Hello my dear friends.
 
I love stories... 
 
And I hope one day to write a story of my very own.
 
Recently I came across this little video which is the introduction to the book “Moominland Midwinter” by Tove Jansson: https://youtu.be/7HCceZMp4wI
 
The actual book tells the story of ‘Moomintroll’ who woke up early from the hibernation period that he and his family embark on each year throughout the harsh winter.
 
Moomintroll can’t get back to sleep, so he decides to stay awake for the remainder of the winter season.
 
He becomes increasingly more and more angry at the sun’s absence, at the winter snowstorms - and at those who seem able to enjoy rather than resent the season of mid-winter.
 
This story - as most fairy stories do - holds vast amounts of learning!!
 
This story for me, especially during another lockdown deep in midwinter, reminds me of the lessons that can be learned if we choose:

• Learning to live with uncertainty
• How we sometimes have to get lost before we can truly find ourselves
• Surrendering to the rhythms of life rather than resisting them.

 And so my dear friend I invite you to let the energy of ‘Moomin’ into your life today! 
 
Let’s surrender to the rhythm of midwinter and move ever so slowly out of hibernation (the pandemic is certainly helping us with this!!!)
 
Here are some of the things I’ve been doing recently, moving gently into my day:

• Rising before the rest of the household.
• Lighting a candle for a time before switching on the lights.
• Having a bath or shower in candlelight. You don’t just have to do this at night!
• Listening to soothing music as I work.
• Nourishing myself throughout the day with hot drinks, soups and stews.​

 Working at a slower pace, allowing ideas and plans to take root at their own pace - as who knows what 2021 will look like moving forward.
 
Taking naps if I need to. If I’m working I might take a nap instead of a walk after I’ve eaten. I trust my flow.
 
I don’t allow myself to get caught up in the ‘shoulds’ of new year resolutions.
 
In essence, I’m still resting and nourishing myself just as Mother Nature is all around me.
 
Remember spring is just around the corner.
 
Until then my friend, keep cozy, keep snuggling in.
 
Sending all my love and warm midwinter light...
 
Maureen xx

Hello!
 
Just popping out of my hibernation cave on this shortest day of the year to wish you a Happy Winter Solstice and to send you all my love and light for the Festive Season.
 
It’s been a difficult year that has often left us in dark places. However, a new solar cycle begins today with the arrival of the Winter Solstice.

​After experiencing the longest night and darkest day, we are about to journey towards the Summer Solstice when the nights will grow shorter and the days become brighter.
 
Meantime, the energy of HOPE wraps her arms around us reminding us that, for now, we need the darkness of Winter to rest and renew so that we can grow once more in the Spring when I’m sure a brand-new life awaits us all.
 
So for now it’s time to slow down, snuggle up and enjoy a cup of something soothing and warm, knowing that those brighter days lie ahead.
 
Abundant blessings to you in the coming year my friend.
 
Maureen xx

Samhain for many people including me, is a celebration more like New Year. It is a time when it feels although the veils between the earthly and spiritual worlds become closer and we remember and honour our ancestors.

The Gaelic meaning of Samhain is “summer’s end”. The end of the natural circle of life and the beginning of a new year.

This festival always reminds me that it is time to STOP - and believe you me that doesn’t always come easy. It’s a lesson I am having to learn over and over again!!

And so this Samhain, a bit like making a New Year’s Resolution, I am really going to strive to release the need to DO over the winter months and, like those autumn leaves, let go and just BE.

As COVID rages all around me I will - by the looks of it - be forced more than ever to stop and spend more time indoors than I have for a long time.

It is my intention, during this dark phase, to truly take time to rest, renew and reflect upon the roads I have already travelled and look toward the roads that I can choose to travel when the light returns once more.

As I enter my hibernation cave you may not hear much from me over the Winter months. So, until we connect again, always remember there are many beautiful gifts waiting to be discovered if we are simply willing to stop and take a deep dive into the darkness.

