I Took A British RP English Accent Course (And This Is What I Learned)

(Image courtesy of my friend James in England)

It's no surprise I have an ungodly amount of fondness for the English. I live, eat, and breathe them, the culture, aesthetic, lifestyle, accent, the royal family, habits, idioms, etc., you name it, AND that's putting it mildly. It's a wonder I've not been boxed up and put in a white room. If you recall (here), this is why I was determined initially to take the course, and I'm afraid I'm never going back to the olde American accent. However, I'm getting ahead of myself, so let's crack on with a few bits that are indeed different. It's been interesting; I can say that. 

I will undoubtedly leave many aspects on the carpet; still, I wanted to point to some subtleties that took me a moment to realise. I must clarify, not apologise, which is the first aspect I noticed. If you've watched any amount of English television, I can freely speak on behalf of most Americans. The English will go round the house to explain or say something, but an American will blurt it out. The English lead a different instinctive modi operandi but do I believe one can learn their ways? Yes. I'm an eternal optimist. The English will say one thing, but they actually mean quite the opposite.

For example, If they describe someone, they might say, "he's a bit of a character." What they mean is he's the worst person they've ever met.

What might a Brit say: How are you?

What you think they mean: They want to know how you're doing.

What they really mean: please don't tell me your life story.

And then there is a stiff upper lip, and that approach is as natural to me as water off a ducks back. Carter's (Carter is my maiden name) is known for this; I think it's in our pedigree. Carter's hail from Sussex, the lot of them mostly. Recall I did the saliva test. I have 87 per cent English and the rest is Irish, Scottish and Dutch.

A prime example of a stiff upper lip is seemingly going on with life as if nothing happened when my son was brutally murdered. Whereas I may have appeared I didn't have feelings nor show them much, I certainly do. It's a matter of me letting it out, anxious I could never get it back in. So keeping a stiff upper lip is very normal to me, but to another, it's as though I've lost the plot.

Another one for giggles is the way an American will ghost someone. They're very sloppy, emotional and outrageous about it. They'll be blood on the carpet by day's end. The English, however, even have manners when they're stonewalling you, which for someone that's an emotional trainwreck can be maddening. No matter what language, both are beastly, cowardly and rudeness is not an English trait, not by a long shot.

A brit will cut you to bits, and you'll walk away thinking you're in good graces when in fact, they just insulted you no end, and you had not a clue. Any unpleasant comments from the English and you best be equipped to take it on the chin, in which I can because I'm bastardly a hard ass, so I faired well. Give me 20 more years of British RP, and I'll have it squared; you can bet your bacon. And that utter design to remain stuck in and not fold into change is another inherent trait. I like tradition, do not jumble with convention. Leave well enough alone is my motto. If I'm going down, it's not without a relentless fight to the bitter end.

I don't think I went into detail about the example I had about immersing oneself in culture. Still, it was about a little British lad (Sawyer's best mate, Ryan.)

Ryan had come into our lives at the spritely young age at somewhere around eleven years old. He was a sweet boy that looked similar to Sawyer; freckles, blue eyes, strawberry blond hair and a thick English accent. However, he was a very truthful child, an English trait. If someone insults you or has a go and takes the piss outta ya, it's a sure sign they like you. In comparison, an American would immediately become offended. They would call you out as disrespectful and think you were raised by wolves. How dare you! If you have a really southern backwoods mama, she'll give you an actual smack across the cheek. 

The English often say things that are entirely the opposite of what you think they mean. Some Americans have a bit of this trait in some parts of the south. Now mind you, this is not always the lot. Just as Americans are diverse, as so with the English, some Brits call us yanks and wouldn't bother. Then some adore us and believe Americans to be pure delights. As with everything that I attempt to teach, it's the way we think things to be. We create our reality, and the world is a mirror reflecting what we believe. Was I to have gone around feeling embarrassed I resembled a gargoyled fool attempting to speak with an accent, I would've attracted those sort of folks to mock me. Instead, I sent out happy thoughts that I love the English people. When Sawyer passed, I knew straight away; one should live life to the fullest; I must live as if I were dying, without fear nor regret. When my mum would tell me of Europe when I moved there as a child, I retained an instant love for EVERYTHING English.

