Our Lihou Christmas outing!
I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. Mine was certainly special, spending it with family and enjoying a freezing cold swim at blustery Vazon on Christmas Day morning and then repeating the whole experience again at Cobo on Boxing Day with hundreds of other crazy Guerns!! You have to love the Guernsey winter swimming spirit - well done to my parents who ventured in on Christmas morning, the first time they have swam in the sea since Christmas last year!
It never ceases to amaze me that while I always think Christmas will be a restful break, it is far from restful making sure to spend time with as many family members as possible. Still that said, I very much enjoy the energy of Christmas, not so much the materialism, but the fact that it does encourage family to get together ans enjoy some quality family time. Not that that doesn't come with its issues, of course, there are always many needs to consider, but it can be a time of much joy and blessings.
Yesterday Ewan and I managed to make the most of the beautifully calm, crisp and bright day by cycling down to Lihou as the causeway closed and the sun set behind the Hanois lighthouse. Ewan loves to watch the tide closing the causeway, which always makes me a little nervous, because he insists on standing as far along it as he can and moving back towards Guernsey with the running tide. And my gosh, that tide certainly moves quickly! I don't know that I have ever watched it as closely as I did yesterday, with Ewan timing the movement of water.
I got scared eventually and started walking back towards L'Eree, stopping every so often to witness Ewan's movement along the causeway and also take in the incredible skies, with the moon rising, the sky a sun burnt amber and the stars starting to shine. Back at L'Eree I stopped and sat on the rocks and just listened to the elements, the sound of the sea and the birds as nightfall descended. Bliss. I haven't been able to do that for ages.
Ewan made it back safely, his feet a little wet, and we tested my new bike lights as we headed off in darkness along to Grandes Rocque to visit friends and then back towards home stopping at Le Fleur de Jardin to meet other friends visiting from Australia before heading uphill all the way home. Boy was I pleased to get into the house and give my poor body a break from all that cycling!!
So New Year is a matter of days away. All being well we should be in France enjoying nature on our friends' farm in Normandy. I can't wait. Let's just hope the weather is kind and the boat runs on time. This will be the first time for ages I haven't spent the New Year with Hayley in London doing our burning bowl ceremony, I might have to do it on my own this year!!! See http://www.reikiwebstore.com/ProductPage.cfm?ProductID=377&CategoryID=16 for more info.
Happy holidays!
xx
Happy Winter Solstice!
Today is Yule, a pre-Christian holiday celebrated on the winter solstice, which falls today this year. It is the true new year both astronomically and spiritually, where we see both the death and rebirth of the Sun God represented in the shortest day and longest night of the year. From this time on the sun grows in strength and power and changes direction (as seen from Earth) to move north again.
It actually occurred at 5.30am GMT. Apparently after dark, if you look toward the west you'll see Venus in the sign of Aquarius, and if you look toward the east you will see Jupiter in Taurus. Both are bright in the sky.
At this Solstice the Sun forms an exact trine (or flow of energy) with Jupiter, which is quite rare and is very good news! Jupiter is the planet of faith, of hope and abundance. It is the archetype of Father Christmas and gives blessings and grace to whatever it touches.
In the earthy sign of Taurus it wants to give us pleasure and beauty ans can offer a sense of sheer joy and gratitude of being alive. Apparently the Sun is also close to Pluto- God of the Underworld, which has been happening since 2008 when Pluto moved into Capricorn. Pluto is the Transformer, it destroys only to rebuild, just like the phoenix.
The Moon is in the sign of Scorpio, emphasizing this theme of deep transformation. So often this week I have heard the word "transformation" spoken by many.
The Sun is square to Uranus, which could lead to an overload of nervous energy-take time to slow down and meditate. I have noticed this in my own life today, so much mania. Thus it is essential to try and stay grounded - walk on the earth, practise some standing and balancing Yoga poses, eat some grounding food and breathe some fresh air!
Essentially Yule is the time to begin to think about what you want to accomplish in the months ahead. It is a time to outline the goals you wish to work toward. So now is a time to focus attention inward to allow your higher self, or spiritual side, time to clarify what needs to be done and which goals should be set.
I was fortunate to witness the light of the sun brightening the horizon as I began my morning Yoga practice, soon of course the clouds set in, but it was lovely to have the reminder that it is there...the light following the darkness again.
It was a joy to teach this morning - thank you to all of you who made this final class of the Year so special, on the Solstice with a practice intended to help us ground our energy, connect with the breath to turn inwards and a chakra balancing meditation to encourage balance on all levels.
