Last Thursday evening, I went to my first official African drumming lesson.  It was absolutely fantastic.  It is a perfect way to de-stress as the repetitive beat is hypnotic and keeps you in the present moment.  This means that for once the troublesome mind is still and the heart is allowed to feel.  I guess it’s a type of meditation and of course it’s a well known fact that sound is very healing.  There were only 6 of us and yet there was a wonderful sense of connection in the room and a lot of smiling faces.  I can’t remember feeling as happy as that since my first biodanza claass.

If you wish to find out more about this enjoyable pastime, go to www.noahafromusic.com.  Give it a go.

During my two-week vacation in the Gambia over Christmas and the New Year, I was fortunate enough to have been invited by a local to his parents’ home where he lived with his numerous sisters and nephew.  Shortly after arriving, he left the room to take a shower leaving me with his almost non-English speaking family (the children were learning at school.)  Very quickly they began to sing and dance, as only Africans can – it’s in every fibre of their being – and after a short while, I was asked to sing something.  Without hesitation or embarrassment, I chose a short, very beautiful song which I was happy to share with them.  Even though I knew that they didn’t understand the words, nevertheless, they understood the feeling.

I then encouraged them to sing and dance some more and I felt so at ease and confident that I joined in myself.  It was a really wonderful experience which demonstrated perfectly the power of non-verbal communication (facial expression and body language) as well as the fact that music and dance can transcend language barriers and bring connection between people from completely different backgrounds.  I felt absolutely in the moment and connected with my African sisters and could not have wished for a more authentic experience than this.

Yesterday evening, I went to a Biodanza class.  It was a very moving (pardon the pun) experience.  Although I had never done this before, I took to it like a duck to water. 

Rolando further extended his system to make it attractive to a wider public. Within a typical Biodanza class, we are invited to embark on an enjoyable exploration of our emotions. Dancing to a selection of inspiring music ranging from Bach to Beatles, and from fiery South American rhythms to wistful Celtic airs creates a decidedly “feel good” effect. Sometimes dancing is solo, at other times in 2s, and even in larger groups. It offers an opportunity to express yourself creatively through movement and dance in a safe and supportive environment.  My first experience was extremely powerful.  There was much eye contact between the Biodanza participants which personally I am very comfortable with and lots of genuine, heart-felt smiling.  It was contagious.  I couldn’t stop smiling and several times there were also tears.  Sometimes, they were tears of joy and other times tears of release.  I felt an internal beauty which I have never.  In fact, I felt like I had touched my very divinity.

So, if you are looking to combine exercise with both an emotional and spiritual aspect to it and are not afraid to step out of your comfort zone, step into Biodanza. 

Richard Wilson, of One Foot in the Grave fame, recently presented a programme on death entitled “Two Feet in the Grave.”  He gave us a whistle stop tour of the industry including coffin makers, embalmers, the cremation process and burials.  He admitted that, at the age of 72, he was still fearful of death and has done nothing to plan for it. 

It seems that he, like me, believes that death is still a taboo subject and that people are more fearful of it now than they were in the past.  This may well be due to the fact that we have little or no experience of death as we are growing up, whereas in years gone by, people were dying more readily and at a younger age.

In addition, traditions have changed significantly and less people actually die in the home.  In the past, most people died at home and the body was kept there for people to view right up until the day of the funeral when the undertakers would come and collect it.   Furthermore, it was not uncommon for photos to be taken of the dead person and then put on display.  Some old photos were shown on the programme and included young children in the picture.  With the advent of the “nanny state” and excessive health and safety laws, the whole death process has largely been taken out of our hands and put into those of the “professionals.”  Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that we’re scared to death of it, if you’ll pardon the pun, as it’s the fear of the unknown. 

Becoming more familiar with the various processes should help to ease the worry about death.  Moreover, it is the one sure thing in life – it happens to all living things and therefore it makes sense to face up to it.  For those who believe in life after death, death is merely the doorway to the next life.  The body may be seen as a vehicle which the driver discards at death and moves on to a different circumstance.  Death in this case is purely a transition.

Last Saturday, I visited Glastonbury for the first time, to attend an Interfaith Ministry open day.  I arrived early so had a little time to do some window shopping.  Glastonbury High Street seems to be full of book shops and all manner of spiritual and mystical things and very little else.  Everyone knows that Glastonbury is known for its spiritual quality.

So, I guess that what happened next should not have surprised me.  I was standing in front of a particular shop scanning the books in the window when one title jumped out at me.  It’s called The Conscious Universe by D Radin.  I thought, that’s strange – I’m sure that I’ve seen that title before.  I realised, almost immediately, that it had been mentioned in the book I was currently reading, The Art of Dying by Peter and Elizabeth Fenwick.  As it happened, I had that particular book in my handbag, so immediately took it out, turned back just 2 pages and there was the title of the very same book.  How strange I thought.  I went inside and asked the shop owner about it and he told me that it had only come in that morning!  Talk about synchronicity.  Have you had any such experiences?  Do tell.

