Love, love, love

Image Credit - ashleyleafstedt.com

Monday Mantra for this week - "I am open to giving and receiving more love in my life"

To me love is the definitive answer to everything!  The more love we show and feel, the greater the life we lead. 

Love doesn't just mean romantic love, it means following your passion, doing the things you love most.  It can mean appreciating your home and loving where you live.  Perhaps for some it is wearing clothes that they love that make them feel great and promote a feeling of confidence.  It can be anything and everything that you attract into your life.

The more love you feel about something, the more that feeling grows and more situations turn up in your life with an opportunity to love more and more.  It is so important to review where you are in your life at this moment and take some time to ask yourself, are you aligned with love or are you putting up with or tolerating situations in your life?

When you are full of love, you are in harmony and balance.  When you hate things or even worse just going through the motions of living then you are completely out of balance and harmony.  You deserve a life full of love. 

Wishing you heaps of love today and always,

Jean xxx 

Emotional Freedom Technique

Image Credit hypnoslimmermanchester.co.uk


I would like to share with you a technique I have been using the past few weeks called "Emotional Freedom Technique" - usually shortened to EFT.  This is tapping method along various meridian lines on the head, face and body.  It is incredibly simple to do and seems to be having lasting effects.  However, you may wish to try for yourself.  We all find something that brings us relief and this along with Angel Therapy and Reiki are the methods I am using at the moment.

I am always researching healing methods and modalities and I came across this several years ago when my friend Susan introduced it to me.  Although at the time, I didn't really feel drawn to it, I came across it again and have been doing some home study.

I am really enjoying the process and it is helping me to clear some longstanding issues and fears.  Gary Craig introduced this method to the world based on the old principles of acupuncture(without the needles!!).  I discovered a man called Brad Yates who is known as the EFT Wizard.  He has produced a series of You tube videos that talk you through various issues that you may have difficulty with and you tap along with him.

1.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gReAXIXWXM

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq4S8DhK_r8

There are many others that you way wish to explore also.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

You got to have hope in your soul.....!

Image Credit - hopechurchferndown.org.

In Aine Belton's article Messages from the Universe, she talks about having faith, hope and optimism about your future, your goals and your heart's desires.  In January, I started my blog to go along side a year of treating myself well and encouraging others to do the same!  More than six months into it. I reviewed my progress so far.

I am still being kinder to myself most of the time and try hard to accept compliments graciously.  I try not to make jokes at my own expense and when I am having a day when I want to eat badly, I accept that tomorrow is another day to eat better.  However, I was determined to create more down time to relax and enjoy being...........this is the area I am struggling with the most.  Like all of us, life is incredibly busy with commitments to work, home, family and relationships.  Lately I have felt like an elastic band pulled to the maximum and felt ready to be pinged into oblivion.

There is no one to blame for this other than me.  One of my own lessons that I need to learn is to say NO a little more often.  I also realise that I am not a one woman show who can spread herself so thinly that I have been in danger of thinning out so far that I fade away.  I also recognise a trait in myself that I like to people please which is a nice trait to have if you also take some time to actually please yourself some of the time too.

So I amble on through the second half of the year achieving some of my goals and adjusting and amending some of the others to help my focus on working towards a healthier work/life/family balance.

Here is what Aine wrote about hope.....

Hope
Are you lacking hope in some area of your life at this time? Has your optimism or positive expectation waned around a particular goal, project or outcome you desire?  The universe is wanting to remind you of the power of hope and encourage you to rekindle its light and to have faith in YOU and your future.

Hope is always a catalyst to a brighter tomorrow.” ~Aine Belton

How can you use hope to generate new energy, vision and possibilities? Get excited and passionate again. Renew your enthusiasm and feel the brightness of hope for your dreams and desires.

There can be a dark side to hope, such as hoping for something to come about that doesn’t actually serve you, or hoping someone else will change rather than addressing the situation, etc. Give hope to what you are wholly sure will be a bright future for yourself. Give hope to those areas that deserve to blossom and bloom into all they can be. Have hope for greater happiness, success, love, laughter and joy, for example. Hope for the well being of others, and have hope in general.
As you hope, you increase desire, imagination and positive expectation, which are all part of the manifesting process.
Hope is not the same as neediness or desperation in any way, which are contractive and constrictive energies. Hope is expansive and generates light and positivity.
Get in touch with the wonder of hope and harness its energy for your life and your dreams. Perhaps you are here to be a beacon of hope to others in this life, in which case share that sense of hope and its message of a bright future. Have faith and shine your light!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

International Angel Day

I am giving a shameless plug today for this years International Angel Day 2011.

International Angel Day 2011

  Date:          September 11^th

         Venue:       Sedgebrook Hall Chapel Brampton
                                          Northampton NN6 8BD

         Time:         10.30am – 3.30pm(coffee from 10am)

         Cost:          £36.00 per person

The Workshop

 I will be running International Angel Day this year at Sedgebrook Hall, Chapel Brampron near Northampton. This is a wonderful venue, set in beautiful grounds.   We will be spending time looking at Angels and how working with them regularly can really improve your life.  There will be lots of opportunities to share our thoughts and feelings and we will do some guided meditations and create an Angel life review board. 

 I hope you can join us to celebrate this wonderful day as it will be celebrated all over the world on the same weekend.  If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible.  If you are unable to attend but know of any friends or family that would enjoy the day, please let them know.

Note:  This year I will also be giving 10% of all workshop payments to MacMillan Nurses.
 Stalls

There will a selection of Angel gifts, books and cards available to purchase on the day. 

Refreshments and Lunch

Morning coffee will be served on arrival, there will be refreshments, sweets and goodies served throughout the day and the price also includes a scrummy three course buffet lunch.

