Nowlicious - Volume 1

Kristen MacPherson radiantlightyoga.com

Charlotte Billing bluelotusbliss.com.au

Minna June @minna.june

Paula Paveliuc-Olariu @ralucapaulap

EDITOR

Hanna Kuikka CONTRIBUTORS

Jeanine Crombé eftforlife.com

Sylvia Alemañ magic-tales.com

Carolina Massie carolinamassie.com

Shan Stride shanstride.com

Riza Sukman rizasukman.com

Angela Rolim @ angelarolim_equilibrio

LAura Soulshine laura-soulshine.com

Jacqueline Spuijbroek jacquelinespuijbroek.com

Life & blissness creation from the heart... my desire is to hold space for us all to bring out the beauty we have within.

This world needs our light, and we can support each other to live and spread it!

So whether your quest is to start or expand a heart-led blissful business, or to create a life that feels truly aligned, I hope you will fnd inspiration, ideas and friends here to help your soul to come more and more alive.

Big love,

Respecting the natural cycles of creativity, this is a living magazine where stories are added as they are born.

EXPERIENCING CHOCOLATEGUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION p. 10

COACH & CANDLES p. 12

CELEBRATE THE MOMENT WITH FLORAL CRAFTS p. 20

DIY: Wintery wreath p. 26

CHRISTMASSY CRUMBLE p. 30

Recipe: Christmassy crumble p. 34

Warming winter infusion p. 37

THE 4 STEPS OF CREATING A BLISSNESS p. 38

AUTHENTIC FEMININE SUCCESS: HOW SHE DID IT p. 46

MAGIC TALES p. 54

TERRA ALTA p. 66

Recipe: Fermented vegetables in brine p. 76

SOIL IS THE ANSWER p. 78

Must watch: For the planet p. 80

NATURE THERAPY p. 82

FINDING BALANCE p.88

EXPERIENCING

GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

Kristen MacPherson

COACH CANDLES

Charlotte Billing

Hand-poured natural candles with crystals, infused with Reiki energy... Charlotte Billing, Reiki Master, Hypnotherapist and mindset coach based in Adelaide, South Australia, started making these beauties with the intention to ofer to people an introduction to her business.

“It was just after I had my second child, Xavier, three years ago. I was not in a great place, I had been unhappy for a while, and felt like something needed to change. Through a series of events, I came across Reiki, which pulled me in and started my journey of self-healing. I got to know a whole new community of people whom I could really relate with, and I really started to feel like I

was coming home in some way. It was after I fnished my Reiki Master training that I started to get serious about spreading Reiki within my community. At the time I was working in hospitality, which I loved but it didn’t feel to be completely fulflling. It started to click that I needed to start setting up my own business.

I came up with a name, made a logo, printed business cards, and set up a website - these basic things I did by myself. That was before I rebranded last year.

I had high expectations initially. I thought people will come without me having to do much.

But then, there was silence. I went: “Where is everyone?

Why is no-one interested in doing Reiki? It’s amazing! Everyone needs to hear about this!”. But clients didn’t really come.

So, I started wondering

how I could attract people to my business. “How am I going to make it easy for people to enter, so that it’s not too scary or ‘woowoo’?”.

One day I was at a friend’s house who told me about a friend of hers who made candles. I thought “I wonder how easy it is to make candles? I wonder if I could do that?”. In the year prior I had found some beautiful crystal candles online but hadn’t found them in shops where I was living, and the shipping cost was too expensive. I fgured that I could create a product that is in line with my services. That inspiration quickly evolved into crystal and reiki-infused candles and other products. One of the frst things I had been taught was to infuse Reiki into everything - into the food you eat, the water you drink, sending Reiki forward when you travel, and into the plants you have in your home… Reiki is universal energy, and the

Reiki practitioner is a conduit for this energy that travels through the palms of the practitioner into the receiving person or object. This means that whoever channels this energy also receives it while channeling. For me it was obvious to infuse Reiki energy into my candles, so that once one reaches someone’s space, the energy fows from it into their space. Reiki is not bound by time and space, so it doesn’t matter if you use it ten months later or if it ships overseas, it still has that beautiful energy to it which then flls up your space and energy feld.

I had a range of four diferent candles to begin with and it slowly grew to the nine that I have now. They are all set with diferent intentions. One of my favorite things when I go to markets is to chat with people and hear about their life experiences. The candle they pick is always what they need. It’s so beautiful.

I have an online store, but markets are one of the main places where I

sell. Most people like to know who you are, they like to see you, and interact with you, so it is important for me to be able to get out into the community and meet people. This is a great way to get referrals and interest for Reiki and mindset coaching as people can ask me anything they want.

