Costa Women Blogs

2018 looms and with it a remind to get our health back on track.  Dentist appointments, health check ups and a desire to get fitter all come to the fore.  Medicare in La Cala have put together a guide about cervical screening and why its important to have regular check ups:-   WHY IS CERVICAL SCREENING SO IMPORANT IN WOMEN’S HEALTH   A Cervical Smear test is an important part of maintaining health for all women who have ever been sexually active. Some women may find the smear test uncomfortable or embarrassing and so may put off having one.   This examination only takes a few minutes and could save your life.   Annual smear tests reduce your risk of Cervical Cancer by 92%   In the UK alone it is estimated to save 1000 lives each year   80-90% of abnormalities are detected through regular smear tests, and can be treated early to Prevent Cancer   WHAT IS A SMEAR TEST?   In a Private room with a female nurse we will ask you to lie on an examination couch with a blanket over you. You will be asked to lie in position with you feet together and knees apart and a disposable plastic speculum will be inserted into your vagina. This holds the walls of the vagina open so your cervix can be seen. We will then use a tiny brush or spatula to gently scrape off a sample of your cervical cells. These cells are then smeared onto a glass slide to be sent to the laboratory. The speculum is then removed, with minimal discomfort within those few minutes.   WHEN IS IT BEST TO DO A SMEAR TEST?   The Department of Health recommends women between the ages of 25 and 64 years of age, have routine smears. In our opinion all women that are sexually active need to be screened regardless of age. It is best to schedule your smear for the middle of your menstrual cycle as it is easiest to get a good sample at this time. If you are menstruating it may be too difficult for us to get an adequate sample, or if you think you may be pregnant it is best for us to know, and we can test for this.   HOW ARE THE RESULTS GIVEN AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?   After 7 to 10 days you will be recalled to the clinic to discuss your results. If there are abnormal cell changes, you will be referred for a follow up appointment. If the cells are clear, you will wait another year before re booking unless you have any concerns in the meantime. At Clinica Medicare all our cervical smear tests are performed by female nurses who are experienced in Women’s health.   We have negotiated a special rate for Costa Women members to have a “Well Woman Check” including:- Initial Consult, Cervical Smear, CA 125 Ovarian cancer screening, Mammogram or Ultrasound for €125.00 (a total saving of 55.00€)  When booking quote the code CW-Jan18. )  This would include a results appointment and the report on the Breast screening translated into English. The consultant would cover general health, Blood Pressure, BMI etc and gives the patient time to discuss any health concerns, current issues and the Clinic the opportunity to remind the patient about key health screenings.  This would be a a 1 hour appointment.    Contact Medicare Clinic in La Cala de Mijas to arrange your appointment: http://medicarenursingservices.com/index.php/en/contact-us-en

It’s certainly been an interesting year for us, mainly focusing on ourselves… making sure we are being loving, caring and trusting ourselves, clear on what we desire to further experience AND are open to receive what comes next.   A new home has been on top of our wish list for quite a while now. Hindsight teaches us that timing is of the essence and patience is a virtue AND in the meanwhile, to enjoy life in each moment, no matter what.   Next on our wish list has been to get together again with our family who live scattered around the world.   Eventually all wishes do come true with focused intention and patience. Around May we heard our children were flying to Europe, (from the caribbean) so we planned a last minute summer trip with our car… travelling to see everyone. We drove to Santander, caught the ferry to Portsmouth and drove up to the Midlands to spend quality time with our family before heading to Holland via Harwich/Hoek of Holland on the ferry to visit our dutch side of the family, friends and to meet up with our children.   How lovely it was to stand at Schipol airport and welcome our children and partners back to Europe. It had been quite a while and it was Alexanders first time this side of the world. After a few days we all flew to Croatia to enjoy some European sun and explore a new land.   It’s always great catching up with family and friends… Just being there with/for each other… celebrating life together in all its ups and occasional downs each day.   Our six week holiday flew by and we were soon travelling back through Europe to our sunny home in Spain. We continued our search for our new home and you can imagine our delight when we found a ground floor apartment that just about ticked all our wish boxes.   