Well it doesn't happen often but a few weeks ago I was down.Down & out with a very bad cold. It was actually less of a 'cold' and more of a ' I can't breathe' pneumonia situation. I couldn't work and I couldn't do a whole lot other than sleep. I would get winded just from doing stairs. It came out of nowhere and hit me pretty hard and was very humbling.I was using all of my healing tools, reiki-ing myself etc. trying to get back on track in a timely manner but soon realized I needed help. I sent out a reiki sos to my colleagues and friends. Following that session it was on the advice of a dear friend that I go to a doctor. I dragged myself there, was told my lungs were a mess, and I needed antibiotics.In my stubbornness if my friend had not threatened to drag me there I probably would have continued to do what I was doing to heal, and it would have probably worked.... Eventually.After one day of medicine I felt amazingly better. I felt like me again. I went back to doing things that needed to be done. Needless to say I overdid it, and was back in bed for two more days.For those who know me, know I don't stay in one spot very long unless I'm meditating. So to be down for 2 weeks was very frustrating. Once I surrendered to the fact I was going nowhere and reconciled that the clients I had to cancel would hopefully forgive me for cancelling, I got down to the business of getting better.Just so you know, Reiki practitioners Do get sick sometimes. We are not superhuman. ( I wish we were!) This situation I was in was a direct result of my previous month of 5am bootcamps, full days and late nights. I knew I was doing too much and pushing my luck and I 'should' really know better. But until I find a way to clone myself sometimes I have to do a lot of things for a lot of people and I never like to let anyone down.So I was not happy about being unwell-that is the sour 'Lemon' part of this post.However once I shifted my 'attitude' from 'victim of circumstance' and adopted an attitude of 'openness' to my situation an AMAZING thing happened.I got creative.Not a little creative.Super creative.
And as the energy of creativity flowed through by body, I began to feel much better and began to heal faster.I started by making chain mail bracelets while in bed. No joke. In bed with metal rings and pliers. Honestly (my husband was not impressed).Once I felt my true brain had returned I began organizing computer files, creating newsletters. And then the dangerous part for a 'creative and utterly bored mind', I went online and went shopping. I had been dreaming of soap creations all week so ordered the supplies to make these 'imagined' creations knowing full well the supplies would most certainly arrive when I would be too busy to make anything.That didn't stop me though. I was Inspired! : )I embraced my lemons and in honour of them I turned them into Lemon cake!Literally. Lemon Cupcake Bath Bombs to be exact-as pictured below. And they smell like lemon cake as well.
FYI If you think these are as amazing as I do, please know that I will be bringing all of the New Soap Planet Products to the Aura Photo Days at the centre next Friday & Saturday.So ultimately did I learn my lesson? The hard way. I rested a bit. I did, truly. But I can't stop being who I am either. And I believe when someone is going through an illness either short term or long term it can be just as mentally draining as well as physically challenging. What better frequency to get the mind active again than to be in that frequency of joy, creativity, and excitement. Shifting the body out of it's pain & suffering into a new frequency of health and wellness.So next time life is handing you lemons, or you feel stuck, try getting a little or a lot creative.It also helps if you can begin to see the gift in every experience, doing so makes it worthwhile in some way. : )So have fun re-creating and transforming your 'lemons'.
Because Choice is So Important We Have 2 Trips Happening in 2013
2 Amazing Trips To Celebrate 2013!
Magical Peru ~ April 2013 ~ More Details Here: http://eepurl.com/qv2fT
Glastonbury UK ~ July 2013 ~ More Details Here: http://eepurl.com/qvKYD
More photos HERE
Join us!
