My Morning Magic

 

As I gently open my eyes each morning, I am blessed with the sight of a new day. Of the sky lit up softly by the sun, and of the charm of unforeseen goodness to come. 

Now I am ready to write. 

It feels like a divine channeling of some sort, my heart lit up by a connection with a higher power. My pen flowing freely, without too much delay. 

What accompanies these words is a cup of rich ceremonial cacao. Amongst the myriad of benefits, and engaging history, it's the sacredness of ceremony, and the beauty of ritual that makes me feel at home. It calms my mind, stills the nerves so my soul can speak with ease.

There are a plethora of benefits of cacao in its raw and unprocessed state. Amongst the abundance of minerals it's the magic of its history that guides my morning words. The kooky bitterness, and charming scent instil hope within and a smiling openness to the day ahead. Cacao sets my being in a state of surrender to the highest good of the Universe.

The first sip is like the first word written on a blank page. Soothing, warm, home. My soul enjoys the subtle bitterness of cacao, a reminder of what it is to be alive, and to feel and experience the full spectrum of human emotions. 

I don't believe in, nor am I aligned with labelling and categorising people into mental states. As human beings we feel the range of emotions, some more rooted in sadness than others, who linger that little bit longer in anxiety, who are elated with overwhelming joy. We are human and we have the capacity to feel extremely and thoroughly deep.

Sipping cacao and writing ground my mornings. Anchor me to the day, a reminder of who I am. When moments become heavy, overwhelming or sad, I remember the morning, aware of its rising again. I remember what it is to be home and I am settled once again into my heart. 

Into truth.

Into love.

Loretta

xo

The Humble Mind

The mind is a busy place. Light sparks an abundance of pathways at any one time. Our minds are stimulated at an alarming rate in each moment of each day. How often do we sit with the mind? How often do we share its humble company amidst the space of nothing else? To allow each synapse to spark in content, and then to let it go? The physical brain is heavy for it is home to so much. To an abundance of seeds planted and perhaps never watered. Home to seeds planted and grown half way, frightened by an adjacent striking jolt of change. And home to those rare golden seeds, given the space and nourishment to grow and grow into realised dreams.

The mind houses the past and the future. A temporary home to present fleeting moments. It is right there in those seemingly blinking moments where we must spend the most time. Where we must see clearly, breathe life into, and nourish the thought at the exact moment it rises. For it is in these moments where the golden seeds are planted. Where the dreams most aligned with our soul are born and exhaled into existence.

These present moments appear rare and often underwhelming, but don't intend to be. How often the misleading grandness of future events shadows the present. How often the nostalgic memories of the past seep into the present, drowning the actual moment. The present moment is the best moment you will experience at any one time, for it is here your power is realised. The power of choice to sit and dwell in an unbecoming situation or feeling, or to choose another thought and allow the present to fade into the next more favourable present moment.

Emotions created as a reaction to the present moment seep into every cell of the body, moving out slowly through the pores of the skin as energy. Imagine over the years the incessant build up of misaligned dirty energy invading the cells, creating an unwelcoming aura of energy around you? Isn't it more appealing to be aware of clean and vibrant energy, washing through the body, through the cells so we glow in who we are?

The body and mind are connected. I believe stress is a significant instigator of disease and ill health. More so than the food we eat or the air we breathe. The cells of the body are intelligent and take on energy, and stressful energy to the cells causes deformation and unnatural processes. Stress sets hormones on a rollercoaster of their own, triggering all sorts of messy circumstances, halting the abundant flow of life. We each have the choice, and the power to be gently aware of our minds for this is where every physical manifestation begins. It is where every dream is planted and nurtured into realisation. We have the choice to be deeply aware and to sit strongly in the present, in each moment as it arises. To slow the breath, and to ascertain if the thought experienced is of the highest good for ourselves and for others. 

We have the choice to live in good health or to bear home for disease. The mind is powerful, and it's our own power we hold.

Be gentle with your mind, and take deep care of how it makes you feel.

It is your gold, your home.

