How often have you heard the advice “Just relax and be yourself!” But to be ourselves we first have to know who we are – who we REALLY are.
For years I didn’t know who I was. I tried to find myself in alcohol, travel, other people and jobs that weren’t in alignment with my soul.
I tried to twist myself like a pretzel and mould myself into a version of me that other people would like, that society would approve of, that I’d be validated for. Because I had a core belief that I wasn’t enough and if the “real me” was exposed then everyone would see how inadequate and rubbish I was. I wondered, who would ever love the “real me”?
The key was learning to love myself first – my authentic, true, beautiful self. I didn’t just drop all the masks and pretences straight away.
Uncovering and returning to my true self is an ongoing process and a continual course correction but I’m much more aware now when I’m making a decision that’s out of alignment with who I am. I made a collage the other night. In the middle I wrote “The real me” and around that I pasted pictures from magazines depicting the things I like and which represent different aspects of me.
So who am I? Essentially I love nature, the earth, the ocean, cats and Italian food.
I’m a healer, musician, artist and psychic and I care deeply about the planet and others. I have a hippie/Bohemian taste in clothes and I love wearing red lipstick on a night out.
I put this up on my bedroom wall to serve as a reminder of who I really am when I’m in alignment and being authentic.
Remember…
🌟You deserve to be the fullest expression of yourself.
🌟You deserve to be ALL of you.
🌟You deserve to express all of your unique skills and talents.
🌟You deserve to be happy and comfortable in your own skin.
In the Summer I love to walk barefoot in my local park. It’s a great way to ground and connect with Mother Earth but it doesn’t come without risks. I always pray “Angel and Spirit guides please guide my feet and prevent me from stepping on anything sharp, dangerous, dirty or disgusting – especially dog poo and broken glass.” I’ve never had any problems. But one day I wasn’t very present. I stepped on something and yelled as pain shot through my right foot. On closer inspection there was a little stinger in my sole and I realised I’d stepped on a bee. In that moment I was consumed purely by my pain and had to limp home. But later I felt grief for the Bee as it had most likely died after I stepped on it. I realised that my request to my Angels and Spirit guides had been selfish. I didn’t care about stepping on the wildlife, I was just looking out for myself. Perhaps this was fate and the Bee was ready to pass on to the next incarnation. Some things will always remain a mystery. But I vow to be as considerate as I can be towards the creatures I share this planet with for as long as I walk this earth. Every time I visit the park I ask Archangel Ariel to bless the trees and offer her protection and healing to all the animals and plant life. I also ask her to fill the hearts of all those who use the park with the deepest love, compassion and respect for this natural space. I’d been very judgmental of the people who had been fly tipping and vandalising a place I love. But I have to remember that all I must do is keep my side of the street clean (sometimes literally!) And since I’ve been praying to Ariel I’ve noticed a significant decline in littering! We can educate much more effectively from a place of love and compassion than from a place of judgment and fear. When we judge others we also judge ourselves – who is holding up a mirror to you today?
A fun fact you probably don’t know about me is that I have pet snails.
Yes, that’s right.
The normal garden variety – not fancy African Land Snails.
Just over a year ago I was sitting in a pub and when I went to take a drink from my water bottle there was a little baby snail on it.
It was so tiny!
I allowed it to slime onto my hand and my tights and marvelled at how cute and seemingly defenseless it was.
When I left to go home I tried to put him on the grass but he retreated back inside my (now empty) water bottle and honestly I’d never seen a snail so small, I couldn’t imagine how he’d ever survive to adulthood!
His shell was translucent. I just wanted to protect him.
This was how I met Snigel.
I called him Snigel because his first home was an old Swedish Glace ice cream tub (great Vegan ice cream btw!) and the Swedish word for Snail is Snigel – clever eh?
He later upgraded to a celebrations tub and now has a fancy terrarium.
(Side note: I say “he” but snails are all hermaphrodites and can take on either the mother or father role in the mating process.)
Snigel was so tiny!
