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Hi everyone. On this week's podcast, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about self-care and I wanted to come to you from the beautiful spot that we teach Reiki in in just outside of Canberra in Royal Australia.

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Thanks to Mary Merton Ryan and Terry Ryan.

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Host us. We so appreciate you, and I wanted to show those of you who are watching on YouTube, the beautiful blue mountains that are behind me.

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The reason that the mountains are blue is that when the sun shines on the eucalyptus, the oils, the eucalyptus oils released from the trees, and it causes a blue sheen.

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And it causes the mountains to look blue. So I really wanted to share that with you today from this beautiful spot.

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I'm actually sitting outside in the porch where we teach our Reiki classes.

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Generally, depending on the temperatures, occasionally we do go inside if it's a little chilly out here.

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So I wanted to bring you a sunset from the Blue Mountains.

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This evening. We do have some rain. It's been raining on and off just a little bit and that's where we are.

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Before we begin, I'd just like to let you know what we have coming up this week in Australia.

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I'm teaching level one and two Masters and Animal Reiki, level one and two.

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There's still space. I'd love to have you join us either online or in person if you can, and in April I've got a full lineup of Level one and two Masters Animal one and two Masters.

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Followed by animal communication. I only teach that a few times a year and even in May Kaurna Reiki.

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So go ahead and join us for that if you can.

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And this summer I also have some whale classes coming up.

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I've got just some plain Reiki classes in July, but we will be following those with the whale watching tour.

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And I also have some animal Reiki classes in July, August and September.

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Level one and two. And then in September that'll be followed by a masterclass, and those are also followed by a will watching tour.

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So if you'd like to join me in Camp Bellow for those, we'd love to see you there.

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You can join those online as well.

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I also wanted to let you know in May I'll be attending the Northeast Reiki retreat in New York teaching Animal Reiki level one and two.

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And so whatever you can.

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you can join us. We'd love to see you, whether you're reviewing the class or attending for the first time.

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So I wanted to talk this week a little bit about self-care.

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I got a message in January that I needed to be more diligent with my self-care, and I have to admit that I did a little bit, but not a lot.

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I was told to just work a bit less, stretch a bit more, take a little bit more time for myself.

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And I used to be really great about self care and then life got busy and it basically got busy when I went to publish my book.

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And at the same time we purchased our little home on Campobello that needed loads of renovations.

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And my work is already busy. I run three different business.

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And as you can tell, I'm in Australia teaching.

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I do also love to travel to teach and travel to present at different Reiki retreats and things all over the world.

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So life got really busy last February, March, about this time last year.

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and I really have to say that self-care went off the rails for me.

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And so in January when I was away, I heard very clearly that I was working too much and to slow down a bit.

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And I said yeah I'll slow down soon.

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How many of you have not listened to your guidance right away when it came through?

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Certainly that was the case for me. I didn't really listen right away.

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And Soon and the slowing down wasn't really enough.

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So what I was about to hold a Reiki share recently, I slipped on the ice and I hit my head so badly that I've been skirting around.

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That was about two weeks ago not quite two weeks ago now.

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And I hit my head so badly that I knew it was concussion, possibility of a concussion, and I know how difficult those can be.

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And it, it led me to a really tremendous appreciation of my brain, this big, beautiful brain that we all have, that breathes for us, that pumps the blood through our veins, that does all of these wonderful things that allow us to be alive and to live life fully and completely.

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And how many times do we.

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take it for granted and just assume that it will always be there for us doing the thing, no matter that we don't rest enough or eat well enough or meditate and give it the nourishment that it needs.

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And I realize, wow, this is this is, I have, I didn't listen.

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I need to slow down. And you had no choice but to slow down with.

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Skirting around the edges of a concussion.

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I knew that I could only do a certain amount of screen time.

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I was scheduled to come to Australia and teach.

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I really didn't want a concussion to get in the way of that.

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I still do have a bit of a lump on my head and you could feel where it had been bleeding.

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There's still, it still hasn't healed up completely.

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So I'm very aware, as recently, the last few weeks as I do too much, I get headaches and I get a little.

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And the energy lets me know that I've done too much.

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So what I wanted to do this week for myself as much as for you, is to just get us back to a place where we can nourish and look after ourselves, that we can realize that we are a.

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When I knew that I might not have the health of my brain and knew that I might not be able to travel, I might not be able to do a lot of the things that I wanted to do.

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You realize in those moments that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything and help really needs to be a priority, and I wanted to let you know that before I got off track with self-care.

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I really think I had a pretty good handle on it.

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And self-care is not something, it's often something we do as an afterthought, especially when you're a healer, especially when you're an empath, and you can feel other people's pain.

