21/12/2020 3 Comments Happy Solstice![]() Hello Lovelies, Happy Solstice may seem a strange sentiment today considering the year we’ve all had. Perceived lack of control makes it easy to slip into victim mode yet the real loss of control is when we give in to fear based thought patterns. But today is the solstice, a chance for new beginnings. And more than perhaps any other day of your lifetime, it is a day of ceremony and community as globally we come together to meditate and send healing to the Mother. It is our neglect of the Mother that has led us to the chaos we currently see in the world. Yet she has nurtured and provided for each and every one of us, during every breath of our lives. Despite what we have thrown at her she continues to support us all. Today, is the day we give back. Wherever you are in the world at the time of your solstice, get outside put your hands on the earth and say thank you. Around the world people are preparing to send support to Australia’s first nation elders as they hold ceremony at Uluru to awaken the earth’s solar plexus and bring her back to self. Even if you can’t go outside, you can go within and send your love and gratitude to support this moment. No matter how helpless you may feel today, the one thing you can control is where your thoughts are – so call your power back from circular fear-based ruminations and channel your thoughts into positive loving energy for this planet, our Mother. With love in light, Simone
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8/2/2019 2 Comments Loving kindness![]() This year in drum circle we’re focussing on developing our intuition. Not trying to be psychic, this is about tapping into the inner knowledge we all have. When you break it down, the word in-tuition is about learning from within. Intuition is our sixth sense, yet sadly most of us have been trained to ignore it. You wouldn’t cross a road blindfolded, or ask for directions and stick your fingers in your ears, but often we do the equivalent when if comes to interpreting guidance from our sixth sense - our intuition. Why? Sometimes it’s because we don’t want to know. We might get a clear message to do something we don’t want to, or be guided to do something that scares us or that will take us out of our comfort zone, then we allow voices of doubt/fear/judgement to become louder than our inner guidance. Only self love and esteem can quieten the other voices so we become brave enough to accept and act on the guidance we are given. Loving kindness meditation (blessing or prayer) is one way to begin the process of turning up the volume on our intuition. By sending love to ourselves and others we recover our self worth, build our esteem, and begin to quieten those other voices. This opens us to our soul's voice and we become aware of the abundant possibilities available to us. There is much information about loving kindness meditation on the internet which I encourage you to explore. However, here’s the steps that work best for me:
Focussed meditation is known to provide many benefits. However few practices act so quickly to let you feel the full force of the love within you.
Send loving kindness to: your precious (get you in the zone), yourself, loved ones, someone challenging. It only takes a few minutes and can be done anywhere. And if you really want to see the benefits try it in other situations: like a cranky-pants in a shop, or when someone who cut you off in traffic. Instead of saying or thinking your usual, start with ‘may you be healthy…’ and see where it takes you. You can scatter this blessing like rose petals wherever you go. I’d love to hear how it works for you. Huna principle number three is what I refer to as shamanism 101. It’s about being mindful of your thoughts to ensure you attract into your life those things that you want. It’s about manifestation, the whole premise of The Secret - a book and movie loads of people wanted to debunk, except the people who packaged it and were incredibly successful as a result. As with the other principles this information is not new. But we need reminding of how powerful our thoughts and words are. Whatever we think about we bring about. The Universe doesn’t differentiate between want and don’t want, it simply serves up a great big slice of whatever it is you focus on. Like that illness you are dreading. As Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Four Agreements, said we need to be impeccable with our word and thoughts because they have power. Florence Shovel Shinn taught “Change your thoughts, and in the twinkling of an eye, all your conditions change. Your world is a world of crystallized ideas, crystallized words. Sooner or later, you reap the fruits of your words and thoughts.” Sounds simple enough, but thoughts can be difficult to control. So we need to train ourselves with words. Here's how:
Huna principle number three is what I refer to as shamanism 101. It’s about being mindful of your thoughts to ensure you attract into your life those things that you want. It’s about manifestation, the whole premise of The Secret - a book and movie loads of people wanted to debunk, except the people who packaged it and were incredibly successful as a result.
As with the other principles this information is not new. But we need reminding of how powerful our thoughts and words are. Whatever we think about we bring about. The Universe doesn’t differentiate between want and don’t want, it simply serves up a great big slice of whatever it is you focus on. Like that illness you are dreading. As Don Miguel Ruiz, in The Four Agreements, said we need to be impeccable with our word and thoughts because they have power. Florence Shovel Shinn taught “Change your thoughts, and in the twinkling of an eye, all your conditions change. Your world is a world of crystallized ideas, crystallized words. Sooner or later, you reap the fruits of your words and thoughts.” 22/6/2018 0 Comments There are no limitsAt May Drum Circle we took a look at the 2nd Huna principle “there are no limits” and the premise that everything is connected.
