Blog - Jenny Heston

I love Spring Equinox!

I love Spring Equinox! After a long (this one especially) winter, the idea, the knowing and the full Trust that Spring is going to come is amazing. To me it is about NEW. New plants, new ideas, new ways of moving in the world and releasing the blaugh. So in celebration I planted up over 144 plants yesterday (from seed), my house is clean and smudged and on the actual equinox there will be a glorious fire roaring and a welcoming in of new energy.

Spring Equinox is the second of the four “sky points” in the Wheel of the Year, and it is when the sun does a perfect balancing act in the heavens. In other words, the sun rises exactly in the East, travels through the sky for 12 hours and sets exactly in the West. Thus, all over the world, day and night are of equal length.

As I mentioned this is such a glorious time of renewal, rejuvenation and rebirth. For example spring cleaning is not just about your home, it’s about removing old or negative energies accumulated over the dark winter months to prepare you for glorious growth. It’s about planting seeds of intention, seeds of growth, seeds of food – it’s about shedding that heavy winter coat and picking up something a tad lighter and a bit more fun.

If we were to look through multiple cultures Spring Equinox has and is a glorious time of welcoming in the light, celebrating the rebirth or creation of new things, planting seeds and releasing the old, worn and tired.

For example, there is the story of the Roman god Mithras, which is similar to the tale of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. “ Born at the winter solstice and resurrected in the spring, Mithras helped his followers ascend to the realm of light after death. In one legend, Mithras, who was popular amongst members of the Roman military, was ordered by the Sun to sacrifice a white bull. He reluctantly obeyed, but at the moment when his knife entered the creature’s body, a miracle took place. The bull turned into the moon, and Mithras’ cloak became the night sky. Where the bull’s blood fell flowers grew, and stalks of grain sprouted from its tail.”

In the Mayan culture, at Chichen Itza, spring equinox is most certainly celebrated (I have been there for this, very cool!) It’s called – The Snake of Sunlight “A famous ancient equinox celebration was the Mayan sacrificial ritual by the main pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico. The pyramid, known as El Castillo, has 4 staircases running from the top to the bottom of the pyramid’s faces, notorious for the bloody human sacrifices that used to take place here. The staircases are built at a carefully calculated angle which makes it look like an enormous snake of sunlight slithers down the stairs on the day of the equinox.”

Last but not least let’s look at the Iranian New Year, which is called No-Rooz, and happens at exactly the same time. Again, spring cleaning occurs and an altar is set up “Iranians consider No-Rooz as their biggest celebration of the year, before the new year, they start cleaning their houses (Khaane Tekaani), and they buy new clothes. But a major part of New Year rituals is setting the “Haft Seen” with seven specific items. In ancient times each of the items corresponded to one of the seven creations and the seven holy immortals protecting them. Today they are changed and modified but some have kept their symbolism. All the seven items start with the letter “S”; this was not the order in ancient times. These seven things usually are: Seeb (apple), Sabze (green grass), Serke (vinager), Samanoo (a meal made out of wheat), Senjed (a special kind of berry), Sekke (coin), and Seer (garlic). Sometimes instead of Serke they put Somagh (sumak, an Iranian spice). Zoroastrians today do not have the seven “S”s but they have the ritual of growing seven seeds as a reminder that this is the seventh feast of creation, while their sprouting into new growth symbolized resurrection and eternal life to come. “

So in my world, no matter where you are on this planet – equinox time is about balance & harmony. Also, celebration! So whether you just take a moment to say thanks, or you buy yourself some spring flowers, plant some seeds, light a fire, have friends over for a celebration, it doesn’t matter.

But I do invite you to do something, even if it is just writing with a Sharpie on an egg!

So how are you going to celebrate?

3 Simple Steps to Harnessing the Power of the Full Moon.

Jenny Heston · 3:13 pm ·

Whoot, whoot, it’s Full Moon! This Full Moon is also known as the Crow Moon. Now if you feel inclined you are more than welcome to dance naked under the moon as I have seen in some movies, (but it’s a tad chilly here for that), so let’s explore different ways to celebrate the Full Moon.

As a kid, I used to look up at what I perceived as a delicious, benevolent face that would glow down at me and I would wonder what she was thinking, and if she could see me. (The joys of being 6). Now I have different thoughts, albeit they are most certainly sprinkled with magic dust when it comes to moon times.

