A Little Letter To You In Lockdown

Hello you, 

So, we're going into lockdown again! Some of us saw it coming, some of us didn't and some of us should have seen it coming but still ended up being surprised. (me!) I thought I'd check in with whoever needs it right now to spread a little positivity and to remind you that you're not alone.

The main message that I want to share today is that perspective is key. Have you ever stubbed your toe whilst getting ready for work and sworn to yourself that 'today is going to be one of those days' and then it just is? Well I feel like this lockdown could go a little bit like that if we're not careful! We could sit around and tell ourselves it's not just going to be for a month, that christmas might as well be cancelled, that 2020 just keeps getting worse but honestly... what good does that do for us? What good has ever come from thinking of the worst case scenario or from pointing out all the reasons we have to complain? (And us brits love to complain...) But for now, bare with me and join me on choosing not to focus on the bad.

If you find yourself responding to that with something like 'well, it's pretty hard considering there isn't much good to focus on.' Then I challenge you to think again! For one, we can make a list (physically or mentally- your choice.) of all the times we've spent with loved ones since the last lockdown eased. This year might not have been the year we all planned for but I'm sure you can think of at least one memory that you're grateful for. It could be a coffee catch up with a friend, it could be seeing your friends baby for the first time, it could be going for a walk with a family member. It's easy to get caught up in life as it is but with lockdown hanging over our heads, it can be harder to remember to be grateful.

We've been through one quarantine already which means we know what to expect this time. We know that we can make life easier with daily walks, facetimes or phone calls to friends and family. We know that it's easy to fall into a slump so we can be more equipped to plan hobbies or home workouts. We know that Nintendo and Netflix are godsends and we know to stock up on eggs and flour for you bakers! We know that it wont always be easy but when we come out of the end of it, life will seem richer. Hugs will seem warmer, laughter will feel magnetic and proper coffee will taste even better than you imagined it would.

As for christmas, it may well be a write off and it may not! As I mentioned before, there's no point in worrying over something that hasn't been decided on. I think it's also important to remember that there are people in the world who spend multiple christmases in poverty or alone or sad or homeless. The fact that a lot of us get to experience one bad christmas really isn't so unfortunate when you put things into perspective.

I also want to share an extract from one of my favourite books to end on;

"We're even going to go so far as to count every disturbance as a blessing. We're going to say 'thank you' for everything- especially for things about which we'd normally think, This sucks.

Because each time a 'This sucks' moment crops up, it's one more chance to embrace it, forgive it, and yes, even love it. Because then and only then, it's free to be on it's merry little way." 

Pam Grout- Author of Thank and Grow Rich.

That's all for now. I hope this letter finds you well and if you find yourself feeling lonely, feel free to email me @ lunaedenblog@gmail.com. We'll get through this! As always, I hope you have a great week.

LUNA EDEN x

My Spiritual Journey | The Very Beginning

Hello, my gorgeous readers! Today is a very personal one. *gasps* I have written about spirituality before but very rarely about my personal journey. I'm usually quite hesitant to talk about it because I know that there are people who won't understand. I'm naturally a person who cares a lot about what other people think (I'm working on that) and so I'm extra careful to share these parts of my life for that reason! But, saying that, it's been years since I started on this journey and I'm starting to care less what others think and as time goes on, I realise that helping others is more important. That is of course, the reason why we embark on this journey... to make positive change! I will assume if you are going to read on, that you will be respectful of my experiences and if you're not quite ready to hear about spirituality- that's okay! This post probably isn't for you. 😊

First, the hard bit...

It's relatively common knowledge that people go through a very hard time before choosing the path of spirituality and some even have what's called a sudden awakening. Which is basically the sudden awareness that there is more to our world than what meets the eye, that there are energies at play, that we have purpose. My 'hard time' was six years ago. I had just finished college, (which I didn't enjoy much) my best friend and boyfriend at the time had moved away for University, I had just gotten my first 'proper' job as a cashier at the Co-Op, (If you're not from England, its the equivalent to a small grocery store.) and I was about three years into my acne 'cycle' by that point (causing me pretty low self confidence.) My experience with acne is a story for another time but just so that you can get a quick understanding of how this effected me; I would sleep with make up on so that my boyfriend didn't see my skin, I would miss days at college and school, it held me back from making friends and I would have anxiety induced attacks before going to work.

My mum and dad had divorced two years beforehand which didn't effect me so much at that time apart from the fact that I didn't have the best relationship with my mum, so my dad leaving meant that my relationship with my mum and life at home got harder. My best friend and boyfriend were my distractions from home life and so, when they moved away, I felt pretty lonely.

