Secrets of a Butterfly

A darling letter in the post

 

Such a darling letter from Maddy
She puts together such sweet little things within its folds...

and these special, special pressed flowers from her californian garden

 

Tiny forget me knots (love) and a postcard of violets (love too!) which is now in this frame.

Maddy thank you for being you and for all your kindness to me, you know i treasure you and our friendship, you make my life more beautiful by being in it - just like flowers do in a garden (smile)

love kathryn x

Let go into the light of your heart - reflections on what meditation means to me

My introduction to meditation in the mid 1990's was from a lady who was rather like a loving great aunt,and who explained it with such simplicity and matter of fact-ness that i took to it the way children do, with a comfortable feeling of it being something and somewhere to turn to for support and inner nourishment when i needed it most.

Meditation is about connection with your spirit.
It's about focusing on the light in your heart so that it can be brighter part of your day and show you the way through problems easier.

It's about placing your attention on what is already there within you, and surrendering into that wiser part of yourself, letting this unfold is tremendously relaxing. 

Allowing what comes to mind later to be the guidance that this quiet provided the opportunity to hear. 

So just how do you let go into the light of your heart...

 

Don't mind the thoughts, they'll be there, like ripples on the surface of the water.

When it's been stirred it takes a while to settle.

Just know you've stopped stirring and in time the ripples settle quicker and are less.

You have more time in the presence in the silence and less drifting in to thinking mind.

If you do get caught in the thoughts as they arise just come back to the breath 

Do not beat yourself up for thinking.

Just let it go.

Turning towards awareness of the heart has been a big big thing for me. It puts the attention away from thinking and into where the seat of our soul is. 

To just stop everything every need or worry or concern or pressure and spend time with inner focus on the heart, sensing it from within not thinking about its position from without.

That's a help to me more than having my attention on my third eye. 

Turning from the worries the mind may have to the heart centre where love resides is a statement in itself.

Initially i turned to meditation to help my body deeply relax, I never knew when I began that it would forward my progress in understanding who i was beyond the physical and how to make sense of questions i had regarding my life path. i didnt know the peace that could be found, that lies waiting within our hearts, just for us to turn our attention towards it.

When we meditate its as if we are spending time with our spirit and with the greater sum of energy of which we are an inseperable part.

I like to think of it as handing over the reigns to that part of me. Just letting her take over for awhile is deeply beneficial - a retune, placing in the missing notes, or getting the pitch back on track vibrationally, then guidance comes through easier afterward, answers to issues we have had pop to mind. Like they rose to the surface while the pond of the mind was stilled for a time. 

The minds chatter is one of the things that blocks us from hearing or feeling intuitively. 

I learnt Vipassana, and Mindfulness meditation from one of my first teachers (through books) Steven Levine. It really cultivates a "being in the now" and acceptance.

If you are ill I recommend his approach because it is all about easing suffering, opening to pain and allowing the feelings to be, i remember Soft Belly meditation and watching the breath in particular. Sadly the meditations aren't as widely avaliable nowadays as Steven is no longer publishing books and isn't as active in the mind body spirit movement due to his own healing journey taking his focus. (however the link above will show you his books avaliable at amazon.)

The app meditation oasis is a modern day substitute. Mary Maddox has a most soothing voice and her energy I find so supportive. They are such generous souls too, giving the meditations freely as podcasts. 

The app is all wonderful & some real gems that I turn to.

To start I recommend the breathe awareness. It's very like that which I learnt from Steven's tapes. It demystifies meditation. I really want to thank Mary and her team for all the care they place into what they do. They have a great gift for it and they share it freely.

All meditation is, is about occupying the mind with say breath awareness, to quieten it. And stop the distraction from love. The main gift for me, in meditation, isn't better clarity of mind, or even relaxation of brain waves & body, it is the allowing of the spirit in the everyday. Though i use mindfulness and i have a buddha statue, i am not buddhist, nor am i christian even though i have a statue of Mary and Jesus. I am just me. (smiles) I am also not a trained teacher of meditation, these are just my personal reflections on the topic.

Meditation is not about opting out or escaping life, it is about destressing and recharging, and then being in life with a greater calmness and ability to respond to emotions or happenings, from a calmer centre. It can increase our sense of loving ourselves and decrease our worries.

The benefits of practice are personal, they grow. There is a week to week noticing. But then more seen with the hind sight of months or years of turning to the heart - a softening, a remembering of who you already are and who you eternally remain. The connection to your spirit strengthens,  you move from being  a person thinking and going through the motions of day to day living, maybe without much thought or much peace of mind - to being a spiritual being who has a stepped back awareness, watching what is unfolding, aware of the timeless energy that you are one with, beneath  all the other stuff that ripples the surface.

Like the sun behind the clouds. 

