Newsletter

Good Morning

Here is The Purple Lizard's latest Newsletter of products and specials, if you want more info, click in their logo at the top of the page and it will take you to their website:

PRODUCT SPECIAL FOR AUGUST

As you all know we have a special ‘package deal’ once a month that we offer to all our clients as well as our wholesale partners. Since August is the 8^th month of the year it carries a very strong money vibration. We will amplify that vibration with this month’s special offer. It is put together to strengthen the Abundance vibration carried in August.

The special consists of:

?         Abundance Charged Candles (short set) – Burn the two candles to attract abundance.

?         Prosperity and Abundance Bath Crystals – Use in a bath regimen to increase your personal abundance-drawing vibration.

?         Prosperity Elixir – Spray on yourself and your environment to also boost the ability to draw more abundance to yourself.

?         An abundance incense to burn in your home and office.

Normal price for these three products: R 190.00. Special offer: R 150.00.

The deal is only available through e-mailed orders and payable through an EFT or cash deposit. Unfortunately we do not have it listed on the website. The partners who will stock the special in August will be listed next week.

CANDLE MAGICK AND RITUAL WORKSHOP

The workshop will be running over the next two Saturday mornings. Please let us know by tomorrow latest if you will be attending to give me a chance to print the correct quantity of workbooks. There will also be practical work to be done at home between the two Saturdays.

Learn how to work with candles, oils and herbs in a focussed way to help you achieve your goals. We will cover all the basics:

• Candle colours.
• Rules of Candle Magick.
• Different deities and religious systems – it can even be used in Christianity as a dorm of focussed prayer.
• Herbs and oils and their uses.
• Techniques for preparation and ritual.
• How to read your wax and results.
• Other tools that can add to the magick.
• Practical work including the preparation and doing of 4 spells.
• How to write your own rituals.

?         Includes your printed guide, all materials for practical, tea and coffee.

Dates: 30 July and 6 August.

Time: 9h00 to 13h00

Place: 15 Slagveld Street, Rooihuiskraal, Centurion.

Investment: R 750.00

Bookings are essential. A 25% to 50% deposit is required on booking. The balance is payable before the workshop starts on the 30^th of July at the venue.

DISTANCE READING SPECIAL

In keeping with our ABUNDANCE theme for August we offer the following distance spreads at a discount of between R 60 and R100 per spread:

Money Spread - For advice and suggestions for all your monetary and abundance concerns this spread will be very useful.

Career Spread - Have you chosen the correct career path? Should you be doing something else?

Business Spread – If you are contemplating the start of a new business this spread will give you good indications and suggestions regarding the validity and future of the idea.

Business Concerns - If you are concerned about the future or aspects of a current business you are involved in or own this spread will help you with suggestions and answers.

You can book any one or more of these for only R 90.00 each. It is a saving of R 60.00 on the first Please remember the spreads are not computer generated but is actual readings with real cards that I pack especially for you. After that I do the admin work and advice on a word document and send it to you. Please book for these via e-mail as the prices on the website is the normal selling prices. You can pay via EFT or cash deposit.

Bright Blessings

XXXXX

Sew incomplete

Yesterday I had what is commonly known as an aha! Moment.

I had decided to make new covers for my arm chairs, not really a way to spend a Sunday but I had energy and couldn’t sit still and it has been something I had been wanting to do for a while but kept pushing it aside. I had the time and energy so I thought what the hell.

After spending a good few hours sorting through my fabrics and creating a pattern from scratch, I decided I was ready to go. I lay down the fabric and the pattern pieces only to discover I was just short of the amount of fabric I needed.

At first I stared down to see if there was anyway I could move the pattern around and then I did try to actually move the pattern around but nothing worked. I had to face the facts. I grabbed everything and put it away, feeling irritated.

Then I went off to bed to mope and feel sorry for myself. I fell asleep and woke up after about an hour, and I asked myself “why am I feeling like this?”

