29 Tough Questions and Answers by Mohit Arora

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Unless you have a medical problem, as a parent, you can always pull up additional energy. How?

Ask yourself what makes you truly tired? Is it your daily endless grind with children that mentally tires you or is it just about energy? If it's the daily grind, then are you making the mistake of looking at your child as a chore as opposed to a rare life-uplifting opportunity?

Will shifting your perspective and being just a playful child who is equal but not superior to your children help and give you that energy boost? As you head home after work, is your boss and job still occupying your head? But they pay you only for 8 hours? Why accept uninvited and unpaying guests into your home? Will filling up your mind with intense thought of you playing with your child not be the best antidote to these uninvited guests?

You also become satiated with uninvited guests reducing your own effectiveness in dealing with them at work. So, getting them out of your mind will allow you to refresh and think of new ways of dealing with work and your boss.

If it's just energy and you are still not able to physically muster energy despite your desire to play with children, you may want to look up breathing exercises or yoga that takes just 15 to 20 minutes but can give you a daily boost. Will waking up 30 minutes sooner help? Can you cut back on gossip at work and get back home sooner? Can you cut back digital or news binging to make some extra time and energy? Are you reading on digital devices before sleeping that sap your energy? Are you distracted in your sleep? Are you eating the right food? Will eating some energy-boosting nuts and fruits help? Will a short course of vitamin B and D help?

Will just longer cuddling with your child help? Are you lonely and an embrace of your spouse will help? Can you delegate cooking or any household chores to your spouse and talk to him about it? Can you find a paid source of home-cooked food? Can you engage children to help you with chores or make less mess so that you have more time and energy? Ask your children and spouse how they would like to contribute to taking away less of your energy?

Often the answer lies in shifting the perspective and taking a detached view of the issue or just engaging with unquestioned kindness.

Interested in the rest of the 28 questions? Find our more HERE!

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The Regency Decade: 1814 Part 2: Peace at Last

Catherine Kullmann

Violettes 1815

The Napoleonic wars were over. On 5 April 1814, despatches arrived in London via Antwerp announcing the fall of Paris to the Allied armies. The news spread rapidly, carried by the stage and mail coachmen. Church bells rang and the populace poured onto the streets to celebrate. Soon premises all over Britain were illuminated, their windows displaying transparencies depicting the fall of the Corsican tyrant and celebrating peace and victory. On 9 April, the Times reported that Napoleon had abdicated. In subsequent negotiations, he was exiled to the island of Elba over which he was given sovereignty while his wife Marie Louise was made Duchess of Parma, Placentia and Guastalla. Napoleon was to receive an income of 2 million francs a year, and members of the Bonaparte family were promised pensions to be paid by the French government. He would return ‘with the violets’ i.e. in the Spring, he promised, and the modest flower became a symbol for the deposed Emperor. In this little engraving of a bunch of violets, the silhouettes (here outlined in blue) of Napoleon, Marie Louise and their young son were hidden.

On 20 April, fifty-nine-year-old Louis XVIII, brother of the guillotined Louis XVI, who had lived in exile since 1791, and in England since 1808, set out for London. He was met at the Abercorn Arms in Stanmore, some ten miles from the city, by a large delegation led by the Prince Regent and escorted in state in a procession led by one hundred Gentlemen on horseback and including six royal carriages, in the second of which sat the King and the Prince Regent. Onlookers along the route cheered the royal party, displaying laurels and white ribbons as they passed. Finally, the procession reached Grillon’s Hotel where the king was to lodge. On 23 April, hostilities were suspended between Great Britain and France and on the 24th the King set sail for France.

The Regent's domestic troubles continued, the populace siding with his estranged wife, the Princess of Wales. On 2 June, his daughter and heir, eighteen-year-old Princess Charlotte, was formally presented to her grandmother, the Queen, by the Tsar’s sister, the Grand Duchess of Oldenburgh. On his way to the Drawing-room, the Prince was beset by ‘the most dismal yells, groans and hisses’ so that the horses were put to their full speed to carry him through this ‘ungracious scene’. It was hoped that the princess would make a match of it with the Hereditary Prince of Orange but she refused, to her father’s wrath and the entertainment of the cartoonists of the day. Here he threatens his daughter's ladies while, on the right, the princess makes her escape to seek refuge with her mother. Advice and counsel was sought on all sides and public uproar only averted when she agreed, at five a.m. the following morning, to return to her home at Warwick House, but not before she signed a minute witnessed by the Duke of Sussex and the future Lord Brougham that she was resolved not to marry the Prince of Orange.

