Spiritual Business

New Moon in Leo and Farewell

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Spiritual Business was always an experiment for a year to incorporate spirituality into my life for a year and see what changes abound; physically, emotionally, financially.

I wrote the Spiritual Business blog a few years ago now and then it turned into a book and since then has had a life of it's own. The best part about this book for me is that I know it is all true. Every experience in the pages is real and each lesson hard learned.

Now my life has moved on from traditional business and writing is my fulltime job and more than ever I see the signs of spirituality in my work.

Is this because I am not looking so hard? Is this because I am in the flow? Is it because I am living the life I was contracted to?

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Who knows but either way, I love my life.

I now blog over at www.kateforster.wordpress.com where I express myself (crap on) about my new writing life. I would love if you visit me over there.

Please feel free to read over the past blogs and the book is still available to buy online and instores.

Thanks for everything readers. I made new friends, met like minded people and found a new careeer. Not a bad result from a blog that I thought noone would ever read.

I am blessed and I loved every minute of it.

Not dead, just musing

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Sat, 28 May 2011 09:44:05 +0000

I must extend my apologies. I hve been caught up in another world of writing and editing but I still love my Spiritual Business site and you for reading. (If anyone is still out there then a virtual high-five is coming your way).

So, what the hell has been happening? Firstly I am writing fiction. Writing the Spiritual Business book opened my world and gave me confidence enought to try and construct a sentence and create a story. Now I am being published by Penguin in Australia and Harper Collins in the United Kingdom with one book coming out next year and the second the year after.

That's the funny thing about life, you never know where the path will take you. What I learned is to say yes and keep travelling forward even though the path is dark and depressing at times.

My journey to writing has been fillled with syncronicities. So many signs that I wrote them down and when I read them back I laugh at the perfect absurdity of it all. Also presenting a compelling arguement was my astrology at the time. Good transits brought good news or pushes forward.

Right now I have a lot of nineth, tenth house acitivity in my chart. Publishing and good work passion. It's true. My mind is overflowing with ideas and characters. So much so I have to ask them to hush while I tackle one task at a time.

I turned forty last week. The year leading up to it was awful, I was surprised at my anxiety about this milestone. I really did have a midlife crisis, I was so dissappointed in myself for bein so fucking pedestrian. But the day after my birthday, I was relieved. I made it. I did it. I have a new life as an author and something that has happened late. I get it now. I am blessed.

I can honestly say this has been the best week of my life. Nothing amazing happened. No outside influence. Instead I felt a peace I have not ever felt before.

It's an emotional sigh.

It is good.

Bad Moon Rising

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:03:32 +0000

Yes yes, I have been super slack about this blog but I have also been hijacked by other things going on. Namely an office move and a new book deal. Crazy times.

Meanwhile, the super moon this weekend looks ominous. I don't want to be alarmist but I suggest you lay low this weekend if you can. Not because of worlds disasters but because shit is about to go down and people panic. The energy is already low in the world. I see it amongst us, even in the nirvana of Melbourne.

What cheers me through this shiteous time is the compassion that is rising. Overlooking differences to ensure help is given. This makes me hopeful.

And a a final note. I seriously am loving the idea of signs and noting them. So many coincidences that mean something. Wriet them down when they happen. They will make sense. It's all tied together my friends.

I will leave you with the sage words of Credence Clearwater Revival.

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes are blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Lay low peeps.

Listen up then let go

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:01:02 +0000

Back in January when I blogged about the Mayan prediction for the floods and earthquakes for this year I had no idea it would be as tragic as it all is right now. Say what you will, those Mayan knew a thing or two about patterns.

I know this is little comfort for those in New Zealand or Haiti or the people who lost their homes in recent fires in WA or the losses in the floods in QLD and Victoria but what I do know that life is designed in a way that moves us to where we are meant to be at the end.

The universe will always throw us curveballs. This is hubris in its most basic form.

When I look at the word, Emergency I have begun to hear the word as Emerge To See.

What will we learn from these tumultuous times?

The rise of the people in the Middle East and their connection through the internet. Google is God it seems and social media is the Archangel Gabriel.

We want good. We are good.

Do the work. Make the difference.

Ok, I'm rambling, a case of Spiritual madness but somewhere deep inside it resonates with me. 2012 will not be the end. It will be the beginning of the good.

Later.

Complicated Extravagance

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 9 Feb 2011 11:52:39 +0000

Fascinating reading yesterday when I discovered the new book by Sarah Ban Breathnach- Peace and Plenty at my local bookstore. I had half an hour to spare and I flicked through it and read a few chapters. I pondered as to whether I should buy the book but when I turned it over and looked at the price, the decision was made. Buying a book on saving money seemed like an oxymoron.

Sarah wrote the mega successful Simple Abundance. I loved this book. It came to me when I was pregnant with my first child and I credit it with starting me thinking about how much I am responsible for my mental well being and to appreciate life's smaller moments.

Peace and Plenty, her newest book, covers the demise of her personal fortune and how to come back after such a huge punch in the money box.

As a reader, I was enthralled at her honesty even though parts of it jarred with me. Sarah freely admits she spent money willynilly. Manolo Blahnik shoes, a personal hair and makeup artist that travelled with her, nine assistants and portraits by Brigitte Lacombe are just a few of the indulgences she lists in the book. Throw in buying Sir Issac Newtons chapel as a personal writing sanctuary and some bad choices in investments and wham, no coin left.

I did pickup a small amount of justification of her spending and this is what jarred with me. She claims to have low self-esteem and this is why she had a makeup and hair artist with her. She didn't like herself in photos so she hired one of the worlds best photographers to shoot her, although the images were basically unusable as they were far to glamorous for her image and her message.

How many times do we do this? Justifying the purchase we have just made. Breaking down the cost of expensive shoes by a cost per wear. Or saying, "It's been so long since I had anything nice, I deserve it." Not checking the price of things in the supermarket just throwing things in the trolley with abandon.

As someone who has been through the mill financially, although I didn't have my own personal hair and makeup artist, I also have made some questionable choices with money. Most of these have come down to the belief that money was an unending source and that I was important. Too important to clean my own house. Too special do my own ironing. Too busy to clean my own car. So fabulous, that I can afford that dress for $400 which now hangs unworn for over three years in my closet.

I discussed this thinking with a close friend the other day, she also has been guilty of the odd extravagant purchase over the years, until she bought her first home.

The loss of disposable income when you have a mortgage is the biggest shock. Takeaway became a luxury. You have to plan your meals are more careful with the purchasing decisions. Have things mended instead of just buying a new replacement item. Saying no to social events because of a lack of funds and a refusal to spend on a baby sitter because it will add another $100 to your night.

When it comes down to it, Sarah Ban Breathnach's didn't live by her own mantra - Simple Abundance. I cannot judge her for the mistakes, we all make them. What I do know now about money is that financial peace of mind will feel better than anything you ever decide to buy. Living a smaller yet bigger life is the best goal you can have.
Do you need the cache of the logo on the shoes or the purse or the watch? This week I made a decision to sell something that once meant so much to me.

It was a surprisingly easy decision to make. I needed the money and the item no longer fitted into my smaller yet bigger life. The sense of self-reliance I felt after I walked away with a large amount of money in my wallet felt better than anything I have ever bought.

As Taurus, I have justified my spending over the years through saying just that. "As a Taurus, we love luxury and beautiful things."
As an adult, I now say, "Do I need it or do I want it? How will this item improve my lifestyle? Is this something I can do myself?"

So now, I clean my own house, do my own ironing and walk my own dogs. I weed my own garden and check the prices on the items I throw in the trolley at the supermarket. Living a life of being mindful of money requires responsibility and time but the payoff is enormous.

Not to say that if you can afford to hire people to do these menial tasks for you that you shouldn't. I just urge you to consider as to whether you really can afford it. Do you know your financial position and ask yourself once before you buy yet another item and ask yourself, how will this purchase enhance my life right now?

And please trust me when I say to you, be ready for the rainy day, because it will come. It always comes, no matter who you are.

Simple abundance shouldn't be expensive, it is an account we all have access to and a god given right to withdraw from.

Happy savings to you my friends.

Rabbiting on

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 2 Feb 2011 07:39:01 +0000

Chinese New year tomorrow and I have been informed that of a few rules to adhere to:

- Don't wash your hair

- Don't sweep the floor

- Don't greet people who are in mourning

- Don't drop your chopsticks

- Don't say the number ‘four' (Chinese homonym for death) or mention death

- Don't borrow or lend money.

If you want to know how this year will pan out for you according to astrology then read the ever amazing Kim Falconer scopes.

