Love you

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”

– John Lennon –

So it’s been quite a while since I wrote my last blog post. Over 4 months in fact. The last post being 30 March earlier this year. Quite a long hiatus. As I have mentioned before,  I only ever write my blog when I feel to. Sometimes I have months and months where I will write a post every day, sometimes more than 1, other times I don’t feel to write a post for months and months, hence the break.

I think its so important to only share a post when you have something worth sharing. In fact more importantly, something you feel to share.

I have had a pretty interesting last few months and there are so many things I have learnt, however, for some reason, I haven’t felt to share them through my blog for some reason.

However, I was just in a Transcendental Meditation and something came to me that I really wanted to share with you. The importance of loving oneself. 

I have just come back from a long overdue trip back home to the Motherland of England. I hadn’t been home for nearly 2 and a half years, and it was very much needed. I was there for nearly a month and it was an incredibly wonderful, fun, exciting, happy, special and healing trip.

While I was there I spent some time with a friend who shared some news with me about a family member of theirs who passed quite suddenly some years ago. I of course felt incredible compassion for them while they were telling me this story, especially because of how close they were to this family member, and how dearly they loved them. They also told me of the feelings that they went through as a result of losing such a loved one, and the things they have learnt about that loss since.

Interestingly, after they had shared this news with me, it brought up a memory of my gran from when she was still alive.

My gran suffered from senile dementia for quite a while, years and years in fact and towards the end of her life, she spent her remaining days, weeks, months and years in a home. I lose track of time, but at some point she got pneumonia and was hospitalised. I can remember going to visit her in hospital and it was at this point in her journey that she started to lose the power of speech.

I remember it being very strange talking to her, and her not being able to really respond. If I said something to her, she would just make a sort of monotone sound for what seemed like a while, which would culminate in her uttering two words. Always. It didn’t matter what I said, or what I asked, there were only two words that she could utter. And it was these two words, that would be the last two words that I would ever hear her say.

Love you. 

At the time, I was touched by how simple a sentiment it was. My heart was warmed by the fact that all she wanted to say to us was ‘Love you’, assuming that the I was missing. And it was only when I was recounting this story to my beautiful friend just a few weeks ago, did I realise the profundity of the fact that these were the final two words left in her vocabulary, because really, these are the only two words we really need. In fact, even if we were to reduce it to one, the only word we really ever need is love.

As I was telling him this story, he was reduced to tears and it was in this moment that I was reminded of what a beautiful, kind, loving, heart-centered soul my gran was. So gentle, so sweet, so lovely. And even though, at the time, I was so very sad that she was losing her power of speech, when I reflect back on that time, everything about that moment was absolutely perfect.

And even as I reflect back now, on telling my friend this story, I can go one level deeper with my understanding of the importance of these final two words that she had for me. At the time, I thought she was expressing her love for me, which is probably how most of us, most of the time would interpret the sentiment ‘love you’. What I now realise is that she was giving me the most important piece of advice that anyone could ever give me. Love you. Love me. 

And that is the sentiment of my blog post today. We must love ourselves before we can give love to anyone else or attract it for that matter. We must find love inside, before looking for it elsewhere. In fact, it is in the very act of giving love to ourselves that we will find it in others and see it reflected most beautifully back at us through them.

Every year, I set an intention. Last year my intention was to improve my relationship with money, and boy did I learn that one. This year, my intention has been to understand and experience unconditional love. Unconditionally love for myself and in achieving this, by definition, being able to give unconditional love to others, as we are all one. I have been on a quest to absorb, learn and envelop all knowledge, wisdom and advice on love, living from the heart etc. I’ve read book after book, done heart opening meditation after heart opening meditation, practised yoga religiously, done numerous kundalini yoga classes and all sorts of healing work to bring me out of my head and down into my heart, the list goes on . . . but essentially, the key to experiencing unconditional love it seems, is very simple. And that is to love yourself, unconditionally. To Love You. 

