Why We Don’t All Get Along & 4 Ways To Survive!

Quite simply because we ARE all different!

So here’s a scenario and it’s based upon what someone might say to another “Don’t Take Things So Personally”.

Karen and Joanne have become friends because they share a common interest.

Karen, with her Artemis Goddess/archetype qualities, is an independent character with a tendency to be emotionally distant at times.  This is just the way she is, she concentrates so hard on herself and her own life that she doesn’t always think about the feelings of others.

Joanne on the other hand, has more vulnerable Goddess/archetype qualities and can feel victimised quite easily.  When this emotional distance comes up between these two friends Joanne with her vulnerable archetype may take it personally, feel upset and let down because of what she perceives as Karen’s distance.

What are the Lessons?

We can all get triggered by everyday stories and events when they hold an emotional charge for us and remind us of a previous story, one which we might not even remember happening.   Joanne in this scenario has an old story which is being triggered by Karen’s distance.   When she feels the distance in their relationship it brings up past traumas when she may have felt others did the same and may have let her down.  Whatever emotion is attached to her old stories will come into this one in the present moment.

This will remain the same for her unless she decides to change the charge in these types of stories.

On the other hand the Artemis archetype being totally unaware of the effect she is having just carries on being herself un-knowingly causing her friend upset.

In fact if she did find out she might tell Joanne to “Not Take Things So Personally”.  Red rag to a bull for poor Joanne until she gets rid of her old story!

So what can we do?

1  Working on our stories and realising why we get triggered brings awareness.  Journaling is a great start and will bring us freedom from our victimhood.   Trying a tool like EFT can  help us take the charge from our stories.

2 Communication is vital in relationships.  If Joanne remains passive aggressive and not assertive, her friend will not be aware there is even an issue.

3  Be willing to change. If Joanne does pluck up the courage to speak to her Artemis archetype friend Karen, Karen then has a choice.  She can either listen to her friend and appreciate that this is a quality that is part of her make up.  She may feel it is something she may wish to have more control over so as not to upset people or, on the other hand she may go into her more destructive quality of cutting Joanne off, not accepting she has had anything to do with the situation.   In this case Karen has taken it personally and has not owned her own personality traits.

Joanne will have worked on her story too, having taken the first step to talk to her friend and maybe tell her friend she knows she is sensitive and is working on it!

4 Learn compassion and empathy.  This does not mean we have to take on the troubles of others it just means we appreciate that we are not all the same.  Learning not to judge others so quickly without knowing them is growth for our own personalities.

We always have choices and, our choices always have consequences.

If you would like to study more about Goddess archetypes and qualities you can check out my upcoming workshop here.   We can gain a great insight into why people may be the way they are when we learn from the great Goddesses and begin to learn to “Not Take Things So Personally” !

Until next time …. keep the faith,

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Author, Empowering and Assertive Coach, Energy Worker and Owner of Irishhealthhour.

5 Ways To De-Clutter Your Chakras

Your chakras are a part of you, they are your energy centres.  Just like blood flows through your veins and arteries energy flows through your meridians and energy centres. Some of the chakras are located along the ganglia of nerves located along the spine.

This is why you can feel butterflies in your tummy when you get anxious or you may feel a twinge in your heart if someone hurts you.  You are actually feeling the emotions in your enegy centres.    It is in the chakras that negative emotions (or what you perceive to be negative emotions) and beliefs about yourself can become blocked.

When you become familiar and be-friend your own energy centres you will find out what needs to be de-cluttered in each of them so that you can get the results you are looking for.

Here are 5 tips to de-cluttering the chakras.

1     See the reality of your stories. Did you ever step back from a story and realise that you were seeing it in a way that didn’t really reflect the true situation? Maybe you hadn’t realised that the missing piece of information you needed was there, right in front of you but, because of the clutter on top of it you couldn’t see it?

When you work with de-cluttering your third eye chakra, in the centre of your forehead, it is like you are pulling back a curtain to see the actual truth.   You begin to see the reality and can then choose which actions to take in the future to make your stories better for yourself.

2  Get stuff out of your head. You may really want to get a work project off the ground but find that it is all in your head. You might always be described as someone who is very “heady” or “very intelligent” but perhaps this stops you at times from grounding something.   You may find you have no problem with getting the ideas together but when it comes to actually doing it .. you can’t seem to get it done.

If you want to learn to ground your projects into reality you can work on the first chakra which has to do with bringing your projects into the world, birthing them almost.

3   Open your heart. Perhaps you find that you always get stopped by the same old emotion each time you enter a relationship.   Maybe you are actually sabotaging yourself and you don’t realise it.