That’s when I realised why I had given up on my project, and as a result, the rest of my day was going to be spent sulking in bed.

I realised that not having enough fabric took my little project, out of my control.

There was nothing I could do about the situation, no way of me solving it until a later point (when I could make it to the fabric store). There was just simply nothing I could about it and I needed to accept that I shouldn’t have to kick myself over it but just to accept that I could not control the situation.

Aha! Moment:

There are still things that are in my control!

I grabbed a pencil and a sheet of paper and decided to make a list of things that were still in my control. Little tasks that I could finish. I thought about how much better I would feel after completing the items on my list.

I didn’t make the list very long, I didn’t want it to seem daunting and I made sure it was a list of simple things.

The number one item on my list: get up and make my bed!

It may seem like a trivial task but it was the right task to begin with for the situation I was in. At the end of the list I added “Put on a masque and have a soak in the tub”. Treat myself a little!

As I worked away at my list (sweep the floors, sort through laundry, etc) I decided to add one thing to my list: make cushion covers for my arm chairs. Even though I couldn’t finish the whole project there was nothing wrong with me starting it by completing a small part of the project.

So where does the aha! Moment fit in?

While making my bed I realised that if this theory could work for me in the here and now then why can’t it work for me on a bigger scale?

I had been wondering lately about where my life is heading, where I want it to go and how I would get there. I’ve been thinking “but how do I do it.” I know taking small steps is the answer but what are these small steps supposed to be?

Perhaps I should be looking at it from the point of view that, yes, my dreams are out there. It may seem that the circumstances around me sometimes make me feel as if my life is out of control and that I would never be able to live my dream but what if I look at the things I can do, the tasks that I can complete and that are in my control.

For those out there who feel unhappy and as if their lives are out of control but you don’t know what you want to do with your life, here’s a bit of advice from me.

You know what you don’t want out of life. Take that as your starting point. What tasks can you complete that will make you feel as if you are taking back control of your life? Think about what you can do to move away from what you don’t want so that you can discover what it is that you do want.

For everyone, if you want to, why don’t you make up a list every day of five things you can do to feel in control of your life or a situation you might find yourself in? Don’t make the list seem daunting, pick tasks that you know you can do.

When I was making up the list of how to get my ass out of bed, one thing I told myself was that it was okay if I did not finish every item on the list. I don’t have to do it all and it is okay if I just finish the tasks I get around to doing.

Use this same mindset as you make up your daily list. A reason why a lot of people don’t complete a to-do list is because they are afraid of not completing it and as a result they don’t.

If you don’t get around to doing something on the list, don’t worry about it. This is one to-do list you should never stress about.

Don’t forget to throw in your “treat” at the end of this list. If you don’t complete the list, treat yourself anyway.

A lot of people put a “treat” on to-do lists and if the list remains incomplete the reward is held back. Don’t hold your rewards back. This is something you would be doing to punish yourself for not accomplishing something.

Believe that you deserve your reward regardless and remove the idea of punishing yourself out of your mind.

Mantra of the day:

I have control over my life

I deserve to have good things in my life

Brightest Blessing

XXXXX

Finding peace from fear

A lot of people face fear with doubt. The two almost go hand in hand.

When you find yourself in a situation where you are going to need to face a fear, it will be quite likely that you will doubt yourself. I hope this week with all my posts is going to help you move on from that point.

Once you have embraced those fears you know you are too strong for any doubt to ever fill your mind.

It has been a very tough week for many, including myself and today hasn't been any easier. It took me a while for my spirit to settle and become calmer. I hope that as I share this with you, you are also able to find some peace.


Having a tough day

Burn a candle and some incense
Clear your energy, clear your mind
Clear your sacred space
Look inside so you know what to find

Take a breath and release it out
Clear your mind of any doubt

You are strong and you are sacred
The Goddess stands beside you
Her feminine spirit is all around
You are her child and she loves you

If you need to
Feel her embrace

As you breathe in, feel peaceful
As you breathe out, feel mindful

Feel your body
Feel your breath
Feel the warmth of the candle
Smell the scent of the incense

Everything with you in this moment
Is here for a reason, feel love for it

Love yourself
Love your life

Now a new journey begins for you

My wish for you is peace, love and light.
May the Goddess help to calm your spirit
And may you be surrounded by the brightest of blessings.

