As we step into 2025, we reflect on the shifts and transformations of 2024-a year marked by challenges and profound growth. It was a time of shedding old patterns, healing, and embracing new beginnings. The experiences of 2024 have shaped us, providing invaluable lessons that have led us to deeper self-awareness and healing. 

What is it about nature that makes us feel alive and refreshed? What secrets does it hold? Why do we feel so energised afterward, sometimes reaching a point of such inner calm that nothing else matters in that moment? It's almost like a drug that calms the mind, silencing the daily list of worries that usually feels so loud.

Six weeks ago I had a nasty netball accident and badly tore the ligaments in my right ankle. I was off work and on crutches for a few weeks which gave me plenty of free time for self-reflection as I couldn't do much else. I was feeling pretty down and in the dumps to be fair, so I was scrolling through YouTube and a video popped up on my feed from a lady called Michelle Vickers. I hadn't heard of her before and I didn't know who she was, but I had the intuitive nudge to watch the video. It was called The Authentic Human and she was interviewing a man whose title was " His soul reveals his life-changing ability to unlock universal codes".

Hosted by Triple Moon Events.

So, what is meditation? It's a term that is widely used in spirituality. The perception of what meditation looks like, is lying down with music, with candles and maybe crystals, or sitting in a lotus position, doing mudras for 30 minutes or longer every day, in an attempt to block out many thoughts. For many people, this is an impossible task because, on average, we have between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day!

We are nature and we are part of the animal kingdom. Most of us, especially in the Western world have lost our connection to ourselves and thus our connection to nature. We live inside concrete square boxes, surrounded by artificial light, electrical appliances, WiFi, and all sorts of things that disconnect us from ourselves, our surroundings, and other sentient beings. 

As a child, I had a very emotional and tumultuous time growing up. My feelings were never validated. I was suppressed, I wasn't listened to, I was told I was bad, my feelings were wrong and that I was stupid, "don't sing, you're tone deaf" and laughed at! "You should be seen and not heard". You don't matter, you're a burden, and a whole host of other things which led me to become very within myself. That it's not safe to be me, this gave me deep scars that I carried with me for most of my life. I became a people pleaser and had no boundaries, because I was always trying to be who I thought I should be to survive, instead of who I actually am.

Holistic Fayre organised by Cariad Events Cymru