I firmly believe that Snigel came into my life as a spirit animal at a time when the Universe was screaming at me to slow the F down!
I was always busy, always on the go, doing music and comedy gigs, building my business, socialising.
I just didn’t know how to slow down.
Part of this was because I was going through a difficult break up and was distracting myself.
Unconsciously I was just “doing” so I didn’t have to “be” and sit with my feelings.
But Snigel changed that.
I loved watching him and seeing how he moved.
I learnt that snails actually have personalities and that Snigel is an adventurer and maverick at heart.
He was always escaping from his tub and ending up in weird places around the kitchen, such as high up on the wall tucked inside the rim of the boiler.
He taught me to (literally) think outside the box and not allow myself to be limited.
Snails are mostly deaf and blind so their senses of taste and smell are heightened.
Snigel reminded me to feel things out intuitively.
He taught me that sometimes you need to retreat and go back inside your shell.
He taught me to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, which in his case are broccoli stalks and calcium powder.
He taught me to be inquisitive and I relished researching more about a creature I’d previously never given much thought.
I fell in love with nature again and how weird and ingenious she can be – did you know that snails poo via their lung cavity?
I soon found that other snails naturally gravitated towards me in need of assistance.
One that had a flaky, dry shell slimed across my living room window and front door so I gave it some calcium powder to help rebuild it.
Another was on my back doorstep and I gave it a leaf from my chilli plant.
In the morning the snail had gone and had eaten a tiny little hole in the leaf!
I began to notice snails everywhere and now I always help them by picking them up and putting them into the side of the pavement or hedge so they won’t get stepped on.
I learnt the value of being of service, no matter how big or small the gesture.
Snails are naturally social creatures so Snigel was going to get lonely on his own.
He now has two friends, Dandy and Twiggy, who also seemed to find me, rather than me finding them.
You might not think it’s possible to bond with a mollusc but I truly believe that love comes in all shapes and sizes and can be found in the most unexpected of places.
I thought I was too “fat” and I didn’t like my wobbly stomach so I sucked it in, wore spanx and crash dieted.
If I wasn’t emotionally eating and bingeing on chocolate or cheesy pasta I’d be starving myself and surviving on as little food as I could.
But today things are different.
Today I love my body and here’s why you should too…
1.) You only have ONE body!
Think about that for a moment.
Yes it’s true you can have plastic surgery or get a prosthetic limb but we are born and die in the same body – we don’t get a free upgrade.
Isn’t that reason enough to show it some love?
2.) Your body is AMAZING!
Each and every day your body is fulfilling millions of different functions without you even having to consciously think about it.
When’s the last time you had to tell your body to breathe or digest your food?
Your body is a machine, an absolutely wondrous feat of natural engineering and deserves to be respected accordingly.
3.) Ain’t no body like your body!
Your body is completely unique to you!
It’s not like a car – no one else has the exact same make or model.
So instead of comparing yourself to others, remind yourself of how special you are.
4.) I wanna dance with some body!
Take a moment to appreciate all of the things your body allows you to do – dancing, walking, running, skiing, swimming etc.
Some people can’t do these things of course, whether it’s due to disability or another condition.
But if you have 100% mobility and shy away from beach volleyball because you think you look fat in a bikini then you’re doing it wrong.
5.) Starting with the (wo)man in the mirror
When you choose to love yourself and accept your body for how it is right now (not when you’ve lost weight, or your acne has cleared up) then you’re setting an example for others to also love and accept themselves.
Let’s make body positivity the change we want to see in the world!
💜 Would you like to learn how to love yourself fully and fearlessly? Get in touch to book a FREE discovery call to see if you’d like to have 1:1 coaching with me. 💜
I’d have those days where I’d wake up and I couldn’t lift my head because it felt like someone had placed a brick on my forehead.
When it got really bad I’d feel suicidal and I tried to kill myself twice.
I don’t believe depression is an illness in and of itself – it’s just a symptom of repressed emotion, trauma, stagnant energy or a knot in your heart that you haven’t honoured or acknowledged.
