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I’ve been on Rhiw Mountain for 1and a half weeks, my first week a free week from the owners of my cottage. I’d wanted a week here alone and the universe provided. You see I had a niggle, an itch I really needed to scratch, a niggle that niggled and niggled that something needed to change, some lesson, some step needed to be made. I’ve learnt many a lesson in the last 16 months since leaving my corporate role and I can see the path leading to my future. I am more in the present and more in the now. But what was this feeling? What was this niggle? I couldn’t place my finger on it? But the answers have come thick and fast this last week and all delivering the same message. Know my purpose, know my objective, be authentic, be true, allow my inner wise woman to breath, grow and unfurl so that she shines brightly to all. Stop dimming my light as I have been told to do all my life. SHINE BRIGHT. It came to me in many ways; Via earth - the beauty of the landscape, the colour of the autumn leaves, the eating of fresh blackberries, the watching of wildlife, the unicorns on the hillside, the hawthorn berries shimmering red, the yellow of the gorse, the purple of the heather, the rocks and the energy from earth giving life to all around. It came via man made messages - episodes of Good Witch, Star Trek, watching films - The Craft, Harry Potter. It came from the books I was reading and the books my husband is reading - Light is the new Black, 12 rules for life, Times Convert, it came via my oracle cards. It came from my Surfgirl magazine and a copy of the Daily Post and random books on the shelves in the cottage I am in. It came from the favours of the food that I cooked and concocted and the herbs I add to bring enticing flavours. Via air - howling winds, breaking waves, seeing “charms of goldfinches” flitting like pieces of gold across the sky, in “the party of Jay’s” that keep flying over the house, the “murder or crows and ravens," the “congregation of choughs”. It came to me in the clouds shaped like dragons, like victorian ladies and faces smiling down at me. It came to me in the butterflies, including the one that landed and roosted on my hand. It cam to me in the swallows and house martins swooping around me as I walked up the mountains where winds made me feel like I could fly. From the music, the sound, the language which seeps into me as I spend more time here. via water - the sea sometimes blue, sometimes silver, other times gold, then grey, turquoise, green and blue, or orange in a beautiful sunset. The water in the air, bringing rainbows across the fields or in the clouds above, mixing with moonlight and sunlight to flood my world with colour. In the rain that tap danced on the roof sounding like a thousand elves welcoming this pure elixir, in the milk from the local farm, full creamy and sweet. It came in the still sea looking like a piece of glass, the blue sea looking like a place in the mediterranean, the beaches I walked along and the streams I crossed. From the feeling you get standing under the shower and when you slip into a silky bath of water. The pull of the silver full moon on the tides of the earth and my being. Via fire - from the sun bringing warmth, rainbows, light, and beautiful sunsets, the logs burning bright on the fire, the flames changing colour from gold, to orange, red to purple, blue to green. The candles flickering and the lights giving a warm glow. The warmth of the radiators and the water I washed in. The stars burning brightly in the sky, seeing shooting stars and Arcturus in the western sky flitting the colours of the rainbow and Mars glowing red. The spice in my food and my herb teas and the glow of passion and love. I devoured the sights that I saw, the colours of the natural world, the beauty in it and the man-made world, the beauty of the art at the local gallery. I listened to the sounds - birds, wind, rain, waves, water, cows, grasshoppers, sheeps, horses, jets flying high overhead. Music I played in the house, the crackle of the fire and most of all I listened to the silence. I tasted the salt on my lips from the sea, the basil on my sandwich, the fruit, vegetables and other food I ate. I smelled the change of the season - log fires burning, autumn leaves, earth, moss and sea. I felt the wind on my face, the rain and sun on my skin. I felt warm, I felt cold. I felt the softness of the faux fur jacket I bought to keep me warm. I thought about life, the universe, I asked questions, I researched, I found what I needed and I asked more questions. And I found me. I found the same message over and over again - I need to stop dimming my light and I need to shine bright by being me and relishing each experience whether it is new or if it is old. I can experience each day as a new beginning. I recalled every instance I’ve been told to dim my inner wise woman, to dim my light and I’ll be honest I thought I was embracing her authenticity, I thought I was allowing her to flourish, but I was still allowing her to be trapped inside. I went out on Monday, my wedding anniversary, and I shone bright and I mean really bright. I felt and I looked like me, like the amazing wise woman I am and I allowed her to flourish and strut her stuff. This isn’t about releasing the ego. No, my ego would have wanted something different, my ego is a named thing and a named thing is a tamed thing. No, I let out my inner wise woman and I shone. I held my head up high and I laughed and I smiled and I saw even more wonder in the world than I normally do (I didn’t think it was even possible!). As I passed people I could see them looking and part of me felt like I should dim my light, but I didn’t I looked them directly in the eye and smiled at them a fabulous full on smile and do you know what I got in return - people not just smiling back at me, but absolutely grinning back at me full of light and as they did that I looked back to see them smile at people and the light transferring from soul to soul. Bouncing around like rainbows. And when I say smile I don’t mean the half-hearted smiles that we normally do, I mean to really smile. Smile with your whole face, your mouth, your eyes, your cheeks, smile with your body, smile with your heart, with your soul, with your spirit and from that most important place, your inner wise woman. I did that and I felt alive, so alive. And that is the answer to my niggle, that itch that needed to be scratched. I need to shine bright and by shining bright my life purpose to help as many women as possible to find their inner wise woman will grow and allow others to shine brightly too, as that is how we truly bring magic into our lives. Shine bright wise women, shine bright. Brightest of all blessings, Haulwen The Magical Mojo Coach