It’s hard work carrying those heavy candles, but doing markets is my favorite thing. It gives me so much energy. I always come back home buzzing with inspiration and new-found love for what I do.

Here in Adelaide there are several kinds of markets, depending on the season - beach side markets, markets tucked away in the hills, farmers markets... there is even one that takes place at twilight at the seaside so you can see the sun set in the ocean while enjoying the beautiful atmosphere. I particularly like night markets, they have this amazing vibe. I’m originally form Holland and that reminds me of home.

Most of the time they rent you a 2x2 or 3x3-meter space, generally for around 120AUD. Some have table, chair and tent hiring fees but most of the time the stallholders bring their own equipment and decorations. You can do what you like and really set up your space the way you like it.

Adelaide, Australia

On my table I have several diferent kinds of products. Especially incense, sage, Palo Santo and crystals really draw people in.

At the moment a lot of kids aged eight and up are into crystals, apparently thanks to TikTok, so they often bring in their moms who may buy a couple of crystals for their kids and a candle for themselves. Depending on how good a certain market is for my type of products, I bring between four to eight pieces of each candle, but it’s hard to estimate in advance. Sometimes I totally sell out of candles and sometimes I need to take a lot of stock home. Some days can be really proftable and some not as much, that’s retail. Generally I sell well but I’ve also tried a few markets that didn’t quite attract my kind of an audience so it’s really trial and error. Which I don’t mind, as it’s how I learn best and how I‘m designed to be in this life. If it doesn’t work out as I expect, I adjust my

expectations, learn from it, accept it and move on. There is no such thing as failure, there is only feedback. Although I feel that I am pretty niched, there are a lot of candle businesses applying for the markets and often the amount of stalls is limited to keep things fair for everyone. This means that sometimes I have to wait for the next one. I believe that whatever happens, happens for a reason. Even if it might be disappointing at the time, I always fnd out afterwards that something else comes along, like a better opportunity or something that needs my attention more. So I go with the fow and trust that it’s always perfect.

No two days are ever the same and the people I meet are always amazing. It’s such a lovely way to meet new people. And afterwards, we stay in contact via social media, especially Instagram. I fnd that a lot less people are connecting via Facebook these days. It seems to be more on Instagram lately.

Sharing and commenting on my posts is a great way to support a small business like mine, and help me grow my community.

When people see a post about me on the Instagram account of a market they start following me and then come to see me live. Or a customer posts a photo of a candle they purchased and tags my account, and the next thing I know is that I have new followers and orders coming through via my web shop. It’s a very organic way to grow my community.

I’m also selling wholesale in a few places across South Australia. It’s a good way to get my name out there.

I’m also getting Reiki and coaching clients through the markets and wholesale, which is great because that was the whole reason why I wanted to make the candles in the frst place.

In the last year I also did a master-level course in NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming) & Timeline Therapy, and a Hypnotherapy course which allowed me to level up massively. My confdence has grown, I’ve let go of so much baggage that I was carrying and really started fnding my voice. It’s been a journey and the deeper I go, the more I fnd myself. It’s inspiring and really freeing to come back to the core of who I am. The deeper my connection to myself growns, the more I’m able to connect with others, too. The candles have been a great symbol of thatconnecting me with my community, and my community with the healing benefts of Reiki and beyond." //

CELEBRATING THE MOMENT

Artist and photographs: Minna June

Interview: Hanna Kuikka

Minna June, crafts instructor and foral artist, loves the creative possibilities that nature gives us. Her apartment in an old wooden building in central Tampere, Finland, doubles as a workspace for drying plants, ideating arrangements, and creating pieces for sale. Her workshops also sometimes take place in her home, or by request in locations around the town.

In addition to loving the beauty aspect of working with fowers and plants, Minna speaks for the sense of well-being that comes from being together in the moment and crafting something inspiring. In her fower wreath workshops the focus is not on teaching how to create a specifc type of a piece, but to enjoy making something that pleases one’s own eye. She appreciates how having a variety of good materials available coupled with some instructions for basic techniques allows each participant to explore their own creativity. Even if the workshops are not positioned as therapeutical, often participants note the sense of peace and joy that comes from being immersed in the moment, free to explore combining diferent elements that they are drawn to. Further pleasure comes from being able

The fexibility of the materials available means also that the pieces can be customised to the season. Initially, her activity started thanks to an encouraging request Minna received from Noora Viitaniemi, the organiser of a beautiful indoor Christmas crafts market Hohde. It was during her foral gardening internship that Minna was involved with the market, and their need for

pieces with a wintery twist kickstarted her activity. Minna says “without the request, I would have surely hesitated for a long time!”.

