Positive Life: spring Issue 2022

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Good News Feels Better

A EBEN ALEXANDER NDE Into The Core

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HEALTH STORES

Empowering Your Health

CRIMSON CIRCLE

Wisdom Of Adamus

Teal Swan

T

We Talk To

Awareness, Self Love and Humanity SPRING 2022 PRICELESS

positivelife.ie

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Made using no artificial preservatives, additives, colourings or fillers. All products are fresh therefore they require refrigeration.

Added to this is the six awards won by this range in 2020 and another 4, including 3 x gold in 2021.

This is real award winning clean food.. enjoy x

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welcome to spring ‘22 “Anything in any way beautiful derives its beauty from itself and asks nothing beyond itself.

Praise is no part of it, for nothing is made worse or better by praise.”

Marcus Aurelius The classic one we all know: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Have you ever looked into the eye of the beholder?

And if you do, what will you see? Will you see yourself, a reflection, an opening, a knowing, an incandescent light, a spark? Who is the beholder? Is this the great cosmic joke the one who looks is the one who sees? Is there only one of us?

If so, then why seek, why look, if indeed there is nothing to look for? You are the beautiful one, you are the one you have been looking for. You are here now - Home.

Sit with that and let it break into a knowing smile as you leaf through the beauty in these pages. Crafted for you, by… you guessed it… YOU. paul congdon, Publisher

Contentment 4 Spring Vibes What’s on and hot this spring

6 Positively Newsworthy Celebrating the simple & true 10 Spirituality in the City Reflections on beauty 12 Positive Parenting Reframing views on babyhood

14 Judith McAdam Living an illuminated life 16 Amanda Sophia Metamorphosis through self-compassion 18 Sandy Newbigging The essential life-work of becoming trauma aware 20 Teen Spirit Your sense of beauty 22 Positive Personality Eban Alexander shares the wisdom of near-death experience 24 Dawn Cartwright Awakening to the boundless beauty of life PHOTO: EMILIA KRYSZTOFIAK RUA PHOTOGRAPHY

26 Positive Prayer Allowing rather than achieving enlightenment 29 Positive Health We talk to passionate health store owners across the land 30 Davie Philip The importance of shared humanity & community 32 Teal Swan Talking love, relationships, motherhood and much more...

36 CNM Discussions on the vital vitamin D 38 Hans Wieland All about light & your garden 40 The Happy Pear Veganise your ramen 43 Short and Sweet We uncover gems from the holistic world 56 Your Holistic Academy Bringing the holistically minded & hearted together 58 Micronutrients The power of zinc and selenium 60 Sinead O’Connor A taste of the tale of ‘A Hummingbird’s Heart’ 62 Positive Astrology Align your 2022 goals with the heavens

Publisher PC Media paul@positivelife.ie Co-Editorial Alison McEvoy and Kate Stuart editor@positivelife.ie Design Conor O’Brien info@conorobrien.ie Ad Design Caroline Hanan caroline.hanan@gmail.com Advertising Paul Congdon paul@positivelife.ie 0861579518 Margaret O’Connor margaretpositivelife@gmail.com Social media Kate Stuart editor@positivelife.ie Thanks to our advertisers, we can give Positive Life magazine to you for FREE. If you’re talking to them, let them know we sent you their way.

Please use the information provided in this publication as a recommendation only to better mental and physical health. We strongly advise you to consult your doctor regarding health concerns that you may have. The views expressed by contributors and advisors do not necessarily represent the views of the publication’s staff.

Printed, published, packaged and distributed in Ireland. positivelife.ie

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spring vibes “TAKE CARE, DEAR HEART/ YOU ARE BLOOMING/ AND SPRING IS COMING” LUNA LOVETTE

let the light in

SIT WITH THE LEGENDS

COLOUR CHEMICAL-FREE

Positive Nights have some legendary guests coming up this spring. We talk to Eben Alexander on his amazing NearDeath Experience and the uber legendary Dan Millman, author of ‘Way of the Peaceful Warrior’. Come sit with us and up your vibe.

Organic Italian Hairdressing in Dalkey completely replaces the traditional, chemical-laden cosmetics of hair with ones inspired by a love of plants and flowers. These “precious elements” are all that is used in their uniquely restorative and healing, hair colouring and hair care treatments. This place has some serious artistic flair and some serious love-ofplanet going for it.

POSITIVE PROGRAMMING

seminars.ie & positivelife.ie

Ever heard of an audio-visual ‘vision board’?

Well, Positive Prime has created a format that allows you to tailor make your own “carefully phrased statements, evocative imagery and musical background” which you can use daily to send nurturing and empowering signals into your deep unconscious. From there, these seeds will sprout into positive behaviours that enable you to fulfil those elusive life goals and dreams that deep down, despite the doubt, you know you are made for.

Have a laugh this spring. We hear Steve Hughes is good. Aidan Killian told us and we like Aidan! An ex-heavy metal drummer, Steve is now a standup comedian and has been touring the world as far as New Zealand with his ‘take no prisioners’ stand up show.

He’ll be in Donnybrook this April with his latest show called ‘Are you Serious?’.

positiveprime.com

COSMIC VISION We hope to interview Matias De Stefano soon, the Argentinian-born cosmic visioner who is travelling the Egyptian Pyramids this March with the aim of realigning with Cosmic Time. Matias is actualising his life’s potential and work since the age of twenty-one, sharing his vision of, and helping people to actualise, a civilization which is aligned with the evolution of our beloved planet. People and planet must reunite! matiasdestefano.org

SERIOUSLY, THAT’S FUNNY

stevehughes.net

bud with beauty GET FRESH-FACED Face the world afresh this spring after having indulged in some ‘Sculpture face-lifting massage’. For men and women both, these intensely rejuvenating, natural face-lifting facials feature soft yet deep face-contouring massage techniques to lift, smooth and plump the skin of your face. Great for TMJ, spasms and sagging skin.

Contact Svetlana 089 944 4814

organicitalianhair.bio

DAN MILLMAN coming soon to positive nights

SMOOTH THE FLOW Introducing…Niamh! “Hi, I’m Niamh, Cacao medicine woman and Biofield Tuner. I love Biofield Tuning because it is a form of energy medicine also known as vibrational healing that can be performed remotely. Using tuning forks, I smooth out the flow in your electromagnetic field, removing energetic static. Biofield Tuning has the power to alleviate and even eradicate physical, mental and emotional disturbances.” Check it out people!

Eat your Weeds!

miscellany SOAK IN YOUR VITAMINS

biofieldwithniamh.com

NATURE ON YOUR SKIN

COFFEE + DREAMS

Lovingly made by Prema Shakti, ‘Herb and Grace’ cosmetic products combine all the healing power of nature to lay upon our skin. It’s a grace indeed that such powerfully therapeutic plants and herbs grow so readily on the land for us to use.

We especially love Prema’s ‘Blissful Pearls’ a CBD infused bontaical moisturiser. She also has daily salves, herbal tinctures, flower essences and elixirs on hand for all seasons and works on a donation basis so as to share her love of herbs as far and wide as possible.

Turquoise café is “not your regular old coffee shop”. Theirs is a story of dreams in the making...and there is so much more to come! For now, they are a café, pizzeria, Sunday Farmers Market venue, art house, a place for families to gather and host events. The individuals behind Turquoise café thrive on helping others’ dreams to come true, they are a “playground for a community of free traders to display and develop their art”. Now that’s a piece of heaven on earth!

t.me/HerbAndGrace (Telegram)

turquoisecafe.ie

TENDING TO HEALTH

therapeutic

treats

WICKLOW WELLNESS The Wicklow Holistic Centre is a shop and set of holistic therapy rooms with a whole lot going on. You’ll find everything from natural beauty treatments to Shamanic healing on offer, as well as the comforting traditionals like aromatherapy massage and reiki. You’ll find a range of “holistic goodies” in stock in their shop. Oh, and Jonti Searll, acclaimed South African teacher in the field of sexuality and sensuality, will be giving a workshop from Wicklow Wellness this year! wicklowholisticcentre.com

TECHNOLOGY THAT HEALS County Clare is home to the elegant White Oak Centre, a holistic home from home with treatments such as aromatherapy massage, Indian head massage and Energy healing on offer. White Oak is also home to the Quantum Energy Wellness Bed (QEWB), an exciting new use of the combined technologies of infrared therapy, Solfeggio frequencies and Noger frequencies. This combination of applications of heat, sound and frequency help heal and maintain the health of the body.

march

The Tattie Hoaker is Roscommon’s only independent health food store. So, owner Maureen has made sure they are well stocked with a wide range of health foods as well as skincare and beauty products.

You can order organic fruit and veg weekly from the Tattie Hoaker and you will also find therapists inside its doors offering all kinds of help and healing such as NLP, nutritional therapy, massage and Reiki.

This spot comes highly reccomended.

Facebook.com/TattieHoaker

Dundrum’s IV vitamin drip and hydration clinic, Get A Drip, will have you bouncing this spring. Bypass any pesky gut issues and have your vitamins delivered direct to your bloodstream. Make sure to book ahead and chose your drip in advance. Choose from a multivitamin drip, immunity, detox, energy or basic hydration drip. getadrip.com

MISUNDERSTOOD WEEDS Just launched on March 3rd, ‘Eat Your Weeds’, by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal, reimagines these plants as “resilient wild weeds” and enables readers to see the hidden properties and powers of these, the daily companions of our lawns and parks. This fascinating and imaginative book contains over 90 plant-based recipes, sweet and savoury, foraging tips and medicinal properties. Ever tried nettle cake!? merlinunwin.co.uk

LOVE YOUR EYES If you regularly wake up with your eyelids stuck together or have feelings of grittiness or burning in the eyes, you may have chronic dry eyes. Itchy eyes, blurry vision, tired or watery eyes...all signs that your eyes are calling for help. The Dry Eye Clinic in Ennis, Co. Clare is one of only a handful of clinics in Ireland dedicated to treating dry eyes with the latest in laser technology and light modulation therapy. dryeyeclinic.ie

Turqouise café

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positively newsworthy GOOD NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

1 Nature as Educator FOREST SCHOOLS.

by Alison McEvoy

Forest Schools are growing! The demand for child places has surged in the past 12 months. As parents begin to realise the power of nature, watching their children in playgrounds and parks the past year or so, Forest Schools are feeling the shift in awareness.

At Forest Schools children spend long periods of time in a woodland or natural area, interacting with and experiencing the natural world.

Traditional school set-ups see children enclosed in classrooms, with only very

small periods of time spent in an often concreted, play or sports area. It is becoming understood that connection with, and immersion in, nature increases optimism, confidence, creativity, curiosity and natural learning abilities such as observation and critical thinking.

Children are engaged in a multitude of ways: gardening, tree-planting, bird watching, sea-swimming, forest therapy and nature clubs. The experience is one of a kind, especially for city-living folk!

As one child put it, “Forest School has

“…connection with, and immersion in, nature increases optimism, confidence, creativity, curiosity and natural learning abilities” brightened every Thursday up. It’s really fun and energetic…I love how they taught us to make swings and forts. My favourite memory was definitely pulling up a really big branch because it showed strength, teamwork and hard-working.”

If you don’t have kids but love the idea, Forest School Leader training might be the thing for you. Let’s bring nature back as educator to ourselves and our children! forestschoolireland.ie

2 Kye the Donkey THIS FARMER’S DONKEY IS NOW ACTING LIKE THE FAMILY PET.

by Kate Stuart This farmer’s donkey is now acting like the family pet. This foal had a tough start in life, being rejected by its mother when only a few weeks old. John Nuttall and his partner Gražina Pervenis saw Kye the Donkey in distress after his mother turned on him.

This tugged on their heart strings and they took it upon themselves to rescue him and hand rear him back to full health. These early days are crucial in the development of a foal’s journey, it’s a precarious road but this special fellow was given a second chance at life, thanks to this generous couple. In the first days, Gražina fed Kye with milk from his estranged mother through a tube to ensure the youngster got the right nutrients. “She kept him on that for twoto-three weeks. She was feeding him every hour at that time,” John recalls Soon, Kye began playing with their dogs—and began exhibiting hound-like

behaviour. Kye now comes running with the dogs whenever John whistles. “He even started playing with a ball and everything, and now, I can go for a walk down the road, and he’ll follow me like a dog.” This charming Donkey would come back to the house every evening “because he also needed human contact.”

Kye the Donkey is now a fully fledged member of the family “He’s grown up. He’s got all his teeth, and he’s eating well. He’s going to live—that’s the main thing. My main concern was to keep him alive.” He has been integrated into the paddocks with the other donkeys on this couple’s farm, living his best life.

“He even started playing with a ball and everything, and now, I can go for a walk down the road, and he’ll follow me like a dog.”

3 Bounty the Travelling Cat THIS CAT HAS A LOVE FOR A LIFE ON THE ROAD.

by Kate Stuart They say man’s best friend is the dog but for this woman, her travelling companion is her cat. Doina Muravsch saved a one year old cat called Bounty from an animal sanctuary. Black cats often get a bad rep and face the lowest adoption rates, oftentimes being overlooked entirely. This lucky felines’s life changed for the better when he met this wanderlust woman.

“I handmade a special pouch for him, because cat carriers are not adapted to certain journeys,” she explains.

Muravsch takes Bounty on all of her adventures, most recently scaling to the summit La Grignetta, a 7,100-foot mountain in the Italian Alps. “Together we’ve already gone on trips of more than a month—last autumn we went from Ballabio to Matera by bike.”

For those unfamiliar with the Italian landscape, that entails cycling the entire length of the Italian peninsula from

the knee-line to the instep of the ‘boot’.

Like most people, trying something new takes some getting used to and it was no different for this little critter. “At the start Bounty was a little agitated, but after the first few days he started to enjoy himself.

While I pedalled, he slept in the carrier.”

Muravsch is intent on changing the narrative around cats only wanting to sleep. This curious cat is changing the game and opening up new possibilities for felines around the globe. She has let the cat out of the bag and he is going on an adventure!

“Together we’ve already gone on trips of more than a month—last autumn we went from Ballabio to Matera by bike”

positively newsworthy the little things 1 Feeding Friendships CARVE OUT TIME TO FEED YOUR SOUL.

by Kate Stuart Friendships can have a major impact on your health and well-being, but it’s not always easy to develop or maintain these relationships. Prioritising friendships can seem tough right now, especially when we are focusing on keeping ourselves afloat.

Oftentimes we can get so caught up in our own lives that we can end up neglecting our relationships.

Something that has brought me a great sense of gratitude was hosting a small dinner with my childhood friend and my brother. Our schedules vary wildly and it can be so hard to get together but the stars aligned and one Saturday we made it happen. Though we think differently on some major topics circulating at the minute, we came together to have a lovely evening, sharing good food and even better company.

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Carving out time to cultivate and strengthen relationships, even when it feels impossible, is so rewarding, even beyond the meet-up itself, and you never know how valuable that would be for someone else. We can never truly know how someone is feeling but if we go kindly into situations we can get a good sense of how to navigate through these tough times together. Having a good support network can make you feel more resilient, problems shared are problems halved. And let us not forget about having fun! We have spent the last 18 months in survival mode, so often we can forget about good old fashioned wholesome fun. Find the parameters that suit your needs and live your best life!

“Carving out time to cultivate and strengthen relationships, even when it feels impossible, is so rewarding, even beyond the meet-up itself”

2 Recharging the inner light COURAGE & CLARITY WITHIN.

by Alison McEvoy

“the kind of light that makes your heart shine up into your mind...”

The brightest of lights knocked on the doors of my heart this winter. The lightworkers appeared to be out in force, dedicated to drawing in the light and spreading it far and wide amid the daily life of willing hearts.

Mine was gasping for more light; the kind of light that makes your feet feel like they are treading gently; the kind of light that makes your heart shine up into your mind so that things can be perceived with more understanding, more softness and compassion.

