A couple years ago my mother visited me and at the time she was in her early 70s. One day we were going out as a family and she dressed up in a bright pink polo shirt and pink jean, much to the embarrassment of my teenage daughters! But I loved that about my mother and when I spoke to her about aging, she told me that she didn’t feel her age. She told me that she dressed the way she felt and during that time she said that she felt like a teenager. Interestingly, she looked youthful, was happy and lived life with a lot of gratitude each day. Her true essence shone through and anywhere we travelled, my mother seem to be the one that made friends the quickest and easiest. 

Life is vibrant, and unique.  Life can be viewed as a fashion show. On the runway, models show off different styles and the unique colours.  Similarly, humans are unique in the way we look, behave and think. And yet there is so much pressure in fit in, whether that's in organisations or family life.

Whether you are risk taker, fashion follower, consider for a moment if this is reflected in the way you live your life? The next question, is; are you happy with your choice of outfit, and if not, what is stopping you from changing it? Who or what is getting in the way?  What are the consequences of not changing? What are the advantages of staying in your current dress state?

Perhaps you are currently wearing the ideal outfit…. Maybe you can share some of your ideas and what made you accept this state...I would love to hear your stories

The Quote above shared by today's guest, Peter Strange, says it all! Trauma is not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility!  Traumatic events are common experiences that occurs in most, if not all our lives. Trauma is an emotional, psychological or physical response to a terrible event like an accident, abuse or natural disaster. We tend to use the word trauma frequently, however, its important to understand that not every traumatic event will have long lasting consequences. Human beings are resilient and the impact of trauma varies depending of multiple factors. What is traumatic for one person, may not be traumatic for another. Trauma can occur as early as in the womb, especially if the mother is abusing drugs or experiencing extreme stress. Evidence shows that it's not just our brain, but our cellular memory too that holds an imprint of past traumatic events. Help should be sort if a traumatic event, leads to debilitating symptoms, such as persistent fatigue, sleep disorders, nightmares, fear, anxiety, flashbacks, depression, and pain etc.

Todays' guest, Peter Strange is an expert when it comes to healing Trauma both physical and emotional. In this Podcast he shares his personal story of trauma from a serious sports injury and how this experience led him on a path to self healing; using his intuition, scientific and spiritual knowledge, which then led to helping others. Through his extensive research, personal and clinical experience and successful results, Peter has created the RESET Method (Realigning Emotions and structure for Energetic Transformation) to help clients heal. This is an incredible interview and just by listening to Peter's voice, you get a sense of his healing abilities. Peter can be contacted on www.peterstrange.co.uk and on Face Book 

Did you know that Hurt and Hope co-exists. How about being broken and being whole too. Did you know that famous people like Oprah Winfrey, Iyanla Vanzant, Maya Angelou and Joyce Meyers, just to name a few experienced immense hurt and the greatest of hope in their lives. What these powerful women have in common is a shared experience of abuse, some teenage pregnancy and neglect. This is how their stories started. But thankfully that's now how its ended. In fact, its ended with more triumph and successes that many would deem impossible.  Their success did not come overnight. It came from an insane ability to 'not give up' and to not live out their lives as victims. Instead they faced their issues, did the healing overtime.  Along the way, the success gained was not just locally, but worldwide; with the hope of helping others to heal. What hurt are you hiding right now in your life? What if you are are able to use your experience to help others? What is it that you need to do right now, to start the process of healing so that when the time comes, you are ready to help someone else. Why not use your hurt, to bring hope to those who need it right now.

Everyone experiences trials. Everyone, from one time or the next have challenges. I am not sure that everyone has had to face the type of adversity which changes the trajectory of their life. I was inspired to do this Podcast today by two of my clients. One of whom just emailed me today to say that she has received an invitation to be interviewed for Cambridge University. This is a young woman who have been human trafficked and has experience sexual exploitation. Statistically most women who have been trafficked do not survive and if they do, there outcomes are not that great. The other client's story is one of overcoming the loss of her husband who died traumatically in  a road traffic accident. Both women's story reminds me of Joseph's Campbells work called The Hero's journey. The Hero's journey is about using the wisdom you gained from life experiences- facing conflicts, trials and then triumph! Having gone through the tests, pain, trials etc, my clients are now at the stage where they are able to use there experiences to influence and motivate others. The message today is that you can overcome adversity. You can use the wisdom from your pain and your trials to help others, just like these two women.

Play and creativity are important aspects of human development. Play reduces cortisol — the hormone responsible for stress, which can increase your risk for heart disease in excess. It releases endorphins. It also helps to keep depression at bay, improves your cognitive health, and lowers the risk of developing age-related neurodegenerative conditions like dementia. Many of us have become accustomed to routine and structure and managing risk. We seem to have lost our way. We have lost that child-like wonder, that spark to create and to grow. The creative Path forces us to follow our curiosity down the rabbit hole and use our creative abilities to problem solve, brainstorm, dream, visualise etc. Therefore creating value for others by selling our skills to clients.  When you create you play. When you play you allow your creative juices to flow! When you are in flow your are at your best.  A no brainer, really. So why not Get playing, Get Creative.