Of course it has been a manic day. The excitement of Christmas, last minute pressured jobs in the office and that general sense of tiredness as the clock ticks closer to a much needed break.
I was fortunate to have the space to join my wonderful friend Christine for a simple winter solstice ritual, lighting 13 candles together to represent each planet and the nodes of the Moon, and speaking affirmations in the process. Wonderful spine shivering music played in the background as we sat in front of the glow of the 13 tealights set on the windowsill, a view of the trees and what would have been the setting sun, if it wasn't for the clouds (!) in the background. We read a reading each from Benedictus, so relevant and so touching that it made us both very present. It does indeed feel like it is transition time into new beginnings. Thank you Chris, I'll always remember our Solstice celebration, truly beautiful x
So happy solstice everyone. Enjoy the lighter days ahead!
xxxxxxx
I have given them to you in the order that they rise above the horizon at 5.30am on December 22nd.
Winter weather!
This weather is crazy! It feels like all the rain we haven't had this year has come this last week or so. Yuck! Mind you, on a more positive note, at least the ducks are happy, plus of course the reservoir over here in Guernsey should be getting full!!
Often I am away at this time of year, last year we were in Nepal, so it has been a bit of a shock to the system to witness the incredible darkness of the last week. I was practicing Yoga yesterday morning in the Yoga space and it felt like 4pm in the afternoon, I had to have the light on to be able to see my mat! Mind you all is not lost, it is the winter solstice next week and we should start to see a marginal increase in light again, hoorah!!
Sitting here in front of the lovely warm fire, I can hear the rain falling and the wind whipping around the outside of the house. There are severe weather warnings in place for the English Channel tonight, so it looks like we may be in for a bumpy night ahead. I find the storms rather exciting because they have so much energy and can create so much chaos and yet you get this incredible peace afterwards...like the old is blown away to make way for the new.
Talking of being blown away, E and I spent last weekend pine cone collecting. Not to be outdone by my parents who have found this great secret spot, E chanced on a spot somewhere else on the Island, which has now become our secret spot. It was so exciting to find all these pine cones, in fact I am excited about going again this weekend. We love burning pine cones on the fire, they have a lovely smell and really help to warm the room and there is something really satisfying about foraging in the wild!!
There was a beautiful full moon on Saturday and I managed to cleanse all my crystals under its shine. We went for a magical walk at Jerbourg on Sunday with Charles and Jane and E's Mum, all the way down to Divette (I think) next to Marble Bay, such lovely cute little bays, we were lucky to avoid the rain showers! I guess it is due to the weather, but I am always surprised how few people are on the cliffs on a Sunday, great for us as we get them to ourselves!
So time to count down to the winter solstice and all that offers by way of celebration.
xxxxxxx
The joy of London
E and I went to London to celebrate his birthday last weekend. We managed a quick swim in the sea at Petit Bot before we flew out...it was cold, it is certainly going to be a challenge to continue this swimming malarkey all through the winter months!
London was as wonderful as ever - incredibly hectic, noisy and busy so that I couldn't live there, but fun to visit for a weekend. On Friday the weather was bright and clear, albeit a touch cold, and we enjoyed fabulous views of the entire city from the London Eye - there are so many cranes in the city!! From there we walked all the way along South Bank to Tower Bridge. We actually walked along the side of the Thames for a bit, down on the "beach" with all its stones, pebbles and sea glass! Pretty grim water, but I must admit it does provide another experience of the city - I have never walked down there before.
We visited the Tower of London, not cheap but a first for both of us. I must admit I wasn't really that interested in the whole prisoner torturing stuff (pretty sick what they did to people, incredible that people can cause so much pain to others) but loved seeing the jewels, albeit that someone told me they are not the real ones - certainly looked real to me, so special all those crown jewels, lots of sparkles. We walked all the way back from the Tower, through Somerset House and along Pall Mall all the way back to Green Park and caught a tube onwards to Ealing where we were staying.
On Saturday E, our friend Charles with whom we were staying, and I, walked along to a Yoga class I had found in Ealing, not far from Charles' flat. It was actually held in the home of a lovely lady called Teresa, who is fortunate to have her own studio in a massive room in her house. I had emailed prior to our trip to check we could attend, yes no problem, mixed ability and mats available, but it is still always interesting turning up to classes for the first time, as you don't know the protocol - we could not locate the Yoga space initially, it was the smell of incense that finally gave it away!! I love that smell, feels like coming home.
It was one of the funniest and most inspiring and uplifting classes I have attended for some time. Teresa is wonderful - anyone living in Ealing please seek her out. E and I don't practice Yoga together that regularly now due to other commitments, so it is always quite a treat when we do get the opportunity, generally off-Island. Charles used to go to Bikram classes on a semi-regular basis but is not so aware of the flow of a vinyasa class and I must admit I did get the giggles as Teresa rushed over to help on a number of occasions.