Abby Wynne offered 33 days of free meditations. Many a dark afternoon I ‘did the work’ of calling in the light and igniting mine to meet it. Kamilla Harra offered soul support - online,weekly gatherings and a second weekly gathering for integration and discussion. She is so deeply tuned into her group and the guidance she offers is so

spot on and breaks down the most complex of inner experiences.

Lying down beside my toddler, exhausted yet satisfied by his happy snores, I experienced a kind of receiving that is invaluable. A receiving of the light.

The light that is actually the life-force of the Universe. We need to take in this light, just as we need sun, water, food and sleep.

Taking in this light I find gives me strength and clarity to recognise and, as often as I can, rise above thoughts and feelings that are doubting, conflictual and would have me feeling sad, powerless and angry. This light is food for the inner struggle and helps us emerge from the depths of our minds with more joyful, empowered and constructive actions at the ready.

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Also suitable for adults and during pregnancy.

Available at Health Stores and Pharmacies www.rossmorehealth.com Recommend for everyone (including

spirituality & the city Our readers on: BEAUTY

Smaranda Maier Did you ever ask yourself why we use, “A woman is beautiful” while “A man is handsome”? Is this because in our society beauty is more related to our feminine energy?

Beauty is about purity and balance. When you reach that state of inner balance and alignment you definitely become a beautiful human being.

But wait, we are all born beautiful human beings. That’s right. And then we start to be conditioned by our carers and by circumstances. And we learn that beauty is conditioned by gender, by age, by colour, by location, by... Nothing could be more false and more damaging for our beautiful pure souls.

It takes a moment of realisation and perpetuum awareness to regain our inner pure beauty and to let it shine every day through our pores, through our words, through our vibes. And remember, beauty attracts beauty. We attract what we are.

Ciara Ni Dhiomasaigh If I really sit with beauty, for me it’s the sigh that emerges from the deep of someone when they are in the truth of their experience. It’s a moment of dropping, a softening into safety. I experience it often in my clinical practice as I listen in stillness to the essence of what the person is experiencing or in the subtle contact of my hands that allows and supports something to let go into rest. It’s like a relief, that says some truth has been deeply heard and acknowledged and now there is more space to be however I am. I am intrigued by this moment of transformation when the sigh emerges, it’s like a bodily expression of relief from deep inside, that communicates something all at once, in a way that words could not convey. It’s greater than the sum of its parts.

The beauty of this moment is a recognition that safety and connection are built by deepening, settling and healing, one sigh at a time.

Ciara is a Biodynamic Cranio- Sacral Therapist Coordinator Body College BCST Training Galway Naduir Centre for Holistic Health

Meave Kinsella Here stands an intriguing little house. Full of unseen, untold stories.

It was the beauty of the unknown that started to tell a fascinating tale.

Who lived there? What happened to them? Why was the house derelict?

Why are there doors upstairs with no balcony? Why has it been gutted of all belongings?

It looked like the house in Alice In Wonderland where her arms and legs crashed through the windows as she grew larger and larger. And I began to feel like Alice, “Curiouser and Curiouser.”

The peninsula in which it stands, invaded by tourism and holiday homes, yet this house survives as is. Why? It reminds me how the essence of who we are is everlasting, while the tangible aspects can degenerate. Beauty is in the unseen.

What isn’t told. What lies beneath.

Paul Mangan I was delighted to recently perform on stage in front of a full crowd of people in a packed house for what seemed like the first time in aeons. The sense of profound togetherness and shared joy at being able to socialise in a cultural setting again was tangible and left me with the thought, “How did we ever manage without this?”.

The show was a Valentine’s cabaret evening in which we sought to answer the question, “What is love?” through our performances. My conclusion was that it was this aforementioned sense of togetherness which at that moment best explained this eternal riddle.

Beauty can come in many forms and on a night such as this it can take the form of everyone’s shared endeavours to create something special, something that touches the audience to create new and fabulous memories.

Cormac McCarthy Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder sees beauty everywhere: Bare trees in winter, mushrooms fully grown, the aesthetic shape of women and all that jiggles. The eyes, which are windows to any soul, from cosmic visions to a gentle flowing, smooth river. The meditating monk, in complete serenity…

But even unconventional places too. There is a beauty in pain, in a screaming mother giving birth, the last breaths of an aged being, marching toward their end. The lion, as it eats the fallen gazelle.

The truth is, beauty is in whatever you see beauty in, and… what cannot be seen.

There is beauty in logic, beauty in words, beauty in thoughts, the wind that blows can be beautiful, not only to the skin, but the other senses too. Seeing a relationship form, of any kind, when you wake up to the truth… any truth.

Wesley Finnegan When it comes to me during a trip, it’s like it is shown or given. I just have to feel it, accept and let it in, relax, trust and let it heal. Let it integrate, let its tendrils of love and warmth reach and flow through every crevice of my mind and body. This mind and body brought into existence by the very love and warmth now permeating every fibre of its being. Resonating with every subatomic particle of my existence, I feel it, allow it and let it in. It’s there!

It’s ok to take it and it’s ok to let it take and let it give, I hold no preference, let it sink in deep, feel that it’s part of me. It’s not separate, it’s not other, it is me and I am it, it was in every part of my body as I was being brought into existence and every part of me will die into its arms. Cherished and loved at every moment equally and with no capacity for judgement as its cup is overflowing with care. There is only love, the only reason it appears like something other, is to fragment into all kinds of things for the sake of beauty, beauty is created, to be enjoyed, another act of love.

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POSITIVE PARENTING

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“Crying in infants and children is a signalling device to alert parents to the fact that the baby is hungry, thirsty, tired, cold, lonely or overstimulated, so why do we perceive it as bad?”

‘is your baby

good’?

BABY’S CRY IS A PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTION TO THEIR PRIMARY NEEDS..

by Anna Cole

When I was the mother of a newborn baby, some 17 years ago now, I had a moment of illumination, thanks to my friendship, born with our babies as we bonded at a homebirth midwive’s gathering for expectant Mums, with Founder and Director of Illuminated Arts, Melissa Jo Smith. Melissa Jo helped explode the notion that a ‘good baby’, meant a baby who did not cry.

Melissa remembers long before being a mother herself, working as an au pair as a 17-year-old in Florence, Italy: “I was constantly stopped with my tiny charge, Sophia: ‘E mascile o feminile? (Is it a boy or a girl?); ‘Quanti mese hai?’ (How old is she?), ‘Come ti chiama’ (What’s her name?).”

Some 17 years later as a new Mum herself, the question Melissa Jo was repeatedly asked on the streets of England where she lived was different: “Is he good?”.

It occurs to me now as I remember this and re-read Melissa’s reflections on it published at the time, that along with her keen insight that ‘good’ equated in England to a baby that didn’t cry, I wonder if mothers of baby boys are more often asked that question than parents of little girls? Little girls are after all, in the words of the traditional nursery rhyme, ‘sugar and spice and all things nice’. I digress a little with my musings here about gender.

The point I want to make here is the one Melissa Jo illuminated me about at the time and which I’ve never forgotten: When people refer to a ‘good’ baby they generally mean one who doesn’t cry very much, who is easily settled, compliant and happy.

However a baby who does not cry may be one that simply does not have normal signalling abilities. As she explored this topic as a new Mum, Melissa came across the ground-breaking 1971 classic, ‘The Growth of Sociability’, by Rudolph Schaffer, who notes that the mothers of children subsequently diagnosed with a

form of autism ‘usually described them as ‘very good babies’; on closer inquiry, it emerged that in all these cases, being ‘good’ referred to an almost complete absence of the ability to cry in situations where this response could normally be expected to occur. This may be an extreme example, but it serves to illustrate the fact, as Melissa Jo pointed out to me all those years back, that compliance may not always indicate an amenable temperament or a happy baby.

I’ll let MJ continue with her story: “When people asked if my baby Raphael was good, I always asked, ‘What’s a bad baby?’. The usual response was: ‘One who cries all the time’. Crying in infants and children is a signalling device to alert parents to the fact that the baby is hungry, thirsty, tired, cold, lonely or over-stimulated, so why do we perceive it as bad?”

According to early research by Thomas, Chess, Hertzig, Birch and Korn, ‘Behavioural Individuality in Early Childhood’ (1963): ‘A child’s temperament determines the adult’s perception of that child. If the parent can meet the child’s needs, parents get smiles and positive feedback, the parents feel good about themselves and feel the child to be ‘easy’.

When a child is harder to take care of, needs are difficult to determine, responses are negative and nothing seems to ‘work’, the problems are perceived by others to be the parent’s fault and the child is ‘difficult’.

As Melissa Jo concluded at the time, it’s very hard for the parents of a crying baby to bask in the glow of contented parenthood. Their time is usually spent racking their brains for solutions and answers.

And here’s the good news. There are some answers to how we can respond to a crying baby that will make a difference both to our child and to our self-perception

as parents. Different from cry it out, where a baby is left on its own to cry, supported crying, a tool called Staylistening, is where a parent stays close by, offering gentle touch and eye contact that can bring a deep sense of relief and calm for a baby, leaving them settled and better able to sleep.

Babies cry to communicate – it’s really a powerful way for them to make sure we hear them! A baby may cry because she is tired, or lonely, but also when she is working on letting go of some of the overwhelming feelings from her journey into the world, or even to release her overflowing cup of stimulation. Keep in mind, a loud motorcycle zooming by outside or even a strong perfume can be too much for a sensitive newborn. A baby can’t turn to a friend and say “Wow, that was loud” and so crying is the baby’s only tool to process feelings.

It can help some to think and talk about what it was like for you to cry as a child, and how you feel about not always knowing the right thing to do with your baby, what it’s like to not have enough sleep and to still have this little one need you so much. You’ll begin to dig deep into why and how crying affects you and know that even when your baby cries – a lot – you are good, and so are they!

Anna Cole is qualified Instructor and Regional Lead for the UK & Ireland for Hand in Hand Parenting. Next issue Anna will dig deeper into the paradigm-shifting tool of Staylistening. Stay tuned. For more support or information about the ideas in this article contact anna@handinhanparenting.org. With thanks to Melissa Jo Smith, her article ‘Is he good’ was originally published in Junior.

Pregnancy and Baby, August, 2005. Find out more about Illuminated Arts at illuminated-arts.com

POSITI V E AT TR ACTION

my wildcat years

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SHIFTING NEGATIVE VIBRATIONS TO CREATE YOUR OWN POSITIVE MOMENTUM.

by Judith McAdam

Last year one of the things I decided to do was to create a lover in my life. As I successfully manifested him into this physical reality, this year I asked for more fun, play, joy, travel and an abundance of health and wealth. After all, if I’m going to create my own reality I might as well go for it! Although I already knew ‘what lit me up in my life’, since my lover entered I feel the need to tweak things. Excitement fills my belly and my heart as I write this. Even though I’m afraid of all the changes I am making in my life I’m lit up by them.

So I spent a lot of time in 2020 visualising, meditating, journaling and opening my heart and sacral chakra to welcome this illusive lover into my life. I didn’t just want any lover but the right one…the one that was for my highest good.

In January 2021 that lover miraculously appeared. The universe weaved its magical web, joining thoughts, words and deeds, until we as a couple slowly began to emerge. Defying all logic of time and space, pandemics and even the fact that both of us were on two different continents our love affair still managed to unfold.

“There is one thing I know to be true, if you find ways to step through your fears you can do and create anything you want in this life.”

Then one day a couple of months ago I came home from work feeling a little sorry for myself because my youngest was now in college and I was suffering from ‘empty nest’ syndrome. So I keyed in ‘empty nest’ into YouTube and a lovely American woman began to launch into the subject announcing that ‘these were my Wildcat Years’. I nearly fell off the stool bursting with laughter with this serendipitous declaration because my new lover’s home is actually called Wildcat! Then and there I stated to myself ‘F•ck it’ these are MY WILDCAT YEARS and instead of sitting feeling sorry for myself I was going to

create and enjoy them. Straight away, out came my journal. I had just managed to shift my negative vibration and create a very positive roll.

Since then positive momentum has gathered. I have even invited all my clients, my community of wonderful conscious creators to join me virtually on my journey as I actively live my Wildcat Years. Last summer I gave workshops from Wildcat in America and recently, Mauritius, as my lover and myself live the life of our dreams.

There is one thing I know to be true - if you find ways to step through your fears you can do and create anything you want in this life. Please come and join me on my Zoom and live workshops and illuminate your own life and do what lights you up.

With love, Jx

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POSITIVE HOME

the importance of

self-compassion SHOWING YOURSELF THE COMPASSION YOU SHOW OTHERS.

by Amanda Sophia They say that, on average, seventy percent of people are kinder to others than they are to themselves.

Giving myself the invaluable gift of self-compassion has transformed my life and continues to strengthen me during difficult times. This beautiful metamorphosis of my spirit has sustained me in my calling as a lightworker and allowed me to give myself permission to rest.

Beloveds, how we love ourselves is how we invite others to love us. Those who are compassionate with themselves tend to receive love, encouragement and compassion from others more easily. If you’re continuously extending compassion to yourself, you grow to learn your innate worth and then, to empower others to do the same.

Be There for Yourself When you catch yourself feeling overwhelmed and have negative thoughts, the most compassionate thing you can do for yourself is to recenter your thoughts towards self-love, kindness and encouragement.

The next time you feel those overwhelming thoughts rush in, choose to be kind to yourself. Acknowledge what you are going through and do not deflect the emotions that are arising for you. Simply

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allow your thoughts to roll in and then out like clouds on a breezy day.

Beloved, do not allow yourself to fall into a self-blaming narrative. Shame, self-loathing and guilt will damage your spirit and make you enter a toxic thought cycle. Be careful not to fall into a victim mindset, asking, “Why me?”. Instead, try surrendering, accept that it’s really hard for you right now, and have some compassion with yourself through that feeling.

It’s like when you tell someone that you’re going through something and they acknowledge your feelings by saying, “Oh, that’s really hard. I’m sorry that you have to go through that.” Immediately, you feel heard, seen and supported. Why don’t we offer this comfort to ourselves? Why can’t we be there for ourselves?

Beloved, you should be your most passionate advocate and friend.

Healthy self-compassion helps us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, because we are offering ourselves that love and acceptance, that safety.

Practicing Self-Compassion Next time you’re having a hard time just take a moment to breathe. Place your hand on your heart as a point of nourishment, close your eyes if you wish, and just support yourself by saying phrases such as, “This is really hard right now, but I’m doing a really good job. I’m coping

“When we acknowledge how we’re feeling and we acknowledge our circumstances, it allows us to process it and move through it. This is powerful for our self-esteem.”

really well.”

“This is very difficult, but I’m OK. I am doing the best I can.”

Keep doing that and just let it go a little bit more every time you repeat those phrases.

When we acknowledge how we’re feeling and we acknowledge our circumstances, it allows us to process it and move through it. This is powerful for our self-esteem. Many people’s self-esteem is based on how they look, how successful they are, how much money they make, how their relationships are going, etc.

Self-compassion is something entirely different because it resides within us and is not dependent on external factors.

If we show up fully for ourselves, and with compassion, then we don’t need to search for something outside of ourselves, because we possess that wholeness within.

When you are relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms such as emotional eating, binge-watching, drinking alcohol in excess or impulse shopping, you’re disconnected within and will not find lasting happiness. Whatever you do to numb what you’re feeling, those things won’t make you feel good, because as soon as they end those feelings will only come back stronger than before, the longer you try to suppress them.

Beloved, self-compassion is a beautiful invitation to embrace self-love, take healthy measures for self-soothing, build inner resilience and create beautiful new coping patterns. Refusing to suppress difficult feelings another day, choosing to love yourself, well–that is healing.

Beloved, everything you need is already within you. Claim your healing, your serenity and show up for yourself.

May you know that you are divine and worthy of compassion.

