New Beginnings….

In a similar vane to Trista’s post….I leave for retreat in Mt Martha tomorrow for a week.  It is about relationship communication with not only oneself, but with those special people in our lives…

I am so looking forward to this time of introspection, understanding and ultimately growth.  From the person that I was when I started this course in August last year to the person I am now I am so totally different….the growth I have experienced, the ability to understand myself and begin to understand those that mean the most to me….the ability to assist others in times of great stress has also been a period and position of great growth..

At this particular point in time I am struck by deep grief for a person I hardly knew, but who made a profound impact on me…..Working through this grief is part of my journey this week as it has raised many feelings around the loss of my father and aunt to cancer…..I met Jim Stynes once, yet this man changed my life, and my attitude towards it…I aspire to make a difference in my life because of the impact he made on it a few years ago..just prior to being diagnosed with cancer…..

I have also just heard that a staunch and honarary member of the Echuca Fire Brigade has been killed in a head on collision near Echuca along with his wife…at this time of loss we look at our own life…the paths we have trodden, the steps and turns we have made….instead of regret we should move forward with anticipation and excitement as we are unsure as to what we will come across…..we owe it to ourselves to live life to the fullest….to have fun and no regrets……enjoy each moment for what it is and what we learn….so each day we wake is a new day, a new beginning, a new chance to take a new path…most of all we owe it to ourselves be true to us…..on all levels….

This is possibly a little disjointed, but no apologies as it is what is happening for me right now….so to all of us on our individual journeys…….live, laugh, love and enjoy……

Mabon 2012 – My thoughts. By Trista Hamblin

I have been pondering the Celebration of the Autumn Equinox that I like to refer to as Mabon.

The equinox is the time when the bright and sunny days of Summer have shortened to the point where the length of this day is equal to the length of this night. Summer is over now and Autumn is in full swing, and we are progressing towards the longer nights and shorter days of Winter. Mabon, to me is a celebration of the passing of the busy Summer and preparing for the quieter times ahead. It is an excellent time to take stock of what has been happening in my life over the last six months. It is also a great time to plan for the quieter times ahead.

The Wheel of the year turns and progresses towards Winter. Winter is the time of introspection, rest and recuperation. It is the time when plants draw down their sap and prepare for the burst of new growth that comes with the returning light and warmth of the longer days of spring. Winter energy corresponds with the Element of Earth, to death before rebirth, to dark and quiet, and to the energy of Midnight, when sleep, restoration and healing occurs. Autumn energy revolves around the preparation for this quieter time. It is a time of abundance and harvest. Mabon heralds the last phase of Autumn, the time when the harvest is stored up to sustain us during the cold dark winter when there is little that grows.

When I think of Mabon, I think of harvest, abundance, fruition, the last burst of preparation before the rest, and of  the winding down of Summer’s activity. It is the last deep breath before relaxation. Autumn energy corresponds to the Element of Water, to retirement, conclusions, feelings and assessment. It is the dusk of the year, when feasting and spending time with family and friends takes on a more relaxed and comforting style. It’s about bread and cheese and apples and the last of the fresh vegetables. It is simple and joyous and easy. I am slowing down and taking stoke. I am assessing the efforts of the Summer and if the harvest was worth those efforts.

I have found I no longer wish to continue with certain community service commitments I made a year ago. I am looking at the outcomes of a year’s effort and finding the harvest did not warrant the amount of effort I put in. I have reached this point of the year exhausted and depressed and have decided to retire from two of my service roles, retaining the most satisfying one. I also see that my tendency to overburden myself, trying to be perfect, my self-criticism and negative self talk have led me to expending far too much energy in these roles. I see that my life is not balanced still, so I tweak and adjust and wait to see how this works out. The spring equinox affords me another time to reassess, another balance point, and is only 6 months away.

This winter I plan to take more time to nurture myself and my family, to quietly adjust my self talk with positive affirmations and to help my body heal with meditation and gentle yoga. I look forward to the longer nights and peaceful sleep. In preparation for these activities I have resigned from the heavy schedule of meetings and events that often dominate my evenings. I release the self-imposed pressure of perfectionism around service. I make space to attend yoga classes in the evenings and release myself from the expectation that every moment must be productive. In fact I release the notion of productivity equating with effort. Much is achieved by being quiet and still, and relaxed.  This is the new way I choose to be productive. It is a very feminine productivity, fertile and receptive. Mabon is the switch from the Sun driven masculine and active energy of the year, to the Moon inspired feminine and contemplative energy. I look forward to this shift of focus.

