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Claire Marie Barton

Holistic Therapist & Author

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What do mother’s need to know about self-care for their highest good?

15th February 2019 By Claire Leave a Comment

As I rush around heading for inevitable overwhelm (again!) I found this reading I did a couple of years ago.  Using Steven Farmer’s ‘Earth Magic’ deck I asked  the question
‘What do mother’s need to know about self-care for their highest good?’  It’s  been a good reminder for me so thought I would share it with you. 

I picked 3 cards
#1 to represent the current situation
#2 obstacles to self-care
#3 steps to take

#1  Volcano-Volatility

Mothers today are under enormous pressure and are at breaking point.  The different strands of fire inside the volcano show all the different directions they are being pulled in.  Mums can only take so much before they explode.  Then there is fall out- rocks are hurled.  It goes almost without saying, that there is a lack of self-care going on!

#2 Lake-Stillness

So what are the obstacles?  There isn’t enough time for stillness- to reflect on our lives, to process what’s going on for us, to have time just to be, to go within, to connect with our core.  To do no-thing.  We are constantly busy…

#3 Green Man-Synergy

So what can we do?  This card is full of greenery.  The green man is associated with trees.  This card is an invitation to spend time in nature.  You don’t have to head off into the wilds- you just need to get outside into the fresh air and head to the nearest patch of greenery. This can be your garden, local park, woods, beach- whatever you have time for.  Frequent short walks can be very nourishing and have a synergistic effect i.e. you will feel much better for doing it than you would expect from doing such a small thing.  When you spend time outside in nature (without being on your phone 😉 ) you can experience stillness and then you will be able to move through your life with greater ease.

It’s important to prioritise this time on your own even if it’s only for 10 or 20 minutes.  If you have small children and no-one to cover for you or you just can’t get out of the house, open the door or window and take 3 deep breaths while looking at a plant or tree.

Right I’m off down the beach for 20 minutes to breathe and listen to mantras.  Let me know how you get on!

Love and blessings
Claire

Filed Under: Motherhood Tagged With: angel card reading, Earth Magic oracle deck, mothers, self-care, Steven Farmer

Be Fearless 2019 & the Goddess Brigid

8th February 2019 By Claire Leave a Comment

Since attending an amazing event ‘Your Fearless Start to 2019‘  organised by Network Ireland West Cork a couple of weeks ago, I have been thinking about fear and how it stops us doing what we are here to do in the world.

With the theme of ‘Your Fearless 2019’ Susan Steele,  Chair of the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority of Ireland and Fiona O’Donnell of West Cork Fit were the keynote speakers.  Sheila Munro of Deliciously You, Kate Ryan of Flavour.ie and member of the month Anne-marie Kingston (White Sage Home Decluttering), spoke about how they  overcame their fears and self-doubt to run their now very successful businesses. Fiona’s brand of fearlessness was in how she dealt with serious illness and how she has reclaimed her health and has a great business guiding others on their path to health through diet and exercise.

In her talk, Susan explained that fear is always going to be there.  It’s part of our survival strategy as a species, so it’s really a question of managing it.  Since we can’t get rid of it we can learn to be brave. Susan claims that she is not brave but she just cultivated certain habits then she just gets on with it.  She started to run when she had small children and was feeling unfit so she decided to put on her running gear every morning and keep it on until she went for a run.   Susan has now run over 70 marathons and swims in the sea without a wetsuit throughout the year!

Learning to be brave reminded me of a quote from Aung San Suu Kyi   ‘Fear is just a habit. I’m not afraid’.  This woman’s spirit and courage has inspired me since I was a teenager.  

Under our chair’s Susan had placed bags with limpet shells inside as a gift.  The limpet clings to the rocks on the shore and is protected from the force of the sea and from predators by it’s shell which acts like a shield.  She said our fears are like shields we can let go of. This tied in perfectly with the oracle card I had picked the day before as this was all about letting down yours shields.

              

When I looked up the little booklet with the card deck, it said  ‘Drop any shields of shame, resistance and fear that are standing between you and your chances of enjoyment and fun.  Know that you don’t need to hide who you are of the gifts that you have. You were born to shine’.

So now this card makes much more sense.  We are carrying the shields of fear and shame and not enoughness and we can call on our angels and guides to assist us in the ‘being brave’ stage.   ‘Angelic protection is swirling around you and helping you to move forward in a more fearless way. Call on your guides for help in changing your frequency so you can feel safe and protected at this time’.

The analogy of the shields and limpets is perfect and I will display my limpet in a prominent place as a daily reminder to move beyond my fears.

I am blessed to be part of a beautiful group of women who meet up from time to time to sound together.  We were together last week to sound for La Fheile Bride (Brigid’s Day). St Brigid, formerly the Goddess Brigid is known for her fearlessness.   One of the aspects of the goddess Brigid is the maiden and together we explored this phase of our lives through sound.

As soon as we started to sound I was transported back to my childhood to my nana and grandad’s hen run where I used run laps with a dozen hens running enthusiastically after me.  One of them, Molly was very tame and would let me stroke her and pick her up. At the age of 7, I would sneak outside after tea in the winter dressed in my long blue maxi dress and sing songs to the stars.  At 10, in the summer I would sit in the field at dusk behind my paternal grandparents summerhouse in Oysterhaven with my arm around my dog Teddy waiting to see the lighthouse flash from the Old Head of Kinsale.  I loved to ponder on the big questions of life and burned to explore Africa that I knew only from books and letters from my uncles on the missions.

