PolarityPlus

Choice

2012-02-12T15:14:00.000+11:00

We all have choices
- as a child these were often made for us, and generally in our best interests, but as an adult, one always has a choice.
Whether we exercise that choice or not is what defines us.
If we are held back by fears from childhood or past experiences, then there comes a time to let these fears go and make life more enjoyable and meaningful.
William Glasser wrote an excellent book "Choice Theory", on how to choose the life you want to live and stay close to the people you need.
He writes of how we create our own quality worlds and how we are often reluctant to share these with others as we are afraid that we may be ridiculed or criticized.
We have a choice as to whether we will accept that criticism as valid and constructive or to set it aside.
Making choices means taking responsibility for your actions and allowing learnings to take place from the outcomes.
It is necessary to put aside the past, as our memories are notoriously unreliable.
We often create our memories on perceptions of an event. The unconscious mind can even create a "memory" using the imagination.
Using the imagination in a constructive way, we can then choose to reframe our existing and more painful memories in a positive and helpful way, so that we can take charge of our lives in a purposeful and empowered way.

Energy systems

2012-02-03T14:37:00.001+11:00

The energy exploration continues.... In the past week or so I have come across Vivaxis, which warranted a look at and a continuation of studying the human energy body.
In many cultures there has been a long and detailed study of the energy systems of the body - particularly in India with Ayurvedic Medicine and China with the energy of the meridians found in Acupuncture.
All of which leads back to where I started, going back to Reiki and Polarity Therapy, both of which I studied and now use on a daily basis.
Part of the daily practice in this year of energy exploration has been the use of the zen chi machine and I am now combining that time with listening to hypnotic recordings. Gradual changes in my personal energy are being noticed and I feel more centred and clear.

Beauty in imperfection

2012-01-26T23:13:00.000+11:00

The Japanese enjoy the concept of beauty in imperfection and on Day 12 of the energy exploration year, as I made my way downstairs to feed the dog, I noticed a largish butterfly resting on the pool cover.
A closer inspection was made and a series of photos taken and I discovered that this beautiful creature had one of it's lower wings missing. Not sure if it had not yet unfurled or had been removed by a bird, I decided to leave the butterfly where it was.
Later that morning it had gone - I checked under the pool cover but it wasn't in the water, so I assume it flew away.
The opportunity to record it's presence also reminded me of being present in the here and now, to be aware of the little things in life that present themselves to us, to remind us of our own impermanence.

Meditation, mandalas and mindset

2012-01-24T21:39:00.002+11:00

Day 10 of the exploration of energy.
The morning session on the zen chi machine seems to be getting shorter as I get used to it.
I can feel my lower back loosening up and some of the time is used for arm stretches, which also seems to help in loosening up the spine and in meditating.
Today the colours of meditation were greens and yellows.
Another warm Melbourne day and the intention was set to use the emWave on arrival at the office - seems like I am becoming a bit of an energy junkie!!
However, I attended to a couple of phone messages first and then to writing down the workshop and information evening dates as well as preparing the flyers for the events.
In the process of looking over the Meditation manual, I came across this Mandala and decided to do another New Moon meditation whilst contemplating it.
No matter that the New Moon was yesterday, the waxing energy is still there.
Writing down my goals for the next month and what inner resources that I have to achieve them, I found that I was focusing more and more on the lotus petals and coloured them in.
Each petal now represented a goal and the energy of the Mandala changed. In fact, it changed with each new colour that was added - as I was using the colours of the chakras, took the opportunity to use the meditation as a clearing process.
Completing the meditation felt great, there was greater clarity and a really wonderful way to set goals.

The Polarity of friendship

2012-01-23T17:42:00.001+11:00

The flow of energy between friends flows unseen, yet it can be felt. The renewal of old friendships and the gradual lessening of contact and detachment as both you and they move on can be both liberating and in some cases, emotionally painful. Nurturing new friendships, letting go of judgements and observing how the friendship develops can take a certain amount of surrender on our part. Stuart Wilde likens friendship to "the school that you attend, where what you are is reflected back toward you. They act as a mirror. That is why people suffer a lot of imbalance, emotion and difficulty in relationships. They're looking at themselves and their shadow and that makes them uncomfortable, fearful and angry."The polarity of friendship is determined by the flow and interaction of energy between people. The yang or outgoing energy is the external social self and is positive. The yin or ingoing energy is the inner body, the spiritual side and holds a negative polarity. The energy to maintain a friendship can ebb and flow and the friendships that are carefully nurtured are the ones that will last a lifetime - or several. The energy of conversation between friends and the energy of positive empowerment and choosing how you spend your time, or how you help others along their paths, all contribute to the polarity of friendship. Sometimes a single word spoken between friends has a profound and lasting influence - it can heal or hurt, so choose the words carefully.What lessons are you here for? What gifts do you have to share? Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th Century British Prime Minister said "Most people go to their grave with their music still in them."Are you in tune with your own music? Can you express yourself and your needs adequately? Can you surrender to the energy of the friendship and allow the energy to flow organically? If you are feeling that your energy is constantly being drained, then maybe it's time to let that relationship go.

2012-01-21T10:00:00.001+11:00

Day 7 of the energy exploration year and noticing how other people's energy is affecting me. Having the emWave is great as it enables me to record when I have got out of balance and at the same time a great tool to return to balance after a couple of sessions.
The zen- chi machine is still in use and the morning session has gone to 20 minutes - loving the feeling afterwards and noticing that I have more physical energy. All good!!

Wibble, wobble, jelly on a plate....

2012-01-19T13:10:00.003+11:00

...that's what was going through my mind as Day 5 of the Energy year began and I stepped up the pace on the zen-chi machine. Observing how my body has been responding is interesting - the left side is becoming more flexible and still the right ankle remains stiff and sore. The increased speed also had an effect on my lower sacrum & I very carefully did some lower back exercises before getting up off the floor. I broke my coccyx around this time of year - about 5 years ago, mucking around in the pool and landing on the pool steps. Ouch!! Looking up Louise Hay's explanation for lower back problems "fear of money. Lack of financial support" came up. Hmmm!! So my new thought pattern is to be "Trust the process of life. All I need is always taken care of. I am safe" as I let go of the constriction in the body and restrictions in the mind.
Amazing how events unfold. On the way into work & listening to a podcast from Manifesting Wellness all about Network Chiropractic, there was information about theenergy link between emotions, endocrine system & the spinal system. So much made sense - and to think that I see a naturopath in the same clinic as a network chiropractor ...... as they say... when the student is ready......!! Something to explore

The colour of energy

2012-01-18T16:23:00.000+11:00

Moving into Day 4 of my year of exploring energy, I have been drawn to the energies of colour. Green is seen as a "healing" colour. It is the colour of balance, one only has to look at the green colours found in nature and experience the relaxation as you look at the leaves, grass and plants and feel their energy. On the physical level, choosing the colour green may indicate an imbalance which may be caused by disease or surgery. Using the colour green in a visualization will help to strengthen the heart chakra. Ayurvedic medicine suggests drinking emerald powder to help improve the health. Wearing emeralds will also strengthen the heart and heart chakra, (Great idea!) and putting an emerald under the tongue is said to help predict events. On the emotional level, choosing to work with the colour green, may indicate emotional issues such as fear which causes the aura to become stagnant and blocked. The Heart Chakra (Anahata) is connected to the lungs, heart, immune system and the arms and hands. The spiritual path of the Heart Chakra is to show unconditional love, not only to others but to ourselves. This means loving how you look, how you feel about yourself, no matter what your size or shape. Having no judgement about yourself or others regardless of any faults or inconsistencies. An exercise for the Heart Chakra is Uttihita Trikonasana - The stretched Triangle - and as you do this yoga pose, bring the awareness to the Heart Chakra and imagine a soft, clear, green light filling your body as you breathe in and as you exhale, expand the green colour out into your aura.

Add a little chi

2012-01-17T14:08:00.003+11:00

Chi (or Ki in Japanese) is all about energy.
"Where attention goes, energy flows" - I'm not sure who said that, but I like it!
The reason I am focusing on energy is because I'm in the process of writing a workbook to accompany an energy workshop.
It took a request from a client to experience a Polarity massage to revisit the practices that I had let lapse.
The daily meditation was still in place but since the health issue last year, my personal energy fields are quite depleted. I was eating well - too well - given that I was not as active as I had been before.
But something had changed within.
Again and again I found myself drawn to the study of energy within the body. Using the emWave daily has helped with finding congruence and the HeartMath material on the energetic heart is great reading. Well, I think so!
Another energy system that I use regularly is Reiki - hands on daily and all the better if there is someone to do it for. I have always enjoyed the quietness that comes from giving a Reiki and it took a conversation with another Reiki Master Teacher just recently to realize that I need to schedule some regular classes to teach. Currently I offer "boutique" training, which means that I teach when the student enquires about a class.
Another energy system that I have recently revisited is the EMF Balancing Technique and the energy generated by using one of the symbols has been very effective in making some changes to my work environment.
Last weekend I dusted off the Zen Chi machine and gave it a go. I did this because I couldn't get medical clearance to go to the gym and decided to be a little more pro-active in minding my own health.
I had forgotten the feeling that is experienced after a session and today is now Day 3 of my new and improved energy program.

When Life brings you lemons....

2011-12-31T12:29:00.002+11:00

....make lemonade!
No point being sour and puckered up about what happened, find a little sweetness to add and hey presto!
A delicious experience!
2011 has been a rollercoaster of a year.
Sudden highs and dramatic drops - heart stopping - literally!
The Tasmanian adventure in January started with some soul searching and a trip to a hypnotherapy colleague to resolve my reaction to a spiritual event.
My Reiki Master, who is also a Free Priest in the Order of Melchizidek, has been suggesting for many years that she ordain me & I was set to go through with the process, but had a sense of dread as the day approached. My stomach lurched when she described the ordination process & I took this as a pretty good "gut reaction" that it wasn't going to happen.
In the end I delayed the trip by a couple of days and although we did meet, she continues to express her disappointment that I didn't go through with it.
Interestingly I lost the Larimar stone from my Lives between Lives session whilst in Hobart.
But I did find an Orb!
The time in Tasmania went quickly and returning to Melbourne at the end of January, it was strange, but nice, not starting school.
A new phase of my life was starting. I had already taken on my room and had been down there part time in 2010, so it was familiar. I was continuing with my studies - a Certificate 4 in Business as part of a Diploma in Life Coaching and had clients scheduled.
An earlier post chronicles the event of February 10th, which has seen my life take a different direction. Priorities changed and moving through the "muddle headedness" was a challenge.
Focusing on completing my studies helped enormously and Spirit provided enough clients each month to pay the rent on the room.

Over the year, I have grown to love my space - looking out onto a grassy area with some trees, there are a couple of magpies that come close to the windows and peer in from time to time and the other tenants always have a cheery greeting.
The space has given my time to pursue some dreams and bring some into reality.
A few new friends were very supportive and this contrasted with the lack of emotional support from family, both around the cardiac event and my change in career.
At this stage I'm going pucker up and have a lemon moment!
After having been a "people pleaser" (or doormat as my friend Susan once famously said) for 30 years in my marriage family, the lack of support has been like a massive slap in the face. ( :-) remember I have abandonment issues!!) A pointer to their insularity & as the psychologist I was seeing to deal with the post cardiac anxiety said " Would you be friends with them if you weren't married?" I don't think so, however I am grateful for the clarity that has come from their inaction.
More time out in July as the palpitations continued and it was decided to undergo a Cardiac Ablation. This was very confronting and I nearly didn't go. The Cardiologist remarked after the procedure that he didn't expect to find anything and was surprised to find a "rogue circuit" that caused my heart to race at an astounding pace. I have been using hypnotherapy to go into a relaxed healing state daily, along with daily EmWave sessions (which have also shown when I have had arrhythmias). Metaphorically, I have decided to look at the ablation as the opportunity to excise old heart hurts, burning out the old. Reflecting on my lemon moment, perhaps the ablation cut deeper than I thought!
Interestingly a number of clients I have seen over the last 6 months have had cardiac events and being non retirees have struggled with lack of support as well. They do say you attract the clients you need for your own development.
A couple of joint ventures with workshops have been an excellent learning experience and I am grateful to the wonderful women with whom I have worked to present them.

More recently, I ran my first homeopathic workshop and realized that I have a wealth of material which I wrote in 2000 and 2002. Homeopathic manuals that are hyperlinked from remedy to symptom and back again. I'm impressed with what I did then!
Time to set it free from the files where they have been store and share with the world! Book release perhaps!
Focussing on the clinical aspect has been good and now it's time to move in a more spiritual direction, mixing the clinical and spiritual.
So my New Year's Resolution is....?
Step into integrity, walk the talk and honour who I am and where I have come from.
I am grateful to the teachers I have had along the way and to wake up every morning to new and wonderful opportunities......so my resolution for 2012 is to show gratitude.

Planetary Ages and Stages

2011-10-12T16:03:00.001+11:00

Ancient astrologers not only noted the planetary periods of the days and months, but recognised that there were planetary influences as we age.
The Moon influences the first seven years of life, with the child absorbing nutrients from the physical, emotional and spiritual worlds.The mothering influence of the Moon works on the etheric of the developing child and together with the parental influences, loves and nurtures the soul.

Mercury begins to influence the child from the time of losing the "milk teeth" to puberty. The planet of the mind, it governs thought, learning and the beginning of reason. Innate curiousity about the outer world is awakened and the imagination is developed. A quiet discipline to direct the child and good role models are needed as the child of this age is good at imitating adult behaviours.
Venus rules the teenager, from about the age of 15 through to 22. The emotions and reproductive development collide with the pressures of school and study and there is often an internal conflict as they learn to cope with these demands. Venus is the planet of love & beauty, but the opposite traits of laziness and overindulgence can lurk beneath the exterior, manifesting in rebellion and confusion if not supported. Emotions run high, sexual awareness develops and nurturing the spirit to build the solar body needs careful and thoughtful consideration.
From the age of 22 to 41, the individual enters into the age of the Sun, having fully incarnated into their soul. The Sun, astrologically associated with the 5th House, means that the search for life partners and creating a home of one's own becomes a priority. Responsibility, duty and contribution become part of the way in which life is lived.
Mars - the opposite planet to Venus - rules the years from 42 to 56. Here many experience major life changes and for women, the "change of life" or menopause also occurs. Generally the children have grown up and there is more freedom for the parent than before. Previous life ambitions may be re-visited and new careers forged. Other changes that occur are the passing of parents or relatives and the immortality of youth fades. The body may start to show signs of "wear and tear" and a meditation practice is beneficial.
Jupiter rules the next, sixth stage of our lives - from 57 to 68 years of age. Jupiter is a time of change in the soul as well as the body and a greater spirituality awakens as we become more familiar with the transience of life and the vagaries of the aging body.
Saturn rules the final stage - old age- from 69 to whenever we die. After many years of hard work, caring for children or elderly relatives, this period can be a period of serenity. Saturn is the bridge between worlds and focusing on the mind in the heart will enable us to cross into the spirit world with greater ease when the time is right. For some, living to a very old age, this time can be difficult, a time of endurance and faith can be tested.

Weekend wanderings

2011-09-16T13:56:00.002+10:00

Subtitled: How to conquer your fears and go anyway
A weekend away was planned many months ago and before my recent surgery. The 6 week checkup was brought forward to 5 weeks to get the "all clear" to go away, but a minor spanner in the works with the cardiologist leaving the practice. The next available appointment with a similar specialist is mid October.

Time for a new mindset.
I must be OK because the medico's don't need to see me.

Camper hooked up, we headed off. No trip away in this camper without some rain and we had some light showers whilst driving.
A full day driving and the Nissan was not running so well. No oomph at all to climb those hills. Running out of puff..... could have lots of fun with the metaphysics of this.

Big lunch at Dadswells Bridge - where the "Big Koala" is and quite different to see the surrounding countryside in varying shades of green and yellows - these being alternately from the wattles and the canola crops.
Most of our trips through this area have been earlier in the year and before the drought broke and the flooding took place.
Turning off the main road to take a road less travelled we came across Mt Arapiles - quite spectactular. Mitre Rock nearby was also fascinating and gave us something to focus on as we drove toward it.

Junk food for dinner at Murray Bridge and heading out to the campsite in the dark. Obviously the Roo Whistle that we have mounted on the front of the Nissan works well as we didn't see any bouncing about in the headlights at all!
We were welcomed at Saunders Gorge Sanctuary by Rob of Red Earth Expeditions who organized the weekend and the braking classes for people with their new Ultimates or XTracks. They were all cozy around a large campfire and we were directed to a camping site a little down the track where we proceeded to set up in the dark.

What a spectacular view in the morning. And the bird song! Started well before dawn, raucous kookaburras and then all types of cockatoos & galahs as well as the quieter, more melodious song of the finches and other smaller birds. Stepping out of the camper, the first thing to feast the eyes upon was an ancient tree.
Judging by the size of the trunk, at least 300 or more years old and the energy of its presence was just what I was looking for. On the other side of the camping area that we had set up in, another tall tree with a hive of bees in it.

A quiet morning and we stayed around the campfire and re-started it to bake some scones in the camp oven whilst the others played with their campers and braking. Oven hot, mix made (from a packet) and scones cooked in no time at all - only to find that the flour or the shortening in the mix had gone rancid and whilst they looked yummy, the scones tasted dreadful! They were quickly returned as fuel for the fire - looking almost like those heat beads as the fire consumed them with gusto. The evening dinner was cooked up at the restaurant and we returned to the fire for more socializing and stories.
Sunday saw a trip in convoy around the property. A feature of which was a long stretch of hand made stone wall, which had been constructed in the 19th Century by Scottish labourers at the cost of one pound per chain. They also brought another reminder of their homeland - the thistle.

With the number of vehicles in the group and the steepness of the terrain in places, progress was slow but steady and we returned to the campsite sometime after 2pm, whereupon most packed up their campers and left for various destinations. We took another road less travelled and headed east out through Pinnaroo and beyond, stopping overnight at Murrayville which is not on the Murray River at all. More driving the following day through canola fields - some with large holes in the swathe of flowers - due to the recent mouse plagues, where the rodents had eaten the seed after sowing.
On return to Melbourne, the power problem with the Nissan had not improved at all. This ruled out any fuel problem as we had completely re-fueled by this stage. Bit awkward when fully laden semi trailers can pass you on the climb up the hills outside Bendigo. Duly booked in for a checkup, the problem was found - a broken wire to the turbo. Guess this vehicle is going to be remembered for which wires broke on which trip. (Broken wire in the firewall to the MAF on the way back from Broken Hill) & lost count of the times the tail light wires have broken on various desert trips! Interesting parallel to think about broken electrics, given my own health issue!

