Word Passion 12

I am on Day 9 of my workshop and I read these words. GRATITUDE IS ATTITUDE. It resonated because of several things. Your attitude is so important and the right attitude is a reason for gratitude. But there are two sides to the coin and sometimes attitude can be something negative. Still with me? 

That is why many people say, and rightly so, that the way you begin your day, sets the theme for the rest of it. If you are one of those people who jumps out of bed, rushes into the shower and gets dressed in a hurry, grabbing a coffee and something to eat as you run out of the door, then you can be sure that the rest of your day will continue in this same rush.

Thankfully, I personally left the rat race a long time ago. This does not mean that I stopped working, as I worked from home. Something which was quite new for a lot of people during the recent pandemic, but with today’s technology, working at home is so much easier. No travel, no distractions, peace and quiet, but at the same time, no social interaction. No chats over coffee or lunch. Basically, you are alone with your laptop or computer and working with the WiFi, your phone and Zoom (the latest trend for meetings).  It works well and taking breaks is actually easier, as you do them when you want and not when others expect you to.

But back to my title: And I have an example of something that happened to me only yesterday. Concerning attitude. This may be controversial for a lot of you to read, but it’s purely an example and not criticism (well at least I will try not to criticize).  A lot of my neighbors are Germans who have houses in this region and the pandemic kept them away for a long time. It was lovely to be honest, peaceful and quiet and not that overpowering energy that I feel when they are here. Why is this energy overpowering you may ask? I think it’s attitude. A lot are what is commonly referred to as ‘senior citizens’ and to be honest why the hurry, why the rat race, why the attitude?  But, in some or other inexplicable way, the attitude is still going. Even all these years later. The Netherlands was invaded by the Germans in the war. They just took over the country. They loved the sea, missed it being a basically landlocked country with only a sea border in the north, but it is that attitude that it still is theirs, which I find – irritating!

Even though the younger generation and even I was not born during the war years, are different and more modern in their thinking, but the older ones are still stuck in that negative energy and I wonder why? I don’t have an answer, but it is still there. I was coming back with my dog having taken him for a walk and would you believe it, I haven’t seen them for months so I just said: ‘Hi’ and they both turned their backs on me and said nothing. No nothing! Not even a polite greeting. It could be that this is caused by the fact that there is something happening in my own family which makes people react in the strangest ways. Really the strangest ways and what is the reason? Is it because they don’t know what to say, are afraid of saying the wrong thing or what? Or are they just downright rude?

Well, my experience with the Germans here is that they are very overpowering, very loud and literally take over the place upon arrival. They have had homes here for years and still do not make any attempt to speak the language, just blurb on with their hard sounding own one. They just take over and its boring! Yes, it really is, and it surprises me that they still behave this way. Certainly, when I go to another country, I not only try to speak a little bit of the language even if it’s only good morning, please and thank you. And I adapt. I adapt the best way I can to their culture and their rules. Then I ask the question why doesn’t is happen the other way around then?

It’s attitude. Pure and simple, just attitude. Ingrained generation karma which they still carry and very empathetic people and people who are susceptible to energy, feel it, big time, just like me. And this is what I mean about the negativity which can connect with attitude.

Find the right attitude and gratitude should happen automatically, shouldn’t it? It all depends on you and the way you act, think and present yourself to others. The right attitude leads then to gratitude and life in general seems to go a lot easier.

It is quite an interesting exercise to write something down every day for things you are grateful for. On a small piece of paper and then fold it and put it into a glass jar. My friend Liz Gilbert calls it ‘her happiness jar’.  When it gets full and you empty everything out and read all the notes you made, you realize how much gratitude you have and had, even for really small things in life. It is not about the size but about the feeling it gave you. If you ‘counted your blessings and felt gratitude’. Do you? Could you write down something every single day? I know I could and it may be something so simple as the ‘smell of new mown grass’ or the ‘birds singing’ or the ‘smell of fresh bread baking’, or well … just anything that gives you that feeling of gratitude.

When you have gratitude, you then have the right attitude. 

Food for thought, isn’t it?

IMAGES: GOOGLE

Over the centuries there has been so much speculation about the number 13 and whether it is unlucky or not. In the main, people are superstitious and often avoid this number. So much so that in sports for example, this number is avoided. Floors in buildings go from 12 to 14, the number 13 being avoided at all costs. But how lucky or unlucky is it actually?

Thing is many hundreds of years ago, people connected much more with it, like the 13 moons in a year. The cycle of 28 days and feminine energy.

Today is the Summer Solstice and believe it or not it’s pouring with rain here. The official start of the summer, even though there are several other dates, seasonal, calendar and astrologically. The sun moves from Gemini (The Twins) into the emotional dreamy sign of Cancer (The Crab). Interesting when you think about a crab who spends a lot of his or her life in a shell, hiding. Moving only when necessary and the moment any danger appears, they retreat as fast as they can back into the protection of their shell. Sharp pincher claws to attack anyone who threatens them. Hmmm interesting, when often the sign of Cancer is portrayed quite differently. But there will always be opinions.

To me personally I don’t think that the number 13, which is what this blog is supposed to be about, has never been a number that I felt was one I had to avoid. On the contrary and it’s interesting to see that over the years, 13 has been connected to several very significant things like: the USA was originally formed with 13 states. 13 stars and 13 stripes on the flag to name but a few.

13 colors in the spectrum and even though you may disagree and say no, only 12, this is not true. The first and foremost color is white or clear. White light shone through a prism gives the three primary colors, blue, red and yellow. Mixing these gives both the secondary and tertiary colors, completing the spectrum at 13 not 12.

So, there are also 13 rays of color for incarnation. People have argued for centuries about which color was the first but to my mind, the white or clear. The first speck of light that shines even in the pitch black.