I find it very hypocritical that, for some reason, a person learning an English accent gets a different level of scrutiny than other dialects. I noticed folks were quick to judge me pretentiously, but if I were an actress, method acting for a part, I'd get a pass. Or say I announced I was taking French or Italian, it'd be radio silent. I'd be all high hos' and sunny days, but with English, you'd have thought I'd murdered someone and needed to be taken out and shot. I even caught wind of an old adversary calling me pretentious. But, of course, nowadays, I'm not so lethal towards my adversaries. Still, I do believe she would've fair much better if she were to have followed suit as an English and carried on, swallowing her pride. It'd been in her craw long enough, and she displayed herself as a foolish American and came off well jel.

Okay, back to the story of Ryan.

He was just off the boat from Stratford Upon Avon. After he and Sawyer began spending many days after school playing at our house, I noticed Ryan sounded American. Still, he had very distinct undertones of an English accent. I pressed him more as a mum would and prattled on, asking questions about his home life, where he was from and all those bits. Well, I knew since then that the dear boy was plunked down in America and wanted to leave England behind. He wanted to become an American citizen. This same boy is now a man of almost thirty. He did, in fact, go on to lose every bit of his English accent (he sounds like a country boy from down south). He also became an American citizen one year before the pandemic hit. Although I find it astonishing that someone wouldn't want to keep their English accent, it caused me to reflect on the olde cliche that we always want what we don't have. As the years have waned on, it dawned on me when I signed up for my course that I had long taken this boys resilience for granted. As with Sawyer now being gone, memories and experiences will scour your soul and leave acid holes if one isn't mindful. I was never going to be that person, one that is peevish, point-scoring and petty. I would learn the brilliant brit from across the pond was my teacher; very much the same as me in many ways. I wanted to know British and abandon the American accent. He wanted to learn American and abandon the British accent. If you were to natter about with him these days, you'd not detect a remnant he was a British born bloak.

Whereas the English person will clarify by inferring something else, and everybody understands what they're talking about, they don't say it directly. But being I am internally born an American; I will get on by saying what I infer today; there's no denying we speak the same language. 

Life is a pattern—a beautifully crafted sandcastle with impregnable walls to be eaten by the tide every morning. But instead of the awful idea of wanting to return and build it more prominent, vow to accept the past and allow it to remain there. I want to live each moment where Merrymaids sing from the high walls. I want to live in a world (an English word) of perfect distillation that carries the take joy and permanence of Christmas nostalgia tradition every day of my life and not just one day a year.

Would you ever want to take an RP British English course?

Thank you for swimming by; I love you for it. It means the world to me that you take the time to see about me. Let's prattle tomorrow, alright. 

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx

(The first picture is my friend James' cottage kitchen, he's from Wales.) 

The Art Of Manifesting Anything Of Which You Desire

My darlings, how was your new years? Mine was lovely, and I shared bits of my daily pursuits on Instagram and through Instagram stories. I have indeed arrived at a come up on Instagram, and I love it no end. Instagram reminds me of those days when Polaroid cameras were popular, and you could get that gratification of seeing a moment instantly. I now view Instagram in this way; furthermore, I pride myself in creating a beautiful grid of impressive images. That is one aspect of Instagram's initial formulation, and of course, it's mission statement is "to capture and share the world's moments." I enjoy sharing my moments with the world. I've found the most delightful like-minded souls on Instagram.

Meet Victor Osbourne- {Character in my British novel Deceit and Dissension}
A rather smarmy fellow, coquettish with the ladies, a wide toothy grin who reeks of a head full of pomade.