Stepping Stones on the Spiritual Road

2011-07-17T15:14:00.001+10:00

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right

Am I on the right spiritual road or not?

Who knows?

Who cares?

Somewhere along the road, the tradition that I was brought up in lost its relevance.

It may come as a great surprise to some that know me, that at 13 I wanted to emulate a great aunt and don the habit. At 16 I was reading the Golden Bough, encouraged by teacher at school who seemed to understand my search for meaning. At 21 I was debating the finer points of Gospel with the door to door “God Botherers”, inviting them in for lengthy discussions. Having read the King James Bible from cover to cover a couple of times is a definite advantage. Reading the Koran, parts of the Bhagavad Gita and study of the various branches of Buddhism across Asia at University didn’t make for comfortable conversations in the suburban mother’s club or my previous friendship circle.

I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs

Over the years, the roads to organized religion and spirituality diverged. The exploration of spirituality beckoned and the first stepping stone along the road was Reiki. Before I really knew what it was, a colleague at a Catholic school put her hands on my shoulders one afternoon. My blood felt like it had turned to lemonade – tiny, sparkling bubbles of furious energy rising to the top of my head and beyond. It was a defining moment and the next few years were spent in practical applications of Reiki. Apprenticed to an old style teacher, I progressed and grew through the different levels. A long suppressed intuition began to emerge, but not without growing pains. Dreams became more vivid and the messages within them sometimes quite challenging. A more tangible reminder of the pain was falling down the garden stairs and snapping a ligament which stopped me from taking classes with an artist, who had been recommended by my teacher. I found out just recently that he is very involved in a cult called “The Family”. Quite literally stopped from going down that particular path!

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.

So here I am, stuck in the middle. Still looking at organized religion on one side and spirituality on the other.

Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,
And I'm wondering what it is I should do,

I have friends of many faiths who seem able to accept their religion without question and I yearn for this simplicity. I have faith, I feel it, but it’s not tangible.

It's so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Continuing along the stepping stones, one step at a time. Exploring Christianity further and taking Confirmation lessons. Berated by the local Vicar for having pagan books and idols in my house. He suggests that the books on Buddhism, Islam and Judaism are to go. He is horrified that I have entered pagan temples and have Buddhist and Hindu art on my walls. Intuitively I step away and the next stepping stone is labelled Steiner education. This one resonates with me, but only for a while. How wonderful it is to see the education of the child as a whole person, nurtured and all the creative gifts brought out. Four years of evening classes that stimulates the mind and heals my own inner child. Then one evening, one of the instructors, a young man, tells the class he is a Nazi. My heart freezes.

Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,

Later, another lecture on how civilizations and societies grow to their peak and then fall. I see that there are people clinging just as rigidly to the principles of this education system and in denial about some aspects of modern life. I know it is time to move on, take another step along the road.

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

The next stepping stone awaits.
An interest has grown out of the Steiner studies and I explore the world of Homeopathy.

The search for an individual remedy to match the overall symptoms of the patient is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The remedies are tested on humans to produce the symptoms of illness. The modern medical profession deride the philosophy and bray about “evidence based research”, forgetting that in Hahnemann’s time they used bloodletting to cure fevers and poisoned their syphilitic patients with Mercury. Hahnemann’s theories about hygiene proved to be correct and are now adopted as sensible practice.

Three great friendships formed along this pathway and sadly only one survives. The first friend to go was one I went into practice with. He took his own life with homeopathics and I stopped seeing clients. The second friend died just recently and luckily the friendship with the third is still strong, but there was a moment when I thought it might be me checking out of this life earlier this year.

Well you started out with nothing,
And you're proud that you're a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please.... Please.....

Moving in and out of formal education forms the next series of stepping stones. Suffice to say that my sojourn in the education system is pretty much over. At least I gave it my best shot!

Having a child that was diagnosed as ADHD puts a whole different perspective into being both a teacher and a parent. My teaching seemed to gravitate towards this group of students who were square pegs in round holes.

Fortunate to assess and work with students and adults labelled with learning difficulties for 18 months gave me a new skill set to take back into school.

At first it felt like I was home.

Teaching was enjoyable, but the staff politics poisonous.

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,

The next stepping stone was a re-exploration of Christianity. I ended up teaching religious education as well as Japanese. Even though the school espoused Christian values, behind the scenes there was very little honesty, love or charity. One of the risks of living in a house perched on the side of a steep hill is lots of stairs. Another trip down the stairs and another ligament, however I ignored this as a sign to change direction and continued on. I was promoted and asked to re-write the curriculum and did so, but the toll on my emotional and physical health as a result of the intense bullying in the department was too much. The day before school was to resume, I resigned and never went back.

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,

Stuck again on the spiritual road, another stepping stone presented itself to make the way forward easier. A friend had started up a Hypnotherapy college, would I be interested in coming along for an introductory course?

Why not? I was in the process of putting myself back together and came to the conclusion that this may just uncover the causes of my dilemma with spirituality and religion. In the meantime, I had been offered a position in an Islamic school, which I declined mostly because of my feminist views about the headscarf. The Hypnotherapy course was over too soon and I discovered that my fellow students also held similar spiritual beliefs. I stayed on and did the Diploma and am finding that the more I work with my own subconscious, the more comfortable I am becoming with my spirituality. Another prod from my Reiki teacher to encourage me to become ordained in her Independent Christian tradition. I nearly did it. Just at the last minute, I bailed out. Couldn’t do it. The faith is there, the belief in something is there, but it’s not strong enough to bind me to that tradition.

A brief stint of eighteen months at a small government primary school gave me a positive experience to finish my teaching career with. Smooth stepping stones to pave the way to a different life. Another stepping stone was training in Past Life Regressions and my own regressions have been a shining light as to why I haven’t embraced organised religion. Yet another stepping stone along this richly paved road has been my Coaching studies. What a plethora of intellect, talent and people open to change! Some amazing people with strong faith in their various religions. I have a touch of envy, as it seems to be so easy for them to accept. Friends with some, observers of others, and the gifts so readily given have helped me to learn so much more about myself on this stage of the journey. I wonder if I can give back equally. I am grateful for all that has been given so generously.

Yes I'm stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you.

Yes, I’m still searching.

Not so stuck, because I know there is faith and it’s within.

Lyrics by Stealers Wheel.

Beginnings & endings

2011-07-16T00:44:00.004+10:00

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things"..............

"But wait a bit" the Oysters cried, "before we have our chat; for some of us are out of breath and all of us are fat!"

This has been a week to catch my breath and I have been given a wonderful opportunity to review so many things, for which I am very grateful. Whilst thinking about gratitude, a few key people come to mind.

New friends in particular and I am touched by their generosity of spirit after having been through some difficult times.

The past few years have been a turning point and having made the decision to leave the formal education system at the end of 2010 and strike out on my own has been a decision that I have not regretted even though there have been some personal challenges in the first part of this year.

As the advertisements for the Northern Territory (one of my favourite destinations) says - " You'll never, never know if you never, never go". And this year has been all about that - exploration.

A pro-bono coaching contact has turned into a joint venture exploration of the soul and workshops for like minded people.

New networks have been formed with some amazing women, who are all on their own journeys and all at different stages.

There is an abundance of giving and sharing which has contrasted sharply with some of my previous experiences in schools.

Such a rich and varied group of talented people have crossed my path since letting go of trying to conform to the education system and not be the person I really am. I am slipping that "Japanese mask" off, and like a chrysallis shedding its case and emerging as a butterfly, once the wings dry, I look forward to flying......

In the process of letting go and learning new ways, some old friends have disappeared & that's OK.

There is a wonderful poem about having people in your life for a

Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die.
Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown

This last week has been one of intense review.

I have to say quite bluntly that I was scared.

Fear in bigger than capital letters screamed from every pore and cell of my body.

Scheduled to have a cardiac ablation, I was close to cancelling the procedure several times. The cardiologist I had seen weeks ago, had referred me on to another one and feelings of being abandoned came up. The symptoms persisted as I continued to battle with trust issues as well.

The day of the procedure was like a textbook glossary of stress symptoms. All the symptoms were there - dry mouth, stomach in a knot, digestive issues.....all well known as this is the basis of my talks! Ha! living it now!! Being last on the list didn't help much either. Eventually the anaethetist came for a chat and to administer pre-op relaxants. At this stage, I had pretty much convinced myself that I had worked myself up into a 'state' and it was all in the mind, panic attacks or anxiety and I could have been at home.....

The cardiologist arrived and explained the procedure and I handed over my heart to this magician and went to sleep...... I had some great dreams on the way back, but forgot them when they told me that they had found some rogue circuits and sorted them out.

So how to reframe all of this?

Plenty of time to think about it in the four hours when I had to lie perfectly still after coming back to consciousness.

What an opportunity to start a new and positive chapter!

Literally take the ablation of the heart as a burning out of old patterns and resentments and put all that no longer serves - aside - permanently.

It is a new season and some things or people will be here and some will not. It is a time to let unhelpful pathways grow over and regenerate, and in particular let the old wounds and resentments be healed by cauterization.

Above all, it is important to use this time to nurture body and soul so that I can continue my journey in the company of some truly beautiful people.

To those who have supported me, heartfelt thanks.
For some others, thankyou for the season that we have spent together and for a few, thankyou for the reason that we connected, acknowledge the gifts we exchanged between our souls and realize that it is time to move on.

Dignity

2011-06-05T01:01:00.001+10:00

A dear friend is hopefully gently slipping away tonight, having had a battle with that insiduous disease - Parkinsons - and several other traumas on the way.
Strong of will and clear of mind, even after the disease and the drugs had deformed that once impeccably dressed and fit body, she simply has had enough. An infection last week which has travelled to her lungs will be recorded as having contributed to her decline. A few of us were gathered by her bedside in hospital today as she slipped in and out of awareness. She still battles with her will to either stay or go, the pain and anxiety relieved by powerful analgesics. Given the dignity of a quiet room with a window, the bed was turned so she could have the winter sunlight on her face. Instructions given for no further interventions.
Messages quietly sent to friends alerting them of the situation and still we sat. Bitter sweet moments as we know that death will be a release and hope that it comes gently to her in her sleep.
Returning home and waiting for the inevitable message to come through. Her best friend stays and will sleep again in the chair next to her bed so that she is not alone.

Oh stormy winds, bring up the clouds

and paint the heavens grey

Lest these fair maids of form divine

should angel wings display

and fly far far away.

Munesade Yoshimune d. 965

Another adventure

2011-02-21T01:24:00.003+11:00

January saw the Tasmanian Adventure (which I only just posted) and this month a different kind of adventure....
an unfolding of events, so as to speak.
Back from Tasmania just as the school year started and not back at school which was a good and comfortable feeling.
Overall the last place was good, but time to follow my passion.
Like the advert for the Northern Territory says, " You'll never never know, if you never never go...."

So off to be a full time Hypnotherapist and consultant.
Day 1 and into the office with clients. Felt great.
I did have to deal with the mirror that had fallen off the wall in my absence, but all OK as it wasn't broken. Last time it fell down, it nearly came down on a friend's head - time for it to retire.

The first week back was busy, picking up on juggling time in at the office and taking my aged father to medical appointments and tests. That's what baby boomers do.....In the evenings I listened and took frantic notes from the webinars I had signed up for, blogged and planned a marketing campaign and fitted in a quick trip to Queenscliffe to pick up my new lenses.
Chinese New Year arrived & I briefly contemplated holding a celebration, but too much... jet lagged. That's how I felt, curious because the flight from Tassie only takes an hour. Frustrated because I wasn't seeing so well and couldn't read the paper. Made some time for meditation and spent the Sunday on the couch dozing on and off after having been unwell overnight.

Post trip tiredness..... need a holiday after the holiday, I thought!
The new week began with a whirl of activities, more Doctor appointments for Dad, clients (Yay!), networking (20 minute talk for the next week) and usual family stuff (cooking, shopping, diabetic dog and mad cat). Thank goodness we had the cleaners still coming on Thursday!
I attended to my marketing campaign, printing the letters and envelopes at home, then a quick trip to T2 to get some nice teabags to staple to the letters for an added impact and down to the office to get the postcards to insert into the envelopes.

All of a sudden the day went a bit awry. Pear shaped....

Palpitations!
No, not swooning over my handsome man.
I was driving & alone.
Mental note - "go away, I'm not stressed, all is good".
Hmmm!
Putting in the alarm code and things went a bit black. Sat down in my room and decided to give the Hypno Lounge chair a bit of a try out. Sip of water, deep breath and start to go into trance to calm down and slow the heart rate.
Listen to some trance music to help with process and noted the palpitations had now gone on for about 10 minutes.
This was not fun.
Calm.... think calm.
Not anything to worry about......

Check the symptoms.

pressure in the chest Well of course there was pressure, I'd just had a racing heart for 10 minutes!
breathlessness ditto
sore shoulders
pain in the jaw "are you sure you're not imagining these?........just relax for a little longer....."
cold and clammy "oops, maybe something really is not quite right."

All the time thinking that I might be imagining the symptoms, because after all, they are on the fridge at home because I worry about other family members.
Time to listen to another motivational podcast or was it one of the Hypnocaster ones... I really don't remember.
I do remember thinking about my friend who was going to have her spleen removed and wondering if this was the time she was being operated on and another couple of friends that have had heart problems.
Obviously the trance music and relaxation was working, because I was feeling really kind of spacey.
After an hour and a bit and still a bit shaky, I felt it was time to get moving.
I finished doing the envelopes and realized that I didn't have enough stamps, so headed off to the Post Office on the way home.
By now, I was really in a ditzy frame of mind and the woman behind the counter asked if I was OK and suggested that I call my doctor when I said I felt a little weird.
Not one to usually take other peoples suggestions quite so readily, I did call the surgery when I got back in the car. Damm! Regular doctor had gone home and no appointments left.

Then I admitted it....."I've got chest pain..." -
"Come straight up".

Straight down to the nurses room and sat there like a stunned mullet for a little while.
"Is your Dad here?"
No.
"are you OK?"
No.
Hooked up to the ECG, glass of water with aspirin and the ambulance on the way.
Difficult call to make to home...... difficult to see the buttons on the phone & dial......

"Um, can you come up to the doctor's to pick up the car, because I'm going to hospital in the ambulance..." This sounds insane......I'm totally disassociated with the events unfolding..... an interested observer.....

Then the family is there, the ambulance is there, and I've got a canula in my hand, a patch on my chest, leads everywhere and a machine that goes "ping" every so often.
We were about to head off to one place, then there was a little blip and we headed off in the other direction to the local major hospital. Peak hour traffic, but I don't care as I've been given something for the pressure on the chest. It feels like I've fallen off the motorbike, but without the bruises everywhere else..... just winded big time.
The morphine has kicked in and I'm really quite chatty with the ambulance officers (lovely ladies) and the nurses in Emergency. Then they take blood and hook me up to more machines. We have to wait for the blood results to come back before I can go home.
Eventually, a surprised look on his face, the doctor comes in and says
"You've had a heart attack....."
- the blood pressure shoots up immediately and I realize that I'm not surprised.
Michael's face registers shock.....
They decide to admit me to the CCU but the pain has to go first. I fib a little and say it's gone because it's really late and want to get some sleep. We say our goodbyes and I head up to the ward and he goes home.
Next blood test is good. Levels have dropped, but still pressure and nausea & I end up vomiting. This is not good.
The next day an angiogram is scheduled and nearly doesn't happen because it is so late in the day by the time I get down to the lab. That would have meant staying in for the weekend and getting done on Monday. After a long wait down near the Cath Lab, it's all systems go.
Results are good. No disease. No clots. Just an electrical malfunction that may or may not happen again.
My best friend Peter comes in to visit. The cardiologist thinks he is my husband and we joke about having breakfast together.
Eyes pop on the other side of the ward!!
I even leave with him - it was OK to go home and so I did.

Just over a week has gone by since coming home and I have been touched by the support of those friends who have been in contact. Some of my newer friends have said some lovely things and offered support that I never expected.
So for those wonderful people who have helped or offered to, I am learning to say "yes" to your offers and to say "no" to doing other things that no longer serve me well.I might leave the reactions or lack thereof of my family -in -law to a different essay, when I don't feel so fragile.
Please be patient with me, I am learning a new way of feeling, seeing, listening, thinking and doing.
I'm learning to move on from old relationships and fairweather friendships, even though there is sadness in that. I'm celebrating feeling.
Here's a link to an oldie but good one.....
A little help from my friends
for those I love.

Tasmanian Adventures

2011-02-19T16:55:00.003+11:00

The Tasmanian adventure started by the announcement from Random Books that I had won 8 days in a Maui campervan anywhere in Australia (except Broome). I had entered a competition to suggest where Judy Nunn's next book should be set.
After thinking about a Red Tent Woman road trip after a retreat experience and floating around the idea of a trip with other friends, the inablilty to co-ordinate a suitable time with everyone made it all too hard.
Never having made it over the ditch to the Apple Isle, and aware of the cost of taking the 4WD & Ultimate by ferry, Tasmania seemed like a good option. I booked the trip for the end of January, hoping for warmth, relatively speaking and settled on a 4 berth van. We booked flights over using frequent flyer points and were set.
Originally, I planned to go a couple of days earlier to spend some time with an old friend, but Dad needed medical tests, so I had to postpone that part of the trip.
Arrival at Hobart was late on the Saturday afternoon, so we missed out on the Salamanca Markets, but not having that shopping gene, it didn't bother me.Viewing the images on the link is sufficient for me.
We checked into our harbourfront hotel and enjoyed the view, before setting off for a bit of a wander.
The Sea Shepherd catamaran Gojira was in port for some repairs and it was interesting to see how the black hull blended in with the sea and the wharf. An interesting afternoon wandering about and checking out the old buildings. Dinner at the hotel was supposed to be a Tasmanian taste sensation - unfortunately not living up to its description.
Sunday morning was very quiet. We wandered about a bit more and I met with my friend for afternoon tea at the old IXL factory and introduced her to a lovely therapist at a little place tucked away in the complex. Fish and chips for dinner from one of the floating takeaway places on Coronation wharf. Much nicer than some of the pretentiously labeled dishes from the harbourside restaurants!

