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October 2017

My Samhain Witch Bottle for Wealth

By PaganismNo Comments
triple-goddess-symbol

Triple Goddess Symbol.

 This year Simon and I celebrated Samhain together. We talked about loved ones on the other side of the veil, we did some card readings for one another – experimenting with The Crystal Ally Cards and the Chakra Wisdom Oracle Cards, burned things we would like to banish in the year ahead and made Witch Bottles.

My Witch Bottle is for Wealth. It contains: pieces of carnelian, amethyst & blue sodalite, glitter (silver, green & red), Dorothy Morrison’s Puttin’ on the Witch oil, Dorothy Morrison’s Rich Bitch oil, a scroll with symbolism on, some of my hair, energy with intention and emotion and sealed with gold wax.

Then the whole bottle was anointed with Dorothy Morrison’s St. Dorothy the Wicked Oil and put in moon light over night.

Here’s some photos of my Witch Bottle:

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My Samhain Witch Bottle for Wealth (1).
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My Samhain Witch Bottle for Wealth (2).

Blog soon,

Antony



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Tuesday 31 October 2017

Book Review: Spun by Catherine McKenzie

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
Spun-Catherine-Mckenzie-book-cover
View on Amazon.co.uk
 Spun by Catherine McKenzie is the follow-up novella to her novel Spin. You can read my review of Spin here.

Spun is told in the first person perspective of former ‘It’ Girl Amber Sheppard.

Amber has been two years sober but nobody believes her and she has plenty of problems. They include her ex-boyfriend movie star Connor Parks, the secret her publicist Olivia is keeping, the gossip spread by the media, her attention seeking parents and dealing with the odd craving for the booze.

One night Connor demands Amber’s attention. He summons her to his private jet, it’s about to take off and Amber makes a decision that will change her life forever.

How does Amber deal with the consequences of her choice?

And can Amber resolve the problems in her life in a way that suits all?

Although not much actually happens in Spun, fans of Spin will find the book a satisfactory ending to Amber’s story. The description is good, the characters completely plausible and writers voice is engaging.

Any reader who enjoyed Spin will enjoy Spun. However if you haven’t read Spin, it is highly recommended that you do first.

Spun is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

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Sunday 29 October 2017

Tips to help deal with Worry and Anxiety

By Health, Life6 Comments

I have been filled with worry and anxiety this last week. There were two main sources: my boiler breaking and money.

I managed to get my boiler repaired. But it took all week and almost everything that could go wrong with getting it repaired did. Moneywise, I’m skint. In the last two months I’ve had to find more than £700 for unexpected but essential expenditure.

I’ve been meditating for years. But I was so worried and anxious this week that I have been unable to meditate each of the three times I’ve tried.

Of course recognising that you’re anxious is the first step to addressing it.

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Here are the signs and symptoms of anxiety according to MIND:

Effects on your body:

  • a churning feeling in your stomach
  • feeling light-headed or dizzy
  • pins and needles
  • feeling restless or unable to sit still
  • headaches, backache or other aches and pains
  • faster breathing
  • a fast, thumping or irregular heartbeat
  • sweating or hot flushes
  • problems sleeping
  • grinding your teeth, especially at night
  • nausea (feeling sick)
  • needing the toilet more or less often
  • changes in your sex drive
  • having panic attacks.

Effects on your mind:

  • feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax
  • having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst
  • feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down
  • feeling like other people can see you’re anxious and are looking at you
  • feeling like you can’t stop worrying, or that bad things will happen if you stop worrying
  • worrying about anxiety itself, for example worrying about when panic attacks might happen
  • wanting lots of reassurance from other people or worrying that people are angry or upset with you
  • worrying that you’re losing touch with reality
  • rumination – thinking a lot about bad experiences, or thinking over a situation again and again depersonalisation – feeling disconnected from your mind or body, or like you’re watching someone else (this is a type of dissociation)
  • derealisation – feeling disconnected from the world around you, or like the world isn’t real (this is a type of dissociation)
  • worrying a lot about things that might happen in the future

From: MIND – Anxiety symptoms, Last Accessed: Saturday 21st October 2017.

