 Balloon flower by Martyn Contradiction noun
If you suffer with long-term pain you have probably had days where you can’t manage to do much. For example; personal grooming, but you still have to go out so you spray dry shampoo on your hair and hope for the best. You get the feeling that everyone you see, including your doctor, thinks you look daggy and unkempt. Lazy even. “She’s let herself go. She’d feel better if she tried harder.” Another day you can manage better and shower, bung on some slap and head out. “You don’t look poorly. You look good, you must be better.”  funny faces fruit snack Beltane - a rich blend of history, ritual, religion, belief and tradition. Beltaine, May Day, Walpurgis, A-Maying, Fire Festival, Roodmas, Spring Sabbat: what do you call yours?
At the beginning of May the sun is re-born to warm the earth and it is the balance to Samhain (Halloween). As we bathe our faces in the morning dew on May Day, eternal youth will be ours, ha. Historically Beltane is for spring-cleaning: to burn the winter bedding and lead the cattle outside, passing them through the smoke to cleanse and purify while killing off the lice and fleas. Feeling the warm air on skin that has been covered through the cold months leads to frolicking and pleasures of the flesh. This is a time of revelry and celebration of love and fertility: to have survived the harsh winter months and to now look forward to abundance, in the fields and in the bellies of the creatures. The veil between worlds is thin like it is at Samhain but whereas then you’ll see spirits now is for the fae. We represent this by choosing a May or Fairy Queen and she is made even more beautiful with flowers and garlands. She, with her consort who is sometime referred to as the Stag Lord, resides over and may lead a dance or accept posies from children.  Whispering leaves in the woods You are probably aware of horse and dog whispering
Over the years as therapist it has become clear that the happiest and most successful people are those who have positive whispers in their mind. Before we move on, I would like to talk about the power of your mind and how you, yourself, can create success in everything you do. When you are awakening your intuition or you are beginning a new venture, or life in general, it is important to have positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive energies. This should be from your surroundings and the people you spend time with. Psychic (psyche) vampires drain and tire us. If you spend time with miseries you will become one if you’re not careful and aware of yourself. By slightly shifting your thought processes, you can make amazing changes in yourself with just the whispers in your mind.  In my garden Defining what we do can be challenging because what we do defines who we are.
Who we are defines what people think. Of course, it doesn’t matter what people think. Unless they are wrong. Maybe I asked for it by writing about intuition, psychic abilities, past lives, reiki, auras and the like. I have lost count of how many times, recently, I have said, “I do not work as a psychic” The reply is mostly, “Oh, but you are psychic aren’t you?” I then feebly mutter under my breath and change the subject. Here is the conversation that triggered this post – I am B and the questioner is D: D - Is he going to leave me? B - I don’t know. D - Of course you know, you’re a psychic. Just tell me. It’s your job. B - No it isn’t.  Lesvos I am simply known as ‘healer’. People, in my and the surrounding villages, call on me for a variety of ailments.
Daily I walk the hedgerows gathering flowers, barks and roots to make my lotions, potions and tinctures. I return to my kitchen to brew, grind and whisper the incantations to infuse the medicines with the intention of good health. I help people with pain of the body, mind or soul, sometimes all, if someone is deeply harmed. Often a broken heart from an unhealed injury or bad relationship cannot be mended without compassion and regular infusions of healing. The grief of a life that was might drive some to take to their beds and this can often lead to difficulties in them getting back up.  Cyprus "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." Thumper
Why are we told to be kind to each other but not to ourselves? How is it that we can be shockingly mean with our self-talk with things we wouldn’t dream of saying to anyone else? Do you feel lazy or self-indulgent if you rest, take part in calming pursuits or seek out peace? Why do we not practise self-gentleness? I noticed that as my mobility became more restricted I pretended (fibbed) that things were better than they were. Often it was the thought of not ‘giving in’ or that I could always rest after doing anything if I was in pain rather than either not do it, or prepare better while taking things gently. It seems I am not the only one. Do you know anyone; maybe yourself, who gets poorly when on holiday, has headaches at the weekend, gets regular bouts of IBS, has trouble sleeping etc. All these things are symptoms of stress, over-doing, chronic pain and not being kind to oneself.  Daisy chillaxing Pain, stress and anxiety attacks affect our breathing. If you get injured or experience an extreme situation the natural inclination is to breathe in sharply and hold your breath. Over time the stress caused by ongoing pain or anxiety creates an extra state of anxiety which can lead to shallow breathing or fear of slower deeper breathing.
Gently try out these two techniques. Never strain or over-hold. Counting techniques 1. In your mind, count (see, imagine, sense) backwards from 100, rhythmically in time with your breathing, and relax a little with each number. You might like to say to yourself after each number, 'relax', 'deeper and deeper', 'calm' or a word that you associate with being relaxed. Do this until you lose count or forget where you've got to and can't be bothered to start over. 2. Count to yourself: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 over and over and try to prevent thoughts nipping in between the numbers. If they do manage to squeeze in, say the numbers quicker so they are closer together. The aim is to only have the numbers in your head with big gaps between them, but it may happen that you forget where you are or forget to remember to count. With each just practice for a little while.  My metranome Gift at the end x
Sometime ago, during a particularly dark night of the soul, I listened to music with binaural beats. I have back-related tinnitus and extreme sound sensitivity but found the music to be soothing. What is this sorcery I hear you say? It was time to research. Well, when we hear a sound, it is processed in the auditory cortex of our brain, where it is analysed. Our brains process sounds in different frequencies, which are measured in Hertz (Hz). The Hertz value also changes depending on what we do as in: Gamma waves 30-100 cycles per second: Heightened consciousness, deep meditation, spiritual experiences, insight/focus. Beta – 13 - 30 cycles per second. Busy, thinking, active. Alpha – 7 - 13 cycles per second. Relaxation, meditation, creativity. Theta – 4 - 7 cycles per second. Dreaming, meditation, ESP. Delta - 1.5 - 4 cycles per second. Deep sleep below dream-level. |
Words that fall from my mind. All the previous posts from Substack are floating this way x Posts
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