One of the more positive things to have come out of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown of 2020 has been our ability to reconnect with nature. 

Faced with vast periods of time spent alone at home, stuck between four walls, with only a tablet or phone screen for company, we have yearned for the great outdoors and taken every opportunity to go out and fill our lungs with fresh air and deepen our connection with the world around us. 

If we have been unable to venture into the wilderness like before then we have become more aware of what has been happening on our own doorstep. We have begun to value intimate time spent with bird, bee, flower and tree in the gardens, fields and hedgerows close to where we live. 

We have learnt that experiencing a restrictive, controlled, bullied existence is not a healthy one for us, short or long term, as many an oppressed individual would testify. It can lead to poor mental health, stress, anxiety and depression. Here we live our lives as fragmented souls cut off from our true selves and wider community, no amount of consuming can ever fill the void left behind. 

Whether we wish to live a life closer to our own nature or that of the planet itself, the plants and animals are just waiting for an opportunity to become more acquainted with us, to act as our allies. 

Flower essence and shamanic practitioners are trained to tune into what these allies want to communicate to us at a more profound level. They do this through capturing the spirit of the plant through a bowl of holy spring water and then sampling it or just understanding what an animal’s unique power and essence is from the characteristics and behaviours that it wishes to display to us all. 

This knowledge can then filter into a more expansive body of shamanic practices and healing techniques designed to restore any qualities we are lacking, bringing us back to a state of wholeness and balance, helping us to vibrate at a higher level of energy frequency to that which we do now, moving ourselves from a place of fear to one of love. 

If you would like to reconnect to nature yourself and want to tap into what the flora and fauna is wanting to communicate to you why not join me on a Medicine Walk or engage in a Flower Essence Consultation to discover 'The Essence Of Who You Are', these are the best routes into discovering the Great Mystery of how we are all interrelated and connected. 

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.

What I have found most amazing in my journey with the flower essences thus far is the ever deepening connection that they seem to have with myself in the messages that they want to relay to me. This happens most profoundly when not only one flower wants to communicate its insights in my direction but two or more at the same time, either in a blend of essences, or in a sequence within the wheel. 

Previous blogs have commented on the fact that I believe the Allies Of Nature range of flower essences is here, in part, to help us through the Coronavirus outbreak. That is certainly how I have reported things with the Primrose, Blackthorn, Bluebell combination at work. Something that hasn't lessened any more since the arrival of Red Campion into the mix, in fact it has probably only further emphasised this.

The story so far of the lockdown period according to the flowers could quite easily read something like this. Here comes a time of 'renewal', of 'new beginnings' (Primrose). There is now a need for 'knowing the way', a different 'direction' (Blackthorn). This will require us to go inward, gaining an 'inner-sense' of our own 'beauty' (Bluebell). Then we can establish a greater 'connection' to ourself and the rest of our community by rediscovering our life purpose and how it relates to a common purpose that we share with our fellow Allies. Our bonds will then become ever more substantial for 'we are the campions' (Red Campion).

When I started collecting my essences just over twelve months ago, the flowers made it obvious to me which ones needed to be selected when, based on my connection to them at the time or more nostalgic relationships. Occasionally they would appeal to my humour too. 

When I started my Accredited Chalice Well Practitioner Course in March of last year there was one flower dominating the landscape. It was awesome. I had never seen it in such abundance, drawing my gaze continually towards it. Whatever events I was attending personally in my life it was there in the hedgerow making itself known to me that an essence simply had to be taken from it given half the chance. That flower of course was none other than the Blackthorn. 

In April however there was never ever going to be any other plant to take an essence from than that of the Bluebell, for I just simply adore the beauty of this flower in its seeming innocence. Every year as far as I can remember I have made the pilgrimage to the same wood upon the South Devon Coastline, near Wonwell Beach, just to be able to spend one afternoon of three hundred and sixty five with it, sometimes two or three. There is something about that hue of blue and indigo that plays with the heart strings, like a melodic song that just pulls you back year after year in pure romance. It is quite unexplainable really apart from the fact it must be love. 