Two weeks ago we had the glorious New Moon with a solar eclipse and today (Sunday, March 13th) we have a Full Moon with a lunar eclipse! This is also a Full Moon in Virgo, so there is some of that energy at play.

So what does Full Moon mean? Well if you think about it the Full Moon represents a culmination of energy, we have watched the moon wax and wane and now she is in her full glory. So this is a perfect time to deal with the stuff we haven’t dealt with. It’s all about letting go, letting go of any resentments, hurts, angers, habits that don’t serve you, thoughts that tweak you. Toxic relationships, toxic thoughts. All about the Release baby!

The question I often hear is – How do I do that? Aaaahhhh, grasshopper, walk with me a while and you will learn the way of the quiet Ninja………..

There are 3 simple steps to harnessing the effects of Full Moon releasing – you ready?

First, here I drop the F bomb on you, so if you find it offensive cover your ears, if you’re willing to explore stick with me.

FORGIVENESS. (You thought I was going to say Fuck didn’t you?) Forgiveness is key. Now I know you might be rolling your eyes right now and saying to yourself “I am a calm benevolent spirit and of course I forgive.” Well, I am going to say hmmm, possible bullshit. We all want to be perceived as forgiving, loving, kind, aware people, but forgiveness is a tricky one for a lot of us – it’s as if we feel that to forgive someone, or a situation, we are condoning it – which we aren’t. If you want to read more about Forgiveness and how an easy daily practice can have a huge impact on you, your life, your well being and your profit margin, hop on over and read How Do You Feel About the F-Word?

So back to the Full Moon practice.

Step One – Forgive. Take 10 minutes and write, put pen to paper and write down anyone who you perceive has hurt you, any negative emotions, disappointments, upsets or any situation that didn’t turn out like you hoped it would, anything you have said or done that leaves that niggly feeling of “Bugger and balderdash, I messed up there.” Write it all down, the good, the bad and the ugly. Then we get to the fun part!

Step Two – Burn It! If you feel comfie read it outloud, if not, just read it through one more time. Then (in a safe way) either outdoors, over a sink, a loo, burn it. Release, release, release, send it out to the heavens, the moon, the ether or wherever you want to. Just don’t hold onto it. After it has turned to ash and dust I personally say to myself and the moon:-

I forgive all hurt, anger and resentment from my past and present, both self inflicted and by others. I forgive anything that prevents me from receiving all that I desire and require to live the life I dream of and serve at my highest level. I cut these cords and ties and send them back to whence they came and I welcome my own energy back, healthy, cleaned and transferred. So Be It.

Step Three – Gratitude. Now why Gratitude you may ask? We have all heard how important it is to practice gratitude and if you don’t have a daily practice, I highly encourage you to implement one. In this case, as part of the Full Moon ritual, you have just released a lot of “stuff” and energy (that probably wasn’t yours) and ties to holding onto crap, so there is now a delicious, fresh clean void. What better way to fill that void than with Gratitude! Gratitude raises the vibration and helps you see clearly all the magical, wonderful things/people that are in your in life.

So take a few moments and think of at least 3 people that you are grateful for in your life. Write them down and really feel the feeling of gratitude (I think of it like a gorgeous warm blanket that makes me feel relaxed, strong and blessed). Write down a list of what you are grateful for, it doesn’t have to be huge. Are your feet warm? Did you have a nice meal today? Are your children healthy? Does your dog greet you when you come home? Did something scrumdelicious happen to you? Just pour it all out and if writing’s not your thing, say it out loud, but not like you’re reciting a paragraph from a text book. Put some feeling behind it.

Voila, your done! That’s it. It’s not rocket science, but it is exceptionally important. Think about it this way, you planted delicious seeds at the New Moon, now you are just moving the rocks, possible deadwood out of the way with this practice so that your seeds have room to grow.

Now if you want to get particular and earn possible credits or a gold star. When writing your forgiveness you can work with the energy of where the Full Moon is. So for example, this Full Moon is in Virgo and if you have ever looked at a Facebook post that does a quick and dirty description of the astrological signs you will have heard that Virgo can be rather critical, judgemental, a tad of a perfectionist etc. So ask yourself – how have I been critical of someone else, or how did I feel criticised. Does that make sense?

Enjoy. Celebrate the Release and then celebrate all the things to be Grateful for. Happy Full Moon.

10 steps to making kick arse New Moon wishes.