On this ancient Celtic festival my friend - on the dawn of a New Year - I invite you to become courageously curious and embark upon a path to your own inner world by asking yourself the following questions:

• What in your life needs to be prioritized?
• What area of your life needs to see more of the light?
• What is worth STOPPING for?

Much love always

Maureen xx

Hello everyone

I write to you today from my hibernation cave - aka my beloved bedroom sanctuary - and I am wrapped in the arms of stillness, silence and solitude reflecting upon what I have harvested in the last 12 months.

As I reflected, the picture below caught my eye. It was a gift from my late Father when I was around 10 years old. I can remember, at the time, briefly glancing at it not realising that some forty years later it would become one of my most precious possessions.

Within the red frame is the poem “Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann and it is said that he was inspired to write this after journaling about “desire”, (Desiderata means desire in Latin and translates to ‘desired things’).
The following words brought tears to my eyes…
​
“You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”

In that moment I realised that in the last 12 months my own desire was to “harvest happiness”; to truly CHOOSE ME, to meet my own needs, to discover what was best for me and do everything in my power to make that desire come true.

I met that desire by immersing myself in Mother Nature, trying wherever possible to live and work in alignment with her seasons, trusting that she would keep me grounded and balanced even amidst the darkness of COVID-19 which made me at times very much doubt that the “universe was unfolding as it should.”

Today Mother Nature once again brings me back to balance by inviting me to reflect upon The Autumn Equinox which entered the UK energy field on Tuesday the 22nd September. The word “equinox” is of Latin origin and means “equal night”, the time of the year when day and night are of equal length.

The Autumn Equinox reminds me to balance all aspects of my life. To honour both the day and the night, the light and the dark, the good and the bad, happiness and sadness, the ups and the downs, the rollercoaster that is this wonderful life.

One of the ways I bring balance to my life is to simply “check in” with myself as the day begins and “check out” again as it ends. I call these my “bookends”. 

Here I feel into my seasons and honour what messages they are giving me. So, for example, if my energy is very low during my morning check in, I might have to retreat, rest, and renew in my Winter season and hibernate as much as I can throughout the day. If my energy is steeped in Spring and Summer, those are the days I can create or act on my “to-do” list. I often find myself in Autumn at the end of my day, reflecting upon what I have managed to harvest that day.

As well as reminding us to bring balance to our lives the Autumn Equinox invites us to go within and let go of old ideas, limited beliefs, habits, and actions that no longer serve us. Just as the leaves in Autumn release their grip and fall to the ground creating compost for new life to grow we too can do the same, creating fertile soil in which to plant our dream seeds for the following year.
​
Autumn is the time to acknowledge and honour our own seasons of growth, harvest, death, and rebirth.

And so my friend, as the days become shorter and the nights grow longer and the lingering threat of COVID-19 surrounds us, it may feel as if you are descending into darkness and for many that can feel quite uncomfortable. I encourage you however to embrace the darkness and listen to its messages.
​
Use the forthcoming seasons of Autumn and Winter to snuggle in, be gentle with yourself and acknowledge and reflect upon your own seasons and life cycle. 

Are there any areas of your life in which you can create new growth in order to harvest more happiness in 2021? Remember too that the Light will shine upon us once more with the arrival of the Winter Solstice in December and as the final sentence of the Desiderata poem says…

“With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy”.

Sending you love, light and happiness this Autumn

Maureen x

P.S. Click HERE to listen to a beautiful guided meditation by Kez Kristiansen which can help heal anxiety and disconnect through Nature. 

You can also connect with me on a deeper level or read the blogs which describe my journey with Mother Nature in the last year at www.ichooseme.org.uk

Hello

How are you doing? How are you feeling?
 
When we last connected, we were celebrating the energy of the Summer Solstice, endings, and new beginnings. (Click HERE if you missed our last blog).
 
I also wrote that I intended to use the energy of Summer to invite new energy into my life by reflecting upon the following questions:
 
-          What does my life look like now that it is reduced to ashes?
-          What rich new life can take root now? 
-          What can I create? 
-          What transformation will come as this phoenix rises from the ashes?
 