She has a wonderful space, the incense, the music, her energy, I don't know, it just created a lovely ambiance. The class was strong in places and I learnt some new movements, which is always a joy as it means I have been able to share them with students in my own classes this week. E was very happy because at the end of the class Teresa asked him if he teaches Yoga! Clearly he has been taught well over the years, he is more than able with his own practice at home, occasionally I find him in the Yoga room releasing his piriformis in pigeon, or enjoying a headstand.
So the class put me on a big high, reminding me of the joy of practicing in a classroom environment and being led through a sequence without having to think what to practice next. I just wish I could do this more often in Guernsey but sadly, despite the number of teachers practicing on the Island, classes are not held 24-7 like they are - comparatively - in London or any other big cities in the world.
The rest of the weekend was fun. We drove through Richmond Park and delighted in the seeing the wild deer. We drove around a few little towns in Surrey looking at property. We went dancing, which was such great fun, hugely liberating and uplifting, energising too. We even managed a spot of shopping, Ealing has some great charity shops and E and I came away with a number of books and trinkets.
So all in all a fabulous trip away. Thank you to Teresa for her inspiration and to Charles for putting us up all weekend.
xxx
A weekend of nature!
What another stunning weekend on Guernsey and indeed Herm, it is weekends like these that make me feel so gracious for living in such a wonderful place - one overlooks all the traffic!!
E had a friend visiting from the UK so we decided to make the most of the free boats to Herm, plus the wonderfully mild and bright weather, to visit Herm with Hayley and Mike. We walked from Rosaire where the boat docked, all the way around the Southern cliffs of the Island to Belvoir Bay, as beautiful as ever.
In fact it was fantastic as the tide was particularly low, the lowest I have ever seen it on Herm and while it may not have been ideal for our annual November Herm swim, it did mean that we got to walk all the way from Belvoir to Shell Beach on the beach itself, which was a first for all of us.
E, his friend Nige, and I went for the swim, no easy feat as we had to walk some distance over the sand banks to get wet beyond our waist. Meanwhile on the beach, Hayley and Mike were indulging in some Tai Chi. I was aware that a few passing visitors were taking photos - clearly amused by people swimming in the sea in November and practicing Tai Chi along the shoreline!!
I can't quite believe it is almost the beginning of December and here we were swimming in the sea without it feeling absolutely freezing. The weather is so strange this year, well in comparison to last year when it was almost snowing by now. I still see people wearing shorts and flipflops and there are still flowers everywhere.
My lovely farmer friend in France mentioned that she had been talking to other farmers, one who does the seaweed test and this shows it is going to be a very cold winter, and another who does the onion test, and this shows that it is going to be a very mild winter. So I guess even Nature is confused. You can certainly see this in the garden at the moment, what with dandelions and daffodil bulbs shooting. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.
It really is beautiful over there on Herm. I just love the peace and quiet and the lack of traffic, plus all the wildlife and bird life surrounding you. You can't help but leave Herm feeling a little more refreshed and grounded than when you arrived. It just slows you down somehow, plus I love the fact you have to walk everywhere...you can only hurry that so much!!
Sunday and we spent some of the morning wandering around Earlswood gardening centre looking at all the trees and plants and flowers. I love smelling all the herbs and E loves checking out the "sick bay" where they put any trees of plants that are suffering in some way. I bought E a sickly pine tree as an early birthday present together with an indoor gardenia, which should continue to emit a rather pleasant smell. It has this wonderful energy in the nursery and every time I visit I can't help thinking that, like my parents' greenhouse, it would be a calming and uplifting environment for a Yoga class. We'll see...
In the afternoon we walked from Petit Bot down to Portelet, that lovely sandy beach only accessible at low tide on foot. There is this crack in the cliff face that E has managed to walk through previously and was keen to show Nige. There was a fisherman down on the rocks but other than that we did not pass a sole on the whole walk. I wonder if people realise how invigorated and uplifted it makes you feel going for a walk on the cliffs.
Mind you I shouldn't complain, the less people enjoying the cliffs, the more peaceful it is when we do exactly that. However it is a shame because they are stunning and such good exercise, you couldn't help but get fit if you walked, and certainly ran, on those cliffs a few times a week. You just need to make sure to practice some Yoga thereafter, to stretch out the legs and rest a while!!
So another lovely weekend courtesy of Mother Nature, E and friends. Thank you.
With love
xxx