I was lucky enough in January to spend a few hours creating a vision board alongside my daughter in an online workshop with the amazing Louise Bartlett.

Louise has been vision boarding for 2 decades. Coming from a creative background it became a very natural & easy way for her to express her emotions & bring her dreams into fruition.

Creating a vision board is quite a simple process of bringing together images, words, whatever resonates with you into a collage that represents how you want to feel or what you want to be. Louise is always on the look out for images & has a folder full of things she’s torn out of magazines together with things from nature like leaves, flower petals, shells, ribbons, wrapping paper, glitter.

You can literally use anything, For example, if you want to spend more time in nature, put some flowers & leaves on your board. Maybe you want to manifest more abundance in your life? Why not stick on some coins? I heard a lovely story about Jim Carey writing himself a cheque for $10,000,000 & his first big movie he got paid $10,000,000.

The biggest push-back to this process Louise encounters is people saying, ‘I’m not creative.’ As kids we are innately creative & playful. Sadly, this gets conditioned out of us with our adult responsibilities. As George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

Louise was keen to remind us that we are all creative in our own way. The important thing is not to get hung up on creating the perfect vision board. Just have fun, enjoy the process & the time spent doing something just for the joy of doing so.

We often get so caught up in ‘doing’ we stop having fun & playing. Vision boarding is a beautiful way to do something that lights you up. Channeling fun, creativity & joy raises our vibration & this is another important element of vision boarding & manifesting what we desire in our lives.

You can create a vision board whenever there is a change in your life or you want to manifest a change in your life but Louise went on to explain that creating the vision board is only the first step.

Actually manifesting what is on our board involves creating rituals & habits but these don’t have to be time-consuming. Put your board up somewhere you can see it, make it your screen saver & then commit some time to imagining & feelingwhat it means to you. It doesn’t take long, literally a few minutes everyday is enough. So let’s have a  look  at the process. 

The hardest part is committing to that daily ritual. The next hard part for many people is not knowing what ‘it’ feels like. Try recalling a time when you did feel how you’d like to feel now. Take time to notice what you already have in your life, those moments of joy whether it’s a beautiful flower you notice walking to work, a moment of joyful connection with your kids, the little moments as Jon Kabal Zinn said, ‘The little things? The little moments?  They aren’t little.’

So you’ve created your vision board, you spend time daily visualising and feeling into whatever it is you want to create; the new job, a relationship, a new home but it just doesn’t see to be manifesting. What now?

Louise is a big fan of the law of attraction: what you focus on you become. So perhaps you are focusing too much on what isn’t happening, what isn’t working so it is creating more of the same. A simple way is to shift this focus from what’s not happening to what is.

We may not get from A to B in a gentle smooth arch. We may make a detour via F,C,Z & P before eventually arriving at B. Or maybe we aren’t destined for B at all. After all, whenever we are manifesting it’s always this or something better because sometimes there’s a better plan out there for us. But we won’t appreciate it unless we keep a look out for all the beautiful little opportunities & possibilities along the way. After all, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

We can get really hung up on manifesting  law of attraction & creating this ‘perfect’ life. Life isn’t like that. Life isn’t perfect & indeed it is the imperfections that are so beautiful. But Lousie was really keen to stress that we are ALL  creative in our own way & creating some time to explore, have fun & play is an act of self-care. There’s no right or wrong, no need to worry about the outcome, just creating some time for ourselves is so important for our own wellbeing, our physical, mental & emotional health.

If you’d like to find out more about vision boarding I can’t recommend Louise more highly. You can contact her here:

Louise Bartlett Wellbeing

IG: @_louisebartlett

FB: Louise Bartlett Wellbeing

URL: louisebartlett.com

Blog on Vision boards:

https://www.louisebartlett.com/new-blog/2018/2/1/a-beginners-guide-to-creating-the-perfect-vision-board

My course, The Power of Vision Boards (there’s a waitlist)

https://www.louisebartlett.com/the-power-of-vision-boards-course

If you would like to find out more about creating different self-care practices check out Alex’s FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindfulnessyoga4selfcare

Or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexbannard/

Incorporate short yoga sequences & meditations as part of your self-care toolkit with guided practices on Alex’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQlKZJ7MeyYc6lqkv6seISw

For more info check out www.alexbannard.com

Alex is based on the edge of the stunning Cotswolds & has been sharing her love for all things yoga & mindfulness for almost a decade, not just in the UK but also around the world. Having used her training & knowledge to navigate her own menopausal journey & create a life in which she is thriving, Alex is devoted in supporting other’s in this life changing transition.

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This warm spring weather’s just great and I love it, but as we ditch woollies for short sleeves and trousers for bare legs, it’s depressing to rediscover those wrinkles which we’d hoped would have disappeared over the winter months. Thus our thoughts must turn to moisturisers – preferably ones with powers verging on the miraculous.