So, my question for you today is, how are you going with loving you? How loving are you with your thoughts about yourself? How loving are you with your words to yourself? And how loving are you to others, because, after all, we’re all one. They are you, you are they. And if the answer to any of these questions is ‘not very’ how can you be kinder, sweeter, nicer, and lovelier with the words that you think and say to yourself and to others? How can you Love You more?

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light x x x

Let go of yesterday

‘Close your eyes, clear your heart, let it go.’

– Anon –

Yesterday ended in a slightly wobbly way for me, and in waking this morning I asked the Universe ‘How I can let go and move forwards positively?’.

The answer came in the form of a beautiful meditation that showed up in my inbox by the very beautiful Luminita (aka The Purpose Fairy). It is one of the most wonderful guided meditations I have listened to in a long time, so I wanted to share it with you all.

 

If there is anything that happened yesterday that is even slightly unsatisfactory, this is the perfect meditation to help you let go of it, so you can enjoy today in a peaceful, calm and harmonious way.

Enjoy!

Sending you love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Learn more

Visit The Purpose Fairy website

Think and Grow Rich

‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.’

-Napoleon Hill –

WOW. This is literally one of the most fantastic books I have ever read, and I’m among good company as it has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. There is was too much to say about how brilliant the contents of this book is, so first and fore-mostly I will say, if you haven’t read this book yet, I can highly recommend it.

Secondly, I will attempt to summarise why it is indeed so fantastic.

This book will give you the secret to making money and being abundantly successful in life. It will give you practical advice, steps and tools to follow and it will give you real life examples of people who have followed the success principles that Napoleon Hill outlines to achieve financial abundance in their lives.

He also explains how powerful our thoughts are, and when used correctly and positively can be used to manifest incredible things in our life (including money). And he explains the importance of working with (as Napoleon refers to it) Universal Intelligence in order to manifest our hearts desires.

This book is the bible when it comes to making money. And when the guidelines given are received, accepted, believed and acted upon, to the letter, only good will come to the people who read it. Literally anything is possible in life.

And in the book, he outlines 13 Steps to follow in order to achieve riches in life:

1. Desire: The Starting Point of all Achievement
2. Faith: Visualizing and Believing in the Attainment of Desire
3. Autosuggestion: The Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind
4. Specialized KnowledgeL Personal Experience or Observations
5. Imagination: The Workshop of the Mind
6. Organized Planning: The Crystallization of Desire into Action
7. Decision: The Mastery of Procrastination
8. Persistence: The Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith
9. Power of the Master Mind: The Driving Force
10. The Myster of Sex Transmutation
11. The Subconscious Mind: The Connecting Link
12. The Brain: A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought
13. The Sixth Sense: The Door to the Temple of Wisdom

I was interviewed at an event last weekend in Sydney run by the beautiful people at Soul Sessions called ‘Think Feel & Grow Rich‘ alongside the very wonderful Justine Ruszczyk, where we discussed in more detail how people can apply the principles that Napoleon discusses in his book in real life.

I spoke in detail about the importance of having a definite chief aim and how, what I do through my company Thought Cloud, can help people get very clear on this in relation to their brand. When you are clear on your values, your mission, your vision, what you do, why you do it and who you do it for, its much easier to manifest and create a business that you love and that brings abundance back to you in equal measure to what you offer to the world.

Justine spoke at length and in detail about the neuroscience, quantum physics and epigenetics that is now available to us, that supports the principles he discusses in his book. And the fact that our thoughts really do create our reality, and that we all have the ability to take control of our mind and have it work for us in a positive manner, rather than it controlling us and out lives.

Justine has studied under world renowned neuroscientist and author, Dr Joe Dispenza and is responsible for bringing his work to Australia, and there is a really great interview between Soul Session founder Eloise King and Joe which you might enjoy.

He is also about to release a fantastic new book on Self Healing entitled ‘You Are The Placebo: Making Your Mind Matter‘ which is due for release on 29 April.

And for those of you who want to get involved with Napoleon Hills work right away, before even reading the book, there is a great 2 hour long video on You Tube that you will enjoy.

