happy with that - although I'd been more physically active through the month (lots of garden wotk and de-cluttering/cleaning) I'd also been eating more, as if my bosy needed the extra calories to keep the activity going. Breaking even is good - at least it wasn't a gain! LOL We didn't bother with my blood pressure, for obvious reasons.

Back in reception I added a couple of boxes of herbal teas to my bill, as my stock was getting a little low, then suddenly felt drawn to the crystal cabinet and was immediately drawn to these two:

Once I read the strips of paper I knew exactly why I'd felt drawn to them. Needless to say, they came home with me. :0)

I paid my bill, made my next appointment and then it was just a few minutes before Jan brought my medicine through. When she handed it to me I apologised for getting upset and thanked her - what she'd said made a lot of sense and had given me something to think about.

When I left the Clinic guess where I next headed? Yup, the Hospice Bookshop. Here's what I found in there this time:

The Angel book had actually been put in the wrong area but if it hadn't have been I probably wouldn't have spotted it...... one of those little "coincidences" again. Of course with a subject like that how could I resist? LOL

As I was feeling a little drained after the somewhat emotional session I opted to go straight back home, once I'd paid for my little haul. A little later I checked my emails and had had a response from a friend whi I'd confided in. This gave me yet more different perspectives on Sunday's happenings and much to think about. As the day drew on I started to feel better and better as certain thoughts occured to me: the only reason the neighbour's nastiness had a hold on me and was having other knock on effects was because I was allowing it to, so - I chose not to let it; that maybe the neighbour was so nasty and selfish because that was something he had to experience in this lifetime, so he could appreciate the difference between that and being caring so he could learn from it and grow; that perhaps, more than anything, this has been a valuable life lesson for me: to show me the difference between people who ask for and want help and those that don't ask and don't want it and to show me that some people can't be helped, so I can recognise these things later, when I go on to the next stage...... whatever that may be.

At this point what happened no longer affects me and I am regaining the equilibrium I had prior to it....... and I feel a little of that elusive wisdom was gained along the way. :0)

FOOD INTOLERANCE TESTING - TAKE TWO

On Wednesday 17 June it was time for me to go back to the Clinic to be re-tested for Candida levels so off I went for the 10am appointment..... only the postman was just down the road and when he spotted me he shouted that he'd got a sign for package for me. OK, but I'm running late for my appointment, so he said head back and as soon as he'd given the post to the address he was at he'd come straight to me.... so I headed home again. I opened up, grabbed a pen and was ready and waiting when he arrived - package (for DS) was duly signed for, alarm reset and door locked and off I headed once more...... definitely running late now.

I quickly shot down the street, calling a quick Hello to my neighbour, who I passed on the way. Jan and Natalie were waiting for me so, once I'd got my breath back, I apologised and explained what had happened. That's the first time I've ever been late but, thankfully, they were both understanding about it.

Natalie took me through to the Reiki room and asked if I just wanted the Candida test or the food sensitivity testing as well. I was curious to know what a second test would reveal, so opted to have it done again. I removed my rings and bracelets, held the brass rod for the machine to be set up, then the testing began.

The results were interesting: tuna didn't come up - it seems leaving it out of my diet, then reintroducing and eating it just once a week has worked OK; garlic is now OK; peas had dropped from high to moderate intolerance. I registered once again as dairy and citrus intolerant, which shows it wasn't a fluke and doubly confirms what I had always suspected, and paprika and eggs came up again too. The surprises were showing moderate intolerance to carrots and pork, which I'd been eating a bit more of lately, and high intolerance to tomatoes, which I eat every day. The old adage of eating everything in moderation certainly seems to be something I need to firmly grasp! LOL

Natalie was very pleased with how I was doing on the diet, impressed with the ongoing weight loss and was pleased with how I was managing the restrictions and reintroductions of the intolerance foods. It's basically a case of continuing what I'm already doing but adapting it to include the recent findings.

Next came the Candida retest. After taking the reading a couple of times it showed that my rate had gone from 60 up to 78. A normal reading for Candida should be 90 - I have a ways to go but it has improved. To be honest I am really pleased with it, as I'm not actually on any Candida fungus killing treatments at the moment (being treated for high blood pressure and hormonal imbalances and leaky gut), apart from being on the special diet...... so it looks like the stricter adherence to that has helped quite a bit. :0)

Out in reception again I got some more herbal teas and digestive capsules and paid my dues. Jan was busy so didn't have much time for a natter but I did tell her about going shopping for clothes the previous Saturday: finding I'd dropped from a 40E to a 38D bra size and from size 22-24 clothes to size 16. She was really pleased and just then two of her students came into reception, so she told them I was one of the Clinic's success stories and asked if I'd mind telling them what I'd just told her. I didn't and they asked quite a few questions about what the diet was like (Jan piped in with: it's bl**dy awful - having been on it herself. LOL), how much I'd lost etc etc and I told them about the health warning from the GP etc and how my blood pressure was now back to normal. They were amazed, especially by the fact that this has only taken 6 months to achieve. I left soon after, as they were busy, promising Jan to get on and write the testimonial I'd promised her. :0)