As I began to reflect, I could feel FEAR rising within me. I froze.
 
The questions were asking too much of me. They felt like they were going to lead to change, too much change. I usually embrace change, but this was overwhelming … exhausting.
 
WHAT WAS I SCARED OF?  I HAD NO IDEA!
 
My mind was pleading, “please, no more change, enough is enough”, my heart was saying “hush, just take a breath, we’ll work it out, but for now just breathe”.
 
I took a breath, and another and another. I listened to my heart. I listened to it in silence and solitude trusting that it would lead the way.
 
My heart first of all guided me to rest – I rested.
 
It then guided me to meditate in silence and with intention on the following questions:
 
-          WHAT WAS I SCARED OF WALKING AWAY FROM?
-          WHAT WAS I SCARED OF WALKING BACK TO?
-          WHAT WAS I SCARED OF WALKING TOWARDS?
 
No answers came and I could feel the fear creeping in once more trying to invade my whole body.
 
My heart hushed me once more and guided me to surrender into its arms wholly and completely
– I surrendered.
 
My heart then asked me to listen again – I listened.
 
I heard a little voice deep within me saying…
 
 “My darling you, in the last year you have discovered freedom; freedom to live in seasons, to write stories, to embrace your introverted self, to live in silence and solitude, to potter, to BE more than DO, to meet your own needs, to CHOOSE YOU.
 
You are fearful now of inviting more change into your life in case it imprisons you again through over- doing, over-pleasing, over-working, and falling back into the dis-ease of co-dependency. Can you answer the questions of your heart now little one?
 
I could:

• I WAS SCARED OF WALKING AWAY FROM MY FREEDOM
• I WAS SCARED OF WALKING BACK TO BEING IMPRISONED BY MY ADDICTION TO CODEPENDENCY.
• I WAS SCARED OF WALKING TOWARDS MORE CHANGE THAT COULD TAKE AWAY MY NEW-FOUND FREEDOM.

 
In essence, I was in fear of losing all I had harvested so far in the last year.
 
I was terrified of once again not having my needs met and forgetting to choose me, forgetting to nourish and nurture the seeds I had planted earlier in the year, the SEEDS OF MY OWN NEEDS.
 
Once again, I could hear the words of Abraham Maslow who, funnily enough, created the Hierarchy of Human Needs…
 
“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”

In that moment of sweet release my fear left me, my heart cracked wide open and I cried tears of sweet relief. 

And so today on the 1st of August I find myself celebrating once more. I am not only celebrating the festival of Lammas, which marks the annual wheat harvest and is the first harvest festival of the year, I am celebrating and embracing all the CHANGE and transformation I have accomplished so far in the last year and all the hard work that has gone into creating this change. 
 
I am also acknowledging that harvesting a bountiful crop is hard work and takes up a lot of energy. And so as we reach this mid-point of summer, I am reminded to rest and refuel my energy tank as much as I can in the months ahead, which no doubt will involve even more change as I take the tentative steps out of lockdown and step out into a world which has changed dramatically in such a short period of time.
 
I can see now too that the FEAR I felt previously was a messenger.
 
It was reminding me that personal growth, just like growing a garden is hard work and involves a lot of perseverance. Personal growth also involves lots of change and to hide away from change is like giving up on our beautiful gardens in the middle of summer and letting them wither away just as they are about to burst into bloom and brightness.
 
My fear taught me to finish what I started, to accomplish all that I have worked for so far. To allow myself to be transformed into a beautiful wild garden, to grow and flourish in the seasons and harvest a year where I met my own needs first and CHOSE ME.
 
And so my friend as we enter into the last few weeks of Summer, I invite you to feel into what you would like to harvest in the next few months as we ease out of lockdown and into a new way of being.

• Do you have any fears that are preventing you from reaping that harvest?
• If so, using the remaining energy of Summer, what action could you take to stop that from happening?