We are the makers of our past, our present and our future. But how many of us feel sorry for ourselves and hope that a white knight will save us. For me it was never a white knight, I would dream of fairies taking me away and fixing everything, sometimes I imagined a vampire with wealth would save me. We’re brought up that as women we need saving from something and that only a man can do it. Most fairy tales and most stories in the past were based on this premise. We fall into a trap of stereotypes and we hear it all the time. I remember when I resigned from my job, it was about 6 months after one of the seniors in my team had resigned and he was a man. This is what was said to me “oh is this because you’ve lost a strong man in your team to support you”. I’d had the same said when another man in my team had left “how will you cope without him here for you”. Both men left to pursue the next steps in their careers which was to be a head of department like me, so I knew they would leave, as until I left I couldn’t offer them the same. The only issue I had when I lost senior men in my team was the fact that other departments would not take the women in my team seriously and it would take them months of being put down and discredited and comments like “when he was here” - even though those same departments complained constantly about most men in my team as being arrogant or not knowing what they were doing. (they were no more arrogant than the men they were dealing with) It was so frustrating and I would get so annoyed. And because of these preconceptions the women would back down and say, “They won’t take me seriously because I’m not a man” or “perhaps we need the men in our team to do this”. Equally the men are tarred with the brush the other way, the expectation to save the woman, that they won’t be good in certain women type roles and to be the provider, to “man up” instead of acknowledging their feelings. Yet many men don’t want this either. We need to break these stereotypes and it starts with you. You do not need saving. You have all of the answers within you to save yourself. You are an amazing being who can make stuff happen and pitying ourselves is not going to change things. One thing thats become clear to me, since I left my job, is that I truly think I am the luckiest person on the planet. My free holiday this week in Wales is a prime example. I’ve been dreaming of having a week here on my own for years. As I drove here the sun started to shine as I I saw the first glimpse of sea. Today, I am in the clouds, literally, my cottage is on a mountain and we spend a proportion of most days in the clouds, but the weather changes quickly and I will see the view at some point. Many people who come here just focus on the time in the clouds, not seeing the view, instead of how quickly the weather changes and in a few hours I’ll probably have bright sunshine (This happened yesterday and I was actually sunbathing in the afternoon). I see the clouds as an opportunity to focus on my writing and not to be distracted by the scenery around me. (and as I was typing this the clouds cleared so I could see the sea, as if to prove my point). In my last job I felt sorry for myself all the time, and all I did was complain about it. The more I complained the worse it got. Now I see how my own self-destructive negative thoughts were creating my own reality. Everyone around me was negative too, yet since I’ve changed so have the people around me. I was feeling sorry for myself, i’d allow the negative comments in, I allowed the organisation to impact my reality and I allowed them to destroy my confidence. Note how I say I allowed them.  I remember when I resigned saying, “They’ll only be happy when they have a man doing the job” - I was creating my own reality. I would day dream often of being saved, and I confess that even since leaving I’d day dream of being saved, hoping someone would take pity on me, and help me out. But now its different! It’s taken me a good 6 months of doing daily oracle card reading, journalling, daily gratitude and reading positive affirmations to get me to stop looking for a saviour. I know I can get my dream and I can achieve my dreams if I just focus on it and start living my dream now. Yes, I do still have times when I pity myself - but now I’ll throw myself a pity party - snuggle up with a dvd, some nice food and drink and within a couple of hours its gone, I find it much easier to get out of that place. I’m a woman living in the western world and although there are many things to be fearful of, they are all outside my sphere of influence. I can drive a car, have a job, wear what I like, walk down the street. I know I will always have a roof over my head and food on my plate. And for that I am truly thankful. So next time you feel like pitying yourself, hold yourself a pity party, embrace it and then do some journalling, do some gratitude work and remind yourself of the blessings around you. Be thankful for what you have now and you will create your own future. Haulwen The Magical Mojo Coach

I've told my story many times within these blogs about my journey to where I am today - in my previous role I was a head of department, overtired, overworked and overwhelmed with everything around me. It's a familiar story I hear all the time and in the end I needed to leave that role and find my new path. Which is where I am now. But it's not something everyone can or wants to do, but there are many things you can do to help you now. Stress is now the no.1 reason for people taking time off sick from work. Most businesses don't even know how to tackle it, so you need to find ways to help your self. When I was in my last role I didn't even realise I was actually practicing mindfulness techniques to help me to cope, and they did for a time, but eventually I knew it was time for me to leave and move on to other things. In May I was lucky enough to go on a mindfulness retreat in Scotland with Catherine Brannan at Yes your entire self and it was then that I discovered how much mindfulness I was naturally doing as part of my coping mechanisms. So what is mindfulness? It's being aware of whats happening in the here and now and being OK with it. For example breathing; Being mindful is about recognising that you’re breathing, to feel it in your chest, your lungs, your body and being OK with it, whether its fast or its slow, its deep or its shallow, noisy or its quiet. It’s about accepting what is happening right now. Imagine now a difficult situation, instead of fighting it, accept it for what it is, learn and move forward. By having a more mindful attitude you may develop more creativity, patience, find it easier to make decisions, and respond better to challenging situations. So here are 5 easy mindful steps for you to try. 1. Be more mindful on the commute into work - I used to when I got into work note down the magical amazing things I saw on my journey, a beautiful sunrise, a kestrel hovering for its prey, a fox in the mist, the turning autumn leaves, the donkeys in the field that always made me smile. Whether you drive, walk, cycle, go by bus, train or tube be more in the moment and see, hear and notice the world around you. 2. Sit quietly at work. In the morning, when you get into work either at your desk or even in the staff room or changing rooms, instead of rushing off to make your coffee or tea or straight into work emails or meetings, try simply sitting on your chair quietly. Listen to the sounds around you, see the colours and notice your surrounding, take in the morning atmosphere and feel the seat beneath you while you breathe and relax. 3. Take a breath. Each time the phone rings or you get a new email, use it as a reminder to pause and take a breath. Before you even check to see who the email is from, take one or maybe three deep breaths, feel the stillness of the moment, then you’re ready to handle whatever comes your way. One deep breath is all it takes to centre yourself and get into an alert, more positive state. 4. Observe your surroundings. Wherever you are, even if it’s just a five-minute walk, try not to look at your phone; instead look up and notice the buildings around you, the colour of the sky, feel the ground beneath you as you take each step and allow the noise to wash over you instead of annoy you, no matter what you hear. 5. Pause before entering. Before you get home, give yourself a few moments before you open the front door - settle into your breath and gently notice how your body feels without judging any aches or pains you may have. I read of one man who would pause and focus on a tree by his front door, rubbing the leaves, leaving his work worries at the door. Take a look at your neighbourhood with fresh eyes, notice the flowers growing on the side of the pathway, listen to the children, the pets or your neighbours next door and as you put the key in the door, take one final deep breath and appreciate being home.

