Jo's Journal - September 2019

The sun is shining for the Bank Holiday weekend, and it’s a good time to look back and reflect, as Summer starts to draw to a close.

Early in August, we took Mantra to Fearne Cotton’s ‘Happy Place’ Festival - a wonderful and uplifting event at Chiswick House, where we met hundreds of you! It was such a busy event for us, with many of you discovering Mantra for the first time, and others being long-terms followers from seeing us in Psychologies magazine, or at other events.

Fearne is hosting the same event at Tatton Park in early September – and we can’t wait to meet more of you there.

Also in August, we launched four new mantras, including a new Daisy pendant, and three new disc designs. I treated myself to our new ‘Sun Rays’ disc, which represents the mantra, ‘Everything I need is already within me’.

I love this message. It asks us to tune into ourselves, and look deep within – because that is where we will find the belief and the confidence to take us forwards in life. We don’t need to look externally for validation or approval – we can find that in ourselves.

We all tend to look externally for answers, believing we will find them in the next self-help book we read, or the next podcast we listen to, or in advice from someone we follow or someone we know. But what if – we already had all the answers ourselves? It’s an interesting thought, and a great philosophy to have in life. And it’s where meditation, quiet time on our own, journalling, or deep self-reflection can help us to access our own wisdom.

I felt the need to add this message to our range, because I am as tempted as everyone else to download the next brilliant book from the latest guru, believing he or she will have the answers to life! But holding onto my new Sun Rays necklace, and saying to myself, ‘Everything I need is already within me’, will for sure act as a reminder that only I know what is right for me in my life.

We also launched our new collaboration with Chloe Brotheridge – you can read more about her and her work here. Chloe’s mantra is a powerful affirmation of courage and self-confidence, created from her own personal experience with anxiety and self-doubt – ‘I am brave. I move forwards with confidence’ – a great message for a friend who lacks confidence, or to give yourself a boost when you feel nervous or afraid.

This necklace was so popular that we actually SOLD OUT in the pre-launch week, before we had even officially launched it. A new batch were due two weeks’ later, so we were able to fulfil all the orders – but we have never had such a fast-selling necklace.

And we are close to signing off two necklace designs with the wonderful Nicky Clinch, a transformational coach who has two powerful mantras to share with us. Her new book about finding and celebrating the warrior within has just been announced, so we are very excited about that.

For myself, August has also had some real personal highlights.

I was lucky one Sunday discover an art exhibition in my home town of Stratford-upon-Avon – serendipitously noticed when I parked my car. It was the 60th anniversary of the local art society, which attracts keen amateurs who love painting and drawing, and want to improve their skills.

I was blown away by the talent on display, and the incredible range of styles and experiences. I ended up buying a couple of unframed works, and having a lovely time talking to other visitors and volunteers. It was a completely unexpected two hours of sheer joy, to inspire my mind and stir my soul.

I also had a weekend with a friend in Bristol, making the most of the sunshine with a boat trip down the River Avon and amazing views of Brunel’s impressive Suspension Bridge. I concluded the month with a lovely weekend with my sister and her family on their farm, so really made the most of being outdoors this month.

Summer feels like the perfect time to prioritise time with family and friends, before the start of Autumn, with its feeling of new projects and new starts. I hope you have had a wonderful Summer too!

Autumn will be here before we know it. And, as F Scott Fitzgerald wrote, 

‘Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall’.

Keep feeling inspired!

Jo xx