 
I invite you also to be gentle with yourself, and take time to acknowledge how hard it’s been for you over the last few months when the pandemic forced change into your lives some of which may not have been wanted.
 
Give yourself credit for the way in which you handled this change, take a breath, listen, and maybe you can see too just how much your own garden has grown and evolved.
 
I am off now to tend to my own wild garden, ensuring I’ve done all I can to reap a bountiful harvest in Autumn and I’ll be in touch then to celebrate with you some more.
 
Sending all my love on this sacred day,
 
Maureen xx

Hi there

A few weeks ago, I posted a little love note to you about how I crave SOLITUDE and how it is my intention moving forward to follow Mother Nature’s lead and begin to live my life slowly and simply.
This weekend with the arrival of the Summer Solstice, a New Moon and a Solar Eclipse, it feels like the perfect time to celebrate this new energy!

The arrival of Summer and the longest day of the year energizes, refreshes and renews my spirit and I feel alive. When the sun does shine, it blazes strong and bright and everything feels on fire, ignited and celebratory!

Even the introvert within me wants to celebrate!

• I want to light my fire!!
• Not on the dance floor I might add!
• I want to celebrate my own inner fire. 
• I want to acknowledge and celebrate everything I have accomplished in the last year.

I want to celebrate the strong woman who was willing to take risks, who stepped into her vulnerability and let go of what was no longer serving her. The woman who embraced her introverted self, who created strong boundaries, who nourished and nurtured herself.

I want to celebrate choosing me!

How am I going to celebrate? 

I’m going to light a fire at precisely 10:43pm on Saturday in my back garden!

If it rains - and with me living in Scotland there’s a good chance that it will - I’ll light a candle and reflect in silence, giving gratitude to all those things my inner fire helped me accomplish this year. 
Note, there may also be some marshmallows and red wine on the go too.

Actually, there’s no might’s about it – this is a celebration after all!

I will also let go of all the things I didn’t get done.  These thoughts will be reduced to ashes. I worked hard, I survived a pandemic, I did my best and that was enough.

I will also acknowledge that with every new beginning there has to be an end – just like the seasons.
The days following on from the Summer Solstice will start growing shorter again as the northern hemisphere begins to tilt away once more from the sun. 

This, alongside the possibility of rain dampening my celebration on Saturday, could make me feel sad. However, I will remember that the sun will be reborn again at the Winter Solstice and the cycle of growth and renewal will begin all over again.

And so, it is only right that I celebrate these endings too! 

As I acknowledge and celebrate the year that has gone by, I can also give thanks for the growth it brought me and I can let it go now into the burning flames – its purpose complete.

If I wish, I can reflect deeper to see if there are any other aspects of my life that are no longer serving me that need to succumb to the flames also.

As the evening ends and all that is left are the embers of my fire, I will use the energy of Summer to invite new energy into my life. 

• What does my life look like now that it is reduced to ashes?
• What rich new life can take root now? 
• What can I create? 
• What transformation will come as this phoenix rises from the ashes?

My friend I invite you to join me in this celebration. 
Don’t worry, I don’t mean literally in my back garden – after all some of us are still in lockdown!!
I invite you to celebrate with me from the fire in your own heart – to connect together this Summer Solstice as a global community in whatever way you choose.

You too may wish to reflect on the last year and on the year to come …… just think it will be like New Year all over again but slightly warmer!

This Summer Solstice let us join together and use the flames of summer to burn away our divisions, disconnects and differences and celebrate endings, new beginnings, oneness, community, and love.
I hope you can join me. If not, I hope you will feel my love and radiant light on Saturday night!

Maureen xx

Hello again

I hope this little love note from my heart to yours finds you safe and well.

Back in February this year I wrote about “embracing our seasons” (to view, please click HERE) – well, what a season the end of Winter and Spring turned out to be!!

Instead of growth and new beginnings, it felt like we were being forced back into that hibernation cave as we were engulfed in the darkness of a worldwide pandemic.