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POSITIVE PE ACE

untold traumas

ARE THESE LESSER-KNOWN CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS LIMITING YOUR LIFE TODAY?.

by Sandy Newbigging

“…the most common childhood traumas are largely unknown, unrecognised, undiagnosed, and, consequently, untreated.”

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Being raised by good parents, and having what we consider to be a normal childhood, doesn’t always mean that we avoided the lesser-known childhood traumas that can be negatively impacting us, from the shadows, for decades.

I’ve met thousands of well-intentioned wonderful people, wanting to live positively. However, despite having a library full of self-help books or attending countless courses, their health conditions, emotional issues and persistent life problems continue.

After eighteen years of research and clinical work, I’ve observed that one of the biggest blocks to a better life is childhood trauma. Until recognised and released, change is often limited, healing is hindered, and our problematic patterns tend to remain in place.

I am yet to meet anyone who has navigated their life 100% trauma-free; with childhood trauma being far more prevalent than I originally thought.

I used to think trauma was limited to the classical kinds of big traumatic events, like physical attacks or accidents. However, I’ve discovered that the most common childhood traumas are largely unknown, unrecognised, undiagnosed, and, consequently, untreated.

Many early-life traumas have been performed without malice. They are just the inevitable consequence of parents unwillfully passing on their own traumatised parts and patterns. By shining a light on such traumas, we can quickly learn if any of them have happened to us, and use this illuminating knowledge to find our own freedom through forgiveness.

Here’s three of the lesser-known childhood traumas. Can you relate to any of them?

1) Proximal Abandonment occurs when the parents are physically present, providing food, shelter etc. but are unable to emotionally connect, support and bond with the child. Most people overlook this very common trauma because their parents didn’t officially ‘abandon’ them. Yet, as far as the child is concerned, it is experienced as abandonment.

From birth to around age two, the child’s primary need is bonding. If our parents, for whatever reason, cannot bond with us in the ways that we need, it can impact the rest of our relationships, along with our ongoing sense of self-worth, safety and our ability to trust.

2) Thwarted Autonomy usually occurs when we are learning to crawl, walk and talk, and thus, when we are beginning to establish our boundaries and starting to explore the world. The dictionary definition of thwarted is to “prevent (someone) from accomplishing

something”. If a parent is over-protective or overlycritical during the development of our autonomy, we can quickly learn that the world is a dangerous place, and develop what’s called ‘toxic shame’.

By repeatedly being told that we are doing something ‘wrong or ‘bad’, the child tends to turn it back upon themself by concluding ‘I’m wrong’ or ‘I’m bad.’ The chronic fear and shame that comes from Thwarted Autonomy can cause us to limit our life – due to a heightened need to ‘stay safe’ – and also be a hidden cause of self-sabotage; due to us believing we are unworthy, not good enough and even deserving of punishment.

3) Parentification occurs when the child becomes the parent by taking on their roles and responsibility. There are two main types of parentification. ‘Instrumental’ happens when the child takes on the tasks of the parents – such as taking care of siblings, cooking, cleaning or even looking after the parent. Whereas ‘Emotional’ parentification happen if the child is put in the position of needing to be the counsellor or confidant to the parent.

Parentification can be an anxious and overwhelming experience for the child; essentially robbing their childhood and removing their access to any healthy parental role models. Common signs that this may have happened to you would be struggling to trust people, neglecting your own needs, resisting adulthood, struggling to say no, often feeling guilty, or dysfunctional relationships.

Other forms of childhood traumas include being raised by a narcissistic parent or being chronically sick as a child. If you can relate to any of these early-life traumas, you are not alone. With so many people secretly suffering from untold traumas, an added benefit of researching and releasing your own traumas is more compassion for yourself and others.

In the words of Dr Melanie Salmon - ‘There are no bad people, only badly traumatised people.” Knowledge is power and my intention for providing this whistle-stop tour of the lesser-known childhood traumas is to empower real healing and transformation within you. Our goal here isn’t to appoint blame or feel wronged, but rather to embark on what can be an illuminating journey of personal enquiry, discovery, release and ultimate recovery.

Exclusive Offer: Use discount code ‘POSITIVELIFE’ to get 25% off One:One Sessions with Sandy. Visit his website for more on his online sessions, club and academy. sandynewbigging.com

TEEN SPIRIT

beauty 2.0 BEAUTY AND THE MALE GAZE.

by Margot Tubbiolo As teen girls, most of us aspire to be desired. Not in an unfeminist way, it is just that we want to feel accepted. This world we live in makes us feel that as a woman, if you are not beautiful you are not worthy. That leads most girls to crave and chase after this feeling from a young age. When we are meant to be dreaming about what our future will be, we are instead criticising the person in front of the mirror. This leads me to believe that we are not a feminist society — how can we be if girls feel like they need to focus on their appearance, more than what they have to offer the world? As much as we like to think things are equal today, the way women feel the need to put themselves through this torment leads me to believe otherwise.

“Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked “female’.” - Erin McKean There are so many different types of women in this world, but I will be speaking from my experience. The way I perceive

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beauty is a result of how I looked at myself from a young age. Your experiences at this monumental time shapes your behaviours later in life — this is called your inner child. We have desires that were not fulfilled so we yearn for them at a later stage. Now aged eighteen, I have realised how distorted my perception of myself is. This has a lot to do with the male gaze.

The male gaze is when a woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire.

Since I never got much male attention as a young girl, the male validation I get now feels even more important in my life. I feel like I’ve gotten to the point where I need someone to tell me that I’m beautiful to feel it, and that is not good. I have my work cut out for me as a young adult. I want to reprogram that part of my brain that makes me reliant on other people for my self-confidence. The way you act, your behaviour, is all a result of how you want people to view you. I look at myself from this male perspective and I act in a certain way so that people will

find me attractive, and I am sick of it. It creates a toxic mentality that I need to keep adhering to men to make myself feel good, when in reality, who is that making happy?

Not me, that’s for sure.

I feel like I can’t do certain things.

I’ve always wanted to shave my head, stop shaving my body hair, put on weight for myself. However, as shallow as it sounds, the fear of losing male attention stops me from doing that. I am made to feel that if a man doesn’t think I’m pretty, then what value do I have? The female gaze is so much more accepting and freeing. It focuses more on individuality by letting go of these ideals we feel we have to follow and cultivating overall confidence in ourselves. I think every woman should look at herself through their own eyes.

We can do this by focusing on the female perspective. No one knows the struggles of a woman more than a fellow woman. I need to acknowledge that and let go of of the hold that male validation has over me.

We all do.

“Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female’.”

- Erin McKean

Available on Amazon.co.uk in ebook & paperback “A great story. Ultimately, A Hummingbird’s Heart is a journey of courage, healing, and spiritual awakening. If you enjoyed Eat Pray Love, you’ll love it.”

Paul Congdon, Positive Life Magazine.

“A Hummingbird’s Heart is a highly imaginative story, filled with unforeseen twists and turns and an unexpected ending. It’s philosophical and inspirational. I really enjoyed it.”

Kevin Miller, Author/Editor

“Loved it. Very original. Different to other fantasy novels. I enjoyed the hidden meanings within the story, and loved the surprise ending.

Brilliant.” Mary Charno, M.D

Endless Fulfilment ENDLESS FULFILMENT: LIFE COACH, REIKI AND SOUND BATH HEALING.

by Kate Stuart We recently spoke with Andrea and Attila from Endless Fulfilment. Andrea began by telling us what led her to become a Reiki master and how that in turn led her to meet Attila. Andrea jokes about how she was bashful explaining to this new man she was dating about her esoteric passion for Reiki; Attila chimes in laughing, that he “gets it” because he is a Sound Bath Healer. There began their journey as a pair, and the creation of Endless Fulfilment.

Attila has been practising Tibetan Buddhism for 25 years and incorporates the Tibetan mantras into the sound bath healing. During sound therapy, energetic and emotional imbalances can be eliminated by harmonic sounds and vibrations. Using ancient sacred mantras, Attila is able to create a meditative experience for the person to be bathed in sound waves, using various instruments of sound and his voice to create vibrations to melt away your stress and worries.

Reiki is about balancing the chakras.

This can sometimes be tough if there are blockages there to work through. Reiki master Andrea takes each person on a oneto-one basis, finding out what is best for them. You will leave these sessions feeling more clear, and better able to deal with what is going on in your life.

Andrea is also a certified life coach where her aim is to empower her clients in life, love and everything in between. She is a facilitator who spends time getting to know her clients to best guide them with their goals.

The benefits of Reiki and Sound Bath Healing are endless, but a few that piqued my interest are harmonising your energy levels, strengthening your immune system and reframing your mindset to live a more positive life. endlessfulfillmentcoachandreiki.com

“The beauty of sound is that it goes where it needs to in the body.”

POSITIVE PERSONALITY

eben alexander

on his NDE NEARING DEATH BRINGS LIGHT TO LIFE.

by Alison McEvoy Interviewed by Paul Congdon

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“...recover your connection to the universe at large and your ability to contribute to the metamorphosis of all humankind.”

Eben Alexander, MD, was an academic neurosurgeon for over 25 years, including 15 years at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He experienced a transcendental Near-Death Experience (NDE) during a week-long coma from an inexplicable brain infection that completely transformed his worldview. A pioneering scientist and modern thought leader in the emerging science that acknowledges the primacy of consciousness in the universe, he is the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Proof of Heaven, The Map of Heaven and Living in a Mindful Universe.

Eban Alexander is one of the most famous Near-Death Experiencers in the world.

It probably helps that he can speak so eloquently about the subject, and has been doing so for over a decade now, along with his wife Karen.

Eben explodes the conversation on Near-Death Experience, in all directions of implication and meaning. He speaks not only of his own experience but also about how the modern science of consciousness converges with that experience, and rationally proves what he can testify to having experienced from the depths of his coma.

THE CORE What some near-death literature calls “the void”, Eben calls “the core”. What he found in that “dazzling darkness” was not any lack or emptiness, as implied by the word ‘void’, but rather a felt-sense of “complete bliss, oneness, with an infinitely loving God force of healing and wholeness.” A place where duality ceases to exist and “all paradoxes are resolved”.

Eben believes that a near-death experience (NDE) is not required in order to experience this core of existence, this “experience of pure oneness”. We can all access it through a strong meditation practice or spontaneous epiphany.

PAST THE STREAM, TO THE CORE The first step, the most important thing, for people to do in order to get on track to experiencing the core, is this: “It begins with an acknowledgement that the little voice in our heads is not who we truly are. Our consciousness is a much richer connection with the universe.”

It is essential to realise that the stream of thoughts which is first encountered on the meditative journey ‘inside’, is not who you are. Sitting down to meditate or pray, immediately the ‘inner room-mate’ starts to chatter. This is a huge stumbling block for so many. It is so easy to get lost in frustration or to start to listen and go down the rabbit hole of thoughts,

concerns, complaints, questions that our thinking brain, or ‘ego mind’, is constantly streaming at us.

It is only when you can step out of that stream of thoughts, put it in “time out” - as Eben describes his manner of bypassing the ego mind - that you can begin the journey to the core.

For Eben, there is no one prescribed way in which to meditate or practice centering prayer; “Meditation can come in many different forms...Meditation and centering prayer help thin the veil and reconnect at a soul level...I use sacred acoustics...[it] is a very good place to start.”

ODYSSEY INTO LOVE While Eben’s consciousness journeyed away from his human existence as ‘Eben’, in/out to the deepest realms of the Universe, he found that “The background of that realm is love”. The “God-force” which he experienced has an “ultimate ambience of love, compassion, kindness”.

Thus, true spirituality is this self-same ambience alive within the human being. For Eben, his experience has allowed him to become crystal clear as to the nature of spirituality: “There are two ingredients to spirituality alone. One is a strong sense, and a practical application, of unity with other beings and with the universe at large. The other is that it all has meaning and purpose. That the universe is filled in essence with the Grace of God. We have a shared purpose and meaning to our lives.”

Accepting these two ingredients into our lives brings with it a wealth of possibility for healing and wholeness: “Each of us has tremendous power to come into physical, mental and emotional healing by acknowledging that we are spiritual beings in a spiritual universe... recover your connection to the universe at large and your ability to contribute to the metamorphosis of all humankind.”

This potential contribution, our purpose, has to do with the evolution and growth of both human individuals and an

involvement with humanity at large: “It’s our free will choice of how we deal with the hardships in our lives. That’s what allows us to transform and grow...

Our souls grow in participating with the transformation of all sentient beings. It’s here in the material world that we get the growth done.”

We are here to learn, to evolve, to grow towards the divine essence - learn to use our free will throughout our daily struggles to choose the ‘ambience of love, compassion and kindness’. This is the best and truest use of our free will. When we align our free will with God - make the choices that God/The Divine would have us make - we grow spiritually.

HUMAN LIMITATIONS There is a beautiful humility which Eben expresses as a human being; “Our ability to bring the consciousness of the Universe into our understanding is just beyond that of the animals. We are closer to the animals than we are to infinite knowledge.”

A true philosopher, he recognises the limits of our human knowledge; the limits of our brain to transmit and receive Universal consciousness.. We cannot know the overall purpose of the Existence at large, and our place in it, but we can get a sense of our purpose as human beings and how to fulfil that purpose via our free will.

CONNECT WITH EBEN Eben has so much to share, from personal stories of his NDE to the cutting edge of scientific knowledge which aligns with wisdom thousands of years old. There is so much to this man’s scope of experience and knowledge. His new book, ‘Living In A Mindful Universe’, is out now and it’s a great place to start... ebenalexander.com

Catch Eben at our Positive Nights event this Spring.

Tickets at seminars.ie

POSITIVE TANTR A

awakening

the senses

and witnessing

beauty WEAVING CLASSICAL TANTRA, WITH ASPECTS OF NEOTANTRA AND THE BALANCED WISDOM OF EQUANIMITY.

by Dawn Cartwright

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“To expand our capacity for beauty, we must first expand our senses and experience each as if for the very first time.”

“When you shut down the human psyche and become an observer of beauty, you will immediately experience an overflow of a much truer vibration of love than perhaps you have ever had. You will realise love has no end to it because it is not a thing, it is an experience. It is an experience of witnessing beauty.”

Zach Bush, M.D.

Beauty.

Finches flitting through hedgerows, water rushing over stones, moss-draped trees, the scent of gorse in the spring, birdsong at dusk.

City streets on Sundays, train whistles, jets climbing the sky, the smell of coffee, the grit of concrete.

The slope of his shoulders, her hands holding a mug, footsteps on a staircase, eyes warm with acceptance, a moment’s pause.

You, your openness, your dreams, the things you love, the beating of your heart.

Beauty streams into our senses at a rate of over 11 million bits of information per second. That’s a lot of beauty.

The world is beauty-filled. Life is beautiful. We are immersed in beauty.

Meanwhile we, when we are most aware, most awake, and at our best, perceive approximately 50 bits out of the 11 million bits on offer - which means there are another 10,999,950 bits of beauty out there just waiting to wow us - every second.

10,999,950 Bits of Beauty Each morning, in every Tantric temple, beauty is welcomed into the world with offerings of sandalwood, mantras, incense, oil lamps and sweets. Beautiful themselves, each of these offerings has an important practical significance.

Sandalwood awakens the sense of smell. Mantras awaken the sense of hearing. Incense awakens the sense of touch. Oil lamps awaken the sense of sight. Sweets awaken the sense of taste.

Five offerings. Beauty enters the world through our senses. To expand our capacity for beauty, we must first expand our senses - and experience each as if for the very first time.

Awakening the Senses This practice weaves together the depth of classical Tantra, the relationship aspects of NeoTantra and the balanced wisdom of equanimity. I invite you to stop what you’re doing and try this meditation now.

You’ll be so happy you did.

