Lessons

Happiness

Posted on by angelillumination

Something has switched in me recently. I am beginning to crave true and lasting change. Too long have I remained attached to my past and the feelings of unworthiness that beset me too regularly from my negative experiences. I thought I had dealt with them all but in the end I feel I may have got stuck in rumination. Have you ever experienced this? Where you feel that you won’t have moved on from something unless you have fully analysed the situation and yourself? It is possible to get stuck in this phase and then it blocks you from truly moving on – rehashing the old wounds and keeping you stuck in a cycle of sadness and grief.

Once the lessons have been learned it is time to move on and actively engage in life again – in the things that bring you joy. As some of you may know, I am an avid reader, and my passion lies in what makes us tick. Why are we here? How are we here? How to make the most of our sojourn on Earth? I have come to realise through my reading sessions that we are here to be happy. We are built to be happy. Happiness isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity and the key to our well being.

In William Bloom’s book – The Endorphin Effect (2011) – he describes how our bodies are built to receive hormones that induce inherent feel – good. Feelings of wellness and joy. indeed, not just us, but even single celled organisms contain these receptors. He goes on to say:

“That tiny single – celled creatures posses endorphins is a profoundly optimistic piece of information. It means that every cell of our multi – celled body is capable of experiencing endorphins and that the propensity to experience happiness and euphoria is biologically built in to each of us. This allows us to put forward an unexpected but exact scientific statement: Happiness and pleasure are built in to the biological foundation of the human body.” (p24, Bloom, 2011).

This, to me, is good news indeed. I have always believed in a higher power, and knowing that there is the built in capacity for joy and happiness leads me to believe that happiness is a natural part of our make up. We are supposed to be happy.

So why is it harder for some of us than for others? Well, many of us are waiting for outside circumstances to change before we allow ourselves to be happy. Many feel we are born with a tendency to low mood and depression. many of us that we have no right to do things that induce happiness until we have completed the many goals and tasks in our life plan, that never seem to get completed. Some of us feel guilty when we feel happy.

Did you know that there is now scientific evidence that proves how our happiness levels are affected? In her book, The How of Happiness (2010), Sonja Lyubomirsky explains how our levels of happiness are made up. 50% of our happiness is controlled by our genetic make up – we each have a built in happiness set point which is controlled by our genes. So if our parents suffered low mood and depression there is an increased likelihood that we will as well. From her research, it was discovered that only 10% of our happiness levels are affected by outside circumstances, such as bereavement, promotion, an increase in wealth etc. This leaves us with 40% being affected by our day to day choices and behaviours. This means we have a whole 40% of control in which happiness is an inside job. In which it is our responsibility and choice to determine how happy we are.

This, to me, is extremely good news and I am currently experimenting with myself as to which behaviours, changes and attitudes I can adopt because I now believe that is it inherently my right to be happy most of the time!
I will be sharing my adventures in happiness, so please stay tuned, and feel free to share with me your views and opinions and any interesting experiences on this topic.

If you feel stuck and could do with a gentle nudge in the right direction from your angels, please feel free to get in touch with me and book a session for an angel card reading. It might just give you the next steps you need to take to find your happiness.
Much love and many blessings,

Lucy Loizou

William Bloom, 2011; The Endorphin Effect; Piatkus; London.

Sonja Lyubomirsky, 2010; The How Of Happiness; Piatkus; London

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A Shout Out To All The Messengers

Posted on by angelillumination

We all have them, those people that come into our lives and change it forever. The ones that stay and somehow, you can’t remember how and when you met them. When they became a permanent member of your tribe. Somehow it feels like you’ve just always had them around. They teach you and learn from you constantly. You have fun and share common ideas and interests and love you when you can’t love yourself – unconditionally.
It is often much easier to recognise the messages and the blessings these people give you and be grateful for them every day.

How about the people though, that come into your life and then disappear somehow? The complete strangers – sometimes their messages can be more difficult to recognise because they seem out of context and you don’t recognise the message until later. The tipsy ladies you chat to in the toilets on your night out, advising you to enjoy yourself but to take things slow with the man you’re dating. The lady dancing next to you that reminds you and. your date that you have natural beauty and that he/she’s lucky to be with you. The customer that you serve that innocently says just the right thing you needed to hear. These things can easily be taken for granted – not recognised as Divine guidance but rather as coincidence. It takes someone open to hearing their guidance in any possible way – open to surprises and listening to their intuition to guide them along their path. When you ask for guidance – be open to hearing it in any way possible – you can even ask for the guidance to be given in a way that is unique to you – in a way that is unmistakeable.

So, what about those people that come into your life that you invest in and feel hurt when you find out that they can’t/won’t stay? What about them? We often feel sad when they leave our sides and can feel disappointed, angry, rejected. As always, my advice is always to allow yourself those feelings. Your feelings are neither right nor wrong – they just are. Allow yourself to grieve the relationship in whatever form it was. Be kind to yourself – and then in true alchemist fashion – mine the experience for gold. For the lessons that the situation gave you. Sometimes the situation gave you the lesson and you will have learnt about yourself and the way you interact with others. Sometimes people come into our lives to teach us something practical – such as a skill, or to deliver a message in a way that we are able to hear it. Such as the boyfriend that guides you and encourages you to apply for that life changing job, or the date that reminds you how to eat healthily and to take your fitness seriously as they are experts in that field. The friend that stays with you until a particular life situation is resolved and then somehow dissipates and you both go your separate ways.

Yes, it easy to feel resentful and bitter and blame these people, wondering why you wasted your time and energy. Even the most “spiritual” people out there go through these feelings – it’s called being human. But if, once you’ve given yourself some time out, some time to grieve and process the experience, you might change your perspective. You might start to see them as angels in disguise, or people that God has used to put you back on the right path.

You might start, in time, to feel grateful for each and every person you meet and come across.

I certainly am. This missive is dedicated and in gratitude to all of the messengers of the world.

Thank you. I offer you blessings and every happiness, and hope for you to easily hear your messages also.

Lucy Loizou.

Alchemy

Posted on by angelillumination

“The medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir:

A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination”

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/alchemy (2017)

It was nearly a week ago. I had awoken in the morning with a plan for the day. Some writing perhaps, or a trip into town in peace to run some long awaited errands. I ended up in A&E with my youngest son for several hours.

I could have sat there in bitterness and disappointment, and believe me, I was a little disappointed, not to mention tired. I’d taken a magazine with me but had no inclination to read it. In addition, I was obviously concerned about my son.

A few years ago, the experience might have caused me to hate the whole day. To sit there in lamentation – “why me?”, “why doesn’t anything go the way I want it to?” and the classic one – “nothing goes right for me.”

However, in the last two years, while a succession of events in my life changed and morphed, and while there was a lot of letting go, I had begun a new practise. The practise of waking up in the morning and asking the universe how I might serve. How I might see things in a different light.

I spent time researching and reading about fate, free will choices, our purpose here on earth. I have come to the conclusion that our purpose here on Earth is to learn and grow – but also to find peace and to be happy. To learn to feel comfortable in our own skin and to truly be ourselves, following our own values instead of the crowd.

In a world where things constantly change and morph, and where our own free will choices are tempered by events seemingly outside of our control, how could one find this sense of inner peace and comfort?

By changing our perspective. I do honestly believe now, that everything does happen for a reason. Whether it be a moment of peace or accumulated good, or a lesson or a moment of Karma, there is always something to learn or take from the situation.

Sometimes, we may think that our purpose for a particular day is to do one thing – such as a project we have chosen which we believe is part of our life purpose, and it may indeed be, but the Universe gives us a different mission where we might be of more service for that particular day.

Even if we feel we aren’t doing anything by being there, not actively anyway, even of it feels like time is a wasting, you’re very presence in an area can change the energy. Can heal energy, can bring comfort to those in the surrounding area without you or the people surrounding you knowing why.

By some fluke, my son and I were told to sit in the staff hub of the department while we waited to be called for a CT scan. For over an hour. I spent the time in breathing and focusing in on my body and how I felt. I became more aware of my surroundings and overheard certain situations with unnamed patients in the hospitals, heard whispers of the exhaustion of the overworked staff. I focused my energy on switching to love. I imagined the whole area surrounded by a golden sparkly light. And I prayed for peace and healing for everyone.

We are responsible for the energy we put into the world. Do we want to be a presence of peace and love, or discord and anxiety?
The path to peace comes from accepting yourself – every part of yourself, and treating yourself with love. When you are filled with love and strong energy engendered by self care and self awareness, people pick up on it. They suddenly feel better in your presence without you saying or doing anything. Without understanding why they suddenly feel stronger and more at peace.

This is the art of alchemy – turning base metal into gold.

Your thoughts and feelings are welcome – please leave a comment.

And yes, thankfully, my son got the all clear and we went home – devoting the remainder of the day to self care and preparation for our life purpose.

 

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/alchemy; Oxford Dictionaries; 11/1/17

Many blessings, and a happy new year,

Lucy Loizou