Tag: Spirituality

Soul-searching, looking for a higher connection

Spirituality

Spiritual Lessons I learnt from SNAILS

Cosmic Kat

A fun fact you probably don’t know about me is that I have pet snails.

Yes, that’s right.

The normal garden variety – not fancy African Land Snails.

Just over a year ago I was sitting in a pub and when I went to take a drink from my water bottle there was a little baby snail on it.

It was so tiny!

I allowed it to slime onto my hand and my tights and marvelled at how cute and seemingly defenseless it was.

When I left to go home I tried to put him on the grass but he retreated back inside my (now empty) water bottle and honestly I’d never seen a snail so small, I couldn’t imagine how he’d ever survive to adulthood!

His shell was translucent. I just wanted to protect him.

This was how I met Snigel.

I called him Snigel because his first home was an old Swedish Glace ice cream tub (great Vegan ice cream btw!) and the Swedish word for Snail is Snigel – clever eh?

He later upgraded to a celebrations tub and now has a fancy terrarium.

(Side note: I say “he” but snails are all hermaphrodites and can take on either the mother or father role in the mating process.)

Image may contain: plant
Snigel was so tiny!

I firmly believe that Snigel came into my life as a spirit animal at a time when the Universe was screaming at me to slow the F down!

I was always busy, always on the go, doing music and comedy gigs, building my business, socialising.

I just didn’t know how to slow down.

Part of this was because I was going through a difficult break up and was distracting myself.

Unconsciously I was just “doing” so I didn’t have to “be” and sit with my feelings.

But Snigel changed that.

I loved watching him and seeing how he moved.

I learnt that snails actually have personalities and that Snigel is an adventurer and maverick at heart.

He was always escaping from his tub and ending up in weird places around the kitchen, such as high up on the wall tucked inside the rim of the boiler.

He taught me to (literally) think outside the box and not allow myself to be limited.

Snails are mostly deaf and blind so their senses of taste and smell are heightened.

Snigel reminded me to feel things out intuitively.

He taught me that sometimes you need to retreat and go back inside your shell.

He taught me to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, which in his case are broccoli stalks and calcium powder.

He taught me to be inquisitive and I relished researching more about a creature I’d previously never given much thought.

I fell in love with nature again and how weird and ingenious she can be – did you know that snails poo via their lung cavity?

I soon found that other snails naturally gravitated towards me in need of assistance.

One that had a flaky, dry shell slimed across my living room window and front door so I gave it some calcium powder to help rebuild it.

Another was on my back doorstep and I gave it a leaf from my chilli plant.

In the morning the snail had gone and had eaten a tiny little hole in the leaf!

I began to notice snails everywhere and now I always help them by picking them up and putting them into the side of the pavement or hedge so they won’t get stepped on.

I learnt the value of being of service, no matter how big or small the gesture.

Snails are naturally social creatures so Snigel was going to get lonely on his own.

He now has two friends, Dandy and Twiggy, who also seemed to find me, rather than me finding them.

You might not think it’s possible to bond with a mollusc but I truly believe that love comes in all shapes and sizes and can be found in the most unexpected of places.

That’s the most important lesson of all.

Mental Health, Spirituality

Let’s talk about…Depression

Cosmic Kat

Let’s talk about depression…

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I used to suffer from the debilitating kind.

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I’d have those days where I’d wake up and I couldn’t lift my head because it felt like someone had placed a brick on my forehead.

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When it got really bad I’d feel suicidal and I tried to kill myself twice.

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I don’t believe depression is an illness in and of itself – it’s just a symptom of repressed emotion, trauma, stagnant energy or a knot in your heart that you haven’t honoured or acknowledged.

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I don’t have those really dark moments anymore but I have felt quite heavy and low for the past couple of days.

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I couldn’t figure out why.

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Then this morning I pulled an angel card for Archangel Haniel (a moon goddess) and it said “Honour your feelings.”

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So I did.

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I took a deep breath and did a few rounds of EFT tapping, allowing myself to honour and acknowledge all of what I was feeling – stuck, frustrated, angry with myself, fed up that things in my life weren’t moving fast enough, impatient, perfectionistic.

