Category Archives: nottingham complementary therapist

Healing Anxiety with Reiki

Anxiety is a condition that many people suffer from. It may be during a particularly traumatic, stressful period of life or it may be a more long term condition resulting from earlier long term stress or trauma. The person may or may not be aware of the underlying cause. In most cases, when we’re stressed, the body will go back to normal when the cause of stress has passed. For others, if the cause is more long term, the body becomes conditioned to be in a ‘fight or flight’ mode; in other words, in an anxious state, so that it becomes a habit. Our adrenal glands become accustomed to flooding the body with the chemicals adrenaline and cortisol, putting a long term strain on the kidneys and other body systems.

Experiences with Reiki Treatment

Recently I’ve been seeing particularly good results when treating clients suffering from anxiety with Reiki. Here are some examples:-

One lady reported that she felt “lighter, like something had been lifted off” her after just her first treatment. Her partner and daughter had both noticed an improvement in her mood over the days following her treatment. This lady had experienced long term anxiety and depression. Now her sadness had lifted and her head felt “less busy”. During treatment I release heaviness around the heart chakra and energy blocks in the solar plexus representing lack of self-worth and self-belief, and gave plenty of grounding to the root chakra. Subsequent treatments are addressing the longer term, deep rooted causes of her anxiety and depression. She had a couple of treatments quite close together but is now just having subsequent treatments on a monthly basis.
Another client had been experiencing anxiety with migraines for a few years when I started treating her. This lady was just about managing to cope with work with the migraines but had some deep-rooted emotional issues as well which had been suppressed long term. In her treatments I cleared the heart, solar plexus and sacral chakras and worked on the physical level of the sacral chakra (the abdomen) too. The third eye and root chakras also needed particular attention. After each treatment she reported that her anxiety levels had dropped considerably, lasting for a longer period of time after each treatment.
When I worked on another client with anxiety I discovered that his solar plexus chakra was wide open and the heart and root chakras were very low in energy. I worked on the kidneys to calm them and reduce physical stress-related symptoms. An energy block was released from the back of the third eye chakra – negative thoughts are often stored here. This area should always be worked on, in addition to the solar plexus, with clients who suffer from low self-worth and hold a myriad of negative thoughts about themselves. The third eye chakra relates to perception, among other things, and how we see the world around us, what we are focusing on and where we see ourselves going. Negative thoughts can cause blockages in this chakra.
Reiki can also help children to settle into a new school or help them if they’re having difficulties causing anxiety. Typically in this case you need to balance the solar plexus, heart and root chakras and release any fears/worries held in other chakras. These treatments were sent by distance healing. The children were all completely unaware that they had been sent healing but the parents noticed improvements over the next few days which enabled the children to settle into new routines.

Treating Anxiety

The main chakras to focus on is almost always the solar plexus. This relates to personal power, personal strength, self-belief, self-worth, self-esteem – how we really feel about ourselves in spite of any confident outward appearances. The solar plexus is connected to the mind/mental body which is why many people experience butterflies, nausea and IBS when they are worried about something.

The root chakra is also very important. Focusing Reiki energy here will strengthen this chakra, bringing the person’s energy down, literally bringing them out of their head (where you spend a lot of time when you have anxiety) and back down to earth. The root chakra relates to grounding and focus. When you have strong physical grounding and a strong connection to earth, you are better able to cope with things and not let them get on top of you. The adrenal glands are governed by the root chakra, so treating the root chakra also helps to calm the adrenals.

You will also need to work on the heart and sacral chakras to help clear emotional issues contributing to the anxiety, as well as the third eye chakra to calm and clear the head.

It is worth pointing out here as well that distance treatments are just as effective as hands-on treatments in cases of anxiety. This may be because you are already working on the mental level (ie. the mind) by visualising the person and the Reiki can flow more easily over this mental connection.

At the beginning of the treatment I always ask for the Reiki healing energy to flow to release the person’s anxiety, boost inner strength and self-belief, and restore peace and harmony. This sets your intention and makes it clear what you would like to happen. Energy always follows thought. You can phrase your request to suit your/your client’s needs but it will no doubt be something along these lines. You can also call upon the Angel of Healing to release and resolve the underlying causes of a person’s anxiety. This is very powerful and signals to the angelic realm that you wish to work with them. Do this regularly so they know you are sincere and I’m sure you will soon see an extra depth to your treatments.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Healer/Teacher, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. She is also currently studying Raw Food Nutrition to find out more about the healing power of natural food. Helen offers several healing treatments such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Faery Reiki, Angel Therapy and Fairy Blessing Guided Journey, as well as Usui Reiki and Faery Reiki training courses. She has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics & Enchantment.

