inSpirit Magazine Oct 2013 - The Next Generation

SPRING/OCTOBER 2013 RRP: $7.50 AU

Australia’s most comprehensive spiritual magazine

MAGAZINE

raising angels:

NEXT GENERATION issue

The Maiden who grew hands children - magical masters the new generation home schooling past life vows olivia’s gift

PAUL MORRIS SEGAL

katrina cavanough

VOL 6 ISSUE 3 ISSN:

1835 5005

Tips to take your child beyond their wildest dreams

Past lives, crystals, giveaways & more...

MAGAZINE

www.inspiritmagazine.com

Editor’s Note Our Next Generation The inSpiration behind this issue of inSpirit brought our focus around to our children, their friends and the issues often faced by children and younger people.

Being parents ourselves we are well aware it can be a challenge to balance parenting with spiritual beliefs and values in a society that largely still does not support seeing the world with a greater understanding. This in itself can then cause conflict for our next generation as they try to integrate their family and personal spiritual values in schools, work environments and with friends who may see the world entirely different.

So in this issue we’ve put together a collection of articles to help you bridge that gap and inSpire you with some very personal experiences. There is the story of Mercedes and her journey through grieving the loss of a child. Katrina Cavanough has some intuitive, yet sound advice on parenting with awareness. We hear from Brendan D. Murphy, who openly gives us his account of what it is to be part of Gen Y and Paul Morris Segal gifts us with the loving presence of Angels amidst an extract from his book Raising Angels.

In This Issue 6 Raising Angels:

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Children - Our Greatest Teachers

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Soul Conversation - Emily

8

Rites of Passage

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Olivia’s Gift

10 Responding to the Call 12 The Energetic Repercussions of Secrets 13 Making it Happen!

14 We’re Here - Ready of Not! 16 Pools of Potential 17 Children - Magical Masters 18 The New Generation 20 The Maiden Who Grew Hands

Our regular contributors all share a little of themselves with you and give you insight into their worlds and their connections to our next generation and we celebrate our next generation cover design winner – Jessica with awarding her a $20 iTunes voucher and gracing our cover with her winning entry. Thank you Jessica, and well done.

21 The Swan Blessing - Reclaim Ancestral Medicine

Until next time,

Regular Columns

May the Spirit in you shine brightly!

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Kerrie

With love & gratitude,

22 Connecting Children with their Creativity 24 Schooling at Home 25 Make Plans for who you are now.

For the Love of Angels

19 Goddess inSpiration 26 inSpirit Reviews 27 inSpirit Directory

THE TEAM

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CREATIVE TEAM Kerrie Wearing, Nicolle Poll, Nicola McIntosh, Alex Cayas EDITOR Nicolle Poll REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Kerrie Wearing, Nicolle Poll, Nicola McIntosh, Susanne Hartas, Billie Dean, Julia Inglis, MANAGING EDITOR Brendan D. Murphy, Gem~mer, Meadow Linn, Alex Cayas, Kerrie Wearing Natasha Heard, Laura Naomi, Kye Crow, Reilly McCarron GUEST CONTRIBUTORS Paul Morris Segal, Katrina Cavanough, Nathan Star, Mercedes Sharrocks GRAPHIC DESIGN Nicola McIntosh COVER ARTWORK Jessica Wearing Produced by Kerrie Wearing and inSpirit Publishing, inSpirit Magazine is designed to provide a respectful forum for like-minded souls to share in a community which aims to provide informative views, opinions and education regarding the experience of living with Spirit. Disclaimer: While every care has been taken to provide the reader with accurate, inSpiring and thought-provoking information, the Publishers take no responsibility for the accuracy of information and views expressed by the Contributors. The views and opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily shared by the Editor Publishers.

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COMMUNITY

Children Our Greatest

Teachers Nathan Star explores the greatest gifts our children present to us and how we can use these gifts to create a more loving and kinder world‌

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he Children in our lives represent our greatest teachers, and we are honoured with their presence. If we are lucky enough to be a parent, then we are privileged to have been chosen as their guide through their physical life. Whether you are a parent or not, the children that come into your lives will bring many blessings and remind you about the joys and the wonders of life.

Children are younger and have an energy that vibrates higher and faster, and have less of a need to apply logic to everything.

It is safe to say that they generally have a closer connection to their extra sensory perception: clairaudience, claircognizance, clairsentience and clairvoyance. Their purity and innocence enables them to experience life through a connection to Spirit.

Children embody an innocence that reflects a deep connection to Spirit, the Source of life. They have not had the conditioning of

a physical life and the physical world to tell them what is real or not, based on facts and logical-minded proof, and they have no need to judge themselves or others, hide their thoughts and emotions, or to feel the necessity to repress their needs.

These are just some of the simple yet ever so profound lessons that children can teach us. There are many more, however the basics are enough to be reminded of how wonderful the children in our lives are.

Think about a young child of three years old. A child at this age reminds us to be present and to enjoy the people, places and things around us. They would delight in being surrounded by love and being loved, find wonder in whatever place they were in, and find a way to entertain themselves.

Children love to play. Playtime nourishes the soul, and reflects not just an aspect of us that is able to let go of our worries, concerns and doubts, however, play nourishes the soul, because it keeps us in the present. Play time is something that we do to enjoy ourselves, as the activities engage our creativity as well as bring happiness and joy into our present moments. Watching children play can be just as exciting as playing yourself, and perhaps you will want to get involved too. Playtime is inspiring, because it allows you to reconnect with your own inner child. Each and all of us were children once

and just because we have aged and spent several years or decades on this planet,3 that does not mean we are any less of a child. We all came from the Universe as a soul, incarnated into a body, spent time as a baby, a child and then growing up was a part of life.

Growing up is an essential and a natural part of life, and it represents being in a continuous cycle of change and transformation. We are not suggesting anything to remain stuck in the past and refuse to move forward with the natural changes in life; however this is about acknowledging and celebrating the different stages of life.

Being in touch with the child within brings us closer to the wishes of our soul.

Children manifest things much faster than anyone realises. Think about the dreams and ambitions that you had as a child and think about the games and ways you used to send out those wishes without further attachment. Some of us may have held dandelions with a wish in mind and blew away the seeds, while others searched for four leaf clovers, and others placed wishing jars on the window sill. The ways that we connected with these things and the ways that children still are doing some of these

things today, reflect a deeper sense of faith and trust in the Universe; a sense of having a wish, letting it go, and being open to the possibilities.

Children are usually raised in ways that reflect the upbringing of their parents.

Certain values, beliefs and attitudes are passed on through the generations of families, and somewhere along the line, one generation of children will challenge and outgrow some of these. Children are individuals and they teach this very well.

When a child challenges your own thinking as a parent or teacher arises, one thing to get in touch with is to look at what conditions had created the need for a certain belief in a past generation, to compare it to this day and age, and question its relevance. You can reach for a better feeling thought to create better situations and outcomes for all.

Children teach us that they have voices

and they also need to be heard. They have their own needs and perhaps they may not always conform to what is expected of them. They teach us to keep an open mind, and to keep our options open. In regards to what may seem like as rebellious behavior as they experience more of life, look at it from their perspective. Without challenges to the thinking that is already in place, where will catalysts for growth and change come from? Children are wishing to know more about why things need to be done a certain way and how it is all made relevant to them.

Children teach us to be leaders and teachers, to take the time to explain things, to guide, inspire and mentor them. They remind us to be conscious of our own thinking and behavior, as we set examples for them. Children inspire us to take care of every part of ourselves, because if we are

unable to care for ourselves, then how will we care for and teach our children in the very best way that we can?

There is no greater lesson, than learning from the happiness within our own inner child and the children that are in our world.

The happier we are, the more peaceful we are. The more peaceful we are, the more the planet is healed.

Nathan Star combines his experiences, passions and talents as an ANGEL THERAPIST®, Clairvoyant Healer and Primary School Teacher to offer a unique approach to healing and teaching adults and children of all ages. For more information about Nathan or the work that he does, please visit his website at www.nathanstar.com Image credit - www.shutterstock.com

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By Susanne Hartas

Archangel Metatron is the ambassador for children and is dedicated to guiding and protecting all children and those whom care for them.

Children vibrate naturally with the energy of pure love and are highly intuitive beings. They can be greatly affected and influenced by the energies surrounding them and this is why Metatron works closely with their parents and carers, in fostering positive and loving guidance that will nurture their young spirits.

Some children are more sensitive than others and have difficulties, both physically and emotionally adjusting to the vibrations on Earth. Their health may suffer from toxins within our planet and being highly psychic and telepathic, they tend to absorb

and react to the thoughts and emotions of those around them and any restrictions placed upon their freedom may be met with some resistance. Archangel Metatron aligns closely with these highly sensitive children, whom he refers to as ‘brave young warriors’ for they are ‘The Children of Ascension’ and the leaders of the new way.

Metatron’s message “Your children are indeed wise souls within youthful bodies who have made the decision to incarnate upon your planet at this exact time and moment. While they have chosen to undertake a difficult mission, the choice was made with much love for all humankind so that the remembrance of your truth as spiritual beings may be realised sooner rather than later. The voice of the child must be heard, for their voices carry much wisdom and guidance toward ascension for all. I ask, fear not the movement forward,

but grasp the hand of a child within your own, as they lead you into ascending times.

With the fearlessness of the child within, accept with love and gratitude the blessings being bestowed upon you now. For the child knows the truth of their own divinity, as does the child within one self. Be but a warrior on your own behalf and realise your divine truth, for the child within will lead you home. Many blessings, Beloved Ones.”

Susanne Hartas is a Psychic Medium and Angel Intuitive.

Please contact Susanne at: www.inspiritmagazine.com mail@inspiritmagazine.com

Soul Conversations Emily – A Child of the Spirit World E

very once in a while a connection is made with the Spirit world that changes the way you see yourself and the world we experience. Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Werrington Spiritualist Church in Sydney as guest medium where I encountered little Emily. I call her Emily as this is the name I received clairaudiently from her.

Making her presence known to me during the meditation, I felt her JOY and heard her exclaim “Oh WOW!” as she saw the colours explode energetically in conjunction with the shift in energy taking place collectively for the congregation.

Then as we all sang, I clairvoyantly saw her take to her stage with her hairbrush microphone and join us in singing our hearts out to “Words” by Boyzone. This I know she did many times in life, as I did and it was in this moment that my affection for Emily began to take hold.

The time had come to identify who Emily wanted to communicate with and as I started sharing this information with the congregation, I began to focus on her age and felt a distinct shift energetically between ages. I initially felt Emily to be a young adult woman, late teens to early twenties, however as I started describing this and asked the question she responded with a much younger reference of 13. While this could be easily seen as a misinterpretation, I believe her life experience ended in the pre-teens with her Soul self being much wiser beyond those years and this is what she was sharing with me.