Many of us felt uncertainty, panic, fear and anxiety and initially I too felt these emotions. However, as the world began to quieten and I watched the trees turn to green, the skies and the rivers becoming clearer and the birdsong becoming louder, I became calmer as I witnessed Mother Nature holding us safe and grounded in her arms and embracing us in the energy of hope.

Instead of rushing about trying “to do” to fill the time, I chose “to be” and began to mirror the energy of this nature, to be gentle with myself, to weather the storms, and overall beginning to live slowly and simply, trusting I would be guided.
​
The arrival of Spring and the sensational rays from the sunny skies above energised me even more and - despite all the uncertainty surrounding me - I used the extended lockdown to enter a deeper period of reflection and I came to realise just how much of an introvert I am.
I came to realise I crave SOLITUDE.

For years I had tried to fit in to a world which is designed mostly for extroverts – our schools, workplaces and social institutions have been created to stimulate. Extroverts crave stimulation.

Too much stimulation can exhaust introverts and if not kept in check can lead to burn out, anxiety and depression.

If it wasn’t for the pandemic I doubt I would have realised just how much I need solitude. It’s like oxygen for me and as Susan Cain the author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” says…

“Solitude matters, and for some people, it’s the air they breathe”.

In this book she explains why we need to also appreciate the talents and abilities of introverts. After all, where would we be without the likes of Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, J K Rowling, and Mark Zuckerberg who founded Facebook!

This reflection then guided me to a deeper realisation. The introvert in me played a big part in why I changed my business name to I CHOOSE ME.

For most of my life I was living in what I now call my Great Forgetting – forgetting that I was an introvert.

This caused much dis-ease in my life and led to me becoming an addict. My addiction of choice is co-dependency which in essence means I believed that my own needs should be sacrificed for those of others, regardless of the consequences to my own physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

My recovery path means that I have had to learn how to CHOOSE me – to connect to myself, to meet my own basic human needs, to create safe and strong boundaries for myself, to nourish and nurture myself – in essence to take time out to remember who I truly am – an introverted soul who, like Mother Nature, needs solitude, silence and simplicity to survive.

Little did I know back in February that the Universe in the shape of Mother Nature was guiding me to this realisation. I didn’t have to create that beautiful wild garden, it was being created for me. The only thing I had to do was slow down and let nature take its course with my life.

I have no idea where she is going to take me next but it’s my intention to surrender into her arms even more, to follow her lead and live slowly and simply to the beat of her drum and the rhythm of her seasons.

As Claude Monet says: “it is my wish to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature”.
Until next time my friend it is my greatest wish that you too follow your heart’s desire.

Much love

Maureen xx

As my good friend George always says...”here’s a thing”...

Have you ever noticed that life gives us lots and lots of chances to learn about choices?

One minute we feel stuck and the next minute we’re on a rollercoaster ride which we’ll either experience as being exhilarating or way out of control.

When life feels stuck we might long to make changes and perhaps try out that rollercoaster ride but equally sometimes when life feels out of control we long for the security that comes from staying on solid ground.

If we can become more aware of our gift of choice we can begin to accept that there will always be things that happen to us that we would never choose in a million years, however, there are things in our life that we can choose to make happen or not.

I’ve experienced both in the last 53 years and I’ve come to realise that it’s very important to be aware of the difference between the two. The more I accepted and practiced the second option the happier I became.

In the picture below I’m on a rollercoaster ride with my husband and son when he was a wee boy. I look happy but OMG I was not!! I was absolutely hating every minute - wrong choice!! Since then I’ve chosen to keep my feet firmly on the ground! 

So if, like me, you hate rollercoasters guess what  you can choose instead??

Sending love and light till next time,

Maureen xx

​Hello my dear friends
 
How has your winter been?
 
If you’ve been following my blogs you’ll know that I had asked Santa for the gifts of pottering and hibernation for Christmas and I was pretty chuffed to have found both of these in my Christmas stocking! 
 