Increasing the Reiki Power

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There are several ways you can increase the Reiki power while giving a Reiki treatment. When working over problem areas you may want an extra boost in order to shift blocks or to speed healing. Here are three suggestions you can try:-

Visualisation – while giving Reiki to the area, actually visualise the area healing or the energy block being dissolved and released. You may also like to incorporate colour into your visualisation, for example orange for physical energy and to clear congestion/catarrh, green to release tension and balance emotions, blue to calm and relax (ideal for high blood pressure) and red to warm cold areas such as hands and feet. A rich sapphire blue is good for helping to reduce pain.
Joshin Kokyuu-Ho – this breathing technique creates a strong connection to the Reiki power and is used to intensify the flow of energy. It is taught in the Reiki Level 1 course but here is a reminder: Inhale slowly through the nose and at the same time imagine you are breathing in Reiki energy through the crown chakra. (You may be aware of a slight pressure on the top of your head.) Draw in the breath and the Reiki energy down into your belly to the energy centre 2 or 3 finger widths beneath the naval. Hold the breath here in the belly (Tanden) for a few seconds. As you are doing this, imagine energy from the Tanden spreading throughout your entire body and energising the whole body. Exhale through the mouth. Imagine the breath and Reiki energy flowing out of the mouth and also from the fingertips, tips of toes and from the chakras in the palms and feet.

Use Joshin Kokyuu-Ho to channel pure white light into a person’s energy field. I have used this method to clear the mental/emotional auric bodies of worry and negativity and raise the person’s vibration. Hold your hands around the head area while performing Joshin Kokyuu-Ho and visualise white light filling the person’s entire mental and emotional bodies, not just around the head. This is ideal for clients who worry a lot, have anxiety and/or depression.

Attunement breathing technique – Reiki Master Teachers can practice the breathing technique taught for attuning someone to Reiki. Hold in the Hui Yin point and place your tongue behind your top teeth to prevent energy flowing out your central channel. You will then have more energy to project out your hands.

Boosting Your Own Energy Levels

There are also ways to boost your own energy levels generally so that you have more energy at all times, not just during treatments. If you are generally more energised you will be less likely to feel tired or depleted if giving several treatments in one day. Suggested methods are as follows:-

Regular meditation practice, whichever method you prefer.
Practising Chi Kung or Tai Chi to increase your personal energy.
Regularly practising the Reiki Three Diamonds energy enhancing technique to build, strengthen and maintain Earth Ki, Heaven Ki and Heart Ki.
A healthy nutritious diet including plenty of fruit, salad and vegetables.

Reiki Three Diamonds Workshop

I am intending to run a Reiki Three Diamonds workshop in the Spring of 2017 at 15 Wheeler Gate Nottingham.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Healer/Teacher, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen offers several healing treatments such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Faery Reiki, Angel Therapy and Fairy Blessing Guided Journey, as well as Usui Reiki and Faery Reiki training courses. She has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics & Enchantment.

FINDING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE

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life-purpose-5

After many years practice of meditation and connection to my guides and higher self, I have come to realise that my life purpose is simply ‘to heal’ – from emotional wounding in this life and even past lives. And the most simple and amazing thing of all is that your life purpose will be exactly the same as mine. ‘To heal’ is all that is required of any of us because when we heal all our natural strengths, talents and passions will come to the fore. Nothing gets in the way of this happening. No-one else hinders you. When you are healed you have no blocks, so life circumstances present no blocks to hold you back. When you experience negativity from others, this is actually a reflection of your own doubts and fears. When you are free to follow your passions, your life path naturally unfolds but, before then, if it’s not happening, you need to heal – to release and clear blockages.

Our life purpose then is actually very clear – to heal and to love. As part of our healing journey we learn to love ourselves through self-nurturing and honouring our own needs and to love those who have hurt us – lovers who have betrayed us, people who have let us down and those who have deliberately hurt us. Once this pain has been released through acts of forgiveness and understanding, we allow the space for a broader love and compassion for humanity to emerge.

Asking for Help

Most people waste hours, months, years worrying about what they should be doing. All this just puts unnecessary pressure on us and uses up valuable energy that would be better spent letting go of the past and living in the present. By all means ask your guides and angels to show you the way and guide you into your life mission but, if you do this, it is essential that you are able to recognise the signs of guidance. Very rarely will you be shown the bigger picture or told exactly what you should be doing. It is far more likely that you will be led first to the ‘next step’, ie what you need to do in order to heal and release any issues that are holding you back from moving into your life purpose in the first place.

Challenging situations and crises occur at some point in everyone’s life and these situations serve to reflect back to you the aspects of yourself that need healing. Bad things do happen and we all wonder why bad things happen to good people. Recently a friend of mine went through a horrendous ordeal of wrongful arrest after being framed for something she didn’t do. I discovered that she was carrying the energy of guilt in her aura from her relationship with her mother which had left her feeling like whatever she did, she could never do enough. According to the Law of Attraction we can only attract what we already have, for example happiness creates more happiness. Likewise guilt attracts situations where we are made to appear as the guilty party. The universe is not cruel but simply mirrors back to us the aspects of ourselves that need healing.

As part of moving into your life purpose, your guides, angels and higher self may also lead you to a healing modality that can help you release whatever needs to be released. These can include Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Faery Reiki, Crystal Healing or one of the many other forms of energy healing available today. I was led to Reiki 15 years ago when I first began my healing journey, then more recently I was led to Faery Reiki which cleared out my chakras at an even deeper level than before. I just simply know that this is preparing me for the next stage of my journey.

