MIND, BODY & SPIRIT EVENT - 14TH MARCH

As we missed the first M,B&S event of the year in Grimsby and the next local one (Lincolnshire Showground) isn't until June we decided to head on over to the one being held at Elsecar Heritage Centre. So we were up early, packed lunch made and put into the cool box and the car loaded and journey started. After a niggling start (busy garages making getting diesel a real pain, having to stop to close the bonnet as DH had managed to catch the button when he opened the fuel flap and the satnav detoured us off at Doncaster, just for the hell of it which had DH revising the route) we eventually got there - as it was dinnertime by then we opted to sit in the car and have the packed lunch before going into the venue.

Once we'd eaten and used the facilities we went in. Whilst the Heritage Centre as a whole was a tad busy (it was Mother's Day) the hall itself didn't seem overly crowded, so we were able to get round all the stalls more easily than last time. The first thing I did was to find my regular card reader, Leonie, to book a slot. Someone was just about to sit down at her table, so she booked me in the next slot.... half an hour to kill, so we started wandering round to look at the stalls. First up was the Moonshadow stall which is very Native American based. These were my buys:

The dragonfly on jade piece is beautiful and has a lovely feel to it and the incense will be good to use for Spirit Garden/ Safe Place and Earth oriented meditations. We wandered a little further, looking at several other stalls, then headed for the He Hi She Lo stall, as I wanted a piece of snowflake obsidian to pop into the glovebox of my new car, as it's a good one for protection whilst travelling. Unfortunately he didn't have any but pointed us in the direction of another stall that did but we left that for a little later, as it was then time for ym reading.

DH went for a sit down and cup of tea whilst I had my reading, which was, as always, interesting. At the end she asked if I had any questions. Instant brain blank (as usual) but then I thought of something: I said I didn't want to give too much away initially, but I was doing something at the moment and I wondered if she could tell if I was on the right path. She paused and looked to one side (this I recognise as "talking" with Spirit) then said yes, I definitely was... then asked what it was I was doing. I told her that I'd been going to a Development Circle, to which she instantly warned me not to go paying an arm and a leg for this and I reassured her that I don't. She then said that I didn't really need to go to a Circle as I was a natural at communicating with Spirit and would also be so with healing - that made me really smile, as I hadn't mentioned healing to her. I told her that I was going to attend a healing course in May and she said that that was good..... and also said that in a few years time she could see me sat where she was, doing what she was doing! It certainly gave me a bit of a boost after the poor sessions of Clairvoyance I'd been having recently. LOL I thanked her and rejoined DH, who had finished his drink by now, and headed for the other crystal stall where I found the perfect piece of snowflake obsidian:

A small palmstone sized piece that we both thought would be better than a tumblestone, as it wouldn't rttle around so much in the glovebox. :0)

Next stop was the Magik Thread book stall. No M,B&S event is complete without a good look at the books. :0) I found something of interest once again:

This is jumping up to the top of my To Read list - next one, after I've finished the menopause book and a novel I'm currently reading. I reasoned that, as I'm (trying) to work with Spirit, it's best to gen up on as much information as possible. ;0) There were lots of books that were of interest but remembering all those Hospice Bookshop buys waiting to be read at home made me keep it to one buy. LOL

After wandering a bit further we came across a stall that had Angel bits and pieces on it, called A New Belief. I spotted the Guided Meditation CD's and immediately liked this one:

My Archangel, healing and crystals - definitely one I wanted to try out. I have done since and it was a lovely one to do..... and I'll be listening to it again soon. :0)

We also stopped by another of our favourite stalls: Dragonfly Moon. I'd received their email newsletter earlier in the month and it had the news that Susan's solo CD was now available, so that was a must-buy.

I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet..... but I'll be rectifying that situation shortly. I also asked Susan about a carrying case for my drum and whether it was best to keep it in one all the time, which led to an interesting conversation about various theories on this..... which boiled down to personal preference. Unfortunately they hadn't got any of the right size in stock, though were expecting a delivery soon.... so we said we'd hopefully see her again at the Lincolnshire Showground event.