This Christmas season is her second time participating in the market with her own products. The preparation work takes her through the darkest time of the year and keeps her going as she crafts, ideates, and sources materials.

For ideation, Minna says that surfng on social media gives easy access to design examples, but more so she appreciates walking in a nearby forest and letting nature inspire her. Lucky enough to know people who own land, she has the permission to collect natural materials such as reed, fowers, pine twigs, and other plants and bring them home for drying.

The rest of her materials is sourced through a distributor, although her dream for the future is to be able to grow her own plants and fowers to be most ecological. Also with nature in mind, when her fower arrangements include a container, she likes to use second-hand fnds that make for unique, eco-friendly pieces.

The part of her activity that she feels least drawn to is promotion. Investing in being visible on social media is not her thing, however being equipped to take good quality photographs is something she has been working towards, appreciating the importance of conveying the visual aspect of her work.

Her home being so beautifully arranged attracted the frst occasions

to appear in media, which has enlarged her client base. Being featured by a blogger who found her at the Christmas market led to them ofering a giveaway where the prize was a spot at her workshop. Then a magazine writer saw the blog post and contacted her for a photo shoot, which is yet to be published, but already reveals how organically things can go when we do something we love.

Two years into her activity, people who she doesn’t know are starting to contact her about workshops, even if she practically hasn’t done any promotional work. So far her workshops flled up mostly with friends and them passing on the word to their friends.

This has kept Minna busy enough, alongside her other job as an activity instructor at a local psychiatric hospital where the patients get to spend time in a greenhouse and do gardening tasks with her. Also for them, working with plants gives the occasion to refresh their thoughts while having something enjoyable to do.

Going forward, Minna wants to continue following the thread of workshop requests and providing opportunities for herself and others to enjoy being in the moment while crafting and creating with nature. On the next pages she will show us how to make a beautiful wintery wreath for celebrating the season!

DIY WINTERY WREATH

BRINGING NATURE HOME FROM THE CHRISTMAS MARKET

Open until 23 Dec 2021

Tallipiha, Tampere, Finland

Linen textiles

Mimis Living

BeeClever

Beeswax candles and wraps

Vegetal

with

YUMMY TIME: with Paula Paveliuc-Olariu

We had the pleasure of having Paula Paveliuc-Olariu, therapist and teacher of self-love, cook a yummy Christmassy crumble with us to start her cooking class project.

For Paula, it’s not only about how to choose and use natural ingredients to nourish our body, but also how our state of being while cooking our food can enhance its properties and efects. She teaches how cooking in a state of joy and presence, connected with source, has a wonderful impact on the food we prepare, eat or share with others. So starting with a meditation, we cooked while playing Christmas tunes in the background, inspired by how delicious baking with a lot of love can be.

Christmassy Crumble

The fruit layer:

4 apples

200g-300g cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1 orange (juiced)

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp ginger powder

½ tsp vanilla powder

⅓ cup (100 ml) maple syrup

2-3 tbsp blueberries or blackberries (completely optional but give it a try, the color of the fruit layer will be purple-ly amazing!)

The crumble layer:

1 ½ cups (180g) oats (gluten free, if necessary)

1 cup (200g) ground almonds or almond four

⅓ cup (100ml) maple syrup

3 heaped tablespoons coconut oil

2 tsp cinnamon powder

Zest of 1 orange (organic if possible, to avoid pesticides)

Method:

Chop the apples into small one-bite pieces, discarding the core. Place them into a saucepan or a Dutch casserole with all the remaining ingredients of the fruit layer and stir together. Let simmer on low heat, semi-covered, for about 15 minutes, until the apples are soft, but not mushy. Meanwhile, prepare the crumble layer. Evenly combine the oats, almond flour, cinnamon powder and orange zest in a big bowl.

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on low heat, then add the maple syrup and mix. Pour the liquids on the dry ingredients and stir until everything is well mixed.

Transfer the fruits to a baking dish and layer the crumble on top. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees celsius, until the top is a bit browned. Serve warm (with plant-based whipped cream, ice-cream or yogurt if you fancy!).

Heat two liters of water in a large pot until it is almost boiling. Meanwhile, peel and slice an orange and a good piece of fresh ginger root. Place five heaped teaspoons of rooibos tea in an organic infuser bag, or prepare five ready rooibos tea bags. Remove the water from heat and add all ingredients. Let infuse for an hour. Reheat and enjoy.

THE 4 STEPS OF CREATING A

Creating a business or a practice from your passions, from your soul, and from what you're really wanting to do, is a journey worth a thousand words.