If I’m being totally honest with you though, I think they were kind of forced upon me as a necessity rather than a gift. Let me tell you why (pour yourself a cuppa first – this is going to be a long one!).
 
If truth be told, I had a pretty rough Autumn and entry into the Winter season.
 
I was working with a lot of beautiful young energies during this time who were undergoing significant amounts of stress trying to fit in to a world which, as you know, can be pretty harsh at times.
 
I now realise that I hadn’t been protecting my boundaries enough whilst working in the environments that these beautiful souls were enclosed in and I was losing my balance.
 
On top of this, I chose to leave part-time employment where I had been a team leader for nearly 36 years.
 
My choice - but oh my it was a difficult one as this employer had been one of my security nets in that it provided financial abundance to help me set up my own business and to care for my husband when he was severely ill.
 
This was also the place where I met my husband and many lifelong friends and I underestimated the effect this would have on my energy levels.
 
By the time I reached mid-December, I was exhausted and was literally forced into my hibernation cave.
 
This enforced healing involved much rest emotionally, physically and spiritually and I began a process of recovery and renewal.
 
My body began naturally to repair the damage that had been caused previously.
 
Initially I felt a reluctance to enter the hibernation cave as it reminded me - once again - of having to take the journey of the butterfly, which isn’t an easy one.
 
This caterpillar was having to break down again in that dark cocoon. I entered a period of mourning as I began to discard a life that once was.

However, this time round I didn’t fight the darkness. I let go and surrendered to its wisdom and I began to dream.
 
I dreamt I was:

• “in-between” lands  
• “in-between” gates
• “in-between” lives 
• “in-between” relationships
• ”in-between” people.

 When I awoke from my dreams I journaled and increasingly became aware that I too was at the “in-between” stage of my own life.
 
I was 53.
 
My body was changing, my thoughts were changing, my libido was changing, my energy was changing.
 
My relationships were also changing - I no longer had to lead a team now, I no longer had to nurture my 21-year-old son who was flourishing in his life nor did I need to care for my husband, whose health had improved dramatically.
 
My life was changing in every way and oh - I had also entered the menopause.
 
And then it hit me – I was a menopausal woman!!
 
My menstruation had paused and so had my life.
 
I was at a “crossroads”, a “change of life”, an “in-between zone”.
 
I was neither who I was before nor who I was becoming.
 
Who was I?
 
More journaling ensued.
 
I realized that I’d had experienced a relatively easy journey through the menopause as far as my mind and body were concerned. But now sensed that there was a deep and profound transformation taking place within me as if I was holding space for something new to emerge...just like that butterfly.
 
I was indeed at a crossroads! 
 
I could, therefore, choose to embrace this new sense of self that was struggling to emerge
 
OR
 
Cling to the old me who was comfortable in her cocoon, in her hibernation cave.
 
I could retire now and live happily ever after in my comfort zone. My job was done. I had successfully brought up my son, cared for my family, had a career and ran my own business.
 
I knew that if I chose the path of change and began to travel in the direction of unknown worlds that I would no longer be the same person that I was before. 
 
Did I really want to transform into another person at the age of 53??
 
As I pondered on my choices this quote was sent my way, I just love a quote! 
 
“One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”
 
Abraham H. Maslow
 
My heart leapt when I read this and, at that moment, I crossed the threshold into a brand-new land! 
 
After much soul searching throughout winter in my hibernation cave I now find myself in a new relationship with myself; with others; my commitments; my work; my energy; my values; my priorities; my boundaries; my self-care; my choices and a deepening need to CHOOSE ME.
 
I am no longer limited by the expectations of others or society and therefore feel much more in control of my own destiny.
 
I am a woman in mid-life and a being of choice!
 
This awareness of choice gifts within me the freedom and serenity that Sue Patton Thoele describes in her book “Freedoms After Fifty” ...
 
 “When I was a young woman, I thought ageing meant loss and limitation, but I’ve learned that it’s really about freedom - especially freedom from fear. But also, free to be uniquely myself, free to say what I mean and mean what I say, free to genuinely enjoy and celebrate life”. 
 
