At least for today...

Transformation Mandela

In the past few days, I feel as though I've undergone a complete transformation. I don't say this lightly. I really mean it.

On Thursday, I decided to take someone up on a rather nice offer. One of the English people who comes to my conversation classes is a lovely lady called Valerie, who I think has had an interesting life thus far - she's married to a Dutchman and has lived in Amsterdam and also in Majorca, as well as travelling far and wide across the world.  She clearly loves to learn and has brought a different attitude to the group - in a very positive way. She is a trained masseuse and is wanting to spread the word about the hands-on treatments she can give, including treating sports injuries and painful muscles. I think her offer to our class was an excellent idea - come for a free treatment - that way, we can personally endorse what she does.

I have been feeling rather jaded - I'm the sort of person who enjoys high 'highs' but can sometimes come down to quite low 'lows'. So rather than wallowing, I decided to take Valerie up on her offer. And it was so good to pass an hour being gently massaged and spoken to quietly in a lovely setting - she and Miel live in a little village just outside Alcala la Real and have made themselves a delightful home that reassured me that a place does exist somewhere that will be right for us too.

Valerie doesn't have a website but if you are in or around the Mures area, and want either a massage or specific treatment, ask me for contact details.



That was Thursday - and I came home feeling chilled. On Friday, I had a call from a friend who knew I was interested in doing Reiki, a Japanese system of natural healing and energy therapy. Belen, my next door neighbour does it and whilst we were at the Etnosur festival, we met the Reiki teacher who said she was planning to run a workshop for beginners very soon. And it was Mayi, whom I met whilst house-hunting, who called to say Aurora would be running a workshop all day Sunday if I wanted to go.

And I decided that I did want to go.

Mayi, her boyfriend's cousin, Pedro Antonio and I spent the day meditating, relaxing and concentrating as well as learning the basics of Reiki from Aurora.

And I can't possibly explain how wonderful it was! As an ENFP, I know that I prefer (in Myers-Briggs speak) to take my energy from external sources, and tend to rely on having plenty to do to keep my battery charged. And yes, I almost always have plenty to do but sometimes, I have to give out a lot more energy than I'm able to take in. And in the last 12 months, with all our moving and new experiences to deal with, I have taken very little time to be with myself. My jaded feeling could be described more accurately as being at odds with myself - discontented but not sure why (or how!)

The Reiki session has really helped me to refocus on my core values - helped me to re-centre myself - a state that is vital to me. I hadn't gone far off-centre, I don't usually go far but it sometimes takes me a little while to consciously notice.

All three of us left Aurora's house at about 8pm and emerged into glorious blue skies feeling as though we'd been away from the real world for several days, rather than the 10 hours in fact. We almost floated down the street. I realised I hadn't spoken a word of English all day either - having left the house before my family were awake. And we'd done a lot of talking! That realisation added to my content - it's a while since I've spent the day talking to adults on subjects other than food or family.

And when I got home, my mood wasn't instantly banished by finding a houseful of arguing children and a frazzled husband - no, on the contrary, they'd all had a lovely day and been to the swimming pool, eaten (homemade) burgers for lunch and I was greeted by warm affection and big hugs.




I'm not a mystical type - nor spiritual either - but I engaged with an energy that felt very positive and very powerful yesterday and I will, over the next few weeks, be laying positive energy-giving hands on myself, my children, my husband and our new puppy - and on or near anyone else who needs it.

And I don't think anyone would argue with these principles:


At least for today:

Do not be angry,

Do not worry,

Be grateful,

Work with diligence,

Be kind to people.

I'll report back on progress - but now, I'm off to meditate on the roof.