The Never Ending Journey

Personally I was very lucky when it comes to finding my life purpose because many years ago in meditation I heard a big booming voice, that sounded both within my head and outside of me, say “You will be a spiritual healer”. This felt ‘right’ at a deep level and this conviction has kept me on my path despite there being many occasions when I could have abandoned it for financial reasons!

Even when you feel that you are on the right path and have got to where you want to be, there is still further to go. It is still possible to move deeper into your life purpose and take your work to the next level. I want to help others heal on a deeper soul level. I don’t yet have all the answers regarding how I am going to do this but I have already seen the powerful shifts that can occur when you are able to heal the soul or spirit and this is my passion. Moving further into this kind of soul level healing is my goal for the future. And each time I release more of my old emotional ‘stuff’, the deeper I will move into it. Maybe it is time for you to start your own journey too…

Practical things to consider when moving into your Life Purpose

Your life purpose is ultimately about how you can best serve humanity based on your particular skills, talents, personal qualities and specific interests. To find your life purpose you must follow your passion, in other words, whatever inspires you and makes you feel like you are doing something worthwhile. Your life purpose is usually connected to that nagging feeling of longing which comes from your soul. Often people do have a good idea about what they would like to be doing – it’s more a case of addressing the ‘if onlys’ and moving past perceived blocks. A good indication of your life purpose is what you would do if you were totally free and left to your own devices if you didn’t have to worry about money, where to live, other people’s expectations etc. So identifying your passions is a good place to start. Then start to identify all the issues that prevent you from doing this including mental/emotional issues such as lack of confidence and fear of failure, as well as practical concerns such as lack of time or lack of money to pay for training. Try to determine how many of these issues are actually excuses the ego makes to keep you where you are, ie. stuck in a nice, safe little rut. The real blocks lie hidden underneath the excuses and these are the emotional issues that need healing.

Helen Shortland is a Healer, Spiritual Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen offers several healing treatments such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Faery Reiki and Fairy Blessing Guided Journey, as well as Usui Reiki and Faery Reiki training courses. She has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics & Enchantment.

Healing Anxiety by Strengthening the Root Chakra

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healthy root chakra tree

Around six weeks after my Faery Reiki attunement, when all the clearing had taken place, I began to be aware of definite improvements concerning issues connected to my Root Chakra. The 1st chakra, the Root or Base Chakra, concerns issues of stability, our sense of security in the physical world and sense of belonging, as well as practical matters such as work, home, finances, health and physical vitality. I realised I felt stronger, safer in myself, more confident. I realised I was no longer anxious in situations that would have made me nervous or anxious before. “I can’t do that” had been replaced with “I can if I want to”. I had no qualms whatsoever about going off on my own exploring new places.

So, how had this actually come about you may ask? During my attunement I had been aware of energy pulsing at each chakra, clearing them out Root to Throat. Although I have done much personal healing on my own journey over the last 15 years, there were still some deep-rooted negative beliefs about myself that I had held since childhood and possibly from past lives. There had also been a spiritual crisis in 2014/early 2015 from which I was still building myself up.

The Importance of the Root Chakra in Healing

I firmly believe that all our issues stem from old hurts, pain and wounding in the Root Chakra. Good stability and a healthy emotional environment in our early childhood years are essential for forming successful relationships both within and outside the family and for healthy self-esteem. Unfortunately however most traumas start in childhood or early teens when we don’t have the emotional maturity to deal with them. So many people end up believing they are not clever enough, not pretty enough, not lovable enough, just not good enough in other words. When we don’t feel safe we form coping strategies that may help at the time but which don’t really serve us into adulthood, by which time they have become ingrained and habitual. Lots of negative emotions are tied up in these erroneous beliefs and these negative emotions cause energy blocks in the Root Chakra that alter and impede the flow of energy into this chakra. The Root Chakra is our connection to Mother Earth so, if not corrected, these impediments become blocks which limit the flow of energy we receive into the Root Chakra from the earth. This lack of connection to the earth results in us not feeling safe, secure and vital and makes us less effective in the physical world in terms of achieving our goals and dreams. We become ungrounded – we can easily ‘zone out’, live in our heads or be overwhelmed by our emotions.

What is anxiety?

The best definition I have come across for anxiety is this: Anxiety stems from being separated from your soul and your purpose. Anxiety is your body’s way of telling you that your current path is not in line with your soul path, life purpose or mission. Anxiety can be crippling; it is constant fear in over-drive. You may even have forgotten what the initial trigger or cause was but your physical response has become habitual and you are running the energy pattern of fear. I remember feeling a constant panic that time was running out and I hadn’t achieved anything like the amount of things I wanted to achieve after living so many years on the planet. When you are gripped with anxiety and panic you are not able to set goals, you don’t feel in control, you may not even know what your desires and goals are. If you ever had any, they have long since been abandoned. You have forgotten what it’s like to plan ahead and to look forward to the future.

How can we help heal anxiety?