I finished college with a good grade that I was proud of but University sounded like far too much money considering I didn't enjoy college all that much. My job was my excuse to get out of the house but as time went on, problems started to arise there too and I started to wonder 'Is this my life forever? What now?' My boss was a middle aged man who seemed to have a superiority complex. He would arrange progression meetings for me and him to discuss my future with the company and my permanent contract was dependent on his satisfaction with my performance. He would ask me how I was getting on and I would reply that I was enjoying my time there and thought I was doing well. What he said next took me by surprise... 'I've spoken with your colleagues to find out what they think about you and, well... They find you to be rude, unfriendly and unapproachable.' I didn't know how to respond. I was confused mostly because I felt that I was getting on well with the other members of staff. In fact, a couple of them, I still talk to today!

These kind of meetings carried on and I started to enjoy work less and less. When my boyfriend broke up with me over the phone, I got my mum to call in sick for me the next day because I didn't want to talk to anyone, least of all my boss. I took the break up really badly, I didn't eat for days and it took me a long time to heal emotionally. This resulted in a 'warning meeting' because we weren't allowed to have people call in sick on our behalves. My boss asked me to come in on one of my days off to have this meeting and I cried as I told him I wasn't sick, as my mum had said- that instead, something personal had happened. He remained unmoved and persisted in knowing what this person issue was. I knew he had no right to ask and I knew he wouldn't take my break up as a reasonable excuse to miss work so I kept it quiet. He exhaled and thought in silence for what seemed like a lifetime "Go and hop on the tills until I decide what to do with you" I explained that I didn't have my uniform because it was my day off and he told me to get some from lost property. I left the room feeling upset and angry and I decided to walk straight out of that shop and I never went back. My boss left me a voicemail (which I still haven't listened to, to this day!) and I never heard from him again.

The beginning...

I was then newly single and newly unemployed. I was heartbroken, lonely, lost and my low self confidence dropped an all time low as a result of this. I spent hours confused as to what I did to make my boss dislike me so much and what I could have done to save my relationship. I had a lot of free time at this point so after a few weeks of sleeping a lot and not wanting to do anything, I found myself reading posts online and watching youtube videos on depression. I wanted to desperately get out of the slump I was in. Eventually, I started to learn about the 'power of thought'.

As much as the concept of being in control of your own thoughts sounds pretty obvious or overused now, at the time, this was a totally new idea to me.  I started to realise that my thoughts about myself and the world were extremely negative, that I was living in a unstimulated environment and that my parents often voiced negative and limiting beliefs too. It was then that I realised I needed to move out if I was going to successfully reprogram my mindset.

I would go to sleep telling myself positive affirmations, I would speak to myself in the mirror and point out things I liked about the way I looked and my personality. I made a conscious effort to notice when I was criticising myself and replaced it with an uplifting thought. The quote; 'Speak to yourself as you would speak to a close friend.' has stuck with me until this day!

I then came across the Law of Attraction, which is the concept that everything is made of energy/ vibrations and that you can attract things, situations and people into your life by matching that level of energy/vibration. I learned about Visualisation and Vision boards, which is where you visually focus on what you wish to bring into your life. These both go hand in hand with positive thought. Of course, I was sceptical about these concepts to begin with and that's totally normal. The way we have been brought up and the society that we live in has conditioned us to find these concepts hard to believe and naturally, we feel the need to see it happen before we can believe it.

When I started to see the results...

I read The Secret, made my first vision board and found the confidence to start applying for jobs. I got myself a job at Primark where I initially worked on the tills and on the floor until I was moved to Customer Service where I was pretty happy to work and met some great people. After a couple of months, I decided to apply for University because as content as I was at work, I couldn't see my life going in the direction I wanted it to. It also gave me a reason to move out of home which I really wanted! I got offers from all four of the Universities I attended interviews for and I accepted an offer in a beach town, three hours from home. I then proceeded to have the best year of my life. Even my relationship with my mum improved because we were given the space we needed.

I think it's important to state that this progression was gradual and I'm still progressing today. I don't claim to have amazing self esteem, zero self limiting beliefs or nonexistent negative thoughts. But the awareness of my old unhealthy ways and the effort to reprogram them, brought in results. I started to feel happier, more motivated and more positive and as one thing worked out in life, it gave me even more motivation and hope for the next thing. Getting a job became a slow rise in confidence. Meeting people at work became laughter and joy. Working on my art portfolio became offers from universities. Interviews at Universities lead to one of the happiest times of my life.