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And I knew that if I was to truly help people properly, I needed to look after myself.

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To look after myself first, as a matter of fact.

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And so what I would do is actually take my calendar and I would schedule my self care for a year.

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And I know that might sound extreme, but as a licensed teacher, teaching classes, doing regular sessions for people, having speaking engagements and traveling, I need to plan my calendar a year in advance and.

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before I, I would sit down and I would plan things like my classes and listen to the energy.

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When should I have this class? When should I have that class?

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What time zone? You know where?

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And as soon as I got that down, the second thing I planned for the year were, was self-care.

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I planned hair appointments. I planned reflexology.

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I planned my monthly. Reiki session.

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I get a Reiki session from someone else each month, and it's really important to me to do that.

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I love to do floats.

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There's a place where you can float in really salinated water with that's salinated with ups and salts and it just completely relaxes my body.

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So I would put those in the schedule. I would plan all of the other.

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And so I would get all of the things that I would, massages, physiotherapy chiro, proctor, all of these things I would put in my calendar and get them booked for the year, and I would honor them.

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I didn't skip them. If they were in, when they were in the calendar, they were honored even if things got busy or until things got a little too busy with my book and I didn't get my calendar year planned that year and last year.

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The next thing I would do is really sit there and think about what do, what nourishes me, what makes me feel really good.

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And some of the things that I really enjoy are daily yoga, daily self Reiki, walks with my dogs, Reiki walks with my dogs in the woods as much as possible.

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And so these are things writing in my journal.

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These are things that don't cost very much.

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They were something that I could do daily for me, and it was within my power to do them every day.

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And so this is the next thing that I would plan.

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I would think about how my day, what my day needed to look like in order to fit in time for me, and I really thought about it.

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I also loved to spend time with the horses, and that's fallen off the rails lately too.

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So I'd really like to get that back on the rails.

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I like to spend time riding. I like to bike.

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And hike and do things like that.

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So I would actually, work those in and really work with that.

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So I think for a while, until I get off the rails, about a year ago, I think my self care was really top notch and oh, and I like to meditate each day, even just five or 10 minutes just meditating in Gassho or with the Reiki.

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I like to do my self-treatment again, even if I only have five or 10 minutes just to do Reiki for five or 10 minutes each day.

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And then I always do a fuller Reiki session at night just to do Gassho throughout the day, that sort of thing.

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Just the things that you need to do to keep your energy healthy.

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And I used to have people tell me like, holy smokes, you have so much energy.

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And I really think it was just looking after. One of the things that I noticed when I began to make myself a priority for self care is I became a better healer and a better Reiki practitioner, a better animal communicator, a better mom, a better animal person and animal caretaker.

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All of these things improved, but it really markedly improved.

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The way that I was able to assist people with Reiki, it became a better.

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So I really just wanted to talk with you about the importance of self care, and I wanted to put out maybe a little bit of a.

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Of a challenge or a goal setting experience with you.

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I've made a commitment since this fall and this concussion to make myself a priority again.

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I haven't been a priority for about 12 months now and maybe a little longer, and it's time to get that self care back on the books and to really do the things.

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Keep me healthy and happy.

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And so my challenge to you is after this podcast to sit down and make a list out of the things that bring you joy.

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It's really important. The way that we know that we're on track with our life purpose is that we are feeling and experiencing joy regularly.

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Quite often we call it our work, and it is work, but it's meant to be joyous.

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It's meant to be joyful. It's meant to be something that brings, lightness to us.

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And it nurtures us. And nourishes us.

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That's our work is meant to be like that.

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So I'd love you to take a few moments.

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I've got a whole chapter on this in the Reiki business book on self care and I think it's a whole chapter.

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It's most of a chapter anyway, and just how important.

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To our wellbeing.

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So if you do have the Reiki business book, grab that and look at it for some inspiration or some ideas.

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And but I'd really like to invite you to take a few moments after we're done our meditation today after we're done, our podcast, and to think about what you love, what brings you joy, what would you like to, if there were no barriers, no blocks, no limit.

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What would you bring into your life?

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And I'd like to challenge you to start putting those in.

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One of the things in addition to journaling that I really began doing from Julia Cameron from her work of the her creative work.

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Now, I can't think of the name of the book and I'm sorry, that's the concussion brain kicking in a little.

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But she, the artist's way, and one of the things she even suggested is take yourself for a date each week.

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Just take a few hours and do something that really lights you up.

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Go to a museum or if what lights you up is going to the library or going to a market.

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My husband's a cook. He loves to cook and he loves to go to the market and get fresh vegetables and things like, think of something.