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The tears came and I let them.

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I leant in to that resistance and afterwards I felt so much lighter and brighter.

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The perfectionist in me didn’t even want to acknowledge I was being a perfectionist so that’s why I’d gone into a slump – you don’t have to worry about getting things perfect if you don’t try at all.

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But there is a middle ground – I can accept that my best today is good enough and that will change from day to day.

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Today honour how you’re feeling and allow yourself to step into flow and out of resistance.

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You are ENOUGH!

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Get in touch if you’d like to explore 1:1 coaching with me so you can love yourself fully and fearlessly and attract the love you deserve.

Spirituality

Meetings with Earth Angels

Cosmic Kat

“Earth angels help others remember who they are.”

– Doreen Virtue.

What exactly is an Earth Angel?

Well, in one sense they’re what you might call “lightworkers”; people who’s purpose on this earth is to shine their light, heal others and help humanity to ascend and awaken spiritually.

They’re doctors, scientists, Reiki healers, comedians, teachers and even gardeners.

In the novel One Day by David Nicholls I feel the character of Emma sums up what it means to be an Earth Angel perfectly.

She says her goal is to “Not change the world exactly, but the bit around (her).”

That’s all any of us can really do and it’s important to remember on those dark days when the most empathic among us may feel the intensity of the pain, destruction, war and conflict of the world upon our shoulders.

But I also believe that Earth Angels can be Angels who incarnate and discarnate at will in order to help us.

You might have read stories of people who’ve been visited by Angels and saw a spectacular dazzling vision of light, a figure with halo and wings.

But I believe I’ve been visited by Angels who just looked like normal people.

When I hadn’t long moved to London I decided to go busking.

I’d just done some work with a spiritual mentor and handed over my will and my life to my Higher Power by saying a prayer by the Thames.

Then I crossed the river, whipped out my ukulele and started to play and sing.

But it didn’t feel right. I knew I was in a restricted zone so it technically wasn’t allowed. I saw every glance from passers by as an acknowledgment of my inadequacy or failure.

Then a man approached me, he didn’t look extraordinary, just a middle-aged slightly overweight man in a polo shirt.

Normally when people encroach on my personal space I feel very uncomfortable and nervous, especially when I’m busking.

But a wave of calm washed over me and I felt at complete ease in this man’s presence.

He said, “Why are you doing this?”

I assumed he was some sort of law enforcement and started to stutter my excuses.

He said, “No why are you doing this? You’re not giving it 100%. You’re slouched against the wall. I don’t know if you’re talented or not but you have to give it your best.”

Then I poured my heart out. I said I’d never busked in London before, that it was scary and out of my comfort zone. That I was afraid people wouldn’t like me or my music.

He said “There’s always going to be people who won’t like what you do. But why don’t you just try your best for 10 minutes.”

I agreed, looked away for a few seconds and when I looked back he’d vanished.

Later I rationalised that maybe he’d just walked away quickly and just got lost in the crowd.

But in that moment I knew it was a divinely special encounter.

angel angel figure art artwork
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Another time I was on a train and chatting about my relationship woes to a friend on the phone.

When I got up to leave the train this man came up to me and handed me a note.

He said, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation and it’s strikingly similar to my own experience. Have a read of this.”

I was a bit stunned but thanked him.

Later I read the note and it was startling how much his relationship mirrored my own. He’d left his e-mail address and I replied. The system kept saying it was un-deliverable but somehow he received every one of my e-mails even though I’d spelt his name differently each time.

I’m not sure if he was an Angel incarnate but the universe definitely mobilised him in that moment to reach out to me.

There were also various times when I ended up crying in public but someone always came up to me to ask if I was ok and took time to listen to me.

In a city as vast and busy as London, where many would have you believe that humanity is dead, this really struck me.

So be open to the magical encounters you may have in your life and consider, is that random stranger heaven sent or could they actually be an Angel in disguise?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirituality, Tarot

I see dead people….I’m a medium!

Cosmic Kat

It’s one of the greatest cinematic moments of all time.

That scene in the Sixth Sense when Cole tells Bruce Willis that he can “see dead people.”