My message to you... 

If you're new to this and you want to see this change for yourself, my advice would be to start by watching 'The Secret' on Netflix and by watching Leeor Alexandra's Law of Attraction Youtube videos. Learn about Visualisation and create your first Vision Board. Start a gratitude journal or even start your morning shower with reminding yourself of all the things you're grateful for. Write out positive affirmations and repeat them to yourself as you go to sleep.

"The flapping of a butterflies wings can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world"- Chaos Theory

In other words, small changes can lead to big changes! Try not to get overwhelmed with the amount of information available and just start somewhere. Starting 'somewhere' was the best thing I ever did for myself. I just kept reading and learning and I can honestly say it changed my life. I don't know who I would have become if I hadn't started. 

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! 

With all my love, I hope you have an incredible week.

Until next time,

LUNA EDEN X

My Daily Isolation Routine!

Hello you gorgeous lot! Today's post is a light and playful one, as I'm going to be sharing with you my daily isolation routine! As most of us are stuck inside, some of us are going a little stir crazy and some of you might like an insight into how others are spending their isolation period. (I know I'm a little curious...)

I get that there's this general message of 'Use this time to be productive and create masterpieces!' and some of us aren't feeling that message at all. That's okay! I don't want this post to come across as a 'look how productive I'm being' sort of thing but I do naturally thrive off of being productive so naturally, I try to fill my day with activities that make me feel good. What makes you feel good may be completely different, and that's okay too! This is not here to make you compare your day against mine. It is simply an insight into my little life :) 

I am also someone who enjoys routine and doesn't really get bored of doing the same thing day in and day out so pretty much every day of isolation has looked like this for me!

7:00-8:30 | Wake up and shower!

I check my phone first thing which I know I shouldn't do!!! But I do. I then shower, brush my teeth, apply moisturiser, get into comfy warm clothes and sometimes dry my hair. I tie my hair into a plait so that it's wavey later on in the day and that makes me feel cute. 😌

8:30-10:00 | Slow breakfast and reading

Seeing as though I have no where to be and lets be honest.. not much to do!! I like to really indulge in a slow breakfast. I have the same thing every morning; Porridge with almond milk, honey, flaked almonds, banana and here's the best bit... I heat the porridge in the microwave with blueberries in which of course heats up the blueberries, making them super sweet and yummy!! I also have a Jasmine Green Tea. Not because I enjoy it but because it's good for me.

I drink a glass of water with my porridge while I'm waiting for my tea to cool down and I read my book until my breakfast and tea is finished. I sometimes have a long chat with my grandma about the world and then I might do the washing up or even put a laundry wash on. I also leave my phone in my room for this duration! I think that's important to mention.

10:00-12:00 | Workout and creativity

This part of the day varies from time to time as I do whatever I feel like doing first! So today I am writing this blogpost until 11:00am and then I will do a HIIT workout with my grandma for 15-20 mins. Sometimes I will do the workout earlier and sometimes I wont even do it at all! I think it's important to be honest. If I don't do my HIIT workout, due to being sore, then I will at least do yoga that day, but that usually comes later on. I have very rarely skipped out on both for a day, during these past three weeks.

If I'm not writing a blog post, I will either draw, edit art on the computer and play around with prints or write in my journal. I like to pull at least one oracle card a day and keep them at my desk as a little reminder. I guess it sort of gives me an intention for the day! While I'm doing any of these, I will most definitely have a coffee and biscuit by my side... duh. And I like to listen to a podcast, audio book or youtube videos while I'm making art. I like to listen to spiritual and self development themed content.

12:00-13:30 | Make/ eat lunch and wash up

For lunch I tend to have a variation of things on toast; eggs, smoked salmon, avocado, mushrooms or I will have tuna sweetcorn pasta/ broccoli pesto pasta. These kinds of foods fill me up, which stops me from snacking so often and they're relatively healthy too! Me and my grandma take alternate days for the washing up. I make a point of eating all my meals out of my room/ 'office' as it gives me a well needed break! I often leave my phone upstairs for this duration too. 

13:30-15:00 | More creativity

Being creative isn't often a chore for me, it's one of my favourite ways to spend time and I have different ways in which to do that so I like to switch it up! If I spent the morning writing for example, I will use this time to draw or if I was drawing earlier on in the day, I might use this time to edit prints on my computer. Some days I even do all of one and none of the other! I try to get what 'needs' to be done first but isolation can make it hard to summon motivation so other times I just do as I please.