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It doesn't have to be extensive. Although it. But just think of what lights you up and each week take yourself just you and take yourself on a date.

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Go ahead and do that. And right now I'm taking some much needed rest in Australia.

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We are working here too, but we are, we're really blending it with some sight, seeing some rest, some seeing some friends, and, to just bring this message home to me even further.

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On our way here I found out I was coming to visit a classmate who was an exchange student from Australia, Robert, and on my way here to visit Robert, we found out that another one of our classmates passed away suddenly last week.

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And, life is just too short not to do the things that you love.

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And I'm just gonna say that one more time.

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Life is too short to put off the things that.

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I really brought that message home. And it's also too short not to let the people who love you and who you love know that you love them, but that will be our message that their next Reiki share.

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We'll be talking about that then. So life is too short not to do the things that you love.

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So I'd like you to give a little bit of thought of do you love, and even your.

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Treatments, your self treatments, they're not meant to be a duty.

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Yes your life goes better when you do daily self Reiki, but it's not meant to be something you have to do.

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It's meant to be joyful. If doing your daily self Reiki feels like a chore to you, think of what would make it more joyful?

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One of the things I do is I put the symbols all around me and go for a walk with the dogs.

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Anybody who has ever walked with my dogs know that it's a very joyful experience.

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I've always said Baxter could be renamed joy and Henry could be renamed love.

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And Izzy is just cute.

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And Lily as well. And.

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Think about if anything that you do that you know is good for you as a chore, I'd really like you to work on reframing that.

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How can you do it so that it's a joy?

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One of the things I love doing is doing yoga with myself, Reiki.

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And so while I'm in a yoga pose running my Reiki, then it just feels amazing and joyful to me.

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It's not a chore at all. I love.

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Listen to a meditation as I do Reiki, or even do Reiki as I'm at the movies or doing something else, just placing my hands on so that it, I used to look at my daily self Reiki as a chore, something I had to do.

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And it, it's not something you have to do.

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It's something that will make your life more joyful and pleasurable if you do it.

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But think about those things that you, that are good for you, that feel like a chore, and think about how to reframe.

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So that they're joyful, they're simple. They're pleasurable they're easy.

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And so that's what we're going to do in this meditation today.

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We're going to look at how you can nurture and nourish you, how you know, what is the self care that would be best for you, and also how to make yourself a priority.

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Because quite often with all of our responsi.

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We fall down the list of priority and really that just gets in the way of all of the other things that we want and need and love to do.

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So I'd just like you to bring your hands into Gassho for a moment.

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Activating your Reiki energy, bringing in your Reiki.

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And just make the following statement with me.

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I am a priority.

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The most important thing that I can do for myself, my clients, and my loved ones is look after.

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And then place your hands comfortably on your body.

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Wherever you feel guided and breathe, just breathing in the light of Reiki that's all around you, and just allowing the Reiki energy to lift out any messages tell you that you are not worthy, you're not worthy of love, that you're not worthy of.

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Prepare that you're not worthy of being nurtured and nourished.

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Lift out any messages that place you on the bottom of the list of your priorities without any message.

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That consider self care, selfish, lift out anything at all, any beliefs, whether they're culturally created, beliefs or beliefs of your own.

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That belief that we have to work. Life is hard.

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Let those go. One of the things that Reiki shows us is that life can be pleasurable and deep and meaningful, and loving, and joyful, and abundant, and that there is enough for all of us.

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Treating ourselves well, treating ourselves with love and loving kindness is okay, so just allow that message to sink in.

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Treating yourself with loving kindness.

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Treating myself with loving kindness is not only acceptable.

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It's necessary. It's part of becoming enlightened.

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Let go of the beliefs that would hold you back and just go ahead and ask the Reiki energy now to show you what you want and need and what would be beneficial for you.

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Allow the Reiki energy to surround you in a soft cushion, a cloud of loving kindness and light, and to show you what self care would benefit you the most, and how to weave.

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That into your daily life, and we're going to remain here.

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For some time today. Feeling all of the muscles and keeping the bones in your body relaxed.

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And just once again, asking the questions show me what brings me joy and what would be a self-care for me and how would I weave that into.

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Now that you have a few ideas to start, There's a little bit of homework with our podcast this week.

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I'd like you to go ahead and journal that there were no limitations.

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What would I do? Where would I go? What are some of the things I could do for myself and just allow these ideas to more fully.

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I want to thank you for being with me today.

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You mean so much to me. I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse of Australia in this beautiful spot that we're in, and the Blue Mountains all around us.

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Thank you for being here. You are much loved.

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I hope that you're able to make self.