Weekend Reads

Sunshine across the UK!

At BSSK we're all gearing up for Wood Green this weekend, it's looking like a great event and we can't wait.

A few web sites to waste some lazy weekend hours away to...

Make a Vision Board

Fab little site all to do with Vision Boards.  Why we make them and how we can make them.

Treehugger.com

A one stop shop of information about all things green.  Articles and news on sustainability, green issues,  natural products and environmental solutions.

One Sarcastic Broad

Not to everyones taste, but this site is really, really funny.  Also has odd stuff and recipes, a real eclectic mix.  I've linked to the post about things to make your back garden awesome this summer because some of them do look awesome!

101 Zen Stories

Exactly what it says ;)

Event News - Lincoln and Wood Green

Hello,

we have a few changes to announce to Lincoln and Wood Green.


Lincoln and Wood Green both have a change of talk –

Lincoln – Philip Underwood has been unwell, so his talk slot has now been taken by Gregg Chapman as follows:

Didgeridoo Sound Therapy
Gregg Chapman

Discover how being immersed in the vibrations of the didgeridoo may help bring our bodies natural energy system back into balance and harmony. Didgeridoo Sound Therapy is based on thousands of years of ancient wisdom that is supported by concepts of science and modern sound therapy. It has proven beneficial with main stream and special educational needs (SEN) schools, those with disabilities, pregnant women, care homes, mental health, corporate stress management, yoga groups and the general public.


Wood Green:

Was Martina Muratoglu – History of Magnets

Now:

Trans-Dimensional Shift
Teresa Sequeria

I will take you on a journey to show you how to be present in your own Trans-Dimensional body, giving you tools to raising your vibration so you can balance your 4th, 5th and above, dimensional bodies into the alignment that is required in this new paradigm.


Nottingham event is now fully booked and we are running a waiting list for spaces.  We need a couple of volunteers for Friday afternoon and evening and for early Saturday, to help with the unloading of vehicles and transporting things up stairs.  It is limited waiting per vehicle unloading, so we need to get them empty as quickly as possible.  Any help anyone can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks and have a great bank holiday!

Wood Green and Interview Updates

What an amazing weekend!  New shows can often take a while to get established however footfall through Wood Green this weekend was higher than last year, by 35%.

In this economy, that's nothing short of a miracle.  It's been lovely to see everyone and make new friends - many of whom are keen to see the Wood Green show continue and grow.  Which is great news as our hire fees go to support the animals. Making it even more worthwhile.

The blog has been silent for the last few days, we've given the interviews a little bit of a break but are returning again tomorrow.  They've proven to be very popular and are hopefully providing an interesting peek into the lives of our exhibitors and speakers.

On a personal note, a friend of ours is swimming the length of Coniston Lake to raise money for the charity MIND.  A cause close to us here at BSSK.   Here's the link http://www.justgiving.com/Rob-Sandilands  even if it's only a pound, every little donation counts! This is an amazing challenge, the lake is cold, rough and really hard going!  Good luck Rob!

Interview with Gaile Walker

Gaile Walker will be giving a talk at Godmanchester this weekend and has been kind enough to answer some questions for us in the run up to the show.  Gaile will also be giving a talk at Newark on the 15th September.  Another wonderful interview, giving us a great insight into her work.

Gaile offers healing sessions in Cambridge. She also runs courses in The First Degree and The Second Degree of The Radiance Technique®, Authentic Reiki®. For more information see: www.radiance4realreiki.co.uk / Twitter: Gaile Walker @GaileWalker
Facebook: Gaile Walker - Author/Teacher of Meditation and Healing

1 - Could you tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, I live and work in the delightful city of Cambridge, have done for a number of years.  I'm a practitioner and teacher of the most beautiful healing and meditation called The Radiance Technique® (I'm using the word healing here to signify becoming inwardly fulfilled, to feel whole rather than fragmented as we often can do).  On  25th January 2013 my first book 'Beyond Angels' was published by O-Books.   