15:00-15:30 | Yoga with Adriene

I find that three o'clock is a good time to do some yoga as it breaks my day up! I do 20-30 mins of yoga, depending on the length of the Youtube video. I am currently following Adriene's 30 day 'Home' challenge and really enjoying it! If you're interested in yoga, I would highly recommend Yoga With Adriene, if you haven't checked her out already! It's great for beginners and for more experienced yogis.

15:30-17:00 | Play and FaceTime

On most days, I FaceTime my brother (and sometimes sister, too) and we all play an online game together. I love this part of my day! I get to catch up with my siblings and have some guilt-free play time too. It takes my mind off of any creative stuff which is necessary for me to be able to go back to it later with fresh eyes!

As much as people may consider drawing and blogging a 'hobby', I consider it to be my productive 'work' so when it comes to game time, it feels like i've earned this time! I often have a snack and another coffee at this time. I like to have a mixture of nuts with fresh strawberries!

17:00- 19:00 | Make/ eat dinner and wash up

I make dinner ever other day for me and my grandparents but if I'm not making dinner, I will carry on with whatever I was doing before this time until dinner is ready. We all eat dinner together and then I wash up and Grandma dries. If I am making dinner, this actually takes up quite a chunk of my day! (2 hours usually, to make dinner, eat it and wash up)

19:00-19:30 | Get ready for bed

I wash my face and apply my skin care (I usually feel gross and greasy after cooking and washing up) and brush my teeth if I'm not going to have some chocolate (which is most nights...) and then I collect my laptop or drawing materials to bring downstairs to the lounge.

19:30-21:00 | Chill time with grandparents

My grandparents like to watch murder mystery programs (I secretly enjoy them too..) so we watch that together while my grandma knits and I either; edit art on my laptop, play more of my online game or draw.

21:00-22:00 | More of the same or FaceTime

Sometimes I stay with my grandparents until 10pm, sometimes I reconnect with my siblings to play more of our online game (It's very addictive lol). And then it's bedtime!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little peak into my daily life! Some may think this daily routine sounds boring as hell but I actually really enjoy it haha! How do you like to spend your isolation days? 😊

As always, have a wonderful week! Until next time,

LUNA EDEN X

Ways in which Isolating has POSITIVELY impacted my life!

Hello hello! I hope you wonderful souls are all doing good. 💛

I know I've been out of the blogging sphere for quite some time but I'm back! Blogging has been an outlet for me to talk about subjects that I think need more attention, maybe need more help available or to just simply empty my brain! I like the idea that my words could make someone think about something in a totally new way, to open minds to ideas and concepts they haven't thought about before. I like the idea that my words might be helpful to someone and maybe even spread a bit of positivity! Although I've covered quite serious topics like love, depression and anxiety, behind them is a message of positivity because to know that you're not alone in something, to know there is helpful information available and to be able to see things in a different light is most definitely a positive thing!

With positivity in mind, I would like to take some time to talk about the positive ways in which isolating (due to the virus) has effected my life. I would also like to mention that I am not, in any way, suggesting that the virus is a positive thing because it has caused lots of fear, panic and more importantly, deaths- all negative effects. We all know this. I am however choosing to focus on that which is positive. Why?  Because it's important. Because panic and fear won't help any of us. Focusing on all the bad won't help any of us. It just creates this big cloud of negative energy which feeds off of fear. Energy flows where attention goes. Which is why I think it's important to spread more positivity! I hope this post helps you to recognise the things to be grateful in your life. You can choose love over fear too! We all can.

Now that I've got all of that out of the way, let's dive into it!

Positive ways in which my life has changed!

More time for things I enjoy!

I've always struggled with allowing myself 'guilt free' time to do things that I don't consider to be productive. When I'm drawing, writing or yoga, I consider those to be both productive and things I enjoy but when I'm reading a fictional book or watching a fictional film or TV series, I feel guilty for not using that time productively. Which is why I'll often draw or edit images on my laptop while watching. Even when I'm reading a fictional book, it's like deep down I'm more interested in my progression within the book and how far away I am from finishing it, rather than enjoying the book itself! Playing games is another thing I don't allow myself to do often because I get the same feeling of guilt. (I blame it on the heavy percentage of Capricorn in my chart LOL)

During this time of isolation, I have been allowing myself to play games!! And quiet the voice that tells me I should be doing something productive. Admittedly, I facetime my brother and sister, and we play together so there is a sneaky part of my brain that goes "family catch up AND having guilt free fun, we've got two birds with one stone." I guess I can't quiet the part of me that loves multi-tasking...

