Astrology

I don’t know how much you know about Astrology but for me, I knew very little growing up and I’m sure I still know very little about it now. I learned from a young age to dismiss Astrology and completely avoid paying any attention to it, aside from the tiny fragments inserted into the local newspaper or bestselling magazines. Even when I did glance at these, I saw very little in them that reflected the way I saw my own world moving and so I did not take much notice, but I did always somehow feel drawn to know more anyway.

In my early adulthood, a woman began presenting an Astrological forecast on a popular breakfast program I watched each morning. I began to really enjoy her segments and paid more attention to the details she shared. I found that as I learned, I began to see more of myself in what she was saying but I wondered if that was from accuracy or from my exposure to it? I also became interested in Chinese Astrology and regaled my family with the tiny bit I learned over a decade.

Over the years, my interest in Astrology was quite minimal until my late forties when I had another major life change (aka traumatic experience). As I began seeking answers to the questions that had built up inside me again, I began to rediscover Astrology and become interested in just how fascinating a subject it can be. Until then, I had no idea how many different styles and schools of Astrology there are in the world; I had no idea that Astrology is a big part of most main religions - or at least in the founding of those religions originally; I had no idea of the limitless possibilities that Astrology contains and sheds light on.

I had opened Pandora’s Box and did not want to close it again!

I have been opening myself up to Astrology for the past decade or so, particularly Western Astrology, Chinese Astrology, Vedanta Astrology (Jyotish) and Medical Astrology.

I don’t immerse myself in any of them to the fullest level I usually give to learning, because I do not feel that Astrology is my main purpose or calling but, I do enjoy spending time reading about and listening to articles and learning how my life (and the world at large) has been impacted in various ways by planets, stars, asteroids, moons, The Sun, Houses, and transits. It really does fascinate me and creates a whole new platform for me to view the vista of life from.

I’m aware that I have the power to step outside the energy of the Solar System and forge my own destiny and I am on that path already, but also aware that until I fully detach from my smallness, the energies continue to pull me this way and that. I’m thankful that I have some small measure of Astrology to help me understand the cycles and dramas of life through, because it feels easier somehow than the old unconscious journeying I did in my youth that seemed to have no real pattern or direction to me at the time.

I’m still contemplating which system feels the most aligned for me and I recognise and accept that each system gives me a different set of parameters and placements to work with. One system says I have Moon in Sagittarius, while another says I have Moon in Scorpio but they all say that I have Chiron in Pisces in the 4th House (ouch) and they all say I have Saturn in 5th House in Aries (again “ouch). My ascendent is Sagittarius in one model, and it is Scorpio in another. My Sun is in Capricorn in 2nd House.

Then I add in the wonder of receiving a spiritual name from my Guru in 2016, which apparently provided a whole new natal chart to overlay my birthchart and, according to the placements in 2016, my whole life changed suddenly, which it certainly did feel like at that time. I have spent the past decade accepting that change and learning to lean into the energies of an entirely different style than what I had previously felt as my own. This puts my Sun in 8H Sagittarius with Saturn right next to it! Zesty!!!!

It has been tricky but Astrology has really helped me to understand myself and my life better and I hope to continue learning and growing with Astrology as my guide. I am currently experiencing my 2nd Saturn return and when I first learned what Saturn return was, I saw with great clarity the impact it had on my life at a certain point. It had been so horrific that I almost did not survive it but this time, I am aware of Saturn and I am also aware of all of the work I have put in since last time. This time, I know I will be okay, no matter what comes, and I’ve been looking forward to it.

Until next time……xxx

Angels Among Us

I believe there are angels among us.

There are many different theories about Angels and I think it's so important for each theory to be respected. I don't think anyone needs to adopt another's theory around anything but respecting a persons right to hold a belief is where I sit myself. Of course some beliefs are toxic and even dangerous so I'd hardly want to support those beliefs but I can still respect others people rights to have their own beliefs. In believing Angels are among us, I don't expect anyone else to believe it too, it simply brings me comfort to believe it myself and I share the belief from a place of love.

For me, Angels come in many forms and particularly as people and animals. Having spent decades in darkness and misery, I can now look back from this place of freedom and positivity that I'm in and see so many Angels have appeared along the way.

One was a gentle, loving and compassionate school teacher in first class and as a six year old, I actually thought she really was an angel then.

One was the man who found me in a crashed car when I was 15 and almost died, he reassured me until help arrived.

One was a lovely woman across the world who created an online safe place for survivors of extreme trauma to connect and share.

One was a man who appeared in my life when I thought I wanted to die and took me on an adventure to have fun.

Two were in the form of heroin addicts who helped me survive when I forgot how.

One was my sister when my life as I knew it ended.

One was my father when I almost went bankrupt and had to live in my car for three months.

One was my brother and his wife who took me picnicking so I wouldn't kill myself.

My children have been Angels in my life since they were born.

My stepchildren and their parents are Angels in my life who taught me a lot about love.

The people whom I have friended online are Angels to me with so much teaching and inspiration every day.

My real life friends are Angels to me that light up the darkest moments.

My husband has always been an angel to me as were the people I worked with and all of the other people I have ever met online, face-to-face, or in any other form.

At least a dozen animals have been Angels in my life who brought me tender love and companionship in the loneliest and bleakest times.

My grandparents were guardian Angels to me always.

I know there are theories that Angels cannot be human and I respect that.

For me, Angels are divine messengers and can work through anyone, anything, anytime. What I love is thanking human Angels and acknowledging that I see them.