I've spoken about this before , but this week something happened and the universe provided. Whether it's looking for signs, experiencing "deja vu", or life synchronising in a way that one wouldn't think possible, we all have the ability to tap into our own inner wisdom to get the answers we need. I've seen many posts and had many conversations  with people, particularly over the last couple of months, and for many they have had massive shifts in their lives. Some really positive and unforeseen, and others just knowing that something has changed and its all going to be all right. I've felt this since I returned from my holiday to the Llyn Peninsula in June, the first time we had spent 2 weeks there. My dream house came up for sale on the mountain we stay on, and it has sold. If it's meant to be mine it will be there when the time is right. I finally figured out what I truly want to do on my businesses and have been busy beavering away on my Mojo Academyand my Packaging Academy. I've had lots of enquiries about me doing packaging training and advice with organisations and many I start in October 2018, but something still wasn't quite right. I've dreamt for many years of having one of the cottages on the Llyn just for me, on my own for a few days and I was thinking of doing this off peak season when the cottage prices would be lower. On my last visit I had a major "deja vu" experience, but it went beyond the normal "deja vu" to a whole few minutes where I felt like I was doing something here that I"d done before. It's the first time in the 8 years I've been going there that I'd gone for a walk on my own as my husband had hurt his ankle. I can still remember the feeling vividly, and it sounds slightly crazy, but I felt like I was not in walking clothes but a long skirt and was carrying a basket on my arm picking the wild thyme. In fact I was only walking, but for a few moments I wasn't sure what was real and what was this other weird thing going on. When I go to the Llyn I always feel like I'm going home, but the sensation I had back in June was something completely new. My scientific head will say it's a vivid imagination and I've always been skeptical about past lives etc, but this got me thinking. My scientific head also reminds me there is much we don't know and perhaps this is one of those things. Anyway, last night, quite late, I got a text message from the owner of the cottage, that my husband and I will stay in on the Llyn in September. This particular cottage we haven't stayed in for over 12 months as it gets booked up really quickly. They wanted to let us know they'd stayed in the cottage for a month and had sorted the smell issue we had complained about (every time I stayed I noticed this drains smell, but no other guests ever reported it). They then said would we like the cottage for 1 extra week free of charge! I read it 3 times before reading it out to my husband. Now he can't come as doesn't have any holidays left, but I am self-employed and I can change the couple of appointments I have for the extra week available. I've been dreaming of having time there on my own for years and hadn't been able to justify the expense or had enough holidays to do it. Only that day I'd been thinking about having a week there on my own to figure out that certain something in me that needs total alone time. I'm on my own all day, but have visitors, people calling me etc. This will allow me 4 days on my own, in a cottage in a lovely remote part of Wales for me to reconnect with me and figure out what it is that I need thats "niggling" me at the moment. I'm now cramming 2 weeks of work into 1 to embrace this amazing opportunity. I'll admit the first thing I thought was "I can't". I did some journalling to figure out why I was saying this and it was fear raising its head. Having slept on it, I decided I had to take up this offer, I have to see where it's going to lead me. My husband will come along for the first weekend, travel home and then come back for the main holiday but can now come a day early. I can spend 4 days in a magical place figuring out the answer to that something inside that's needing to get out. I'll let you know how I get on, but I feel excitement as though I'm on the brink of something. I can honestly say, that over the last 14 months I have had so many moments and opportunities presented to me by the universe. Previously I'd shunned them, probably out of fear, but now its time to embrace them, to not be fearful and take the next step on life's amazing journey. So look out for those signs, embrace them and learn. They are leading you to the life you should have. Bright Blessings Haulwen

Learning is very much a mental process that leads to lasting change in knowledge, behaviour or both. It's an amazing thing that many of us neglect, out of lack of time or lack of money. When we consider learning the thing to consider is it's a process. It’s not an outcome; it’s the action. It’s what you have to keep doing to keep growing. Now you don't need to suddenly sign up for a university degree course, we can look at lots of ways of bringing learning into our lives with small steps. Each one opens our horizons and our opportunity for growth. These opportunities to learn something new are all around us. You just have to be looking for them. Here are a few of the favourite tips I've picked up over the years; Become reconnected with your inner child: Children love to play, to experiment and figure out new things. As adults, we loose this gift and can tend to dismiss something that’s unfamiliar or we can assume we already know all there is to know about it. Can you remember your childhood? Think about how you would approach things. Explore the unfamiliar from all of the different angles. Ask questions. Try it out. Find out what other people think about it. Find out what you really think about it. Treat mistakes as opportunities for learning. Stop beating yourself up for each minor mistake. Making mistakes is often the best way to learn. Instead take some time out to really understand what went well and what didn't. See each mistake as another step taken in the right direction and an opportunity for growth. Break up your daily routine, whatever that is. We can do simple things like taking a different route to work, going for a walk at lunchtime. Eating lunch with someone in a different department, speaking to someone rather than emailing —whatever is needed to break up the routine. If you do the same things every day, you’ll miss the chance for unexpected encounters and amazing discoveries, and you’ll lose out on the critical “day dreaming” time that helps you generate new ideas and make mental connections. Use your phone for something useful. Download an app that gives you a daily reminder, prompt, question or tip. Depending on your preferences, you might be motivated by something like a fun learning game or you might need a more linear planning tool. Find what works for you, and use it to hold yourself accountable. Listen to an audio book, a podcast , watch a video, subscribe to a newsletter, or read something that challenges you or focuses on a topic outside your area of expertise. Go for variety, and look for those that don’t necessarily validate your point of view. Then make it a point to keep your mind open. Plan to identify one thing you can take away from them each time. Work on the basics. If you want to learn something that’s complex or requires advanced knowledge, don’t get overwhelmed by diving right into the tough stuff. Learn the basics before you try to master the more advanced material. The details need something to hang onto. Use your current skills and interests as inspiration for new ideas. If you love to cook? Try a recipe in a completely new area or using a new piece of