AND this friday, is the day we officially become owners and move in. IAM sure you can feel our relief and smile on our faces.   New beginnings are about to start that lead us into 2018 and a new wish list to make and bring in and experience. So watch our space for updates. You can sign up on the side and bottom panel of my website to receive my weekly blog  by email. To read about our/my life experiences AND ‘The Evolution of Consciousness’… how Humankind is awakening to realise who each truly is and take life in their own hands and be able to live a life of freedom and celebration… or not.   November 29th 2017, just before the clock struck midnight ZoeAnne presented herself to this world. We are so grateful for the  expansion of her loving presence in our family… and eagerly look in on the life of Richard, Ashley, Alexander & ZoeAnne and watch them walk on air and settle into new beginnings together.   We found some mistletoe in Madrid… So imagine you’re standing underneath it, receive a virtual hug and kiss from us AND make a grand wish for yourself. Click on to download this Free E-Book   Divine writing to inspire you this holiday season… As a passionate writer and advocate for ‘The Evolution of Consciousness’ I challenge myself and blogging friends each year to write about subjects that are close to our hearts.   This year the theme was Compassion and how each person perceives what Compassion is. 23 passionate friends and myself have created this beautiful collection of perceptions… that I know your heart and soul will resonate with and will help inspire you on your own Human journey to realise what life is all about and who you truly are.   You can either click on the above picture or this link Divine Books to Inspire You that will take you to my website for you to download  this Free E-Book.   You’ll also find 2 other Free E-Books we published in 2014 and 2016, A Selection of True Awakening Experiences Part I and Part II for you to download too.   The rest of the books we have published for you to purchase… You just have to click on each front cover to go to purchase the one/s that resonate with you.   They make awesome gifts for YOU and your loved ones.     Writing Challenge 2018… If you would like to join next years challenge, please let me know and i’ll give you a date to send me your writing together with details of yourself and a new book/workshop/blog you would like to promote on my Guest Blogger Feature… Your Magnificent Self.   The Theme is: Consciousness vs Artificial Intelligence   We can all see the world polarising, as Love and Fear expands to the extremities. The drive to perfect society and the HumanBeing out of fear of annihilation has brought about AI that works as fast as lightening.   Yes faster than our Human Potential but faster than Divine Consciousness?   How do YOU choose to live? Do you have a choice? How can YOU as Consciousness take yourself to a place of experiencing ‘as fast as lightening’?   I do love a challenge. Thanks so much for your participation reading and writing about ‘The Evolution of Consciousness’.     Pictures of Our Year…            Barbara’s Creative Pursuits in 2017… This year my focus has been on the word Compassion and it has allowed me to expand my EXPRESSION in new and daring ways. Have you seen me on my facebook live? It took courage and vulnerability, the Human part of me was shy and had feelings of unimportance… but allowing my Divine self to air the show herself… I felt peaceful and have enjoyed creating this sacred space for myself and others to take some Quiet Me-Time and feel into the presence of pure LOVE… that we all essentially are.   What we talk about depends on my daily experience and goings on around the world… but it always has something to do with the grand change and shift of consciousness we are all going through… no exception… and allowing ourselves to open up to a new way of BEING and living a life of celebration… no matter what.   You can join me each Wednesday at 5 to 5 (Madrid UTC+2) in our New Earth Community facebook group that I have also created this year for everyone to come together and support and inspire each other with our creations… as we go through the great shift of consciousness and birth NewEarth from within. We are all teachers and students alike on our own unique journey… we can do it alone, but it’s so much more fun being together.   You can also subscribe to my UTube Channel and find all the replays to listen to.     My Non-Project Business… I’ve found time to focus on bringing 2 free local projects to others, in the New Year in Benalmadena.   Creative Art Project: The Magnificent ConsciousnessTo inspire our young children to sense the magnificent consciousness they are a part of and their essential role in life.   Relaxing & Creative Talk GroupTo help people look at MentalHealth & Chronic Pain with ‘Big Compassionate Eyes’. When we change our perception, we can change our circumstances!   