Payment is required as soon as possible to secure a place.

Tel:          01536 745 957

                                                           Email:      jeanfisher523@hotmail.co.uk

                     Website:  www.heartsandangels.co.uk

Everything changes....?

Image Credit - thesparkleofasmile.blogspot.com

Yesterday I wrote about embracing change in your life.  I came across these quotes which follow on from yesterdays blog.  At times we all find change difficult.  When I mentioned that I was going to be talking about embracing change with my family, I was met with much laughter and heckling!  Change is an area that I am not comfortable with.  I often stamp my foot and refuse to change some of the smallest, silliest things in my life.  When I have decorated a room and laid everything out how I want it, I have no desire to change it and if something is moved out of place, I immediately put it back.  My family sometimes move things deliberately to see how quickly I will move it back into position again! 

I had an old and completely dilapidated mobile phone which Mr T encouraged me to change.  He virtually had to prize the old phone out of my hands and it took me sometime before I could adjust to the new, all singing phone that had been bought for me.  I knew how to use my old phone, it was easy and I loved it even though it was chipped, had a broken screen and looked old fashioned.

I often hold on to things I like longer than I should.  This is a trait that I am working on.  In fact its an area I find so hard that I may be a work in progress for many years to come!!!

I hope you enjoy these quotes.

He who rejects change is the architect of decay.  The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.  ~Harold Wilson


If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.  ~Mary Engelbreit


It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory.  ~W. Edwards Deming  (Thanks, Michelle)


All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.  ~Anatole France


When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.  ~Victor Frankl


Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.  But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it.  Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.  ~Shunryu Suzuki


The man who looks for security, even in the mind, is like a man who would chop off his limbs in order to have artificial ones which will give him no pain or trouble.  ~Henry Miller


When you are through changing, you are through.  ~Bruce Barton


Change always comes bearing gifts.  ~Price Pritchett


The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions.  ~Ellen Glasgow

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

A change is as good as a rest...!

Image Credit - classic.co.uk

The theme of this week has all been about change!  The one area I never have a problem with change is when I follow the old saying "A change is as good as a rest!"  I love taking a step out of everyday life and enjoying a new experience or seeing a new place.

Something I have vowed to do this year is to take several small breaks out of the normal routines of life.  It doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't have to mean travelling far and wide.  One of my favourite things to do is to leave home early on a Saturday morning and travel to somewhere I haven't been before.  There are countless of places within minutes to several hours away that I haven't seen.  I love booking into somewhere cheap and cheerful like a B&B or a Travel Lodge (especially when they have their super deals offered).  It gives me two whole days to explore, mooch, wander and see something new.  I come home feeling refreshed and it seems like I have been away for a lot longer than a couple of days.

Even spending a day doing something different is good for you.  Book a workshop or a class.  Meet friends for lunch and extend it into the late afternoon.  Offer to host a pamper day with friends and each bring food and drinks for a shared buffet.  If you feel the need for a bit of peace and quiet, go to  a retreat or pack a picnic and head of to a quiet spot with a book.

Doing something different gives you a boost and a rest from routine is always a good thing.  It can make you appreciate your life, family, home and health a little bit more.  I always find that no matter where I go, no matter how wonderful the time I have had, I always look forward to coming home again.  Its good to escape and its even better to come home to the haven of your own bed!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor

Everything changes...!

Image Credit - 1busychick.blogspot.com

Someone once told me that there are only two certainties in life, "You are born and you die, everything else is a mystery"  Life is constantly changing around us and sometimes it can be difficult to remain grounded when nothing remains certain.  Change is good for us all as it helps us to evolve, move forward and learn.  Learning to cope and accept that change is inevitable helps us to embrace it rather that resist it.  As we all know "what we resist...persists"

I cam across a motivational speaker called Rachel Green who offers these tips on coping with change.

1. Be willing to change. The world is moving rapidly. I suspect that never before in human history have our lives changed so quickly. So much so that the people who cope with change the best are those who will probably thrive and survive the easiest. I know of people who have lost their jobs because they've been unwilling to change. I know people whose relationships have broken down because they are unwilling to change. Be willing to change.

2. Change little things. We are all creatures of habit. We buy the same colours, cars or clothes. We sit on the same chair. We drive home the same way each night. Try changing these small things. Wear a different colour. Put your watch on the opposite wrist. Take public transport to work. Get used to change.

3. Tolerate the feelings. Change can produce feelings of discomfort. Learn to tolerate the discomfort. You don't have to give in to the feelings. For example, if you put your watch on the other wrist, and it irritates you, leave it there. Over time the irritation will probably go and you'll get used to it.

4. Keep some things the same. When you're coping with big changes, keep some things the same. It might be that you still go to your favourite lunch bar, you keep your old car, you get up at the same time each morning. This can help you maintain a sense of security, control and stability during change.

5. Be around positive people. It's hard to change when the people around you are all complaining about the changes. Spend time with the people who are supportive of the changes.

6. Find out the reasons behind the changes. You may not want to change because you can't see a need to change. Find the people who are instigating or wanting the changes and discuss their reasons with them rather than pre-judging them or dismissing the change out of hand. However, see No 7.

7. Accept change without knowing the reasons. Sometimes, particularly in the work situation, you may not know why a change is being implemented. When you ask the more senior people involved, they may not know either. Instead of filling with resentment, which can harm you, sometimes it can be better to get on with the change and accept you might never know.

8. Understand the transition process. Change can induce a range of feelings in people. Even good changes, which you've chosen and you know are the right changes for you can result in anxiety or fear. These are a normal part of the change process. I can think of three major decisions I've taken in my life: getting married, emigrating to Australia and leaving a secure job I'd been in for 10 years. All of those decisions and changes resulted in anxiety. All the changes were right for me. All three changes were some of the best things I've ever done. Accept the emotions, tolerate them and move through them.