An old wound in your heart chakra can cause it to close down and you will not then be able to receive the love that you deserve.   This is something that people do unconsciously of course.  When your heart gets closed down, it needs to be opened again so that the light can get in.

4.  Speak up and be assertive. A very common energy centre or chakra that may be blocked is your throat chakra. Have you ever wanted to tell the world what it is you actually do but find you hide away and talk about anything else but your business?

You can work through the issues stuck in your throat chakra and release them so that you find yourself able to tell everyone your story.

Everyone has a story to tell and the world will be a better place when you learn to tell yours!

5  You are the co-creator of your life.  Perhaps you find it hard to believe that you can be the co-creator of your life.   You might dismiss theories, books and wonderful stories that you hear, thinking it is a lot of rubbish!

When you work your way up through the chakras and release what no longer serves you from your own energy body, you realise that you actually do create your own reality, whether you like it or not.

You can join me on a 7 week on line course through the chakras in September.   You can get the Introduction lesson free on signing up here.   Each week we will work on a different chakra, do a meditation to help with it and also use an essential oil which will bring help on the emotional level we need for that particular chakra.   Here is the link

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Author, Owner of IrishHealthHour, EFT Master Practitioner, Assertive and Empowerment Coach and Essential Oil Lover.

5 Tips To Allow Ourselves Thrive

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We may know what we want in life but on some level are holding ourselves back from really thriving.

From my own journey and learning to thrive, I have discovered many ways that help in this process.

1    Not being afraid to express our feelings and wants from our heart is a great place to start our journey to thriving.  This allows direct access to our soul and when we speak from here, we are honouring our own inner voice.

If we get judged remember it’s the other person’s opinion and we really can’t change someone else’s opinion!  It can be hard to do this sometimes but the consequence of not speaking our mind can cause many things; a blocked throat chakra, being passive aggressive rather than being assertive and not honouring our own inner truth.

2   Following on from judgements, be open-minded and prepared to at least look at an alternative way to do something.  If we stay closed and set in our ways, we may lose out on opportunities to better ourselves and may miss out learning more effective ways to do things.

When we look through a different lens we get a different picture.  If our lens is clouded over with false beliefs or limiting closed mind views we get a distorted view of our life.

3   Staying focused on our inner truths and core values and, making sure we are working and making our decisions from this place is a sure way to success in thriving in our lives.

When we steer away from our core values we are not working in alignment with our true north, our inner compass or our gut instinct. We will then not be able to thrive in the way we really want to.

4  Learning to work with our emotions and not against them helps us to thrive in so many ways. See my last blog post on this here.  Each of the emotions has a gem to guide us to where we want to go.

Emotional intelligence is something we can all learn, in my opinion starting to become aware of our emotions is a good start.

5  Knowing ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses and our own uniqueness is essential.  When we work with our strengths, work on our weaknesses (if we so desire!) and be truly ourselves, we become our own unique self, standing in our own power and being  the very best we can be.

You can take a 7 week on-line journey with me where we go in-depth with each of the awareness centres of our energy system; the chakras.  We ask the questions and find our own answers as to what stops us thriving and living the life we desire.  Click here for more details.

Until next time .. keep the faith, Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of IrishHealthHour, Author, Chakra Course Creator, Energy Worker and Essential Oil Lover

6 Ways To Shift Those Monday Blues!

We have the power to shift what kind of a day we are going to have on a dime (or a cent!!)!   It’s about our attitude and how we decide to approach the day in the midst of whatever curveballs life has thrown at us.   And of course no it isn’t always easy .. here are a few quick tips to help!

M  … Motivation .. even if you feel like no muscle in your body will work today .. not even the one in your brain – fake it!!   You know what they say – fake it ’till you make it!!

Becoming aligned to the vibration of motivation will change what otherwise may turn out to be a non productive day to a highly charged motiviated one!  Go on give it a try!

O .. On yer bike!   Or any other type of exercise will do!   Exercise gets the body going, gets everything pumped up and we can feel like tackling anything after an exercise session.   Or if you end up feeling worn out – remember keep motivated and start over!

N … Nothing ventured nothing gained.   Go on and just do it!  If there is something on your to-do list that gets brought forward day after day, do it first today .. you never know what will come out of it!

D … Day Dream.   Day dreaming is allowed even for grown ups, dont mind anyone who tells you otherwise!!!

Day dreaming about our goals allows the imagination soar, limitless and boundless without the ego telling us we can’t, we shouldn’t or who do we think we are!    Write down your day dreams and dream big without limits!