Loretta

xo

Avenues of Change

The magnificence of change is undervalued. The comfort of remaining stagnant is easy, yet it sparks little content in the depths of the soul, in that place of knowing what is deeply aligned. Sometimes for some of us there are many avenues of change we must linger in, even revisit to gain insight of who we truly are. This can be spaced over years, decades perhaps. For others change is rare, and this is ok too, if it is stimulating, anchoring, and of the highest good.

We must try not to compare for we are all on our own path, guided by our unique hearts. The one similarity is that we are all guided by the warm and welcoming hand of love. Love teaches us, ever present, a reminder to always be grounded in who we are. To compare only crafts confusion, disappointment and a place that is unattainable for it is not uniquely you. We move at our own pace, in our own lane, as terrifying or lonely as that might appear. Moving in your own lane however, is the most heart-opening, bringing you closer to love and with other people as you nurse a deeper understanding of who you are.

Often, I feel like a queen of change. Diving in and out of study, of jobs, of the way that I choose to eat and exercise, my thoughts about life. I have learnt so much though. I have learnt so much about who I am, my likes and dislikes, what truly stirs my soul, what has been a constant, and what is not aligned with who I am. My values have grown stronger and stronger as I move into knowing who I am. At this stage in life I continue to grow, to engage in change, and to always return to my intuition and values when making a decision. The picture I see, representing the highest good for myself and others is becoming clearer and clearer.

How can we truly identify with love if we have never experienced fear? How can we move with ease if we have never had to overcome difficulty? Lived in the joy of laughter without moving through the grief of tears? We each dip our toes in the waters of change, and fully immerse when the moment aligns with our heart and soul, when it feels light and good in the body.

When we make any decision, stop and feel for that in the body as this is the whisper of your intuition. Feel for lightness, not heaviness. Feel for ease, not tangles of confusion. Try to refrain from pouring everything in immediately for time is needed to process and feel. Space is required for you to grow into the decision, to grow into who you are.

You may feel perched atop dizzying heights, in the midst of pirouetting between change. Stop, and step down. Breathe again. Hold space for your beautiful self and fear not time. Time is always on your side, never slipping away, rather, guiding you back home. So pause, live in the discomfort of uncertainty for a short while and take those spacious moments to look after yourself.

Bathe in self-care, sleep, relax, eat well and hydrate deeply. 

Hold onto trust and everything unfolding in perfect time. 

That all is well and exactly as it needs to be.

Loretta

xo

Remember

Human beings, we make life complicated for ourselves. Imagine if we uncomplicated each thought, unravelled the complexities so we could see each for what they actually were. Wisps of air, specks of dirt, dust to be blown away with ease. In all these manufactured complexities, as the years have accumulated, we slowly create masks for ourselves.

There's a moment in life when the final pages of childhood innocence are turned, and so the chapters of adulthood begin. All of a sudden awareness is the spotlight on our lives and on the lives of others. Suddenly there is a steady focus and study of those around us, of situations unfolded before us. Often a distorted reflection as social media is now a direct screening of the lives of others. So we naively adapt to conform and align, and we listen to everything spoken to us and swallow the words as truths. We dwell on these truths and change, make decisions based on the words and actions of others so we are seen in a beautiful and good light. 

To move against the grain would displease and disappoint others. It would cause us to be alone. To not be loved, and to not be loved, this is a universal fear innate in every soul.

It's heartbreaking to merely think that we have forgotten to TRUST and to LISTEN to the voice of our core. For this voice speaks the ultimate truth, it is the only voice to speak from pure love. We can't live honestly and with integrity if we ignore who we are. We will always be loved, this is a given, as the capacity, rawness and act of self-love is the most important. Until we know how to care for ourselves, then can we care for others freely and warmly. Holding strength in who we are first, will see us appreciate the unique strength in others. This takes an abundance of time, each day sees us feel a little stronger, and a little stronger yet again. Embrace the setbacks that challenge your strength, for at the centre of each setback sits a lesson to help build strength yet again.

With each day we will remember who we are, because strength in the soul resembles the unique core of who we are. Our magical dreams, beliefs, values and quirky traits are piece by piece a reflection of our soul. When that reflection ripples from the breeze of outside influence, we fail to see ourselves clearly. We forget.