)O(
.

Durga, Mother of the Gods.

article written by: Zephonith

Durga has always been worshipped as the Mother of the Universe, and is the power behind creation, preservation and destruction. Durga is the Supreme power of the Supreme Being.

Dugatinashini means “She who eliminates all sufferings”. Quite literally, Durga shields Her devotees from the harshness and adverse effects of this world of suffering

Goddess Durga is the Mother of the Gods, and is part of a triad of Goddesses including Parvati and Kali. Durga really epitomises the Mother’s fighting instinct to protect her children. According to DJConway, Durga is known in this aspect as The Inaccessible.

Durga is the Amazon goddess famous for defeating hordes of demons on behalf of the gods. This symbolic protection is very real on all levels of existence for the devotees of this Goddess, who is seen also as a primal Creatrix in Her own right, sometimes as identical to Kali, The Dark Mother.

Like Shiva, Mother Durga is also referred to as "Triyambake" meaning the three eyed Goddess. The left eye represents desire (the moon), the right eye represents action (the sun), and the central eye knowledge (fire).

Durga is mounted on a Lion, and the Lion is the King of the Jungle; the sacred beast of the Goddess and God and the symbol of royalty and strength.

The power, will and determination that is needed for the seeker to overcome the demon of outer, false and illusionary Ego, is of the Lion.

Durga rides upon the Lion, symbolising Her mastery of these qualities and thus all demons. A  good parallel can be drawn with the Queen of the Night relief in which  Lilith is depicted as astride the Routi, or double-headed Lion, symbolising the powers of the God , and naturally , the famous representations of Kali standing on top of Shiva.

Without the vital masculine force, creation of any type would not be possible, as without action (Chokmah,Mars), which sparks out of the deep feminine potential, ( Binah,Venus) nothing can be accomplished .

Durga holds many weapons, as the demons cannot always be defeated with a single type of weapon or tactic.

·                     The conch shell in Durga's hand symbolizes the 'Pranava' or the mystic word 'Om', which indicates her holding on to God in the form of sound.

·                     The bow and arrows represent energy. By holding both the bow and arrows in one hand "Mother Durga" is indicating her control over both aspects of energy - potential and kinetic.

·                     The thunderbolt signifies firmness. The devotee of Durga must be firm like thunderbolt in one's convictions. Like the thunderbolt that can break anything against which it strikes, without being affected itself, the devotee needs to attack a challenge without losing his confidence.

·                     The lotus in Durga's hand has not fully bloomed, It symbolizes certainty of success but not finality. The lotus in Sanskrit is called "pankaja" which means born of mud. Thus, lotus stands for the continuous evolution of the spiritual quality of devotees amidst the worldly mud of lust and greed.

·                     The "Sudarshan-Chakra" or beautiful discus, which spins around the index finger of the Goddess, while not touching it, signifies that the entire world is subservient to the will of Durga and is at her command. She uses this unfailing weapon to destroy evil and produce an environment conducive to the growth of righteousness.

·                     The sword that Durga holds in one of her hands symbolizes knowledge, which has the sharpness of a sword. Knowledge which is free from all doubts, is symbolized by the shine of the sword.

·                     Durga's trident or "trishul" is a symbol of three qualities - Satwa (inactivity), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (non-activity) - and she is remover of all the three types of miseries - physical, mental and spiritual.