You may experience this meditation sitting alone with yourself, or you may wish to invite a friend or lover to join you. Create a space that is comfortable, surrounded by things that awaken the five senses. Be sure you will not be disturbed.

Allow 10-30 minutes for the meditation.

Close your eyes. Expand your breath, slightly, so that you feel your body stretch with every inhale. Wake up the body with breath for at least 1-2 minutes. Feel free to move, sound, or be still as you connect with yourself.

When you feel ready, before you open your eyes, tune in to the sensations in your body. What do you notice? What do you feel? Slow down your thinking and expectations, let go of getting the meditation ‘right.’ Settle into the simple sensations already present inside you.

Slowly begin to extend the inhale, until the sensations in your body intensify just slightly. With each inhale, feel the expansion of the lungs and ribcage - and soften into this expansion. Each breath creates a very gentle intensity while you intentionally soften, simultaneously.

Take a very full breath now - and feel the intensity. At the peak of the intensity, soften the body, melt the edges of the fullness created by the inhale.

What do you notice? Relax the desire to make something happen and notice what’s here.

Take another full breath. Feel the intensity. At the peak of intensity, soften just a little. Witness the beauty of your body. Witness the beauty of your breathing.

Witness the beauty of softening.

Slowly open your eyes, the smallest amount, just enough to let the light in.

Soften your gaze and open your eyes a bit more. Notice what you see. Relax the desire to make something happen and notice what’s here. Keep it simple. What do you see? Witness beauty. Beauty in the objects around you. Beauty in your own body.

Allow the experience and every sensation to rise and fall without naming them. Without comparing your experience to any other experience you might have had or wish you’d had. Witness this moment, just as it is, for the first and only time.

You may wish to continue this meditation, exploring all the senses.

Exploring yourself, the space around you, your friend or lover. Witnessing beauty.

Continue for as long as you wish.

When you feel complete, let go of the meditation. Rest and receive everything that appeared. Give yourself plenty of time to integrate and absorb.

What did you discover?

Witnessing Beauty The thing about beauty is it just keeps appearing. There is always more to witness.

Once the senses are awake and we let go of making beauty a thing, the more alive it becomes. More expansive, far more than 11 million bits. More and more beauty to witness, infinite love to experience.

Dawn Cartwright is a NeoTantra visionary, sacred writer, world traveler, and innovator in authentic lovemaking and NeoTantra fusion.dawncartwright.com

mastering the art of

allowing SIT BACK & SHINE YOUR LIGHT.

by Alison McEvoy Interviewed by Paul Congdon Geoffrey and Linda Hoppe are a husband and wife team, united in marriage for the last 44 years, and united in purpose and passion in the form of the Crimson Circle.

The Crimson Circle, based in Golden, Colorado, is a connecting point via internet broadcasts, intimate gatherings, webcasts, live events and so many more ways which enable Geoff and Linda to reach the consciousness of people who are “allowing their enlightenment in this lifetime”.

Geoff primarily channels the communications of Adamus in his work with those committed to realisation.

STAY ON THE BENCH Life, work, people and commitments so often require us to ‘get off the bench’ - to stand up and act, so to speak. Do something. Make it happen. Shake those trees because those oranges aren’t going to drop themselves off the branches....

Enlightenment, however, lies in an entirely different direction according to the wisdom of Adamus as channelled by Geoff. It requires that we “sit on our park bench and shine our light”.

That is all.

I remember hearing, early on in my yoga journey, that Shavasana is the most challenging pose of all. Oh no, I thought, surely a headstand has to be much harder than Shavasana. Yes, if you are looking from the standards of achievements that can be gained by human effort.

Enlightenment requires an entire shift of perspective however, which sees that

surrender into allowing as the true journey.

Enlightenment simply cannot be gained by human effort.

IF YOU STAND UP, SIT BACK DOWN Remember...when you are tempted to jump into the fray. When you are so disturbed by something that you just must take action. When you begin to get in the game of thinking what needs to happen, to formulate strategies and plot and plan... this is when it is most important to ‘sit down on your bench and shine your light’, says Geoff. “Sit back. Take a deep breath and just allow. When I do this my nonmental systems, my divine systems take over and bring things into balance and then I feel, ‘OK, I can handle this’, because I’m not trying to do things - mentally or physically.”

This applies to whether you are concerned about outer events in the wider world, or the closest event to home – your own enlightenment.

When it comes to things like what is going on in the Ukraine, we could be tempted to set our minds plotting but, Geoff reminds us, this is not what is going to change the world. “Those who are addicted to power are going to try to grab more – because they feel it slipping from their hands....They had power in past lives and they have come back for more.

It’s ultimately not going to work though.

People will reject it and realise it is a farce.

It’s a power-play.”

“The best thing you can do is not to put your energy into Russia, etc. Get

on your park bench and shine your light.

Don’t get in the game. Don’t be a player or a pawn. Sit above the chess board and shine your light...The best thing you can do for the planet is shine your light. When you do this you are doing something very important. You are putting down your agendas, your swords, your causes...People will then get sick and tired of going along with these [dictator power play] programs and say ‘no more’.”

AWAKENING TO THE DESIRE FOR ENLIGHTENMENT....

Geoff gives an overview of what leads us on the road to enlightenment....

We have lived lifetime upon lifetime – a general count of 1,200 according to Adamus. In these lifetimes we tend to be born into the same soul families and in the same general geographical locations.

When we get tired of the ‘merry-go-round’ and decide to wrap it all up, get off the ride, that is when we awaken and feel the call to enlightenment. “The awakening is a joyful experience, like ‘Ah, I’m done, I’m going to be free’. But then the hard part hits – because you have to integrate all those past lives before realisation can occur. And release all of your guilt and shame that you’ve accumulated over many lifetimes.”

“We call it the encounter with the dragon. It’ll tear you up. It’s tough. It’s really tough because you are holding things inside you in the dark...guilt and shame about things you’ve done, things you haven’t done. You go through this

whole, rough, dragon period until you’re finally cleared out. You realise you have no more battle. No more fight. Whether within yourself or with the outside world. I am that I am and I’m at peace with it. And that’s when realisation occurs.”

....THEN ALLOWING IT TO HAPPEN “Stop thinking you’re going to facilitate your realisation. It is only by being in a state of allowing and clear about what allowing really means,” says Linda.

“Allow”, reiterates Geoff, “leave it to the soul. We are here as humans to experience it [realisation] but not to make it happen.”

“Going from awakening to mastery is incredible but brutal,” says Geoff, referring in more depth to the encounter with the dragon. This is not something we need to seek or make happen.

“Once you say I’m ready, the dragon is going to come in and find all that crap and put it right in front of your face.”

All we need to do is give permission to the dragon which is in fact a part of your own Soul. Allow the dragon to do you the favour of bringing up and releasing all the old junk we are carrying around so that we can “gracefully go into realisation”.

“You cannot take your junk through the threshold of Enlightenment,” says Geoff, so be ready for a big clear out.

crimsoncircle.com

“The best thing you can do for the planet is shine your light.”

27

The Tattie Hoaker Health Food Store

Goff Street, Roscommon F42EK20 (090)6630492

Roscommon’s only independent Health food store since 2001. Twenty years of serving our community.

We are open as usual mon to Saturday 10-6. Selling supplements, organic food and skincare, gifts etc.

Wide range of therapies available in our therapy rooms (post lockdown) call and collect available.

facebook.com/TattieHoaker

Sonas Health Foods Shop and Coffee Bar in Newcastle West takes pride in presenting the best brands, stocking an array of quality products, many produced locally in West Limerick.

Our shop is a hub for lovers of ambiance and good coffee, wholesome treats, savouries and salads made daily from scratch. All this alongside an array of nutritional and herbal supports.

The Square, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, V42 Y685 www.sonashealthfoods.ie Opens 9-6 Monday-Friday and Saturdays from 8am-6pm

Herbs, Homeopathy and Health Foods 88 Glaslough Street, Monaghan Town, H18 AD70 Monaghan’s only independent health food shop, with in store herbal and homeopathic dispensaries. We also stock a wide range of select supplements, skin care, health foods and local crafts.

Opening hours: Monday - Friday 09.15-17.00 and Saturday 10.00-16.00 Phone: 04783634 Email: beehealthymonaghan@gmail.com Instagram: @beehealthy88 Facebook: Bee Healthy

Celebrating 15 years of supporting your health and the health of the planet

Main St, Kinvara, Co Galway Tel - 091 637176 www.healingharvest.ie

health stores

galore EMPOWERING YOUR HEALTH.

by Alison McEvoy There are over 200 established independent health food stores in Ireland.

From Bantry to Bundoran, Bellmullet to Blessington, family run stores are located on main streets and city malls, each bringing a unique offering, all focused on natural health and sustainability.

Health food stores are at the heart of their communities.

I spoke with Lorin Taylor of Licorice Health Foods in Portumna recently, which celebrates its tenth birthday this year. Her story is unique, yet her passion for what she does is shared by so many of those like her, who run health stores as an expression of their soul’s desire to help others.

After a traumatic life experience, Lorin decided to exit the workplace and stay at home with her children. She had worked in and managed health food stores before and, after sheltering down with her family for a year and a half, she felt impelled to step back out in the world; “For me, opening my health food store means a lot of things. It’s my independence...my gateway to getting out into the world...it allows me to be who I am. I find it fascinating all the things we can learn and that I can make a difference in a really positive way to people’s lives.”

Similarly, Siân Eustace of Healing Harvest heath food store in Kinvara, Co. Galway sees the health food store as an integral part of her life, her joy and her purpose. Healing Harvest is fifteen years

old this year she tells me, excitedly. For Siân, “being a health food store owner means that I get to do something I love every day. I am a part of a nourishing and supportive community, being privileged to see families grow and to support them through all stages of life - births, marriages and deaths. It is a wonderful thing to be there for people through difficult times and good and I have also benefited from support from the community in return.”

NO COMPROMISE One of the key aspects to these owners’ contentment as health food store proprietors is that it means, in Lorin’s own words “I am not compromising how I feel.” She has the opportunity to research each product that lines her shelves and weigh the sustainability of all aspects of its production and packaging.

For Siân, this aspect is central to her consciousness as a health food store owner also; “We have always offered refills of cleaning products but, in more recent years, our offerings have developed with more options for eco-conscious living and it is good to know that we are helping to protect our planet too.”

HUBS OF HEALING Health Stores Ireland Chair, Martha Brennan spoke recently of the “wealth of

experience with complimentary therapies within our network.”

Health stores are magnets for individuals with healing in their hearts and minds. Many health stores also play host to beautiful spaces where you can practice all forms of healing physical therapy, such as yoga or tai chi.

HEALTH STORES WITH STANDARDS The trade body for independent health stores, Health Stores Ireland, offers a wide range of supports and training options for their members; As Martha explains, “Shops that receive their door badge will have committed to a strict code of ethics and will have met minimum training standards. Over 120 stores now meet the criteria for membership.”

PLAN YOUR VISIT Lorin and Siân, and so many other like them all over the country, await your visit!

“When the sun streams in through the window in the morning, there are few places I would rather be,” says Siân. “I love meeting and chatting to all the regulars and catching up on their news. It’s always great to hear someone coming back to say that something we suggested has helped them.” healthstores.ie

“Being a health food store owner means that I get to do something I love every day.”

29

GOOD LIFE 2.0

the beauty of indigenous wisdom FACING BIGGER-THAN-SELF PROBLEMS TOGETHER.

by Davie Philip

“There is no such thing as a solitary individual. A person is a person through other persons.”

Desmond Tutu To make sense of the world, and respond to the challenges we face in meaningful ways, requires us to think differently.

Transcending the individualistic world-view that is fuelling nature’s rapid degradation, and undermining our personal and collective well-being, demands far-sightedness and a world-view that recognises our interconnectedness with all of life.

World-views shape how we think the world works. They are formed over time, are how we discern between right and wrong, and inform everything we do.

We now need a world-view that helps us expand our imaginations, value kindness, empathy, care and act in solidarity.

To positively change the way we live and cultivate a harmonious relationship between society and nature, requires us to embrace an ecological world-view, a shift from a mechanistic to a living systems perspective, one based on wholeness, relationship and change.

Might there be insights from different cultures of the world that can help us reorientate, and root our actions in

30

values that support this shift? As we search for more satisfying and sustainable ways to live on this planet, could indigenous world-views offer lessons to help us face the future?

For the Haudenosaunee, an alliance of native American nations, the Seventh Generation principle - that the decisions we make today should result in a healthy world seven generations into the future - was integral to their way of life. Could this philosophy of long-term thinking and intergenerational solidarity help us overcome our society’s myopic short-termism?

The concepts of Buen Vivir, meaning ‘the good life together’, or Sumak Kawsa, ‘good living’, are from the ancestral traditions of the Quechua people. Similar variations of communitarian principles are found in other cultures of the South American Amazon. The Kanaka Maoli - the indigenous or aboriginal people of the Hawaiian islands - their indigenous ways of knowing are again based on inclusiveness and the interdependence of all species, prioritise harmony and collective well-being.

Deeply rooted in the virtues of respect and compassion toward others is Ubuntu; a world-view from southern Africa that translates as “I am a person through other people; my humanity is tied to yours”. The late Desmond Tutu described Ubuntu as the ‘essence of being

human’, saying, “you can’t be human all by yourself, when you have Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity.”

Ubuntu is essentially about togetherness and expresses the interconnectedness, common humanity and the responsibility of individuals to look out for each other. The opposite of Ubuntu is expressed in the derogatory term ‘mé féiner’, used in Ireland to describe a person who only looks out for themselves, adapted from the Irish word for myself ‘mé fein’.

Understanding the importance of relationships with others and with all life, and that in this fragile, interconnected world, our individual well-being is dependent on us acting together on behalf of the whole.

These holistic and community world-views from indigenous cultures have similarities with Buddhism and Taoism and offer us important lessons in addressing bigger-than-self problems together and in accelerating a shift in thinking that reconnects us to nature and ensures our collective well-being.

Davie Philip is a facilitator and trainer with a focus on community resilience at Cultivate.ie and a network weaver at ECOLISE.eu, the European network for community-led initiatives on climate change and sustainability,

“ Indigenous ways of knowing are again based on inclusiveness and the interdependence of all species, prioritise harmony and collective well-being”

A great bone, teeth and immune support, these sprays have a fast and effective absorption rate.

Coeliac and Vegan friendly Easter Eggs and Chocolates are available in store now This May we will have 20% off selected digestive remedies. Pop in store to discuss what product would suit your needs best.

Dargan Healthfoods will be celebrating 20years in business this year. We remain open to the public following all Government guidelines.

Dargan Healthfoods, Unit 6 Castletroy SC, Limerick 061-339506 @darganhealthfoods @darganhealthfoods

THE ALOE TREE Located in Ennistymon County Clare, off the wild Atlantic way, The Aloe Tree is a family run health food store with community at its core. Our range has grown from personal choice and community feedback, leading to a wide and ecclectic selection.

and Eco shop Castletownbere, West Cork 027 70770 All your holistic living needs under one roof Skincare, Healthcare & Supplements, Healthfoods & Homewares Eco cleaning supplies plus Gifts, Jewellery, Crystals & Greeting Cards

Zero waste & plastic free. You can find a wide range of loose dried foods, detergents , tea, coffee , local chocolate and more.

Local , Organic & Natural remedies.

Call in for a coffee or organic smoothie!

Main St, Ennistymon, Co. Clare 065 7070000 Follow us on

Instagram or Facebook

we talk to

teal swan

AWARENESS, LOVE AND WHERE HUMANITY IS HEADED.

by Kate Stuart | Interviewer: Paul Congdon

In this conversation with Teal Swan, we unpack lofty ideas around awareness, love and where humanity is headed.

Teal Swan has a series of workshops to give people the space to realign their path. Unpacking the idea of self love, what this actually means, and how you can begin to practice it daily, she gets to the root of some of the problems that hold people back in life. It is only by asking the tough questions to yourself that you can begin to redirect yourself onto the path you want to go.