Numbers have and always will play a big role in our lives and a lot of people are suddenly noticing a lot of ‘communication’ appearing in the form of numbers, from car number plates to double numbers on a digital clock. That feeling of ‘how coincidental’. No, not really, it’s like a subtle message for you.

Yesterday evening, I was reading through the many astrological emails I get every day and one caught my attention in particular. It was based on a summary of personal numbers which are reached when you add up several things. Your date of birth, your name, the vowels in your name and guess what mine was 11, 1 and 11. A repeat of five one’s. Now one thing I know for sure is that 11 is a master number (like 22 and 33 too). It means: An angelic digit and the spiritual meaning is considered to be the gateway to enlightenment. It represents change, a new vision, a new chance, and in the Tarot it’s the Justice Card which is the symbol for balance, decision making and fairness. Not bad and I have five in a row. Of course, curious as I am, I had to look up the meaning of five one’s in a row … and this is interesting. ‘You are in the right direction and attracting everything you are focused on and paying attention to. It can be either negative or positive. That is irrelevant. You are just attracting things and people, through your intense and immense vibration and energy. Also known as the Law of Attraction.’

All in all, it’s a sign for sure, from the angelic realms (and many people have told me that I originate from there) or a message from the so-called Ascended Masters.  They are telling you it’s time for change, new choices, new challenges and new beginnings. OK I hear you clearly.

What is relevant today is that I have started a 21 day online challenge with the quite controversial title : Unfuck Yourself. It is being run by a friend of mine and this morning, day one, I wrote down all the major points from the past year. Just by leafing back through the past year in my diary and believe me it was quite depressing. Personal things and the one thing that has ‘fucked’ us all up over the past few months – The Lockdown!

I am fully committed to the next 21 days, because come on, what is 21 days really in a lifetime when it could be that all important life changing moment? 

So, in I go, diving into the deep for the next 21 days when one of the things coming up is a social media detox as well. I intend to take that seriously and go offline as well. One of the best phrases in the information today was a sentence that really resonated with me which I mentioned in my last blog, but I will repeat as it is so important: When referring to constantly ‘liking’ on social media … maybe the best thing you should like is the image of yourself in the mirror every morning. Good advice.

Happy Solstice!

Images: Google

Hey, all you Disney fans out there, remember that tear-jerker film – Bambi? And that famous line that his friend Thumper (a cute grey rabbit) says:

‘If you can’t say nothing nice about anyone, don’t say nothing at all!’

Everyone should write these words on their bathroom mirror with an indelible marker pen and read them out aloud every single day! Every single day!

This blog is about the fact that virtually everyone (and of course there are a few exceptions) has the incessant need to always comment about literally everything. Our favorite topic is the weather because it is never right! It’s too hot, too cold, too wet, too windy – you begin to wonder why other people never say – ‘oh what a perfect day!’ Is the reason that it’s too positive?

Transport is too busy, too crowded, too late and so it goes on. But the thing that is really troubling me at the moment is this incessant need to make really shitty and horrid comments on social media. Get a life and do something more positive. Yes, we all love to ‘like and comment’ and do it incessantly, but to me there is no justifiable reason why you then have to launch into people about their own personal lives.

A good example this week was a friend of mine, who just happens to be gay, posted a photo of his wedding several years ago and made the (loving) comment that he had no regrets and was still as happy today as he was then. Pretty normal don’t you agree? Sexual preference is accepted almost globally. What happened next was downright disgusting, all these petty, small-minded people made the most awful comments. Even though I fully accept that some religions frown upon ‘same sex relationships and marriages’ basically everyone else has accepted this. What annoys me the most is the people who feel the need to quote from the Bible – and come on let’s face it, this is a 2000-year-old book – and often the quotes are not entirely correct either. I certainly don’t remember myself that Jesus condemned this topic, on the contrary he preached about ‘loving everyone equally’ – remember ‘love thy neighbor’ etc. 

A basic rule is, treat others how you want to be treated yourself. Remember Thumper’s words. If all you can say is negative or make a horrid cutting remark, then just shut up!

Another story I heard was on one the recent hot perfect summer days, a mother collecting her child from school received a remark about her choice of clothing. Yes, nearly 30oC and it is perfectly ok to have more skin showing than normal. A lady from Somalia wearing about three tablecloths, sissed and commented: ‘This is a school, not a whore house!’ Well lady, get this; this is The Netherlands, a free and democratic land. You are here for a reason and you have been accepted into our society, so just shut up. It may not be your norm, but we don’t comment about the fact that you cover yourself from head to toe, even when the temperatures are really hot. It is expected that if you choose to live here for whatever reason, then please adapt yourself to our ways and culture. If you don’t and can’t then please just go home. If we are in your country, we are expected to adapt ourselves to your rules.

And this is what I mean. It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is, everyone feels the incessant need to comment about absolutely everything.

Another thing that happened this week was to someone who forgot to wear a mask in the supermarket. After being snapped at by the cashier, she remarked: well, you can always say you have some deadly illness. The person remarked, well actually I do; I have terminal lung cancer. Just imagine the red face and the feeling that she wished she had shut up. Very embarrassing. Would you like to change places? And anyway, a few days later it was announced by our PM that wearing masks will end on the 26^th of this month. So, what the hell?

It doesn’t matter whatever the subject matter is, we as humans want to express our opinion, which is perfectly ok, as long as it is something positive and something which contributes to the subject. Slagging it off, being horrid, bitchy or downright rude is a no-no!

If you can’t say nothing nice about anyone don’t say nothing at all. Remember?

Maybe you would be better off paying more attention to your own life and perhaps your own shortcomings? Make a better, more loving, kinder version of yourself? Someone who is more positive, or do you prefer to remain stuck in the old 3D mud and carp on about absolutely everything?