You'ld think in any range of essences that Bluebell would be a hard act to follow and yet, within Westcountry hedgerows, as April moves into May, so right alongside it comes the Red Campion just shouting at you. 'Don't leave me out! Don't forget about me'. It grows taller, straighter and more regimental than the bashful, more unassuming Bluebell. The Red Campion stands proudly in its community, many cerise blooms upon the one stem, beacons of pink pulsing away to grab your attention. They champion their own cause to be included as part of any alliance, as they begin to take over the ever greening verges.  

What is most mesmeric for me though is when they are in full bloom next to each other, as neighbours. Where swathes of ultramarine can be seen next to patches of magenta. This is a great way of working with the spirits of these two plants also in their combined message that they want to bring to us. 

This spring, having already realised how the flowers could be connecting with the circumstances taking place upon the planet, I was intrigued as to how Bluebell would relate to Red Campion. I wondered what their combined message might want to convey to us collectively, as well as with regards to my own life journey too at this moment in time. 

For I knew in my own circumstances, as with everyone else in lockdown, that I was being encouraged to go inward. The Bluebell, where it grows most profusely is in the woods. There, it is not so easy to see out beyond the trees, you have to stay present within the forest as to what is going on within your immediate vicinity. No different then to being forced to live within your own four walls at home. 

With the Red Campion, when I started out in May, I wondered how its quality of 'connection' would make me learn about what was needed at this time and in the lift of the Coronavirus restrictions, albeit in fairly small increments. I thought I had found the answer in our wish to be reacquainted with our fellow human being. However I have since realised that the real beauty of the 'connection' between Bluebell, Red Campion and ourselves is this inward journey that we need to take to re-establish our own life purpose. 

The more time we are left on our own and realise how much we enjoy this life compared to what we might have experienced before when commuting to work every day, under someone else's control, then we will only naturally want to start to question our future path. A desire to understand where we personally are heading in life will come to the fore, as we wrestle with the question of what our life purpose is all about.

For me, when being under the influence of both Bluebell and Red Campion, whilst I have been questioning my own path forward in life I have been presented with certain signs in nature that may well have only been viewable in my own backyard. When walking the fields next to my home, spending time in the garden or even inside the house, cloud formations, encounters with animals and birds, number sequences, dreams, astral connections and pointers towards reference material on my book shelf have occurred that most likely wouldn't have happened had my outlook been more expansive and I was busy doing other things. 

Through experiencing a sun bow recently, where the sun refracts through ice particles in the upper atmosphere to leave a halo effect three hundred and sixty degrees around the sun, I was steered back towards a book I have read a couple of years ago called 'The Legend Of The Rainbow Warriors'. In the book it talks about a group of people that begin to form like Allies Of Nature, all prepared to stand up for the Earth itself, as 'Rainbow Warriors', at a time when these sun bows or whirling rainbows are seen with more frequency within the skies. They herald a time where the 'Age Of Aquarius' really starts to kick in. Another name for this new age is the 'Age Of Flowers', where a greater understanding of the healing power of flowers begins to take place by way of their essences!!! 

I wasn't fully aware of this notion when I read the book the first time, the penultimate chapter may have phased me somewhat. It now of course makes perfect sense to me as to why my life path has been as it has been and why I have come to be a flower essence practitioner, such is the power of a Bluebell, Red Campion alignment it would seem and knowing one's own life purpose as a consequence. 

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.

This weekend it feels like the honourable thing to do is to acknowledge the inaugural, pioneering essence of the Allies Of Nature range of flower essences. For on the 6th April 2019 the Blackthorn flower essence was created. At the time, it was a Saturday, it was a new moon, it was the start of the financial year, the Grand National was taking place, and there was no hint of any global pandemic being in the twinkling of Mother Nature's eye, or any other eye for that matter also. 

