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I had an epiphany today. It was so simple yet had such far reaching consequences it was astounding!

A year ago I moved in with my now husband from my 3 bedroom semi where I had spent two years with my daughters. It had been a great space for the three of us; we’d had fun creating a completely girlie and surreal space filled with Angels, Fairies, Inspirational Sayings, Crystals and Fairy Lights. We had painted walls purple and pink and got creative with silver paint squares. The garden was wall to wall angelic ceramic figures, if a little weed strewn! There was mess and muddle due to a busy life but the energy there was great and guests felt very welcome.

I was really looking forward to our move. Our new home had a great family energy too and would be a good space for us all to socialise…if a little cramped with 4 teenagers, 3 cats and us! Carefully I packed away all the things I’d treasured – we were moving again in a few months so it would all come out again when we got our new house. I felt I was quite strict on myself and deliberated over the objects I kept. In true Feng Shui style I only kept the ornaments and pictures that I felt had value and quite a few boxes winged their way to the charity shop.

Twelve months have passed since I closed the door on my stowed items. Over that time we have bonded as a family and I have bonded with the house. Phil and I have got married and the kids have grown up a little; a year full of activities and memories with lots of laughter thrown in! We have decided not to move again so now is the time to sort through all those stored things and bring out all my treasures. One by one I opened those boxes that I had carefully packed away…and I didn’t want any of it! How could it be that all those things I had valued and collected no longer mean anything?

Then it struck me. Over the years as I’d learned a new way of thinking I had collected ornaments, objects and images that reminded me of my spiritual self. I had a crystal for every occasion, statues of Buddha’s and angels on every surface, candles, incense…it was endless! Trying to gain a new perspective on life had meant changing all the old habits that I had, like shouting when something went wrong, using negative language and expecting bad things to come my way. Surrounding myself by all these visual reminders of spirituality had served me well. Over time I had changed, little by little.

Of course, the new decor hadn’t been the only change I’d made. I had spent a lot of time being guided by teachers, I had trained on courses and I had read an enormous amount of books. While taking all these actions there had been huge changes in my personal life, some subtle…and some huge and painful! Every step I took taught me something new, gave me a little more strength or took a weight off my shoulders. Gradually though, the ‘new’ or ‘natural’ me emerged, not some ethereal shimmering being that smiled serenely while chaos abounded but someone who would smile a lot more and swear a little less!

I have attended countless Mind Body & Spirit fairs over the years, more recently as an exhibitor. There are always times when the human traffic lulls and you can take a step back and observe.  People wander up and down the aisles scouring each stall, their eyes scrutinising every object. Some customers buy everything, from a bumper sticker to a huge piece of crystal, while others just scan, not quite seeming to find what they are looking for. The question I ask is: is it that they just don’t know what they need? I believe even the most stubborn of us know that there are changes happening. We may not know it consciously but on some level we feel we should do something. By attending these events perhaps we are looking for a ‘quick fix’. Buy something shiny and everything will miraculously be ok, without any personal effort or analysis. I have conversations with people who have mishap after mishap, knock after knock, anything that can go wrong does for them. They may be trying to get a new job and not getting an interview or relationships are always difficult. Of course this is disheartening and when they talk each sentence is full of negatives, “Of course I won’t get the job” or “It’s just my luck” or “It’s not fair!”  I expect you too have heard similar?

What I suggest is that while buying your crystals, Buddha’s and floaty objects you do something else; stop. Just stand completely still and observe your body, your posture and the look on your face. Watch out for any tension in your muscles or a frown as an expression or any rigidity in your stance. Notice if your breathing is free flowing and deep or shallow and hitched. How do you feel stood in this way – happy and relaxed or itching to do something and irritable? Over the course of one day notice the language you use and look out for all those negatives, is the glass empty or full? This may give you a little insight into where you are in the present.

So, in conclusion: how do we exist in this Spirit World and make the changes we need? Well, buying crystals, fairies, angels, books and sparkly purple things will certainly remind us where we are going if we buy them with intention, but buy too many and we end up feeling heavy and burdened. Don’t buy any and we may not get the visual hints we occasionally require when that unwanted bill pops through the letter box or we are having a pointless argument that we have had endless times before.

I suppose with everything there is a balance and maybe if we sit back once a day and assess where we are, we will realise that those little changes have evolved into a new, happier, lighter way of being!

By: Nicky Marshall

Nicky Marshall is a Psychic, Medium, Therapist and Reiki Master. At present she is concentrating on running events, writing and giving talks and workshops around the West Country with Deb Hawken of Dancing Star. Together their aim in to inspire people to Love Life! and become Dancing Stars – see their websites for more information.