UP & COMING
AUGUST 2018
EMPOWER HOUR ‘The Extraordinary Voice of Ordinary People!’ Life is at best a revelation, a journey that opens one up to the greater experience of life. Empower Hour’s late summer Mini-Mag offers a selection of different voices, harmonizing the different themes on personal empowerment to encourage on our gentle way!
The Nature of Family Mediation My Relationship Breakup By Sharon Morrissey I have been asked to complete a piece to explain to you who I am and what it is I do. My name is Sharon Morrissey, I am 43 years of age. I am a mom, wife, sister, daughter, step-mom, friend, employee, and employer. I live a busy life, sometimes so busy I do not get to smell the roses, and I need to have that time to smell the roses. I have worked in family support/parenting support/childcare and family mediation for most of my working life. I have academic qualifications, yes, but life has given me vast amounts of knowledge that could never have been learned academically. Mostly, I love my job. As with all jobs, some days more than others. People intrigue me. My favourite pastime is ‘people watching’. After many years working with parents experiencing separation and a personal encounter with relationship breakdown, I believed there must be a simpler and more humane way to help people navigate the barbarity of the legal system in this country regarding relationship breakdown, so I studied mediation and conflict resolution, and then received a Master of Arts in Conflict Management. I am one of three people in the country with this qualification, so this is an achievement. What did it teach me….? Well it thought me that there is an easier way to help people separate, but like everything people need to be ready. Mediation made so much sense to me, I believed everyone would be ready, however I was wrong and what I am learning is that people are a little unsure about what to expect when it comes to mediation. I also found in the first few mediations that the Design by PINCH
clients I had were very ‘raw’ When a relationship breaks down there is always ‘the leaver’ and ‘the left’. The leaver has spent time preparing emotionally to leave. To ‘the left’ it is always a shock. Even though it may have been spoken about and thrashed out in the heat of the arguments, ‘the left’ is always shocked. Mediation allows people to be heard. I am at pains to state and reiterate that mediation is not counselling or a therapeutic intervention, but a process. A process to start at a new place, that place being ‘your marriage/relationship has irretrievably broken down’. This line hurts, and helps people face the truth of the situation. What is mediation? Mediation is where an independent third party helps couples who have separated to make decisions about their marriage, their future and the children, what life will ‘look like’ going forward separately as opposed to together. If there are children involved, there will always be a ‘togetherness’ whether you want that or not. What my service provides is a family relationship service, we help people to be ready to separate, we provide logic when that is difficult. We provide space for people when physically they cannot face each other. We support people in parenting plans, to ensure children’s needs are met. We provide ongoing support to ensure separation and divorce agreements are made and are upheld in court, and you are in control of the outcomes. When you work with me, you will be met with someone who is open and honest, who will encourage and support you, will respect confidentiality and be patient and who will reality test with you when necessary.
Formula for Wellbeing can be as easy as ABC
Empower Hour talks to Limerick’s Tummy Tamer, Sinead Dundon Yes! Modern life is being run at a frantic, frenetic pace, which can affect our quality of life on all levels. In many cases it’s not just one issue but many competing concerns that are being juggled all at once! As part of my nutritional therapy consultation I offer tips that aim to improve wellbeing but more importantly focus on the core issue at hand, this focus can offer a huge turnaround for both the healing of the person and the body. I find it’s so important to prioritize what is important to everyone.
Sleep, Rest, Relaxation & Mindset » Getting 8 hours sleep a night is essential for wellbeing. Our circadian rhythm or internal clock needs to be balanced or it may not be getting enough daylight. Improving one’s sleep pattern can be done by: » turning off our mobile phone at night or being put on airplane mode » Changing the blue light on our phone at night to an Orange light can help with getting the sleep we need. » Darkness or the sense of darkness is necessary to reset the circadian rhythm clock, a nice soft mask for the eyes can also be useful. » Rest or study in a room without any TV or static busyness this can help to quieten a busy mind. » Meditation is one way to relax the mind and dissolves what’s running around in our heads at any given time, offering some well needed rest and relaxation.
» Eating healthily. Eat a rainbow of fresh healthy foods on our plates each day. Try including an increased variety of colour, including: red, purple yellow, green and orange with every meal. We tend to eat less white foods like bread, pasta or sugar which is very beneficial. » If your body doesn’t like something, then listen to it! I find the ‘blood type diet’ has helped countless people to improve their health and wellbeing by knowing what to eat and what to avoid. Eating in harmony with your body can help in achieving balance, optimum health and a sense of wellbeing. » Make time to meet people! Take a class that excites or interests you. This way we meet others who enjoy similar interests. We are social beings and we need to make the effort to be social (face to face), make this sort of interaction a priority. This is enhancing our sense of mental wellbeing and self-esteem.
