Finding The River by Sally Topham

Chapter 14

Planting New Seeds

The ancient Celts lived very close to the land and revered Nature as their teacher. They saw within the seasons a reflection of man’s own cycle of life from birth, to maturity and into death. Rituals were constructed around the natural phenomena connected with the movements of the sun and the earth, the solstices and equinoxes were celebrated as important turning points in the cycles of natural change, and they based their spirituality and philosophy upon their deep connection with the power and magic of Nature.

Today, we can still benefit from being guided by Nature just as much as our distant ancestors were. In fact, feeling our connection to the earth and all that’s natural becomes even more vital in this fast technological age of the 21st century. We, too, can tune into the seasons and view them as metaphors for our own personal growth.

We all respond to the seasons, although for some of us, that may happen on a mostly unconscious level. But if we choose to become more aware of our own cycles, then little by little, we’ll learn when to clear, plant, cultivate and harvest our energies. The process of growth is a process of motion. Nothing remains static. Things change and transform, things arise and are created, and things die away. It’s a continuous cycle of seeds being planted, growth taking place, the blossoming of fruits and flowers, the harvesting of the crops and the dying back and deep sleep of winter.

By following the seasons, we have an aide memoire to remind us what we could be doing in terms of our personal unfolding at any time of the year. In Part III, I want to show you how to work on yourself by watching for Nature’s seasonal cues. I’m going to help you make full use of the techniques I’ve been teaching you so far and also give you a few more strategies to help you on your way.

Spring

Spring is a time when Nature awakes after its long winter sleep and hibernation, and we begin to see gradual evidence of fresh growth and new life. Little by little, dawn creeps in earlier, and, in the Northern Hemisphere, daylight finally begins to stretch out beyond mid afternoon as the sun rises higher in the sky and brings us back into the light after the darkness of winter.

Early Spring begins in February; in fact, the Japanese always mark February 4th as the first day of this season. Even though we might have thick snow lying upon the ground or it’s freezing cold, this is the time when there’s a definite shift in the patterns of Nature. Personally, my energies are always given a boost by the carpet of crocuses and snowdrops which cover my lawn in early February. My heart lifts with all the promise in the air.

This is the time of year when we’re surfacing from the effects of winter in ourselves. If we pay attention, the energies stirring outside of us are reflections of something similar happening within. All those new shoots which are still buried underground are struggling upwards towards the light. Early Spring is a time of re-adjustment and change, of emerging out of the withdrawal we’ve been in all winter. A re-birth is taking place. As we come out of the darkness and are drawn back into the light, the going can sometimes feel like too much hard work after months of more sedentary living. Many of us are struggling to uphold any New Year plans or resolutions which may have been made. More than likely, quite a lot of us have already given up on them! That plan to lose weight after the excesses of the festive season has possibly bitten the dust, maybe we’ve started to miss some of those evening classes we signed up for, and as for weeding through the files or doing some spring cleaning—forget it!

It’s often hard to get the focus and intention going in Early Spring especially if one day is bright sunshine and the next day is icy cold, dreary and miserable. Our energy systems can become sluggish in winter. This causes the immune system to be weakened and makes us susceptible to coughs, colds and viruses. We may be toxic from negative thinking—remember how this can change your body’s chemistry. We could also find ourselves suffering from a general feeling of apathy that may well have been exacerbated by the lack of sunshine or too much stodgy food over the previous months.

Whether you’re suffering from Spring Malaise or you’re full of energy and optimism, now’s a really good time to turn back to Chapter 11 and remind yourself how to trace your meridians. It will help get your energies moving and therefore allow you to be more aligned to the energy of the season. Whatever kind of space you’re in emotionally and energetically “…tracing your meridians is one of the most effective ways…to keep the energy highways open, minimize the traffic jams, maintain the import and export systems, remove stagnant energy and bring in a fresh energy supply.” (From Energy Medicine by Donna Eden and David Feinstein). You can practise this simple technique easily before you get dressed in the mornings. I promise you it will help you to feel healthier, make a difference to your energies, and it will only take you a couple of minutes to do each day! Don’t forget to flush any meridian that needs help as well!

