SoulCollage® is a fun process where you get to make collaged cards using images and then get to interpret what they mean for you personally. What I like about this process, is that the images you choose (or that choose you) have a particular meaning that is meant for you at that time.
Unlike using other card decks (which I also use frequently), there is a special feeling about reading from your own creations. Rather than re-invent the wheel, I want to give you the opportunity to learn more about this process and experience its joy first-hand by working with a colleague and mentor of mine, Anne Marie Bennett from KaleidoSoul.
I have teamed up with one of my mentors, Whitney Freya to bring you this special gift. I want to bathe you in the energy of ABUNDANCE and guide you into a new awareness about how you can create the art that is your LIFE from that place of infinite possibility.
I want to share a 5-step journey of symbols that could introduce you to that would change the way you look at EVERYTHING!
Are you up for it?
Right NOW, I want to invite you to say YES.
Say YES to what NEWness wants to come into your life.
Say YES to new superpowers, talents, passions, abilities that have only been lying dormant within the heART of your being.
Say YES to looking at your world through a new lens.
And say YES to change!!! ABUNDANT change!…change that comes from a deep, yummy space within. Whitney will guide you there.
In this Master Class, Whitney shares with you SHORT teachings that will attune you to the ABUNDANCE energy that is inherent in each LIFE ARTIST.
There are just five steps and five SYMBOLS that will come together in the end to activate within you a whole new way of knowing that YOU are a Life Artist, here to create your life ABUNDANTLY…the time is now for you create your masterpiece!
Can’t wait for you to get started on step #1. Just follow the link here and enrol yourself in this exciting free course. ENJOY! http://bit.ly/life_artist
Well so was I. Years ago I painted at school, but got turned off following it further after I left school, by well-meaning teachers, family and friends who said “you’ve got to be really good at it if you want to make a living out of it!” So, I self-selected out of the arts for many years. Then I discovered that this was NOT TRUE!
I stumbled across an online teacher called Whitney Freya, who opened new doors for me that started to change how I viewed myself, both as an artist and as a person. I started with a 21 Day Painting Meditation Challenge and moved on to a Painting Marathon and ended up doing a Creatively Fit Coaching Course.
So, no matter what your reason, or what you want to do with your art, it is time to get started or to take the next step NOW! You don’t have to plan to even share your art with anyone if you don’t want to. It can just be a personal thing that you do to feed your soul.
~ Are you looking for that special gift that says ‘I love you’?
~ Do you want to give a gift that keeps on giving?
We are at that time of year when there is such a strong focus on giving gifts, that the real meaning of gift giving is lost. It’s not about the latest gadgets that will wear our sooner than you would hope for, or about those new clothes that will be out of fashion in the blink of an eye, or dinner at that fancy restaurant that will be forgotten about in a few weeks time. It’s about taking the time to let your loved ones know that you love and care for them and this shows in how much thought goes into what you give. Dashing around the shops in a mad rush and grabbing this, that and the other may put a present into some lovely wrapping paper and may deliver a momentary buzz to both the giver and the receiver, but in this day and age where sustainability is ever-increasing in importance, how do you give gifts that last?
The answer is simple really….
Give gifts from the heart that last!
When you give a gift that truly comes from the heart, the receiver experiences that love and it will often outlast the physical gift itself. This is the secret to sustainable gift-giving. Think about the gifts you have received in the past and ask yourself what is so special about this gift and why do you remember it. You will find that it is more about the sentiment than the gift itself!
What makes this realisation so special then, is that it is no longer about how much you spend, so the pressure is off. I see people often caught in the trap of trying to match dollar values when gift giving….’If they give me a gift that costs about $50, then I have to give them one that costs about $50 or they will think I am mean.’ Sound familiar? So, what if you focus on ‘worth’ or ‘intrinsic value’ rather than cost? Suddenly the pressure is off and you can enjoy the real spirit of gift giving. In fact, gifts that cost no money but show a lot of thought has gone into selecting the gift, are often more appreciated than gifts that cost a lot of money!