When I'd done in there I stopped to browse in the Hospice Bookshop window and immediately spotted that they had some esoteric books that were definitely of interest to me, so I had to go in for a closer look. The new book display had only been set up that morning and I promptly ruined it by wanting two of the books, though they didn't mind at all. Here's what I couldn't resist:

It's unusual to find this kind of book in there, so I was glad I'd let curiosity win out when I'd stopped for a nosey. I asked the lady and gentleman behind the counter if they had much more in this line, or anything to do with Wicca, Druidism, Paganism or any kind of alternative beliefs but they said they'd used most of what they had for the display - though she pointed to the sections I'd be most likely to find them, so I had another nosey. I didn't find any other esoteric books but I did find these two:

The herbal one is full of remedies for all kinds of ailments and I couldn't believe my luck at finding that as well. I also have an interest in reading books on women in history who played a major role in their time - great role models, as they stepped out of the subordinate role they were expected to take and became powerful in their own right, and also extremely insightful as to the attitudes/trends of the day. Plus I just plain enjoy history.... I should have taken that subject instead of chemistry at school..... I'd probably have got much better marks! LOL

The lady then told me that they could take my name, phone number and details of the type of books I was interested in: I mentioned New Age and various Pagan beliefs but the chap called it Occult, so that's what went in the book. Not so sure I like the connotations of that word, but will see what comes out of this: any likely books that come into the shop and they will give me a ring to ask if I'm interested and they'll hold on to it if I am. :0)

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be clearing out and not accumulating but, as I've said before, books are different! LOL I paid for them and the lady kindly kept them behind the counter for me while I popped further down the street to get a few things I needed from another shop. That shopping was soon done so I headed back, picking up the books on my way and calling in at Tesco Express for a few things on my way home.

As I crossed the road to the block that had my house on it I spotted a woman walking towards me: I couldn't see her face as it was raining and her umbrella was held forward, covering her face - but there was something about her figure and walk that I recognised. As I passed her, just short of my driveway, I managed to see her face and stopped, just as she did a double-take, and said her name. Another blast from the past: L used to be a cleaner at the steelworks and cleaned my DH's office and always had a natter with him - plus my DH worked with her DH - and we always used to stop and have a natter whenever we saw each other, always had a laugh and a joke - she's one of those happy people who have smiley eyes and see the funny side of everything. Thanks to the agoraphobia I hadn't seen her in years. We had a quick catch up and I made sure to tell her that if ever she was passing and fancied a coffee/tea and a natter to knock and she said she would - got my fingers crossed that she does and soon. :0)

As I walked into my drive my neighbour, E, had just extracted her youngest and middle child from her car so I said Hello and had another natter. LOL She invited me round to have a look-see at her now finished kitchen, so I quickly dropped off my bags into the hall, locked up again and went round. Wow, have they made a difference to that house! The previously dark and claustrophobic galley kitchen has been opened out into the back porch and sun lounge area, with light cupboards, oak coloured work surfaces and milk chocolate coloured walls - they've made it light, airy and a lovely area to work in. I am absolutely green! After a bit more chat I left her so she could continue putting her shopping away and feed the little ones.... I went to put my own shopping away and to feed myself. LOL

It turned out to be a really good day and one that held such pleasant surprises/meetings - the sort of happenings that make me think the Universe was playing a hand in my life again. :0)

I'm back at the Clinic again next Wednesday and this time it's to see Jan and have my monthly weigh in.......... am hoping for another pleasant surpise that day too. ;0)

AURA PHOTOGRAPHY

Back in November last year I had my first ever aura Photograph taken. Looking back, that seems to have acted as a trigger for all kinds of things: a pointing out and an acknowledgement of the fact that I was carrying around a lot of anger and negativity; receiving a healing that was the first step towards dealing with it all; receiving the courage to go on and deal with all my health issues and an opening of my mind to all kinds of possibilities. The idea to have the photograph taken happened because I couldn't have my cards read and was a "just to see" impulse..... but now I feel that the Universe stepped in that day to help sort things out, so I could then go on and walk the Path I am supposed to. You can see the first pic here. :0)

So much has happened since then I knew it was time to have another photograph taken: it was a case of wanting to know if any of it had had an effect on my aura, if it had changed at all and what a Reading would reveal this time. First up was the photograph:

As you can see, if you look at the pic via the link above, it has totally changed....... though I still manage to have a similar soppy look on my face! LOL

Not only have the colours changed but it seems much has within me too, as the reading revealed. Last time it was mentioned that I was psychic and could channel Spirit but that got "lost" in the telling, as it was mostly to do with the state of my physical and mental health, neither of which were in a great state at that time.