Emily was identified as being the Spirit that was attached to a house that the recipient of the connection had visited in the days beforehand in an effort to help her friends who had just moved into this house and were encountering some paranormal experiences,

especially when music was being played. Of course! Music cut right to the heart and joy of who Emily is, so how could she not express this even if in doing so it crossed the boundaries between worlds.

The more common understanding for a ‘haunting’ such as this is to believe that little Emily needs help to ‘cross over’. That someone, usually a psychic needs to help her move into the light, freeing the family of being ‘haunted’ and healing little Emily.

This for me is a very pragmatic way of approaching this aspect of the Spirit world. How could a child, or any soul for that matter with sooo 5 much JOY and LOVE be ‘stuck’ or ‘grounded’ between the worlds. That doesn’t make sense, nor does the fact that even if Emily did need help, wouldn’t the many healing energies of the Spirit world be able to assist. Why does it require some human with the necessary abilities to do that? Surely, those in the Spirit world could help her to where she needs to be.

You see, in my experience with Emily I felt her presence full of love, joy and healing. I felt she was the one giving healing to those she was connecting with. This was being achieved through a variety of ways as she was connecting with each person through their inner child, including my own.

Her gift from such a short life experience was to help us humans see that there is more to life and that the way to bring about peace and happiness is through being joyful and she was helping us find that within ourselves.

What a special gift Emily is! Thankyou Emily for blessing my life, may your family receive healing for all that you are doing and may the next poor living soul you connect with appreciate your offering healing.

Kerrie Wearing is an internationally recognised Soul Coach and Medium, specialising in coaching and mentoring people in everyday living from the Soul. She is the author of A New Kind of Normal: Unlock the Medium Within and has a strong passion in educating others about Spirit. Kerrie is Managing Editor of inSpirit Magazine, Executive Producer and co-host of the 2011 TV series inSpirit TV and has recently established inSpirit Publishing, an organisation invested in bringing education and inspiration for the Soul. She also works regularly in the US and has been featured on Australian and US radio. To learn more about how Kerrie can help you, visit: Web: www.pyschicmedium.com.au & www.inspiritmagazine.com Email: kerrie@psychicmedium.com.au

psychic awareness

with Kerrie Wearing

Raising Angels

Imagine if you found a dead angel by the side of the road. What would you do?

Predicted to follow in the success of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Raising Angels is a charming novel set amongst the warmth, challenges and love of everyday family life. It illustrates how angels can be messengers for peace and love. The story gently unfolds after Raphael’s begins his quest to bring an angel he finds by the side of the road back to life. Become immersed in the characters’ lives as they move along an incredible journey of love, loss and hope.

An extract from Raising Angels (published by Rockpool Publishing)

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he Angel was falling down, down and hit the Earth with a heavy thud. Nobody seemed to see it, or if they did, they ignored it and kept moving, umbrellas up to drive off the rain.

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Usually the Angel was perfect and white and very light. It would fly around and inspire people to live according to their highest purpose.

But on this day the Angel lay motionless in the rain by the side of the road.

The Angel was unable to inspire others in its still and silent condition, so people just walked past without giving it much thought. They drove past in their cars and rode by on their bikes; old people, young people, men, women and children. People of all religions and all nationalities and all classes. It wasn’t that they didn’t care. They just didn’t want to know about the Angel. Too many people had lost faith in miracles. They didn’t believe anymore.

All, that is, except one.

Raphael, with his short dark hair and big brown eyes, saw the fallen Angel and was amazed. He did believe in miracle and he did believe in angels and, having a big heart, Raphael wanted to do something to help the Angel. ‘I’m going to take you home,’ he told the Angel, cradling it gently in his arms. It felt light to him and he was able to hold it easily. Decision made, he picked up the Angel and despite the heavy rain making it difficult, slowly walked home.

Raphael was able to get to his bedroom without anyone seeing him. He placed the Angel gently on his bed, making sure that its arms were tucked in nicely and it was warm. Raphael had never seen anybody or anything so beautiful. He was fascinated that an Angel was not only laying on his bed, but that angels were real, just as he’d always believed, and not just characters in fairytales as other people had tried to make him believe.

Raphael was so still as he watched the Angel that he could feel his

own heartbeat. Unaware that he was totally drenched and shivering, the moment he was sharing with the Angel was so precious, he just wanted to treasure it forever and let it go on and on. As he sat there quietly, his mind slowed right down and he felt a sense of peace and calm, which was quite unusual. What was going on?

Raphael’s dark hair hung forward stopping just short of covering his large expressive eyes, as he leaned over to look at the Angel. Like most young boys his room was messy and seemingly chaotic, but as he sat calmly by the Angel, it was a haven of peace.

Raphael suddenly felt a shiver and thought about how the weatherman had been right about it raining. He could still hear it pounding down and became aware, almost in surprise, that he was rather wet. He wiped his damp forehead on the sleeve of his brightyellow T-shirt. He wasn’t wearing a jumper, even though it was cold.

He had never liked them. Mum worried though, especially when he was outside without one but he was warm-blooded as well as warm-hearted. He loved to exclaim with a shrug of his shoulders, ‘I don’t feel the cold!’

Right now, Raphael didn’t care about how cold he was, or what Mum would think. He forgot about playing computer games and that he had promised to play football in the park with his friends.

The only thing he cared about was the Angel laying motionless on his bed. Even though he thought angels could never die, it didn’t change the fact that the Angel looked as though it was dead. It was very still. Suddenly, he had a thought. Could I bring it back to life?

Can I wake it? His room may have been small and messy but his generous heart was big.

Doubt quickly came rushing in but something in Raphael’s soul spoke to him loudly. You must help this Angel. That was good

What can I do? Raphael looked at the fallen Angel’s wings. Was it OK to touch them?

Would the Angel wake up and tell him not to touch? Putting his fear aside, Raphael reached over and ran his fingers over the Angel’s muddied wing feathers. They felt so silky and soft, and slightly warm against his fingers. That warmth spread though his whole body, causing him to smile for no reason.

How could someone so beautiful ever die?

‘It’s time for dinner!’ called Mum. At the dinner table Raphael chewed his vegetables slowly. His mind kept darting back to the Angel. Would it ever breathe again? Did it sing or play a harp? Why did it fall?

‘Mum, do you believe in angels?’ asked Raphael as he played with his dinner, moving his vegetables, tofu and pumpkin pasta from side to side. Though he liked his food, he was not really a big eater. Like most kids though, he would secretly buy chocolate bars or chips up the street when he went to run errands for his parents.

The question took Mum by surprise. As she searched for a reply, Raphael impatiently asked, ‘Mum, do you believe in angels or not?’ Dad coughed uncomfortably.

Questions were part of his work as a journalist but some didn’t have easy answers. ‘Of course Mum believes in angels,’ Dad cut in with a smile. ‘We have two ourselves.’

Mum laughed. ‘I always thought Angelina was more like a cute fairy.’

Raphael rolled his eyes at his sister who giggled at his expression. She had light brown hair, olive skin and a very pretty face. In fact, people often commented that she looked like an angel in a Renaissance painting. You could easily tell Raphael and Angelina were related as they shared the same large brown eyes and big dimples.

Angelina put her face right next to her food and took a deep, appreciative breath. She liked to smell Mum’s food before eating

it. She never had any trouble finishing her meal. As Raphael pushed his food around, he felt edgy, like he had to make a decision about the Angel quickly. He wanted to share his secret with somebody, but was not sure if he could trust his parents as he was all too often getting yelled at for some silly prank.

The Angel was no joke and he wanted to be taken seriously.

as they jumped up from the table.

He wished he could tell Mum because she was a healer. Raphael had often seen her conduct healing sessions and sometimes miracles occurred. But he had never heard of Mum dealing with a situation that involved angels or bringing somebody back from the dead.

Raphael ignored his sister and pulled Angelina into his room anyway. ‘Be quiet and trust me, you’re going to want to see this.’

Mum had always done healing work since he was a baby but all Raphael really thought about it was that if you waved your hands near somebody, it seemed to work a miracle and they would get better. He guessed Mum did much more than that, but doubted she would be able to help in this situation. The Angel was dead.

Should I tell Mum? Raphael was not sure why, but he felt the answer was no.

There was only one person he could trust completely to keep a secret, only one person he could be sure would understand even though she often annoyed the living daylights out of him.

‘Mum, can I have a new bike?’ Angelina asked, her plate wiped clean. ‘Or an iPod? Actually, I really need my own phone.’

‘I’ll put your request in The Manifestation Box,’ replied Mum with a smile. Angelina wondered exactly what that meant. Mum had some strange ideas about creating things like money. Angelina was not in the mood for a long explanation or philosophical discussion on the topic of manifestation though. ‘It’s my birthday soon,’ she reminded Mum. She had her own methods of getting what she wanted.

Raphael grabbed Angelina by the hand.

‘Come with me,’ he whispered. ‘There’s something I want to show you.’

‘I’m busy,’ she replied with a toss of her hair. ‘I need to finish my homework. I also need Dad to sign a letter for my excursion to the zoo.’

psychic awareness

enough for him. His mum often told him to listen to his heart. After all, he thought, everything must happen for a reason, especially something as unusual as this.

Angelina was shocked. It had only taken her a moment to realise that she was looking at something very unusual indeed. She had seen pictures of angels in books of course, but in all her ten years, two months and fourteen days, she had never really thought about what a real Angel would actually look like.

The Angel in front of her looked like a normal child of about fourteen years old, apart from the large white wings on its back. It had shoulder-length light hair and porcelain skin, large almond-shaped eyes, a small nose, and lips that were turned up slightly at the sides.

‘Where did you find it, Raphael?’ Angelina’s 7 plaits swung as she spoke. Raphael, who often enjoyed pulling his sister’s plaits, noticed them swinging and couldn’t help but grin. He found it funny but also weird to be asking his little sister for help, especially with something as important as a dead angel.

‘By the side of the road, near the park. It was wet and muddy and stuck in the rain. I didn’t want to leave it.’

Angelina’s heart soared. She felt proud of her brother. ‘What can we do?’

‘Did anything interesting happen at school today?’ Mum asked as Dad cleared away the dishes.

Raphael sighed with relief. The word we helped. His parents often called him an explorer due to his adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things, but it was nice to have company rather than always trying to work things out on his own. He looked Angelina straight in the eye. ‘We can bring the Angel back to life. I just don’t know how,’ he explained.

‘No,’ Raphael and Angelina replied together

‘But I believe it’s possible.’

Raphael, still distracted by thoughts of his Angel, finished half his food and asked if he could leave the table.

Paul Morris Segal is a professional speaker and journalist who has co-authored three books, First Kiss, Laugh Now and How to get the man you want / How to get the woman you want. Paul has led programs on laughter therapy and personal effectiveness for educational institutions, organisations, charities and businesses and is widely published in newspapers and magazines.