I remembered the day when I realised I wasn’t enough.  ‘We can’t tell you because you’re too innocent. You wouldn’t understand’.  Then I started to hide who I really was and spent many years in a haze of ‘I  don’t mind’ until indecision enveloped me and I wasn’t even sure who I was anymore.  

Now I am older and wiser, no longer the maiden but now I can accept her as she is and no longer scorn her for being the hapless ignoramus that I had branded her.  Now I see that she did what she could to get by and all of that has brought me to the here and now.

And as I’m writing this in my journal, I find 3 pictures that I chose in the red tent last summer to represent ‘Who I was, Who I am, Who I want to be’.  and these are the words that came.

From Maiden to Crone                                   26th  August 2018, The Red Tent Clonakilty

Past

White dress of innocence
sitting in a big strong tree
gazing at the crescent moon.
Dreaming, waiting
Waiting and dreaming

 

Present

Woman standing
unselfconscious
free.
Grown-up
no longer stuck.
Recognising
femininity
beyond sexuality.
Ready
to dance
with life.

 

Future

Free-flowing
merging
with nature
flying on the wind.
Carefree.
Consciously
connected to the
web of
life.

I hadn’t looked at this since then and now I can see it even more clearly.  Susan showed us illustrated brains with different parts lit up. We are social animals and mostly our fear stems from not being socially acceptable.  By taking part in groups such as the red tent and Network Ireland, we find our tribe and feel a belonging that encourages us to be brave. I am dipping my toe in the water.  Would you like to join me?

 

Filed Under: Musings on Life, Poetry Tagged With: befearless, Network Ireland, NIWC2019, west Cork

Winter Solstice

13th December 2018 By Claire Leave a Comment

Drombeg

Light fades
silhouetting a sea of conifers
against blue, purple and peach.
Black branches soak up the colour,
alive in the sensation of dusk.

Winter strips us back
to the feelings we have inside.
Makes us witness those dull aches,
usually glossed over.
They bring the sky closer.

We walk silently to the circle.
Slowly,
full of intention,
the stone walls even more
delicate and purposeful.

Lou guides us in meditation and
I feel tingles
as if there is happiness
that we are doing things
this way.

We remember our loved ones
passed and our ancestors.
Then sounding freely,
together we weave a beautiful song
rich in harmony.

I feel our voices
reaching out,
connecting us.
Ready
for the New Year.

Filed Under: Poetry Tagged With: Drombeg Stone Circle, winter solstice

Why Learn the Ukulele?

9th November 2017 By Claire Leave a Comment

The ukulele is rising in popularity all the time particularly with those who may not have played an instrument before.  Here are five compelling reasons why you should give it a go!

  1. It’s easy: Compared to other instruments there is almost instant gratification. There are only 4 strings and so it’s much easier to play than a guitar.  You don’t need any musical background and it’s an ideal instrument for busy people to learn because you don’t have to practise that much.
  2.  Its fun: They say that ukulele players are the happiest people in the world! A lot of people think  ukuleles are toy guitars.  It’s hard to take yourself too seriously when you are playing ukulele and it really is a lot of fun.
  3. It’s social: Playing ukulele is a great way of making new friends. During the summer I was out for a cycle with my ukulele and I met a lovely young french couple who were hitching a lift with a pink ukulele.  I stopped and we had fun chatting and  jamming at the side of the road.
  4.  It’s affordable: You can buy a ukulele from around 20 euro which is grand for learning on.  For less than €100 you can get one that sounds really nice too!
  5.  It’s small & light: It fits in your handbag (or your manbag)so you can take it anywhere. Handy for a quick practise outside the  school while you’re waiting to collect the kids,  to play at work on your lunchbreak, perfect for beach parties, on your bike, no bother in your handbag when you’re flying or if you are getting a lift somewhere great to play in the car.  Endless possibilities…

So what’s stopping you? Find a class near you or go on you tube. Click here for details of my ukulele classes for adults in Clonakilty, West Cork. Learn ukulele and amaze your friends and family with your new skills!

ukulele lessons west Cork
Ukulele is fun, play it anywhere!

 

 

Filed Under: ukulele Tagged With: Clonakilty, ukulele lessons, west Cork

How to Get Started with Square Foot Gardening

27th May 2016 By Claire Leave a Comment

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

Filed Under: Natural Home

How to Save 3.5 Hours A Week with Real Plans

27th May 2016 By Claire Leave a Comment

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

Filed Under: Recipes

9 Tips to Help Balance Hormones Naturally

27th May 2016 By Claire Leave a Comment

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This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

Filed Under: Health

Get the Facts: The Benefits of Cholesterol

27th May 2016 By Claire Leave a Comment

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This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind. This is an example of a WordPress post, you could edit this to put information about yourself or your site so readers know where you are coming from. You can create as many posts as you like in order to share with your readers what is on your mind.

Filed Under: Health, Recipes

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