Thank you, Virginia, for that most valuable of advice. When I was younger her quote didn’t make much sense – weren’t women independent now, didn’t we have the vote, weren’t we emancipated and equal and couldn’t we Have It All? A room? Goddam it Virginia, I’m a modern woman. I can buy myself a whole […]
Loving my dinged up life-battered Self – Part 1
We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~ Joseph Campbell Don’t you love how Life gives you those aha moments? I’m in the middle of one right now. It’s going to be that kind of week, I think. For […]
Poor Form, or Confessions from a Bookstore, Byron Style.
So, I unexpectedly find myself in downtown Byron Bay, at a bookshop cafe, while I wait for a friend. Except for a brief visit to a second-hand book store on the way to a friend’s funeral a few weeks ago it has been many months since I’ve been in a bookshop. It’s been too […]
The Power of Mentors
“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own.” – Benjamin Disraeli We all learn by modelling ourselves on others. As babies we mimic our parents, copying everything they do until we learn to do those things for ourselves; facial expressions, gestures, words, […]
Grounding Myself in Life Again…
“Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.” ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe I’ve spent the past five days running a meditation retreat. It was a fabulous course, and I was totally absorbed in a world of ritual, magic and spiritual connection. But today I […]
Dr Sketchy – Beautifully Burlesque
“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it.” ~ Salvador Dali My brain is still in a post-virus muddle. Clarity comes in fits and starts, and then fog washes over me and my brain disappears entirely. Trust me, this is not conducive to writing. So, what should a writer do when they’re in […]
By definition, a ‘Hero’ does not have it easy…
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Christopher Reeve Think about it. You read a book. In it, the hero has a cruisey ride. From the moment of their auspicious birth everything they touch magically works. They are incredibly popular. All their family […]
A Magical Way to Attract More of What You Want!
Last week I shared a simple but powerful journal exercise with you, designed to help you get clarity about what you REALLY want in life. If you didn’t read it, or need to refresh your memory, here’s the link: Getting to the Heart of things All you needed to do was to write an answer […]
Getting to the Heart of Things
There is a powerful journalling exercise that I use every so often. It is a very simple technique, but it never fails to give me clarity. It also highlights areas of my life that aren’t working, shows me where my resentments and frustrations are, and uncovers my deepest dreams and desires. It works best when […]
Ghostly Messages and Weird Confirmations…
Most of you probably know that I’m a bit of a writing bender right now. I hadn’t expected to embark on a new project; I have two finished manuscripts to edit, workshop notes to write, and some courses to finish. And of course I’ve started on my second novel with my husband. This bender came […]
Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe (Good for Writers)
If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it. ~ Anais Nin You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~ Ray Bradbury There is nothing to writing. All you do is […]
Public Service Announcement
Ah-hem… Am I on camera? “Hello.” “This is a Public Service Announcement.” Authorised by me. Bert. Nicole’s Personal Assistant. “Nicole is writing. Not blog writing. Other writing. So we apologise for this interruption to the blogging process. Normal blogging will resume tomorrow.” “We thank you for your co-operation and understanding.” Sigh. Did I do that […]
A little piece of Europe…
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller Australia is a long way from anywhere. You don’t just pop across the border to another country on a Sunday drive. You can’t be anywhere else in an hour or two’s plane flight. So when I feel like travelling, I […]
Writing Ourselves into Awareness
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” ― C.G. Jung Sometimes we get so confused. We run this way and that way – searching for the thing, the answer, the lover, the teacher… We forget to trust ourselves. We forget to […]
Writing Yourself into a Brighter Future
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Did you know that thoughts have great power? When we have clear goals and ideas, and attach positive emotion to them, we magnetise these mental images and begin the process of creating them in our reality. (See this post […]
What makes you come alive?
