Author: Tanya

Strange Sensations

Nine months ago, on a cold and crisp March morning, as I walked my daughter to school, I noticed a strange electric shock type headache over my left eye.  At the time, I didn’t think much of it.  But it kept on happening again, mostly in the mornings, sometimes it would need a painkiller, other times a large glass of water would starve it off.

Over the weeks that followed, I felt tingling on my left cheek, and I was pretty sure my face felt numb. In passing at the GP surgery, I mentioned my strange headaches and face feelings.  

“Oh, that sounds like migraine” remarked the GP.  She offered to refer me to a neurologist, as she was concerned about the numbness, but I was relaxed about it and said that I would keep an eye on it to see how things went.  To be honest, I couldn’t believe it was migraine as it didn’t fit my idea of what a migraine is, generally of a person laying in a dark room, curtains closed and being sick with pain.  

Around June time I was sitting quietly in my living room, reading a book, when I felt a very strange sensation within my left inner ear.  It was a spasmatic like vibration, as if a butterfly was trying to escape the ear canal, fluttering inside and tickling me.  This odd feeling began to come in around twice a week, the frequency jumped up to around three times a day by late summer.

By September, my headaches were beginning to intensify and were waking me up in the morning.  The electric shock pain was scraping down into my left temple, joining into my left ear and muffling my hearing, and this weird vibration was turning up in its intensity to the point where it became so uncomfortable that I wanted to either vomit or pass out.

I spent one weekend so unwell, with no respite between head pain and vibrations that we almost called an ambulance.  At the time, I had no idea that I was experiencing a full-blown, high-grade migraine attack that was lasting days.  In fact, what I did not know at the time was that I had been having episodic migraines since March (my GP was right!) that had now turned chronic.

Chronic Mirgraine

Migraine symptoms are unique to the individual and are a collection of neurological conditions, sometimes including the head pain.  Mine for some reason decided to have the epicentre right within my ear canal.

Luckily, I have private health insurance and was seen quickly by ENT, who diagnosed a rare condition called Middle Ear Myoclonus (a spontaneous spasm of the ear drum).  This, however, was secondary to chronic migraine.  What followed this diagnosis was a blur of doctors, MRI and CAT scans, hospital admissions and preventative migraine medication.  I was now in state of constant, chronic migraine pain and discomfort.  My life and work as I knew it had completely changed.

There is currently no cure for chronic migraine disease, and it is difficult for doctors to understand what triggers it as it can be from any number of different sources that over stimulate the nervous system. This can be from hormones, food or allergies, smells, light, neck muscle trauma/injury, stress or even medication overuse.  

There are many preventative medications on the market, but it can take years to try and find the right one for you and the side effects can be ghastly to say the least.

My GP had me take one of the strongest preventatives very quickly as my migraines were so severe and long lasting, which did take the edge off.   They are used to treat epilepsy and Bi-Poplar and the side effects gave me internal tremors, body twitching and I lost control of my bladder twice.  Unfortunately, they didn’t stop the frequency of migraine either.  

When reading though chronic migraine forums, I realised that the poor people who have been suffering from this condition have been living half-lives, not really being able to hold down a job, some having to deal with daily symptoms for over twenty years.  The future was looking depressingly bleak for me.

I decided that the only thing that I could take control of was my diet, so I bought a recommended Migraine Plan book and set to work on removing five key elements of my diet to see if they would make a difference.  

It has been a few weeks now and not only have I seen a vast difference in my migraine symptoms, but I have also had some surprising things happen along the way to do with my mental, physical and emotional health that I was not expecting.

Cutting Out All Alcohol

I did this one as soon as I had my first proper migraine attack.  I have to say it was easy because of how unwell I was.  I also do not want to drink whilst being on such strong medication.  I have drunk socially since I was sixteen years old, the only time I stopped was when pregnant with my daughter and when I breastfeed for thirteen months.  

This year, my alcohol consumption did creep up, especially my absolute love of red wine!  But my body has never thanked me. I’ve suffered with chronic rhinitis for years, and my sinuses would always become inflamed if I drank dark spirits or some red wines.