equipment. If you love to knit, try crocheting. If you love fixing cars, why not try restoring one or building model. If you adore writing, try your hand at a different genre, e.g. poetry, crime fiction, factual writing, something you don’t normally do. Get inspired thinking about where you can go next. Get active. Learning is a mental process, and some studies suggests there are even more brain benefits to physical activity than previously thought. Get your brain ready for new learning by staying active, whether that’s by going for a walk, working out in the gym or dancing around your kitchen. The key is to finding activities you enjoy and will stick with. Phone a friend. Or a mentor. Or an expert. Or someone who simply thinks differently than you do. And always be willing to return the favour. You can learn something new by teaching and advising others just as you do through your own development. I read somewhere about having 3 go to people. Who are yours? Learn how you think to make it easier for you to learn. We all think and operate differently. Some of us prefer to see things visually in pictures or in words. Others prefer to listen and prefer learning via auditory methods, and some prefer to walk things through or by doing. Some people think-do-think and others do-think-do. Or it could be a mixture of things. It takes time to be unconsciously competent in a topic, but we can help this by learning in a way we prefer. (We discuss this in module one of the paid group the Mojo Academy.) You may think you are rubbish with computers, but learning in a different way makes you brilliant at them. Learning doesn’t have to be like it was in school. Find out what really engages you, and then use that knowledge to your advantage. Keeping an open and active mind for new learning is essential for you to be able to create the future of your dreams. What will new thing will you learn today?

Can you believe how fast this year is going, it's September already and only 4 more months until the end of the year. I adore September, that autumn tingle and the sense of anticipation. I firmly believe this is the best time of year to make change in your life, when your energy levels are still high from the summer, but just as you are settling down for longer nights and time to reflect and just be. September is a time for learning and a time to review the year to date. Where are you with your resolutions or goals? Have you come back off holiday wanting to make a change? Or are you on that merry-go-around, where you keep promising to make change and then another year has gone and you are still in the same place you were last year? So why not break the pattern and do something different? Really consider what the goal is you want to achieve, be specific, who will you be with, where, on what date in the future? What will you hear? See? Smell? Taste? Feel? Think? Really live and feel that moment. What one step can you take now to take you towards that goal? It could be something as simple as reading your favourite magazine. Look at your goal and plan out all the steps from your goal to today. But also be open to opportunities and flexibility. You want your goal to be specific but how you get there doesn't have to be 100% set in stone, embrace the signs, embrace the opportunities that arise. Build a plan for the next 12 weeks. Break that plan into monthly actions. Break that plan into weekly actions and break that plan into daily actions. Be prepared to review and change it as you gain more insights. Identify where you need to grow and learn, use from now until the end of the year to start that learning process in preparation for the New Year. What can you achieve? What can you learn? And how can you grow? It doesn't have to be anything major - it could be downloading an audio book, finally downloading the coaching in the life leap club, reading some blogs, signing up for a night class, just reading something different or even signing up for some online training you can do in your own time. Whatever it is, make that decision today, so you can take control of your future and make your dreams come true. We all have aspirations and dreams - some small, some big. Whatever size your life leap, making even a small jump will start you in motion to what it is you want to achieve. Need accountability. Why join my free group below. We all have an innate power and wisdom within us. Trust it. Believe in it. Tap into it. You contain all the answers and learning about anything will let this wisdom flow into your consciousness so you can blossom and grow. Bright Blessings Haulwen

In the UK, when it comes to the weather, we've had a year of extremes - the beast from the East bringing snow and extreme cold and then a summer hotter than we've had for a long time. As the temperature drops to what is normal for the UK for this time of year, as the rain returns, it makes me think about balance. The reason the UK is a lush green oasis is because it has a balance of sunshine and showers. We're not a country of real extremes of weather - not like other countries with their tornados, their extreme heat, their extreme cold, their monsoon seasons. No, we have quite a balanced weather system. Now how you actually see the UK weather will differ from person to person. If you focus on the sunny days, you will always feel there are more sunny days than rain. However if you focus on the rainy days you will equally think there is more rain days than sun. How we view our life and the world around us will impact our perspective and what happens to us. What we give out we receive back. A variation of these words have been used in ancient text such as the bible, Celtic religions, Buddhism and all the other major religions mention this as well, as every self-help guru that has lived. But along with the what we give out we receive, is the whole thing about balance. The sunshine and showers bring balance and bring growth and life to the plants, to the animals, to the soil, to the air and to the sea. Life and death is a balance. Day and night is a balance. We as humans are often so disconnected from the natural world, we don't understand the nature of balance and sometimes we need to stop and remind ourselves of this. Now balance is different for all of us - The extroverts need a balance of being with friends as they are recharged from the external, but they also do need some time alone not lots of time alone, but enough to bring perspective and balance. The introverts need to spend time on their own, our modern work is hectic and for them it can be hard to get this alone time as the world is geared towards extroversion and being alone is often seen as a "bad thing" yet for an introvert it's an absolute essential. As much of an essential as the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Equally, its important for introverts to have those close friendships, with just one or two people who have similar interests who they can talk to all night. Introversion is not about being shy, when an introvert finds a like minded person who they can discuss their passions with, they can discuss for hours, as long as somewhere quiet and somewhere away from the distractions of the world. However, for many introverts its hard to find this person. For those of you who are empaths or highly sensitive people then balance is even more crucial as overstimulation and over exposure to certain environments and people cannot only drain you physically, but also make you ill. Illness is often a sign of imbalance somewhere in a persons life. There are many areas of our life we need to create balance and if even one of these areas is off kilter then that imbalance can impact other areas of your life. If you're looking for abundance financially, the rest of your life needs to