November 2008

Wednesday November 5th

Who can believe there is under two months until Christmas?  Melbourne Cup comes and goes and I loved having a 3 day weekend for a change… very cool.  But now, well as I read www.astrologyzone.com for the November horoscopes, it talked about the Full Moon in mid December as being an angry moon and hoped everyone would do their Christmas shopping well in advance.  Phew that doesn’t leave much time!  My only suggestion is that if you are after an Inspirational gift from Star and Moon then let me know to ensure I have sufficient stock.  I’m happy to put something aside for you until you can make it in.

New stock recently includes the Rick Collingwood hypnosis CDs.  I have been enjoying and seeing benefits from Creating Abundance, along with Goddess Awakening by Tania Cotterell.  No sooner had the distributor handed over the stock on a recent visit than a lady walked in enquiring about Hypnosis CDs.  She already had Creating Abundance, but was after Happiness & Self Esteem, so first sale 20 minutes after I had the stock.  Synchronicity anyone??

There are also new spring coil pendants to hold your favourite crystals and you can change them each day so they co-ordinate with your outfit, or provide the energy you require.  More necklaces and bracelets in store for gifts, but they are selling like hot cakes, so get in quick.

October 2008

Friday October 31st

How much did I enjoy the Halloween celebrations in Mont Albert Village?  Maybe not as much as the hundreds of children who were out trick or treating in force.  But it was good fun seeing all the lovely costumes, from a barely walking bumble bee (I think he looked about three) to pirates, Spidermen, Batmen, Witches, Fairies and even a SpongeBob, the effort was fabulous.  And the pumpkins and black Witch’s hat certainly made some of the peak hour commuters stop for another look in the window display.

September 2008

Friday September 19th

Well you may guess that I have been busy through Winter and now Spring has arrived I have enjoyed watching the blossom snow storm blowing down the street.  I didn’t even mind having to pull out the vacuum to clean up the petals that blew into the shop.  Haha and there were a lot!

So, July was a wonderful month filled with customers new and old as they made the best of a Winter Sale.  July was also notable for the generosity of people as they shared stories with me.  I also received a copy of a book that I treasure and met some of the most wonderful people.  July also saw a new layout for the local Neighbourhood Watch newsletter as the Publicity Officer noticed the Star & Moon newsletter and sought out my help.  I have enjoyed being involved with a lovely group of dedicated people who have kept Neighbourhood Watch going in the area and am glad I can finally help out in a small way myself.  How often do we get caught up in the daily grind with a thought in the back of our minds that it might feel brilliant to give something back to the community?  Well if you are lucky enough to step off the treadmill or simply just claim back some of your life it does indeed feel very rewarding.

September has been a very cultured month as I have been treated to see Wicked and then last night a play called “The Time is Not Yet Ripe”.  Interestingly at the core of the storylines is Love!  And a client recommended a great book The Heart of Love by John Demartini who wrote the foreword for The Mastery Club. John has a very mature view on love.  He explains that “infatuation is blind to the negatives, and resentment can’t see the positives.  True love is whole and witnesses both sides equally.”  John aims to help readers (and course attendees because he runs this in workshop format) evaluate important relationships of all kinds; love, family, friends, even competitors and enemies.  I enjoyed reading the chapter about soul mates, his key point being that “your soul mate is already with you”.  Sometimes you may not have one soul mate, but instead will share your life with a group of people who have the qualities you cherish.  Look carefully at the attributes of people you attract into your life because it helps you see the qualities you already possess, as they are like a mirror.  If you are disagreeing with this statement then I suggest you come and have a look at the book, because all too often we seek things outside ourselves that we already have, if only we look clearly and learn to value ourselves properly.

I still love a quote I display in the shop by Marianne Williamson (though often mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela) :
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

- Marianne Williamson

While Mandela read it out at one of his most famous speeches, the text is from Williamson's book Return To Love refer www.marianne.com

June 2008

Sunday June 15th

Amazing to see a month has gone by since the last post! And what a month it has been. The best part is seeing people coming back to buy more books after enjoying their first purchases. And, when they have time, joining me for a mini tea party and a good old chat.