In the weeks, months and years to come, it is my intention to step through the gateway to my brand-new life and create a beautiful wild garden.
 
I know this will involve much personal growth and transformation.
 
I fervently hope that my journey will not only transform me but also my community.
 
Who knows if we all choose to nourish and nurture ourselves with lots of love and self-care we may even be able to transform the world ...... “mighty oaks from little acorns grow” and all that! 

And so my friend, in the remaining weeks of winter I will be continuing to nurture my new landscape. After all, personal growth - just like a wild garden - requires a lot of quiet time and solitude to ensure it has plenty of nutrients in order for those “dream seeds” to be planted successfully in spring.
 
I’ll also be pruning and decluttering my thoughts, emotions, home etc. so that I can have clear spaces in which to begin visioning what my brand-new wild garden landscape will look like as the year unfolds.
 
I’ll keep you posted on how my wild garden is thriving, and feel free to accompany me on my journey this year as it evolves throughout the seasons.
 
You might even want to begin to create your own garden or give me some gardening hints and tips!
 
Speak soon and much love till then
 
Maureen xx

Hey

How’s your Autumn going?
 
Did you choose you since we last connected and take some time out to reflect upon how balanced you feel as we enter in to this magical Autumn season?
 
If not, I’ve posted below my own musings on how balanced I feel so far in 2019 which might support you with your own reflections:

• I have flourished in that I now truly feel I am worthy, enough, safe and secure.
• I have accomplished financial security mainly because I feel all of the above!
• The seeds I planted last year that bore the most fruit were the introduction of strong personal boundaries, my Daily Sadhana Practice (aka My Bookends).
• Because of the seeds I planted above, I harvested the fruits of a blooming heart-centred business which brought joy and abundance to not just my own life but to the lives of many other people.
• I am proud of how I have continued to CHOOSE ME.
• I feel grateful for the continued good health of my husband after his dances in recent years with a brain tumour.
• I feel really well balanced in my CHOICES.
• I feel out of balance in my physical body.
• I am aware that the imbalance I feel in my physical body has occurred because it is starting to give me signs that it is not happy. It has asked for its needs to be met by telling me it’s not at ease. An example of this is the plantar fasciitis (dis-ease) I have been suffering from this year. My body needs more grounding and some TLC!!
• The seeds that I planted last year that didn’t quite grow as I expected all relate to my own body.
• Given the reflections above I need to do more weeding and pruning in relation to my physical health to bring my mind, body and Soul back into alignment in 2020.

 
The above reflections have made me feel good!
 
I am pretty well balanced overall as I near the end of 2019 but my friend - believe me - it wasn’t always this way.
 
Just like the leaves falling from their branches in Autumn, we come to witness the balance between life and death in Mother Nature.
 
Everything is literally dying all around us and it can feel dark and yucky - but this passing is necessary for new life to grow in the spring. This is true for our own selves as well.
 
In order for us to live the most beautiful life we came here to experience, we need to let go of our dead leaves, our old beliefs, patterns and habits that no longer serve us.
 
And so, my dearest, darling you I invite you for the remainder of October to feel in to the energy of letting go:

• What are you ready to let go of?
• What leaves do you need to shed in order for new life to grow?
• What weeding/de-cluttering still needs to happen in your life? 

In November we will take the wisdom we gained from our beautiful Autumn reflections along with the internal ground we cleared through the process of letting go and begin to take the necessary steps to NOURISH and NURTURE our Soul Soil.
 
By doing this and allowing ourselves to go in to hibernation throughout the cold and darkness of Winter, we will ensure that we have fertile ground available to plant brand new seeds which will create beautiful new beginnings for us in 2020.
 
As the saying goes … “Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go” … Unknown.
 
My whole life changed for the better when I finally surrendered and chose to let go of energies that no longer served me and I know you can experience this too.
 
 Speak soon, big hugs till then
 
Maureen xx