It is all about becoming your true you in expressed and embodied form. For most of us it’s not a walk in the park as it often challenges us to our very core, but we’ve got everything in us to do it!

And to do it our way .

No gimmicks, inauthentic marketing tactics or uncomfortable sales strategies necessary. Just unwinding into your true self and drinking from the creative power you already have within.

Big Blissness book

Read the fi rst chapter for free here

For starting or growing a blissful business with a transformational efect that allows you to be your fullest you

Hanna Kuikka

DIRECTION

A deep dive within to embody your essence energy

This is about YOU and the diamonds you have within. What you are here to do is unique and magnifcent, just as you are. (If you doubt it, yay, you’ve got lots to discover! :) )

So the frst step is to get clear on your unique essence, your true beauty, your dreams and what you are deeply about. This helps you avoid the single most dangerous hurdle us heart-centered people face: derailing due to doubt and confusion resulting from focus on the outer world and on other people’s opinions. Getting deeply rooted and clear about who you are is your essential guidance for your truest self to bloom into expressed and embodied form.

TIP: Get someone with good listening skills to ask you the following questions, without commenting or giving you their opinions. Audio-record your answers and make detailed notes.

When do you feel most alive?

What advancement would you like to support in the world?

What would you love to help make possible for people?

What do people compliment you for?

If everything was possible, what would you love to do?

Find the complete set of questions in the free chapter!

APPRECIATION

Daily fuel for loving our lives into alignment

The second step of this inside-out process is all about building an ever-deepening connection to yourself and to your creativity, while liberating blocks and releasing the past.

This is crucial. Otherwise our creative fow easily collapses under the weight of conficting doubts about the hows’ and the ‘shoulds. If not properly handled, the doubts make us go into the head and strategise (or stop advancing) instead of connecting to our higher inner truths. Therefore, through the practice of appreciation you can supercharge your creativity and connect to elevated levels of consciousness necessary for the creation of a true blissness.

This involves deep liberation from the forces of trauma and psychoemotional wounding that, when lifted from the dark, can become powerful allies for your expansion.

When properly handled, our current fears, doubts and pains are extremely valuable because they point the way to our vulnerability and to our heart. They are not bad. Rather, feeling all of our feelings is key to accessing wholeness.

Instead of only focusing on mindset and beliefs, working with deeper consciousness and feeling experience is very powerful.

Being present and consciously feeling ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually is the prerequisite for inner alignment.

At any given moment, there is a sense of aliveness inside of us that is permanent and can act as our greatest healing resource.

Fully living this moment as it is, inside and outside, can connect us with a deep sense of appreciationa gateway to the power of love.

INSPIRATION

Forming your Blissness Structure

Very diferent from the making of a normal business plan by strategising with efciency and fnances in mind, the invitation here is to plan the practical side of your business so that it is sourced from your soul. Making a bridge between your inner world and the outer world, all your love-led, inspired ideas are organised into a concrete product and service ofer that helps you bring your inner diamonds to the world. Instead of thinking about the diferent things you want to ofer as separate things, think about how everything can be linked into forming a complete path for transformation.

Getting you out of the I don’t know how to make it happen -headache, you will have a clear idea on how to make your biz work by co-creating transformation with people as an easy fowing step-by-step process - the way we naturally transform and create.

Soul sample

Entry-level product or service

Core ofering

In-depth special

Make a list of all your ideas (from your most inspired moments!) about the things you would like to do as part of your business. Then organise them into a step-by-step transformative path that people can embrak on with you, from having just learnt about you all the way to your most in-depth service. A soul sample (often free) starts the relationship which is nourishing you both forward every step of the way through your diferent product or service ofers. Supporting people along this journey with you allows you to do everything you love in an easy-to-manage, fulfilling way.

This doesn’t need to

be

complicated! See an example of a well-working blissness structure in the next article.

ACTION

Unleash your soul expression

The fourth step calls for opening up our self-expression and getting out to the world. This will allow you to take concrete action, gain clients and fnally make things happen to roll out your vision, love and inspiration into concrete form.

It’s all about getting in touch with people and showing what you have. This is scary for most people! However, it’s not about marketing and sales… it’s about coming alive as the fullest and truest expressions of ourselves. Often our soul-driven passions come from the deeper parts of ourselves that are in touch with a cherished notion of beauty and authenticity, and that is the energy we want to bring to the world in our communications.

It is the song of our hearts and souls that people will hear and be touched by most, bringing us more opportunities for abundance than any mind-made marketing strategy ever could.

Do you prefer speaking, writing, visual creation, social media, in person, group events, partnerships? Find a couple of ways (the book outlines over 80 possible options) to express yourself and create connections that turn into clients.