You can read more about my projects and find out how you can help too…  here.     And so we leave YOU all to enjoy the End of another year and a New Beginning of 2018… Where we know magic can happen… if you choose to allow. I’ll be back writing in January. Take care.   Barbara Franken… Creative Visionary & MasterCreatorInspiring New Energy Consciousness   A paperback and Digital Book is available from all Major online stores…Amazon and Apple   I share my own magical journey, exploring Who I AM with the help of nine Elemental Beings and expand from a world of fear, struggle and limitation into a New Energy Consciousness of love, grace and freedom. It is in this loving space that I discover my Divine and ALL LOVING self and allow myself to integrate together as one Body Consciousness… a DivineHumanBeing… and Magnificent Master Creator who expresses and creates heart and soul passion on the physical plane and beyond.           Join my MasterCreator Class and emerge yourself in the celebration of life through dance, song, art, relaxed inner journeys and beyond everything known… preparing yourself for your NEW role on New Earth. There is no time like the present moment to Sign Up and give YOURSELF this magnificent gift… More Info: MasterCreator Class           All the money raised from my books and classes go to my ‘Creative Art Project’ The Magnificent Consciousness that I bring to our little ones… inspiring them to explore, discover and express life and their part in it ALL.  

In my latest book Out Of Fear Into Love I describe the four specific limiting beliefs that cause life to be a struggle; beliefs such as I Need to Prove Myself which get in the way of a happy, successful life. Needing to prove means we’re doing the very opposite of accepting ourselves. Needing to prove means we: Put pressure on ourselves Speak to ourselves in harsh and unkind ways Tend to work too hard Blame ourselves personally for every little thing Constantly try to keep others happy Often struggle to be strong in the face of difficulties Try to do everything alone because we can’t accept we need help sometimes On the other hand, when we let go of the need to prove we begin to accept ourselves, we: Give ourselves a break Speak to ourselves in kind and loving ways Forgive ourselves and see the bigger picture Respect our own needs Work without struggle Allow ourselves to feel vulnerable Share our challenges with others; ask for help Which of those two lists feels better to you? I’m guessing the second one! The first list is all about living from a place of fear, the second is all about living from a place of self-love. And self-acceptance is one of the best ways we can practice self-love. From the moment we do so, we become stronger, happier and more confident because, well that’s what love does for people! Let’s take a look at three areas of your life that will improve when you start being more accepting: Self-Acceptance Will Make Your Relationships Much Better As I said in a recent post: The 90/10 Rule for a Happier Life the more focus we put on providing love for ourselves, instead of expecting others to provide it for us, the happier we can be. If you wait for others to offer you their approval, you can end up feeling rejected and unhappy; not because other people are mean, but simply because they’re human beings who have good days and bad days and their own needs to focus on. When you stop chasing after approval from others and start providing it for yourself, you’ll feel much more confident and at ease– that means you’ll feel more confident and at ease with others too – so your relationships will automatically improve. Self-Acceptance Helps With Your Work The world of work very often requires creative solutions to challenges and problems. When you try to push and prove yourself, you put yourself under stress. Then the part of your brain called the Amygdala (that controls the fight, flight or freeze response), becomes activated because it thinks you’re at risk in some way. It’s primary concern is to get you out of some perceived danger, so your ability to think creatively will simply freeze up because there are more important things to focus on! Have you ever had the experience of giving up trying so hard at something, then suddenly the answer seems to come out of nowhere? That’s your creative energy flowing; because you’ve relaxed and accepted yourself more, the amygdala has no need to put you into survival mode. Self-Acceptance Helps You Achieve Your Dreams The psychologist and founder of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, once made a very wise point. He said: ‘What you resist persists.’ When you try to resist those aspects of yourself you don’t like by judging and criticising yourself, saying ‘I’m no good,’ ‘I’m wrong,’ ‘I should do better,’ you’re just making those negative ideas about yourself seem bigger and more powerful, and therefore your sense of being able to achieve your dreams seems smaller. On the other hand, if you choose not to pay those thoughts much attention, they become less potent and so they simply can’t get in the way of your success. This all comes together beautifully. Because self-acceptance gives you better relationships, you’ll have more support to achive your dreams. And because self-acceptance enhances your creativity, you’ll be more successful – and all this means you’ll have more confidence to go ahead with your dreams. So practicing self-acceptance is a really good thing—it can change your life from struggle to freedom and happiness in a very short time. So how do we go about practicing self-acceptance? – it can be hard to just change our habits. Often the habit of self dis-approval is founded on limiting beliefs about our worth; beliefs formed way back in early childhood. Sometimes we need little help to let go of these limiting beliefs and painful experiences that are preventing us from accepting ourselves. We can do so by seeking help from a counsellor or therapist who has the skills and expertise. Would you like some one-to-one sessions with me?     I offer face-to-face counselling and therapy sessions for individuals and couples in Mijas Costa, Malaga  I also offer online sessions across the Costa del Sol and worldwide via Skype or Zoom  To get in touch  Give me a call on either: +34 602 489 656 +44 7429 440968 Or fill out the form at this link. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you.

Eating Turkey makes you sleepy! Or does it? Where does this seasonal myth come from and is there any truth to it?   Turkey is a protein and it contains a fairly high amount of the Amino Acid called ‘Tryptophan.’ Tryptophan is an essential Amino Acid, not one your body makes. You have to consume it.   Key information to know about where this myth comes from is as follows, just two points to know.  First Point: Tryptophan is used by your body to make Serotonin. ​Serotonin is part of what regulates your mood.  ​ Second Point: Our body makes Melotonin from Serotonin.  ​​Melotonin is the hormone that makes us sleepy. ​So you can see the importance of consuming Tryptophan in your diet. If your Tryptophan levels are not good then your mood can be affected. Low serotonin levels are linked with depression and anxiety.     Melotonin and serotonin are vitally important for your sleep and relaxation levels or the ability to relax. ​This is where the half truth around Turkey making you sleepy comes from.  Does that mean to eat lots of Turkey and you will feel both great and sleepy? Well, actually no, and actually in fact Tofu contains more Tryptophan than Turkey.  ​Final note on this myth about Turkey making you sleepy:It is true that eating Turkey gives you some Tryptophan.  It is also true that Tryptophan makes you feel relaxed and it is part of what makes Melotonin which is the sleepy hormone.  However, eating Turkey in itself is unlikely to be the cause of falling asleep after your Turkey dinner! It is far more likely to be simple, tiredness, overindulgence and excess carbohydrates which has the real sedating effect.      A key point here with this article is that the cause of irritability, mood swings and insomnia can simply be linked to nutrition factors such as Tryptophan lacking or not being processed effectively by your body.    If you are reading this and curious about how this information can help you either with your mood balance or with being tired all the time or difficulty sleeping then please contact me to help you. If you are having issues with sleep then your Tryptophan and nutrition generally should be something to examine rather than immediately reaching for sleeping pills or anti anxiety medication as the only solution. What I would do as a professional is seek for you to have a blood test. That blood test will tell us what is going on in your body with those essential nutrients that help you stay alert, sleep, keep calm, etc. Your Tryptophan levels will show in the blood test as well as your Serotonin levels. It is a very good place to start getting real answers into the symptoms you have been experiencing. I work alongside medical doctors and nutritionists where necessary and would refer you where helpful.  ​Clarity Therapy contact information is below.    Relevant links to read more about this topic: https://www.livestrong.com/article/336314-serotonin-vs-melatonin/ – This article explains all about Tryptophan, Serotonin & Melotonin   https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-tryptophan#1 – Medical Article about what is Tryptophan and what foods you get Tryptophan from.   https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201111/the-turkey-tryptophan-myth – UCLA professor article in ‘Psychology Today’ about the Turkey/Tryptophan myth.   http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/difference-between-essential-non-essential-amino-acids-9687.html – This explains about protein and what essential and non essential amino acids are.   https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-tryptophan-foods.php – Top 10 foods high in Tryptophan   https://costawomen.com/blogs/6357/1541/anxiety-is-not-just-in-your-head – My blog article here on Costa Women about anxiety being attributed to diet. There are many links with this article at the end.  Clarity Therapy Facebook Page                   Clarity Therapy Website                                                                  Twitter Page                                          Pinterest   