But does it really matter what moisturiser we use? Well actually more than you may think. Your skin is a rather marvellous system and does a great deal more than just looking good – it manufactures vitamin D from sunlight, it prevents us from overheating or freezing and, importantly, it absorbs things – very efficiently actually.  In fact pharmaceutical companies formulate some medicines specifically to be absorbed through the skin – a topical (if you’ll pardon the pun) example being HRT patches. But with most good things there’s a downside, and skin can absorb surprising quantities of harmful chemicals too.  

Contrary to what you may imagine, some moisturisers contain rather unpleasant chemicals hidden amongst that microscopic list on the label. However, if you don’t have a pocket magnifying glass to check the contents, you can buy from companies such as ARRAN Sense Of Scotland with confidence. They use natural products wherever possible and carefully consider and constantly review the safety of any unavoidable additives.

ARRAN Sense Of Scotland, is based on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. They’re a great company and are passionate about bringing pure, natural products from this beautiful wilderness into your home. Their stated purpose is ‘To help the world connect with nature’ and they certainly achieve this with their unusual choice of scents and active ingredients.

Frankly I love their range and thus I was unashamedly delighted to try their brand new product – After The Rain Shea Butter Cream.  

I have to say – they’ve done it again. Presented in a luxurious glass jar with light-wood lid, it’s packed with shea butter (a full 20%) . It felt so thick and creamy, and yet soaked in instantly, leaving no unpleasant greasiness. My skin immediately felt and looked soft and those naughty wrinkles were distinctly less obvious. 

 The Shea Butter Cream also contains some amazing ingredients such as Scottish sea kelp to nourish and hydrate dry skin, and extracts of lichen, peat moss and fern, which apparently have unique rejuvenating and moisture-boosting properties, so providing long-lasting hydration and helping to soften and comfort the skin. Although it’s suitable for any skin type, I’m advised that it provides intensive hydration particularly for dry skin, and it’s rich in vitamins antioxidant and minerals.

The signature scent, After the Rain, is distinctive and unusual, and creates images of walking in the Scottish Mountains, with its lime, rose and sandalwood aromas, and you can buy a whole range of products which use this perfume. 

After the Rain Shea Butter Cream cost just £25.00 for a very generous 100ml jar which will last for ages, from ARRAN Sense Of Scotland – check out the link for a whole range of fabulous products – you owe it to yourself.

By Dr K Thompson, award-winning author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q
http://faitobooks.co.uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

A family torn apart by their father’s infidelity are forced to confront the past thirty years later. As Natalie’s younger sister, Amanda, prepares for marriage and impending motherhood, her plea for the family to reunite uncovers pent-up tension and animosity. Can they forget the past and become a family again?

Natalie’s life begins to unravel as their father starts to creep back into their lives and family tensions resurface, affecting her relationship with her boyfriend, Rob. Will the couple find their way back to each other, and can a family that has been torn apart ever heal their wounds?

Can you ever walk away from someone you love, or do some fires never die out?

This is a painstaking, fascinating page turner of a novel, and the Frost Magazine  review team isn’t surprised to learn that debut author, Catherine Yardly originally wrote Ember as a film script, because it LIVES. Hardly surprising when one realises that before becoming a writer, Yardley spent some years as a  successful actor, who  knows all about making characters live.

So how did the script become Ember, the novel? As happens to so many early endeavours the script  was put aside when another idea  intruded – this time for a novel, set in the acting world. In the dormant time between drafts Yardley came across the script once more, and realised …  it should have been a novel. Ember was reborn, which meant changes, research, and a great deal of thought about the dynamics of familial relationships, the acceptance of past, perhaps present failings, or  does one chose unacceptance.

In Ember Yardley explores the divisions that ensue when siblings take opposing points of view regarding a father’s  historical unfaithfulness, a division heightened by  the pain of infertility raising its head.

Will the wedding be the start of a glimmer of reconciliation, of understanding, of healing and forgiveness? Or will it cause more fragmentation as memories become ever more vivid and outrage is stoked.  And just how did Yardley  bring such empathy and understanding to a family under such strain, and to the pain of infertility?

Yardley says: ‘I feel like some people don’t realise how much research goes into a work of fiction. I had to research fertility treatment as I am lucky enough to never have needed any. I also had to research little things about driving from one place to another. I had a lovely doctor friend who writers for Frost Magazine called Dr Kathleen Thompson who answered a lot of questions and helped me create an accurate portrayal of an obstetrician’s work life.’