Paul: Awareness is a hack to cut through the noise, so I wanted to ask you about your perspective on awareness.

Teal: My perspective on awareness is complex, it’s something that exists on different levels. When I use the word awareness, I mean at any level. That could mean diving into and deeply exploring your trauma, that is one level of awareness. My goal in awareness is to make it so that a person essentially exists or gathers awareness from any one of these dimensional spaces. So they can dive down into the minutiae or they can swim upwards into that macrocosmic, more objective perspective. It’s a different vantage point. I feel like being at any of these different vantage points offers something valuable.

The mentality around awareness that I hold is more similar to the ancient gurus of India.

Have you heard the term paramahamsa before? It means supreme swan. The reason they gave spiritual teachers that title is because they believe that the swan had the capacity to transcend all dimensions and therefore gain awareness of all these dimensions. It is the choice, the choice whether to take the objective perspective or to dive down

into a subjective perspective, that makes awareness what it is and makes it so comprehensive.

Paul: I am going to ask you to describe the ideal relationship. How does it look, does it exist on this planet?

Teal: There is no ideal relationship, because an ideal relationship is one that is in alignment with the best interests of both people involved. If we want to go a step further, it’s when the relationship itself is in alignment with the best interests of both people involved, in a way that is pleasurable to both people.

It’s when the best interest brings about pleasure in both, that is when we can consider the ideal relationship, but the problem with getting into what that would be like, and what that would look like is because it is unique to the individuals experiencing that.

We have to get outside the box, what you’ll notice is that even when you have a non-traditional relationship, they are still trying to fit that into the structures of marriage, a domestic partnership or whatever that looks like. We are going to have to get way more creative to find the ideal relationship.

Paul: So that leads me on to love. How do you define love?

Teal: I define love as, taking the other person as a part of oneself, to no longer see the division; however part of love is to recognise differences. I am putting it out there as simple, but the choice to love is the most difficult practice of all, because when we feel like our own best interests are opposed, we slip into a narcissistic state, we start to defend our best interests and we actually start to no longer care if the other person is experiencing joy or

misery. At that point we are really out for ourselves and the choice to love is the opposite.

When somebody is opposing your best interest, to take them as a part of you is very difficult. When you take someone as part of you, you are going to act in their best interest because there is no way to act against their best interest without hurting yourself. That doesn’t mean you throw away your own needs, what you are looking for is the win-win scenario where you are trying to find the highest and best for you both.

Paul: You have a course on self love at the minute, I would love a little taster of how people can get in touch with their own self love. Talk us through that?

Teal: I want to give people a mental conceptualisation of self love, because it’s so abstract. Most people don’t understand what love is, most people don’t understand what self love is. To love oneself, you have to recognise yourself as an ecosystem. Self love only arises when you recognise the self as a multiplicity. There is a recognition that there are different parts of self, and there is an aspect of self that I am pushing away. It’s an interesting practice because you are recognising the parts of self almost like you would recognise others.

Underneath all hate, is pain. If I perceive a part of me to be causing me pain, which I do if other people push me away because of it, I now will start to hate that aspect of myself.

The process of self love is to reverse that. You have to become aware of the parts of yourself that you have split yourself off from, and are in active rejection of. Parts work is my favourite tool for self love. In parts work what we’re doing is allowing our entire body to become possessed by one aspect of our

being. I may have an aspect of me that is sensitive and walks into a crowded room and is overwhelmed; to the opposite I may have an aspect of self that is capable of taking over the room and speaking to a large audience. When we do parts work we are letting the psyche go only into that which is, in this case, sensitive.

Paul: Is there a process for when we are in tricky spaces that we can go into a place and actually relax into it and let it go?

Teal: Let the emotion go?! No! The reason I say this is because the attitude of going into an emotion, feeling it and letting it pass, is to miss the fact that emotions are the carriers of personal truth. Usually an emotion has a very important message to convey and it’s not until you get that message and make some subsequent change, whether it’s to a thought or to an action, that it will indicate differently; like a compass, you want to change direction so there has to be an action.

What I am hoping that people understand is that every single emotion is a conveyor of personal truth and a container of personal truth. If you sit with it for long enough, waiting for that personal truth to come to the surface, even using your mind to explore when it began, why it began, and what it tells you about yourself, then it acts as a guide throughout your life.

Paul: I want to talk about humanity and the idea that the human is so sacred.

Where do you think we are at, where are we going and what is the contribution we make to the divine?

Teal: If I was going to sum up the contribution that humanity offers to the divine, it is the conceptualisation of self, it is the exploration of self, it is the defining of self and the intellectualisation of self.

It is I am…fill in the black, the discovery of I am is what humanity does for the divine. Where we run into the light and the shadow side of humanity, is the ego.

The ego is the concept of self, which is our contribution to source, that comes with having to realise the shadow side of self, which is separation. This is where we find ourselves in terms of where humanity is today.

The awakened ego — we can consider as the exaltation of humanity is where we understand that ultimately, what we are is choice. All the great teachers since the beginning of time have been

“I think that emotions more than anything convey needs, especially when we are talking about triggers.”

33

trying to teach humanity this — choice and the choice to love. What choice does as it relates to the self concept is, it allows us to intentionally manifest what it is we want to be, rather than saying, this is what i am and I am fixed and fused to it whether i like it or not. It is in that that we can express all these positive traits. We know what those are with humanity, the creativity, the capacity to build community, relationship, the exalted forms of humanity, and essentially choose what we are, when we do that, that’s essentially source. It is a big game right?

Paul: You said to me last time we met, go into the shadow because there is gold there.

That really resonated with me. How are you approaching the shadow now?

Teal: My goal is to release more resistance so that I can go deeper into the shadow. If there is a friction point within me towards something that I am meeting in the shadow, I have created more shadow. I have created a resistance state. Nothing has changed, there is more of an exploration into what people are unconscious of, the unconscious patterns that are destroying their life - the discovery of aspects of self that were buried that can enhance their life. Shadow work can create this full body excitement when you find that friction point and work through it. I’m not going to say it isn’t terrifying, but it is always valuable.

Paul: When your inner child gets activated, and you are in this animal reaction, feeling triggered, upset and scared. I know you use a completion process for this kind of work. How do you approach this?

Teal: One of the best techniques for this is a 4 or 6 breath. Breathe all the way into the capacity of your lungs and hold for a count of 4 or 6, depending on your lung capacity, then blow it out. The more panicked you are, the less lung capacity you have. If you practice this for two minutes, you will begin to notice that reactivity will start to back down. There is a disconnection between that aspect of self, being the inner child and your entire nervous system.

From that place you will be able to meet the needs of your inner child.

It’s about being objective enough to understand and meet the need that is being expressed by that inner child part.

If we have the awareness of what that activation is about; if we can create enough space there, which we can when you are

using your breath, even the quality of our conversations change.

Paul: I want to ask you about empaths.

These people find the intensity of the world is so much for them, could you speak directly to empaths?

Teal: While we have the capacity to develop a sensitivity, this is evolved from a particular circumstance. The genuine capacity to attune to somebody to such a degree is born from trauma. With empaths, the skill they develop is the capacity to attune, but they specifically use it to attune to what is the most dangerous or low frequency thing in an area. Empaths are trying to protect themselves by tuning into the thing that has the lowest frequency in the room, the thing that poses the most risk.

The empath has, through trauma, developed the skill of attuning. They attune to their environment immediately; that is an incredibly impressive skill. You will see that a choice that was made, based on circumstances that made them feel unsafe in their childhood; that attunement is part of their self protection mechanism.

Question from the audience at the end of the event.

There is a split within me, as with so many women in our society regarding the desire to have children and the desire to not have children. I can’t figure out what is truly in alignment for me and my partner regarding becoming parents.

Teal: I think one of the most difficult parts of life, and this applies to the decision to parent or not, is we have to have the capacity to look at our top values and prioritise them. Write down your values and put them in order of priority. List both the part that wants children and the part that doesn’t. Is there an arrangement that meets both needs? Pick your top priority, and make a decision; that is your choice.

As a woman, the question is between career or children, it is not possible to have extreme versions of both. Every woman has to be in that reality and stop selling each other on the fact that you can have tons of both. The motherhood career split is the bane of existence for women who have careers. Even though we do need to move into this place where a woman has a choice and is valued either way, we need to come out of this position where women are in a lose-lose situation. If they choose a

career they are respected but they are also not liked very much. Competence levels go up, likability goes down. What I am also noticing that has to change, is that women who are powerfully choosing motherhood, they need to be received in society in a way where they are valued, not in this position where they lose respect but gain likability.

I have been doing shadow work with a completion process practitioner around the feeling of not being good enough or valuable to anyone or anything. Is there any insight you can give me to overcome this?

Teal: What I need is for you to work with this aspect of you that is actually getting a benefit from not having any value. There are many different strategies that a person uses in order to stay safe. Some of those strategies at face value would seem selfsabotaging. In childhood if you struggled a lot with disappointment, it would be beneficial for that person to create a self that is incredibly cynical so as to prevent themselves from blind siding with disappointment. A cynic might say I don’t know how to get out of this negative mood I’m in all the time, and that is because it is serving them. There is a part of you that protects you by keeping yourself in a space where you see yourself as having no value.

It is the protector part you have to work with, that is using the strategy ‘there is no value in me’.

There is a part of me that is blocking selfawareness. I have a part that is blocking shadow work. I try to step into parts but it is blocked, like my mouth is covered, it’s muffled.

Teal: That fact that you can describe this feeling of being muffled is brilliant, because you are judging yourself. ‘I can’t because of this’ - that is getting into it.

Sometimes you get to a part and that is what will happen. A lot of times when parts present that way, we don’t spend the time to do that, because they tell a narrative that it’s not working. What I am hearing is, it’s working 100%, that’s the truth of that aspect. It’s muffled, it’s telling you it’s not working, but that is the part talking! Only by understanding these needs can you begin to crack through that resistance.

Find out more about Teal Swan and her work: tealswan.com/

“When you take someone as part of you, you are going to act in their best interest because there is no way to act against their best interest without hurting yourself”

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POSITIVE MEDICINE

vitamin D:

nature’s medicine chest VITAMIN D3, A NATURAL SOURCE FROM THE SUN THAT CAN BE USED TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DISEASE.

by Ty Bollinger (CNM) For years, experts have warned people to stay out of the “harmful” sunlight or to use plenty of sunscreen if you are outside. But is this good advice? Not only are many sunscreens packed with harmful ingredients, but one of the main components in 90% of sunscreens has been shown to increase toxicity in sunlight… huh?

Meanwhile, natural sunlight allows our bodies to create vitamin D. This incredible vitamin can reduce disease by enhancing calcium absorption, inducing cell differentiation, increasing apoptosis, reducing metastasis and proliferation, and reducing angiogenesis. But sitting in the sun until you’re red isn’t a good idea either. Burning damages cellular DNA, which leads to disease. So how can you get the benefits of sunlight safely? Raise your hand if you think sunlight causes skin cancer. For decades, doctors and the ‘cancer industry’ have warned us stay out of the ‘dangerous’ sunlight and/or use plenty of sunscreen. But is this good advice?

36

Did you know vitamin D deficiency has been linked to cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and autism? Vitamin D isn’t really a ‘true’ vitamin, as we don’t need food to attain it. Natural sunlight allows our body to create vitamin D and even destroys excessive amounts. How does that happen?

When the sun’s ultraviolet B ‘UVB’ rays hit your skin, they trigger a pre-cholesterol molecule (7-dehydrocholesterol), which is then turned into vitamin D3 aka ‘cholecalciferol’.

“I frequently refer to sunshine as the most affordable diseasefighting nutrient in the world” The mechanisms by which vitamin D reduces the risk of disease are fairly well understood.

Researchers in Belgium appear to be the first to show that vitamin D also lowers C-reactive protein (CRP), a measure of inflammation in the body, in critically ill patients. CRP is elevated when there is inflammation in the body, and chronic inflammation is a risk factor for a number of conditions including coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Research studies have shown a direct connection between vitamin D deficiency and heart disease. The authors of a 2006 article in the American Journal of Public Health state, after a review of more than 60 studies on vitamin D and disease, that cancer occurrence and death could be reduced with improved levels of vitamin D in the body. The incidence of breast cancer could be reduced by 50% and colon cancer by 80%!

And a June 2007 Creighton University School of Medicine study indicated that appropriate levels of vitamin D3 (and calcium) reduced the risk of cancer by a staggering 77%! A 2009 study by a group of Leeds University researchers

actually found that higher levels of vitamin D were linked to improved skin cancer survival odds, while other studies have found that vitamin D has a connection to a strong immune response in the body.

Does Sunscreen Prevent Skin Cancer?

Don’t fall for the ‘sunscreen myth’.

The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth promoted by a greedy ‘tag-team’ effort between the ‘cancer industry’ and the sunscreen industry. Sunlight is actually good for you (especially the UVB rays), and sunscreens filter out UVB! The main chemical used in sunscreens to filter out UVB is octyl methoxycinnamate (aka ‘OMC’) which has been shown to kill mouse cells even at low doses. Plus, it was also shown to be particularly toxic when exposed to sunshine. And guess what? OMC is present in 90% of sunscreen brands!

The most popular brands of sunscreens also contain other toxic chemicals (such as dioxybenzone and oxybenzone) that are absorbed through

CNM

the skin where they enter the bloodstream, generate free radicals, wreak havoc on the immune system, damage the liver and the heart, and even promote systemic cancer. Titanium dioxide, another common ingredient in sunscreens, has been classified as “a potential occupational carcinogen” by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. If you want to use a natural sunscreen, try aloe vera gel. Also, we use Dr. Mercola’s ‘Natural Sunscreen with Green Tea’ for the kiddos if we are going to be out in the sun for prolonged periods of time.

In light of the fact that the best place to get vitamin D is natural sunlight *AND* the fact that vitamin D deficiency can lead to cancer, diabetes and numerous other life-threatening diseases, the warning to “stay out of the sun” is completely irrational! And despite the importance of vitamin D, it’s estimated that over 50% of the U.S. population is vitamin D deficient.

During the summer, my family tries to lie out in the sun for at least 30 minutes, four to five times per week, to obtain sufficient vitamin D to stay healthy and strong.

COLLEGE OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Training Successful Practitioners

However, in the wintertime, you’ll need a good vitamin D3 supplement.

But take note that most vitamin D supplements are virtually worthless.

Here’s why: The vitamin D in milk and in most vitamin supplements is vitamin D2 and is synthetic. Vitamin D2 is also called ‘ergocalciferol’. It is not the form of vitamin D that you need to prevent cancer and degenerative diseases. The form of vitamin D which you need is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) and, as I mentioned above, it is produced from the UVB rays in sunlight. That’s why I frequently refer to sunshine as the “most affordable disease-fighting nutrient in the world.” Think about it, you can get a lifetime supply for FREE!

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POSITIVELY ORGANIC

the importance

of light

SUN & YOUR GARDEN.

by Hans Wieland

38

If you have ever propagated seeds on the windowsill, you will have experienced how small seedlings bend towards the light and often become leggy due to insufficient light. It might seem obvious, but light is one of the most important elements in growing food. And given that we live in Ireland, in North Western Europe, we can never have enough of it. The source of light is the sun and direct sunlight is best for plants.

Photosynthesis is the foundation of who we are and the lives we can lead But how does it work, how do plants use sunlight to grow and produce food? They eat or in biological terms photosynthesise: By taking in water (H2O) through the roots, carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and light energy from the sun, plants can perform photosynthesis to make glucose (sugars) and oxygen (O2). The natural pigment chlorophyll, that gives plants their green colour, is the vital catalyst to absorb the sunlight.

