Snowflakes and Spoons

Connect with me on Facebook : https://m.facebook.com/snowflakesandspoons/ I'm no longer a slave to fear… How do I go from singing this song on Sunday to actually believing and living it out on Monday? It's so easy to seem confident, raising my hands and proclaiming this when I'm safe and protected. It's not so easy to remember this in the face of fear. On a closer look at the lyrics, they don't state 'I am no longer afraid', but rather that 'I am no longer a slave to fear'. Being a slave means being bound and forced to participate in actions without free will. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love." ( 1 John 4:18 ) What are you afraid of? Sickness, violence, spiders? Being a slave immobilizes us to fully participate in life. We struggle to move forward, to be confident. It makes us anxious and we feel betrayed. Fo...

Therapeutic Journaling Need a confidential, non-judge mental support system? Don't have a friend to call or a shoulder to cry on? Feel like you need an emotional detox? Why not try journaling? When I was first introduced to therapeutic journaling I was a sceptic. I had all the what ifs to back me up. What if someone finds it and reads it? What if I'm not disciplined enough to do it daily? What if I just don't have anything to write about? What if it's only negative? As a therapist I want to be honest with my clients. I will not suggest anything unless I see the benefit in it. Therefore, I needed to experience journaling for myself. I must admit, I was surprised by my experience and wanted to share my findings.   1)    Set the scene Before starting, make sure your sensory and physical needs are taken care of. I would never be able to focus in front of a TV or with a full bladder. I found a quiet environment suited me best. Whether it was...

I really enjoy watching TED talks. I find that they are a great way to gain a new perspective within 10min. I recently watched a TED talk by Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast, on the topic of Gratefulness. While his Austrian accent was at first a little distracting, the core of his message is powerful. ‘it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy.’  If we take a moment to stop, be mindful of the given moment and be thankful for life's opportunity,we hold the key to happiness in our own hands. In his words: ‘Stop, look and Go’. Here are some ways to implement this in your own life: STOP: Take time to ‘be’. Whether is it through meditation or just allowing yourself 10min of me time. Your brain needs to be allowed to hit the refresh button before you can truly be Grateful for your situation. You can do this through meditation or just allowing yourself 10min of ‘me’ time. I find that my brain loves the competitive cycle of complain...