Michelle Gordon's Blog, page 20

Upcoming Earth Angel Talk

Apologies for posting so little lately, life has been super crazy and I have just about been keeping up with it all! I intended to post this info sooner than now, I do hope that it is still in time for it to be useful!

On Monday 23rd March (yes, in two days) I will be visiting the lovely ladies at Zenith in Leominster. Dawn and Willow are avid Earth Angel series fans, and I will be in the shop from 1pm that day doing Oracle Readings, and then in the evening from 6.30pm, I will be talking about the different realms and types of Earth Angel.

I’m really looking forward to meeting Dawn and Willow, and anyone else who happens to pop by! All the information you need is on the poster below. I do hope that if you’re in the area you might be able to join us, and if you aren’t this time, please do still express your interest to Dawn or to myself, as there’s a possibility of another evening happening in April in Zenith.

Earth Angel Bears

Last week, while trying to declutter, I discovered a half-finished bear from my bear-making days. I looked into the seed bead eyes of this limb-less creature, and I felt a deep need to finish it, and bring it to life, after it had been stuck in a bag in the loft for the last seven years.

Once she was properly ‘alive’ I found I just couldn’t stop. In the last week, I have created several new bears, and have also designed new wings, as I decided to restock my empty etsy shop with ‘Earth Angel Bears’.

I started making bears when I was a teenager, and my very first bear was a sad little creature called Doddle. I blogged about Doddle a while back. He took me a whole week to make, and though I felt a sense of satisfaction at actually finishing him, he really didn’t look quite right! But after several years of making bears, creating my own patterns, honing and much practice, my bears finally started looking like real bears.

Over the course of 7 years, I made nearly 100 bears, and sold many of them, giving others away as gifts. I kept very few of them, three of which are the Old Souls I have listed on etsy – Mulberry, Robert and Gwri.

Just before I went into retirement, I had started to make hand-felted faerie wings for my bears, because I wanted them to fly. I sold a few, including Floyd, a bright pink bear with purple wings who went to live in New York. Then for some reason, somehow, I stopped making bears. Right in the middle of creating one, who I have now called Leilani. She is an incarnated Faerie bear, and I think she’s rather lovely:

The biggest thing I have realised this week, is that I have really missed creating physical things. I’ve painted a few cards in the last few months, and done the odd creative project, but creating these little characters is something different entirely. It has given me a sense of accomplishment to see them lined up, ready to go to their new homes where they will be loved and where they will help people to Awaken! It makes me feel like Velvet, creating her Earth Angel army to send to Earth to help bring about the Golden Age! (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my first book ;) )

I feel like my life is almost entirely digital, and it’s not unusual for me to spend 12 hours or more a day staring at some kind of screen. Which make me feel a little bit sad. So it’s been a complete joy to set the screens aside and create beautiful little ones. I do hope you fall in love with them too! I have created a Facebook page, and I would love for you to check them out on etsy and to share them with your friends.

Here’s a picture of Honesty and Larry, named in honour of Aria and her ladybug friend from The Earth Angel Training Academy.

An Interpretation of My Books

One of my readers in the US contacted me a little while back and said that she loved my Earth Angel books so much, that she wanted to write an essay about her interpretation of them. Of course I said to go ahead, I was really curious to see the books from someone else’s perspective, as reviews only really say how much people enjoy the books – they don’t really analyse the content.

Well, Rosa sent me the links to both her essay, and a video of her reading and discussing the essay, and I have to say, I was really surprised at the things that she got from the text and the books. She focused on Velvet, and on her conflict between surrendering and attachment. I have never personally delved into Velvet’s mind in this way, but I think that Rosa is definitely onto something!

I really enjoyed watching her video and reading the essay, it certainly had me thinking about the characters in a different way afterwards, and I really think that my readers will gain something from watching the video. Especially anyone who is having trouble with their Twin Flame union, because Rosa discusses this, and I think she makes some very good points.

You can read the essay on her website here, and watch the video below.