9. Don't take change personally. When work changes are forced on you, such as redeployment, restructuring or redundancy, realise it is not likely to have anything to do with you. The decision has probably been made for economic reasons, policy changes or political manoeuvring and not because your work has not been valued. The people making the changes may not even know you! So have a slogan on your screensaver to remind you: "It's not personal. It's policy".

10. Take charge of your own change management. There are organisations, managers and other people who impose change on others in a very poor way. As a client said to me recently, "whatever the best practice in change management is, our organisation is the opposite". Workers had not been consulted about changes, warned about changes or had the future explained to them. Don't let poor change management sweep you away. Take control of your own change management. Start writing a list of all the good things you've achieved in the past year on the job. Tell other people the good things they've done. Get together as a group to say goodbye to the good and bad sides of what is changing. Invent your own rituals. Just because other people don't manage it well, it doesn't have to stop you from managing it well.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor xxx

A little of what you fancy.....!

Image Credit - cottoncrosses.com

I am away this weekend with my sister and two of my closest friends Jane and Cathy.  Last year we had an amazing girlie day out in London and vowed to do this once a year!  This evening we have tickets to see Take That at Wembley where we will revisit our younger days and be singing and dancing away.  Tomorrow, we are booked into a hotel in central London and we are off for a relaxing, leisurely day.  It will be a lunch here, a cocktail there kind of day!

A lot of the pleasure has been in the planning.  There has been numerous texts and emails going back and forth.  Due to good forward planning, Cathy has booked first class tickets for the train at a lower cost than standard tickets.  We are starting the weekend with a luxury picnic.  One is bringing Champagne, one is bringing pastries and fresh fruit, another is bringing a selection of nibbles and wraps and I with the sweet tooth, have prepared chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate truffles and homemade fudge!

Getting away from home and connecting with friends and family can be a tonic.  I came across this article by the lovely Aine Belton who encourages us all to do a little more of what we fancy....

Do more of what you love & enJOY yourself!
Obvious as this is, how often do you really allow yourself to a) have a good ponder on what it is you really LOVE, or would love to do, and b) schedule that into your diary.

Make a ‘joy-list’ of all that brings you joy, including the little things, be that your favourite breakfast, favourite flowers or spot in nature, and start adding more of those things into your life. (Obviously if your favourite breakfast is a huge greasy fry up, it might be best to avoid making that a daily habit! )

Doing more of what you love and that which makes your heart sing will raise your vibration naturally, and through that alone, help you attract happier, more positive successful realities and opportunities into your life.
Make joy a priority and get creative about ways to experience it. As you commit to joy and make that intention, the universe will respond. Be open to joyful opportunities coming your way, and of course, get about creating them!

Fun and joy are antidotes to stress, struggle, sacrifice, tediousness and seriousness.

When you experience the playful celebration of life you actively give, both to yourself and others, and are open to sharing more of who you are and riding the current of spontaneity and joy.

Don’t wait for joy or put it out there in your future. Bring it into your now! Joy is so much of the success your heart is seeking.

If you don’t enjoy the journey, chances are you won’t enjoy the destination. Start having fun NOW!”

Beyond ‘doing’, joy comes out of your state of being – it is your true nature! When you let go of more of what you’re not – negative self-beliefs, constricting emotions and un-serving patterns and stories – you experience more of the fountain of joy you truly are!

Have a fabulous weekend one and all - I will be back on Monday!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Something is in the air....!

Image Credit - bristol.indymedia.org

How are you feeling at the moment?  If you are feeling a little bit down, lacking energy and finding it hard to keep your thoughts positive.  You will be glad to know you are not alone.  There has felt like there has been something in the air lately and many of the people I know, myself included have had a difficult few weeks energy wise.  There seem to have been more problems than usual to deal with.  Friends and family have had greater problems to cope with and this seems to have rubbed off on everyone.

There is a very good reason for this and I came across this article which explains in greater detail how and why we have all been feeling a little off lately.  It is in part to do with the Summer Solstice and the planetary changes that have been taking place.  I hope this eases your mind.

