Tag Archives: self care

10 Ways To Be Kind to Yourself

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“There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by myself.“  ~ Brian Andreas

Mostly when we think of kindness, we think of how we can act towards others. But today I want to focus on another equally important type of kindness – that which we extend to ourselves.

Too often we forget ourselves in the hurry and bustle of the year, and many sensitive souls get so busy looking after others that they forget to look after themselves at all.

Why not let 2018 be your year of aware self-care?

Here are ten simple acts of kindness you can give as gifts to yourself:

1.  Eat well – a simple, nourishing home-cooked meal eaten slowly and with appreciation – to replenish your body and comfort your soul. If there’s no time for cooking, have some healthy take-out options already thought through so that you don’t succumb to junk. (Pictured below is my Easy Kale and Orange Salad with Miso Dressing)

2.  Say no when you’re too tired.  No-one can run on adrenalin forever.  Honour your feelings and your own needs. Listen to your heart. Let yourself rest.  Replenish those batteries.  * Good advice here:  Are you too nice? 

3. Indulge in some self-maintenance.  Get your hair cut, have a massage, update your wardrobe or make that appointment with the doctor or dentist. For more info try 8 Ingredients for Better Health

4. Move your body! We were designed to move, and exercise is good for the body, mind and spirit. Choose an activity or sport that you enjoy, or simply go for a walk.

5.  Read a book.  Self-help, romance, educational, escapism, fantasy or non-fiction.  Reading is a wonderful way to take some time for yourself, to relax or to give yourself a mental stretching session.

6.  Make time for the things that you enjoy.  Indulge your hobbies, and connect with like-minded people who share your interests.

7.  Spend some real time with people (and creatures) you love!  Friends, family, pets – everyone who loves us and who makes us feel good about ourselves.  Social isolation is an insidious thing – facebook and texting can’t make up for that special energy of meeting up face to face for love, hugs, and laughs.

8.  Spend a little time dreaming…  Dreams aren’t just for kids.  Everybody needs a dream.  Try this great journalling activity: Writing Yourself into a Brighter Future

9.  Hang out in nature.  Spend the day or a week! Feel the sun at your back, the wind in your hair, the rain on your skin. Let nature fill you up and get you grounded again. Read more here: The Healing Power of Nature

10.  Ask for help.  Sometimes we just can’t do it on our own.  And sometimes we just don’t know what to do or where to start. On the days when we’re wrung out and hanging on by our fingernails, there will be someone out there who cares and is in a place where they can extend that guidance and support to you.  Asking for help is one of the greatest acts of kindness we can give ourselves. There’s more on this here: Sometimes your only job is to ask for help

You are worthy, beautiful, and you deserve love and kindness. Most of all, you need it from yourself.  The way we treat ourselves sets the tone in the wider Universe for how we expect to be treated. And our expectations have a way of manifesting…  Choose kindness!

Bless.

Much love, Nicole ♥ xx

Are You Protecting What Matters? – Monday Oracle 19 March 2018

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“If you want to live an authentic, meaningful life, you need to master the art of disappointing and upsetting others, hurting feelings, and living with the reality that some people just won’t like you. It may not be easy, but it’s essential if you want your life to reflect your deepest desires, values, and needs.” 
~ Cheryl Richardson

 

Hello, Lovelies!

March is a month for relationships, commitment to what matters to us, and for being unapologetically ourselves. The more we stay true to ourselves in March the more we will be able to manifest profound and/or quite magical changes! Keep that in mind as we look at the gifts of awareness which the oracle card The Three Little Pigs brings us.

Do you remember the story of The Three Little Pigs? They were terrorised by a wolf who was threatening to eat them. The first pig built a house of straw, and the second a house of sticks but both of these places, which should have been safe zones, were destroyed by the wolf who huffed and puffed and blew them down. Those two pigs ran for safety to the house of the third pig, who had built his home of bricks. The wolf couldn’t blow this house down so he tried to trick the pigs into coming out.  Finally he gained entry to the house via the chimney but the pigs had built a fire and placed an enormous cooking pot of boiling water in the fireplace. Through their own cleverness and strong boundaries the pigs remained safe.

