June Dare to Blossom
Mastermind Group: time-sensitive
Reflections: Subject, unknown
Early summer in Cornwall
Events and ways to Dare to Blossom
Time-sensitive June Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group
I am putting this first just in case it is of interest to you, as the group opens on 31st May, and new registrations for June close on 3rd June. The regular events slot is towards the end of the newsletter as usual.
Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group June The flow through the year following the Compass Rose brings us to the East pointing petal of the Power Flower in June. In the words of the poem: "From the East comes the rising sun: passion, potential." The group is already gathering and we begin with the first group call on Zoom on 10.00 am UK time on 31st May. Registration is open until Monday 3rd June, so there is still time to join us.
There are now two spaces not yet taken, maybe one of them is for you? It matters not at all where in the year you join the process for the first time, or even if you drop in for one Circle and come back later whenever you feel the time is again right for you. Contact me if you would like to know more.
Reflections: Subject, unknown
When I began this piece for this newsletter, for June 2019, I had no idea what to write about. Hence the title of these reflections "Subject, unknown."
Doesn't that just describe life? Life is an unknown. We may think we are in control, but 'life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans' (John Lennon) And yet, somehow we learn to navigate the uncertainty, the unknown.
My thoughts move on, to navigation, and the words I have written for the book I am working on. A fresh start to writing, and new inspiration, emerged recently. This is the word picture I drew:
"How to navigate this book: a map of the magic garden you are about to enter
1: Enter in and find your Compass Rose
This book is in a way all about navigation, how to find our way through the ebbs and flows, the twists and turns of our own lives. The concept of the Compass Rose has proved so powerful, for me and for others I have worked with, in that sense of a guidance system for us to find our way home to ourselves.
The process is circular, and spirals at the same time, a reality that I find hard to contain within the covers of a book. We tend, as a rule, to read books from start to finish. Not always, some books, poetry for example, are designed to be dipped into wherever the inclination takes us. Some of you, like me, may open a book from the back- (although I try to resist that with a novel as that may spoil the author’s carefully crafted plot).
This book can be seen as a landscape, maybe the magic garden that I describe in the guided visualisations I use one to one and in groups to launch us out onto our magic carpet rides of rediscovery.
Picture the scene if you will: you have just strolled along a country lane, with the breeze blowing gently in the tree tops around you, the sun just perfectly warm on your face, the ground soft beneath your feet, the birds singing.
You have enjoyed observing how the ancient stone wall enclosing your garden appears to you today. The size and shape of the stones. Their colour, their texture when you reach out and touch them, the nooks and crannies between the stones that may contain a tiny plant.
You arrive at your personal doorway into the garden and enjoy how that looks today. The size, design, colour, texture of your door. You lift the latch or turn the handle, open the door and step inside your secret, magical garden. You close the door behind you, knowing it is here awaiting you whenever you wish to return.
You turn to see the garden spread in front of you. You stroll through the flower beds filled with blooms from all parts of the world, all seasons of the year, inside this magic garden. You enjoy their colours, smell their perfume, maybe reach on and touch the velvety texture of some of the petals. You hear the bees buzzing around the flowers all around you as you walk.
And then, on this particular visit, you realise that you are seeing a representation of the structure of this book: right in the centre of the garden is a giant compass rose, a big flower symbolically laid out on the ground. The centre point is Peace, the north petal is Purpose, east is Passion, south is Power, and west is Progress.
There are seats in each space, and also all around the garden, where you can sit and reflect. You choose one of the seats, against a warm brick wall, and see that right beside you, growing along the wall is a peach tree. There is a ripe peach right there, just by your hand ready for you to pick and eat as you reflect.
2: Your Magic Carpet
As you do that you look over in the distance towards the other side of the garden and see the grassy, green lawn that you may be familiar with from the guided visualisations. In the centre of the lawn is an ancient tree, a big spreading tree, with branches reaching out wide to either side.
You know that here is where you will find your Magic Carpet. Sometimes it is spread out ready for you on the ground; sometimes rolled up and leaning against the trunk of the tree; and sometimes your carpet is playing trickster with you. Teasing you, playing hide and seek.
