Let there be light

For most of us light means hope. Winter Solstice moves us back into the season of growing daylight, and candles are lit for Christmas.

There’s also a much more symbolic perspective to light. Light that shines from within. Lightness of being.
It’s the proverbial torch we carry when we help others in need of support or bravely take the road less discovered. We have a light bulb moment.
And, of course, there are the lights of our lives – the ones we love, the ones that make our hearts sing and souls lighten up.

Sometimes light can be so bright it blinds us for a while. It may even be harsh and reveal what we’d like to keep hidden from ourselves and from the world. Once light enters our darkness, nothing looks the same. We just have to let it in. No matter how scary, usually the monster under the bed is just an untrue thought.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
(Marianne Williamson)

Thank you for sharing your light with me over the past year. I wish you a blessed holiday season.

Saying no is just the other bank of the river…

It’s not rude to say no, unless you say it in a rude way, says Sadie Nardini in this video clip that most of us can learn something from.

People pleasing is something we learn while growing up, often perceiving the ability to say no as something negative. How many times have you judged someone or dismissed them as selfish when they’ve simply stated their truth?

Saying yes to life can sometimes mean saying no to situations, people or circumstances. Yes and no are just two sides of the same coin.

Once upon a time is now

11/11/11 – A powerful day of unity,  healing and clear intentions.

Take a few moments today to reflect upon the pain you’re still holding on to: past hurts, disappointments, resentments and fears may all come to surface now, along with the truth and real colours of certain relationships.
Allow them to be, accept they are there and then let them go. You could try writing all this down and burning or tearing the paper outdoors, creating a powerfully symbolic gesture of release.

Acceptance and forgiveness mean liberating ourselves from what no longer serves us. It’s not about condoning violence, unlawful acts or cruelty, but rather unhooking from things, people and events that may have caused us to live in fear, anger and distress. If this feels very difficult, get some support around you – today is the beginning of a new way of being authentic and creating genuine connections to our fellow human beings.

We are now learning to realise that we are free, and with freedom comes personal and collective responsibility.

Then, spend a few moments clarifying your intentions for the future, using present tense. Allow yourself the love, support, abundance, health and healing. Notice any resistance that may surface, and meet it with compassion. Again, writing things down will boost your creative energy.

Once upon a time and happily ever after are here and now.

Who said pigs don’t fly?

More or less

I saw these words of wisdom on a sticker glued inside a tram in Helsinki, which is where I live.
Thank you, whoever is behind this, for reminding us of what we often forget.

What does intuition feel like?

Firstly, take a moment to admire the view from my back yard last week. I’m very thankful to live just beside one of the prettiest parks in Helsinki -  I’m no photographer but hopefully you’ll get the idea!

Last weekend I taught a workshop on intuitive development here in Helsinki, and was asked the question I get asked every time:

How do I know if it’s intuition or my head talking?

There are as many answers to this as there are people, but I thought of putting in my ten cents in a very contained nutshell.

Firstly, intuition is something we all have. It is not a divine gift given only to spiritual people as a result of good karma or spending hours in devotional activities. We all have an inner compass that gives us gentle nudges or less gentle kicks up the backside. It is pure information that rises from the wisdom and truth that remains unchanged within every one of us – the part of us some call the Self, others the Soul or the Heart, some don’t call it anything.

I call it ‘what is’. Intuition is pure information that rises from what is. It cannot be contained, described or labelled – it just is, a bit like karma (but that’s another story).

Secondly, intuition does not feel like anything in particular – even the so-called ‘warnings’ don’t feel scary until we label them so .

Intuition has no emotional colour or charge, no reference or links to our history or whatever is happening in our lives. You just know someone’s going to call or that what glitters isn’t gold.

It is like something I describe as the knowing-ness. It is pure information when it arrives, but within a nanosecond our minds start trying to make sense of it. The trouble is intuition does not often make any sense – in fact often it’s quite the opposite. The key is to learn to catch it before our egoic desires start contaminating it with our ifs, buts, wants and maybes – and this is definitely something some sort of meditation, yoga or any awareness exercise or discipline can help with (even if it’s just doing the dishes or walking the dog, as long as you’re in the now).

Another key is not to judge whatever has risen from within. Your intuition might be telling you something that your mind finds disturbing. Don’t judge but observe and accept.  Then take action if you want to, but don’t forget your common sense – as above, so below. Be grounded before reaching for the skies, and watch out for synchronicity as it happens.

Intuition is truth as your being knows it, but the challenge is that what is true to you might not be true to people around you. For instance, you might have thought that you have to want (yes, have to want, not want to have!) a certain career path, but one day wake up in the awareness that it is not true to you. Your environment might not be pleased when you tell them you’ll drop investment banking in favour of gardening! Accept that personal truth is always subjective.

Living intuitively means freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility – this is something people often forget in their spiritual and personal pursuits. It also means we have to be courageous enough to sometimes explore what makes no sense but what we know to be true.