Meanwhile, I will be the one with dirty hair and dirty floors for the next three days so as not to wash/sweep away the good luck.

Gung Hey Fat Choy!

Go with it

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:58:25 +0000

I am always fascinated when we go through hard or joyous times and these times are reflected exactly in our astrology chart. Try as we might, there is often no changing the path we are on.

Is it fated? Is it destiny? I don't have any idea. I am sure skeptics can argue with me for days but I know what I know and what I believe.

2011 has started as a bitch for many. Floods, birds falling from the sky, shootings. I am sure any Mayan calendar theorists will email me to inform me that the world will be ending in 2012. However this is not so.

It does not predict the end of the world in 2012, it instead predicts the start of a new era.

What is fascinating is that the Mayans predicted cycles before 2012.

The first cycle was a jaguar eating the earth.

The second was air

The third cycle was flre

The fourth cycle, which we are now in, is floods

And the final cycle will be earthquakes.

Lot's to think about.

I'm off to read the charts.

Resolute

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:44:49 +0000

If you are a little late with your New Years Resolutions then download this as a screensaver or print out and put it where you can see it.

Happy Thursday.

Follow the Golden Rabbit

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Fri, 7 Jan 2011 13:22:15 +0000

This year we move from the moody Tiger year into the year of the Golden Rabbit in Chinese astrology on Feb 3rd, 2011.

What a bitch last year was for many. Thankfully the rabbit year is easier, more elegant, more playful. It's a time to catch your breath and focus on family, loved ones and home.

At the end of 2010, I decided to focus on manifesting again, after a long period of being out of control, back in the virtual washing machine. One of the clues that came my way was from The Matrix movie, where Neo is told to follow the white rabbit. Look for the white rabbit I was told by a manifesting guru. That afternoon, I was manifesting a perfect carpark (always best to start small when getting back into the flow) and I found one, outside the White Rabbit cafe. I laughed.

Now I find that this year we are in the rabbit year and in terms of chakras, we are in the Third Eye year. The Third Eye is where we manifest things. Where we see them first, in our higher consciousness.

So get manifesting people and a Happy New Year to you all!

Flow

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 08:25:55 +0000

The universe rewarded me on a flight back from Sydney yesterday by seating me next to Australia's foremost expert on brands and archetypes. What a blessing.

For an hour and half I was fortunate enough to pick his mind on brands and archetypes and in return I advised on his writing and books. It was a win win and I have come home inspiried and feeling taken care of.

So what is the archetype of your company?

Do you know? No? You should.

Once you know then telling your story through marketing, advertising and even your culture will change everything. I mean everything.

The archetypes for the brands are:

The Innocent
The Explorer
The Sage
The Hero
The Outlaw
The Magician
The Regular Guy or Girl
The Lover
The Jester
The Caregiver
The Creator
The Ruler

Seriously, read here for more information but buy it if you can. I think you will have forever.

Love and light peeps.

P.S Don't forget to visit me here also for the other point of view.

P.P.S Happy Thanksgiving to those in the States!

Retrograde 101

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:05:31 +0000

Do luck and love may seem in a galaxy far, far away?

That's because they are. Both Jupiter and Venus are retrograde. Damm them but the good parts of this pesky transit are that they they may bring opportunity or love back that you thought was gone and lost forever.

There is a Full Moon in Taurus this weekend. Make the most of it lovers. Think grounding activities such as, gardening, strolling and some wardrobe assessment.

Think phoenix and then turn into a peacock.

Me? What will I be doing? Thanksgiving with the United Nations familiy and a spot of gardening. Trés Taurean.

Later.

En passant

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 3 Nov 2010 15:53:07 +0000

I have two blogs to write. A manuscript, another book for which I am under pressure to finish and a world of crazy which needs to be sorted.

So, what the hell am I doing? Listening to music online and procrastinating as ever.

The desk is piled high with papers and books. Have I sorted them? No.

What I really want to do is watch Stealing Beauty on repeat. Instead I will rewind the soundtrack. Ah Portishead, you still thrill me.

Thought to ponder -the idea being, at the great separation of the people in the world - think Tower of Babel story, there were three seeds that were spread to the wind.

The first seed was the seed of wisdom. The knowledge that comes through lineage. Shamans, medicine men, midwives, mystics, gurus etc. No matter how hard we tried, this information comes through as it needs to. The more we evolve, the more we allow the wisdom to sit amongst us again.

