Do you ever feel that your thoughts and feelings are careering out of control just like water heading towards a waterfall? That was me last night! My son has just passed his driving test and is off out into the world, he has just set off this morning to drive to work for the first time and I'm feeling proud, excited for him and also terrified. Of course it's 'just' those normal mama fears when your child makes a huge 'step up' dragging you along behind them; they are riding the rapids of life shrieking and embracing it and we have to take a while to adjust to this new, more independant person in our life.
Fear, the emotion of the Winter time and the Water element is the feeling of resisting the flow of life like trying to paddle up stream against the current, hard work and ultimately futile and of course it is also a physiological response, a self protective way of keeping you safe and ready to escape the cave lion that lurks round every corner. When I feel fear, after resisting it for a while and paddling furiously upstream trying to ignore it, I try to indulge it and go with the flow of my thoughts, I dive into it and explore the murky depths, just this process releases the fearful feelings and I can get some perspective again, for a while anyway ....I'm now just going to wait for his text to arrive to say he's arrived safely :) ...wishing you a flowing, gorgeous day, love Carol x The full moon's influence can be felt two days before and two days after it's peak. This means there is still time to stand outside for a moment and soak up the silver light from this wonderful full moon. In the Medicine Wheel traditions crystals and sacred items are placed out under the full moon light to clean, clear and reinvigorate. I think this can be the same for us. The glow from the moon reminds us to not sweat the small stuff and helps us to reset a little. Let us know how you get on if you got out to moon-bathe. Sarah-Jayne x
The Winter season brings the opportunity for a deep calmness and clarity; while we often associate movement with the Water element because of babbling brooks and the mighty tidal oceans it is also associated with the stillness, seen and felt in the peace of snow, the inperceptible movement of a glacier and the softness of misty rain. In this still and peaceful place we can then find clarity; a deep moment to get beneath the busy-ness of the minutes, the days and the weeks to reconnect to ourself and the essence of who we are. So at the start of another busy week, remember to take a moment (maybe with a glass of water ;) ) to reconnect to the peace and stillness of YOUR water element and breathe...wishing you a peaceful week full of stillness and clarity Carol and Sarah-Jayne xx
It is full moon tonight. It is cloudy in mid devon but last night it filled the sky with beautiful silver light. Full moons are a great time to reflect on where you are in life and what has blossomed since the new moon. Emotions (water element) may be heightened as we feel the pull and strength of the moon's silver reflected light. Take some time if you can to journal, draw or just ask yourself how you are doing right now. Its a wonderful time for a check in. Enjoy your weekend, lots of love Sarah-Jayne and Carol.
'Best foot forward' is a great expression for Water energy...both the kidney and bladder meridian flow through the feet and the legs therefore supporting us to physically walk through our life. These meridians also help us get into our stride mentally and emotionally, helping us step up, step forward and move forward with our dreams, creating a gorgeous flow. My affirmation for today is 'I put my best foot forward and find my natural flow'....how are you putting your best foot forward today? Have a great day, love Carol x
The Water element of Winter time is the deepest, most yin, time of the year, it therefore reflects the deepest part of us. The kidney meridian holds the imprint or message of our ancestral chi or energy and includes our DNA and those inherited cycles and patterns that we may have carried with us over eons of time. Exciting new discoveries in the field of epigenetics are now showing us that although we may inherit the tendancy towards a certain life experience, it is our environment and how we choose to live our life, that is most influencial to the outcome of our life. This perfectly flows with the Water element; water is the ultimate transformer, it can be solid, liquid or gas, it is not confined or determined by its origin but adapts and moves with its environment. As we are in this deep reflective time now is the time to dive deep into those patterns and cycles that we take for granted, explore them and see if they are really 'you' or just an energy echo of the past. After this exploration consider how you would like to be and create a new message for yourself. One way to do this is to write down an affirmation or a word that you would like to embody and place it under a glass of water over night, in the morning the water will hold the message you wrote, sip the water through the day to embody the new message. Facilitated by a Kinesiology session earlier this week, I have been pondering and diving deep and it is fascinating what you find floating in the melt water!...time for some new messages...have a glorious day, with love Carol x
Water, the element of the Winter season, has long been used as a healing medium, from seaside convalescent homes to 'taking the waters' at the many spa towns that grew up during the Victorian era. In Germany today Kneip therapy (after Bavarian priest Sebastian Kneip) or hydrotherapy is still part of the mainstream health care offering.
Here are a few ways I use water as part of my own health toolkit... ~ Hot and cold showers, these may sound unpleasant but they are invigorating and wonderful for getting the system going. Start by warming your body up with warm water, then slowly decrease the temperature until you feel slightly uncomfortable and keep this temperature for 30 seconds or so then raise the temperature again, repeat several times. The hot and the cold stimulates the circulatory system and so 'massages' the lymphatic system encouraging the release of toxins. ~ Epsom salt baths, dissolving magnesium sulphate crystals into your bath water and having a long soak is intensely relaxing. (Magnesium is the relaxer mineral) ~ Cooling calf wraps, I used these many many times when my boys were little and had a temperature. Soak a cotton towel in water and wring out thoroughly, wrap around the calves and rinse and replace about every 15 minutes. I found this particularly effective when the fever seemed to be in the head making them delirious, it was instantly calming and soothing. ~ General body wraps, using the same principle as the calf wraps I have used these to ease sore throats. ~ Feet paddling, this is great for getting rid of headaches, feeling more grounded and promoting restful sleep. Walk up and down in a bath of cool water or outside on wet grass, this calms a busy brain I find. Have you tried any of these techniques, we would love hear how you got on... lots of love Carol x As I was laying in bed this morning feeling a bit out of sorts I was thinking about the nature of health and healing. There is so much dogma saying this is the way, THE only way, to find health and happiness when in truth I believe there are many ways. Such dogma is the opposite of health, it is stuck and stagnant with no room for individuality, free flow or vitality.
Real health, I believe, is about growing and adapting, considering new approaches, rolling with the punches, doing the best we can with what we have and know at the time. The Water element gives us this gift of change and transformation, in nature water finds the easy way, the beauty way, moving through the land carving new pathways as it keeps flowing always onwards full of life force and vitality. So whenever we feel out of sorts it might be worth considering where change is beckoning, a new river bed wanting to be explored and see where we are getting stuck in our ways and holding ourselves back against the flow of life. I'm off now to explore this for myself ❄🌊💧❄💧🌊 have a free flowing day, love Carol x Winter and the Water element bring an opportunity to see things clearly, this is the time when you literally can see the wood for the trees as the bare landscape opens up and we see what is really there. As well as getting clarity on the way forward, the starkness can also feel overwhelming, leaving us feeling frozen, overwhelmed and fearful. If you are feeling the latter then use the Winter energy to really nourish your Water element, make sure you are fully hydrated by drinking plenty of water (hot or cold), take grounding walks in nature (the Earth element controls the Water element in the 5 element cycle), keep your kidneys extra warm by wrapping a scarf around your middle (the cold is seen as injurious to the Water element) and get plenty of rest.
Today in Devon it is gorgeous, bright and quite chilly, feels like we are going to dive deep into Winter at last ❄❄ wishing you an awesome and clarifying day, lots of love Carol x |
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December 2017
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