A … Affirm.   Affirm what you want from your day.   I choose to be happy today, I choose to relax today, I choose to get out of my comfort zone and take on the dragon of fear!  Whatever you affirm believe you can .. and then you will!

Try adding some EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to your affirmations and watch those blocks resolve!

Y .. Yawn.   Yea, yea I know but yawning is good for us.  Pop into a coffee shop and start yawning and see how many peole you affect!!!   Yes it’s contagious but a good yawn plus a stretch lets us lengthen our body and take in more air.

In fact it is taught in medical schools that we yawn because oxygen levels in our lungs are low.  So when you start a yawning crisis in your local coffee shop you are doing them all a favour!

Happy Monday and as always .. keep the faith,

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of IrishHealthHour, Author, Energy Therapist, Essential Oil Student.

Tools to Help our Emotional Wellbeing

4 Things Not to Forget to Bring Camping!

I am just back from a scout camping trip with my two boys aged 12 & 7.  It was a fantastic trip to the beautiful Lough Key Forest Park.  We were staying in the nearby Lough Keel Scout camp.

When travelling with children there are just some things that make life a lot easier!

1   Healthy Snacks to Keep the Hunger at Bay!

When you are on camping trips that have organised events and dedicated meal times it is important, when you have hungry kids, to have healthy snacks to fill the gaps between the meals.  Of course every camp will have delicious smores and chocolate biscuits but also having some healthy snacks keep the kids sustained for longer during the day time.

I made some really healthy energy balls for myself and some delicious brownies for my boys.  The brownies are made from a recipe I borrowed from Connemara Organic Seaweed Company and are made with peanut butter, cocao powder, seaweed and some other delicious ingredients.  My 7 year old does not eat peanuts or seaweed but when they are mixed in this recipe he cannot get enough of them!!!  Yea I know I am a sneaky Mum but I also have two very hungry boys (they take after their Mother there!!).

2  A natural insect repellent.

I use one made with natural essential oils, that way I don’t mind putting it all over my face and neck.   I have very sensitive skin and make my own beauty products for this reason.

Because we were in a forest area I covered myself and the kids with the essential oil  blend and we managed to stay bite free this weekend.  What a relief!

3 An extra layer of clothes for bed time.

Despite the average for the time of year temperatures, night times in tents can be cooler, especially if you are a cold creature like me!   I have been reliably informed that it is not advisable to leave the same clothes on at night that you have had on during the day!  This one is a hard sell to my 12 year old who would only be too happy to do this!   It really is good to have plenty of layers for night time wear and special socks only for night time use!

At least with layers you can add or take off whichever is needed.

4  Spare bags for wet shoes/socks and anything else!

Even if there isn’t a shower in sight shoes and socks can get wet from spills, water sports or anything else that children can find themselves up to!

There is nothing worse than leaving wet shoes on top of the only spare clothes you have or finding a wet sock wrapped up in a towel!   Plastic bags or any space bags are good for putting wet things in, which saves everything else in the tent from getting destroyed by smells or water!!

It is essential to have fun on a camp, that is the whole point and simple choices can certainly help this be achieved!

Most kids love camping for the sheer freedom and for the friends they naturally make.

There are lots of camp sites throughout Ireland, always make a list of your expectations before you go of what you want the campsite to have and find one that suits your needs.   Some are closer to shops than others and some have more facilitites.  Doing your homework before you go will ensure your trip will be more enjoyable for everyone.

Happy Summer holidays to you all – my aim is to have the best Summer ever!

Until next time … keep the faith,

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Author, Owner of IrishHealthHour, Energy Therapist, Essential Oil Lover and Mum.

Therapeutic Benefits of A Seaweed Bath

 

There’s something about a swim in the open sea that is so refreshing and dissolves those cobwebs away!   It is also very therapeutic of course to be immersed in nature’s natural minerals.

However living on the West Coast of Ireland I am a bit of a wimp and wear a wet suit every time I venture into the sea.  It has to do with circulation and not being able to feel any part of my body if I don’t!!!

But I don’t need to suffer frost bite in order to benefit from the nutrients in Mother Nature’s ocean; a warm seaweed bath does the job so well!

We are lucky to have a wonderful organic seaweed producer on our doorstep in Galway on the West Coast of Ireland, Connemara Organic Seaweed Company.   I have been enjoying adding their seaweed products to my food including delicious energy balls  I get the nutritional benefits that way.  Before you ask they don’t taste of seaweed!  I made them recently at a workshop I was running to show people  how easy they are to make and how tasty it can be to add seaweed to our food.