Since knocking it on the head my nose is clear, and my anxiety levels have reduced significantly.  I have no brain fog and my memory has improved.  For someone who suffered terribly with brain fog in her thirties, I would say this is remarkable.

Cutting Out All Caffine 

By far the hardest thing that I have cut out on this journey has been my coffee.  I only had two a day, but boy did I love my two a day.  I love a coffee shop and I love the ritual of coffee, the smell of it (when I can smell it) – the texture of it, the sound of it being ground up….it’s everything!  But I gave it up because it’s a known migraine trigger and more to the point, I didn’t want to over stimulate my nervous system anymore. 

I do have moments of nostalgia, but since I have found Yorkshire Tea Decaf, I’m almost okay with it………..

Cutting Out All Refined Sugar

This is the one that my friends turn white at when I tell them that I’ve cut out all refined sugar, but honestly, it’s been the easy one for me as I’ve never been a massive chocolate, cake, biscuit or ice-cream fiend.  It’s a tricky one though, as sugar sneaks into sauces like ketchup (massive fan!) and mint jelly (weird but another massive fan) and other things that we just don’t’ think about.

But I am thinking about it and I’ve removed it as much as I can, around 85% I reckon.  Sometimes It’s hard when you get that sweet tooth urge, and I do have a substitute in Stevia for my porridge which is allowed on my plan, so I am not completely barren.  But this reduction must be helping in a reduction of inflammation which in turn is helping my migraine reduction.

Cutting Out All Dairy

Much of my face migraine pain feels like it comes from deep within my sinuses.  So, after chatting to a lovely acupuncturist, she advised me to cut out dairy, especially in milk form and replace with oat milk.  This will stop the mucus build-up and allow me to breath better.  

I went the whole hog and cut out the butter and cheese too but on occasion, it may sneak in to mash potatoes or in a risotto. I think the removal of milk has made the biggest difference for me.  Many people link dairy to migraines so there could be something in it.  I think I’m going to stick with this one, as it does appear to be working for me and most importantly, my sense of smell has returned…..

Cutting Out All Gluten 

Gluten is a highly inflammatory substance and as I already have stage four endometriosis which does not respond well to anything that is inflammatory, I probably should have cut it out years ago.  In fact, around ten years ago, I got a marker on a blood test for coeliac disease.  After my stomach biopsy came back negative, my consultant said to treat it like a red herring. But I always did wonder, do I have an oversensitivity or intolerance?

Whenever I used to eat pasta in my twenties, I would need to run to the toilet and almost throw up and I suffered with so many tummy troubles during that decade and my diet back than was very gluten and processed heavy.

So, I decided that now is the time to knock it on the head.  But here is the thing that has happened in the weeks since.  I have managed to defer some surgery that I was due to have on my lower bowel for an issue I have had for twelve years.  Due to my endometriosis and the strong medication I needed every month for years, it caused a very painful condition that has never healed in 12 years. 

However, since cutting out gluten, and reducing my inflammatory response, the pain has disappeared, after twelve whole years and I doubt I will even need that surgery now.

So, there you go, by cutting out these five things from my diet, I’ve managed to turn around a desperate situation into one of hope.

Some might ask is my life boring now, but I would say no.  I reached some dark and low places in my moments of illness. Day after day of being trapped in my bed, going from a strong, independent wife and mother to having my husband having to do everything for me because now I was pretty much housebound.  My changes have given me my life back.

Until next time

Tanya 

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The archetypal symbol of the witch spirit animal seems to be black cats and/or crows.  And as much as I hate a cliché, I have to say that my connection with these two animals even surprises me.

I don’t own a black cat (sadly, my husband is not a fan) but I used to have one that lived across the street from me, opposite my tarot reading room.  I have often posted on social media about how this little black cat would turn up just before a reading, in my eye view, like a nod from somewhere, reminding me that I was just about to perform something a bit special (let’s face it, tarot reading is magical in its own right!).