    ‘It was a grand lightbulb moment… when I realised judgement and doubt is equally anchored in the fear of separation, annihilation & feeling powerless.’   My morning was going well, I had written the above quote for our ‘New Earth Community‘ in preparation for my weekly facebook live… then all of a sudden, life literally took me over as I felt anger embody my whole being. Thankfully Tom didn’t respond to my outbursts as he had seen them for a while now on and off. He remained quiet, being concerned but trusted me to deal with it all myself. Everything was making me feel more angry. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I did what I used to do when I was younger… storm off to my bedroom and cried on my bed for a good couple of hours. I eventually calmed down, took some deep breathes and got myself up and sat down with Tom to talk about what was happening.   I explained it was as if I was under attack and felt completely unimportant, ugly and unloved, but I would get to the bottom of it. All I needed from him was to continue loving me unconditionally.   After so many hours crying and feeling sorry for myself I sure looked a mess and decided I didn’t want to confront myself in front of the camera, so I postponed my facebook live performance!!!! Instead I gathered myself together and took it easy for the rest of the evening.   Bedtime is normally my heaven and am blessed with sleeping well, sometimes long, sometimes short, but this night as I heard Tom purring away… I felt enormous pressure in my heart space and stomach. A gigantic presence of throbbing. Wow so grand and as normal, I began to breathe deep, opening up to receive my own love, to feel it flowing through me and love me unconditionally.   After a while, I asked myself what on Earth was causing this anger to attack me so badly?   I began to breath more calmly, opening up to insights I recognised receiving before… but this time it felt different. It was as if I had opened up into a much deeper and wider space within myself… yet it no longer felt like my space. It was a space where everything existed as one interconnected whole, I saw clearly my journey as part of the magnificent tapestry of life. I felt a deep knowingness, rather than only intellectually understanding and a sense of peace consumed me knowing everything was perfectly ok.   My InsightsMy first insight was as a young girl, about to become a teenager and a woman, I had began to bleed and was quite concerned…  I don’t remember so much of my childhood but I remember my dad giving me big pads to wear and a book about the birds and the bees to read. My mum must of been working or not feeling well. I missed her presence, of feeling loved and adored. We had recently moved home, away from my best friend, I was trying hard to make new friends but we all know that’s not so easy.   I was a bubbly, open person, swopping best friends a lot AND became a target for bullies.   It was during these 5 years I felt a deep loneliness; of feeling alone, unloved, unimportant AND ugly, creep into my being. Life was tough and when I didn’t get attention at home, I’d shout, slam the door and run up to my bedroom. I found most girls at school to be bullies, so I focused my attention on boys… searching for love, value and hearing that I was pretty.   My next insight was 27 years later. I had met my husband Tom 13 years before and we were enjoying a wonderful life together at home with our family and with our work. I was so happy, I’d met such a wise, kind and gentle man who adored me and loved me unconditionally. I remember crying once in his arms because I was so happy. I had joined a group class ‘Reading & Healing Energy’ to discover more about myself and the world. The world was my oyster… and then in 2004 Tom suffered 2 heart attacks and as he lay in hospital, I felt my body go into a deep shock.   My next insight was now, 13 years later, looking back and understanding how I had built my happiness around Tom… and his near death had freaked me out AND broke open a deep wound that I’d been carrying around since I was 12 years old. This had happened even though I’d begun to understand how life worked, how IAM love and how I can only make myself happy.   