Autumn

We've had a lot of rain and strong winds here. It's feeling very Autumnal. It's colder, damp in the air. I really realised the change of season had come when I noticed the leaves were dropping last weekend: there was a slow but steady stream of yellow and orange raining gently past the window as I stared out.

And yet there are still many fine days and moments of sun and warmth, and along with the rain that has brought some lovely rainbows. I'm always astonished by how uplifted I feel when I see a rainbow. The colour sequence is so perfect and mesmerising...not good when you're driving!

...taken through the windscreen....

I was particularly glad to see this one though. We were all having a tough journey home late in the day. I never thought I'd feel so moved thinking about the wonderful world we live in at Junction 21 on the M60, it's usually not a place of great beauty! But it brought us all back to centre when nothing else was working.

Feeling clear

It's a good feeling, knowing how you feel. I'm enjoying getting really clear about a few things. Admittedly, a few rather BIG things. None of these feelings are new to me, in fact some are really old. There's no shock revelations happening here, but something's shifted in my clarity on these issues and the strength of my resolve to find and follow my path.

Home I am ready to go home to the hills.

Trust  It will all work out ok. We'll end up where we're meant to be.

Weight
Lose- I'm tall. I carry it pretty well. Ah I'm ok..it doesn't matter...
Gain- I am really happy with me but I don't like carrying this little bit of extra person about. It's not that much but it's going. Forever.

Fitness I want to be strong and healthy. I want to learn to run. I want to chase the children until they're tired.

Spirituality There is space in my life for devotion but not for dogma. Find that space.

Money Look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves. An oldie but a goody!

Abundance There is enough. There will always be enough.

Generosity Trust in abundance, give. Be generous to myself, take when I need to.

Of course, knowing these things is SO easy.... moving towards living this all the time is harder, but I'm refusing to sabotage my happiness as I have so many times in the past. It really doesn't matter if I mess up, I need to just keep on keeping on.

The Hills

We answered the call of this hills this weekend and took a walk near my Mum's. I've been to this place so many times, but not for a long while. It was great to return with the children.

Calf Hey Reservoir, Haslingden

Note that Esme is a dot in the distance. She was so excited to be in the hills she ran off ahead, we didn't see her for another couple of hours as she begged my Mum to walk with her over the hills and far away. Magnus' legs couldn't manage going "up bonk". He did surprisingly well walking the low route and on his scooter though....

and he's very much a big boy now in most other respects too.....no help required!

Esme and Mum finally descended from the hills. Mum said Esme had talked ALL the way and been ahead dragging her along.

 We met some nice rescue donkeys and raided the allotments (with permission) for eggs for tea.

this one bit me!

a country girl at heart 

A good day ;)

Balsam

I'm aching here. I went to a Jivamukti yoga workshop today, it was relatively short but quite different to what I normally do in Ashtanga yoga. It was really fun and challenging, and it's left me feeling excited and keen to get back into my practice groove, which has become a little erratic lately. I wish I could put an extra hour into the morning so I can fit it in there, I need some timetabled space for it, preferably not at 9pm!

I was a little worried about how I might be tempted to compare myself to all the slim and slinky hip young things at the class this morning, Jivamukti seems to be a pretty cool, rock'n'roll way to practice and I'm not really either of those things ;) 

But I'd been playing with the angel cards a friend gave me this morning and I had a mantra that really helped me stay present in the moment. "Goddess of Beauty. You are a wondrous being of light: there is nothing to change or fix." 

I wasn't for one moment tempted to wish I had a smaller bum or was better at wrapping my arms around my back or that I could do the splits. I wasn't bothered about what I looked like at all, I even forgot about the crusty impetigo on my face (Esme kindly shared with me...). This was a lovely soothing mantra to carry with me today. 

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I remember seeing these types of affirmations in the past and feeling a little embarrassed by how cheesey they seemed. As if you'd stand in the mirror and say these things to yourself! As if just saying something could really make things happen for you. Be serious! But actually, the more I've used affirmations lately, the more I'm growing to like them and the sense of calm they bring. It's like an anchor, something you've decided can hold you steady when everything around might niggle you otherwise. Perhaps they are also a way of holding space to allow things to manifest for you.

It seems there's even more power in creating your own affirmations to help with everyday situations that are challenging your inner calm, and to bring yourself good fortune. Another friend gave me the tip of being totally non-specific, so there's some flexibility about how your wishes might be fulfilled. I'll use my own recent example of uncertainty about where we might be living. It wouldn't be that helpful to say "We will sell our house and move to the house in the hills with the red door as soon as possible". The mantra I came up with in this instance was "The space our family needs to reach it's full potential will be there for us, when we are ready for it". 

By using the mantra I can allow the energy to flow to where it needs to be, I can stop myself getting carried away thinking about all the endless possibilities of what might happen by coming back to this simple phrase. It's a balsam for my overactive mind, an antidote to worry, a reminder to trust it will all work out: restorative, healing. It's got to be a good thing!

Anyway, if all that's too way out, how about a nice Balsam bath? I had one just now and it soothed my achey muscles...still not sure I'll be able to walk tomorrow though ;)

Balsam Bath Bag

Gather 2 handfuls of young pine needles. Put in a muslin bag (I actually used an old sock tonight) and (get a small child to) bruise with a wooden mallet or rolling pin. Run a hot bath and put the bag into the water.

Add essential oils of your choice- pine or eucalyptus would be good for achey muscles. Soak, relax!