Have you ever told someone how much you appreciate the role they have played in your life? Have you even thought about it?

I've done it now with health professionals, coworkers, friends, shop attendants, customer service operators, centrelink, Telstra, anyone really, who helps my day in any small way face-to-face, online and over the phone.

After having so many truly horrific experiences in this life, I've become very aware of Angels and the difference they make.

I remember once getting harassed by centrelink every time I went there for 18 months and then one day I got someone nice. I was so grateful that I wrote to the government to thank them and encourage them to hire more people like that and I had made sure to get her name too so she would be acknowledged. I decided that day that from then on I would always speak up when people made a positive impact on me.

That decision has helped me drive negativity out and create a place for very positive energy. Where I once was so pessimistic that I could not imagine how anyone could be positive, now I can flip anything at all and find a positive in it, even the trauma and abuse I experienced for the first 35 years of my life. I've finally found Angels in that too.

Kind words when I'm feeling low; phone calls out of the blue; text messages of encouragement; friendly waves in the street; loving hugs; offers of help; gifts of food, clothes or money; feedback; requests for assistance; smiles; laughter; safety; information; wisdom; guidance; music; prayer; healing; inspiration; support; love.

Yes I believe that Angels are among us and that makes it real for me so I feel more joy too.

I hope that whatever brings you love and light is acknowledged in your world too and that like me, you speak up and let others know the difference they have made or the light that they have brought.

It makes a difference to them to know it and often the nicest people have no idea how nice they appear to others because they fight their own battles too. #rememberingunity #love #hope #whatreallymatters #joy #peace #calm #life #light #soul #heal #embracethegrace  #feel  #innerchild  #reparentingmyselfwithlove #photooftheday #motivationalquotes #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #quoteoftheday #angels #angel

Originally published on Fb under my birth name: June Parkin 25 June 2016

My Angel ~ by June Parkin (freehand drawing on canvas pad with chalk) copyright 2008

Healthy Boundaries Are Flexible

Photo by Joe Cause [capturingnow] 2024

One of the most interesting and sometimes confusing things for me to remember about healthy boundaries is that they are flexible.

If a boundary is not flexible, is it really healthy? When I first began learning as an adult about Boundaries, I had no idea what they might be. I remember thinking the facilitator of the group I was in must be talking about fences and in some ways I was right but…I had no concept of Boundaries beyond that thought, no actual perceptions for what they could be. I was traumatised by that realisation alone! I spent years devouring everything I could about Boundaries and of course, Life wonderfully provided me with lots of practice and real-time learning too! Eventually I began teaching Boundaries so I could learn it at an even deeper level, and then everything changed and I received the boon of being able to start the learning all over again from a completely different perspective that I once again found myself to have no concept of - more trauma for my ego - which by then I luckily was ready to Parent and support lovingly.

The past few weeks I have been noticing a shift in my perception around Boundaries again as I prepare to start presenting workshops again on this wonderful and rich topic. I am reminded again of the vital rule that Healthy Boundaries are flexible or they are not Healthy Boundaries at all. Yesterday I was considering how Non-Negotiable Boundaries could be flexible and I am choosing to see the flexibility in that as being that Non-Negotiables in anything still need to be revisited from time to tie to ensure their effectiveness, relevance, and usefulness. It is that revisiting that creates a form of flexibility. Nothing should be set in stone if I want to grow and evolve.

Even nature creates flexibility in everything. Mountains may seem immovable but they are not. Rivers and streams erode rock constantly, great dust storms can blow away tiny particles of rock from any surface, and fire can create explosions that dissolve rock too. All of Natures elements can move mountains in some way and so can we, within and without. Healthy Boundaries can guide us to know ‘where that/you/it ends and I begin.’ As I continue learning and growing, I am seeing there will come a time when Boundaries will dissolve and all will merge again as one - that’s Nature too - but for now, as I make my way through this vastness I call Life, I feel content to learn and grow and share, remembering that time so long ago when I had no concept of what a Boundary could possibly be, and seeing all of the people I knew in that moment, had no concept of it either. I share no for them and for me and for you, in the hopes that someone will feel less alone or less afraid or less ‘wrong’ in their own being for just one moment so they might recognise their own light within again and shine that little more brightly in their own way and style.

I hope you have a day and that whatever day you have, is a day of your own conscious choosing.

Much love to you

Gabriella-Grace xx

Change Is An Opportunity to Surrender….

I have been sensing huge change coming for me for quite awhile and although I feel like perhaps I resisted it for a long time, I’m not judging myself for that because that resistance was all part of the process of change for me. I can lean into resistance just the same way as I can lean into change. Sometimes I might not be aware of which position I’m in, but I always become aware of it at some point, and lean in as much as I am able to. Usually for me leaning in is a completely madly deep plunge, but it’s still leaning in. Thankfully sometimes I also lean in by just dipping my toe in the water so to speak but it doesn’t matter how much I lean in it matters that I lean in.

So, I’ve been feeling really big change coming for me for quite awhile and a big part of the resistance I felt was that I am very aware that if big change comes for me, big change comes for everyone around me too at the same time. None of us exist separately in a vacuum, it’s like the butterfly effect, when one person or one thing experiences change, it has a ripple effect all around it. I guess I needed time to recognise that I was rescuing and was trying not to be a catalyst for change in anyone else’s world, which is impossible.

Change is constant and I often say that change is actually the only certainty in life. There’s plenty of other old sayings that other people use about the certainties in life but for me change really is the only certainty. Many people in this world go through life wanting to control everything to try and make sure that nothing changes and it’s not even a conscious effort to control it. The control comes from fear and I know that usually it’s an unconscious fear, but it’s still there, it’s still control, and it’s still fear based. We all do it at different points in our lives and some people do it for a long time and some people might only do it once, but we do all do it because it is a human condition.

I’m at the point for me now where I’m leaning in and embracing the change, whatever it brings, I’m embracing it fully. That means that no matter what else I do, there is going to be great change in my world and that impacts everybody and everything around me at the same time. The love in my heart demands that I have compassion for myself and others during this period of change. I want very much to meet this demand, to be aware of my internal reactions and not project them outwards. I also want very much to be aware of these demands from my heart and not projecting the reactions inwards either like I used to do. I have no desire to turn on myself because there’s nowhere to outwardly project the energy that is activated when I’m triggered.

So essentially for me, the change this time is an opportunity for me to move through a changing season with love and compassion for myself and others. I choose to believe that I’m ready or I wouldn’t be here facing it, whether I feel ready or not is beside the point altogether, I am ready and that is why I’m here.

Now I just need to remember everything I’ve learned along the way and continue putting it into practice.  #rememberingunity #love #hope #whatreallymatters #joy #peace #calm #life #light #soul #heal #embracethegrace  #feel  #innerchild  #reparentingmyselfwithlove #photooftheday #motivationalquotes #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #quoteoftheday

Weddings Can Bring Blessings To Everyone Who Attends

My husband and I went to a wedding yesterday and it was incredible on so many levels. First of all, we hired an Uber to take us and to bring us home. I would never have considered this once because of the cost but as we travelled to the wedding, I began to doze off and then we came to some roadworks. I immediately felt a surge of gratitude at not having to worry about that, or about traffic, or about driving….then I suddenly realised how much tension all that usually carries in me and how I have never noticed it before! I began feeling the peace my body and mind were feeling and how fully present I felt because of it. It was delicious.

When we arrived, early because we did not want to be late and did not really have a sense of where exactly to go, we grabbed a drink (I had water and my husband had iced coffee) and sat to relax for 1/2 hour before it began. The weather turned ominous and the radar bleated out about the impending doom of potential gale-force-wind and hailstones approaching. I told my husband I was pretty sure that the bride is so blessed that there is no way it will rain on her parade today, she is such an angel.

Sure enough, while us and the other guests began crowding the entrance to the wet-weather option venue, we were informed that the wedding would still be outdoors, on the beach and to go on down there. Off we traipsed in our finery to the sodden sand to bear witness to these vows of love. None of us questioned their choice, we just showed up where they wanted us. Many of us had disabilities and challenges but we showed up anyway. That is the power of love for me - nothing gets in it’s way.

We watched as this beautiful, caring couple exchanged their vows and then we all fought the soggy sand uphill to head off for a while while they had their photo shoot. My husband and I walked up the road and had a drink together and relaxed while we waited. At the time specified, we headed back to the venue and waited for it to start. We were seated with lovely friends from our past which made it all the more special for us, and treated to a sumptuous, dietary-specific meal, which was another special treat for us too.

As the evening progressed, my husband asked me to dance and I was so surprised that I almost hesitated. I had dreamed for years of that moment and it never came so I had given up on it long ago and now here was my dream coming true - my husband was asking me to dance in public - it was so special and so sweet. I made a vow to myself long ago to not judge these things because I love my husband exactly as he is and I don’t want to control who he is in any way. Things like this unfold if and when it matters most and I am learning every day to trust that more and more. Yesterday was another correspondence for me of that which is a truth for me. We danced and united fully in the moment with complete awareness and gratitude for it - it was divine! Then a song came on that neither of us wanted to dance to and we sat down again, laughing, smiling, relaxed, and expressing our gratitude to each other for the dance we shared. That’s love for me, that’s joy, that’s bliss - full presence in unity.

We continued enjoying the event and the energy of love expanding all through the venue at this beautiful union. The families and friends so joyous in their celebration, so authentic and open to the divine essence of why we had come together. It was a truly special gathering of beautiful souls that I will treasure forever. This was a group who have individually carried great pain in great ways and have now come together to create something quite amazing through their hearts for this couple they obviously love so much and regard so highly. It was a blessing to be a part of that.

As I sat enjoying it all towards the end of the evening, I heard a familiar tune and my heart leapt. I have been rebuilding my body through working out in water father past many years and it has been a labour of love that has been a lot of steps forward and back. Lately, I have listened to the urgings of my Inner Child and been dancing to Nutbush City Limits by Tina Turner. The change in my body has been incredible and this was the tune I heard last night so I grabbed my friend and off went to the dance floor.

Not only was it lovely to have the experience of feeling capable to move my body this way, it was lovely to dance on land! It was lovely to feel the body memories that came with it and see the old joys from adolescence and adulthood that were born out of dancing to that song. I was stunned that after almost being unable to stand at 4pm (and every day for the past ten years), I was suddenly able to jump up in excitement and dance with abandon and joy. I was able to dance, yes, I was also able to keep up with the crowd dancing with me. I lost my footing a couple of times, but I stayed standing and kept going anyway. I never dreamed this was possible and certainly not this week!