Then focus on using (only) those couple of selected ways to give your self-expression to the world. With your authentic voice, speak. Share your message. Dare. Deliver everything you’ve got on your heart.

Remember to talk about:

- not what you do but the transformation you ofer

- why it is valuable (the Big Blissness book will help you discover that value across seven diferent essential categories that open your heart to how much good you actually bring! A for-sure confidence booster.)

- your Soul Sample (see last page)

- stand for the cause you represent, teach, give value

When done from the soul and coupled with a good blissness structure, the self-expression you give starts a delicious relationship with people and leads them to becoming clients.

doing what you love, the bringing your true beauty BLISSNESS

We’ll journey with you through it all: from coaching to web design to setting up your new or renewed biz so that it truly looks and feels fulflling.

blissnessagency.com

BLISSNESS IS... the way you love to do it, beauty to the world.

Authentic Feminine Success:

Jeanine Crombé, a successful EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Practitioner and Trainer, tells us how she built two  businesses from the start to a fully booked schedule, revealing her key ingredients for maintaining a successful EFT business.

Jeanine, you’ve got a really successful business as an EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) practitioner since many years. Could you tell us about what you do with clients?

Yes, I would be happy to explain what EFT is and give an overview on how it can help people who have a deep desire to feel better. The science-based Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) or

Jeanine Crombé

Photograph: Jo Ruts

‘tapping’ is based on the fascinating world of neuroscience and epigenetics. EFT has been proven efective in thousands of case studies and clinical studies over the past 20+ years.

Emotional Freedom Techniques is a mind-body technique that allows us to do two major things in order to experience transformation.

(1) It allows us to access our subconscious mind and (2) the tapping helps us to turn down the fght/ fight or stress response in our body. This is very important to know because neuroscience shows us that our subconscious mind and its programming determines our daily life experience for more than 90%. Our beliefs, memories and automatic behaviors are stored in our subconscious mind. This is important knowledge when we want to clear our blocks, limiting beliefs and old paradigms. They all reside in our subconscious mind and in the body’s energy system. And when we can clear those blocks, we open ourselves to

receiving more inner balance, prosperity,  peace of mind, health, and happiness. You initially trained directly with the EFT founder Gary Craig. How did you get started after your training? What steps did you take in order to start your business?

My EFT practice was actually my second business. Prior to this I had a successful Business & Life Coaching business.

I started it in Calgary, Canada, by creating a ‘Success Team 100’ List based on exclusivity. This was 27 years ago, however, I am sure an updated version of this idea could still work today.

The idea was to gather a group of 100 successful local entrepreneurs, one in each category and email the list once per month to everyone who was on that list. New members were added through interviewing them on a cofee date. Each month one member was featured on this list and provided a

gift or discount to all the members. It was wildly successful because it was a win-win for everyone. As I was the leader of this Success Team 100, the members started to hire me as a Business and Life Coach. It was a lot of fun!

Then, once I learned about EFT and how this technique is so easy-to-learn, easy-to-use, without any side efects and with long-lasting results, I transitioned from my coaching business into my EFT business and brought my client base with me.

Of course, since EFT is so very efective my existing clients referred quickly other people in need to my practice. Since then, I have maintained and expanded my EFT client base mainly through referrals. I have also collaborated with physicians who refer clients to me when supplementary emotional work is needed for best healing results.

After some years you changed continents, moving from Canada to your home country Belgium.

How did you rebuild your clientele and business after relocating?

I didn’t need to rebuild my clientele perse after relocating because  I have an international EFT practice with a global client base. I have always conducted my client sessions online or in the early days over the phone. I can easily work from anywhere in the world as long as I have a stable internet connection.

However, I also love public speaking in front of groups of people and made use of this when moving continents as I was invited to speak for an international women’s organization. It was in the middle of the summer and they still had the biggest turnout ever for this speaking event, probably because people were very interested in the topic of emotional freedom and feeling good in life.

I made live demonstrations of EFT with the participants, and having witnessed its benefts frst hand,

many showed interest in following with a recurring tapping club meeting which turned out very successful for making local contacts. There is a real need for learning ways on how to feel better emotionally, and I got many speaking ofers as a result.

At the end of each speaking engagement I also ofer a free gift that is very valuable in exchange for people’s email address. This is an efective way to build a high-quality email list with integrity because it consists of real people who experienced your  work and agreed to receive your gift.

We also made your website and visual brand to match your high quality ofer.

Yes, I love that my business looks as beautiful as it truly is. People surprise me regularly by ofering me opportunities that were inspired by them seeing my true value.