This week the Three Little Pigs Card reminds us about having good boundaries. March is a month for being with the people we love, doing what matters to us, and committing to what is important in our lives. Do you have time for yourself and your relationships or is work taking all of your time? Can you pay the bills each month or is debt consuming you? Are people in your household or at work pulling their weight or are you doing everything yourself? Is there any time and space in your life for your hobbies and interests? Do you get enough ‘alone time’ to be by yourself or to work on your art  (whatever that may be)?

It’s a great week for creating strong boundaries in our lives. It’s a week for standing up for what we value and believe in, and for being a voice for those who do not have one. It’s also a week to put our house in order – making sure that our paperwork, insurances and licences are current and that we have smoke alarms, doors that lock properly, strong passwords on our internet accounts and anything else that makes our home, loved ones, possessions and intellectual property safe and secure.

Three Little Pigs heralds a practical week where we can bring our lives into better alignment with our values, and where we can make real changes to create calm, safety and space for ourselves. We are reminded that it is worth placing effort and time into building ourselves a strong and secure future.

Supportive crystals this week?

Black Tourmaline (pictured) helps us set and uphold strong boundaries, and supports us when we feel uncertain or fearful. Clear Quartz amplifies intuition and our ability to tune in to Universal and Personal Wisdom. Use it to get clear about what matters in your life! Amazonite helps us to live bravely, defending and protecting what is important to us. Red Jasper is a stone for mental, physical and emotional rejuvenation. Deeply grounding, it helps us connect to our heart and our truth and encourages a sense of safety. 

Black tourmaline

 

Helpful essential oils?

I’m loving Young Living’s Valor again this week. It has a woodsy, calming fragrance that immediately soothes me and helps me to feel grounded and strong in myself. Place a few drops on soles of feet, wrists, over heart, throat and back of neck to help you feel calm, empowered and safe.

Want to make your own blend? Each of these oils work well together or on their own: Lavender keeps us in flow and relaxed, Orange is uplifting, busts stress and helps us overcome self-doubt, Vetiver helps us feel safe and grounded, and reduces anxiety. Ylang Ylang opens our hearts and is supportive when we feel anxious or overwhelmed. To diffuse add 2 or three drops of each oil to your room or personal diffuser. You can find the oils here.

 

Holding you, as always, in my thoughts, prayers and meditations, and intending for you a life of abundance and joy, where you are no longer limited by your doubts.

All my love,

Nicole ❤ xx

PS: Monday’s oracle card, ‘The Three Little Pigs’, is from the Inner Child Cards – A Fairy-Tale Tarot. I use any cards shown as a prompt for channelled messages and my own own intuitive wisdom, so my take is sometimes quite different to the meaning found in a book. 

 

It’s a Fairy Forest here at the farm!

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“Few humans see fairies or hear their music, but many find fairy rings of dark grass, scattered with toadstools, left by their dancing feet.” 
~ Judy Allen

We’ve had a furious amount of rain here at the farm these past few weeks. Everything is damp and waterlogged, but green green green!

On my morning walk I marvelled at the fungi forest in our paddocks. Mushrooms of every shape and size.

The one in the picture above is the size of a dinner plate.

And these tiny delicate ones are covering the trunk of the fallen coral tree like lace.

Soon enough they’ll all be gone, so I am enjoying their magic while I can.

How about you? Can you slow down a little today, or over the weekend, and take yourself for a walk in nature? Who knows what you might find, what inspiration could come to you, or what you might learn about yourself and your feelings.

I can highly recommend walking. After our retreat I rushed straight into a busy week of medical appointments in the city and the stress of supporting family members. It was so good to come home yesterday and decompress by spending some quiet time in nature. Walking helped me come back to centre, release my stress and reprioritise what truly matters so that I don’t get caught up in external dramas. Maybe you will find that kind of peace too, if you walk long enough. If long walking’s impossible a short gentle stroll or even sitting outside in nature with a quiet and watchful eye can be enough.

