Tag Archives: love

Sep2

The Wheel turns. Everything changes Part 3

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The Wheel turns. Nothing stays the same. Since 14th June this year, my life has been chaotic. I’ve spent the past three weeks attempting to restore some of my familiar, important routines, but from the chaos I’ve emerged changed myself.

I don’t think we know what we’re capable of until we are challenged. Eighteen months ago, I stopped smoking, my hormones went crazy and I gained 30lbs in weight. I’ve never felt so ill, depressed and anxious in my life.

I didn’t look like myself, and felt like a totally different person. The doctor told me I’d have to get used to the mass of weight around my middle, that there was nothing I could do about it. I refused to believe her, and embarked on my own programme of diet and exercise, in a way that suited my life and body. Whole food plant based eating plus walking, dancing, yoga and a few specific exercises meant I attended my son’s wedding on 30th July, having lost all the weight and happy with my ‘new’ body.

And on the 14th June, we made a commitment to our daughter, to renovate the upstairs of our house to create a welcoming room for her by the 3rd August. We turned a barn-like space into a sanctuary.

Eating good food and not smoking helped our endeavours. Having lost a lot of weight and getting my waist back, helped me lime mortaring, lime washing, emulsioning and rubbing down woodwork, as I was able to bend and stretch as I always had, but realistically, I knew I couldn’t do everything. I still had dance classes to teach, and performances to lead my ladies in, so they had to stay, but without a deadline for my novel, I put my writing on hold.

I didn’t stop writing completely. I had a short story started, so I set myself the deadline to get it ready for the submission date of 15th July. I didn’t make it, but I’ll read you the story from my Welsh riverbank soon, and you’ll hear how much I enjoyed writing Secrets in the Water. (You can listen to other stories read by me on my YouTube channel Phoenix and the Dragon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3ee9CuNdek9ZC1Im8I_iA?view_as=subscriber)

And why have I changed?

I can do anything. All I need to do is go for it. Living my life with my daughter is wonderful. Who knows what adventures she and I will have in the future. Maybe we’ll start a business together. Deadlines are important, but spending time supporting and loving your family and friends is more important.

Visit again to find out which routines I’ve reinstated and a new way to get writing again.

 

Jan14

Now!

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For the first time, since I was eighteen, my Christmas dinner was cooked for me this festive season. We were away at our eldest son’s house, joined by our other children and partners. I shall remember it as one of my favourite Christmas times ever.

We walked and talked, catching up on life and sharing our thoughts and ideas for the future. After four glorious days, I made some decisions….

Now! Is the time to spend days and weekends with family and friends, the ones that make my heart sing.

Now! Is the time to embrace the fitness challenge with both hands, and see what I can achieve in 2019.

Now! Is the time to commit to plant based eating and to spreading the word by sharing recipes and ideas.

Now! Is the time to get the groundwork in place for our potting shed/greenhouse and new raised beds, so we can grow lots of veg.

Now! Is the time to finish my Lizzie Martin Witchlit series, inspiring women to embrace magic in their lives.

Now! Is the time to work magic every day, be it a lighted candle of thanks to the goddess or a chosen tarot guide to seek guidance or assurance.

Now! Is the time to push all our plans on our house and land forward, creating the warm, cosy home we seek.

 

Life’s too short not to do it now! ‘It’ doesn’t have to be big, but whatever ‘it’ is, don’t put it off until tomorrow.

Bright blessings, peace, health and happiness for the coming year xx

 

Jul27

Witch Lit is Magical Writing!

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I had a lovely day at the National Botanic Garden of Wales on Saturday at their storytelling event, Plant & Plots, talking to the public about the inspirational, magical landscape of Wales, writing and Witch Lit.

Some people are confused when they see the word ‘witch’. In their minds, witch = demons/devils/black magic/sorcery/Satan/baby killers, not necessarily in that order. While many are interested in the idea of living in harmony with nature, giving back and celebrating the beauty and bounty of the planet and taking time to be present and appreciate all that life has to offer, some cannot see beyond the above list. Saturday was no exception; I stood and took the spitting abuse and personal remarks, as well as the advice that I should ‘look to my Bible’.

