Category Archives: work

Space to Breathe, Fear and Writing Again!

Recently I came into conscious awareness that I had set up my life in such a way that there was no longer anyone breathing down my back telling me what to do. There was no “shoulds”, there were no “needs” just simply “What do you desire?”. It was a really strange and positive realization that makes me want to jump up and down with joy!

For so long I have “worked” (if you can call life work) to put myself in a safe space where I can truly be me and learn about me without major interference. I felt that there was all of this space around me, space where I could breathe and relax while making my decisions. My close friends that I asked what I should do didn’t tell me what I should do. They listened and all told me the same thing “follow your heart, follow your intuition.”

Who knew that this would be one of the scariest things for me? Ironic in a sense because last year coming to BC I jumped to follow my heart and dreams. Right now I don’t feel the Universe is being as clear to me about what it is that I need to do right now though in reality, its me not being able to pick up or hear the answers that the Universe is giving me.

Several things came along with this realization though – things that needed to be looked at closer before a major celebration took place. The feeling that I could breathe and the sense of freedom to make my own choices was a very odd and new sensation that scared me.

It means that I am one hundred percent responsible for the choices that I make now. It means that I no longer have to run because I no longer have anything to escape from. When I do something that I don’t like it is all on me and I need to own all of my stuff. It means that I have the opportunity to step fully into my power and radiance a little bit more than before.

All of this came at once, subconsciously, and it came as an onslaught of internal fear that was nameless, faceless yet overwhelming and heavy. It would rise up inside of me and my only response would be to curl into a heaving ball of tears for a good fifteen or twenty minutes at a time with my body trembling. This went on for a good week and a half at least, and only now am I coming to realize exactly what was happening.

Now I see this fear is a conglomerate of many fears – the unknown, taking full responsibility for my life, not making the “right choice”, judgments from others and therefore myself, stepping into my own power and radiance.

All of these fears made me want to run away and escape from everything. From my perspective during those days it was the outside world causing all this fear to come up in me, and that I must not be in the right spot at all. Now I know it was all internal.

For most of my years living on this Earth I was always hatching escape plans. I have journals filled with them, and all the calculations to go along with them from how much a bus ticket would cost me to the destination I wanted most and how I would earn that money.

I’ve learned this last year I was doing a lot of running away. I now know that my subconscious has been trained over the years to do precisely that! And its not a bad thing. But it is no longer necessary because I’ve chosen to surround myself with good people, and I’ve chosen to live my life a way that feels most right to me.

This running away reflex was first brought to my attention through a conversation with a good friend of mine, who brought it up. At that moment I had to agree with his points, and I promised myself that I would watch out for this pattern in all parts of my life. I made a deal with myself, that if I started talking about leaving this place I would force myself to wait until I knew with absolute certainty what I was doing. And it worked! So it seems.

I know that it will take time to reprogram my subconscious completely from this tendency, but I know too that I can and will do it.

Now I find myself in a space that is much safer and more stable than where I have been for the last month and not nearly as chaotic for the last several months. Gradually I have been able to calm down enough to come to these learnings about myself.

And I feel ready to write again.

P.S.

Since “settling” into this temporary yet stable place I’ve pulled certain cards from my deck The Ascended Masters that I’d like to share with you, if you are interested.

Major Card: “New Beginnings” which I interpret as follows for me: You are currently in a very special spot of your life where anything can happen that you desire. It is time to let the new energy coming into your being and to release all of the old stuff. Let your life be new, and create what you want most in it. Take time to figure out just what it is that you want.

Major Card: “Write”: TA-DA!

Major Card: “Artistic Expression”: Connected with writing, it is through artistic expression of your choice that you learn so much more about yourself and your desires. You are able to discover many things and make sense of the world more and more through this process.

Major Card: “Open Your Heart to Giving and Receiving Love”: This is something that I’ve been frequently reminded of over the last week, and I don’t like it. It brings me too close to too many people. At the same time I know its necessary and this card comes as a reminder to breathe, and open up to all the love my tiny universe has to offer. After all, people are the bread and butter of life, and everything else is extra. Encouragement to dive into the community and be myself.

Update YAY!

Hello!

Welcome to the life of an entrepreneur, even an organized one! It sure takes a lot to organize a business and get it going. 🙂

This past month has once again been a crazy month in my personal life. I’ve been working on getting the basic needs of my life met. Now that has been taken care of, I am able to once again update the Blog! I hope I get to fall back into a routine again soon with Blog updates!