It is the day that the Sun shifts into Cancer, heralding the mid-year shift in the seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is time to give thanks and make plans to gather your resources for the long and looming winter. Whilst in the Southern Hemisphere, it is time to give thanks as you make preparations to increase and nurture your resources during the warm, productive months of spring. The chart of the solstice shift in itself is challenging and quite karmic. There is a Cardinal T-Square between the Black Moon Lilith, Mercury, and Saturn indicating that you are dealing with heavily laden emotional dynamics, and are prone to difficult moments of relating to others. This is anger, meets control, meets communicating from the heart, with the broader intention of expressing your pains in a productive way of healing and empowerment.
There is a high level of disappointment in the realms of romance at the moment, as those who have felt compelled to make snap decisions over the last two eclipses, leave their ex-lovers emotionally broken in their wake. It has been a raw experience to read and hear about such heavy emotional endings that have left one side of the relationship equation at a complete loss as to why. For the Solstice chart, Saturn and the Moon sit in quincunx, ensuring that this level of emotionally harsh behaviour is tempered, due to a fear of making an irrational and impractical emotional decision. With the Pisces Moon in perfect trine to Cancer ruled Mercury, there is fluid movement between the heart, the mind and the 12th House karmic intention. Lessons have been learned here, the hard way thanks to Pluto sextile Chiron, but these lessons do open the doorway to the positive experience that is the gift of healing and personal evolution.
In connection to the Cancer Sun, is Neptune, imbuing life participation with a whimsical cloud of artistic beauty and romantic desire. What is often forgotten when discussing Neptune, due to his tendency to cloud matters, is that he is the energy of deeper self, an internal wonderment that we as individuals just know that the outside world will tear apart. This trine will encourage you to connect with your inner beauty and seek ways of enabling you to connect with a safe environment in which more of the true you is able to blossom. Of course, seeking the ultimate fairyland is fraught with the obstacle that is human nature, and there is the potential of falling under the spell of lower intention and delusion from those who are less evolved. Ceres will assist you here, forming a square to the Sun, bringing those who are negative in resisting all that is you into the spotlight. These are the type who wish to dominate or change you and whilst compromise is in order to achieve your goals, you will surmount the external negativity to access your personal nirvana.
Mars in square to Neptune, highlights pockets of negative dependency. This is a tough aspect for those who have substance issues, as it encourages you to party, and hard. With the planet of physical action and movement in contact with Neptune, actual activity comes in spurts and spats, as does clarity with ambition and direction regards love. Your dreams can be exceptionally potent, and impatience stems from the overall vibration of life being intangible. This aspect does have a point and it is encouragement to slow down, tend the physical self with kindness and to bring more ‘you and your meaning’ into the day to day. Mars square Neptune is an aspect that needs concentrated effort in order to improve your attention and attitude towards the physical self. As it also highlights where you are prone to seeking comfort from others in dependent, or negative ways, this aspect is motivation to seek ways of improving your self-confidence and attitude towards independence.
ORACLE ENERGY FOR THE SOLSTICE
LIFE – DANCER OF FRUSTRATION
Life does not get any easier when it boils down to obstacles in your path to achievement. This has been a pattern in motion for years now and obviously, in certain life areas, you feel as if you are about to snap. Patience is a virtue and in some instances, the challenge is all about resolve, but in others, this resistance is motivation to seek another alternative. If you have done all that you can do and are still bashing your head against that brick wall, it could well be time to connect with an alternative intention. Look within when frustrations arrive and seek the fluid motion of compromise. If none can be found and you have exhausted all possibility, it is time to look for new inspiration.
LOVE – DANCER OF RECONCILIATION
This energy will be quite literal for certain romantic connections, and many relationships will be reunited over the next while. In essence however, this influence relates to the deeper learning curve that is gained through understanding and accepting the harsher experience. Where you have experienced shock, loss and disappointment, and life now revolves around this emotional imbalance, harmony will be restored through healing and connecting with genuine others. Receiving this influence indicates that anger will be resolved and internal peace restored, no matter how raw and vulnerable your heart may feel. Where there has been a heavy loss experienced, use this as encouragement to strengthen bonds with those who have displayed the sincerity behind their words.
RESOURCES – HUNTER OF DEATH
It is a time of new direction when this influence appears, a time when doorways are open as a gift for your dedicated efforts in improving self. You will cut your losses regards certain projects and intentions, to follow a more productive path of deeper meaning. Where you have been held back due to internal negativity, you have bolstered your confidence and feelings of self-worth and attach yourself to less toxic intentions. Transformation is the key to success here, with the removal of negative habits and the adaptation of more positive aspirations. Through the release of the old, you gain inner strength and it is this personal empowerment that attracts your true potential.

Love and Blessings for an upward turn in your life with greater happiness ahead!

Jean Fisher-Taylor xxx

Happy Glow

Image Credit - soulconnection.net

Have you ever seen someone enter a room with a positive glow about them.  They radiate sunshine, happiness and contentment!  I came across these tips to help you glow with happiness.  Let your inner light shine far and wide as you express just how good you feel about life!

1 Don't try repressing your happiness. If you feel happy about something, let the feelings show in your actions and expression. A person that glows with happiness is the type of person that doesn't try to hide that they are happy. Even just a small smile can express those feelings.

2 Don't let your mind turn to negative thoughts. Even when times are tough, there will always be something to take happiness in. The sun setting over the ocean or the beauty of a flower. When you find yourself thinking bitter thoughts, stop the thought and find something that makes you happy to think about instead.

3 Don't worry. Worrying is the opposite of happiness. Expressions of worry make you seem dull and sad, taking the glow of happiness away. Negative feelings like worry do you little good and actually take a toll on your health. If you find yourself worried about something, recognize the feeling and find the reason for it. If you can't solve the problem or fix it at the current time, don't think about it. There is no point to thinking about something out of your control. If it's something you can solve or fix immediately, fix the problem and move on.

4 Smile often. When you are happy, a smile comes naturally.

5 Let yourself be at peace. When you are peaceful and calm, you will also end up happy. If you find yourself having trouble with peaceful thoughts, do some meditation every day.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Call of nature

Image Credit - bollywoodworld.ca

Monday Mantra - "I invite well being by going outdoors and being at one with nature"

One of the fastest ways to get a happiness boost is to go outdoors!  Being outside, feeling connected to the elements, even when it is chilly and wet actually increases happiness.  When we are inside for too long we become light deprived which can leave us feeling sluggish and down.  People who work from home or in an office or factory environment may struggle to make time to get outside.  Walking from the house to the car and back again at the end of the day isn't providing you with the outdoor fix your body craves.  Add to that weekends filled with cleaning, washing, ironing and shopping, you can see where yor valuable time gets taken away to enjoy outdoors time.

Take some time out everyday to connect with nature and breathe in fresh air.  Spend some time outdoors in the morning - walking bare foot on dewy grass feels lovely in the morning.  Walk to work if possible, take a lunchtime stroll or step out in the evening to shake off a stressful day.  Gardening and maintaining a small plot gives enormous pleasure and gives you valuable thinking time as well as being outdoors.

