Flower Remedies

(image taken from www.google.ie)

Over the years I've tried a number of different approaches to helping oneself heal or mend from various things life throws at you. These curveballs can be serious humdingers if I do say so myself and can knock you off balance in a small or very big way.
During these stressful periods, I've found aromatherapy and flower remedies to be a great help. You may be familiar with rescue remedy, it's more well known and seems to be a cover all distresses type of mix.
In the past year I've begun to use the help of specialists in these fields. Prior to this it was more of a self diagnosis using online sites such as Back Flower remedies. From various descriptions you'd figure out the best flower for the distress and then buy an independent batch of it.
I'm finding it much more productive to go to a specialist in the field though. Having someone familiar with flower properties and someone that create a remedy tailored for your own needs at that time, is invaluable. It is something that I now put down on my list as 'self care' instead of it being a luxury indulgence.
Luckily enough I have a specialist in my locality who is absolutely brilliant at her job, Katie Burton, and she runs the http://www.flowerremedies.ie locally.
The difference it has made to my own mental health and wellbeing is definitely measureable for me. Katie also uses Reiki to assist with balancing your energy to facilitate healing which combined with the flower remedies is a powerful combination.
For me personally, knowing that I was allowing my mind and body to process difficult emotions and release them safely with the assistance of properties from a mix of flowers, really helped the healing process of working through grief in many ways.
Many people may shy away from such options and consider them too far out, but the healing properties of flowers and herbs isn't something made up in the last decade or so. I feel it is more a return to a wise way of operating, using nature to restore balance in body and mind. It is defintely something I recommend you at least give a shot once in your life. :)

I need a montage!

(image taken from http://www.allfamousquotes.net/stress-quotes/)

Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
~Chinese Proverb

So this is a week full of interesting challenges to say the least. A recent return to study has presented me with a variety of little mountains to climb in the last while. Learning new programmes and catching up with new technology linked with the course has been testing in between fighting my own demons around study.
I'm not unfamiliar with deadlines, but had forgotten about the level of stress that can occur in those headless chicken moments! Just when you think you're moving forward and ticking the box of getting something done, you get feedback. Sometimes it's not easy to hear it but you've gotta hear it. So this week was the feedback of 'bin it'. Knowing and admitting when something isn't working is good. You know when you've put your best foot forward, and deep down you know when you haven't. Sometimes you present things dressed up as your best effort, when really it's a job finished fast to just get it done.
What feedback shows is that people care enough to actually take the time to call you out on this. They can see it isn't your best work or that you're nearly there with the idea but just have to tweak it.
It's reassuring to know there are people in your life that are happy to do this. In case you've come across a similar situation, here are some questions that you can always ask yourself. Although I wouldn't consider my situation a 'hard time', the 3 questions by Deepak Chopra do help to get your head straight and get out of the ego mindset:
1. Is this a problem I should fix, put up with or walk away from?
2. Who can I consult who has solved the same problem successfully?
3. How can I reach deeper into myself for solutions?

It's probably best that you go visit the site to read the questions and Deepaks response in it's proper context. Either way, they're great questions to use to regroup and refocus to move you away from feeling sorry for yourself and into taking positive action.

(Copy and paste the link -http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Deepak-Chopra-Advice-Handling-Hard-Times)

Understanding Emotions

(image courtesy of http://wiaob.blogspot.com/)

Oprahs site can be unbelievably hard to navigate through as there are so many links and brilliant bits to read it's easy to end up far from the original page you wanted to view!
Subscribing cuts this problem out to some degree. So this week I found a brilliant article in my emails from the site about understanding your emotions surrounding reaching for your dreams.
As a coach, when setting goals for myself or with a client, the focus can be more placed on motivating and maintaining a positive frame of reference to get to the end. Via this article however, the flip side of this was examined. It made for some really thought provoking reading!
What really struck me is how often people, myself included, just won't LET themselves get what they want. They have the goal, they go for it, and then they stop short. They give it a shot but perhaps don't fully succeed, then the goal/dream is left alone with citings of valid reasons for why it wasn't meant to be.
So by falling short or giving up, what emotions are we resisting or dodging? Even when it gets hard, what are we most scared of and what are we avoiding?
There are 4 approaches to dealing with it, and I recommend giving it a shot (copy link to go to the page - http://www.oprah.com/spirit/How-to-Reach-Your-Dreams-Understanding-Your-Emotions/3).
It can be really refreshing to sit with yourself in honest conversation and greet the fearful emotions that hold you back. It may not result in you rocket launching yourself into your goals but it does lighten the load and get you moving again.

Seek truth and you will find a path. ~Frank Slaughter

We do not err because truth is difficult to see. It is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable. ~Alexander Solzhenitsyn