There are many forms of energy healing that can help such as Reiki healing focussing particularly on the Root Chakra, Faery Reiki which increases your connection to the Earth or my Fairy Blessing Guided Journey where you release what is no longer serving you and request the help you need. This latter treatment also includes crystals to help unblock the Root Chakra. If you want to use crystals yourself, haematite, smoky quartz, black obsidian and red jasper work particularly well in this chakra – pop one in each trouser pocket to keep them with you all day or sit and meditate while holding a crystal on your lap.

Faery energy is particularly grounding because the fairy realm is so close to our earth plane. You can easily connect to the Fae without being attuned to Faery Reiki. To heal anxiety you must strengthen your Root Chakra so I would urge you to go outside into nature, either your garden or take a walk in a park. An area that is more wild is preferable to a perfectly manicured lawn. Sit near some plants and flowers, introduce yourself and ask the fairies to help you ground yourself and find inner peace and strength. Be open to any ideas and thoughts that come to you. You may be inspired to help the Fae in some way such as picking up rubbish in the local park. You will find sitting there surrounded by fairies and elemental energies very grounding. This is why people feel so much better after getting out in the countryside. If you are really lucky, you may sense sparkles in the air or tiny little balls of coloured light flitting around you. If you feel more uplifted and inspired afterwards, you have definitely made contact!

Helen Shortland is a Healer, Spiritual Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen offers several healing treatments such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Faery Reiki, Angel Therapy and Fairy Blessing Guided Journey, as well as Usui Reiki and Faery Reiki training courses. She has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics & Enchantment.

An Introduction to Faery Reiki

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fairy forest 2 free fotolia

Fairies, also known as the nature angels, are part of the elemental realm of air, fire, water, earth and ether. They reside in a dimension very close to our earth realm where they perform their divine mission of protecting nature and the animals. Faery Reiki strengthens your connection to the faery realm and the elements. It helps to cleanse and release negative emotions (Water), connect to your higher self for inspiration (Air), release negative karma and aid manifesting of dreams and goals (Fire), provide grounding, balance and stability (Earth) and helps release doubt, fear and anger (Ether/Spirit). Faery Reiki balances the emotions, improves inspiration and motivation, increases your sense of wellbeing and helps clear blocks in the root chakra to improve creativity and manifesting of success and abundance. Each session includes a short Fairy Oracle card reading to give insight into a particular area of concern in your life.

How Faery Reiki has changed me

Connecting to the Faery Realm has probably been the biggest development on my spiritual journey since I was first attuned to Usui Reiki in 2001. Since my attunement I have noticed subtle but strong prompts: all my make-up, toiletries and skin care products must be totally cruelty-free from now on. I now feel a much closer connection to animals and have an even greater appreciation of nature than before. I’ve also found a new hobby or mission of buying the most sorry-looking plants I can find and reviving them with Reiki, water and lots of TLC, as well as an urge to pick up litter when walking round my local park. I can just imagine the kind of caring, compassionate world we could live in if large groups of people all over the world all felt the same.

Client Experiences

Having performed several treatments now, various patterns or similarities are emerging in terms of clients’ experiences during a Faery Reiki session. People usually report seeing their own visions of fairies, nature spirits and/or power animals. Many go on their own journey to the Faery Realm, often receiving their own guidance or sense of knowing regarding current matters of concern. One lady I treated had a very powerful visual experience: I will let her describe her experience in her own words in this extract from her testimonial:-

“I then lay on her couch where she took me through the most creative journey of colour, texture and what I can only describe as pure magic. For an artist I can only describe this as paradise. I was cleansed with air, fire and water and felt them all right from the core of the earth up into the universe. My fairy … opened a door into the natural world and I had a front row seat. For 30 minutes I was transfixed by light and the most amazing colour that I would struggle to replicate with any artists’ paints. The words whispered were “Look after our Earth”. If this is my job then I will abide. Whether you feel there is a vocation or just want to tap into this faerie realm , go onto Helen Shortland’s Facebook page to read all about what she offers. It’s not to be missed.”

Clients also seem to receive their own particular fairy blessing, whether it be creativity, emotional stability, peace etc. This energy is truly powerful and life-changing. A Faery Reiki session is a truly fascinating experience – ideal for anyone wanting to reconnect with the nature kingdom and the magic of life.

Special Introductory Offer

This unique 1 hr session, including short fairy card reading, is available on special introductory offer of £25 until end of July, after which it will be £30. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to try it for yourself!

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Healer/Teacher, Faery Reiki Master, Spiritual Consultant and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.

Getting Over Yourself and Moving into You

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facing fear

We can all think of things we would love to do in life and we can all think of a hundred and one reasons why we can’t do them. But how many of these reasons are excuses and how many of these excuses are just our fears?

When I first started doing my complementary therapy work, I would often be invited along to various groups to give talks about what I did. I had always been a very shy, quiet person so, needless to say, I would be extremely anxious for several days beforehand but always made myself do it because “it was good for business”. Just accepting the invitation was a hurdle; showing up on the day even more of a challenge. I did several talks over the years, just bumbling my way through in the beginning. Eventually I began to find it easier and, dare I say it, the last one I did, in a care home, I actually enjoyed. The funny thing was, once I’d got over my fear, the invitations dried up. I didn’t need to learn that lesson any more.