Even on hot days like this, find a shady spot, sit still and enjoy the gentle breeze!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor

Mother Teresa

Image  Credit - joe-renaissanceman.blogspot.com

Every so often I write a blog on inspirational people.  I would like to dedicate this to a woman who was born to make a difference and even in death her name lives on as a beacon of hope for those who need care, love and attention.  Mother Teresa has to be one of the warmest humans who lived her dedicated life to others as a saint.

Born: Agnes Gonxha Bajaxhiu on August 26, 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia

Died: Mother Teresa on September 5, 1997 in Kolkata, India

Received: Joined the Loreto Novitiate on May 23, 1929

First Profession: May 25, 1931 and was to be known as Sister Teresa after her patroness St. Therese of Lisieux

Final Profession: May 24, 1937 and was to be known as Mother Teresa following Loreto custom

Inspiration Day: September 10, 1946 on a train journey from Calcutta to Darjeeling, Mother Teresa received the "call within a call," which was to give rise to the Missionaries of Charity Order.

Founded MC: October 7, 1950 the Missionaries of Charity was officially erected as a religious institute for the Archdiocese of Calcutta.

Among the 124 Awards Received:
Padmashree Award (from the President of India) August 1962
Pope John XXIII Peace Prize January 1971
John F. Kennedy International Award September 1971
Jawahalal Nehru Award for International Understanding November 1972
Templeton Prize for "Progress in Religion" April 1973
Nobel Peace Prize December 1979
Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India) March 1980
Order of Merit (from Queen Elizabeth) November 1983
Gold Medal of the Soviet Peace Committee August 1987
United States Congressional Gold Medal June 1997

Missionaries of Charity:

In addition to the Sisters, Mother Teresa founded four other branches of the Missionaries of Charity family. On March 25, 1963, the Archbishop of Calcutta blessed the beginning of an active branch of Brothers. The contemplative branch of the Sisters began in New York on June 25, 1976, and the contemplative Brothers were established in Rome on March 19, 1979. The Fathers were founded in the Bronx, New York on October 13, 1984.

From the very beginning, Mother Teresa also involved lay people in her service to the poor. In March 1969, the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa were officially begun. On April 16, 1984, the Lay Missionaries of Charity were established.

At the time of Mother Teresa's death, The Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity numbered 3,914 members, and were established in 594 communities in 123 countries of the world. Her work continues under the guidance of Sister Nirmala, Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity Sisters. The order has grown over 4,000 members in 697 foundations in 131 countries of the world.

Mother Teresa is famous for her many inspired quotes -

My personal favourite - "We can do no great things, only small things with great love!"

You Tube have a page of her many quotes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t47pL-myfZY

We may not all be born to make such a huge difference in the world but whilst we each love other, care about our communities and pray for healing in the world then we are all doing our small bit with great love and collectively that has to make a difference.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor

Garden of dreams

Image Credit - aldas-garden-of-treasures.com

Several weeks ago I wrote a meditation called The Garden of Dreams.  In this guided meditation I took the group to a beautiful garden where they searched out the most fertile piece of soil and took the seeds of their dreams and goals and planted them with love.  They watered these dreams with love and desire and warmed them from above with a sun full of belief.  They took time to weed out negative thoughts and worries and soon their dreams grew into the most beautiful reality.

It was a lovely meditation to do and one that can be used regularly to recreate the perfect ground to sow the next dream.  I came across this article on a website called http://silverandgrace.com/a-mind-garden and thought it would be of interest as it mirrors my own meditation.

The Mind Garden
The garden of the mind is a more sneaky matter. It’s harder to keep track of all the seeds and weeds that are blowing into that garden. Even the most diligent mind-gardener, careful to prepare the soil with fertile compost and wholesome nutrients is constantly bombarded with weed after weed in our daily lives.
There are countless weeds coming at us all the time. Weeds of fear that keep us from seeing our spectacular flowers are one kind of weeds that destroy the mind-garden. Weeds with thorns of violence, weeds that breed bramble bushes of negativity, weeds of depression, apathy and inactivity are just a few more that we are in constant battle with.
How can we fight the bombardment of weeds on the mind?
It isn’t hopeless. There are steps every good gardener can take.

Gardening Tricks for the Mind Garden

Fill it with beautiful flowers. It’s a gardener’s secret that if the soil is full, then it is harder for the weeds to take. Be proactive in filling your mind with the happy flowers of your choice. Plant your seeds close together so that the weeds can’t take hold. Create your own unique design. Peaceful, positive, challenging, enlightening, artistic, inventive, or whatever interests you. What would you like your mind-garden design to be? Create a plan. Put it in writing. Look at it daily. The brain is a malleable organ soaking up everything it is exposed to. You have an amazing amount of control over what goes into your brain. Choose to exercise that control and plant your garden the way you want it.
Pull the Weeds. Next, pull the negative weeds out. You might have to look closely to identify the weeds in your life. Some weeds look remarkably like flowers. Or they have been there for so long that we just haven’t paid any attention to them before. It might be that they are in everyone else’s garden so we thought they must be Okay. Take a deep look. Once you have planned your garden design, there won’t be any more room for weeds that will take away from the garden of your dreams. Be very selective. Pull them all! Weeds breed more weeds. Gardeners know that one weed has many friends.
Fill in the empty spaces with new flowers. While it takes effort and time to cultivate friendships and learning, it takes amazingly very little effort to cultivate weeds. You can do nothing but leave them in your life and they will grow, breed and take over. Once you have removed them don’t let them back in. It’s a battlefield in the mind garden and the weeds plan to win! Once you have removed them, fill that space up with new flowers. Remember to water, fertilize and feed those new flowers with positive thoughts, gratitude and celebrations. Take time and attention, carefully care for them and they will reward you with their beauty and fragrance.
Stay Alert. A gardener must always be alert and on the look-out for stealth weeds that sneak in looking like flowers, promising to be a good thing in your life, only to end up taking over the whole garden. Keep in mind, that many nice flowers if left to over-breed can become weeds in the wrong situation. You must choose wisely with balance and determine what are the most important flowers to fill your mind with and in what proportions.
Spend time. A Master Gardener knows you should spend time on your garden every day. Take a walk through it, enjoy it, meditate in it. Get inspiration from it. A beautiful garden will give back much more than you ever will have to put in to it, especially a beautiful mind-garden. Daily short acts of maintenance keeps the job from not getting overwhelming and keeps the weeds at bay.
Focus on the flowers, not the weeds. It’s easy to get hung up on weed control and ignore the power of beauty in the mind-garden. Remember, where our focus goes, our future goes, so focus on the flowers in your life and not the weeds!
You can’t escape having a mind-garden. It will be planted. What goes into that garden is up to you one way or another, by choice of doing something, or by choice of doing nothing.
It’s still a choice.