You may like to take a Magic Carpet Ride now. If so, when you find your carpet – if you do, sit down. (And, if you do not, that is fine too, your journeying will simply be in another form this time) Feel the texture: is it silky or woollen, rough or smooth? What colours do you see? What patterns are woven within your carpet? Maybe some of the words from the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery Cards if you have been working with those (or any other cards or sources of insight). Maybe another design altogether.
Is there some food and drink for your journey? Is there an object there for you to take with you? Maybe a book, a crystal, a feather, a flower. Do you have a companion on your journey? A bird, an animal, a person, or maybe a spirit guide who will be travelling with you today.
Whenever you are ready, ask your magic carpet to lift off, to rise up above the garden and to take you wherever you need to travel today. It may be low down over the landscape; or out across the oceans; or maybe up around the moon and off to the stars.
If you have participated in this process with me, either through a recording or live, you will know that I leave you travelling for a while before calling you back, reminding you to take your time to say farewell to all you have met. To receive and gifts or messages you have been given, and to leave anything you would like to give to them, and to know you can return and visit here again whenever you wish.
I usually suggest that people write in their journals before speaking (or maybe in this case before reading more here) to record the parts of their journey they wish to remember before it fades. [There will be a link to a recorded Magic Carpet Ride visualisation for you to enjoy here]
3: The Travellers’ Tales Circle
The Magic Carpet Ride has all taken place in that corner of the garden on the green grassy lawn, under the old spreading tree. If you are still sitting on your seat in the sunshine, against the warm brick wall, eating your perfectly ripe, juicy peach, you may now notice that over in the distance there is another part of the garden. It is difficult to see precisely what is there, there appears to be a sparkling haze obscuring your view.
You may decide to walk in that direction. You pop your peach stone into the ground beside the bench, knowing that in this magical garden it will soon grow to produce more peaches. If your hands feel sticky you shake them in the air and find they suddenly feel perfectly clean as if washed in a mountain stream and dried in a warm breeze.
You stroll over towards the sparkling haze. As you approach you hear voices, and laughter, and silence, all seemingly at once. This is the Traveller’s Circle. This is where those of us who choose to take these journeys through, or rather outside, space and time, are invited to gather to share our tales, our experiences of strange lands and extraordinary creatures. Our experiences of meeting loved ones again, of dancing through the ether and of receiving practical insights and messages.
At the end of this book I offer a selection of these Travellers’ Tales: some are my own, some are from people who have spent time with me on these journeys over the last few years. Some of the experiences cannot be shared here because there are no words: each of us will be given a range of different experiences. Some people drop into a deep sleep, or it may be that they journey but choose not to remember, this is often a profoundly healing experience.
As with all this work, there are no right or wrong ways of doing any of it – simply your way, your way on this day. And then the next, which may be quite different, and then the next.
Do you have a map now in your mind’s eye? A map of your private garden inside that ancient stone wall? Your landscape will change and evolve. It may grow to include the ocean and beaches; rivers and forests; rolling plains and deserts; townscapes and wilderness.
In summary, these components are offered here in this book, a book that is trying its best to be an adequate container to deliver magic to you. To somehow hold this landscape of dreams and mythology, of folklore and science fiction, of your inner wisdom and your magical guides.
Reflections: Subject, unknown
Early summer in Cornwall
Events and ways to Dare to Blossom
Time-sensitive June Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group
I am putting this first just in case it is of interest to you, as the group opens on 31st May, and new registrations for June close on 3rd June. The regular events slot is towards the end of the newsletter as usual.
Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group June The flow through the year following the Compass Rose brings us to the East pointing petal of the Power Flower in June. In the words of the poem: "From the East comes the rising sun: passion, potential." The group is already gathering and we begin with the first group call on Zoom on 10.00 am UK time on 31st May. Registration is open until Monday 3rd June, so there is still time to join us.
There are now two spaces not yet taken, maybe one of them is for you? It matters not at all where in the year you join the process for the first time, or even if you drop in for one Circle and come back later whenever you feel the time is again right for you. Contact me if you would like to know more.