Consider that if we plant a single seed it will reach its roots deep into the earth looking for nourishment and stretch up to towards the sun in search of energy, and when that great tree is fully grown the deepest root and the most distant leaf on the highest branch are still connected. Similarly, when we make a human two cells join together in the perfect conditions for life. There they multiply by dividing repeatedly, yet they remain connected. They all form part of the initially tiny person who eventually grows into one of us. In the same way as the leaf and root remain connected, so do our fingers and eyes. This is how practices such as reflexology and iridology work. Following this logic, we can go a step further and look at the big bang. Our entire universe erupted out of almost nothing. A pea, that exploded and is still expanding. Therefore, despite the unimaginable size of it, everything in the universe is connected. This has been explored as part of Chaos theory, and is why astrology can be incredibly accurate, why some people can read your energy, and why even the way you swirl your tea leaves can have meaning. It’s also what allows us to talk to animals, plants and rocks – under the right conditions. We are all of the same earth. The right conditions for this type of communication is belief. Trust in universal truths and our own abilities, to the exclusion of doubters. Use of our in-tuition – lessons from within. When we believe in the interconnectedness of all things the potential is unlimited. And that’s why we live in a world of infinite possibilities, where the universe can conspire to help you. For it has great hearing and provides instant feedback - if we listen. Stillness and listening are the key skills to tap into your intuition and get the guidance that the universe is giving you. Uncluttering your mind, clearing space from people and technology to ground yourself and simply wait for that small voice to prompt you. It might not tell you what you expect, but if you get an insight and follow it, you will soon know if you are on your path. For with the right intent, whatever you can imagine you can bring into being. Yesterday was the winter Solstice, today we celebrate the return of the light and with it the endless possibilities of what we can dream into being. There really are no limits. 10/5/2018 0 Comments The world is what you think it is![]() This year in Drum Circle we’re working our way through the seven Huna principles, as defined by Serge Kahili King in The Urban Shaman. The principles provide guidance on how to improve your life through healing relationships between mind/body, humans/nature, matter/spirit. This is done by cultivating love, gratitude, and compassion to overcome negative fear driven emotions such as guilt, envy, and anger. Thus, releasing the power that fear has over you and freeing you to shape your life with joy. Put simply, they’re another way of packaging universal truths that remind us how to be healthy and happy. This month, we’re working with the first principle… The world is what you think it is So, is today the oldest you’ve ever been or the first day of the rest of your life? Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? Or do you know that it’s refillable? The world is neutral. It’s only through the filter of our thoughts that it becomes good or bad. Even quantum mechanics has shown that things can change based on how we choose to measure them. Perception and consciousness make things true. Is the world scary or safe? Abundant or not enough? Are you healthy and happy? We dream our lives into being using focus, imagination and intent. So why not dream something fabulous? You might think it’s naive to walk around thinking things are good when so much is wrong with the world, but what’s the alternative? As I read recently, there’s no point worrying about things you can’t change, and no point worrying about things you can. When left with the choice to feel good or bad, feeling good seems obvious. Whether you think you can or think you can’t - you’re probably right The placebo effect has shown repeatedly that our mind can heal just as well as medication. Even in some studies when people knew they were taking a placebo. Loving and kind thoughts benefit our health. Expressing gratitude is one of the most psychologically powerful ways to fight feelings of sadness, anger and depression. Five minutes a day has been shown to increase longevity 5-10%. Confidence, determination, love, and forgiveness make us well and increase performance. When you perform an act of kindness, you strengthen your immune system, the other person's immune system, and anyone else who witnesses it. But thoughts can also make us ill. Negative fear-based thoughts like worry, anger and resentment deplete our immune systems. Bad memories aren’t upsetting because of what happened, they’re upsetting because of what you think about what happened. Be mindful of your thoughts, they are shaping your life In The Four Agreements, Toltec teachings that overlap and complement the Huna principles beautifully, Don Miguel Ruiz explains that we’ve been domesticated. Raised in our tribes we mindlessly take on their thinking patterns. Both Huna and Toltec teachings encourage us to review our beliefs and question whether what we think is actually true. What made you think that way? When/where did you form that opinion? Is it still true for you? Thoughts are our choice, with practice we can shift and control them. When people cut you off in traffic it’s no more personal than the wind changing direction. Don’t waste energy getting upset, use it as an opportunity to practice. Learn to laugh it off and your world, at least in your car, will be a happier place. The world is what you think it is - and what you think is your choice. You decide. 31/12/2017 0 Comments Making your new year countIt’s that time again, when we sit poised at the edge of a new year wondering where the last one disappeared to and contemplating what the next one will bring.
