Feeling rejuvenised and rested

I have just returned from a cruise. It is something I had wanted to do for 13 years, since I did my last one and only cruise with my daughter. It came about as I was on holiday with a friend last year and mentioned I could never get anyone willing to travel on the water with me. They all wanted a holiday on land.  This friend shouted out "Me!" After she said that, we went to a travel agency and booked. Talk about the Universe giving me the answer I needed.

It used to be that people that went cruising were elderly and rich. You do still get that but our cruise was full of people of all ages, like us, that had saved up and there were also families that had been put forward by the Make a Wish Foundation. These are holidays for children who are terminally ill. There were others that had moved closer to cruise terminals so they could get cheaper cruises, more often. There were many families with children of all ages too. They were all catered for.

We met loads of lovely people on board and learnt many stories from people. One lady even told us her son started designing Web sites at age 11 and then set up his own company aged 13! He then went on to sell it and is now in a good space.  What a proud Mum that was.

Sometimes people can become so insular on holidays. On Cruises you get the opportunity to sit and talk if you want which is good. While on the Caribbean seas I did some meditation and even recorded one which is on my Facebook page here.  I have also recorded some more meditations on my You tube channel- here. 

Holidays are great to take a break from everyday life. Even if you spend time at home doing something just for you, it will be a break from what you normally do. It also gives you a chance to have time to make decisions that require changes.  I feel nice and refreshed and of course it was great to get home to my 2 dogs who were being looked after by a friend.

I am now looking forward to  running my reiki level 2 workshop on 4/5th November and my level 1 workshop on 18th November. These are held in Edinburgh so if you are looking to learn reiki then get in touch.




Joy Fraser
www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk
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Gratitude - What does it mean to you?

How often do you feel Gratitude?

The reason I ask this is I am sitting in my garden in the sunshine surrounded by colour. Nature is wonderful if you take time to be aware.  Apart from the flowers and trees, if you stand or sit quietly, you can hear the sounds of the different birds.Today I have taken photos of all the colours surrounding me.

A large part of the beauty in my garden is thanks to my wonderful neighbour. He took plants both large and small from his garden and planted them in mine. The rest I planted from seedlings and have watched them grow.

 Another thing I am grateful for is the Hypnotherapy workshop I went on. As I advised in my last blog I am also transitioning to becoming Vegan. Since then I have lost 10 kg!  I have put a little back on as I had a friend staying but it is coming back off just as quickly. With her being Gluten Free and me eating plant based foods I was amazed at how many places in and around Edinburgh could accommodate us.Two places I would highly recommend for a visit, if you are ever up this way is Roslyn Chapel and also the Samye Ling Centre in the Borders. If you want to see photos I took in the latter you can see them on my Facebook page here.

There is always something to feel grateful for, even if it's having a roof over your head or food on your table. I make it a practice to write down three things before I go to bed. Sometimes I want to write a lot more. Why not try doing that and surprise yourself. Feel free to let me know what you are grateful for.

PS. Why don't you go and like my Facebook page. At the top of the page you will see pinned a competition I am running. If you want to share it I will be able to give out the prizes a little quicker.

Joy Fraser

UK Reiki Federation Master / Teacher

www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/peaceharmonyandjoy/

ONE MOMENT IN TIME

This morning as I was leaving for work I stood outside my door mesmerized at the stillness with only the sound of the birds. There were no cars driving down the road and no other distractions, just the sound of the birds. It was if I was caught in a moment of time. When I got to work someone posted about taking a moment to listen to the sound of birds in the car park. I thought it was great to hear someone like minded. Many people get caught up in rushing around that they don't savor the little magical things in life.


I then spoke to a lovely lady who was 87 and had spent her time nursing parents and latterly her husband who had Dementia. In April  this year he took sick and was diagnosed with terminal cancer in August. To hear this strong lady still managing to keep her sense of humour while she has carers coming in 4 times a day confirmed to me that it's all about how your mind works. Her story today was telling me how organised she has to be, so she sets out her clothes the night before. Today she got dressed and put her tights and dress on. She turned  round and realised her underpants were still sitting on the chest of drawers. This had us both having a giggle as we chatted. It really is true that if you look for a good point in your day it helps you get through the stressful times. I take my hat off to both her plus all the carers out there.