One other thing you should definitely do at this time of year is the Spinal Flush (page 106). Many of us become less active when it’s very cold and that means our lymphatic system isn’t working efficiently at clearing out the toxins. I can’t recommend this practise highly enough! It’s absolutely wonderful for clearing your energies. Do give it a try! Not only will it ease out the grungy points along your spine, but it’ll clear your head and it’s also a very helpful preventative measure to use if you think you’re coming down with a cold.

Helpful Techniques for Spring

Here are a few other things to watch out for in Early Spring and ways you can help yourself:

Mood swings: Work with images which trigger your endorphins. Review Exercise 1: The Magic of Memory and Imagination, Exercise 2: Creating a Safe Place Within Yourself, Exercise 3: The Connection, and Exercise 5: The Inner Smile.

If you haven’t already begun, start writing in your journal (see Chapter 4) and get your whinges, gripes, and irritations—and anything else you’re feeling—down on the page in black and white. Believe me, it’s better out than in!

Apathy or struggling to find the strength for new growth: Try EmoTrance (see Chapter 12). and ask yourself: “When I think about how I can’t be bothered (or whatever it is you’re feeling), where do I feel it in my body?” When you’ve identified the place, put your hands there. Then ask: “Where does this energy need to go?” Allow the energy to soften and flow and leave your body.

Move your body: Exercise, walking, and dancing will all keep those endorphins flooding your body and help you raise and maintain a more positive attitude. This will help you to further new plans and ideas. Get out in nature as it will lift your spirits and help you get into a better state of mind.

Check out your diet: Green is the colour of Spring so it’s good to eat lots of green food. Green vegetables contain a lot of chlorophyll, which is especially good for the digestive tract and for encouraging the healing of wounds. They also contain vitamins C, E and A as well as calcium and B vitamins, which are good for stress.

Detox: Consider going on a detox regime (see Further Information and Suggested Reading at the back of book for additional information).

Spring Traditions

Many of the ancient Spring customs were about performing rituals for abundance. In Babylonia and Assyria for example, there were festivals to celebrate the planting of new crops centring on themes of renewal, creation and fruitfulness in which Ishtar, their Goddess of Love and Fertility was worshipped. As Ishtar’s cult spread into Europe, her name changed and she became known by the Saxon name of Eostre. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the Christian festival of Easter, that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, takes its name from this pagan goddess! In fact, the Easter festival does embody some of the old symbolism because, in essence, it repeats the theme of re-birth and new life. Its message is that we each have the possibility to be born anew, by letting go of the past and moving on.

The long-established Spring tradition of sowing new crops and cultivating the land therefore has great relevance to our personal growth. After all, we sow seeds in the form of our ideas and plans. Every time we want to make changes in ourselves or begin something new, we’re planting new seeds. We can therefore make good use of the energies of this time to focus on trying to release unskilful patterns of thought and behaviour and to work on letting go of limiting beliefs. By weeding out things which hold us back from being who we really are, we can make ourselves more fertile for the cultivation of any new seeds we wish to plant within ourselves.

For many of us, this is the time of year when we’re often enthused with ideas of new ventures and changes we could make in our lives. It may be that you’re thinking of beginning new projects and entertaining various visions and dreams about what you want to do in both the long and the short term. There’s a great sense of things thawing and opening up now, of hope, of a greening and budding. This is the time when we should be making our New Year resolutions, not on January 1st! The earth is being filled with new energy and we need to tune into this and allow it to carry us along.

So, what dreams or ideas are surfacing for you? What new things are arising within you which are waiting to be born? Where is your river taking you?