Paul is based in Melbourne, with his wife Inna Segal (the creator of Visionary Intuitive Healing™ and a bestselling author) and two children.

Rites of Passage

this empowerment for our younger generation “if parents feel they cannot guide their own children, find the child someone who can teach them how to embrace and nurture their sensitivity in a healthy age-appropriate way, rather than shut their sensitivity down, suppress, mis-use it and/or numb themselves to it. The Shamanic way nurtures a child’s connection to themselves, to their personal power (self esteem, worth and self love) and develops their connection to source and life. As the child grows this will ultimately nurture their ability to choose love over fear.”

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hen we are connected to the web of life, there is a natural ebb and flow that we move with through each moment. Much like the breath; a constant rhythmic balance that gives life, as the hum of existence, and when we awaken to this breath we realise its power, grace and the majesty of the gift it brings.

Through the younger generation there is a calling, becoming stronger and louder, asking for leadership and guidance in the ways of Spirit, to nurture and support the power of change that is flowing through the energy of our children.

Wisewoman Lani Neilson speaks of her Shamanic upbringing with a calm beauty that reminds us of the Great Mystery we are all a part of. When I asked her about her own experience as a girl, she spoke of forest medicine and learning the Shamanic Way in secret because it was traditionally passed on through male lineage. Her childhood is unique as most people I interact with have not had such a powerful introduction to Spirit and even more exclusively, to Shamanism.

There are many children who are incredibly sensitive and gifted; however, our society is not quite suited for these sorts of abilities.

Lani expresses how it is essential for children’s spirituality to be nurtured. I find her words poetic; “we are all connected to the same living stream of oneness, and we are all loved by a love so vast, that there is nowhere that this love does not exist. Children come into our world inherently connected to this stream of love and oneness. Nurturing a child’s spirituality is nurturing their connection to source.”

Spiritual support is an integral aspect of life, without it, we loose purpose, direction and our soul begins to yearn. I reflect on my own childhood and how spirituality and the Way of Nature were nourished and how this has deeply impacted my life. Lani reinforces

It is common for some children and teenagers to go through spiritual crisis, which is a type of self-initiation. Shamanism recognizes and defines this well, however, for a lot of the younger generation there is no support or understanding of what spiritual crisis actually is. It emphasizes an increasing disconnection to Spirit. In many cultures there are initiation ceremonies through the phases of life and spiritual maturation. Lani specialises in working with women and the sacred feminine. She often speaks about the beauty of the sacred Rites of Passage a girl experiences becoming a woman. The ceremonies are rich where the young woman sees the incredible magic of her monthly cycle and how it is in tune with the moon.

“In this ceremony (she) is taken away to a nurturing place by the women in her family and she may also invite her close girl friends.

She is read creation stories that educate her about the power of her cycle and how this is a reflection of the moon’s cycles. She learns that this is her initiation into her power to conceive, nourish and birth – both physical children and creative/ spiritual children.”

The Rites of Passage is profoundly spiritual, where she is honoured on many levels. She is greeted by her Father on return to the community, where he honours her now as a woman and hands her a red rose to symbolize she is no longer his little girl. In this ceremonial act, the young woman is able to bridge her experiences – not only the changes of her body and also the prolific spiritual magnitude of what is occurring for her. Here, her community is validating and supporting her on multiple levels with total love and abundance.

I often come across parents who are struggling with how to help hold the sacredness of the gifts of their child, which for me can sometimes indicate separation from their own magic to varying degrees. This is a gift in itself where children, being the love that they are, show parents and adults the kinks in their armor and naturally calls them back to their own innocence in the form of love.

There are many ways we can support children’s spirituality. Lani suggests “Spend time in nature, be with animals, have children grow gardens to nurture their relationship with ‘live food’, seasons, and growth cycles. Encourage play and creativity, give children your presence and your time, encourage their imagination, tell them age appropriate truth, nurture their authenticity, read them/tell them stories that teach them about how they can face different life challenges, inspire them to go for their dreams and offer them Rites of Passage.”

Laura Naomi speaks with Wisewoman Lani Neilson about recognising, nurturing and supporting children’s spirituality the shamanic way…

As wisewoman Lani says “In Shamanic traditions this is a sacred act, because they believe that this ripple that you place into the

field of life, will go on to affect this generation and the next seven generations to come (one generation = 100 years)….Aho!” AHO! …and from the depths of my own people, we are all children of the Universe and we are held always, to sing the songs of the Vastness.

Laura Naomi is a Contemporary Shaman, which blends the unique modalities of Zen practices, Shamanic and energy healing, space clearing and psychic and emotional counselling. She guides individuals, groups, corporations and businesses and is passionate about creating more awareness around energy and the spiritual world; how it affects us and how to harness this power to create a more harmonious lifestyle. - Contact Lani Neilson @ Lani Neilson: www.lanineilson.com.au

shamanism

As someone who was also guided in the Shamanic Way, I feel it is imperative to be spiritually mature to offer this deep assist for our children and community. When we choose decisions that share values and open our children to the richness of authenticity and a myriad of avenues to their own spirituality, it allows their essence to expand inspiring a connection to their natural state of wisdom.

Olivia’s Gift

In this beautiful heartfelt article, Mercedes Sharrocks shares her remarkable experiences that she has faced since losing her daughter and the incredible legacy that Olivia has gifted her…

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2013, www.childreninthespiritworld.com went live.

n 21st October 2008 my daughter passed away in my arms. The doctors had tried everything to keep her with us longer but there was nothing more they could do. Olivia had a unique chromosome deficiency with heart and lung problems.

The last few weeks had been a blur, living in hospital and the Ronald McDonald house, our lives filled with worries and tears. I did not want to let go of Olivia but I knew I had to.

I was unable to sleep for months following Olivia's passing, I felt redundant having looked after her 24 hours a day and I missed her terribly. I would sit downstairs and cry! I started feeling that I was not alone when at night I felt I was being hugged by an unseen loved one. During these nights I would look on the internet for answers and stories from other parents who were having spiritual experiences following the passing of their child. Besides some information on a medium’s site there was no place to read other parents spiritual experiences and find information. I needed something or someone to tell me that I was not alone. I decided to create this site and on my daughter's 5th birthday on June 13th

Four months after Olivia's passing I had my first visitation dream. I have had many since and these dreams were so comforting because I saw that she was happy, healthy and looked after by loved ones. I saw that she continued to grow in heaven. These dreams helped me tremendously. I recently even saw Olivia with the two children who I had miscarried. They were letting me know that they were together, happy and well. I still have what I call "Olivia" days, where I am not myself and grieve for Olivia. I just tell my family and friends that I am having an "Olivia day" and cancel everything as I need to be by myself. I have learnt that it is better to experience these days rather than disregard my feelings.

At first I did not understand all the spiritual experiences and I looked for help, I attended workshops for mediumship, went to see a recommended medium who immediately brought my husband and I in contact with Olivia and our loved ones. The reading was amazing and placed us on another path in life.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Contact Laura at: Web: www.laura-naomi.com / Email: yourdreams@globaldreamwhisperer.com / Phone: 1300 887 581

A month before this reading I started a list of "70 things to do before I die."

This list gave me a purpose to live again, 9 get out of bed and take action, which gave me a wonderful feeling. It felt like I was doing it together with Olivia. What has helped me is to focus on following my heart, I love helping families going through a similar experience by writing, speaking, coaching, organising events and working as a medium. I truly believe everyone has a purpose in life and by following their heart they can find it. Olivia's passing was an awakening, showing me what I was meant to do here. Help others.

I know from experience as a mother and medium that there is life after death.

Children in the spirit world visit their families often; they know what is going on in their lives and want us to continue living and enjoying life. They encourage us and give us signs that they are with us and helping us. The separation is not forever, one day you will be reunited but until that day, despite living with the pain, live your life to the full and follow your heart.

Mercedes Sharrocks is a Transformational Coach, Medium and Author of the Children's book "My Angels Guide Me". She founded the website "Children in the Spirit World"; she is a speaker and writer about her experiences as a mother and medium.

Mercedes is married with four children and divides her time between The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Contact Mercedes at: mercedes_sharrocks@yahoo.co.uk / mercedes@praktijkolivia.nl or www.childreninthespiritworld.com

Respondingto the call tips to take your child beyond their wildest dreams

Based on her knowledge of human behaviour and relationships, renowned inspirational speaker and author Katrina Cavanough draws upon her intuitive wisdom and passion for helping people live with exceptional wellbeing, to share with you these five vital tips to help parents be the best parents that they can be and to help their children flourish…

Sometimes I hear a sharp whisper from deep within my own consciousness. It is strongest just after I've had a 'not so good ' parenting moment. Like when I’m distracted as one of my little girls tries to tell me something about their day or when it comes to pass that yet again I am running late for the school drop off. At other times this feeling just hums away in the back ground.

Mostly though I like the presence of this feeling in my life. It keeps me honest, both as a parent to my own children and a therapist who works with children. So what is this feeling?

It is a call to be the best parent I can possibly be. It is a gentle

10pulsating reminder that children need the grown ups in their life to be vigilant.

Children need us to listen. To really hear them and to most of all to believe in them. Children also need us to facilitate opportunities to develop a toolkit of life strategies that will not only protect and strengthen their experience of life; but will empower them to live a life beyond their wildest dreams and flourish.

In my work with children I know that connecting children with their imagination and creativity changes the way they see themselves and view the world around them. Children who use their imagination, explore their creativity and are taught to understand and listen to their feelings will lead happier, successful and more balanced lives.

As a mother myself I understand that life is busy, full and mostly over flowing. It is not always neat and certainly once children are around it can get turned upside down in the matter of a moment.

The good news though is that even with all elements of life considered, raising happy, successful and balanced kids is easy.

Here are my five top tips (plus as always, don’t forget to add to the mix a dose of healthy boundaries for your kids) 1. Be kind to yourself – Raising children can be both the most amazing and the most challenging experience that life has to offer. A dear friend and fellow therapist once told me soon after the birth of my first baby that the only way through this whole parenting journey was to learn to forgive yourself quickly and move forward. “You will make mistakes. Be kind to yourself. Know you did your best in that moment. Your little one needs you to bounce back and be there for them. Not to wallow around in your own state of self criticism.” I did heed this advice and I actively practice a form of what I call ‘Soft

Self Parenting’- where I am soft and gentle toward myself even when I make mistakes. I still feel guilt like all parents, and then I invite myself to a place of softness and kindness. It gives a place for me to be compassionate and understanding. My girls require me to be this way.

2. Orientate your child to their senses – We live in a sensory world. In our natural state we taste, touch, smell, hear and see everything that is around us. It is our senses that create a point where our physical bodies connect with our environments. Mostly we take our senses for granted.

Encouraging your children to describe the taste of the food or the detail of the rainforest or listen to the sounds that are around them as they are waiting for the bus - are all examples of orienting a child to be aware of their senses. When children live in awareness of their own senses it invites them to interact with their surroundings in a much more meaningful way. It also creates a sense of trust in their bodies to provide them with accurate information about the world around them.