My beloved gardener and I had a lovely time on New Year's although on the eve we didn't stay up till the ringing in of 2021. I'm on England time, so my body clock has been acclimating and I'm currently writing this post at 9:50 pm UK time. I'm revising the year 2020 to make it what I want, which is one of wonder and happiness. I revised Sawyers death, and I've not cried once since. It's a most potent notion now that I've learned I have the power to control thought and create my reality in whichever way I choose. One must be a bit delusional to become masters at manifesting. If you ponder how most folks in this blue marble think, it's one of close-mindedness, and limits to almost everything and this is precisely why many folks never change that much in a lifetime. They've grown accustomed to a belief that they can't have what they truly desire and their thoughts of that belief back up their reality, thus creating an endless cycle of feelings of unattainable dreams and mediocrity. I'll not live that way, not ever. If you've ever heard of Neville Goddard, you know what revising means so I shall swiftly move on and speak of other matters. I've been getting about, with much research and of course reading is always a pursuit. I've been tucked in my bed with my notepad, and the book of choice is called "Diary of a Victorian Gardener: William Cresswell and Audley End." I'm writing about the head gardener for my British romantic novel, Deceit and Dissension, and I'm quite particular about getting my facts right, so extensive research, means reading many diaries, books and resources from real Victorian times and people. When I write historical fiction, I feel it's essential to get it precise, which means accuracy is a must. I only use origins from the period I'm writing in (1872 for Deceit and Dissension). It assists immensely in accurateness and feeling the validity of a novel when reading such delights. I must confess this book is so intriguing. What are you reading as of late?

I wanted to detail further manifesting methods, especially after last week. I received some excellent posts. A few Friday's ago, I received a whole clutch of questions about manifesting, and I felt pleased to answer. So let me get on!

HOW TO MANIFEST ANYTHING WITH FACILITY AND HASTE⁣

I. Authorise your preference. What do you desire? It is unnecessary to feel it real; most often, we believe that to manifest, it must be felt and I think this is a hindrance unto oneself. Honestly, this is another little toady that had previously hindered me from feeling that I could manifest because, for the life of me, I wasn't capable of feeling it real. Teachers would insist on if one were to be capable of manifesting a desire one must feel it to receive it. My conundrum and self-imposed question were that if experience teaches how would I know what that felt like had I never experienced the act in my 3d reality. I felt it was absurd and inaccurate. I became frustrated with manifesting as teachers insisting this was the only answer. Poppycock! Although I managed to manifest, I was not pleased with frequently peeking at other folks to facilitate my manifesting. I felt stagnation. My manifesting was unsettling, as consistent manifesting eluded me, I became fed up. There had to be a missing element, and by golly, I was going to disembowel manifesting and figure it out. In my intense desire to understand, I became furious one day while sitting on my garden bench, watching my chickens with the touchiness of a schoolgirl losing her looks and began to weep. I gave birth to having enough, and I was unwilling to accept my lot another day, and I meant to do something about it. I became utterly disinterested, and I no longer listened to other manifesting teachers. I unsubscribed to every channel on youtube, deleted all social media except Instagram stopped reading nonsensical blogs and put my head down in experimentation. I knew deep within that I had enough life experiences and spiritual arsenal to handle my affairs; wildly included; that of manifesting. In my observations many folks that seemed to carry on about how to manifest invariably revealed lackful limiting beliefs. In my disgruntled scepticism, I realised something happening to me a few days later (after my angry spell), and that was; I was gaining some movement on a few desires, which caused me to contemplate the "feeling it real" aspect. Once again, this reiterated that I know my own heart and mind and more than capable of my own accord. I no longer needed to seek advice and direction from others. I learned that I'm a much better more masterful manifestor than any of them combined. Indeed I needed to remind myself that I know how to manifest, and I am a master. We all are, to be honest. One must continually affirm "I AM a master manifestor" repeating through self-talk until it imprints and hardens into fact. I know how to get the desires of my heart. It could be no more complicated than reverse engineering my thoughts.

I first heard of reverse engineering in Gary Vaynerchuk's book "Crushing It.". Although it's a book about entrepreneurship I gleaned a few bits of information that became useful in my manifesting experimentation. Gary Vaynerchuk is an abrasive personality for many folks, but I appreciate his aggressive, no-nonsense approach. Many years ago on Twitter shortly after the book "Crushing It" was released, I mentioned being 7th in line for reserving the library book online. When I first began my business, I was brilliant, watched every penny, and focused on creating my business inexpensively. I did it all by myself without anyone's help, and I take pride in saying all that I did all of it by myself. I had not an ounce of help from anyone, not a small loan, a payout from marriage, my husband Jeffrey, not my folks giving me any money, nothing at all, no support what so ever, and I'm taking that up the ladder. I am chuffed to bits to say that, and I'll not apologise for appearing arrogant. I am completely and utterly self-made. {I will admit to receiving emotional support from my folks and my dear Jeffrey.}