Don’t ask yourself what the World needs Ask yourself what makes you come alive And then go and do that Because what the World needs Is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman Last night I was talking to a friend about art. It comes easily to her, and she’s so good at it […]
Using your Internal Compass to Navigate Life
At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it. ~ Thich Nhat Hahn Inside each of us in a compass. Although we can’t see it, it spins and turns in ways we can feel, if only we learn to tune in to it. The […]
My ‘One Lovely Blog’ Award
One of the things I’ve come to love about the blogging community is their generosity of spirit, their ability to connect us, one to another, and the crazy amount of awards that are out there for us to show our gratitude and appreciation to one another. I’ve recently been nominated for the One Lovely Blog […]
In Defence of Fairies
Nothing can be truer than fairy wisdom. It is as true as sunbeams. ~Douglas Jerrold Those of you who know me will also know that I believe in fairies. In fact, you’ll know that I count a fairy as one of my dearest friends. I found myself in an odd position on the weekend. I’m […]
Protecting a Good Idea
We’ve all had them. Ideas that are special to us. Ideas that seem like they could turn into something good given enough time. It might be an idea about creating something or becoming something – but we sense that this idea is special, and has the power to be transformational for us. A good idea […]
What does Happiness look like to you?
In our age of overwork, stress, social isolation, time pressure and exhaustion, it is increasingly important to know what fills you back up again, what makes you smile, what brings joy and happiness into your life. What does happiness look like to you? If you don’t know, make it your mission to find out, and […]
When the Muse Whispers in Your Ear…
O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention. ~ William Shakespeare Inspiration comes to us in many ways, but there is one way almost all creative people have in common – the Muse comes and whispers in your ear. The Muse knows you – she knows your talents and […]
My third Blog Award – The Sunshine Award
I’ve been nominated for the Sunshine Award by a lovely blogger! The rules of this Blog Award are: Include the Award’s logo in a post or on your blog . Answer 10 questions about yourself. Nominate 10-12 other fabulous bloggers. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know they have […]
Writing Yourself into Abundance
Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy. – Groucho Marx Writing is a powerful way to get unblocked and back into flow, and one of the areas we often seem to be out of flow is around the area of Abundance. Abundance can be many […]
Writing your Dream Home into Existence
A man’s home is his castle ~ Proverb Everyone has a dream home in their mind – somewhere that will fulfill their needs, bring peace to their soul, and speak to the person they are or would like to be. I’m lucky enough to have found mine, but then again, luck didn’t create it – […]
Writing as a Manifestation Tool
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. ~ John 1:1 Words have power. Whether they are thought, spoken or written down, there is a great energy to words, and over the next six Mondays we are going to focus on ways to harness this power […]
My second blogging gong – The Very Inspiring Blogger Award
The lovely danLrene from Work the Dream has nominated me for The Very Inspiring Blogger award. Thanks Deb! You’re a wonderful inspiration. I’m honoured, and truth be told, a little mystified that in the 89 days since I’ve started this blog I’ve had more than 23 000 hits already. Thank you, everyone, for supporting me, and […]
On a roll, or, why I’m not blogging…
I usually get up at 4am, meditate, and then write. Lately I’ve been blogging first and then writing (I classify writing as working on one of my books…). But this morning I am gripped by the plight of one of my characters. I must get their story down onto the page. I have ample tea, […]
Places that remind you of who you used to be…
The first time I went to Yum Cha was a revelation. It was a crowded barn of a restaurant in Sydney, and my small table were the only Caucasians in a sea of dark hair. They didn’t even have a menu in English. My friend Geoff, who speaks fluent Cantonese, took us there, and did […]
Everyone has a story to tell…
In these days of emails, tweets and text messages we can spend our days constantly communicating, but not really sharing at that deeper level of connection. One of my favourite forms of communication is a fairly old-fashioned one. It involves conversation and cups of tea. Yesterday, my dear friend Carly-Jay Metcalfe, a poet and writer, […]
Wednesday morning, 5am.
It’s raining here. That’s not unusual for where I live. The Northern Rivers wouldn’t flow if they didn’t have replenishment. Each morning I wake up early, around 4am, and then I meditate for an hour or so, lighting some candles and incense to keep me company in the dark. My meditation can take one of […]
My first Blog Award – ‘The Versatile Blogger’
I received a nomination for my first ever blog award. A bit of a shock considering I’ve only been blogging for a fortnight, but what a wonderful way to start 2012. I was nominated by the writer of Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars, a blog that celebrates two things dear to my heart; the […]