The Regent Kicking up a Row 1814

Some days later, the victorious Allied Sovereigns—the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia—accompanied by Major-General Blücher and other military luminaries, made a state visit to England. There followed almost three weeks of festivities. In between levées, royal visits and dinners, and nightly balls, they went to Ascot races. rode in the Park, went by water to view the dockyard and arsenal at Woolwich, had degrees conferred upon them in Oxford, saw the charity children at St. Pauls, visited Chelsea Hospital, attended a boxing exhibition by the most celebrated pugilists of the day, were escorted by one hundred Yeomen of the Guard to a banquet given by the City of London at the Guildhall, attended a Grand (Military) Review in Hyde Park and finally left for Portsmouth where there was a Naval Review in their honour. Here they were joined by the Duke of Wellington who had just arrived back in England after five years spent in pursuit of Napoleon.

The sovereigns left England on 27 June. The next day, in an unprecedented ceremony, the Duke of Wellington appeared in the House of Lords for the first time since being elevated to the peerage in August 1809, where the clerks read his patents as baron and viscount, earl, marquis, and lastly as duke. Peace had formally been proclaimed on 20 June and on 7 July the Prince Regent proceeded to St Paul’s Cathedral for a thanksgiving service. He was much hissed both going and coming. Despite this, he arranged for a Grand Jubilee to be held on 1 August to mark both the peace and the centenary of the accession of King George I, founder of the Hanoverian dynasty in England. The elaborate festivities included two balloon ascents,  a ‘Naumachia’ or mini naval combat on the Serpentine in Hyde Park between an English and a French Fleet, and grand fireworks from a castle or fortress especially erected in Green Park for the purpose. After the fireworks there followed ‘the Grand Metamorphosis of the Fortress into the Temple of Concord’.

On 9 August, the Princess of Wales who had not been invited to any of these celebrations, left England for the Continent, ‘weary of the petty persecutions and slights she had to undergo’.

Grand Jubilee 1814 Temple of Concord

Grand Jubliee 1814 The Fortress

7 July also saw the anonymous publication of a new novel, Waverley or ‘Tis Sixty Years Since. Set during the Jacobite uprising of 1745, it proved an instant success, the first edition of one thousand copies being followed in the same year by two further editions, together comprising four thousand copies. Waverley is frequently regarded as being the first historical novel in the western tradition. It was soon rumoured to be by the Scottish poet Walter Scott, but he insisted on preserving his anonymity, publishing succeeding novels as ‘by the Author of Waverley”. Eventually, although not a series or sequels, these became known as the Waverley novels.

Another publication later that year was The Life of Napoleon, a Hudibrastic Poem by Doctor Syntax that demonised the fallen emperor in mock celebratory verses. In this illustration, a parody of Fuseli’s Nightmare, the young Napoleon dreams of future glory.

Napoleon dreaming in his cell

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, the war continued with the British army reinforced by a contingent lately arrived from France. On 24 August they attacked the Americans at Bladensburg, later entering Washington, as Harry Smith recorded in his memoirs ‘for the barbarous purpose of destroying the city’. He continued, ‘Admiral Cockburn would have burnt the whole but [General] Ross would only consent to the burning of the public buildings. I have no objection to burn arsenals, dockyards, frigates, buildings, stores, barracks etc., but well do I remember that fresh from the Duke’s humane warfare in the South of France, we were horrified at the order to burn the elegant Houses of Parliament and the President’s House.’

Harry, to his great delight, was sent home with despatches, making the crossing from the Chesapeake to Spithead in only twenty-one days. It was seven years since he had set foot in England, but uppermost in his mind was the reunion with his wife, Juana, from whom he had parted the previous May.

On 24 December the Treaty of Ghent was signed, formally ending the war between the United Kingdom and the United States.  However, it took some time for the news to reach the combatting armies. On 8 January 1815, the British attacked New Orleans and were defeated, but some hostilities continued until mid-February when both sides had ratified the Treaty.

The Regency Decade Post Four: 1813—A Year of Change

Catherine Kullmann

Welcome back to my year by year look at the Regency decade. We have reached 1813. It began grimly with the hanging of fourteen Luddites at York on 14 January. Could things get any worse?