Durga is known by many Names and praise-names; and these are some of them:

Kali

 Bhagvati

Bhavani

Ambika

Lalita

Gauri

 Kandalini

 Java

 Rajeswari

OM

Durga-Devi

The Manifested Brahman

Liberatrix from the world of births and deaths

Destructress of distress

Accessible by devotion

Pure One

Essence of All

Giver of Strength

Forest Durga

Terrifying

Beautiful

Whose Love is Unbounded

Who Art All

Granter of Boons

Goddess of The Three Worlds

The Goddess of the Celestials

Bearer of Various Weapons

Protector of the Three Worlds

Sister of Krsna

Beautiful like the Full Moon

Durga is the ultimate protector Goddess; however, seekers attracted to the Goddess are forewarned that neither Kali or Durga are for the faint-hearted.

Durga represents the fearless warrior, as all fears are illuminated under a spotlight and dealt with accordingly. There is success in all attempts for those who re- learn the skills of living in harmony with the laws of Nature and give thanks and praises to Mother Durga.

Devi here takes the form of Mahishamardini, more popularly known as Durga, who destroyed the two arch-demons Sumbha and Nisumbha in an epic battle between the goddess and the throng of demons. It was at this time, according to legend, that Durga created Kali, by emanating her out of her third eye.

The Goddess speaks

“I am Great Nature, consciousness, bliss, the quintessence, devotedly praised. Where I am, there are no Brahma, Hara, Shambhu or other devas, nor is there creation, maintenance or dissolution. Where I am, there is no attachment, happiness, sadness, liberation, goodness, faith, atheism, guru or disciple.

I am the essence of creation, manifested as woman, intoxicated with sexual desire, in order to know you as guru, you with whom I am one.”

“By mutual differences of Shiva and Shakti, the (three) gunas originate. All things, such as Brahma and so forth, are my parts, born from my being. Dividing and blending,   the various   tantras, mantras and kulas come into being.

After withdrawing the five fold universe, I, Lalita, become of the nature of nirvana. Once more, men, great nature, egoism, the five elements, sattvas, rajas and tamas become manifested. This universe of parts appears and is then dissolved.”

The devotee replies:

Om hail to you Mother Devi!
Stainless soul, the essence of Brahma.
Through your compassion remove obstacles and bestow siddhi on me!
Maheshi, giver of blessings!
Devi, the form of supreme bliss!
Through your compassion &c.
Kaumari, who dallies with Kumara,
Lady of all Knowledge,
Through your compassion &c.
Vashnavi, carried on Garuda's wings,
The very self of Vishnu
Through your compassion &c.
Varahi Devi, giver of blessings,
Who lifted the earth on your tusks,
Through your compassion &c.
Devi, you are Aindri, worshipped by all the gods and Indra.
Through your compassion &c.
Chamunda, smeared with blood, dressed in a garland of severed heads,
You destroy fear!
Through your compassion &c.
Mahalakshmi Mahamaya, you destroy anxiety and sorrow.
Through your compassion &c.
Devi you are the goddess, father and mother both!
You take the place of our father and mother!
Although one, you are many, in the form of the cosmos!
Hail to you Devi, hail! 

The Angry Fear

I am sure you have heard the saying:  “fear is the cause of anger”, if you have not, well you have now.

This is true. Over the past few days I have noticed how people are becoming angry and aggressive or angry and despondent. Taking a moment and a deep breath sometimes helps when your anger starts to “take hold” of you.

My advice to you is, during the day when you need to hold this in, then do so (I don’t want you to loose your job, or anything else, before you read the next part) when you are alone, LET IT ALL OUT!

Shout, scream, yell, hit a pillow or hit the treadmill (hit anything except a fellow human being or an animal) what ever it is you choose to do, just let it out. When you feel too exhausted to continue then lie down (you might just end up “collapsing” down) and say to your emotions:

“I accept you and I release you.”

You might suddenly find yourself feeling angry again and filled with that negative energy. The reason for this is, when you want to release your anger it means you may have to face your fears and if you subconsciously don’t want to face those fears the anger will begin to come out again.

So do the process over and over again, if you must, until you are completely exhausted.

When you have gone through all of this, you might even find it easier to go through the exercise I posted yesterday about facing the base of your fears.