The black cat would cross my path from time to time as I drove into my street.  This, is lucky (the same thing happened right before my driving test in 1998….I’m pleased to say I passed with flying colours, even though I almost put the examiner through a brick wall on parking, yes I know, I was astonished too), contrary to popular opinion.

With regards to the black crow, I would often sit at lunch time surrounded by them on the park bench, as I ate my sandwich and shared it willingly.  Yes, I received some hard stares from passer-by’s, probably wondering how the hell I felt comfortable with these black squawkers as friends.  But we enjoyed each other’s company and I wasn’t afraid of them.  I find crows to be intelligent birds with a beauty all of their own.

When it was time to move house, I was sad to say goodbye to the black cat that I would see almost daily and my black crow friends at lunch, however, it was time to embrace pastures new.

I’ve now been living at my cottage for around two months.  This morning, as I was walking back from dropping my daughter at her local primary school, I smiled at the school mums who are currently strangers to me.

I thought to myself “perhaps one of these ladies might be a future client one day?”…..and just as that thought escaped me, my eyes were drawn to a small black cat sitting across the road.

I crossed the road and made my way toward it, as it sat upright and glared right at me with the most stunning green piercing eyes.

I didn’t have to wait long as I approached him, the black cat came up to my leg and nudged into my calf for a head rub.  I stroked his little head and he meowed, looked right up into my eyes then playfully nipped my thumb with his tiny jaw.  At the exact moment, I heard a bird squark over my head.  Glancing upwards, I saw a large crow flying above me. 

I smiled to myself as I walked away.  Perhaps those ladies might be my future clients after all……

Until next time,

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When going through stressful times of change, I feel its important to remember that we are being guided and helped by our spirit team, even if it is not as obvious as we would like.

Going through the nine-month buying process to move to my new home, I was lucky enough to recognise regular signs of encouragement from my guide.

Pretty much as soon as we put the offer in for our new cottage, I began noticing screws or nails on the ground.  They were everywhere, on the school run, on my dog walk, a quick nip to the shops, I couldn’t help but notice rusty old nails or long screws as my feet kicked along the ground.

I began to realise that every time I saw a nail or screw, I was being reminded that to build the dream we wanted, we had to take it brick by brick, screw by screw.  Sometimes the going got tough, we lost two buyers, we had no viewings, we thought we would lose our cottage.  But every time there was a setback, the next day I would be greeted with a loose nail sitting on the pavement, waiting to grab my attention.  I kept telling myself to not give up.

A few weeks after we finally moved into our cottage, I took Ariane for lunch at a little deli café in the next village to ours.  I had almost forgotten about the nail sign until I noticed something brassy coloured on the pavement in front of me as we approached the café.

On this day I was feeling so happy because I knew we had made it, finally, after months of hard work.  So, when I saw the largest nail I had ever seen, literally cemented into the pavement in front of me, I knew this was a very strong sign that spirit wanted to let me know that I (we) were now rooted, fixed in the place that we will call home for the future.  

Since seeing that nail, stuck in the ground like that, I haven’t seen one since!  I just loved how I was always reminded to keep going.

Always know that we are all guided in our own special way, so do look out for the signs, symbols, feelings and just the knowing that you are being looked after and the Universe has your back.

Until next time,

Tanya   

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When my little girl was around three years old and would fall asleep at bedtime, on occasion, something strange would happen.  It was like she was in a trance, her eyes slightly open, yet I could tell she was asleep.  

I don’t know what prompted me to do it, but one time, as I watched her sleeping like this, in my mind I said “Ariane can you smile?”.  To my utter amazement, a few seconds later, the ends of her lips turned up into a small smile.  

Astonished, I asked another request in my mind, could she lift her right arm?  I had to wait a little longer for this, probably around a minute, however as requested, she slowly, but very surely, lifted her right arm.

This was a regular experiment of mine which made me certain that whilst Ariane sleeps, she can pick up on my thoughts telepathically.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to me.  Telepathy is how I communicate with spirit, after all.  It is how we all communicate with each other once we pass on to the other side too (using a voice box via sound vibration is a very physical thing, on a purely fast energetic level, we don’t need to do it anymore).