Biggest hugs and love, Nicole ❤ xx

A miniature city of mushrooms

There’s almost nowhere to walk – with mushrooms everywhere under my feet

Perfect umbrellas for fairies!

Lace-like and delicate. For fairy dresses perhaps?

 

 

 

We’re On Retreat!

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“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” ~ Albert Camus

 

Today we enter Retreat until Sunday 11 March. It’s a sacred time for me and my team and for our retreat participants as we walk this spiritual path together, learning, sharing, connecting and finding time for ourselves.

This week is also a supportive energy for you if you wish to take time out for reflection, meditation and soul work.

You may not have been able to join us this week here at Sangsurya but you will still be represented in the crystal grid I shall construct at the centre of our meeting space, and in my twice daily prayers and meditations.

Peace be with you.

All my love, Nicole ❤ xx

The restorative power of deep rest

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A primitive type of jellyfish called Cassiopea, which goes to sleep nightly, is seen on the floor of their tank at Caltech in Pasadena, California, U.S. in this image released on September 20, 2017. Courtesy Caltech/Handout via REUTERS

“It’s in the morning, for most of us. It’s that time, those few seconds when we’re coming out of sleep but we’re not really awake yet. For those few seconds we’re something more primitive than what we are about to become. We have just slept the sleep of our most distant ancestors, and something of them and their world still clings to us. For those few moments we are unformed, uncivilized. We are not the people we know as ourselves, but creatures more in tune with a tree than a keyboard. We are untitled, unnamed, natural, suspended between was and will be, the tadpole before the frog, the worm before the butterfly. We are for a few brief moments, anything and everything we could be. And then…and then — ah — we open our eyes and the day is before us and … we become ourselves.” 
~ Jerry Spinelli

 

Don’t you just love the image of the sleeping jellyfish? It’s the sort of whimsical possibility my mind constantly entertained when I was a child, although I never imagined that they might sleep upside down!

I was lying on my acupuncturist’s treatment table yesterday as he felt my pulse and tut-tutted in his mad professor way at the energies within my body, the colour and texture of my tongue and his many other diagnostic tools. He knew it. I know it. The past couple of weeks of family illnesses and drama have exhausted me.

Hmmm, he said. Deep rest. That’s what you need. Deep rest, and rice and beans and sprouts. Warm foods. Warm liquids. No stimulants. No spices. Deep rest. Sleep.

I know he’s right. A good deep rest now and I’ll be back to normal. For me, deep rest is not just sleeping. It’s also quiet time. Time pulled back from the needs and demands of others. Time stepped back from work and busy-ness.

The alternative? I’ve been down that path, and I know you have too. In fact, I know some of you are walking it right now. That’s the path of pushing. We’re tired but we keep getting up. We’re exhausted but we fill ourselves with caffeine or sugar or both, and we force ourselves to keep on going. We bribe ourselves, pep-talk ourselves, bully ourselves and trash-talk ourselves to get our bodies upright and responsive. We push, push, push. And then we break.

All the while we think that we are okay to keep going. We’re not. We’re barely in our bodies. We’re drunk on lack of sleep. Our innovation and enthusiasm, our ability to bounce back, to laugh it off, to create with joy – all of that is missing.

It can be found again through deep rest.

That’s what I’m doing right now, and will be for the next few days. I’m doing a disservice to myself and to you if I don’t.

Today I’m asking you if you’re okay. Do you need to rest? Do you need to step back for a moment? We can’t help others sustainably nor keep on creating if we are not looking after ourselves first. The energies of 2018 do not support push in any form. If you’re pushing, it won’t be working. Look for another way. Your best solution is most likely to be taking a break, refreshing yourself, and then starting again.

Gentle hugs and much love, Nicole ❤ xx

 

Monday Oracle – 8 January 2018

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 “If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough.” –  Meister Eckhart

 

Hello, Lovelies!