 

So, in conclusion, if you haven’t bought or read this book yet, and you’re wanting to create more wealth and abundance in your life, take the fact that you’re reading this blog post as a sign and run out and get a hold of the book. I promise you from the bottom of my heart, you won’t regret it.

Sending you love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Learn more

Buy Think & Grow Rich at the book depository or the Kindle Edition.

Buy Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose your Mind and Create a New One at the book depository or via the Kindle Edition.

Watch What the Bleep Do We Know? 

 

Visit  Dr Joe Dispenza’s website

 

 

Open Your Heart

‘I didn’t know love, until I knew you.’

– Parzival –

So I enjoyed yet another truly wonderful Dru Yoga class today. Words literally cannot describe how fantastic and powerful this style of yoga is. The practice that my teacher put together today was nothing short of amazing, and I was in a flood of tears by the end of it. Some would think that’s a bad thing, but I was obviously shifting something, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

At the beginning of every year I set an intention. Last year it was to improve my relationship with money, little did I know that I would end up enduring 7 months of not making any money at all through my business, in order to learn the lessons that I needed to learn (including the importance of being able to receive). However, the tricky stuff aside, the Universe definitely delivered and I have definitely improved my relationship with money, and am continuing to perfect it day by day.

This year I set the intention to really, truly and honestly understand what it is to unconditionally love, knowing full well that that would begin with myself. Because once I have unconditional love for me, I will then experience it with all of the other people and relationships that I have in my life, as they’ll be reflections of me.

And the Universe, being true to its word has already set about helping me out with that one. First and foremost, it has required me to be single, so no more boyfriend for me right now. In fact, no boyfriend until I love myself completely and unconditionally and don’t need anyone else to fill in the holes that I haven’t filled myself.

The next few months of this year is going to be a love affair with myself and opening my heart as far and wide as possible. And there are so many beautiful things and experiences that are showing up to help me with that. Dru Yoga, heart opening meditations from Mind Valley, amazing energy work from Heart Centered Living expert Mr Robert Kirby, Sound Healing to open up my heart, the list is endless. In fact, my intention of every day is to open up my heart as wide as I can, wider and wider with every day that passes, so I can let as much love and light in, and give is back to the earth in equal measure.

Also, very interestingly, this is an 11/2 Personal Year for me in Numerology. The 2 representing a year of relationships, balance and emotions. A year to create harmony in my life and work on relationships, including, most importantly, my relationship with myself. And the higher vibration of 11, means I’ll experience a year of illumination, inspiration and personal growth. A year where I will be given opportunities to reach a higher level of awareness and experience growth and further enlightenment. To calculate your personal year, you add the day and month that you were born to the current year.

So for me this is 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 4 = 11 As I was born on 2 Nov.

And so, as I write to you from the comfort of my sofa at home, a cup of rooibos tea, some cadburys chocolate and a couple of candles flickering beside me, I’m enjoying a very lovely date night in with myself and I couldn’t be happier. Once this post has been written, I will probably enjoy a lovely soak in a epsom salt + lavender oil bath and then snuggle down for the night.

So, I guess the purpose of this post is to encourage all of your beautiful people to open your hearts too. Whenever life sends you a slightly tricky situation or an experience that perhaps isn’t ideal, just open your heart and let love out and let love in and see what happens next. I’m doing this as much as I can every day and I’m getting some pretty beautiful results.

And to close, here is a very beautiful song ‘Til I Knew You by the very wonderful Parzival.

 

Here’s to love, light and opening our hearts to all the love that is there for us to experience.

Open-hearted love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

P.S. If you want to fin out what the meaning of your Personal Year is and have a 60 minute Numerology reading, I do these in person in Manly, Australia or over Skype for $220. Just drop me an email at kat@thoughtcloudcollective.com to book a time slot with me. 🙂

Image gratitude – http://poemsprayersandponderings.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/let-your-heart-be-known/open-your-heart/

 

Enjoy the Good Life

‘When you’re happy like a fool, let it take you over
When everything is out you gotta take it in
Oh, this has gotta be the good life’
– One Republic, Good Life –

As I sit here typing an email to confirm the details for the bank account that my partner and I are opening for our new conscious clothing company, Katkin, I’m listening to Good Life by One Republic. And its a very simple message that I want to share with you today and that is about appreciating the good life.