Jenny Heston · 5:14 pm ·

Yes, I do celebrate the New Moon, the Full Moon, every Equinox and both Solstice times (I think there is a hidden Pagan inside of me). Why? Because it makes sense to me. It is the celebration of our cycles, life, death, rebirth, a celebration of seasons and quite frankly I frigging love to celebrate most things! In my world life is a glorious, joyful adventure and the more reasons to celebrate and share thoughts, feelings, laughter and glorious food – the better.

One of the questions I often receive is “When and how do I make New Moon wishes and how do I know that I’m doing them correctly?” It’s really very easy and glorious fun. First and foremost, you make the wishes/intentions/commitments at – guess what – the New Moon. No it doesn’t have to be the exact moment and it doesn’t have to actually be that very day (although that is preferable), but if you are uber busy and remember the day after the New Moon, all good.

In fact, in my world, you can make your wishes up to about 48 hours after the original time, just don’t try and jump the gun and do them before hand.

Personally, I like to write them by hand as I spend a lot of time on my laptop writing so to stop, pull out my journal, find the pen that I love to write with (I am very picky about my pens, in fact I am a pen snob), curl up in a chair with a hot cup of tea and write, this is very Zen to me and I am far more present and focused.

Ahhh, now we get to one of the key (note that word please) key pieces – being present, focused and having intent. If your idea of writing your wishes is to quickly scribble them down on a scrap of paper whilst cooking dinner, helping a kid with their algebra and grabbing the cat to throw outside as it’s making that gross hairball coughing sound, you might want to make a little bit of space for yourself and your desires and intentions.

Also, if you are making wishes to “change or alter” someone else. You need to stop that now. The wishes are for you, the manifesting is for you and it’s really important that you recognise that. So for example, you can’t turn the arsehole you are sorta dating into a glorious Prince Charming, unless that is what he wants for himself. If you are in an abusive, toxic relationship – you can’t manifest that the other person will change, but you can manifest that you have the courage to leave. Does this make sense so far?

So here is my 10 step down and dirty list for making New Moon wishes.

1. Get a nice journal, writing book, cool pad of paper and a pen that you love to write with.
2. Give yourself a little window of space and feel gratitude for all that is fantabulous, fun, yummy and delicious in your life already and really drop into that space.
3. Then start thinking of 10 wishes or intentions for the next month that you would like to manifest. Now here is the key – get to the feeling piece of it. So for example, if your wish is for a huge flat screen TV. Why? Is it coming out of an envy or comparison (in other words your best friend has one and you just want one?) Or is it coming from a feeling of – Gosh, it would be amazing to have a big TV and curl up with my kiddos on a Friday night, make popcorn and have a connected, fun movie night with them. Do you see the difference? So do please get clear on how you want, what you want, to FEEL!
4. I tend to write mine out in present tense and most of the time with the words I AM at the front of the intention. So if I have been dealing with some health issues and energy has been low and I would like it to be different, I would write – I AM healthy and vibrant in my body. My body is strong, radiant, filled with energy and bug/virus free.
5. Now write or draw your 10 wishes (yes, there are only 10 – which is actually a lot).
6. Instead of closing the book and going back to busyness. Take a moment and visualise and see each wish/intention as here and now. How does it look? How does it feel? Does it feel scrumptious?
7. Then decide what YOU are willing to commit to each of these wishes. So for example, if your wish is to meet the partner of your dreams, what are you going to do to help? Join a social club, join an online dating site? You have to put some umph and action into your desires, it doesn’t have to be big, but it does have to be something. So if you want to lose 10 lbs, perhaps your commitment is to eat healthy snacks and stretch instead of sitting on the sofa every night and eating 2 bags of Doritos.
8. I tend to then take a few moments and just sit with my wishes/intentions and meditate on them. It doesn’t have to be long, but I do feel it is important to sit with them and release them out to the ether. As Abraham Hicks says, rockets of desire. So if you can spend 2 minutes purely focused on your wishes – holy hannah, you are creating a gorgeous set of fireworks for the Universe to work with.
9. Release the attachment to the outcome! You have pondered them, you have written (or drawn) them, you have visualised them, you have spent a few moments in meditation now get out of your own way. You may think you know the way they HAVE to come to you, but sometimes they can come in a better way. So I tend to say outloud – With grace and ease for my highest good and the highest good of all concerned, I release these.
10. At this point you can burn them if you want. I personally don’t as I love going back over them and seeing all the glorious ones that have come true. It is entirely up to you. However, I will say, if you are burning them – do it safely!