Building Confidence

New projects or plans often require the necessity of making changes and, as I said in Chapter 13, this can be scary or very uncomfortable for many of us. Is this something that happens to you? Do you find that when it comes to actually trying to get something new started, there’s a part of you that backtracks, becomes bored, finds something else to do, or thinks it can’t be bothered because it won’t happen? Is there a part of you that’s afraid of stepping out into the unknown or taking a leap of faith? Maybe you don’t really feel you have much faith? Maybe you’ve had experiences in the past of telling people about some new plan or vision only to be totally demoralised by their negative reactions? Such responses can really make a dent in our confidence and self-esteem, especially if the put-down has come from a friend or relative.

If you’re someone who lacks confidence and consistently find yourself short on support, encouragement and enthusiasm from others, here are three things you can do to change all that:

DON’T talk about your project to those people who you know won’t support you (you know who they are).

1. INSTEAD, express your ideas safely and openly by writing in a journal about what you want to do. Use this process to expand on any further thoughts and feelings that come up. Journaling is great for helping our brains to sift through and process projects and ideas. It can also become a very creative practise.

2. USE EFT (see Chapter 13) to dissolve your feelings of lack of confidence and support as per the following example:

a. Calibrate: score your feelings around this issue.

b. Create a Set Up statement: such as “Even though I don’t believe I can do this and neither does anyone else, I deeply and completely love and accept myself” (repeat 3 times).

c. Create a Reminder Phrase: such as “Don’t believe I can do this” and tap through two Rounds of the sequence on all the points.

d. Rating: Take a breath and re-calibrate

e. Repeat: Carry on tapping through however many Set Ups and Rounds of the sequence are required until you’ve got it down to zero.

If any other blocks or resistance come up to taking some action on your project, then tap on those as well.

EFT is such a good way of getting rid of self-doubt and lack of confidence!

Comfort Zones

Another thing that comes up frequently when we’re trying to start something new and make changes is the fear of stepping outside of our Comfort Zones.

Comfort Zones are mental and emotional boundaries we set for ourselves. They’re based on limiting beliefs which keep us from stretching ourselves or taking risks. We hide behind these self-imposed parameters because we believe that doing so will keep us safe. Comfort Zones are one of the biggest causes of self-sabotage. They restrict our talents, possibilities and potential, and prevent us from finding success and fulfilment. This subconscious negative thinking can totally undermine any new plans, projects and ideas and keep us from being our true, authentic self.

Here are some examples of Comfort Zones. Have a look at them to get an idea of how to identify them in yourself.

You find yourself in a relationship that’s going nowhere.

1. You’re in a job that’s hugely dissatisfying or stressful, or where you’re not being recognised for your skills and talents.

2. Your relationship history shows predictable patterns; e.g., always ending up going for the same type of person. Even though the personalities of each of the people you’ve dated may have been totally different, you find that you’ve ended up with yet another lover who can’t be emotionally present. Perhaps one of them was never at ease with any expression of emotion, another one might have disappeared when you went through a really bad time, and yet another, whilst able to stick around physically, had a drink or drug problem, so wasn’t really there for you.

3. You’ve noticed that when it comes to getting promoted at work or getting another job, you never really seem to move forward. Perhaps you’ve made some changes in the past but they never turn out to be terribly significant and they haven’t really helped you to move onwards and upwards.

4. You tend to get attracted to unattainable people in terms of relationships.

5. You never seem to get beyond a certain threshold with the money you earn.

6. You have a pattern of not finishing projects which you’ve started.

Repetitive situations in your life can signal that you’re stuck in a Comfort Zone. Believe me, we’ve all got them! You need to recognise them and eradicate as many as possible. The paradox with most Comfort Zones is that they’re not really comfortable, they’re just familiar! And whilst that familiarity tends to make you feel safe, it doesn’t help you to feel satisfied or fulfilled. It holds you back and suppresses your creativity, skills and talent. Ask yourself how many times you’ve allowed yourself to stay stuck because you’re unwilling, for whatever reason, to try to move out of that place?