Your client retention rate is really high. What contributes to your clients continuing to work with you? Firstly, the clients that come to me are highly-sensitive, highly-intelligent and highly-creative people who are very dedicated to creating a life where they can ‘have it all’, whatever ‘it’ means to them specifcally. They are people with a beautiful loving energy and are a pleasure to work with. They are very aware and conscious and love to grow and expand. It all depends on how much happiness, fullfllment and satisfaction they want in their lives. The reason why most clients stay with me for a long time is because they love creating the next level of what is possible for them. I love supporting my clients with clearing their limiting beliefs with EFT.  Most of the time I also provide new clients with a life assessment in the fst session which allows us to create an emotional navigation map on where to start for the best results. It

gives a bigger picture about what is possible for them, and sets an inspiring tone to the relationship. Then, when we grow to our next level, we usually hit some resistance. As layers open up in sessions, new things to work on emerge, and those are noted with the client as to be worked on together in future sessions. With EFT we can clear it all easily, quickly and permanently.

I also nurture my client base with a monthly tapping script sent by email. This allows me to stay in contact with my list and announce upcoming events while providing a valuable gift each month. Some people have saved an archive of my tapping scripts along the years for their self-healing.

How is your work space set up?

It is actually very simple with a comfortable chair, a big desk and a very good computer. Of course, I am surrounded with colors and objects that are energizing and inspiring to me. I love Feng Shui.

What is your system for work-life balance?

My self-care is my frst priority. If I want to give generously to my clients, I frst need to fll myself up. I love selfcare. I feel it is the most loving thing I can do for my clients and my loved ones.

Are there any parts of your business that feel draining, and how do you cope with them?

I don’t like admin, therefore, I delegate it.

Which parts of your business are most easy and flowing?

I love my  one-on-one client sessions, group trainings and workshops the most, and therefore it comes easy and brings a lot of satisfaction, joy and fulfllment.

How do you manage no-shows?

I have a 24-hour cancellation policy. I inform each new client about this before our frst session and it works very well. In addition, I send them a reminder email 24 hours prior to each session.

What advice would you give to a new practitioner who is determining their pricing?

Be emotionally congruent on a subconscious level with your pricing. It doesn’t matter so much what the price point is as long as you feel deep inside that you are worth it and know that your service/product is of the highest quality. The bottom line is that we need to stand behind our prices emotionally on a subconscious level.

Any other tips that you could give to someone wanting to start or expand their coaching/healing/therapy practice?

Start with what comes natural and easy for you. For example, when I moved to Belgium and wanted to expand my business here also, I discovered that speaking in person was very successful for me, because I like speaking in front of groups so that people get to have a full 3D experience’ and can witness up close what is possible for them.

In addition, when new business owners start their marketing process I would recommend running every marketing idea though a 3-criteria flter to determine the frst marketing priority:

Ask yourself: Is this idea easy to implement? Will this idea bring fast results? Will it be quick to make this proftable?

The idea that gets three times a yes’ to these questions is the priority. It doesn’t mean the other ideas are not valuable. They will come later at various stages of further growth and development. And, have fun!

Expression strategy:

Blissness Structure

Word-of-mouth referrals through clients and partners

Soul samples:

Speaking engagements and live demonstrations

EFT Treasure Chest - sign-up via email

Monthly tapping scripts via email

Entry-level ofering:

Individual sessions

Core ofering:

10-session packages around diferent topics

EFT trainings: levels 1-3

In-depth ofering:

Individual live VIP days

Aim to create transformation

step-by-step with your clients, taking them through everything you ofer in a deepening order. This makes a delightful path for you to bring your gifts to the world.

Read more in the Big Blissness book!

CREATING MAGIC TALES

Text: Hanna Kuikka & Sylvia Alemañ

Photographs: Hanna Kuikka

Editor: Kevin Prager

Sylvia Alemañ, the founder of Magic Tales, invited me to her family's holiday home on the southern coast of Spain to work on the launch of her collection of unique, hand-embellished vintage kimonos and vests.

With the desire to have fun while promoting sustainable fashion, she collects fabrics and clothing from diferent parts of the world to create magical outfts, each with its own story.

When we frst met back in Brussels, I had been struck by Sylvia’s presence, immediately sensing her love of beauty and a strong sense of style. Sylvia had previously focused on curating and selling a collection of fashionable vintage and second-hand clothing and accessories that did not feature her embellishments. But as soon as we started working together, I picked up on her aspiration to ofer more of her own creativity to her customers.

She told me that she had only recently

taken the time to rekindle her childhood love of creating, encouraged by the need to design and build outfts for music and art events that she attended. Burning Man ofered her the perfect occasion to rekindle her imagination and

combine her passion for vintage clothing with a fair for extravagance. The result was a collection of stunning fantasy costumes and hats for herself and her friends.