I remain a blue personality, though it doesn't show in the aura. Blue isn't a state of mind but means on the positive side: caring; sensitive; loyal; a communicator (written and verbal); harmony (working on it!); serenity (working really hard on it!); integrity; discrimination; intelligence (oops, somebody must be having a laugh. ROFL); reflection; still waters run deep. On the negative side: unresponsive; caution; solitude (someones heard about the agoraphobia, then. LOL); manipulation; unable to face the world (ditto the agoraphobia). I hope I'm more the positives than the negatives....... though it is still a work in progress. :0)

I need to trust and believe in myself. Well, a lack of confidence and self-belief certainly was part and parcel of the health issues but they are being worked on. I'm also learning to push aside the self doubt and re-learning to trust the insights/intuition/feelings I get and not allow anyone to tell me that it's all in my imagination.
This is a time of transition for me. It certainly is that!
A woman in Spirit was around me who Nina believes was my Mum. Nina isn't a medium but an intuitive, so doesn't see Spirit, or pass on messages, but gets a general sense of when someone from Spirit is around. It was comforting to know. :0)
Changes were mentioned again and that I was gifted: this was linked with needing to do more studying and reading to open things up. I'm good at talking but also at listening. I always had people, even total strangers, suddenly start telling me their life stories..... and the nutter on the bus always sat next to me! Now I'm going back out into the world and am meeting people again..... it's happening again. (I think I'll stay off buses for a while yet though! LMAO). And when I worked as a playgroup supervisor you could always hear a pin drop when I read a story, the kids would be so enthralled (very useful at my own DS's bedtime when he was little! LOL)

At this point Nina looked straight into my eyes and said: you do know you're psychic, don't you?
It's one thing to wonder and hope that there's a spark of something there..... and another to have Jan, someone who has regular contact with me, to say I could be a good medium..... and yes, it's that self doubt thing too....... but to have someone who has only seen me once before, many months ago, come straight out and say it like that. Wow!

I explained that things had been a bit hit and miss over the years and that I'd also suppressed it for a long time too. It was a case of anything for an easy life with a DH who wasn't open to anything like this back then and having a young DS, and his social calendar, who took up much of my time. After all those years it finally feels like I'm reclaiming myself..... being who I am meant to be. :0)

Nina asked if I'd thought of joining a psychic church: she meant a Development Circle at a Spiritualist Church. She felt I really needed to do this as there was the potential for me to be a Pure Channel, working with the Light and Angels. So I told her that I had joined a Development Circle and the one and only session it had had but that the lady organising it (Aureen) was pushing to start it up again soon. She was glad about this, as she felt I really needed to be doing this. I see it as yet another sign/confirmation that I'm currently going in the right direction.

She then asked how I'd been sleeping and about dreaming. Well..... there are times that I can sleep for England but, no matter how many hours I sleep, when I wake up I still feel tired and I do dream. (I didn't tell her but I have a very active dreamlife, often remembering them when I wake up, with much symbolical meaning in some [which I use a book to interpret] whilst others just "feel" different somehow). Her explanation for this was that I carry out Dream State work, going off to help and do things (perhaps those things I should be doing here on Earth in my waking hours?), so I need to ask my Guide/s to allow me to rest and ask the Angels to take me to a healing chamber to work on my Four Bodies (Spiritual; mental; emotional and physical). I think Aureen and her Angels are helping greatly with that. :0)

Next she said: I'd always been a non-conformist (actually that's DH - he was brought up in the Congregationalist church! LOL). Seriously, I feel I always tried to conform/fit in for a long time but always felt a bit like a square peg in a round hole..... up until realisation struck that I am a Pagan, and always have been at heart, and have since travelled wherever that Path has led me. Just call me a slow learner. ROFL
I'm an Old Soul and have been here many times before but in this lifetime I chose to be here at this time (presumably the whole 2012 thing) and am here with a mission: to teach - not as in teacher teaching but as in showing the way.
So I need to be with people/to be with people in need - which links back to the talking/listening and people giving me their life stories and the nutter on the bus: perhaps people are drawn to me to do this because they can, at some level, sense that's my purpose/why I am here?
Animals were mentioned too (they keep cropping up, don't they?). I told her about deciding not to have any pets, the neighbours barking dogs driving me crazy and feeling more drawn to wild animals but she said it's OK, just keep it in mind. Basically, all will be revealed when it's time.
Nina gave me another straight look and said: you've waited a long time for this, haven't you? Yes: just about most of my life so far...... but after she'd said those things that little old light bulb flashed on, something seemed to click inside and I got a feeling of rightness and immediately thought: so now I know! :0)

Whilst I was still absorbing that she mentioned my eyes again then really noticed my right eye: some time on the Saturday a small blood vessel had burst on the right side of it so I looked a little like a vampire about to get the blood lust up (Christopher Lee eat your heart out - mine wasn't achieved with contact lenses! ROFL). So she asked what on Earth I'd done to it: nothing, it just happened - same as it did a few years ago, just one of those things that, thankfully, goes really quickly. She said the problem was with my sight - not my eyesight but my Third Eye and that there were blocks with my inner seeing. That's been a long term problem, I feel mostly due to the suppression, but that is being worked on.

