October 2021 The Story Continues

 

The Story Continues: Doris the not-very-brave dragon
October short programme: 'Daring to Blossom: if not now, then when?'
'Coaching for Coaches' and 'Coaching for Creatives'
Dare to Blossom Monthly Circles on Zoom
November six week programme: 'Weaving Shadow and Light'

The Story Continues: Doris the not-very-brave dragon

Thank you to everyone who responded to the first part of the story. I have since shared more on Facebook - and have set up a private group where people can find all the episodes without needing to search for them. I know many of you prefer to read my news here - so the next few episodes will folllow.

Episode 3

As Doris flew into the green, she was still thinking about the creature. She had never met anyone who was waiting, apparently happily, to ‘dissolve’. Mmmm, how interesting, she thought to herself.

All of a sudden, she realised she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was heading. Now she saw that the green colour had changed, it was deeper, still with some green, and also purple. Oh no, I hope I am not going back into the dark cave, she thought to herself. She remembered she had resolved to pretend to be brave, and so she looked around again. She saw radiating shapes, petals maybe? Signposts showing her different directions?

Oh gosh, that is what they are, that means I must choose. So far Doris had simply been flying along following her nose, even when she was started by the creature with the legs. Now she was being asked to make a decision. She decided to stop right in the centre of the purple petals, or compass points, whatever they were. She found quite a nice perch and rested there for a while, catching her breath, and looking around. Each direction was different, in colour in shape, in feel – oh, and in sound!



Doris realised that now she had stopped flying and hearing the whoosh of her own wings, that there were other sounds here. Not a voice this time, but songs, tones, music.  She decided to take some time, to listen to the sound coming from each direction in turn.
She was totally absorbed in listening, turning to face each petal or point as she lost herself in those tones, those voices. She realised each on had a slightly different message, even though there were no words. Suddenly, she had a vivid memory of her mother singing to her while she was still inside her egg. Oh, she felt quite tearful.

Somehow, she knew that all dragon mothers tended their eggs, keeping them warm and singing to them until just before the moment they were ready to hatch. Then the mother dragon left on the next stage of her own quest, whatever that might be. Even knowing that, Doris still felt sad. I wonder if I will ever meet my mother, she wondered.

Giving herself a shake and opening her wings for a flap and a stretch, she decided it was time to choose. Just at that moment she heard a new sound, a very soft “Wooo”. Doris managed not to emit a loud “Eeek!” as she did before, but she looked around rather anxiously. She realised that along one of the directions, the one slightly North and East, the one that has a double centre, she could now see a path. Along that path in the dim light was the outline of a tree, silhouetted against what looked like the light of the moon, still below the horizon but beginning to rise to her full glory.

Without daring to think about what might have made that noise, Doris decided to set off in that direction. As she flew slowly down the path, she saw a shape on one of the branches, as she approached a head turned and two piercing orange eyes looked her for a moment, before the being covered them with deep lids – and then opened them again. “Wooo!” the shape said again.


 
Doris couldn’t quite believe she was meeting so many living creatures here. She noticed that her intuition had told her this was an Owl, how did she know that? Again, she heard her mother’s songs, telling stories of the world she would be born into, begin to take more form and make more sense now she was out exploring that world.

Doris took a deep breath, wondering what to say to the Owl.

Episode 4

“Wooo!” said the Owl again, “Who are you?”

“Hello,” replied Doris politely, “I think you are an owl?”

The owl turned his head from side to side even while keeping those piercing orange eyes fixed on Doris, which felt rather uncomfortable. “Yes, but who are you?” he said again.

“Who are you?” repeated the Owl. Doris thought this was rather rude, but as this was the first owl she had ever met, decided to ignore that. She was not quite sure how to answer, and thought for a while, before replying. “Well, I know I am a dragon, and my mother gave me my first name, Doris, while I was still inside my egg.”

Doris suddenly remembered her mother speaking soft words to her as well as singing. “She also told me it was up to me to discover who I truly am, and what my name will be when I am a fully-grown dragon.”

“Wooo”, said the Owl again, then opened his wings and seemed to simply vanish amongst the dark trees.