» There’s a saying “Years wrinkle the skin but to give up on » Exercise is an essential! It’s important to get a walk out in nature enthusiasm wrinkles the soul alone” Make self-care a priority on your own, use this time to ground or gather your thoughts. not to be left at the bottom of the pile. Use words that uplift yourself and others. Make sure you speak to yourself in a » A gratitude diary or journal can help us to really see was we gentle voice with kind, affirmative words. think about things and help us to change our attitude towards It’s OK to just TRY! We don’t always have to perfect, it’s life. Start with 1 thing every day we’re grateful for and important to have faith in ourselves, the knowing that we are increase it to 5 things doing our best and that that alone is enough. Be ready to forgive ourselves when we make a mistake
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Just Ask! Angel guidance is found in everyday things! Angelic Guidance from IET (Integrated Energy Therapy) practitioner and teacher, Martina Aylmer Angels are messengers from God they act as powerful intermediaries between us and Heaven. From the very moment our soul is created we have a Guardian Angel assigned to us, to guide, protect and direct our Soul through it’s lifetimes. How to work with the Angels? Is one of the questions I am most frequently asked as a therapist and the answer is simple: Just Ask! We were born with free will and none of our ‘Spirit team can interfere with our decisions, only in life or death situations, but to be able to work alongside Angels daily is truly an amazing experience and a gift bestowed onto us from God to help us make it through those tough life decisions and create a little more ease. Just ask for help, guidance or clarity or whatever you need to face life’s challenges, what I have learned from the Angels is that is in ‘HOW’ you ask, Angels are here to empower us, to help us, but unfortunately they can’t bring us everything we need! How perfect life would be otherwise! It’s more like a guiding hand along the way, for example if you are unhappy in your job and you ask your Angels to help you find the tools and resources to find the right job or to assist you in finding the right people that will help you get that job as opposed to please bring me a job! Honestly give it a go and see how the doors will open for you! Having made the decision, myself to work with Angels years ago I learned how best communicate with them, some people see them, others feel them, but just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they are not there so there can be a whole trust issue in this regard! The core feeling here, as with anyone learning how to trust, trust has to be earned! So, start working with your Angels building on that trust and bond, this is a Divine connection between you and God so start using this amazing ability! I work a lot with Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel AA Michael is our protector he also helps us remove the fears that stop us moving forward on our path whilst instilling
courage to overcome life’s challenges, whenever you feel fear and negativity creep in just place yourself in a blue bubble of protective light and ask him for his help, I find this very good to do with your Children when they are out of your sight. AA Raphael is our Healing Angel and the Healer’s Angel, whenever you feel down, in a rut, or unmotivated ask him to wrap you in his Healing green cloak and help you with the Healing you need to get through currently, also it’s very good to use on others who are not well or ill AA Gabriel is the messenger Angel, He helps with communication and is the Angel of Children, work with him if you have exams or need to write an important letter or C.V, ask for help in finding the precise words to get your message across, then send it off with the blessing of AA Gabriel! Angels work through your intuition, your inner knowing, but life’s trials and tribulations affect this ability and because we tend to work from fear, that beautiful and Divine intuition we have becomes defunct and we find ourselves in that all familiar rut , to ease this be present , live in the moment, as difficult as life may become those difficulties don’t last, so keep thinking that this is temporary, with the help from my Angels I will get through this, and ask for the help you need to move forward. It is important to live in gratitude, even if you have had the worst day ever, do try to find that one thing that made you smile! By doing these little exercises and connecting with your Angels, you create positivity in your life bit by bit, this in turn benefits your wellbeing, it raises your vibration, so you start to feel better, more hopeful and clear, this has a knock-on effect to others around you, your home, your work, especially Children who are more susceptible to positive and negative energies so work with your Angels and mind yourself Finally; Angels are ‘Love’ they work and communicate much better on the vibration of that Love, so when you wake up every morning ask your Angels to help you have a loving, grateful and happy day! AUGUST 2018 NEWSLETTER | 3