 

Life is always going to throw us curve balls. People are sometimes going to act out of turn and blindside you. People might get sick. You may have disappointments or things that make you confused or sad. However, with every down there is an up. Without the sour we can’t enjoy the sweet. And this is the magical and varied tapestry of the thing we call life. And no matter what happens, essentially we are here to enjoy the ride and the journey.

So, whatever goes on in your life. Feel it, experience it, observe it, and ultimately aim to enjoy it and make the most of it, because this is the opportunity that we have in every moment that we are alive in these beautiful bodies living upon this exquisite planet.

So, this blog post is dedicated to enjoying the good life. And whenever life is giving you lemons, you always have the opportunity to turn them into lemonade. It just takes a little sugar and water. 🙂

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Image gratitude – http://miriamskalli.de/Enjoy-the-good-life

For more inspiration read my other blog posts

Enjoy the Ride

Enjoy the Ride (Part 2)

 

 

Be there for you

“Yeah she’s got light in her face, she don’t need no rescuing she’s okay.
Yeah, she’s got life in her veins, she don’t need no rescuing she’s okay
No S.O.S. needed, no rescuing, she’s fine out there.”

– Yuna, Rescue –

Today has been super awesome so far. I really do feel as though I have light in my face and life in my veins. And the highlight at this point? The most wonderful Restorative Hatha Yoga class today with my lovely teacher Kylie, who has the voice of an angel and blesses us with her beautiful singing voice throughout the class. Followed by a very delicious swim in the sea. Yum!

We set a strong intention to let go of something in class today, and for me, it was the negative stories that don’t serve me. And we also set the intention to let more of something into our lives? For me, this was more joy and more self-love. And I am really, really feeling that right now as I type, and it is being infused in the words that I type.

And as I jumped into the shower after my mini adventure in the sea, I listened to this incredibly uplifting and inspiring song by Yuna. And the words really did resonate with me. I don’t need rescuing anymore by anyone. I’m all good. And in fact, I’m all there. I’m there for myself 100%. I don’t need anyone outside of me to love me or care for me or support me, I can provide that for myself. Fulfilling all of my needs 100%. Creating an opportunity for everyone else in my life to be their own awesome selves, 100%. It’s all good.

 

And as she sings in the song,

‘That girl is you yeah and that girl is me, that girl is stronger than the raging sea.’

 

Here’s to having light in our faces and life in our veins.

Sending you all love, hugs & light,

Kat x x x

Unconditional Love

How can you give love, if you do not believe you are complete enough to receive love from yourself? If you do not think of yourself as a whole idea how can you give anything to anyone?

– Bashar –

As I mentioned in a previous post, a loved one back at home is currently not very well at all. Of course this is sad, and quite challenging given that I am living on the opposite side of the world, however, I am also aware that this experience is definitely teaching me some very specific things.

I’m learning that it is not my responsibility that they are unwell. I’m learning detachment, and the fact that it is important for me to send unconditional love and support from afar, while remaining detached from the story. And I’m also learning the meaning of unconditional love. Unconditional love for others (which I have become pretty good at), but more importantly unconditional love for myself (and this is the really interesting one).

I have spent so much of my life caring about others, helping others, supporting others, even to the extent towards the end of my 20s when I got so burnout out and exhausted with the stress of it I was signed off work for a month. That was the beginning of my journey of self love.

And right now, in this moment, I’m being reminded once again, of the importance of loving myself unconditionally. And even though something tricky is happening in my life, considering how I can be giving myself unconditional love and support in this moment from within, without necessarily needing to look outside of myself.

I came across this great video by Bashar on unconditional love, so wanted to share it with you. And he makes a very good point about the meaning of unconditional love.