All this is the culmination of a life devoted to spiritual research. As a child I always thought there was something more to life, something missing.  I believed when young that life could be perfect and at the age of 14 began my spiritual search.  I realise now it was a search for a good technique, one which would help me achieve the inner contentment that, even at that early age, I consciously  craved.

2 - Can you tell us a bit more about your book?

I would love to talk about Beyond Angels because most of what I know from my 40 years of daily meditation - and which is of spiritual value - is in this book.

The need to write Beyond Angels grew from the time I spent working with spiritual and reiki healers. I am able to see vibrations, the finer levels of energies that constitute personalities, and I often see the energies they generate.  As I observed their ways of working I understood the nature of the vibrations that they were using for healing and meditating. I watched the energies which healers removed from their clients and what happened to them. It was the difference that I perceived, between the pure transcendental light vibration of The Radiance Technique® and the physical energies of other methods, which prompted the writing of the  book. I felt the need to encourage healers (and meditators) to connect to a pure source for healing: Transcendence.  To use current language to help them 'take their healing to a new level'.

But, in Beyond Angels I am not writing specifically about The Radiance Technique® (the transcendental method I teach). It's about my own personal view of the value of Transcendent or transcendental healing in general. There are many themes running through the book and I want to assist therapists, healers and meditators to add this deep, Transcendent vibration to their therapies and healings. Alongside my own personal spiritual experiences and descriptions of more expanded and enlightened states of awareness there are a number of teachings in the book:

• In my view there are endless methods of healing and meditation and they do not deserve the group name of  'healing and meditation'.  I believe that some of  these are helpful for the expansion of spiritual awareness and others are not.  Lots of methods I've observed would be better understood as aids for psychic development (spiritual and psychic being very different animals).  So it won't come as any surprise when I say that Beyond Angels speaks about the limitations of many current practices.

• It's a book which looks at suffering, how we hold onto it and the quickest way of liberating ourselves from it.  Of the Grace that is available to us when we access Transcendence, either from the Divine personality or Transcendent teachings.

• It makes the case for effort and determination for spiritual gain, and how life can be improved from that.  The quality of  life is based on the degree of spiritual awareness - nothing less.

Although I initially wrote Beyond Angels for reiki and spiritual healers, its appeal should be broader than to attract only these two groups.  I'm already finding that it's also of interest to those without this particular focus. It's definitely a book for anyone who wants to learn an effective meditation or healing for spiritual purpose: the true spiritual seeker.

3 - I read you support two orphanages abroad,  how is that going and how can people donate?

We're a small city-based group of dedicated meditators who use The Radiance Technique®  and we call ourselves ‘Cambridge Radiance For Children’. Since 2007 we have regularly raised money for charitable projects, previously donating to Kampong Cham Orphanage and School in Cambodia.  But at the present time we are supporting one charity only - the African project ‘Mahali pa Watoto’ (Swahili for a place for the children).  This is not an orphanage but a pre-school for 70 deprived children living in the slum area on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, and we support it via ‘The Seed Sowing Network’.  The group is dedicated to helping these children, typically aged 4 to 7, who without the project are  destined for a life on the streets. Children attending the school are also given food.

To date  (August 2013) we've given £1,100 to Mahali pa Watoto (this is as well as the previous donations to Cambodia).  It's important for me to say that the reason for creating the group was to encourage people to meditate together; for the enhanced, deeper experience and to expand our awareness of Transcendent Consciousness.  Also, to direct pure transcendental light to these children.  The money we send them serves just one of 3 purposes.

If anyone would like to donate, please send your donation directly to The Seed Sowing Network’ - www.seedsowing.co.uk

Of course, should Beyond Angels become more widely known and a greater number of people learn to meditate using The Radiance Technique®, the new students would be very welcome to join the group. We very much hope that the number of meditators - and our donations - will expand.  

4 - Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most.

I've dipped in and out of many spiritual writing but two writers: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Dr Barbara Ray Ph.D. (who is the only expert on The Radiance Technique® and the holder of all the intact keys of this system) have helped me the most.  They have given me the means to achieve states of liberation.  But more than their writing it's their teaching techniques which have influenced me, in fact I did not read Maharishi's main text until after writing Beyond Angels despite it sitting on my bookshelf for 35 years. Beyond Angels is written from my experiences and subsequent understanding gained from profound meditation.   Reading books only points the way and this is where many New-Age / MBS practices flounder. Without a good technique it's so very difficult to achieve the states of awareness I describe.   