She then said that she and Jerry would give me some healing if I wished, to help clear those blocks and dissolve some remaining anger and negativity and to connect me with the Higher Realms which would help me in my work. So I said yes, stood (this time remembering not to cross my arms) with Nina in front of me and Jerry behind with his hands on my shoulders - Nina then placed her hands on my head and upper chest and immediately a rush of energy went through me and my legs turned to jelly and they had to guide me back into the chair - I just couldn't stay upright, not even if my life had depended on it! I was then given a large geometric object to hold, made from copper wire with crystals and gemstones attached to it, and Nina placed a "crown", made from the same materials, on my head and proceeded to pray for all blocks, contracts and obligations from this and previous lives to be dissolved and a whole load of other things besides. Throughout this she gently moved my head around and manipulated the crown on my head. I had one vague thought that I probably looked a right prat but, to be honest, I really didn't care - I felt so chilled out, could feel what she was doing was working and was happy to go with the flow. :0)

When Nina had done she removed the "crown", grounded me and then the object was taken and put back on the table. She asked how I felt: a little spacey, so she did some further grounding and I felt OK then - really happy. She said she'd not only done the healing and clearing and connected me to the Higher Realms but had done this to the higher levels, so I could draw in the Light when needed - I guess this will help with further Development too, helping me to connect more easily. I thanked her and she said that next time, should I go back, she hoped to see more blue in my aura, for the Spirituality. :0)

I then went upstairs to find DH and listen to the Dragonfly Moon session - it felt like I was walking on air, as I was so happy and finally feeling as if I'm truly finding my way towards where I should be....... and the music was great and I so wanted to get up and dance. Maybe next time! LOL

MIND, BODY & SPIRIT EVENT - MAY

DH and I went to the BSSK's Mind, Body and Spirit event at the Lincolnshire Showground on Sunday 31st May. This year it was held in the new Epic Centre building and what a difference it made: more room, things more spread out, more to see and much better rooms for the talks and music demos to be held in....... though I do feel it lost a little of the intimacy that the smaller room gave it, iykwim. We mainly went with the intention of looking at Tibetan Singing Bowls and Dragonfly Moon CD's and so I could have my aura photograph taken again, so weren't planning on much spending..... though that isn't quite how it panned out in the end!

Now normally when we go to these events we try to have a once-around-the-room first, to get an overview of what's there and where, and then go around again, zooming in on what interests us. Not this time, as we started to spot things of interest straight away. The Dragonfly Moon stall was the first one we homed in on as I immediately spotted some Tibetan Singing Bowls and began to play. :0) This was the one I picked up straight away but I couldn't get it to sing - it was a warm day and my hands were hot and sticky, not conducive to making a Singing Bowl sing! LOL I handed it over to DH with the same result, so he had the good idea of putting the little pad on his hand first, then the bowl - result! He says it has a B note - I know it's a musical note, other than that it means nothing to me...... all I know is it sounded sweet. I tried again using the same technique and this time it sang just as sweetly for me. :0) We tried three other bowls but each time were drawn back to this one, so DH went halves on the cost and it came home with us:

I shall do a separate post on this another time, as it deserves one to itself, and I'll do more pics - there's something rather special inside. :0) Scott and Susan (Dragonfly Moon duo) were doing a workshop at that time but the young chap who served us said to come back later and Scott would show us a rather nifty technique using a bowl and water...... we said we'd be back.

The next stall was The Magik Thread, my favourite book stall as it has carries lots of esoteric books and there's usually something of interest on there. For some reason I was immediately drawn to the Oracle Card section. Now I love my Archangel Oracle cards and had no intention of buying any others but as I glanced along them I suddenly spotted the Gaia Oracle Cards, so picked up the cards to have a look at the images. Beautiful just doesn't cover it - they are some of the loveliest images I've seen on these cards - and they called to me to shuffle them....... and out popped the Transformation card. This is all about Transformation and change, not being afraid and letting the beneficial happenings from the changes happen....... it was just so apt I laughed and showed it to DH. I knew I'd been led to them: the Archangel cards deal with more Spiritual things, whereas the Gaia cards are a little more earthy (naturally enough) and I feel they'll compliment each other quite nicely. After wandering a little further (clutching the box of cards in my hand) I then found two books of interest:


The crystal book will be a supplement to the Crystal Bible I already have...... the Angel Numbers book was another item I felt led to: now I can find out the message behind all those 1's I keep seeing! Yay, mystery solved! :0)

Next I spotted a stall selling magnetic jewellery, so we went for a nosey. Now my right wrist had been bugging me for a few days, feeling hot to the touch and painful below the thumb joint - so much so I was beginning to suspect RSI from too much computer mousework (Oops!). Well I decided to give one a go, especially when the lady showed me a silver coloured bangle in an interwoven style that reminded me a little of Celtic torcs. I'm glad I succumbed - within minutes of putting it on my wrist started to feel better (three days later and it's barely bothering me..... and just as much mousework has been going on!).

