Re-emerging

So after I last wrote I went into a little period of hibernation. It was time to take the pressure off, pare down and focus on the needs of my growing family, especially the little ones changing so fast. Being with them and supporting them, through the days of new experiences, challenges and learning, and through the nights of sleepy dreamy integrating, sometimes waking - comforting and reassuring, cuddling and caring. Plus a late Winter/Spring cold or few doing the rounds for everyone! So also time to look after the health and wellbeing of all of us - beloved partner too, and not forgetting myself. Important. It's not always easy being on call 24/7 for the little treasures and as per the oxygen mask on the plane scenario, filling our cups so we have the capacity to share and care is vital.

The Kookaburras have been keeping us company here regularly for some time now, heralding this time of "Healing of Self", as told by Scott Alexander King, in his book Animal Dreaming. Big little learnt to recognise the kookaburras first of all the wild birds of our neighbourhood, last Summer when they were around a lot too. She retains the amazement in her voice when she hears them, though now instead of "Kakaaaa", she has learnt their full name. Bless her for noticing.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoos of "Illumination" have been around too, and one day not so long ago, as we walked near home, coming out from our Winter's hibernation, same bird-loving child noted two were keeping company with the Emu of "Endurance/Responsible Fathering Skills on a Physical Level" that lives round the corner. This was an apt message as we meanwhile worked on reorganising our family arrangements and routines to allow some space for me to bring in some other elements, while beloved meanwhile has more time on dad duty, as well as time to explore his own dreams and consider which paths to follow to his future.

I felt excited at these stirrings of Springtime growth and unfurling.

Which leads me to my announcement.

At the end of October there is an annual market in our home hamlet of Lal Lal, and this year I took the plunge and booked a stall, finally getting around to making the call with less than a month to go.

This sent me into a flurry of organisation, discovering with each step another red tape requirement needing to be fulfilled. In 'all my spare time' (read 'while I should have been sleeping and eating', as this was all before beloved was home from his job an extra two days a week, so I had to fit it all around the demands of minding the little ones and household duties - thankfully beloved helped pick up some slack here), I managed to renew my ABN, register my business name, and a domain name, undertake a first aid course, organise insurance, complete and send off a Reiki Australia membership application, prepare materials to give out to people and organise the set up for my stall; meanwhile pumping milk when I could (read 'usually in the middle of the night or very early in the morning') so that I was able to be away from my little little for a little longer at a time. (How full time working and expressing mothers manage to do this I do not know - strength to them!)

I didn't quite manage to create a whole new website and completely update all my forms and documentation prior to the market as I hoped (in my dreams!), but I was pleased with what I achieved given the timeframe and limitations and ta da! I was ready to go!

So in time for the market, just before our southern Beltaine, I was ready to officially re-launch my healing practice, and begin to expand again to work professionally in this capacity, after the time out for family focus and caring for tiny children during which I have practised when I can, with family and friends. So yay for that!

Living Lightly With Love is now an officially registered business with all necessary boxes ticked. Ready to go!

The market day was a lovely day and I very much enjoyed connecting with those who came by, from our local area and further afield. I brought all my oracle cards on the day and shared them for free DIY and/or guided readings to help people receive a message for their highest and greatest good, or guidance for an issue on their minds. I received positive feedback that many of the readings were helpful and a bonus couple of donations (thank you kind folk!) which more than covered the cost of my stall fee for the day, which had been my original intention. Now that I have added up all the additional costs to set myself up to practice professionally, I also have a goal for the year to come - to bring in enough monetary income to cover those costs and also to allow the space and time within our family requirements for me to share my work with others while providing for our family. Beyond that I am happy to work, as always, for whatever people can afford to share, so that it is accessible for all who would like to work with me. So, I am happy to receive money payments as people can spare, and I am also happy to work for swaps, or in a pay it forward capacity - which means you might like to pass on something to someone else as an exchange for what you gain from working with me, and also, if you have plenty in abundance, you might like to support me to have the capacity to work with those who have less. 

