There I was, sat bundled up in blankets, cosy, relaxed and for once not fighting against having to rest. This was very unusual for me, I am hardly ever unwell and even when I do succumb to some bug that is doing the rounds I shake it off quickly and throw myself back into the myriad of things that need doing every day, not because I have to but because I can.

So what was different this time? This time I had given myself permission to rest and to regain all my energy rather than assume it will return once I start doing things

I cancelled appointments, put work to one side, allowed myself to be waited on, laid on the couch when too lacking in energy to sit, and sat in the armchair relaxing once I was able to. 

 And what happened because I had done so....absolutely nothing. The world still turned, there was still food in the house, no one complained about my not being available, in other words I discovered I am far from indispensable.

On the other hand I also discovered how good I feel having valued myself enough to make my recovery a priority. I afforded myself the same privilege I afford everyone else. I gave myself the time and space I needed to get better, really better, in mind, body and spirit.

Had I not been stressed, emotionally drained, physically depleted then I would not have been unwell, the bug would have found me, seen there was no room for it and moved on. If I had ignored all of these things and assumed I could continue as usual then I was sure I would find myself in a similar position again for I would not have learnt the lesson of being there.

So what was the lesson for me? It was that I am no different to anyone else. The work that I do does not make me immune to anything life chooses to throw at me. If I deplete my own supply of energy then it has to be replenished. I need time and help from others in the same way others need that from me.

I have been at peace with myself and in that peace have found my energy slowly returning. I have drifted peacefully into several shamanic  journeys which have assisted with my healing and have been guided to reflect, to let go and to refocus, not by doing anything but by just being and allowing my guides and helpers to support me.

In the 'real' world I have surrendered and in doing so have allowed myself to be supported. I have managed to be the 'patient' without fighting against it and resisting or being critical of what others are doing for me. So by valuing myself enough to allow myself to be I have also valued others by allowing them to support me.

This feels an important lesson for me to have learnt at the start of the New Year, a year that is bound to bring many changes for us in so many ways. If I can surrender and go with the flow, the way I have surrendered to this, if I can allow others to support me in a healthy and cooperative way, then I am sure it will be a much easier year for me than if I charge in fighting and resisting all the way.

I've been going through a tough time recently having returned back from holiday with a sick husband only to be met by a very sick cat. It has been a period where having a selection of possibilities for healing really came in useful.

What seems like a lifetime ago now, before I got involved with healing, a therapist told me that the best time for receiving a treatment was as the seasons change.

As the Autumn Equinox approaches this advice came flooding back to me along with the understanding of why it is useful maintenance to undergo a healing in some way at these times of the year.

Our ancestors would have marked the passing of time by not only recognising but celebrating the wheel of the year. They would have celebrated each of the Solar Festivals as the seasons, known to them as Ostara, Lithia, Mabon and Yule and to us as Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, changed. In addition they also marked the passing of time at the Fire Festivals of Beltane, Lammas, Samhain and Imbolc thus giving them eight opportunities to reflect on the seasons, keeping them in close contact with the active and dormant states of nature.

Our bodies are still more in-tune with seasonal changes, moon cycles, planetary movement and elemental energies than we give them credit for, even though we often try our best to ignore this. Like a car they need regular tune ups to help them work effectively as seasons, temperatures, and the balance of night and day change. A session of energy work can help blow away the cobwebs, release things we have been holding onto and so release energy that our bodies can use to maintain their own balance. If we are out of balance a healing session can bring us back into balance setting us up for the time ahead.

What though can we do for ourselves, apart from booking a session with our favourite therapist or healer? Although I would of course recommend this to everyone.

Coming into the Spring Equinox or Ostara, we instinctively know that it is time to cleanse ourselves by clearing our homes in some way, opening windows and doors, letting the element of air blow through. In this way we are cleansing, clearing and making way for new energy and life to come in. We diet and detox our bodies in readiness for the warmer days, even clear out our wardrobes to make space for the new. 

But what of the Autumn Equinox or Mabon, this year on 23rd September, what can we do then to help us maintain our own balance and health. 

As it is the time of year where we are moving towards shorter hours of daylight, for some it can be a difficult time. The thought of the darker mornings and evenings, of colder, harder months stretching ahead can be hard.

Our ancestors would have given thanks for the harvest and in many places, including those with farming communities, this still happens through harvest festivals. It is also the predecessor of Thanksgiving in America. It was and should still be, a time for counting your blessings and giving thanks for the abundance in your life.

It is the time of year when it is good to look back on your life, to reflect on all that you have achieved or have in your life that you can be grateful for, no matter how small. It is all the small things that add up to great abundance, not the one off event or success. Writing all these things down is one way of holding onto them. It will even give you something to look back on if you are feeling low or to add to when something good comes into your mind.

There is nothing to say that you cannot also cleanse your home or workspace as you would in the spring. Longer hours of darkness doesn't mean things have to look dull or be stagnant. Open your door and windows, let the element of air blow through and refresh everything before the colder weather makes you close them tight. You could also burn sage, available in most health shops, to clear the energy of the last few months, or you could ring bells, play a singing bowl, a drum or a rattle as you move through your home. All of these things will shift and clear energy, getting rid of the old and making space for new energy and abundance to flow in. 

If you like the smell of incense or aromatherapy oils you could burn pine, sage, sweetgrass, myrrh, rosemary, marigold, yarrow, chamomile or frankincense as these are all good for this time of the year.

If you like crystals around you then clear quartz, amber, citrine and yellow topaz are all good to use.

This is also a good time to refresh your wardrobe. Autumn colours in your clothes will help you get in touch with the colours in nature around you. Look to them for inspiration and while you are you can wonder at the amazing palette that mother nature brings us at Autumn Equinox, the hues of orange, amber, russet, gold and brown in the trees or the greys and blue greys in the sea or sky for example. 

You could even bring these shades into your home with dried flower arrangements or baskets of fruit and nuts. Be creative and have fun.These ways of being do not just belong in the sunshine.

Think of all the ways that you can make the most of the longer evenings. Time to spend with friends over a meal perhaps, a course, on-line course or evening class where you can learn a new skill, a good book to read or maybe a book circle to join, knitting, sewing, the list is endless and most of it can cost very little but the rewards are great. Just think of all the new things you will have to add to your list of things you are grateful for or achievements you have made.

Finally Autumn Equinox, as with each turn of the wheel of the year, is a time of change, give yourself the time and space to recognise this. Do not rush through ignoring it. Give yourself permission do whatever it is that feels right for you and then do it, knowing you will benefit from it in the weeks to come.

One of the things my guides have been working on with me recently is the ability (or lack of it) to completely focus on one thing at a time and one thing only. A strange thing to have to do after years of multi-tasking, but I am beginning to see how important it is to be able to focus.

When we are scattered or doing one thing whilst we think of something else, it can be very hard for our guides or spirit helpers, to get through to us. Messages go unheard, signs and symbols go unseen and the help that is there for us gets lost. We then complain that no one is there to help us. They are, we are just too distracted to listen to or to see them. We can seriously hamper communication with our guides sometimes.

This then got me thinking about how difficult it can be at times even for us humans to communicate with one and other. How it can sometimes feel that you are speaking a completely different language to other people, you know the ‘Men are from Mars the Women from Venus’ kind of thing. How easily we misunderstand each other, how often we assume we know what someone has said only to find later that they had said something completely different. Or we assume that someone has understood us with disastrous or potentially disastrous consequences, or even little annoying ones.