Make sure you find something to uplift you each day. Why not go to a peaceful place and listen to the sounds of nature. Just take a moment or two to stand and listen rather than having your mind working all the time. Two of my favourite places to go are my local park and standing beside the sea. I am lucky to have both easily reachable from my home. Also if you know anybody in the above situation, sometimes like today they just need someone to talk to, or to give them a break, so why not call on them to see how you can help.

www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk
Usui reiki master/teacher
https://www.facebook.com/peaceharmonyandjoy

CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE

I recently had a client who spoke of her Grandmothers positive attitude. She died a couple of years ago aged 100!  The client mentioned that she used to feel uncomfortable if she was complaining about a bad day at work as gran had been on her own all day, but then she only had positive things to say back to her granddaughter. The Grandmother had always been like this and the client thought this was what had made her live so long and contentedly. This made an impact on my client and she now tries to think positively in many more situations she finds herself in.

It may have taken some time to break through but the connection was finally made.  Now this client is going on to bring her children up in the same way. This is the way I  believe that children should be brought up, knowing they can look for the best in things as well as knowing they are loved. It is important to be aware that how we talk and what actions we take will all make a difference on how our children grow up
.

We have to remember that the greatest thing we can do is give them a life of happiness by instilling them with joy of life. Interacting with children on a daily basis by doing things such as painting or baking is a great way to bond with them. It is not the amount of time you spend with them that is important though, rather the quality of the time you have together.  Giving them lots of hugs will make them feel loved too. Children are our future so we want them to learn how to raise their vibrations and those of people around them from an early age. This way they can impact on the world to be a much better place as they grow older as well as being confident and happy. I saw something recently that said if everyone had the heart of a dog, the world would be a happier place. That surely would be a great thing to see.

 Help children to see the magic that is all around them. See the world through your children's eyes and teach them to observe the colours and sounds all around them. Make sure they spend time outdoors. Another thing is to help them learn to be still. More and more times these days we are being told children have ADHD. I do not believe this is correct. The problem is children no longer take time to be still. All you need do is talk to a primary school teacher. They find children fidget and are restless much more now than in previous years when they are having either quiet time or story time.

Many children also no longer get to sit or lie still while adults read a story to them, which is a shame as reading is a great bonding time for both adult and child. Too often they are busy playing games on computers or watching television and then they are expected to immediately wind down and go to sleep. It's like you watching a horror film then trying to sleep. No wonder many children play up at bedtime. 

Meditation is a great way to help still the mind and can be started at any age. A great book I have come across is Calm Kids by Lorraine Murray. Lorraine is soon to release another book on meditation for children with special needs. I remember listening to a meditation cd a few years ago with my young Grandaughter. She was so involved in the meditation that she wanted to know where the Unicorn had gone to. Another time I took her on a meditation journey that I had made up after reading Lorraine's book. Watching as her head moved following the journey was a beautiful experience. Children have great imaginations if we only take the time to help them use it.

Remember that children are our future and help them grow up to be happy, thoughtful, positive and grateful members of our society.  They will thank you for it!




Joy Fraser
Reiki Master / Teacher
www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk

The Social Media Effect

I was thinking today about what social media has brought into my life. I then found myself in a collage photo on a special persons page. This person Lives in India and I connected with him through a lovely lady who lives in  Spain.  Please check out his website and share it. He is a Heart surgeon and has already operated on 100 children for free due to his charity efforts.You may remember my blog last September when I holidayed with the author of the children's Skellee Rescue series in Spain. In fact back then she was on book number one but has since made a few more. You can find out more here and download a free book if you have young children.

This got me thinking that through her and others, I have connected with people all over the world that enrich my life daily. I have to say that previously I  had paid attention to what was just in my own locality, unless a major catastrophe was brought to my attention elsewhere in the world. Now I get information from all over the world and some of it speaks to me so that I also end up sharing it. This is one of the perks of social media. When someone shares something interesting it can go viral within hours and spread all over the world. Of course we need to make sure the information we share is correct before posting!