An essential prerequisite to the next step which is all about listening to and being guided by your feelings.

3. Feelings are your friends – The first step here is to teach children to give a name to how they are feeling. The best way is to reflect back to them when they are in the moment.

Simple statements like “I can see that you are really frustrated.

Everyone feel frustrated sometimes.” I then ask a question “Where is that frustration in your body?” Generally children will tell you where they feel it. As you reflect the feeling, you are role modelling naming the feeling and then educating your child that it is OK to feel like that sometimes. Everyone does. Once your child has an understanding of what feelings are, and that they are normal you can take the next step and teach your child to listen to their feelings. “Is your body saying yes to that or no to that?“ - are common questions I will ask children when they are making a decision. This is one of the first steps in helping your child understand their intuition as it is within our bodies; our senses that most people experiences their intuition.

4. Show gratitude to your child – Children, like adults need to feel valued by the grown ups in their life. We know how it feels to work in a job where the boss never gives you

recognition for the value you add to the company. It feels lousy and does not inspire you to behave well. Children need to hear that their presence is important to you. A child needs to know that just by being here in your family they add value. Simply by being present. Focus on their traits that you like rather than their ‘doing’ behaviour. Whilst saying to your child “Thank you for cleaning your room” is a good way to reinforce that exact behaviour; telling your child – “Gosh it’s good to have your kind nature in our family“ will give them a powerful message about the value they add to the family unit as a whole. It will also communicate a deep appreciation that their presence is of value to you as the parent.

5. Imagination and creativity, the cornerstones of a happy childhood – Against the backdrop of a loving, nurturing home, children who are raised to enjoy their

creativity and dance with their imagination hold the greatest capacity for happiness, success and a balanced easy life. There are so many ways to cultivate your child’s imagination and creativity. Whether it is a simple activity like finger painting and play dough (you are never too old by the way) through to a more elaborate creative pursuit – the benefits remain the same. Creative imaginative play can be both verbal and non verbal; which for some children can take the pressure off to articulate and simply just immerse themselves in the experience. Creativity and the imagination will help your child to develop better problem solving skills, experience healthier relationships and greater success. For children the imagination opens the doors to fun, a place to heal from sadness and also to create their future using their own powerful intentions. For it is in the creative imagination that anything is possible.

About Katrina: Featured on Channel 7’s 2011 series of ‘The One and is author of the forthcoming book ‘Wisdom For Your Life’. Katrina holds two university degrees in the field of relationships and human behaviour having worked as a front line health worker she has provided support at the time of over 400 sudden, accidental and unexpected deaths. It is this work that changed her life path and inspired the messages of the ‘Wisdom of the 400’. Her unique style offers practical exceptional life guidance based on a solid foundation of intuitive perception, life wisdom and extensive experience working with relationships and human behaviour.

Powerful Intentions will change your life. Katrina Cavanough’s Powerful Intentions Program offers you an opportunity to learn with ease the 6 simple steps that will truly help you to create a life worth loving. Join Katrina as she shares just how easy it is to use the art of Intention Setting to create the life, relationships and experiences that you desire. Use this event to begin to set your intentions with confidence and clarity. Katrina will share her own journey including her secrets to supercharging your Intentions to really live the life of your dreams! Katrina has transformed her life using these strategies. Simple easy to use keys that you can weave into your every day life.

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Contact Katrina at www.katrinacavanough.com

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SPIRIT STONE

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crystals & new age products

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PERSONAL GROWTH

Powerful Intentions 6 Simple Steps to the Life you want to live…

www.facebook.com/ArtworkByNicolle artworkbynicolle@bigpond.com

The Energetic Repercussions of Secrets

This deeply profound article by Kye Crow brings to light the energetic effects that secrets have on children and how the truth can be so freeing for the child and the secret keepers.

As the vibration on the planet moves from a fear based reality to one of love, what is hidden will surface, healing can only happen in the light. If there is a secret you would like to release, make sure you spend time in nature earthing yourself as you connect with your inner wisdom, it will guide you. Children blossom in truth and transparency. We don’t need to tell them everything at once, but we plant the seed and as they grow and are able to understand more, we share more information.

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PERSONAL GROWTH

very thought and every deed has a repercussion; nothing remains immune to the law of cause and effect. When we understand the implications of our every act, we have one of our greatest tools for creating change, not only in our own lives, but for the lives of the next generation of earth guardians who are being raised right now, our children.

I was a child in the sixties and even though peace and love was awakening around us, there was no guidance for my parents when they decided to keep something very relevant to me, a secret.

Not only was my physical father different from the one I was told was mine; a decision was made to hide my own African heritage. I have no doubt that my parents, like many other parents, did this with the best intentions and had no idea that this decision would have the impact it did.

I grew up with skin problems and my legs felt as if they were bound with really tight ropes and constantly ached. My parents took me from one specialist to another as doctors tried to discover what was wrong.

Neither problem healed until, as an adult the truth about my father and my black roots came out unexpectedly. When it did, I felt as if the tight ropes around my legs had finally come undone and slipped to the ground and the pain was gone. It was also clear that my skin problems had been related to the huge burden of shame I had carried as a child, because a major part of myself was denied and kept secret, as if it were something to be ashamed of.

Although I was a very sensitive child, most children, still in touch with the gifts they were born with can on some level detect untruths. There is a denseness of energy around what is hidden, even when what’s hidden is information. Children may not be conscious of exactly why they are feeling troubled, insecure and uncertain. If the adults in their lives are reassuring them that everything is fine and yet the child can still feel the darkness that leaks from all secrets, they, like I did will begin to lose confidence in themselves. What is most important to know is that secrets create a landscape where hidden agendas feel normal and a child’s radar to detect predatory threats can be disarmed.

If a child’s home is a place of truth and honour, it is full of light. Those children are not familiar with the denseness of energy around what it hidden. So if people with hidden agendas, be it another kid wanting to manipulate them out of their toy or much more serious, a predatory threat, they are able to recognise something is wrong and respond appropriately.

We were never meant to keep secrets.

They are heavy to carry and often force us to be untruthful. This attracts more untruthfulness back into our lives from others.

I had to wait until I was an adult before I found out the truth and whilst it was a shock, it was also a release, not only

for me. I shed many tears, but I was so relieved to finally understand all the undercurrents I’d come to consider as normal had not been my imagination. My mother also wept when she told me how the secret had weighed her down with guilt. Until that moment of truth, she had been unable to look her own daughter in the eyes and she hadn’t had a decent nights’ sleep since I was born.

Finally free of her unnecessary load, she’d slept like a babe.

We all do the best we can; we are all learning and growing, like children ourselves. Be gentle with yourself. It takes courage to let the light shine on what has been hidden away, but we cannot open our lives fully to love unless we do.

Kye Crow is the Creatress of Wunjo Crow, a range of Goddess clothing that’s sprinkled with love and sewn with magic. Kye and her partner Gill live with over a 100 rescued animals and teach Sacred Journeys into the Animal Realms, the power of Love and how to live on planet earth as a sensitive.

Contact Kye at: www.facebook.com/Camelcampsanctuary or via email: wunjocrow@hotmail.com Photo Credit: Argnesh Rose Visionary Digital Artist specialising in fantasy and totem portraiture – www.givethemwings.com.au

Making it Happen!

Alex Cayas is a twenty-something creating his own mark on the world by following his passions and intentionally finding himself involved in work that is diverse and soul satisfying. He shares his motivations and insights gained, hoping to inSpire other people of his generation to do the same…

While producing and filming SYD2030 we had two main mantras “The worse they can say is no” and “Ask for everything”.

With those tattooed to our mindset we did amazing things from filming at the Sydney Opera House to hosting a coaching session on Pedestrian TV. These were very important in my role as production manager and location manager. Filming all over Sydney at locations such as the Opera House was a dream and has made our web series stand out with these iconic Australian buildings dazzling overseas audiences as we scooped up international awards and press about all the aspects of this series. As the

momentum grew we were noticed by ABC Iview and we became the first independent web series to be featured on ABC Iview. You must be brave with your work or projects and know that the answer is always ‘no’ unless you ask.

Everyone you know potentially has something to offer.

That something could come in many forms from funding, exposure, connecting you to other people in the field/industry, to simply offering some advice or support. Don’t be shy with your project/ideas/work with the people you already know as they might be your biggest launching pad. With the success of SYD2030 roaring I was asked to produce ‘The Drive’ created my radio pals Dave and Neil. Pre-production began and that old chestnut of funding the project became the first task. Dave and Neil already had a successful radio program with a committed sponsor attached. As the boys’ brand was expanding to web series we decided to see if the sponsor wanted to join the growth. A package was put together and a meeting scheduled. Power blazer on and we were ready to pitch the Dave and Neil and sponsor relationship to the decision maker. The chemistry was good and the relationship bloomed when they agreed to financially invest in the series. It wasn’t a Hollywood budget but it was a bit of moolah which in independent, anything is basically Hollywood.

Twitter and Facebook has the made the world a much more accessible place. We all have heard great anecdotes about the

power and reach of social media. When the news of Peter Capaldi broke as the new Doctor Who I went into producer mode of how to bring the news into Ghosts of Oz. I hit Twitter looking for someone to feature and soon found the editor of Dr Who magazine in the UK. I waited until it was early morning in the UK and knowing that he would probably do what we all do in the morning and check 13 Facebook slash Twitter. I tweeted him asking for an interview and email address.

A few tweets and an email later, I had him locked for a quick chat. I soon discovered that GOO, a little community radio program based in western Sydney was his only Aussie interview on the subject. You can find almost any one and connect to them directly and these stories of resourcefulness work wonders when chatting yourself up in an interview or selling your fast thinking when marketing yourself into your dream position.

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have used and abused the phrase “if it’s meant to happen, it will”.

On the opposite side of the life perspectives, I also have a love affair with action and a soft spot for trying. This juggling act of fate and freewill has lead me down some interesting paths and to many noteworthy successes such as producing and hosting two radio programs and being part of the creative teams that have brought to life two popular Australian web series. I celebrate and flaunt these successes and winning moments when confronted by old school friends, and when locked in awkward family gathering conversations when asked “So what are you doing now?” These achievements certainly didn’t happen without taking action and alas I am not yet a rich and famous creative type with all the time and resources in the world to do rich and famous creative things. So while I wait for fate to reward me, I can certainly do my share of the work. These are a few lessons I have learnt to make yourself stand out while the cosmos searches for whom to bless next.

This is the best of what I have learnt so far and I know there will be more lessons as I continue to wherever I am going, but truth is if you take anything from my story please take the message of action. Just do it! Don’t wait for the right time, a sign or best circumstances because those are rare and you will spend a lifetime waiting. Instead be brave and jump because you never know where you might land.