Monday we headed back to the airport to pick up the camper & found we had been upgraded to a 6 berth camper. Lots of room! After a quick stop to get provisions we headed south. We had lunch in Huonville and stopped at a boat building place, headed off to the Huon River and an airwalk. (powerwalk for me as it was quite breezy and there was a definate sway happening).
We made it down to Southport for our first night in the van and got ourselves comfortable. A chilly evening followed by a brisk morning!
Good thing I packed a warm sleeping bag!
We meandered back up to Hobart with a few detours. To the top of Mt Wellington and the sub alpine environment so close to town and then down again and off in a westerly direction.

We ended up just before dusk at Lake St Clair, which seemed like a good spot to stop. There seemed to be 3 distinct groups of campers here. The serious bushwalkers, in their designated area, the family campers and us mob in the hired campers.
We headed west again the next day and lunched at Queenstown which was sleeping in the Australia Day sunshine. Michael had previously visited here with a mate on a motorbike tour in 1977 around this time of year, whilst I was in Queenstown, New Zealand at about the same time!
After a burger at the cafe with tabletop jukeboxes, we headed off to Strahan, punctuating the trip with stops to see waterfalls and nature walks. Some beautiful places and so much nicer than the towns and tourist "attractions".
We found a spot to stay in Strahan and organised the next day's activity, which was to go on the boat up the Gordon River. All very interesting and even headed out through the entrance to the harbour which wasn't very wide at all. We saw the salmon farms and a tiger snake basking in the sun, whilst out on one of the walks.
Back on dry land, we fired the motor up and headed off for Cradle Mountain. The predicted rain came in, the temperature dropped and by the time we got to Cradle Mountain it was about 5 degrees.
Overnight it dropped further to about 3 degrees and on opening the curtains of the camper we discovered clear blue sky.
The wind was cool, so we took hats and jackets on our walk around Dove Lake. In my element here, taking photos and enjoying the scenery, letting the athletic types leap and bound past in their quest for their PB time around the lake. I got the photos dude!
We got back on the road again and headed for LaTrobe. I dropped Michael off at the Axemans Museum and backtracked to the Quiet Cone to have a look. Very quiet - in between session times, but the owner was accomodating and allowed a peek inside. Would be interesting to spend more time there for a full session.

However, time was short and the days ticking over and we had a mission to make the East Coast that evening. And we did. Bypassed Launceston and down the highway a bit and then a left and off to St Helens. We got there just before 6 and set ourselves up for the night. I was quite weary as I had done most of the driving that day and it was predominately mountain roads.
By now it was Saturday. Only 3 days left and so much more to see. Bay of Fires, Bicheno, Freycinet - we did it all on Saturday and managed to see the woodchop competition in the morning! All places to come back to and spend a bit more time to explore and savour.

Sunday saw us heading south again and we detoured via the Tessalated pavement which was fascinating. A natural rock formation that looked as if the stone had been quarried. The lines were amazingly straight and all kinds of creatures lived in the little rockpools along the beach.
Time got away with us here and we arrived at Port Arthur a little later than expected. Not to worry, as it was open until late,. The ruins also spectacular against the afternoon sky in a curiously morbid way. Friends had suggested that the energy from the convict past would be unsettling, but I didn't feel it. The site of the Broad Arrow Cafe felt incredibly sad and we paid respects and moved on. Unfortunately the rain came down and while we wandered about for as much as possible it was time to call an end to the day and retire to the camper for a dinner of freshly caught oysters and locally smoked fish.
Last Day!

We travelled around and visited various clifftop viewpoints before heading off to Richmond for our last look at the historic side of Tasmania and lunch.
A nice, easy drive.
Over the bridge at Richmond and into the bakery for fresh bread rolls filled with salad for me and the remnants of the Vegemite for Michael. Finished tidying up the van and gave some perishables to some fellow travellers from Donald and we were off to return the van, and head back to Melbourne.
After a delay of about an hour and a half, the plane was back and ready to board and we were homeward bound.
A different kind of adventure from our usual trips and a pleasant interlude.

And I got to see this!

The Air Element

2011-02-03T23:33:00.001+11:00

The Air element in Polarity Therapy relates to the middle finger, middle toe and moves inward from the Earth and Water Elements.
In Polarity diagrams the flow of energy is shown coming in through the crown and moving in a downward, fluid action through the torso and the arms in a continuous circular motion.

In astrology, the Air elements are Libra, Aquarius and Gemini. This triad of elements has an effect on the body in many ways. The body can be divided into 3 zones; positive, neutral and negative and each of these zodiac signs has an influence.

Gemini is the postive pole in the Air element and has an influence on the shoulders and lungs.

Libra, the scales or balance, has a neutral effect on the body.
The parts of the body that are ruled by this sign are the internal organs, the kidneys and the adrenals.

The negative part of the Air element is Aquarius and its influence is on the ankles.

When a person with any of the Air element signs or an imbalance in that area becomes stressed, then the following symptoms may be experienced:

scattered head
bladder infections
sore shoulders
asthma
respiratory disorders

The foods most suited to this element are fruits, nuts and seeds - all of which are grown in the air, not underground. Green is the favoured colour for this element and touch, especially massage, are most beneficial in maintaining an equilibrium.

The positive attributes found in Air elements are contentment and virtue, whilst the shadow side is excessive desire and greed.
When the Air element is unbalanced, you may find that your thoughts are scattered and that it is extraordinarily difficult to concentrate.
Air is in constant motion and follows on after the emotions of water.
The negative side of this is procrastination, brought about by a plethora of thoughts - too many to be able to give full attention to even one.

It will be interesting to see if current events in Australia continue to follow a cycle - with northern Australia having just experienced an excess of Water with the Queensland floods and most recently Cyclone Yasi with an excess of Air energy, and Fire in Western Australia and South Eastern Victoria.

How positive physiology benefits

2011-01-19T21:53:00.001+11:00

It really is all in the mind! It's about how the mind can be used to change how you feel or react to a situation. Let me explain.
I'm a Baby Boomer. Nothing special about that really.
I am a statistical average.
Female, married, adult children at home, professional with university education, aging parent.......
Aaahh! the aging parent - having parented the children, now it's time to parent the parent, so as to speak. I'm not complaining as we have a much better relationship now than when it was the other way around, but as the eldest child and the daughter, it is now up to me to provide the support as the body begins to fail and the medical merry go round starts.
Fortunately I have some fantastic tools to work with.
By consciously focusing on maintaining a positive body posture, then not only do I maintain a positive physiology, but my mind set is more positive. I can also see and hear those around me reacting in a positive manner as well. I am constantly calibrating, checking in to make sure that I have a ready, genuine smile, that I am relaxing my neck and shoulders.
I have learned to be present in the situation for my aging parent as the doctor delivers the words ".....cancer....." and listening as he presents the options, so as to be of service to the parent later. And to reassure and be there for Dad and to take him to the next appointment and listen in again, as with age comes deafness.

I have learned that by maintaining the positive physiology in waiting rooms acts as a calming effect for an anxious & fiercely independent parent, who does not want to end up in a nursing home bed like the love of his life with whom he sat with every day for 5 years as she slipped into dementia and then death.
In amongst all of this, I am being taught some amazing philosophical lessons on living and dying by my 89 year old parent.
We have discussed death and dying in a matter of fact way. He is remarkably pragmatic about it all and has clearly stated to his medical practitioner about his wishes not to have agressive interventions.
While he sits in the medical centre waiting area, he makes out his shopping list for the next week, confounded this week with the option of stocking up on food because some things might become scarce or more expensive because of the flooding or keeping things to a minimum because he doesn't want to have too much in the pantry!
A friend commented that I seemed to be very detached from all of the goings on and it may appear that way. I am finding that the constant checking in on the body and what language I am using around the events of each day is actually relieving the stress, rather than creating it. I have a Tony Robbins book in the car to take into all the waiting rooms to read, so I have extra help in maintaining a positive outlook and physiology.

The Water Element

2011-01-12T15:56:00.000+11:00

More than 75% of Queensland is now flood affected as well as parts of NSW and Western Australia.
Nothing can prepare you for the images of great expanses of water or the graphic videos of cars being tossed about on the torrents.
There are many communities isolated and in the city where so many were isolated before, there is a sense of community as strangers help one another to safety.
The power of the water is not to be underestimated either. What looks tranquil and is life giving at one moment can also be deadly and can sweep away all in its path, the next.
Water is the source of life and in Polarity Therapy is the element most associated with emotion. When in balance, the Water element allows us to relax and let go, so often demonstrated by the falling of tears. We may use the term "go with the flow" and relax into our emotions. However, when there is a lack of balance we may be challenged by our attachment to worldly things.

The Five Elements need to be in balance for us to function well, physically and emotionally. An over abundance of Water affects the Earth element and our thinking may become "stuck in the mud", but conversely too much Water and we become "flooded with feelings and emotions". Water always flows to the lowest point. Too much of anything is not good for you - too much Ether and we become "spaced out", too much Air and you may find you just cannot concentrate (ask any teacher about windy days!), too much Fire and procrastination abounds. Projects are started, fire up and burn out just as quickly.
On a physical level, the Water Element governs our lymphatic system, blood and tears. There are a number of diseases associated with imbalance of the Water element, such as menstrual difficulties, prostate, pelvic & lower back problems, allergies and even feet problems.
There are several Polarity sequences to get back into balance as well as the Polarity Diet which is an excellent de-toxification program. A simple re-balancing technique if you are feeling stagnant is to massage your Ring fingers and fourth toes. When you are in balance, you are able to flow with ease and cleanse and renew.

Finishing the year

2010-12-30T16:52:00.000+11:00

The last couple of days have been spent reflecting on how the year has gone, the friendships made and those put aside, achievements and disappointments and cleaning the house in preparation for the New Year.
For most of the year, it was a continuation of the year without alcohol. This stretched out to 14 months before I actually had a drink & when I did, I felt so wretched the next day that I decided I would be better off avoiding it again. Of course, just to make sure, I did have another drink or two or more before going back to the alcohol free life! Being alcohol free has challenged others more than me at times. There were times that I felt like I could have had a drink, but I resisted.
The year started with some confusion as acknowledgement of a teaching position didn't come through officially, but when I phoned the school, I was assured that I was to start at the end of January. Disappointment followed upon finding out that I was to be paid at graduate level as I had not worked in the State Education system. Negotiations continued in the first week as the contract had not been drawn up and eventually I was offered a rate above graduate, but not commensurate with my years of experience. Still, an opportunity to teach in a small school and to put aside some money to continue my education and to pay the rent on my rooms.

Easter came and we made the trek to Heathcote, looking forward to playing in the labyrinths. The weather was great, yet I didn't do any work on the labyrinths this year, except for a small tidy up. One of the other campers was in an unresourceful state, so after long deliberation, we have decided not to return in 2011- which will break a 20+ year tradition - we will do something different!

In June we headed off to Cape York. I had an uneasy feeling about it before leaving, yet nothing happened on the Cape York part of the trip! It was on the homeward leg from Birdsville to Innaminka that got tricky and took 5 and a bit hours to do about 100km.

Back in Melbourne and a week of NLP. Love it! Goes so well with the Hypnotherapy. Most weeknight evenings were spent online listening to lectures for the Cert 4 of Business & Diploma that I have undertaken. So much information, some challenging and taking up the challenge has been a journey.
New friends through new ventures and a wardrobe restyle for a new look. So much has changed this year. There is the saying "Change your mind, change your life" and this has been so true. The time came to make a decision about teaching and in a way that was made for me, when a child struck out at me and then picked up his chair and came at me. Neither he nor I wanted to be at school at that time and place. Days later my back gave out and I couldn't walk for a week. The gift was being able to meet with some amazing people and teach some incredible children in that time and have positive memories to take with me.

One door closes and another opens. I'm taking a tiny peek through the door to 2011and loving the feeling of excitement that I'm getting........

A Modern Folk Tale

2010-11-21T14:24:00.001+11:00

Once upon a time, in a place we shall call Mogadon Meadows, there lived a giant and his wife.
The giant was fond of a certain type of food and each morning would get into his shiny red car and drive through the golden arches to get his breakfast. He was proud of his girth and thought he looked somewhat like a Sumo wrestler, just lacking the topknot on his disproportionaly small head. Usually garbed in a blue singlet and trackpants he liked to prowl the streets in his red car, driving slowly and menacingly close when he chanced upon the woman next door walking her dog.
Mr Red the giant, so named because red was his favourite colour, also had a big red truck which he liked to wash early every Sunday morning and shine the chrome with an electric polisher.
His wife, Mrs Red liked to help him with this although she preferred to hold the hose and water the garden, sometimes accidently letting the water go over the fence and splashing the woman next door as she sat in her garden studying her big, strange books. Mrs Red liked red too, so much so that she had the brightest red hair in the street.
Mr and Mrs Red didn't care much for people who had their noses in books all the time, thinking that it was a waste of time and paper. Besides, all those ideas could be dangerous and why would you need to learn a foreign language? They enjoyed decorating their windows with colourful anti migration posters when the woman next door hosted a party for exchange students and Mrs Red accidently turned the hose on too hard when she started the watering.

Mrs Red got really grumpy when the children next door and the child over the road found the ripe cherry plums and made patterns with them on the road. They squished under the tyres of the big red truck and the red car and made a dreadful red mess on the road outside her house. Even hosing them away didn't make her feel better.

One day Mr and Mrs Red noticed that the man next door was sometimes away. He had a job in the big city and worked long hours, so it was often late when they heard the gate being opened and shut.
Mr Red thought it would be nice to phone the woman next door late at night, but at the last minute he felt quite shy and would hang up. Sometimes he would try several times and each time just as she answered, he would feel bashful and tongue- tied and not be able to say anything.
Seven years passed by and one day as Mr Red drove slowly past the house on the corner he noticed something had changed. There in the hedge was an auction sign. He stopped the car and reversed to read it more closely. He wasn't sure what to think. He and Mrs Red were looking forward to the auction and were disappointed when they discovered it was sold 2 days before.
Another seven years passed by and the children next door were all grown up. They had forgotten about Mr and Mrs Red, although the woman next door still felt her heart flip and a slight panic whenever she saw a particular type of red car near her new house. She didn't worry about phone calls anymore because the phone company had a device that showed who was calling. Mr Red didn't call anymore because he couldn't tell when the man next door was away.
One day the girl next door got a phone call from a friend, a kind young girl, who was quite distressed.
The kind young girl was working at the local supermarket when one of the regular customers, a grumpy old giant had become unwell. He went white, then blue which wasn't good at all, so she did the CPR she had learnt for her other job until the paramedics arrived. They took over but he died on the floor of the shop in the health food aisle, which was quite ironic because he wasn't healthy at all. Later that same day a grumpy old lady with short, bright red hair came in and was very angry with the kind young girl for not saving Mr Red's life. The kind young girl got to wait for another 3 hours with the now dead Mr Red, for the Coroner to arrive.

The girl next door told her mother who had finished reading all her books and was now a healer. The woman next door said "That was probably Mr Red" and thought nothing more of it until the kind young girl arrived for a session to take away the vision of the grumpy old giant's face turning blue.
The kind young girl arrived and began talking about the grumpy old giant. She said his name was Mr Red and the woman next door and her daughter both looked at each other in astonishment.
The woman next door ran a gamut of emotions and was able to realize the extent of the gift that Mr and Mrs Red had given her.
The woman next door had moved to a fairytale house in the trees where she felt safe every night and was able to finish reading her books without getting water on them if she sat outside to become a healer and talk to a remarkable young woman who showed care and concern for a stranger.
And Mr Red got the greatest gift of all, passing from this lifetime attended by a capable and caring young healer, despite his grumpiness. The woman next door and her family knew that they were finally free from the threats of the grumpy giant and his angry wife when they found out that one of the Coroner's staff was a friend of the boy next door.
Even more surprising was when the woman next door went to get her hair cut a week later, the hairdresser had just cut the hair of the aunt of the late Mr Red, proving that it is, indeed, a VERY small world.

CFL's

2010-09-25T13:55:00.000+10:00

I continue to dislike fluorescent lighting; in particular the impact of it on children's learning.
The flickering can cause considerable discomfort in some individuals and it would be interesting to see if some behavioural difficulties in the classroom disappeared if the fluorescent lights were removed. We all know that children are energy barometers and react unconsciously to all sorts of external stimuli.
The mercury used in fluorescent lighting is a powerful neurotoxin and they also emit more UV than incandescent globes which can affect some light sensitive people and protocols should be followed if one of these lamps breaks.
We have some of these energy saver lights, or Compact Fluorescent lamps, in our stairwell and the smell emitting from them is at times unbearable.

Any time now...

2010-09-06T21:19:00.000+10:00

How much time are you stealing from your dreams? If you log every activity you do for one week, you will be amazed at where your time is going. The number one consumer of your time is sleep, then for most people followed by TV and then for a few others, procrastination. This can look like busy-ness not business and consists of shuffling papers and doing "busy" stuff.
The next time thief is social media. For business, it has been suggested that social media is used to market yourself, but untold hours can be wasted in reading other people's posts.

Time is our most valuable resource and once used, you cannot make more. Rather than spending hours learning to do something new, it may be more time effective and resourceful to actually to buy a system and get a return from it immediately.
How we spend our time and money is tied up to our values, so an important area for change is to look at where we consistently invest. In our exploration, we may discover that there are some values that we don't like any more & it's OK to make changes around these. We may also discover what is effortless for ourselves, like a health and vitality routine or what may be difficult, like setting up a new or more strenuous exercise routine. It takes courage to focus on our strengths and weaknesses to discover the patterns that sustain us. Once we understand our strengths and know that they are sustainable and allow us to live in congruence, then we can move more easily to our goals.

Another D day

2010-08-17T23:37:00.001+10:00

Lots more decisions in the last few days.

Last Thursday at school, a child went to hit me. A deliberate action on his behalf. Other students went to get the principal. No remorse & no consequences.

Today a child did hit me in the face, knocking my glasses off and poking my eye. An accident - I was tying his shoelaces and he lost balance. Child was very remorseful.

A lesson from both incidents.