After the song, I bounced back to my seat and felt the ease I was now experiencing as I walked. My body had let go of so much through all this and I sat down, went within, and thanked every cell of my being for the joy it had brought, for the perseverance it has shown for it’s patience with me, and for the joy it has brought to me. I came home last night and slept all through the night without waking - another thing that has rarely happened in the past decade too. I woke up thanking my friends, their family and friends, my body, my Guru, my husband, my angels, my Inner Child, my Self, and my God for the miraculous and so appreciated blessings I have received through simply attending a union of love with love in my own heart and mind while I was there. I feel blessed

The place card at my seat - the bride and groom put so much love into their wedding to ensure everyone felt welcomed and loved, and it was evident-for all of us.

The facets of being are limitless and countless - Such is the geometry of creation

There is no end to the number of facets of being and it is impossible to count them. How is it that we have reduced ourselves to some kind of separate singularity that ignores the vastness of self and of Creation? As I continue my healing journey (life) I aspire to Remembering Unity - to re-opening to the multifaceted truth of all existence, and loving myself in it, exactly as I be, so that love is all I re-member, re-collect, and re-act in the world. Glorious facets that are nothing more than pure, raw energy, awaiting their time to dynamically sparkle and glow in the right setting #rememberingunity #love #inspiredaily #light #faith #hope #sparkle #expandyourmind #soul #sriyantra

Using Child Development To Raise A Healthy Business

by Gabriella-Grace Cause Australia, 2020

When we give birth to a child, we prepare and learn so that we can give the child a good start in life.  We draw on all of the things we know, and everything we have experienced so far, and we reach out to those we trust to help us when we are unsure.  We continue this journey of learning and personal growth throughout the life of our child or children, and if we take care of ourselves while we are at it, we do all this with love, dedication, devotion, and pride.  Our business needs the same care, and we can use child development models to birth and raise a business into maturity.

The stages of development are not only literal but also metaphorical.  Facing our mortality is something most people do after the age of 65 but not everyone.  I personally had been through every one of these stages before I was 50 years old.  I had gone through stages 1-6 by the age of 7 and then I faced death at that tender young age.  I went through stages 7&8 and then went through all the stages again, before facing death again at age 15 and I’ve been through them again a lot more than once since then too.   

Every time a major change or an experience occurs that we feel traumatised by, changing everything in it’s wake, we actually enter a new cycle and stage of development.  These times can feel like utter destruction and leave us wondering how on earth we will ever get back up and try again.  Many business owners know the grief of a failed business (stage 8 – death) or having our whole worldview change and feeling that we simply must walk away no matter how much we love the business and wish we could stay. 

Life has natural stages and so do we and if we at least become aware of these stages, we can work the knowledge in to whatever plan we are making for our business.  We can also think bigger - for instance, although I gained business knowledge from industry stalwarts and other owners, I also consulted child rearing books and am always looking for the parallels between raising a child and raising a business.  As the old masculine business model changes in the world, a new feminine and more maternal model is emerging, and we need to combine them in healthy, and aware ways if we want our businesses to thrive.  Many will not survive the shift, but many will grow up in their place too and it is the natural order of things in this world. Change is constant and necessary, for us as individuals and for businesses as well.

Erikson’s Stages of Child Development

Stage One                  0-18 months              Trust vs. Mistrust

Stage Two                  18-36 months            Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Stage Three               3-5 years                      Initiative vs. Guilt

Stage Four                 5-13 years                  Industry vs. Inferiority

Stage Five                  13-21 years                Identity vs, Role Confusion

Stage Six                    21-39 years                Intimacy vs. Isolation

Stage Seven              40-65 years                Generativity vs. Stagnation

Stage Eight                 65 and older               Ego Integrity vs. Despair 

Applying this to business:

When we apply these Child Developmental stages to business, it can take many shapes, as we clearly may not see our business reach 65 years of age!  There are also times when our business will be at one stage and we ourselves will be at another.  Everything is energy and even a business has its own energy body, just like we do.  Knowing very little about energy or chakras doesn’t have to be a problem if you connect with who you are and what your own experiences of life have taught and brought to you.   

We all have memories of things we wish we could forget but what if it was these very things that would help the most in being able to ‘parent’ yourself and your business into a bright, abundant future?  Your business can and will, provide you with a virtual ecosystem to work through issues you may not even be aware you have.  Just as children are our greatest teachers in life, so too is business.  In business we will project ourselves onto our business and our clients, we will be the reflection that our clients need us to be also and often that will produce sparks.  Being a business owner is leadership, even if you are the only person in your business, and leaders are ‘activators’.  Life shines a little bit more brightly through business owners because they are creating, using the energy of life to bring something else to life.  You will draw others to you like moths to a flame and they will teach you how to lead effectively, willingly, consciously, and unconsciously, just by being themselves.  That’s what business is for, to shape tomorrow’s leaders. 

Just like childbirth, starting a business is going to change your life in bigger, better, more amazing ways and you can learn how to support yourself through that change by getting support.   

Learn why you need support at all:  

It is said that it takes a community to raise a child and that includes a ‘business-child’. Just like any new parent who welcomes a child into their lives can tell you, support is essential to making it through such a challenging, exciting, scary, busy, wonderful, and heart-opening time.  Exhaustion, fear, doubt, grief, anger, isolation, lack of self-care, inexperience, arrogance, lack of resources and financial strain can all play a part in those early days and without support, it can be terrifying. With a little prior planning, you can gather support from a few different people or places to help get you through the toughest times until you see the inner rainbow that will help you guide you further. 