Take the time each day to stop, look in the mirror and to stand gently planted in who you are. Be gentle with your heart. Look into the youthful eyes of the child staring back at you and remember freedom. Remember every simple action that brought your life a little light and joy. Fear not embracing those joys now because the dreams of your soul, the picture of your soul is the most beautiful image in the world. The only truth that matters most is what your heart whispers as the sun rises and sets each day. 'Remember, remember.' Hold tightly to the hand of your intuition and trust its tug, ever so slight but there.

Your divine self is all you have in this lifetime. One li
fe in this body. Move against the grain if that's what your heart whispers because to displease and disappoint yourself is most heartbreaking. 

We are whole, complete and perfect as we are, in all our complexities and flaws. 

We are perfect beings of love.

Loretta

xo

Glow With Knowing

To truly nurture our insides will reflect on the outside. The way skin glows or fades, how the whites of the eyes are bright or dull. How the hair shines and grows with strength and ease, the body moving vibrantly in each beaming step. Energy to move with ease from sunrise to sunset. How we listen to, and are present with others, exuding patience and interest, mirroring and holding space. Wearing empathy comfortably.

Nourishing our bodies and nurturing the soul from the inside will reflect on the outside. Vital too are the ways we take care of the outside, how we look after the largest organ of the human body, the skin. Especially the face, as this is what we present to the world, what we look at in the mirror, our unique thumbprint of the soul.

Settling into my early thirties my purpose for skin care is prevention. Also, the morning and evening skincare rituals bring me joy and the warm embrace of self-care. I am grateful to be blessed with attractive genetics, however that can only go so far. Here in Australia we receive the jagged edges of the sun, penetrating beams that blossom with the gold of vitamin D, alongside daggers that age and trouble the skin. To be honest, I have been very lax about skin protection until only recently, most likely causing damage unseen to the eye as of yet. In saying this it's not becoming to fear the beautiful sun completely for we need a healthy balance of light and protection.

Listening to the science, advice from women well ahead of my time, seeing for myself the skin of those ahead of me in life, and in my past work as a beauty therapist has triggered interest and concern. It's only presently that my eyes are truly open and aware. Science and living proof cannot easily be dismissed. Taking care of the skin is a joyful practice, as is learning and sharing. I understand we are all unique and what works for one person may not be effective for another. However I believe there are universal habits for everyone to witness results immediately, and in time to come.

HYDRATION in the form of drinking clean water and eating high water content foods which include an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. We are mostly made of water. Water helps cleanse the liver and keeps the process of detoxification on track. Everything related with the liver will show on the skin. Alcohol, cigarettes, acidic foods, processed foods and seed and vegetable oils are most detrimental. Hydration in the form of what is applied to the skin in the morning and evening is just as important. I will detail my routines in a further post.

SUN PROTECTION needs to be a daily habit, especially of the face. This cannot be stressed enough. Get up to twenty minutes of gentle morning sunlight directly on the face without protection and I believe you are medicated for the day. Vitamin D is so important, we can't hide from it entirely to live in good health. However prevention is just as crucial for avoiding ill ageing a
nd health. Everyday without fail I apply a beautiful natural zinc, no chemicals or preservatives.

SLEEP seven to nine hours, which is adequate time for rejuvenation. It is time enough for the body to travel through its detoxifying processes in cleaning, and breathing life into the body and soul. Entering sleep in a calm state rather than a stimulated one, with time enough to wind down in absence of technology deeply soothes the mind and allows for better quality sleep. The more time spent in the absence of technology, the more time we each have to engage with who we truly are. 

When we remember who we are, love pours from within and the skin sparkles with youth. 

When we remember we glow with knowing.

Take care of your skin and remember how to blossom from within.

Loretta

xo

Notice, Nourish and Nurture Energy

Energy is an inherent motion in everything. Nurturing our unique energy takes mindfulness and time. Tuning in to realise what the body and soul deeply desire requires patience and space, from ourselves and from those around us. Be patient with the hearts who need to be alone to cultivate joy. Respect the souls who crave the close comfort of others to rekindle sparks of excitement. Energy is universal. We each hold the Universe as it is reflected to us from the world. We each have a choice of what we see in that reflection, and that choice traces back to how we care for and attract our energy.