Forgiveness.

Phase 2 - a work in progress

2010-08-06T23:46:00.002+10:00

Today was D-day. Decision day. Actually I didn't make the initial decisions, I handed that over to Margaret and just went with the flow.
New territory to explore, starting by going to Doncaster Shopping town. Never having been there before (been past, but never inside) even finding the designated meeting spot was going to be a challenge. With an eye on the clock, as I had run a little late with a Reiki client earlier this morning, I managed to find my way into the car park and arrived 5 minutes late. Whoops!
First stop DJ's. Really the only stop apart from a foray into Myer. What a difference in shops. DJ's fitting rooms quite spartan & service was great, compared to lavish fitting rooms (but incredibly messy and dirty) & non-existent service at Myer.
Margaret had spent some time earlier in the week checking things out and selected a number of garments for me to try. Looking at them on the hangars, I did wonder....... but was happy to try them on and was pleasantly surprised at the results. A couple were not quite right and put aside.
Last week we discussed my budget and Margaret selected accordingly. Bonus was that I had put my glasses aside whilst trying on the clothes, so couldn't see the prices anyway! I made the decision not to look until finished, as well as not looking at sizes.
Margaret showed me which pieces would go together and eventually we had a small pile of clothes to take to the checkout. In different combinations, probably about 8 or 9 outfits.
A couple of plain camisoles from Myer added to the collection and that took longer to find and pay for them than trying on all the clothes in DJ's!
To complete the outfits, a couple of bling necklaces and then sat down and with a cuppa to recap the day.
Never thought that I would enjoy clothes shopping, but I did!

One month to go

2010-08-02T00:12:00.001+10:00

One month of winter to go..... already I am so over the cold weather and grateful that we spent a month travelling north where the temperatures were in the high 20C to 30C.
I need the sunshine and warmth to function. Probably comes from having born in the tropics.
Already the spring bulbs have started to flower and the plum tree has buds ready to blossom, so there is the promise of warmer weather in the offing.
I don't mind the rain at all and it is comforting to listen to it on the roof as I am drifting off to sleep, and am glad to be inside a house and not a camper trailer with the strong gusts of wind.
A busy month ahead, with new work committments shaping up already. This is an exciting phase to be in and I look forward to the days in my new clinic rooms.
Wednesday sees Phase 2 of the wardrobe makeover and this means shopping. This will be interesting.
Phase 1 of the wardrobe makeover saw Margaret, the style consultant, run a practised eye over what I did have in the wardrobe with the result that I took 10 bags of clothes to the Salvos. Bit of a bowerbird and I realized that I have been hanging onto "stuff" that was well past the fashion use by date. My daughter pointed out that a couple of the outfits were bought back in 1991, so I have had good value from them. I even parted with a high end label suit that I bought from the op-shop when I first started teaching! A big stack of clothes that remained unworn since walking away from an unpleasant workplace have gone, so now there is a space that needs to be filled in the wardrobe with something bright and shiny and new. (Well, perhaps not shiny clothes, but you know what I mean!)
Who said change was difficult? or painful? This is liberating!

Intervention or not?

2010-07-31T17:07:00.002+10:00

Stopped at the lights at the top of the freeway exit ramp today I observed a lone figure resting against a light pole. Nothing unusual about this at all. After all, it was mid afternoon in the suburbs.
Movement drew my eye back to this figure. He had reached inside his jacket and had pulled something out.
Was he about to throw something over the bridge at the oncoming traffic?
Something brown - he looked around and raised his arm to his face....and swigged, placing the bottle back inside his jacket, concealing it again. Then he leant over the bridge railing and seemed to be intent on the traffic.
My stomach leapt and an internal dialogue began. The options were for me to personally intervene by leaving the car and going up to him, phone 000 or take a short detour into the local police station which was very close by or to do nothing at all.
I chose to detour to the police station and prefaced my report to the young constable by saying "It may be nothing but....."
She took my name and phone number and the details of his location and dashed out. A police car was on its way before I could get into my own car and I went on my way.
I don't know whether I was right or wrong, I haven't had any feedback and hope that the guy is OK.
So from my point of view, & it's my value judgement; standing on a bridge over a freeway on a busy main road and drinking mid-afternoon from a bottle in a brown paper bag indicates that there is a problem that needs to be sorted. I hope the cops were able to help him out.

12 months

2010-07-26T13:49:00.007+10:00

Well, I did it!!

The challenge was to go 12 months with NO alcohol.
$500 payable to charity if I had any! None of the February challenges or the dry July events.... 12 whole months.

Done and dusted!

So how did it feel?

It was really difficult at first, with each day taken one at a time. I had the mindset was that it was an unhelpful habit and habits can be relearned/unlearned. I also had a lot of support from a couple of people.

The old habit was a glass (or two, sometimes more) on returning home from work to tune out from the emotional stress of being at school. When the work environment went "pear - shaped", my Dad had a heart attack, my back went and I couldn't get up off the floor - all in all the stress levels went through the roof to put it bluntly - a crisis was reached and enough was enough.This was breaking point.

Time to walk away from both (school and alcohol) for a while and redefine my life.

I had a realization that I was standing on the edge of a precipice and it was my choice to go down or change direction.
Mending the mind from the school experience took a little while. I talked to a number of health professionals and rather than being supportive they were less than helpful.
I may be wrong, but they were probably also standing at the edge of their own precipice too.
2 people really helped.

My Hypnotherapy lecturer and my primary health carer - my Naturopath. Without the support of my talented and caring Naturopath in particular, I reckon I couldn't have done it.

So how did it go?

Litres of soda water. Sometimes with a splash of Bitters, sometimes with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. At least I was hydrated!
I started counting and days were ticked off in the diary.
Homeopathic remedies taken when the palate started craving and some Thought Field Therapy around the original cause and I reckon some quality TLC from a couple of special people. You know who you are!
Friends seemed mildly curious and I became very aware that everyone seems to drink a lot. It is the Australian way of life!!! Social and family occasions are marked by copious quantities of booze.
Family seemed bemused, then curious as to what day I was up to. This went on for several months and around the 6 month mark, I realized I was no longer recording days.
I continued with my studies and found that I had more time to read, funny about that! Books about Choice Theory, NLP, and even some fiction.
My priorities changed, I became more focussed and made some achievable goals and did some serious planning for the future.
Travelling was interesting - particularly observing others' routines. Set up, chairs out, pour a drink. So in many areas, while there are indigenous communities choosing to change their lifestyle and become dry, the grey nomads and other travellers are looking at the scenery from the bottom of their beer or chardonnay glasses.
Easy to become self righteous about being teetotal, but I found that I had little to say to so many people now that alcohol wasn't the social lubricant. Soda water was the main alternative, having found lemonade disgustingly sweet & don't get me started on artificial sweeteners........!
A couple of times I bought some de-alcohlised wine, but it was so revolting that it wasn't worth drinking. The only disappointment for the whole process is that I didn't lose the weight I expected. Another alternative beverage became a variety of Chai teas, drunk black and without sugar. The T2 blends are nicest.
A couple of times there were situations, that in the past a "stiff drink" would have been a help, such as when I got really sick after a "retreat" earlier this year (how I craved a 'medicinal brandy then!) and getting to Innaminka after being stuck in the mud.
Creating a sustainable future with better choices is my new mantra.
Being a typical type A personality, I am driven to to this well.
Of course I could do the alternative well too........!
Part of the personality trait is that I am attracted to "bright shiny things" and there's something big glittering in my future!
So there we go!
My 12 months with no alcohol. Will I go back to it? Probably not.
I have plans for something big.........stay posted!

Never smile at a crocodile

2010-07-19T21:47:00.008+10:00

Details of the big trip as written in emails (with some editing and additions) to family & friends as we headed north to Cape York and then south west to Lawn Hill and on to Birdsville and Innaminka before returning home.

4 weeks, just over 10,000km.

Day 1: Melbourne to Hay, via Heathcote and Echuca

Day 2: up to Nardoo Station just 60km out of Cunnamulla, where they have 2 tanks with hot artesian water to soak in. Too chilly at night to do it, but OK in the morning.

Day 3 : Nardoo to Muttaburra and here we had a problem with one of the gas struts on the gull wing door of the Ultimate letting go and causing the rivets on the hinges to pull completely out of the fiberglass. We had some Telstra coverage, so I emailed Ultimate for help. (only problem was that the next day and half was out of coverage!) This day (funny how you forget which day it is when travelling) we stopped to look at the tree in Barcaldine where the union movement was born. It died in 2006 and there is a large construction around it. Art stuff.

Next day (21st June)– Muttaburra to Undarra. The hotel where we stayed in Hughenden is closed and up for sale. Not surprising.

We had a reasonably uneventful trip until we spied a helicopter circling the road ahead and lots of dust. Next thing we knew, we were in the middle of a really big cattle muster – cows to the left, cows to the right and sometimes we moved faster than them, other times they moved quicker than us. Must have been a couple of thousand of them. Anyway that slowed us down a bit.
Then there were the roadworks on the main road going into The Lynd. It was getting late and rather than do the last 60km in the dark to Mt Garnet, we turned off and went to Undarra. We had an unpowered site for the night, took the awnings down on the Ultimate, as it had got quite windy. A couple of potaroo things checked us out and I patted one, the fur is very rough, but apparently they bite, so I left it alone. We ate in – grilled steak and vegetables that didn’t cost $28 each (the restaurant prices were very expensive!)

Tuesday 22nd June:
We didn’t book the tour and left about 8.30. We had morning tea up near Atherton and spoke to Ultimate who advised us either to get some araldite or see a boat builder. We found a boat builder in Cairns who was very helpful and he drilled out the rivets and put screws into the holes, with retaining nuts underneath. We will have to get it all fibreglassed again when we get home.
We are staying at the same caravan park as we have before in Cairns and will probably push off tomorrow morning as the locals/permanent residents are a little odd. Phone coverage is pretty patchy, the iphone will read no service even if Michael has full bars- guess I should have stayed with Telstra!
We drove through some thick fog this morning in the Atherton Tablelands and the weather here in Cairns is cool, very windy and overcast – probably will rain, but no surprise as we are camping with the Ultimate and it always seems to rain when we do this.....

June 23rd
Arrived in Cooktown a little while ago and have set up in what was the Tropical Breeze now a Big 4 caravan park and quite pricey – but nicer than last night. Our neighbours are from Glen Waverley in a Kimberley camper. Been playing tag with 2 other groups of cars all day and one stayed at the Lion’s Den and the other group have just arrived here. We heard some others planning to do the CREB track, but I looked it up on the internet and it was closed. We think we saw where it came out and there was a big double gate across it. The road conditions describe it as very difficult if there has been any rain and there was quite a bit over the last day.
It rained a bit last night – apparently the Daintree got 8 hours solid of rain. Some of the coast road is made and the road outside the pub is bitumen. They were concreting a section today and it looked hard and hot work. Very narrow to get past and glad that we didn't get any of the re-enforcing steel throught the sidewalls. The part where there were two concrete tracks like a driveway have gone.
It’s blowing a gale here and will rain again at some stage.
I had planned on cooking a boned roast on the BBQ for Michael’s birthday, but Michael is keen on the idea of eating in town and we are unable to light fires in the caravan park anyway. We will have the oysters I bought from the fisho who came around the caravan park a few minutes ago.
We will head north tomorrow to see if we can get away from the wind and plan on getting to Kalpower in Lakefield National Park and camp on the banks of the river.

We managed to book a site and got there in the late afternoon in time to see a large goanna digging a hole in the campsite opposite. This kept me busy filming for some time and when it ambled off, I went to look at what it had done. The hole was a good 6 inches deep and no evidence of what it had been after.
I started to wander down to the crossing to take some photos when the rangers arrived, suggesting that I was already too close to the water and should go back. They had been called as some other campers had been washing their car in the crossing and others were swimming in the rockholes further down. Apparently there is a large resident croc there and all were very lucky to walk away unscathed.

30th June
Very windy, and strong wind warning is still current from TI to Cairns – don’t think we will go out to TI – bit rough!! Anyway, been there, done that.
Roads up here have all been upgraded. There is bitumen into and past Coen and then again from Moreton Junction. A single lane concrete bridge over the Wenlock allows the Brits Campers to proceed north. A very few sections of road have corrugations but they are bearable.
Archer River had some water in it, but none over the causeway. The burgers were still good & we had an Archer burger for tea the night we stayed there. Apparently there were 300 there on Monday night and Twin Falls was full each night we were there. We met some other Ultimate people from Hastings at Kalpower crossing. Just a bit further on is a property called Pandanus, where Vietnam vets and other ex-military people can go and relax. Apparently they have even bigger crocs than Kalpower!

Most of the Dip signs that kept us entertained on our previous trip have been replaced although there are a couple that have the funny additions. Some not.
We had a look at the southern Telegraph Track and decided that we wouldn’t do Palm Creek. Very muddy on the northern side and the first guy we saw got stuck on the exit. Other guys came through and got through OK, but a car and trailer had to be pulled up – he ended up doing his diff lock and the last we saw of them was at Twin Falls. We came back to the Telegraph Track via the Southern bypass and went down 2 crossings to Delhunty River and camped on the northern side which was much less crowded, we were the only people for a while – some ex Army guys rolled up and we have been catching up with them on and off since. They went on to do Gunshot, down the chicken track, which was black mud and wound down the side of the creek. Too sharp to take the trailer around and the other tracks down were vertical. One of them had a Troopie which had a little rest on the passenger side (not the whole way over) on the way into Gunshot. We met up with them again at Twin Falls and they saved us a good spot. One of them, Hughie is about 5’ and doesn’t eat much, just has lots of beer! Funny guys though!

Twin Falls was great, although walking down to Elliot Falls and the Saucepan was very whiffy – there was a huge colony of fruit bats and the picnic area was totally unusable. There is now a board walk down to the falls as well. In the evenings, great swarms of bats flew off south – maybe to Fruit Bat falls – although there were none to be seen there during the day. We had a couple of swims each day and the first day we were there was a bit of rain, but still warm. We went out to Fruit Bat falls and they are really pretty.

Pitcher plants growing on the banks along with other carnivorous plants and ferns. We sat in a pool there for a while & caught a bit of sun – glowing for the next couple of nights!!
The first night at Twin Falls, 3 South Africans from Cairns shared our site as Twin Falls got really full. They were OK (couple of teachers, say no more!) & moved on to head north. We met them again today at the Jardine Ferry heading back south.
The next night a trailer pulled in really late while we were socializing with the army guys, getting back to our site to find that a couple and their little girl had set up in our site. Our draw bar was in the way of their shade cloth flooring, that’s how close they were to us. 10pm and they were still having their domestic! It was then that we recognized them from Kalpower, & apparently they had been disturbing the campsite there with their arguments and been asked to move on by other campers and the ranger.
I thought we should do the right thing and help them set up with the use of one of our lights……..don’t think it helped them to get set up any quicker though. The domestic continued in the morning & there was no easy way to do it, so I came right out and asked when they were leaving ( it was obvious that we couldn’t get out until they left). They were staying for another day. I suggested that while we were out and the campsite emptied they might find a better site more suited to them, but when we got back from Vryilia Point they were still there….and the domestics continued……..really sad for the little girl. She wakes early in the morning and has lots of books to colour in. We figured that this was the only time she had any peace and quiet. ( they fill her with Phenergan at night to “knock her out”)

Vrylia Point was interesting and we went via the northern section of the OTT from Twin Falls and then the main road. There is a log bridge on the way in and one big log is missing, so important to line up correctly to get over. We ended up at the southern section of the point. Heaps of debris on the beach from what is tossed overboard. Eventually we found the right spot and Michael drove along the beach to an old shipwreck, apparently used to be a lighthouse ship and then we turned back. He enjoyed it, I didn’t.
We had lunch there and went back along the main road which was like a super highway except for a couple of kms of corrugations and some new sections of road.
We had a leisurely pack up this morning, listening to the ongoing domestic of our neighbours and taking our time, which really only seemed to irritate them further, particularly as we had bacon and eggs and didn’t seem to be frantic like them. Part of their problem was that they had hired a camper (an Outback) and didn’t know how to put it up and down properly.

We are staying at Loyalty Beach and have a nice, partial view of the ocean, but we can’t swim there because of the crocs. The army guys are here too, way down in the unpowered area and one of the guys saw a 5’ croc at his campsite last night. I’m sure there are a few around.
We have been into Bamaga and Seisa and had a bit of a look around. The wharf is totally fenced off now & apparently diesel is in short supply. A few places on the way up had already run out of unleaded. If it runs out we will just have to wait until more arrives. We had one jerry can left, which will do for getting around up here. Tomorrow we will head up to the Tip – according to one of the other travelers parking was at a premium up there, with little or no room to turn around.

1st July

Our second day staying just out of Seisa, at Loyalty Beach in far northern Queensland and today we ventured up to the northern most tip of Australia. Earlier we spent some time exploring Somerset Beach and the old homestead site, before going down to look at a headland which at low tide allows one to travel along the beach for some distance. The tide was not far out enough for us to do this safely so we had to be content with driving along the sandy tracks leading to this beach. Again, lots of plastic rubbish – particularly thongs and drink bottles had washed up at the high tide mark.

At the Tip, we parked on Frangipani beach and walked over the headland to reach the sign at the high water mark. After hopping around like mountain goats for a while, we took the ‘low road’ back via the beach and mangroves, keeping an eye out for crocs. There was an attempt up here to have a resort, but it was handed back to the traditional owners sometime before our last trip in 2000 and has remained unoccupied since. The rainforest is gradually reclaiming the buildings. It is all very spectacular. We revisited the old car park area where there used to be a boardwalk to the beach, but now no one bothers, with the gate to the old resort having been opened, people just drive up as far as possible.

Sighted a Navy patrol boat today and apparently they visited the Tip yesterday in 3 inflatable craft, with a couple of their party leaping out to take photos and then returning to ship!! Sounds like fun!
We possibly leave tomorrow to travel south, but are on “island time”, being closer to Thursday Island and PNG than to any major Australian city and plans may change. Nice to be able to have showers, although the 3 days spent at Eliot Falls/Twin Falls was really relaxing and we spent a bit of time in the waterholes, (croc free) and we may revisit them on the way back down. Having heard about the temperatures in Vic and NSW you can understand the reluctance to head south when we are sitting about in shorts and singlets.