Create a support network: 

A support network using this example would consider not only people but also educational courses and institutions, books and audio books, technology, videos, networks, podcasts, apps, exercises, faith systems, and more, to create a ‘web’ or a ‘tapestry’ of health and wellness on every level - including physically, mentally, psychologically, physiologically, spiritually, academically, energetically, financially, and so on.  It is not always necessary to get a Degree or a Masters in a subject to know it well and excel, but it can help to explore other ways of looking at what we intuitively know and gaining insight from other people or from other models of business, much like the way I have written about here. I have not met anyone else who applied Erikson’s theory to business, but it felt right to me at the time, so I went with it (successfully) and blended it into a very palatable ‘smoothie’ with other things I have learned about throughout my life, living and working in varied places and fields of employment.

Trust who you are and what you have learned from your own life experience:

While you might feel confident going in, owning a business can erode that confidence at times and it can help to be able to trust yourself, to know who you are and to stand firm in that when things feel shaky. Some people feel overly confident going in and then fall flat at some point but that is normal too and being able to trust who you are and what you know of yourself will still create a solid base to come back to if needed at any time along the way.

BACK TO BASICS:

One of the things that has been the most helpful to me in life and in business, has been the awareness and ability to go back to basics. Sometimes life provides ‘crashes’ or we can find ourselves in situations that we may not have answers for. I find these times the perfect chance to ‘go back to basics’ and start again in some way, e.g. I might be working on an important document on my laptop or phone and suddenly the page disappears, a random app opens, the phone rings, and my hubby calls out that we have to leave in 5 minutes to go out and work for 6 hours.  I used to freak out and get anxious but now I know to simply ‘reset’ – to stop everything and breathe – deeply and slowly.  Breath is the most basic of all functions and it’s amazing how easily and perfectly it can reset an entire day! Once I’ve taken a breath, I remember to shut down the computer or phone and tell myself I can come back to this some other time. I close the random app and visit the restroom, grab some water, and my lunch to go, and go to work.  It takes less than 5 minutes and I feel good about it. I once worked in an office where the internet and technology only worked spasmodically at best and as frustrating as it was at the time, it really taught me a lot about letting go of things that don’t matter, coming back later and using the time in other ways.  It’s astounding how much more I get done this way too.

Eriksons Stages applied to business. 

Stage One - Trust vs. Mistrust

A business in it’s infancy must have someone to care for it’s basic needs and be able to trust that it’s needs will be met.  This is the foundational stage which will prepare the business for all of the other stages.  When the business experiences change or setbacks, as all businesses must. A firm foundation will ensure greater resilience and flexibility giving the business a better chance of survival and continuance.  At Stage One the business needs at least one consistent, warm and loving caregiver that it can rely in symbiosis (what happens to the owner, happens to the business, and what happens to the business, happens to the owner).  Most businesses need you to micro-control things, to know every nuance and breath of the infant business as it hums along recognising it’s own energy and leaves you to worry about the details.  Essentially, your business is creating it’s roots and it needs you to ground it into being.  This is where the business in in Survival mode and you are acting instinctively to get it started.  While that can have it’s benefits, it’s not advisable permanently or long term.  Establishing a health Base Chakra for your business will make a big difference to how your business performs and grows.

Stage Two - Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Now that the Survival mode of Base Chakra operations have passed, creativity can kick in and the Sex Chakra of the business can expand, ensuring the life force really ignites and permeates the entire energy body.  A business needs to be able to function by now on it’s own at the most basic of levels.  Homeostasis like this includes having systems in place to ensure this, like having some kind of accounting or bookkeeping system in place, basic legals, a clear mission and vision, a tagline, a personality of it’s own, and the business still needs at least one consistent warm and loving caregiver that it can rely on to keep it running, even if only in the background.  Constantly comparing your business to others is not constructive and can be destructive so if you want to compare, schedule time to do that and then only do it at the scheduled time, preferably not more than 1 hour per week.  Outside that hour, resist all urges to compare and allow your business to take shape as itself.  If you find this is too hard, you might help your business by looking at your own need to compare, win, control, doubt, fear, etc.  Look at your feelings and see how you are projecting them onto your business so you can separate the business form you.  While symbiosis is important in Stage One, you and your business need some autonomy through individuation here.  It’s actually not all about you, it’s about your business and making it about you will eventually hobble and perhaps even destroy your business.  This is where it is vital to work out how to have fun in your business, inject joy into what you’re doing and be in the joy of having such a wonderful opportunity as being your own boss.

Stage Three - Initiative vs. Guilt

The next stage sees the healthy development of the Navel Chakra where attachments are formed and a sense of belonging can develop.  Now the business begins to grow and expand naturally and some owners may feel challenged by the change in energy at this stage.  It’s normal here to feel as if you’re losing control of your ‘baby’ and your own energy can change with the fear that evokes.  Take the opportunity to step back occasionally and allow the business to experience a few days here and there without you micro-managing. This is a good stage to hire staff if money allows and you are wanting to expand.  Once you hire the staff, it’s up to you to ensure these ‘babysitters’ have been adequately trained to hear the song of your business.  No matter what qualifications or experience they may already have, they do not know your business and throwing them in at the deep end to sink or swim is not always ideal for your business.  Reschedule the things you think are important, and spend the time making sure the business is getting it’s needs met properly and with care. Running off to your next meeting and leaving everyone to get acquainted can create issues with the energy body of the business and your staff that you will then have to fix later.  If you take the time form the beginning, you will save time money, and heartache down the track.  Remember, the business depends of you as a parent, not your staff, they are only babysitters and they will never care for it the same way you do in the early days, if at all.  This Child is your responsibility so be there for it in whatever way you can and see that it’s needs are met.