A well-known friend of mine told me this week that the news is about to break about the end of his marriage. This is painful enough, especially when young children are involved and I remarked to him that he should hold his head high, stand by his (or her) decision and not read all the thousands of comments which are bound to appear. It is fodder really for the journalist world, the fans and the never-ending speculation about the why’s and where-fore’s and then not to mention that ‘the hunt’ will be on to be his next partner! I can almost imagine now what will appear and the blame will be shunted from side to side about whose fault it is.

I suppose really that social media is to blame. We all seem to have copious amounts of time to be online, we don’t have anything else or better to do than be scrolling, liking, commenting and so it goes on. Does anyone out there remember the times pre-Wi-Fi and smartphones or tablets. We just had a landline phone at the house. Of course, it is all very innovative and extremely handy to be online 24/7 but maybe once in a while we should just turn the whole damned thing off. Just be ourselves and do something completely different.

A friend of mine who will be running a new online workshop next week said something which really resonated with me about liking posts: He said, maybe the thing you should be liking the most, is your own reflection in the mirror every morning. Now, that is food for thought, isn’t it? Do you ever stop and do that? Never I bet. Maybe you should and remember the way you start your day, sets the pattern for the remainder of the day as well. If you wake up, grab your smartphone and start bitching online, it will go on all day and nothing will go right. Everyone will join in the energy wave and you will go to bed exhausted later that day. Maybe set the alarm earlier and do a small calming meditation before you jump out of bed to get into the rat race? 

Please remember that some comments are really awful and very hurtful and people can become very depressed by the never ending stream of nonsense. We all want to be liked but we should all remember, practice what you preach. Treat others how you want to be treated too. Not that much to ask is it?

TATTOO THESE WORDS INTO YOUR MIND:

IF YOU CAN’T SAY NOTHING NICE ABOUT SOMEONE, DON’T SAY NOTHING AT ALL!!!!

IMAGES: Alamy Stock Photo and Google

June 10^th, 2021 – nearly midsummer marking the half-way point through this year and maybe you, like me, are actually wondering where the year has gone so far?

Today is an astronomical wonder day, with a new moon in Gemini and a Solar Eclipse. It unfortunately can’t be seen in all parts of the world but believe me the energetic energy from it will be definitely felt everywhere. A solar eclipse is a reset for your soul and as we are all coming out of the lockdown from the past few months, this may be a very beneficial time on a worldwide scale.

In astrology the sun represents your conscious self, in other words, how you personally radiate your light into the world with your unique light too. The moon on the other hand, is your inner world and your intuitive power. 

So, when the light of the sun is eclipsed by the moon, it is almost as if you are turning out the lights for a moment. You then need to find your way in the dark and I have written many times, that even in the complete pitch blackness there is always a speck of light. Therefore, for just a moment you must make a reconnection with the parts of your soul that you may have been ignoring for a while (in the lockdown perhaps?).

Gemini (The Twins) is ruled by the planet Mercury, which is currently retrograde in its own sign. During the eclipse itself, Mercury is just 1 degree of the Sun and Moon. Interesting!

Mercury is the ruler of thoughts and all the information which comes into your conscious and unconscious mind. During this eclipse, with Mercury travelling in the center of the sun, your mind will be literally infused with new insights, new thoughts, and an upgrade of your intuition. The latter is I think quite important with the confusion which is currently underway re ‘coming out of the lockdown’ and what you may and may not do. When and how? And where?

It is quite possible today that you may see your life in a new light. A new or fresh perspective on something that may have been bothering you for some time. It also can be the end of something that you feel no longer belongs to you, almost comparable to a computer update if you like. Whatever you are experiencing right now, one thing is certain, a paradigm is waiting for you.

A whole new fresh, bright world waiting for you to experience it, if and only if you have the courage to accept change. People are saying it’s going to be spectacular. One thing is for sure the Universe itself is a marvel and you are too.

Today is all about being given a new chance. Do you accept it or not? Do you want change, if your answer is yes, today is definitely the day. Be brave and dare to declutter. A lot of us are hanging on to old fears, old ideas, old thoughts etc., which we don’t really need anymore. 

The important thing today is think for yourself and do what you want as opposed to what others think or say you have to do. You are your own boss, remember that. Today is all about you and a helping hand from the Universe. Take a chance!

IMAGES: GOOGLE

Today is the 5^th May, so we have a triple 5 (5^th day, 5^th month in a 5 year – 2+0+2+1=5), and it seems a good day to write this blog.

The meaning of 555 is: ‘to stay positive and confident and aware of everything that happens in your inner being. No matter what life throws at you, the most important is your State of Being. The truth behind this is that your state of being creates your circumstances and not the other way around’.

OK then. That is pretty confronting! Last week I wrote a piece about being scammed by fake accounts on social media. This blog has been read by thousands and I so hope that everyone who did took note how vulnerable we all make ourselves on social media. This event lead also to quite an intensive contact with ScamHaters United (who were amazing and so helpful) and of course this got me thinking about something and I must share.

Seriously, we all know how many of these evil scumbags there are in the world, stealing images (photos) from people and then talking on the usual media channels, Hangouts, Telegram and WhatsApp to lure people into a false situation. We also know that every single person in this world is craving love (even the stupid scammers). But the one thing no one ever seems to talk about is the man or woman in the mirror. The person who is being just as victimized as the victims themselves, the ones who have their photos stolen in the first place.

They may have been in the front line at the gene pool for the good looks, perfect teeth, sparkling eyes etc. etc., but it is important to also realize that these people do not in any way ask for this to happen. The majority are good people, with responsible jobs, wives, husbands and family and again and again they are attacked by the scammers. Why? Well sorry I don’t know the answer to that one, just that often they live in places far away from where people live who are victimized and then there is not an easy recognition of the photos. Here before I go further a tip from ScamHaters that if you get approached by someone, check the photo! There are good apps or sites to do this like: TinEye. This is a reverse image search and surely the very least commonsense is to do this, takes literally seconds and could spare you a lot of wasted time and even worse a lot of heartache.