Around that time I came across a statement in a book I was reading that rocked me to the core:

“Being shy is the greatest form of self-obsession.”

As a shy person, I was rather indignant about this! However the more I pondered those words, the more I realised, albeit grudgingly, that they were right. By being shy and holding back from others, you are not sharing. You are more concerned with what people think about you. It’s all about you. Your mind is filled with “I really can’t do that”, “I hate being centre of attention”, “I’ll start jabbering and dry up”, “I’ll do this wrong, I’ll do that wrong”… in other words, “It’s all about me, me, me!”

The moment you bring your own fears and dramas into the situation, you make it about you. The ego is going frantic, telling you that you can’t go through with it. The ego feels threatened and will do its best to sabotage any efforts you make towards personal growth.

Now, more than 10 years later, I can look at this from a more objective point of view and try to rationalise my former irrational reaction. If you really cared that much about what people thought, you wouldn’t speak or voice an opinion/viewpoint at all. When you think about it, whatever you say, in whichever environment you’re in (work, home, with friends etc), some people will agree with everything you say, some will agree with part and disagree with part and some will disagree with you whatever you say. And that really doesn’t bother you when you’re with people you know well! Public speaking is just speaking on a bigger scale than you usually do. There will still be the same ratio of those who agree, those who part agree and those who disagree.

The challenge in life is to be yourself and let go of worrying about how you will be received. When you are being yourself you reflect the true you. You will then automatically attract the kinds of people who genuinely resonate with you and need to hear what you have to say. Every one of us possesses a unique set of gifts, passions and life experiences. All you need to do is share them honestly. After all, people can’t like or admire the real you if they never get to see it. Doubts and fears are normal. Try stating your fears out loud – it makes them a little less scary. When you have fear, you are afraid to be you. But if you can conquer one fear, then another, then another, you’re well on your way to finding and living your soul purpose. In other words you have moved out of ego (solar plexus chakra) and up into the heart.

Helen Shortland is a Spiritual Consultant, Reiki Master Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses, therapies and workshops, please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or visit and ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.

New Year, New Vibrations

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In my work as a Healer and Holistic Therapist I meet many people who say they are “too open” and absorb too much from the people and environment around them. The problem of course is the negativity they are absorbing rather than the positive. The key here is to rise above and deflect the negative and be aware of and open to the positive.

Many healers, therapists and readers take on the lower energy vibration of their clients. Other people worry about the state of the world, their loved ones and their own problems, all of which lowers your vibration. The solution is to be at a high frequency but not so open that you lose energy to others. When you look at highly spiritual people like the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Amma, you can see it is possible to remain in a high vibration state.

The biggest issue we have to face during our time on earth is overcoming the dense vibration of fear. The aim is to live without fear, replacing it with love. This can only be achieved by working through our own individual fears. So our challenge is to reach a high vibration and stay there, not letting other people, situations, worries and fears drag us down. We can all call in white then violet light with the intention of psychically cleansing the energy body and use psychic protection techniques such as surrounding ourselves in a gold, blue or violet bubble of light. From an energy perspective, rising above negativity literally involves getting over ourselves (ego/Solar Plexus chakra) and up into the heart centre where we experience love for others. After all, how can you inspire others to rise up out of their own darkness if you are sharing the darkness with them?

There are several ways to achieve a higher energy vibration which are also highly beneficial for our wellbeing and relationships with others. Here are some suggestions:-

Look for the beauty in everything. Nature is truly awesome if you stop and take the time to look.
Practice gratitude. Write a list of all the things you are grateful for or happy about, whether it is supportive friends, a loving family or simply an act of kindness you witnessed that day which reminded you that there is kindness in the world. When you start looking for positives you become a more positive person. On occasions when you have a negative thought about someone or yourself, it is said that you have 17 seconds to turn that negative thought into a positive one before it turns into a negative energy pattern, ie. you experience the negative impact in your energy body.
Look for something new every day which will increase your sensory awareness. It is amazing how much more you notice when you actually start looking, especially if you are someone who is usually rushing around living a very busy life.
Practice meditation to restore the energy body to do guided visualisations to a place of peace and serenity which you are observing nature with your inner sight, hearing and feeling.
Avoid speaking ill of others and stop yourself when you hear you are putting yourself down. When you see others as less than ideal, you are being judgmental and lowering your vibration because you are focussing on what is “wrong”. Accepting others as they are, and yourself as you are, is a form of unconditional love which keeps you in your heart centre. When you are coming from a place of love, your vibration is high.
Work through and release your own issues and energy blocks. This will help you distance yourself from similar problems in others, preventing you feeling low afterwards. Empathy is one thing but wallowing in mutual misery is another! You can help people far more if you can let them know what has worked for you and how you came through your own challenges.

Despite many appearances to the contrary, we are not meant to live in fear or in a state of manic busyness where we are too exhausted to cope. The greatest gift you can give yourself this New Year is the awareness of how negativity affects you and making time for spiritual practices you can use to improve your wellbeing and personal growth.

Helen Shortland is a Spiritual Consultant, Reiki Master Teacher, Holistic Therapist and Angel Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen has been on the spiritual path for 15 years and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses and therapies please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.