 

Rosa also recorded a review video, which you can view below.

 

 

I just want to express my gratitude to Rosa for looking more deeply into my books, as I hope that others do too. I am certain that there are more messages and ideas within them than even I am aware of! If you want to share your thoughts on my books in any way, please do so in the comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Business or Pleasure?

I can remember the exact moment that I stopped seeing blog writing as being a fun way to share my thoughts, experiences and ideas online, to seeing it as a marketing exercise. It was when I read a post by a successful Indie author, who used his blog to showcase his writing talent, which then made people curious about his books, and therefore then bought them.

Up until that point, blogging, was simply, blogging.

After that point, keywords became very important, blogging about popular things became important. Writing regularly became important.

Or so it seemed. In truth, my blogging didn’t change. I still only blogged when I felt like I had something to say. I actually tended to avoid popular topics, and I still only use relevant keywords to the subject I am writing about. So, although I have been aware from about 4 years that blogging is now considered a marketing exercise, I really have not been using it as such. Of course, I mention my books occasionally, but it really is just a place that I express my thoughts. I haven’t monetised it in any way, and to be honest, I’m not sure if I get any sales through it – I think that the people who follow it just like to find out what I’m up to, keep up to date with me and read my ramblings on various subjects.

So I have decided to ditch the idea that blogging is a marketing exercise, because in all honesty, all that thinking has done for me is suck out a little of the joy of it. Historically, blogs were simply online journals, where ordinary people could share their lives with the world. And I think I would like this blog to remain true to that.

If anyone reading my posts is inspired to read my books – excellent! If not – excellent! Either way, I will continue to ramble in my normal fashion, and I hope that’s okay with you.

Do you blog? Is it for business or for pleasure?

Me, blogging for the fun of it!

 

 

Is Poverty the Birthplace of True Creativity?

Does it also lead to deep appreciation and gratitude for the beautiful, simple things in life?

I’ve wondered, on more than one occasion, why I have remained in financial difficulty over the last few years. I mean, I am not destitute, or living on the streets,though if it weren’t for my amazing friends and family, and my credit cards, that may well have become the situation. But the thought popped into my head today, that if money were no problem, then perhaps I wouldn’t be quite so creative. That if money was plentiful and my bank accounts all very healthy, I perhaps wouldn’t be able to empathise and connect with those who have very little, and be able to help them.

I said to my partner last night – “I sometimes feel like my career is taking a while to really take off, to make sure that I learn to remain humble.”

I also think, that the struggle, the desperation, the rough times – all become the perfect material for creating stories and objects that will help and inspire others.

None of this means that I wish to be poor for the rest of my life, but it does seem to be that the ‘starving artist’ mentality may have its roots in the idea that poverty forces you to be more creative with what time, resources and money you have. If your budget is tight, you don’t go out and buy everything brand new for a project. You are more likely to recycle, salvage, and think outside the box. So in fact, having less money is promoting eco-friendly ways of being, too.

I do think that extreme poverty, to the point where you are living in scarcity and are unable to think of anything other than surviving the day, limits creativity, as it seems like a luxury to be creative in those situations. But when you are able to survive, but have a limited budget for things you want to do, I do think you become more creative within those limitations.

I have experienced this in my own life, where I have wanted to do something, but not had much money to spend, I find that I become more creative, and though it may take more of my time, there is something infinitely more magical about the end result. For example, when I did the Harry Potter theme parties, for myself and my friends, there were so many things I could have bought online. So much available merchandise, if I’d had a big budget. But I didn’t. I was trying to do the parties on no budget at all. So instead of buying chocolate frogs, I found a template online, printed it onto card, made the boxes, and then bought a frog mold, and melted bars of chocolate. Instead of buying a sorting hat, I dug out my leather from my notebook making days, and hand-stitched a hat myself. For the house points, I got four pop bottles, turned them upside down and screwed the lids onto a plinth made by my partner. If I’d had a budget, I would probably have bought it all, instead of making it myself. And I think it was the Weasley nature of the decorations that made the parties magical. I also appreciated it all so much more, because I knew how much time I had put into it!