I FOUND MY MOJO through my nutrition. Aussie mum of three finding balance amongst the chaos called life. Hey guys can I ask you a question? Who is the most important person in your life right now? After years of juggling my life between family, friends, social and work life, it finally occurred to me that us women and yes especially us mummy’s (and daddy’s of course) forget to take care of ourselves. We put ourselves at the bottom of the list! Taking care of everyone else before ‘Numero Uno’. For years I used to think that I was being selfish if I ever thought of putting myself first before my children or husband, but one day I realised that I am no good to anybody unless I take care of MYSELF first. Just like the safety landing procedure on an Aeroplane states: apply your own air mask before tending to others. How can we help others when we can’t breathe ourselves? Well the same applies to our health. I asked and pondered the question, why do we wait until we are sick or run down to give our bodies what it needs to function properly? For example, we don’t only need vitamin C when we have a cold? Why do we accept spending loads of money trying to cure ailments with medicines or specialist doctors or treatments and reluctant to spend money on quality nutrition to prevent our bodies from becoming tired, sick, run down, and diseased in the first place? My name is Juanita I’m a busy fulltime working Mamma of 3 and I was (love that I can state I was) a burnout, tired, stressed cranky arsed 38-year-old that had completely lost her MOJO. I was ever so grateful to be introduced to the world of Nutrition Cleansing just over 12 months ago by a close friend of mine in Australia. Nutrition Cleansing rids the body of toxins and provides it with high quality dense nutrition. The perfect detox!! Nutritional Cellular Cleansing helps to balance the body for optimum health and happiness. And boy ohh boy has it done that! It is not a diet, even though it is very effective for weight loss. It’s all about bringing the body back to balance and feeding your body what it needs to become strong, lean and healthy for life. Every time we eat we have the choice to either nourish our bodies with clean, organic whole foods or feed disease with highly processed, calorie rich, fast foods. 4 | NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018
Prevention is better than cure, right? Today more than 95% of chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise. Have you ever thought about the expense of being unhealthy? Did you ever sit back and think that being unhealthy could cost you more than being healthy? When you factor in doctor visits, medication, hospital bills, surgery, physical therapy, unpaid sick days and the list goes on. So, the question to myself was, why not avoid all in the first place and get healthy. Meaning that I would not only be improving my health, wellbeing and prolonging my time on this earth but would also be setting a good example for my children and encouraging them to do the same. It’s a mindset thing, I get it. The sad reality is our food doesn’t contain the nutritional value it once had in our great grandparent’s day, that’s a simple FACT! Everyday our bodies need a total of 90 nutrients and minerals to function at its best. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Wednesday, Sunday, good day, bad day or holiday, your body needs it!! In our busy fast paced world, it takes a lot of time, work, and effort to be consistent in getting what your body needs from food alone. Therefore, I use 100% natural high-quality supplementation. Supplementation is very simply giving yourself the best possible daily intake of nutrients to allow your body to be as healthy as possible and work as well as it was designed to. The evidence of Nutrition Supplementation is becoming so strong. It was stated in Patrick Holford’s “The optimum nutrition bible “That if the Doctors of today don’t become Nutritionist, the Nutritionist will become the Doctors of tomorrow. Health isn’t always a pretty journey nor is it an easy one, it takes self-control and self-love. It can be hard, but the reality is that being overweight, stressed, dealing with emotional issues, chronic pain and illness daily is also challenging. We must choose our hard. So where do I start you might ask? How can I change to a more fortified, enriched, happier and healthier lifestyle? Well you got to start with putting your positive pants on and a big smile on your face.
Here are my Top 10 tips to getting your MOJO back! 1- GET TO BED EARLY and Rise before anyone else. We tend to not get things done due to distractions. Have some me time before everyone wakes. 2- HYDRATE - Before doing anything drink a pint of water. This will not only hydrate you, but it will help your intestine soak up any nutrients throughout the day, as well as, kickstart your metabolism. 3- EAT SOMETHING HEALTH - clean whole foods. If you start your day healthy then your more than likely to follow it through the day. If you start the day with crap guess what your body will crave? Exactly that! 4- EXERCISE - 10mins, 20mins, 1hr However long it takes to get that body moving. This will help those happy endorphins to rise and give you that drive for the day. 5- LISTEN TO MUSIC - Set a playlist of songs that make you feel happy, songs that remind you of the good times, increasing those feel good feelings. 6- ORGANISE AN EVENT- This could be anything from seeing a movie with friends, going to a new fitness class, organising a BBQ or social gathering. Start your week with something to look forward to. 7- SAY YES - We often shy away from things out of our comfort zone, say yes to something scary! (like writing an article for Empower hour mag!) you just might surprise yourself. 8- COMPLIMENT- People are forever looking for compliments we bounce off each other. Say something nice or a simple hello, you might just hear something nice back. 9- MAKE TIME FOR LOVED ONES - Life is so busy, we tend to get lost in work, our phones, tv, make time for those you love. We only live once, and time is precious. 10- GET TO BED EARLY - No TV, no phone, sat your alarm, plan your day ahead and hit the hay. The best project you will ever work on is‌. YOU. For more information on Nutritional Cleansing please feel free to email me at juanitadonieg@gmail.com or you can find me on my Facebook page littlespoonsofhappiness
Juanita Griffin xx AUGUST 2018 NEWSLETTER | 5
INTERIOR TRENDS
GREY IS A NEW MAGNOLIA!