So there we have it. Is the New Moon a powerful manifestation time, most certainly. Does every New Moon have different energy with it, yes. Play with it, have fun. I invite you to try this for the next 4 new moons and see what happens.

Wishing you a glorious partial solar eclipse New Moon in Capricorn and remember that New Moon Eclipse wishes have a more potent energy (just saying).

What’s Love got to do with it?

Jenny Heston · 6:18 pm ·

As I wrote that title I envisioned Tina Turner belting out her song by the same name, loud and proud! So let me ask you – what does that song by Tina Turner and Charlie Chaplin have to do with Love? Stick with me and let’s go find out.

With it being Valentine’s Day I thought I would turn my hand to writing about love. Ahhhh, Love. The emotion that can make sane people crazy, and those without it feel lost.

“Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80, Greek three, and English only one. This is indicative of the poverty of awareness or emphasis that we give to that tremendously important realm of feeling. Eskimos have 30 words for snow, because it is a life-and-death matter to them to have exact information about the element they live with so intimately. If we had a vocabulary of 30 words for love … we would immediately be richer and more intelligent in this human element so close to our heart. An Eskimo probably would die of clumsiness if he had only one word for snow; we are close to dying of loneliness because we have only one word for love. Of all the Western languages, English may be the most lacking when it comes to feeling.” – Robert Johnson, The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden

It’s so true. The I love you that I say to my kids as I hug them or push back the hair from their foreheads as I kiss them goodnight is very different to the I love you that I tell my gorgeous furry friends as I pet them. The I love you that I say to my soul sisters, who have watched me go to pieces, picked me up and dusted me off, is very different to the I love you that I say to my elderly mother who forgets that we have talked. All of these are gorgeous and I feel blessed, but more importantly is the I love you that I say to myself. Isn’t it selfish to love yourself, shouldn’t you come last on the list and everyone and everything before you? Hell No!

I spent many years not loving myself as I had been indoctrinated by my mother not to and I had fully bought into the story that to do so was narcissistic, selfish, ego centric – this in turn led to making some bad choices in relationships, allowing others to define my worth, allowing others and myself to diminish and hurt me and saying things to myself that I would NEVER say to another human being as they were too cruel, unkind and vile. Thankfully, I have learned differently, I have learned that first and foremost it is vital (yes, I did use that word) to love myself. As the more I love myself the more I can love, help, support and serve others and really show up as ME.

Think of it this way if you will – a piggy bank. There sits an empty piggy bank and daily you start to drop your change into it, now this change doesn’t come in coin form, it comes in gratitude, appreciation, valuing your effort, saying kind things to yourself, kicking the frigging gremlins out of your head or giving them a different project to do to occupy them. Soon your piggy bank is overflowing and you feel frigging amazing. Situations can happen but you realise that yup, that situation may have sucked, you may have messed up but you are still worthy, loveable and valued. You no longer offer yourself up as the victim or the sacrificial lamb for others or your own inner critics to punt around. Instead you own it, learn from it (and sometime in the future will laugh about it) and release it.

So as I was thrilled to come across this poem by Charlie Chaplin. Now if you don’t know who Charlie Chaplin was he was born in 1889 and was a silent film actor/comedian from about 1920 to 1950 and he was iconic for his mustache and his bowler hat. He died 40 years ago. Now this poem really speaks to what self love is and what it isn’t.

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is “AUTHENTICITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody if I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it “RESPECT”.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it “MATURITY”.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment. So I could be calm. Today I call it “SELF-CONFIDENCE”.

As I began to love myself I quit stealing my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call it “SIMPLICITY”.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything that drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism. Today I know it is “LOVE OF ONESELF”.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is “MODESTY”.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worrying about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where everything is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it “FULFILLMENT”.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But as I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection “WISDOM OF THE HEART”.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today I know “THAT IS LIFE”!”

Wishing you a fabulous Valentine’s Day and please remember to do something nice for yourself every day, as you are the only you there is.

How do you feel about the “F” word???

Jenny Heston · 5:26 pm ·

How do you feel about the “F” word? Does it make you cringe?

Do your shoulders go up around your ears, a possible shudder or does it make your teeth hurt?

Do you glare at the person who uses “that” word and then turn your back?

