Creating a Secret Garden For Your Soul.

Where do you go to recharge your emotional batteries?
Do you have a secret space that is just for you to work through your through your thoughts, feelings and ideas?
Creating a secret space in your imagination can help you heal and revitalise yourself.

Welcome to Authentic Living Coaching, The Podcast,
I’m your hostess, Linda Codlin

I am a certified life coach, and the founder of Authentic Living Coaching.
I am passionate about helping you to help yourself.
It is my intention that each and every one of us has the
information we need to make the best decisions about the way
we choose to live our lives.
Living life on your terms, and being your authentic self.

Click the link below for this weeks podcast.

Hello, My Friends

Welcome to episode 16

The secret garden.
When I was a child I read the book, ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This book inspired me, it was like a secret sanctuary in my imagination that I could go to when life was unfair.

Do you have a secret garden?
A place you go to, to heal, to recharge your batteries and to refuel your emotions.

My secret garden, is where I go when I’m journaling, it’s the place I go to off load all the stuff I’m going through that I’m not ready to share with anyone.
Often I’m not even ready to share the blatant honesty with myself, until it’s written on paper.
My secret garden lives in my imagination, it is a place that I can visually retreat to, when I am sorting out my feelings, the emotions that are too raw to be processed in public.

In my secret garden, which is a bit like the garden in the book, The big oval shaped door has huge iron hinges, which now swing quietly as I push the door open.
The path is paved with red brick, on each side of the brick are scented flowers. The delight of entering this sacred space is the aroma of the flowers.
In the far right hand corner is a huge old oak tree, this tree spills over the block wall that protects and shelters me from the scorching heat or the westerly winds.
My favourite place in all the garden is the wooden swing seat, that hangs from the thick and stable branches of this fabulous tree.
This swing rocks and soothes away the cares of the day, gives me a view over the entire garden and the fields beyond the wall.

My secret garden has a conference table in the centre of the brick shaped heart, here I call in the wise men and women who can guide me over and through the rough spots of life.
I call it my mastermind table, and only people with an invite are welcome to sit at this table.
Behind the table is the fire altar, this resembles a stone plinth rising up in the garden, the fire altar provides warmth and comfort, it also acts as a place to purify my thoughts.
I write the things that limit my progress on a sheet of paper and burn it in the incinerator in the garden, and in my minds eye I am burning all the things that are not helpful on my journey to personal enlightenment.
On the back wall is a long wide bench, the perfect spot for snoozing in the sun, or resting and catching up with myself, a place to revitalise my energy, to meditate and come home to my inner peace.
In front of this bench and to the left is a giggling, trickling little creek, with ice cold water for hydrating and washing in.
This is the place for cleansing, for washing away the remnants of disbelief, limiting beliefs, and the core thoughts that prevent me from living into my greatness.

This secret garden goes with me wherever I am, I can access this safe haven at any time.

Do you have a safe haven that you can go to at any time?

A place when you open the door and step into your haven, you are assaulted with your favourite scent of flower, seeing all the happy faces wrapped in petals, beaming at you, so pleased to see you, that you can’t help but smile. Does your garden have a huge oak tree with a swing nestled in the branches, just waiting for you? As you settle into the swing’s seat you feel embraced and loved, as you rock gently to and fro.
Closing your eyes, you drift into the land of endless possibilities.

Your secret garden can be whatever you want it to be. Maybe your happy space is when you are baking, your secret garden could transform to your secret bakery, designed for your needs.
Maybe your secret garden is a snow covered mountain top in the window, and a green meadow in the summer.
Your secret garden is a place for you to download all your cares, to wash away the cares of the day, to refill your soul with whatever nourishes you most.

Close your eyes and ask your inner guide to reveal to you, what revitalises you most, then let your mind draw pictures as if they were right in front of you.
Use your senses, What do you see? What does the door to your secret space look like? Does your space have walls? What do the walls look like? What do the walls feel like? Do they have a scent when touched?
When you walk, glide, float, row, or are transported into your secret space how do you feel? How does your body feel?
What does your secret space have in it? What is important to you? Do you have a transporter room, that can take you anywhere you want to go?
Do you have an altar or a firey brazen that can incinerate the thoughts and beliefs that have kept you playing small?
Do you have a magic genie who can bring you anything you desire? Will your genie have limits or will it be able to give and take away at your whim? What does your genie look like? How is your genie presented? Does it have a scent? What size is your genie? Does your genie have a space to call home and how does it know you are calling it? Go into detail, see, feel, hear, touch and smell your genie. Use all your imagination, this is your genie and it can be any shape, size, weight, and colour you choose, have fun with it.
Will your sacred space have rules of engagement? So that only people and things you want in your space can be there, and should you accidentally bring unwanted and unfinished business into your space does it automatically notify you, so you can choose what to do about it?
Does your space have a place for you to rest, to unburden your cares and worries without it affecting the overall energy of the space? What does this area look like? Where does it sit, is it a physical place, or is it an emotional place?

Go through your secret space in your mind, make it what you need it to be to nourish you, make it a safe and secure place.
Then when your thoughts and emotions become too much, this is the space you come to, to download, to unplug, to replenish your emotional equilibrium.
You can use this space to imagine yourself at peace, calm, in control.
Then you can pop back into your daily life, feeling a calmer and in control.
Your space is always available for you, you can have a conference table in your space, with your trusted advisors in residence, ready for any question you may have.

This may seem weird to you, but it works for me.
Everyday a spend a few minutes in my secret garden, swinging, healing, washing, rejuvenating my spirit and my soul ready for the day ahead.
I also come to my secret garden when I am struggling to breakthrough a thought or action barrier.

Today’s challenge is for you to capture your ‘secret garden’ in your mind.
You do not have to tell anyone about your secret healing and growing space, but if you want to share with someone what your space is like and how it helps you, I’d love to be your supporter, your cheerleader and your confidante.

Have a fabulous day my friends. Until next time…

Seek your secret garden, Grow your imagination muscle, and live into your authenticity.
If you want help to unlock your secret garden and inner safe haven, connect with me for coaching. You can find me on Facebook and Instagram. Linda Codlin and Authentic Living With Linda.
If what I am sharing resonates with you, leave a comment,
hit the like button, share with your friends and follow me.
Thank You for listening.

oxoxo Linda

As a certified Life Coach, I help you to help yourself, so you can create a well lived life your way. 

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When you are ready to make a transformational difference in your life, contact me for a one on one coaching session.