To be prepared for these new activities, I begin to look for materials to aid mediation and positive affirmations. I will go to the library and the shops, on Saturday mornings and look for books and cd’s about these subjects. I will also look at cooking and decorating books. And books about folk art and other topics which make me smile. I will be open to finding inspiration at garage sales and op shops also, as I love to recycle the abundance with which our community is blessed.

With balance as one of the primary focuses at this time of the year, I also celebrate the harvest that has been worth the effort I gave. I am thrilled with how my business has stabilized this past 6 months. I give thanks for the continued support of my family and friends. I am happy that my finances have settled into a comfortable place. I have learned more about trust and honesty within relationships. I have learned more discernment about when and how to offer advice. My self-understanding is increasing, as is my self approval, which is releasing me from wanting and seeking approval from others. I have also learned to ask for help sooner, and even sometimes accept it when it is offered.

My harvest from these six months has been bountiful in most areas in my life. I have assessed where it has not and adjusted, retiring where necessary. I have planned for the winter and begun to gather my supplies to enjoy this quiet time. I give thanks for the bright busy days of the time of light and look forward to the quiet nurturing time of dark. I honour the balance point between. I celebrate the harvest and set my intent for the next season. I give thanks to the Lord for his reign and welcome the Lady to her time of rule and to Spirit for my connection to and awareness of all that is.

Blessed be!

Life in general

I sit here at my computer an a day that I chose to have free of work…I was going to go over how I take on the tasks I dislike – cleaning the house in general…would love a housekeeper….anyway scrubbed all that from the message….

Today for me it’s about cleaning the house but it is more than that. Its about getting in touch with why I don’t like cleaning the house?  Why it frustrates me and can sometimes make me really angry.  The reasons I have come up with to this moment have been that I hated the fact that when I was young my mum would make us clean every weekend, dust, vac, mop, tidy.  And yes while the house looked great did you notice the term I used to describe my family abode……

Yes it was a house, not a home…..I look at my home at present and it has dust on every flat surface, clothes that need to be folded, washing in the basket to go out, others to be washed and some waiting to be taken out of the washing machine.  The floors need to be vacced and mopped. The bathroom needs a scrub.  But its not that the house is dirty just untidy and unkept at this point in time….

You maybe asking yourself does she have a point to make…I do!

I have found that the state of the home reflects my state of mind….My husband and I have a lot going on at present and it shows through our house.  We know this but sometimes it is just too much to deal with….so we don’t.  Then i get angry and frustrated because it is generally left to me to clean…..then I get angry at my husband for not helping…this makes for a really stable relationship…NOT.

The conclusion that I have come to lately is that…I deserve to live in a clean and tidy home, not because I have to but because I WANT TO….now because I want to doesn’t mean that others do and this is the difficult part…When I have cleaned the home and polished it to within an inch of removing the paint…I feel that everyone should play their part in keeping it clean and tidy….you know what…this doesn’t work…because they have stuff going on that they may not be telling you about and their way of coping is by not looking at their being untidy as important right now…..this is frustrating and annoying, makes me angry and then I revert back to a pattern that I really do not like……the question is “How do I change that pattern?”

Do it for me, because I deserve the clean home.  Do it for me because I want to live in a clean home.  Recognise that others are not being untidy delibrately – that it just might be where they are at right at that point in time….Don’t nag, harrass or belittle.  This gets you nowhere.  Just an argument that leads to bitterness.

Smile and dance as you clean and wash and tidy.  SIng as you fold and put away the clothes. And have fun…..use your imagination to take away the drudgery of doing housework….then when its done celebrate…

A glass of wine, a soak in the bath, relaxing music, take away for tea.  Whatever makes you happy…

Remember your home is your castle – it is the outside of how you are feeling inside….

Blessed be..

Nina

Thank You Einstein! by Trista Hamblin

I think more productively while I do something, and today I was thinking at my clothes line. I was considering my jobs for the day alongside what I have been reading recently about fear and anger. This is what resulted when 2 lines of thought merged. I realised that I don’t need to be Einstein to work out some of my challenges around these feelings. Although, he has helped me see this all a bit clearer…

One of my biggest challenges at this time is to not Re – Act to fear or anger. If I can take this challenge on, I have an awesome opportunity to change the way I live from here on.

Reaction or Re – Action as I like to see it, is doing the same thing I have done in the past, when faced with something confronting. It is to repeat behaviour that I have used in the past, which often led to more confronting challenges. In other words, re-actionary behaviour is automatic reactions which usually only make matters worse.