Oh dear, thought Doris to herself, aren’t owls supposed to be wise? It would have been nice if he had shared some of his wisdom with me. “OK, it must be up to me,” she said out loud, surprising herself at how brave that sounded.




Just then Doris heard crackles and sparks behind her and realised there was a light as well, a little as if the sun was rising. Hmm… she thought to herself, how do I know the words ‘sun rise’ when I have yet to see that for myself?

Deciding that question could wait, she turned carefully and saw these silver shapes dancing amongst the greens and browns of the trees. Then she heard high-pitched voices: “Come on, come on, follow us!”
 
Episode 5

“Come on, come on, follow us!” The high-pitched voices called again, seeming to come from those silvery shapes dancing amongst the trees.

Doris hesitated. After all, she still felt like a not-very-brave dragon. One of them came a little closer. In fact a little too close, hovering right in front of her nose. Doris rather wished that she was old enough to breathe out fire, and then corrected herself, thinking that was a little unkind – after all the creatures she had met along the way so far had all been helpful even if a little strange.

The silvery being now looked a little like a fairy. She tilted her head on one side, looking intently at Doris. “Well,” she said thoughtfully, “you must be Doris the not-very-brave dragon?”

“How do you know that?” asked Doris, very surprised.

“Your mother asked us to look out for you,” replied the fairy, “she thought you might come this way in your quest to discover your new brave dragon name.”

“Oh, OK then,” Doris still felt a little hesitant, but decided she would just have to carry on acting as if she felt brave, “Where are we going?”

“Just follow me and I will show you, there is someone else I would like you to meet.”

So, Doris stretched her wings again, and took flight to follow the silver shapes through the trees, wondering who on earth, or in heaven, or wherever she was, she was going to meet next. Life as a young dragon certainly has lots of things to explore, she thought as she flew onwards.

After what seemed a long journey, with a lot of dodging between trees and trying to keep up with the silver fairy beings, Doris noticed that they seemed to be approaching a clearing in the forest. There was a sort of silver light shining downwards, she couldn’t make out where it was coming from, maybe the moon? (Doris was continually amazed that she knew all these names of things she had never seen, and each time a memory came back of all the stories her mother told to her while she was still in her egg).
As she came closer, all the silver dancing shapes had disappeared, but when she looked upwards into the sky above the clearing, she realised they were sitting in a circle all around and shining brightly. So brightly that they were casting a light, almost a spotlight, downwards.

Just then the silver fairy who had come close before appeared right in from of Doris’ nose again, causing her to stop rather suddenly. “Goodness!” she said, “you made me jump.” “Sorry,” replied the fairy, “I need to introduce you properly, the being you are about to meet is very keen on etiquette.”

Doris rather desperately searched her memories of any mention of ‘etiquette’, but could find nothing. She must have looked worried as the fairy patted the side of her nose and whispered, “Don’t worry.”

The fairy danced into the clearing, with Doris following slowly and rather fearfully. In the middle she saw a green mound with leaves, big, spreading leaves. In the centre of the green mound was a most beautiful pink creature. Doris thought it was like a wonderful blossom on an exotic plant, but as she had been told this was a being, she didn’t know how to behave.

“Your Magical Magnificance,” said the fairy, “please may I introduce a young dragon who is on a quest to find her bravery and her true dragon name?”

The pink shape shimmered, so beautifully that Doris forgot to be afraid. “Come closer, young dragon.” The voice was so warm, so welcoming, that Doris stepped forward without a thought.

“Hello, who are you at the moment?”

“Well,” Doris said, rather hesitantly, ”just now I think I am Doris the not-very-brave dragon.”



The creature shimmered even more, with a tinkling sound, and Doris realised she was laughing – although she had now idea why she knew it was a ‘she’.

“You will soon be able to lose the ‘not-very-brave’ part,” she said, “I think you have already been extremely brave, in all the experiences you have encountered so far. Do you have any ideas yet what you would like your new name to be?”

“Noooo….” replied Doris.

“Well, I suspect it is time for you to sleep well and dream up some ideas for the next name you would like to choose. You can change your name as often as you wish.”

That was a new idea to Doris and she rather wished she could ask questions but the pink shimmering being seemed to be sending her away. Her fairy guide appeared again and led her to a place where the colours were all shades of grey and white, with just a little hint of pink, as if the creature’s aura reached here, keeping her safe as she slept.