How perfect is the reflection of nature? The ebb and flow of seasons, of floods, fires and regeneration. The elegance of a wild animal racing for its prey, the beauty and colour of fruit as it grows from the earth, untouched by intervention, all moving in its own energy. We are a part of nature, overwhelming beings grown and created from energy. How we take care of that energy will see to ageing and how we feel as time passes. Each thought, interaction and substance that filters through the mind and body plants seeds. This is a reason to be mindful, as these seeds manifest slowly. Be severely curious of the food you consume, notice how it feels within you and how the energy of its fuel flows out of you. And each thought, are they serving your best interests, or are they heavy and rooted in fear and doubt? Accept the thought, let it go, and choose again. There is so much power in the mind, it's unbelievably magical.

Nurture your mind as you would your body. Cleanse the soul in meditation, stay aware of thoughts and be present in each moment. Breathe. Inhale deeply and feel your torso rise with knowing, exhale slowly and melt into the creative core of your energy. Everything is connected, the mind, gut, heartbeat and growth of the world around.

'Be like nature', the sun whispers to me each morning as we sit in each other's company. We are from nature, not machine. Like the earth we are composed mostly of water.
Notice the energy of the earth, and notice the energy you carry. Be kind to everything that rises from within and know that you, and you alone, are always presented with the choice of how to live. 

Nourish to care for your energy.

Nurture to create a home within your heart for your energy to rest in.

Loretta xo

The Morning

The sun breaks early and slow. As I open my eyes I see the warm orange glow, smiling eyes, a good morning caress.

The floorboards are soft under my feet as I pad lightly across the room. The air is still cool despite being on the cusp of summer. Sometimes my heart yearns impatiently for sultry mornings and the lingering evening heat. To feel the air kiss my skin hello. Freedom.

These mornings are magic for my soul. Solitude, time, peace and space fill my heart and breathe life into my body. In the morning I thrive from the richness of simplicity. The deep taste of ceremonial cacao caressing my taste buds, going down smoothly, enlightening my cells so I sparkle. I am grounded, I am home.

And then I write, pen to paper. It feels like the words speak directly from my heart to my fingers, and so the letters glide. It's a form of art, ink to paper, drawing shapes in a language that can be understood. I feel I've practised this art form for lifetimes. I'm drawn to this art to share with lovers in the form of notes and written gratitude. It's my language, what I understand best, what I can converse with ease.

The words move slow in the morning, in their own time, like the cycles of the moon. Like the cycle of the day, from dawn to dusk. The beauty of imagery breaks my heart. Better to be broken in the morning so the ascent of the day can continue to let the light shine through the cracks. Brighter and brighter until my heart is once again a glowing star of love. With an abundance to give and space to receive.

Small noises stir the house. A creaking floorboard, a tap running, clanging cutlery. It's almost as if this romantic dream is over, until tomorrow morning beckons with dazzling beauty. Now the day must be attended to, how it begins to unravel, a day unlike any other. How it will be mirrored to my eyes is up to me. Will I see open, loving arms of opportunity, chances for magic of human connection, time in abundance? If this is what the depths of my soul craves.

To remain unburdened, light in step, bright in presence.

Loretta
xo

Allow the Moment

Amidst a cobweb of feelings here I am. My deep breath returns as I finally sit alone. Unsettled, directionless, nursing a sense of being far away from home, here I am. A warm dandelion tea sits before me, cinnamon swirled on top romantically. The lights are dim and the small lounge holds me warmly, knowingly.

All I seem to be craving is pleasure and deep nourishment. So this evening I’m giving my feminine what she is calling out for, what she is yearning so deeply for. To be felt, and to be emotionally connected to something out of this physical world. To experience deep pleasure as this is what lights the soul up with pure joy.

There is an alarming shift in energy as of late, and I believe it’s in each of us. As a collective consciousness on this planet it must be in all of us even if some don’t seem to feel it. There is a strong pull to remain slow and grounded. As life around us is picking up its pace there is the strong temptation to want to join in and keep up for fear of missing out. For trying to catch up on time passed. However we forget what the last two years so loudly forced us into. Stillness, to stop doing and begin being. For it is in being that we truly feel each emotion, that we can grow to accept who we are and what we feel, so that we can understand others more deeply. So that we can understand ourselves more deeply and give ourselves what we genuinely need in order to be vibrant beings of love.