We stopped off at the Zone of Tranquility for a sit down, to catch our breaths.... and to add a couple of names to the healing curtain. Just five minutes in this little oasis of quiet sets you up for another foray. Soon after we had a stop by the JM Soaps stall, to stock up on a few goodies:

Those bath melts and soap smell divine. The Pine essential oil is for my burner, adding to my little stash of aromatherapy bits. Then we stopped by the Blue Moon Goddess stall. I wanted a sticker for my car that says: Never drive faster than your Angel can fly - they had some but they were bright sparkly ones and I didn't like them, so didn't bother. I spotted these bookmarks instead:

The figure in the one on the left reminds me of myself, walking my Path..... and the saying is to act as a reminder of the truth of that saying whenever I start to get impatient with my slow or lack of progress in Circle. LOL The Celtic Blessing is one I love and it is so beautifully decorated too. I don't intend using them - they are purely decorative reminders. :0) DH made me stay away while he bought some cards - he likes to buy alternative type cards for me (birthday, anniversary etc) as he knows I love the images on them. :0)

Time was marching on by now and most folks had headed for home already, so we went back to a stall we'd had a quick look at earlier: Life's Treasures. This had a selection of cold packs for natural pain relief...... but what first attracted me was the small pack for use to stop snoring. Not for me.... for DH. I decided it was worth a try, as it would be far less damaging than the usual elbow in the ribs...... and would save me from doing time, should I be driven to the final resort: the pillow smothering method. ROFL It was really interesting to talk to the lady and get to handle some of the sample products. Here's what we came away with:

The larger one is for using on neck, shoulder, back, elbows and knees and the smaller is for slotting in the end of DH's pillow. The Biofreeze sachets were freebies for us to try - it's another natural pain relief product and all are safe for diabetics to use, unlike some over-the-counter products. I'll let you know if the stop snoring pack works. LOL

By this time we had about done and the event was winding down for the day. I'd considered having an aura photo taken, to see if there had been any changes due to my attending the Circle, but DH reckoned it would be too soon, so best to leave it until June: I will have been to far more Circle sessions and done many more meditations etc by then, plus had more acupuncture and Reiki, so any changes should be much more noticeable by then. It confirmed some of what I'd been thinking, so we decided to call it a day and head home.

The journey back was uneventful (unlike start of the journey there!) and we were soon home and unloading our bags. We rounded the night off with a take out curry (usually a Saturday night happening but we decided to do it Sunday instead) and an early night, as we were both shattered. It had definitely been a lovely Mother's Day outing. :0)

MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT EVENT

The weekend of the 7th and 8th of November was the second and final Mind, Body and Spirit event of the year at the Lincolnshire Showground, so DH and I opted to go there for the day on the Sunday. As it was also Remembrance Sunday DH and I saw several gatherings around the War Memorials in the local villages during our journey - very moving, especially seeing some of the veterans amongst the gatherings.

After arriving and going into the Epic Centre we headed straight for the Shifa Meditation stand as it was very close to the entrance. I had a shopping list in my hand this time and goodies from this stand was on it. Of course I didn't restrict myself to the list, once I realised that there were some other items that were new since we saw the chap at the Harrogate event: two new types of incense and some incense sticks:


I've burnt one of those incense sticks since and they are well worth the money, as they burn for much longer than other ones I've used, and have a lovely distinctive smell to them. The chap remembered us from the previous event too.

From there we had a wander down to the Magick Thread book stand, another one on my list, to look for the Angel Cards and Crystal book I wanted. Again I couldn't find the specific cards I wanted but as I was looking I spotted some others that I'd seen at Harrogate and discounted, as they weren't what i wanted. This time I picked them up and had a shuffle: the Crown Chakra card came out with an appropriate message. OK, I'll see what happens when I shuffle again, though I - and as I shuffled one card literally jumped out of the pack and fell to the floor. When I picked it up it was...... yup, the Crown Chakra card. Right, message received loud and clear - they were coming home with me. I then found the book I wanted and, after a chat with the stallholder, found out that it was a follow on and not a repeat of the other two books I already had, so that came home with me too:

The bags was heavy and the room was getting quite busy so, as it was close to dinner, we headed back to the car for our packed lunch. That's when we realised that dark clouds had built up while we were inside and it started to spit with rain as we headed for the car, then had quite a downpour whilst we were eating. Timed that right! LOL Meal eaten, drinks drunk and everything tidied away we headed back in - quickly as it was still spitting and another lot of dark clouds were heading our way...... we managed to get back into the Centre before that little lot dropped. :0)