Glastonbury ~ Return To The Heart ~July 1-11th 2013
The Masks We Wear ~ To Makeup or Not To Makeup That is My Question
Last month while getting ready for work, I has to cancel my entire day at the last minute. I rushed out if the house in the morning to take my son to the medical clinic. It was his third severe allergic reaction in 3 weeks and I was becoming concerned that we might need an epi pen.We waited many hours just to get a referral to an allergist. As the swelling subsided my son looked more like himself but I knew he could not return to school. I had cleared my entire day to take him to the doctor. He was o.k. so on the way home we popped into a store to buy him a new backpack for school.While in the store I had to use the washroom. While washing my hands I happened to look into the mirror and gasped.I had no makeup on. None at all. In my rush to leave I had just skipped that part of getting ready.Now I do not normally wear a lot of makeup and I cannot wear foundation (I have never been able to-it feels restrictive to me).but I generally have at least some mascara or lip gloss on if I go out. Today I had nothing and once I realized that, well I felt a little naked...a little exposed.When I met my son outside the washroom. I said to him in a hushed tone...kind of like it was some big secret..because I felt it was..." I forgot to put my makeup on."He just looked at me and gave me a puzzled look and said matter of fact that no one would notice and that I looked beautiful.Awwww what a little sweetie. But what he said made me stop.I suddenly felt superficial and a bit silly because he was absolutely right. No one did notice. I was the only one noticing.While driving home I was contemplating this whole experience. More or less contemplating my reaction. I began thinking about makeup in general. It really is just a mask that we wear. Why does a bit of pigment make the difference in feeling complete and put together? It covers our real face. In a way, it is illusion, concealing the truth of who we are.No one died that day seeing me bare faced. No one stared at me or treated me any differently.It was MY reaction of seeing myself in the mirror, and the shock of having forgotten a key piece in getting ready to 'face' the world. I may as well have had two heads or forgotten a key piece of clothing. I have gone without makeup many times, while camping and hiking, while in the jungle. I had no issue with it while in nature, so why did I even care?I think because makeup is a part of the social expectation in getting ready to go out. We wear clean clothes, we are washed and clean, our hair brushed, clean clothes on. Essentially well groomed and put together. Our moms teach us that taking care of these things are an important part of taking care of ourselves and I totally agree. When we take time and effort in self care, that is a way to love and honour ourselves. But why is the makeup such a key part in that getting ready? More importantly why is it so automatic in my life that I just do it and do not even question the 'why' of it?Is it to perpetuate the illusion of a perfect complexion because a perfect complexion is a symbol of youth or symbolizes good health? Is it from way back in ancient times when we used to paint ourselves before ceremony or battle? I really do not know and honestly I'm not sure why we do it.All I know is my reaction was utterly ridiculous. As a woman I really have not come as far as I think. Maybe we all haven't because I know I'm not the only one who would have reacted this way.
We think we are empowered but so many of us are still frightened of not being good enough hiding behind artificial layers of gunk.Many of us are still slaves to the idea of what beauty is. Where did this whole 'rule' of you need to wear makeup even come from?Not only makeup but younger and younger women are having cosmetic surgery to feel better about themselves. They are not disfigured to begin with-not at all. And This is Surgery-not a makeover. Someone is cutting into their body and putting plastic inside of it. Plastic. To have breasts like the women in magazines. These girls have not even had children yet. I'm not talking about people who have been born disfigured or are having reconstruction or surgery for health reasons. I'm talking about young healthy girls wanting to be changed into an 'ideal' that is unnatural. Why? Is it because girls cannot have self esteem or feel beautiful in a world that defines the parameters of beauty in such a narrow way? Here is a link to some pictures of celebrities without makeup. These people have teams of people working with them to get them camera ready. We need to remind young girls of that.As a holistic practitioner, I just wish people would give as much attention and effort to their insides. One of the most medically altered people I ever met, on the inside she was so insecure. The outside changes were just a band aid solution, an illusion for others, while she still operated from a place of fear and unworthiness. That to me is tragic.I have witnessed people spending hundreds of dollars on shoes or a handbag, but they will not invest anything into their own health and wellness.Insides are just as important than outsides. More important actually!We live in a part of the world that often celebrates the illusion(the mask) more than it does the truth inside. But we are the ones who make up the world. We do. We decide.Let's decide differently. In our future let us support our girls in a more responsible way, with love and with compassion and empower then so they do not feel the need to go under a knife for improvement. We need to show them they are loved and beautiful just as they are.I'm so grateful that my son reminded me of the importance of the beauty within, and that he made me Stop and think about all of this.Will I still wear makeup? If I feel like it. But at least now I will wear it in a mindful way, and it will be for me, and not for anyone else.I am so grateful to my son for his ability to see the beauty within. I hope he keeps that perspective always. The girls out there are going to need more boys like that to help them see how beautiful they really are-inside and out.xoKerri