be abundant too. Taking care of yourself, making love (even if its with yourselves ladies), exercise, having happy days, feeling loved. We also have to recognise that we have to have balance to really appreciate the amazing life we have. It's OK to have sad days, there is no expectation for you to be happy all the time, if you were then you wouldn't enjoy the happiness. The anger is balanced with love, the sadness is balanced laughter, the fear is balanced with courage, the hurt is balanced with healing, the guilt is balanced with forgiveness. Look at your life today - close your eyes. Watch the colours form under your eyelids, let them tell you where there is an imbalance in your mind, in your body, in your soul. Feel it, see it, listen for it and think about the imbalance in your life and how you can gain more balance. Too much anger - look for love even if it's cuddling a puppy. Too much sadness - laugh, watch a funny film. Too much fear - find courage, do one small thing to find your courage, do something you'd not normally do. Too much hurt - find a way to heal, a massage, a hot bath, a kiss, or make love. Too much guilt - forgive yourself, forgive others - carrying guilt and resentment only impacts you. Write a letter to yourself to forgive you. Find that balance in your life and fall in love with everything around you and within you. Have a magical week. Bright Blessings Haulwen x The Magical Mojo Coach

Any of you who have been reading my blogs will know the journey of self-discovery I have been on. Since leaving my job to starting up my own business, every step has been another day of self-discovery and revelations about how I really want to operate in the world. How I really want to interact and how I really want to live. Now, discovering how I recharge when I'm tired was a big thing and embracing my inner empath has helped a lot. Reconnecting with how I prefer to interact with the world has been amazing (Kinesthetic if you were wondering with a large dose of visual) and all this has helped me make better decisions about who I interact with and what I wear and what I do. But the hardest and most draining self-discovery has been about my values and beliefs i.e. whats important to me. As an introvert I'm not a born talker, but as an introvert I am a born talker if its something I'm really passionate about, this can be my downfall when I get into social media discussions. I love helping people and as I wrote the objectives for my business it became very clear that the path I'm taking is right for me, but I keep being veered away from it. Over the last 12-months I've listened to business advisors, coaches, people in the industry where I worked in the past, and got lots of you should do this, you should charge this, you should earn this. And my ideas "poo poo'd". My ego loves the suggestions and loves the requests, but thats just the problem. It's my ego, an ego that has developed into the size of a small planet thinking thats how I should be. I thought I'd let go of this, but I realised I'd allowed these constant voices, from other people, to cloud my judgement and its prevented me from moving forward in my journey of self-discovery and working about whats important to me. And now its time to let go. I've been doing a lot of work on myself, using techniques from Psychologies Magazine, from an online coaching platform I subscribe to and from writing my own coaching courses, as well as the Myers Briggs, NLP, Time Line Therapy and hypnotherapy that I'm trained in. Last week I had a big revelation day, and afterwards, I was physically ill for about 24hrs. And because of it I've made a big shift. It means I need to focus on what I love and reconnect with my values and beliefs. I'm reducing my time on one particular social media channel to help me (Linked In, I'm fed up of the elitist rubbish on there purported to be business news) and this means I can focus on what I love. It's another step on my path and another step to being more connected to my values and beliefs. Now the journey of self-discovery is continuous, we have always got the capacity to learn more, but we also have to remember that these journeys won't always go smoothly and when we're letting go of stuff it can be painful, it can be raw. It can make us question if this is the right thing to do. But it is. So for all of you amazing women out there, who are feeling lost, or going through the pain of self-discovery. Know you are not alone. Know that there will be bumps in the road and slight detours, but once you learn to recognise the ego from your true self, then you can reconnect and listen to that inner something that makes you unique and move forward in your life. You can reconnect with whats important to you. Keep going and we're all here to support you. Haulwen aka the Magical Mojo Coach

I'm a bit behind the times but last months issue of Psychologies Magazine(July 18) about looking for signs was yet again aligned with what was happening in my life. I have two elements of my business and even now that I work for myself, I don't always stop and reconnect with my gut instinct, my inner wise woman to look for the signs that are coming to me. I've for 6 months focused mainly on what I know - the packaging side of my business writing a course for entrepreneurs, SME's, people wanting a refresher, marketing people etc on packaging. It's been hard work. It's one of those things where you start it and then wonder why you did, however its also helped pay the bills, over what had been a difficult few months financially. Technical issues, lack of the correct information was all hindering me, along with my own procrastination about not wanting to do it. Now don't get me wrong there were elements I loved. The section on packaging and the environment and the section on developing a strategy, both link into my values and beliefs and my big picture thinking. But the rest I found tedious. I knew I needed to finish it, I'm not a completer finisher so I decided to ask for a sign of where my future should be focused. Now I see signs a lot and because I already have an affinity to certain objects and creatures - hares, black cats, sun, moon and star art, witches, anything Alice in wonderland. But I couldn't use these as my sign for this big question because I have these images all over my home. I thought long and hard and eventually determined I needed something quite unusual. My question to the universe was "should I focus on my Mojo Academy?". The sign I was looking for was a Kingfisher. Now I don't live near a river so I figured it would show up in a magazine on my computer. I put out the question on a Monday evening before I went to bed a few weeks ago. The next day I woke having forgotten about it and went about my day. I visited my parents and on leaving had this urge to drive to my husband's factory and pick him up from work. (he does a car share so he had a lift into work that day). I sent him a text and told him I was waiting outside. Now one of the reasons I went self-employed was to do spontaneous things like this, but like many I'd got caught up in doing not being. He loved the fact I just turned up. We got in our faithful Landrover Wendy and he grinned at me "are we going to the Lake" he asked. I hadn't really thought much further than picking him up - we could go to the lake to the waterfall, lots of places as his factory is in Mid Wales. So we drove up to Lake Vyrnwy www.lakevyrnwy.com and drove around the lake and I let him decide where we went. We ended up at the back where you can walk up to one of the many waterfalls in the areas, but he said he just wanted to sit by the river. We sat down and he said "shush, this is kingfisher country". The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I'd never considered it. He