Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year!

It's a new year, so time for a fresh look at all aspects of life.  One thing I have been quite frankly absolutely rubbish at is maintaining and updating this blog.  It is something that breaks my heart really as I loved writing this blog and used to greatly enjoy writing about my time in China.  I still blame the Blogger ban in China for halting the momentum with the blog, but really it is down to sheer laziness.  Alas, the routine of what is now married life with 2 jobs on the go leaves me with little time left to pursue on writing.

Since my last post (way back in March last year) Kimi and I got married in the UK, Kimi successfully got her residence permit, we moved into our first house together, visited Wenzhou to have a kind of unofficial 2nd wedding (very tempting to stay), and Kimi's mother even visited us for a month in the UK.   All in all 2011 was a very fortunate year for both of us, somehow everything worked out perfectly in the end.  Now 2012 has begun I am looking at pushing on with my Hypnotherapy business and possibly starting the degree in Counselling.  Kimi is looking for work in Manchester hoping to utilise her skills as a bilingual speaker.

A 2011 Collage

Another resolution I have is to write more, so hopefully another blog will be coming soon -- and by that I don't mean another year!

Neglect, Visas and Hypnotherapy

A few of the things Kimi and I have got up to during her recent trips to the UK

 I certainly feel very guilty for neglecting my poor blog of late.  The reason is not due to having a lack of things to write about with regards to China and life in the UK, but rather that I have been concentrating all of my energies into other things.

Since my last blog post a lot has certainly happened.  Kimi visited me in the UK on two occasions, the last time being in October.  We have also very recently submitted a rain forest's worth of paper-work to the British Embassy for Kimi's fiancée visa.  Once the application is successful she will once again be returning to the UK where we will get married (we're hoping for early next year).  We are planning on holding a ceremony in Wenzhou towards the end of next year too -- it saves spending a few thousand pounds transporting Kimi's huge family over to the UK, and it means I have a great excuse to take a holiday to my second home!  The visa process is an extremely difficult process, one which we could not have done alone.  Information on the internet is very sparse, with so many different versions of events that we had no choice but to hire an agency to do some of the leg work for us.  I think a possible new direction for the blog may lie within this visa process and how to be successful in applying for one.

In other news, I am now qualified as a Hypnotherapist.  I am just waiting for approval from the Hypnotherapy Association and my malpractice and indemnity insurance certificates to come through.   I have also managed to secure a room to do it from with my teacher and mentor.  It has been this that most of my time has been spent on over the past few months.  I have finally finished writing and designing a website for myself.  I had no idea it would end up being the most time consuming thing I have ever done!  As soon as everything is legal I will be uploading the complete website.  With this I will also be writing a new blogger blog which is linked to hypnotherapy and life as a hypnotherapist.  For now there is not much to look at, but here is my site:  MINDSCAPE Hypnotherapy.  I really fell in love with hypnotherapy throughout the course I took, and have never felt so attached to a subject before.  It really is amazing, and the changes that can happen are remarkable.  Stress, anxiety, lack of confidence, self-esteem issues, and addictions can all be resolved so quickly.  I know this because it has not only worked with others who I have helped, but it has also worked on myself.  I genuinely hope I can share this incredibly simple method of therapy with others. 

I am still continuing studies part-time in Counselling and hope to be taking the next module early next year.  It will take approximately 3-4 years to finish the degree at the moment.  The impatient side of me would rather get things over and done with much quicker, but due to financial restraints (e.g. all of the money I saved up in China ran out) I have had to find a full-time job.  Not only will this pay for starting my hypnotherapy business and ongoing studies, but it also means I will be able to support Kimi when she comes here.  The job I have isn't my idea of a dream career, but the money is coming into my bank account rather than going out, so it is ideal for now.

And that's me all up to date!  I'll be back when my new site and blog are online, and as soon as we hear any visa news.

Back to School

My Hypnotherapy and Counselling books

 One of the main reasons I decided to come home was because I felt a strong urge to study again.  I really did enjoy teaching a lot, but felt it wasn't fulfilling my purpose in life.  After months and months of procrastinating, I finally came to the conclusion of something that may fill that gap:  Hypnotherapy and Counselling.  Although I originally studied a music degree at university, and I do still have a great passion for music, I feel that I don't want it as the core of my working life (part-time would be nice!).

There are many reasons I have chosen these subjects, but primarily I feel that having a job where you can actually make some sort of a difference to somebody's life is incredibly meaningful.  Also, from my experience of teaching at Web, I have found that I am most comfortable working with either one person or with small groups of people.  This, along with a list of other reasons, has brought me to studying Hypnotherapy and Counselling.  I have now started both courses and am finding them greatly interesting, and even exciting -- especially the Hypnotherapy course.  A huge variety of problems can be successfully treated with this therapy, from anxiety and addictions, to phobias and obsessive compulsive disorder.  The feeling of having it done -- and doing it -- is by itself a worthwhile experience.  Many people believe that you are actually asleep while under hypnosis, but this is a myth.  The best way I can describe it is that of the short period of time when you are just about to drift off to sleep; still consciously aware, but relaxing into the first stage of sleep.   Once the session is over you feel so very relaxed, but also refreshed and ready to do anything.  

At the moment I couldn't be enjoying these classes more, I can't wait for the next ones (I wish school could have been more like this).  I have even finished all of my homework assignments long before I needed to.

Now, I just need to find a job to continue funding the courses....