11th July

After a restful time at Loyalty Beach and exploring the tip of Cape York, we returned to Twin Falls for another visit. The waterfalls and pools were as delightful as before, and this time without the stress of the couple who were having domestics at every campsite!
Light rain overnight and we packed up between showers.

We detoured in to Captain Billys Landing and were advised by someone at the start of the road that the wind overnight had been gusting at 45 knots. It wasn’t so bad when we got in there and we had time for some fruit and water and moved on. This was where Michael and the boys went up the beach in 1999 on their motorbikes – lots of signs saying not to drive on the beach now.
We overnighted at Archer River again and met up with the Vietnam vets we had met on the old Telegraph line on the way up, we camped with them again and a possible trip up the Canning stock route in 2 years was discussed. We managed to pack up again between showers and left some time after the others, only to meet them again in Coen where we re-fuelled, as it was 20cents a litre cheaper here than Archer River (just $1.60 a litre!)
We had our fruit and veggies inspected at the quarantine station in the way in and I suspect that they thought they were OK, considering the pong from the Engel as it was opened – due to a “blowout” in one of the packets of chops, which resulted in a dreadful stink. The rain continued and wasn’t a problem going into Coen on the bitumen, but the south side was another matter! The dirt was quite wet and very greasy, later we found out that Ray & Les were the owners of a set of slide marks we saw. They hit the dirt, did a 180 and the chocolate milk that Ray was drinking went everywhere! Mind you Les’ tyres were stuffed – quite bald & that may have contributed…

The car now has dirt sprayed up over the back passenger windows, indicative of some serious wet dirt road driving and the Ultimate is now a red/brown instead of white. Bit of a talking point on our arrival at various places and contrasts with the shiny white caravans that are everywhere.
About 145km out of Laura, we discovered Ray and Les on the side of the road with another flat….about their 17th for the trip. Their spare was wrecked as was the tyre that had gone flat, so we lent them one of our spares and drove in to Laura with them, where Les bought 2 new tyres and we left them there.
We had a “Laura burger” – only place that I know of that has asparagus in a burger – huge and we made our way down to Mareeba, eventually finding a caravan park that had an unpowered site. Showers were hot and nice! Place was full of Victorians escaping the winter cold…
We headed off by 9am and went to Croydon and got there just on dusk. Fairly uneventful day, although we did stop to look at an interesting chimney and croc free lagoon (mandatory photos taken).

Next morning, after another hearty breakfast of bacon & eggs and a leisurely pack up, we headed off to Normanton, stopping in time along the way to see the rickety old Gulf Lander train (and take photos & video) pass by. Into Normanton, visited the bakery and headed up to Karumba on the Gulf to have our lunch. Interesting landscape and a pleasant 30C although the wind was still a bit blustery. There has been a strong wind warning from Thursday Island to Cooktown the whole time we were up there.
After leaving Karumba, we headed back through Normanton, fuelled up and headed down some back roads to the Leichardt River Falls, where we camped at the top on the rocks (in more wind!) – spectacular scenery and a large croc purported to live in the pool at the bottom of the falls. Too cold to swim anyway. (a mere 25C)
From the Falls we headed down to Lawn Hill where we stayed for 2 nights at Adels Grove amongst the bamboo and trees.

Lots of smoky fires, hot showers and more Victorians on the run from the cold. We went for a 2 hour paddle up the Lawn Hill Gorge in the morning and soaked in the awesome scenery. Bit weary on return, so we had an afternoon reading our books and lots of Tiger Balm on the biceps at bedtime!
From Lawn Hill, we detoured via Riversleigh which is a world heritage area – saw a couple of real fossils and headed off again arriving in Mt Isa mid Saturday afternoon to find it booked out.
We replenished some supplies and headed south to Boulia, but got as far as a little place called Dajarra about 145km short, where we camped with others in the ruins of the railway yards. It used to be a major cattle rail head until the advent of road trains.
The road is a narrow strip of bitumen with evidence of the recent rains on the verge. The local Police station has the remnants of a caravan that flipped on the soft verge last Thursday, and the roads have only just been re-opened to Birdsville. Diamantina Lakes NP is still closed, so we won’t be able to get in there this time. More rain is forecast for Monday and Tuesday, but we should be far enough south by then, if not, we may just be stuck wherever for the duration.

17th July
Nearly home, well relatively speaking, with about 800km to go. We stopped at a tiny place called Barmerah on the edge of Lake Bonney in SA. Getting acclimatized to the cold by sitting in a canvas contraption before returning to Melbourne. After a quick tour of the town & sampling its culinary offerings, it is obvious why the main road bypasses it.

Since the last update there has been great rushes of adrenalin…..

We arrived in Birdsville safely and set up in the caravan park and enjoyed the hot showers and treated ourselves to washing the clothes in a machine – makes all the difference to getting the red dirt out!
Sunday dinner at the pub and it was a tasty roast. Being a vegetarian when travelling in the outback has gone on hold as choices for food are somewhat limited. We decided to stay a second night and relaxed by going out to play on Big Red on Monday. A 10km diversion was in place on the Eastern side (Birdsville side) and a profusion of wildflowers and birdlife. Lots of flower pictures!
We went west over little Red and then around the Western diversion to go up Big Red – 2 useable tracks to play on this year. We did the one to the right, straight up and then watched some others play as well. Michael went down the steeper one and then attempted to come back up again a couple of times, dropping tyre pressure each time until he got to 13psi…… but to no avail.
Back to town and more bird, flower and water over road photos and to plan the next stage home.

Tuesday morning and a smell of rain in the air which developed into a light drizzle as we bought fresh rolls from the bakery.

I ducked into the information centre to find out the road reports and the guy in there said that everything was open, but with 3 states and all the different shires the latest reports were difficult to get.
We set off along the Birdsville/Windourah road in bright sunlight (having taken photos of road signs advising that the roads were open). Many of the swales were full of water and looked spectactular. We decided to head south to Innaminka and from the high ground the lakes to both sides of the road were testament to the heavy rains that occurred back in February.

The road was good to the border and we re-visited Cadelga ruins where an old car remains behind the ruined house, rusting away and full of bullet holes. Took some more photos of the ruins, but I think I must be running out of unusual/arty angles to try to make a ruin look creative! The sunlight helped.
Past the largest sheep shearing shed at Cordillo Downs and onto the intersection of the Cordillo Downs road and the turnoff to Arrabury for lunch and a wood finding stop. (and more flower photos!) Still in sunshine….This information becomes important just a little later…..

About 20 minutes down the track and less than 100km to Innaminka, the rain started…… just a few drops then a gentle drizzle…..only problem was that the ruts in the dirt road were filling with water and it is a scary sight to see a puddle of water moving rapidly towards you down the road. Those of you who have experienced this will understand.
Gradually the road became more and more slippery and there was soon evidence that the rain had been heavy in spots or it had been raining for some time as there were sections of the track completely under water and the bypass tracks also under water.
At times the speedo was reading that we were doing 20kph but the gps showed the actual speed was only 9kph which meant that the wheels were spinning a lot. As we were too…

Corners began to be a nightmare as we slid in all directions – a couple of times coming to rest on the low side of the road with the water rising rapidly in the streams running down the road. Some of the marked creek crossings had less water than the road and parts of the road were actually running along creek beds……at least it was still daylight….
Getting up and over the grids were tricky as the clay either side caused us to slip, but if we wanted to stop without sinking into the mud, the grid was the best place to be. The creeks were getting deeper and we were gauging the height by the road posts as often there was no flood indicator – I saw one in a creek that had been knocked flat by the grader, so not much help there. They were also starting to flow quite rapidly, so that was another hazard.

We came to one just before dusk that was flowing quite fast and checked the road posts and could still see the reflectors, so figured it would be OK to try. The water got deeper and deeper – up over the headlights, over the bonnet and we both uttered the same word as it came up over the windscreen to about the height of the rego label….fortunately the car kept going and we got out the other side. Michael said later that he felt the Ultimate start to float…..we hadn’t counted on some of the posts being submerged in the dip of the creek….

But there’s more…..dusk fell and we were now doing all of this in the dark, some 30-40km to go and hoping that the causeway at Innaminka would be passable. Another slide and Michael thought that we would be stuck for the duration, but he managed to get us out again.
Finally the Innaminka airstrip, then the causeway. Water was flowing fast, but not so deep as the earlier crossing, so we took a deep breath and went. We finally got onto the Common around 7pm (Tuesday) having taken around 5 hours to do less than 100km. Flooding earlier in the year was substantial and the Nappa Merri bridge was about 8m under water and the causeway into Innaminka about 11m! Hence the reluctance to stay put and take chances on rising water. Later we found out that 45mm had fallen between 3am and 6pm.

We stayed there until around 1pm on Friday when the road to Lyndhurst was re-opened, having decided that if any road opened, we would go in that direction.
Rain was forecast again for Saturday/Sunday, so we took the opportunity and quickly packed up. Others had left earlier, some taking their chances before the roads officially opened & one group was caught on Thursday when they got bogged and had to get pulled out. Word got around quickly about that one! On return, we read a blog from some Californians that we had met in Birdsville, who also got delayed at Innaminka. They left before 5 one morning and one can assume that they didn't know that the road south opened later on Friday. They didn't mention dates!

Parts of the Strezlecki Track now have bitumen on it, 7-8 km stretches every so often, but the main bitumen at Lyndhurst was delightful to reach. We headed on further to Copley and made that in time to get a site at the caravan park and dash to the Leigh Creek Hotel (at Copley) for a counter tea. Nice not to have to do the dishes!
Hot showers in the morning and packed up to head home, through Peterborough and Orroroo.
The Patrol has developed a bit of a worrying noise and is still coated in many layers of mud although we have attempted to keep the headlights and windows clean.
Last overnight stop, pizza for tea – I reckon it will be another couple of years before I manage another pizza after this one…..
July 27th - we pick the Patrol up in the morning after its little holiday with the mechanic. It has a new windscreen (fitted before it went down there) and a new airconditioning unit - the bottom bearing went. And it had its 10,000km service... they mentioned something about a lot of dust in the air filter......!

Reflection

2010-05-21T23:56:00.001+10:00

Another interesting conversation today with my favourite optometrist, Michael Christian. A bit of an anarchist in the optometry world, he specializes in vision restoration.
Yes, you read right..... if you can commit to wearing the lenses that he prescribes and regular 6 monthly visits, vision improves. Different people progress at different rates. It seems to work on the principle that when you are ready for change, really ready, then change will happen. Similar to giving up smoking with hypnosis - won't work unless you are 100% committed!
It's not just about vision - the simplest explanation he gives is that the prisms in the lenses allow light to enter the eye and reflect differently. It's about seeing things differently. Everything changes - including some big emotional shifts - as you see things differently...
He allows a half hour for the consultation and all sorts of things happen. Different lenses, different pictures to look at, shock and horror when you see yourself in the mirror with a funny headset and lenses, moving this arm here and that leg this way until all the intellectualization has flown out of the window and you just know that it feels and looks different.
Discussion flows about quantum physics (yes, I'm a fan of Bruce Lipton too) and our mutual dislike of fluorescent lighting, in particular the impact of it on children's learning. The mercury is a powerful neurotoxin, they also emit more UV than incandescent globes which can affect some light sensitive people and protocols should be followed if one of these lamps breaks.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T13:46:00.004+10:00

My mother (Jean) died in June 1999 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease which was more than debilitating physically for her, it also took away her ability to draw which was her passion.

Reading newspaper and magazine articles about other mothers and daughters in the days leading up to Mother's Day, I am struck at how little of her that I knew. We had a very remote relationship, quite possibly due to her upbringing and I am still finding out more about her as the years pass.
She was intensely private and rather than share her feelings or observations, she recorded them in her diaries. When she died, Dad gave me the diaries and I have the ones up to the birth of my brother, leaving behind in Perth those diaries of following years for him to sift through and read.
My mother was a twin, born in 1928 to Nora & William V Dumbreck. The family home was in Kent, although Grandpop was a Scot who migrated south via Liverpool. He was a keen historian and researched the family tree which has an impressive span. The armorial was drawn by Mum ( & illegally copied by Dazzle who are profiting from it). Her twin brother and his wife still live in the family home in Kent and their children are all nearby.
Jean was brought up by a nanny and was evacuated to a boarding school in Scotland during the war. She spoke of the happy times she had there and before we left the UK in 1964, we travelled up there to retrace her childhood footsteps (which I did again in 1984). Later she joined the WREN's as a decoder and a driver, delighting in telling us that she had signed the Official Secrets Act & couldn't tell us what she did.
She went to Art School and met my godmother Diana Brown with whom I have had a long friendship. I don't think her family ever expected her to marry and she had a fairly sheltered, but active social life. A car accident resulted in rehabilitation and her hands had glass splinters from the windscreen for many years. She travelled to Kenya and was there at the time of the Mau Mau.

She met my father toward the end of 1954 when he was "home on leave" from Malaya and they were married in April 1955 and they sailed for Malaya and the planter's life and the Malayan Emergency in May. Her brother was in the Royal Navy and had a posting there and my father's younger sister and husband were also there. Jean settled into the life of being Mem Sahib with aplomb and the social whirl of expat wives kept her occupied. Servants were available to do the daily work, so she had time to do her art work. Trouble was not far away and the rubber estate that they lived on had armed guards to protect them and was enclosed in a compound.

It was thought best for Mum to stay in Kuala Lumpur after a couple of "false alarms" just before I was born. The need for an armed escort to get to hospital when in labour would have been stressful on top of the birth process. As it was, Mum had a severe anaphylactic shock from the penicillin administered to her during the c-section and we both had an extended stay in Bungsar Hospital, returning just a few weeks later when she had a post partum haemorrage.
On return to the estate, an amah was engaged and Mum began to recuperate. She sewed clothes for me and painted when she could. She created a wall frieze for my nursery, which I had restored and framed. It had been covered in contact which had yellowed and the silverfish were starting to get to it. The picture has some wicked humour in it and apparently the characters were based on people that she knew in the surrounding area.
Other pictures that were stored in her and Dad's Subiaco apartment were totally destroyed by damp and insects by the time he left there 3 years ago.
There were several reasons for leaving Malaya - living in a "black area" saw us eventually shot out, Dad's contract was finished and Mum was pregnant with my brother. Luckily for him, she declined the new wonder drug, Thalidomide. We sailed for the UK in May, having my 3rd birthday in Mumbai and my brother arrived in early August.
Life in the UK was still difficult for her. She was frequently unwell with pneumonia, pluresy and had some miscarriages. I think she found it easier once I started school at the age of 4, but she still had help and a part time nanny for my brother. I recall spending the holidays with my grandparents and cousins as I was a "difficult child". Dad had the added difficulty of being a returned "expat" as well and didn't really fit in to the English life and climate. His family had been in Rhodesia and India for many decades.
We emigrated to Australia in 1964, much to her father's displeasure. He was dying of lung cancer and had disapproved of my father since meeting him and changed his will so that there were strict conditions on Mum accessing her inheritance.
If Jean was alone before, she was even more so in Adelaide. Dad had been sponsored by GMH but there were retrenchments soon afterwards and he moved to Woomera with the WRE. After his monthly visits home, Mum would get us up early in the morning to drive him to Edinburgh Air base to fly back to Woomera. While he was away, she had another miscarriage and then got quite ill with the mumps which she caught from us.I cannot recall her having friends over and it was quite an event when one of my teachers noted her unusual surname and we discovered a distant cousin in Adelaide.
We moved again, this time to Tarcoola on the Transcontinental Railway - even more remote and for the English gentlewoman that Mum was, even more isolating.
I was sent off to school in Port Augusta, travelling down with Mum to meet the family I was to stay with, the day before school started and not returning until the May holidays. She seemed quite matter of fact about it as both she and Dad had been to boarding school. I have no idea how she felt about learving her daughter with complete strangers - we never discussed it.
I went back to school,catching the train on my own this time and returned in the September holidays to find that we were to move to Western Australia. We took the Tea and Sugar train to Kalgoorlie. which took some time and was quite an experience and stayed there for a week or so. I guess Dad was looking for work. All I remember is Mum going to the hairdresser after having to cut her own hair for years in the bush and Dad making comments about the perm gone wrong!
We moved around Perth after spending a horrible few weeks in a caravan out the back of the old Rose and Crown hotel in Guildford. Firstly to Balga and then back to Guildford. This was the start of my experience with Mum and Dad's acquired outback drinking habits. This also served to keep our emotional boundaries well established. A heady mixture of social and emotional isolation combined with violence and adolescence!

We finally ended up in Caversham in a lovely old homestead that has been long since demolished. Just as well, as I remember one night the ceiling falling in as a plane roared over on its descent into Perth Airport.
School was my stability and I did remarkably well, given the circumstances. Mum did some art work while she was at Caversham, she involved herself with the CWA and everyone turned a blind eye to the addictive behaviours. I finished school, got a job because "there's no point going to university if you are a girl" and moved out of home at 18 and to the Eastern States at 19.
As I look back on those years, I cannot remember a time when we sat and had a meal together or engaged in some activity as I now do with my daughter. I would dutifully write monthly while I was travelling around Australia and New Zealand and she would write back about events happening in the area, but never any emotional stuff - heaven help us - stiff British upper lip and all that! Even when a serious long term relationship ended and I rode home 60km at night from York (cold, dark and kangaroos hopping out) her only comment was that she never liked him because he was a Catholic!
Years later, when I was struggling after my own daughter's birth & post partum haemorrage, I asked her for help and her comment was " hire a nanny". Not what I wanted to hear, but now there was the realization that she had so successfully stuffed all her emotions down for so many years, that if she allowed that chink in the armour....it had manifested as Parkinson's.
I returned to Perth a couple of times in her last years. I did one late night transcontinental dash by plane, arriving to find her behind drawn curtains and the doctor saying that she was not expected to survive the night. I asked his permission to give her homeopathics and she recovered, lasting for another 18 months. While I was there for the week, I sat with her for hours. I bought her a poster by Peter Dombrovskis and placed it on the wall at the foot of her bed and that seemed to help her focus. As she moved in and out of consciousness, she had one moment of lucidity and turned to me and said "I'm so sorry".
It was that one defining moment that you never forget.
We had another day together and then I had to return to my own family.
The following Christmas, I took the children over to see her, knowing that this would be the last opportunity to connect. We stayed for a brief time with my brother and his family and then house sat for their neighbours. We visited Jean every day for 8 days, sometimes twice a day. The children ran with her in her wheelchair, she enjoyed their company, but had no idea who I was. She called me Beth, who was her physiotherapist, probably because she associated me with the massages Beth gave her.
Months later, the day before she died, I was playing cricket in the backyard with the kids. The light changed and I saw a raven for the first and only time on the garage roof. I called the nursing home, to be told that today was the best she had been for a long time.
Later that night, I was sending absent Reiki to her and suddenly felt this surge of energy "yippee - I'm free" and some 20 minutes later the phone rang with Dad sobbing on the other end of the line.
If ever that was a connection, that was it.
I was a pall bearer at her funeral with my brother. Carrying your mother in a coffin is a difficult task but I am glad that I was able to do it. I wore a kilt made in her family tartan to honour her memory and while my brother chose to speak about her life, I think he too mourns the lack of a strong emotional bond with her.

