books – Soul Reflection

Christ Returns – of maybe not!

It’s not often I slate a book but I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this one, so full of human ignorance presented as spiritual doctrine.

I had loved the idea of reading this because I adore the Conversations with God series by Neale Donald Walsch. Channelling wisdom, whether from our innate being or from other realms, texts like these often carry so many nuggets of gold, encouragement and faith.

This, however, was a travesty of that principle. Whoever the ‘Recorder’ is seems to have imagined the story of Jesus based solely on their own interpretation and spiritual belief, I can’t for one moment believe that there is any true channelling or even connection to inner truth. Contradictions run through all the pages: ‘thank goodness Jesus was a rebel as it opened his heart to look outside of the religious doctrine of the day but if you rebel against absorbing the doctrine of this book you will bring hardship on yourself, despite the fact that god isn’t punishing.’ To précis just a fraction of the mess!

Added to this, having personally been fascinated by the idea of Jesus as a human being and having looked into the historical evidence of his existence, it is clear the ‘Recorder’ hasn’t bothered with any of that and just states their own belief of the version of events because they claim they are speaking on behalf of Christ. It’s quite laughable except when it becomes antisemitic and explains that Jews have brought all that has befallen them on themselves because of the way they practice their religion, under the guise of ‘law of attraction’.

That’s when I stopped reading.

I thought of not bothering to write up this book, best just to ignore and not give energy to, but actually I think it’s important to acknowledge how easy it can be to present work as facts and information rather than owning that it is just a personal belief. I could readily accept this book as someone’s ideas, I might reject it or just cherry pick the worthwhile elements but pretending this comes from Jesus’s spirit is quite another level!

A great reminder to stick to ‘I’ statements. Speaking on behalf of someone else only brings confusion! LOL.

First published on social media on 20th July 2023

The Truth About Covid-19

First printed in April 21 and yet already they knew so much including the likely global side effects from the ✌️All of this information has now been even more deeply exposed but this is a great book to understand what has played out over the last three and a half years. With a forward by presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, one of my all time heroes, this is a powerhouse of information, research, knowledge and wisdom.

PS. Please note the great feminist icon who has paved the way for the free for all poisoning and disabling of our children. #baderginsburg

First published on social media on 14th June 2023

When The Drummers Were Women

This book falls in two parts for me. The first is a little disappointment. I found it a bit dry and would have preferred more anecdotal or even mythical stories rather than a catalogue of historical references. Added to that I think the object of highlighting feminine power and spirituality connected to drumming, whilst worthy and valid, felt over inflated when matriarchy was lauded and patriarchy demonised. Off balance, to sum it up.

However, the richness of the topic itself helps to override my critique and having had my own experience playing a frame drum and, without any context or lead in, found myself transported to my ancestral lineage, there is certainly more power in the energy of drumming than solely the creation of simple music.

With the renewed call for sound healings, gong baths and the like, added to my own dive into the possibility of sound and vibration being the uber technology that could have been the core power behind previous advanced civilisations, there is unquestionably a theme energetically.

Connecting to our vibrations and nature’s, whether to influence weather, call a swarm of bees, heal wounds or cut rock, reveals an untapped and unresourced power yearning to be released. I feel society is heading back to reclaiming it all and I’m thankful and excited for that.

And I wouldn’t mind finding my own frame drum along the way…

First published on social media on 22nd May 2023

Ho’oponopono

One of my experiences over my decades of healing and evolving was visiting a spiritual healer recommended by someone I’d crossed paths with. It all feels ages ago and I sadly can’t even remember her name but I do remember her beautiful energy. She offered the kindest heart and I felt so held and seen by her…. Just that was so healing in and of itself. She also introduced me to Ho’oponopono, although it was something she facilitated for me rather than me taking it home as another tool in my belt.

And now this philosophy has found its way back to me in the way these things do, in this little book packed with a jumble of thoughts and ideas. I don’t love the way the book is written, ironically the energy of the writers (there are 3) didn’t really resonate but the power of the shamanic Ho’oponopono principles rise above any jarring text.

Mantras and phrases have really worked for me over the years when rewiring my neuroprogramming, repeating words to replace the negative patterns in my head and quickly creating key words that can switch me from fear to love. Ho’oponopono is just this: ‘I’m sorry, forgive me, thank you, I love you.’

Understanding the intention of each word, apologising for bringing our past experiences into colour the present; forgiving ourselves for these easy and habitual mistakes; grateful for the gifts each of these moments can bring; and love for ourselves, each other and divinity itself. How powerful, how simple, how easy to implement.

With each difficult moment, with each judgement, to repeat the words, to feel the intention, to rewire our brains. This is a possibility for everyone.