The cards I am using for guidance for 2018 are the enchanting Inner Child Cards – A Fairy-Tale Tarot by Ishna Lerner, Mark Lerner and Christopher Guilfoil. I’ve used and loved these cards for over 25 years and they are just perfect for our year ahead. They may seem childlike and whimsical in their design but there is great depth and wisdom within them.

January is a month for easing ourselves into the energies of 2018, for resting and recharging, for planning and dreaming and for tuning in to what can support us in the year ahead.

Keep that in mind as we look at the gifts of awareness which the oracle card Seven of  Crystals brings us.

This is a week for counting our blessings, for sitting in gratitude for what is already good in our lives, and for thinking about the experiences, energies, relationships and opportunities we wish to draw to ourselves in 2018.

No matter what your spiritual or religious inclinations, find some sacred time for yourself this week. That might be attending a church, lighting incense and offering prayers in a temple, meditation time, a walk in nature or any place that helps you to find that stillness within and without.

If you want, it’s also a great week for creating a simple altar or sacred space at home. Think of a small space on a tabletop or window ledge where you can place a few things that have deep meaning for you, and where you might also keep a crystal, candle or some fresh flowers. What you choose and create is up to you – it’s a little physical reminder of your own sacred soul path and inner journey, and your own personal spiritual beliefs.

It’s a week for stepping away from the news, gossip and any outside negative energies. Don’t worry. They will still all be there when we come back into the world, but for now, Seven of Crystals reminds us to keep our hearts and thoughts full of kindness, love, gratitude and positive thoughts for ourselves and others.

Supportive crystals this week?

Selenite boosts intuition and all forms of spiritual connection. It will help you to connect into your guides, angels and psychic ability. Fantastic for gently guiding you inwards.

Red Jasper is a stone for mental, physical and emotional rejuvenation. Deeply grounding, it helps you connect to your heart and your truth. Clear Quartz lifts your vibration and opens you to flow. It is a highly spiritual stone, encouraging self-reflection and helpful for hearing messages and receiving signs or direction that can assist you on your journey. A clear quartz cluster or double terminated stone will be extra supportive for you this week! Larimar is also a good choice. This pretty blue stone will help you to speak your needs, and acknowledge where you are stuck, out of flow or in need of healing and change. A super stone for calling in healing on all levels.

Image Source: https://larimar.com

Helpful essential oils?

I’m loving Young Living’s Envision this week. It’s an oil blend I often use in my workshops and retreats to help my students connect to inner wisdom and intuition. It helps us to see a greater possibility for ourselves. Use Envision for spiritual connection, inspiration and breakthroughs. Dab a drop on your Crown Chakra, back of neck, over your heart, wrists and the soles of your feet, inhale directly or add to your diffuser. 

Want to make your own blend? Each of the following oils will work beautifully on their own for you this week, but they’ll also make a delicious combination for diffusing. Vetiver will calm and ground us, promoting emotional balance, Lavender keeps us in flow and relaxed, Ylang Ylang opens our hearts and is supportive when we feel anxious or overwhelmed, and Bergamot brings joy, gratitude and optimism.  To diffuse add 2 or three drops of each oil to your room or personal diffuser. You can find the oils here.

Holding you, as always, in my thoughts, prayers and meditations, and intending for you a life of abundance and joy, where you are no longer limited by your doubts.

All my love,

Nicole ❤ xx

PS: Monday’s oracle card, ‘Seven of Crystals’, is from the Inner Child Cards – A Fairy-Tale Tarot. I use any cards shown as a prompt for channeled messages and my own own intuitive wisdom, so my take is sometimes quite different to the meaning found in a book. 

The Energies of January – 2018

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“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been” 
~ Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Hello, Lovelies :)

It’s January! It’s a time for easing ourselves into the energies of 2018, for resting and recharging, for planning and dreaming and for tuning in to what can support us in the year ahead.

Cards for the Month:

I’ve chosen two cards for January for you: one from Colette Baron-Reid’s The Enchanted Map and one from Steven Farmer’s Earth Magic Oracle. Please note I don’t use these cards in the conventional way, but rather as a stimulus for channelled information.