And not to mention out of respect for the person whose images have been stolen in the first place. COMMONSENSE!

One of these people who is frequently used in scams is Thomas Lindegaard Madsen, who just happens to be an acquaintance of mine as well. A high-ranking captain in a well-known company who spends his already busy days, ensuring that cargo is delivered to many ports around the world. Do you seriously think that he has the time to be contacting women anywhere and even more ridiculous asking them for money? COMMONSENSE!

He is not for sure and has been outspoken himself on the ScamHaters site, telling people that he is gay and happily married. He is away a lot but when at home, wants to be left alone to enjoy his free time with his family and friends. Think about that. I have reported so many accounts on Instagram of people impersonating him, just like he does too, and still the rot continues. Day in day out, more and more scammers stealing his photos. Yes, true he is posting a lot but usually scenes from the bridge of the ship of sunsets, ports, bridges and such like and people actually enjoy following his journeys around the world and why not? Yes, why not indeed because as I wrote in my previous blog, people enjoy sharing their lives with others. Enjoyment does not mean a free pass for someone to steal his photos. COMMONSENSE!

Let me just mention here that no matter how many accounts we all report, Instagram (and Facebook because they are all one big greedy family) will do absolutely nothing to help you if you are victimized. Don’t believe it, ask anyone who has gone through this. They will say sweet things like: ‘thank you for reporting this account’ and such drivel that they want to protect our privacy. They don’t and face facts. All they are interested in is making money by attracting your attention and completely overwhelming you with advertisements. And you know this is true.

So, let’s just stop and have a little think about the man or woman in the mirror. They never get mentioned and they are just as much a victim as the people who fall for these scams. We all agree, scammers are the absolute pits and low life, they are specially trained to find out as much as they can about you and use it for their own gain. Either in asking for money or asking for details of your bank account (to use you as a money mule on their behalf) or to create false documents. The list is endless and being constantly updated as we all wise up (I hope) to their tactics.  

When you discover you have been scammed, you are of course furious, and your first thought is maybe to lash out at the person who’s photo you have had. Don’t! Remember they are just as much the victim as you and thoroughly sick to death of it all.

Now another line of thought is that there are so many people (like you and me) posting out far too much information. If you regularly post stories about your children or photos you are literally almost handing the scammers the information on a golden plate. Take care, make sure any such images are only shared with people you know personally or family and friends. And just stop sharing so much. As cute as it is, it is just fodder for scammers! And who is to blame – you! I know it’s a hard comment, but it is true.

Go through your contacts and remove those who are just what I call ‘hanger’s on’. People within the ever-increasing circles who you don’t really know but are contacts of others. COMMONSENSE!

I can think of some people I know myself who obviously have so much free time that they can post out what they are having for breakfast, lunch and dinner and every single ‘event’ of their life, all day, and every day. You may be a fitness person but believe me constantly posting half naked photos of your amazing well-toned body is again fodder for the scammers. Posting videos where you are wearing very little, often the angle of the camera can reveal much more than you think. This is what scammers love and use to contact people and con them, big time.

Just this week, after my own experience another friend of mine was inundated by fake accounts too. My advice, report to ScamHaters please, because they will do something about it and put the information out on their site and warnings if necessary and they bring down these false accounts very efficiently. If you want to check what I am saying, go to their page, spend 15 minutes reading the posts, stories and interviews (live) with the people who are ‘fed up to the back teeth’ being scammed and by this I mean the ones who’s information has been stolen in the first place. COMMONSENSE!

Switch your social media accounts to Private. Mine was a business one linked into my own website and my books. I didn’t actually know how to, but my son helped me and this means that people just cannot follow you they have to make a request and then please, the golden rule, if you don’t know them, then DELETE. No matter what. The social media accounts of Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp are NOT DATING SITES. If that is your thing, go to the recognized real sites.

Anyway, enough on this subject, I think I have exhausted it now, and please remember this, it is up to you to take care, be vigilant and use your COMMONSENSE.

To finish I will just use a phrase that ScamHaters post regularly. HANGOUTS = 

HANGOUTS ALL NIGERIA AND GHANA and OTHERS USE TO SCAM. 

TRUE!

It is still their favorite. And just adding something into this blog which ScamHaters told me and it is SHOCKING. There is a list called the ‘Sucker List’. If you have ever been approached by scammers, whether you reacted or not, you have been added to this list and they keep on coming at you. Irrespective of who you are or what you are posting and these said lists are sold commercially! I was shocked by this but at the same time realized that is why I get these requests. Don’t beat yourself up about it, eventually they will get bored and go away. But in the meantime just make sure you are not taken in, no matter what. Just use your ….

COMMONSENSE !

WHEN YOU CANNOT CONTROL WHAT IS HAPPENING, CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO CONTROL THE WAY YOU RESPOND TO WHAT IS HAPPENING, THAT IS WHERE THE POWER IS !

Special thanks to Thomas Lindegaard Madsen and to ScamHaters United.

Images from Google.

I am sharing this blog with you because I am in some ways an admirer of the brilliant journalist who posts on social media under the title of: ‘I see you, I f****** see you’. His or her choice of words and expressions are priceless and within moments of posting, thousands of people respond. Some of the phrases have been accepted into other journalist modules. They are sometimes, just brilliant. And the subject (person) of their words gets publicly ‘slaughtered’ on the socials. Usually sleezy politicians.

So, inspired by their work, here is some of mine to tell you about something that happened to me yesterday. I received a message from a friend via private Instagram messaging, that they had received a ‘friend request’ from someone who was posing as me, using my photos, including one of my two-year old granddaughter and obscene sexual texts and images. First reaction is shock and then ‘what the hell is all this about?’