Okay, rant over. Back to what I was declaring. I ticked hundreds of books out of the library. I think Gary appreciated my labour integrity, after reading my tweet and kindly sent me an entire case of autographed "Crushing It" books in which I happily donated to my local library. My point being is that in his book, one of the things I remembered was his reverse engineering about business. It occurred to me that I could apply (reverse engineering) to my thoughts about self~concept thoughts and manifesting. I know my darling friends, I'm a church lady, however, isn't it most delightful to chat about life with friends. For if I were to invite you to the countryside for a cup of tea with scones and clotted cream, this is the bits of conversation we would happily discuss.

⁣

II. Be committed to your self-concept affirmations. I have discovered and feel it pertinent to drill down on the idea of having a wonderful self-concept. We will never amount to manifesting our desires if our self-concept is rubbish. Little do many folks realise that we can want to change and desire to immensely, but if we go about our everyday life in self-talk of falling back on old thoughts, we will not manifest (and if we do it will be long in coming). We have to stay on a healthy mental diet, and that means putting off the old self. Putting off the old self means no longer rehearsing those thoughts that create a tailspin. New thoughts have to be affirmed repeatedly until the new idea hardens into fact and becomes a new belief. This concept is the pearl of wisdom. Everything in one's life up to this point was created by thoughts repeatedly. We didn't have to make a vision board to attract a lack of money, now did we? No. Because that would be lunacy if we did. (heh) We repeatedly thought about how much was lacking and kept thinking that consistently and it became a reality. I used to think continually (from high school) that women weren't trustworthy, and I always regarded them as scoundrels. The ghastly debacles that would ensue with myself and women were of my own doing. It's lovely though, because now I know, and knowing that I create my reality gives me a great advantage. Presently I quickly manage to accept responsibility and get along doing something about it. Happy news, I no longer believe this about women; in fact, I now attract delightful, beautiful relationships.

III. A strong enough desire will override a belief. This advice is another pearl of wisdom to remember. Have you ever heard (for my religious friends in the Bible it says) that we must believe something before receiving it? This is of absolute confidence {trust}. If one hasn't much trust, don't be feeble, in thinking your desires can't be manifested; because indeed, they can and WILL. One only must ensure the faith that anything one desires WILL manifest. Have you ever glanced at someone living their dreams and you see it with your very eyes? This manifestation was not always in our visual reality. At one point in time, it was only in their (dreamers) thoughts too; however, they (dreamer) persisted in their thoughts/visualisation and their manifestation became visible to the world. This is an example of a strong enough desire (often) overriding a belief. This unveiling for me that I realised upon being angry while sitting in the garden is when I left no option because I am God, took no for an answer, persisted and I got my desires. Seven major desires that I had been desiring all transformed before my very eyes in less than two months. I soon learned that my daily self-talk is why I wasn't getting my manifestations as promptly as I had wanted. The Godself within must speed our desires into a vacuum formation because nothingness is natural in our world cycle and universal laws are natural (push, pull, ebb, flow, positive, negative etc.).

IV. Create a scene in your imagination and comprise your five senses {sound, sight, smell, touch and taste} then proceed directly to the natural way you visualise and see your desire fully manifested. Do not worry yourself with the components in between (the details of how, and when they aren't your employment, those are Godself affairs). Morning, midday and evening (or whenever you desire) visualise your scene (it should be 5-10 seconds) in the natural way you'd be performing if your desire were following your natural day's pursuits.

V. Have fun, manifesting! Challenge your desires, place times on them, enjoy the process immensely and before you know it, all of your desires will begin flowing in with abundance. I'd love to hear about your manifestations as I delight in achievements!

Book Resources: Your Faith is Your Fortune by Neville Goddard and Crushing It, by Gary Vaynerchuk

I must love you and leave you, toodle~pip darlings, 

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx