Cover Artist: Susanna Isabella
Title: Forgiveness
Medium: Acrylic
Contact: www.susannaisabella.com
‘New Visions’ opens its doors to the public on September 1 at 10am.
Upon entering the new art gallery, ‘New Visions’ at 8 Macrossan Street in the heart of Port Douglas, one is immediately struck by the lightness and brightness, and decoration of the gallery. Susanna Isabella, a well-known and internationally established visionary artist and medium, has finally come home to Port Douglas and is rapidly establishing a home for her wonderful artwork, and a place from which she provides medium readings. A place of creation!
We are all beings of love. All that prevents us from recognising and experiencing this are the ‘non-love’ feelings (all of our negative feelings such as anger, worry, judgment, guilt, jealousy, sadness and more) that cover our true self. When we respond to our non-love feelings by suppressing (denying them, or pushing them down), reacting (yelling, attacking, accusing) or escaping (using alcohol or drugs, watching TV) the eventual effect on the human body is some form of emotional or physical manifestation, which can include illness.
True forgiveness, of our self or another person, is a way of totally letting go of negative feelings; not just saying ‘I forgive you’ while inside still feeling hurt, angry, resentful, guilty etc. That expression, ‘I’ll forgive you, but I’ll never forget what you did’, is a great example of pseudo-forgiveness; if we have truly forgiven it can eventually be difficult to even remember what we were upset about.
But true forgiveness isn’t always easy. When someone hurts us our reaction can be to want to see them hurting in return, so we hold on to and convey our anger in various ways so that this will be so. Or when we have done something that we consider to be really bad, we feel as if we should be punished, so we punish ourselves with guilt.
The book Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping, (which is reviewed in this edition of Connect Magazine), is based on an understanding that at a soul level we choose our life experiences for our own growth and healing. Things happen to us that from a human perspective we would regard as bad, wrong, even evil. But from a soul perspective we have sought these experiences for the growth and healing that they can provide. The many processes described in Tipping’s book can be very helpful in moving beyond pain to peace through forgiving. But they are based on his understanding, and until this becomes our belief it can be difficult to make some of the processes work for us.
However, by practising some other simple approaches, non-love feelings can be released more readily, leading to noticeable positive changes in our emotions, relationships and health. So here are some approaches that I have found helpful for letting go of negative (non-love) feelings. Once we are in a more peaceful state, it is easy to take the next step of forgiving another person or our self.
Releasing
Think of something that has happened to you that you still feel angry or hurt about. As you call it to mind, you might feel somewhere in your body (generally your solar plexus, chest or throat) a sensation like a fist clenching. This tells you where in your body you hold your negative feelings. Now imagine a portal – like a door, a window or a release valve – in your body in this place. Open it, and keep it always open. From now on, whenever you recognise this ‘clench’ in your body, use it to become aware of what you are feeling, then allow the feeling to move out through your portal. Feelings are just energy, so keep focusing on allowing the energy to move through, until it dissipates. When we fully release our negative feelings we will find that underneath is the love that is who we are. This is a handy technique because it can be done at any time, and no one can tell, even when we are in the company of someone who is upsetting us.
Accessing your loving self
Take a few minutes to relax quietly. Then think of something that creates in your heart a feeling of love – someone you love, or a baby, a pet or whatever helps you to experience a loving feeling. Allow it to spread throughout your chest, into your stomach, down your back and up into your neck and head, then eventually even into your legs and arms, until your whole body is warm and tingling with love. As you fill your body with love the non-love feelings diminish more and more, and the loving being that you are shines through.
Willingness to forgive
Before forgiveness can take place it is necessary to fully accept and embrace our feelings of hurt, anger, resentment – whatever they are. Through the very act of staying with our feelings we will often notice that they become less intense. Eventually, through this process or one of the earlier ones, there will come a time when we know that we are willing to move beyond this place of hurt and anger, although we might still be occupying it. A method that has worked well for me for releasing ‘stuck’ negative feelings and attitudes, is to say mentally, “I am feeling (angry, hurt, resentful…) and I’m willing not to. I need help.” If I have truly reached the state of willingness, I am amazed at how quickly my feelings are released; I can go to bed feeling negative and wake up the next morning completely changed.
So if we can embrace our experience and not fight it, if we can do what we need to do to release the non-love feelings, we can begin to see whatever we experience as an opportunity for healing. Recognising that this is about us, not about someone else (the experience or the other person is the instrument that enables us to heal) we can truly forgive, and through forgiveness we can give expression to our true, divine self.
Annabel Muis
At some time in your life, you will be betrayed by someone whom you trusted. Those people that you expected to be there to support you will not give you their support, and you will feel abandoned. Then, as you are feeling at your absolute worst, you will understand that your task here is to forgive. This is what the crucifixion means in our own lives.’Caroline Myss
The kitchen contains the most ‘Fire’ element around the house; it is where you prepare and cook meals. The kitchen is also the symbol of health so the position of appliances is important.
Traditional Feng Shui experts pay most attention to the location of the stove being in the ‘power position’, which means facing the entering Chi. The chef should never be cooking turning his/her back to the Chi, or the residents’ health, wealth and personal relations could suffer.
In this regard, we have two different cycles:
1. The logic cycle: Food feeds a person’s health and effectiveness: so the better the food, the more capable the person and the larger his/her potential income, which in turn could well be improving the quality of his/her food.
2. The depressing cycle: The poorer the person, the worse the food (generally), so he/she will get into that spiral downhill.
The ideal kitchen is spacious, brightly lit and well ventilated. A stove cramped in a corner will inhibit the cook’s movements and block Chi flow. The stove symbolises the home’s finances. It should be clean and work smoothly (so please check that all burners are in working order). The amount of use of burners can influence the prosperity of the family; the more burners, the more income. When burners are not used, the family is missing opportunities and may not prosper as well as they would like.
a) Clearing clutter every day is important. Put away any dishes and items that are not used daily.
b) A stainless steel or glass splashback can be used to reflect the entering Chi if the stove is not in the power position. Stainless steel appliances could be used to create the same effect.
c) Make sure that all burners are in working order.
d) Please leave fridge uncluttered; un-necessary magnets and bills won’t make your day!
e) Keep the work area clean and empty when not in use. The more things are stored away in cupboards, the better Chi will flow.
NO-NOs for the Kitchen
– Decorating your kitchen or an overhead beam with hanging pots, utensils or empty baskets is not a good idea because they are usually stagnant and collect dust. They are also considered inauspicious as they create lots of poison arrows and give the impression of a cluttered place.
– Put your knives out of sight as they encourage quarrels in the family.
– Hanging dried flowers or garlic strings = dead plants that send too much Yin energy; store them instead in cupboards if needed.
GOOD ideas for the Kitchen
– Keeping a well-stored refrigerator and pantry symbolises abundance, as does a bowl of fresh fruit or vegetables on the kitchen table.
– Be happy cooking in your kitchen; please avoid listening to or watching the news (it is usually bad news anyway); avoid depressing pictures, unpaid bills on the fridge door or photos of people or animals who have passed away.
– Play harmonious and happy music while cooking so you put good energy into your food too.
Feng Shui Yours, Roseline Deleu International Feng Shui Master, Author & Trainer www.fengshuisteps.com BLOG www.fengshuisteps.wordpress.com For your Feng Shui consultations in Cairns and FNQ, please call Carol Crumlin 0417 716 819