This is the sixth blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first focused on general health and can be read here. The second focused on mental health and mental illness and can be read here. The third post focused on shopping and can be read here. The fourth focused on money and can be read here. The fifth focused on gigs, shows and theatres and can be read here.
Wonderful Websites about paganism:
1. Damh the Bard is a pagan singer songwriter. I absolutely adore this man’s music. I hope one day to see him live.
2. Llewellyn Worldwide publishes books around all topics pagan and spiritual.
The Inspire Now Journal by Inspire Now Daily is the best goal-focused journal aimed at increasing productivity and helping you to achieve your goals on the market.
Like any productivity journal the Inspire Now Journal has Pros and Cons. Here they are:
Pros
Cons
Its design is appealing – brown leather cover and ever every page has colour.
It’s dateless, meaning you can start using it at any time.
It has a 7 day week.
It prioritises tasks into: One task must be completed today, top three tasks and other tasks and actions.
It has inspirational quotes throughout. Including one for every day.
Daily pages also include the following sections: Reminders/Shopping Lists/Appointments, Reward for achieving goals, health & well-being actions, self-development actions and things I am grateful for today.
Weekly pages include the following sections: goals – split into categories (Career & Finance, Personal Development & Learning, Health & Wellness, Family & Social, Physical Environment and Spiritual), habit tracker and reward for achieving my goals this week.
Past Week Reflection pages include: big achievements this week were, how I was able to achieve these, next week I will take the following steps to avoid distractions, I learnt, I will use lessons I learnt last week to improve next week by and a Achievements Score (1-10) for the week.
It has Calendars for 2016-2019.
It has Month At a Glance pages.
It has a Birthday List page.
It has Long Term & Short Term Goal pages, along with Ideas & Notes pages to go with these.
It has a Savings Chart page, Debt Management pages, Payment Checklist pages, Project pages, Fitness Plan pages, Travel Checklist pages, Books to Read & Movies to See page, Contacts pages and Notes pages.
It has a bookmark ribbon and an elasticated closure.
The tasks & actions on the daily pages are too small to write in. I usually have to write over two lines.
No daily rating for achievements.
No specific section on daily pages for General Notes & Ideas.
There are undoubtably pages/sections that you wont use. For example, I will never use the Debt Management pages, Payment Checklist pages and Fitness Plan pages.
The planner only has 6 months worth of pages in it. However it would be impossible to make the journal any bigger.
The Inspire Now Journal is brilliant and a journal that I love. Once you get in the routine of using it, you will wonder how you have ever managed without it.
At the weekend my good friend Simon and I went on an adventure to see Stonehenge and other ancient sites nearby. This is part 2 of my Stonehenge Adventure, part 1 can be read here.
We stayed in this Travelodge hotel. It was super cheap, clean and located close to amenities such as the various restaurants/food places in Solstice Park. Our room had a double bed and a single bed. On the single bed I could feel every spring on my back. I complained to a member of Travelodge staff, who said that all the single beds were the same and gave me a double duvet to put on top of it. The double duvet made little difference.
On the Saturday Simon and I had all you can eat cooked breakfast at the Toby Carvery on Solstice Park before heading off to Glastonbury.
Glastonbury is like a pagan commercial mecca. There are so many shops that fit into the categories of new age, spiritual or pagan. There are at least two charming courtyards with little tiny shops in. Sadly many of the shops are over priced. Some were so significantly over priced that they could be called a ripoff and make a person’s eyes water.
Some photos from Glastonbury:
Glastonbury town centre monument.
Entrance sign to one of a few courtyards.
A crystal shrine in one of the courtyards.
The Goddess and The Green Man shop deserves a special mention. Their products were fantastic with many unique items, the customer service was friendly and tremendous and to top it off their prices were fair and reasonable. It felt like The Goddess and The Green Man was the only truly pagan/witchy shop in Glastonbury.
Cautiously recommended. Be cautious about rip off prices in some shops.
Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
Parking: Pay and display carparks, £7-8 for a full day of parking.
Food, Drink & Toilets: Available in the various cafes and pubs locally.
The Chalice Well is a beautiful garden and well. The atmosphere at the Chalice garden and well is that of zen-like meditation. Here are some photos from the Chalice Well:
The Chalice Well sign.