I have also read some fantastic books that I would never have considered before when some of these new friends have recommended them. The latest one took me three days (in between work) but I just did not want to put it down. It was called Bouncing Back:The life of Bill Bartmann and is all about Bill's life making and losing millions and at one time  he was even a Billionaire. I won't ruin the story but I loved the outcome. I have been able to read a lot of books on Positivity through these new friends and a lot about overcoming adversity. Today I read a story about how determined a  10 year old was to get  his first book published in India which took him 3 years so he became a publisher at 13 and by then he had written 4 books! Check this out here.. It put into perspective how much work can go into getting a book published although now it is easier with Ebooks but you then have to get your books noticed.

The internet has certainly opened up the world of communication and I love it. I would rather spend time on it than watching Television. In fact in the last few months my TV viewing has consisted of only switching on to watch the UK XFactor. Don't feel sad for me though as I love my life and don't really have time to watch TV. These days I would much rather be playing with or walking my puppies. I am also blessed to be able to pass the gift of reiki on to others which can make a big impact on both my life and theirs. If I was asked what had made the biggest impact on my life, the answer would be reiki but social media comes a close second. Through social media I have also met many people in person who have enriched me in many ways and for that I am most grateful. To everyone that I have connected to both online and in person I would like to say "Thank you for being in my life".

What does social media mean to you? Post in the comments box to let me know.


p.s. In the UK the clocks just went back last night so that means it gets darker earlier. Please everyone take more care and make sure you are able to be seen (especially cyclists).




You can find me on these sites. Feel free to like my pages if you would like to connect with me.
http://www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/peaceharmonyandjoy
https://twitter.com/Mistyspice

You Too Can Be Happier By Helping Others

I saw something the other evening which amazed me. I was visiting my local park and saw 3 sets of ducklings. They were in the water with a group of ducks and swans being fed by someone. As is usual in this scenario the seagulls were fighting to get to the bread before the other birds. Seagulls are very strong and usually succeed. For some reason I am not enamoured with these birds, probably because I always look out for the underdogs. Many times also the ducklings do not stay alive due to the seagulls and often you can see a brood depleting day by day which saddens me.

This is when I saw something I had never seen before. First one of the ducks went for a seagull, trying to chase it away. This continued for about a minute then a coot joined in. What was interesting is there were no baby coots but it still decided to help its friends. To see both the duck and the coot biting into the seagull as well as chasing it away I was curious to see what would happen. The seagull actually limped away before stopping to tend to its feathers. When I looked up the last of the seagulls were flying away and there were none left in the water!

It reminded me that it's great to be able to do something for yourself but you should always accept the help if it is offered. Sometimes two can complete a job much faster than one and be more effective. It can also work the other way too. If you ever see someone struggling with anything, ask them if they need any help with the problem. Today I was told I had done my good deed for the day by explaining how the trolley bank worked at the local supermarket. It can sometimes take just a couple of minutes out of your day to help someone in need.

 I often get told by customers in my day job that I sound happy when I answer the phone and get asked why?  My answer is it's a beautiful world to be part of and there is always something good I can see in each day. Sometimes I get told by the same customers that I have made their day. Just by taking an extra few minutes to chat to them about their day can break their solitude. Remember this when you interact with people. It may be that you are the first person to acknowledge them that day with a few words and it can make such a difference to them.

Don't forget that when you think of other people it can have a ripple effect. A person you have just helped might feel so much better about themselves that they may then Pay it Forward and help someone else in need. You will also find that the more you help other people, the happier you will become. Don't believe me? Try it and see as it really works.

Sometimes all you need to do is SMILE to make a difference to someone's day. Have a wonderful day people wherever you are in the world and thank you for reading my blogs.

www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk

How to Accept Constructive Criticism and Improve Yourself

I wrote this for something else but decided I would rather share it on my blog so apologies if you have read it already.

I had an interesting day recently. I went to the Edinburgh Body and Soul Fair and listened to Dr David Hamilton. If you have not heard of him can I suggest you look him up. He speaks from both the spiritual and scientific sides and amazingly they both have the same outcomes. One of the things he spoke about was people who feel they have to be positive all the time. We are only human so of course we can feel down at times but do we criticise ourselves when we have a bad day? Do we feel we are letting ourselves and others down when we do not seem as positive as usual? I know that in the past I have thought like this but in the last couple of years I have changed my way of thinking. I now accept I am having an unsettled time and then move on from it. I often find myself looking back on whatever the situation was to see if I could learn anything from it too as we are always in learning mode.

Another thing he talked about was becoming more aware of who we really are. One way to do this is to take an elastic band and put it on your wrist. Every time you think something negative you need to swap it to the other hand. It has been found that even positive people can still need to swap it up to 21 times in an hour! It is all about becoming more self-aware and stopping these thoughts as they develop. I am going to try this out and see how I get on.

One of the things you often hear, especially from people that have lost their temper, is "You made me do it!" Have you ever said this to anyone? I caught myself out recently. I have 2 puppies that had just been neutered. As they are one of each sex I was having to separate them at times including the night time to help them heal. This one night the female would not settle and after the third time of coming down the stairs to settle her I found myself saying that she was making me angry as I was so tired. This was because I had received only 5 hours sleep the previous night. As soon as the words were out of my mouth I realised what I was saying so I apologised to her. It was me that had the problem in not having the patience to help her with the problem she had. She did not understand what was happening to her. Suddenly she was being kept away from her brother for the first time and could not cuddle into him. It did happen again but I coped better now that my self criticism had kicked in. I was aware it was my decision how to react to this situation and I chose from that time to have more patience. In a short time things changed and are now almost back to normal.

This came to me also in a conversation with a friend who teaches Toddler calm. How many times do people lose tempers with their children and then say the children know what they are doing or saying and are winding the parent up? My friend advised at toddler age the brain is not wired in the way parents think and the children do not have the control we attribute to them. It is up to the parents to accept that they have to change the way they react to certain situations to change the outcome. Getting mad at the children is not the answer!

Sometimes we cannot change the outcome so need to change the way we deal with the problem. For instance we may be planning an outdoor event and find it is going to rain. This is not something we can stop from happening so rather than going in a strop and cancelling the event,we can take all the steps we need to change things around such as getting more items under cover for the evening so the event can still be successful. It just needs us to change our mindset. What may have started out seeming as a disaster could turn out that people had more fun under cover. It would probably also made more people come together to help with the extra work involved.

It is really important for us to be aware that how we react to a situation is down to only us. Every emotion we have comes from us not the external situation. One of the biggest emotions we have at our disposal is self -love. A good way to increase this is to run a critical eye over the way you live your life and see what changes you may be able to make enabling you to love both yourself and your life even more. We can be our best critics but we should also be looking for all the things we are good at as well. There needs to be balance

Fill your life with gratitude for all the things you have that bring joy. Every morning when I wake and in the evening before I go to sleep I think of my family, animals, job, friends, and all the wonderful sights I get to see on a daily basis. I am lucky to live near the sea and to have wonderful green spaces around me where I can walk and listen to the birds singing. Before I made reiki a part of my life I would walk quickly to wherever I was going. Now I take my time and appreciate everything I see daily. It makes a much more fulfilling life, believe me. It's amazing what you can see when you really look.

Homework for the week:- Set yourself a target of finding at least one thing to be grateful for every day. After that try every hour and see how much more lighthearted you feel by the end of the day.
You will find that the more you do this it will become automatic to see so much that you can be grateful for. Improve your life starting from today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7811918

Gratitude, Intention and Living a Positive Life

A few years ago when I was first attuned to reiki I felt I was starting out on a new journey. There were only a couple of people I knew that also practised reiki and although I loved it I was also a little insecure as many people thought of it as being airy fairy! Admittedly, some still do.

One day I was walking along my local seashore and came across this quote on a bench and it really resonated with me so much that when the time came to make my business cards this went on it. I felt a little bit like a Trailblazer at this time as I was telling everyone I met about reiki and what it was doing for me.

Last night I went to see Medium Jane Dawson and Psychic surgeon Chris Ratter in Edinburgh and it left me thinking how my life has changed for the better. I now know so many people who not only work with reiki but also Angels and energy in so many different forms.The world is changing for the better and I love being part of it.Through all the people I have met I get introduced to so many new things that my knowledge keeps on expanding. It was the first time I had seen either of them and really enjoyed the night.