Within minutes messages started to pour in because this fake or scammer as I will call them for a while and at the end, I will reveal their identity, had sent this request to every single one of my contacts. Now lucky for me that I do not have hundreds of followers on Instagram, and each one of them is someone I know personally. And they are loyal. I just want to pause here and say a huge thank you to each one of them, because they were alert and not only reported by blocking this creep. A deep bow of gratitude to you all.

Anyway, to continue I also received a tip from someone who works in the Dutch Marechaussee.  This is a separate elite group who help the Police in protecting our airports etc. They told me that I should report this request to Europol. At first, I wondered why? But because there was a ‘minor’ in one of the images and the nature of the texts, I should, and they sent me the link. A few moments of form filling and explaining what it was all about and within minutes of sending, I got an email confirmation that my form had been received and they would investigate. This proved a very famous saying to me, that sometimes in life ‘it is not what you know, but who you know’. During the course of the day several emails back as well and believe me they have the resources to trace these creeps within seconds!

I also communicated with a well-known group ‘ScamHaters United’ because I know in the past from other peoples’ experiences that this group are highly respected and appreciated for all the things they do to shine a light on these low-lives, to warn people to be extra vigilant on the socials and yes, we have all read the horror stories of people who are taken in by it all. Very sad stories where people lose not only their hearts but also money. In a very good private chat message, I explained what had happened and they replied immediately. We talked on during the course of the day as more information came to the surface and well, you would never believe how many Instagram accounts this person is operating and using other names too. They were able to take down a lot of the accounts, but they told me that if this happens to you the most important thing before you report and block and delete is the USERNAME. If you have that write it down or keep it somewhere and this helps them and others to trace these people.

And you maybe asking yourself what about Instagram and Facebook, who are all one as we know and their endless claims about how they protect our privacy, well to be honest, they don’t. They really don’t care. The contact at ScamHaters said literally about Instagram: ‘it’s all fraudsters and perverts’. It does help in a way to report and block but remember this one thing. These creeps operate a multitude of accounts and use a lot of names and like rats they emerge all over the place when the ship is sinking and then run for their lives. That is why it is almost impossible to pin them down and report them in such a way that action is really taken by Instagram or Facebook.

We all love the socials, I know, and I use it too. We love this medium to keep in touch and share our day-to-day experiences. We like to comment and like photos, quotes, views, sunsets and so on, and generally to share our lives with people. The problem begins when the rot creeps in and attempts to destroy said lives. These people are the absolute pits and total low lives (as one of my friends called them).

So, what action have I taken personally? Well, I spent an entire morning changing passwords and such like. I went through all my contacts on Instagram and Facebook and decluttered. Not many as I said earlier: I don’t have thousands of followers, just the people I know. So, it wasn’t a major task. I archived all of my posts and put out two warning posts, speaking openly about what had happened and come on, those of you who know me well, not only are aware of the present situation in my family unit, but also know that I would never write such rubbish and definitely not use a photo of my own granddaughter. I have always been careful, out of total respect for her and her parents not to share pictures of her, outside private circles. Yes, I know I am a writer and have published several books, which are romantic fiction and of course have written words about sex, but I am not competing to write the next ’50 Shades of Grey’. Sex is a natural thing between people and nothing to be ashamed of until used in a devious or evil way. By this I mean for another person’s gain. Yes, it happens, it is part of life and people are not only totally deranged but also very stupid too.

I can only ask you if you are still reading, take the time to be extra careful in your own social media circles. If you do not have a ‘verified account’ and they are not easy to get on Instagram, go through your ‘followers’ and maybe delete or unfollow some. Within the ever-increasing social media circles, we are often followed by people we don’t actually know but who are contacts of others. You can put your account to ‘Private’, like I have done with mine, meaning that people must send you a request to follow and then I would say, make it a golden rule, only to accept if you know them. Even if they look nice, handsome, pretty or whatever, just take care because there is so much of this going on behind the scenes and I could mention at least 10 names of people I have heard of or know personally who have had their photos stolen too. And also remember 99% of all the photos are then adapted with a special app to make them even more appealing. Just think about that for a moment.

Change your passwords regularly, we all have things like Internet Banking or even ApplePay on our smartphones, so it is better to be forewarned than to have regrets. Only recently a friend of mine told a story about how she had received a request for money from her mother. On checking it was a fake but how many people are taken in by all this shit? A lot is the answer.

If in doubt, check and double check.

Personally, I found yesterday a bit of a harrowing experience, mainly from my own family members who reacted with anger and shock, which is natural of course. I have nothing to hide. I do not chatter on to people I don’t know. I don’t have the time to be honest or even the inclination.

At the end of the day and with a splitting headache, I decided to put the whole matter behind me. The past is the past, you cannot change it and only learn by it. I wanted to write this blog though to tell you all openly and honestly, that this can happen to all of us. No one is 100 percent safe and we probably all have had a similar experience or will have one.

It is unfortunately a sign of the time and our ever-increasing desire to be socially available and sharing our experiences. Vigilant is the word to remember here.

And now I will expose the person who did this to me. This is one of the accounts, ScamHaters Utd. or I came across. Looks innocent, doesn’t it? The story this man is telling is: He is a doctor, working in ER for NATO in The Sudan. His wife left him for a richer person (no surprise there) and then he put his two children into boarding school care and buggered off to work abroad, to escape from the shame. He talks to lots of people in the hope that he can persuade them, once they feel sorry for him, because he apparently tells awful stories about the traumas there too, to help him get out. To request leave for him, so that he can come and marry you (er…. No thank you very much!). It is all lies and complete and utter rubbish. Ah, he misses his children and come on if you are a parent, ask yourself this question would you have done that? Would you have left your children and put them into care? No of course not! 

Enough said, only this: I fucking see you, ‘James Holden’. We all fucking see you! You are a complete an utter low life and DESPICABLE. And I think only fair to say this too, that maybe these photos have been stolen from someone else who has nothing to do with this Instagram account. And it is not the person on the photos. Just be careful, cannot say anymore than that!