The second seed is the seed of myths and sacred stories. No matter how far into the woods we have walked, the stories guide us, the morality tales anchor us. Some of them resonate within us so deeply, we know we it isnt from this lifetime but from somewhere in the distant past. Almost ancestral.

And finally the third seed is the is the seed of the tribes. Once we embraced the wisdom and the myths then and only then would the reunion take place.

The idea is that the reunion is here. The more we connect the further the seeds are spread and we find out tribe again

I don't know, it's a nice idea in theory. I will marinate it a little longer.

Blow the seeds to the wind my friends and go find your tribe.

Happy Wednesday.

Full Moon in Aries

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:35:37 +0000

It's a full moon in Aries. Woah, the rams are jumpinng all over the place. Where is Aries in your chart? This is where your Full Moon action will be this weekend.

On top of that, Mercury is in Scorpio, so if you dreams or intuition is more powerful than usual, then this is the reasonwhy. Doesn't last forever though, moving out on the 8th of November. *sigh

On another note. I am on the radio at 6pm (Melbourne time) to discuss Spiritual Business.

Listen here if you are so inclined.

Love your work. Happy Full Moon people.

Lady Charlotte

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:08:43 +0000

Hello lovers,

Meet Charlotte, our new rescue dog and friend of Bert.

Charlotte has had a tough eighteen months and as a result, she has had found it hard to find a home. As the world is kind, she found a home with us last weekend. Perhaps Queenie sent her to us.

(Charlotte is an a-class rito, charlotte f.t.w ) That was written by Scorpio daughter while I left the room.

She has healed us a little and while we will never forget Miss Queenie, we welcome Lady Charlotte with open arms.

Later.

Miss Queenie

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:42:40 +0000

Our hearts are broken and theres nothing to be done. For yesterday, our darling little girl Queenie died after losing a battle with a car. She fought valiantly but lost and now she is with my beloved Grandmother, in what I believe is heaven.

Queenie loved old ladies, so it seems natural that I would wake after a fretful nights sleep with a dream of her and my grandmother saying goodbye to me.

Perhaps she was a little angel who come to our family, to me, in a hard time. I refuse to see it as anything else. She was without a doubt, the sweetest natured dog I have ever met and was for a while my friend, confidante and mischief maker.

Bertie, her best friend, is missing her, wandering about looking for her, listelessly nudging her toys hoping for a late show.

But Queenie had left the party early however for the short time she was here, she made a hell of an appearance.

I love you Miss Queenie and thank you for being my friend.

Come and join the others

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:09:30 +0000

Come join me here on a Monday.

My new blog on which to riff about my love of pop culture, writing and all things esoteric.

Happy Monday lovers.

Chaos

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Thu, 2 Sep 2010 09:00:19 +0000

I am surrounded by chaos at the moment. I am trying to learn to live with it, particularly in the house. You see, I have a confession to make. I am a stress cleaner. At the moment it is messy and perhaps even dirty and besides ensuring basic hygenine standards are met, I am trying to learn to live with it.Does this mean I am not stressed? Hell no, but I am tired of the constant routine. Cleaning does nothing to relieve the worry.

I will get to it when I can, is my new mantra. So the idea of a 'Spring Clean' is not for me right now. I am recoining it, 'Spring Leave.'

I have decided housework is a futile excercise. Life is too short to stuff a mushroom, as Shirley Conran once said. It is done and then it needs to be done again.

Nothing lasts, impermanance is the answer, so say the Buddhist housecleaners.

Happy Spring for those in the Southern Hemisphere. Happy Autumn for those in the North.

Open your eyes

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:04:32 +0000

I have been on the hunt for a new desk. The desk I have been using was built for writers in Liliput Land and it never felt comfortable. It is pretty but not functional. Oak, a Victorian laldies writers desk with cute little cupboards on the side.

I have bid on a desk on Ebay and lost, trawled antique stores and scoped online sites to no avail. This has been going on for months then yesterday I remembered the 100 year old jacaranda wood table. It is a refectory table, bought from the Camberwell Market fifteen years ago. Hidden in the shed by a few years of crap and shame, I rescued it and now it is my desk. I look forward to writing at it today.

My point? Often things are closer than you think.

Monday

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:43:49 +0000

People make me laugh. People are funny. When Masterchef was on, I would watch the live Twitter feed alongside the program. The feed made me laugh more than the food.