From here we did the same circuit of the hall, making our way back to the He Hi She Lo crystal stand so I could see if they had the crystals that were on my list. Thankfully the chap wasn't as busy this time round so I was able to chat to him: he didn't have the longer silver chains he said he may have for this event as they'd decided to stop selling jewellery and concentrate on the crystal side of the business. He did have the Angelite and Seraphinite tumblestones and I found two suitable ones amongst them. I asked if he had any other Angelic stones and he pointed to some Celestite palmstones but they weren't right, then he said he had two clusters and I went to have a look at those. My eyes went immediately to one in particular, so I picked it up.... instantly I could feel its strong energy and it opening my Third Eye Chakra and starting on the Crown Chakra. I put it down - I really didn't want to be so fully open at a busy event where I'd be picking up on other people all the time. I picked up the other piece but didn't feel much of anything. OK, instinct worked well again: the first piece is definitely mine (as in, that it is happy to work with me), so I picked it up again, just to check and yes, the same rush to the same Chakras. I put it down and asked DH to handle it from then on. Lovely man that he is, he said he would buy it for me as a Christmas gift. :0)


Unfortunately my pics don't show the the crystals at their best, or convey the lovely energies they all contain.

We wandered a little further round the hall and found the JM Soap stand, which was another one on my list. I love these natural soaps, not only for the lovely smells they have but because they don't dry my hands out as badly as the other sort do. I spotted that there were a few new goodies too. Here's what we bought:

As the soaps are really good I decided to try the body bar, which felt really moisturising when I touched the sample...... I was rubbing it into my skin for a good few minutes afterwards. It also smells rather nice too. :0)

As Dragonfly Moon were about to give their performance we headed for the sitting area where the musical performances were being held - the top end of the hall, in a curtained off section. We were both ready for a sit down by then too. :0) As always the performance was thoroughly enjoyable and, as I listen to their CD's regularly, instantly recognisable to the extent that I now know most of the words. LOL What I do like is that Susan (one half of the duo) explains the legends or story that each song is based on: many Celtic stories, but especially leaning towards the British myths and legends.

After the performance we had another wander around the hall and I bought a CD from another stand. I'd had my eye on this one on eBay but hadn't bought it as the P&P costs seemed a little steep, so I was pleased to get it here (see last pic).

After this I felt drawn to a stand that held colour essence bottles, something I'd always walked past at all the previous events we've been to. As we were looking at all the prettily coloured bottles the chap came back to his stand and asked if he could help. So I asked what it was about and he explained about colour and the effects it has on our moods and even our body and that the colours we were drawn to could tell much about us.... and a few other things beside that I can't quite remember. OK, interesting but I wasn't too sure so thanked him and said I'd think about it. Off we wandered back down the hall....... only for me to stop and tell DH that, actually, I felt the need to go back and see what he had to say. So DH said he'd take the bags back to the car and go and sit in the Zone of Tranquility for a while.

Back at the stand I said OK, I was curious, wanted to know more and asked how much. At £5.00 for a three bottle reading I thought it was worth satisfying my curiosity. So he sprayed my hands with a spritz of a lemony substance which I had to sniff - and boy, did that give a bit of a hit, really clearing out the sinus and head LOL - then had to choose the three coloured bottles I felt drawn to the most. The first one was easy, I'd been drawn to it immediately I'd looked at the stand (two violet shades), the second one was a quick choice (two pretty shades of green) and the third took a little longer but then I felt the need to draw out a bottle that contained lilac and pink - odd because I love lilac but pink is definitely not my favourite colour.

I then sat behind the table with the chap and he placed the bottle in front of us. He asked if I knew about Chakras and I said I did - OK, the first thing that was really obvious was that I'd picked out two Chakra bottles: one for Heart and the other for Third Eye and Crown. The odd thing was that, although I know about Chakras, I hadn't actually thought about those when I chose the bottles - that was mostly done on auto-pilot. The Third Eye and Crown (first choice) was linked with Saturn and he told me some things about it. Some of it was to do with judging yourself harshly (which I do tend to do) and he explained how I could turn that around. The second bottle is linked with Mercury, changing from Trickster to Magician: signifying change and a letting go of the masks we hide behind (being my true self, rather than hiding behind the things that other people expect me to be) - Honesty. Freaky, because that was what one of the recent pieces we read for the Development Circle! It also links with the Heart Chakra through the way the bottles are numbered and there was a bit more information from that (though I can't now remember it).