must have said the word kingfisher about 10 times in the space of a few minutes and then in the distance we saw a flash of colour. Was it a Kingfisher? I can't be sure as it was a blur, but it could have been. In the end I was fit to bursting and told him my question to the Universe, it was like a massive saucepan being banged against my head saying "YES go with the Mojo Academy". Now we've been to that river many times before and we've never ever looked for kingfishers before and it was weird how my husband went on and on about it. We drove around the lake to the far end and saw another flash of colour, I think it was a wagtail, but when they move so fast you can't really determine what colour it was. But it could have been a kingfisher. I went away buzzing, My Mojo Academy had launched and that day was the closing date for the introductory offer. But it made me realise to go with my heart and what feels right. Now I could say it stopped there, but it didn't. I was still focused on finishing my Packaging Academy and the Mojo Academy was being done alongside. Now there has been a big part of me feeling like I should make it more of an intuitive membership. Not just standard coaching, but I wasn't sure. Were people ready for my more "witchy side" . As part of the membership I'd already decided to use some oracle cards to help a-tune the group and on a monthly basis I'd use the more unusual ones. This month I choose the Faerie Oracle by Brian Stroud. The card I picked was the Sage. I drew the card live on Facebook, I read out the short reading. I ended the live video and then read the full version and I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was all about being a guide to others about the inner wiseman (woman) about being the Sage guiding others on their journey. This card articulated exactly what it was I wanted to be and do for other women. I did a video in the group to ask what people thought. Conscious even I with my logical packaging, biology, science brain can question much of this, but the ladies were feeling the same. The logic and the mystic, the thinking and the feeling, the data and the creative, all coming together and combining as one... Because we can explore both together, what we class as science now was witchcraft in the past. Many of the books I bought as a teenager about witchcraft, now would be sold as a book of mantras, affirmations and positive thinking. Today I drew the Faerie oracle card the Journeyman - and it felt very apt. I've recently had some packaging consultancy contracts coming through and they will pay the bills, but I've now set my intention, because I've listened and embraced the signs, packaging isn't for me, I want to help as many women as I can and the best way is via the Academy and writing books. I've set my long term goal and will do what I feel I should have been doing that is guiding women to reconnect with their inner wise-woman to create their own future and bring their dreams to life. So I urge you, do look for the signs, do embrace them and let them guide you to your ultimate vision and to your ultimate life. Psychologies Magazine gives you so many tools to find your way on this amazing journey. Write, journal, sing, meditate, use oracle cards and just be. Look for those signs and fly high. Bright Blessings, Haulwen xx The Magical Mojo Coach join my free Facebook Group for inspiration http://bit.ly/mojocoachingclub

Most people aren't even aware that they have any beliefs that hold them back. They often think things happen to them and don't believe they can change their story. They may have thoughts like "this is what we do here" "I'm not the sort of person who can do that" "I haven't done this or that or the other so I can't change my circumstances". Well, I can tell you now you can change every aspect of your life without waiting for a lottery win, a magic wand, the fairies or a Prince or Princess to rescue you. The first thing we have to remember is the only thing we can change in our lives is us. We cannot change the people around us, but when you change, you'll notice people change too. I know that changing my limiting beliefs using NLP and Time Line Therapy TM Techniques, that this has changed the people around me. Now I'm not stressed with life, my husband is more relaxed and happy in his job and so much more content. My parents are more positive, when I meet friends no longer do we whinge together about how crap our jobs are, in fact they say it's a job, it pays my bills and I'm thankful. Since dealing with many limiting beliefs I've had, I have found so many opportunities land in my lap. As they say when you're self-employed your clients will find you, and they are. Don't get me wrong, I am no way perfect and I doubt any self-help guru, coach, counsellor or psychologist is. We all have beliefs and thoughts that are not useful pop up in our heads, we just understand better how to deal with them and slowly have less of those moments. Every person is born with the innate ability to do great things, yet over the years we lose that, words used in jest, words used in haste, words used in love and words used in hate can all have a long term impact on our belief systems. Perhaps you grew up being told that work should be hard and not enjoyable, and because of that you never like your jobs and burn yourself out thinking if it isn't hard I'm not delivering. Perhaps you were brought up with sayings such as "money doesn't grow on trees" "you have to work hard for money" "the rich are greedy" and now no matter what you earn you always seem to struggle. Perhaps you've been brought up that unless you're married with kids by the time you're in your 30's, you're a failure in life. And it doesn't matter what an amazing career, house, life or achievements you've worked towards, none of them seem fulfilling due to these messages that have crept into your unconscious mind and now control your life. Or perhaps there is a legacy or belief running through your family, that you can't be successful because thats not what your family does. These beliefs and ones like them can run through families for generations until they are stopped. It may seem like you'll never escape these spirals of thoughts and beliefs which limit you in your life. Yet you can. In Time Line Therapy TM, we can take you back to the first negative emotions of Anger, sadness, fear, hurt and guilt - to take the learnings from that moment (without reliving it, all these emotions first happen before the age of 3) and let go of the limiting emotions and thoughts associated to move your life forward. In NLP (also known as the manual for your unconscious mind) we can help you to reframe significant events, to allow you to move forward with your life. You can write your story, and reframe the story. This isn't looking at it through rose tinted glasses, this is about acknowledging the emotions relating to your story and the events within it and looking for how that event got you to where you are today, looking for the silver lining in even the most negative of circumstances. It might seem cruel and harsh, but I've done it with a number of trauma's that happened in my life. What has happened in your past cannot be changed, but you can look at how you can see those events in a different light to make them work for you. We can re-write every aspect of our story - whether its relationships, money, careers, fitness, health and love. We can't sure things that happened in your past, we can learn from them and find how they've helped you become the person you are today. It's not an easy journey, but once you start it and embrace it, you will find those limiting beliefs start to crumble and blow away, that your life will change and you'll be able to steer it in the direction you want to go.