I read articles in today's paper about mothers and daughters and finally mourned for my mother.
One writer told of the isolation she felt with her friends during the grieving process and I related to this. I travelled to Perth on my own for the funeral and returned with a suitcase of small memories a few days later. 71 years condensed to a few bits and pieces.
I was teaching at an Anglican school at the time and thought that there would be some understanding from my colleagues when I returned to school after the holidays, but there was just awkward silence or was it indifference? The silence from most of my friends and family was also deafening. One friend gave me a rose bush for rememberance and today there was a late autumnal bloom.
Death liberated her from the double pain of Parkinson's and not being able to communciate through her drawings.
She lives on in my memory as a gentle, artistic soul who, for cultural and social reasons was never fully able to express herself. I know that my children have an understanding of her love of beauty, sense of humour and the suffering she went through in her last months.
There is some regret is that we never had long and easy conversations like those I have with my daughter, but that is fleeting as she has handed me a gift of self sufficiency, strength and resiliency.
The few pieces of her artwork that survive are treasured as is the love of old wares and books. She also lives on through her two grand-daughters, one of whose second name is Jean.

Happy Mother's Day Jean.

28-1-1928 - 29-6-1999

"Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure.

You have no security unless you can live bravely,

excitingly,

imaginatively;

unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence."
— Eleanor Roosevelt

In the garden

2010-05-03T23:43:00.002+10:00

Sunday was a soft grey day, with intermittent showers but not enough to really dampen the soil. Allowing myself to be distracted by watching the magpies outside my office window, my gaze rested once again on the remains of the tree fern. The once green and shady area now reminiscent of TS Elliot's Wasteland even though it is now early May and autumn.

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.

After trimming the ivy hedge behind the tree fern and temporarily draping the cuttings on and around the trunk to create an illusion of greenery, I decided to visit the garden centre for some other ideas. I did think about getting some stagferns to attach, but remembered that we already have one at home. Another consideration was to buy some interesting groundcovers, but the violets are already in residence and starting to flower.
In the end I bought a Gelsemium creeper - perhaps I will be able to make my own homeopathic flu remedy from that one day, and some interesting texture plants that are drought tolerant.
I also couldn't resist some pansies for colour. On arriving home, I discovered that the tree fern had been chopped down and was now residing in the green waste bin! An opportunity to create a new garden canvas ....

The bed has been tilled and weeded, the new plants have been placed and there is still space for a lilac....

At the crossroads

2010-04-30T16:30:00.001+10:00

It's the end of April already! Workwise, there have been a number of changes and everything is falling into place.
I have written the vision and values statement for BrightLight and word of mouth is starting to generate regular clients. I have read the E-myth and the process there has resonated and I have taken off the procrastination hat and begun work on an operations manual.
Surprisingly, I have had a number of massage clients this month, rather than Hypnotherapy or coaching and one has expressed an interest in me teaching her Polarity Therapy. I am seriously considering this as there are no other Polarity courses around at present.
The HypnoCoaching is proving successful and clients are able to remove longstanding blocks when in trance and the coaching model is moving them forward effectively. I am looking at different advertising mediums, as the current one I have been using is not cost effective as it is not delivering projected leads. I have been given a couple of suggestions by a colleague that are working for her, so will try them out.
Again, the question of where to practice from is under review. I love my home office & the dog, but he sometimes overenthusiastically welcomes people and not everyone loves dogs. His other, annoying habit of whining outside the door, invariably when the client is just about to enter a deeper state of relaxation, is frustrating to say the least. I remain for the time being, at the Osteopathic clinic one afternoon a week, but there are not the referrals that I had hoped for & the location is quite isolated later in the afternoon.
I feel sure that there is something more suitable on the horizon.

Anzac Day

2010-04-26T00:20:00.000+10:00

Anzac Day weekend.
Probably not politically correct to mention that one of my grandfathers was in the area at the time, but as an officer with the British not the Australian army. Also not being a morning person, means that I am not a candidate for attending the Dawn Service.
My father, who is nearly 89 did go to a service earlier in the week althought he was also in the British Army during WW2.
Otherwise a quiet weekend, celebrating my father in law's 79th birthday on Saturday afternoon and catching up with a friend who has just moved house on Sunday.

Not knowing what to give as a housewarming gift, and seeing how exhausted she and her partner were, I gave them both the gift of a Polarity massage. Great that they didn't have to drive anywhere afterwards by the looks on their faces!
Had a couple of moments earlier in the day when I got caught up in reading stuff on Facebook about workplace bullying. Watched a couple of videos and realized that I still had some residual stuff happening from my experience. I did a self hypnosis session and reframed in a positive manner. Whilst driving over to my friend's house listened to a couple of podcasts that continued the process - NLP works really well.
Looking forward to the next couple of weeks with a few new goals to achieve. I have already re-visited my website and edited the About page, adding values and beliefs.

Good company

2010-04-17T00:36:00.002+10:00

Went to dinner this evening with the Osteopaths & crew from Total Osteo, where I am working on Monday afternoons.
Dinner was to celebrate one of the Osteopaths birthday and we enjoyed Chilean cuisine. (Thankyou Lee!)
I had a treatment earlier in the day from David and there is that good sore/stiffness that comes from being put back into shape! I know that I will feel better tomorrow. Earlier in the afternoon, I had a LifeLine session with Tracey and loved wearing the red glasses - what a hoot! All sorts of things came up, probably a combination of being open from the Osteo treatment. Particularly interesting was the going back to the past to discover limiting belief patterns.

Easter holidays

2010-04-08T10:41:00.022+10:00

Don't you just love it when you think you have written something awesome and hit the wrong button and it disappears into the ether? Lesson in humility and backing up your work!

Home is a hive of industry today after months of just getting by. Amazing what having down time and a "healing crisis" does to your perception of what is OK. Perhaps it was the Easter/Equinox energy that spurred me from inaction to action. Mind you, it's not just me being active, I have the luxury of having 2 ladies to clean the house and the carpets are being steam cleaned too. I am sorting out wardrobes and culling the clothes that haven't been worn for a long time, finding dresses & suits from the 1980's still in my collection. Practically antique! Time to move on...

Easter week was challenging in many ways. Old friendships revisited, a bit of travel and some chocolate! We made the annual trip to Redcastle and enjoyed Pete's hospitality. The block has taken on a green tinge and one of the billabongs has a little water in it and there is a small puddle in the creek on the boundary. We discovered that the bees in the "bee tree" were no more. Although allergic to bee stings, they have never bothered me, but have made their presence felt by stinging others over the years. One labyrinth has started to go green, which was the intention when I built up the dirt walls, so no excavation this year and it was left to see what else would eventuate. Right in the centre was a small purple flower, and no, it wasn't Salvation Jane or Patterson's curse. I walked the labyrinths at sunrise, taking video and will find a way to post them here at some stage.

This year we explored the surrounding district and ventured into the Heathcote - Greytown National Park. We caught the Easter Parade at Rushworth on Saturday, which was lots of fun and I explored the crystal shop in the main street. A leisurely lunch and then off to see Whroo and surrounding forest. Returning to the block, we lit the camp fire in preparation for a roast dinner done in the camp oven, which we shared with friends. A large stump was put on the fire and we had a great time sitting and discussing life in general. A moonlight walk to the junction and back finished off a relaxing evening.
An exchange of chocolate on Sunday morning and then more exploration, this time heading off to Greytown and surrounds.

Lazy Autumn afternoon

2010-03-31T14:52:00.000+11:00

Autumn days have a special feel to them. The morning starts off cool, just a bit on the cold side and although the forecast may be for a clear day, you can never be sure.....
It's the day after the second blue moon for the year. Two full moons in January and now 2 in March. Birdsong is punctuated by the drone of the police helicopter as it does laps of the parkland at the bottom of the hill.
It's harder to get up in the mornings now with the darkness, which will ease slightly when day light saving finishes over the Easter weekend. Once the equinox has passed the days seem to draw to a close very quickly.

Sweeping up the leaves that have changed colour and dropped and pausing to remove the cobwebs festooning the windowsills and nooks and crannies around the downpipes. Drifts of leaves in corners of the verandah and against the borders of the garden beds. Shoots from winter bulbs starting to poke up through the soil and must remember to replant the tulip bulbs that have been in the vegetable crisper. The tree ferns have finally given up trying to exist. They were burnt to a crisp last year on Black Saturday when the temperature reached 47C. Another year of drought has finished them off, so the stumps will come out soon and the garden outside my clinic room will be re-done.
New soil will be put down to level out the garden bed. Drought tolerant plants will do and I will trim the ivy back along the fence, which I will also extend by a metre or so, with a screen to improve privacy in the clinic.

Challenges

2010-03-23T00:00:00.002+11:00

Today was challenging. I decided that I would hand in the keys to the room in Glen Waverley and focus on my more mainstream practice at Mulgrave.
Challenging because I went with an intuition and as a result felt much clearer about the outcome than I expected.
Having been in a couple of workplaces where the boundaries and messages have been unclear and resulted in stressful outcomes, this time I am aware that "try to sort it out" is not an option.
It all comes down to choice and this time I have chosen to walk away.

Getting very social

2010-03-17T23:53:00.003+11:00

Recently I have joined up on Facebook, MySpace and now also have a WordPress blog as well as this one. I've been using Twitter for a while now and to complete my electronic interface - I'm loving my iPhone!
I have my own webpages too and am using the blogs and wiki's to put out the information that I have been accumulating over the years of study.
One of my sites Polarity Australia, has the essays I have written for my Homeopathic and Polarity Therapy studies. Better to have them "out there" than lurking in the bottom of the cupboard.
In the meantime I have also written a 5 week goal setting course, found the Homeopathic booklets I wrote 8 years ago and even a meditation course that I began writing 10 years ago.
These will all be available soon on the website. Some stuff will be free, but some will be able to be purchased.
I am also thinking of an affiliate program with a well known Hypnotherapy provider in the UK - no point in re-inventing the wheel.

Hansei

2010-03-14T23:48:00.008+11:00

Hansei 反省 - はんせいis a Japanese word meaning reflection, meditation, contemplation and introspection.
I am able to offer an easily learned, accessible guided visualisation or meditation technique that enables you to manage your life more effectively and with greater confidence and enjoyment.
Learn effective relaxation and stress busting techniques and how to implement them in the workplace environment.
Regular meditation has been shown to improve health and well-being, lowers blood pressure, enhances concentration and reduces activity in the nervous system. Studies document the many benefits of meditation and with ongoing practice, participants are able to self regulate their responses to anxiety and tension.
There are physiological, psychological and spiritual benefits to meditating.
Physiologically, meditation decreases the metabolic rate, reduces high blood pressure and lowers cortisol levels. Regular meditation changes the brain and enhances neural function.
The psychological benefits are improved memory and emotional stability while a decrease in anxiety, depression and moodiness can be measured. An increase in compassion, awareness and personal growth can be attributed to the spiritual benefits of meditation.
Hansei has been linked with the Japanese word Kaizen, made popular by Anthony Robbins and other business strategists.
So why talk about Hansei?
In another article about Hansei- Kaizen , Hansei is described as "relentless reflection" which leads to staff unhappiness and Kaizen as "continuous improvement". In isolation both have some destructive aspects, but when combined create a state of enlightenment or wisdom that leads to abundance.
Hansei- Kaizen is a part of Japanese culture and while the concept may be difficult for 'gaijin' to grasp, this site describes it more detail. Another brief but eloquent description is at Gemba Tales.

Out in the garden

2010-03-14T15:33:00.002+11:00

A slow Sunday afternoon in the garden, the tranquillity disturbed by the anxious squeaking of an arthritic labrador who can no longer climb the stairs. He has managed to bury a bone in the disused reticulation system and the smooth head of an ox femur pokes out of a garden bed.
As I hand water some gardenia seedlings near the woodpile, there is a sudden flurry of movement of thin spindly legs and a flash of red. Redback spider. Now that I'm looking, there are plenty in the area.
Some have made their homes around the decking and window frames. Instinct is to spray, but there is the fish pond near by. After the hailstorm, it overflowed and we discovered one of the fish floating. No sign of the other, but some grey bird feathers nearby. Maybe the heron came to visit.
I turned the fountain on yesterday to aerate the water and decided that I will bucket it out on to the garden. The water has cleared and there is a silver fish lying on its side near the bottom of the pond. I pick it up to dispose of it and there is a quick flap of the tail and it moves away, sinking again to the bottom. Not a well fish. I remember reading that if you move them through the water, they can be helped to resucitate. I try that and hold it in my hand under water for a few minutes. It seems to have a little life in it still although when I let it go, it sinks to the bottom again.

It's not OK

2010-03-10T11:33:00.001+11:00

To know what is right

and not do it is the worst cowardice.

Confucius

Bullying is back in the news.
It starts as young as 8.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/bullying-by-girl-8-deadly-serious-20100309-pvwk.html
and continues in the workplace
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/in-harms-way-20100309-pvxm.html
with tragic consequences
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/healing-for-workplacedeath-families-20100309-pvwp.html
and if you think you are safe at home
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/students-suspended-for-facebook-bullying-20100226-p6i0.html
Think again.
Register your workplace for a workshop (& hope that the bullies don't learn extra strategies from this)
http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/wsinternet/WorkSafe/Home/Safety+and+Prevention/Health+And+Safety+Topics/Bullying/
Trust that HR will follow it up. If they don't do it satisfactorily, then this page will help
http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/wsinternet/worksafe/home/safety+and+prevention/health+and+safety+topics/bullying/what+to+do+if+bullying+happens+to+you
It's NOT OK, and you shouldn't "have to learn to get along with all sorts of people". The bully is a cunning and nasty minded individual and those who observe and don't do anything are complicit and are also responsible for the distress caused.

Confined spaces

2010-03-10T00:48:00.004+11:00

I took this photo a couple of years ago at Silverton NSW.
For me it has come to represent the education system. There is light and dark, and the promise of a bright open sky and fresh air, but the bars of bureacracy confine.
Listening to colleagues, there is great promise in their intention to teach differently. I find the reality of the 'lost' children, particularly disengaged young boys, distressing . As an education professional, I endeavour to write units of work that engage all the intelligences, but competing with the "play station mindset" is an uphill task.
My challenge is to be less of an empath and become less sensitive to the negative energies of the school setting. Especially important is to de-stress so that I can get to bed before 1 am!

Change of plans today

2010-02-27T22:28:00.003+11:00

I was really looking forward to today, as I had a client for a Past Life Regression session who has been referred by a colleague.
I woke up with a shocking head cold, which explains why I was feeling so 'fuzzy-headed' yesterday, and re-scheduled. I know I wouldn't want to have my session done by someone sniffing and breathing germs near me!
Starting to wonder if it might have been something to do with the homeopathic I had the other day..... lucky I got another bottle of PCIP as it's been fantastic at stopping the running nose.
My neice has just returned from South Africa and we will be able to hear all her news at her younger sister's 18th birthday next week.
Hope my nephew in Coffs Harbour will be OK as there is a current tsunami warning for the NSW coast due a huge 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Thoughts & prayers go out to all those involved.

Trying out a new room

2010-02-26T18:37:00.004+11:00

Dipping the toe back in the water by going back to Glen Waverley.
I was there 10 years ago and moved on to Heaven on Earth in Blackburn. This was run by Andrew with whom I had studied homeopathy. He chose to move on to a different realm a few months later.
I have had a couple of clients here, but the street noise below, whilst adding to the vibrancy of the area, is not as conducive as I would like for the trance state!!
So a brief re-visit to the area and I will finish up here at the end of March.

Limiting Beliefs

2010-02-24T23:36:00.003+11:00

An interesting exercise that I came across today.
Draw 5 columns on a piece of paper.

list the things you believe you cannot do and that are affecting your life or business
When did you decide to do that? write the approximate time/date
list the things you can do & are successful at in your life or business
Write down what the differences are. Think of yourself using those particular skills and note what you see, hear or feel when you think of it.
Write down any learning or insights gained by doing the exercise.

HypnoCoaching

2010-02-22T19:08:00.001+11:00

I'm now using the powerful combination of Hypnotherapy and Coaching techniques in my practice and have included this in my brochure. The brochure and webpages are very organic and have seen lots of changes over the last few months. There wasn't any room to include the Polarity Therapy on the brochure, and since I hurt my hand when I fell at school 18 months ago, I haven't been able to give a decent massage. No-one seems to know what Polarity Therapy is anyway and the massage associations are really very dismissive of it as a therapy. Shame - as it is very good at releasing blocks. My wetpaint site PolarityPlus Australia tells you all about it as well as some really good information about Homeopathy, Reiki and even some units of work for teachers using Multiple Intelligences.

One small step....

2010-02-19T11:49:00.003+11:00

As the saying goes, a journey starts with a single step. Having taken a big step to continue studying, I have found some treasures already.
Now the challenge is to balance work and home commitments.

I have almost completed the workbook and activities for the 5 session program and have set up Facebook, MySpace and a Wordpress spaces so that I can work in an online/virtual community.
A few tweaks to the main website hopefully will mean that I can have a newsletter and a secure page to order products.

Moving forward

2010-02-15T09:47:00.003+11:00

What a fabulous weekend - meeting new & positive people.
2 new clients today and some leads to follow up on Wednesday and Friday. Meanwhile my horoscope for today says it all.
Just a day after a New Moon in a more adventurous part of your chart, the Moon is already getting down to the business of helping you prepare for one of the most auspicious professional weeks in over a decade. With Venus and Jupiter due to align in your career sector tomorrow, the Moon aligns with both today, with your intuition acting as a go between, giving you some inside clues. A lot more aware of how many options you have, listen to what your gut is telling you.