As Ariane grew, I sort of forgot about the telepathy until very recently, we had to share a bed during our house relocation.

I have already posted about the strange ghostly encounters of staying back at my old home that I grew up in (you can read about it here).  Something very odd happened with Ariane whilst she and I were both asleep in my old bedroom.

In my sleep, I became aware that I was dreaming (a lucid dream, which happens to me from time to time).  In the dream, I saw a sentence in my mind, that read “the field is green”.  

As soon as I saw the words in the dream, I heard Ariane mumble in her sleep “The field is green”.

I then started to “come too” but was still in a sleep state when I saw some more words “the sky is deep blue”, then, I heard Ariane shift around and slowly mumble “the sky is deep blue”.

By the third sentence, I had awoken fully and this time, I physically watched Ariane as she spoke the words that I had dreamt about in my head just seconds earlier.  I must have lay there for what felt like ages trying to make sense of what had just happened.  

When I told my husband, he had a solid and sound explanation that sometimes our brains play tricks on us as we sleep, so perhaps Ariane was saying the sentences, but I thought I had dreamt it first.  I beg to differ, as it did not feel that way.

Another example of the above is that we have had these experiences during waking hours.  I have lost count of how many times I have been thinking of someone / a story / something random that has had no correlation to any conversation we had beforehand, and Ariane has started talking about it as if she was in on my thoughts.

In my experience and opinion, telepathy is a real thing and with practice we can do it, sometimes it also happens by accident, the key is to be open to all possibilities!

Until next time,

Tanya 

Following on from last week’s blog (A ghost called Michael), I have more tales of the paranormal to write about.  On the same week as my own strange encounters, I received a voice memo from a lovely friend and client who had experienced her own brush with a ghost in her place of work.

My friend works for a charity at a Methodist Church, and usually eats her lunch in the prayer room.  On this particular day, my friend was in the toilet and saw her colleague who told her that she herself had put her lunch in the prayer room and as she walked out, she said she had seen a black ghostly figure that sort of whooshed past her toward the prayer room (the door was shut after she had been in there).  

The day before this happened, my friend was in the prayer room alone when on two occasions she flinched to the left because she thought she saw a dark figure walk past the door.  At the time, she didn’t think it was anything, however as soon as her friend mentioned what she had just witnessed, my friend realised they may have seen the same black figure.  Interestingly, they both felt the figure was female.  

A bit later, they were discussing it some more when my friend mentioned to her colleague that the ghost that she saw had a short black blob hairstyle.  Her colleague, with a puzzled expression then replied, “I didn’t tell you earlier she had a black bob, that’s exactly what I saw”.  They both got goosebumps as they realised, they had seen the same female figure.

I feel that they did indeed see a ghost in the prayer room.  It is interesting how they both knew she had a black bob but only saw a black figure walk past.  I feel this is because they could telepathically see the ghost.  This is often how people see ghostly figures (with their third eye) but don’t realise it at the time and that explains why ghost are often seen as a “trick of the mind” by sceptics.  What they are experiencing is a form of clairvoyance from a physical energetic apparition.

A quick word on the difference between ghosts and spirits.  A ghost is like an energetic photograph that has been stamped in time.  If a human being does exactly the same thing every day or has a very happy / sad traumatic response to something in their living life, it can leave a sort of energy print within our own dimension.   This will explain why some people see the same ghost at the same time in the same place every year.  The ghost is not actually there, but the energetic memory is.  

A spirit on the other hand is a conscious being living on the other side of the veil from our earthly physical experience.  A spirit can be communicated with via a medium, a ghost cannot.  A spirit has found a way to penetrate our earthly dimension and therefore communication is possible.  A spirit can move objects and physically manifest into insects and animals, temporarily (a little bit like shape shifting, think about the many examples of how a robin or butterfly has interacted with a grieving human).  