If we are wanting to give unconditional love to others, it is important that we give that same love to ourselves. And if we truly understand and accept the notion that we are all connected, one and the same, if we are giving love unconditionally, we ourselves, by definition, must be included in the giving (and receiving) of that unconditional love.

So, in this moment, I would like to ask you, are you loving yourself unconditionally? Are you providing yourself with as much love from within as your possibly can, without looking outside of yourself? And if not, what can you do to give more love to yourself? Maybe go for a massage, eat your favourite food, go for a bike ride or a surf, sit and read your favourite book, affirm a beautiful quality that you have, go and look in the mirror and tell yourself that you love yourself.

We spend so much time giving love to others with the expectation of it being given back to us. We spend so much time looking outside of ourselves for love, when in actual fact we’re looking in all the wrong places, and we don’t actually need to go anywhere, because the love we are searching for is right here inside of ourselves.

Hope you have a beautiful day being loving to yourselves.

Sending you love, hugs and light (and to myself as well) 🙂

Kat x x x

P.S.

Here’s Miss Katy Perry with her inspiring and uplifting take on unconditional love

Soul Friends

‘Soul friends help you grow, and they invite you to grow with them’

– Lissa Rankin –

I came across this most wonderful piece of wisdom today that was shared by a friend on Facebook by the beautiful Lissa Rankin. There is a TED talk of hers that I want to share with you, but that can wait for another blog post, maybe tomorrow.

Of late, as some of you may have read there have been a few bumps in my life. The interesting thing is that life is giving me the opportunity to stay present, be observant and as objective as possible about the stories and not get sucked in or become a victim to the power of the ego and the drama it can create in our lives.

I have some very beautiful soul friends in my life who have been able to listen to these stories, not embellish them or give energy to them, still love me unconditionally, hold a space for me and be able to give me a sense and reality check and remind me that they are, at the end of the day, just stories.

So I wanted to share Lissa’s Wisdom with you as she perfectly encapsulates the importance of having Soul Friends, and to all of my beautiful Soul Friends out there (you know who you are). I love you very much.

‘I used to think that friends were the people who unconditionally comforted you when you felt wronged, showed up for you when you needed them, and joined you in righteous indignation when you felt hurt. I thought friends would be unconditional cheerleaders, and you would always feel better after being with a friend. But lately, I’ve realized that my most valuable friends are the ones you stand for my soul, even when that means saying something my ego doesn’t want to hear.

When a friend stands for your soul, she holds you accountable to your highest potential and expects you to do the same for her. When a friend stands for your soul, he understands how your ego operates- and loves and accepts you in spite of- even because of- what he knows. But he doesn’t sit by complacently when he watches you create your own suffering. He calls you on it lovingly and pushes you in the direction of your highest self.

When a friend stands for your soul, she’s holds you and comforts you when you feel wronged, but she doesn’t engage in story fondling with you. As soon as you feel strong enough, she reminds you that it’s time to end your pity party and be in the solution. She even helps you find meaning in whatever left you feeling hurt or angry because she knows even tragedies aren’t random, that life is purposeful, even when it’s hard.

When a friend stands for your soul, he’s willing to say what others won’t, the things people might be whispering behind your back because they don’t love you enough to say it to your face. But he never intends to be critical, and he’s never, ever mean. He is wind beneath your wings, helping to lift you higher, and he trusts that you will give him the same gift.

When a friends stands for your soul, she might even leave the relationship, because she has been patient as she watches you choose your small self over your larger self- again and again. At some point, she can’t be true to her own soul unless you share the same commitment to trying to live in alignment with yours. Standing for your soul might require tough love. But the invitation is always there. She will be steadfast in standing for your soul, even as you stray off your path. She will still be there for you when you’re finally ready to accept the invitation to come home to Who You Really Are.