There’s lots of advice out there about what you can do to deal with worry and anxiety. But what actually helped me deal with my worry and anxiety? Doing these:

  1. Off-load to a supportive friend – This gave a voice to my worries. The simple act of telling someone helped me sort through my worries and realise what was and wasn’t within my control.
  2. Remind yourself what is outside of your control – I was worried about a lot of things outside of my control. It helped to constantly remind myself to try not to worry about things I had no control over. That I should focus on doing things that were within my control.
  3. Double or triple relaxation time – This was something I did to reduce my heightened stress levels because of the worry and anxiety. At first I did feel guilty spending so much of my time relaxing. But each time I felt guilty, I reminded myself that this self-care was essential in order to prevent mental illness.
  4. Distraction – This is something I did repeatedly during my relaxation time. Intruding thoughts and emotions of worry and anxiety would often enter my head and it was my job to ignore those thoughts and distract myself from them.
  5. Write down all worries – It helped to get the worries out out of my head where they were going round and round like a circulating CD stuck on repeat. It also put my worries into perspective, helped me face them and sort through them. This cleared my mind, giving me clarity that allowed me to start planning what needed to be done. Anyone that’s been worried or anxious will know that the emotions make it difficult to think clearly. So this strategy was really helpful.

I’m proud I managed to get through this week. I’m hoping I wont have another week like it for some time.

Take it easy and write soon,

Antony

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Saturday 21 October 2017

5 Great Reasons to Come Out as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual

By GayNo Comments

Today (Wednesday 11th October 2017) is National Coming Out Day. Coming out is when a gay man or lesbian woman disclose that they are attracted to the same sex to someone. Coming out for a bisexual is when they disclose that they are attracted to both sexes to someone.

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National Coming Out Day – Wednesday 11th October 2017.

Coming out is a process, rather than a singular experience and is a life long one. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people come out in all areas of their lives including: to family, to friends, to work colleagues, to health & social care professionals, etc. Coming out is diverse, some are out to everyone, some are only out to some people in their lives and some aren’t out at all.

All gay, lesbian and bisexual people remember their first coming out experience and sometimes choose to share their intimate stories with one another. These shared experiences, along with associated emotions can create strong empathetic bonds.

Trans people also go through the process of coming out. I’m not Trans, so this article will only focus on coming out for gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

This article gives 5 great reasons to come out as gay, lesbian or bisexual. But only come out if you feel that it is safe to do so. Don’t put yourself at risk of harm in any way. If you live in a country that mistreats, or persecutes, or where homophobia and biphobia is evident it may be safer not to come out.

Here’s 5 great reasons to come out:

5. More Chance of Meeting Mr or Ms Right
Being out will switch on your gaydar. Suddenly you’ll start to notice attractive gay men, or lesbian women or both sexes everywhere. Being out and becoming part of the out world will lead to more opportunities to meet Mr or Ms Right.

4. A New Lease of Life
Coming out will give you a new lease of life. You’ll become part of the gay community, which is rich with its own unique culture and many sub-cultures. There’s something for everyone in the gay community. You’ll make new friends, lovers and partners.

3. Acceptance
Gay, lesbian and bisexual people going through a process of self-acceptance prior to coming out to others. Part of coming out to others is about gaining acceptance from those you hold dear. Acceptance and tolerance for difference is something that has always been a struggle for humans. But slowly, in more and more countries around the world, we are becoming more tolerant, inclusive and accepting.

LGB (Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual) people in some places gave gained more rights and protections. In some places they have been given truer equality, just think about the legal right marry their partners.

In history most LGB were not able to marry their partners because they were of the same sex. Yet straight people have always been able to marry their partners. By allowing all to marry their partners, irrespective of gender, is true equality. You can read more about The History of Marriage (in the UK) here.

2. Happier and Healthier
You’ll be happier not keeping the secret from people. Keeping your sexuality is a secret is a lot of work: watching what you say, watching what you do and watching how you behave.

Add to the above saying, doing and behaving like others would expect a straight person to. Analysing situations in your head for a long time after they’ve happened, wondering if your act was good enough?

You will be mentally healthier as well. Those who are not out are more at risk of depression, anxiety and other mental health illnesses due to feelings of isolation and the burden of keeping the secret.

1. Be Yourself
Coming out gives you the chance to be your whole self, without having to hide one of the most important aspects of yourself.

Are there any other great reasons to come out? Leave a comment below.

Blog soon,

Antony



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Wednesday 11 October 2017
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