First published on social media on 30th April 2023

Kingsblood Royal

I don’t even remember how I chose books from my father’s shelf when I had just a few hours to pick things from his house in memory of him, but as I slowly read through the pile nearly ten years later, I know I was guided by angels because each read is so rich and important.

This is fiction, and I rarely post about those, but it is a work of such beautiful intensity and on such an important subject that I wish the whole world could get the chance to read it.

Set towards the end of the Second World War in the the northern states of America it explores racism, segregation and morality. The Northern States legally don’t have segregation and technically discrimination shouldn’t be allowed, so compared to the southern states, still deep in segregation, the white populace feel proudly generous and liberal in their hearts. That is until one of their own, a genteel, middle class white man discovers one of his ancestors was not only an exciting, pioneering adventurer but also black.

In those days, any trace of blood in a person’s heritage, no matter how far back, labelled you a person of colour. So here we have the story of how this chap processes this information in himself, this incredibly beautiful and humbling inner journey he makes to feel proud of his ancestor, his people and his blood; how he takes steps to educate himself on his own prejudices and listens to the local black community to hear their own stories. The array and complexities of characters means we meet opinions and viewpoints from every angle, really highlighting the humanness of a thousand opinions even within one cause of personal freedom. Added to this we face the backlash from his friends, family and community when they discover his ancestry, for which he refuses to hide, and see the ignorance and cruelty that comes from an indoctrination of prejudice.

The protagonist is an absolute hero, despite numerous opportunities to hide this history, that no one could ever guess at, he stands tall and proud even at the point of lynching.

Kingsblood Royal was an important novel that positively influenced the start of the Civil Rights Movement and I can see why. I feel far better educated on the vast threads that weave through our society that form the crucial layers for understanding racism and its impacts. And what I feel more deeply, is how the trauma of these times reverberates now, causing sensitivity and triggers that can seem over compensatory relative to our current society but hit ancestral wound after ancestral wound.

I cannot imagine living in that era, which was still in living memory for some, when black people were treated as less than human. It hearts my heart to place myself in that society, from all the angles and perspectives we see in this book, and wonder how I would have behaved with whatever upbringing I might have had. I hope, whichever side, whichever culture, I would have had the courage to stand with humanity and love but I can see how easy it was to think the wrong thing was right in the ignorance of middle class society and in the righteousness of painful discrimination. There is no simple black or white here, excuse the awkward pun, but the fundamentals are, and always will be, compassion, humanity and understanding.

An outstanding read.

First published on social media on 5th March 2023

The King of Knowledge

Sometimes I’m not sure how certain books arrive in my ‘to read’ pile. But I accept their intrusion and, following my own rules, they must be read.

This is one such mystery: a Hare Krishna commentary. I have vague memories of the Hare Krishna community hanging out in Kentish Town where I grew up, handing out food, chanting and wearing orange tones. I may well have been palmed it at some point then and it’s taken twenty (plus!) years of house moves and adventures to reach the top of my pile (most books take a year!).

From wherever it came, the universal timing is all in perfection. As my young teen is reminding me clearly right now, those years are not about absorbing the spiritual aspects of life! I wouldn’t have really resonated with the deeper perspective that I can welcome now, in fact I can quite imagine myself being quite dismissive and derisory about it.

But now I love reading about different faiths and beliefs. There is so much compassion and love as the foundation and I enjoyed learning much about the world of Hare Krishna. The Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are still working their way to the top of my pile and it was fascinating to be reading a study of this ancient wisdom, wetting my taste buds for the originals.

As with most of life, whilst I don’t chant the exact song sheet of this text, there is more that resonates than doesn’t. Faith and love being the core of existence, all the tendrils that flow from that are so nourishing and inspiring.

And now, instead of remembering a slightly bizarre cult on the streets of my London neighbourhood, I can reframe that memory to one of charity, grace, joy and generosity. Such is the power of knowledge and understanding.

First published on social media on 26th August 2022

The Zahir

Paulo Coehlo is probably the most significant inspiration for the creation of my writing passion. I adore reading across genre but Coehlo’s work has always spoken directly to me, not always comfortably but necessarily, and how he imparts wisdom and induces questioning is what I aspire to in my own work.

The Zahir is no exception. It has come to me twice, desperate to be read, waiting patiently to rise to the top of my pile. And here I am, with the spiritual space (bar the near constant requests from the kids!) on our first overseas holiday, after two years of guarding and protecting our freedoms, where I can breathe those anxieties away and reflect on what needs shifting within.

Coehlo’s characters manage to exemplify those portals into my being which I simultaneously yearn and reject. This book looks at how we carry love through our lives, how we let it stagnate, dwindle or die in ourselves and our relationships, and it pulled me up sharp on numerous occasions.