I’m trying to take the lessons of the past and implement them now. We’re not meant to struggle or be tired yet most of us are because we have taken to believe what society presents to us as normal, as truth. Whose truth? It doesn’t need to be your truth. Your truth is what lights you up, excites you and moves you into a state of being that radiates with pure bliss. That is able to feel every emotion, to sit deeply in sadness, cry in excessive loneliness and laugh until it hurts. There are no rules only limitations. Most of the time these limitations are self created. So break them and create new ways of thinking. Aligned ways of thinking. Aligned ways of being.

Slow down. 

Allow the moment to be felt deeply. 

Allow who we are the chance to breathe and be seen.

Loretta xo

    

State of Surrender

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact time in life when crying becomes ugly. The tears are not shed over a literal spillage that can be seen. There’s an internal spillage of emotions that begins at the centre of the chest. Try swallowing and the manifestation of emotion is merely aggravated. Like blowing out a flame only to find the light expand suddenly with each exhale. The chesty feeling both rises and drops. Up to the face and then down to the pit of the stomach. When I look in the mirror I see my face morph into something else. As ugly as it appears the whole ordeal is a relief and often leads to a restful sleep. Crying is exhaustively ugly, yet as an adult it is self-soothing. So when in life does crying become ugly? When you choose to look in the mirror, gasping for air, eyes silently pleading for help.

My eyes opened to a dark candle lit room. A contrast to the mellow sunset I had begun to watch fade. The meditation had bathed me in a glowing white light, so strong I felt the light’s gentle exit as I opened my eyes. I felt my body grounded once again, as if moments before I was floating above where my body sat. Now here on a Tuesday evening I am compelled to write, for I have crumbled under the weight of my reality, countless times since 2022 began. It has been a mentally rocky onset to the year. The tears have been soothing, an exhausting release. Now, in the worn and dry state of surrender I feel there is nothing left but to share my thoughts.

It’s been fourteen years since I purposely set foot on my soul discovering journey. I’ve never been alone, although there have been many many moments where I have felt incredibly lonely. Lucky for that anchoring feeling, my heart, which has kept me slightly sane. The beating has reminded me time and time again who I am, where I come from and where I am going. I often can’t express exactly where I am going because I have chosen not to see that destination, let alone the route there. If there is one thing I have learnt it is that all the answers to every question reside within our knowledge already. It's when we choose to see the answer it is revealed. As I write these words I feel stuck in the deepest hole yet. I know what I need to do to get out, I just haven’t chosen to see the answer yet. And in this moment, to make it a little easier, this is when I know I must surrender even more to the Universe. And so I do.

Loretta xo

A Step Out Of The Way

The sky sits stunned in blue, the pre dusk sun drapes the skin of commuters. Next to me fingers type languidly on keys, in front of me fingers tap softly to a song unknown to my ears. I hear a distant nose whistle as a man falls deep into rest, pierced by the conductor's whistle at the departing station. And here I sit, the familiar movie reel playing outside my window. I could fall asleep, wake up and still know where the story is at. 

It's taken me three attempts to write this post. Perhaps this is the one. Perhaps it's the steady motion of a rolling train on a Tuesday evening that will see the words flow. Rolling out of the hazy bustle of the city, back to the comfort of home.

It's taken me a few times to write and polish because I kept feeling like the words had been expressed too many times before. My own words tasted stale. Then again, this constant thought is at the crux of what I am reaching for. Getting out of my own way to allow things to happen. Getting out of my own thoughts and constant searching outside of me to let the aligned rise from within. To trust in myself and the divine power that is the Universe, the divine power that is Love. To trust in everything unfolding as it needs to. To express what I need to with confidence in my own voice.