The books and Singing Bowl were heavy so we decided to head round to the facilities then head back to the car to pop these items in the boot and to have our packed lunch. It's a good job I did this: the catering facilities available were a little basic, to say the least, so whilst DH could have found a pre-packed sandwich to eat I'd have gone hungry because that's all there was..... and I can't currently have bread, margarine or butter. Thank goodness for yeast free tortilla wraps and a little foresight! LOL

When we'd eaten and drunk our fill we headed back inside once more. The next stall we went to was Blue Moon Goddess. This has all kinds of lovely goodies but these were the two pieces that jumped out at me:


The picture shows: Brigid as Maid; Boann as Mother and Cerridwen as Crone. Waxing, full and waning moon..... and the complete cycle of life. This will be propped in front of my altar. The other item is a fridge magnet and has a most wonderful quote by Deepak Chopra on it which is so apt and touched a spark within (it's now on the side of me freezer, so every time I come back into the house from the back garden I will see it, read it and allow it to be a reminder).

We wandered a little further, looking at the different stalls as we went..... with DH making sure we walked very quickly past the Chinese Medicine stall - after our last encounter with that lady he wasn't keen to give her the chance to sell us any more things! LOL

DH was feeling a little uncomfortable at this point, as his back had begun to ache a little (something that happens from time to time), so he headed for the Zone of Tranquility to rest his back and chill while I carried on looking at the clothes on the Prettythings stall. Everything is gorgeous but I love the Jordash range they carry, though never had the courage to wear any of it. Well, that's about to change because I gave in and bought a gorgeous purple skirt that had velvety bands running across it and a black spider web pattern on the cotton areas - it's a glorious colour! There was a stunning dress that I kept fondling: gypsy style, with lace up bodice, long flowing skirt with added lace and it went from a vivid blue at the top to purple at the bottom..... I was tempted (won't buy anything like that unless my DSis is there though - she's honest enough to tell me when I look a total dipstick in something, whereas DH would just mumble that it looks OK whilst thinking "Can we go now?" LOL). I got chatting to the stallholder
and he recognised me from previous years and saw I'd lost weight, so I was telling him about going to the Herbalist and how my blood pressure was now back to normal. That interested him, as he's been on medication for years for the same problem: he was amazed I'd done it naturally and said how well I looked too. It's nice to know that other people can see the change. :0)

When I'd paid I went over to DH, who felt OK and was ready to carry on. Noticing the time a little later we then headed up the stairs to go and listen to one of the talks. This one was by Kit Berry, the author of the Stonewylde series of books and was about how she found the Pagan path and how it led her to write the books. A reasonably interesting talk, though not quite what I was expecting. Still, it gave us an opportunity to sit for a while and it was nice to hear how an encounter with a hare led to her becoming a Pagan and changing her life around.

Next stop, when we came down to the hall again, was to have a look at the JM Soaps stall. Since last seeing him at the Elsecar event he'd introduced three new soaps to the range and they are rather nice:

The Geranium soap is a lovely delicate scent, one you could use in the bath or shower and it leave you nicely scented, so you wouldn't have to bother with perfume. The YlangYlang and Cedarwood soap I handed to DH to sniff, saying it was a man's soap and the stallholder nodded his head - he'd realised most of his soaps were feminine ones and had added this as one for the men. The Patchouli had proved to be popular, as we had one of the last couple of bars left - it's reputed to be a romance mood setting scent but is a good one for use, in incense sticks, for meditation. I shall use this to wash my hands in before meditating. :0)

I then headed for the Divine Lights aura photography stand. This was one of the things I'd planned on doing: so much has happened since last time I had first had this done I was curious to know if any changes would appear. DH pointed out that it was almost time for Dragonfly Moons performance upstairs, so I told him to go on up and I'd meet him there when I'd done (see how much more confident I am! LOL). There was quite a bit came out of this session so I shall do a separate post about it, along with the pic, at a later date. When done I headed on upstairs, full of joy, and joined DH, who was nursing a cup of tea. Luckily the guy beforehand - Keith Adams - was playing his final piece so I hadn't missed any of DM's session....... glad to have heard KA though, as what I heard was lovely. There followed a rendition of five of Scott and Susan's songs from their Rigantona's Daughters and Full Circle CD's, a really lively and toe-tapping session that everyone thoroughly enjoyed - I so wanted to get up and dance!

After the session we headed downstairs again. While DH popped to the facilities I waited for him nearby and a lady struck up a conversation about DM and their music - it was the first time she'd heard them and asked whereabouts their stall was, so I told her. She'd been struck by how nice the pair were and how much they loved the music and wanted to buy a CD. I told her DH, DS and I are fans and now make a point of going to their sessions at these events, as well as having a couple of their CD's. DH came out then, so I said goodbye and we carried on wandering around the hall. When we realised Scott and Susan were now back on their stall we headed on over so we could look at more of their CD's...... the lady I'd been speaking to was there and was trying to decide which one she wanted, so I pointed out the two CD's that contained the music she'd heard upstairs whilst DS paid for the ones we were having:


He had quite a conversation with Susan and we then mentioned that we'd bought a singing bowl earlier, at which point Scott joined us, so we mentioned that the young chap mentioned the water trick. Scott shot off and brought back the larger beaten bowl with some water in it and showed us how the sound waves affected the water when it was singing, causing droplets of water to shower out of it. When he'd got it going again he got us to put our finger into the water - freaky! It almost felt like I got a shock from it, which made me pull back quickly. I told him I'd wanted the bowl for meditation, as I'd been struggling, so he talked me through the technique - will put that in the separate post. Thanking them we left them to deal with other customers whilst we headed back to the Magik Thread stall.

After hearing the talk by the author I decided to buy the first book in her series:

It also helped that we'd received a £2.00 off voucher as we'd attended her talk. LOL I was curious to see how Pagan it is...... or if it was just buying into the claptrap that's spouted about what Pagans "get up to" - some of her Forum fan club were at the talk, so I guess there must be something in it to have gathered such a following. I reckon this will be the book I next read.

We then carried on back round the hall (one of these days I'll get hold of one of those pedometers and see just how far we do walk at one of these events! LOL), as it was very quiet by this time and we wanted one final nosey while it was so easy to see everything. This time we homed in on a stall that sold Visionary PhotoArt. I immediately spotted on called Metatron..... the Oracle card that I draw most often. Every time you look at the picture you see something different. DH was really taken by one called Venus Rising:

Venus is on the left, Metatron on the right. Venus immediately made me think of chakras. :0) DH kept asking if I wanted the Metatron piece and I said I was thinking of buying it and he promptly took it off me and said he'd get it for me: he reckoned the wall above our bed was too bare and it needed something and these would be perfect. I said: Oh, a His and Hers set of pictures and grinned - he grinned back. He's never really bothered about decorations before so the pictures obviously spoke to him.... he also plans on putting a shelf up above the chest of drawers on his side of the bed so he can put his crystals out on display too. Wow! It's not just me that's being affected by changes and I feel that these, in some way, are representations of those changes. They will be interesting pieces to meditate over. The chap was quite pleased at the two last minute sales...... I did wonder if the event wasn't quite as busy as in previous years, rather than it all being due to there being more room in this hall.

By this time it was obvious that stallholders were beginning to pack up so we quickly headed to the He Hi She Lo stall where I bought a crystal (won't say what as it's a gift) and asked if he'd do me a favour and identify a small crystal piece I'd bought from Mablethorpe. He was happy to and recognised it as Bloodstone and told me its properties - so glad that was solved, so now I know why I was drawn to buying that. :0) I thanked him and we then decided it was time to go home. As we passed the Divine Lights stall Nina and Jerry called a goodbye and Nina said she was just writing a reminder for her to ask for further healing for me. How kind is that? :0)

A busy and a bit of an expensive day out but it was soooooo worth it in so many other ways.... and it very nicely finished off what was an extremely enjoyable weekend. We both slept deeply that night!

ANGEL WORKSHOP

Saturday was the day I've so been looking forward to: the day of the Angels Light the Way, an Introduction to Angels Workshop with Aureen at the Earth Energies Clinic. :0)

After getting ready and making a packed lunch I gathered that, a couple of bottles of water, my meds and my rose quartz angel into my bag and headed off down there for the 10am start. I was the first one there, soon followed in by three other ladies. Aureen came through, greeted us and took us through to the Reiki treatment room where we took our seats.

Aureen made the introductions, gave a little Welcome speech and went on to give us a quick run through of what the workshop would cover:

• Let there be Angels
• What are Angels and where do they come from
• The difference between Angels and Spirit Guides
• Signs
• Angelic Hierarchy
• Angels we know well
• Her own introduction to Angels
• Earth Angels
• Questions

Dinner Break

• True Angel stories
• Angelic music
• Grounding
• An inner journey to our safe place
• Meeting your Guardian Angel
• Affirmation to the Angels

Let There Be Angels was a reading of Aureen's own poem, which was an uplifting piece - I haven't asked for permission to put it on here so can't share, unfortunately. It was a lovely way to begin. :0)

Everything was very informal: Aureen went on to give the talk but didn't mind interruptions with questions on what was being covered, which meant a nice five-way flow developed through the day........ way better than one of those stuffed-shirt lectures where you're expected to just sit and absorb everything, while you struggle to stave off falling asleep. LOL There was no danger of that here, as it soon became apparent that we had all experienced some form of angelic intervention in our lives. The spooky thing was we had all also lost loved ones too and were also able to share some of our thoughts and feelings on that. Perhaps something that affects you so deeply makes you more open-minded to things? Certainly a very deep life lesson is learned which brings about a change within. Methinks the Universe had certainly conspired to bring us all together that day. :0)