Alex Cayas is radio host, producer and freelance journalist. You can connect with Alex on Twitter @AlexCayas, and at Ghosts of Oz, Alex and Bec Up Late, SYD2030 and The Drive – all on Facebook.

We’re Here - Ready Brendan D. Murphy inspires, motivates and rips away the veils of illusions created by misshapen authorities of our old world paradigm as he eloquently puts himself forward as the voice of clarity and global change for the next generation…

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Greetings inSpirit readers.

I am Brendan D. Murphy, and I am the next generation.

”

It’s here. We are here. And our

14 purpose—as some of you have no

doubt gathered—is to turn the world “upside down”.

Or at least, that’s how it will look, but in reality it was already upside down, and we merely want to set it the right way up.

Chaos is not the goal of the “next generation.” Rather, we observe that we are born into a world in turmoil, vast swathes of humanity groaning under the strain of trying merely to survive. Other vast swathes may not be faced with impending annihilation, but have, we observe, accepted desperate lives of involuntary servitude under a monetary system deliberately designed ultimately to transfer all material wealth, assets, money and gold into the hands of the few disturbed “elites” who designed and implemented that system. Unlike previous generations, we the “Indigo” or “.com” generation are not only increasingly aware of this situation, but we choose to do something about it.

We’re all about transformation!

What motivates us is an acute sense of social responsibility, global community, justice, humanity, empathy, spirituality and in my case especially, a longing for real worldly freedom—something we have not yet experienced. Let’s face it, if the government decides what you can and can’t put in your own body (think cannabis oil, for example: the greatest medicinal substance known to man—a panacea) then you cannot claim to be truly free so long as the government has the infrastructure to physically prevent you from taking charge of your health. (Do you know that cannabis oil readily cures cancer?) Likewise, if you cannot travel freely on the roads without interference, taxation, tolls or commercial molestation by armed agents acting on behalf of privately owned corporations known commonly as state police forces (as is our right under Common Law), then you cannot claim to be free. (Do you know your

Common Law rights?)

As much as I don’t like to be limited by labels, many years ago I found a description of what typifies an Indigo child and it resonated profoundly with me. Ever since, I have secretly considered myself one. Indigo kids were identified first by synesthete Nancy Tappe around the late 1960s to early 1970s. She was gifted with the unusual condition of literally seeing personalities as colours around people. It was around this time that she saw a personality colour around children that she’d never seen: indigo. It represented an entirely new type of personality (with 12 Indigo subtypes!).

(Note: Nancy was not simply clairvoyantly observing “auras” as popular thought now misleadingly suggests.)

That this was an entirely new personality type that had not previously been around (at least not for very long) is strongly supported

by Lee Carrol’s and Jan Tober’s sociological research which shows that many people around the world who work with children for a living have been observing over the last two to three decades the emergence of an entirely new type of personality: Tappe’s observations were not a fluke. One common observation was that the standard concept of “discipline” with these new kids had gone out the window (and I can confirm that we can’t stand being spoken down to— by anyone!). Another was that unusual and previously unseen displays of compassion by young children were being witnessed.

Of course we would be remiss to fail to mention that Indigos are also renowned for having a strong sense of spirituality.

But the first couple of generations of Indigo kids have grown up now (as I type, my 30th birthday is 4 days away). Not only do we have no intrinsic respect for external authority figures, especially those

who are transparent hypocrites, but we are innovators, boat-rockers, healers, anarchists, artists, political activists, visionaries and “Anonymous” (okay, this last one doesn’t apply to me)—and we want to help! We know and see that we’re born into a Matrix of sorts—a world of inversion, falsity and deception where the “authorities” teach us both through the media and mainstream education that up is down, black is white, slavery is freedom and 2 + 2 = 5, and we are here to replace this world with a new one. It will require being courageously honest with ourselves about the world around us and the world within us (our constructed persona identities).

By Brendan D. Murphy

To my mind, the most geopolitically and sociologically aware individuals, particularly in the “next generation,” also tend to be grounded in a deep personal and nonreligious sense of spirituality. We can’t see the world without clearly if the world within is a fantasy designed to hide us from our pain and insecurity. We can’t be free in the physical world if we are shackled by fear and pain in our personal psychospiritual worlds. “We are in a Fifth Wave [of societal change], where our futures are no longer predicated on what happens out there [but] on what happens in ourselves.”1 Tappe predicts that the massive influx of Indigos will change the world: “By 2018

we’ll live in a world we didn’t grow up in.”2 That’s certainly my plan! To get there we’ll need to help each other out and get streetsmart and honest with ourselves, letting go of our socially engineered/programmed illusions and the lies we tell ourselves to prop them up.

We are the “next generation” and we are change.

Are you ready?

1 May 11, 2003 Fresno Bee book review of Fifth

Wave Leadership by M. Schechtman. Quoted in Lee Carroll and Jan Tober, The Indigo Children 10 Years Later.

2 Ibid., p 28.

Brendan D. Murphy is a researcher, speaker, musician, and the author of The Grand Illusion: A Synthesis of Science and Spirituality – Book 1 (TGI 1), described by author Sol Luckman as a “masterpiece.” Brendan is also a certified Psych-K facilitator, a certified DNA Potentiator (Potentiation is the first DNA activation in Luckman’s Regenetics Method) and has received formal EFT training (levels 1 and 2). The Grand Illusion—along with free book excerpts and articles—is available at www.brendandmurphy.net. .

science & spirituality

or Not!

15

Pools of

Potent ial Gem~mer offers oceanic guidance and insight to the challenges facing many of our youth in these highly sensitive and complex times

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s I sit pondering on the ‘next generation’ I find myself getting lost in the enchanted waters filled with amazing young people. These young ones are filled with an abundance of hope and wisdom; old souls they are, empowered, strong and free. It is a pool of potential filled with instigators and revolutionaries.

As I peer a little deeper, below the surface of this pool of enchantment, I begin to see a different side to the amazing energy first perceived. Delving deeper and deeper into the nether regions of this pool of potential I see lost souls, amazing and beautiful yet sad and lonely souls, seemingly swimming around in a culture of darkness together 16 but oh so very much alone.

Together we see an amazing abundance of experience and of compassion, of knowledge and wisdom far beyond that of the academic world. There in lays the magick of evolution, the magick and power of change, change for the better of our spirits, our communities, our nations, a creative and conscious change for our whole world. Why then do many find it

magic

‘Why?’ I ask myself. Why have I been shown such a deep portrayal, such a lonely and dark vision of the ‘next generation’? Why? In response to these questions I hear these words gently whispered into my ears ‘Because you can see the beauty, the depth and the power held within the darker regions of these souls. You can feel them and respect this balance of energy, illuminating the darkness with awareness and light.’

me through words and images, insight and apparitions into the deepest regions of some of our ‘lost or misguided’ young beings, our sensitive rebels.

With these words came a sense to dive deep into oceans’ belly to visit my friend Olokun, the oceanic Orisha or guardian spirit, highest guide of mine and to do so we must dive deep into the depths of ocean as he resides on the bottom of the ocean floor. Not many, fish or otherwise, visit with Olokun in the dark depths of his oceanic cemetery. However it is within this darkness that the light is found, so down into the depths we must go.

It is within the enchanted realms of Olokun’s kingdom that he shares with

so difficult to function in the communities and societies to a standard that is required, expected even, a standard that is deemed ‘normal’ or ‘respectable’ by our peers?

As I peer in deeper, looking into the face of corruption and violence, swimming in the midst of anger and disconnections I begin to grasp an understanding of the difficulties some young sensitive souls are facing. I begin to understand the pain, the confusion, the disbelief they have as they seemingly are unable to function in loving homes or in schools, communities or society. They are too sensitive to move through a world so unauthentic, so they rebel. They rebel for CHANGE! These sensitive rebels are rebelling to instigate the changes to demolish living under old beliefs,

old systems that no longer work for us as a society. They are highly sensitive to so much unauthentic living, so much authority without choice, without reason or rhyme and it is the very normalcy, complacency, hypocrisy of this ‘mainstream’ living that they are rebelling against.

These sensitive rebels with ancient souls can see past all that we are or have built, willingly or not, they have seen and experienced in other lifetimes beyond the limitations bestowed upon society now.

These instigators and revolutionaries will be the change for our whole society which is why it is important that we help them to reconnect with themselves, with us and with our communities once again.

There is not a single soul who walks this earth that is not a work in progress. We are all moving and shifting through life events to the best of our ability and these sensitive rebels are doing the same.

Opening our eyes, our hearts and even our minds to the concepts and depths of these amazing beings will help heal the rifts between mother and daughter, father and son, communities and societies of sensitive rebels.

Olokun has offered his service to healing these rifts for anyone who dares enter his dark, mysterious kingdom on the ocean floor. He is a mystery filled with uncontrolled anger, he is the keeper of the deep, of the darkness and it is he who can illuminate this darkness and give insight into laying new, stronger foundations for us all.

I dare YOU!

Gem~mer is an intuitive artisan of crystal and seashell jewels, talismans, amulets, connection and healing tools. A messenger for the mermaids, sea spirits and sea creature teachers, passionate about sharing her love and beautiful connection with all who wish to dive deep into the watery realms of ocean magic. Creatress and intuitive of Cryshell Magic, embracing and spreading ocean and mermaid magic. Contact Gem~mer at: www.cryshellmagic.com.au & www.facebook.com/cryshellmagic

Natasha Heard reminds us of how to awaken to the magical ways of the children in our lives and to delight in the childlike joys within ourselves…

It seems like a crazy notion to let our young children guide and teach us! We are the adults after all; you may think we know best, we have more life experience and so on.

Our children are actually full of ancient wisdom, their souls are still connected to spirit, they are naturally in tune with magic, nature and all the energies around us and the younger the wiser! With their connection to spirit, they are essentially magical masters who we can learn so much from.

Children, unlike adults have no limitations, no energetic blockages and no adult programming to dull their psychic abilities.

We as adults can learn so much from our little people, as a mother of two beautiful souls I have already learnt so much from my children and this is what they have taught me.

How to play: Being an adult can be tough! In this world we have to work hard to make money to pay our bills and provide for our families, we get stressed, cranky and grumpy from responsibility and the long list of things we have to do each day but one thing on that list that we often forget is, take time to play! Our kids on the other hand see life differently ~ every opportunity is a chance to play. Children just love to sing, dance, run, jump, skip, make faces, make believe;

l a c i Mag Masters they always make everything as fun as it can be. Whether it is in the car, going to the shops, tidying their toys and even doing small jobs around the house. Take ten minutes out of your day to do something silly, play a joke on a friend or workmate and laugh out loud! Skip to the clothes line or play a game with your children, or if you don’t have any then perhaps a niece or nephew. Being young at heart will keep you healthy and stress free.