I wish you this softening of heart towards yourself, this light & this connection to the Beautifulness that you are

Love Kathryn x

The Secret wardrobe, spring pastels

I do love the pastels that are around this season, and also some of the nature inspired prints.While browsing online i chose some of my most favourites to dream about.
above: dress and purse ted baker - lace dress ganni - coaster liberty - perfume chloe - sunglasses at monnier freres.

pretty prints above: ted baker cardi - alex monroe bird necklace - jeans mavi at zalando - turtle bracelet and blouse also ted baker- seqinned cardigan Reiss

 

Print jean Ted baker - cardigan and scarf Reiss - blouse french connection - bowl Miss etoile - pencils in case Liberty

it was SO nice to share some spring pastel picks with you,

love and light kathryn x

April, clear,freshen,change, opportunity

So we have entered into a rather chilly April, but the energy feels one of letting what has grown old and worn go, and making space in which the possibilities for new can find ways to come in. Gradually over a few weeks I made some fresh box links, for my friends blogs, those are on the left (if you scroll down a little) I pick out a photo they have shared, make it small and cropped in, and then add their name in appropriate type. This year I did them on my phone, using the app Photo forge, then had to recrop with software on my netbook anyway as they weren't in jpg format.
I did discover that picnik, the free photo editing I used to use online, but which closed last year, has a more or less identical replacement called Ribbet.com So I used that.
I hope you enjoy the fresh energy and spruce up, it was good to get it more complete tonight. I would in time like to change and add to the pretty finds list too.

So as you may have noticed ;) i made up a different blog banner. I used Polyvore for it, which is something new for me, as I usually have one large photo. But I wanted something new.
Also I have wanted to simplify the sidebars here for some time, and it feels fabulous to have that done now, and some clearer links on the top left, I have removed the category list for now, and instead have a link there on the left. I don't know how often the catagory list is used by visitors anyway, but its still just a link away.

I couldn't get the layout to work with a wider main column,as i wouldve liked. I do find some of that sort of thing on typepad blogs difficult to understand. I would have liked just one side column and the rest free for posting larger images you see. But when I try to alter it just keeps the same width and misses off the right hand column so it's not really a gain! Ah well, maybe I am missing something that will come clearer later.

On a personal note, I am sorta in the midst, and can't really write much....I don't want to focus on the down side, or on the up sides either, for various reasons, so for the time being, I will not write on the healing/how I'm feeling topic. :)

I am drawn to write a bit more . Like I said a few posts back, I'm sorta reclarifying what I want to share most here. I trust you are in good spirits
Let me know what you think of the freshen up, oh and the little sub header I made on the blog banner....follow your heart, nuture your spirit, i feel that sums up in just a few words what I share and why

Love & light
Kathryn x Ps, a few more friends boxes will be added in time, ....Georgi, Natasha, Holly and Karen of Sanctuary ;)

Giveaway winner

Hello sweet friends,
I drew the giveaway winner today. Sweet Iris of the blog Irideeen won the earrings. Many thanks to all who entered and left such lovely comments for the anniversary, (smiles).
Sad to have my blogging put to one side again for the time being, as this past week has been tough going with complete exhaustion and I am focusing solely on where I am at within my healing processes. The equinox has been a time of focus on that too.

After my break I think I'd like to freshen the place up a little at Secrets, and put on some new box links. Look forward to speaking with you all when I can & meanwhile thank you for caring about me, love kxx

Wildflower seeds to sow

I chose some wildflower seeds to sow, with my dad's advice and help. It will be lovely to see which come through and pick for arranging (smile)

all the small images here are from sarah raven's website, the harebells and orchids are by Emorsgate seeds at wildseed.co.uk, and i also used a place called nicky's nursery

love kathryn x

Dreamcatcher days

My friend louise made me this for my birthday in january, its hanging beautifully above my bed.

thank you sweetie, for all the care you put into doing it and all the ways you are thoughftul to me, xx

love kathryn x

Secrets is six! lets celebrate with a giveaway

Blogging here at Secrets for 6 years this March,
I knew I wanted to do a special giveaway to celebrate and to thank everyone for there wonderful support and comments over that time.
Kerri from Tenthings jewelry  has kindly donated a most beautiful pair of pink glass earrings as a prize. She is really helping me out as she is also going to send the winner their prize, which takes a load off me when i am not really that well but had still wanted to mark my blog being 6.(thank you sweetpea)

 

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning these beauties, please leave a comment on this post.

It would be lovely too if you followed Tenthings on Facebook and Secrets of a butterfly on Facebook, Bloglovin or Hello cotton (all on the sidebar)

I am also going to pop the giveaway on instagram, (@secretsofabutterfly) if you follow me, please say hello and let me know you read my blog so i can say hi back (smile).

One entry per person to make it easier to count them up (smile) and you may enter from anywhere around the world, ok, so everyone can join in the mini celebration.

The closing date for enteries is a week today, 23rd at 12pm GMT

Thanks for following my blog and supporting my healing journey the past 6 years - good luck lovelies!

love light and butterflies

kathryn xox

Vintage Home by Sarah Moore

A book I'm popping on my wish list for April....

A Mother's Day bouquet