Is anyone else experiencing the effects of Mercury Retrograde?
On the technology front I certainly have been for the past two weeks and I actually “lost” this post after updating a link yesterday, so here it is again – with added positive juju and some questions for you to answer in the comments. Everything happens for a reason (right?), and as it turns out, the beautiful reason here was that it gave me the opportunity to load up on mo’ love. A planetary blessing in disguise!
The past week has been.. well… epic.
I’m finally getting that when I approach life from a place of ‘slow, deliberate action,’ the Universe steps in to support me. Old habits (and when I say habits, I mean pushing through, taking on way too much, sacrificing to just “get it done”) are being released and I’ve felt more grounded and ‘steady’ than ever before. I had my last kinesiology session* on Monday and Anita (kinesiologist extraordinaire) said she was blown away by the change in my energy from November, when I walked through her door frazzled and over it, to the present where my blocked chakras/ meridians have been tenderly aligned and my body responds easily to the “goals” we set. I’m really feeling that too and have been saying ‘thank you’ – out loud when I’m at home alone, and scribbled in my Moleskine – a lot.
I also know that there’s still too much incoming work for this one-woman band, and I’m working on ways to reduce that. The daily life of a blogger/ entrepreneur is prone to changing on a whim, I’m getting very clear on how to structure my time and how much extra padding I need to ensure that a change of plans one day doesn’t blow out the rest of the week’s work. It’s all part of the process!
* I still need to write a separate post on my experiences with kinesiology. It’s on the list.
On to the things that have brought joy to my life over the past week. I’m feeling enormously grateful for…
Date Day with the Husbo
ty
On Saturday, Ramai and I headed out for what we called our “date day,” which involved a cruise down the Tweed Coast to enjoy the sunshine (momentary as it was, but still… SUN!), lunch in Cabarita by the beach, a jaunt through Hastings Point and Pottsville and then a trip through the valley on the way back.
As we were driving down a – thankfully – pretty isolated road, we spotted something black hanging out in the middle and after circling back we found the scared little Ninja Turtle you see in the photos. Isn’t he gorgeous? (I’ve named him Michaelangelo). So happy he made it back to the water safe and sound.
On our drive, we also found a (random) ramshackle old tin shed – the perfect backdrop for an impromptu photo shoot.
5000!
Holy moly, thank you SO much for your Facebook love. Beyond grateful. Things seem to be happening/ growing at breakneck speed at the moment and again, I bring it back to this sense of being ‘supported.’ It’s a beautiful thing.
Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat
From Friday to Sunday this week I’m going to be retreating it up at the glorious Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat with two of my soul sisters and I cannot wait!
We’re going to spend three days compleeeeetely unwinding and disconnecting, eating delicious organic food and slipping into a (much) slower pace to nurture our minds, bodies and spirits.
Keep and eye out for the full rundown on the blog. This place is heaven on earth and I’ll try my best to take lots of photos and notes for you all!
Our B-school Babes
The biggest thrill of the past week has been the incredible response to the B-School bonus offer Tara and I released last Thursday. HOLY MOLY, you should see the group of women we have in our private Facebook community (the support, already! The conversations! The energy!)
Above is just a small snapshot of what’s been going down. We’re kinda crazy about our girls! Marie Forleo has created a phenomenon with B-School and I know we’re going to be making waves of our own with the crew we have assembled.
Read this if you want in on the action – there’s ONLY 4 DAYS to go before enrolment closes.
Bits and pieces:
Yoga and Pilates (feels so good to be back on the mat regularly) + celebrations + playing bigger and knowing there’s so much more to come (limitless is a word I’m digging right now) + visualisations, meditation and bolts of brilliance in the shower.
I’D LOVE YOU TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Magic shared, multiplies and this week I’m putting these questions to you:
+ Who are you celebrating? Who in your life deserves a shout out – and why are they so awesome?
+ What are you proud of personally? Give yourself a rap gorgeous, we’re all about self-love and cheerleading around here!
Rachel,
I’m very curious to know more about your Kinesiologist. Although I’m not in Australia, I would love to explore her website to find someone similar in Vancouver Canada. I’m celebrating myself this week and this girl here needs some love.
I’m excited to hear about your experience at Gwinganna! I went to an event they had in Sydney and it was awesome!
I’m proud of hosting my very first event for female bloggers and entrepreneurs with my best friend Ursula on the weekend… and the prospect of hosting many more in the future :)
Love these photos, Rach! They have such a dreamy quality to them. And congrats on breaking the 5000 mark!! Woohoo!!
Hope you have a great time at Gwinganna. Can’t wait to hear about it, and I’m really looking forward to your kinesiology post.