How to see the unseen: Babies are often seen gazing at seemingly nothing, smiling and talking in their baby talk to the wall or a corner. We may laugh and think they are just being silly but they are actually seeing spirits of our loved ones.

Our family members and friends who have passed over are often with us but they do especially like to spend time with new members of the family getting to know our young children, it is possible for the baby to see because the child has recently been in spirit form also and has no adult programing to block out their clairvoyance.

When we see our babies smiling at nothing, remember that a loved one is around watching them and tune into this loving vibe, thank your ancestors for being around and speak to them about anything you

may have always wanted to say whilst they were alive but never had the chance.

How to connect with nature: Through the eyes of a child magic is in everything and everywhere! Their curiosity for life helps them to learn about our world; sadly many adults tend to forget about how special and magical nature actually is. We can learn to reconnect with nature by spending time outside with them and remembering what it feels like to see something for the first time, look closely at the grass, the flowers and the trees, see the 17 small creatures living on the earth and feel the textures of dirt between your toes, play in puddles and gaze at the clouds. magic

Children

Children also know how to hold magical tools instinctively and they know exactly what to do with them. I have seen my own children heal each other and themselves with a wave of their wands.

My daughter as a small girl once brought a little beetle back to life with her crystal wand and loving prayers for it. I have also witnessed a rose bud bloom to the touch of her finger, a true flower child. My son has a sharp psychic ability and knows who we are going to see and what we are doing before we even know! It is very important for us as parents to these amazing psychic children to not limit their creativity and to encourage their spiritual connections so as they grow into adults they will not need to re-learn this magic and will continue to teach us along their magical paths.

Natasha Heard is a creatress of all things magical! A natural witch ~ her magical life and connection to the Earth flow into all her creations. Specialising in Wands, Sceptres and Staves; and creating with her horticulturalist husband Michael, Blessed Rune sets and Tree of Life Bind Rune Talismans. Her innate connection with all aspects of the natural world and passion for magic is what makes her a true creatress of powerful, magical tools. Natasha can be contacted at: www.blessedbranches.com Email: blessedbranches@gmail.com or flowerlove@live.com.au / Facebook: Blessed Branches…magical tools by Natasha Heard.

The New Generation

By Nicola McIntosh

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ow that I am an adult, I can look back at the many things I would have liked to have learnt at a young age that would certainly have fasttracked my spiritual growth. I feel it’s time that certain ‘spiritual’ practices so-to-speak, become mainstream. Children are so highly in-tune with sensitive energies from a young age, so why not teach them about that while they are still young and not let them wait until they grow up to start pursuing this path?

Sit where you feel comfortable. Kids like to sit cross-legged, but in a chair with your back straight is also fine. Be outdoors if you can, it’s always nice to sit on the grass where it is peaceful, to remain grounded, but to be in nature is always a good thing.

Hold your palms face up, with elbows bent at 90 degrees, a crystal in each hand, with the point of the crystal pointing away, like so, ensuring the crystals are in line with each other:

So what are the three things I would have liked to have learnt when I was younger?

Intuition: Help them to follow their intuition. Every time they ask you about how to decide on something, ask them ‘How does it make you feel?’

When you tap into what you feel about something, it takes you away from making decisions in your head. It helps you get in tune with your higher self and helps you develop greater communication with your guides. Of course there are times you need to make 18 logical decisions in life, but you also need to become acutely aware of what your intuition tells you. I trust my intuition implicitly and it never lets me down.

Meditation: Another awesome technique to teach children is meditation.

Some children absolutely love this! I find guided meditations are fantastic. Children have amazing imaginations and usually find this easy to do and will want to do it. They don’t have the full mental chatter thing going on yet like us adults tend to have due to our busy lifestyles. Meditation helps them find their centre and will be extremely beneficial in later life also.

Energy: Teaching a child about energy can be a little difficult if you don’t know how, but I find teaching anyone about subtle energies is best when you use crystals. Specifically Quartz crystals to start with, as these crystals amplify energy, so it makes it easier to sense. The following is not only a very tangible way of sensing energy with crystals, but also very fun for children (and adults too!).

You just need two single terminated quartz crystals, which are very easily obtained from any crystal shop. The termination is the point of the crystal where the 6 sides end in a termination.

Now very slowly you want to move your hands away from each other, keeping them in line at all times and then gently bringing them back. The idea is that the crystals will actually feel like you are holding two magnets that are repelling each other. What you are trying to do is feel where their energy fields meet and in this case in the picture they meet where the blue line is in the middle. The distance between this will differ for everyone because it is entirely dependent on the crystals you have in your hand. However, I generally find that with a crystal around 3cms long, you will have about a 20cm gap in-between your hands.

Once you find the place where they meet, you can then do tiny little circles with your hands or bounce them slightly back and forth. It will feel exactly like two repelling magnets and then you can ‘play’ with it a bit.

It may take a little practice and the key is to move your hands very slowly. Sometimes it is easier to sense with your eyes closed as long as you make sure that the crystals are in line with each other as you move them back and forth.

Once you can do this, try doing it with one crystal and just your palm. Point the tip of the crystal directly at your palm. Find where the energy field of the crystal meets your own energy field.

Remember that we can’t see things like Radio Waves or UV rays, but we know they exist. Quartz crystals have been used in manufacturing radios and watches for years because of the properties they exhibit. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it is not there.

What can we teach our children now, that will give them a head start to their own spiritual journey?

Dates to remember -

Beltane

October 31 (Southern Hemisphere)

These three lessons may be small things, but can be very powerful tools for anyone’s growth. I couldn’t begin to imagine where I would be now if I had learnt these at a young age.

Education serves as a stepping stone for each generation. It saves the next from spending so much time learning the hard way. Just imagine what the next and the next generation will be like! We are in a time of information explosion, there are so many resources and the internet is also a very powerful tool, so use this information to grow and to give the next generation a massive hand-up to reaching their highest potential!

Time to celebrate FERTILITY & ABUNDANCE! Herbs associated with Beltane are woodruff, rose, chamomile, wormwood, and galangal.

Strong smelling herbs & incences!

Head to our website for ritual information on Beltane! www.inspiritmagazine.com

Nicola is an Artist, Herbalist and Pagan. As she is learning to walk the Shamans Path she is ever learning and evolving, acquiring knowledge from many faiths and origins. She has a special affinity with Celtic lore and everything Faery. Her connection to Nature and Spirit is what drives her to grow and motivates her to teach.

by Nicola McIntosh

Idunn (Indun, Iduna, Idhunna) The Norse Goddess of Youth and Springtime.

Her name from various sources means ‘ever young’ and ‘rejuvenator’. She is generous and youthful and represents the purity and innocence of childhood.

Idunn is the keeper of the magical apples that give the Gods their immortality. She is shown as a beautiful maiden that carries these apples in a basket. Apples are a recognized symbol of fertility and are linked to Germanic paganism and have been found in early graves of the Germanic people in England and elsewhere in Europe.

She is known as the Maiden and if you are still in touch with your childhood dreams and fantasies you may well be in touch with this beautiful energy. She reminds you to look after and nurture your inner child as well as nurturing children and their dreams.

The Maiden can also be very self-absorbed with her dreams and pursuing her own needs and goals. She also asks you to look whether you are being selfish with your needs without taking into account the needs of others.

If you want fresh and new ideas or maybe just a bit of childhood enthusiasm for your projects, call on Idunn to help you get in touch with the fruits of creativity and spontaneity just like a child. Nurture your children and your inner child for those are the qualities that help you remain young at heart.

ancient wisdom

Idunn

GODDESS INSPIRATION

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gods & goddesses

Please contact Nicola at: www.spiritstone.com.au / nicola@nicolamcintosh.com

The Maiden Who Grew Hands Storyteller Reilly McCarron delves into the wisdom of fairy tales and reveals how they still serve as identifiable and symbolic inspiration for both parents and children in today’s world, just as they have throughout time…

airy tales are a rich source of cultural wisdom, yet many popular tales still told today offer little in the way of good role models for modern parents. Typical characters we find in well known fairy tales are deceased mothers, incompetent fathers and evil stepmothers; think Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and Cinderella. Such characters provide the necessary challenges for protagonist children to find their own strength, courage, and happily-ever-afters, but where in the enchanted forest do loving parents look for wise counsel?

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ancient wisdom

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A 2012 British survey revealed that many parents are choosing not to tell their young children fairy tales as they are considered too scary or inappropriate. No-one wants to frighten their children or send the wrong messages, yet keeping these stories hidden away robs them of the chance to discern terrible injustices, to reflect on characters they may recognise from their own lives, robs them of the joy of seeing their heroes and heroines overcome great adversity to find their due reward. Where else do we find such powerful foes and glorious victories? (Of course, each child is different and care must be taken to introduce the stories at the right time in their unique development.)

Perhaps grown ups are also reticent to tell fairy tales because they don’t see themselves in the parental characters, or want to align with them. Yet there is no reason for the teller to shift their connection with the protagonist. We identify with the main character regardless of our age or gender, whether it be a young girl in the woods or tower, the youngest brother talking to the magical dwarf, or the ugly duckling. And we have the added benefit of identifying with the magical helper - the fairy godmother in the sense that we know the way through the woods. As storytellers we are guiding our children into the knowledge that all is not sweetness and light in the world, but there is a safe path.

Apart from embracing this wonderful role, there are in fact some good eggs to be found among the fairy tale parents, including the goat mother from ‘The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids’, the queen from ‘The Princess and the Pea’, and the grandmother in the little known second half of the Grimm’s original Little Red Riding Hood tale. (Many heroines have been lost to cultural editing, but that’s another story!) In one tale, The Handless Maiden, the heroine transforms from a passive character to an active one,

and from a child to a woman, through an act of motherhood.

In this folktale a man is tricked by the devil into giving away his daughter. A loyal and loving maiden, she forgives her father immediately and prepares herself for the old trickster to collect her. Yet the girl is so pure and innocent the devil is kept at bay.

Her hands, as it were, are too clean. He orders the father to cut off his daughter’s hands. Her family has become rich by way of the devil’s bargain, but rather than rely on their good fortune the handless maiden chooses to go into the world alone to survive on the compassion of strangers.

She wanders into the dark forest and comes upon a royal garden. A spirit guides her into the orchard where she meets the king, who falls in love and makes her his queen.

They are happy for a time, yet soon he is sent away to war. The queen gives birth to their child while he is gone and a happy message is sent to him. However the devil intercepts the message, putting the young queen at great risk, and she must leave the kingdom to hide in the woods.

In some versions of this tale her hands grow back slowly over time, yet in the story as told by Robert A. Johnson, her hands grow back from necessity when her baby falls into a river. The very act of casting her arms into the wild waters to rescue her child empowers the return of her hands her agency and independence.

The wisdom of fairy tales is for young and old alike. The various roles we take on as parents and carers of children invest us with great responsibility, and reward us with deeper self knowledge. Having had real life battles with symbolic dragons and faced the true dangers of the world, we are entrusted with the worthy task of leading the way into the enchanted woods.