Over the past three days I have covered the three parts that embody fear. Each part is not to be neglected and I strongly suggest that you work on them.

1. The source of your fears
2. Your fears themselves
3. Anger and the emotions that come out as a result of your fears

You are not alone, if you feel you need to have your guides, guardians or angels with you as you work through everything, don’t be afraid to ask them, this is what they are here for, to help your spirit as you learn and grow.

Remember the end goal of all of this hard work is: “Acceptance”. It is as simple as that.

1. Accept your past!
2. Accept your fears!
3. Accept that some emotions are trying to stop you from moving forward.

From here on you can grow and move forward. You can accept all new things that you would normally have blocked out from your life because of what you feared. Keep on doing the exercises I’ve given you or others if you feel they really help instead. Write in your journal and do a little meditation everyday.

I wish you the Brightest Blessings

XXXXX

Fear, where for art thou?

As you know, this week the theme for my blog is fear and today I am hoping to be able to give you some advice to guide you to work through yours.

It does not matter what the basis of your fear is, hiding it away or trying to run from it is not going to work. What you need to do is let it out into the light so that you can face it. Tell your fears exactly what you think of them and then accept those fears.

A good starting point is to find the source of them and as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, just randomly writing about it can help you to find exactly where your fears stem from.

It is the root of the problem that you need to really have a good look at. It can be a difficult and painful step, to look back into the past. We all have different stories of where our fears come from. It could me something traumatic or just a simple error on your life’s path, either way you need to take a good look at it.

What do you do now? Think about this for a moment. If this circumstance had not happened in your life, how much of a different person would you be today? This is an absolutely eye opening moment for some people, just think:

“If this had not happened, who would I be today? Where would I be in my life today?”

Maybe think of those that you love, is it possible that they would not be there if you had not gone through what you had or you would not have achieved something wonderful or be a stronger person for it.

Write all of this down if you can. Maybe this week would be a really good time to start that journal you have always wanted to start and what a good way to start something new, by letting out all of the old.

If you want, you can even add a flow chart for all of your thoughts, sometimes I find it helpful but you don’t have to, (I’ve added a picture for you to see what mine normally looks like but you can do yours as you like).

Since the spirit of some Candle Magick is in the air, I would like to do something with you that might help (if you would like to find out more on this, have a look at my earlier post).

Write down your fear(s) and everything you can think of when it comes to the source of them and if you want, draw up a chart. Make a copy of everything unless you feel it would be more releasing to burn the originals then do so.

Set up a sacred, peaceful space for yourself. Have a white candle lit in front of you, either in a cauldron or on a heat proof surface that won’t catch fire.

Take a few deep breaths and look into the flame of the candle and play the images in your mind that for you are the source of your fears. Feel yourself accepting them and knowing that if it was not for these events in your life, you may not be the person you are today. You are a stronger person because of what has happened to you.

When you feel you are ready, burn the pages with the flame from the white candle and say out loud:
“I will not run, I will not hide. I embrace my fears and I love myself.”

Use this as your daily mantra, you can even say it just before you begin to write in your journal everyday or when you feel you are about to face a circumstance that will bring those fears out for you.

I wish you the best of luck as I know this may be a painful process for you but remember you are not alone. You can even ask your angels or guides to assist you as you work through this.

Bright Blessings.


XXXXX

Mantra of the day

I almost forgot to include the mantra of the day. Before I get into it I want to let you know where it comes from.

Some of us actually fear our own bodies. In these modern times we are constantly being shown how our bodies should be perfect through tv and magazines and advertising campaigns. The truth is that most of the girls you see are normally 15 years old and extremely air-brushed. It really isn't perfection at all, just an "artists" work for a client.

I once read a book on reincarnation and it had a quote that influenced the way I see my body: "You are not a body with a soul, you are a soul with a body".

If you do struggle with accepting your own body then here's some friendly advice. Take off all of your clothes, look in the mirror and say these words to yourself. If you find it difficult then do it in stages. You can first do it fully clothed and as each day passes, stand in front of your mirror and remove a piece of clothing until you feel confident about your body.