Stage Four - Industry vs. Inferiority

The Solar Plexus Chakra of the business shines like the Sun and it begins to assert it’s presence in the community.  Your business is becoming self-ware here, it has friends and respect, it has an energy body that is bouncy and bright, it has confidence and pizzaz, and people want to engage with it.  Unless it’s lacking energy in the first three Chakras and then it will be struggling by now.  The business wants what you want, it wants to succeed and create abundance, to be considered as valuable and taken seriously.  It can feel inferior and it needs to be industrious to keep it’s energy moving.  Recognise too though that it also needs to learn, as you do, how to navigate mistakes, troughs, storms, and floods.  Things happen sometimes to teach us what we most need to know and we can support our business through this if we support ourselves through it and remember, the business is only really an extension and reflection of us.  The business is doing the best it can with what it’s got and so are you.  Keep it real and be compassionate when you can, nothing is perfect and your business needs to be authentic, not perfect.  With the framework you have provided so far, things like policies, legislation, training, communication, and openness, will have the effect of holding your business safe while it assets itself and any power imbalances that show up will most likely be smoothed out quickly if you have prepared as planned in the preceding stages.

Stage Five - Identity vs, Role Confusion

In the Heart Chakra, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, devotion, and love can spring forth, propelling you and your business into more socially responsible engagement and may even drive the business in a totally different direction to the one you first envisioned before the business came into being.  It’s a time for dreams, new visioning, expansion, and growth. You may lose staff or your role may change dramatically as you are called to do something different and this is where it’s time for you to trust the foundations you yourself have laid and the staff you have around you.  Your business needs you to do more for it form a distance now and start dreaming more of a future, letting go of the past and even the right now and letting others carry it while you start thinking bigger.  During this stage it is not uncommon for your business (and yourself) to undergo an identity crisis.  Any change in energy has the potential to create this kind of crisis but this stage most of all because the business now has an ‘ego’ and so do you.  This ‘ego’ is like a cloak of social conditioning and causes you to resist change, new ideas, new vision, new directions.  This is when we go into behaviours borne of fear.  We don’t want our baby to grow up without us but as all children, there comes a time of separation and it must come.  The business will survive your stepping back a little if you trust all the work you have already done, trust the staff you handpicked and trained, and trust your business.  The heart of your business is healthy and strong with your parenting so learn to let go a little at least and look at your own fears.  Take responsibility for not living vicariously through this amazing little entity you created and let it find it’s wings in it’s own way.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how well it does, and be prepared for your ego to react to it doing well too.  Once your own ego sees that the business does not actually need you to wipe it’s nose and attend all it’s meetings, you will experience a few inner tantrums and some grief.  Learn to parent yourself through this too, it’s normal and expected when you love your business as much as you do.

Stage Six - Intimacy vs. Isolation

Here the energy moves into the Throat Chakra of the business and details begin to dominate or fall away.  Does the business communicate itself clearly and healthily, or is it in need of a tuneup.  How is your publicity, advertising, how does your business present itself to the world?  While it’s really helpful for everyone on board to speak their own language, when selling the business, a common goal needs to be conveyed in order to support  the creation of a ‘funnel’ to bring people to the business.  This may even be the time to enter into partnerships to support the longer term vision of your business, or increase revenue.  Perhaps it’s time to secure board members, or patrons.  How much has your business grown now?  What does it need at this stage?  It’;s not a baby anymore, it has very different needs form hat it did back in stage one.  Now it needs you to guide, not manage.  You should have stepped right back by now and handed over all but the most important tasks to others.  This is the time for you to enjoy the fruits of your labour – take a holiday, spend more time with your grandkids or friends, even consider starting another business if you’ve been wanting to.  Just step back out of the way and be available if needed.  If you don’t honour this stage, how do you think the business will ever survive and flourish after you are gone?  Now is the time to let your business learn to thrive without you for it’s own sake, and yours.

Stage Seven - Generativity vs. Stagnation

Here in the Ajna Chakra of your business lies the greatest risk of explosion or implosion since the first days of operation.  Back then, you were driven to succeed, prepared to do whatever it takes to get the business up and running.  You would have done anything and learned whatever you had to in order to make it a success.  Now the biggest challenge is your own ego – it’s Your business, Your baby, and you want to feel like all of Your hard work has been worth something.  You don’t just want it to make money, you want it to be your legacy, your gift to the world.  You want to know for yourself that You made a difference in this word through Your business.  It’s all about You, You, You and what You want.  The business will usually suffer here if you have not been paying attention to your own needs during all of the other stages.  The trick here is to remember that you are still doing the best can and don’t beat up on yourself for getting egoic.  This is a normal stage of development and it happens to us all.  What the business needs form you is your focus to be on the big picture.  If you want  a legacy, ensure all of the systems are actually in place and being used.  Check that your staff know what is expected of them and adhere to  policy and law.  A huge lawsuit or breech of legislation is not going to help Your legacy when You’re gone.  If the business can’t run smoothly without you being involved every day by now, ask yourself why.  Your business is productive, dynamic, vibrant, popular, and stable, then you have create a wonderful legacy and need to acknowledge that.  Any other reaction by you is your issue and not that of your business or staff, work on you and be aware if you are meddling or being rejective because neither of these will help your business nor you.