Last week I was at a workshop and learned that even though I know our thoughts are more important than our words,  I was also surprised at what I learned. One of the things we were asked to do was stand with our legs hip distance apart and then move only our body (not our feet) while stretching out our arm with one finger pointing outwards. The aim was to see how far you could turn and point without moving your feet. You were then to see a point on the wall that you had reached to and mark it in your mind. Next we spent a couple of minutes with our eyes closed intending that we would go over 12 inches further when we did it again. I was astounded when this time my body moved more than 12 inches even though the time before I felt really stretched.  Try it and see for yourselves. I for one will definitely will be practising Intention more often now.

The same person also gave us information that when you smile at someone, even if they don't see it, both your brains light up. A fantastic reason to smile more! Although  Karen is a relationship coach I learned more than I expected that night and would recommend her in helping you to think differently.

Next weekend I am going to the Body and Soul fair in Edinburgh to hear   Dr David Hamilton in one of his workshops. Here is a man who specialised in biological and medicinal chemistry until he found out what the power of thought could do. He often found people being given placebo drugs did as well as those given the new trial drugs so decided to look into it more and has since written books on the subject. I am really looking forward to his workshop.

The interesting thing is that because I now know so many positive people who all enlighten me daily I don't have the time to go to all the events I would like to attend. How different is this from a few years ago when my life was made up of work and watching the TV! Even better, many people have now heard of reiki and thousands more have learned it in the last few years (including being trained or treated by me) so I no longer feel the odd one out. Of course, anyone that knows me still thinks I am odd lol.

If you want to change your life for the better can I suggest you look out groups on positivity, happiness, meditation,spirituality, reiki and any energy groups locally and become involved with at least one of them. This will help you to grow in the right direction. Just as important, intend that your life will change for the better.  Remember your thoughts are important. Find something to be grateful for daily and you will find yourself becoming a much more positive person. I would also suggest moving away from anyone that brings you down (we all know / knew at least one person that drains our energy). Instead, increase contact with more positive people. I know sometimes this is not possible if they are a family member but by joining one of the above groups you will learn how to leave with your energy at a better level than before.

You can also help yourself grow by helping others. One thing I like is the Pay it Forward movement. This was started by Catherine Ryan Hyde who wrote the book. If you check her out on Facebook you can also see a link to the offshoots from this book.To PIF you just help others without expecting anything in return. This way you can bring a smile to someone as well as feeling good yourself. It may be as simple as helping someone with their shopping or buying a homeless person something to eat or drink. In fact some shops are allowing you to buy food or a drink and pay to suspend another. This is a great idea that then lets a homeless person go in and ask for the suspended item that you have paid for. I love this idea.

Today I am grateful for all my family and friends that make up my life and wish to thank them all for being part of it, even if we don't manage to meet up as often as I would like.With true friends you always know that you can pick up and continue from where you left off previously, regardless of the time in between visits.

If you would like to start a journey using reiki and live in the Edinburgh area please feel free to contact me through my website. I would love to help change your life in the same way reiki has touched mine.






www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk

How to spread positivity far and wide

I have had a website for a few years without knowing what I was doing with it. Initially it was built to stop a friend who kept telling me that there was a reason everyone would start talking about reiki  around me and I should set up a website so I said I would take action to get one built. I remember saying that I would not promote it as everyone who was meant to come my way would find me anyway. Things have moved on since those days.

 Eventually I knew that I wanted to promote my reiki workshops  and therapy sessions but did not know how to take it forward. I had learned that I wanted more people to become aware of what help there was available for their health and wellbeing. A great friend had built my first one as a favour and it was only her second website. It was fantastic but we only added  a few basic tag words on the site. I then had a foreign language student a few years later who redid it but never felt that it was right after that so decided to take some action. By this point I also wanted to let more people know about the Sun Ancon Chi machine that had come into my life. I had such a response from using it that I wanted more people to have the same opportunity to relieve their pain.