I believe the reason why a spirit shows up more around a prayer room, church or cemetery is because the human beings that are in these places generally have a clear intent with an open mind to reach out to the “dead”.  This is exactly how a medium works.  They sit in a quiet space, with an open heart and mind with a clear intention to make communication.  Because their third eye and crown chakra has been worked on to be “open”, messages begin to flood in.

People that are not mediums, still have an open mind and open heart and their vibrations are raised when they are in places of worship or where they are remembering or missing a loved one, hence why spirits will be able to reach their vibration in these places and show up (a spirit must lower their own energetic vibration and we must raise ours to meet in the middle).

I really enjoyed hearing about my friend’s experience in the pray room. 

If you have ever had your own ghostly encounter, I would love to hear about, just message me at tanyashortenergyreader@gmail.com.

Until next time,

Tanya 

I have temporarily moved back home with my parents, the house I grew up in until I moved out aged 23.

In the past, I have written about the strange paranormal “going on’s” that happened to me in the house from the age of around eight to when I moved out.  In a nutshell, a presence could be felt and heard by not just me, but the other family members, pictures would fly off the wall, objects would move around, and I witnessed a levitating cardboard box and a stapler being flung across the room once.

My mum has reported other things that have happened over the almost 20 years that I haven’t been living in the house.  So I kind of knew that going back would be interesting…..

I didn’t have to wait long before paranormal activity would show itself.  On the first night, as I tried to drift off to sleep, I felt the familiar tickle of invisible cobwebs on my face, the calling card to me that a spirit is near.

The next night, before I laid down to go to sleep, I placed my glasses next to my mobile phone and watch, before turning out the light (a normal routine that I do every single night).  As I drifted off to sleep, again I felt the spirit presence around my face.  This time I asked for more of a sign, if someone was in the room, could they make themselves known?  Nothing happened and I fell asleep.

I woke up around twenty minutes later, needing to use the toilet.  As I pulled the duvet from my body, I felt an object fling from my chest and hit the floor.  When I felt around in the dark, my glasses were now laying on the carpet.  They had been placed on my chest as I was sleeping……this freaked me out!  I was sharing the bed with my eleven year old daughter, who was fast asleep beside me – I decided not to tell her as this would also scare her.

In the car the next day, out of the blue, my daughter said “Mum there is a ghost in the bedroom.  I have seen him, a boy, he is called Michael”.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up……”where and how many times have you seen him?” I asked.  “Three times, in the bedroom, the hallway and the bathroom” she answered.

This made sense, as the sounds I used to hear as a child came from my bedroom, the hall outside and the bathroom.  I told her about the glasses then, and she didn’t seem too fazed by it, thankfully.

The next day I decided to ask my guide Blue who Michael was?  As I shuffled the cards, the Page of Cups fell out onto the table.  The page of cups is a sensitive child who is a natural empath, feeling emotions very strongly indeed.

I put the card back in the deck and shuffled some more, asking Blue why my daughter saw Michael so clearly yet I didn’t see?  I pulled a card and placed it on the table.  The page of cups stared back at me again.  A child who is sensitive and a deep empath – my daughter.  It looks as though he has found a friend in her, just like he did with me when I was her age, all those years ago.

Last night, as I placed my mobile phone in its charging cradle, I watched in amazement as it somehow by itself, moved Apps around on my homescreen.  My daughter spotted it too and she stared at me wide eyed. Luckily, she still managed to fall asleep easily.

As I lay in the darkness and my daughter slept soundly beside me, I decided to ask Michael to let me know he was with us again.

I did not have to wait long, before I heard the familiar creaking of the floorboard outside my bedroom door, the sound I used to hear nightly as a child, when no one else is upstairs.  It is almost like I could see someone leaning in their full weight on that floorboard and then the sound came into the room, it was a like an electrical sound, sparks that were flying off the mirror on the bedside table next to me.

I have a mixture of fear and intrigue when this type of thing happens.

I’m sure there will be more encounters to come of Michael and his mischievous ways…of course I will keep you posted.