I also mentioned gratitude and appreciation, because I truly feel that until you have experienced the feeling of having nothing, or of going through some very dark times, it’s difficult to truly appreciate and feel gratitude for what you have, and for the simple things. I watched a clip from Oprah’s latest Super Soul Sunday, and she was interviewing Amy Purdy. who is such an inspiring woman. She died on an operating table when she contracted meningitis. She said that when she crossed over, and was told she could stay on Earth if she wanted, she thought about all the things she loved about living, and they were things like – the smell of rain, and the sound of ocean waves.

She decided to stay, and now, every day, she experiences deep and true appreciation for the simple things in her life, like her coffee in the morning, and walking in nature.

It seems that adversity that comes from illness, injuries, disability or near death experiences also inspires a deep creativity, and appreciation. Amy wanted to snowboard again, despite having had both legs removed, because it was her passion. But there weren’t prosthetic legs that were appropriate, so she created them.

How many of us just trudge through life, without stopping to create something new, without looking at things from a different angle, without pushing the boundaries in order to fulfil our mission and purpose and doing whatever it takes to follow our passions? Do we really need poverty, illness and adversity to wake us up and inspire us to truly shine?

What are your thoughts?

 

Gluten-free Carrot Cake Recipe

At the request of some friends on Facebook, I have decided to post my famous Carrot Cake recipe for you to try yourself. I must admit, it’s just a mixture of two or three recipes I found online (don’t ask me where though, I have no idea) and I have refined it to suit myself, and added gluten-free flour so it doesn’t give me a bad tummy! You could of course use normal flour with it if you wanted to.

Carrot Cake Recipe

Cake mixture:

Mix the following together in a bowl:

275g Sugar (brown or white or a combination)

200ml Sunflower Oil

Add:

4 Eggs

300g Grated Carrots

150g Dried Fruit/Nuts

Mix together:

225g (Gluten free) Self-Raising Flour

1tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Mixed Spice

And add to the rest. Then add:

A few tbsp. of orange juice

Orange Zest

 Bake for 25-30 mins at 180C (depending on oven, depth of tin etc.)

You can put all the mixture in a deep, loose bottom tin, or in two shallow tins and then sandwich together with the frosting.

 Frosting:

Mix together:

150g Cream Cheese

150g Icing Sugar

I must warn you though, this cake is so good, that less than 24 hours later, you will end up with this:

 

Announcement! New book title unveiled!

I know that I haven’t yet published the latest book in the Earth Angel series – The Twin Flame Reunion, but I’m excited to announce the title of the next one in the series, that will be published in the new year. It will be called:

The Twin Flame Retreat.

I have written twenty thousand words of the book so far. It has a slightly different structure to The Twin Flame Reunion, and it follows different characters, so you get a different perspective on the story. I haven’t got a cover design yet, but I will post it here as soon as I do! I have created this quote photo using a quote from the brand new book, I hope you like it! As always, please feel free to share it!

I better get back to my writing. You can pre-order The Twin Flame Reunion from Amazon now, and I will keep you updated on when the print version will be available.

Conversation with the Angels

Last week, I had a wonderful session with a beautiful Earth Angel – Hannah Imogen Jones. Hannah and I first connected through Facebook, earlier this year, and then met in person in August, before I moved to Brighton.

Hannah Imogen Jones

Wow, what an amazing soul! We connected instantly, and our meeting lasted for three hours, as we spoke of our Flames, our missions, and of the changes the Earth Angels are here to accomplish. A couple of weeks ago, Hannah and I had a catch-up on Skype, and Hannah received a message from the Angels that she needed to have a session with me, where she would call the Angels in, and ask them to give me guidance and support. I jumped at the chance to have the session, and was intrigued to see what it would be like.

So on Thursday last week, Hannah and I connected on Skype, and she called in many angels and archangels to assist. She told me which ones were present, and what they helped with. She told me that my mission was on track, and that I was closer than I realised to where I wanted to be. The messages I received were reassuring and uplifting, and sometimes a little freaky – she described and explained many things that have been happening recently, that she knew nothing about.

