Thirty Minutes That Will Save Your Dream
By Suzanne Falter-Barns
author of "How Much JOY Can You Stand?"
If you’ve got a dream you’re intent on pursuing, chances are you’re going to bog
down at some point. That’s just the way dreams are. In fact, there’s a little
known rule about this called the Second Rule of Thermodynamics, which states that
sooner or later everything returns to chaos. In other words, expect your dream to come crashing down around your ears periodically.
Yet, no need to despair; such meltdowns are actually good for your dream,
because they force you to stop and rethink your approach if you want to continue.
That’s the only way you can find the footing to continue, and in that process,
you’re forced to learn and grow. This is when I always pull out my trusty guided
visualizations.
Nothing, but nothing, can turn your mind around quite as effectively as a good
guided visualization. It can create hope where there was none, clarity in a space
of confusion, and immeasurable inspiration. If you subscribe to the same notion
that I do – that all of our ideas and instincts around our dream are guided –
then this is where you’ll find the mother lode of such information. A good guided
visualization will connect you with deep inner truths that most of us simply
can’t tap into consciously.
So basically, you, too, can be a Ghandi or a Nelson Mandela or a Thich Nacht
Hahn … if you dig deep enough and surrender fully enough. (Those enlightened
souls have taught us that such round-the-clock access to the spiritual goods
requires one heck of a lot of meditation, not to mention a saintly obfuscation of
the ego.) In the meanwhile, the next best thing is to turn on the guided
visualizations.
By guided visualization, I mean a recording of someone leading you through a
meditation. First they relax you; then they help you imagine yourself in a
particular place, or having a certain experience. A great guided visualization
will lead you into situations where anything can happen and anyone can show up.
You simply sit back and observe as helpers show up, insights are gained, and
instructions are received.
Sometimes the path you see is a familiar one you’ve imagined often with your
conscious mind, and the meditation serves as a wonderful confirmation of your
plan. Yet, other times it can be strange and dark, making no sense whatsoever. My
own students have come to me with alarm when they saw a picture of chaos, or
violence and degradation. And yet, in talking it over later, they usually
recognize a deeper meaning to the picture. Over time, if they repeat the process,
they are often left with a greater insight than they anticipated.
For instance, Rosemary was a frustrated writer who hated her daytime job, and was
given to fits of gallows humor about it. When she first did my Discover Your Soul
Purpose meditation, she uncovered a chaotic back alley, full of lurking, menacing
figures. She did the meditation several more times and the situation only
marginally improved. Yet, what Rosemary took away from the experience was that
her life was out of balance, and filled with dark, negative energy. She quit her
job, attended to her failing health, and re-approached the meditation some months
later. Now the scene was remarkably different, a sunny courtyard in which she
could see herself as a writer for the first time.
In fact, Rosemary had not ‘done the meditation wrong’, as she’d been quick to
assume. ('I must be the only person who didn’t do this thing right!') Instead,
her soul was giving her a direct signal that she was tangled up in life
circumstances that were obscuring her dream. The meditation, for all of its
supposed lack of clarity, had really been clear as a bell.
The only real way to interpret the images we get in these visualizations is to
check in with our gut. There may be age-old gypsy wisdom that water means good
luck, or that a duck is an omen of impending death … but I say that’s all
poppycock. The only person who knows what your visualization means is you; your
gut is the only thing that should ever guide your interpretation. What is it
telling you about what you saw -- that you need balance, like the confused
Rosemary? Or that you need courage? Could it be that you simply don’t want to
admit that what you saw is actually true?
Often we get images of ourselves leading such a life of power and abundance that
we can barely stand it. It brings tears to our eyes as we acknowledge that we
really can do that thing we sorely wish to begin. In that instant, we see how
small and constrained we’ve allowed ourselves to become; yet, we also see how
much impact we could have, if only we could choose the right path.
Above all, guided visualizations give us permission to dream. They allow us to
see ourselves graphically living a different life, feeling the feelings, smelling
the smells, and owning the power. We see a higher, truer aspect of ourselves, and
in that instant, understand how unstoppable we really can be.
This is the biggest reason I rely on guided visualizations in my work – because
they take you beyond the sugary platitudes about ‘going for it’ and ‘reaching for
the stars’. Instead, they deliver you smack into your dream for a moment, so you
can see the impact and importance of what you’re here to do.
Once you really know the true rightness of what that feels like, down deep in
your gut, nothing can keep from making that vision a reality. Even if the images
you see are more fleeting or obscure, they will leave you brushed with truth.
This is the wisdom that lurks in our bones; wisdom we can access simply by taking
the time to turn on a visualization.
You can learn more about guided visualizations by clicking right here
Suzanne Falter-Barns’ free ezine, The Joy Letter, brings you practical tips and tools for your dream every other week. Sign up once you follow this link.
Marion is a licensed facilitator of the How much Joy Can you Stand? workshops. This information will be offered regularly at Creative Catalyst Studio. Marion can also come to present this to your group. Email for info!