5 -What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given.

The kindest of friends once told me that I should give thanks for what I can see.

The behaviour of someone was changing towards me because of my burgeoning spiritual vision, they were close to me and I was feeling deeply hurt.  My friend's advice was priceless: clarity is a blessing.

6 -Would you name  some “Desert Island” books or films (ones) you would like if you were stranded on a desert island - for young ones who don’t know about Desert Island discs!)

As a child I loved reading and that enjoyment of books has remained with me but if you're talking about spiritual books  I would take the Bible, St Thomas's Gospel and other equivalent texts, purely because I've never read them.

One spiritual book I would like to read again springs to mind instantly: 'Autobiography of a Yogi' by Paramahansa Yogananda.  I loved this book when I was young and it's a really enjoyable read.

There are many other types of literature I've enjoyed and would re-read, written by authors such as Henry James, Isabelle Allende and Grahame Green, to name just three of them.

Richard Abbot Interview

Wood Green this weekend is set to be another great show,  Richard Abott will be there presenting his talk "The Secrets of Numerology: How Numbers Guide Us Everyday", and we are lucky enough to have an interview with him on the blog.  Many thanks to Richard for answering our questions.  You can find him at Wood Green on sunday and online at www.yourwayforward.co.uk

1 - To start can you tell us a little bit about yourself.

The best way to understand me is like this...”when I tell muggle folk about my practices with Numerology, Tarot and Meditation they always say ‘that’s interesting, but you don’t live your life by all this do you?’ I always answer ‘YES, 100%’

 

2 - You said on your website you have zero tolerance for whiners, is that tough love or a way to find the souls that are genuine about change?

Everybody has something to complain about, and talking therapy is sometimes good for the soul. But in the global picture, most of us are blessed beyond measure and have a very little to genuinely moan about. Imagine for one minute the life of a young girl in Afghanistan or a black teenager in Detroit. Then count your blessings.

 

3 - Can you tell us a bit more about your talk?

 Mathematics (boring!) is about the quantity of numbers. Numerology talks about the quality of numbers, their life, their colour, their energy and their movement. Numbers are everywhere. Nothing of form can exist without number – nothing at all. We are governed, guided and directed by numbers every single day. My talk will help you to harness these cosmic forces.

 

4 - Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most?

My late mentor – Arthur Norris - was the greatest influence on my life. He was truly ahead of his time and was speaking about things that only now are coming into widespread consciousness. For example, he practised, taught and wrote about ‘The Power of Now’ over 20 years ago, albeit calling it by a different name.

5 - What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

The only constant is change. Nothing stays the same forever. It simply cannot.

Interview with Anna-Louise Haigh

Another interview for us in the run up to Wood Green.  This interview process has been quite an adventure, every interview I read becomes my current favourite and I've been excited and surprised by all of them.  This interview is with Anna-Louise Haigh and I think her passion for her "work" jumps off the pages.  Many thanks to her for taking the time to answer these questions, and if you need to know more (and you will!) you can find her online at www.anna-louisehaigh.com

1 - To start, could you tell us a little bit about yourself please.

About me – The main thing to know about me is that I am one of the really lucky people who neither has a

j-o-b nor do I w-o-r-k! Since 1988, every day I have the opportunity to do ME! What I DO is who I AM.

So what do I do? My passion is to act as a personal and professional mentor. I do this by recommendation from previous people who I have mentored when they needed help to navigate through change and self-renewal. The aim is to establish inner peace, harmony, happiness and meaning within your life.  

I mainly mentor women above the age of 35 helping them make sense of life events, cope with change and transition, and conquer their gremlins and limiting beliefs. Often my clients are trying to find the way forward after a relationship restructuring and at the same time trying to discover who they truly are beyond the labels of daughter, sister, wife, mother or professional. I believe that lasting empowerment is gained through self-knowledge, personal awareness and self-honouring. Although I offer mentoring across the spectrum of age, gender and need,  is my speciality.