A Visit From My Grandfather
I saw my grandfather last night.I haven't seen him in a very long time.I got to hold him and tell him how much I love him.So what is so unique about that?My grandfather died 14 years ago.He appeared to me in the dream time. Sure I have dreamt of him before-here and there- but I never get to see him enough,Last night was different.As I was holding him and telling himhow glad I was to see him I realized I was dreaming. I looked at him and said, "You have been gone for 12 1/2 years and I miss you so much! You died. So that means I'm dreaming." I then said we can do anything. We were standing and looking out a window and I said, "we can fly". But then we decided against it to not alarm the other people walking up the street below. Instead we decided to go across the street and jump up to fly.We were at the COL centre. It looked different but we were upstairs. We went down to street level and talked as we walked up the street. Certain things would happen in my dream that would momentarily distract me and then I realized. 'No. I need to stay focused. To stay here with my grandfather.' What is funny in retrospect is we were walking the ley lines (energy lines) on Mill St. I could see the other people who had died walking them too.Now I see people who have died and cross over all the time so why is it such a big deal that I saw my grandfather? Well although I know he is around, I do not see him often, and I am rarely am able to connect with him like that.Not everyone who has died is easily accessible. Anyone who has had a session with a medium sometimes has that experience. No true medium can ever guarantee that a specific spirit will come forward. They know we are not the ones in control of that.Spirit is.So why do some spirits come in crystal clear and others are not as clear, more elusive, or difficult to locate?There are many reasons. I don't assume to know them all but will share a few from my personal experience.The most common I have experienced is that they have reincarnated back into a human form on the earth. So when I am connecting to their spirit it is present in the reading like a hologram-holding space in the past but the bulk of their energy is with the new life they are currently in.Sometimes spirit is elusive because they are keeping their energy close to a certain person or thing. It's usually who they feel needs their energy more.Sometimes they are doing 'work' on the other side. If we choose, after we cross over, we may take on certain tasks and occasionally spirit may be occupied doing something else.The energy we are trying to connect to is of an infant or unborn child, or child that died in utero. Often babies are not born for a reason. That reason usually has everything to do with their soul path and growth and not the mother or father. Once they pull their life force energy back they usually get to work on what they needed to do(why they left) or they plan to come again at the first opportunity.The upside is if I cannot locate a spirit clearly I will usually receive information as to why.My grandfather has been reincarnated back here for 12 1/2 years now. He died 14 years ago. It's funny in my dream I told him he had been gone for 12 1/2 years even though he died 14 years ago. That's because he has been gone from 'me' and my ability to access him clearly in spirit for that length of time. He has been here walking the earth again for the last 12 1/2 years. He reincarnated back. When he came back he came back as a split soul (identical twins). Those babies were born with health conditions that matched how he died. 9 days later those medical conditions had 'disappeared'. I'm sure nurses who work in neonatal see a lot of 'disappearing' illnesses.So this is all very interesting but it still does not allow me to hug and hold and talk with my grandfather as I could when he was living. That is why last night was so special.Why was I so close to my Grandfather?
Well he used to teach me things. He would take the time to patiently go over each step. He encouraged me. He taught me the importance of being kind. He loved me unconditionally. He had the same wacky sense of humor. He would do anything for a laugh. We would go on long walks at the cottage and he would teach me which wild plants were edible. He could make or build anything. He believed in the world and believed in people even when faced with the 'ugly' side of people and things. He encouraged others to fight for what they knew was good and true. He never gave up. He cheated death once and squeezed out enough years for me to really get to know him and I'm so grateful. After he recovered his focus shifted to community and he began to live for an idea of what he wanted the world to be. He inspired people. He would occasionally cause trouble or 'break the law'. If you count mixing concrete and patching city sidewalks when the city wouldn't as breaking the law. All to prevent little old ladies from falling down and breaking bones. He got the name 'sidewalk johnny' after that episode. He helped the neighborhood fundraise to buy another lady dentures do she could eat real food again. When the city was going to tear down a community wading pool because they had no money to fix it, he started a community association and got all the neighbours together. Over a few years and hundreds of garage sales later, they raised the thousands necessary to save the pool.And these are just a few things he did.He was my childhood hero, my surrogate father, and his ideals have become a large part of the internal compass I try to live by.This past Thanksgiving while spending time with family I was reflecting on things I am thankful for. I am so thankful he was part of my life, even for a short time, for that I am grateful. I wish my children could have known him. They would have just loved him and he them. Its comforting to know he lives on in me and in them as well. Every time we eat a 'weed', play a prank, have a laugh, show compassion, do something bigger than ourselves, inspire others.He is there.Smiling.