Standing for the soul of a friend isn’t easy. It requires uncomfortable conversations. It would be easier to just say yes to your friend’s ego. But when a friend unconditionally loves you and stands for your soul, it takes courage. It can be disruptive. There might be tears and hurt feelings. But a friend stands for your soul with great love and gentleness, even as she says what you don’t want to hear. Real friends don’t judge. They elevate you while they illuminate the parts of you that you hoped they’d never discover.

It’s all worth it though, because these soul friends help you grow, and they invite you to grow with them. They are your guiding lights during dark nights of the soul, taking you by the hand and returning you to yourself. They cheer with you when you make difficult choices while standing for your own soul. These relationships are dynamic, ever-changing, ever-upleveling, ever-celebrating the magnificence of who you are becoming on your spiritual path. These friends are the guideposts leading you to freedom, and they enjoy the journey with you. They laugh with you, dance with you, gaze at the heavens with you, and revel in sunsets with you. They get quiet with you. They listen to your vulnerable stories and tell you theirs. They keep the heart open with you, and in the communion of two open hearts, you find connection, belonging, vitality, and joy. If you’re lucky, they even bring chocolate.

Do you have friends brave enough to stand for your soul? Do you stand for the souls of your friends?’

Sending you love, hugs & light,

Kat x x x

To learn more about Lissa Rankin, visit her website

Get into the vortex!

‘Some days you just need to jump into the vortex and let the Universe do its job’

– Abraham-Hicks –

So, Abraham channelled by Esther Hicks has been coming into my life a fair amount recently, so it only seems fitting to mention him/them in another blog post to you all 🙂

I came across this fantastic video the other day that talks about ‘getting into the vortex‘.

Abraham, through Esther asks ‘Are you a co-operative component to whats in your vortex?

If you’re angry, the answer is no. If you’re aggravated, overwhelmed, frustrated, fearful, blameful, guilty, the answer is no. If you’re joyful, frisky, optimistic, if you’re playful, if you’re interested, the answer is yes. If you’re loving, if you feel appreciation, you’re tuned into this vortex of creation. And when you tune to it, and you tune to it often, what happens is the vibrational distance between you and you becomes less and less, because you practice the in the vortex vibration. ‘

So, what does ‘being in the vortex’ mean?

Here’s another video that I found that explains this.

 

To me, it means being in effortless flow. It means being present. It means following your heart and following your truth. Doing the things that you love. Being with the people who you love. Being in the places that you love. Everything in the vortex is fun and light, effortless and easy. Everything outside of the vortex is the opposite.

And it is my intention from this day forward to spend as much time in the vortex as possible. And if I get spat out, that’s fine. Just an opportunity to focus on getting back into it. 🙂

Sending you all love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

 

You are Love

‘Love is who you are, it is the essence of you’

– Lee Harris –

Recently I have started Dru Yoga, which I’m absolutely loving. For anyone who has never heard of it, it’s a super cool style of yoga that works with postures, breath work, relaxation and meditation.

It works with the chakras, in particular the heart chakra (which is especially good for me at the moment, as I have set a strong intention to live from my heart rather than my head). And it has 5 stages:

1. Activation
2. Energy Block Release
3. Dru yoga asanas
4. Relaxation
5. Meditation

I’m completely and utterly in love with it and look forward to my class at Qi Yoga in Freshwater every Wed morning. Today, our teacher asked us to set an intention for the class starting with an ‘I Am’ statement. This statement needed to relate to something that we wanted to be feeling and bringing into our lives at the moment. Mine was ‘I Am Calm’.

It also then got me thinking about this wonderful video that I saw the other day on you tube, which had a similar sentiment. You are Love, or rather, if we are applying it to the ‘I Am’ statement, ‘I Am Love’.

It’s such a beautiful message I wanted to share it with all of your and spread the love.

And remember, love is who you are, it is the essence of you.

Sending you all love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

To learn more about the awesomeness in this post, visit

Dru Yoga Online – Enjoy a free 2 month trial!

Dru Yoga Australia

Lee Harris Energy

Image gratitude – http://a-sailors-soul.tumblr.com/post/6284662839/you-are-love-3