As an essence the Blackthorn has proved to be a pioneer in many ways for me. The message it wanted to convey to me on capturing it was 'knowing the way'. Thus it has shown me how to collect an essence, educated me on how spirit wants to communicate messages through its flowers to me and taught me that not everything about an essence can necessarily be revealed at the point of collection. A greater depth of understanding needs to be accumulated about it over a period of time. 

A year on for instance, we are in very contrasting circumstances to when the essence was collected. Coronavirus has spread across the planet, there are no sporting events taking place and we are all under lockdown. We are also at a very different point in the moon cycle it must be added too, somewhere between a waxing half moon and a full moon. This illustrates that when a 'Mother Essence' is created it is very much born out of the spirit of the moment and cannot be wholly reproduced in the same way ever again.

There will always be nuances between essence collections of the same flower. Other distinct scenarios will be playing out within nature and society at the time, new influences will be at work, one could be guided to collect the essence on a totally different day or phase of the moon cycle, the planets themselves will all be aligned differently. This will give a slightly contrasting accent to the language being communicated to the practitioner from the flower itself. 

Indeed alternative interpretations can be extracted from the initial flower essence collection when more than one practitioner is involved too. When studying at the Chalice Well we would often collect an essence together and each person's understanding of it would be slightly different. There would however be a common theme running throughout the process. Links and connections within the web of information being accumulated would be the same or similar and this would point to an overall knowledge of what the essence was ultimately about. A golden thread of understanding would then eventually come to light. 

Subtle differences can exist from range to range too when comparing like for like flowers or very similar ones. When I collected the Wild Rose essence last summer solstice and got the quality of 'enthusiasm' from it, it was very reassuring for me to know that when I came into contact with the Wild Rose from the Bach Flower Essences, some time later, that its quality was one of 'enthusiasm' too. This exact match however may not always be the case and our job is then to enquire further as to why such a difference may exist and see where the common ground lies. 

It is good to approach essence making with what we say in the shamanic tradition is 'beginners mind', i.e. we haven't totally drawn a conclusion at the outset of the essence creation, or the journey thereafter, as to what that essence is wholly about. We endeavour to remain open to other thought processes, inspirations and revelations that might come that are reflective of what is happening with the essence as the process unfolds, layer by layer. We will always then have an opportunity to deepen our understanding of what we are being presented with.

That said however, there will always be this overall theme, this golden thread within it, something 'special' about this particular flower and what its purpose is to be upon the planet at this moment in time. This is what the spirit of the plant or flower deva wants to convey to us in allowing us to connect with its unique flower essence in the first place. 

What I have found in my own journeying with the flower essences, and revisiting them for a second time through the calendar wheel, is that they only want to deepen their connection with us and help us understand the original information given about their essence more intimately. 

With Blackthorn, its message twelve months prior of 'knowing the way' had been illustrated to me by way of its pioneering spirit breaking new ground with its blossoms in an otherwise barren hedgerow. It was giving all the other plants 'direction' in so doing, as it would give ourselves 'direction' when we connected with its essence also. How then would that message be further ingrained within us in 2020 when visiting with it again?

On the Blackthorn Medicine Walk that I completed recently in my own back garden, due to the lockdown regulations, I was able to connect with the original tree I got the essence from again. I asked it the question as to what will give us the opportunity of 'knowing the way' forward given our current very restrictive Coronavirus circumstances?

The answer that came back to me seemed to be connected to finding our own inner peace, and then from that place being able to honour all of the other three peaces too, creating peace with others, our community and the planet. We cannot have peace in the world if we have conflict within ourselves.

This further message from Blackthorn ties into the message from the Bluebell as mentioned in my previous blog, that of gaining an 'inner-sense' of ourselves, it being the next essence in the sequence of the Allies Of Nature range of ​flower essences. This further emphasises the connection between the essences as they go through the year. There is a beauty to this unfolding, a poetry, where there is a story to be told which isn't always obvious when each essence is originally collected.

I feel that the spirit of Blackthorn in 'knowing the way' is continually with me as I learn more and more about the flowers and their essences, in how they are captured, manufactured and are then to be used at a personal or planetary level. I can always rely on Blackthorn to give me 'direction' throughout my entire essence journey. 