The third bottle was directly linked with the Heart Chakra and is about the Spiritualisation of the heart, unconditional love plus transformation that will link me with the rest of the universe/multiverse.

He felt that the first two bottles were the past and present, or where I was and am, the third the future or where I am going to be. He asked if I could own any of it.

I admitted to being a bit stunned as to how much could be read from colours in three bottles and that I could own it all. I told him about attending Development Circle classes - something that was finally for me - and that I felt I was slower at it than the others and got frustrated with myself because of it, but that I was hoping to go on to do healing - he said the colours showed that that was what would happen. Then I told him that before I'd set out I'd asked the powers that be to guide me to whatever was needed, be it healing, a reading or whatever. He laughed and said that at the start of the weekend he'd asked the powers that be to guide those he could help to him. I'd walked away but then had felt the need to go back - I think that could be classed as being guided. It had been extremely interesting and I was pleased I had gone back. I paid, thanked him and went to find my DH.

He was sat where he said: chillin' in the Zone, so I joined him and told him what the chap had said. As we were nattering Leonie, the lady I go to at the beginning of every year for a reading, walked towards us, obviously heading off for a break. She stopped and said hello and then got a beady look in her eye and asked how things were going, so I told her about the unexpected hospital stay and the cyst they found and waiting to hear the verdict - she looked off to one side, which I recognise as listening to Spirit, then smiled and said not to worry as I would be alright. I thanked her and beamed a big smile, then she said goodbye and went on her way. I looked at DH and he said: now wasn't it worth coming just for that? A freebie from Leonie. LOL The worry definitely receded on hearing it. :0)

Time was marching on by this point, so we decided to have a final wander around the hall. There was another stand selling natural bath products and other goodies so we headed over there. I tried a little of the coconut body butter but found it too much - though it smelt gorgeous I had to keep rubbing it into my skin for ages and it left my arm feeling slightly greasy, something I really don't like, so I didn't bother with that.... but they did have a wonderful coconut candle that tempted me. Why coconut? Well, at the Development Circle one week Aureen said that Spirit was offering me a coconut: I can't eat it anymore (it does terrible things to my system!) but she and the girls suggested trying a handcream, incense or something similar to see what effects it had. I opted for the candle.

The last stop, after buying a tumblestone crystal from another stall (intended as a gift) was at a stand that was selling the lady's own Angel book and guided Angel meditation CD's. There was no sign of the lady, so a woman from the next stall came over to see if I was OK, though she didn't know where the standholder had gone. I had noticed her walking around the hall earlier in the day (she was wearing a distinctive dress) and wondered if she was off on another wander - anyways, the helpful woman said that if I didn't want to wait any longer she would take the money and pop it behind the table for her and let her know what it was for. After waiting a bit longer and realising that she might have gone to the music area to listen to the current performers, so would be gone a while yet, I opted to leave the cash with the other woman for her.

It made DH and I wonder just how much business she may have lost that day - or items that may have gone missing - by going off wandering like that, as not all people would hang around and some less honest folk may not pay for the goods. Still, it looks a really interesting book so I was pleased to have been able to pay for it, even if it was a bit of an unusual way of doing so.

With that we had done, so we headed back to the car. A couple of times during the day we had bumped into our DS, who was there with our friend Alex, and he'd told us he was eating at Alex's house that night...... so we decided that neither of us felt like going home to cook and opted to go to the pub for a meal instead. Very nice it was too and it rounded the day off perfectly. :0)

COMPLIMENTARY HEALTH & BEAUTY EVENT

A lady at the Keep Yourself Right 2 Health Food shop in the town centre organised a Complimentary Health event in one of the local church halls. It was being held as a fundraiser for the Hospital League of Friends, as well as being a mini showcase for various of the local complimentary medicine/alternative therapy practitioners.

The event was from 7pm to 8.30pm and, as usual, we were running late so didn't get there until just before 8pm. Door entry was £3.50 but there was free tea, coffee and biscuits throughout and sample treatments were also free. The first thing that surprised me was just how busy it was and the room was fairly buzzing. I felt a little overwhelmed initially but quickly put in place some psychic protection and adjusted to the noise level whilst DH and I did a once around the hall lap to see who was there and what was on offer.