Chalice Well.
You can drink from the well.
One of a few ponds within the gardens of the Chalice Well.
Admission: Adult £4.30 (without gift aid) and £4.75 (with gift aid).
Parking: No parking on site. Pay and display carpark a short walk away.
Gift shop on site.
The City of Wells was alive with the hustle and bustle of a Saturday outdoor market. Simon and I looked for somewhere to eat, but everywhere was ridiculously priced. Then I spotted a burger stall on the outdoor market. We ordered a burger each. I have never ate a burger that tasted so good. If you’re in Wells and want an tasty treat, go to the outdoor market and order yourself something from the burger stall.
Here are some photos from our time in Wells:
Gate/Entrance to The Bishop’s Palace.
Garden at The Bishop’s Palace.
A watch tower on the wall at The Bishop’s Palace.
Apparently in Wells they have a swan that can ring a bell. I didn’t see a swan, but I did see this bell.
Fireplace in the watch tower at The Bishop’s Palace.
Me in a arrow slit.
A big dancing event was taking place in Wells.
Wells Cathedral.
Essential Info:
The City of Wells has a Cathedral, Bishop’s Palace and some shops.
Recommended.
Opening Times: Normal shop opening hours.
Admission: Vary depending on attraction/places of interest.
Parking: Various pay and display carparks.
In part 3, I’ll be blogging about Stonehenge and Woodhenge.
Two or three months ago, I had loads going on and was stressed to the hilt. It was like plates spinning. I’m Reiki One Qualified (see Reiki one – Qualified) so technically I can heal myself; but I had some birthday money left over so decided to treat myself.
I booked a Reiki session at Halsa Healing. I left feeling great, completely de-stressed, relaxed, energised and so amazingly well. I decided to make it a regular monthly treat. Well…when I can afford it anyway.
So what is Reiki? Well…
(Image Credit: Isis Jade)
On my last Reiki session, I had a rather spiritual experience that I’d like to share with you.
I lay on the massage table with my eyes closed. The relaxing music soothed my ears, as I felt the Reiki flow into me from the Reiki Practitioner.
As the session continued I began to sense two streams of Reiki entering my body, one into my chest (heart chakra) and one into my feet (root chakra). I double-checked using my senses. Yes I could definitely feel two streams Reiki energy, even down to the associated physical tingling and heat.
How is this possible? I thought.
I briefly opened my eyes. Louise, the Reiki practitioner was to my side her hands over my chest. I glanced down at my feet to see a bright white humanoid figure of pure energy. His hands were cupped slightly and sending Reiki energy into the top my feet. It was kind of like the image above, only minus the wings and much whiter. It’s difficult to describe the beauty of the energy I felt from this being. I definitely got a feeling of safety, home and hugs from this being.
For a split-second I thought that it might be Alex (see Thinking of You Often…). But my intuition told me that is wasn’t. I was sure of this, as sure as I am of the fact that the sky is blue. I got a distinct feeling that this being had never been on this physical plane. Or at least not for many, many lifetimes.
After the Reiki session had come to the end, I told Louise about my experience. She said it could have been one of my spirit guides or possibly one of hers – helping her out.
I am aware of spirit guides and have done some work with them in the past. But not for years. So I read up on spirit guides. This basic but really interesting Q & A article is great for anyone new to spirit guides.
Then I found this fantastic guided meditation on YouTube to help people meet and communicate with their spirit guides:
Click here to display content from www.youtube.com
I completed this meditation with the hope of finding out if it was one of my guides that was healing me during the Reiki session. If it was, I wanted to meet him and get to know him better. I can’t remember all the details of the meditation now; but I can remember meeting him.
I met this broad-shouldered man, strong looking. Strong hands. Made me feel safe. With a warm Smile. He was hansom – sharp jawline, green eyes, short hair with a quiff at the front. He was wearing a green jumper and possibly jeans. I asked his name telepathically. He answered the same way, saying that his name was Matt. I asked him what was his purpose was, as part of my spirit guide team. He answered with: Protection.