It does not matter what size your body is, how old you are, your gender or what your race is, give it a try.

And don't be afraid of people taking photos of you. It's not your body they want to remember, it is your spirit.

So take a look at your body, every square inch and don’t be afraid of it. You are your soul not your body.

Bright Blessings

XXXXX

Fear – a simple word that can hold our lives hostage

Today is Mandela Day, we celebrate Nelson Mandela’s ninety third birthday, we celebrate this wonderful and courageous man who bought so many people together and helped to free a nation.

In the light of all of this, strangely after the weekend’s full moon I’ve discovered, not just within myself but also in those around me, the surfacing of fears, old and new.

Over recent years I have become loud and proud of me, just being me. After a good few years in my teens and early twenties of staying hidden, I was able to take that brave step out of the broom closet. I was raised in a Christian home, I was an alter girl and my dad is a priest, though I had always felt it wasn’t the right place for me.

When I found Wicca, and began to realise more and more that it was the path I wanted to follow that was when the “fear of god” was really felt the most. After a good few years of struggling within myself, I was able to step out and tell the rest of the world “here I am, accept it, I know I have”.

It doesn’t matter which fear you are facing, whether it be religion, sexuality or having to move on to the next step in your life, where there will be a “comfort” that you are leaving behind ask yourself:

“Am I scared of what I think of this? Do I fear myself for what or who I am?”

Really think about this question, take a few minutes to absorb it. Then I don’t want you to just say “yes” or look for quick fix answer, this is something you need to work on. What I can suggest is, start writing.

After you have thought about the question, just write about anything and everything. This will be your mind’s way of sorting through all the “garbage” that has piled up in front of your truth.

When you feel that you really have the answer to your question, think about your answer for a while.

Then start writing again just on the theme of your answer. Write down everything you know that relates to it. The point of this writing is for you to find a point of moving forward. You have started to face your fear, but what are you going to do with this knowledge? Now you need to find away to take the first step forward.

I’m not just giving you this advice but I’m also taking it for myself. What I have shared with you is what I have done in the past that has helped me time and time again and believe it or not but I will be doing this again this week. Writing through my fears helps in two ways. Firstly I can sort through all the garbage I’m holding onto and secondly, I am getting everything out and I’m not keeping it locked up inside of myself.

I hope my advice helps.

Bright Blessings.

Do your bit

For those of you who are struggling to get to do your 67 minutes for Mandela day, perhaps look at purchasing this eBook for children, a percentage of the profits goes to abandoned children in South Africa.

For every family in South Africa who are looking to adopt, there are 100 abandoned children.

Give them some hope for a better life.

http://www.abook2read.com/authors/nathalie-laurings/life-s-little-vampires.html

Mandela Day

On the 18th of July is Madiba’s birthday, for those of you who don’t know it’s the loving nickname given to Nelson Mandela, mention Madiba to anyone in South Africa and we will know who you are talking about.

Madiba spent 67 years of his life changing South Africa and making an impact on the world which is why every year on his birthday we are encouraged to do 67 minutes of charity work.

Madiba and Oprah Winfrey are two of the few people who have completely transcended race, gender and nationality and have made the biggest impact on the world. What is their most powerful attribute? Being humanitarians, being willing to help anyone in need.

The 18th of July is now internationally recognised as Mandela day and the United Nations is beginning to encourage countries around the world to ask their citizens to do 67 minutes of charity work on this day.

Have a look around you, there is always someone who you can help and don’t be afraid to help them. Fear can be such an emotional reason that prevents us from doing what we know is right.

So what are you going to do with your 67 minutes? Celebrate Mandela day and remember that you don’t have to do just 67 minutes, feel free to do more. Animals and people are always in need of help, not just on one day of the year.