February Training

2010-02-13T23:25:00.005+11:00

Day 2 of my training and I am loving it! The people are positive and the training is already moving me closer to my goals. I have realized that the studies I am doing now fit very well with the Hypnotherapy and will help my clients to move forward more quickly. In addition, I made a commitment to myself at the January New Moon and Eclipse to move forward in all aspects of my life.
My horoscope for the February New Moon is also very positive:
The second New Moon of the year falls in your sector of travel, adventure, learning and discovery, the most adventurous part of your chart, creating an opportunity for new beginnings or to draw a line in the sand. This is the New Moon that marks the start of the Chinese New Year and in this case welcomes in the Year of the Tiger, a very fast moving year. Soak in the spirit of adventure and wanderlust that hangs in the air and make some new resolutions.

February

2010-02-10T13:31:00.004+11:00

The year is flying past and I have been busy organizing other social media for the business. I have created another blog space and am contemplating Facebook/myspace. I have created a ning forum for subscribers and will put that link up on the webpage soon. This will have articles of interest such as the Polarity diet and Reiki tips.
In the meantime, I have gone back to teaching at school, just 2 days a week and am teaching a mixture of Japanese and literacy. The units of work are MI/Inquiry based and for the Prep/One/Two's will be Inquiry based units.
On Friday I start a Certificate IV in Business & Coaching, to help me organize the business side of things and from a practical point of view, learning about coaching, being coached and coming out with a qualification at the end.
This year I am going to add the photos that I took for my website but weren't used. This flower is Love in the Mist or Nigella.

January

2010-01-14T14:19:00.008+11:00

On the eve of the January new moon and the solar eclipse... it seems like December was an aeon ago. Not being a Christmas person, I got through it OK - a bit grumpy at times. Enough said about it here.
New Year's Eve in Melbourne was treated to a spectactular night show by nature. Wind, lightening and thunder - better and louder than the fireworks!

Above is the Japanese for Bright Light - it means bright and promising future - a good omen for my business I am sure.
The logo of the yinyang is also significant.

The Indigo colour to represent the Indigo children, who have a dark and light side
Yin yang is also associated with reincarnation. Interestingly, I wasn't aware of this meaning when I did my past life regression training.
The main flower is a gardenia and the meaning is purity and joy - this represents purity of intention and joy in what I am doing. The flower came from my garden and smells exquisite.
The small daisy also represents purity, loyalty, patience, simplicity and beauty.
The reflection of the design draws attention to our shadow side and as the lower image fades into the greater space around, the image overall softens and yet retains a strong energy.

I applied for the school position and have had an automated email in reply, but no indication for an interview and no one at school to find out. The longer I am away from the school setting the less I feel like returning! As a consultant will be fine, but not the day to day stuff.
In the meantime, I have been busy writing course material, adding to my website and producing information packs for the workshops.
The new business cards have arrived and have already been sent out with some marketing material.
February sees the start of a Cert 4 in business - to take the Clinical Hypnotherapy and workshops to a new level.

2009-12-09T19:49:00.005+11:00

A busy week again, and this end of the year tends to get really frantic.
The last few days have included a trip to Unity Church to hear a great singer and meet up with friends from the country and an invitation to go to Daylesford for an art exhibition.
I have been sorting out the semester's work for the students to go into their portfolios and some have copious amounts for the six months. Others have not used their time so wisely..........
In between, there have been a couple of visits to the dentist, the optometrist in Queenscliffe, dinners, lunches and even time to go to the movies to see The Time Traveller's Wife. I enjoyed the movie greatly and am sure the reviewer had a bad day.
The business website is starting to develop and I have moved on from the logo I found for my advertising at Curves and have developed my own. I have recorded one CD and had intentions to do another last week, but there was too much background noise to do it successfully.

December already

2009-12-02T22:43:00.002+11:00

Full moon tonight. Looks spectacular - and it's a Gemini moon!
Last couple of days have been busy and I have been pushing through an incredible tiredness to complete the year.
School reports are finished and the realization today that there are only 2 more days left for me this year, left me a little bemused as to how fast the year has gone.

I have been offered another day a week at the school for next year, and may take that as a short term contract. It has been great to feel like I am free to walk away if it wasn't working and each week I have joked with the principal that "I might come back next week!"
What a difference in atmosphere to my last school.
I met a former colleague at the supermarket on Sunday and the conversation with her was awkward to say the least. Confirmed that leaving that school was the best thing to do.

getting busier

2009-11-19T11:36:00.003+11:00

Getting busy with referrals for Hypnotherapy. In the past couple of weeks, I have worked on a variety of issues with clients, from insomnia, study related issues and a couple of past life regressions. I now have a room away from home on a Monday afternoon at an Osteopathic clinic.
In between, there has been a family wedding in Brisbane which was a lot of fun. Great weather and went for some walks along the riverside each day.
The one day a week at the primary school is working out well, and the students have really responded to working with Multiple Intelligences in Japanese. Lots of cross curricular activities with a focus on Japan, both the language and culture. At the moment there are the reports to write, but so much simpler than in past years and I have nearly finished them before the December 4 deadline.

website

2009-11-05T17:24:00.006+11:00

The website is still under construction and although I fell in love with the graphic from the previous post, today the decision was made to move right away from that and to simplify the site- hopefully using a photo from one of my outback trips for the header.

I spent the weekend taking photos of flowers to include in our own version of the graphic and will now use them in a series of cards and calendars for next year.

Nearly November

2009-10-30T22:59:00.002+11:00

Lots been happening in the background since the last posting.
Since graduation from the Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, I have been fortunate to have an increase in clients. Slow but steady......
Other projects have been constructing the IACT Australia info and forum site which was fun to do. Eventually there will be more Australian members, so it should start to run itself.
Another project is my own website, which is currently under construction. When it is finished I will link to it.
There was a successful evening at Curves in Wheelers Hill for a fundraising evening in support of breast cancer. I offered 10 minute Reiki sessions and was booked out for the night.
More study was undertaken and I attended a residential weekend training on Past Life Regression held by Pete Smith and Rick Morse from the ATP. We were treated to a fabulous weekend of hands on learning and therapy and a special preview of the movie "Belladonna" all about past lives/loves. We got to meet the director, writer and her husband the cinematographer the next evening.
So now I have added Past Life Regression to my bag of tools. I have done one on a friend and to get the international certification will have to do five case studies. That should be interesting as well..
Monday afternoons will see me in a room away from home. I do love the home clinic room, but the dog is problematic as he will often whine on the other side of the closed door. I'm also conscious of the fact that not all people like animals and he enthusiastically greets everyone at the front door! So it's off to a room at an osteopathic clinic and will see how that goes. Now I really have to get serious to pay the rent!!
Wednesdays I am teaching in a play based program for P,1 & 2 and a strong MI influenced LOTE program (which I have written) at Croydon West Primary School. Lovely students and they will try anything - one Year 1 boy successfully constructed an origami tetrahedron by copying what I was doing.
Today I was off to the bank to finally open a business account. The bank insists that I needed a business name even though the government business site shows that as a sole trader I don't. So today my business name was born.....BrightLight Specialized Education

2009-08-31T08:57:00.001+10:00

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
Kahlil Gibran

Hypnosis Works

2009-08-30T12:43:00.004+10:00

On one, I want you to do one thing: Look up.

On two, do two things:

Slowly close your eyes and take a deep breath.

On three, do three things:

Breathe out, relax your eyes, and let your body float.

Imagine you are floating in a bath, a lake, a hot tub, or just floating in space.

Each breath is getting

deeper and easier . . .

Use the link to read the research about hypnosis....

Sai Baba

2009-08-30T12:30:00.001+10:00

LOGOS

I am the word, the way, the light,
I am the morning, the noon and the night,
I am the Alpha, the beginning of all.
I am the path, the Nothing you seek.

I am the Omega, the Ending, be meek.
I am the truth for all to see.
I am the love fulfilling your need.
I am the freedom, from fear in your mind.

I am the rock on which you can climb.
I am the cloak that protects you all.
I am the cross. On me you can call.
I am the answer to all of your prayers.

I am the power, of love, curing ills.
I am the will of the innocent child.
I am the peace in your everyday trials.
I am the freedom from conflict, affliction and death.

I am the love that is. Let me be your breath.
I am the love, unconditional and forgiving.
I am the Love. Let me reign in you.
I am

Peace

Moving along

2009-08-11T21:02:00.002+10:00

Things are moving along well and life is getting pleasantly busy. Starting to see more people for Clinical Hypnotherapy as well as Reiki and a couple of Polarity massages.
I have decided that my specialization will be on school anxiety - and this covers students, teachers and parents.
Having first hand experience of test/exam anxiety and having overcome that with the help of hypnosis has made a huge difference to me. My last test situation was quite relaxed and I found I had no problem in recalling information I needed.
Also, after observing bullying behaviours in the school environment for several years, by both staff and students, I have come across some very effective strategies to overcome this.

Clinical Hypnotherapy

2009-07-25T23:04:00.002+10:00

Graduated on 5th July with a Diploma of Applied Clinical Hypnotherapy!!!
Never thought I would do it, but had a great journey in getting here.
The teachers were great (that's you Rick and Peter!) and the small class really of 9 really worked well together.
We have learnt so much and thankyou to to all those who helped out with being willing subjects for case studies.

Do it anyway!

2009-06-27T11:20:00.002+10:00

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest person with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest person with the smallest mind.
Think big anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack if you help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you might get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
- Anonymous

Winter Holiday

2009-06-23T23:52:00.017+10:00

Finally back from the annual winter holiday in Northern Australia and as they say " the best laid plans....."
A great itinerary was planned, but the weather had different plans and due to unseasonable rains, many of the roads that would normally be open, were closed.
So, Plan B and then Plan C was put into place.
Travelling north from Melbourne was fine, but dark clouds began to appear just north of Farina in South Australia.
We headed to Lake Eyre and travelled in to Halligans Bay, just south of William Creek in the far north of SA, keeping an eye on the clouds. It was very windy here, few birds except some hardy seagulls (some call them the rats of the air) and the wind had pushed what water was this far south, back into the lake, so that the water was some 400m from the shore.
Next morning we headed into William Creek, past Pussy Willow where the feral cats used to hang out, and re-fuelled at an exorbitant price for diesel. Some delicate souls objected to the culled feral cats being displayed like this and they were removed, but it must be remembered that they are a major cause of the destruction of native wildlife.
Some time before Algebuckina Bridge (a magnificent engineering structure for the Old Ghan railway), it started to rain. Not heavily, but enough to start to feel the dirt road get a bit sticky.
Just after a late lunch in Oodnadatta and after a quick phone call to home to say we were OK, we headed out to Dalhousie Springs. Then the rain came down........ after sliding along the road a couple of times - which seemed to have more water on it than was in the marked creek crossings, we made the decision to turn back.
Going back into the rain meant that the road was wetter, muddier and more slippery, but we didn't want to tempt fate and get bogged. So we turned around and made our way back to stay in the Pink Roadhouse Caravan park...... and supper at the Oodnadatta Pub.
Next morning was still pretty damp and we set off for the bitumen with a couple whom we had met at Lake Eyre. We parted company at Marla and after we had lunch, we set off for Kulgera planning to rejoin the dirt if the weather let up.
No such luck and dark rainclouds loomed on the horizon, so after a night at Kulgera we headed up the bitumen in the rain to Alice Springs - arriving on one of their coldest May days.
A brief stop to purchase a new inverter and fuel up, then we headed out to Gemtree via the scenic route (Binns Track).
It was hard to tell if anyone had been through the track - sometimes there were tyre marks but often they looked as if they had turned around. We did really well getting through the water over the road - but would you believe it! the last lot of water over the road.......yes, we took the wrong line and got bogged.
No photos - we were busy digging and putting rocks in the ruts to get out. Just as we had nearly got out another vehicle came past and offered help.
We met up with them again at Gemtree as well as another couple in an Ultimate.
Next day we set out on the Binns Track again. Varied scenery, drier road and eventually blue sky. However the track was quite rough in places and the daylight was running out with the next planned camp to be at the Old Police Station Waterhole in the Davenport Ranges National Park.
We arrived just as the sun slipped below the horizon and set up the camper in the dark.

Having rushed to get here, this was the first spot that we camped at for more than one night and we spent the next day exporing the ruins and rambling around the waterhole. We met some interesting people camped here and had the first of our roast meals done in the camp oven.
After setting off from the waterhole, we detoured to another further up the track, but not as pretty and the campsites were quite a distance from the water which was already turning stagnant.

Late afternoon saw us arrive at the Devils Marbles.
Very spectactular and we took lots of photos and video, both at sunset and sunrise. The next morning we set out, well after the grey nomads had left, for Tennant Creek hoping that the grey/black sky to the south wouldn't catch up with us again.
We had a night in Tennant Creek and an enjoyable evening with the people with the T-van, who were waiting on a part for their Landcruiser to be delivered. All sorts of problems getting it there, firstly with the wrong part being sent, then the truck that had the correct part didn't stop to unload it and all of this on the long weekend of the Finke Desert Race.
We continued to head north and again our plans had to be changed as the Gregory National Park, the top end of Binns Track was closed and not due to re-open until after our holidays were finished. We had a short stop at the Devil's pebbles although not as spectacular as the Devil's Marbles, were very interesting.
We stayed at Dunmarra, where we provided the entertainment for the caravanners, putting up our muddy Ultimate. At least it provided the stimulus for some conversations. Most of the caravans and motorhomes we were seeing were in pristine condition and a large number of them had their satellite dishes, which meant that they all retreated inside at night rather than socialize!
Up the highway to Mataranka. We utilized the grapevine and went to a smaller caravan park near Bitter Springs, which were far more natural than the more well known springs south of the town. There is quite a fast flowing current and steps are provided to get in and out and the caravan park hires out "noodles" to guests. The water was crystal clear and with the exception of some occasional slime from the reedy area upstream, very pleasant to be in. Small fish inhabited the spring and the signs assured that the water was unable to sustain anything that freshwater crocodiles would be partial to. After an afternoon in the spring, we returned to our campsite on the banks of the Douglas River. Some people were catching Barramundi further down from where we were and they were a decent size. Not being into fishing, I decided to put up my feet and read the latest Paolo Coelho book.

Something made me look down and I saw a black headed yellow -green snake slithering under my legs.......... now I really know the meaning of being "rooted to the spot".... but even so, saw the beauty of this creature. It had obviously checked me out and had decided it was OK to proceed. It headed off and then climbed up the nearby trees in search of sunshine or prey.
Next morning we headed back down south for a bit and went to the original Mataranka springs where there was also a replica of a hut built for the movie "We of the NeverNever". A boardwalk into to the spring around which had been built concrete stairs and seating. Such a contrast to the other springs.
We headed back north again through Katherine and this time set the GPS for Daly Hot Springs. This trip had gone from being traversing Binns Track to the Hot Springs tour. Fortunately it was the last day of the long weekend and there was a bit of traffic on the road heading out. Unfortunately the campground was a pigsty. Rubbish piled up next to the bins and in the fireplaces. The hot spring here comes out of the ground at about 60C and where it meets with the cooler water of a river, is where you get in.....very pleasant, although quite shallow and depending on where you sit, the experience of hot and cold running water in a natural setting is delightful. We had a post travel dip, a pre-dinner dip and in the morning a pre-trip dip!

Next morning after consulting the maps and one of the other campers who had travelled up this way, we decided to take the short cut up to Litchfield National Park.
On arrival at the turnoff for this track we were confronted with a "Road Closed" sign and that was that.
We had to go the long way around.
It was still very scenic and we turned off the bitumen to find a secluded camping ground with a little waterfall.
We continued on to Litchfield National Park and found a 4WD camping spot which was pretty ordinary and walked in to the waterfalls, then back again and out to find a better camping spot. We had one night at Buley Falls, which was really spectactular, and then in the morning moved on to Wangi Falls - beautiful, but the noise of the generator for the kiosk was quite intrusive after the bush camping. We did lots of walking and drove partially down the road which had been closed at the other end, only to find it was now open. The road in took us through three 1metre deep river crossings which gave the car a good underbody wash and saw the mud on the sides go to a 2-tone effect! Good thing there was a sign at the start of the track to say that the river bed was good and solid as there were also signs warning of crocodiles and neither of us wanted to 'walk' the river to check the depth.
We saw an old homestead and another waterfall ...with another long walk in. Disappointment on reaching the waterfall to find a backpackers tour there - and to see them applying sunscreen before going into the pristine waters.
We also drove in to the Lost City which was visually stunning. Natural rock formations that looked like ancient statues and temples.
Wangi Falls camping area had just been refurbished and re-opened for the long weekend, so the facilities were clean and new. Hot showers beckoned and we were renewed.
In the morning we saw a bowerbird nest in the bush behind our camp and this distracted us from the packing up for a while. After packup, we headed north along the dirt road and to Bamboo Creek Tin mine.
We motored into Darwin and stayed in a Big 4 caravan park. We headed into town for the night markets, which everyone raved about, but not being a enamoured of the crap that they generally sell in these places, I really didn't enjoy it at all. Loved the sunset on the beach though.

Next couple of days we headed south, passing lots of caravans heading north. Later we found out that Darwin was totally booked out by the influx of grey nomads - not that we class ourselves as these as we are about 20 years younger than most on the road!
Further south, we ended up camping on the side of the road near Barrow Creek. People kept pretty much to themselves around here, probably because of the Falconio murder.
Eventually back down to Alice, a quick top up with fuel and food and on the road again to head to Dalhousie Springs, via Santa Theresa, Old Andado and Mt Dare.

The desert was green leading into Santa Theresa and not with green grass, but empty green VB cans. The communities are "dry" but the roads leading into them are littered with bottles, cans and empty boxes. The closer you get to the gate, the more rubbish. Just glad we didn't meet anyone driving under the influence on the way.

We kept going past Santa Theresa and ended up camping before getting to Old Andado. Not many people on this road at all and some interesting scenery. On the way, we stopped at the Mac Clarke Conservation reserve to look at a stand of Wadi trees. Quite remarkable.