The UK had now been at war with France for ten years and with the United States for a year and a half. Food prices were rising, supplies were limited and there was a thriving trade in smuggling to and from France.  The Prince Regent declared Wednesday 10 March, “A Public Day of Fasting and Humiliation………..for imploring His [Almighty God’s] Blessing and assistance on His Majesty’s Arms, for the restoration of peace and prosperity to His Majesty and His Dominions’. On the day appointed, the Regent, his daughter, and the Dukes of York, Cumberland and Cambridge went to the Chapel Royal, St. James; the House of Lords to Westminster Abbey and the Commons to St. Margaret’s Westminister.

Presumably, this covered the humiliation part of the agenda. It is not reported for how long that well-known gourmand the Prince Regent fasted or with what plain dishes he chose to mortify himself.

Looking back, 1813 must be regarded as one of the culturally most significant years of the period. On January twenty-eight, a new novel by the author of Sense and Sensibility was published and with it, the history of the novel was changed forever. Over two hundred years later, Pride and Prejudice continues to fascinate readers everywhere. No-one who has read it is without an opinion on it—the characters are presented to us with all their failings and virtues and each will find his or her supporters in any discussion of the book. Perhaps it is this that accounts for its enduring popularity.

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Elizabeth & Darcy in Mr Collins' Rectory

In the same month, the Philharmonic Society of London, now the Royal Philharmonic Society, was formed, its aim being “to promote the performance, in the most perfect manner possible of the best and most approved instrumental music“. Not content with the existing repertoire, they also commissioned new works, most notably in 1817 a new symphony from Ludwig van Beethoven, and were amply rewarded with one of the greatest symphonies ever written, his Symphony No. 9, the Choral Symphony whose final movement is a monumental setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy.

But that was for the future. Now the beau monde was concerned with other things. Princess Charlotte, the Prince Regent’s only child and heir presumptive had just turned seventeen and it was time for her to ‘come out’ into society. It was expected she would be formally presented to her grandmother, the Queen, at the birthday drawing-room on 5 February and this led it to be “one of the most crowded drawing-rooms within recollection. The company began to arrive soon after twelve 0’clock and continued setting down until near four. The number of nobility and gentry assembled was so great that they had not all left St. James by half-past seven”. But the young princess did not appear. The Prince Regent had forbidden his wife to attend his mother’s court and Charlotte refused to be presented by anyone other than her mother. Stalemate!

By this time, the Prince Regent was at outs with his daughter as well as his wife. He was determined to treat Charlotte as a child until she married, not allowing her to replace her governesses with ladies-in-waiting or otherwise set up her own household. She was however permitted to attend the birth-night ball at Carlton House where she danced with her uncle, the Duke of Clarence, thirty years her senior. We can imagine how thrilled the seventeen-year-old Charlotte must have been by this treat.

Princess Charlotte of Wales 1816 2

Princess Charlotte of Wales

That summer, the Prince Regent also fell out with his previous favourite, the dandy and self-appointed arbiter of fashion, Beau Brummell. Stung by a deliberate cut by the Prince who ignored him at a fancy dress ball of which Brummell was a co-host, the dandy responded by enquiring of Lord Alvanley, who had been recognised, “Ah, Alvanley, who is your fat friend?” The prince not unnaturally took offence and the breach between the two men was never healed.

Almacks 1815 Beau Brummel

Beau Brummell

Meanwhile In the Peninsula Wellington’s army had left their winter quarters and were on the hunt. On 21 June, at the Battle of Vitoria, they decisively defeated the French army commanded by  Joseph Bonaparte who had been installed by his brother Napoleon as King of Spain.

In the ensuing rout, the King’s carriage and the French baggage train containing vast amounts of looted treasure were abandoned to the pursuing English army who in turn helped themselves liberally. The Marshall’s baton presented by Napoleon to General Jean Baptiste Jourdan was sent by Wellington to the Prince Regent while King Joseph’s silver chamber pot, another gift from the emperor, was appropriated by the 14th Light Dragoons (later 14th Hussars and now the King’s Royal Hussars), who to this day drink from it on regimental mess nights. The chamber pot became known as ‘the Emperor’ in honour of its August donor and the 14th subsequently was nicknamed ‘the Emperor’s chambermaids’.

The news of the victory at Vitoria was met with great rejoicing in England. On 20 July there was a great public fête in Vauxhall, at which Marshal Jourdan’s baton was displayed. The gardens were illuminated on a grand scale, bands played, there were three displays of fireworks and the whole closed with dancing which went on until 2 p.m. Tickets, excluding dinner, cost between three and ten guineas.