Natalie, the young woman who did my Food Intolerance tests, was there and was busy chatting to interested people so we didn't interrupt. Jan (my Herbalist) and Janet (Acupuncturist) were over the other side of the hall - again they were busy so I waved Hello and was going to carry on past when Jan called me over. She introduced the lady she was talking to, S - S will be going to Aureen's Development Circle tomorrow night and had told Jan she was a bit nervous as she didn't know anyone other than Aureen, so Jan took the opportunity to break the ice a little. :0)

We had a quick chat and I asked her if she'd had Reiki with Aureen, which she hadn't, so I told her how good the treatments were. She seemed OK (from what you can tell on such a short meeting) and the introduction should help us both a little when we meet again tomorrow (Tuesday) night. :0)

The folks giving free treatments seemed to have no shortage of customers...... we soon gave up any idea of trying any of them, though both of us aren't overly keen on having massages or the like in a room full of folks anyway, so it was an easy decision to make. LOL

On the first lap round I spotted a chap, Tony Kelly, who gives massage treatments for back pain, sports injuries and the like so, on the second lap round, I edged my DH over to his table to look at the leaflets. DH has intermittent back and shoulder pain - not enough to be a real problem but often enough to be a nuisance to him - but, in typical man fashion, he hasn't done anything about it as yet. He must have felt comfortable with the chap as he asked quite a few questions and had quite a natter with him, coming away with a leaflet and card..... fingers crossed he will make further enquiries and go for a treatment soon. :0)

There were several Herbalists there, another Acupuncturist or two, a Nutritionist, a Foot Health care Practitioner, Food Intolerance and Allergy Tester (Natalie), the Vortex Healer (though I never did figure out which particular person that was), a Bach Flower Remedy Practitioner, Beauty Products and a Chinese lady giving rather good foot massages. Disappointingly there wasn't a Crystal Healer there though. To be honest DH and I were pleasantly surprised at just how many alternative therapists are based in and around our area - and tonight's attendees were just a small number of them.

Next we headed for the Bach Remedy Practitioner. I've heard and read a fair bit about these flower remedies and the Rescue Remedy especially, something I've often thought would be of benefit to me, for helping to combat the panic attacks and dealing with situations I find stressful, but hadn't taken any further. I had a good natter to Jennie and came away with a couple of leaflets to read through later, along with a better idea of which local shops stock them. A quick check with Jan confirmed that I can use the remedies without them clashing with the herbal medicine I'm taking....... and that Jan hoped Jennie would soon be joining her at the Clinic.

By this time it was quite warm in the hall and DH had got a thirst on...... and he also liked the idea of a free cup of tea LOL, so we headed over to get him one. No caffeine for me but I'd taken my usual bottle of mineral water along. There wasn't a seat available in the sitting area but Natalie was on her own and looking bored by this time so we we headed over to sit and have a natter with her. Boy, was I pleased when her first words to me were: you've lost more weight, haven't you. *BIG grin*. So I told her yes and that I was now down to 11stone 13 and she said it was noticeable. Happy Dancing! Yes, I know I've lost weight - the scales tell me that - but it's sometimes difficult to see where it's gone from, so it makes such a difference when someone who hasn't seen you for a while notices the change and mentions it. A real boost. :0) It was also good to discover that attending the event had resulted in Natalie getting some extra bookings, so that will also mean more people through the door at the Clinic. DH had finished his cuppa by this time and we didn't want to be in the way of anyone who wanted to speak to her about the testing, so we said goodbye and headed to the refreshment area to take his cup back.

We then took leaflets from the Foot Health Care practitioner, mostly as reference for DH as she offers diabetic foot care and advice. It seemed a good idea to have her details available for in case he needs any help or treatment at a future date.

The lady who organised the event then went on to do the ticket draw: every entry ticket had a number on the back and was automatically entered into the draw, which was for a large satchel full of health & beauty products. We didn't win but the lady who did looked well pleased with hat was quite a nice haul of goodies. Then they drew the tickets for the Raffle prizes: we hadn't really taken full notice of this so hadn't bought any tickets for it.... shame, as there were some really nice prizes and the proceeds were going to a good cause. The draw over and all prizes handed out to the winners we had a final loop round the hall.