haven't spoken about my empathic abilities for some time, I now live a life better suited to my sensitive nature and I understand when to rest and when to venture out into the world. I knew that this weekend was one of rest. I've spent 2-days in London meeting with clients and judging a packaging awards and met with friends and colleagues from my career in packaging. I knew it would be days of "extreme extroversion", a wave of kisses and chats and non-stop talking, of noise and of people and emotions all around me. But I was prepared, I was well rested and I enjoyed my time surrounded by friends and colleagues knowing I could come home to rest. This weekend is also the time of my periods, so again, I know I need rest. The first evening back I struggled to sleep, that vibration, that hum that resonates through the capital was still vibrating through every cell of my body. I should have had a salt bath, but my train had been delayed so it was late getting back and it took me time to settle. But I knew a weekend of rest would heal me again. But something happened this weekend which I felt I needed to share, not just for the fellow empaths but those who are not. To help you to understand... If I wrote this in a fairy tale people would think it fantastical but I wanted to describe what being an extreme empath is like, or as Christiane Northrup, who's featured in this months magazine, calls us "Old -Soul Empaths". I struggle to put up my guard when I'm tired and when I'm on my periods. I tend to hunker down at home and rest. Putting up protection all the time is tiring. I wanted a bacon sandwich for breakfast, so wandered down to my local supermarket with my husband. It's an independent place, really quirky and very friendly. I was looking at the bread baps (rolls) in the bread section, my husband had gone back to get a basket, and the old man next to me started to chat. "You look like the sort of woman who could bake your own" he said and we had a chat about how his mom had baked his bread for him as a child and how he'd eat it so hot he'd burn his tongue and upset his stomach. Where I live to have such random conversations is normal. Then my husband returned, we talked a bit more about bread and joked about the fact that my husband was more likely to make bread than me, and then the man very suddenly looked sad he said to my husband "there are 7 wonders in the world, but everyone forgets that 5 are made up of good women like your wife". He became anxious and agitated "look after her, take care of her, she's a special one" he started to well up, I started to well up and then the pain washed over me, his pain, his loneliness at the loss of his wife, of his boys not seeing him that often. My husband recognised what was happening and pulled me away, I couldn't stop staring at this old man as he mouthed "take care, take care". I rounded the supermarket aisle and my husband hugged me as I tried to pull myself together, we shopped quickly and left the store, my chest hurt so much I was struggling to breathe and it was too tender to touch. At the time every cell in my body wanted to go and hug this man, and tell him to come home, have dinner and I wanted to help him. But I have to recognise I cannot as I can only help others when my own cup is overflowing, and it is not. I cried and I cried when I got in the house. My husband held me and I am so grateful for his understanding and his not questioning. He knows these things happen to "his little witch". I had to find myself, but I was so exposed it was hard to release this old mans feelings. I've never in my life felt lonely. As long as I have my trees and my wildlife they can fill the gap, but this mans pain was searing. I went out and collected herbs to make a fresh tea to calm myself. I tended to my plants. I went and I slept in the afternoon, a restless disturbed sleep. I woke, restless, I couldn't eat the pain in my chest still there. Last night I struggled to sleep, the vibration of London still in my body and the pain from this man. I did all my normal techniques to clear the energy from me, but it was still rattling around me, changing me. In the end my period pain needed high level drugs (ones I try to avoid as the make me fell horrible) and I slept a codeine induced sleep before waking today. Today I am exhausted, the vibration of London is gone and the pain from the old man has subsided. Normally I'd avoid the world, but my parents are going away so I needed to visit, but I had to keep it short, they tend to drain me of energy if I don't protect myself. My husband came with me, took up the conversation so I could be present without being. So I have spent the afternoon sat in the garden - butterflies, bees and dragon flies flitting around me. Magpies crows and jackdaws making a racket in the trees. Buzzards, swifts and swallows swooping low. Reading a book of witches and demons, stories that are resonate with more than anything in the world, these stories feel more true to me than many. I will be still, I will be quiet, I will value me and my time and I will heal. But there is a tiny shard left in me from that old man, I need to find a way to help him, without it coming from me. I know I cannot give. I do not know the man, but perhaps if I see him again I can point him in the direction of those who can help him. The hardest thing for me is knowing I cannot help everyone without harming myself. I have to pick and choose, but sometimes I can be the signpost and put them down the right path. Bright Blessings.