Presenting the Trophies

presenting the Trophies

On the Eastern front, Russia and Prussia had now allied with Sweden and Great Britain to combat Napoleon. The Emperor's new eastern campaign met with initial success but on 19 October the allies, now joined by Austria, trounced him at Leipzig. With over 600,000 combatants, it was the largest battle ever fought on European soil and would remain so until World War I.

Once again, Napoleon was forced to retreat to France. He was now hard-pressed on all sides. On 9 November, Wellington’s army crossed the Pyrenees and entered France. By the end of the year, The Netherlands had been liberated and the exiled Prince of Orange proclaimed Sovereign Prince. In December, his twenty-one-year-old son, Prince William, was presented to Princess Charlotte as a potential bridegroom.


Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. She is married and has three adult sons and two grandchildren.

Catherine has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them.

Her books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society. She is the author of The Murmur of Masks, short-listed for the 2017 CAP Awards (Carousel Aware Prize for Independent Authors), Perception & Illusion and A Suggestion of Scandal, shortlisted for BooksGoSocial Best Indie Book 2018.

Pioneering Vinyasa Yoga

Doug Swenson

“Pioneering Vinyasa Yoga” is a holistic presentation – endorsed by many world-renowned yoga teachers. This book is unique: offering more than just yoga practice, to include intriguing stories, creative vinyasa, and heartfelt philosophy. The beautiful photos and drawings are mindfully offered with a message of wisdom, and clarity to instill a feeling of inspiration.

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pioneeringThis amazing book shares Doug’s knowledge through practical, down-to-earth instructions and moving, thoughtful stories. He guides the reader through an array of tools for self-discovery and encourages us each to tread our own path.

Take this book off the shelf and dive into it. Swim through the life currents of Doug’s over fifty years of living, and breathing yoga as a genuine healthy pathway of self-discovery. You will be refreshed and inspired to discover new light shone upon the steps of your own yogic-life-journey!

 

Pioneering Vinyasa Yoga: The Adventure and Daily Practice is available now on Amazon!

How to Get Your Joy Back! – A Women’s Guide to Midlife Career Transformation

Maria Luchsinger

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INTRODUCTION:
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK

 

I wrote this book because I believe there are too many women who are feeling hopeless about their current life and career situations. I would like to be an encouragement to others who have been through my similar life experiences. You may be going through a divorce with children, trying to find the best way to get back into the workforce. You may be deciding that you have had enough of a toxic work environment. Or you may be thinking that now is the time to do work that helps other people and is important and meaningful to you.

In addition to being a teacher and certified life coach, I am also a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I have been through marriage and divorce. I have been alone and on call 24/7 raising two children while working full-time for several years through tough economic times. I have known the frustration of trying to find time for myself.

During the course of my over 30 years of work experience, I have had two careers. One in business, working in the financial world of escrow, and one in education. My experience in the education field included managing a licensed child care business of my own that included my children when they were young and working as an elementary school teacher in the public school system.

At the end of 2010, I was working in a stressful job in the commercial escrow department of a title insurance company that was going through a merger.

You Are Weird

Oliver Heyn

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My name is Benedikt Heyn. I was born in Prague in 1990. My identical twin brother Adam saw the light of the world four minutes after me.

Our dad died when we were four years old. He died of a vicious type of cancer.

I have only one memory left of my father; him putting a small model of a bright orange car into the palm of my hand – in a hospital he was dying in.

After dad died, mom shut herself off from the rest of the world and kept living just for the two of us.
My brother and I loved each other very much, but we still kept telling each other: “You are weird.” Well…it is weird when you have a brother who looks exactly like you.

My brother was always one step ahead of me no matter what. His mind was always the more adult one, the more rational. He was calmer than I was and much more sensitive; you could even say he was overly sensitive. It was me though, who according to our unwritten rule was the leader of our inner world.

Since we were little, we didn’t have many friends. We weren’t very popular among our peers and we were often laughed at. They taunted us because we looked the same. Truly, only few people could tell us apart. We were never angry with our classmates for being cruel to us just because we were identical twins. But their taunts bothered us. And so it happened that every day we chose to run away from this not-so-friendly reality to our own little world, full of dreams and wishes.
Both of us were the same dreamers. We dreamt about a vast gorgeous world, filled with success and money. To just settle with the way our reality was or even get used to our poor life filled with taunts, sneers and stupid comments, was unthinkable.

The life of identical twins is really not easy in a lot of ways.

There always was a deep emotional connection between us. We would never admit it to ourselves, but we existed mostly for each other.

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