Stage Eight - Ego Integrity vs. Despair

This is a reflective stage where we tend to look back like fond grandparents on the life and times of the business.  The Crown Chakra of the business is opening and a spiritual aspect is entering the mix.  We feel either fearful for, or at peace with what we have created along the way.  If we have projected all of our feelings onto and into the business and avoided working on the issues as they presented, now is the time they will surface.  If we have been projecting, we will now start blaming for the lack we perceive in our selves, our life and our business.  This is how we can tell we have work to do on ourselves and, our business will reflect it back to show us it needs work.  If we have parented ourselves adequately, our business will reflect back peace and stability in all areas and we will feel like we have accomplished all we set out to achieve.  We can be proud of it all and our business now has an integrity that only stable, authentic businesses can have.  These kinds of businesses do not spring up like weeds, ever.  They are parented by astute, and caring owners who recognise the business as their own child and raise it accordingly.  The business owner who has allowed the needs of their own ego to project onto their business will have it reflected back to them and will feel despair over the future of their business and how it will possibly cope without them when they are gone.  The truth is, we can’t control what happens when we leave or die so if we want it to be some kind of legacy, we need to ensure early on (from stage one) that it is.

There is much more to explore here and I will be adding to it as I learn more myself. I hope you have found something in this for you to support you in creating more space for your business and for you in your business, in your own unique and incredible way.

Much love  

Gabriella-Grace

Bless My Inner Ogre

21 October 2025

Last week I fell into a big, open hole inside myself that I had not seen coming. I was feeling hopeless and starting to get down on myself again about my choices and habits. Getting down on myself is another old habit and some days it feels as if I have so many old (and not so helpful) habits, that I may never feel free of any of them. Thankfully, I have been working a lot on compassion, forgiveness, acceptance, celebrating, and loving myself for quite some time and it is beginning to shine through on it’s own lately!

So, I fell into this hole and found myself criticising my perceived failings again, seeing my Inner Child cower and quickly run for the inner sanctum before the ogre in me came fully into view. This ogre tends to tower over my inner universe and wreak havoc on everything it sets its grisly eye on. It re-acts from primitive/reptilian brain so it does not have the capacity to pull itself up, stop to think, or to have compassion for anything – it just gets started roaring and shooting it’s darts everywhere. My Inner Child fled and I somehow stayed to observe this time. I saw it all and stayed present.

After a few minutes of observing the onslaught and listening to all the same old tapes of how I have been shown what to do but I’m not doing any of it, about how I know how to make healthier choices but I don’t make any, of how I will never get anywhere because I just don’t try to, and of how I might as well give up trying to be healthy because I’m obviously not even serious about it anyway – I said: “Stop”.

I took a breath in and then breathed it out again. I saw this for the re-action that it was and I de-triggered. “I feel scared and it’s okay to feel into that feeling right here in my body, right now”. I imagined myself as energy and saw how that energy had been suddenly startled. That was enough to switch my compassion back on and parent myself again. I silently challenged the ogre with “none of that is true, it cannot be true that I have not made any changes at all because I have been eating fruit and I never used to. It can’t be true because I drink more water, and I exercise 1-2 hours 6 days every week now. It can’t be true because I take the stairs now and I and doing breathing exercises and yoga every day. There is no way that I have not done ANYthing and there is a mountain of evidence to prove I’m making a lot of changes. I’ve even been keeping a record through my watch and phone and journal so I cannot allow myself to believe what you’re saying at all.”

The ogre suddenly vanished and like a ray of sunshine, my Inner Child appeared from her hiding place inside. “I’m sorry.” I told her. “Let’s make a list together of all of the things I have changed since I got back from India in June.” I took her by the hand and went to my phone and began dictating the list with her. No sooner had we begun the list than a flood of things poured onto it and I began to feel so much better!

Here is the list that took about ten minutes to create:

Changes I’ve made since India Jun 2025

Changes I’ve made since India (June 2025)

I realised as I was doing this little exercise that it really can be as simple as challenging the ogre within sometimes. That Inner Ogre does not know any better, it is only able to re-act in old ways to what it perceives as old danger and for the Ogre, change is a danger. It gets so afraid when change happens and it goes into a terror-based tantrum to try and reclaim power over the situation and over the perceived threat – me.  I want to remember now that when the ogre starts in on me, it’s because it is feeling afraid of me, of changes I’ve made. It’s not personal at all, it’s a natural instinct from fear.

The list is going on my fridge to remind me of all of the wonderful, healthful changes that I actually have made in just a few short months. I feel so thankful for falling into that hole again last week and I’m determined to be much more compassionate and observant for the wonderful ways in which even the ogre within can be such an inspiration and a blessing to me. See you next time…

My Favourite Inspirational Readings From Other Authors Around The Globe

During the course of my life I have found a number of poems, readings and inspiring messages that I love to share as often as possible. It’s my way of bringing a bit more love to the world.

I thought I would dedicate a space here to share them.