I love the quote that is attributed to Albert Einstein, one of humanity’s deepest thinkers. He has been quoted as saying “the definition of insanity is to continue to doing things the same way, yet expecting different results”.

Well I want different results. I want to find new ways to respond when faced with challenges such as fear and anger. To gain different results, I need new and different behaviours. And I need to decide what they will be while I am calm and can think clearly.

So how have I re-acted in the past? When faced with fear I often try to avoid what I am afraid of. Alternatively, I get angry. What other new ways could I respond to fear? Rather than avoidance, I will take a deep breath, connect with the solid reassurance of my Mother, Earth, fill my heart with her love and peace and look at what I am afraid of. I will name it. And then I will respond to this present fear, not re-act in an old pattern based around past fears.

Anger… how do I re-act to anger? I blame others for ‘making’ me feel bad. So instead I will take responsibility for my peace and love myself by taking a deep breath and connecting back to the solid reassurance of my Mother, Earth.  Drawing on her strength I will fill my heart with love and then I will look at what I am angry about. I will name it and respond with heart felt actions and words, rather than re-act in an old pattern based around past anger.

Can you see the similarities? I am devising a new strategy to respond to challenge. When faced with fear, anger or other challenges, I will change my behaviour so I achieve a different result. Thank you Einstein!

My New Behaviour….

When faced with challenge, I will stop, and choose not to re-act. I will take a deep breath, reconnect to my Mother, Earth, fill my heart with love and look at this PRESENT challenge. I will Name it and See it and respond from my heart to IT and not the past.

Stop,

breath,

ground,

fill my heart,

name and see,

respond to the present challenge.

 

Being present in the present and seeing challenge as a new way to grow takes the ingrained reaction of judgement out of the situation. Challenge is a blessing not something bad. It allows us to choose be different. Challenge gives us the chance to grow. Challenge is not something to be feared, but something to be celebrated. Wow, I am being challenged, I have a chance to grow and expand and be happy and free from fear and anger. Hoorah! Bring on the challenge, as I am ready to respond differently and be free!

How exciting! Love and Light to all, Trista

Astara Lak’ech – Founder of The Goddess Alliance Australia

We’re almost there!

Our website is almost completed through blood, sweat and many many tears!! A creation channelled through spirit to create authentic community around the world and wow have I been through many test and trials and those that walk alongside me for this creation to manifest and that is without any exaggeration.

Though so very worth it I do believe its time we must walk our talk and stand in our essence of who we are and be the caretakers and protectors of what is pure and real and love our Mother (Earth) as we did once so long ago. Not just read a few books and burn a few candles and still emotionally project our fears and pain onto others and call ourselves spiritual but truly walk our talk, become the spiritual warriors that we are, to step outside our comfort zone of fear and challenge ourselves to be a better person and find our true calling, our true happiness and empower others with our spiritual gifts to be the best they can be also.

From such a very young age all I wanted was a safe place where myself and others could just be..without ridicule or suffer the projections from others. A peaceful place where we can work towards balance and allow our creative selves to unfold its natural course. Yaaaaaayyyyyy!!!! :)) With such excitement I just want to share with you All that we will do whatever it takes to create a loving authentic community and finally do our bit to assist with the birthing of the New Earth.

Dedicated to my beautiful Earth Mother..I love you.

Much love,

Astara xoxo

Welcome to The Goddess Alliance Australia

Dear Brothers and Sisters

 

I wish to share with you as the Creator of The Goddess Alliance Australia the channelled loving beauty that I received to manifest this vision.

Once long ago our ancestors of the Earth held balance within themselves and as caretakers of this planet.

Through time we have evolved but we lost our spiritual and knowing connection to ourselves, to one another and to our beloved planet creating fear, misunderstanding, disconnection from one another and greediness.

In receiving and through my journey in this life time it has been shown through visions and channelled guidance the Divine Feminine within each of us has been wounded.

The Goddess Alliance is a creation to assist with empowerment, connection and healing and to assist in bringing back the BALANCE that we naturally carry within our hearts.

This is our true nature as it is nature itself.

Through healing the Divine Feminine we will have peace, harmony and balance within and carry a balanced heart as caretakers of this planet.

As the Goddess Alliance evolves, as women heal within, we then can offer this heart of true respect, balance and understanding to the masculine and allow for them to feel safe to express, feel and listen to their connection within and sit in their true balance of the Protector.

No one will lead and no one will follow but we walk alongside each in harmony as we did long ago.

We look forward to connecting with each of you and i hope this message will be received with love as I received it.

 

With love,

Astara Lak’ech xoxo