This time we stopped off for a natter to the Nutrition Consultant. She had set up a plate full of various foodstuffs and stuck labels into them that had the names of the conditions they could help. That was quite interesting and we learnt a few things there. I knew fennel aided digestion/relieved bloating and wind and that garlic was good for Candida sufferers as it's an anti-fungal but didn't know that: walnuts can help depression; red tomatoes help prostate problems; pears aid asthma sufferers; ginger helps control high blood pressure and there were others that I can't remember now. DH was happy because he got a free strawberry to eat. LOL

By this time people were starting to wander off and some of the practitioners were beginning to pack things away so we headed over to say goodbye to Jan. I said I'd see her on Saturday, as that's when I have my next Reiki treatment, and mentioned to her that it was also my Mum's birthday and that I had the feeling that the Universe had conspired with this "coincidence". She felt that Saturday may well be "interesting" in one way or another. With that we headed home, leaflets and business cards in hand.

In the meantime I'm not going to second guess what may or may not happen on Saturday, as there's the Development Circle to go to first, which I'm really looking forward to, so I need to concentrate on that. Anyway, trying to anticipate what will happen in a Reiki session is pointless: each session gives whatever is needed the most and it's not always what you think it will be, so it's best to just go with the flow. :0)

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!

HOLISTIC HEALTH FAIR

On Sunday 26th DH and I went to the Holistic Health Fair that was organised by Jan, my Herbalist, as a fundraiser for the local Samaritans. We got there between 11 - 11.15 am, as planned, and, after showing our tickets and having the backs of our hands stamped with a little flower image, had a slow once around the room to suss out where things were. Being a not overly huge room it didn't take long. :0)

The first thing I did was head for Jan's own stall to have a quick natter with Anne, the receptionist, who is currently off work due to recuperating from a knee operation. She looked well, despite still being in a reasonable amount of pain and discomfort, though she was glad to have the Fair as an excuse to get out. Jan came over to ask how I was going on the new meds and I fessed up that I'd stopped taking them as they seemed to be making the stomach problems worse. As it happened it was a good choice - I was supposed to have stopped taking the Candigest tablets before taking the new tablets as they don't work together. So I had to remain relatively tablet free (just taking the medicine before meals, the Chromium Complex first thing and the Acidophilus last thing) until Tuesday, then start taking the L-Glutamine before each meal from then on. Am I glad for that: it was getting a bit much trying to remember what to take and when! LOL I then bought some more herbal teas to replenish my stock.

Next up was the belly dancing demo, by Shimea and The Shimea Dancers, which took place on the small stage within the room. That was toe-tappingly good and the outfits the ladies were wearing were gorgeous, all jewel bright colours and lots of jingling coins. It was also good to see that there were a range of body shapes and sizes amongst the performers - no need for me to be self-conscious at all, if I start going to classes! LOL Later in the day I managed to have a quick chat with one of the ladies to find that regular classes are held out at a local village and a beginners session is on Friday nights - I grabbed a leaflet, to get the details of the lady who takes the classes, so I can find out more.

As it was getting close to the time for the first talk of the day, DH (who had been to the hotel's conference room for meetings etc before) took me through, to show me where to find it. Good job he did as it was at totally the opposite end of the hotel to where the Fair was being held and I doubt I'd have found it on my own - there was a distinct lack of signage. As it hadn't started yet we decided to head back to the hotel's reception desk and ask about meals: the Carvery had to be booked in advance, so we duly booked for 1pm.

Back to the conference room and the door was open. Surprisingly, DH said he was interested in the subject - Singing Bowls and Sound for Healing - and would stay.

Good job he did as, initially, there were just the two of us in there before two other people joined us. The talk consisted of a brief history on Tibetan Singing Bowls, how they are made and the uses to which they are put, such as religious purposes, meditation and sound healing. John Thornberry, the guy giving the talk, uses them as musical tools and as sound therapy to treat a variety of illnesses and also uses them to clear houses, including clearance of unwanted spirits/ghosts! It was interesting to see the tools used to make the bowls sing and the different sounds and resonances each bowl produced when "played" - the resonance could be felt through our feet and within our bodies, an odd but not unpleasant sensation. We were then invited to have a play. DH dived up straightaway to have a go and was soon making his chosen bowl produce lovely sounds..... it took me a little bit longer to get the knack but when I did it was singing quite well and it was a lot of fun. As John - or rather Jet, as he's known professionally (his initials) - doesn't sell the bowls I'm now looking forward to the next M,B&S event, as I'd like a bowl for use as a meditation tool and for clearing the house when needed. It's such a shame this workshop wasn't better attended - it deserved to be. Later we visited Jet's stall and bought some of his CD's:

The top CD is relaxation music and, boy, does that work well! Himalaya Song uses the bowls, synthesised sounds and Jet's voice chanting, which is good for meditation (tried it - it is), and Voices of the Bowls is of the singing bowls and is another one for meditation, though I haven't tried it out yet.