The company, Connemara Organic Seaweed Company is in the process of bringing out a luxury spa range of products too .. watch this space!   I have had fun with them on this project!

BENEFITS OF A SEAWEED BATH

It is scientifically proven that having a seaweed bath is beneficial for supporting our central nervous system and making us feel more calm.  It also supports us with any skin issues we may have, as well as supporting symptoms of arthritis and more general muscle ache and pains.

Seaweed is one of nature’s natural sponges and, because of this, it soaks up lots of wonderful minerals directly from the sea. By the principle of osmosis when we have a seawed bath our skin absorbs these nutrients directly into our system.

Having a seaweed bath also supports the elimination of toxins from our body and increases the flow of oxygen rich blood which is extremely beneficial to maintain healthy organs and tissues.

The gel that is produced when having a seaweed bath coats the body with its nutritious delights and further aids with release of toxins from our body.

The seaweed can be used a second time too which is wonderful, as the calming effect I have felt tonight is something I definitely want to enjoy again!  I added a relaxing essential oil to the bath too to make it even more yummy!

It is certainly a treat I look forward to more often and in the comfort of my own home, which is another benefit for me!

Until next time, take it handy

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of IrishHealthHour, Author, Energy Therapist, Essential Oil Lover and Mum.

 

 

Building a Health & Wellness Community & Why It’s Important To Me

Wikipedia defines community as “… a social unit of any size that shares common values ..”.

Our values can be viewed as what is important to us in our lives.

To me being in a community of like minded people that share similiar values brings out the best in us.   We feel safe to share our views, ask questions and be open to learn to be our selves and most importantly, our best selves.

IrishHealthHour is a health and wellness community that has evolved into something far bigger than I ever expected.   To me it has always been about offering a space for people to feel comfortable joining in our hashtag hour ever Saturday morning #irishhealthhour,  to ask questions, network and learn.

It is a bridge between allopathic and natural medicine where we learn exciting new advances in the medical world or find a natural product or therapy to ease our emotional and physical symptoms.   It is not one versus the other rather a community to share both.

We often here community building being described as “finding our tribe” where again we are meeting with people with similiar stories to tell.   We gain insight and hope from those who have overcome obstacles like those we may have.  We may feel like we will never get over something but then hear another’s story and be inspired to change.

Health and wellness covers all aspects; as well as meeting with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to include our physiological, safety and self esteem issues it also includes what we eat, what we put on our skin, what exercise we do; to name but a few.

We may find we are self confident but do not get proper nutrition and exercise and because of this we may feel drained.   We may exercise and eat well but our self talk and self esteem may be low.

Health and wellness in my opinion is about balance, it is doing all of the above in a balanced way for us as an individual.  There is no hard rule fits all, we are each an individual with individual needs.

We can educate ourselves by learning from others who have gone before us and paved the way!   We can learn to be motivated, learn cooking skills or find home based exercise videos to suit our own needs at this time.

IrishHealthHour is a community and I welcome you to join us.

Until next time .. keep the faith, Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of IrishHealtHour, Energy Worker, and essential oil lover.

ITWBN’s 2nd birthday Party

The ITWBN girls Sinead Carroll and Saibh Egan always throw a great party and this year was certainly no exception for their 2nd birthday bash.   The venue this year was the lovely Connacht Hotel situated on the Dublin Road in Galway.

Cake by Deco Bake

I arrived a little early and caught up with some of the friends I have made in the blogging community.   This is one of my favourite reasons for going to blogging events catching up with bloggers I already know and meeting new bloggers.

I had a wander around the exhibitor’s tables before the event got started.   There was a wonderful selection of exhibitors as always.  We had tasty teas from  Solaris Tea, Wigs from Bellissimo Galway,and Look West, were there.  There were some amazing pieces of jewelry from Siren & Soul, and tasty treats from McCambridges of Galway,  I actually won a huge hamper from McCambridges and it was packed full of goodies like prosecco, chocolate and other delights!.  There were wonderful designs from Suzie Mahony Designs and clothes from Chez Val French Fashion at My home or Yours,  Studio 53 were there as were Juicy Lucy & Cool Beans.    Who needed breakfast with all the treats we were given when we arrived!

The speakers on the day were very inspirational.  Olivia Collins from FoodPR gave us some great advice on PR and marketing and how to deal with agencies.   It was a very positive talk and certainly inspired me to feel confident doing up a press kit and approaching one.