Brought up in a Christian household, I went to Sunday School and church and became a Sunday School teacher. I’ve always loved the stories of Jesus, full of kindness, compassion and common sense. As a pagan and a witch, I have no problem appreciating Jesus as a prophet before his time, in the same way Buddha was. I’ve read many books by the Dalai Lama and the inspirational Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi, has my vote as one of the most important and influential women of this time.

As a witch, I follow no organised religion, only a path of love, kindness and compassion towards the planet and all those who live on her.

That’s what I want to inspire with my books. The Lizzie Martin series is funny, the stories are compelling and Lizzie uses magic in her every day life to help her with the stresses many of us face. She is a strong woman. She likes men, but doesn’t need a man to define her.

Witch Lit is magical writing of every kind; prose, poetry and song. Join the #witchlitrevolution and bring a little magic into every day of your life.

 

Jun29

Magic Matters 2

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Almost a year ago, I posted about my exploration of the definition of magic and I offered my interpretations to help you live and enjoy a more magical life.

https://wendysteele.com/2017/07/10/magic-matters/

I showed you how small changes in your life, connecting with the planet and the universe, spending quality time with family and friends, getting closer to animals, birds and other wildlife and caring for the world family, would change you. These small changes can make a big difference; being LESS attached to technology, electricity, gadgetry and computers and MORE in touch with the natural world, showing kindness and love, will impact on your health and wellbeing.

In this second post, I’m focussing on one aspect of your life you could change that could bring you new adventures, new challenges, exciting opportunities and more love in your life… removing the old stories.

We believe we’re making our own decisions, walking new paths every day but instead, we carry the past with us and its influence on every thought and action means we’re living old stories….

“I’m so stupid!” “I can’t move like that because I’m too old/too stiff/unfit/fat.” “I’ll never be able to do that because I’ve got my mother’s feet/knees/eyes…” “I always get nervous when…” “I always give up when…”

From today, this very minute, now, hear when you say this, correct yourself and change your life. “I’d like to learn more about that.” “Tell me again and I’ll make a note of it.” “I’ll need to practise. I’m sure I’ll get it.” “I love a challenge/new idea/adventure/book/song.”

Some old stories will take a lot of clearing, however. I was lucky enough to be invited by Katie Holland to join her first facilitator training course for Awakened Bellydance™.  Awakened Bellydance™ is healing through movement, using sound, vibration and bellydance moves to clear and cleanse the chakras. You can find out more here https://www.awakenedbellydance.com/what-is-awbd

Letting go of the old stories leaves room for you to write new ones, giving you space to explore and helping you understand how unique and special you are. Obstacles and fears are only perceptions.

Use the changes from Magic Matters to inspire you… DANCE under the stars, LAUGH and CRY with your family and friends, SING to the birds and animals and spread LOVE and WARMHEARTEDNESS wherever you go.

Don’t let old stories hold you back. Enjoy writing a new story for yourself today.

Bright Blessings xx

 

Aug8

Connecting with the stars…and ourselves

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There’s a lot going on in our solar system in August…a full moon and partial eclipse today, peak of the Perseids meteor shower on the 12th and a new moon and total solar eclipse on the 21st. “So?” I hear you ask, “What does that mean for me?”

Continuing my blog posts about finding magic in your life, connecting to the universe is an easy way to begin so let’s begin with the sun… the sun is the star at the centre of the Solar system, made up of hot plasma, whose diameter is 109 times that of the earth, consists of hydrogen and helium plus a little oxygen, carbon, neon and iron and whose mass is about 330,00 times that of the earth. Wow! A huge, almost spherical ball of energy, 149.6 million kilometres away, is the main source of energy for life on earth. And you know what? Carl Sagan said that we are made of star stuff, the death of ancient stars helping to create us.

Whether we like it or not, we are linked to the universe. We are made up of the same molecules. The universe was there before us, creating and uncreating until all the elements and conditions were aligned and life began on our earth.

Our ancestors understood their connection to the universe, you’ve only to look at the legacy they left behind to see it.

Stone circles and avenues, temples and pyramids were created and aligned, markers of the sun, moon and stars. Our ancestors linked to the past and the future, making themselves a part of a cycle of life that sustained and informed them. They knew about the seasons and the best time to plant and harvest; their link with the universe was life giving….and so can ours be today.