PS. Since publishing it has actually been confirmed that these are indeed stolen photos from a real doctor and are used on an enormous number of sites used by scammers. Take care everyone !

It always strikes me each and every year, how we all build up to ‘national holidays’ or ‘day’s off’ like Easter for example. The way the essential shops are filled with people buying copious amounts of food. Yes, the traditional family Easter breakfast is a must for sure! The week leading up to Easter, officially known as ‘Holy Week’ was, where I live, a glorious week weather-wise. Warm, sunny spring days, being able to literally sit out in the garden and enjoy the blossom on a lot of trees and shrubs coming into bud, after the winter period. Newborn lambs skipping about on the dykes and generally the feeling that after this long lockdown, there was some hope on the horizon. And there is always hope on the horizon, even if it’s difficult to see it sometimes.

I found myself being drawn back to childhood memories of Easter. We always used to visit my grandparents who lived in Marple in Cheshire. My grandfather was a local church minister and one of the best things I remember as a child, was the huge amount of Easter Eggs I received from all his parishioners. So many I shared them all later with my class at school when we went home.  The majority of our visit would be seeing family and of course attending the service at his church on Easter Sunday morning. Of Hot Cross Buns, warm from the local baker and best of all, if the weather was nice, an ice cream from the van which came at the end of the day, with the most delicious raspberry sauce ever. Strange how flavors remain so vivid in our memories.

This year, we planned a family Brunch. A little bit of deviation from the ongoing Corona rules, but there are certain circumstances, which I will not go into here, that made us all decide if we are fit and well, let’s go ahead. It was that same smell of raspberries which were on my chocolate pavlova that took me back once more to that same childhood memory.

Easter Monday was a bit of a shock weather wise, with gale force winds and snow! I mean come on its supposed to be spring, isn’t it? The words for the famous song are: ‘I am dreaming of a white Christmas’ and Easter is not included in that at all. Even though we know, April weather does what it wants, and anything goes. I was just about to pack away my winter clothes to be honest but the forecast this week is really cold weather coming down from the Artic North, so I think I will postpone for a week or maybe two!

And guess what the Easter film was on the British TV – yes you are right: The Sound of Music.

But yesterday evening I watched a documentary on Netflix called Seaspiracy. It was so shocking I almost wanted to switch off. For those of you who have seen it, I am sure you agree and for those of you who have not, I would highly recommend that you do. It is such a sad eye opener and believe me I will never be eating tuna again! 

So, a new short week begins, and whilst the snowflakes are pelting down again, a moment for reflection for me. I am working on a new book and several chapters are done. It’s going to be a joint venture with a friend of mine, Scarlett de Bontin, and picking up from something, we started way back in 2017 and put to one side. But suddenly the story came back to me in a dream. A strange dream all about Rome and then the inspiration for the story line. So next morning, laptop on and making which I call the ‘backbone’ of the book. Just a basic list of begin, middle and end. And then it’s all about the ‘let go and trust’ moment that the inspiration will flow which is does some days and others not. Chapters are often not written in a sequential order; I must admit that I often write the final chapter before I have hardly done the introduction. But that is all the fun, weaving all the threads (chapters) together at the end and making it into a book. That is my plan this week, to touch base with Scarlett through a Zoom session and brainstorm our ideas and make lists of who is doing what… it is an exciting feeling.

So, hope everyone out there is doing well. At some stage I hope that this lockdown will come to an end and that normal life will begin again. It will even though it doesn’t seem that way, but I often think some days, that things happen for a reason and maybe we all needed a moment in time to stop, slow down and prioritize. Look at things that were really important in our lives, instead of the continual automatic challenge of the rat race. Being more within, being more at home, not able to rush about from ‘a to b’ and most of all having time which is something people constantly complain about not having enough of. It is challenging, and it has been challenging, but it is important to keep focused on that ray of hope that soon it will be different. Will we be different from the experience? Very probably yes. Will we think different about what our dreams really are? Our dreams and not what someone else expects of us. Freedom and not being constantly told what to do, when to do it and how to do it. 

For me this week, it’s back to the ‘drawing board’ as they say and getting on with my ideas (and Scarlett’s of course) for this new book. That is my passion, writing … so on that note, have a good week everyone!

IMAGES: GOOGLE

The inspiration for today’s blog actually came from actor Will Smith when I read on his post on the socials this morning: 6+3 =9 but also 5+4 =9 so, respect each other’s opinions. How true is that?

I actually feel that with this ongoing pandemic and the fact that there seems to be no opportunity to get back to a normal life anymore, has had a very deep effect on all of us, every single one of us!

I try not to listen to the news anymore because to be honest I really don’t know what to believe and what is the truth, what is fake news (and there is a lot of that flying around in the atmosphere), how the numbers are calculated and the lack of taking and making decisions, which are right for everyone. Of course, we all realize that the virus Covid-19 is a terrible virus which took the entire world into its grasp and then people spent not only a huge amount of money to make a vaccine, so that people would stop dying or becoming ill with it – but I feel at the moment as if it has driven the entire world into a state of complete madness. Let me just say for those of you who have lost family, friends or colleagues, you have my deepest sympathy. Always.

But taking for example how things are at this moment in The Netherlands, which after all is part of Europe, it seems to be that we cannot even make a decision in line with our neighboring countries anymore. It’s almost like, ‘a free for all’, with the EEC and other European agencies all making a whole big hotch-potch of everything. Curfews which at the time when they were announced and made obligatory and we were told that there was absolutely no way the times could be changed, have for some or other obscure reason been changed now, to take into account that the clocks go forward at the weekend. I seem to recall last year a decision was made not to change the clocks around anymore, but that decision seems to have gone by the wayside and not relevant anymore. Why?