Gill from 56 Central is a dream to listen to.   If ever you were feeling un-motivated her honest speaking would certainly help you dust off those cobwebs and get going with your visions and dreams.  Like Gill I am a fan of vision boarding and watching my dreams come true.

The wonderful  Nikki Bradley told us her inspiring life story.  Nikki is a true warrior standing in her power and not letting everything that she has gone through in her life stop her from fulfilling her dreams.  Nikki does not dream small goals, she does amazing feats and aims high.

All three speakers left me in no doubt that the only person holding me back in my own life is myself!!   Something I preach about all the time and it was great to hear such honesty, positivity and motivation on a sunny afternoon in the Connacht Hotel.

There was also a panel debate this year chaired by the lovely Kerry Manning.   The panel of speakers were Kieran O’Malley, Doug Leddin, Siren and Soul, Getting Fed Up and yours truly!   It was a great discussion where we could hear first hand from the panel what platforms they used and which worked best for them.   It is great to hear first hand conversations like this from fellow bloggers.

The Swag Bags at the ITWBN events are always bursting with wonderful goodies and this event was no exception.   It was like several Christmas mornings and birthdays all rolled into one!!!  Here is a selection of the wonderful products we were treated to.    Thanks so much to all the contributors who gave goodies to us!

Another party over and all I can say is .. when is the next on?  Well done Sinead and Saibh, you girls know how to organise a party!

Until the next time .. keep dreaming big

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Owner of IrishHealthHour, Energy Therapist, Author and Mum!

4 Ways To Keep Your Hands & Feet Naturally Healthy

Our hands and feet put up with a lot during the day.  Often our hands are exposed to the elements and spend time in water washing dishes, windows and household surfaces.    It’s no wonder we can suffer from dry, chapped skin!   Our feet bring us on our path, ever walking and moving, propelling us forward.

It is a gift to our hands and feet to give them a natural treat, it serves us in the long run!

Here is a four step ritual I would recommend.

1. Soaking the hands and feet in warm water with Epsom salts and essential oils.

The benefit of soaking our whole body and, in this case our hands and feet in Epsom Salt is so wonderful.   Due to changes in agricultural methods and accordingly changes in our diet, we are often deficient in magnesium.   Epsom salts provide a wonderful way to assist our body in benefiting from this essential mineral which is not easily absorbed through the stomach.

Studies show increased magnesium levels can be obtained from soaking in Epsom Salts. It is also said that Magnesium  helps maintain our calcium levels.

Adding an essential oil like Lavender adds a soothing support.  Lavender is wonderful to assist in calming things down, from sun burn to our central nervous system.  It acts like a soothing blanket for our ailments.

2. Exfoliation

When we exfoliate we detoxify the skin and allow dead cells to be removed.   This brightens the complexion and improves skin tone.  It kills bacteria and prevents breakouts.

I would recommend to use brown sugar in an exfoliation which is less abrasive to the skin than white sugar is.  Mixing the sugar with a carrier oil like fractionated coconut oil can add the advantage of adding therapeutic benefits from this oil.

Fractionated coconut oil contains capric acid and caprylic acid, thus giving it more antioxidant and disinfecting benefits.   It also facilitates the absorption of other oils you are putting on your skin.

Using an essential oil like Lemongrass purifies and tones the skin and soothes aching muscles.

On an emotional level Lemongrass supports us in releasing feelings of despair so we can open up to let go of limiting beliefs we may be hoarding about ourselves.  We are better able to see life more clearly and become the pilot steering our life in the way we want it to go.

3. After exfoliating we can moisturise our hands & feet with our favourite moisturiser.  We can add an essential oil of our choice.

Maybe we seek more focus so choose Lemon or perhaps we want to accept ourselves the way we are.  Bergamot offers great support in allowing us embrace our authentic self.

Apply the moisturiser with intention. allowing our hands receive the moisture they need.

4. We can care for our cuticles and nails by softening the skin around them.  We can add Shea butter which is full of natural vitamins and fatty acids and so moisturises, reduces inflammation and soothes the skin.   Bees wax also softens and is antibacterial.  It also forms a protective barrier on the skin and so is a wonderful ingredient for skin health.

Good essential oils for nails are Lemon, Frankincense & Myrrh.  These can also be blended with a carrier oil like wheatgerm and rubbed into cuticles to keep them soft and healthy.

Frankincense offers cellular health support so putting this essential oil on our cuticles is very beneficial, it is often referred to as “King of the Oils”.

If you have a natural solutions query please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to help you.

Dolores Andrew-Gavin, Author, Essential Oil Lover, Energy Therapist, Owner IrishHealthHour