I’d love to hear form you if you feel inclined to share or comment with thoughts of love and compassion of your own…

~ adapted from Hazelden USA

Love and Fear ~ Michael Leunig

Gifts Which Do Not Cost Anything ~ Suzanne Zoglio, PhD

Gifts Which Do Not Cost Anything ~ author unknown

Put The Glass Down Today ~ author unknown

Forever Is Only As Long As Today ~ Author Unknown

Beginning of a New day ~ Dr H. Wilson

Act of Perseverance ~ Ralph Marston

If A Dog Was The Teacher… ~ Author unknown

Angels Blessings ~ Author unknown

Greet This Day ~ Og Mandino

In Order To Change ~ Author unknown

Enough Love ~ Emmett Fox

Only As ~ Karen Ravn

A Reason A Season and A Lifetime - author unknown

Dust If You Must by Rose Milligan

Author Unknown….Note: There are a number of different versions of this story on the web but I perceive them to each have the same intention of relating how our struggles are what actually give us wings to fly higher than we can imagine. Gabriella-Grace

Affirmations For Your Inner Child - William G. Devore, Ph.D.

Superwoman doesn’t live here anymore by Judith Neumann-Dicks

A little bit of kindness by Catherine Pulsifer 2007

Attitude Is Everything

What Do I Want?

Over the course of my life I have been asked many times “what do you want?” and I never had an answer other than: “I don’t know what I want!”

I used to get so frustrated by the question and by the answer too. It felt awful and I kept thinking there was something wrong with me because it seemed as if it was a simple enough question and most of the people I knew could answer it easily and simply too - so why couldn’t I? I’m in my mid-fifties now and my 2nd Saturn return has just begun so I have been leaning into all of the mysterious and seemingly unanswerable questions inside lately and I’m actually loving what I find!

The picture I have shared here is one of those answers. I was sitting in contemplation asking myself the dreaded question of: “What do I want?” and getting the same answer that has always come through - “I don’t know!”

It occurred to me to send out an arrow-prayer for help to my Guru Sri Sri Shakti Durga Parameshware, and I suddenly felt drawn to use the teachings I have been learning about from her for the past decade, regarding her very useful “V-Diagram”. You can find out more about Shakti Durga and her amazing work at www.shaktidurga.org or at www.thewbi.org

What came to me was to use the '“V-diagram” to create a list of my wants. I have no idea why this made such a difference to me. I have tried to create lists before to help me discover the answer to this question and have been unable to find even one thing to put on the list! Why is this time different? Is it because I have learned how to ask for help? Is it because I’m ready to know the answer and I wasn’t ready before? Is it because I have a Guru? Is it because ???????

There could be a staggering number of reasons, but the truth is that the reasons don’t matter at all now - that is just stories that my mind was attached to keeping - I call it ‘space-junk’ - thoughts that waft around in my inner universe, occasionally crashing into me and banging loudly enough to be noticed. This ‘space-junk’ is neither helpful, necessary, important, nor wanted - it just is, and sometimes I forget all of that and allow it to become important. Not this time.

As I sat with a blank table in front of me, with the 5 headings of the “V-diagram”, answers began to easily pour forth and I started to get a bit excited.

PHYSICAL - ETHERIC - ASTRAL - SOUL - DIVINE

(Out of respect for Shakti Durga’s teachings and the importance of her work, I will not go into the details around each heading). What I’m here to share today is how well it worked for me to call on my Guru and to use these headings to find the answers I’ve been seeking to a very simple question for over half a century! I once was quite resistant to the idea of a Guru and could not have imagined anything to do with that sort of thing in my life. I was more than happy with prayer and with my gut instincts thank you very much. I wondered back then why any self-respecting adult would consider going within two thousand miles of someone considered to be a guru and I was not going to be someone who did. It was a huge surprise to me when I found myself not only wanting to find out more, but I also wanted very much to learn from her, and to help her in her mission too. I resisted quite strongly, but I could not ignore the call of my heart for long. I had learned by then that ignoring that particular call can be quite dangerous for me and so I listened and it has been of great advantage to me that I have. I have learned so much that I needed, and unknowingly wanted to know since then. Not least of which is the answer to my age-old question: “What Do I Want?”

I found that when I used these headings, it broke that question down into easily digestible portions for me and my Inner Child (the absolute light of my life since 2006). When I first discovered my Inner Child, I had never heard of the concept (Inner Child) before and I thought it was crazy. It took about 2 years for me to change my mind on that and when I did, I made a commitment to love that part of myself unreservedly. I have never looked back since and it has brought so many miracles into my life that I am overcome with gratitude every single day.

I lived with trauma and abuse for the first 35 years of my life and it had become to define who I thought I was. I was a victim to the ‘space-junk’ that my mind had created around those experiences and I had no idea I could let it go at all. It was horrendous and torturous for so long and I just always believed there was something wrong with me, rather than being able to recognise that there was something wrong with the experiences I was having. Meeting my Inner Child changed all of that as I cam to recognise all of the spaces within me that wrestle filled with things I did not want or need, and began to make space for things like basic life skills, that I had not previously learned while trying to survive instead!

Just for today, I want to leave that aside and have included it here merely for context because those old experiences and the reactions I had to them are no longer what I use to define myself or the world. Today I am focusing on the gratitude I feel for uncovering the answer I had been seeking for so long. I can already feel that the answer will expand and grow with me and I had not considered that before either. I had somehow thought that there would be only one answer to that question and that it would never change. My Inner Child had been driving the bus of my life for so long, that I had not even noticed she was driving! Now I have taken the wheel and she gets to be a child - a divine and much-loved child with a nurturing and responsible parent (me). This blog, and indeed, my entire purpose here is to share what I have found helpful in healing from the effects of trauma and how truly remarkable life can be, even when it feels like crap sometimes. I hope you enjoy the learning as much as I do.

Much love.

Gabriella-Grace