A Call for Lightworkers to shine their Light to all Humanity

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bright aura

I received this ‘inspired communication’ early one morning a few days ago and it seemed to come through with a real sense of urgency, a sense that time is running out and that we need to act now. Since then Turkey has downed a Russian plane and we seem to be heading ever closer to being drawn into a 3rd World War. Recent events in Paris have brought home to us how close this threat really is. It has been said that every war is fought up to the limits of the technology that is available at the time so now, in 2015, that means that the next one will be nuclear, threatening the destruction of the planet and annihilation of humanity. All because certain groups of people choose to focus on differences in ideology rather than what unites us as human beings.

For several years now more and more angels have been drawing closer to the earth plane and over the last decade more and more frequencies of healing energy have been transmitted to the earth plane by high level beings of light in other dimensions. I believe that the angels have been drawing closer to us recently because they know what is coming up for us. The explosion of interest in healing modalities such as Reiki, Angelic Reiki, Seichem, Sekhem and Tera Mai amongst others has all been designed to help as many people as possible raise their vibration not just for themselves but for the planet as a whole. The angels have been preparing us and supporting us for years. There is a Plan and we are part of it.

Now it is time for all Light Workers (healers, angel therapists, spiritual teachers etc) to unite and start to consciously work to raise the vibration of humanity. Whenever we hear of another terrorist attack on the news, it is very easy to sink down into the lower, heavier vibration of fear and hate. You can literally feel your energy level drop. Now more than ever, however, Light Workers need to stay strong in their own power of high energy vibration and send this light out to others, to the very people who appear to threaten our security and safety. Reiki practitioners will remember from the Level 2 training that whenever you are in conflict with someone, the best thing to do is to send them Reiki with the intention to heal the relationship/situation for the highest good of both of you. This sends light to the other person’s higher self. Even if the healing is not fully sent with love, the act of sending light is the act of sending an increase in consciousness which the higher self receives and acts upon at a subtle level, causing a shift in energy between the people involved. Now we need all the Light Workers on the planet to send this healing light of consciousness to world leaders, politicians and, yes, to the terrorist groups themselves. I understand that some will feel resistance to this idea but the situation can only be helped if the higher self of all these people is reached and allowed to check and inspire their actions. When you send love and light to someone, the intention is to connect and uplift them into their higher self or soul, in other words into a higher consciousness. Remember that we are all bigger, and so much more, than the part of us in physical incarnation. If enough people set the intention to send healing to the terrorist groups, we can make a difference. 144,000 people is said to be the number of people working with the light required to shift the energy vibration of humanity into a raised level of consciousness.

It is worth mentioning here that everyone who comes into incarnation comes here with a plan for their life. Some people come here to do good works, others come here to be part of the chaos and destruction. Sending people hate is pointless; our only hope is a willingness to heal the situation. The threat we face now is part of the World Plan. If we manage to overcome our differences now and find a way to live in harmony, then we can truly live in the promised Golden Age that is possible for humanity to achieve. If not, the opposite will occur.

So why do I think sending people light and upliftment will work or at least have a positive effect? Well there have been many times in my life when I have been aware of the forces of light and dark playing out in my life. Whenever I feel I am being dragged down into a fear-based mindset, I have been prompted to affirm to the universe “I choose light!” As ridiculous as this may sound, it always works. My energy field immediately brightens and I feel a shift, allowing angels to draw near bringing peace and calm once more. It is also excellent to use if you are under any form of psychic attack. If everyone currently on the planet at this time did this, the planetary vibration would be high enough to override all the fear and darkness on the planet today. Think how many angels would be able to draw close to us all then! Two spiritual truths I have learned over the many years on my spiritual path deserve mention here: “Where there is light, there can be no darkness” and “A higher vibration always wipes out a lower one”.

So how can we make a difference and send healing at this time? Whether you are a trained/attuned healer or not, it doesn’t matter. Anyone can visualise their own aura lighting up – do this so that it is bright enough to feel like it is shimmering with pure white light. Now visualise the aura of another person or group of people lighting up in the same way, with the intention that they receive the love and wisdom of their higher self. All you need to do is visualise them surrounded with light. I have even practiced this technique at the bus stop on a couple of occasions with interesting results! There seems to be a greater sense of consideration, care and courtesy between the people I surrounded with light than the ones I didn’t. You can try this technique with anyone you are in conflict with, or with anyone you just wish to lift up into a higher vibration. It can be done either in person or by visualising them remotely. Another spiritual truth to bear in mind here: “The more harmony you create in your own life, the more harmony you have to spread to others”.

If you are already a Light Worker, your mission in life is to spread light – the light of conscious awareness, love and healing. And that time is now. The world needs your light now. In the words of Light Worker Rebecca Campbell “The purpose of all light workers is to quite simply BE THE LIGHT”. Visualise and intend your own aura to lighten up, then do the same for others.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Healer, Angel Therapist, Holistic Therapist and Meditation Teacher based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. Helen has been on the spiritual path since 2001 and has extensive knowledge of healing and the healing journey. For further information about her Reiki courses and therapies please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.

