Switch the Light on

Just occasionally, the light comes on. 

My lad John calls it an 'epiphany'. From the ancient Greek the word means  'manifestation, striking appearance' and some give it a religious connotation - a realisation that Christ is the son of God celebrated on the Feast of Epiphany on 6 January in the west.

I've had lights come on before (usually people say of me the lights on but no-one is at home!) at important times in my life when revelations have become clear, or something important has dawned on me.

The last weekend in January and this weekend just finishing in February, I have undertaken a course in EFT - or Emotional Freedom Technique. The first weekend was a foundation - an introduction to the history and techniques and this weekend, the Practitioners course, more practical use of the techniques we have learned with some additional bolt-ons.. 

I guess before I tell you about the epiphany, it is worth just a few lines on what EFT is. It is a modern meridian therapy, energy therapies that have developed in the last couple of decades yet with its origin in acupuncture and acupressure probably going back now over 3,000 years. Developed by Gary Craig, this tapping technique on the body's meridian points and the use of language is a calming and relaxation technique which stimulates the energy system to relieve stress and anxieties. 

I have long been a firm believer that negative emotions can turn into physical manifestations such as mental and physical illnesses - it disturbs the body's energy system. EFT clears the negative emotions to give someone 'appropriate emotions.'

So that's my layman's or inexperienced explanation of what it is. I will use it to help others. 

Like many therapies, (my other skill is in Reiki for example) the therapist benefits tremendously from self healing for all the obvious reasons really. Being self healed and understanding what is happening to your own body and emotions help empower me to do the therapies with a clearer mind and a healthier aspect to my life.

By clearing some of the negative emotions in our training, some of which have been around for years, I have been helped to see the wood for the trees. My path in life has become clearer. Explanations for my negative emotions, my stresses and anxieties have become known and some of them go back donkeys years yet condition my behaviour and reactions today. 

My epiphany or the light has come on through understanding why I have felt like I have for many years, how I am not going to accept being treated in the future like I have in the past and to have the confidence and courage to face the fear of making decisions for me - and the for the better. EFT has given me the tools to do that and help other people too. I am joyous, calm and excited about the future.

People have limited beliefs which block their progress in life (my teacher said I'd never amount to anything, someone said it wasn't possible to achieve something, i don't deserve it, people like us don't achieve anything in life, good girls don't do that, you'll never marry, you are too ugly, and so on and so forth.)

Emotions can have physical manifestations such as pain, being scared (spiders, dentists, flying, claustrophobia and so on) and EFT can help these situations and clear negativity and put people on the path to a change in their life.

Interesting times ahead as someone once said.

Hope you are keeping warm this winter?

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Look Up

With two of my children and I being interested in history, I have always told them to look up when they are looking at buildings. Look up and see wonderful things, higher up - usually decorative which become a talking point. In Hull, there are many old buildings going back centuries which survived the bombing in the war and there are many things to wonder at and behold.

I don't know the technical terms for these things, but there are many colourful crests and sculptures, carved words and phrases, ornate windows, quaint roofs and tiling. All quite surprising really and gives us clues about the past.

I was walking down the old town in Hull the other day going to a meeting held in an old  converted corn exchange. The exchange itself isn't that old, built in 1899 on the site of a much older building but as is my want, I was day dreaming on my walk down there and looking up to the tops of buildings and I was disappointed to see a buddleia bush growing out of a window moulding on the top of a very nice building. I did think this was a real shame and whilst I appreciate it might cost a few bob to have it removed, why don't people want to protect their investment? The roots of the buddleia must be a capillary for water to drain into the building during the rain.

I was privileged to teach four students over the weekend with my co-tutor Linda Lee for their Second Degree Reiki qualification. This allows them and equips them to enter the heady world of being a Reiki Practitioner.

Reiki is a lovely gentle healing tool using a hands-on technique to channel universal life force energy into a client. The course itself is a sacred event with the disclosure of symbols to the practitioner which when used in conjunction with the healing enhances and gives more power to the healing process.

The age range of the students was phenomenal from a young lady in her twenties, a qualified nurse to a retired public servant.    

The day consists of the theory bit, the symbols and how they can be used and then an attunement followed by a practical where two volunteers come in to be healed by the newly accredited Reiki students.  It was a wonderful day and the feedback was fantastically positive.

The day has been bitterly cold today with a keen easterly wind. We never got the snow that was forecast for us, yet our cousins across the pond got many centimetres of snow on the eastern seaboard of the USA. The office was warm for a change and for the first time since well before Christmas, I haven't worn a jumper inside.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

A Day Out in Yorkshire

I hope I find you all well this cold winter's day? I've had a bit whirring round my mind lately and so haven't been able to blog effectively, but I've had a fabulous day out today, so I thought it worthwhile sharing the experience with you.

A trip to West Yorkshire was on the cards for today and for those not in the know geographically, East Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire make up the greater component of Yorkshire. Being so huge it has always been necessary to split the county up administratively and to travel from one side to the other can take in some cases at least two hours and that's using motorways.

Main Street Haworth looking down the very steep hill

The first port of call was a little hamlet called Haworth in what is locally known as Bronte country. The countryside is very hilly, isolated and even today after the vast majority of the snow has gone in the country, this area is so high and rugged, it still has snow laying in the fields where it has piled against dry stone walls and hedgerows. 

West along the M62 motorway and then north with the great city of Bradford just to our right, we passed through beautiful rural countryside with distant mountainous hills in the distance resplendent with the snow on the tops bathed in sunlight. We graced little villages with lovely quaint names - Hippoholme (there were many equestrian centres and lots of horses in fields), Stone Chair and Flappit Spring.

The vast majority of the houses are built of stone, even the modern estates are sympathetic to this style of construction although there is some need of tidying up in some rural locations which look a little worse for wear.

Haworth itself is a smallish village if not somewhat spread out with fantastically steep hilly roads which the faint hearted driver would cower at! The Main Street is cobbled and narrow at the top and has a small range of quaint shops catering for the local tourist trade and consists of crafts, cafes, second hand shops and spiritual things. The street is steep and you have to be reasonably fit to walk it but there are plenty of shops and a couple of cafes and pubs in which to catch your breath. Although I didn't visit it, there is the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. The line was opened in 1867 and runs steam trains at certain times and featured in the 1970 film 'The Railway Children.'

Salts Mill

After a cuppa and a browse round the shops we drove some 5 miles to Salts Mill which is in the town of Saltaire. As the name suggests, this is a huge and well preserved mill originally opened in 1853 which is now home to a collection of David Hockney art, a cafe, antique centre, a book store and a home shop. It is sadly underused although some of the mill is used by private businesses not open to the public. The mill itself is in a fabulous state of repair and the old features such as the vaulted brick ceilings, stone floors and original fittings are still in evidence.

A display case with a range of chemists medicine bottles - brings back memories of my own local  chemists shop, 50 years ago.

We didn't see the Hockney exhibition, through time constraints, but all in all a great day in dry weather. Haworth will be worth another visit because a lot of the shops were closed and it was too cold to spend a lot of time wandering about, a summer weekend visit is in order I think.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.