Already, since the market, I have been happy to swap a session of Reiki and Touch for Health for a dear hand knitted cardigan for my little little, to keep her cosy on these funny cooler days we keep having as we launch into our Summer here, and to take her through Autumn to next Winter once the heat of Summer has passed. Blessed we are, snuggly soft little hugs. 

To begin with I am looking at devoting around one working day of time per week most weeks to offer for working with others, flexible to ensure the needs of my little family are always met and to ensure I have the time to keep myself well nourished also. I can also be flexible to work with the timetables and requirements of others, work, family, and otherwise.

Over time I hope to slowly grow this healing space. Slowly, but surely - it feels right to do it this way - to ensure the space is there, all needs are met, and also to let the growing be strong, to form a solid foundation for my ongoing work.

I will also be taking time for both my personal and professional learning and development, so that I can expand what I have to share ongoing, to meet the needs of those I work with best I can. I am excited about so many possibilities I only just have to narrow it down to choose where to begin.

I will be working from our Halcyon Haven, here at home in Lal Lal, in a lovely bright space in Ballarat, and I am also offering a mobile service, as works best for all.

As well as offering one-to-one healing sessions, I am also looking to develop spaces on my home land to share for group work and for individuals to reflect and to be with nature, for the healing, insight and growth this provides also. As one part of this, I have begun work to create a labyrinth in a special spot near our dam. I look forward to offering this magical space for people to walk, in meditation and reflection, taking a journey to within, releasing the old, bringing in the new, and returning renewed to the outer having received the wisdom of the inner.

A joyful group of friends with my big little (the littlest) walking recently down towards our dam, beyond which on the right is my labyrinth site.

Big little happily skipping through the grass towards the sacred spot early one evening on a family wander "down the back".

Approaching the site through dappled evening magic light.

Labyrinth to be.

Yellow spring button happiness greeted me when I went down to walk the as yet imagined labyrinth for the first time.

Earlier in the year, big little examining a wet wonderland of fairy mushroom rings growing on the labyrinth site.

Sunset skies of Halcyon Haven never fail to disappoint. This place is special.

It feels right to be working on growing what we have here, and on sharing it via my healing work, especially, also following on from the last piece I wrote, to have last week revisited the messages James had for me via the oracle cards, and also having at the same time rediscovered a long lost instant messenger chat with him from back in 2002 (when such things were still novel!). In the chat, amongst other things, we wrote of dreams of living together with friends, in our own little place, where everyone was nice and we grew vegetables and kept chooks and drove cars as little as possible. His view was that our place, a kind of ghost town in our ideas of 2002, should be at least 4 hours from Melbourne, mine back then was that the outskirts of Melbourne would be nice. It was lovely to read of our hopes and dreams and feel that here I am, roundabout halfway to four hours away, with a little vegie garden growing year by year, our chooks happily free ranging, not quite in our own connected village, but our neighbours are nice. :-) Just gotta figure out the driving as little as possible and I'll be even another bit closer to the "Heaven on Earth" from one of the oracle card messages. This beautiful card, from the Nature Spirit Oracle Card deck told me:

"Sit in meditation, connecting your chakras with a rainbow bridge to Mother Earth’s chakras and realize that you have a right to create your piece of heaven on earth. You are reclaiming your divine right to love and be loved, speak your truth and to be heard. Anchor this into your being and let it ripple out to your immediate environment, then across the planet."

How perfect to revisit this now. Other messages from James from that day included Swallow from The Magic of Nature Oracle reminding me to "Stay on course," and The Angel of Healing from my Angel Meditations cards telling me "I am a channel for the healing energies of the Universe."

And so, on I go, keeping on track best I can, and working on my piece of Heaven on Earth, and channelling the healing energies of the Universe.

I will also be working on this blog page and updating each page with what I have to offer as I go, and developing my new website at livinglightlywithlove.com.au as well. And back here, at Home, I will continue to share the stories, songs and visions of my Heart. As always, for sharing, for you to enjoy, experience and maybe learn, and also for me, and the joy, peace and love, brought through sharing my own creative expressions.

From where today I write...

A mother makes space, when, where and how she will...

And some beautiful baby snuggle energies for you too. Till next time.