Here is what I have received from each card:

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations…I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.” 
~ Albert Einstein

January brings the gift of intuition and the call to spend time on soul work – that energy of creating clarity about where we are in our lives right now, and then thinking about where we want to be, and how far we have already come.

It’s a month to ask yourself the big questions:

Am I happy?

What’s working?

What’s missing? 

Where to from here?

You don’t need to have the solutions yet, but the whole year will flow better if you can tune in and get clear about the position from which you are starting 2018. Don’t worry – this month supports strong psychic and spiritual connection, insights and new perspectives. What’s hidden will come to light so that you can finally stand in your current truth, whatever that might be. It’s also a month where we begin to realise just how strong and resilient we are, and how much we have already dealt with or overcome. 

On a physical level January’s energies invite new healthy routines, positive changes in diet, detoxifying your body, embracing stretching and exercise, and finding new healing modalities and practitioners to support you better throughout 2018.

There is a sense of loving your body and accepting your current situation with grace, even as you may seek  to improve it

The second card I’ve chosen is MOUNTAIN. It’s a card whose primary message is to remind us of our inner strength and resilience, and of the importance of caring for and grounding ourselves.

“You are one thing only. You are a Divine Being. An all-powerful Creator. You are a Deity in jeans and a t-shirt, and within you dwells the infinite wisdom of the ages and the sacred creative force of All that is, will be and ever was.” 
~ Anthon St. Maarten

Mountain encourages us to take the long view of life, to plan and then to take small steps towards our goals. Our crazy busy lives need to slow down. We’ll do best by simplifying everything, and by getting some quiet time to think, dream and integrate change.

All actions and decisions that give you a sense of strengthening your commitment to a goal, that strengthen your physical, emotional or financial position – all of these are well supported in January.

Don’t rush this month. Take your time. Make everything a devotional act. Slow it down and your whole life becomes a moving meditation!

Best crystals this month?

Selenite and Red Jasper

Selenite boosts intuition and all forms of spiritual connection. It will help you to connect into your guides, angels and psychic ability.

Red Jasper is a stone for mental, physical and emotional rejuvenation. Deeply grounding, it helps you connect to your heart and your truth. 

Essential oils to support your journey?

I’m loving Young Living’s Clarity and Believe blends for January. Use Clarity for focus, inspiration and breakthroughs. Dab a drop on your Crown Chakra and the soles of your feet, inhale directly or add to your diffuser. Use Believe when you are doubting yourself and want to find your confidence and self-belief. It’s great to inhale directly, diffuse or add a drop to Heart Chakra and inner wrists. A few drops added to your bath make for magical self-care.

Want to make your own blend? Each of the following oils will work beautifully on their own for you this month, but they also make a delicious combination for diffusing. Frankincense elevates our mood and promotes spiritual connection and intuition, Lavender keeps us in flow and relaxed,  Ylang Ylang opens our hearts and is supportive when we feel anxious or overwhelmed, and Bergamot for joy, gratitude and optimism. To diffuse add 2 or three drops of each oil to your room or personal diffuser. You can find the oils here.

Want to make the most of your year in 2018?

January is a great month to work on your plans and dreams. If you want a powerful tool to tap you in to your intuition and inner guidance, my Year of ME Planner can help you (ME stands for Manifesting Energies!). We also have a wonderful community and a year filled with webinars, resources and learning. If you’d like to join us or buy the Planner all the details are in our Store – just follow the link at the top of the page or click here.

I’ve also uploaded some recordings from our recent channelling evening, where my Guides talk about the energies of 2018 and how to navigate them in order to make your life more meaningful and satisfying. There are four files and ninety minutes of listening time all up. Want to access these resources? More details here. 

Wishing you a transformative and uplifting month.

Lots of love, Nicole❤ xoxo

Off On A Grand Adventure!

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Image from www.feedfloyd.com

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” ~ Anonymous

By the time you read this I’ll be at the airport, or maybe even on my way overseas!

