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Dear ,
Welcome to May's newsletter - and the beginning of 'Mindful May' at Kindred Soil!
In this newsletter you'll find:
- The first instalment of invitational practices for this month's campaign 'Mindful May'
- Upcoming offerings - a look behind the scenes at the offerings that are just about ready to come into bloom...
- Spring updates from my garden - the small bits of progress and growth and a fair bit of sunshine!
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Mindful May
This month, I am going to be offering some invitations around bringing mindfulness awareness to ourselves and nature, as we move into May and the lighter, warmer seasons of Spring and Summer.
Each week I will be sharing a resource to support us to practice mindful awareness - this week I'm starting with the breath, which is often used as a foundation of mindfulness practice (but also is not the only anchor to use - if focusing on breathing isn't comfortable or accessible for you, that's absolutely fine and I have offered some alternatives in the caption for the video version).
These practices are not intended as something to add to your to do list, or to berate yourself for not doing! They are instead intended as resources for you to reach for as and when they feel supportive.
I was part of putting on a nature-based mindfulness retreat with Ecowisdom last month and we had a session from the brilliant Jill Satterfield, who shared the idea of practices being like pieces of clothing - you can see what feels comfortable to you at that moment, what your weather is like, and if something doesn't feel right in that moment then that's fine! This approach deeply resonated with me.I have spent long phases expecting myself to have a clear 'routine' of practices (the kind of thing you might see people post about on instagram...)
For some people they need the routine, they like to know when and where they will practice. For me it has been much more sustainable and accessible to look for 'micro-moments' of grounding and mindfulness as a form of informal practice, than it has to try to fit regular formal practice (whole meditations) into my routine. I still like to use formal practice when it feels like the right fit - and that works as an approach for me.
My invitation to you for this month...
Should you choose to accept it... Is to use these practices as feels comfortable and supportive for you.
You might like to be guided, might like to guide yourself. You might like to have them as part of regular routine or instead have them as a resource in your back pocket to use when feels good to you.
My biggest invitation is to bring a sense of curiosity and maybe even playfulness about how the practices feel, how they fit. And knowing that there isn't a right or 'better' way to incorporate mindfulness into your life.
There are links for the audio and the video versions of the first practice below. I will be sharing the practices each Thursday through this month - video versions will be on Instagram, and the audio versions will be available to download for free through the Digital Resource Shop.
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Offerings that are about to come into bloom...
Summer Solstice
The next Celtic Wheel Event will be for the Summer Solstice - this will likely take place on 21st June, 6-7.30pm UK time. I am finalising the details of the event and will share these as soon as they are ready.
Self-Paced
I mentioned in the previous newsletter that I'm aiming to created self-paced versions of the live Celtic Wheel events. I had hoped to create the first one for Beltane, but this wasn't possible - I need to take some time to really reflect on how to translate the magic of the live sessions into resources that you can access in your own time and space. I'm aiming now for Summer Solstice - let's see how we get on!
Circles
We are in full swing with our Spring Circle Journey which is incredibly nourishing. Because of this I don't currently have capacity to run additional circle events but I will update when the next events are happening.
Soon can work with me 121!
I am in the final stage of receiving my certification as a Body-oriented Coach, and will be adding this to my Kindred Soil offerings.
I really love group spaces but I also am deeply passionate about holding space for individuals, so I am very excited to be offering both spaces soon!
You'll be able to work with me 121 - you read more about Body-Oriented Coaching here or watch this video about me giving an introduction.
We can also work together to weave in Forest Therapy, mindfulness and meditation practices if this feels supportive and relevant for you.
I will be opening my books for a very small number of coaching clients towards the end of this month - I will share this via email and also on instagram in the next week or so. If you already know you are interested then feel free to reply to this message directly letting me know!
Here is a testimonial from one of my clients during this last phase of my training:
" It’s hard to put into words just how special these sessions are. Harriet is a truly wonderful guide/co-thinker. The space she held for me helped me unravel the thoughts in my head, and the experiments she guided me through enabled me to find answers within that my other practices (meditation, journaling, etc) had not managed to uncover. Each session left me feeling grounded and excited about moving forward with new insights. "
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Updates from my Garden!
I have found it very freeing to share about my garden - especially sharing with a real beginner's mind perspective - You can read my reflections about this on my blog.
So the biggest update from the garden is that we now have a lovely trellis fence (you can see the image below where Meli our dog is looking a little confused and slightly annoyed that she no longer has access along the 'night passage'!)
We have been donated and gifted a couple of climbing and tall plants to make their home along this new barrier - I have already spotted the clematis weaving itself up and making itself at home.
Other updates are that we also now have a bird bath (you can see in the image of the fence) and a bird feeder. I am waiting patiently (ish!) for birds to learn about this new food and bath supply and hoping for them to flock to us. It is quite the lesson in humility and patience as it seems that the word hasn't really spread yet. We have had a blackbird visit, and also a wood pigeon so far - I can't tell you how excited I was! My partner Omer was trying to talk to me and getting thoroughly ignored because of the blackbird flying back and forth to the feeder!
We've also had the blossom arrive on our pear tree, and now this has mainly blown away but has left some lovely green leaves on the branches.
I am already finding support, metaphors and meaning from connecting with our little garden. I hope to share more of these reflections as they emerge.
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White blossoms on the pear tree are fully open. Small purple flowers emerging amongst the grass and below climbing ivy.
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Thank you so much for supporting Kindred Soil
🌱 It's an honour to journey together as we cross from season to season 🌱
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Have any questions?
You can reply directly to this email or use the button below
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