​If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you then please feel free to do so below.

I must immediately state that flower essences are not a cure for Coronavirus, but what they are here to do for us is to help support us through these times of the Covid - 19 outbreak. They will aid us with our mental health and emotional wellbeing in order to be able to better deal with the circumstances that we are now facing.

When I started working with flower essences I had no idea of the journey I was about to be taken on, or what the flowers wanted to teach me about their unique qualities. They had a message for me that they wanted me to bring to the world, both individually and collectively, as I voyaged with them over the course of a year. 

Firstly, I would learn about how they appeared month by month within nature, then in what place in the landscape that they could be found, how they related to the next flower essence in the sequence and in turn how they could be connected to both the lunar and solar cycles when they were gathered. This was before I was educated in the finer details of how they might also connect to what was going on within the Universe, both in their capture and then when it came to market them a whole twelve months later. 

Each essence had its own story to tell, its own chapter to write, as if being a part of a bigger book of Allies Of Nature flower essences. Each line, paragraph or page just seemingly wanted to meld into the next as if the flowers were relay runners handing the baton on from essence to essence, in the telling of a collective narrative. This was all the more evident when the cycle began to draw to a close most recently and then begin again, all throughout the days of March. 

Last week I collected the Primrose flower essence on the Spring Equinox, the final essence, in the sequence of 17. I captured the Wild Daffodil, the previous essence, on 2nd February and all the time in between up to 20th March I was getting hints as to what Primrose was all about even before I placed the bowl of spring water next to the flower itself in order to collect the essence. 

There has been a lot of renewal in my life recently, a feeling of things coming to a end as well as other things about to come into being. Not only yearly cycles and seasons, but relationships and ways of existing too. When I sat with Primrose, as the day and night became equal in measurement again, the message that came through to me quite strongly was one of 'new beginnings'.

'How does that sum up the Coronavirus situation?' I hear you wonder. Well, it would seem to me that whenever this virus comes to an end the whole world will feel different. Different because of the collective experience we have gone through together and the love and compassion that has been shown to our fellow men and women on all levels of society as a result. Is it even possible to go back now to how we were before, in our more uncaring, busy, busy, busy type of lifestyle? It maybe that the Coronavirus has come along in some way shape or form to wipe the slate clean so we can start again, at our beginning.

I would suggest that if the messages that the Allies Of Nature range of flower essences want to bring to us are anything to go by, as one annual cycle starts to overlap the next, that Primrose's herald of 'new beginnings', links directly into Blackthorn's 'knowing the way'. 

The Blackthorn was the first essence in the range of essences that I created a whole twelve months earlier. It was the March essence, that was actually collected on the new moon in April at the start of the 2019/20 financial year. Its message to me was that it was a pioneer, breaking new ground. Its abundant white flowers and pointed barbs made me think about clarity and direction. It felt to me as if it was guiding other plants in the way of flowering, as it was the first to appear in the otherwise barren springtime hedgerows. 

I believe that in Primrose's 'renewal' of how to be in the world under Coronavirus lockdown we will find the clarity and direction we need through Blackthorn, but also with the next flower in the range of essences too, the Bluebell. For if we are to believe the collective narrative of the Allies Of Nature then the direction we need to travel from Blackthorn to Bluebell is inward in order to gain a greater understanding of our own inner beauty, our own 'inner-sense'. 

If you would like to know more about any of these flower essences and how they could best help you why not answer The Call To Adventure and have an introduction session with me or alternatively browse through the Allies Of Nature range of flower essences in the shop to see which one might resonate with you the most to assist you in your own personal development. 

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you then please feel free to do so below.

In the unprecedented circumstances we are experiencing across the globe at this moment in time I offer up 5 novel, shamanic ways that can help keep you sane through the lockdown period and actually help you to feel good about yourself, your life and your future going forward. They work well for me, so I  just thought I would share them with you today. 