A couple of years ago I signed up on a beginners web design course. My idea was if I could get someone to re design my site I would then understand what needed done to keep it all updated. It started well with the lecturer talking a lot about Photoshop but by week 5 I felt things going over my head a bit. Just when I was starting to struggle with the course I was asked if I would like a website built for me by a friend of my Son. Of course I jumped at it and have never looked back but I learned so much more than I had ever known during the process of it being built.  I am a great believer in Synchronicity and each time I needed a website built the right person at the time came forward without me asking!

Until then I had only used Google for finding information on the web as a search engine but did not know what else it could do. I was then advised that if people liked my website they could click on the google plus icon at the bottom of the page and this would increase my visability on the world wide web. I have been very remiss in passing this information to friends so if you would like to help me out in this I would love you to click on the google + icon at the bottom of the home page for me.

I also learned about Google Places and have had some lovely reviews added to it. Then facebook and Twitter came into my life. Facebook started off as a business profile and then I made a Facebook page. I can honestly say this felt as if it opened up the world to me. I was suddenly connecting with friends and making new friends in many countries. It is also a great place for networking and finding out lots of information that can help you in business. In fact I met a wonderful lady who helped me immensly and talked me through lots of things to do with using the internet.Through her I also came in contact with lots of people that I look up to and have learned from. I have in fact found facebook very addictive as it is full of so much positive inspiration.

I find that Twitter has been harder for me due to the lack of space for writing but I am gradually becoming more comfortable using it.  One of the things about social networking is how fast things change and I know I am not keeping up with it all. This is why many people have experts that they pay to run their sites. I am lucky to have my Son who tells me when I should be doing something important.

I was introduced to Ezine articles and wrote a few posts for them and then went on to open a Blog first on my website and now on Blogger.com which is linked to my website. Blogger is owned by Google so as you see it is more than a search engine! In fact I am just becoming involved in Google plus circles so if you would like to add me please do. It is not always business that I blog about. I like to talk  also about events in my life and how each change can help me. Talking only about business all the time can put some people off.

The latest kid on the block is Pinterest and I hold my hands up that this has had my least attention so far. Note to self "This has to change!" When it first came out I like many others though it was just for sharing photos but it is so much more than that. You can even sell your products on Pinterest. Also if you link your photo's to your website this will give you more traffic to your site.

Of course with all the social networking sites you need to remember that once you put it out on the world wide web it stays there. It could be retweeted or shared anywhere in the world so you have to be careful what you put out there. Always be professional and do not do or say anything that could lead you into hot water with either people or other companies. I like to put out lots of positive thoughts and pictures so usually make sure it is alright to share others work on my pages as you also need to be aware of copyright.

When you see what I have touched on, this is only a tiny amount of the places where you can highlight your work. I also add any of my reiki workshops on therapy sites and Gumtree. This often shows up if I type my name or company name into google and I am amazed at how many times it finds events that I have run in the past or am running in the near future. You can easily see how this can become a full time job updating all the sites.

As well as all the above your website needs to have enough information in it to be found on the web. A good SEO expert can help you with this. I have recently had 2 orders from The United Arab Emirates for the Sun Ancon Chi machine that I am a distributor for. I love the fact  people that far away can find me. Who knows if it was one of the above sites that they found me through or another that I have not mentioned but I know that I will never be finished writing and promoting my products. The more I put into the web the more I get back in return from it.

I love my work and want to spread the word about what Reiki and the Sun Ancon chi machine can do to help others. In fact today I have been advised that someone is visiting Scotland from Australia and she is unable to bring her Chi machine with her but cannot do without it so wishes to pay me a visit while she is here. I often feel that way if I am on holiday . Luckily most of my breaks are in the UK so it's easy to take the Chi machine with me as it's portable.Of course with reiki I need no equipment as it is with me always.

I will keep on blogging and telling people how they can help themselves and if you are reading this then feel free to have a look at the links on this page and join me on any of the sites I have mentioned. Let me help you to increase positivity into your life.

I wish you prosperity and happiness in reaching your goals.

www.peaceharmonyandjoy.co.uk


I am a Reiki Master / Teacher member of the  UK Reiki Federation in Edinburgh, Scotland