There are not many gardening books where

the author explains photosynthesis in the first chapter like Marie-Luise Kreuter in her seminal work “Der Biogarten” and it’s only through her that I came across Brendan Lehane and his book “The Power of Plants”, published in 1977 (!).

His description of the process is truly illuminating: “If one eats a freshly harvested leaf at daylight, one eats something that was part of the sun only eight minutes ago, the time sunlight needs to reach the earth.

The conversion of solar energy into food takes a fraction of a second. This process constitutes the essential key to all life on earth.”

The oxygen we breathe is largely produced through photosynthesis, which is responsible for maintaining the oxygen content of the Earth’s atmosphere and supplies most of the energy necessary for life on Earth. Since we cannot live without food and oxygen, the impact of photosynthesis on our daily life is crucial.

How much sunlight do vegetables need?

So, going back to our garden and how much sun is needed for successful growing. The majority of our garden plants require full daylight all day long for the best outcome, but there are some vegetables and herbs which are more tolerant to partial shade. Root crops and

leafy vegetables are more accepting of less light conditions than the sun-hungry tomatoes. You might notice that shade enduring plants frequently have much bigger leaves to make best use of reduced light levels. Here are some minimum requirements of light, ideally in the form of direct sunlight:

“...increasing the amount of sunlight for our vegetables will result in better yields, quality and flavour.”

Fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, melon and squash need at least eight hours of sun per day.

Root vegetables like carrots, beetroot and radishes can do with six hours of sun per day.

Leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach and kale can survive on four hours sunlight.

Herbs like mint, parsley, sage, oregano and thyme will still need about six hours of sunshine per day.

Bear in mind though, that these times are minimums and increasing the amount of sunlight for our vegetables will result in better yields, quality and flavour. But although our gardens should be in full sun, it is heartening to know that plants will adapt and overcast days, a shady garden or partial shade during the day isn’t the end.

Just make the most of what you have!

What matters to photosynthetic activity and what we can do As the photosynthesis equation shows, the sun delivers the energy, but plants also need carbon dioxide, water and a healthy soil for growth and production of food. Here we can help and our actions as gardeners, growers and farmers can be vital in the fight against global warming, habitat loss, soil erosion and air pollution.

The important message here for us gardeners is that microbes matter to photosynthetic activity throughout a plant’s life. We know that plants push carbon into the soil through root exudates,

that microbes consume that carbon, then respire much of it out in the form of CO2, that plants need for growing. We also know that in healthy soil, with high organic matter, soil microbes respire quite a lot of carbon dioxide. So keeping soil fertile with regular additions of compost not only helps to generate high carbon dioxide levels, but also helps in keeping the plant healthy and productive. And because we humans exhale carbon dioxide, remind yourself the next time you’re pruning tomatoes in your polytunnel or greenhouse, that you’re also helping to fuel the carbon cycle!

In all of my polytunnel courses I ask participants about the best time to water. It’s ideally in the morning, when the sun is out and plants wake up to photosynthesize and too little water can have severe effects on a plant’s ability to carry out the process. Mind you, too much water and the ability to absorb oxygen and nutrients from the soil are hampered too. And again a soil rich in all essential nutrients is key for plant growth. For example, the chlorophyll molecule, which is an essential component of photosynthesis, contains magnesium atoms. So if magnesium is lacking in the soil, plants may not be able to make enough chlorophyll to carry on optimal levels of photosynthesis.

Gardeners as attentive apprentices of nature Spring is here and the new growing season is before us. When out in the garden sowing and planting we might reflect on Marie-Luise Kreuter’s closing sentences on the chapter about photosynthesis: “A gardener who, in his green paradise, not only looks at the shiny surface of his salad leaves, but also sees through them and grasps what is happening under the skin, such a gardener … remains an attentive apprentice of nature throughout his life.”

Hans Wieland works and teaches at Neantog Kitchen Garden School in Cliffony, Co.Sligo. neantog.com

spring in your step POSITIVE FOOD

get your vegan on SPRING DELIGHTS.

by David and Stephen Flynn

ULTIMATE VEGAN RAMEN Here we make a dashi, chashu marinade and a La-yu to give this ramen a real pop of flavour. This only takes 20 minutes to make and it is so tasty and worth trying.

20 minutes | Serves 2

Ingredients 250g noodles of choice 180g firm tofu ½ nori sheet Handful of beansprouts ½ bunch of scallions 2 sun dried tomatoes – rehydrated 50g of radish to garnish “Dashi” stock; 30g dry shiitake 1 litre veg stock 1 tbsp tamari 1 tbsp miso Piece of kombu seaweed optional “La-yu” Infused oil: 50ml mild olive oil 1 large cloves garlic ¼ tsp Chilli flakes “Chashu” Marinade for mushrooms and tofu: 4 tbsp tamari 2 tbsp mirin (optional) 1 tbsp soft brown sugar 15g fresh ginger 1 large clove garlic 4-6 tbsp warm water

“Dashi” is the term for infused stock . You need a really good infused broth to start – use kombu and dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms.

“Chashu” is the term for the marinade the traditional meat/pork is marinated in. Use the mushrooms from broth – roasted/fried then tossed in ginger and tamari or the traditional pork Chashu marinade which seems to be a mix of soy, mirin, sake, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and green onion.

“La-yu“ is a flavoured oil (with chilli, sesame and garlic) that’s really god for drizzling over.

Method; 1 In a medium to large pot over medium heat add the shiitake and kombu with the stock, tamari and miso and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to dissolve the miso.

2 Next we will infuse our oil or the la-ya.

Heat the oil over a low heat. Roughly chop the garlic and add to the heated oil along with the chilli flakes and cook for 2-3 mins or until the garlic starts to go golden. The oil shouldn’t be as hot as to burn the garlic as this will make it bitter.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Pour through a sieve and set aside.

3 Add the sundried tomatoes to hot water and set aside to soften and rehydrate.

4 Clean and roughly chop the scallions/ spring onions, finely slice the radishes.

5 Using a slotted spoon, drain the mushrooms from the broth and roughly chop into slices. Drain and dry the firm tofu and chop into large bitesize pieces.

In a large flat pan heat 1 tsp of oil over medium to high heat. When hot, add the tofu and mushrooms and brown on all sides.

6 While the tofu is browning it’s time to

make the marinade. Peel and finely chop the garlic and ginger (you can also finely grate the ginger if you have a microplane) and whisk together with the remaining marinade ingredients. When the tofu is browned and mushrooms cooked add the marinade to the pan and work quickly to cover all the tofu and mushrooms in the marinade. Cook for a minute and remove from the heat.

7 Now it’s time to cook our noodles and assemble our ramen. Bring the broth/ dashi back to a simmer. Add the noodles to the broth and cook according to pack instructions. Divide the noodles between two bowls, placing them heaped in the centre of the bowl so we have space to add all our components.

Add the broth to each bowl and then in sections around the bowl add the tofu, chopped scallions, mushrooms, beansprouts, rehydrated tomatoes.

Drizzle each bowl with the La-yu or garlic chilli oil and enjoy!

FIVE INGREDIENT CHOCOLATE CAKE This is a super easy and surprisingly delicious chocolate cake. We did five versions of it and this version got 10/10 feedback! It’s perfect for anyone who is new to baking. We serve it with some whipped vegan cream and berries. It takes five minutes to make, 30 minutes to bake

Serves: 8 -10 slices

Ingredients: 200g all purpose white flour 70g cocoa powder 1 tbsp baking powder 180g coconut sugar/caster/muscovado sugar 130g sunflower oil 500ml boiling water

Method: 1 Preheat the oven to 180C 2 Sieve the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and sugar and mix well together.

3 Add the oil and boiling water and fold all the ingredients into a consistent cake batter.

4 Line a spring form cake tin with baking parchment.

5 Pour the batter into the cake tin, put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 180C. 6 Test that it is cooked through by sticking in a toothpick/knife and seeing that it comes out clean. If it doesn’t then bake for another 5-10 minutes until it comes out clean.

7 Remove and leave to cool.

8 Decorate with frosting of choice or serve plain with some whipped vegan cream and berries and enjoy! thehappypear.ie

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Welcome to Roaring Water Wholefoods on Schull’s Main Street We stock a good selection of Organic Wholefoods and Artisan Foods.

A wide range of quality teas and coffees, a selection of chilled and frozen foods, beverages, organic chocolate and a good range of gluten free foods.

FRESH ORGANIC VEGETABLES LOCALLY GROWN WHEN IN SEASON A LARGE RANGE OF QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS

A good variety of ethical toiletries and cleaning products.

We offer refills of selected cleaning products and toiletries.

We stock cards depicting local scenery and other treats and gifts. Our friendly staff are always keen to help with any queries. Simply call us on 028 27834 or pop by our store.

Jonti Searll has been a Conscious Sexuality Teacher for over 20 years. He works with men, women and couples of all orientations on journeys of healing, exploring, learning and expanding into all aspects of our sensuality and sexuality.

Jonti will be visiting Ireland in May this year for a month and is hosting ‘The Body of Possibility’ a series of talks, workshops, trainings and retreats in Wicklow and Cork . A limited number of one to one sessions will also be available.

The Body of Possibility will begin at Wicklow Holistic Centre, Wicklow Town on Friday 6th May 7-9pm with a free talk “Conscious Sexuality - A Path of Pleasure, A Path of Possibility”.

Our sexuality is not in a vacuum, it’s connected to all of life, and as much as these journeys often begin from a sexual point they encompass all of who we are, body, hear, mind and spirit.

Conscious Sexuality is a path of possibility, how we can live lives of greater fulfilment, be more vital, have relationships of greater depth and intimacy, be more creative, more present and aware in life, and of course, have greater pleasure.

Jonti has produced the Eros Life range of DVD’s, an audio book, Let’s Talk About Sex, E-books, meditations and webinars and writes regularly for many platforms. He has been the host of Sex Talk on cliffcentral.com for five years now.

These events are about possibility. Within us, all of us, is such pleasure, such energy, such openness, intimacy and love. The way we’ve lived, the experiences we’ve had, the beliefs we hold, the patterning and conditioning of our lives have disconnected us from possibility.

This is a journey to that space within us, within our bodies, our hearts, our sexuality, our relationships and our lives.

Dates for your Diary @ Wicklow Holistic Centre Friday, 6 May (7pm-9pm) “Conscious Sexuality - A Path of Pleasure, A Path of Possibility” (Free Talk).

Saturday, May 7 “My Sexual Self ‘, a one day workshop for women.

Sunday 8 May “Eros Connection, An Experience of Intimacy, a one day workshop for couples.

For information on Jonti’s upcoming visit to Ireland and to book your space on one of his unique workshops, trainings and retreats please contact Elaine and Margaret by email at thebodyofpossibility2022@gmail.com

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Revolutionising the agricultural space TECH ADVANCED CBD.

by Alison McEvoy Mark Canavan, CEO and co-founder of Green Heart CBD has turned his entrepreneurial skills to the world of CBD . His efforts are revolutionising the hemp-growing scene.

Hemp is a true gift from Nature, from Mother Earth. It is one of the most sustainable and multi-purposeful crops on the planet, with over 50,000 different uses so far identified for the plant; from hempcrete to hemp insulation, to the wonders of CBD oil as a food supplement.

Green Heart CBD is a whole plant extract CBD food supplement, cold pressed and Irish-grown in Drogheda, Co Louth.

Mark has found it to be crucial in allowing him to manage the natural stress of his busy work-life. “What I have found, myself personally, is that I had trouble sleeping when I was younger and I find it brings my anxiety levels down. I’ve had huge benefits from a sleep perspective. It helps your mind to shut off when needed.”

We have been trialling this CBD ourselves and have found it to

“Green Heart CBD is a whole plant extract, cold pressed and Irish-grown in Drogheda…” be up there with the top CBD products going. However, Green Heart CBD is also the stage on which hemp farming is being revolutionised. Mark is using drones to carry out daily scans of his crops and availing of multi-spectrum imaging to pick up on any health issues with the harvest. Also, consumers of Green Heart CBD will have the added benefit of full traceability. Each product features a scannable QR code which links you with the farmer who grew your product.

For more on the ways in which CBD is taking people’s health and well-being by storm, and on the new wellness range in the pipeline for spring, check out the website below:

greenheartcbd.ie

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Teaching You To Teach Yourself WORKSHOPS USING THE LOUISE HAY METHOD FOR SELF-HEALING.

by Kate Stuart “It’s about our thoughts, we have something like 70,000 thoughts a day. People are starting to take stock about creating their own reality,” Alison Boardman, life coach and teacher told us when we spoke to her recently.

Alison follows the philosophy of Lousie Hay, the internationally renowned metaphysical teacher whose work centres around healing techniques and positive philosophy.

Alison was so impacted by Hay’s work that she began doing workshops to help others. The workshops aim to help people make positive changes in their lives by reconnecting with yourself to live a more fulfilled life.

“It takes work, and it takes discipline, but it is possible to change the thoughts and change the words and then watch the reality change around you” Alison says, “It takes work and it takes discipline, but it is possible to change the thoughts and change the words and then watch the reality change around you.”

Using Louise Hay’s book ‘You Can Heal Your Life’, the workshops begin with being more aware. Alison describes how we are constantly affirming, often unconsciously, which leads to negative self talk. You’re given a journal and you start becoming your own coach. This, Alison says, is very enabling and you become aware of your inner-critic.

It’s very personal, it’s not therapy. It is about creating strategies so that you can leave the workshop with the tools learned and continue the work yourself. Alison likens it to the layers of an onion, you start on one level, but as you feel more confident in yourself, you begin to self coach, going a bit deeper.

Alison shares her favourite affirmation: “I am open to all good and prosperity. And you do this with your arms open like a funnel. You are saying to the universe, I am happy and I want more of it. You are grateful. If you do that you will be amazed at what happens.” alisonboardman.com

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Talking Scents LIFE BRAND EAU LOVELY.

by Kate Stuart

Based in Dublin, Eau Lovely began in 2015 and has garnered a huge following both at home and abroad, offering a wide range of relaxing and restorative products, from candles and essential oils to dairy free chocolate.

Eau Lovely is the life brand that knows what you need. I recently sat down with the woman behind Eau Lovely, Rachel McCann. Rachel shared some of her favourite ways to wind down and relax, and emphasizes the importance of self care.

“Set your intention, it’s all about positive affirmations!”

Rachel’s journey to Eau Lovely started when she was studying fragrance. We discussed the transcendent quality of scent and how smell, more than any other sense, has the profound ability to evoke memories. “Scent transports you back to a time,” Rachel enthuses. In a split second you can be transported back to another chapter in your life, long forgotten, if just for a moment.

There is a strong connection between scent and meaning so by discovering a scent that soothes you, you can create a space for tranquility and peace.

Eau Lovely combines scent with gemstones which offer their own therapeutic qualities such as The Eau So Loved candle which contains rose quartz, the stone of universal love. It is an ideal gift for a loved one or for yourself. Calming and reassuring, it helps to comfort in times of grief. Light the candle and as Rachel says, “Set your intention, it’s all about positive affirmations!”

Rose Quartz encourages self forgiveness and acceptance, invoking self trust and self worth. “As you think so shall you be!”

I think we can all use a bit of this mantra right now! eaulovely.com

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Ask Giada SOLUTIONS FOR PAIN AND DISCOMFORT.

by Alison McEvoy “Technically, I’m a massage therapist” says Giada, with a twinkle in her eye. Giada, holistic therapist and writer, hailing from Toronto, now lives in Galway. She goes on to explain that her treatments involve a myriad of combinations.

“I do massage, reiki, reflexology and aromatherapy all tumbled into one. My business is ‘She Needs’, holistic massage for women of all ages and stages of life…I really like taking care of people!”