Here are some new updates as to what is going on with Willows Lavender:

  • There is a new size of Gemstone Elixir! Its 5 mL and only $2. Very good buy.
  • Gemstone Elixirs 50 mL size are available in Victoria at The Dark Horse and Avalon Books.
  • Some of you may have noticed the new Online Store Tab. I’m still working on it, it’s very much in the beginning stages, and I’m learning as I go. If you know anyone who knows OsCommerce well enough to make it pretty and might be interested in doing a trade with me, please let me know! 🙂
  • On the online store you can see much more detailed descriptions of all the elixirs minus the astrological signs. Those I’m still working on.
  • My prices have changed for Card Readings. I’m still finding the price I feel most comfortable at that will attract the clientelle that I want. So Card Readings are now a suggested donation of $50.
  • I’m also going to be holding a Reiki Level one class soon! August or September I haven’t decided yet. There will be a promotion with it, so let me know if your interested!
  • I’ll be working at the Sunday Market in the Uptown Plaza from 12 pm – 4 pm on Sundays starting July 1st. Hope to see you there!

Sending you all lots of love and light!

 

Communication

Peacock!!

Mike and I went to the park. There was a peacock. Random.

Hello!

Today I have some business updates, and a smaller article on communication for you. Skip down to the article by clicking here!

I am super excited to announce that as of April 1st I am working out of Simple Remedies here in Victoria! I’m renting a room on Wednesdays, and will happily book your appointment for Reiki! Shoot me an email or call me at 250-213-1252! 🙂

The room is not really set up for Card Readings. There is a small table that I can do a small reading on, however it is not yet the most comfortable set up so I may still need to find space for readings, especially for larger readings like the Year Circle Spread. I’d prefer to do that out of a store that sells metaphysical goods like Instinct or Avalon, so please let me know if you see anywhere that may be of interest. 🙂

I’m in the final stages of writing my business plan, which I plan to finish up by the end of this weekend – leaving only the Executive Summary to write. Next week I’ll be out and about checking out financing options at various places I’ve been hearing about including Community Microlending and Women’s Enterprise Center.

Now on to the Article!

Last year as my travels began I become more and more aware of how people communicate and the differences even in just provinces. My awareness extended to how I communicate with others, and how people feel about my style. Sometimes I might even catch a person “jumping” when I use certain words because of the harshness of that word.

Notably different here on the West Coast, especially Vancouver Island, is the softness in which people speak. Generally speaking, its soft tones with soft words with soft sentences. Its like people are composing a poem, yet its not quite a poem. Its feminine.

People in Winnipeg and Manitoba are much different in our mannerisms and the way we communicate. We are very straightforward and our language is harsher. I would say that it is a more masculine way of speaking.

This year I wanted to work on my communication skills, because I know that I have issues with communication sometimes. So I asked the Universe to teach me, and it brought me to Victoria BC. Now, I wasn’t expecting to move into an entire city that among many of it’s lessons for me would bring communication lessons, but it has.

At times it frustrates me. A lot.

What I’m finding is that I’m meeting many people who speak with soft tones, words and sentences. The language feels good. It sounds good. It’s fluttery and as beautiful as a butterfly. No matter what is said, how can I take offence?

Then I leave.

Confused. Usually very confused.

I have no idea what just happened except that I had a conversation with a person and now I’m very confused. Did we actually come to a conclusion on anything we spoke of? Are we actually going to meet again? Do they want to meet with me again? What is going on?

My emotional state during that conversation does not actually rise or fall. Their words have no effect on me either way. They are not particularly inspiring or uplifting even though they are soft. They don’t bring me down either. In short: This new language does nothing for me.

I understand that there is a belief that the words that you use attract things to you, as do thoughts based on their vibrations. The higher your word choices vibrate at naturally one would think that the quality of things/people you are attracting to you would be also vibrating at a higher rate. I don’t disagree with this. It is true. However, there is a WHOLE science and art form to this.

It goes beyond word choice.

Blooming into myself.

Many people don’t realize – as they’ve only been introduced to the very basic concepts of this art form through such places as The Secret, and through Abraham Hicks, that the Art of Manifestation has been studied for centuries and goes back thousands and thousands of years. It is an art that few have been able to master completely. It takes training of the mind, of the emotions, of every aspect of yourself.

Wording and the words you choose are important, but also are the emotions behind the words that are equally as important. Words are the messengers of the emotions that we feel. They are the way we express our feelings, wants and needs. They can take on our emotions and free them in a way that nothing else can. The emotion behind Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a Dream speech is what made his words so powerful and inspiring. It makes you want to listen to his words.