LIFE ON THE SPIRITUAL PATH: HIGHS AND LOWS AND HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

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There is currently a greater awareness of spirituality than ever before and many different paths to follow. But why would you necessarily want to be spiritual? If you are drawn to this subject, it will feel like an inner yearning for deeper meaning in your life, a searching to understand the purpose of it all, an intuition that it can improve our lives in some way, a knowing that there is more to life. More and more people are waking up to realising that the material world does not hold all the answers to our problems and that maybe, just maybe, we can do something to help ourselves and transform our relationships and the world around us. The knowledge that was once in the domain of only a privileged few is now becoming available to each and every one of us.

From April 2014 to April 2015 I went through my own personal spiritual crisis when many things I took for granted and believed in, most predominantly my health and my supposed abilities as a Reiki Master Healer, fell apart but towards the latter part of this time I ended up learning my greatest spiritual lessons. When someone asked me at the beginning of this year how I was feeling, the only word that came to mind was ‘broken’. Now, having built up my energy body with Reiki self-healing, mindfulness meditation, seed sound mantras, colour visualisation and plenty of walks in nature, I have discovered that I am channelling a greater amount of healing energy than before and have a clearer, more intuitive communication with my guides and angels who have inspired me to put together this list of what to expect along the spiritual path – and, yes, I do think this includes a spiritual crisis of some sort for us all at some point as part of this process, almost as a test to see how we cope and whether we have fully integrated what we have learnt, because when you think about it, most of our spiritual practices like meditation and reading spiritual books remain at the mental level without being brought down fully into the physical, material realm. Now when I look back, I believe that my own crisis brought me to where I need to be in order to start the next stage of my healing work.

Below are guidelines of things to expect when you start to develop your spirituality. They can also be regarded as a paradigm for a new way of living as the planet emerges through its current chaos into the new promised golden age of peace. One important point to note is that spirituality and healing go hand in hand. As you develop spiritually, you will start to release a lot of the old hurt, anger and pain that was held in your energy body which is contributing to current health issues. This hurt, anger and pain is what is often referred to as ‘negative energy’, ie. energy that is not vibrating at the correct frequency, which can cause blockages in the chakras which eventually leads to dis-ease and illness mentally, emotionally and physically.

So what does it mean to be spiritual and what can you expect as you progress along your spiritual path?

First and foremost, to me being spiritual means looking at the world in a completely different way. It is seeing the things we have in common as human beings rather than focussing on the differences that cause and perpetuate the illusion of separateness. It is seeing what connects us rather than divides us as human beings. This implies seeing things from a higher viewpoint, through the eyes of the soul. When you develop this higher level of sight, you will become aware of karmic patterns in your own and other people’s lives; how people seem to attract the same kind of experience until they address it in a different, better manner and the lesson is learnt and the karmic issue resolved.
An interest in and regular undertaking of spiritual practices such as meditation and/or prayer, as well as interest in crystals, Reiki and/or alternative medicine/holistic therapy. There is a subconscious knowing that we are all made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies and can use forms of energy medicine to bring about balance and healing.
The ability to practice forgiveness of yourself and others, recognising that holding onto past grudges or indulging in self-blame is futile and takes up valuable energy that can be put to better use in the present moment. Recognising when it is time to ‘let go’ of a situation that is draining you and offering it up to a higher power (God or the angels), asking it to be resolved for the highest and greatest good of all.
A belief in a higher force guiding our lives which we can actively work with through intermediaries such as angels and spirit guides.
Recognising that people play certain roles in our lives to give us opportunities to learn lessons we need to learn or to instigate changes we need to make. We are all actors playing roles in each others’ lives, with no real conscious understanding of what we are doing and why. People often feel compelled to do things without knowing why. Maybe we don’t have as much free will as we think we have! I do think it is important not to demonise others too quickly for playing the bad guy: these roles are determined before we even incarnate. If you bear in mind that our greatest enemies can be our greatest teachers, it helps you to look at your situation in a more empowering way rather than from the place of victim.
The development of greater tolerance, compassion and inner peace.
A growing desire to be of service to the world and to humanity. Self-interest, greed and materialism lose their appeal. Along with this comes a growing interest in peace and humanitarian causes, human rights issues and peaceful spiritual activism.
Many people are drawn to healing in its many varied forms, on a personal and/or global scale.
Increased sense of personal responsibility for your actions in terms of how they affect you and others. A greater understanding of the law of cause and effect.
Increased inner strength and self-worth as you honour your role and contribution to your community and the world, however large or small that may be.
Honouring and living your truth is essential: you can no longer live with what is not right for you. As you align more and more with your truth and ultimately your higher self, you start to move into your life purpose. This leads to a stronger sense of the importance of truth and authenticity in all your relationships.
A growing maturity and not taking things so personally. Staying strong when people appear to behave badly towards you, accepting that everyone has their own issues to work through.
Letting people go with love, not anger, when they move out of our lives. Not everyone can stay with us for ever. Some may only be in your life for a short time but have a massive impact in terms of lessons in love, forgiveness and self-reliance or to help you move onto a new path.
Attracting tests and crises to give you the opportunity to put what you have learnt intellectually into practice and, ultimately, to deepen your spiritual awareness and understanding.
Understanding that surrender and release bring the greatest peace and always, eventually, the greatest result. Relinquishing control can be a very difficult thing to do but sometimes you have no choice if you are to stay sane; fighting is destructive and resistance uses up valuable energy that can be put into other things. Offer difficult situations up to God to sort out for the highest and greatest good of all concerned and new solutions may just miraculously appear.