Let me know what you plan on doing for Mandela day, you are even welcome to send me pictures of your day to thewiccaseries@gmail.com, along with your name, country and the charity you worked with. I’ll hopefully be able to put a blog together with all of this information, celebrating such an influential and humble person who made the world a better place, for everyone.

Mantra of the day:
I can make positive change in the world.

Bright Blessings

Xxxxx

A little love can go a long way

Life gets busy and there is no avoiding it. Even if you happen to be in a job or own a business that you love there will still be a lot of things that have to be done and deadlines that must be met.

Pushing yourself in trying times can create a sense of resentfulness towards your work, which is really the last thing you would want on top of the stress that you are suffering. You are creating a “blockage” inside of yourself.

Why do you think most people have heart attacks, chest pains and panic attacks when they are under so much stress? Besides from eating poorly and neglecting yourself during these times, your body is also trying to warn you. All of these “attacks” are centred near your heart chakra and that is no accident.

If you love what you do, don’t get caught up in the negative side of the necessary hard work, you block off the love that you would normally be feeling for your work. If you don’t happen to love the type of work you do then perhaps the problem is that you are blocking off other areas of your life that are a source of love, maybe your family and home or even yourself.

Take some time out for yourself. Meditation might just be an essential key for you to move forward, here is a very simple one for “Love”. Just as the word is, it appears to be simple and yet it can be so powerful.

If you feel the need to light candles, make sure they are white or pink and if you would like to burn incense use cinnamon or rose.

Centre yourself and clear your mind. Once you have managed that, then for a few minutes think of what you truly love and feel that love growing in your chest over your heart chakra. When you are ready, let go of your thoughts and just focus on the feeling in your chest.

If you would like to use sound to re-balance this chakra you can say “ah”. Take a deep breath and as you exhale say “aaaaaahhhhh”. Should you be are worried about being heard you can simply think about the sound, it still works though might not be as effective. You can also use today’s mantra if you wish to.

If you are into gem stone and crystal healing than you can place your favourite stone over your heart chakra, the most ideal gem stone for this is a rose quartz.

The meditation can last just a few minutes, remember the objective here is not to see how long you can meditate for but to centre yourself and bring more love into your life.

When you feel you are ready, slowly come out of your meditation and take a deep breath, as you breathe out feel yourself becoming lighter. Try and do this everyday and remember this is yourself that you are looking after, and no matter what you do or what you have faced in your life, you deserve to love yourself!

Feel free to say the below mantra as much as you like. If you need to take a few seconds out of your hectic schedule, close your eyes and say it to yourself a few times and then take a deep breath.

Mantra of the day:
I always have time for me!

Bright Blessings

xxxxx

STRENGTH

I always start my blog with the mantra of the day (even though you would only read it at the end). It gives me a way to focus on where I will be going with my writing and these are what mantras do, they help you to focus your mind, for as long as you need it to, so that you can get to where you want to go.

I hope that my mantras do help others, if they do I would love to hear feedback, maybe even share with me what your daily mantra is.

Mantra of the day:
I HAVE INNER STRENGTH

It is a simple and very short mantra but these few words really say a lot.

*****

Now for a bit of sad news. An amazing young boy passed on this week, here’s a bit of his story. I would love to send my love to Bonnie. I’ll be thinking of you on Friday.

Jed Brady Thomas was born the 4th of November, 2004.

He was diagnosed with Brain Cancer at age three. He fought the Cancer with the courage which many grown men lack.

He lost the fight on the 11th of July, 2011.

His service will be this coming Friday, the 15th of July at the Edenvale Baptist Church, 92 Voortrekker Street cnr of 7th St. Edenvale at 11:00. His parents extend an open invitation to anyone who would like to join them in celebrating his larger-than-life life.

Jed's favorite colour was green. Even if you cannot attend his service and life celebration, please wear green on Friday 15 July 2011 in honour of the Jed Brady Thomas Suckling and wear a gold ribbon in support of Childhood Cancer.

Bright Blessings

xxxxx

Cry. You Deserve To.

