Mention visualistion to people and the most common response is that it’s one of those “airy fairy, new age” things. Not for real people busy living their lives in the real world. 

 

And that’s a real shame as it’s something we all do naturally, without ever realising it. 

 

Don’t believe us? 

 

Well that’s exactly what happens when you do anything creative whether it’s painting a picture, cooking a meal or thinking about your garden. Being able to “see it” in your mind’s eye – visualise it – is the crucial first step. 

Earlier this month we talked about the delights of foraging and encouraged you to make the most of the glorious autumn weather to go out in search of blackberries and elderberries. Not only is it great fun but incredibly satisfying too! 

 

So let’s now talk about two other autumn goodies which are in plentiful supply this year. The first is one you’ve probably noticed – they really glow in the sunlight at this time of year – but never thought about using, Rose hips. Surprised? Many people are, thinking of them only for decoration. 

As we may have mentioned a few times before (!) we find people endlessly fascinating. And if you talk to any practitioner they would probably say the same. Not only our clients, but those we meet in our day to day lives, as well as family and friends. 

 

It may be something of a cliché but there’s always something to be learnt from everyone you meet, once you stop making snap judgments and take the time to get to know them. If you need a reminder about this, just scroll down to our post a couple of weeks ago about jumping to conclusions (!). Judgement is weakness, observation power. 

 

So what are we going to talk about today? It’s something we’ve been aware of for a long time but, for some reason, has become increasingly more obvious in recent months. And, perhaps, all the “doom, gloom and despondency” in the media has a lot to do with this. 

The schools are back and, as so often is the case, we’re now being treated to a glorious Indian summer. Although having said that here in Suffolk we’ve had a great summer – almost too hot at times for the true Brit!!! 

 

To us, one of the pleasures of autumn is going foraging for all the edible goodies that can be found in the hedgerows at this time of year. Not only are they organic, but come with zero food miles and exercise built in. 

There’s no doubt that the ability to make an instant decision – a snap judgement – is an important skill we all need to master. And a potentially life saving skill at that. 

 

While most of us will never face the threat of something big, hairy and hungry heading in our direction – thank goodness (!) – at some time during our lives it’s likely that we will face a potentially life threatening situation. Or maybe more than one. And when that happens being able to make an instant decision on how to react makes all the difference to the outcome… 

With the recent spell of hot weather – well, hot for the UK (!) – it’s easy for people to become dehydrated without even realising it. 

 

Perhaps it’s due to them not being used to hot weather and simply not recognising the warning signs. Having said that, many of the classic signs of dehydration seem so obvious – to us at least (!) – that it can sometimes be difficult to understand how people don’t seem to join the dots. 

 

So, this week, we’re going to focus on the most common signs of dehydration. And, don’t be fooled, they apply all year round and not just in the summer (!). 

Happiness – or the lack of it – is a subject that frequently comes up with clients and one we’ve discussed several times in the blog. 

 

So many people seem to have forgotten what it’s like to be happy. And we’re not talking about the transient happiness from the latest gizmo or “must have” but a deeper sense of being happy with yourself and your life. 

 

Spend time with young children and you’ll quickly see that happiness is our natural state. Our default setting. 

 

Yet somewhere along the way we seem to have lost touch with it, so by the time we’re “grown up” anyone who’s happy is seen as “a bit odd”. 

And “no” we’re not talking about telegrams from the Queen or cricket either… 

 

Just in case you haven’t guessed it yet, we’re talking about the 100 blog posts we’ve made over the last couple of years. Even though we’ve covered a huge range of topics – and some more than once – they all have the same underlying message. And it’s such an important one that we wanted to use this blog post – our 101st (!) – to focus on it. 

 

If you need a hint it’s at the bottom of every blog post – even this one. 

 

So what is it? 

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about meditation. How it’s much easier than you could ever have imagined. That you’ve probably being meditating for years in your own unique way without realising it. And why there’s so much more to it than its hippy’ish image would suggest. 

 

So, this week, we thought we’d introduce you to another technique. It has similar benefits to meditation but is equally misunderstood. Mindfulness. 

 

And if this sounds much too much like more navel gazing, bear with us. You may be surprised by what mindfulness really involves. How it instantly cures one of the most widespread of modern complaints, of time rushing by too quickly. Each day passing by in a blur of activity. Not having enough time to do what we want – or need – to do. 

Cholesterol – and statins – are subjects we discuss regularly with clients and have written about before in this blog. “Cholesterol – are statins a wolf in sheep’s clothing?” posted in September 2014 can be found in the blog archives to the right of this post. 

 

Despite the huge amount of coverage this topic has had in the mainstream press, fundamental misunderstandings remain about both cholesterol and the effectiveness of statins. So, once again, let’s have another look at this subject and shatter some of the most common myths.