Next week I’m excited to tell you about more ghostly encounters, this time from a friend and client – it really did give me goosebumps!!  Keep a look out for next weeks blog for more info!

Until next time,

Tanya 

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The reason why it is so easy to pick up on past experiences, feelings and memories during a tarot reading is because energy is never lost, it just changes form from the past to the present.  That is why how we feel and act today really does shape our tomorrow.

Using the tarot, I can go back to a date, time or place and pick up exactly on what the person was feeling, what they were experiencing and how it helped to shape their following moments.  Like an energetic photograph, the tarot allows us to see a snapshot of a situation, even if we thought it was long gone and dissolved into the Universe as if it didn’t happen.  

By being able to delve into the past in such a way is a positive yet (in some cases) negative experience.  Positive in that we can see the lessons learned and how much we have grown since it happened, but negative for some in that it means that situations that someone may have wanted to hide, can be brought right back to the surface again.

Once the thought has happened, the word has been spoken, the action has been done, an energetic fingerprint has been left.  Obviously, not everyone can just go back in time, but if you have a set of tarot cards and are a proficient reader, you can go and look.  How you interpret the results has a lot to do with how objective you are and your sitters’ current situation.

Is the past ours to go looking into?  Not always, but as mentioned above, sometimes it is necessary to gain more insight into a current situation.  

An example of that was a client who came to me after a divorce.  They had been separated for many years; however my client did not have the closure she needed, there were still so many unanswered questions from her ex-husband that he was never willing to divulge to her.

She asked me specifics about their relationship, when they were together, namely if he had been unfaithful to her.

I could see the mistrust that had built in the relationship and on closer inspection, it certainly looked like he had lied by omission to his then wife.  The energy I was able to feel and pick up on from the cards is that a physical affair had not actually taken place, but an emotional affair had.  

Her ex-husband had never admitted his deeper feelings for this other woman, yet the tarot could accurately pick up on the feelings, types of messages and communications that did go on during that time.  Looking back, it was those actions from the husband that ultimately set the wheels in motion for the energy of his marriage to begin to change.

After discovering this, my client felt a sense of relief and could somewhat close the door on it and move on.

Some might say that we were prying int the ex-husbands energy to find the answers that his ex-wife was seeking.  However, when the emotional affair began, he was married to my client, therefore she had a vested interest in the situation and his energy was strongly connected to hers.

The reading was used to help heal my client so she could move forward, feeling empowered and like she finally knew her truth.

So using the power of tarot to go back in time is in fact, a rather good thing at times and is completely relevant to help move us forward towards healing and understanding.

Until next time,

Tanya 

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Celebrating Our Uniqueness…..!

As it was international women’s day last week, I couldn’t help but feel inspired to write about my own journey of being a woman who is now forty (something!) and how I feel about the changes that I find myself going through.

When I was younger, I believed that as women we were all supposed to look the same and I would constantly compare my own body against other girls, mostly I would only see my (so called!) imperfections.  This is probably a familiar story to most women.

Being a teenager in the 90s meant that the only look on trend was catwalk skinny.  Looking back now, I cringe at my younger self eating a slice of ham on rivita during my college lunch break, not daring to eat anything else in case I put on weight.  It’s a terrible pressure to have and I have to say that I feel the body confidence movement that has recently been promoted on social media, can only be a good thing in my opinion.  I certainly do not want my almost eleven-year-old daughter to feel she needs to watch every morsel that goes into her mouth.  I would much rather her focus on food for health. 

It wasn’t until I grew up, I began to realise that there is no perfect body, only a healthy one and that is so much more important to me.  After having my daughter at 31, my body changed completely (in my opinion for the better) and I had a real focus on good health, nutrition, and exercise.

During my 30s, I was diagnosed with stage four Endometriosis.  Having this awful chronic, progressive disease made me realise how I must look after my body and health that I do have, because with Endo, it can take you down and become completely debilitating.  

After two operations and the Mirena Coil, I now feel like a different person (even though I have lasting problems with my bowel but its a small price to pay compared to some poor sufferers).  I am looking at my forties now as a new me to maybe grab back some of the energy that Endo stole from me in my mid to late thirties.