All of the information was interesting but certain parts were more relevant for me, such as Signs (when you know an Angel is around). We'd all heard of, and appealed to, the Angel of Parking and knew it worked; then there are the little white feathers that pop up in unexpected places: this has happened to me, having found a white feather in the bottom of a paper bag that was folded up and sitting on the windowsill in the downstairs loo - admittedly it's one really weird place to find one but that's how you know it's a sign. I still have the feather, tucked into the wire wings of an Angel ornament and every time I see it it lifts my heart. :0)

As an aside: she normally sits on a cupboard in the living room and I placed her on the table today to take the pic. I got a sudden feeling of rightness when I put her there and a little voice said: yes, she's supposed to be there. The table is to the side of the front door into my home so she's obviously meant to be the embodiment of our Home Angel. :0)

Clouds are another way of seeing signs of angels and I've often glanced up and seen an Angel shape form in front of my eyes. Another one is cupped hands, though I can't remember ever seeing those..... yet! Recurring words or music is another way of receiving a message: having words pop out at you when reading a magazine, newspaper or book or on advertising banners and the like and the same music being played whenever you turn the radio, TV or car radio on. I know when, out of the blue, I suddenly start humming a particular song that my Dad is around but hadn't realised that Angelic messages were given this way. Dreams are the main way of receiving messages, at least for me: one very active dream state with much symbology (something else I've been looking into). Then there are signs from Angels using a butterfly or particular bird or animal - one that draws close to you after you've asked for help/a sign or going through a rough patch. I remember the day we went to lay flowers for Dad soon after his passing and I'd asked for a sign and along came a beautiful dragonfly, dancing around the area near to his ashes, which was a truly magical experience - we'd never seen one in all the times we'd visited Rosehill before that and haven't seen one since, so I know my appeal was answered. :0) I asked if this also held true for numbers and it does. Why numbers? Well, for ages now I will just happen to glance at a clock or timer in the house and it will be showing either 1.11, 11.01 or 11.11..... I play a game of Spider Solitaire on the computer and my score will consistently be 111. I asked about this on a Wiccan Forum and was told it was all to do with binary code and I just happened to be noticing it. Wasn't convinced though, so on 1st November last year and 11 January this year I kept my head down, just in case (as you do, LOL) - then read something recently that the number 1 is an Angelic number.......... OK, so it's now a case of working out just what message is being given.

The Angelic Hierarchy was interesting. Some of this I'd kinda picked up over the years in the way most of us accumulate knowledge, almost via osmosis, as we just go about our lives, but most was new. It was interesting to go into the Angels of the four directions, as I'll call them: Michael - South (the direction my altar faces and the one I face when praying and meditating. Purists would probably say I was doing this wrong but to me it feels right, so it will continue this way); Gabriel - West; Raphael - East and Uriel - North, their attributes and what they can help with. Again there was some new info in there and much that struck a chord - some of the things I've been doing instinctively I now fully understand the reasons for doing them. I just love those light bulb moments! LOL

The concept of Earth Angels was something I hadn't come across before and it's lovely: apparently we can all be Earth Angels, in those moments when we do a kind deed for someone. Those times when someone does something kind for us, such as carrying a heavy bag to the car for us or stopping to help when there's a problem (the list is endless) - those moments when we thank them and, without thinking, say "You're an angel"...... that's when we've met an Earth Angel. :0)

Then there are the two Angels who were once human: Metatron (the prophet and scribe Enoch) and Sandalphon (prophet Elijah, Enoch's twin brother). Metatron keeps cropping up for me, especially in the Archangel Oracle cards: he helps develop Spiritual Understanding. Before going to the Workshop I pulled a card and guess which one it was? Yup, Metatron and Spiritual Understanding.

We touched lightly on the aspect of Dark Angels, the chief of whom is Lucifer. Now I'd always been led to believe that Lucifer was the Angel who turned bad and was kicked out of heaven for it. Not quite: the Supreme Being asked for a volunteer from the top Angels who was willing to go down to Earth to help strengthen humanity's Spiritual purpose by offering constant temptation. Lucifer volunteered for the job. It's all about freewill, darkness and light and having to know one to appreciate the other....... and this immediately brought to mind what had happened during my last Reiki treatment with the Angel Daniel. Can you hear another light bulb clicking on? LOL As Aureen said: why work with the Dark when you can work wwith the Light?

It was also very interesting to learn a little more about Aureen and her own experiences. She's been working with Angels since 1969 - my jaw almost hit the floor. I was 8 years old then - she looks younger than me! She was also one of those very lucky people who has always known what she was meant to do in this lifetime and has gone on to do it, though she's glad that times are changing and people can now talk more openly about Angels and suchlike - back then it was more likely to result in a trip to the special hospital. We then had a break for lunch and a much needed toilet visit!

We all decided to stay in the room to have dinner, which gave us an opportunity to carry on chatting between ourselves. E, sat to my right, had lost her Dad to cancer and had had messages from her Spirit Guide during his illness and a close encounter with an Angel afterwards ..... she also lives at the opposite end of the road that I live on!; the lady to my left had lost her husband to cancer and had lots of happenings to relate; the young lady on her left had lost her parents within two weeks of each other, both suddenly, and worked with her Angel when she gave her treatments (Indian Head Massage). What came across was that we had all had various experiences but also all suffered from self-doubt and kept questioning if things had really happened, often putting it down to imagination..... or, as in my case, regularly being told it was our imagination and allowing ourselves to be persuaded that was the case.