Feel like you are falling apart? You are not alone and you may have noticed that the people around you may be feeling the same way.

Over the past few weeks everything seems to have been leading up towards emotional chaos. I can see it in the news as well as the person sitting next to me in the office. As some of you may know, I work for Oprah, I work in the Advertising sales department for O, The Oprah Magazine in South Africa.

As a result, yes a work in an office with almost ten women but no one has been snappy and mean (rare for this kind of environment). The women here working with me have been amazing and supportive to one another as we all go through our individual crisis, and we have all had huge crisis over the past few weeks with this week being the cherry on top. We feel strong enough to cry in front of each other and compassionate enough to listen and give a hug.

I know I’ve cried a little over these past few weeks, on my own as well as on the shoulders of friends and family.

Naturally I would love to come up with the all powerful emotional quick fix but unfortunately it doesn’t exist. The only advice I can give is to not hide away and feel alone, there is always someone out there and when you are down, it is the worst time for you to cut other people out.

All I can suggest is for you to stay strong, hang in there. It may be tough now but believe that at the end of the day we can land on our feet, with our heads held high and surrounded by love.

I won’t lie, it won’t be easy from this point on but it is a good starting point for your next step forward.

Mantra of the day:
Today I will be okay

It is a simple and very short mantra but these few words really say a lot.

Bright Blessings

xxxxx

Give me some sugar

Nobody said life would be easy, we have all been aware of this from the time we were old enough to acknowledge the existence of life outside of the home our parents built (and not necessarily good homes at that).

So going out into the unknown, to a degree we expect hard times but we also expect good times. We hoped the good times would be more frequent and would outweigh the hard times by far. Yet as we go along we tend to find out that it really is more the other way around.

And things can be harder than we expected, nobody had warned us about that happening! Not even our parents.

So we learn to grow from those hard times and learn, as an animal gathers nuts when getting ready to hibernate for winter, that we must gather our strength in the good times. We gather strength when we can because we know subconsciously that something bad might happen when we turn the next corner of our lives, and probably will until we make the situation work for us, this is one of the natural consequences of facing change.

When will life give way and give us rest. Do we have to wait until the end of it all before we find peace? Or rather do we just get used to drinking lemon juice while hoping for lemonade.

Let’s be positive for a moment… Now this is a hard exercise!

Well if I can’t be positive, let me go through a few facts.

It is midwinter here for me. This means, as it should naturally happen, that brain chemicals have changed for everyone, causing a natural state of stillness. The reason for this is so that we, as humans, don’t over exert ourselves and can naturally gain weight for our bodies to be safer from the cold, of course the gods have forgotten we have created an array of winter clothing and credit cards so the extra weight isn’t needed all that much these days.

However for us poor souls suffering with chemical imbalances within the brain (and the numbers are growing), we get SAD, not as in “unhappy”, well kind of.

SAD or also known as Seasonally Affected Depression is when the brain chemicals over compensate for the change in the seasons, so instead of becoming chilled (pun intended) we become depressed, sometimes severely so.

Throw into the mix a whole bunch of crap. A truly tough time that life just wants to throw at you. But you haven’t gathered all your nuts for winter, so that’s what you become, and psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies are the only ones left smiling.

Where to from here? We can put bright lights in our homes and fire up the heaters to try and convince our brains that it’s spring, and let our wallets suffer, or we can find the spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down.

A spoon full of sugar can be a good friend and a glass of wine or a purring cat and a good book.

Block out the world, block out everything you don’t NEED (including the cellphone, there’s a silent function for a reason) and have your sugar. Indulge if you can… why not!

So if you take anything away from this (hopefully none of the depressing stuff) it’s that life happens and we can’t always deal with it but if we try to bring something good into our lives and can take time to light incense and a candle or two, perhaps we can find something else that we didn’t know was there. A hidden stack of nuts, which is what we’ll be the next morning when we face life again, but more importantly what those nuts represent, a little bit of hidden strength we had forgotten about.