With love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Breath of life.

Image Credit - thatsfit.com

Happy new week! Monday's mantra for this week is:

"As I consciously breathe in, I take control of my emotions and as I breathe out, I release any stale energy from within"

Today I am focusing on breathing properly.  Now if you are reading this you way well be thinking...hello if I wasn't breathing I would not be reading this blog!!!  Of course we all breathe, however, often, when we are stressed our breathing becomes shallow and we take more shorter and rapid breaths which culminate in us feeling more distressed and out of control.

Several times a day, consciously take the time to really breath deeply.  Breathe in through the nose, a long, continuous breath until you feel it right in your lower abdomen and then breathe out through the mouth, expelling any negative and stale energy that has built up.  This is an invaluable technique to use when you are nervous, angry, afraid or if life is just getting too much to cope with.

Your slower, deliberate breathing has a calming effect and releases tension building up in your neck and shoulders and the tightness in your chest will ease along with it. 

This is an exercise that is worth practising often.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Father;s Day

Image Credit - afrotherapy.com

What Makes a Dad
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,

He called it ... Dad

~~Author Unknown.~~

Fathers Day is such a bitter sweet day!  For those who are celebrating with their dad, it is a great way to show your appreciation for his love and support.  For many who no longer have their dad's with them, it can be a sad day serving as another reminder that they are no longer here to show that love.

I am somewhere in the middle,my dad is still here in person but in his mind he has gone back several decades to a time when he was probably at his happiest, working hard, busy and earning money. He is in a care home as his type of dementia can lead to violent outbursts with frustration and he needs 24 hour care.

He is incredibly loving and at the moment knows us....most of the time.  When we visit he is always trying to move us along as he needs to be working or speaking to the boss about work.  He is a mere shadow of the supportive, caring, strong man that he used to be.

I will celebrate this special day with him and treat it as a blessing that I still can.  For all those who have their father's in their lives, cherish them and let them know how much they mean to you.  For those who no longer have their father's in their lives may you feel their loving energy around you today.

Love and Blessings

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

I'm no Superwoman!

Image Credit - slowdownfast.com

I have a confession to make.....I am not Superwoman!  This realisation hit me this week when all my juggling balls that are neatly kept up in the air, plopped down one by one and hit me on the head!

I took a couple of days out to recharge my Wonderwoman batteries (Well...Superwoman was too hard to be) and had a long hard look at priorities.  I also took some of my own advice, remembering the piece that stated "We are human beings not human doings!" Well I had ignored those wise words and forgot to say the word NO to any requests last week.  As a result I was a bedraggled, energy zapped figure who had to stop.

I am now back on top form with the necessary balls back up in the air where they belong and with quite a few of the other balls that were competing for time and energy, discarded.

I read this piece on giving by my ever favorite writer Aine Belton.  It reminds me to give myself where it is needed and to those I care about most instead of trying to spread myself too thin to be of use or value to anyone.

"You are being asked to put your love into action in some way.

Is there someone in particular you’ve been withholding love or giving from, or you could express more of your love to in some way? Or have you been shying away from life in general and not sharing your gifts, presence or love in some way? Have you been ‘too busy’ and not found the time for those people who matter to you? The greatest gift you have to give people is YOU! Are you giving you? Are you there for people?
There are many ways you can give and share, which I detail shortly. Do so in a way that brings you joy and does not feel like a sacrifice, as that is not what true giving is about.
What’s important here is that this giving is genuine and heartfelt. I’m not talking about martyr hood or obligation here. I’m talking about sharing and expressing your love and care in a way that feels meaningful to you, which is a blessing to others, as well as yourself.
Giving when your heart isn’t in it, or giving-to-get (which isn’t giving at all), or giving out of a feeling of duty or obligation is also not authentic giving, and the person at the ‘receiving end’ won’t feel really like they’ve been given to, as what is received most is the energy and intention behind the giving. That’s why even the smallest act or gift can have the biggest impact if coming from a loving place.
Get in touch with the love and care you have for someone and act from this place.
Let your abundance shine by giving to others, not just in the tangible physical sense, but by giving of who you are and expressing your love, appreciation and gratitude to those around you. You can give in energy, in your thoughts, blessings and well-wishes too, and send love from a distance, silently even.
There are many ways you can give, and it’s certainly not money-bound.
You can give of your time, appreciation, care, well wishes, talent, prayers, nurturing, inspirations, attention, information, touch, wisdom, hope, support, thoughts, blessings, and so on. You may also want to give some of your income away, such as through tithing 10% to a charity each month if you feel financially comfortable to do so.
Give in a way that feels true to you.

