Presented before a table dressed in a white cloth with two small chairs..

As January closes to an end I find myself thinking back over the last month to consider which two events I should share with you that one; developed myself, and two; was a selfless act for a stranger when I realised what a selfish month I’ve actually had.  Okay, so it’s been my birthday and I’ve been ill for the past few days but that doesn’t count for the last 3 weeks.   So I realise, the more I do for myself the less I do for others – which, I get, goes without saying, but it’s stopped me in my tracks and reminded me that I should, and can, fit an extra hour in my week to do for others.

That being said I have just registered for the 5×50 challenge which is a 5k run, cycle, swim or even walk for 50 consecutive day’s, from the 31st March, raising money for Comic Relief. This will be my first charity influenced exercise event so I hope to do myself and others proud.

I have made pay it forwards throughout the month helping people on a daily basis, but because that has become second nature it almost feels effortless, and I like to feel I have made an effort for someone somewhere.  My plans to take a friend to her first meditation class fell though due to bad weather, so I can do that next month.

For the first time I visited a rugby game and I got a reading of a psychic; lets move forward with the latter.  I choose never to ignore when things are brought into my life unexpectedly, so I saw a clear sign when I ‘just so’ happened to over hear my manger ‘just so’ happen to mention she recently saw a psychic (something I had casually thought about doing) so I took that and ran with it.

My reading was spot on.  Having a strong belief in the power of reading energies but being sceptical about ‘genuine psychics’ I really wasn’t sure what to expect, other than hoping for big things after hearing my managers story.   So I walk into this normal family home and am quite uninvitingly taken upstairs into a spare room, presented before a table dressed in a  white cloth with two small chairs.  I won’t lie I was secretly hoping for black cats, broomsticks and a crystal ball.. but hey, it’s the 21st century.

I wont give you the secrets of my reading but lets just say she was well aware of the speeding ticket I received that morning and was correct with dates of significant events.  I’ve taken it as an interesting experience, and almost a counselling session, that I will likely to embark on again in the future.

Many other things have been drawn to me throughout January; people, advice, guidance and prospects.. I have a great feeling towards the months to come, so of course, keep reading!

Turning 25 and all its glory.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the past 24 years of my life as Charlotte Vaun Brierley, so what better way to spend the year celebrating my quarter of a century in existence than to do 25 things that I have never done before.

My plan for this is as follows;

Each month I will achieve, participate or complete a challenge, activity, or passion of which I have never succeeded in doing so before for my own personal development or pleasure.

Each month I will also do a selfless act for a stranger or person in need, something substantial or at least to the best of my ability, again an act of which I have never done before.

Lastly for number 25; a huge personal, physical and mental challenge. This, already in planning, is climbing Kilimanjaro in August for charity.

I’ll be sure to reflect back on each month and detail what my 2 blessings were. I love this idea and maybe you could consider doing something similar. Don’t forget the doing for others #payitforward

Thank you.

I guess the ‘new year, new me’ blog post is the most popular post of them all and mine will likely be equally as bland to read, but to write, oh to write it is a special time for each of us. It’s a time to sit, gather your memories, note down what you could do better next year and be grateful for what you’ve had this last.

On that I’m saying no more. I don’t need to share with the world all the good times I’ve had with friends, the holidays I’ve been on and the memories I’ve made, they’re likely to be no different to yours, but what I will talk about is the journey I’ve been on this year and where it’s taken me, because that has changed my future and maybe by sharing it, it could change yours too.

Lets start at the beginning, you want the whole storey right? Thought so. 6th January 2012, my 24th birthday, I finished work looking forward to a birthday surprise from my boyfriend of three years; Happy birthday, your surprise is…’nothing’. That’s right, not a dime! Why? Man flu apparently, not like my annual birthday hadn’t been approaching the the last 364 days or anything. So with that I made a decision, that for me had been a long time coming, no acknowledgement of my birthday was the cherry on the top of my red velvet cupcake, and I ended the relationship. It was a fairly clean brake-up, when I was finally taken seriously, and I never looked back. I never forgot a friends words one day “Being single for a couple of years was the best thing I’ve ever done, I found myself” like me she had been in long term relationships since leaving education, and I just knew I needed that break too. I thank her till this day; I wouldn’t be who I am now without making that choice to spend some quality time with myself and my needs, instead of always tending to others.

That was the beginning and from that day I’ve never felt happier. Time was mine to do with as I pleased and outside the obvious social events I found myself becoming deeper involved with Buddhism, tuning into my spiritual being and meditation. It started with a book called ‘The art of happiness’ by the Dalai Lama and my soul blossomed from there. Not being a religious person I found the Buddhism philosophy a pure and peaceful way of life, one of which I wanted to connect with. Studying and working full time results in me living a very fast paced, busy lifestyle with little time to myself, so the serenity and calm attitude of Buddhism and the practice of meditation was exactly what I needed. I am now a better person. My research continued and my visits to the Buddhist centre became frequent. Summer came and I was blessed with my best friend coming to live with me (following a brake-up with her partner) for three months. Jenna is in very much in touch with her spiritual side and discussions and experiences became a part of our daily lifes, again, this was a huge transition for me to truly live compassionately, practise patience and be selfless; three months I will never forget. They changed me further more.

By this time the universe was beginning to return to me the positive energies I had been sending out and like minded, great people were beginning to enter my life on a regular basis. Those people inspire me everyday, they are my angels, my soul mates and my faith in our future. I began doing selfless random acts of kindness (think pay it forward) such as buying a stranger lunch, giving away a lottery ticket or something so simple as leaving a post-it note on a random table in the city. What ever struck me at the time to make a total stranger smile became a daily occurrence. I’d finally found what made me the happiest, what I got back the most from, and that was doing for others and expecting NOTHING in return. How can you possibly expect anything back from a stranger, or someone you don’t actually meet that happens to stumble upon your lunch ticket? You can’t, and that really made/makes me feel like it can make a difference, make that person think about what a complete stranger has done for them that day and how they could make someone else feel by doing the same. We know this as ‘the butterfly effect’.

Okay, so maybe I do get a little back from paying it forward but that’s energies choice not mine. By this I mean it’s apparent that the good I give out, karma gives right back to me. Great people continue to enter my life to teach me, show me and guide me and each day a blessing is given or answered for me, I count these each day and make sure I give thanks and show my gratitude.

I have now become high on life, quite literally. Being alive is a thing of the past, now I feel alive and I want nothing more than to feel with great passion exactly all blessings we have on this earth. 2012 has been the start of a passionate spiritual enlightenment that I can’t wait to continue and I see no coincidence that it happened to be the year of the great shift. I’m a lucky chosen one to be enlightened and gain knowledge before December came, which again I thank my angels for my inspiration and guidance. I’m so grateful to be in physical form for this next stage in the universal movement that I am holding on with both hands for the ride of my life. Something great has happened to me each day since the 21/12/12 and my energy levels are through the roof; so for each day of 2013 I am going to write down a positive moment of that day and store them in a jar to which I will look back on next year and reabsorb all the energy that joined me in 2013, and hey, I may even share them with you next time.

My word of the year is THANK YOU, because I truly am thankful for everything; everything I just mentioned, everyone I’ve met and all the lessons I’ve learned. I am looking forward to my future more than ever before. Life is the most beautiful thing when you learn how to appreciate it.