Exercise 40 will help you to recognize and eliminate Comfort Zones.

Exercise 40: Getting Out of a Comfort Zone

Important factors to remember:

1. You don’t have to know why you’ve got a comfort zone to eradicate one! You simply have to recognise it!

2. Stay with your emotions and feelings about how scary it is to think of stepping out of this particular Comfort Zone and work with that issue either using EFT or EmoTrance. (see Chapter 12)

Here are a couple of examples to help you get going with this:

Example 1: Your current relationship is going nowhere but you can’t find a way of extricating yourself.

• Score the emotional intensity and then EFT it:

• Set up suggestion: “Even though my relationship with (name of person) isn’t going anywhere and I can’t find it in myself to leave, I deeply and completely love and accept myself” (repeat three times).

• Reminder phrase: “Can’t find a way to leave” (and tap through two Rounds of the sequence)

• Breathe and calibrate

• Keep tapping through setups and rounds of sequences until you get it down to zero.

• If any other aspects arise around this issue afterwards such as: I’m afraid of hurting him/her, I’m afraid I’ll never find anyone else; supposing I’m just bored? etc., then tap on each of those too and get them down to zero.

Example 2: You want to earn more money but you never seem to manage it.

• Close your eyes and vividly imagine how you’d feel if you were earning 20% or 30% more than you are now.

• Use EmoTrance on whichever percentage makes you feel most uncomfortable.

• Ask yourself: “When I think about earning ___ % more, where do I feel that in my body?”

• Put your hands there. Know that you’re feeling the energy of that emotion and that energy wants to leave your body.

• Ask yourself: “Where does this energy want to go?”

• Use your hands to stroke the energy in the direction it wants to take

• Let that place in your body soften, allow the energy to flow and let it go

Keep doing this until it’s gone.

Laws of Attraction

In the early 1990s, a book came out by Deepak Chopra called The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success that was probably the precursor to all the Law of Attraction books which were to flood the market come the dawn of the new millennium. Chopra was one of the first people to transmit the idea of the quantum body–mind being part of the quantum universe to a worldwide audience. In this book Chopra tells us—amongst many other things—that there’s no difference between our bodies and the body of the Universe because, “…at quantum mechanical levels there are no defined edges. You are like a wiggle, a wave, a fluctuation, a convolution, a whirlpool, a localised disturbance in the large quantum field. The large quantum field—the universe—is your extended body…(you can therefore) influence the energy and informational content of your extended body—your environment, your world—and cause things to manifest in it.”

Chopra says that conscious change is brought about by attention, which energises, and intention, which transforms. Whatever we put our attention on—good or bad—will have the effect of causing that thing to grow stronger in our lives. So, if we put our attention on things we don’t believe we can do, then more than likely we won’t be able to do them! On the other hand, if we put our attention on things we want to do, (and believe we can do), we’re almost certainly going to be able to manifest them in some way. Intention, he says, “triggers transformation of energy and information.”

But before the action of consciously planting any new seed, we first have to have an idea of what it is we want to do. Everything that’s ever been invented or was ever achieved was once an idea in someone’s mind that became reality through the use of attention and intention. And one of the best ways of helping the mind to open up to its creative possibilities is to allow it to dream!

By allowing yourself to dream—without any expectations, but in a state of joyful play—you can open yourself to all kinds of possibilities and change.

Exercise 41 can help you with attracting your dream.

Exercise 41: The Magic Wand

Imagine you’ve got a magic wand. One flick of it will bring you any opportunity you could imagine and anything you need to manifest your ideas, visions and dreams.

So, think about one of the seeds you want to sow and start dreaming about it unfolding in the most fantastic and spectacular way! It doesn’t matter how far-fetched or unrealistic you make this dream. The idea is that you stretch the boundaries of your imagination with this exercise.