1. The Cold Shower.
Yep, harsh as it may sound the cold shower is a great way to start the day, giving you more vigour and vitality throughout it. It helps raise all your red blood cells to the surface of your being and encourages more brown, lean fat to grow in your body rather than the white, fatty fat that might otherwise be encountered. 

In times of lockdown, your ego will want to rule, having lots of comfort food and lovely warm showers and hot baths, your soul however wants something more. A short, sharp shock in the morning immediately takes you out of your comfort zone and starts to help you feel more refreshed, more vital, ready to get on with the day, and guess what it helps you save money too. 

2. Morning Practice.
Morning Practice is a way of expressing gratitude to the Earth for all that you have at this moment in time. It can consist of exercise, prayer or a combination of both and is best performed outside if you have a little courtyard or garden at your disposal. Otherwise you could do it whilst you are out on exercise, or just in your house or flat if you have nowhere else to carry this out. 

I normally take a pinch of tobacco from by back pocket (I don't smoke), tobacco is considered a traditional offering for gratitude. I offer this up to the 7 directions by way of a prayer. Up towards the sky, down towards the Earth, to the East, South, West, North and then the centre and I might say a few words that come to mind at the time about the things that I see in my view, like the clouds, or the robin or whatever wants to present itself at the time in gratitude for that thing and just bringing my awareness into the here and now. 

I also perform some exercises / active prayers toward all of those directions too which I got taught in my training, you could use Tai Chi or Qi Gong as an alternative. Morning Practice normally takes about 10 - 15 mins to be able to perform. 

3. Meditation.
At the very least meditation helps us to still our mind and bring us more back in touch with the centre of who we are, arguably it can help us raise our immune system too. One of the most simplest ones is the Heart Meditation that my teacher Chris Luttichau recommends.

It basically involves placing one of your hands on your heart, taking a deep breath in, connecting with the heart, feeling the rhythm of your heart beat, for as long as you can, holding that breath in, then slowly releasing with the out breath. Then repeat for as many times as you can or wish in one session. When you feel you are really in touch with your heart bring forward an image that really gives you joy to focus your attention on, perhaps to remind you of where you are headed. This exercise can be repeated throughout the day as many times as you wish. It helps you to get back in touch with yourself, your heart and the real love you have for yourself. 

4. Spend 15 Mins Working Towards Your Dream.
Spend just 15 minutes a day working towards your dream, whatever that might be. Give yourself that time to think about what you would dearly love to be doing in your life, what would bring you most joy, what you like to create in this lifetime? Maybe just spend a bit of time thinking about it, writing about it, doodling a picture of it, researching some pictures that might look something like it. 

If you find yourself spending more time than 15 mins working on your dream then that's great, however 15mins doesn't sound that long does it? Very doable in fact. So let's just utilise that time and start making this world a better place for us all to live in once we have moved beyond this lockdown period again.

If you don't know what your dream is then you obviously need some coaching from me, don't you??!! ;-) 

5. Recap
At the end of the day think about all that you have achieved today, write it down, what has inspired you forward in your life and what has distracted you from doing what you wanted to do today. Don't be too hard on yourself just concentrate on what you have successfully achieved over the past 24 hours even if it was just taking a cold shower first thing in the morning, you did do that right? ;-). They are all steps in the right direction for living a happier life. 

Anyway I hope this helps you in the lockdown period. I will continue to post inspiration as much as I can throughout this time and beyond whilst working on my own 5 ways to beat the lockdown as well as perhaps come up with a few more too, take care of yourselves during this time. x

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.

With so much fear apparent within society at the moment concerning the advancement of Coronavirus across the globe, I feel it is time to give it a bit more of a positive spin and approach the subject with an element of love, dealing with it from a more spiritual perspective perhaps. 

For arguments sake, I am going to assume at this moment in time that this virus has come into being purely through some act of nature. It is my belief that the conditions upon the planet at this moment in time, be it through global warming or some other factor, have provided the perfect environment for its creation. I also believe that everything in our evolvement as a species upon the planet is indeed always perfect, we experience perfection every day, even in the worst case scenarios, in order to experience what we need to do to move ourselves forward as individuals or as a collective in alignment with the planet.  