Over the years, Sylvia’s sense of style has been enriched by many travels

and life experiences in diferent parts of the world. Growing up in Morocco combined with years in Spain, Belgium and the United States, as well as travels to South America, Africa and Asia, have all contributed to her creative language .

While contemplating a gorgeous view of the Andalusian coastline, Sylvia refected on our collaboration on the online presence of Magic Tales.

You helped me make the bridge between who I was and who I was striving to be, closing the gap , she says. I shifted more into my own creativity. I had been spending too much time looking at what other people are doing. It’s one thing to learn from the expertise and the ideas of others; another thing is to lose yourself in it.

But your best work comes when you are true to yourself , she says. And that’s hard to do if you are constantly looking at others. My way to get closer to my true self is leave the city and connect with nature instead of people. Here, close to my roots in Spain and Morocco, I have more space to nourish my creativity and let it grow.

Magic Tales ofers authentic vintage Japanese and Thai kimonos and European vests, which are hand-embellished with upcycled Asian or Central American embroidery and motifs. Drawing inspiration from the diferent colours, materials and styles in her fnds and carefully matching each element, Sylvia creates unique designs that can be worn by men or women. Her vintage pieces come alive as she pairs them with beautiful, hand-embroidered motifs.

Find Sylvia’s collection at www.magic-tales.com

Two-week experience at an of grid permaculture centre in Sintra, Portugal

Text: Carolina Massie

Photographs: Shan Stride

Recipe: Ines Barros

The Portuguese words terra alta” mean highland. A great name, both in literal and metaphorical sense, for a permaculture learning centre situated on a wild piece of land near the clifs of Europe’s westernmost point.

Led by Pedro Valdjiu, the centre revolves around nature-connected values and a community committed to cultural regeneration. After a year of waiting due to the current travel restrictions, I fnally had the chance to dig my fngers in this land and taste

its beauty, ofering me two weeks of massive nourishment. It left me with a reconnection to land and nature that I was yearning for and a wholeness that comes only through experiencing a warm and loving community.

Just like in nature where no part is isolated, at the essence of the course was a sense of community and collaboration. In the morning, one of the participants might lead some yoga or stretching in the dome or on the platform by the natural pool.

Then, we’d all have breakfast together prepared by the facilitators. Then we’d attend a lecture about an element of permaculture, such as design or soil, botanics, fermentation, digital mapping or regenerative agriculture, led by an internal or external facilitator or by Pedro himself. This was complemented with lots of other learning opportunities like creative writing, massage etc.

The cooking team (participants plus a facilitator) would cook lunch and dinner for the whole group twice per week. There’s nothing as rewarding as harvesting food that feeds the meal choice and our bellies, surrounded by people who have the same vision, purpose and vibe.

In the evenings, we’d sit around the fre together, some people would play music or dance or stroll to the clifs to watch the sunset. One evening we had a poetry night. It was so bonding

and since we’d all been rigorously tested prior to our arrival, that feeling of physical reconnection to others was so soothing.

It seems fashionable nowadays to lead an insular, selfsh life, to make sure you have plenty of “alone time.”

Personally, I felt so held, healed and nourished by two weeks in a community where we did most things together. It was so valuable, reciprocal and rewarding.

Permaculture probably attracts people who want to take care of the planet, who care and who are gentle. I don’t know if we were particularly lucky with our group but everyone felt present and supportive, recognising their part in caring for our planet.

We learnt about care cycles and energy loops, i.e. chickens poop and their poop fertilises our plants that feed us and we then feed the scraps of

back to the chickens and into our compost that feeds the plants that feed us etc. This sense of regeneration, of nourishment, of reciprocal giving and taking and being connected to what goes into making food and connection to nature felt so honest. It has this idea of nothing going to waste and that we’re working together in a cyclical, reciprocal way which feels so much more creative and authentic and nurturing than the modern consumption model of going to buy something and using it and being

disconnected from all the energy and efort that goes into making it.

Really being connected to the earth and understanding the importance of soil was a foundational element of the course. This touched me on a tangible, literal level but also on a metaphorical level relating to our ability to grow things - our creative power.

It was scary to learn that we, realistically, have only sixty yields left because of soil erosion but also heart-warming to connect with so

many people who are confronting this reality and fnding solutions to the problem.