The wound of feeling alone, unloved & unimportant was a deep one that I know I share with all Humankind. I know this wound is deep and goes back even further, to the time Humankind chose to be separate from All That Is in order to experience knowing self, exploring and discovering Who You Truly Are. You can read & listen more about this in my post She Heals His Wound.   I realised I could of felt deeper into my wound back then, but I obviously needed to discover more depth of this wound; to feel every ounce of anger and sadness as it oozed through my body/mind for me to embrace it all and truly know I have never been separate, unloved or powerless.       I was surrounded by a multitude of insights… Human life was being shown to me as a pack of cards and how everything is a small, individual play connected together… but one could only understand the bigger picture from a higher perspective. This was when everything seemed to come together for me as a grand lightbulb moment. My perception had expanded and I could see the whole process of the Human Game and its purpose. There were too many insights coming together to remember and share them all, but important ones are:   How essential our Human experience is, being able to feel the loving presence and compassion of a loved one AND the absence of this, knowing they are playing a crucial part in awakening the infinite flame of love within. To help each person to remember the truth of our own infinite Divine powerful light.    How essential it is to understand, accept and honour each persons journey. It is easy to blame another… for instance, the mother. We can blame her for not instilling in her child unconditional love, to point to the love that her child is in their core for them to nurture love for them self, instead of going out there in search of love and adoration.    How essential it is for each person to understand another person… the mother, for instance has her own story, experience and acts as best she knows how. Her action is nevertheless an act of love that leaves within her child a seed of love for them to nurture love for them self.   How essential it is for each person to realise their suffering/pain is based on a untruth and is there to help them awaken to their true magnificence and power. The New Energies work differently now, it is no longer a matter of fixing a person as each person has the opportunity now to choose for them self how they want to experience life AND no one else has a right to take this experience away, unless it is asked of them.   Realising my BlessingIAM 55 years and am grateful to have experienced this grand light bulb moment now… to realise how my anger was my blessing and transport me into this peaceful space. Knowing it all happened in perfect timing, so perfect I had already written my quote about it a few hours earlier. I knew all my own judgement and doubt about everything was all anchored in my believe of being separate, powerless and slowly dying…. I just had to allow my body/mind to feel it totally too AND transform the remnants of old sadness and anger from many lifetimes ago into a sense of peace and deep understanding.   Life is wonderful and as I feel more and more light filling my physical body/mind, life becomes easier, there is more and more to celebrate. Celebrating my Human and Divine selves coming together in total balance AND being a tiny part in the magnificent tapestry of life. Sharing with others who are ready to open up to their own loving presence and celebrate together this new adventure as multi-dimensional beings.   Thankyou Tom for giving me unconditional love and compassion these last 30 years… here’s to our next adventure together.   Barbara Franken… Creative Visionary & MasterCreatorInspiring New Energy Consciousnesswww.memymagnificentself.com   A paperback and Digital Book is available from all Major online stores… Amazon and Apple   I share my own magical journey, exploring Who I AM with the help of nine Elemental Beings and expand from a world of fear, struggle and limitation into a New Energy Consciousness of love, grace and freedom. It is in this loving space that I discover my Divine and ALL LOVING self and allow myself to integrate together as one Body Consciousness… a DivineHumanBeing… and Magnificent Master Creator who expresses and creates heart and soul passion on the physical plane and beyond.         Join my Local or Online MasterCreator Class and emerge yourself in the celebration of life through dance, song, art, meditation and beyond everything known… preparing yourself for your NEW role on New Earth.   There is no time like the present moment to Enrol and give YOURSELF this magnificent gift… More Info: MasterCreator Class     All the money raised from my books and classes go to my ‘Creative Art Project’ The Magnificent Consciousness that I bring to our little ones… inspiring them to explore, discover and express life and their part in it ALL.      

Insincere people are not always so easy to spot. Sometimes its their easy smile that pulls you in. It can be the promises they make or compliments to you that are convincing.