In 2020, as lockdown took hold, I got about five different messages from the Universe about stepping up and doing daily Facebook and Instagram lives to help people cope during the pandemic, if that doesn’t sound too grand. That really was the message. “Bring some light to these dark times”, someone said. It made me think of the Sun, Moon and stars up in the sky.
Colette told me to!
My team told me to do it, Colette Baron-Reid told me to do it (she even told me what time to do it, 11:11!) and so did a whole bunch of you guys/my amazing readers.
I was quite taken aback by the LOUDNESS of this message, so I did it.
It turns out that it basically saved ME and helped ME cope, because it gave me a daily routine, a reason to get dressed and to look lively, even as the first lockdown began! It literally gave me a purpose, while locked away at home.
And on top of that, I know a TON of you LOVED the daily chats! I got to know some of you a little better and it was great.
What you might not know is that I was also doing half-hour chanting sessions on Zoom, *directly* before the Facebook lives.
This was the REAL power-giver behind the scenes. A bunch of us – all from Facebook and IG – formed a community, with daily Zoom chanting of a chant from my teacher in India for 20 minutes every day.
(I was asked by my teacher to do this and couldn’t say no. I resisted at first but this was what REALLY saved me, and I know it. Click here to join the group. It’s amazing!)
Then I went on holidays and with the best will in the world, it was too hard to keep up the daily Zooms and Facebook Lives!
It was summer in France…
… and people were in and out of our small but lovely chalet fairly constantly, so there was no real space me to do it in silence. Also, I wanted to sleep in, didn’t want to make myself presentable, and the Wifi was very patchy! (All my reasons/excuses).
The Energetic Wellness Club is on Facebook and free to join!
So I stopped the daily FB lives and – worse – I also stopped doing the Zoom chanting session before the lives – NOTE!!! The amazing women in that group have kept it up and running here – one more invitation to join them/us. I def need to do more sessions!
And then we came home from France to more lockdown and Christmas and more home and lockdown and then more holidays in France – this time I had a wonderful patio-style thing to do morning yoga and meditations on which I did and which was great … then home again it started to get a little harder to handle to handle the on-going pandemic madness.
Did I mention the 12 weeks of renovation of our house which by now had turned into 7 months and counting?
I slipped in and out of all of my regular practises. Having fallen off the cosmic wagon, I was still finding it challenging to get back on!
So there was MUCH less chanting, meditation, yoga, pranayama and Prime Tea in my life…
And I was feeling less GOOD.
I complained about it to anyone who would listen for a few weeks.
On the upside…
My fortnightly New and Full Moon sessions that I have been doing for a few years now perked me up a little, and kept me going. And I did do some meditation and some yoga and some chanting. But nothing like before when it was daily, non-negotiable
Gabby also told me to do it (via a social post)
And then a week or two ago, Gabby Bernstein told me (via one of her social media posts, not directly!) that I should have a daily ritual. And I agreed with her.
So I created one and walked my own walk again properly for the first time in ages, after what I will call my “lockdown lapse”.
I can tell you hand on heart it turned things around for me … genuinely in as little as about 48 hours. Truly!!!!!
So my takeaway for YOU here is:
– Have a regular practise. Minimally, stop at the New and Full Moon and tune in. Preferably with me 😊 so we can all get together! I do free New and Full Moon sessions (all listed on my Facebook Events page) Some are on my page and some on Hay House. I am always joined by an *amazing* circle of women together which goes around the world. Or do your own, that’s fine too! Let the Moon be your guide.
– Meditate, meditate, meditate. Or chant, chant, chant. A guided meditation (especially by an amazing teacher) on YouTube is as good as mantra chanting. It’s all good. There is no such thing as a bad meditation. I was taught that 25 years ago and it’s been proven to be true.
– Have a little altar so even if you do only 5 minutes of connection a day, you do something. It’s so good to have a concrete place to focus your energies. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be on a windowsill!
– If you have my Diary, you can take a look at the sign the Moon is in every day. Or find it online. Or don’t! It’s not compulsory for happiness, it just helps.
– You can also journal about it in your journal. I am actually looking at creating a journal – please let me know what you would like in there by emailing [email protected]
– Join the Energetic Wellness Club’s chanting circle, led by the wonderful Tracey and Bea.
And my bottom line take away for ME is that:
– a daily or at the very least very regular ritual more than 2-3 times a week really can be a life-changer. Just saying!
I will be talking about such matters and also showing you all you need to do a daily ritual in my upcoming Manifesting with Moonology workshop.
Regular rituals are be a wonderful way to stay on track – and that really is the key when it comes to having a spiritual practise. I do think that staying on track is one of the hardest things to do.
Doing it with the New and Full Moon as bookends Moon makes it even easier.
One last thing…
For what it’s worth, I believe that a spiritual practise fills us up like a very slowly-emptying well. Just a little refill in the form of some devotion fills it up quickly and the beneficial effects lasts for a while.
But it has to be topped up.
So keep topping up!