Reilly McCarron is the creator and enchantress of ‘faerie bard’, weaving storytelling and folklore together with harp and song.

She is a singer/songwriter, a Bard with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD), an accredited member of the Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW) and has a Graduate Diploma in Australian Folklore with a particular interest in fairy tales.

Contact Reilly at: www.faeriebard.com / info@faeriebard.com / Facebook: Faerie Bard

The Swan Blessing

Freeing the Binds of Past Vows and Beliefs to Reclaim Ancestral Medicine In this fascinating series of freeing the binds of past life vows and beliefs, Julia Inglis brings understanding as to how Sacred Vows taken by the Artisan and Creators in previous times can affect your current life, and most importantly, how you can release this binding.

THE ARTISAN – UNBINDING CREATIVITY & SACRED PLAY ‘She comes to me again, calm now, and shows me how I still carry this vow as big heavy rocks in my hands. Together we smash the rocks into pieces and they crumble away. She hands me her gift, and I see it’s the little doll...

It represents the power I have to make magical objects, and to make objects magical; to weave together disparate and inanimate things and breathe into them life and intelligence and meaning.’

Katy’s Swan Blessing 2013

Binding of the Artisan: Vow to never take monetary payment for their art; Vow to never let art be seen outside of sacred temples and places of magic and worship; Vow to never make sacred art again because it was abused and disrespected by invaders; Vow to never create again because it was seen as foolish or lazy; Vow to never create a sacred object because it was seen as evil.

Gifts of the Artisan: The gift of the visionary able to see beyond experience and the past; Consciously creating the new while being deeply present; Opening the heart to depth and feeling; Conscious creation in all that is

When I began to think about the theme of ‘The Next Generation’ I meditated on what binding belief of the past would be most important to release to benefit our children and those moving into the roles of future guardians and healers of the Earth. What is one of the most important traits needed to create a new future? To believe that we have the power to create whatever the heart can conceive and that we can dream into our creations such potent magic and healing that they forever change all those who come into contact with it. That we can make everything we touch sacred.

Artists are the visionaries; they are often riding the very lip of the wave of change.

Creativity opens up a channel to seeing new possibilities and ways to invent. These qualities have been an important part of Ancestral Medicine for thousands of years.

Not too long ago, many cultures lived deeply connected to the Ancestral Medicine of the Sacred Artist. We took pride in whatever work we were called to do because it was not just for survival but it was a spiritual vocation. We were the Artisans of our own lives whether we were bakers, shoemakers, healers, teachers, mothers... we put our hearts into everything we touched. The links to this sacred way of living were severed during the colonisation of indigenous lands and at the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

In the race to possess and produce more and more, regardless of the cost to the earth and particularly her indigenous tribes,

we lost our understanding of what is truly valuable and of worth. This created a belief that to survive we had to take jobs that paid the most, even if we hated them and if we did not have a large amount of money or expensive education that we would be reduced to slaves, toiling away at mindless work just to survive. We were told we were powerless and we believed it.

In our work with Swan Blessing, we not only release the binding beliefs and vows of the past but in doing so, reclaim the powerful Ancestral Medicine that has been held away from us by the binding. In our workshops we embrace creativity as a way to connect to Ancestral Medicine and after releasing binding we engage deeply in the ancient shamanic process of making sacred art.

21 Often in the form of a spirit doll to represent our Dreamer – our Muse or Otherworldly, Visionary Self. Magic is indeed in the making. It is not enough to talk about concepts, it is important to engage our hearts and our hands and bring ideas from the dreamworld into the physical in the act of creative craft and play. In the instant of seeing yourself birth something real into the world with your own two hands is powerful, and when you infuse that object with love and intention, you are literally breathing a spark of your own life force into it. This is a profound teaching to be passing to our children again. We remember this. When we are consciously creating we are drawing from the wisdom of the past and feeling into the possibilities of the future while being deeply anchored in the present moment. We welcome the return of the Sacred Artisan.

Events - Swan Blessing ceremonies and workshops: Femmina Unbound - Return of the Medicine Women at MT Tamborine QLD 10-14th October Spirit Doll of the Shapeshifter - Reclaiming Natural Instincts at Sydney 24th-30th November Julia Inglis & Tony Esta are wife and husband creators of Sacred Familiar. They offer The Swan Blessing permanently from their home in Sherbrooke Forest and Tree of Life in Melbourne, VIC, as well as touring NSW & QLD. They are currently compiling a book ‘Releasing the Ties That Bind’ sharing Swan Blessing Past Life stories from healers, artists and mystics from all over Australia. Julia and Tony can be contacted via Sacred Familiar: Web: www.sacredfamiliar.com / Phone: 0421 249 183

past lives

undertaken throughout the day; Access to joy and bliss – seeing through the eyes of the child.

Connecting Children with their Creativity

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s an artist who simply teaches what I do, I not only teach students art techniques and the joy of creating,

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I help guide people in connecting with their creativity and finding joy in expressing it, no matter what the results or their expectations are of achieving.

Art just happens to be the medium I know and hence use to connect myself and others to their creativity. It is infinite the outlets that people, especially children can use to express themselves creatively, whether it be music, crafts, sport, the sciences, public speaking, dance, performance arts, literature, pet care, spending time in nature and technology being just a few.

In my time of teaching art to school aged children, especially primary aged children, I have been witness to many amazing transformations. These transformations invariably result from either a child realising they can do something that they had thought was not possible for them, or connecting with an outlet that has been previously denied or devalued, yet they have felt an innate connection with it. By having this outlet denied or devalued, that in turn is denying and devaluing an aspect of that child, so they have shut down and buried it. It is a wonderful feeling to be present when a child’s inner light switches on as they connect to their form of creativity and they know it is safe and ok for them to do

so.

It is even more incredible and transformative for a child to experience this for themselves. I work with a variety of groups, from a whole class, small groups with regular weekly lessons, workshops and one on one lessons.

Some children are naturally connected to their creativity and for these children art, creating, painting, drawing and making, is such a natural process and an extension of themselves, and they sit with the flow of creativity effortlessly. For other children, they come to me with limited opportunities to create, from non creative families or environments where the creative process is not valued or known, they have stored within their psyche comments from the people in their world that they are not good at drawing, painting or art in general, and they take this on as fact and carry this with them and present that way.

An exercise I often do with a child or children is taking them through a step by step process of a simple drawing and I demonstrate and do each step with them. It is a great joy to see their amazement at what they can achieve when a drawing is broken down into simple steps, rather than looking at the drawing and the process required as one great whole, which is daunting for most children and adults. Children enjoy working with different art mediums, connecting

with the flow of the material and creating artworks out of what initially seems obscure blobs of colour on paper or canvas. Teaching children to take the time to enjoy the process, not to rush or worry about what the person next to them is doing or what their neighbour’s artwork looks like is important. So is gently reminding them to focus on developing their own abilities and it is not always about what is the end result. It takes the pressure away from the child to achieve a preconceived standard so prevalent in today’s world and to relax with the process, just be and connect with the joy of doing so within themselves. Another aspect children find so freeing when I am teaching art with them is the concept of what I call ‘a happy accident’. What they call a ‘mistake’ I turn it around and call it a happy accident, then work with them to make it into something else creatively. Sometimes ‘happy accidents’ result in the most satisfying artworks, my artworks included!

Working with a child that has a preconceived idea of no art ability and watching as they get absorbed in the activity, enjoy and take pleasure in their outcome is transformative for both the child and the adults in their world, especially their parents and teacher.

Connecting a child to that inner creative flame and nurturing it, so no matter what they deal with in life, what future fields they move into, this sense of achievement

As an Artist and Art Teacher, Nicolle Poll shares what she has learnt as to how art and creativity help children connect with themselves, their spirit and how it allows them to grow and flourish…

I find some children are very result orientated when it comes to being creative; more often than not this is the nature of the child. These children appreciate having an art process being broken down and being stepped through it to be shown how to achieve a realistic outcome. These are the children that see a picture and when drawing it, want to replicate it as close to the original image as possible. When they can’t achieve this result, they get frustrated, give up and take on the misconception that they can’t do it, not realising that being taught technique and applying it through regular practise will in time give them the results they feel innately in themselves they could do.

Some children flourish in playing with different art mediums and take great joy in creating purely with colours and texture

I have worked with children who are considered to be academically challenged or disruptive, present as engaged, calm and interactive as they are presented with a creative process that at some level they innately understand. Quite often these children don’t fit into the model of education that is our system right now. When they are in this environment, because art is sometimes considered as a soft subject in the education system, the pressure is off for them to perform academically and they are more relaxed. Because of this, accessing their creativity and feeling safe to do so without academic expectations, they are often just so relieved to have this outlet.

Children working creatively also exercise a

Other advantages of art is it allows children to communicate visually, seeing it as a way to express themselves that they may not be able to verbalise and to express feelings or put into meaning an event that has happened in their life. Problem solving skills are developed as they seek to work out how to make colours through mixing paints or blending with pencils or crayons, experimenting to find solutions, working out what materials to use to create what they want and producing results for their outcomes.

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they have gained they carry quietly inside of themselves and knowing that they ‘can’, they apply this knowing to other areas of their lives, understanding the possibility that they now can. Because being creative applies not just to the creative arts, it develops creative thinking and creative thinking applies to so many modalities in life, whether it is running the family home to managing the worlds’ largest companies.

without a defined result or image emerging. I’ve witnessed children like this being shut down creatively as those in their environment don’t value the joy the child takes in this process as they focus purely on the end result, which does not match their concept of what creating artistically is. These children love nothing more than being presented with a plethora of art mediums and being told to go for it with creating different artworks with an array of colour, patterns and textures, without necessarily having to conform to an end result. The flow and joy felt as they sit in the moment of creating is joy enough for them.

different section of their brain. Studies have proven when children work actively and with awareness of their creativity, it has the surprising and welcoming effect of actually strengthening their ability to concentrate and improve academically. This is twofold; partly due to the sense of confidence working with creativity gives them, then flows into other areas of their life. Working creatively 23 develops the right side of their brain, in turn balancing and strengthening their left brain side, allowing for improved development academically.

Art may not be the solution for all children, however having children access their creativity and expressing it freely in whatever form it takes is an inner gift that will be with them for life and a skill that will serve them deeply.

Nicolle Poll is a regular contributor and part of the inSpirit creative team. Nicolle works as an Artist specialising in Oracle Cards, Totemic Animal illustrations and Soul Journey portraits, also having studied and practised a wide range of modalities in her personal and spiritual development.

