Wednesday, 7 February 2018

Say Hello To The Frog In Your Life



Frog Luck - Bringing Changes and Abundance to Life

When creating one of my programmes "Time to move ahead" I needed a photo to illustrate time and what better than a clock. I soon found one on Fotolia and bought it - a lovely clear picture with a cute frog in the top right. I used this thinking it was a bit of fun but was completely unaware that in many cultures frogs are lucky which I found out from a colleague who had an interest in American Native Indians.


A bit of research and I came across an article by Clarice of Animal World; Frog Luck, Bringing Changes and Abundance to Life

This is taken from that article and it just amazing how many cultures value the humble frog.
1. Good Luck
In Japan frogs are a symbol of Good Luck, and the Romans believed that to have a frog would bring good luck into the home. The Irish on the other hand, consider the frog as a close relative of the leprechaun, and thus very capable of playing tricks on you.
2. Fertility
The Greeks and Romans both associated frogs with fertility and harmony. To the Egyptians the frog is a symbol of life and fertility, as well as rebirth or resurrection. The frog was a creature born of the annual flooding of the Nile, which in turn made the otherwise barren lands fertile. Thus the frog-goddess of Fertility named Heget (meaning frog), came into their culture and mythology. In the Roman culture, the goddess Venus was also often depicted with a frog.
3. Abundance
Partly due to the very large number of eggs that a frog will lay, it became a symbol of abundance as well. For many cultures that depend on rain for rich and bountiful crops the frog is a good luck symbol, a sign of prosperous weather to come. In Native American tradition the frog is often seen as a rain maker. In Australia too, the native Aborigines believed frogs brought the thunder and rain to help plants to grow. To the Vietnamese the toad is the “uncle of the Sky”, and an ancient story tells that it will rain whenever toads grind their teeth.
4. Wealth
In ancient China the frog represented the lunar yin and the Frog spirit Ch’ing-Wa Sheng was associated with healing and good fortune in business. Tradition has it that the Chinese god of wealth, the immortal Liu Hai, kept a three-legged toad as a pet. It is a symbol for riches and often pictured with a gold coin in its mouth.
5. Health
In Native American culture, the frog is seen as a spirit animal or totem that is strongly associated with the water element and its cleansing attributes. This water connection brings emotions and feminine energies, but also cleanses physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
6. Friendship
In folklore the first frog of spring is said to bring you many friends if it does a “hop toad” jump in your direction.

I'm off to find my lucky frog and if you want to change your life hop over to  www.mejma.com and search for the frog on clock.

Ian

Thursday, 18 January 2018

Middle Years Maelstrom (Destructive Force of Events)



In our Disneyfied view of the world where has the happy ever after gone?
Finding Happiness can seem to be dream too far when our life, our security purpose and meaning seem to be falling apart. We have survived the challenges of growing up, achieved some maybe a lot of success in our careers and found someone to love and to have children.
Now we are in our middle years when for many, life begins to fall apart. Failing health, relationships and careers present themselves as challenges that most people are wholly unprepared for. In our Disneyfied view of the world where has the happy ever after gone? We are at risk of being overwhelmed by the chaos shown on the news and that together with our own foundations of life being shaken our future can look bleak with depression setting in with a feeling of hopelessness.
There is a real alternative when we accept that change will happen and that we can’t control that much of it. What we can do is change our perspective and take responsibility for our own wellbeing, our own happiness, adapt and to find new opportunities but how?
The How is a big problem as most people have never had to give a great deal of thought to their lives. They have lived within a process of education, career and family and suddenly they often find themselves alone with no obvious direction. Now in middle years many people need to seek new meaning in their work and relationships. There is a real fear of change and that of feeling very alone.
One solution is to work with a Life Coach who can help you establish a pathway to your future. Guiding and supporting you to achieve new ways of thinking that in turn enable you to create a New Life not re-invent the old that in many ways is no longer fit for purpose.
As a life coach I help people better understand their emotional as well as practical challenges. This together with a plan developed between us I support and enable those willing to take on new challenges to find new purpose and meaning in their life. For those who choose not to accept their reality and move forward they are destined to a life of disappointment and sadness. Missing the opportunity of happiness is just too great a loss and unnecessary when futures can be so fulfilling and exciting.
Ian Marshall
www.mejma.com.
ian@mejma.com
01962809554
January 2018