I never thought I would be able to possess this gift and I can tell you that for me it’s not like the movies.

My interest in Mediumship came after Tarot and even slightly before I decided to call myself a Witch.

I started out by reading a book by Gordon Smith, a well renowned Scottish medium and soon after I began attending an open circle at a Spiritualist church.

I started with the basics – meditation, sitting in the power and also trying to see if I could deduce things about my tarot clients prior to meeting them.

The messages I’d get were varied and sometimes jumbled.

I’m clairaudient – sometimes I hear a word spoken or a song plays in my head which has  special significance to my client. (My favourite instance of this was when I got “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson regarding a love interest.)

I’m clairvoyant – sometimes I see a picture in my mind’s eye that can be taken literally or symbolically. e.g a field of wheat could mean a client has a farming connection or that it’s time for them to harvest the fruits of their labour.

I’m clairsentient – when doing a reading my favourite phrase is “I feel like…” i.e the cards produce a sensation in me of “just knowing” that something is true, an intuitive knowledge.

However, up until recently I hadn’t really been able to connect with any specific loved ones from the other side.

Honestly, I’d started to doubt whether I could be a Medium at all.

But the other night, during a tarot reading, I had a breakthrough.

I was doing several readings back to back and one of my clients asked me if she could connect with loved ones who had passed.

She didn’t state exactly who she wanted to contact but I said I’d give it a go.

When I laid the cards down and started to describe the sort of woman who was coming through it was clear that I’d connected with her boyfriend’s mother, a woman who in turn was like a mother to my client.

The traits I described seemed to resonate and moths and daddy long legs made themselves known – which I told my client was a sign of this lady in spirit.

Then, with my next client soon afterwards, I was asked to connect with a specific person, this time a grandfather.

As before I laid the cards down and it was obvious that we’d made contact.

But then something amazing happened.

I could actually see this lady’s grandfather in my mind’s eye!

I didn’t have my eyes closed but I could see his face as clearly as if he was sitting in front of me.

I was able to confirm that he had a tooth missing and was holding a bunch of daffodils (which my client told me were her grandma’s favourite).

Everything I said my client was able to confirm and I was touched by how emotional the experience was for her.

Her grandfather was laughing and smiling and being able to pass on this information was such a joy.

I left that reading feeling uplifted and more sure of my path in life.

The work I do with spirit is both a privilege and an act of service.

This is my soul’s purpose.

 

 

 

 

Spirituality

Stepping out of your comfort zone, stepping into balance

Cosmic Kat

 

balance
Image Credit: Kathy Giddins

What is your comfort zone? How do you step out of it?

For some people challenging themselves might mean going out more, meeting new people, trying a new hobby or visiting a new place.

But recently I’ve realised that for me it means taking things down a notch, slowing the pace and allowing myself to CHILL.

I’m most comfortable living life at a pace of 100 mph.

Never content with just sitting still, I always have to be doing something whether it’s discovering aerial hoop classes, dancing, going out with friends, writing a song, writing a book, studying something or pushing myself to a new limit.

But what inevitably happens is that I take on too much, get stressed, panic about the amount of things I have to do and then realise I’ve got no one to blame for it but myself.

zen cat smokey
My cat Smokey teaching me how to be zen

It all boils down to finding the right balance in life – something which may seem difficult to do but is actually incredibly simple.

Now every time I do something I need to ask myself – Why am I doing this?

Am I doing a dance class because I think I need to lose weight or because I enjoy it?

Am I writing a blog because I want likes and followers or because I want to help others?

Am I reading a book/article because it’s on a topic I feel I should know more about or one that I’m genuinely interested in?

When we examine the motives behind our actions we get to the core of what’s going on.

For me it’s usually pride, self-doubt, fear and perfectionism.

Deep down part of me still thinks I’m not good enough and therefore have to prove myself to the world.

But I don’t and neither do you.

So today, have a rest, put your feet up, take 10 minutes to meditate, read a celebrity magazine, watch TV or do a crossword – whatever makes you happy.

We don’t need to constantly grasp for something to make us whole.

We can be liberated from our negative self-talk and the shoulds, and coulds, and “need to” statements.

Everything we need is within.