“Rest here,” said the fairy, “we will bring you food and drink later when you wake.”

So, Doris snuggled down amongst the soft rounded shapes that turned into fluffy pillows and bedding, the most comfortable bed she had ever experienced, it felt like floating on a cloud. “A cloud….?” Her conscious mind queried as she dropped off to sleep. “Yes, little one, a cloud,” she heard her mother’s voice say, “sleep now, sleep well and dream magical names.”

To be continued.....

© Mary Lunnen 2021
 
October short programme: 'Daring to Blossom: if not now, then when?'

As you know, as a regular reader, over the last few years most of my programmes have been six weeks long, giving plenty of time to explore each part and place of the Compass Rose, beginning in Peace and ending there after spending a week with each compass direction.

And - as an experiment for anyone who would like to dip a toe in or who has a busy life, as I know many of you do - next week, starting on Tuesday 5th October, I am offering a three week 'quick dip' (as distinct from a 'deep dive' as I often call the circles I offer).

The theme is going back to the foundations of my work, which are always there supporting me, and I hope those I work with. Week 1 will look at 'Where are you now?'. Week 2 'Where do you want to be?' - and as I always say to people, if you have no idea how to answer that question that is absolutely fine - it isn't a binding plan that you will be forced to stick to - it could simply be an idea for tomorrow, or next week. And - for some people it can be a chance to dream their biggest dreams and take a step towards them.

So, Week 3 is 'How will you get there?' - a chance to plan some small steps forwards, always with the knowledge that at each step you can look around and review and ask anew 'Where do I want to be?'

Click on the Bud painting for more information.




The full details are all here, time is quite short before we begin, please do contact me if you have any questions. The Zoom gatherings will at 11.00 am and/or 7.00 pm on Tuesdays (UK times) - depending on those who decide to join me. The fee is £59.

If you prefer to work through this programme one to one with me with flexible times, here is a special offer for a three session coaching programme - click here and go to the end of the page. Once again contact me if you would like to know more.

(Details of the next six week programme, 'Weaving Shadow and Light' can be found by scrolling down.)

'Coaching for Coaches' and 'Coaching for Creatives'

These offerings have also emerged from a 'return to my roots' exploration, this time my 2008 book Dare to Blossom: Coaching and Creativity. Reviewing who most of my one to one clients are, I noticed that most, if not all, could be described as either a coach or a creative person. Most often they would say, as I do, that they are both. 

I am still writing new words for the website so at the moment just the 'Coaching for Coaches' offering appears there - you are the first to hear the news of the service for creatives. (The pricing structure will be the same for both).




Thinking back to the twelve years I spent employed as a coach and trainer for people planning to become self-employed, many of those people are in the 'creative' field. I treasure the memory of one of them telling me, following the session I helped to design on financial planning and cash flow forecasting, that this was the first time she had ever understood how this worked. She said she had always thought her creative brain was incapable of understanding those concepts.

Often it is a good thing to use our strengths and delegate the parts we don't enjoy to others who do and who are specialists - and, it is important to have a basic understanding in order to run your business.

So - that memory has taken me into a bit of a side-track, I am not necessarily suggesting your coaching would include financial planning - but it may well do. That story is however, an example of how my experience as a creative person as well as in my own business and in training others, can offer support.

Dare to Blossom Monthly Circles on Zoom

The monthly circles for October are Thursday 7th at 9.00 am, and Saturday 9th at 11.00 am, UK times. You can book on Facebook or LinkedIn, or simply reply to this email and ask me for the Zoom link.  Payment is by donation, depending on your circumstances. People offer from zero to £30, with no expectation, simply deep gratitude for your presence. 




 

November six week programme: 'Weaving Shadow and Light'

The details for the November programme will be available on my website very soon.. To find out more please do contact me to book a one to one chat on Zoom.

There will be Taster Zoom gatherings on Tuesday 26th October at 11.00 am and Thursday 28th at 2.30 pm. We begin on Monday 1st November and run through the six week flow around the Compass Rose, ending on Friday 10th December.

with love,

Thank you for joining me here this month, any thoughts, feedback, or questions are always welcome.

 

Mary