As women, the changes are never over.  For me now and most of my friends, it is the peri-menopause years we are entering, and we know that this can last a very long time indeed.

But, bearing all that in mind, I have now finally reached a stage in my life that I am comfortable with how I look and feel.  I do like to look after myself, I care about what I eat but saying that, I’ve cut down on a lot of the exercise I used to do.  This did come as a surprise to me, but I feel it was the right choice.

I used to run long distance up to three times a week, do yoga daily, and high intensity workouts.  After spending the best part of a year in physio for overuse of my feet, I’ve decided that walking my dog, doing housework and the school runs is enough exercise that my body needs.  The crazy thing is, by changing this, I’ve lost weight and I don’t ache half as much as I used too!

Perhaps slowing it down is exactly what we need to do as we get older, don’t stop it completely, but take the pace down just a little so that we feel more in tune with our bodies.

I don’t see bodies as perfect anymore, I just see them as unique, the same as our personalities.  Life is so much more interesting with different shades of beauty.

You cannot beat a woman who is confident in her own skin, no matter what she looks like, if her inner beauty shines through, to me she is flawless.

Until next time,

Tanya

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It only occurred to me recently how anxiety issues and trust are so intrinsically linked.  If you have issues with trust, then it may manifest into worrying and catastrophising about the future.  

I was told by a therapist that trust issues stem from childhood, for example, if your survival felt threatened, if parenting was inconsistent (especially when it comes to emotions) or you learnt that adults around you do not trust others, then you are more likely to have issues with this as an adult.  On some level, there is healing that needs to happen from your inner child to really conquer the lack of trust.

The problem with trust issues is that it blocks you from having any faith in yourself or those around you.  Fundamentally, you need to have faith in yourself, your identity and your decision making ability before you can ever really trust anyone. 

Anxiety is like a doubting disease of the mind; it continually creeps in to try and sabotage any form of potential happiness that has come your way.  

As someone who suffers with anxiety, I wanted to share with you how I deal with managing it and mostly, trusting in myself that I can continue to manage it, for my life’s journey.

Quiet The Voice

Taking just ten minutes a day to sit in quiet contemplation or to listen to music, focussing on your breathing, is by far one of the best ways to calm a racing mind.  You must believe in the process with this one, because the more you do it, the more you begin to feel better.  The feeling is a subtle one, but it is there, gradually the fog will begin to lift.

By just sitting and being present in this moment, you are not racing ahead into thoughts of unknown outcomes.  You are doing the best you can to cope and survive amid your struggles, and that is all you can ask yourself for.

Trust The Universe 

This one is a biggie!  To not trust an outcome of a situation, or the intentions of a person, or even the intentions of yourself, what can really help you with that feeling is to know that the Universe has your back.  I feel this so deeply, simply because the Universe has never let me down.  When I talk of the Universe, I am talking about my spirit guide/my higher self, as I believe they are all one of the same.  But one thing is for certain, I have always received help when I have asked and I have never doubted that I am supported by an invisible force, as are you.

Take Yourself Away

Sometimes it might be impossible to remove the stress that is triggering your anxiety entirely, however what you can do is take yourself away to a place that helps you to be in the moment.  This may be with friends who lift you up and make you laugh, or out in the countryside on a walk so you can connect back to nature.  I have found that keeping myself busy in a creative way is an excellent way to reduce my anxiety.  A mind that is distracted with other (positive) things, will reduce the airtime you will give to that little imp on your shoulder.

Talk 

Talking therapy really does help to manage anxiety.  Once you understand from a professional therapist how anxiety manifests, you can begin to see patterns that have formed in your own way of thinking.  Thoughts can be obsessive, and these obsessions can be played out as compulsions in many ways to try to constantly seek reassurance.  Talking therapy and practices like CBT allow you to have the self-awareness that you are being triggered and to stop yourself from seeking the reassurance.  You then begin to understand how anxiety will try to move into different areas of your life, for example, health, relationships, chronic negativity……once you understand how it tries to take control of you, you can manage it in such a way that you can pull yourself back from being sucked in again.