“tips and tricks to making yourself feel better, especially while you are at work” When lockdown struck and Giada found herself stranded two metres away from the people she would ordinarily be hands-on helping at her corporate business end of things, ‘Office Needs’, her creative and healing energies found another outlet. She wrote a book, ‘Self-care solutions @ work’ into which she poured all her “tips and tricks to making yourself feel better, especially while you are at work.” The book is an empowerment tool for people at work in pain or discomfort, it is a little pocket helper, “a helpful, friendly resource and guide teaching you to resolve your own neck

46 Veggie Earth A VEGAN BRAND.

by Gill Toal The last two years have been extraordinary — one positive has been an interest in the food we are eating and more importantly, where that food comes from.

At Veggie Earth, we have a great online store, we’ve won seven food awards in 2020 and another four late in 2021. We have embraced new sustainable packaging options and have spent hours in the kitchen to bring you exciting new flavours. Our multi award winning brand, Veggie Earth, has a range of fresh pestos, tapenades and sauces to tempt your palate. All products are vegan, gluten free and nut free. We don’t use artificial additives, preservatives, colourings or fillers, yet all our products explode with flavour. ●Improvements in our packaging.

The outer cases we use are made from 90% recycled board and are 100% recyclable. Our glass jars contain recycled cullet and have a cardboard wrap made from FSC Board, printed using vegetable based inks, aqueous coatings and vegan friendly glue.

tension…back pain, restless legs….anxiety or depression. It covers all kinds of things.”

Giada is visibly inspired to help others. She clearly sees herself as a guide and her focus is on empowering others to use all the natural resources in their own kitchen, or locality, to make a difference in how they feel. She is stock full of simple ways to improve your life and is brimming with energy to connect with those in need.“I love talking about that stuff (your pain). That’s the stuff I nerd out about. So, complain to me about your pain and I will give you the solutions!”

AskGiada.com

“Veggie Earth has a range of fresh pestos, tapenades and sauces to tempt your palate.”

Sourcing of raw ingredients without compromising generations to come.

We work hard to source as close to home as possible.

Extra virgin olive oil is our main ingredient, used in most products across the range. From May 2020, all our EVOO comes directly from an exclusive family estate in Portugal which gives us a true gourmet oil of exceptional quality, the farmer gets an acceptable price for their superior oil, without the middlemen taking all the profit. This superbly flavoured single farm, single variety, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil is now available to buy directly from our website. www.genovese.ie

For women with

Dryness and sensitive skin and membranes • Scientifically documented • Suited for vegetarians and vegans • With vitamin A that supports normal skin, vision and mucous membranes

BioActive Omega 7 Pharma Nord is a formula developed to help maintain healthy and well hydrated mucosa at this stage of life.

BioActive Omega 7 Pharma Nord contains the SBA24 extract that is made from both the berries and seeds of Sea Buckthorn to ensure the widest spectrum of beneficial nutrients.

Sea Buckthorn is one of nature’s richest sources of vitamin A, a nutrient that is best known for its ability to maintain normal skin, vision, and mucous membranes.

www.pharmanord.ie

IE_Omega7_Ad_PositiveLife_210x297_0222

Vaginal dryness, dry eyes and dry mouth are issues women typically experience around and after menopause.

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POREBSKI Liposomes LIPOSOMAL VITAMINS FOR HEALING.

by Kate Stuart Porebski Liposomes Ltd, started off as one man’s journey to better health. After an accident left Ryszard Porebski needing many surgeries on his leg and a long list of antibiotics to take daily, he began to think of ways to manage his pain and healing. With the help of his mother, herself a doctor, they came up with an alternative medicinal path, incorporating vitamins and minerals.

This turned out to be critical in Ryszard’s healing process and pain relief. His transformational journey is incredible and inspiring, Ryszard is again able to enjoy the life he did before his accident.

The vitamins were helping him to restore his immune system and ward off a persistent bone infection in his leg. On discovering the power of Liposomal encapsulation, Ryszard incorporated this into his own products, initially for self use but soon word spread and the business grew from there. Ryszard never intended to set up the business, but he moved in that direction because he was deeply passionate about helping people to improve their health, and making liposomes available for everyone. Liposomes allow nutrients to be delivered directly where it is needed, inside the cell.

Porebski have recently introduced two new products into their range. The first is Liposamal Vitamin C +Collagen F & Magnesium which contains the optimal combination for health and beauty.

The second product is Liposomal Vitamin C +Quercetin & Zinc, which based on their well known Liposomal Vitamin C, uses a plant

“Liposomes allow nutrients to be delivered directly to exactly where it is needed, inside the cell.” extract known as Quercetin. Sophora Japonica Extract (Quercetin) is a powdered flavonoid, botanical plant extract with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. When combined with Zinc, Quercetin enhances the anti-viral properties of the Zinc mineral.

Try the products and discover how powerful liposomes are.

To find out more about Ryszard’s amazing story and the incredible products Porebski Liposomes Ltd have to offer, visit: porebskiliposomes.com/liposomes-1/

The Hollies Centre for Sustainability TRANSFORM CLIMATE PROTESTS INTO PERSONAL ACTION.

by Thomas Reidmuller. Edited: Kate Stuart COP26 came and went, accompanied by protests.

Will governments and corporations ‘fix it’?

Change comes from the grassroots, but protests have limited impact. There is more to worry about with mass extinctions, soil depletion, food insecurity — the list seems endless. The Fridays for Future movement has shown governments that young voters demand action, but what next?

I propose a new education — one that leads from awareness to action, step by step.

“I propose a new education — one that leads from awareness to action, step by step.”

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The Hollies Centre for Sustainability and University College Cork provide a focus to empower people from all demographics to engage in meaningful personal action, beyond activism. For those who don’t know where to begin, the scale of the problem can seem overwhelming. A series of four half

day workshops at The Hollies Centre for Sustainability in West Cork will identify the practical steps to get you started.

‘Climate Action, Your Personal Next Steps’ in May/June and October/November can be your entry point into making a difference, supported by a community of people who started their own journeys in this direction 25 years ago. My new 10-week evening class at UCC will start in September: Climate Protests Falling on Deaf Ears? We Help You Plan to Be The Change.

Knowledge is power but knowledge without action is useless. Each session will focus on one aspect of your life, outlining the challenge, hopeful examples that already exist and practices to design your own way forward. Groups of supportive participants help you on this learning journey.

Thomas Riedmuller is a co-founder of The Hollies Centre for Sustainability. He lectures at UCC and Cork College Kinsale Campus. www.thehollies.ie

Feel the power of Sunflower!

Our products contain 20 Vitamins & Nutrients in liposomal form with plenty of Vitamin C to benefit you!

Check the full range from: Liposomal C, C+ ADEK, C+D3K2MK7, C+D3k2MK7 Zinc, C+Glutathione&Zinc, C+Q10, C+B-complex, C+ Collagen&Magnesium, C+Curcumin&Piperine, C+CQ10, C+Collagen&Magnesium F (Marine) and C+Quercetin&Zinc

You are not what you eat, you are what you absorb Why liposomes? Liposomes can pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream for distribution to the cells. In this way, they offer maximized absorption with every dose by breaking through your body’s nutrient absorption barriers.

Sunflower Liposomes Irish Made in Bray, Co Wicklow GMO-Free more information at www.sunflowerliposomes.com

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The Omega 3 situation ZINZINO GIVES RESULTS.

by Alison McEvoy

Zinzino is innovating its way to the top of the field when it comes to Omega 3 supplements. We caught up with Colin Robertson recently and he explained what it is that sets this oil apart, and why he decided to jump on board with this company.

The first thing that sets Zinzino’s Balance Oils apart is the scientific rigour of this company. They are a nutrition company but with an in-house science and research team which informs all they do. “There is evidence, research and science behind what we do. The science reveals the real impact of what it can achieve. Our oil has the Omega 3 reattached to a polyphenol. Because where the Omega 3 occurs naturally in nature, it’s bound to a polyphenol. Most fish oils and Omega 3 derivatives separate that and that’s a huge part of what makes an oil less effective. It’s an incredible part of why Balance Oil is so measurably effective.”

“When I came across Zinzino I had that moment of going ‘that’s genius’ - you reattach the polyphenol. It’s too obvious, too simple. But that’s how acts of genius work.”

“It’s not even a secret. But the process of making it happen is not a cheap process. That’s the barrier. And it takes a long time.”

The second thing is the dedication to empowering customers and individuals. “We run blood sample spots in the lab so you can measure first to see whether you need the supplement. Then, you can measure again to see whether there has been any real benefit from taking it, once you start.”

Breaking Barriers Colin describes himself as a “food nutritionist”. Before joining Zinzino he had delved deep into researching ways in which people could receive the Omegas they need from actual food. The barriers, however, were very significant.

Many people on the planet do not have access to freshly caught, wild, fatty fish on a regular basis. Intensive aquaculture might hold the answer, but for the ecological cost to the natural world.

The only conclusion he could draw was that “we have to look at more intelligent means of doing it.”

The vegan Balance Oil option holds the key in Colin’s imagination. It takes its Omega direct from the source – the sea algae which the fish eat, which ultimately becomes the Omega 3 oil extract.

A Lifestyle Product

“When I came across Zinzino I had that moment of going ‘that’s genius’”

Zinzino oils are a wonderful way for practitioners to support their clients’ health while adding a new income stream to their finances. It is a product of the highest quality from a company in its sixteenth year, and the corporate support system on offer is wonderful, so we’ve heard.

Zinzino launched their product range in Dublin on February 28th at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin. If you want to find out more about what’s on offer check out their website. zinzino.com

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The Tony Quinn Educo Range SUPPORTING HEALTH, BEAUTY & WELL-BEING.

by Alison McEvoy We spoke to Sarah of Tony Quinn Educohealth recently about the exciting new launch of their supplements. They are donning a new garb on their range of supplements which they feel represents them more truly – they are going for gold!

“We are very excited. All this was done during lockdown. We found there was this surge in health consciousness.

People are looking to find what is the best out there. People want the best. Our formulations are made in Ireland, of the purest standard...For our relaunch and rebranding we chose gold – for gold standard.”

Absorption-Aware Supplements are a vital part of a healthy life in the age we are living. These days, supplements are getting even more savvy thanks to the awareness of the allimportant issue of ‘absorption’.

What goes in doesn’t always reach its destination. And as the journey takes place under our skin, we cannot see what is going on after we ingest the tonic or pill or powder. So, the search for the savviest supplements begins; those with the skill of being able to arrive at where the body requires them.

“Our formulations are unique. Our focus is on targeting cellular delivery of the nutrients for maximum impact. The key is the way that we formulate our supplements using ingredient formats

and combinations that penetrate the cells.

For example our Radiance C uses Ascorbyl

“For our relaunch and rebranding we chose gold – for gold standard.”

Palmitate which is a fat-soluble form of vitamin C which means that it assimilates into the cells and is retained longer than other forms of vitamin C.”

SUPPlement for SUPPort At Tony Quinn Educohealth they understand the true nature of supplementation and of food.

Supplements and food, like good healers, support the body’s own self-sustaining and healing abilities. “EDUCO® comes from the Latin word for education meaning to draw out from within. At Tony Quinn Educohealth, we believe that drawing out a person’s innate Life Force is the greatest health secret of all. Your innate Life Force is the energy inside every cell in your body that gives life and vitality to your body for optimal health.

We believe that increasing this Life Force is the answer to better health and a better you. A vibrant healthy body full of Life Force is one of our greatest assets and part of our mission is to educate people about

how eating a healthy diet and taking food supplements can make the vital difference.

Our supplements work on a cellular level to draw out a person’s Life Force.”

“The ingredients in our Life Force Mix all work in different ways on the cells, from detoxification and rejuvenation to protection. Life Force Mix is the world’s most advanced multi nutrient formula.”

Beauty in a Bottle Radiance C, mentioned above, is another one of their gems. Sarah describes it as “anti-ageing in a bottle” and cites it as her favourite of all the range. “Our Radiance C is actually a beauty product. It promotes collagen formation in the cells. It plumps up the cells and gives them a glow...I am obsessed with it. I put all my friends on it!”

The Happy Vitamin Their Pantac formulation, affectionately known as the ‘Happy Vitamin’, works in sync with the functioning of the brain and the adrenals to counteract stress and overwhelm.

There is so much going on at Tony Quinn Educohealth right now and it’s a great time to get informed about all they offer! Check out their website below. educohealth.com

The Beauty of Sound SAFE HAVEN HEALING & HARMONY.

by Alison McEvoy Natasha Friess found her place of belonging in sound when she attended a women’s circle and heard a tuning fork for the first time. She was already a Reiki Master and when she heard the pitch of the forks her body immediately told her, “This is what you’ve been looking for!”

After attending a few courses, it was confirmed. “Sound was where my heart and my passion lay.” After qualifying with a Diploma in Sound Healing she set up her business, Safe Haven Healing.

“The name Safe Haven Healing came to me in a dream. I want people to know they can come to Safe Haven Healing and feel safe. That it is a space created for them where my instruments and I create sound, create a safe haven for people to open up to receive whatever healing they need in that moment... to open up, be vulnerable and heal. It’s just amazing and such an honour. I found my place in sound.”

Sound is one of Nature’s most beautiful medicines I have always felt, and Natasha more than agrees.

“The beauty of sound is that it goes where it needs to in the body.”

“The beauty of sound is that it goes where it needs to in the body. It helps to release stagnant or negative energy and bring the body back into harmony and balance.”

Natasha has a wonderful way of working with sound. “I ground and ask to become one with my instruments. Then I let go. The client has set the intentions for healing and then I open up and allow the instruments to bring forth whatever sound is needed for that client. I see myself and the instruments as one.”

Instagram.com/Safehavenhealing Facebook.com/safehavenhealing.ie

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Upskilling for Life in Harmony with Nature 21 YEARS OF PERMACULTURE TRAINING AT KINSALE COLLEGES.

by Martin Coleman Firstly, let us begin with what permaculture is. Co-founder David Holmgren, from Australia, defines it as “a design system for resilient living and land use based on universal ethics and ecological design principles.” Today, this concept is successfully applied to all areas of human life, designed to be in tune with nature rather than against her. Permaculture appeals to people who despair in the face of industrial wastefulness. This hopeful alternative keeps attracting hundreds of students from all walks of life to Kinsale.

In 2001, Rob Hopkins, from The Hollies eco-village in West Cork, saw the opportunity to start a full-time permaculture course at a mainstream college. It seemed like a huge step. Until then, permaculture had been taught as a two-week residential workshop only. Initially, all modules were written locally, but as there was so much interest from abroad and most students, fascinated with hands-on learning, wanted to stay on, it quickly developed into a two-year fulltime course, complete with work experience and communication.

Field trips, real landscaping and natural building projects electrified the students; early years saw students creating a Shakespearean amphitheatre, a strawbale house and organic food production for the cookery course. Recently, Kinsale College has been leading the way as a Green Campus forging strong links with the local community through initiatives such as Transition Town Kinsale, the global transition movement which was begun with students of this course as well as Future Kinsale, a groundbreaking sustainable enterprise network. Many graduates from this course stayed in the region and have continued contributing to the positive change.

Today, the course comes with certification from QQI level 5 in the first year and a level 6 in the second, which is equivalent to a first year at university. On 28 May a public sustainability conference on college grounds will celebrate the 21st anniversary of a course that is still unique in Europe. Interviewing of applicants for September ‘22 has begun.

The teaching team includes Donal Chambers (coordinator), Thomas Riedmuller, Eoin O’Callaghan and Klaus Harvey.