Special Offer Starts Friday August 3rd!
Relay For Life ~ Thank You!
I would like to extend a Huge Thank You to everyone who supported us in the Relay for Life. We had many supporters through online donations, our spare change jar at the centre, those who donated to & shopped our Garage Sale & those who offered kind words of encouragement. Our team 'Circle of Light Disco Divas' raised just over $4000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. We also won best theme at the event for our disco themed campsite & our team creatively decorated in disco wear. For photos you will have to visit our Facebook page. Last Friday we walked all night until 7am Saturday morning. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we sang, and we celebrated those who had fought and survived, offered support to those still struggling and honoured the memory of those who are no longer with us.It was a beautiful, touching, and inspiring event and I feel truly blessed to have taken part in it and feel especially lucky to have walked (danced around) the track that night many times with my 'soul sisters'. It was really nice to experience the relay in Waterdown with a smaller intimate group of community members. There were live bands and wonderful food & support for the walkers. The next day we were all exhausted but still smiling.Thank you again for your support!Love,The Disco Divas! (aka. Darcie, Pat, Tara, Linda B., Linda A, Maddie, Kim, Desiree, Tara, Jodi, Kendra, Leanna, Sydney, Teresa, Kerri)
Synchronicities, Trusting, And Being Guided
Last month we underwent a mini renovation at the centre where we added a treatment room. Prior to construction I remote viewed the area under the stairs and saw that there was a cupboard there, and useable space.As you can see in the photo when the wall was opened up you can see the original trim and wallpaper. Unfortunately the space was not as large as it appeared in my mind, but it was still useable space. For anyone who has tried remote viewing, this can sometimes happen(in that it is not 100% accurate all of the time)
What is of interest, and the reason I am sharing this story, is what was found inside the cupboard.A wooden checker piece was found inside this space.Children used to play in this cupboard. I could still feel them there as I painted under the stairs all one day.But the interesting thing is this. The image on the checker.
Now there is a story of how the name Circle of Light was chosen. It came to me very very clearly in meditation over 10 years ago. I called my business 'Circle of Light' Energy Therapies long before 'Circle of Light' Wellness Centre even existed. If you haven't heard that Amazing story yet, it is HERE and will make the rest of this story make more sense.Almost five years ago while renovating the centre and preparing the space I meditated to find the right image for a logo. I kept seeing a flower with a circle around it. A flower of light. A flower that looked almost identical to the checker image. I ended up using the 1000 petal lotus as inspiration which to me is a flower of pure light. It is also the symbol of the crown chakra , enlightenment and spiritual connection and growth. I wished for everyone to experience an enlightened heart and mind as a result of encountering our space, so it was the perfect symbol for the centre.But when I saw the checker I almost fell over! It was the exact flower image I had been seeing in my mind so many years ago! This is not the first time the spirit of the house has spoken to me, but it really made an impact this day.There is another story of how the house chose me as the caretaker, or the lady who used to live here did, but that is a really long story and for another day. : ) Maybe I will blog that one soon, or share it over a cup of tea.
You can see in the picture above the image on the checker is not exactly the same as the logo but it is pretty close.What was interesting about finding this now, at this time, was that it was confirmation to me that I was doing the right thing(doing the small renovation while planning the larger one). I had such a difficult time opening that wall up, it was crazy. To me the house is like a living breathing person and that small renovation felt like a surgical procedure on a dear friend. Thankfully most people do not even notice, and think the wall and door has always been there. That to me is confirmation that it is a job well done, if it seems it has always been there. Here is a picture of the new wall.
So I just wanted to share this because often in life we are guided, and we do follow our intuition, and inspirations and do not always know why or even see the end result. I try to trust in the flow of life every day, yet I am human and struggle with self doubt just as everyone else does. Finding this checker was a gift to me...it felt like a gift from spirit that said 'You are on the right path.' And that's all I really needed to hear.I hope all of you receive confirmation in the next few days and weeks about something in your own life that you may be questioning, or doubting, or looking for guidance on. Spirit is always communicating with us. We just need to learn to listen.Life Really is One Big Miracle!Thank you for allowing me to share my story. : )Big Blessings,Kerri