I facilitate gradual lasting transformation through creating individual tools and techniques that will re-awaken what is sleeping within. The aim is to re-connect with what makes your heart sing and celebrate who you were born to be. Ultimately, this approach provides understanding of your soul’s purpose.

My personal journey has been the foundation for this role and perhaps like yours, was anything but sugar-coated.

If you want to know more…please read on….

The Journey is the best Education - Born in Leeds, England, our family moved to Canada when I was just 5 ½. At that time, life was good, very fun-filled and typically middle-class. However, I learned very young how to ‘be invisible’ when parental tempers flared.

From as early as can remember, I have always had an affinity with the power of touch to sooth, calm and heal through hands-on therapies. This natural interest helped develop a deep sense of insight and accurate intuition. At age 11 my parents divorced and a whole new life began.

The following years offered a myriad of challenging experiences and punctuated by rejection, abandonment and abuse which collectively would be difficult to imagine happening to one person. Living on an emotional knife edge this was a continual challenge. My experiences, fuelled by the unresolved issues, frustrations and actions of an unfulfilled solo parent, ultimately lead me to explore what drives human behaviour especially within relationships.

I didn’t realise it at the time however those early years instilled within me the ability to be something of a detective when it comes to identifying the source or causes of dis-harmony and dis-ease. This ignited my quest for understanding and answers created the foundations which have guided my academic education and professional direction.

Years of searching to find my own identity lead me to return to the UK at age 22 ostensibly for a 3 month holiday. Now, 30 years later I am still here!

After several years of full-time employment in the advertising arena, I ‘retired’ from the ‘rat race’ in 1988 at age 27 leaving the security of a weekly wage slip behind. This brave step would not have been possible if it were not for resilience and courage I gained through my upbringing. My time in Canada infused me with the pioneering spirit and this has been the driving force behind everything I have achieved.  

During the last three decades, my search for understanding lead has me on a personal journey which has included many years of professional training and personal work. By working through my life events and taking ownership of my choices, I am able to ‘walk my talk’ with empathy for others who are on their own personal journey. My education, combined with my background, intuitive and empathic nature, enables me to authentically offer the practical down-to earth yet an empowering and inspiring spiritual approach through personal mentoring, writing and teaching. This has allowed me to offer clear, effective, practical guidance as a facilitator enabling others create a pathway for self-renewal.

My journey has progressed from being a multi-disciplinary complementary therapist to Principal of my own school and Principal of a division of one of the schools I originally trained with, founder of an internationally practiced therapy (Daoyin Tao), international lecturer and Course director for UK students learning in China and Mongolia.

In the last several years I have been published and now have two highly acclaimed personal development books in print, The Soul Whisperer and Light-filled, Loving and Wise, (also available on Kindle). I regularly teach personal development courses and retreats. Most recently I have started to share my passion for Face Reading which I have been studying, exploring and enhancing since 1988.

I believe we are all a work in progress…sharing a journey….being the best we can….as we grow into all that we can be.  

2 - Why do think there is such a high demand for spiritual mentors these days?

I have often reflected on this question. I believe that we are all seeking to be connected , acknowledge and appreciated. Nuclear families have become distant and the pace of life has separated us from the close knit communities our grandparents enjoyed. Hence, the rise of social media exists to sooth this in-built need and does so very effectively, to a degree.

In addition, I feel that the increasing need for personal and spiritual mentors has been borne of a need to discover who we really are and why we are here following in the wake of the changes in our culture, society and economy over last 5 decades. If you look back over the last 50 years, the Western nations have zoomed through tremendous growth and opportunity reflected in what one expects life to offer them. Without the shadow of post-World war restrictions, individuals have enjoyed greater and greater freedom, opportunity, disposable income and material wealth.

The recent recession has sharply brought to light the question, ‘Who are you without your ….status, job, nice car, house, possessions, partner etc.?’ In the fore-running years, one would have defined themselves by what they owned or did for a living….unknowingly trading a deep connection with their inner- self for something with a price tag and a self-life of desirability.