To find out more visit: www.kinsalecollege.ie/ www.transitiontownkinsale.org/ www.futurekinsale.ie/ www.thehollies.ie/

“Kinsale College has been leading the way as a Green Campus forging strong links with the local community”

KINSALE CAMPUS

5

QQI/FETAC LEVEL

• Early Childhood Care and Education • Outdoor Adventure Education • Office Administration • Professional Cookery

• Sustainable Horticulture/ Permaculture • Multimedia Production

• Theatre Performance • Healthcare Support/ Caring for the Elderly • Art

• Film & TV Production • English as a second Language

6

QQI/FETAC LEVEL

• Early Childhood Care and Eduction • Outdoor Leadership • Business

• Sustainable Horticulture/ Permaculture • Film & TV Production • Multimedia Production • Drama: Advanced Acting Course

• Art

• Health Services Supervisory Management

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR

SEPTEMBER 2022

ALECOLLEGE.IE APPLY ONLINE AT WW W.KINS

A Home For All Things Wellness

“...a busy health food store at ground level and wellness clinics layered on top”

FOOD FOR LIFE WELLNESS CENTRE.

by Alison McEvoy

It is heartening to see that in Ireland, it’s becoming such that you can travel our isle far and wide, and come across so many places dedicated to supporting people’s health, healing and well-being.

When I came across husband and wife team, Abbas Ghadimi and Carmel Rose in Kilkenny, it was a breath of fresh air. They own and run the Food For Life Wellness Centre, featuring a busy health food store at ground level and wellness clinics layered on top.

It is a one stop shop when it comes to health. You will find health foods, clean cosmetics, environmentally friendly cleaning products and herbal and homeopathic medicines. Personal consultations in homeopathy are provided

by Abbas and Aura-Soma by Carmel Rose.

Workshops on nutrition, Aura-Soma and

kinesiology, as well as homeopathy, occur regularly.

These are a couple of health nerds it seems to me! Abbas has even penned a book called ‘Excuse Me! Is This Your Body?’. His humour and passion for health are infectious. Goodreads even gives a review with a laugh. “In this original and uniquely entertaining health book, Abbas Ghadimi urges us to think of: Our brain as a gold mine. Our lungs as savings accounts for oxygen. Our colon as a current account

for vital cash deposits and withdrawals.

Our heart as our national treasury.”

Abbas and Carmel Rose warmly invite you to visit their “Wellness Home” and we are confident that you will find compassionate support for your health and healing needs. wellnesscentre.ie

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Homoeopathy, Kinesiology and Aura Soma Colour Care Clinics

At Food for Life, we carry a full range of natural and organic products such as Food, Vitamins, Skin Care and Household. We focus on stocking as much Irish products as possible supporting local providers.

Buy Irish Support Local - Stay Positive Test Negative

With some small adjustments, such as healthy eating and healthy lifestyle you can improve your health.

Kilkenny 0567761689 Callan 056 7725777 www.wellnesscentre.ie

POSITIVE CONNECTIONS

your holistic

academy A GLOBAL PLATFORM, CONNECTING YOU TO QUALIFIED HOLISTIC PRACTITIONERS, THERAPISTS AND COACHES.

by Kate Stuart

We recently spoke to John Donnelly, founder of Your Holistic Academy.

Your Holistic Academy is a global platform, connecting people to qualified holistic practitioners, therapists and coaches. A holistic approach supports the whole person, not just their mental wellness needs. Your Holistic Academy (YHA) also considers the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of its members. YHA offers a range of courses to help you tap into your creativity and bring a holistic methodology to your business needs. Taking this approach creates an environment in which a person can begin to notice and address imbalances before they become serious issues.

John shares his journey and transformation — what he describes as “that waking up moment” and a feeling of being re-energised. After returning from a retreat, John’s passion was restored and he was once again excited about life. This is ultimately what led him to create Your Holistic Academy.

As the world went into lockdown due to the global pandemic, John began in earnest to make his dreams of YHA a reality. This started as an online platform to share ideas and support, with a focus

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on holistic health. Offering a myriad of supports through their workshops, courses and events, YHA is about bringing people together who have a varied skillset and using the art of collaboration to make something materialise. “It’s about coming together and collaboration is the key to it all.”

“It’s about coming together and collaboration is the key to it all” YHA is a platform for people to network together, with a peer group of like-minded holistic professionals, where people can learn from each other. John also has a team of business professionals that provide expertise in sales and marketing, social media and technology. The team is made up of business coaches, financial experts and life coaches - providing an immersive educational experience to help you make the most out of your abilities and passions.

Support for holistic professionals is at the core of Your Holistic Academy’s

ethos. The offering includes a corporate programme, which centres around ideas of reducing stress in the workplace to “change the energy and change the culture and bring a more holistic approach to that space”. Through the global holistic network, there are opportunities for its members to tap into, there is scope to meet with like-minded people from around the world to share and discuss ideas.

The future of YHA is focused on transformative energy by helping people on their journey through life, through holistic health and wellbeing. “We are looking at a better way to live for all of us,” John explains. With all the challenges that life slings, be it stress, anxiety or struggles with mental health, it can be hard to know where to turn. John has so many experts within their field showing up to support the YHA community, bringing their education and experience. “We want to bring that expertise to the world,” John says. “Life is an adventure, and every day counts.”

To find out more about Your Holistic Academy visit: yourholisticacademy.com/

The Holistic Gardens is a beautiful Centre that hosts Therapists Facilitators and Events of a holistic nature.

Glasleck, Shercock, Co. Cavan theholisticgardens@gmail.com Phone: 0871355502 Instagram: @theholisticgardens

Our aim is to provide a welcoming environment where individual therapists and teams can share their knowledge while having a wonderful experience Nestled in the quiet Dromlins of Cavan, relaxation and calm come naturally.

We keep Donkeys, Llamas, Ponies & Hens who look forward to meeting all Therapists and Facilitators who wish to join us.

www.holisticgardens.ie

LIFE OF LIGHT HOLISTIC Reiki, Reflexology, Indian Head Massage, Angel Card Reading, Modern Energy Tapping, and QTT (Quantum Thinking Technologies), & Coaching & Mentoring.

It’s all about self care, and looking after ourselves, and ensuring we are in our best optimum health so we can help others. Time out for you, to relax and unwind, and to destress. All these modalities can help with stress, anxiety, lacking in confidence, digestive issues, respiratory issues, overwhelm and much more.

Appointments are available online Website: www.lifeoflightholistic.com Mobile: 087-8177611 Address: Buffanoka, Cappamore, Co. Limerick Instragram: lifeoflightholistic Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifeoflightholistic Kamila Lukaszewicz is a shakti alchemist in Alchemy Multiverse who helps people to awaken, transform, and harness life energy in its purest expression.

This process of healing, and earthing into the Love we are can be a balanced, steady, and supported journey.

Integral Sound Healing Practitioner and Reiki Master

Sandyford, Dublin 18 Contact us by calling: 085 1685384 Email: natasha@safehavenhealing.ie /safehavenhealing/ www.facebook.com/safehealing.ie ‘You’re in Safe Hands with Safe Haven Healing’

You can choose to work with Kamila individually through healing sessions including sound therapy, quantum coherence therapy (energy healing), embodiment practices, and somatic work. Kamila offers group sessions and classes with sound baths, yoga, meditation courses, and more working equally with private clients and organizations.

Recently Kamila helps her clients to awaken the positive portals of energy in their homes. Home Blessings include a sound bath, meditation, and space with positive vibration. This process creates a warm, positive and protected environment for transformation towards peaceful and joyful living. In-home blessings a healing artwork can be also part of the service.

Contact Kamila at Alchemy Multiverse alchemymultiverse@gmail.com www.alchemymultiverse.com 087 151 93 51 Facebook and Instagram: Alchemy Multiverse

“Selenium and zinc are a well known duo when it comes to working for bowel health.”

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mega important

micronutrients SELENIUM & ZINC. If you suffer from inflammatory bowel disease you could be deficient of vital micro-nutrients like selenium and zinc, especially those with Crohn’s disease.

Zinc and selenium are among the most important trace elements that have significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Irritable bowel diseases – or IBD – including such diseases as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are relapsing bouts of bowel inflammation that can trigger a number of unpleasant symptoms.

A recent study carried out on Japanese children under the age of 17 years has shown that there is a link between the prevalence of these disorders and deficiencies of essential micro-nutrients such as selenium and zinc.

The science bit Both selenium and zinc are involved in a host of different biological processes that are related to inflammation. Selenium is needed for normal functioning of some selenium-dependent enzymes called selenoproteins, of which there are around 25-30 in the human body. Two of these

selenoproteins, selenoproteins S and selenoprotein K, have a role in dialing down inflammatory signaling pathways.

Zinc also plays a vital role. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that zinc deficiency increases the number of pro-inflammatory cells and promotes intestinal leakage of certain inflammatory cytokines (white blood cells) that are known to worsen inflammation in the intestinal area.

It is thus seemingly essential for people with bowel inflammation to make sure to get sufficient quantities of selenium and zinc, as this helps control their symptoms.

Get round the irritated gut Selenium and zinc are a well known duo when it comes to working for bowel health, however there is much more to them that this.

Incorporating selenium and zinccarrying foods into your diet is important, however if you’re suffering from bowel problems, supplementing is definitely worth it. The irritated bowel is not able to function optimally and perform its role

of absorbing essential nutrients from the food we eat. So, intelligent supplements, which are aware of how to be absorbed, are really helpful in helping to get you back on track.

This little duo have a long list of benefits to offer when they reach your blood stream. Selenium is an antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory that will target the entire body, not just the bowel but also the heart, an immune booster and a thyroid supporter. Looking at zinc, we also have many accolades to list; an immune booster, a brain function supporter and a wound healer.

The journey of discovery There is nothing more empowering than realising you can help yourself. You can support your body in finding what it needs to be healthier and stronger. The above is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to zinc and selenium but we hope to have encouraged you to find out more about what these mega micro-nutrients could do for your bowel and your general health.

Aine Hughes Medical Intuition 087 9188161 aine_medicalintuitive@yahoo.com Facebook: Aine Hughes Medical Intuitive

Intuitive reading of the metaphysical and physical body to find the cause of illness and pain ‘To say Aine is skilled at what she does is an understatement. She is truly gifted at reading the body and soul’ Liza Clancy

Presents

POSITIVE NIGHTS

num 53

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POSITIVE RE ADING

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a hummingbird's

heart

EXCERPT FROM GRACE HARTE’S NEW BOOK: A HUMMINGBIRD’S HEART.

When Elizabeth approached the forest’s edge, the organic scent was strong and pungent. A squirrel scurried up one of the protectors of the forest, an umberbrown tower. The sun directed its light between branches onto wild garlic and red berries. Luminous moss glistened over thick mahogany trunks. Birds welcomed her into their haven, the chirping getting louder. They sounded giddy. She stood still to take it all in. The forest moved in a gentle sway. A strong gust of wind swirled through treetops, carrying her attention with it.

“Eliiiizaaabeth,” the wind spoke. She jumped. The swarm of butterflies flew in circles around her and toward the voice.

She followed them, around the hawthorn, past the oak.

In the distance a woman stood beside a silver birch. She lifted her arms and held them wide open, like she was speaking to the magnificent collection of light rays that beamed directly onto her face. Elizabeth hid behind an elm. When she squinted she noticed a halo of faint yellow light surrounded the woman. She looked worried, like she was resisting something, and moved her hands to her rounded belly in a protective way.

Elizabeth couldn’t believe her eyes, but the woman floated off the ground and into the trunk of the tree. The bark moved like lava and took her into its being. It was only for a few seconds, but Elizabeth could have sworn on all the angels in heaven that the person in front of her had disappeared.

She shook her head and questioned if she had imagined it or if she was experiencing

some kind of flashback from earlier LSD-induced days. Maybe all the chanting and meditating and ecstatic dancing had activated visions. She tried to step away from the tree, struggling to pull her feet off the ground, but she couldn’t move. A few moments later, with no warning from her feet that they were free, she catapulted herself onto the grassy mound.

“Oh my, oh my. Are you OK?” She lifted her head to see a pair of Birkenstocks with a bunion big toe and the hem of a patterned skirt make their way toward her. “Are you OK?” It was Suzanna, the owner of the Golden Mind Retreat, with a flustered motherly tone. She helped Elizabeth up.

“Yes, thank you. I’m fine. I tripped,” Elizabeth said, feeling embarrassed.

“Tripped? I thought I saw you throw yourself on the ground.”

“Throw myself ? Oh, that’s funny.”

Elizabeth brushed soil off her legs. “Of course not. I tripped over a root.”

Suzanna eyed her suspiciously. “A root?” She looked at the ground. “There is no root there. Are you sure you’re OK?” “Yes, yes. Thank you, I’m fine.”

Elizabeth pressed her fingers into her hot cheeks. “Just embarrassed.”

“Oh don’t be,” Suzanna said, pulling her long white hair off her face, “I trip over roots all the time.”

Elizabeth giggled. “Suzanna, who is the woman over there, with the scarf around her head?”

Suzanna followed Elizabeth’s eyes.

“Oh, yes, that’s Marianna. She lives here.”

“Oh, I hadn’t seen her before today.

Has she just arrived?”

“No, no. She’s been here for a while.

She keeps to herself, the quiet type. One never knows if she’ll appear and join in the activities or not. She’s been in silence for twenty days.”

“Twenty days? Are you kidding me?”

As Elizabeth and Suzanna reached the parting between the two willow trees, she looked back over her shoulder.

Marianna was sitting against the hawthorn, her eyes fixed on Elizabeth. A smile beamed across her face. A wave of calm swept over Elizabeth’s body. Time paused.

Elizabeth, it’s time, a voice said inside her mind.

A Hummingbird’s Heart is available now on Amazon KDP, Ebook and Paperback.

“Maybe all the chanting and meditating and ecstatic dancing had activated visions. She tried to step away from the tree, struggling to pull her feet off the ground, but she couldn’t move… ”

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POSITI V E A STROLOGY

62

dream

big

IGNITE YOUR HEART-FIRE.

by Rachelle Hicks

We don’t need too much astrological evidence to see that we’ve been in some heavy collective cycles since spring of 2020.

While these cycles have called attention to our collective involvement, there are going to be some lovely time periods coming through this year that will be excellent for personal development and stoking the fires of your own dreams.

The cycles I am referring to are the time periods when Jupiter, the planet of growth, illumination, opportunity and expansion, will be passing through the very optimistic signs of Pisces and Aries.

These will mark two very different, but very supportive energies that you can use to dream big and make headway with what is very dear to your heart.

From the beginning of 2022 until May 10, 2022, Jupiter will be in Pisces. This could mark a very healing, nourishing and receptive time. Pisces represents dreams and the desire of the soul. Especially at its peak during the month of April, it would be a great time to dedicate yourself

to your spiritual practices. Make space for meditating on your dreams, keep a dream journal by your bedside, connect with nature, connect with friends and take some time to explore creativity with a heart warming cup of cacao. Whatever it is that nourishes your spirit, make some space for it during these months.

From May 10 until October 28, 2022, Jupiter will spend some time in fiery, passionate Aries. After all the dreaming and meditating, this time period will be like the spark that ignites the fire. This is a wonderful time for putting these dreams into action. Be bold. Take some risks. Go outside your comfort zone. Jupiter in Aries is a time when we can get the engines running in relation to our passions and dreams.

The best time period for utilising this energetic Aries energy will be from May 10 until July 28 when Jupiter will be charging full speed ahead. The months of August, September and October will still have great inspiring energy, but might be more focused on revision and refining

as Jupiter will be spending some time in retrograde.

During this time period, keep in mind that you don’t have to accomplish or reach the completion of certain dreams and goals. Imagine it like the process of writing a book. You might have the initial spark of the idea, but you don’t have to have published and completed the book by the end of the year. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to complete anything, just let your imagination and heart be open, and listen to what your soul is saying.

Also, remember that we are still in the mix of some pretty hefty collective time cycles. This energy is still being worked through us, but the more we all commit to illuminating our own heartlights, the brighter we shine as a whole.

Rachelle is a Dublin-based astrologer offering 1-to-1 online astrology readings.

rachellehicks.com Instagram: @rachellehicksastrology

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Allow it into every part of your life.

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