My darling husband Ben bought me a surprise three-week holiday as a belated ‘Congratulations on Turning Fifty and Thank You For Not Dying’ celebration. So today we’re flying to Hong Kong for a few days, before we take a cruise through Vietnam and Taiwan. Exciting!!! (Expect Yum Cha and other thrilling photos over on Instagram and Facebook! – links at the bottom of this post)

We’re in the Lull now (more details about the current energies here), and it’s the perfect time for us to be focusing on each other, and taking some down-time after the crazy year that 2017 has been.

My personal reports and posts may be brief and intermittent from here on in, but our team will make sure that things keep humming along here on the blog. Meanwhile I’m intending to actually rest and make this a proper holiday, just me and my darling boy. Ben has to share me all year, and he does so uncomplainingly. I’m looking forward to holding his hand and wandering around checking out the sights and enjoying some uninterrupted time together. Fingers crossed that it will be a quiet time psychically too.

I’ll still be doing my daily meditations and prayers for you. Meditation is as big a part of my life as breathing! And I’ve already packed my Planner, oracle deck and 2018 crystal!

Our Cauldrons and Cupcakes team is holding the fort while I’m away so if you have any questions about the YOM planner or community or anything else like that they’ll be right there for you. But I won’t. I’ll be waving from the pool deck, a fancy drink in hand and a big, big smile on my face because I’m fifty and I’m still alive and I’m married to the love of my life and that’s worth celebrating!

Love and hugs, Nicole xx

Planner Will Be Live In Shop In Just A Few Hours!

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“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.” 
~ A.A. Milne

We had a fantastic time at the Pop Up Shop yesterday, and I loved being able to give so many of you a great big hug! I’m looking forward to seeing more of you for hugs today too.

Our Planner and Crystal packs for 2018 sold like ice-creams on a hot day yesterday, but we still have stock left, ready to go live in our shop a little later this morning.

I know some of you will be in that space of needing to grab this awesome Planner RIGHT NOW but I had a late night, and there’s another big day ahead for me at the Pop Up Shop and running workshops and there is not a bite of food in the house because after we finish the event today we’ll pack up the truck and head straight back to the farm where we’ll stay for a day getting things ready for our awesome house sitter. Then we’ll race back to the city on Monday, sort out our housesitter here and then and pack our bags before flying out to Asia for three weeks on Tuesday morning at some ridiculously early hour for the ‘Congratulations You’re Fifty and Thank You for Not Dying’ holiday that my husband Ben bought me as a surprise!!! So, who needs food in the house when you aren’t going to be home, right? I’m starving hungry, so we are off to our favourite cafe right now to eat breakfast and fuel up for the day, and then I’ll come home and put the final trimmings on everything and the 2018 offerings will go live. Self-care first, lovelies!

For those of you who wanted to get to the Channelling session last night but couldn’t make it, I have good news. We recorded all the Guides and we’ll make the recordings available here in the shop in the next 48 hours. Yay!

Okay, breakfast for me and then it’s Planner time for you.

Biggest hugs and love, Nicole ❤ xx

 

Sneaking Out of Retreat

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“The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.” 
~  Steven Pressfield

 

We’re on Retreat right now, and I am that Retreat’s leader.

But this morning I am sneaking off.

Every Thursday morning is my acupuncture and IV day, and even though I’m on Retreat it’s one appointment I am not going to cancel or defer. My health comes first. So while everyone sleeps in, or goes to the Byron Farmers Markets or into town for a look around, I’ll be canulated, stuck with needles, all loved up with awesome medical attention and then be back at Retreat by morning tea – ready to start a very big day of wonderful meditation, craft and sharing, followed by a channelling evening with my Guides.

How about you? Do you make time in your life for what matters most? Do you give enough time to yourself and your well-being? I truly hope your answer is a yes, and if it’s not then I’m sending you a big hug and a gentle whisper of encouragement so that you find a way to make yourself a priority in your own life!

Lots of love, Nicole ❤ xx