What are the values and beliefs that shape you? What are you passionate about? Do you fight for those values and beliefs? Should you fight for them? This post stems from an argument I had with a person on Facebook this last week. I rarely argue for my values and beliefs with people on social media as I find it too draining. However, I've said I will do 1 a month  as I think it is sometimes important to fight for what you think is right. I'd already had a small spat with an environmental group who were personally naming individuals working in retailers and blaming them for the waste in the sea. This infuriates me as I know those individuals do more on a daily basis to help the environment than anyone realises, however their hands are tied. I also, know these indviduals have jeopardised their jobs by standing up to their managers and the industry. Because they think saving the environment is the right thing to do, and guess what, like me, they haven't just jumped on the packaging band wagon they've been doing everything they can to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and food waste for their whole careers. I'm not sure I got anywhere with that argument, but I made my point known. The one that really aggrieved me is this person on Facebook, who said that the image was all about "Fat acceptance" and these images were making people think it was acceptable to be fat. (The Image says Never call a girl "fat" ... even if you're joking). Their argument was because it had been posted by the plus size modelling agency that it was "in their interests " to allow fat acceptance. (I did point out that to be a plus size model you only had to be a size 12). The person who had posted the original image, had done so because her own daughter had been called fat, even though she wasn't. My fairy goddaughter who is 11 was called fat, and is now paranoid about her food. In the end we had to agree to disagree with this person who said the image was fat acceptance, but it really impacted me. I got so angry with them and it kept mulling over in my mind. The problem is, if someone is fortunate enough to be slim and never have to think about what they eat then they don't understand what its like. After the event an example came into my head of what its like to be called fat. I was called fat, thunder thighs when I was a size 8. I'm a rebel so if you tell me I'm fat I'll shove a whole chocolate bar in my mouth in front of you and say "And". Even though I don't like chocolate that much. My brother was obese and was bullied a lot at school for his weight, he also in hindsight was dealing with his own inner demons (which he took out on me as a child) and in later life found other outlets before he died. When we cleared out his bedroom and car we found stashes of chocolate bars, hidden in the glove box, under the bed, etc. If you told my brother he was fat, it would spark self-doubt, anxiety, depression and his drug of choice was chocolate. I spoke about this disagreement I'd had with my husband, he is slim, eats what he likes mainly cake (he loves cake), and goes to the gym, but even if he didn't, he'd be slim. He used some choice words for the person mentioned above, and said he knows people like that who think it's OK to take the "mick" out of people when often you can see they can't help it. The person mentioned, spouted on about BMI and using that to monitor your weight, I pointed out about many athletes and sports people are actually being classed as obese because thats what the BMI says. A woman actually backed me up on this as her children are athletes who are classed as fat because of their BMI. I think it needs to be taken on a case by case scenario.Being slim doesn't mean being healthy. I know many a slim person who stays slim because they smoke fags all day and live on alcohol at night. They rarely eat and when they do its junk food. But they're slim. I know people who would be termed "fat" who eat healthy every day, but their body shape it that body shape. I have an amazing pair of legs, for a rugby player, when I was a size 8 I'd have to wear trousers a couple of sizes too big so I could fit my calves and thighs. I cannot wear skinny jeans and find it hard to get knee boots to fit around my calves. I also have big boobs. I was a 34 B when I was aged 12. Now I'm a size 16, my thighs and calves match the rest of me. I don't drink caffeine, have little alcohol, rarely eat cake. Since quitting my job I've stopped devouring cheese like it was going out of fashion and a block of cheddar can last a month! (that's right, a whole month!). I endeavour to do 10k to 20k steps a day. I swim once a week and go to the gym once a week. I eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day and plan to increase it. I've not lost weight. My belly is big, my womb is the size of a 4 month pregnancy due to adenomyosis, it will continue to enlarge. My main GP a few years ago told me not to diet with Chronic Fatigue as it will make me ill. (He's right, I tried earlier this year just dropping 200 calories a day and wiped myself out). I'm guessing I don't absorb nutrients properly or convert my food into energy properly, though with CFS/M.E. there is still so much too learn. My blood pressure is very low, and even though I'm asthmatic my peak flow meter reading is that of someone half my age. My resting heart rate is typically around the 55bpm though earlier this week it was 45bpm when I was meditating. On the BMI I'm classed as obese, I've realised I can't base my life on this scale which doesn't apply to me. So I do what I can to stay healthy. I eat a colourful wholesome diet, exercise daily and enjoy life. I also can't do the waist to rest of body ratio measurement due to my adenomyosis. My personal value is I stay healthy doing what is right for me. Yes, there is an obesity crisis, actually there is just an eating disorder crisis, not just obesity but anorexia etc. We should never insult someone, we have no idea of their circumstances and why they are like they are. We all come in different shapes and sizes. Me, I'm a curvy hour glass which if I wear a slinky dress makes me look like Jessica Rabbit. My husband's not complaining! We need to give all girls and boys growing up role models to aspire to who lead healthy lifestyles but are all shapes and sizes. I watched Black Panther last night, and that was inspiring. Melissa McCarthy is my hero, also love Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie and many other female stars. Though my ultimate hero is Helena Bonham Carter, because she stays quirky. So lets all be kind and understanding. Whether a person is skinny, of fat, or black, or white, yellow or brown, is ginger, blonde, or brunette or bald, has a disability both visible or invisible etc. Lets stand up for the right for us all to be us, to be individual and to support those who are in crisis in need of help. Stand up for your values and your beliefs to help others. Bright Blessings to all of you. My mini rant over. :-)