A quote by St. Francis of Assisi appeared before me yesterday - 'Start by doing what's necessary, then do what's possible, and suddenly you're doing the impossible.' I read this as it is, about being in the moment as well as not letting go of feelings akin to our dreams. Using what we have, where we are, and our circumstances to transition into where our dreams lie. Most of us, if not all of us, are already in that transition. And some of us remain in limbo forever without even realising. Meditation and vigilance of the mind and of emotions are so important. Accepting everything as it comes and letting it pass. Gently, kindly. The small moments that get bigger and abundant each time we get out of our own way are like a breath out of water. It's a softening of the heart.

When any thought or action clashes with such gentleness, everything aligned falls. I can almost feel the flutter of feet within me when this happens. Hands clawing, pulling my heartstrings down. It brings this feeling of heaviness that sits inside when something isn't aligned. I learn each time, and each time all that is aligned with me becomes stronger and brighter.

The sky is still blue, a sheer curtain of smoky haze brushes against the approaching mountains. The sun is slowly falling. People have filtered out of the train. Someone is tapping away behind me, the seat next to me now vacant. 

Loretta xo

The Eye of Time

There's a smudge of grey blanketing the sky as I write, some sunlight filtering down. The cat is playful, a mere baby. He pads around the apartment, gazing at me every now and then with those full moon eyes of his. Deeply curious, deeply wise. It's just him and I this weekend, he is in my care. I adore the gentle and quiet way he leaps onto surfaces and the perfectly aligned way he sits, the way he stretches. How he is just him. The cat. Not mindlessly absorbing the ways of others around him, thinking too hard about who he needs to be in this world. He is who he is and that is that.

In fact this has been somewhat of a mantra for me this year. I am who I am and that is that.

I AM WHO I AM AND THAT IS THAT.

There have been many moments during this year that the words have slipped from my grasp, moved to sit behind the shadows cast by everything outside of me. However since the start of September something strong has shifted inside me for good this time. I sense the shift so deeply. The strength in who I am, here, right now as a woman and as a human being in this world. The strength resides and shines bright.

Three months lay sprawled between now and my thirtieth year alive in this world. So naturally I am reflective. Three months, thirty years, how time expands and contracts just like the breath in and out. How it seems to pause like the space between the inhale and exhale. I sit in this pause, the eye of time, amidst the beautiful storm that moves around me.

My day job really began to engulf me this year, in its vast and comfortable jaws. Being around the work and the people every single day made me want to rise in the environment. To work harder and not smarter. Definitely not intuitively and definitely not for myself. I applied and got into university to better my education in the field of work I have found myself in. I went out with my colleagues on Friday evenings getting ridiculously drunk and paying for it the next day. Because that's what you do isn't it? Work hard and long during the week to then finally let it all out on a Friday evening? No. This is not me. I lost myself. I let go of everything important in what defines me, what is aligned with me because I hadn't tried this way of life before. This 'normal' way to live. Thankfully I have returned to myself.

Something has never sat comfortably in me with abusing my body with alcohol and working in a day job where the content is dry and meaningless to me. Yet I do my best everyday. I turn up and I engage because the work is important to others and I respect this. I acknowledge this. However I am strong enough now to maintain my sense of self, and when I can, engage in work important to me. Thanks to submerging myself deeper into meditation I have returned to who I am. The shadows have passed, the breath from the mouth of the Universe has moved the tangled clouds from my vision.

I am a creative human being and this is how I am to live.

For as long as I can remember something hasn't felt right about working a day job to buy food, clothes, pay the bills, pay for transport and for holidays. All to support the day job which doesn't provide true fulfilment anyway. Counting down to the weekend where I can finally dive into what fills me up is not the best way to live. I am worthy of living everyday fulfilled, pouring out into the world what I am here for. We are all worthy of this.

There are two states of mind people live in. Working to live because this is what has been pumped into our minds since school. Be safe in your work, because how are you going to live otherwise? What will others think if you are not labelled by a good job, a respectable career? But is it respectable to yourself? This is the question that needs to be asked.

And then there is the way of life in which one has the power to create and manifest as one pleases. Living to work. Living to truthfully and uniquely serve others. Embracing creativity and trusting that all sources of abundance flow into life with ease. This is the way to live. With purpose. And I am in transition. I am grateful to be aware and awake.

Loretta xo