Water

Today I was in Trafalgar Square and saw an event by the international charity WaterAid. They are screening the premiere of Ali Hobbs's documentary The Long Walk, a film which shows a woman's daily 7.5 hour walk to collect water in Sudan 's Nuba mountains.

The Long Walk is an allegory for the lives of the 1.1 billion people who currently live without access to clean water, many of whom spend whole days walking miles to collect 20 litres (equivalent to a few flushes of a toilet) of dirty water for their family's cooking, washing, drinking and cleaning needs.

Watch a short preview of the film here

For more information about WaterAid, today’s film and how you can make a difference to global water injustice, please visit http://www.wateraid.org.uk/

So, here's to water and not taking it for granted.

I love Paris

Lucky me - I just got to spend the whole weekend in Paris. It is simply stunning. The weather was magnificent, the people inspiring, the place beautiful, the food wonderful.

I feel fortunate to be able to visit places like this and just soak it all up.

I think in Paris the people are so very interesting, I am sure if you chose the right cafe and went there everyday for a year, you could write an incredible book at the end of it.



So, here's to Paris. Parce que vous etes parfait!

Xavier Rudd

Oh my, what a rare and precious treat I had last night when I went and saw Xavier Rudd at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. That man is incredible.

He is one of those special creations who follow their heart and spirit and give 100% into each breath.

He somehow manages to create music that is wonderful to listen or dance to, which is coupled with amazing musical mastery (imagine playing 5 instruments at once - one with each arm, one with each leg and a digeridoo) and profound lyrics. He's like a spiritual musical alchemist.

What an inspiration on so many levels.

If you ever get the chance to see him, do whatever it takes to get there.

He entered with a namaste. He smiled and loved the music. He seemed almost as amazed by what he was creating as were the audience. He let people jump up on stage and dance with him. Then there was a group hug. No fear was here, only love.

So, here's to Xavier Rudd.

You are one of my Heroes because you live it and embrace spirit in each moment, you give others permission to be truely magnificent and you relish in your gifts and share them with such humbling gratitude.

Blessings be.

the Hundredth Monkey

I've always found the story of the Hundredth Monkey a compelling concept. It basically says that when an idea or concept reaches a critical mass, then it is adopted by the masses.

According to Wikipedia...

The "Hundredth Monkey Effect" is the name for a supposed phenomenon in which a particular learned behaviour spread instantaneously from one group of animals, once a critical number was reached, to all related animals in the region or perhaps throughout the world. Largely due to popularisation of this story, the "Hundredth Monkey Effect" phenomenon is now thought by some to occur in human populations with respect to ideas and beliefs in general even though the original story has been discredited (Myers 1985).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundredth_Monkey

I didn't know until today that it has been hotly debated for years...

My point is not what if it isn't true, but rather: what if it is?

I'm certainly seeing signs of less apathy in the world. People might be showing more exteme views but they are not really sitting on the fence these days. There are two choices: love and fear.

Imagine if love hit critical mass where we all suddenly found ourselves living in this state of consciousness?

We are, after all, living in the Age of Aquarius and for a little Aquarian like me, that's a pretty exciting possibility...

Trust yourself

I've been in a right old state for the last couple of weeks and yesterday I had a bit of a revelation. I realised that my head was spinning around and I was feeling lost for one simple reason that no amount of anything much could help: I realised I had momentarily lost trust in myself.

And what a sorry state of affairs that was. I was a mess. I couldn't trust my own judgement, I felt depressed, lost...

I thought back to why that might have happened and suddenly, the darkness cleared and I realised that I was going to be OK again. Peace started to ooze through my veins once more. Because I can trust myself. I am worthy of love.

I guess the reason I want to tell you this little story is because it can happen to all of us at one time or another and such a simple piece of the puzzle has such profound importance for our mental, physical and spiritual well being.


So, here's to you and learning to or nurturing the trust you have in yourself. Because you do rock and if I've got anything to do with it, you won't be forgetting it in a hurry!

Awakening to Spirit

How beautiful it is to hear of someone opening to the world of spirit.

You may have started noticing strange things occuring that simply cannot be explained with the rational mind. And deep down you know it is something more. You may be starting to feel with a deep certainty that there exists a world beyond what you have ever known and you know you must explore it and find out more. A couple of friends of mine have shared this with me recently, and I know there are many more people out there who are going through the same thing.

Many people think that to connect with spirits you need to go to an expert.

Well let me tell you this - you already know the person who can help you most. And that, my friend, is you!

Once this new connection starts to reveal itself to you can either choose to ignore it or choose to nurture it.

If you decide to ignore it, you might be giving up one of the most beautiful gifts you have ever been offered. But chances are, it won't have come to you unless you were ready.

So, then, how to nurture it?

Spend time with it. Get to know it. Explore it. Like making a new friend. Make time to be together.

It might be different for you, but a couple of things that have worked well for me have been doing creative activities, like writing, drawing, dancing and singing.

Here are some ideas to get you started...

1. Automatic writing – put pen to paper and see what comes. Don’t judge it, just write whatever pops into your head. Words, colours, memories, images…
2. Ask a question with your dominant hand (right hand if right hander, left hand if left hander) and then write the answer with the non dominant hand
3. Letter to someone – who you may have ended a relationship with e.g. friend, partner, family member; to yourself/inner child telling yourself how you feel; to an illness you have and what you think and feel about it; to someone who died before you were born who you would like to get to know better
4. Sit down with a cup of tea and think about the person. Start a conversation with them and see what happens. Trust what comes.

So, let me know how you get on. I hope you for this becomes one of the most loving, peaceful and nurturing relationships you will ever know.

Love and light

Beth