A Healing Orgy: Eight therapies, three days, one improved body
Find the complete article at http://www.citybeat.com/2003-01-22/cover2.shtml
"The issues are in the tissues," my yoga friend Summer Moon reminds me. "What you need is some intensive bodywork. Your body is seriously whacked out. You need to get some big love goin', girl."
Even though I'm a yoga practitioner and Thai Yoga therapist, I'd completely absorbed a year of emotional stress into my body and then duly ignored it. I made several appointments with some of the best body and energy workers in town and then asked my editor if he'd pay for a three-day healing orgy.
His only concern was whether I'd be able to write about it when I was done.
First on the menu was Reiki with Marion Corbin-Mayer. Reiki is a Japanese word meaning "universal life energy" and is a system for channeling that energy to someone for the purpose of healing.
In its simplest form, Reiki is simply the practitioner placing his or her hands in various positions on the recipient with the intent of bringing healing and allowing themselves to be a conduit for energy to flow.
Marion puts you at ease immediately with big sister warmth and a quirky sense of humor. On her massage table I melted under her hot hands and felt relaxed, calm and centered when the hour session was finished. It carried throughout the day, which impressed my children enough to freely donate leftover Christmas money for another session.
Creating a Spirit Doll Marion Corbin Mayer
Recently I had the most marvelous experience: I invited 12 women to come into my home so that Lisa Coffman of Looks-Twice could lead us on a creative adventure. Lisa brought all the supplies, including basic doll forms constructed on bottles. Rainbow colors for bodies and multi cultural facial tones, but no facial features. “It’s a Cherokee thing,” Lisa explained. The dolls arrived neatly carried in six-pack boxes creating a funny juxtaposition, to be sure. Once the participants had arrived and settled into workstations we waited eagerly for Lisa to begin.
All around my living room and dining room was an Ali Baba’s treasure trove of fabric swatches, glittery ribbons and many boxes of STUFF we couldn’t wait to dig into. Lisa held our attention as she led us through a guided meditation to let go of expectations and allow our dolls to direct us.
Because “receiving the dolls” accurately describes the experience. No matter what we THOUGHT we were creating, the dolls themselves directed the process. As I looked at the doll forms, one dressed in purple with silver-toned “head” caught my eye. That was it. I picked her up immediately. “If the doll you thought was yours isn’t there when you get to the table, it wasn’t yours!” How true.
Then the fun began. Boxes and tins were opened to reveal feathers, beads, polished stones, and other glittery wonderful STUFF to play with. Wigs! What sort of hair did MY doll want? I tossed through blond, curly wigs, black, brown, short long. I almost thought it wanted the long gray wig of a crone. Seemed to work for a while. But then – GREEN braids with a turquoise stone for her third eye. PERFECT! Hmmm, purple clothing, green hair – an amazing combination that worked immediately. I found some glittery green ribbon to create a wrap, then one of the participants shared some hand-created fabric and I found the perfect piece for an over robe: crushed velvet in flaming colors. My, this doll had extravagant tastes.
Finally my doll was ready to be introduced to the group. It was a sacred moment as we all shared the process together. Every doll was unique and meaningful for the creator. All dolls were beautiful. I felt changed by the process and as I looked around my home, I realized something special had occurred. Lisa of Looks-Twice dolls had entered, led us on a magical journey, and the process enriched us all. We were joyfully blessed. I also can’t wait to play in Lisa’s supply closet again!
You can visit www.looks-twice.com to view Lisa’s creations.
Looks-Twice returns!
Spirit Doll Workshop
Sunday, October 6th, 1-5pm
Creative Catalysts Studio in the
Essex Studios Complex, 2515 Essex Place, #231 – Cincinnati, OH
$65 supplies included
Register early to hold your space!
Point Zero Painting Weekend Report, by Lisa Kallman
This past June I participated in a weekend workshop at Deborah Purdy's STUDIO FOR EXPERIENTIAL PAINTING in Chicago, and am eager to have this experience again in October. More like a spiritual retreat than a typical painting workshop, I left with a feeling of profound openness and expanded possibility. While the process was free from aesthetic instruction or criticism, sincere beauty occurred naturally. Several years ago, I was introduced to Michelle Cassou's amazing book, LIFE, PAINT AND PASSION, and was deeply moved by her credo of freedom, spontaneity and self-trust as a natural approach to painting. My experience with traditional art training had convinced me that it was excessively conceptualized and over-reverent to styles of artists of the past. The joyless work ethic of this approach left many students uninspired or blocked. Michele's approach is a powerful antidote. During the weekend I felt the residue of my past conditionings carried off by the big currents of energy that were released. Those powerful currents of creativity are the heart of why we humans make art; for their great rushing gifts of ecstasy, insight and knowledge. This process is a map that leads to those sources. We are fortunate to have the Experiential Studio come to us. Thank you Marion!
Point Zero Painting Weekend will repeat Fall 2003. Space is limited.
(See classes page for registration information.)