Tonight, like others on this amazing rock we call earth, I’ll be taking a few minutes to connect with the stars. For me, it’s about focussing on a bigger picture. We get hung up on the minutae, the earthly problems we face each day (I did it yesterday attempting to file my tax return!) and forget to look wider…we are part of a world family on a beautiful planet, abundant with diverse wildlife and we have our own star to thank for giving us the opportunity to be here in the first place. Attempting to comprehend the universe, we may be a small speck on a little planet but inside each of us is the potential to create and to open our hearts and minds to compassion, love and warmheartedness. We’re held back by the ‘old stories’ we carry, causing doubt, fear and anxiety when we attempt to break away and try something new yet, we all have the capacity to write ‘new stories’ for ourselves, living our lives full of hope, creativity and love. For me, the inspiration comes from the universe, above me, and my connection with the earth, below me.

Join me at 8.08pm for 8 minutes, linking yourself with others on the earth and to the stars from which you came.

Connecting with the stars, we connect with ourselves.

Dec8

Stepping off the Christmas band wagon

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When my children were small, I remember their faces aglow with delight and wonder at a  glimpse of fairy lights, candles and holly. Family traditions warmed us as the Wheel turned from autumn to winter. Then the Christmas band wagon came to town. Shops shone with plastic sentiment from November and the media enforced the message that Christmas was a season to get what you want.

We continued putting out a tray for Santa and his reindeer, not starting our Christmas until we had sung carols in the barn with the animals at the Remus Horse Sanctuary and opening stockings pinned on the fireplace on Christmas Eve never lost its joy but still the Christmas catalogues and bombardment of adverts on TV created an atmosphere of greed and desire. Pressed to conform, I queued for vegetables before the shop opened one year on Christmas Eve and was appalled by the pushing and shoving and anger evoked by a dwindling supply of sprouts. Never again.

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The last two weekends, I’ve taken my books and pixie coats to Christmas Fayres. Within this atmosphere of crafters and caring folk, I’ve reached a decision. I’m stepping off the Christmas band wagon this year.

I would love you to buy my magical books, inspiring yourself and others to see the magic in this world and the gifts you have within. I would love you to buy a pixie coat to snuggle up in when the weather turns wintery but I will not be pestering you to do so.

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On my Facebook pages and on Twitter, I shall pin a post/tweet showing you where you can find all my books and through this blog or my personal Facebook page, you can contact me about pixie coats.

I shall continue to blog but will not ‘pimp’ on social media, flooding your feeds with adverts.

I’m looking forward to a Yule and Christmas filled with family, friends and fun, where caring for people in the community and animals who have no voice, is more important than shiny gifts and hope you will support me in the spirit of warm heartedness and love.

 

Nov23

Pebble in a pond

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All people are important. All life is precious.

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As the terrible aftermath of extremist action floods the media, I’m saddened and sickened by what I see. From my perspective, victims of atrocities are innocents caught up in violence caused by others. Though the faces of those hurt, homeless or dying are not known to me, I see human suffering and weep for it.

We are human, we are the human family on this earth and we should love every member of it. More than that, we should love and treasure all life and the wonderful earth on which we live.

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In the face of bloodshed on such a massive scale, how can we, human beings who care, make a difference?

Make every day a day to spread love. Buy a Big Issue. Add items to your shopping trolley for a food donation box or an animal rescue centre. Hold the door open for someone in a shop. Support your local high street. Hug freely. Let your friends and family know how much you love and appreciate them. Give of yourself in any way you can, no matter how small, with no thought of reward.

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We cannot end the violence on distant shores but we can live by example.

Be the pebble in your pond and spread kindness wherever you go.

Oct13

The spring in my step

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When I’m depressed, I lose the spring in my step.

I function, exist in the hours of the day and night but I don’t live. Creative pursuits lift me but focussing, using the joy of inspiring, helping and healing others, is tough when I’m depressed, really tough.

DSC_1431And of course, real life, the every day labyrinth of work and bills and relationships, has to be negotiated.

Summer wanes, autumn beckons and I sink into the yawning pit of despair. The Wheel does not cease to turn because I cannot climb aboard. The leaves begin their fall in a blaze of fire and fury, pelted to the earth by the gathering wind. Scuttling eddies announce my way through the lanes, raining flames on my misery.