The vaccination program is a complete and utter fiasco here in The Netherlands. A population of 17 million and we have just gone over the 2 million people vaccinated. The vaccine has been available for months now and we actually were the last in Europe to start. Why?

And all these questions completely ‘bog you down’ in the end. One thing I know for sure is that fear is power. So, when you put a lot of fear out in the world, you gain control and generally make people afraid. Then to such an extent that you virtually rob them of their personality. Their spontaneity. Their authenticity. Being their true selves. Why?

A lot of people around the world are offering their thoughts on this whole situation, from a worldwide re-set to a ‘culling’ of world population numbers (and that is a dreadful thought). But as people become more aware of their own divine being, it is more or less a logical thought, they will then become stronger being their own person with their own opinion. That is what I think personally, is the only way to move onto into the next step of our evolution. 

Unless you have been hiding down in a cave or been blind to the changes that have taken place since a major turning point in 2012 (21.12.2012) to be exact, I cannot imagine that anyone reading this blog has not noticed the synchronicity or signs which appear almost on a daily basis. Also, part of this is the natural disasters taking place around the world too. It is a major wake-up call believe me! And what are we going to do about it, not only as the collective, but also as individuals too.

Big question and many answers.

I think and I have tried to do this for quite some time now, is to stay close to yourself and centered. I do daily meditations (sometimes during the day) but mostly just before going to sleep at night. Unwinding, clearing my mind and body from all the negativity from the day. By negativity I mean, all the things that I heard that I really did not want to. It is not ‘sticking your head in the sand’ but learning to filter what is actually important and what is said just for the sake of saying something. Big difference.

If you keep yourself true to the path you are walking and following the dream that you have for yourself, believe me many saboteurs will cross your path regularly. Either you take notice of them or not. Not: allows you to continue on your journey regardless. There is never a smooth road, bumps, cracks and obstacles all along the way, but do you allow them to influence you? Remember your choice, not someone else’s and you know what is right for you, if you listen to your inner voice.

Whilst I agree with taking care under the present circumstances, that does not mean that you have to totally lose your own self-esteem. We may be very restricted but at the same time, how long have we all complained of not having time? Learn to appreciate the smaller things in life. Is it really THAT important to go shopping, apart from the essentials? You can do virtually everything online and a lot of smart entrepreneurs have ensured that you can go to the shops by appointment and have your own little moment of space there if shopping is your thing. Definitely not mine, because I am good at the online stuff. 

And then coming back to Will Smith and his words which are really quite important. Respect. Having respect for one another and being there for one another. There are many ways you can do it, if you want to. And that is then the question: do you want to?

Relationships with everyone are under strain at the moment. Mainly because people have had their ‘freedom’ taken away, but do you give up and give in. No! 

Some friendships are really put to the test but saying ‘sorry’ is just as easy and remaining cross does absolutely nothing for you apart from filling you up with negativity. 

Maybe the key word at the moment is RESPECT. I think so, do you?

It is time to move on from the ‘I’ to the ‘We’.

Don’t forget to change your clock tonight, into summertime (Northern Hemisphere) and autumn for the Southern.

IMAGES: GOOGLE

FUN! It really is. I remember hearing other people talk about their grandchildren and often thinking that there was nothing else they could talk about (sorry too judgmental for words) but I am now the same. Since the arrival of my granddaughter, Reign Aurora on 19^th February 2019 (and wow what a lovely number combination too 19-2-19), I have definitely joined the club and it is so different from when I became a parent myself.

I had a little think about why this is. What is the difference? Well first of all I think responsibility. Becoming a parent changes your life completely and you become responsible for a small baby and you want to do the very best you can, protect them all the time and give them the very best of everything, often putting yourself totally in second place. Do you agree? (Well, those of you who are parents too).

But being a grandparent is different. First of all, the idea that your baby, now grown up is becoming a parent too. So, you have a lot to share about things before the baby is actually born, but the moment they arrive you no longer have that same huge feeling of responsibility. You are intensely proud of your own child and their offspring so, that is not the main issue.  

One of my friends described ‘grandparenting’ very well and that is: you can have so much fun with them all and every day and do all sorts of exciting different things but at the end of said day, you hand them back to the parents and then collapse into a chair for a snooze after a busy, non-stop day. Is that true? How many people can relate to that?

Well with the arrival of Reign, I decided that one of the things I would do was to talk to her in English. At the age of 2, she is totally fluent and can switch from Dutch to English. It is quite amazing! When she is here, we do fun things like drawing. She loves it and I have to attempt to draw the things she asks me to, like the cat, a windmill, a butterfly and the latest is a frog. For weeks she has been telling me that when it’s her birthday she will be 4! (no not two but four) and to be honest you would almost believe it. She is jolly smart. But I think children of today are.

This week I was teaching her to count in English up to 5 and she got it straightaway. And then the magic. She is two! Happy Birthday!

Another thing she loves is building towers of bricks and we do it brick by brick until it starts to tumble and she then says: ‘oh no!’ and laughs. Begin again and repeat until she loses interest. 

Top favorite is a magical castle which belongs to Princess Penny and her friends. All of whom say little sentences, which she has no trouble whatsoever copying. Everything is ‘so exciting’, and she knows exactly which little, tiny switch activates the battery to make them talk. Now only Princess Penny herself is permitted to ride the magic unicorn, which then makes several tottering steps forward. This is a whole set by Vtech called: ‘Happy Friends’.

Her big present for her birthday has been a bike. And she was thrilled. Not a bike with pedals, but a sort of bike that you walk with, sitting on the saddle. I cannot for the life of me think of the proper name, but its great if you are out, she can ride along but is not afraid to fall, because her feet are on the ground all the time. She is walking on the bike! Sounds a bit weird but it’s true.

Later today, (and would you believe it was a week ago now as I publish this blog), we are going for cake to see her bunting and balloons, all of which she had already told me on Facetime are lovely. My present is a butterfly made like a puzzle out of special wood. Grimm’s, a Germany based company make lovely things for the children of today to entice them to make other shapes with the pieces. It will fit in nicely with something else she has a sort of tower or tunnel from the same toy maker.