So, if you would like to reframe how you go about gift-giving, talk to me about that special person in your life (and that could be YOU too, as you are allowed to give yourself special gifts too, you know!) and let’s see what I have to offer, starting with
No-cost introductory sessions that may be the start of a life-changing journey for the receiver
Hands-on-healing sessions
Creative Arts coaching
Mind, Body, Spirit sessions of all kinds
Sound Play
Gift Vouchers Available
Contact me to find out how I can help you give a true gift from your heart!
How to use creativity to create infinite wellbeing.
Using your creativity is one of the keys to achieving infinite wellbeing. I believe that everybody has something creative inside of them and when they find it, this is when their journey to wellbeing takes a massive boost.
I hear people say “But I don’t have a creative bone in my body! I can’t even get a stick-figure to look right!” And there it is….the voice of self-judgement kicking in to influence this person’s perception about whether they are any good or not. Exercising your creativity is not about the product you produce, it is about the experiences you have whilst going through the process itself.
Being creative is not just about producing art though. For you, it could be that you find your happy place when you are cooking, landscaping, sewing, dancing, interior decorating, designing something, problem-solving, writing (letters, emails, blogs, manuals, poetry, prose, proposals etc.), choosing what combination of clothes to wear or even what hairstyle you like. You get the picture? You bring your creative self to almost anything you do, if you care to acknowledge it.
Whilst there is a lot of information that highlights creativity as a great contributor to wellbeing, the University of Melbourne has established a Creativity and Wellbeing Hallmark Research Initiativeto scientifically research the connections. I am looking forward to reading their results, although my experience already tells me that they will find strong linkages. It will be great to see them supported by empirical research.
John Rodriquez is a Brisbane artist who is passionate about exploring his own creativity and helping others to do the same. John is a trained coach who helps others to find enjoyment in their art making and guides them on their journey into their own spirit.
To learn more about the linkages between creativity and wellbeing, contact John here.
Do you want to learn how to meditate the easy way?
Have you tried to meditate and failed?
What is ‘mindfulness’ all about?
Why does meditation and mindfulness have to be so hard? Well actually, It doesn’t! I’m going to let you in on a little secret!
There are lots of sophisticated techniques that you often hear about when people talk about meditation and I am not discounting these. However, these techniques often serve to scare a people away, particularly beginners.
I know that many people have tried to meditate and have ‘failed’, myself included! When I first tried to learn how to meditate, I would sit for ages, trying to quieten my mind. The harder I tried…the louder it got! I had heard so much about how good meditation was, that I really, really, really wanted to learn how to do it ‘properly’.
So, “what is the secret?” I hear you ask. Well, the secret is to start with something small and relatively easy and you can work it up over time, with practice. I started with some simple guided visualisations that were set to music. They gave me concrete something to focus on, rather than trying to “empty my mind”. The impact is the same though, because, whilst I am focusing on something, the monkey mind chatter goes away. This is not to say that my practice was perfect, but it was an improvement on my past efforts and gave me something to build on. Then I moved onto more silent meditations, giving my brain a single point to focus on, like my breath, or a flickering candle flame. This type of exercise is like any other fitness regime…the more you practice, the stronger and more skilled you become.
Mindfulness is the art of absorbing yourself totally in the moment of what you are doing…just be-ing. Next time you brush your teeth, try the following:
Pick up your toothbrush
Feel the texture of your toothbrush in your hand
Notice it’s shape
Notice it’s colour
Put some toothpaste onto your brush
Feel the texture of the toothpaste tube in your hand
Squeeze some toothpaste onto your brush
Notice its colour
Notice its smell
Turn on the water tap & wet your brush
Feel the shape of the handle
Hear the sound it makes
Look at the colour of the water
See how the light reflects from it
Watch it go down the drain (Not too much…water is precious! LOL)
Brush your teeth
Feel the brush on each part of your mouth
Taste the flavour of the toothpaste
Notice the sensations of the brushing
Feel any food particles that might get dislodged from between your teeth
Feel the muscles in your hand and arm working
Run your tongue across the surfaces of your teeth to see how they feel
Feel the shapes
Feel the edges
Feel the gaps
Feel the textures
Do they feel shiny?