Some of us are tired, feeling out of control having worked or partied too hard. Some of us are bored, looking for others to entertain us having not spent enough time finding our flow. And some of us are frustrated having let another year pass without taking the initiative to drive our lives forward and shape them the way we want them to be. Spending time now to focus your intent for the next year can help to avoid letting another one slip away, which is what I was fortunate enough to do on the summer solstice at a ceremony hosted by Beáta Alföldi. The exercises were so simple and powerful, I thought I’d share a variation on them here so you all might have the opportunity to set yourself up for a magical 2018. There are 4 questions then a final exercise to be done with intent (not just mentally as you read through this). You might want to flick through the previous year’s calendar before you start, or mentally walk yourself through each of the months remembering the highlights. Find a space that feels sacred to you, then take the time to ponder each question separately. Consider writing them on separate cards or paper to hold as you do. Read them aloud, then close your eyes, breathe to ground yourself, and wait for the answer that bubbles up - not the one you think is appropriate.
When you have answered all four questions, centre yourself again, reflect on the answers that came up, then ask for one or two words to best describe what you need to cultivate to: build on what made you proud; strengthen your resolve not to tolerate what doesn’t benefit you; and help you achieve what you want from next year. The greater your intent, the more power this phrase will hold for you. You can also energise your commitment to yourself and your new year by bringing the phrase into form. Do it in a way that is significant to you that will keep it in mind for the year. Consider writing it on the bathroom mirror, setting it as your phone wallpaper, planting something in your garden to symbolise it, or creating your own artwork featuring the phrase. Whatever you choose, do it with focus and intent to support you having a magical and masterful 2018. In health and happiness, Sim xo My thanks to Beáta Alföldi for hosting the Solstice ceremony and creating the space to reflect on and celebrate last year, and mindfully move forward into the next. 20/11/2017 0 Comments Where to next?![]() “Next steps” is a phrase anyone working in the business world is familiar with. You present something that you’re working on, and the question at the end is always “where to next?” At work it’s easy, you look at the goal and work backwards from there to determine the steps to take. Why then, do we feel this is so much more difficult to do with our lives? We feel we’re ready and wanting to move forward, but we’re not sure which direction to take. Agile is another common business phrase. When used correctly, it means to try something one way and if it doesn’t work out to try again a different way. That’s it! Previously people referred to this as failing. It’s only failure if you stop. If you review what happened, adjust your approach and have another go, it’s learning. If you do this several times it’s experience, and often success. So how do you apply that to your life when you’re uncertain of where you want to end up? Simple, you just try something new. Anything, it doesn’t really matter so I suggest choosing something fun. As well as acquiring a different skill, learning something new:
There is always value in learning. Even if you’re learning things you think won’t lead anywhere, they can still help to inform you of the direction you don’t want to go in. There are countless ways to learn new things: DIY projects mean researching materials and techniques, which might help you understand why some tradies charge so much. You can learn at workshops, through books, the internet, free courses, community colleges, or your local library. Don’t know what to start with, start with you. Work on yourself, find out how to create joy, or improve your physical and mental health. Learn ways to motivate yourself - for me, waking up five years from now without moving forward is more scary than trying and failing at anything. If you want a change, it’s up to you to make it but you have to start. Sitting around waiting until you’re sure of your next step will bring success in one area – getting older, and you still won’t know what you want to do. Not having time is not an excuse either. If you don’t have time today and you don’t do anything differently you’re not going to create more hours in your week, you’ll only be creating less years in your life. Find the time, reprioritise your commitments, push yourself outside that comfort zone and find yourself a challenge. Because if you don’t the Universe will, and it will probably be based on all the scary stuff you’ve been focussing on rather than all the wonderful things you could be trying. Life is an adventure. Don’t spend it deciding how you’re going to participate. Play, experiment, be brave, fail spectacularly. If you don’t end up where you planned you will have had a loads of fun getting there. ---o0o--- Don't believe me? Check out this great example where a hospitality course led to a dream job in aged care:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-20/army-program-put-a-trainee-back-on-track-to-aged-care/9154570 |
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