Her favorite book is about a caterpillar who munched his way through an enormous amount of food and then morphed into a cocoon, eventually flying out to become the most beautiful butterfly. I have loads in my garden which she sees in the summer.

I can conclude being a grandparent is just full-on fun. Seeing them grow up and become their own little person, with all their cute and sometimes exasperating characteristics. Reign has a definite will of her own and if she does not want to do something, believe me she does not! Her favorite words are : ‘mine’ and ‘no’ which is typical for what is often referred to as the ‘terrible two’s’ but I cannot agree. Two is such a charming time, where they change every time you see them. Just that little bit further forward with a new word, which then becomes a sentence and she already has her own favorite little boyfriend at daycare. So sweet.

For those of you who are reading this and are a grandparent too, then you will be able to relate to what I am saying. One of the lovely stories about her is that she goes every Thursday with her Dad to the dairy farm to collect eggs, milk and cheese. The young calves outside are fascinating and she was so pleased to see them. We have a spontaneous video of her waving and saying – ‘hayyo (hello) koeien’ (cows in Dutch) and the saying to her Dad ‘mooi he?’ which means ‘nice aren’t they?’

And that is exactly what I mean, full-on fun each and every day. So, finishing off now as she is about to arrive and no doubt, we will be playing in the garden on this lovely Spring afternoon. An added bonus in February. Our star child !

Planets often go ‘retrograde’ in a calendar year and several times, but when they do, people feel the energy intensely. Astrologists talk about it in their posts and such like. So why all the fuss? 

As Planet Mercury, often known as the ‘trickster planet’ has now started to move forwards again (February 21^st, 2021) you can really feel the re-set or refresh in the energy. So, what does it all mean?

Even if you know very little about astrology in general, you will often see on the socials that all astrologists tell us avidly that Mercury is going retrograde. This, out of all the aspects of every planet, seems to attract the most attention.

And it is all about the effects, because everyone feels it whether they think they do or not. If you begin to pay attention to events in your own life, when a retrograde is underway, even take note of them and even more important the changes that occur. In other words, your productivity seems to increase and often you encounter more frustrations that usual. Why?

First of all there are three Mercury retrogrades in 2021 and there is something else which is interesting. The first on 30^th January was in air sign Aquarius. The second May 29^th in air sign Gemini and the third one op 27^th September in air sign Libra. So, you could maybe conclude the ‘winds of change’ are blowing. Three times this year in three air signs. Interesting!

But does Mercury really move backwards? In fact it doesn’t. If you are a stargazer, you will see that is appears to move backwards (retrograde), like ancient astrologers perceived thousands of years ago. And usually, they saw after a period of about 3.5 weeks, it seemed to reverse itself and go forwards again.

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun and therefore its orbit around same is much shorter than earth’s. In these so called ‘retrograde periods’ it actually speeds past the earth and that is why it’s called a ‘retrograde period’ and how we experience it.

For example: if you were traveling in a car and it passed you, you would be able to tell that it is moving faster. But then if it slowed down and you passed it, it would then appear that the car is actually going backward. When it overtakes you and goes faster again, it kicks up the dust on the road. So in the same way, when Mercury speeds past, like a High Speed Train, it creates a turbulent gust of wind. This same turbulence and disruption that Mercury makes can effect what we feel on earth in our everyday lives.

In astrology there is a firm belief: ‘as above, so below’. By this they mean that there is a fractal relationship between the orbits. In other words between the heavens and human activity down here on earth. This idea is important in astrology and probably a very good one to keep in mind.

And this year all the Mercury retrogrades are in air signs. Enough said!

The planet Mercury is the ruler of COMMUNICATION.  This includes: listening, speaking, learning, reading, editing, researching, negotiating, selling and buying. It also rules all formal contracts and agreements as well as things like book manuscripts, examination papers, agreements, deeds, contracts, leases, testaments and so on. Legal binding documents in other words (and now I know why I decided to write this blog today of all days when the dust has settled!)

In Mercury’s domain are codes, including computer codes, transportation, shipping and travel. During retrogrades said areas get scrambled and spin out of control. A logistic nightmare. So why does this happen?

When in retrograde, the planet is astrologically speaking in a ‘rest or sleeping’ stage. So while Mercury takes a nap, the activities that it governs don’t have the benefit then of a well-functioning, wide awake planet to supervise. So, expect a certain degree of pandemonium will occur.

Good advice is not to make any important moves or decisions when Mercury is retrograde. Nothing will be settled successfully for the future in these periods and you may even find it impossible to create a good plan and to actually effect it either. During the retrograde period, it is also hard to get decisions from others and even when a decision is made, it will often be changed, just at the moment that Mercury makes its turn.

Summarizing, Mercury retrogrades are not good times to do anything involving communication. Not a good time either to sign contracts or ‘shake hands’ on a new agreement. A house sale or signing a lease, better to wait. Remember too that verbal agreements can often be just as binding as written ones. Because the environment is fluid and changeable, irrespective of what you are told or think. 

And doesn’t this all make a lot of sense when you think what is actually happening in the world right now, in the first retrograde of 2021 which ended yesterday (21.2.21) And look at the numbers too.

The thing is during these retrogrades no one can or wants to predict what situations will be like later. This applies in the all the areas mentioned above which are connected to the one simple word – COMMUNICATION !!

Other planets that retrograde are Mars and Venus, but we will talk about them another time!

Finally coming back to the situation worldwide, the pandemic, do you feel like me that communication seemed (or even still seems) to have gone haywire. What is true and what is not?  So many conflicting ideas and thoughts.  My advice, stay close to yourself, use your common sense and don’t take risks. Take action when the heavens become more peaceful.