Yes, indeed, research is crucial, so too observation, reflection, empathy and an actor’s ability to BE a character and make it tick. So, here we have it, Ember, a forensic examination of the dynamics of a family’s life. The pain, the hope, the darkness that needs to see the light of day, be aired, and blown away if possible, if not, somehow accepted, But can it be?

It takes an author of rare wisdom and skill to create a novel which unwinds past strands and empathises sufficiently to see the different perspectives at work, and somehow bring the whole caboosh to a credible resolution. The author weaved her magic and breaks the reader’s  heart but also warms  it. She reminds us that hope can take over from trauma, division and … well, just family discord dug deep.

She reminds us that quite frankly, no-one is perfect, some less so than others. But begs the question: how long should we  go on harbouring resentment? I suspect it is something most of us have had to work out for ourselves,

Does this make it sound too heavy? Ember isn’t, It’s compelling, absorbing, and one can’t help referring back to one’s own experiences as gradually we learned to let go of fear, not to mention  animosity., or at least put it aside for the sake of the family.

I found myself asking with regard to my own life ”Did I even try to understand? Did I really want to know? Is it time to put it away now, or just walk away?

Ember is evocative, wise,  discerning, and page turning. We close the book,   the character strands unwound, a  resolution but it’s up to you to read it and discover what resolution. But more, we put it on the bookshelf aware that we have more understanding of others,  and ourselves. What more can you ask of a novel.

In a word, Ember by  Catherine Yardley, is beautifully written,  and resonates. Bravo.

Ember by Catherine Yardley. in pb and e-book. Available here

Such exciting news! The Folio Society, London publisher of award-winning and beautifully produced illustrated hardback books, available worldwide, announces that entries are open for the launch of the international Folio Book Illustration Award (Folio BIA). 

This new, free-to-enter competition aims to find new illustration talent from around the world for narrative fiction, a genre that The Folio Society publishes to great acclaim. An annual international competition, it is open to illustrators, student or professional, who have not previously been commissioned by The Folio Society. Entrants will illustrate a single scene of their choice from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death.

Selected from a shortlist of 6, the winning entrant will receive a £2,000 cash prize plus a £500 Folio Gift Voucher with the remaining 5 shortlisted artists each receiving a £500 Folio Gift Voucher.

The expert judging panel is: Yuko Shimizu, award-winning New York-based illustrator and instructor;

Tom Walker,                                                          Sheri Gee                                                Raquel Leis Allion

And  Sheri Gee, The Folio Society Art Director; Tom Walker, The Folio Society Publishing Directorand Raquel Leis Allion, The Folio Society Art Director. The winner and 5 shortlisted runners-up will be offered the opportunity of a portfolio review with the Folio Society Art Directors.

Commenting on the launch, Joanna Reynolds, CEO The Folio Society says, ‘The Folio Society has proudly published beautifully illustrated books and produced editions of the best of contemporary and classic narrative fiction for 75 years. What better way to recognise this, our 75th birthday and the fabulous contribution of illustrators everywhere, than through an accessible and international competition.’

Tom Walker, Publishing Director, The Folio Society says: ‘Taking this classic American writer, and inviting visual interpretations of his evocative and timeless short story, we hope to discover amazing talent from a diverse and distinctly 21st century array of illustrators. We hope that artists from all over the world will bring their unique depiction of Poe’s chilling tale to contemporary and future generations. I am confident it will be the start of many new, great careers.’

Sheri Gee, Art Director, The Folio Society adds, ‘At Folio, we’re always on the lookout for fresh talent suitable for our books and I’m itching to see the creative responses evoked by this spine-chilling story. The concept – to illustrate one short story, for the joy of seeing a multitude of responses rather than for publication – is going to prove invaluable for us in pursuit of great illustration for commissions to come.’

More good news… There is no fee to enter the Folio BIA. The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe is available to download free of charge.

The Award opens 4 May 2022 and closes 30 June 2022. A longlist of 20 entries, chosen by the judges, will be exhibited on The Folio Society website from 18 July 2022 with the 6 shortlisted entries, one of whom will be the winner, announced online on 16 August 2022.

Illustrators can visit www.foliosociety.com/FolioBIA to find all the necessary details to enter this exciting competition.

 ABOUT THE FOLIO SOCIETY

The Folio Society, based in London, publishes beautifully produced books – available worldwide exclusively at foliosociety.com. Proudly independent for its 75 year history, in 2021, under the leadership of its CEO, Joanna Reynolds, The Folio Society was sold to its employees and is now an Employee Owned Trust. The accessible, diverse and inclusive values of The Folio Society are reflected in its new ownership that is committed to a progressive sharing of power and profit in publishing.

ABOUT THE FOLIO SOCIETY 75TH ANNIVERSARY: The Folio Society will celebrate its birthday through a number of events scheduled from May and throughout 2022

Find out more about The Folio Society at www.foliosociety.com