Where the mind goes, energy flows

A few thoughts on consistency and healing on a Sunday afternoon

One of the most common bits of advice you hear when people talk about building a a successful newsletter is consistency.  Stick to a regular posting schedule they say, so your audience knows what to expect and when it’s likely to arrive in their inbox.  

Mailboxes in Sausalito, California pic: Sue Llewellyn

But does anyone actually sit there thinking “Blimey, it’s Sunday afternoon and I haven’t had my newsletter from Sue.”  Far from it, although it would be lovely to think you might look forward to reading something I write 😊.  So here it is, hopefully better late than never.

Consistency is obviously helpful, not least to ensure we develop a good writing habit, but also to build that connection with others. But what happens when life gets in the way?  Or in my case when work, like buses, suddenly turns up all at once.

As freelancers, we get used to the ‘feast or famine’ nature of working for ourselves. Sometimes, if things have been quiet over New Year for example, then we’re tempted to say yes to (almost) everything when it’s offered. 

So this has been busiest week I’ve had all year, which is great, I’m hugely grateful. It’s lovely working with so many brilliant people but it also means everything else gets put on the back burner. Life, the universe and this newsletter 🤣

So it’s Sunday afternoon.  I’ve walked the dog, done the washing, had a Whats App chat with the kids and had half an eye on the rugby. Now I’ve settled down to have a few quiet moments to think and write this.  So apologies if I take you off on a gentle ramble.

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Yesterday I was knackered, stiff as a board and still coughing like mad after two weeks with a cold. I felt the need for a bit of a boost, so took myself off to a local healing centre. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried any form of hands-on healing but, if not, I’d urge you to try it some time.  It’s blissful.   

You lie on a couch with your head on a pillow, perhaps snuggled under a blanket, and then…relax. Deeply. The healer might suggest you imagine yourself in a beautiful place with sunshine, trees and flowers or wherever makes your heart sing. Think about your happy place. So I settled my mind into the heather at the end of my favourite beach and inhaled deeply.

Kiloran Bay, Colonsay pic: Sue Llewellyn

For about half an hour you step off the hamster wheel of daily life and drift into a space of complete peace as the healer works around you.  Sometimes they’re hands off and others, with your permission, it’s hands on. Either way I always come away feeling deeply restored and rejuvenated, like yesterday. It was amazing.

A sceptic might say this is all “woo woo” nonsense, but don’t knock it ‘till you’ve tried it. Perhaps think about what ‘healing’ in this context actually means. 

It doesn’t mean to heal in the sense of being miraculously cured and free from injury or disease.  What it means is to make sound or whole; a holistic bringing together of mind, body and spirit. Which can help you to help yourself.

I’m a huge fan and also believe that we all have the capacity to heal if we set the right intention. And I do it myself. On both humans and animals.

What? How did you get into that?

I first got involved with healing decades ago when my eldest son was tiny and had truly dreadful eczema.  Nothing seemed to help and he was very distressed so, as any mother would, I tried everything I could to try and help him including taking him to see a healer.  He was two and had no idea what was going on, but said “It’s hot Mummy.  Her hands are hot” and he squirmed a little but soon calmed down and looked incredibly peaceful.

Many years later I signed up to do Reiki training, which was great, but I have to admit being puzzled about the need for secret symbols.  Healing energy is universal.  You feel it as a kid if you hurt yourself and your Mum ‘kisses it better’ or you rub something painful.  Or even stroking an animal.  That feelgood sense of peace, calm and connection.  No symbols, just a loving intent. 

So I looked online for some further training and stumbled across the Harry Edwards Centre near Shere.  I had the strangest experience when I first felt drawn to visit it.

That day I’d nipped to the shops and suddenly had an overwhelming urge to stop what I was doing (I hate shopping) and to go there.  I’ve no idea why. I hadn’t been thinking about anything in particular but the thought jumped into my head so I felt compelled to follow my instinct.  I hopped in my car and drove into the hills to the Harry Edwards Healing Centre.

Mine was the only car in the carpark and I followed a path through the woods towards the entrance to the building. It was so quiet and peaceful. There was nobody around but the front door was open so I ventured in and followed the corridor along to an open door that led into a small chapel.  I went in and sat down.

Why am I here? I asked myself and looked around for an answer.  Give me a sign or something to show me why I might have come here. 

And then it hit me. I looked up and saw a stained-glass window with the exact image a fortune teller had once described to me. 

She said she had a vision of two hands holding a globe towards me and the clear message was that I should ‘go for it’.   Go for what? At the time I thought it meant I’d travel the world but thought nothing more of it until that moment.

There was that exact image in the stained-glass window behind me.

pic: Harry Edwards Healing Sanctuary

A globe, two hands gently cradling it and the words ‘The hands of healing encompass the world’ around the outside.    Go for it, the feeling told me, become a healer.

I’d done Reiki but this felt different.  It was as though I was being drawn to learn here but I knew they hadn’t offered training courses for years so it didn’t make sense. 

I stood up and left the silent chapel and walked around the gardens. It was incredibly peaceful, just birdsong and a gentle breeze.  

I wondered if this message meant that I was supposed to do something here. So, if that’s the case, I said aloud, and this was a sign, then please show me another; show me a white feather or something.

I retraced my steps between the trees and stopped dead in my tracks.  There was my car.  Still the only one in the car park but now it was surrounded by white feathers.  21 of them.

I looked around for cat or fox with a dead bird in its mouth, but nothing.  And nobody. It had to be a sign that I was in the right place.  

A week later I logged in to look for a course and one popped up here at the same centre with two brilliant teachers.  I signed up immediately.

The training is more in-depth than Reiki training and is completed in four stages over two years with practical assessments and mentoring.  I loved it and ended up volunteering every Thursday at the most beautiful little Georgian chapel in Godalming. Huge windows poured light into an oasis of calm. 

One of my regular clients here was a lovely woman with terminal cancer. She came every week and after healing one day, I asked her why she came. She looked at me brightly and smiled “Oh that’s easy,” she said “I come because it makes me better able to cope.” 

Some time later she suddenly stopped coming and her family rang to ask if I could come to see her at home because she was no longer able to walk and couldn’t get to us. Of course I’d come.

When I got there, it was clear that she was nearing the end. She’d lost a lot of weight, her legs were badly swollen and I could see she was struggling with the pain.  After the healing session her breathing calmed, her face relaxed and she smiled at me before nodding off to sleep.  It was the last time I saw her, she died a couple of days later and I was deeply touched when her family rang to tell us and to say thank you.  

Healing is often offered to help people undergoing cancer treatments or for those in a hospice because it can bring a deep sense of relaxation and calm.  And if it makes anyone better able to cope, then that is the best feeling in the world.

So now it’s Sunday evening, my energy is restored and it’s a lesson to not let life get in the way. Take time out to relax and find whatever you need to recharge.

Until next time, take care and mind how you go.

Love Sue xx

PS If you’re in need of a bit of a boost, why not try a spot of healing. Here’s a list of Healing Trust accredited healers around the UK. Many of the centres offer free treatments with the option of a voluntary donation to help pay for the hire and heating of the hall.