She described what she could see of my future, and the angels were asking if I was truly ready for all that was about to unfold. Which has made me really sit and think about where I am, where I am going and whether I am indeed ready for it all!

The session ended with a powerful visual meditation, during which I received healing from Archangel Raphael, and when Hannah went through the chakras, as we reached the heart, I felt a surge of emotion rising up from my chest, making me feel quite teary, but I knew in that moment that all indeed would be well.

So, dear Earth Angels, if you are in need of guidance, in need of support in your mission on Earth at this time, please do get in touch with Hannah. She is a beautiful soul, and she will help to guide you back to your path if you have gone astray, or help to reassure you that you are going in the right direction if you are beginning to have doubts. She is also the author of a stunning book of images and poetry, called Heaven is in Here, and I would definitely urge you to get a copy. Hannah is working on a beautiful new website currently, so if you wish to get in touch with her, you can through Facebook. Click here or search for Hannah Imogen Jones.

Sending love and light to you all, and remember to ask the angels for help whenever you need it.

What Would You do with 20k?

To celebrate hitting 20,000 all-time views on my blog, which I am likely to reach by the end of tomorrow, or possibly even today (view count stands currently at 19,926) I have decided to have a random giveaway!

Everyone who enters will receive a PDF copy of The Elphite, and the winner (who will be selected at random) will receive an Elphite bracelet, as pictured below. To enter, simply comment below what you would do with 20k, and then share this blog post with your friends, via Twitter or Facebook or by reblogging. I will draw the winner this time next week, at 1pm on the 23rd November.

If someone gave me a cheque for twenty thousand pounds right now, I would pay off my debts, and then live off the remainder while I wrote my next two novels. Which is a really boring and sensible answer, but I think it’s what would make me the happiest! My fun answer would be that I would rent a shop in Brighton and open the first ever Earth Angel shop, filled with beautiful angel, faerie and mermaid gifts and books, and offer a safe space for Earth Angels to gather. Or even crazier than that, I would use it to buy a campervan, and travel around Europe, writing novels wherever I go!

What would you do? To get your PDF copy of The Elphite, and to be in with a chance to win the bracelet comment below! I look forward to seeing your answers :)

 

Anyway, Angel

In preparation for creating the audiobook versions of the Visionary Collection, I was reading through Heaven dot com, and I realised that I hadn’t heard the song I mentioned in it – Anyway, Angel – for over ten years. The band who wrote the song, etcha, who are also mentioned in the book, was a band my brother played bass guitar in.

As a teenager I was basically their groupie, and I used to go to their practices and of course sit front row at all of their gigs, and even, on one occasion, sang the female parts of Pretty Fly for a White Guy on stage…

I have no idea why I am confessing these very embarrassing teenage stories here, I suppose I just started thinking about the times surrounding the writing of Heaven dot com. Part of me cannot believe it was fourteen years ago, and yet another part of me feels like it was a completely different lifetime.

The interesting thing is, that it was during my teenage years that I began channelling stories and poetry, even though at the time, I didn’t understand that was what I was doing. Years later I would find pages filled with words in my scrawl that I had no recollection of writing. I would find beginnings of stories I never finished and I would have no idea where the story had been heading or even what had inspired it. I also remember a story I started writing, that I think I may still have somewhere, about ghosts, and though I was doing well with it at first, I suddenly got a clear vision of how the story was going to end, and so I wrote the last chapter. What I learnt from that, is that I am very much a sequential writer – because though I loved the story, I had basically spoiled the ending for myself and now had no interest in writing the middle.

These days, if an idea for the ending comes up, I make notes, but I do not let myself write the ending, for fear that I will not write the middle. It has worked for me so far! It’s interesting how writing habits are developed, and the reasons why creative people do things in a certain way.

Enough reminiscing! If you want to hear the song, you can hear it below :)