Many times I’ve not paid attention to my words, and not thought they were a big deal. I could simply tune into the feeling behind what the person is saying. That feeling is more important to me because it is the Truth behind the words. That feeling tells me what the person’s intent is. As I float through life, I see that words become so important because many people no longer have that ability to tune into these feelings. I believe that ability is a natural human birthright.

And when I am not in a state of clarity it is much harder for me to tune into the feeling fully, especially with the world moving so fast.

When I’m talking with a person, I want to leave that person feeling good about themselves, their worlds, their life, and the Universe. I want to inspire people to live better lives, and to see that there are truly good people. I want to show people the magic that is around us, always, just waiting to be seen. And I want people to experience what it is like to be loved, truly, wholey, and completely, with no expectations of them at all.

Yes, I have much to learn with communication. I am learning to choose my words better through listening to the people who live in Victoria. I am learning how to speak in a gentler way. I am learning what the strengths and weaknesses of masculine and feminine language are. The lessons of communication are abundant and intriguing. 

Now I must delve back into my latest book of reading choice, “Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Compassion” by Marshall B. Rosenberg. There will be a book review on it in the near future!

Have an awesome day!

P.S. All pictures on today’s post were taken by Mike, and edited by me. Fun times!! 🙂

Avocados, Tea, Crystals and Business

Fruit and KettleSunny days have arrived in Victoria!

Along with this my body has decided to lean heavily on the potato and avocado and mango fare. Avocados calm my stomach when it hurts I’ve discovered and I never knew mangoes went on sale this time of the year! Seriously! This is all I’ve been eating for the past two weeks. And lots of tea.

Its been highly difficult for me to stay grounded this past week as well. It’s never been my strong suit to be grounded but I think it might be all the meditations with crystals…

Life:

I’ve been practising a lot with the gemstones that I own. One of the things I would like to accomplish is personally connecting with each stone that I own to see what they bring to my life, and what else they would like to offer. For some reason, I have never really worked with stones in this aspect as I’ve always intuitively followed my guidance and it always matched what they wanted. Now I’m having conversations with the stones.

This week the stone of note is a mystery stone that has been travelling with me since I left Winterpeg! It is a small round purple stone, that most people I brought it to for identification thought was glass. With a suggestion from one of my friends, I place the stone with Angel Quartz, and boy, did he ever start talking loud and clear! He identifies himself as Purple Cat’s Eye.

Business:

This week I was working hard at my business, doing as much work as I could with my business plan for the Youth Means Business program. I was mainly focused on my product list. It was about Thursday that I began feeling overwhelmed at the actual amount of work it requires to complete a business plan. Even though I feel like I’ve done a lot, there still seems to be so much left to do.

Today I choose to relax. This morning I met with the business mentor and a few other participants to have a round-table discussion about our businesses and meet each other. I stated the (what I believe to be) seed, of my feeling of overwhelmed: the sheer variety of gem elixirs I can make!

I’m at seven pages…

Using the wise words of wisdom from Mr. Business Mentor, my product list will be done quite soon, even with the realization that I may have focused on the “wrong” things for what I need right now.

This week too, I’m going to start scoping locations to practice Reiki and Card Readings out of, so if you know of any possibilities that I may be interested in investigating, give me a shout!

And if your out and about this Sunday in Downtown Victoria, I’ll be working at the Dream Collective’s Market, located at the Well between 12 and 5 PM. Yay!


New Moon and Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas everyone!

It’s that merry time of year, when everyone is supposed to be full of holiday cheer! This year does not feel like Christmas to me at all. I barely heard anyone, and I myself, say “Merry Christmas”. There is no snow on the ground here in Victoria, unlike in Manitoba where I’ve spent all my other Christmases. Alas, my bestie and I are set to make dinner tomorrow night, and pancakes, and it shall be a great day! I am making vegan gluten free pizza tomorrow, which I’m very excited to make!!

Today is the New Moon, and I have been happily paying attention to the moon cycles for the last few months. It helps me, refocuses me and see where I’ve come in the last little while. Check out the Manifestations page if you want!

I think too that the New Moon ceremonies help speed up the manifestation power, and helps me see where I need to be clearer in my life. Today I noticed that asking for a new job, in the past three months my requests have changed. One month I was asking for a job that pays $12/hour, then $18/ hour, then a loving peaceful environment with no pay listed… How is the Universe supposed to know exactly what I want and need?

Christmas is a time for love to enter the hearts of all humanity and for humanity to ascend into the Christ Consciousness. May you have an amazing journey!

Lot’s of love!

Serafina