Don’t deny yourself or others the wonders and rewards of giving.” ~Aine Belton

Ultimately it is the intention behind your giving that is more important than the actual means of giving. It is you desire to help, your love, care and the expression of that.

Give in a way that brings you joy and have fun sharing your heart!"

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Creative Workshop

Image Credit - smart-goals-guide.com

In a previous blog I spoke about daydreaming and going into a Creative Workshop.  I had several messages from readers asking me for more information about this so I am dedicating today's blog to Creative Workshops!

I first heard of this concept through Abraham-Hicks book The Law of Attraction.  They suggest that when you are looking to manifest something wonderful in your life that you take at least 15 minutes everyday to consciously daydream about what you want.

For example if you wanted to move to a new home, you would be encouraged to daydream about how the house would look......

what colour would you paint the front door?,
what would the garden look like?,
what would you plant?,
how would you decorate each of the rooms?
what would your dream kitchen look like?
how would life feel living in a new home?
in what ways would it improve your family life?

So as you can see there are plenty of things you can consciously think about to draw your desire closer to you.  You can also bring clippings from magazines and books that appeal to you and either spend time looking at them and imagining having them in your life right now or you could begin to take the workshop to another level by creating a dream board.  This is where you collect pictures, words, phrases and anything that is related to your dream and then create a collage that you can use everyday to visualise your desire.

The important thing is to take some time out each day to dream and to manifest, when you start to see real results happening you will know that you have the inner power to create miracles and magic in your life whenever you need to!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Dreams are nothing more than wishes and a wish is just a dream you wish to come true!

Image Credit pdwhite.com

Welcome to another new week! Today is Mantra Monday and today I have chosen is;

"I acknowledge that I am the source of what I manifest"

As you all know by now, I am a huge fan of positive thought and intention.  One of the things that were high on my list to be manifested was to become a published writer.  In my head I imagined that this would be a book that I want to write....however, the universe responds in other ways too and I have taken up a new role with Brew Drinking Thinking as a Wellbeing writer for their on-line magazine.  I will be submitting articles on

Angels, Happiness and Wellbeing, Coaching and Therapies!

This is a dream job, manifested by thought, belief and intention.  I am no different to any other being, I have no more magical abilities to manifest that any one of you magnificent people.  Dream your dreams a size too big and then grow into them.  Visualise the outcome, feel it in your bones and then just wait for your heart's desire to come to you at the most perfect moment in time for you!

Happy manifesting and remember you can manifest a castle just as easy as a button as told to us by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Higher Self

Image Credit - drawingthecircle.com

I read this posting from Aine Belton - I am a huge fan of her work and wanted to share this article with you!

By Aine Belton

 Your Higher Self is the aspect of your consciousness closest to Source – the eternal spiritual being that you really are beyond your personality self.
This ‘you’ exists beyond space and time and the confines of this third dimensional reality, and is the overseer of your multi selves – past, present and future, conscious and subconscious.
Your Higher Self is more loving, wise, and magnificent than anything you may imagine. It knows all you have been, all you are now, and all you are becoming, in this life-time and others, and is aware of the countless possibilities available for your growth and success and that which will serve you optimally.
Your Higher Self knows you inside out and loves you totally and unconditionally. Its love and vast, all-encompassing perspectives can gift your life immeasurably, pierce the veils and limits of your personal beliefs and limited understandings, and bring truth and light to even the darkest areas.
You can connect and communicate with this exalted self and receive its love, guidance, healing and support (I share one way of doing so at the end of this article).
It is important to ask for help, and be open and willing to receive it, for your Higher Self loves and respects you too much to force anything upon you. It is, however, ever at your side, whether you are aware of that presence or not, and always willing and desiring to help.
The voice of your Higher Self is always loving and kind about you, though it can be direct at times. It does not pander to pity, but does have great compassion for you, and wishes only for your return to truth; the truth of who you are, and the truth that you are loved, loving and loveable, ever and always.
Your Higher Self can communicate with you in any number of ways. Your intuition and subtle senses can be gateways to receive its insights, but there are many other ways, one of which I outline further below.
Meditation creates fertile ground for the voice of your higher self to be heard. When your conscious mind is quiet and stilled, space is created for inspirations to be received, as well as a balancing and realignment of your energy. Getting off the hamster wheel of your ‘monkey mind’, with its tape-loops of constricting thoughts and feelings, allows space for higher wisdom to dawn.
The wisdom of your higher self is sourced in love, will optimally serve you, and reaches beyond the confines of your conditioned mind. It is the golden compass that points ever towards the truth of who you are, your highest path and potential, the true nature of reality, and the love at the heart of all.
When you connect to this ‘grander you’, the unlimited divine being that you are, you become aware not only how immeasurably loved you are, but that all you need exists within you.