He was/is there to keep me safe. I understood my feelings of safety, home and hugs that I had when I first met him in the Reiki session. I always imagined that my spirit guide for protection would be a samurai warrior, in the full gear. Well…at least that’s what I’ve always imagined standing guard outside of my cast circles.
The reiki session and the guided meditation were amazing spiritual experiences. They wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been relaxed and open to them. So the lesson here is: always try be open to new spiritual experiences.
Are you a Doctor, Nurse, Healthcare Assistant or Other Healthcare Professional? Or a Student?
Ways The Human Body Can Go Wrong covers every system of the body, what can go wrong when the body malfunctions or fails, symptoms (including why these happen) and cures/treatments available.
It includes knowledge around essential skills for Clinical Excellence such as Assessment, All Age Observational Norms, Models of Care, Communication/Handover Tips, the role of Specialities, Medication Tips, Dealing with Errors, Documentation Advice and a list of Useful Resources.
It is written in plain English, but highlights important medical terminology. It has been written at a level where someone from a non-medical background can pick it up and learn, but that it is still valuable to those with significant Clinical Experience.
My dear friend Roy decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and enlist in the Royal Navy.
I wanted to maintain our friendship, to continue to support Roy, to make him laugh and to entertain him. So I came up with the idea of sending him a weekly email on random topics.
These emails were on a variety of topics, always being entertaining, sometimes being interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally being serious.
Topics included: Jokes, Puzzles, Inspirational Quotes, Future Technology to Be Excited About, How to Fight A Shark, How to Woo A Turtle, Some of the Most Amazing Jobs in the World, Facts About Castles, Do Aliens Exist?, The Kindest Humans, A List of Cakes, 13 Weird Body Facts, 20 Super Space Facts, Ancient Egyptian Curses, 10 Weird Olympic Games, The Great Emu War of 1932, Quiz: Flags of the World, Legendary Characters from the UK and others.
My Royal Navy Friend is a copy of these emails. In total, there are 52 emails. Dispersed throughout the book are also Royal Navy facts and stories.
This workbook has been designed for anyone that is struggling with alcohol or has struggled with alcohol in the past.
It is written in a Motivational Interviewing style, one of the key therapies used to support people with alcohol issues. It has been designed using a trauma-informed approach and is strength–based.
What you will find in this book is more than just worksheets about alcohol. You’ll find all the tools someone needs to get into recovery from alcohol and stay there. It’s a therapy-based book, not an alcohol-based book.
SpellCast is a comprehensive compendium of spells, oils, charms and talismans. It is purely a book about magic, folk magic for the 21st century. The spells are ones that are tried and tested, with some that will stand the test of time.
In SpellCast you will read about the power of Instant Magic, of Banishment & Bindings, Blessings, Cleansing, Communication, Death, Employment, Finance & Money, Fertility, Friendship, Happiness & Joy, Health, Love & Relationships, Luck Magic, Protection, Transformative Magic and WishCraft.
This book will change your life. Your life will be abundant in all meanings of the word.
This book contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness. Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom contains everything that you need to know about mental health and mental illness.
Mental Health Wisdom is divided into three sections.
Understanding is section one and is all about the facts of mental health.
In section two, Empathy Through Lived Experience, the author shares his personal experience of mental illness.
Life Hacks is section three. It’s all about self-care and quick and easy ways to improve your mental health, prevent mental illness or relapse of mental illness.
If you find my blog educational or entertaining, please consider making a purchase or donation on Ko-Fi.
Hi Sofia, Thanks for the comment. I bought that in Glastonbury and he was a real find. I bought him…
Hi! I know this was posted ages ago and so a response may be rare but my dad has been…
Hi Ruth, Thanks for the comment. He might well have been. A x
Hi! Watching video and interviews with Charlie Watt, it had me wondering if he might have had Aspergers/ been on…
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A great introductory article on candle magic :)
Hi Sofia, Thanks for the comment. I bought that in Glastonbury and he was a real find. I bought him…
Hi! I know this was posted ages ago and so a response may be rare but my dad has been…
Hi Ruth, Thanks for the comment. He might well have been. A x
Hi! Watching video and interviews with Charlie Watt, it had me wondering if he might have had Aspergers/ been on…