A Wonderful World

      Our minds are extremely powerful. Our brain and body are connected, it’s an energy, and we can change our physical world by changing thoughts and beliefs. It begins with what our brain perceives and because we are in control of our thoughts, we can control our perception. How we perceive things directly effects how we think, which then effects how we respond and behave. It’s a cycle. Thoughts create feelings. Feelings create behaviour. Behaviour reinforces thoughts. Our bodies are direct products of our minds, though we can often mask it externally, our body holds on to and is effected by how the mind thinks. So if we take care of the thoughts, the feelings and behaviours can be altered as a consequence. This is the strategy behind cognitive behaviour therapy. We’re able to take back control of our whole being. One of the thoughts or feelings of course being ‘stress’, we often feel stressed because of how we think about something rather than how things actually are...

                                                  UNDERSTANDING STRESS AND OUR RESPONSE ‘Stress’ is a physical, mental or emotional factor that cause bodily or mental tension. At times this response is necessary. When we are faced with a potential threat, stress can initiate the ‘fight or flight’ response, which is our body’s involuntary response to help prepare us for any necessary action that may need to be taken in order to survive.  When our brains perceive what they believe to be a threat, this response and our alertness is activated, our breathing and heart rate increases, hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released, blood flows away from where it’s not needed to assist muscles and the heart. As this response is initiated, we can take action. Ultimately, stress is what happens when our equilibrium is disturbed by what we call ‘a stressor’, this ‘stres...

AFFORDABLE, SUSTAINABLE, BEAUTIFUL CANDLES. Candles are more than just a fragrant piece of decor. They have multiple benefits, which have been particularly useful since the pandemic began. Not only do they smell and look lovely when lit, they can also effect the way we feel. Candles and our sense of smell play an important role in the physiological effects of mood, stress and working capacity. Their scents can help to create specific feelings in the body.  They can help create ambience, whether in the bath, in the bedroom or centred on the dining table, they can enhance and change the way we feel in a space. Their aromas can help calm the mind and have been proven to help with various psychological and physiological disorders, particularly anxiety and depression. It's also been found that their scents can improve our mood and enhance memory, some scents have been proven to lower cortisol- the hormone released when under stress, and also activate chemicals in the brain including dop...

‘Perhaps the butterfly is proof that you can go through a great deal of darkness and still become something beautiful’ – Beau Taplin.  Coronavirus and it's rising cases has brought our country to a point of a difficult decision, the thing is, unfortunately there is no 'right' or 'perfect' way to tackle this pandemic as we do not yet have the vaccine or magic powers to make it all go away. It's about managing and saving as many lives as we can. Reducing cases, yet also working to maintain the economy, stability and caring for our mental and physical health as much as possible. It's now in the known that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made the choice to enter a second lockdown of at least a month, and as overwhelming and frustrating as this is, it's the decision that has been made and we now have to stick to in order to hopefully reduce the cases. Of course without the vaccine we cannot yet remove the virus completely, but in sticking to the proposed gui...