For example: You want to set up a healing space, but you need someone to back you financially. Flick the wand and that someone is there! This person loves your ideas and gives you all the money you require to get started. You’ve begun! You need wonderful therapists to work there with you. No problem! A brilliant receptionist. Hey Presto! An incredible business and marketing manager. Ping! Loads of clients. Abracadabra! And so on.

Let the dream take over and explode into a kaleidoscope of countless fantastic, mind-boggling developments…let it become as far-fetched as you like! In fact the more fanciful you are, the better it is. Don’t hold back! Don’t censor anything! You’re just dreaming and giving rein to your creativity. You can do this with anything but just remember to make sure what you want to envisage is not only for your greater good, but for the good of all concerned.

If you come up with any reservations or blocks about doing this, tap on them, and rid yourself of a few more limitations. Enjoy the exercise and practise it often. It releases endorphins and it’s a lot of fun. Above all, it’s a really good way of learning how to loosen yourself from the constraints of self-imposed limitations.

Exercise 41 is adapted from an endorphin exercise by William Bloom.

Welcome Spring

Here’s a few more things to do in Spring:

Spring cleaning: When you clean and clear your home you’re already having an impact on any negative energy in your environment.

Re-read Chapter 9—Clutter Clearing: Consider what a difference you could make by doing this exercise as it will give you extra impetus for commencing any new plans and projects you may have.

Healing and massage: Go to a Reiki practitioner for some sessions to help get your energies re-balanced. Or, treat yourself to a few massages to ease out any joint or muscle pain that have crept up over the winter months.

Welcome Spring: The official date for the commencement of Spring in the northern hemisphere is on or around March 21st (it’s a date that alters slightly according to astronomical calculations, so you need to check it out on the Net for the current year). This date is marked by what is known as the Vernal Equinox. The word Equinox comes from two Latin words: aequi (meaning equal) and nox (meaning night). It’s a time when the sun crosses the equator and causes day and night to be of almost equal length. The ancient Celts used this occurrence as a special marker in their calendar because it signalled the arrival of Spring and rituals were performed for the invocation of fertility, new life, and the planting of new crops

You might like to do Exercise 42, which is a ritual that will help you to manifest the seeds you’re planting in Spring.

Exercise 42: Celebration of the Spring Equinox

Buy yourself a couple of packets of herb seeds like parsley and mint which you can grow on a window sill. (It’s always useful to have some herbs to hand for cooking and flavouring.) Also, buy yourself a small bag of potting compost and find two small flower pots with saucers for them to stand in. Put some compost in each flower pot and water it so it’s moist and ready to receive the seeds when you plant them.

Create a little altar and if you have a piece of green cloth, spread this as a covering over the altar. (Remember, green is the colour of spring!) Decorate your altar with flowers and candles and anything else which seems appropriate.

You might also like to prepare a special meal to eat after the ritual is completed for yourself (and any others who are taking part).

Place the plant pots on the altar. Close the curtains to shut out the light and spend about 15 minutes meditating on the darkness of winter and how spring is bringing the return of the light. Get a sense of that light growing within. Allow the light to fill you and imagine it lifting you up out of the darkness.

Open your eyes and light several candles to symbolise the return of the light.

Then slit open the seed packets and, very solemnly and with great intent, scatter a small amount of parsley seeds in one pot and a small amount of mint seeds in the other, and gently press them into the soil. As you do this, place a hand on each pot and make an affirmation that these seeds symbolise all the seeds you want to plant in your life right now. Spend a few moments thinking about the projects and ideas which are brewing in your mind.

Then water them and as you do so, say out loud words to the effect of:

“I promise to water the seeds I have planted and to nourish them as they grow.”

Then place the pots on a window sill where the sun can get to them and watch for the first green shoots.

Every time you look at them, let them be a reminder of what it is you’re seeking to grow within yourself.

Feel free to be creative with the ritual and make changes which feel right for you; just make sure that all changes keep to the general theme.

May all your seeds grow and flourish!