An ability to look at the world in this new way implies that you are developing greater spiritual sight and understanding. The third eye chakra is activated, enabling you to see the inter-connectedness of all things and see the situations in your life from a higher perspective.

If everyone starts to adopt at least some of these principles, we can all contribute to both healing ourselves and creating more peaceful, spiritual communities and countries and, ultimately, a more peaceful world.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Spiritual Coach, Meditation Teacher and Holistic Therapist based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. For further information please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Meditation: Is it really bad for you?

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An article has been published in several national newspapers this week stating that meditation can be a dangerous practice, leading to anxiety, panic and depression. In the article the author, Dr Miguel Farias, clearly states that the problem lies with excessive meditation practice, the kind done for hours on end such as you would find on a meditation retreat. However once a statement gets into the mainstream media, it is all too easy for claims to be exaggerated and the entire subject of meditation to be viewed in a very negative light.

First let me say that the claims made would pose no problem for people who meditate fifteen or twenty minutes a day, maybe a couple of times a day, or for those who take a five or ten minute breather out of the day to re-centre and refocus. We need to maintain perspective here and bear in mind that potential problems only arise when practices are taken to extremes.

The true goal of meditation is to go into the space between the thoughts with a view to expanding the sense of self and your concept of reality. It can take you beyond the mind and the ego and therefore beyond your sense of self. The ego is a construct of your beliefs and life experiences through which you define yourself. When you go beyond Mind into nothingness, the ego disappears and we lose our sense of self and who we are. Psychological breakdown can occur when you do not know what is happening and are not prepared to deal with it. The resulting ‘breakdown’ can send you in to what is termed ‘spiritual crisis’, some symptoms of which include anxiety, panic, fear and depression. Other symptoms include muscle spasms and jerking, ego inflation, confusion, vibration in the body and rushing/roaring sensations in the head.

Spiritual crisis is the extreme end of spiritual awakening. Many people are awakening spiritually at this time, exploring various healing modalities, crystals, meditation among others. Spiritual awakening itself is a journey of healing past trauma and wounding. It is a process of learning, growth, healing and purification; learning to love yourself and forgive others who have caused pain and wounding. A spiritual awakening can turn into crisis however when it happens too quickly, the person is no longer in control, and it is all happening too much too soon. The crisis can be triggered by excessive spiritual practices such as meditation and qigong as well as taking too many Reiki/energy attunements in too short a space of time. The speed of the awakening is unmanageable and the person is left experiencing terrifying symptoms of mental breakdown.

During intense meditation, the meditator opens up to the transcendental state beyond Mind. Unresolved trauma and wounding that has been suppressed, repressed and denied over the years comes up to the surface seeking to be resolved and healed. The inner wold takes over and the person often finds it hard to cope with everyday tasks.

Meditation can produce great highs and feelings of Oneness, inter-connectedness with all things, blissful inner peace and love but it can also be followed by great lows. When you have let more light into your energy body, more of the shadow self is exposed and thrown into that light for healing. Life can start to feel like a constant inter-play between the themes of light and dark. Ultimately however the goal of the psyche is always to heal, transform and move towards wholeness. Spiritual crisis is part of that process, albeit a painful one.

For those people who want to practice meditation as safely as possible, I believe Mindfulness to be the ‘safest’ form of meditation. It is body-focused, particularly on the physical senses of taste and touch. It is very grounding and is excellent for bringing you back into your body if you have a tendency to zone out and be carried away by your own thoughts and worries. For this reason it is very beneficial for anxiety and mild depression. If you want to try it, start off with something very simple: next time you have a cup of tea, eat a sandwich or brush your teeth, focus entirely on the sensations in your hands and mouth. Follow the sensations in your body as you drink the tea or eat the sandwich. If you can become totally absorbed in what you are doing, you are being mindful. With Mindfulness there is no attempt to go beyond the realm of mind into the space between thoughts; you are simply absorbed in what you are doing in the physical realm.

I hope I have provided some reassurance that meditation is perfectly safe when practiced sensibly and in moderation. There are great benefits to having a regular meditation practice (including lowered blood pressure and stress levels, managing anxiety and mild depression, and improving clarity, focus and creativity). It would be a shame to tarnish the reputation of such a beneficial spiritual practice unnecessarily.

Notes:

1. Help and resources are available for anyone who believes they are suffering the symptoms of spiritual crisis. Visit www.SpiritualCrisisNetwork.org.uk for further information.

2. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Helen Shortland is a Reiki Master Teacher, Holistic Therapist and Meditation Teacher based at 15 Wheeler Gate in Nottingham city centre. For further information please visit her website http://helenshortland.com or ‘like’ her Facebook page Helen Shortland Holistics.