I have been really indulging in my mornings; getting ready slowly rather than rushed, having a slow and tasty breakfast (porridge with almonds, blueberries, banana and a green tea- incase you were wondering...), meditating, journaling and reading. These things would usually be rushed or not done at all! I have more time for laundry, washing up, cooking and more importantly, I have more time to spend with my grandparents and to be creative. 

It's funny in a way, my 'prayers' were answered because I've always said I don't want to work for someone else. I want to sit at my desk and make art and spend my time doing things that bring me joy. And low and behold, I got what I asked for! The universe has a funny way of granting wishes...

I have run out of excuses as to why I can't make fitness a priority!

If you know me well, you know that I'm pretty slack when it comes to fitness. I once had a pretty good run, (2 years ago lol) where I was working out 3-4 times a week for 3 months but that's as far as I've come to having a good fitness routine! When I was living in cairns, I was making 'morning stretches' a daily habit, where I did some basic stretches and warming up of joints and also included a few relaxing yoga poses too. This habit had a really positive effect on my body and mind so I decided to pick it back up after arriving back to my motherland.

I have since decided to start taking part in guided yoga sessions (mainly by Adriene on Youtube) and have been doing them daily (okay, I take a day out here and there to let my body recover from something as foreign as exercise.) I've been doing this for just over two weeks now and my Grandma and I have even started doing morning workouts together in the living room!!

I am learning to buy intentionally, again.

I arrived back in the U.K around two weeks ago from being in Australia for a year, which happened to be just before the virus was considered serious enough for the elderly to be advised to stay in isolation. I am currently living with my grandparents so with the fact they are considered 'high risk' and with the hospitality and retail industry taking a hit (both industries I have experience in), I have decided to put getting a job on the back burner for now. I understand this isn't a luxury that everyone can afford and I hope this isn't going to sound like a brag but nevertheless, I am super grateful for the time I now have to do the things I love!

So, without giving away more info on my finances than necessary... I have enough to get me by for a little while but not enough to be ordering £20 worth of Hotel Chocolat (which yes, I very nearly did do.) Therefore, I'm having to be very mindful about what I do spend my money on. If you've read my previous blog posts, I have written about intentional purchasing before and there were times during my travels around Australia where I really had to enforce this way of thinking because travelling isn't cheap, as we all know! Because I've gone so long without being able to buy many 'permanent' items, I had this urge to want to buy things when I arrived back in the U.K but this situation we're in now has of course put a restriction on my spending, which I choose to see as a blessing. 

I am grateful for this in a way because it has allowed me to catch myself before getting carried away. Learning to be resourceful with what you already have, being grateful for what you have, and learning to only take what you need is a very valuable lesson!

Hearing and seeing acts of compassion and nature healing.

Many of you might have seen the videos of Italians out on their balconies, singing and dancing, playing instruments and sharing moments of joy. You may have seen the video of young boys making care packages and delivering them to the elderly. You may have heard that the canals in Venice have become cleaner and clearer and that dolphins have even paid a visit (not seen before since as long as anyone can remember). You may have heard that a group of elephants found their way into a corn field and accidentally gotten themselves drunk. You may have seen the wonderful giddy smiles on their faces as they all laid together in the crops. You may have heard that wild deer made a visit into a town in Wuhan, again, never seen before since people can remember.

All of this has happened as a result of this virus causing people to stay indoors and isolate. We are emitting less air pollution, less water pollution and we are feeling more connected as humans. We are reaching out to each other, we are enjoying the company of our loved ones (or at the least, keeping in touch with loved ones more frequently than before) and it's beautiful. These stories really do bring me joy and hopefully open our eyes to what our world could look like if we make some changes.

My skin and mental health have improved.

I suffer with both acne and social anxiety (both aiding the other). My acne makes my social anxiety worse and I imagine my social anxiety (or any anxiety) makes skin conditions flare up due to stress within the body. Being at home, with no social anxiety triggers, wearing no make up and being able to drink plenty of water with easy access to the toilet (I have a tiny bladder), has done wonders to my skin! This break has been very much needed and appreciated!

I have also been able to regain what's considered to be a 'normal' sleeping pattern because I no longer work nights at the bar. Sleep really does make a difference to both the appearance of you skin and to your mental health. 😊

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it! What are some positive changes that you've noticed since isolating?

As always, have a great week!

Until next time,

LUNA EDEN X