To prove my point I present you with Hungover Owls. Those of you who know me know I love me some Owls. They have a inherent smartarse look about them. This is now cemented with the captions below the images. I have other things I should be doing but instead I looked at this site and it made me laugh. Laughing is good. There should be more of it.

Happy Monday.

Fools

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 09:14:50 +0000

I have banged on enough over the years about Mercury Retrograde but there are rules we need to follow or be it at our own peril.

I wish Julia Gillard had a personal astrology advisor. They would have told her to never call an election during Mercury Retrograde. Astrologers have been saying it would be a hung parliament, just like the recent election in the UK during Mercury Retrograde. They also had a hung parliament. Fools, the lot of them.

The only highlight of my voting, which I knew was a useless exercise, was the cake stall run by the oldest people in the world. I love a cake stall, so I will take my chocolate cake, topped with walnuts and icing to Blessed's today to play with her and her family.

Happy Sunday.

Wednesday musings

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:32:00 +0000

Reading an article in the weekend papers about a woman who writes from home but struggles to stay focused as her duties as a mother/household organiser/wife call her.

Yesterday I did my household tasks so today I could be free to write but the linen closet calls me. It is the closet of shame, where you risk your life should you open it without your hand in front of your face.

So, I choose to ignore it. The problem with tidying up is that is it an endless task. It needs to be adhered to like a new babies routine. I am not great at routine. I abhor them actually. Never had a routine in my life. I am not one who puts my left foot in the shoe first, or washes my hair first before my body. I never even think of it.
People say to me, do you have a routine and sometimes I lie. Sure, I say.
No routine.

The day goes to quickly and I must write as much as I can in my solitary life before the duties of my shared life call me again.

Onwards.

Meanwhile, Blessed Seraph and Ram-Beau have a new cherub. A boy. A beautiful little boy. I cannot tell you what a treasure he is.

I am reminded of this Rumi poem.

"That's how you came here, like a star

without a name. Move across the night sky

with those anonymous lights."

Happy days indeed.

F**k it

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:14:20 +0000

According to John Parkin, author of The F**K It Way, saying the words 'Fuck It' is powerful. "It's acupuncture for the mind," says John. "It sticks the needle in just the right place."

So today, I say it through the day. I suppose it's letting go of trying to control the uncontrollable. I can't make the clients pay faster. I can't make then sign off faster. I can't make then do shit, so fuck it.

I have a list of things I need to say Fuck It to-

- Making my book contract come through faster

- Having my house perfect

- Worrying about my weight and health

- Worrying about bills

- Worrying about family and friends

I realise as I write this I worry alot. Worry is early fear/stress/control.

I need not to worry. Things work out as they should.

I suppose saying Fuck It does not release you from personal responsibility. I will clean up the house a little today. Eat mindfully and go for a walk, chase some overdue money, call my Blessed and my sister to ensure they are ok but other than that I will let the rest fall as it may.

When I look back at the shit I have been thrown over the last few years, I see it worked out the way it was Meant. Somethings required greater thought and care but mostly things worked out the way they should. It will all be ok in the end and sometimes ok is good enough.

Fuck it.

New Moon in Leo

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Mon, 9 Aug 2010 12:45:03 +0000

I love New Moons. so filled with hope and possibilities. Tomorrow we are blessed with a new one in Leo. A lovely quote from Kim Falconer's New Moon newsletter which i would like to share with you.

I always felt that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friendship was that one had to explain nothing. -Katherine Mansfield

True dat!

Happy New Moon to you and yours and may the sun shine again on your street soon.

Get ready

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Mon, 2 Aug 2010 15:27:47 +0000

I hope I get to sign my publishing contract before August 20th. That is when Mercury goes backwards and god knows things can go haywire. Did you know there are more burgularies in a Mercury retro period? Blessed Seraph was robbed twice in once year in this backward time.

My advice, for what it's worth is to get your papers signed and your technology done before the 20th.

Meanwhile, I am wondering about storms. We had our share of storms and rain yesterday and I was gleefully watching the weather rader, practically willing a storm to come. Gandalf thinks it's the witch/showgirl in me that likes the magic of the sound and lights.

I might even agree.

Later.

Come and join me here

kate@spiritualbusiness.com.au (Kate Forster) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:35:31 +0000

http://kateforsterbooks.blogspot.com/

New things are afoot but I will tell more later. Meanwhile come and join the lighter side dear readers.