Permaculture is interested in ways to work with nature. Nowadays we have a lot of monocultures where there are huge felds where one crop is grown, which is not good for soil and it doesn’t mimic nature and the way

that nature propagates itself. At Terra Alta, the soil is rather clayey and that is useful to grow certain things, or for natural building but needs to be worked to grow other plants. So we looked at how do you use the soil in the best way without taking from it and how you feed back to it. For example we learnt a lot about composting and the kind of

balance of nitrogen, carbon, potassium and everything else that soil needs, and what to use to bring that back to the soil - whether more greens, more browns, more manureit’s all things that you can fnd in nature. Feed your soil, don’t feed your plant because your soil will feed your plants.

Other things we were learning were for example about forest gardening and the idea that in a forest you would have diferent layers such as a canopy, a sub-canopy, a shrub-level, a herbaceous level and a ground-level, and all these elements help each other out. So we looked at how we can use the land and the plants themselves to protect and help the other plants out.

We also gained understanding on elements like how the wind works and how animals can help to propagate and how plants themselves will propagate themselves - the knowledge giving you the power to grow things and working with nature

to make the absolute best of everything, better for yourself, better for the soil, better for the trees, better for irrigation… it was fascinating. There is an element of returning to the earth that is so healing, so nurturing. Working to grow and harvest the foods that we were going to cook and eat together felt so meaningful, so real, so useful.

We as humans, used to be in touch with nature and knew how to grow things. We had all this ancestral knowledge through stories and community, but as we have distanced ourselves from our communities and our ancestral knowledge we’ve lost this knowledge. But it is there.

The more we tune in and listen to that calling within, watch and observe nature and how the sun works and which plants need whatit’s all there for us to be able to grow in ourselves and in nature, in abundance.

Fermented vegetables in brine

In addition to being a good way to preserve food, fermenting in brine can help to strengthen the microbiome of the gut. Adding to the good bacteria and the micro-organisms that live in the digestive tract, fermentation is a tool for regenerating a good "soil" for our health, against pollution and processed foods.

Chop vegetables of your choice finely, e.g. carrot, cabbage, beats, garlic, pear, chili. Place chopped vegetables in a bowl and add 1.5% salt (for instance 1kg vegetables and 15g salt). Mix with your hands until there is a substantial amount of liquid in the bowl, making a brine. Fill a jar with the contents and squash down to remove any air pockets. Cover with a lid but don't close it, and place in a cool cupboard. Liquid will start to escape from the jar so place a bowl underneath to catch any excess. The fermentation process is complete when the mixture starts to bubble (usually 4/5 days). Consume within a week.

MUST WATCH for the planet

Films that give an understanding on how healing, even on a societal scale, is an efect of going back to our true nature. For anyone interested in the climate and other issues: the solution to the current environmental problem is there, simple, beautiful, beneath our feet.

FANTASTIC FUNGI

A consciousness-shifting film about the beauty, intelligence and solutions that fungi kingdom ofers in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges

WHY SOIL MATTERS

A short film linking soil health with human health

KISS THE GROUND

An inspiring and groundbreaking documentary film that reveals a solution to our global climate crisis...and it's right under our feet

FARMER’S FOOTPRINT

A short documentary showing regenerative agriculture as a solution to the current chronic disease epidemic and its connection to chemically dependent agricultural practices

Carolina Massie

Nature can be incorporated either as a backdrop or as a focus in therapeutic sessions.

A recent study, published in April 2020 in the Clinical Psychology Review Into the Wild: A meta-synthesis of talking therapy in natural outdoor spaces states that “time spent in natural outdoor spaces has physiological and psychological benefts, such as reduced stress responses and improved mood. In urban environments, Louv writes, we can experience ‘nature defcit disorder.’

The Japanese Shinrin-Yoku, translated into English as ‘forest bathing’ means taking in the forest atmosphere during a leisurely walk. A medical, empirical research on forest bathing, Shinrin-yoku: a systematic review by Ye Wen, Qi Yan, Yangliu Pan, Xinren Gu & Yuanqiu Liu in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (Dec, 2019) concluded that:

“Forest bathing activities might have the following merits: remarkably improving cardiovascular function, hemodynamic indexes, neuroendocrine indexes, metabolic indexes, immunity and infammatory indexes, antioxidant indexes, and electrophysiological indexes; signifcantly enhancing people’s emotional state, attitude, and feelings towards things, physical and psychological recovery, and adaptive behaviors; and obvious alleviation of anxiety and depression.

Forest bathing activities may signifcantly improve people’s physical and psychological health.

It is my belief that connecting with nature can also support the deeper, personal need for connection (with oneself, others and the cycles of time).

THERAPEUTIC NATURE BATH

CAN INVOLVE: Walking meditation

Movement meditation

Sensorial meditation

Breathwork

Mindfulness/noticing

Savouring

Talk therapy

FINDING BALANCE

Yoga & conscious parenting: with Angela

Rolim