Lunch and another toilet break over and it was back to business. Aureen related some true stories of Angel happenings that had happened over the years, including ones of Reiki treatments where people had felt more than Aureen's hands on them.... and I mentioned that it had happened to me too. Next we listened to some gentle music, in preparation for the guided meditation, then began by grounding ourselves. Aureen then led us into our safe place - a garden we had to visualise - then on to meet out Guardian Angel and to receive a gift from them. Well I was doing OK on the garden bit and was happily visualising my garden...... though not as it as, rather as I want it to be....... and was just trying to visualise seeing my Angel approaching when two muppets outside in the street decided to have a car horn duelling contest. To say I jumped would be an understatement - I virtually lifted off the chair in fright. That ruined it and from then on I just couldn't get back into it, as then someones mobile started beeping occasionally due to the battery dying, despite being switched off, then there was banging elsewhere and my leg and back had begun to ache because the chair was too high for me in bare feet.

Afterwards Aureen asked each of us in turn how it had gone. the lady on my left had had the same problems as me with noise and hadn't met her Angel either but E and the young lady had. E's gift was an orange, so Aureen said it could mean something as mundane as that she needed more Vitamin C in her diet. (Oranges represent luck and prosperity: E is trying to sell her Dad's house after the first sale dropped through - I wonder if it means there'll be another buyer [the luck] to whom she will sell it soon? [bringing the prosperity] I'd love to know). I can't remember the young lady's gift but she had discovered her Angel's name for the first time. So two of us need more practice at this meditation lark - well, if they stopped off all traffic from the road outside and gagged all the neighbourhood dogs I'd probably get somewhere but it isn't likely to happen, so I guess it's just keep on trying until I can zone out those noises.

Aureen then got us all to draw one of her Angel cards and we all drew something very apt. The lady to my left drew Soulmate, the same card that she'd had in a reading by Aureen back in June, which underlined the relevance of the message it gave then. I can't remember the young lady's card (I have had a few sleeps since then!) but E's was Blessings: recounting her story of seeing a golden orb with a shaft of light beaming down from the bottom in her bedroom one night, and reaching out and touching it, I certainly think she has received Angel Blessings. And my own card? I laughed when I saw it: Spiritual Guidance. So I told everyone about my own card drawing that morning, so I'm certainly being given plenty of that at the moment and need to be open and aware of more to come. :0)

Any questions? I piped up and asked: when something happens how do I stop myself from reacting with fright? I mean true heart pounding, almost doing an Yvette Fielding, fright. As I pointed out I react this way even when I've asked for something (heard a voice say "Hello Karan" when I wanted to meet my Spirit Guide and immediately panicked) - yet when I feel more than Aureen's hands on me during a Reiki treatment I just accept it. Aureen says it's about Trust: I know and trust her and the Angels she works with so am OK - I now need to Trust that when something happens outside of the treatment room that's OK too because Angels are incapable of harming us. I also need to trust myself and my own abilities.

Aureen finally closed with an affirmation, again written by herself and extremely apt, then gave us our little booklet of the information we'd covered to take home with us.

There was a bit of chatting between the other ladies and E said to me: What are the Reiki treatments with Aureen like? So I said they were wonderful and that I'd benefited greatly from them and told her a little about having the two-pronged approach from both Aureen and Jan. The room had gone quiet as everyone else started to listen too and Aureen asked me if I'd say the treatments were a Spiritual experience. I'd never thought of it that way before but yes, I had to agree - especially when they give so much inner peace. She mentioned how much I'd changed too. Yes, definitely. I then said that I'd allowed people to persuade me that the things I'd seen and felt were my imagination, so had suppressed everything, and I now felt that because I had suppressed, rather than nurtured, it had contributed a lot to all the health issues I'd since had, especially the agoraphobia and panic attacks - Aureen agreed. So I was now reclaiming myself and getting back to being the person I used to be before the health issues. E and the young lady both mentioned they would be making appointments to have treatments soon. LOL If they benefit as greatly as I am then they will find it well worth it. :0)

Aureen also took the young lady's phone number - it seems she's also interested in joining a Development Circle, so it's looking promising for it to start up again in the not too distant future. Yay!

On that note we had to leave as Jan had to shut up shop to go home, as she had someone coming for a house viewing, so we said our goodbyes and I went home. As I said to DH later, when telling him some of what had happened: it was so good to be in a room with like-minded people and be able to talk openly, knowing that everyone understood because they'd all had experiences too.

The weekend continued on a high note, as we went to a Mind, Body and Spirit event on Sunday, but I shall do a separate post about that another time.

If you've got this far please give yourself a medal. LOL Thank you for visiting. :0)