There is one thing I am certain of, that is that those who battle mental health issues every day are the unsung heroes who keep pushing through, showing up and walking through their struggles.  If you are one of these people, I want you to know you are not alone and that the work you are doing will pay off, for tomorrow is a new day.

Until next time,

Tanya 

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To continue on with our love theme for the month, this week I want to talk about two labels that get thrown around a lot in love tarot readings; Soul Mates and Twin Flames.

There are countless explanations on the internet as to what exactly these are and the differences between the two.  But as always, I would much rather provide my own definition and how they contrast based on my spiritual knowledge of the subject.

Before we go into the differences, what needs to be addressed is how before we can truly love anyone else, we must focus on loving ourselves unconditionally.  I believe that the only time we can find the right person for us, is when we begin to live authentically and to take ownership of ourselves in terms of our choices, behaviours, and values as a person.

I believe we pull in a soul mate and a twin flame depending on where we are within our own healing journey, and entirely what vibration we are sitting on.

Soul Mates

For me, a soul mate is a caretaker on our human journey (the caretaking works both ways).  They are the ones that will show up to us in a way that makes us feel safe and secure, we know they have our back no matter what happens.  

There would be an instant connection of being “at home” with this person as soon as we meet.  We will like the same things, be on the same wavelength, so much so, we will certainly want to build a life with them.

There will be an unspoken chemistry that we were almost made for each other.  That our souls belong to each other, because we get each other like no other person does.

There is a solid, safe structure to this mate like no other.

This doesn’t always mean that we will not run into problems though.  I believe soul mates can drift apart (but normally always drift back again!).  They are on an individual journey as well as one that includes each other.  There will be a push and a pull because this is two difference souls that have been brought together for two different life experiences but who need to learn a lesson from each other.

Some would say it is a karmic connection of the meeting of two souls.

One person may need stability and their soul mate will provide it.  The other may need love and total affection, and the other person will provide it.  But – this may highlight some differences within each of them.  They may need something the other one cannot give, but whatever happens, they just cannot live without each other.

Twin Flame

In my opinion, a twin flame is the same soul as us, but we have been split into two for two unique life experiences, and sometimes we collide during this lifetime.  You will know if you have collided with your twin flame.

As opposed to a soul mate, who will have some subtle differences and ways of thinking from you (which in turn allows you to learn things from them) a twin flame will allow you to learn things about yourself because they will trigger you.

A twin flame is half of your soul.  You will see yourself in this person.  Like a mirror image.  You will have the same outlook, likes, dislikes, emotional make-up, you may even look like them.  They are so much like you that you feel almost an instant pull toward them which you cannot put into words.

They will not be as solid as a soul mate. They may let you down, or you let them down, you will clash yet compliment all at the same time.

I believe a twin flame begins with an insatiable lust and ends in a ball of flames.  Because sooner or later, the twin flame will lead us to our shadow side.  Unlike a soul mate, who is rock steady and predictable, a twin flame will throw you up into a complete whirlwind of possibilities and uncertainties.  

A twin flame will turn the head of the person who is normally faithful and rock steady in their loyalty when it comes to their partner.  It will be akin to being hit by a brick, from out of no-where, like suddenly you remember who you are after you had forgotten during this lifetime.  Because after all, you are two halves of the same soul.

But this can be dangerous, especially if you have already found your soul mate.  How conflicting could it be for someone to be presented with a soul mate and twin flame connection?  I have seen this many times during my love and relationship readings.

Is it healthy to pursue such an insatiable hunger when it comes to your twin flame?  Single or in a relationship?  Only you can answer that, because this is your journey, not mine.  I give this advise time and time again.

It is up to you to reach out, connect and join with whoever you feel gets you on a level like no one else does.  Sadly that may mean turning your back on a soul mate or twin flame, for this human journey, but doesn’t mean that one day, in another life, another dimension, another universe….that you will finally join again.

Until next time,

Tanya 

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