I don’t have those really dark moments anymore but I have felt quite heavy and low for the past couple of days.
I couldn’t figure out why.
Then this morning I pulled an angel card for Archangel Haniel (a moon goddess) and it said “Honour your feelings.”
So I did.
I took a deep breath and did a few rounds of EFT tapping, allowing myself to honour and acknowledge all of what I was feeling – stuck, frustrated, angry with myself, fed up that things in my life weren’t moving fast enough, impatient, perfectionistic.
The tears came and I let them.
I leant in to that resistance and afterwards I felt so much lighter and brighter.
The perfectionist in me didn’t even want to acknowledge I was being a perfectionist so that’s why I’d gone into a slump – you don’t have to worry about getting things perfect if you don’t try at all.
But there is a middle ground – I can accept that my best today is good enough and that will change from day to day.
Today honour how you’re feeling and allow yourself to step into flow and out of resistance.
You are ENOUGH!
Get in touch if you’d like to explore 1:1 coaching with me so you can love yourself fully and fearlessly and attract the love you deserve.
I hand drew and designed all of the 78 cards myself using sharpies, markers, pencils and oil pastels.
It’s loosely based on the Rider Waite Smith deck and features bright, vibrant and colourful illustrations.
I created a unboxing and walkthrough video on my YouTube channel where I go through the deck and talk about each card in detail.
The deck takes it’s name from the creator, me Kat, and cats provide the main focus of the cards.
But these aren’t any ordinary cats!
They’re Cosmic cats which come from far off lands and different dimensions.
These other worldly cats have been sent to teach us about life, love, spirituality and everything in between.
Allow them to transfix you with their charm, allure and playfulness as you step into their magical realm.
The first card in the Major Arcana, The Fool, features a cat jumping off into space as it begins its quest for knowledge and understanding.
The 4 of coins
Moving through the suits of cups, coins, swords and wands the cosmic cats reveal the secrets of the universe and how we can adapt them to life on our own planet – as above, so below.
The World card completes the cycle with a depiction of a cat embodying planet earth since they have returned from their space voyage and now must teach us humans how to live life to the fullest and look after our own planet.
The designs are fun and light making this an ideal deck to use with children and a must-have for cat lovers.
Full moons are the perfect time to re-energise, re-charge and look back on all that we’ve achieved since the New Moon.
Here are 10 ideas for rituals that can help you to harness the energy of the full moon – remember these are just suggestions and you can always create your own….
1. Have a ritual bath
Fill up the tub with epsom salts or your favourite essential oils, put on some relaxing music and let all your worries and cares wash away. The Moon controls the tides and waters so this is a very powerful way to purify and cleanse yourself. Be open to any visions you might experience and write them down after so you can remember them.
2. Cleanse and charge your crystals
Cleanse your crystals in the usual way (with sage or by placing them in salt) and program them with your intentions. You can do this by holding the crystal in your hand and focusing on what you want it to help you with or by speaking or breathing your intention into it. Then just place them on your windowsill or outside to soak up the full moon’s energy.
3. Make Moon water
Water that’s been charged with the energy of the full moon makes a good space and aura cleanser. Just put some water where it can soak up the moonlight overnight. Then pour it into a spray bottle. You could also put a crystal in the water like amethyst or clear quartz.
4. Release negativity
Make a list of all the fears and negative traits or aspects of your life that you’d like to release. On each line write “I release…” Then burn it (safely of course.)
5. Full moon tarot spread
On a full moon you might find that your intuition and psychic gifts are heightened. Here’s a suggestion for a spread you can try out. You can also use these as journalling prompts…
1. What do I need to release this Full moon?
2. How can I release this?
3. What have I achieved since the New Moon?
4. What do I need to focus on in the next moon cycle?
6. Make a Gratitude list
The Full Moon is a time of abundance and fulfillment so it’s the perfect opportunity to express gratitude for all the good and positive things in your life. Bury your list in the garden or leave it on your windowsill to soak up the moonlight. Whatever you focus on expands and you will attract more of it into your life.
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