Rinse & finish
Feel the sensations as you spit out the toothpaste
Taste the fresh water as you rinse
Notice the temperature of the water
Hear the sounds of the water as you swish it around
Watch it go down the drain after you spit it out
Notice anything else
“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” (said to be an old Zen saying.)
Sound is one of the most powerful mechanisms around to promote healing of self and of others. We are all born with a beautiful voice, even though some people have been convinced otherwise, as they grow up.
Have you ever met a child that thinks that they can’t sing? NO! That’s because they haven’t had the misfortune of tuning into the many negative messages we receive about our voices as we grow up. In fact, from the day we are born, efforts are made to silence us….think crying baby….Shh Shhh Shhhh! Then hi there’s “Children should be seen and not heard” followed by “don’t give up your day job” or even worse still…”just go to the back of the choir and mouth the words.” Is it any wonder that people grow up with a reluctance to share their voices!
I grew up with a love of music and singing, and sang in school choirs. After I left school, I never really gave it any more thought for about twenty years. Then one day I found myself singing the words of a poem that I had written, only to discover that I could write songs and really enjoyed singing.
I tried singing lessons but found this too confronting and fell by the wayside very quickly. Then I had the fortune of participating in a group workshop called “The Heart of Your Voice” with Mikal Neilsen, and it changed my life. I learned the magic of singing in a group, again! It was one of the most heart-opening experiences I have ever had in my life!
Did you know that when people sing together in a group, that their heart beats actually synchronise! I went from strength to strength, released my own CD called “Sing For Joy” which is available here https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/rodriquezjohn, sing in two choirs and now run voice coaching for individuals and singing workshops for groups. See LINK fro more about these
How our lives are connected to cellular oxygenation.
Oxygen is absolutely essential for all human function. The respiratory and cardiovascular systems provide and properly distribute oxygen to our cells.
All human performance, energy, and function is based on appropriate tissue oxygenation.
Would you like greater endurance? This is the ability to sustain vigorous effort by the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen to the working muscles. Although many factors have an impact, endurance and human working capacity end when the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems can no longer keep up with the demands for oxygen. In addition, the structural and functional integrity of brain and viscera are profoundly dependent on regular oxygen supply. Any disturbance of this supply can be life threatening.
The connection between oxygen and disease
The world famous Dr. Arthur Guyton theorized that all chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused from a lack of oxygen at the cellular level. Lack of cellular oxygen is termed hypoxia. Hypoxia has been implicated in central nervous system pathology in a number of disorders including cancer, heart disease, stroke, and various other neurodegenerative diseases.
Among other diseases, regions of low oxygen tension are commonly found in malignant tumours and are associated with increased frequency of tumour invasion and metastasis.
Medical science has revealed an alarming fact 80 % of the population is breathing wrong – shallow & inefficient, chest only. Stress … response … is a vicious cycle which through time results in a stressful and shallow “default” breathing pattern, producing 12 – 18 breaths a minute – while science tells us we need only 6 proper deep breaths in a minute to supply our needs.
All the extra activity involved in our short, shallow breathing habits is robbing us of precious energy, producing toxic waste products and promoting a wide range of pulmonary & other diseases in our bodies and depression for our mind, further contributing to an ever more widely present “burnout syndrome”.
The average human being breaths between 12 – 18 breaths a minute. That equates to 18,000 to 26,000 breaths every 24 hours.
It has been suggested that, at rest, we should consume 6 breaths in a minute to supply our needs.
The extra activity involved in our short, shallow breathing habit is robbing us of precious energy, producing toxic waste products and promoting disease in our bodies.
(Source: Instructor Manual for Nirvana Fitness)
To learn more about how I can help you to re-program your breathing to help you achieve higher levels of oxygenation, contact me here.
