Welcome to the Dare to Blossom Newsletter
Reflections: Be
Powerfully Yourself
2021 programmes, starting
with 'Space to Be, Space to Breathe' on 1st March
Dare to Blossom Monthly
Circle on Zoom Saturday 6th March
From my archives: March
titles poem
Reflections: Be
Powerfully Yourself
Just now, as I sit to write for you this month, I notice how I feel. Not
particularly powerful. And, - now I am noticing - not really 'myself' either.
And, what does that mean, 'be yourself'? People often say that, maybe when I am
anxious, perhaps in the past before an interview for a job. Or, more likely in
the recent past, before standing up in front of a group of people to speak. How
can I, can any of us, not be ourselves?
I know that often I may have felt that wasn't good enough: I didn't want to be
the uncertain, wobbly, Mary who couldn't get her words out. The one who was
(still is sometimes) told to 'speak up', 'stop mumbling'. The one who would
rather have run away and hidden somewhere quiet.
And yet, in the years since I named my business 'Dare to Blossom' (and way
before that actually), I have been doing just that, responding to my own
challenge. Daring to blossom, to speak, to press 'send' when I have written a
personal piece here that feels so sensitive that it might wither in the glare
of other people reading my words.
If you have been here for a while you may have seen some of that blossoming,
that daring. You may have read The
Powerful Voice of the Quiet Ones; you may have been to some of my
workshops, or more recently, Zoom gatherings; you may have taken part in daring
to blossom yourself during one of my longer programmes. Over the last year,
2020, during that strangest of times, I have been privileged with the company
of many of you in all the different Circles I have hosted. My last in-person
workshop at the Blue Lotus Therapy Centre was on 25th January, since then
everything has been on Zoom.
I feel so fortunate that I was already familiar with the technology, with the
challenges, and with the huge gifts of being able to share real time
conversations with people from all over the world. Following the first group
programme this year, 'Your Powerful Voice', which has just ended, and the about
to start 'Space to Be: Space to Breathe' four week circle (which I wrote about
last week - still time to join us, see more below) - the new six week trip
around the Compass Rose will be on the theme of 'Be Powerfully Yourself'.
I will be using the space of the month of March to write the detailed
programme, which will begin on 12th April. As I sit now to write to you in the
end days of February, with a good Cornish gale blowing outside, I can see the
flow. I can see how another process I explored with a group last year (and
still do in the open Facebook group), weaving shadow and light, how that is now
helping me in stepping forward to be powerfully myself.
(I chose this photo of the power of the ocean. It was taken on my first walk
for a while after what seems like weeks of wind and rain. The wind had dropped,
the sun was shining, and as you see a huge swell was running. It was even warm
enough to sit on a bench for a while and just enjoy. Just being there, being
with the power of nature all around me.)
Constantine Bay February 2021
And, yet, sitting
here now, again I bump up against that fear, that reticence, about claiming
'power'. I have been delving into this for a number of years now, for myself,
with my one-to-one clients, and in groups - how we can choose 'power' when it
is so often associated with fear and control. How to allow myself to choose a
different power, one that I truly wish to embody, a power of collaboration, of
love, of 'together we rise'?
This is my focus for a while, maybe you will choose to join me? Maybe come to
one of the events, or simply join me as you journal, following your own
reflections.
For you, for your
meditations or journal - to flow-write, doodle, paint, dance, sing - however
you wish to express your thoughts and feelings:
- What is your first
response to the words 'Be Powerfully Yourself'?
- What else is
there?
- And, what else?
- You may like to
look at the separate parts of the phrase: 'Be', 'Yourself', 'Be Yourself',
'Powerfully', 'Powerfully Yourself'
PS I decided to change the portrait photo here the other day.(in the email newsletter it appears in the sidebar) It was taken nearly two years ago, at the awards ceremony for the Venus Awards, when I reached the final three in the 'Lifetime Achievement' category. I was not the one chosen for that award, and I had not prepared a speech, although I was ready to speak from the heart if it had been me. After that, I travelled around the world to New Zealand, I spoke at a conference there, and in various other places. In spite of almost a year of lockdown now, I still 'speak' regularly in my own groups and those of other people, and in interviews. I am notice I am writing that, not to remind you - but to acknowledge to myself how much I have done, and continue to do. And, most importantly, that it is OK to wobble, to feel vulnerable, every so often. Maybe even to retreat for a while and offer myself some tender loving care before stepping out once more. Maybe that is truly being powerfully myself?
Space to Be, Space to Breathe Four Week Circle, March
I have already written about this in detail in the February newsletter, this simple Circle will begin on Monday 1st March, with calls on Tuesdays at 9.30 am, and maybe also Thursdays at 2.30 pm (UK times), ending on Friday 26th March. The price is £88, with instalments available if that is helpful for you, and a £10 discount for Stay Connected members. Details here, or simply reply to this email with any questions or to book your place. If you prefer not to be on Facebook, I can email you all the prompts and the Zoom gatherings are the place where we meet and share, and in that way they are the centre point of the process.
The Dare to Blossom Monthly Circle Saturday 6th March at 11.00 am
For those of you who prefer a 'light touch' commitment, here is a reminder of the regular monthly Zoom gathering. The price is £20, and you will receive a photo of your cards, and a link to download the recording (just shared with those present live on the call).
Here is the link to book, or simply contact me as always. It lasts between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on how many of us are there, and is perfect if you just wish to join us occasionally. It can be seen as a replacement for the in-person workshops that a number of you used to attend, with the added advantage of being accessible to you wherever you are in the world, time zones permitting.
Be Powerfully Yourself - six-week deep dive Circle, April
The details are now on the website link below, and I will be scheduling two tasters, on Monday 22nd March and Monday 29th March, both at 7.30 pm UK time.
The theme is how to step more fully into the true you, to be powerfully yourself. And doing this regardless of the doubts and wobbles and occasional setbacks. We will begin after Easter on 12th April, when the evenings are lighter here in Cornwall so I can offer an evening time slot for the Zoom gatherings, Mondays at 7.30 pm UK time. There may also be another time for gatherings, depending on where people are in the world. Full details are on the website here.
However you choose to connect, thank you for being here and choosing to dance in the flow of life with me, together we rise, together we are strong, together we are powerful.
From my archives: March titles poem
Changing your mind
Missed connections and reconnections
Free gifts
Driving into Fog
Falling
Allowing
Fresh start
Coming home
Life shifts
Growth
Visibility
The winds of change
The winds of change
Visibility
Growth
Life shifts
Coming home
Fresh start
Allowing
Falling
Driving into Fog
Free gifts
Missed connections and reconnections
Changing your mind
Thank you dear friends,
with love,
Mary