We got into Old Andado in time to celebrate Pat the caretaker's birthday. She supplied the tea and we cut up the fruit cake to share. It was amazing to be able to go through the old homestead and see everything left there just as the owner had left it. Pat had got there a few weeks earlier to help with the caretaking. Some low life had stolen the batteries over the summer season which meant that day to day was a little difficult for Pat until the replacements arrived.
We headed off to Mt Dare and encountered bull dust like we had never seen before. Some of the holes were really big enough to swallow a car and the dust coated everything in the car. Photos and video just couldn't show the extent. That combined with an interesting slalom through a treed area all added excitement to the trip, particularly as nothing went wrong! One car passed us, we stopped for a brief chat after working out they were travelling without a radio. With the abundance of wood, we stopped to gather some, knowing that pickings are lean between Mt Dare and Dalhousie Springs.

Eventually we got to Dalhousie Springs and set up camp. Once that was done, the water beckoned and we soaked ourselves in the delightfully warm water. We had a couple of days here and then headed back to Oodnatta. Would have loved to stay longer.
On the way out we could hear a lot of radio chatter and it seemed like there was a convoy of rednecks headed for the springs. Hi Guys! It always pays to keep yourself nice when you are on the radio as you never know who is listening!
We took the opportunity to have another look at the old Dalhousie Ruins and stockyards. The rails were all hand cut and were an amazing feat for such an isolated place. Each year that we have visited there is less of the stone homestead standing, and I suppose this is partially due to souveniring as well as weathering.

The road was pretty chopped up, but not as rough as we thought it would be and you could clearly see where people had slid and got stuck in the rains of a couple of weeks prior.
Continued down the track to Beresford Siding, having picked up a sleeper on the way and camped at the back of the dam, observed by a couple of dingos.
The scaling tank here is really photographic and I have lots of fun getting interesting shots each time I come here.
The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful. Coming back into mobile reception was interesting and there were lots of saved messages, including one to ponder seriously..... work..... do I go back to teaching at all?
Rather than arrive back in Melbourne late at night, we decided to stop off at Hattah Lakes. This enabled us to clean out the Ultimate, stow the food boxes and organize the car for easier unloading, and of course give us a reasonably civilized hour of return.

2009-05-08T18:16:00.004+10:00

We cling to our own point of view, as though everything depended on it. Yet our opinions have no permanence;
like autumn and winter, they gradually pass away.

Chuang Tzu

Road to Lake Mountain after the Marysville fires. Photo taken May 2009

Homeopathy and the flu pandemic

2009-04-30T14:33:00.002+10:00

Medical History
- “Of the fifteen hundred cases reported at the Homeopathic Medical Society of the District of Columbia there were only fifteen deaths. Recoveries in the National Homeopathic Hospital were 100%. Of 1,000 cases of influenza treated with homeopathy reported by T. A. McCann, MD, Dayton, Ohio, there were no deaths. In the state of Ohio 24,000 cases of flu treated allopathically had a mortality rate of 28.2% while 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically had a mortality rate of 1.05%. In Connecticut, 6,602 cases treated with homeopathy had a fatality rate of less than 1%. A physician [Roberts] on a troop ship during WWI, had 81 cases of flu on the voyage to Europe, and he reported that every man was treated successfully with homeopathy with no deaths.”

Study Weekend

2009-04-25T21:05:00.002+10:00

A quiet ANZAC Day - with a study weekend for the Diploma of Applied Hypnotherapy underway.
Glad the roads were quiet as I slept in and had to rush to class - promise I didn't speed! I slept well last night after a mentoring session with Rick in which I addressed some really old problems. Amazing how one can go into trance so easily - I guess it is the timing - same as finding the right teacher at the right time.
An interesting day, learning more about counselling and the different styles. Today we learnt about Transactional Analysis, Anger triangles and more.
Tomorrow is continuing with learning about more counselling techniques and it is easy to see how hypnotherapy and counselling fit together so well.

Lunch at Pumpkin Cottage

2009-04-23T01:05:00.002+10:00

A great day, with a trip to the Bellarine Peninsula to visit my soul friend GloriaGrace and two other lovely souls, Mirabai and Caroline for lunch. Caroline cooked lunch, which was very special as she is embarking on a new venture. The new centre has lovely energy and it was a wonderful afternoon.
I had to leave all too soon to travel to Queenscliffe to get my new lenses from Michael Christian. I had thought with all the stress of last year that my eyes had deteriorated, but was pleasantly surprised today to find that my prescription has decreased further still. The new lenses have made a huge difference already and so much (on so many levels) is much clearer already.
A long drive there and back, and have got sidetracked again adding videos to my wiki. A bit of nostalgia there!

Marketing myself

2009-04-21T21:55:00.005+10:00

Made the new brochures yesterday and will drop them off at the gym.
Also been busy signing up to Twitter as you can see with the updates down the bottom right of the page as well as getting my Wiki up to date with the inclusion of a Hypnotherapy page.
I set this up to inform people about the different therapies and am not sure if I have put in too much information. Most of what is there, is from essays I did while I was doing the courses, which were just sitting in folders. Not even on the hard drive.....I had to re- type them all. At least my typing is getting faster and more accurate!
Part of the latest assignment for the Hypnotherapy Diploma was to work on ourselves using the Johari Window as a tool. Not an easy task. It's usually done in groups and one needs to take care with what you disclose, but when you do it on your own, there is still stuff you don't want to face up to!
I found (as part of my distraction and avoidance) some really interesting sites that explain how to work with this tool. And yes, I did eventually do the work and found out some interesting things about myself.

Labyrinths

2009-04-19T11:35:00.002+10:00

Well the refurbishing of the labyrinths went well, and took very little time.
A light rain fell as we arrived, making setting up our camp a little uncomfortable. Other than that the weather was mild, although the nights were starting to get chilly. We were very aware of the dryness of the area, and apart from one night, there were no campfires. That one was put out very carefully with a couple of buckets of water.
The first labyrinth was made of fallen branches around 2000 and has held up well over the years. Once the inner path was raked and the leaves pushed to the branches, it looked as good as new.
The second labyrinth was constructed about 5 years ago by digging a path and using the soil to make low walls. Fallen branches from the property were also included and over the past couple of years I have dug the path a little deeper and put the earth over the previous low walls and wood. The entrance is opposite the wood labyrinth and they mirror each other. The walking experience is quite different in each.
This year I also added more leaf litter and hopefully, when the rains return interesting things will grow in the walls. It would be nice to put seeds in, but the kangaroos are desperate for food - they are even eating the tough reeds left in the dried up creek.
Interestingly, the animals, whilst there is evidence they have been near the labyrinths, have not made any impact on the construction.

Nothing is as real as a dream.
The world can change around you, but your dream will not.
Responsibilities need not erase it.
Duties need not obscure it.
Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away.
Unknown

Meditation

2009-03-28T16:15:00.003+11:00

To find out what you love to do demands a great deal of intelligence;
because, if you are afraid of not being able to earn a livelihood,
or of not fitting into this rotten society,
then you will never find out.

But, if you are not frightened,
if you refuse to be pushed into the groove of tradition by your parents,
by your teachers,
by the superficial demands of society,
then there is a possibility of discovering what it is you really love to do.

So, to discover,there must be no fear of not surviving.

- Krishnamurti

St Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T12:34:00.002+11:00

Ireland was converted to Christianity by Patrick in 431. Legend has it that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and defeated the Druids.

St Patrick's Prayer

I arise today
Through the strength of haven,
Light of sun.
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightening,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock
Through the creator of creation.

Plans for a retreat

2009-03-16T16:19:00.004+11:00

Plans for a women's retreat in country Victoria are underway.
Easter will see the labyrinths refurbished and renewed - more blisters! Hopefully I will be able to construct one of rocks as well - although I am contemplating doing a really big one- not just a simple 5 ring one like the other two. (a third labyrinth was lost when the septic system was put in)
Once details are sorted out regarding accommodation, then the first of the retreats will happen.

Working hard

2009-03-12T18:58:00.004+11:00

Finished the Certificate IV in Workplace training and Assessment - which was a little disappointing as it was a little too disorganized for my liking. Allocated rooms were not available, most of the stuff was on line and difficult to access - but hey! a learning experience and shows what to do to keep clients happy.
I've now embarked on the Applied Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and loving it! My clients for the student logs are co-operative and I have had three clients for weight loss - I need to lose weight as well!
The PolarityPlus clinic is going well with greater public awareness and more bookings coming in.
The main focus is on helping people to learn and retain information better, using whatever suits the client best.
I am using the techniques learnt from the Certificate of Hypnotherapy to relax clients.
If you are stressed, then the frontal cortex is too preoccupied with the stress to allow learning to take place effectively - a bit like too many applications being open on the computer, which slows everything down!

Starting out

2009-02-03T13:49:00.004+11:00

Now I have a listing on the Natural Therapies pages and a nice new business card!
Another addition to my modalities is a Certificate in Hypnosis, which was really great to do. I have worked with a couple of Hypnotherapists in the past and have had an interest in it for some time. I have found it really useful on a personal level, to help with my fear of the dentist. At the moment, I am contemplating whether to continue with the Diploma.
Next week, I am off to TAFE to do my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Bit of a 'study-fest' at the moment.

New Year, new directions

2009-01-29T17:44:00.003+11:00

"The time has come". the walrus said, "to speak of many things....."
and it is time for me to make some significant changes to my lifestyle and a part of that includes adding another modality to my practice.
This means that I will be undertaking some studies in Workplace Training and Assessment, as well as some more holistic (& very useful) studies, having resigned from my teaching position.
I am looking forward to bringing forward this knowledge to better serve my clients.
A timetable of workshops, Reiki share days and meditation sessions will be available soon on my main website.

Polarity for back pain

2009-01-16T10:58:00.003+11:00

Lower back pain can be debilitating and is associated with stress, posture and emotion. The abdominal muscles contract and in turn pull on the muscles of the spine, causing the back pain.
There are a number of self help Polarity treatments that are available, but if you have severe or chronic back pain, please seek help from your primary medical practitioner.
The feet have a relationship with the spine, with the curvature of the spine mirrored along the inside edge of the foot. If you can reach your foot, then massaging 'sore spots' on your feet can help to release the reflex points in your back.

Work inward from the big toe (with your right hand) and the heel (with your left hand), pressing firmly.
Hold on any tender spots until you feel a release and move on.
Continue until all areas have been covered.
You can use a lightly fragranced foot cream to moisturize your foot, but this sequence can be done even with socks on.

Back of heel - sacrum
Heel - Lumbar
Instep - Thoracic
Toe - Cervical

The Alchemist

2009-01-15T15:32:00.003+11:00

"Everything in life is an omen", said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading.
"There is an universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things....."
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho.

2008 was a difficult year for me, but there have been many positive outcomes from those difficulties, including a clarity about my workspace.
In 2009 I am embarking on the search for that universal language, with the aid of an amazing mentor. More on that as the year progresses.

2008-10-11T18:53:00.002+11:00

"To see a World in a grain of sand,
and a Heaven in a wild flower,
hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
and Eternity in an hour...
We are led to believe a lie
When we see with, not through the eye
Which was born in a night, to perish in a night,
When the Soul slept in beams of light."

William Blake

Polarity treatments

2008-10-08T18:41:00.002+11:00

Each Polarity treatment is different - even on the same person. The energies ebb and flow and where there may have been sore spot or energy blockage in a previous treatment, it is more than likely that it will be elsewhere next time!
Polarity therapy is not dissimilar to Homeopathy in that once you commence the treatments, there is often a process where various layers of discomfort are removed. Not dissimilar to peeling an onion - there are usually some tears shed along the way- but with Homeopathy and Polarity, these are therapeutic.
I enjoy giving Polarity foot treatments. Most of us need 'grounding' and I have found that a caring and thorough foot treatment will allow the energy to move more freely through the body. It is also very relaxing and nurturing to receive as we don't pay much attention to our feet.

The House we live in

2008-09-26T21:11:00.002+10:00

From Dr Stone's Health Building book:
"Our body is like the house we live in; when the electric currents oar on, then light and heat are available. when the water pipes are in good shape and water is pumped through them by pressure, then all the fluid requirements are solved. When the gas is turned on, then cooking and gas heating are possible. And when the drainage is not obstructed, then the sewers do not back up and no regurgitation of drainage is pocketed in any part of the basement."

Structural Balance

2008-09-25T13:00:00.002+10:00

According to Dr Stone, in his preface to Book 1 Energy, the Vital Polarity in the Healing Art, "when the body is in good health there is a natural balance and relationship between the breath of life and its conveyor, the blood stream as a fluid, and its rhythmic beat through the cetnral pump called the heart."
He then describes three energies that flow in all animal and vegetable life - these being:

The Fire energy of the sun is the warmth and expanding principle of motion in all living things.
The Air energy as the breath of life. Without air, fire is sluggish in combustion and complete oxidation impossible. When there is insufficient life breath in the body, the result is unresolved residues, which are deposited in the body tissues.
The Water energy - the fluid nature of the blood stream. The fluids carrying the body chemistry and conveying vital energies and emotional impulses.

Dr Stone then briefly describes the "Prana" or vital force, which flows through five areas of the body, the head, neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis.

The object of treating is the removal of Energy Blocks which are the cause of real pain in the vital energy fields of the body.

Vision

2008-07-13T18:44:00.002+10:00

A very good friend gave me these words

If there is a shared vision
you move collectively and move together.
Those on the side can change.
Those who choose
to remain on the side
will need to choose where they want to be.

Polarity Therapy

2008-05-10T22:41:00.002+10:00

One of the amazing things about Polarity Therapy is how simple and effective it is.
Dr Randolph Stone was able to bridge Eastern and Western concepts of energetic healing. He brought together Ayurvedic andTaoist philosophies whilst also embracing Western holistic treatments such as chiropractic and naturopathy and esoteric Christian beliefs.
In his textbooks, through his detailed line drawings, he was able to illustrate energy flows and systems.
There are a variety of treatments available as well as differing types of touch.
Treatments can be based on balancing the elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water or Earth. Each element has a number of qualities that relate to the physical, mental or emotional body.
The person receiving the treatment is actively involved in making changes by breath work as the energy blockages are 'stepped up' or by making dietary changes and doing some simple exercises which help re-energise the physical body.
Each element also corresponds to an area of the body and mental state.
For example, the Ether element has the qualities of stillness and harmony, whilst it governs the emotional state of Grief. The body part it effects is the neck (around C3 - C5).
Ether treatments work on the neck, which if there are blockages there, can contribute to nervous system and structural imbalances. This element governs communication and the emotions in general. Working in this area, using a gentle sattvic touch helps to bring about a profound and peaceful state of relaxation.

The Importance of Living

2008-04-29T22:37:00.005+10:00

Sometimes I come across a book that I have had on my shelves for a while and start to read it. I may find a book that I don't know why I bought at the time, but eventually the reason becomes clear.
Years ago, before I really knew about homeopathy, I bought a book about it at the university bookshop - it looked interesting and I thought 'I'll get around to reading it one day". little realizing that 5 or 6 years later I would study classical homeopathy for 4 years and it was the beginning of a large collection of homeopathic books!
I love old books. They are often neglected and one day I found an interesting red covered book entitled "The Importance of Living" .
Today this book beckoned from the shelf and 'fell open' at a particular page. First one page, then another and once started, and a book which had not been particularly interesting when I brought it home all those years ago, had come to life. All of a sudden it was past bedtime....

On Dreams

Discontent, they say, is divine. I am quite sure, anyway, that discontent is human.

Perhaps after all, philosophy began with the sense of boredom.
...it is a characteristic of humans to have a sad, vague and wistful longing for an ideal.
Living in a real world, man has yt the capacity and tendency to dram of another world.
all of us have the desire to get out of an old rut, and all of us wish to be something else,and all of us dream.

This human trait is undoubtedly due to our power of imagination and our capacity for dreaming. The greater the imaginative power of a man, the more perpetually he is dissatisfied. That is why an imaginative child is always a more difficult child.

... and those dreams of our childhood, they are not so unreal as we might think. Somehow they stay with us throughout our life......and out of the stuff of such magic dreams are woven some of the finest and most beautiful fabrics we have ever seen.

Homeopathy and The Field

2008-04-27T11:36:00.004+10:00

Kent, a well known Homeopath of the 19th/20th century wrote not only on the remedies and how to administer them. He wrote aphorisms and precepts that reflect on homeopathic prescribing and philosophy. Kent was also influenced by Emanuel Swedenborg who formed the Swedenborg church.

One of Kent's aphorisms that I read recently-

There are two worlds; the world of thought, or immaterial substance and the work of matter or material substance".

I was struck by the similarity of thought in this aphorism, probably written around1890, and the theories of Lynne McTaggart and her research in The Field and the Intention Experiment.

PolarityPlus

2008-04-03T18:26:00.004+11:00

Finally, I have got around to having a website. You can link to it from the heading.

Autumn is upon us and after some ferocious winds and lots of Mallee dust deposited in the city, the rain was very welcome.
With autumn and the changeable weather, many are suffering from seasonal colds. The symptoms can be alleviated in several ways.

keep up your fluids
First Stage of illness tissue salts taken at the start of a scratchy throat work wonders.
If you are prone to colds with the change of season, consult a Homeopath for an appropriate remedy.
If the cold develops, and the sinuses become congested the following Polarity exercise is very helpful.

Scissors Kick
(from Energy Exercises by John Chitty)

Lie face down with the head resting comfortably on crossed arms. Lift the feet, bending the legs at the knee. Swing the feet rhythmically outward and inward, alternating which foot crosses in front. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes and roll over onto the back to rest.

Caution: those with lower back pain - press the pubic bone towards the floor. Knee problems - flex the feet and restrict the out kick.

Of course- if symptoms persist or get worse, consult your Medical Practitioner.

Indigohub

2008-04-02T14:38:00.002+11:00

Indigohub was set up in 2005 by a small group of holistic practitioners and educators who were concerned about the care and souls of our children and we didn't want to medicate them because they were 'different'.
The name was taken partially from the Indigo Child books and from the desire to create a hub from which other interest groups could grow. We had some success in the early years, but as everyone got busy with various projects it became more difficult to meet frequently.
I am the administrator of this site and have since built it up to provide a directory of links to various practitioners (initially in Melbourne) and sites of interest regarding Indigo children.