Today, being Sunday, I am not in the shop (my weekend), but I was at the local radio station being interviewed by Margaret Elliot at 10:30am. I learned that 3WBC 94.1FM started in a caravan broadcasting only a few hours a week.  They now have 2 wonderful studios, plus an office and a tea room in the Box Hill Town Hall. Really fabulous facilities and a testimony to the vision of several people who worked very hard to set up the community radio station. Positive thought and visualization are two of the tools that can be used to achieve goals and I was able to mention a children’s book, The Mastery Club, by local Melbourne author Liliane Grace, which teaches these concepts.  Having seen Liliane speak at the Mind Body Spirit festival last weekend I had a look at the website www.themasteryclub.com.au which has many great examples of positive outcomes using the principles in the book, including a girl who managed to create a job when none existed through persistence, belief and positive actions. It is amazing what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.

I also talked on the radio a little bit about Astrology and the fact that you are not just your sun sign but that your moon and rising signs will colour the personality you present to the world.  I mentioned one of my more enlightened suppliers who as a Capricorn could be all business and hard work, but instead he has a most jovial and fabulous sales persona and is quite flamboyant. No surprise when he mentioned he had Gemini rising… I know PR and sales people with a lot of Gemini in their natal chart.

And finally something I didn’t mention on radio, but in the coming week we have a full moon in Sagittarius (early Thursday morning) followed by Mercury turning direct after being retrograde for several weeks.  So things may come to a natural conclusion this week while in many ways a lot of life will seem to get back on track. Where you have faced delays and needed to review and revise details or just mark time, now things can move forward. And with Mercury back on track you can happily buy cars and electrical goods (no promotion angle here as I don’t sell them…).  However, I do have great books, heavenly scented candles and crystals with fantastic energy - thank you to the two ladies who dropped by yesterday for validating that!

May 2008

Thursday May 15th

New candle stock arrived this week, along with more stock of Sukin products that have been flying off the shelves as customers discover this affordable organic skin care and body products.  I am expecting new books, CDs and DVDs in very soon and some of the reviews on the Books, CDs, DVDs page give you a taste of what is to come.  Look forward to your next visit… I may even have the kettle on, organic tea of course...

Saturday May 10th … the Mont Albert Village shops went pink for the day to raise money for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

And yes as you can see I was in pink too!!
It was lovely to have some new customers pop into the shop and browse.

Best of all, was one lady who turned out to be a local community radio presenter.  Having
purchased a soy candle (with pink packaging of course), she was also taken with Olivia Newton-John’s new CD, Grace & Gratitude.  Make no mistake, this is not pop music!  But instead, a wonderful collection of tunes that move through the chakras and recognize the importance of music in raising people’s spirits.
It was fantastic to hear the CD the next day on radio, along with a favourable review of the Pink day, and a mention of a new little shop called Star & Moon.  Yep, first radio plug!

April 2008

There have been many lovely people I have met in the shop.  Some people come in following their noses as the aroma of the candles and incense drifts out the door and into the street.  Others spot a book of interest in the window.  I love the fact that children, in particular, are often heard saying “Look Mummy, crystals!”

One local referred to the shop as a slice of the popular TS Bookshop in the city.  Indeed, if you want somewhere to browse at a selection of inspirational books, then this is the spot.  No need to battle the public transport to get to the city, or try finding carparking you will have to pay for… no, Mont Albert still has car spaces, though it does get busy at times with lunch time café traffic!  Some lovely cafes to try...

So what is selling well?  Well, the candles by ecoya just seem to walk out the door and the special opening prices are enticing people to try one or two!  The Sukin organic skin care range attracts attention with great packaging and affordable pricing.  Most people are new to the brand, which is based in Victoria, so supporting a local company and doing something good for yourself.  How much better does it get?  Note that there are no Parabens nor Sodium Lauryl Sulphate in the products.  There is some literature in store to explain why this is a good idea.

Running off the bookshelves are popular titles by Wayne Dyer, Denise Linn, Dan Milman, Sylvia Browne, Esther & Jerry Hicks.  Come in and select a book to curl up and read with a nice candle in the background.