Without the identity offered by being connected to a family unit, community, job status or material symbols, over the recent few years I see people are needing help finding the answer to the most important question … ‘who are you….?’  This inevitably means venturing into the question ‘what is my life all about?’

I feel that the need for mentors has always been constant. Now however, because of prevailing lifestyles those who are seeking guidance and understanding may not have family close-by, a religious connection or even neighbours to talk to. In our modern world, support and guidance is sought from external sources rather than from our close inner circle of family and trusted people.

When I look at the people who buy my books, seek personal mentoring or come on my courses or retreats they fit into a certain demographic. Interestingly most are female, between the ages of 35 and 65, have been through the ‘mill’ of life and are looking for something to help them make sense of their life. In many cases they want to make changes.  Many are seeking something to make them feel whole and complete, in the presumption that there is a gaping hole in them that can only be filled from the outside.

My belief is that we are more whole and compete that we are lead to believe. True wholeness begins with self-knowing and then self-appreciation, from there everything is possible. I would love to see the day when mentors, coaches, helpers and healers were not necessary. Maybe we should focus our wise guidance at the younger generations so they grow into all they were born to be with grace and ease.

3 - You have 3 Awaken Your Wow and Shine groups in the UK do you have plans for anymore?

YES! I started the first Awaken Your WOW and SHINE group in Harrogate in January 2012 and it has become a genuine hub for insight, inspiration, and personal appreciation. I absolutely love running the ‘WOW’ groups, meeting like-minded seekers of personal awakening and sharing topics that ignite a new passion for life and living.

In late spring 2013 I started similar groups in Penrith and Manchester. There are plans to start groups in York and Leeds. I need to keep the distances realistic so tend to stay within 2 hours travel time from my base in Harrogate. Therefore, I am more than happy to mentor and support anyone who wants to run a similar group in their area.

The success of the Awaken Your Wow and Shine group is lead by enthusiasm, experience and a genuine desire to help people appreciate what is right about their life rather than what they need to fix. That way they can build on what is good and nourishing for their soul and attract more of the same in everything they do.

I would love to do a ‘WOW’ roadshow over a number of weeks, visiting towns and cities in the UK to share the secrets how to ‘Awaken Your WOW and Shine!’  That would be fabulous fun and fit my remit of helping others smile and sparkle in reflection of all they are.

4 - Do you have any plans for a new book or has the other side of your career taken precedence?

More books are on the way as they are the threads that weave between my mentoring, teaching and personal journey. They will however be presented as e-books to enable me to produce what I am passionate about within a timely and efficient framework. My ebooks currently in progress include: The Butterfly Oracle Inspiration for Transformation, Nomenetics – exploring the soul resonance of your name and a simple guide to self-care massage for healthy breasts called – How to be your own Breast Friend

My aim when writing The Soul Whisperer and then Light-filled, Loving and Wise was that they would be timeless. They were written for seekers. Individuals who are on a journey and who need guidance and support through understanding both how the soul  communicates its wise on and learning opportunities along with universal truth. Since their publication in 2009 and 2010 respectively, I have had enormous positive feedback.

Through my books, we meet on the pages. Most importantly, through my writing I aim to inform, guide, inspire and empower. Within each chapter are insights into the philosophies and pathways that help readers become more self-aware. They also show how I would potentially work with you if the need arose.

The other sides of my work such as my workshops, retreats and face reading courses all weave together the aspects of personal awareness, growth and soul enlightenment. My books complement my work perfectly.

5 -Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most.

Difficult to limit my choice to just one person, however these people have each played a role - Louise Hay, Denise Linn and Caroline Myss and the present Dalai Lama

6 -What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given.

Everything is about choice - you are the master of your choices.

7- Would you name 6 “Desert Island” books or films (ones you would like if you were stranded on a desert island - for young ones who don’t know about Desert Island discs!)

Films – Pretty Women, Field of Dreams

Books – The Field – Lynn McTAggart

The Life You Were Born to Live by Dan Millman

Resisting the Soul by Nick Williams

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield