meditation

The Thick of Autumn

Posted on by angelillumination

We are heading into the thick of autumn. The nights are drawn in – complete darkness at 4pm. When one walks outside in nature, the earth takes on a cacophony of colour, supplied by a great carpet of fallen, crunchy leaves. The trees take on a darker hue, a skeletal frame. Nature is drawing its energy in – pulling it in close and going to sleep. It is letting go – shedding what it no longer needs, so that come spring, it can create life anew. Stronger. Fresher.

It is a natural time for reflection. For taking stock of what the year has bought. Of what we have created, or not created. For how we have grown. This is a time to release the pressure of giving and creating. To go within.

This has been an incredible year of change. Drastic, dramatic. There has been intense suffering and intense celebration. This has been a year when people came together to resist the ineffective status quo. To press for change. 

It has also been a lonely year for some people. We have been cut off from the blessing of human touch. We had to adapt and find new ways of socialising. 

Some of us thrived and some floundered with the new way of things. Some of us have been on a continuing loop within this spectrum the entire time. I have been one of the latter. 

I have given in to the arms of apathy and despair in the morning and risen anew with motivation, hope and joy in the evening. I have cried and laughed in equal measure. I have withdrawn into isolation, licking my wounds, for one moment and the next have found the strength to give succour and solace to my fellow brothers and sisters on this Earth.

I feel the energy of the closing year within me. I feel it ending energetically. Spiritually. Emotionally. 

It feels exciting. Renewing. It is also subdued. Quiet. Uncertain. 

Some tools for us during this time:

Prayer

Meditation. 

Writing.

Painting.

Some rituals:

Bathing in salt water.

Safely burning old thoughts and ideas.

Walking in nature.

Clearing out of any items we no longer need – giving them away and thanking them for their blessing.

Some questions (ask yourself these questions gently, with compassion and love. It’s been a very difficult year for us all):

What came into your life that gave you joy this year?

What came into your life that broke your heart?

What about these situations made you feel this way?

What did you learn about yourself?

How did this feel?

What beliefs about yourself/life do you want to let go of at this time? Why?

What beliefs about yourself/life do you want keep? Why?

What about your dreams? Look back on the beginning of the year – what were your dreams then?

Did you get any closer to achieving them? 

Which ones are still important to you and ignite you with passion and inspiration?

Which no longer resonate? Is it time to let them go?

How will you do this?

I welcome your comments. If you want to share in a safe space, come and join us in my Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/477524106372089

Download my book Sowing the Seeds of Change here:

Much love always.

Much peace always.

Stay safe.

Lucy Loizou

Image Credit: Daily Express

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Resistance Is Futile

Posted on by angelillumination

Life happens, that’s a fact. No matter how spiritual we are, no matter the kind of relationship we feel we have with the creator, sooner or later, challenges come up that we have to face. We live in a world where we do not only have our free will, but everyone’s free will.

There is a collective unconscious, and a collective Karma, as well as our own. We also have the lessons we agreed to learn before we incarnated into this life. And then the choices we have made – whether they were wise choices or not. There is cause and effect.

Sooner or later something will happen and we might feel like everything we have worked towards, all we have learned, is lost. We feel lost, we feel scared, angry, confused, hopeless. These feelings are natural of course, and then when we feel them we feel that we are back at square one.

We may feel that we have reached a stage where we “deserve” not to encounter such inconveniences again. I for one, when something like this happens, crumble for a moment. You are likely to find me, sat on the kitchen floor like a child, melting into tears. Expressing my anger and disappointment for a few moments. Letting the tide of emotion wash over me. Resistance is futile. The feelings are real. You can’t stuff them down. They will come again as illness in your body. As dis – ease. Neither can you find solutions when filled with the tension of these feelings.
You have to sit with them for a while. This is just one example.

Life is a rollercoaster. There are things outside of ourselves that we have no control over. War machines, bankruptcy of the companies we work for, car accidents, earthquakes. We can’t control other people’s choices or behaviours, we can’t control the forces of Mother Nature.
Resistance is futile. These things will happen no matter how evolved we are as individuals, at least until the whole world evolves.

If resistance is futile, and all of these things are out of our control, then what is in our control? Who is the one constant in our lives? We are. You are. You are the person that you will have known the longest in your life. You are the person with whom you are in relationship ALWAYS.

This is where the strength lies. I have been on a rollercoaster these last two years, of joy and sadness, of scary learning and empowering learning. What I have been crafting most is my relationship with myself. I have been learning how I tick on a much deeper level, and trust myself now. I am my own best friend, and I like who I am. In fact, sometimes, I think I’m a pretty cool person. It’s taken a lot of work. I know now that, no matter what happens, I will survive, learn and grow. I know how to get back on my throne when I get knocked off, as the Queen, the Goddess of my own life. Granted, I won’t enjoy it when these lessons come around, when life does a 360 on me, who would?

The time to cultivate this self-knowledge, and the tools and habits to help oneself get back on one’s throne, is when everything is going well. It takes work and discipline, but discipline in a beautiful way. Discipline is controlling your thoughts and words in order to cultivate unconditional love for oneself, to cultivate your life purpose, your dreams, and the ability to listen to and to know you deserve what you need at any given time.

Over the coming months I will be sharing tools and practices that can help to build this throne and to keep you on it, but there are two tools that I have always advocated that you can start right now.

1) Writing a journal – Yes I know. I am always harping on about self-awareness. But really, if you don’t understand who you really are and what makes you tick, what makes you stronger, then how can you make the most life affirming choices? Do yourself a favour – go to a bookstore or stationers and treat yourself to beautiful notebook or diary, one that inspires you to spend time with it. Maybe even a pen or two in your favourite colour. Write in it or draw in it at least three times a week. Your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Your dreams for the future.

2) Meditation – at least 15 minutes a day. You can listen to your breath, or say a mantra or repeat an affirmation, or even listen to a guided meditation. You can find plenty of free guided meditations online or even download one onto your device for your convenience. This will help you to develop the skill of listening to yourself, of presence and being mindful and accepting of what is happening in the present moment. It gives your body time to rejuvenate and slow down as well. It’s a win – win really, isn’t it?

I would love to hear your own thoughts and experiences – please feel free to share with me. Also, watch this space for details on how to receive practical tools and tips for developing your relationship with yourself, and how never to miss a blog again.

Wishing you love, and Angel blessings,

Lucy Loizou

Meditation

Posted on by angelillumination

Well, I haven’t written anything new for a while. Sometimes, you need to stop doing and go into peaceful isolation with your maker and rest your spirit a while. I guess this is what I have been doing. Recharging my batteries, shoring up my meditation routine and developing the spiritual and mental fortitude for the next stage of my life journey, whatever that may involve.

Another aspect would be that sometimes you need to help by helping and giving time in a physical sense rather than just writing about helping in a way that will inspire others to help themselves. I do love writing in the hope that my journey, my learning, will inspire, help, and give hope to others who may be going through similar experiences and feelings. Sometimes, though, people need real-time help and strength that is specific for them and their situation.

If life is a balance between giving and receiving, it also a balance between doing and being. Both are important. During my recent time out from writing I have been working on developing a more regular meditation practise. The ideal, I believe, is 10 – 20 minutes in the morning, and the same again in the evening. This is like a daily snapshot of the bigger picture in life. You start the day in communing with the Divine, this is the receiving part. The being part. You temporarily let go of the perception of separation from all that is, you just are. You are soaked up in the Divine energies and learn to just listen to that still quiet voice within. This then sets you up for a day of doing and giving. Of creating and learning and practising what you have learned. Then, before we go to bed into that unconscious state of dreamland, another stage of just being, communing, receiving, and showing gratitude.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t easy to start with. For ages I have listened to guided meditations because the instructions and the music helped to stop my mind from wondering. I still use them through the day or as I am going to sleep. But if you think about, they still involve doing. You encouraged to use imagination and visualise, which is helpful in itself. But I felt called to breathing meditation. Twenty minutes when you pay attention to the ebb and flow of your breath. You become aware of your heartbeat. You become aware of how many thoughts run through your mind in a dizzying minute, and imagine them as if they are on a stage or on a boat drifting by. You don’t settle on them. You recognise them, let them go and take your next breath. You become more aware of your body, it’s heaviness on the bed. The sensation of sheets or the air in the room on your skin. The birds tweeting outside your window. And you let it go on. Around you. You let it go – you are of it – of the same star-dust, and yet you are not. You may become aware of feelings you didn’t know you had. You feel them bubble up through your heart, through your throat, up into your head. Maybe your eyes release the tear drops, and through it all, you keep your focus on your breath. Every time your mind wonders, you smile lovingly and bring your attention back.

You may find that you have received inspiration and solutions to situations you felt were impossible to resolve, and in gratitude, you release them for the time being, in joy as well, and bring your attention back to your breath.

And then your calming and gentle mobile phone alarm goes off, informing you that you accomplished your intention of twenty minutes of meditation. You say a prayer of gratitude to the Divine for it’s presence, take a final deep breath, and gently, slowly open your eyes. You put your feet to the ground, and imagine roots going deep into the Earth, planting you firmly in the Earthly Mother and her amazing strength. You stretch your arms up over your head to the heavens, and branches go up – way, way up into the sky, connecting you to the Heavenly Father, to Divine guidance through the day.

Now you are all set. The smile on your face is connected to the smile in your heart and the smile in your soul and the smile your eyes.

You affirm: “I am a Child of God. I am His”

And then you have a Blessed day.

Love and blessings,

Lucy Loizou xx