Contact Nicolle at: Email: artworkbynicolle@bigpond.com or Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArtworkByNicolle

Schooling at Home Billie Dean gives insight into the riches and joys that home schooling can be for your child or children, and how enriching it is for the whole family…

On top of that Tamsin did the sport fencing with a group of her friends, and also archery. She was also A Grey Wolf Award winner as a Cub, as learning how to be in the bush was something else she loved, as well as helping younger children. She also learnt piano and flute from other teachers.

When you are home educated you are free to follow your passions and interests, and you never know where it is going to take you. But those skills your heart tells you to gather, can be blended into something wonderful. One child we knew just played Lego for years and ended up forming his own electronics company at 18.

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y daughter’s childhood was spent wandering around our country property, hand rearing goats, feeding rescued wild horses, tending sick 24 animals, fixing pipes, being on film sets, starring in films, doing ceremony, writing, reading, and being a stall holder with me at spiritual expos, as well as being a speaker.

like us, was literary. So she learnt through reading and media and doing, and having long conversations with us about life, the universe and everything in the car or while making dinner. We also sought her out for her perspective and made her an appreciated and valued member of our family from a young age.

She never once attended school, or expressed a desire to do so.

We joined a local home school network, where every Thursday, we would meet others for theatre, swimming, bowling, acting, museum and art gallery visits, astronomy, and anything else the parents could dream up that might be fun. We spent time just hanging out at the botanical gardens, while all the children absorbed nature and ran around together. If we scheduled too much in a week, Tamsin would tell us. She loved being at home with her books and animals, and liked to have plenty of down time to do as she pleased.

One or two days off-farm was plenty for her.

animal wisdom

At 17, Tamsin is already a published author, and a savvy screenwriter and film editor, with a rich understanding of social media and You Tube, who is invaluable to our business. She knows what she wants to do and she has all the freedom and support from us to follow her heart.

Not only that but she won 2012 Vegan Youth of the Year, and is an all round caring teenager with a big heart who makes a difference just by being herself.

Further, as a family we all get on very well and we cherish every moment with her.

We didn’t do any traditional school program. We “unschooled”. Every child has a different way of learning and Tamsin,

My film producer husband Andrew initiated teaching film to a small group of interested home-schooled teens, included Tam, and they went to adult film production workshops as well as making their own short films. He also taught improv comedy.

Unlike the school system, there is no peer pressure to achieve things at a certain age.

The emphasis is on self-motivation, a love of learning, and understanding that each child is unique. A network of home schoolers is a wonderful social platform which teaches children to be comfortable with all ages, not just their own.

My sense is that life and work is going to be different in the world our young people inherit. I hear so many people say they have no idea “what they are going to do”, or that they are deeply unhappy with their choices. We lost a good friend to cancer recently who always wanted to start living when he retired. His bright creative spark was dimmed by societal pressure and conformity.

So for me it is important that my daughter knows that it is possible to be who she really is in the world, and thrive at that. That degrees and success aren’t as important as love and passion, and that happiness and life design are about doing what makes you feel nurtured and excited – and are play to you, not work. Because this way, you automatically have a high life urge and a high vibration, and you impact the world in a very important and positive way, just by being uniquely you.

Billie Dean is the founder of the Deep Peace Trust, a not for profit charity working towards global peace for all species through helping animals and creating social change through the arts. Billie is a writer, the author of Secret Animal Business and other books, and a screenwriter with Wild Pure Heart Productions, and an internationally recognized animal shaman, who pioneered the New Shamanism and runs transformational workshops and seminars. She lives with her human and large rescued animal family in country NSW. Contact Billie at: www.billiedean.com, www.wildpureheart.com & www.deeppeacetrust.com

Make Plans for Who You Are Now Meadow Linn surprised herself by realising that making decisions based on a possible future is robbing her the joy of living in the now and shares with us her delicious Ice Pop recipe that will both satisfy and nourish during the warmer months.

Imagine that you could do anything, go anywhere, and have anything you desired. What would you do, where would you go and what would you get?

The other night during a family dinner, my mom, dad and I decided to each start making a list of our 100 biggest dreams, imagining that money were no object. I was surprised to discover how many of the items on my list I could actually make happen with a bit of planning and ingenuity. It turns out that in many cases, the thing that’s stopping me from making certain dreams a reality isn’t money or time (I’m a good saver, a great bargain hunter and have a somewhat flexible work schedule); instead, it’s the fact that I don’t know what my life will be like a few years from now.

I frequently find myself bumping up against this wall. It’s the “I-don’tknow-if-I-should-make-plans-because-what-if” conundrum. For instance, one of the things on my list is going to the Olympic Opening Ceremonies and attending some of the sporting events.

Although the tickets to these events come at a steep premium, I probably could figure out a way to make some—if not all—of the dream a reality. However, attendance at the Olympics is not like a vacation you can plan a few months in advance; it can take years to secure tickets, flights, and accommodations. There’s this nagging voice in my head that says “You don’t know what your life will be like then… What if you’re married and you don’t have a ticket for your husband? What if you have a baby and can’t travel?” What if…

What if… blah… blah…

The truth is, we never know what the future holds. A million things could potentially happen tomorrow that would dramatically alter the course of my life in completely unforeseen ways. So often we postpone joy in anticipation of something either good or bad that could happen in the future. Of course, there is a potential that I could be nine months pregnant when the next Olympics rolls around and I’d have to give up my tickets, but there’s also a high probability that my life will be pretty similar to what it is now.

If I constantly make decisions based on a possible future, I’m not only denying myself joy, but also I’m anchoring the idea in my subconscious that future dreams, such as getting married and having children, preclude others from coming to fruition. When we make plans for the person we are today and live in the moment, we open doors for more joy, both in the present and in the future. Imagine if I had made plans to attend the Olympics and then found myself as the nursing mother of triplets with a job that didn’t allow for time off. I’d either find a way to go to the Olympics, or I wouldn’t. But why put off the possibility of joy simply because I think a potential future might be at odds with the plans I make today?

What are your biggest dreams? What’s keeping you from pursuing25 them? What would you gain by living in the present and making plans for who you are now? How would your life be different?

In general, I’m not a “dessert-first” kind of woman. I actually relish the anticipation and build up to the evening meal’s finale. However, in honour of not postponing joy, I’ve been enjoying this banana ice pop at every chance I get. On a hot day it’s a delicious (and healthy) way to feed that afternoon craving. And as a smoothie, it makes a tasty breakfast. Plus, if you’re like me and always seem to have a pile of ripe bananas in your freezer, this is a great way to use them. (Although I haven’t tried, I imagine it would work just as well with fresh bananas.)

Makes 8 (3-oz.) ice pops 2 frozen bananas ¼ cup raw almonds ¾ tsp. almond extract 1 tsp. agave (omit if your bananas are really ripe) 1 ½ cups almond milk, original flavor Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into an ice pop mold and freeze until firm. Or, enjoy as a smoothie.

Meadow Linn is a writer and a chef, living in California with her dog, cats and chicken. She believes that living well and eating well should be tasty and fun. Meadow has just co-authored her first cookbook with Denise Linn which is available now through Amazon. Contact Meadow at: www.meadowlinn.com and www.savortheday.com

health & wellbeing

Live-in-the-Now Banana and Almond Ice Pops

inSPIRIT | review Wisdom for Your LiFe

Secret Animal Business

Published by Allen & Unwin Authored by Katrina Cavanaugh

Published by Wild Pure Heart Connections Authored by billie dean

With many, many years serving as an Emergency Department social worker, Katrina shares with us the very personal stories of the families and the Spirits who shared a part of themselves with her as they transitioned from this world to the afterlife.

Secret Animal Business is a book that changes lives – the lives of the readers of the book as well as their animals. Drawn from Billie’s 30 years as a professional interspecies telepath, Secret Animal Business is the ultimate handbook of enlightened animal care, with everything from diet to education to how to communicate with them.

Being a medium since childhood gave Katrina the opportunity to see each death from a perspective not many of us can, but certainly all of us need. This inSightful book, Wisdom for Your Life is full of unique, heart warming stories each with their own purpose and understanding which can inSpire us with new ways in which to see life.

Having blended the mix of her two worlds, Katrina’s sense of the flow of life engages you while speaking to any heart that may be touched by grief.

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But more, it is full of heart-warming stories from the perspective of the animals themselves, as well as a candid glimpse into what it is like to grow up as an ultrasensitive.

This book will shift your perspective and deepen your understanding to the behaviours and language communicated to you with your animal friends, domesticated and wild. Rich with animal stories and packed with practical and applicable knowledge, all of which can be easily put to use to truly enhance the connection with your animal companions.

In Alignment Healing

n Alignment I SOPHIE CRAM Healing

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inSPIRIT | Directory ANIMAL SHAMANISM

CRYSTAL SHOPS

PSYCHICS & MEDIUMS

BILLIE DEAN Animal Shaman, Author, Teacher, Filmmaker www.billiedean.com

JOPO FENG SHUI & CRYSTALS 2 Revesby Road, Revesby NSW T: +612 9785 0798

KERRIE WEARING Author, Soul Coach & Medium www.psychicmedium.com.au

AROMATHERAPY The Scented Lotus Aromatherapy Oils & Blends www.thescentedlotus.com E: thescentedlotus@hotmail.com

ARTWORK NICOLLE POLL Artwork by Nicolle - Oracle Cards, Animal Magick Series, Soul Journey Portraits E: artworkbynicolle@bigpond.com FB: www.facebook.com/ ArtworkByNicolle NICOLA MCINTOSH Graphic Design, Fairy & Fantasy Art, Oracle Cards & Writer www.nicolamcintosh.com

ASSOCIATIONS

www.ciema.org

ASTROLOGERS DAVID WELLS Teacher, Qabalist, Astrologer, Author & Past Life Therapist www.davidwells.co.uk

SPIRIT STONE For crystals & new age supplies www.spiritstone.com.au

MAGICAL TOOLS NATASHA HEARD Blessed Branches www.blessedbranches.com

SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY BRENDAN D. MURPHY Author - The Grand Illusion www.brendandmurphy.net

SHAMANISM

GEM~MER Cryshell Magic www.cryshellmagic.com.au

LAURA NAOMI Consultations, Workshops & Seminars www.globaldreamwhisperer.com

PAST LIVES

STORYTELLING & FOLKLORE

SACRED FAMILIAR Julia Inglis & Tony Esta Author, Past Life Healings & Workshops www.sacredfamiliar.com

REILLY McCARRON Faerie Bard, Folklorist & Storyteller with Harp www.faeriebard.com E: info@faeriebard.com F: Faerie Bard

PERSONAL GROWTH KYE CROW Wunjo Crow – Sacred Clothing, Animal Sanctuary & Sacred Journey into the Animal Realm workshops www.camelcampsanctuary.com www.facebook.com/Wunjocrow

RADIO SHOWS www.ghostsofoz.com

PRINTING JAYS PRINTING SERVICES 6/83 Cox Avenue, Kingswood NSW T: +612 4732 3523 www.jaysprint.com

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www.psychicmedium.com.au

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