And then I dance. DSC_0005I still carry my burden of darkness but the bliss of those few dances lightens my step allowing me to appreciate the moment: a chilly Autumn morning, surrounded by friends I love, talking to new people, dancing to live music, dancing with friends, spreading the love of ATS® and making people smile.

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My steps are lighter. My heart is lighter.

Surround yourself with those who love you and find the spring in your step this Autumn.

 

Jul10

Why I write magical realism – women are heroes part 3

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I watched a programme on Netflix the other evening. Stephen Fry was talking about his new book and he also talked about discovering Oscar Wilde’s plays and essays and then of the autobiographical books he read about Wilde. He felt the author’s were speaking to him and he not only felt a connection but felt inspired by what they wrote. When he writes, he ‘sees’ a teenager who may find something in his work that makes them smile or not feel so alone. It made me look even closer at what I write and why.

Before I was old enough to walk the two miles to the library on my own, my reading consisted of my brother’s books; James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Biggles spring to mind. Women in these stories were not the heroes, though Eowyn plays her part. Did these ‘masculine’ stories influence my writing? When I wrote my first novel (100,000 words, under the bed in a box) my hero was a female school teacher, coping with the death of both her parents by emersing herself in the plays and stories she loved and struggling with real life relationships. She was a hero in my eyes, maybe not a sword wielding righter of wrongs, but a woman coping with real life situations with compassion, humour and support from her friends.

The definition of magical realism is art, literature and film that encompasses different subjects but accepts magic in the rational world. I believe that an acceptance of this magic defines woman as hero. To face the challenges in our lives, we need to believe we can overcome them. With the help, love and support of friends, we are half way there but belief has to come from within and the magic and deities in my books give the reader permission to believe that anything is possible.

You are the universe and the universe is you. You are made up of the same components as the stars, trees and oceans. You are the goddess and the goddess is you.

These simple ideas allow us to immerse ourselves in the wonderous nature that surrounds us and take from it those things that will heal and balance our own lives.

I write about women who are offered assistance from a different plane of consciousness and who embrace the gifts offered because they know that this is part of an amazing support network. I tell the stories of heroes.

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You can find all my books here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wendy-Steele/e/B007VZ1P06/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1365459567&sr=1-2-ent

 

I do hope you enjoy them and I look forward to reading your reviews and comments.

 

 

 

May26

Dumping the routine and facing my fears

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Routine makes us complacent, settling us in safe, familiar territory while improvising, reacting and being in the moment keeps our minds and bodies young and active.

11167955_1610750972516726_7729406917342820848_nThis is me at the weekend on Cei Bach beach striking a pose while balancing barefoot on a slippery rock!

My fears, including depression, pain and failure, required me to construct daily routines in order to function. Having a reason to get up and get going was vital while having something to look forward to was essential. In May 2013 we sold our house, moved to a tent, then a caravan and into a run down farmhouse and from that moment, routine was unobtainable.

I’ll be honest, it’s been a struggle at times but facing each new day, not knowing what it might bring, has been empowering. We’ve been in our house for almost 18 months now and finally have a new roof but it’s only now I can look back and see how much the lack of routine and the challenges I’ve faced have changed me.

I trust myself more

Making decisions, especially those involving what seems to me vast sums of money, takes courage. I’ve made mistakes but trusting myself means I’m not afraid anymore.

I feel more confident

Another first for me…I am no longer afraid to fail. Who quantifies and judges failure anyway? I do my best with everything I do so there can be no berating or guilt if plans go array.

I like myself more

I’m proud of me and I don’t mind saying it! Life isn’t about the opinions or approval of others. I appreciate how hard I work and the achievements I make but, most of all, I am happy that I live by my own values of honesty, trust and love.

I can look at myself in the mirror

I’ve always had a problem with mirrors but a few weeks ago, squeaky clean from the bath, as I danced in my room, I looked in the mirror. I saw my tattoos from your eyes, saw my face, shoulders, arms, neck and chest and for the first time in my life, I saw myself. I saw me. It wasn’t Wendy Mum, partner, dancer or writer who looked back at me but me, Wendy Woo, the person my friends, my girls, my sisters see.

On the beach with my home girls

On the beach with my home girls

I can highly recommend dumping your routine, facing your fears and living and being present in every moment of your life.