Do you tell them how offensive you find that word and that the use of that word shows limited development?

Oh yes, by the way, I’m not talking about the word – Fuck – I’m talking about the word Forgiveness.

Forgiveness, such a gorgeous word, but so frigging tricky to actually do, yet exceptionally important for your sake, not anybody else’s. You know the old saying – “Holding onto anger and resentment is like drinking a glass of poison and hoping the other person dies?” It’s so true, half the time the person you are angry at doesn’t give a flying fig, can’t remember, doesn’t care or a myriad of other reasons, but you holding onto this energy does hurt you. So unless you are one of the exceptional few who has figured out how to ingest a substance and send it through the ethers into another human body, you might want to try a different route.

About 8 years ago one of my fabulous mentors advised me that I had a bit of an issue with forgiveness and they suggested I should work on that. Excuse me? I don’t carry grudges, I have no resentments, all is well in my world – mmmm, have to say, bullshit. So I chanted the Ho’oponopono for 2 weeks (yes a full 2 weeks, most of the time under my breath). Now if you don’t know what I’m talking about, or think that I am referring to some exotic tropical beverage, it’s the prayer of forgiveness and it’s super simple there are 4 lines. You pull the image up of the person or situation and sing, say, chant “I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you.”

Now that may sound totally daft to you or you may have worked with it, but it does work. If you want more information there are some fabulous sites online with a more detailed methodology and the back piece of where it came from.

So after the allotted time my response was – Sweet! I did two weeks of this so I’m all good right? I’ve released any anger, resentment etc that was there. The answer that came back was yes and Heck NO! I had most certainly dug deep and forgiven my 3rd grade teacher, my ex-husband, and everyone or anything else that I had a resentment to, but I hadn’t bothered forgiving myself.

My delicious ego kicked up with “Why do I need to forgive myself, I am a positive paragon of virtue!” (Which I am most certainly not). The fact of the matter is I’m human and I do fuck up (there’s that other F word), I have said unkind things, I have hurt someone’s feelings, I have forgotten a kids assembly at school, I have hurt my own feelings and state of being with huge negative self talk, disparaging comments and self attack.

So what I realised was as fantabulous as it was to do a two week process, I needed to have a daily forgiveness practice, not just a now and then one. Daily I needed to release any anger, blame, shame, judgement, fear or perceived stuff, whether directed at someone else or at myself. Why? Because that stuff can build up and be pushed down and it was limiting me, it was feeding fears, it was something I couldn’t change other than to say “I’m sorry”, it was energy being wasted.

So if you are thinking – I don’t need to practice forgiveness. Really? Come play with me for a moment and let me paint a random day.

You drive to work and someone cuts you off and you have to slam on your brakes to stop from rear ending them. WTH!!!! You were there, in that lane, didn’t they bother looking? At work there is drama happening and you hear through the grapevine that someone you thought was a friend is having a good old gossip about you, and it’s not very pleasant. The work day trudges along and Maria from accounting comes bouncing up to tell you how her latest fling is taking her to Cuba for 2 weeks, yet you can’t get your husband to go to the next State. Traffic is bad on the drive home and you swear, curse and beat yourself up about life in general. You didn’t pitch your very cool idea at the office meeting, you allowed yourself to be talked over…….

You get home to find that your darling family (who’s been home for a few hours now) are all just lounging around, or are out, the house is a mess and no one has bothered to open the fridge and think “What should we have for dinner.” You cook dinner, your youngest is in a foul mood and apparently feels it’s all your fault so most certainly acts out, you have to heckle the kids to do their homework and then you receive an email from work that asks for yet another thing that wasn’t meant to be happening for 2 more weeks and finally after everyone else has been tended you fall into bed exhausted.

So no resentments, no anger, no self attack?

If you can say you have none of the above then I should come meet you and you better be sitting under a Bodhi tree and looking uber serene!

So I invite you every night before you close your peepers, make a list of what you forgive, who you forgive and most importantly forgive yourself. Forgive your fears, your shame, your blame and your judgement, forgive the neighbour and their yappy dog that barks at 5am. Come back to the place of loving and appreciating yourself. The reality is you are awesome and you are human, that doesn’t mean you need to spend your time beating yourself up and holding onto anger. The more you forgive those around you and yourself, the more space you create in your life to flourish.

Drinking water or a nice cuppa tea is far better than drinking poison.

jennyheston

Release Anxiety And Claim Your Power