Video about the Higher Self

Meditation to Connect with your Higher Self

As mentioned, I believe meditation is one of the best ways to connect to your Higher Self, as is anything that enhances greater love in your life – love for self, others and the world.
Below is an example meditation you might like to explore to connect with your Higher Self. If visualization is not your thing, I’ll be sharing a writing technique in a future post, and intuition practices can also help you build pathways to your Higher Self and spiritual insights and guidance beyond the everyday perspectives of conditioned thinking.
1. Relax, close your eyes, and enter a meditative state in whatever way works for you by calming your mind and getting to a still, quiet, and deeply relaxed space. Perhaps by taking a hot soothing bath, listening to relaxing music, counting backwards, slowing your breathing, imagining pleasant imagery, or you might want to listen to the relaxation intro of a guided meditation recording if you have one.
2. When deeply relaxed, imagine a place in nature in your mind’s eye. This could be an somewhere you’ve been before, or somewhere entirely new made up with your imagination, whether it’s an ocean beach, forest grove, the bank of a riverside, a garden or meadow or mountain top.
If visualization isn’t your thing, just get in touch with a sense of it if nothing else, as this is what’s most important, and your intention is what matters.
Make this place as vivid as possible by engaging all of your senses. Try to see any sights you can in detail, smell the air, feel the breeze against your face, and the ground beneath you, reach out and touch something and make it real.
3. Now allow your Higher Self to come to you. For this, have them appear as a human being, likely your gender, seeing them walking towards you, some way away perhaps. They can adopt a human form to better interact with you. Don’t worry if you feel like you’re just imagining it or making it up; your imagination is a platform to help co-create the experience, and the energy of your Higher Self can still come and be with you.
4. See your Higher Self walk towards you. See the love in their eyes, and experience them reach out their hands to embrace you. Feel that embrace. Allow yourself to be received by them.
However vividly or vaguely you experience them, know that they are there and have come to be with you. Just be open to their presence.
If you find it easier, simply imagine them as shimmering light of some kind (such as spherical or oval in shape, or whatever feels comfortable).
Allow that light to wrap around and embrace you in its glowing love.
5. Now together, spend some time with your Higher Self. You may have some questions to ask, in which case see if you hear a reply or if an awareness, image or thought dawns on you. As I am more visual than audio inclined, I sometimes imagine my Higher Self with a white-board and see them writing answers, either in pictures or words, for example. Sometimes I get them to write a message with their finger on my back, letter by letter, as I am sensitive to touch.
Just be open and explore, there’s not q wrong or right way of doing this exercise. If you experience little consciously, that’s OK, just know that they are there for you and love you totally and unconditionally. Make an intention to open to this love if nothing else.
One thing you can do is simply lie down in this place in nature in your mind’s eye and ask your Higher Self to heal you. You may see or sense them placing hands over or upon areas of your body, or light or energy. You may feel emotions or thoughts move through you. You may sense nothing it all, which is also fine. Just be open to receive this healing and allow whatever needs to be done occur at a more subtle energetic level.
This meditation becomes more and more vivid with practice. Like everything in life, new pathways of experience need to be built through flexing like muscles.
If visualization isn’t your ‘thing’, I’ll be sharing a writing technique for connecting to your Higher Self in a future issue.

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor

What you focus on grows.....!

Image Credit - danblackonleadership.blogspot.com

'I achieve everything I need to succeed easily, effortlessly, excellently, enjoyably, smoothly, successfully, swiftly, marvelously and miraculously this week', and that's exactly what will happen:

I received this email from the Barefoot Doctor yesterday and I loved the above mantra he uses to create a fantastic week so I want to share it with you.  Also he gives a link to his song "Get Spanky" which makes me laugh out loud as it is both cheesy and meaningful!!!

Here it is......

Hi dear Jean

Faced with all the things you have to do this week, based on the
notion that what you focus on grows, tell yourself, 'I achieve
everything I need to succeed easily, effortlessly, excellently,
enjoyably, smoothly, successfully, swiftly, marvelously and
miraculously this week', and that's exactly what will happen: it's
pure wu wei magic.

In promotion of this notion, I let as many people as possible know
about the wee video I made with my friend Leakster, 'Get Spanky',
which compounds the what-you-focus-on-grows concept in comedic
style and so helps alter your approach to life from within by
appealing to your inner child. See it here:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CRwp_&m=3bCOiSBpHN6C1uF&b=4NGDNh1Rz_gvuSXxgmzSTg

And because so many people were away at the time - I could tell by
the high number of out of office responders - I thought it only
proper both in service to you and the work, to let you know again
should you have missed it the first time round. There's an EP of
wonderfully consciousness-altering pieces with an edifying PDF
called 'What You Focus On Grows' now available at iTunes:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CRwp_&m=3bCOiSBpHN6C1uF&b=KBLPjxvJsoFiNz.0pvTU5w

And there's a free audio podcast gift explaining the underlying wu
wei philosophy behind the music you might enjoy - click on the link
and scroll
down to the top audio entry:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CRwp_&m=3bCOiSBpHN6C1uF&b=B1VJ0Y3E7B1VhRmEt2.JSA

And if you have seen Get Spanky and felt it changed your day let
everyone know about it, as it would be a great thing for us to
influence the whole world to focus on what they wanted to grow,
which beyond the selfish would ultimately be a world of peace, love
and plenty for all:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CRwp_&m=3bCOiSBpHN6C1uF&b=4NGDNh1Rz_gvuSXxgmzSTg

May your day be resplendent with peace, love and plenty.

With love, BD

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor x

Tell me what you want...what you really, really want!

Image Credit - acelebrationofwomen.org

"A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want." Madonna

Monday Mantra for today..."I easily identify what I want in life and I truly believe I will receive it"

Quite often we dream about the future and let our imagination create wonderful pictures and scenarios where we have all we need for a magnificent life.  All too often we cancel out those dreams with negative doubts.

I have heard friends and clients say that they would like to move to a bigger house, with a large garden or they would like to change their careers.  Within the same sentence they have told me why it is not possible.  Lack of finances, slump on the housing market, fear of leaving a secure job etc etc.

When you idenitify what you want, dream it, see it, feel it and then simply get out of the way and just believe that it will happen.  Esther and Jerry Hicks recommend going into you "Creative Workshop", this is a 15 minute daydreaming period where you imagine what you want. 

EVERYTHING starts with a thought....so make your thoughts positive ones!

Love and Blessings,

Jean Fisher-Taylor