I was recently on my way to Essex with a colleague when, early into the journey, I said that I would like to stop at the appropriate time for lunch.  I also made it clear that I did not want to eat at a motorway café.  Then I stated that what would be perfect would be a lovely little pub, with good food and very reasonable prices.  I then let the thought go. 

Some time later, my colleague, who was driving, said we better turn off at the next turning, as this was the last possible place to leave the road, before the motorway.  I said, go for it.  Within no more than 2 minutes, I kid you not, there was a sign saying The Fox Inn.  You could have knocked me down with a feather.  We followed the signpost down a narrow lane and, again, within no more than another 2 minutes, we arrived at the Fox Inn.  In the car park, was a sign saying that they had won the Best Pub Food Award 2007.  It was a good omen.   

On entering the pub, we were immediately struck by the abundance of vases of pink and white lilies, whose wonderful display and fragrance filled the room.  (It also just so happens that we both love lilies!)  We picked up a menu and decided to go for the pub food.  My colleague ordered scampi and chips and I ordered cottage pie and vegetables.  We decided that we would share.  The food was absolutely delicious and we cleaned our plates with much relish.  The cherry on the cake was that the two meals came to under £14.00.  In fact, we received everything that I had asked for and more.  How does this work?  It’s the magic of the universal intelligence, working through us.  In simple terms, there are four key steps:

1)     State clearly and in the present tense what you desire.

2)     Believe that it has already been manifested – the timing is up to the universe, though.

3)     Be grateful.

4)     Let the thought go, so that the creative process can take place.

Try it out. 

I know that the human race is going through very difficult times at all levels right now - economically, socially and even spiritually.  However, truth is truth and never changes, no matter what dramas are playing out on the world stage. 

Consider this.  If you are in a room which is pitch black and you can see absolutely nothing at all, all you need do is strike one match.  The light created by this one match will be sufficient for you to find the door and leave the room.  However, if you are in a room which is fully lit and there was such a thing as a match which created darkness, the striking of one of these matches in a lit room would have no impact on your vision whatsoever.  Therefore, light is much much more powerful than darkness.  So if you ever find yourself in a dark place in your mind, just visualise striking one match and this simple act will bring you enough clarity to lead you back to the light.

I absolutely adore when synchronicities occur in my life and always notice them, no matter how small they are.  When these happen, you know that you are in alignment with universal intelligence and that all is well.  One such synchronicity transpired the other day.  Three people had cancelled from one of my courses, two of which were only hours before.  After the initial feeling of disgruntlement, I thought of what Terry Cole-Whittaker, an American motivational speaker who I frequently listen to, said in one of her CDs.  It was “I always give my million dollar talk even if there is only one person.”

I resolved to do exactly the same.  Then driving to the venue which was only 15 minutes away, I put one of Terry’s CDs into the car player.  About 10 minutes into the journey, this very quote was played.  I was pretty surprised.  So what you may think?  Well consider this.  I have 60 of her CDs, each of which has around 9 tracks, which makes a 1 in 540 chance of that happening.  Then if you consider that each track might be around 5 minutes long and the quote itself less than a minute, you need to multiply the 540 x 5 which then equates to 2,700.  Now, I’m not a mathematician nor a probability expert but common sense tells me that this is pretty significant for it to be purely chance.

The result of the day was that I did give my million dollar training for just 3 people and we had a magical day which they found valuable as well as enjoyable.  It was a wonderful lesson for me.

If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ll know that my Father died suddenly a few weeks ago – my ex husband died unexpectedly 6 weeks before him and then my aunt (my Father’s sister) about a month ago in January.  One by one the lights went out, until I could see no lights – not even a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I’m extremely happy to report that in the last 10 days or so, I have started to turn the corner and realised that now I can see not just one light but several lights at the end of the tunnel.  Yes, I am still working through the grieving process and yes, there is much to encounter in the weeks to come.  However, now I am looking forward to going through this process and welcome it, including the pain.   Remember, what we resist persists!  (I expect I have written this phrase before.)

This is a huge change in my perception of it from anger to acceptance.  I can now have some tears when I want to and accept them merely as part of the healing process.  Even in the last week or so, I have felt, on occasions, almost overwhelming gratitude towards a number of people, warmth and affection not to mention ebullience.  In the background, I know that there is still sadness but the thought of life without my Father no longer appears impossible. 

Grief for me is felt keenly and yet I know that the healing and growth it will bring in the long run will be well worth while.  Many people report that, through the process of adjusting to a loss, they have, in some way, grown and become a stronger person.

For a long time, I had been intending to get hold of a copy of Dr Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” as he had frequently been quoted in  personal development books.  Finally, I did, and I was not disappointed.

In the preface, it says: “In his book, Dr Frankl (a psychiatrist) explains the experience which led to his discovery of logotherapy.  As a long time prisoner in bestial concentration camps, he found himself stripped to naked existence.  With the exception of his sister, his entire family perished in these camps.  How could he with every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination – how could he find life worth preserving? …”

And yet he did.  Day after day, and week after week.  It’s a moving and inspiring story.  For me, his most meaningful quote is:

“Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”