What I’m proud of this week = my habits are the same as your old habits, and while I haven’t broken them yet I’m getting much better at recognising them and pulling myself up. So I’m very pleased about that. And I am celebrating all the beautiful babes online!! Love communities! xx
Natalia: She is seriously AMAZING! You can find her site at: http://freshfusion.weebly.com Might be worth doing a shout out online to see if anyone can recommend an awesome kinesiologist in Canada? It’s a total game-changer if you find the right person. X
Jass: LOVE Gwinganna, this will be my second time actually. Best retreat on earth!
I saw the photos and it looked incredible. Well done babe, more of that magic to come. x
Kylie: Thanks so much! So proud of you – awareness is the first step to transformation, and you’re so there. Can’t wait to chat more about all this. x
Hi Rachel, don’t know how but I only just recently came across your blog. It’s so beautiful here, and so positive! I also had to say that I loooove your photos, they have such an ethereal quality to them. Definitely looking forward to stopping in here more often, you seem awesome!
Having been lucky enough to work with the lovely Miss Lizzie, I can second your love for her new ebook. Go check it out, peeps!!!
Also, random day trips up or down the Queensland coastline are one of my favourite things to do with my honey-boy too! Have you explored Bangalow, near Byron? That was one of our recent drives and it is too, too cute!
xo
Erica: And I’m so glad you did – welcome! Glad you’ll be hanging around babe. x
Jess: HONEY! I was thinking about you the other day and thinking I needed to get in touch to see how things are – so wonderful to see you pop up here. Bangalow is one of my fave spots, super cute. Hope all is golden in your world xx
Hey Rach! I’m definitely celebrating my blog and its progress over the last 2 months (thanks to you!) and me finally having the courage to start investing in myself without guilt. I am loving the feeling of supporting other women around me and myself being supported as well. It is awesome! I’m so proud to say that I am bursting with clarity lately (that I have been working really hard to find) and am thriving in it. Have a great time at your retreat! I can’t wait to hear about it in your blog. xo
Rach, I remember when you were releasing your ebook and pushing for 2000 likes! You’re smashing it!
Your date day looks like it was beautiful!! I grew up in the nature and have been trying to live a city life the past few months in London, and now I am starting to accept that it isn’t for me and is impacting my health quite a bit.
If you have suggestions of places to live in Australia that have a healthy lifestyle/nature side but also are big enough to have a market (I’m a “primal” fitness photographer) I’d love to hear them!!
I really felt relieved that you are admitting that you have too much work as a one woman show! I am also an entrepreneur and I have been working 24/7 and there’s always more to do. To see that you’re admitting the endless workload makes me realize that it isn’t going to change and maybe it has to be okay to fall behind sometime and get in some personal life fun, helping my mental health.
I hope you enjoyed the retreat and took full advantage of tuning off. I used to have this mentality of always having to work at 110% (I am glad to be changing my thinking at only 21!). This past year I have come to really love the quote, “Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move mountains.” Now I realize that you have to take those breaks in life, or you will burn out completely (especially as a self-employed creative), and with rest you can refresh yourself and be recharged and more efficient!
I’ve been thinking about your questions this week (I read this post a good few days ago but haven’t had time to reply).
I realized that I haven’t been celebrating anyone – or anything – including myself… and I have a lot to celebrate as I just completed photographing my first big cookbook! A somewhat sad realization has come to me that I’ve been working so hard for so long that I don’t know how to celebrate anymore, so I need to do something to figure out how to focus on my self love and care (also inspired by your post).
It also made me realize that I have been more judgmental of the people in my life than grateful. I seem to have put up some psychological defenses in my relationship because I don’t see it being something long-term, and I have really started to pick him apart because of that – I guess justifying that it won’t work and making it easier for when it might end. But now I see it and I am noticing a pattern which develops quite often.
That being said, I need to celebrate him much more, but I think it will help if I focus on celebrating myself first. :)
Hmmm, and following on that, I am proud of myself for signing up for the CrossFit Open when I felt like I wasn’t ready to compete again yet, and my first score!
I’m also very proud of myself for releasing myself from the grip London has had on me and the mindset that I have to be here to be successful. I’m going to reward myself with a few weeks near the beach in France so I can heal myself with some sunshine, beaches and nature!
Thank you for your post. They bring me such inspiration. :)
Hi Rach
Love this post! OMG, did I feel the effects of the Mercury Retrograde! It all makes sense now :-). When we spoke on the phone for my coaching call, I was not in a good space. So many things were thrown at my at lightening speed it seemed, that it was quite an unsettling, overwhelming time! But I’m all good! Feeling completely different now, and am making a concerted effort to “approach life from a place of ‘slow, deliberate action’.” Thank you!
Gorgeous pics of you and your spunky hubby! You’re quite the photographer :-)
Liz xx