Sharon Fitzgerald, Colour Consultant at Colorworx Paints & Papers
WHAT IS A TREND?
A trend reflects what is happening in the world, socially, economically, politically and with the environment. It is the result of the human psyche adapting to the current circumstances of the time. This is reflected through history of design in both fashion and interiors. Some trends come and go quickly whilst other trends prevail. These are called micro and macro trends. Micro trends tend to last one to two years and macro trends about 5/10 years. An example of a micro trend which comes to mind is the rose gold and pink color combination, pineapples and exotic patterns in pink and green depicting flamingoes and exotic plants. A macro trend would be the current grey trend which has been dubbed ‘The new magnolia’ How do trends develop? Trends develop because of the current circumstances of the time. Life changing events around the world influence the eventual conception and development of trends. For example, there is a term in interiors called ‘cocooning’, It was coined by a highly influential trend forecaster in the eighties who saw a need in people to make their homes a place of sanctuary, where they could retreat to take a break from the world for a while at the end of their day. A recent recognizable macro trend (which developed because of the most recent recession) was the modern Shabby Chic / Vintage Chic trend. The economic climate was looking very bleak and people were seeking for more affordable ways to decorate. Most people could no longer afford to redecorate or hire professional painters as often as they did before. So, the ‘make do and mend’ mindset and the nostalgia of days gone by when previous generations had to make do and mend came to the fore. 6 | NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018
Paint & Paper Library at Colorworx The trend was recognizable by Laura Ashley and Kath Kidston style colors and patterns, chalk painted boot sale purchased furniture, lots of white and pretty pastels, distressing and retro style wall hangings with inspirational and motivational quotes printed on them. Why is grey still as popular as a trend here in Ireland? The popularity of grey as a neutral is linked with the rise of two other huge interior trends, Scandinavian style and Modern Industrial style. Scandinavian style design is influenced by a connection to nature, combining natural shapes and materials with abstract. Modern industrial style feels environmentally friendly with many reclaimed materials and a pared back look encouraging the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ way of life. The three trends combined appeal to the current need the world is expressing, for self-care and care for the environment. The wish to get
back to basics, remove excess and stress and simplify life, while looking after the planet for future generations. There are many subtle notes and colors in a collection of about 500 shades of grey which gives each grey its own unique feel. Versatility is key to grey being popular as a neutral, it is more difficult to mix colors with beige or magnolia because they have yellow undertones. Therefore, grey has taken over as the new neutral. Because there is a shade of grey that can communicate any emotion, its versatility means that each space can tell a different story from dramatic and moody to soft and airy. Grey itself can also be used as a statement shade in any room, Greys as neutrals go well with bolder shades just as much as softer hues. Grey can take on a unique feel depending on what it’s paired with which leads to limitless options to ensure no room is the same as another.
Tips for the simplest way to use grey • Though grey is perceived as a neutral it is a color that is greatly influenced by its undertones and its place on the temperature scale. Grey with blue/ green undertones is calming but cool. Grey with red/yellow undertones are warming but can often look beigey the higher up the temperature scale you go. Consider the effect you want to achieve on the room where you are decorating with grey. Calming can work well in bedrooms and bathrooms in southwest facing positions where more sunlight is present. Warm greys can work well in cool north east facing rooms or living areas where you want to feel cozy and welcome.
• If all grey on grey seems too boring for you, consider bringing in shots of color with soft furnishings, ornaments, lamps and rugs or a feature wall which can be easier and less expensive to replace when a fresh look is desired. This can be done softly with pastels like blush or dramatically with jewel tones like deep yellow, teal or red. • Deep greys make a dramatic statement while light greys are on the airier side in a setting. Mixing both can be a great way to create drama in both traditional and contemporary style décor.
Little Greene Paints at Colorworx
Empower Hour is a single parents and parents support group without stigma. Empower Hour, Takes place on the 16th of August, Angel Times, Thomas Street, Limerick, 7.30 - 9.30. » Our guest speaker is family mediation expert ‘Sharon Morrissey’ who will speak on ‘Relationship Breakdown’, offering life solutions for separation. Revitalize your body, mind and soul with the healing circle on the night which
focuses on relaxation using focused meditation and different self care techniques. So don’t forget to include you this August!
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SOUND THERAPY ANYONE? Sound Therapist Dee O’Connor is just ‘Abounding in Sound’! In my vast experience working with families, of all shapes and sizes, I’ve found a recurring theme to occur; it is that harmony and health are relative to the levels of stress, anxiety and balance in the home setting and environment. Children absorb the world around them, they are like sponges and unfortunately children often have little or no coping skills to help them navigate through stressful situations. In this modern age our environment is full of disruptive frequencies such as: TVs, Wi-Fi, mobile phones, the static buzz of electricity in homes, the constant drones of appliances, the hum of traffic on our roads as well as farm machinery. (The list goes on and on) These disturbing frequencies can contribute to and compound the level of stress we encounter on an everyday basis. Have you ever sat down to what you thought was silence? To feel what felt like a relaxed state come over you and notice a sound that seemed to be in the far distance just stop, before it stopped you did not know you were being affected by this low-level sound. This is how much sound affects us negatively and how unaware we are of these sounds. If everything is energy and energy is frequency and frequency is sound let’s have the best possible sounds around us that are effective in creating positive change in our lives and that of our children. The human body craves harmony. Based on physics and the Law of Resonance, the body will tune itself to its surroundings. If it is an environment of is of a high vibration, empowerment and positivity that is where we will move towards energetically and create more of that frequency in our lives, if it is the opposite that is where we will be energetically. Where we are energetically being where we are on all levels, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Using the sound vibration of different instruments such as: the Tibetan singing bowls, crystal singing bowls and gongs we can cleanse, balance and re-energise the energy systems around the body. Sound vibrations work on all the energy systems in the auric field, the chakras and the meridian channels and bring a feeling of general well-being and balance. So how does it work? The beauty of Sound is you don’t really need to understand it, and therefore it is perfect for children and adults. Come to a Sound Journey, lay down, fully clothed, with a blanket over you, and you close your eyes and allow me to guide you into a meditation, where we then let the sound just take over. The Instruments produce a unique sound with many different vibrations. These vibrations have a few effects. • They gently vibrate the body to give a deep cell level massage which helps to relax tensions. Sound also has a synchronizing effect on the brain, balancing the right and left hemispheres which helps to calm the mind, like mindfulness meditation. • The sound also changes the brain waves from the beta brain wave (normal function) to the Alpha-Theta brain waves, this is where you are nearly asleep but not asleep, you are floating between both. Alpha is a light meditation wave whereas theta is dominant in deep meditation. This is the space where all the benefits of meditation and healing happen. With sound it is very easy to get into this state of consciousness. Parents and children can just relax and let the magic happen. In my work the sound can change from calm and slow to loud and intense, with this another effect simultaneously occurs and this is what I call them: ‘calm from chaos’, the brain loves to know what is 8 | NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2018
coming and it is always trying to be ahead, but when it can’t guess what is coming and it’s feeling a little out of control it just gives up, the beauty of this is when the brain falls into a state of silence, the mind chatter is lessened and moves into a state of total calm.
Benefits from the sessions: » reduce stress » learn self-regulation tools to face difficult emotions and situations » increased self-control, patience, stillness » improved focus and concentration » Improved sleep » enhanced immunity » greater creativity » heightened spirituality » self-confidence, self-compassion, empathy » better listening skills Children respond well to the sound of singing bowls and gongs, even a very active child can relax or fall asleep during the session. If a child is not able to relax I allow them at times to join in with me in treating others in smaller groups and we cooperate. Sometimes simply just ensuring they experience the vibrations of the instruments is enough to hold their interest and opens a space of relaxation for them. Everyone’s experience of Sound healing is totally different but at the end of all sessions 99% of people are totally relaxed, all they want to do is roll over, cuddle into their blanket and chill.
How Can You Work with Me? Public Group Sound Journey are mostly for adults only, simply because people come to escape, and for many that means escape from the kids. Moving forward I’m introducing family friendly sound sessions that will be shorter and will be full of families, all children must be accompanied by at least one adult. One to One Sessions are open to both adults and children. Sound PODS: A private group session for maximum two adults and two children in my home clinic setting, or house calls if suits for a larger family or group. Dee O’Connor is a Sound and Energy Therapy and a Sound Journey Coach. She has 1,000+ hours facilitating group sessions for the public working with sound instruments and has led groups of up to 100 people, she also works with private groups, organisations, corporations and private one to one sessions. www.deeoconnor.com dee@deeoconnor.com 087 121 5735
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