The fact that this virus is here now, in the long term could be considered a gift from nature, a herald, to how we need to be, a call for us to adventure and find our own leadership and to do what is needed.

Sure, what is being presented to ourselves at this moment in time is difficult to grasp, as we are being urged to stop what we are doing in no uncertain terms. It may indeed cause a lot of heartache and pain, death and illness even, especially to the elderly and infirm. However, it looks to all intents and purposes to have been sent to make us think differently about how we lead our lives and what is fundamentally wrong with our existence, what is our pain and what we need to do to heal ourselves. 

My work with my range of flower essences would only point further towards this notion. I am about to create the Primrose Flower Essence this very weekend from my Allies Of Nature range of flower essences, an essence I believe that is very much about 'renewal'. There is no doubt that our society is looking at renewal now. A new way of doing things, perhaps a new way of being and existing. 

We of course will have our own concerns at this moment in time, I have got my own worries too, as to what will become of us, our houses, our jobs, our businesses, relationships, food, social interactions, all elements of community. However, I believe also that we are being asked to look again, to see what lies within ourselves once we stop. What are our true values? What do we really care about? How will we be towards our neighbour? Will we think only of ourselves in this crisis and stock pile or will we naturally start to think of others and the planet as a whole? In one way shape or form we are being asked to trust the process and see where this journey takes us, knowing that for the majority of us we will be OK. 

I believe creatively I will need to adjust the way that I do business very quickly and it is almost as if I am being encouraged to do this just now for the benefit of the long term, there are notions and ideas coming to me in this period that perhaps would not have come had this virus not arrived. I am being asked to step up in another way, to evolve and be more resourceful, to write blogs, post videos, do Facebook lives, to help engage more people perhaps for what happens after the storm has passed. 

In Italy I believe, due to a lack of humanity and busy-ness the once murky waters of Venice are now running clean. The skies and roads are now empty of transport too, our carbon emissions have plummeted overnight. Nature is trying to restore itself in our absence to a more natural way of being.

We as a species have abused our position upon the planet and raped and pillaged the Earth for all it is worth. We have polluted the air, the water and the ground, fires now rage across the planet too. All the elements are out of balance, life has lost its equilibrium and it is almost as if this virus has been sent to tell us something, that nature ultimately is in control of our existence if we step out of line.

It would seem as if it is not too far removed from the plagues of Egypt what we are experiencing now, i.e. natural phenomenon being sent to change our way of thinking, or just make us think, floods, fire, wind, disease, you name it really. 

In shamanism it is believed that spirit is a part of every living, breathing thing therefore spirit must be a part of Coronavirus, it must have a purpose, it maybe impossible to eradicate it if it has such a purpose, trying to slow it down or stop it spreading so widely is one thing, but if it is meant to be here, ultimately we might just have to learn to live with it.

I believe it has its own essence, its own consciousness, its own medicine power, it may well indeed be acting for the greater good of the planet as a whole, in whatever way is deemed fit. For something so very small it seems to have done a pretty good job in stopping us in our tracks just at the minute. With no natural predator for us, maybe it takes a tiny little micro-organism to put up nature's best fight to make us wonder at just how it is to be human in the here and now and start to act in a different way. 

We may find that this is one of the most creative times in our collective history as we are invited to find new solutions for ourselves the further this isolation and containment goes on. It maybe that come the end of it all our perspective on things has changed significantly. Maybe at home alone we will start to pay more attention to nature and the the flora and fauna around us and begin to love it again and really treasure it for all it is worth and start to place it at the centre of our lives once more now that we have time to experience it more fully. 

Maybe, just maybe, our lives will be better for it, maybe our businesses, our houses, our family life will improve because of it as we are encouraged to go inward and reconnect with ourselves, our significant others and Mother Earth herself. ​

If you care to comment on this blog with regards to any issues or feelings it brings up for you please feel free to do so below.