I have, by choice, let go of so much of what sparked my soul whilst the dive into parenting set me alive in different ways. But I recognise now that the time has come to rejuvenate those embers, remember who I am outside of meals and school runs and hugs and awe. I want my children to see me alive in ALL ways, I want to model that for them but most of all I need to do that for myself.

In my mid twenties, pre marriage, pre kids, I can remember so clearly those moments of absolute connection to divine love; holding wide the doors of new opportunities & adventures and recognising the signs and messages from God.

That has never fully left me, but so many layers of extra have piled on top, most wonderful but plenty unnecessary and stifling too. The Zahir has reminded me of everything important and everything unimportant wrapped up in disguise.

Love is everything. Letting it flow through me unhampered, just as a baby without a lifetime of stories hindering the energy, that is my focus. Not an overnight transformation but a post-it on my forehead for the rest of my days.

First published on social media on 23rd August 2022

Sleep and Sleeplessness

One of the things I love about reading books from my father’s collection is how I reach back in time to thoughts and wisdom often now supplanted by modern theory. One of the elements that I find lacking in current scientific discourse is the spiritual and unknown aspects of life, whereas work from the early 1900’s so often has a greater holistic and curious perspective which feels much more aligned to reality to me.

This delightful book is chock full of wonderful nuggets of wisdom, particularly as both my daughter and I have a tendency for sleep disturbance and insomnia. (Though I might have to investigate further the theory that cucumbers are a potential cause of nightmares before I can concur on that one!)

It was also full of fascinating tales of premonitions or subconscious wisdom being imparted through dreams, from lost treasures found, to deaths felt before news had arrived. The sort of stories that utterly entrance me and are far too numerous and detailed to be able to be dismissed as mere coincidence.

And in conclusion, after much practical analysis, the author also highlights how important faith and prayer is for the peace of mind required for a good and restful night’s sleep. Now that is the kind of scientific ponderings that I can really relate to.

First published on social media on 14th August 2022

The Greatest Secret

I love manifesting and I’m pretty good at it, with non attachment ideals. And I also have work to do on my limiting beliefs. I read Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, a manifesting bible, in the early days of my marriage (I believe it came on honeymoon!) and was interested to read The Greatest Secret, wondering where it would take me next.

Well to a whole other level is the truth of it. And not comfortably so either. Because really I know what she’s saying in this book is absolutely true and I’m also attached to my very human experience of the world so stepping up to this feels daunting. Shall I explain a little more or leave you cryptically dangling?

Succinctly, it’s about remembering our eternal energy that has been in existence forever, that has experienced and knows all. And by remembering we can view and live our human journey with the reassurance of the bigger picture, enabling us to disentangle from dwelling on the challenges as negative rather allowing just what is.

There are moments when I have touched this place and have sat in the flow of awareness and life with blissful appreciation. But I have not sustained that by virtue of being pulled back into one drama, one trigger, or another.

This book is the guide to inhabiting that place more consistently and consciously. It’s a practice that requires consistency and effort to become habit, with the photographed affirmation a clear link to that. I’m not there yet but I have certainly stepped out of some dramas with ease and Grace by utilising the methods prescribed and how wonderful it will be to continue down this trajectory.

I just have to remember to breathe.

First published on social media on 30th May 2022

Blackout

I could have written this book. Okay, I couldn’t because the research behind it is phenomenal and I’m more of an ‘intuitive reactor where I discover the data after the event’ type, whereas Candace has all the facts at her fingertips.

But basically we are singing from the same song sheet, where radical personal accountability and responsibility married with resilience is the name of the game AND the necessary requirement for our society to start healing and moving forward. This blame/victim culture is killing our humanity, divorcing us from the strength of community and leaving us weak and exposed to the corrupt powers that be who wish to determine our paths.

We need to stop falling for these labels and movements like #metoo, BLM, white supremacy, Covid paranoia; that imitate the collective, communal tribal energies but are actually false trails into darkness, disconnect and disempowerment.

This book maybe highlighting the real struggles for Black America (and boy it was an enlightening journey of understanding) but the truth is it is entirely relevant for Western society everywhere. We need to claim back our sovereignty fast; it’s going to be uncomfortable for many and also entirely worth the self reflection.

Candace’s own moments of self reflection are incredibly humbling and, whilst this book needed to be written, it could only hold the power it does by the fact that she has walked both paths. She has been the victim and has reclaimed her true essence with a voice that is unmissably honest and vibrant.

This book is a must read to balance out the swathes of manipulated messaging beings thrust into our homes and hearts and a vital stepping stone to really recover the freedoms of our birthright for all of humanity.

First published on social media on 21st April 22