After the talk we returned to the main room to have a better look round the various stalls. We talked to quite a few of the stall holders and picked up leaflets for various alternative therapies and also some free samples of a natural skin care range to try out. The aloe vera stand was quite good and DH got to try out some of their cream for aches and pains - I didn't try it because I'd already got some moisturiser cream on my hands from the other stall and didn't want to mix the two. DH was so impressed with the aloe vera cream that he went back later and bought some.

By this time it was almost 1pm, so we headed for the restaurant. DH had soup and carvery while I had a herbal tea and carvery. The young waitress was very helpful when I explained I was on a special diet and was dairy intolerant - she brought some unbuttered potatoes from the kitchen for me. We were quite impressed with the food, helpfulness and surroundings and will go there again some time. :0)

Another walk round the event room later and it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to get a tarot or angel card reading of any description from any of the readers in the hall - they were busy all of the time. No problem, as I didn't really feel the need for one. We don't usually have therapies at these events either, as there's no way you can relax when you're on view, with people walking past. I did manage to have a word with John, the Reiki Practitioner who treated my Dad, and thanked him for the help he gave - Dad really rated him and I told John so. He actually remembered us which was nice. I took one of his leaflets, explaining that though I went to Aureen for my treatments I thought DH would benefit from having Reiki and would be happier seeing a chap, so I hoped to get him to the Clinic soon. It was an interesting chat: it seems John was once in Aureen's Development Circle and benefited much from it. :0)

At 3pm I headed off for the second talk I was interested in: Connecting to the Shamballah with the Archangels and Ascended Masters. DH popped out to the car for a sit down and chill with his laptop, muttering something about Grand Prix as he went. LOL The talk was taken by a chap called Wayne and was better attended - around 8 or 9 of us, all sat in a circle of chairs. After the talk there was a short guided meditation. Unfortunately it all seemed a little rushed, so I didn't get fully into it (have found I need to do some relaxation techniques before attempting to meditate and to take things slowly - guided meditation CD's don't work for me because of this). I did come out of it feeling uplifted though, so something had obviously worked at some level. I came away with another leaflet: Wayne will be running a two-weekend Master Healer workshop at the Clinic later in the year and participants will gain a 13d Master Healers certificate that's recognised by the British Complementary Medicine Association. Jan was right, I would enjoy it and am mighty tempted, though unsure if I can justify the cost at this stage.

Back to the main room again and I indulged in a little more retail therapy when I spotted these:


Who can go to any of these type of events and not come away with some kind of crystals? Certainly not me. LOL I also bought a nice ethnic style bag from another stall - lots of embroidery with shisha mirrors incorporated into the patterns and added shell embellishments. Ideal for taking the bits I need to the Clinic with me and much nicer than the small plastic bag I usually use.

Finally I had a natter to the Acupuncturist from the Clinic, Janet Mort. Interesting, to say the least. After taking my pulse and asking me several health questions, making notes as she went, she told me that she felt that underlying much of my health problems was something from the past. She wouldn't pry but felt I'd experienced something that I'd kept bottled up inside me for a long time and, though she felt it had been released at some point, it had left behind its impression - when "the lid occasionally popped off " that, it upset the balance of my body and caused further problems. That totally floored me! I know Jan doesn't discuss her patients with any other practitioner (unless given permission to do so and I hadn't) and I'd never met the Acupuncturist before then, yet she'd hit the nail on the head: I do bottle things up, specifically the deaths of my parents and my anger at the medical negligence that led to both - then the feeling that I'd let something go in my recent Reiki treatment. She picked up on this just in that short while - impressive! I gave her permission to talk to Jan about her findings, so that Jan can use the information she gives her to help pinpoint the tweaks she may need to give my medicine. I also took a leaflet with her details, with a view to hopefully having a course of treatment at a later date - those needles are nowhere near as scarey as I'd imagined! LOL

By this point the event was drawing to a close, with many of the stall holders packing up, so we said our goodbyes and went home - tired but happy after a very enjoyable and interesting day.