Reflections: Subject, unknown
When I began this piece for this newsletter, for June 2019, I had no idea what to write about. Hence the title of these reflections "Subject, unknown."
Doesn't that just describe life? Life is an unknown. We may think we are in control, but 'life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans' (John Lennon) And yet, somehow we learn to navigate the uncertainty, the unknown.
My thoughts move on, to navigation, and the words I have written for the book I am working on. A fresh start to writing, and new inspiration, emerged recently. This is the word picture I drew:
"How to navigate this book: a map of the magic garden you are about to enter
1: Enter in and find your Compass Rose
This book is in a way all about navigation, how to find our way through the ebbs and flows, the twists and turns of our own lives. The concept of the Compass Rose has proved so powerful, for me and for others I have worked with, in that sense of a guidance system for us to find our way home to ourselves.
The process is circular, and spirals at the same time, a reality that I find hard to contain within the covers of a book. We tend, as a rule, to read books from start to finish. Not always, some books, poetry for example, are designed to be dipped into wherever the inclination takes us. Some of you, like me, may open a book from the back- (although I try to resist that with a novel as that may spoil the author’s carefully crafted plot).
This book can be seen as a landscape, maybe the magic garden that I describe in the guided visualisations I use one to one and in groups to launch us out onto our magic carpet rides of rediscovery.
Picture the scene if you will: you have just strolled along a country lane, with the breeze blowing gently in the tree tops around you, the sun just perfectly warm on your face, the ground soft beneath your feet, the birds singing.
You have enjoyed observing how the ancient stone wall enclosing your garden appears to you today. The size and shape of the stones. Their colour, their texture when you reach out and touch them, the nooks and crannies between the stones that may contain a tiny plant.
You arrive at your personal doorway into the garden and enjoy how that looks today. The size, design, colour, texture of your door. You lift the latch or turn the handle, open the door and step inside your secret, magical garden. You close the door behind you, knowing it is here awaiting you whenever you wish to return.
You turn to see the garden spread in front of you. You stroll through the flower beds filled with blooms from all parts of the world, all seasons of the year, inside this magic garden. You enjoy their colours, smell their perfume, maybe reach on and touch the velvety texture of some of the petals. You hear the bees buzzing around the flowers all around you as you walk.
And then, on this particular visit, you realise that you are seeing a representation of the structure of this book: right in the centre of the garden is a giant compass rose, a big flower symbolically laid out on the ground. The centre point is Peace, the north petal is Purpose, east is Passion, south is Power, and west is Progress.
There are seats in each space, and also all around the garden, where you can sit and reflect. You choose one of the seats, against a warm brick wall, and see that right beside you, growing along the wall is a peach tree. There is a ripe peach right there, just by your hand ready for you to pick and eat as you reflect.
2: Your Magic Carpet
As you do that you look over in the distance towards the other side of the garden and see the grassy, green lawn that you may be familiar with from the guided visualisations. In the centre of the lawn is an ancient tree, a big spreading tree, with branches reaching out wide to either side.
You know that here is where you will find your Magic Carpet. Sometimes it is spread out ready for you on the ground; sometimes rolled up and leaning against the trunk of the tree; and sometimes your carpet is playing trickster with you. Teasing you, playing hide and seek.
You may like to take a Magic Carpet Ride now. If so, when you find your carpet – if you do, sit down. (And, if you do not, that is fine too, your journeying will simply be in another form this time) Feel the texture: is it silky or woollen, rough or smooth? What colours do you see? What patterns are woven within your carpet? Maybe some of the words from the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery Cards if you have been working with those (or any other cards or sources of insight). Maybe another design altogether.
Is there some food and drink for your journey? Is there an object there for you to take with you? Maybe a book, a crystal, a feather, a flower. Do you have a companion on your journey? A bird, an animal, a person, or maybe a spirit guide who will be travelling with you today.
Whenever you are ready, ask your magic carpet to lift off, to rise up above the garden and to take you wherever you need to travel today. It may be low down over the landscape; or out across the oceans; or maybe up around the moon and off to the stars.
If you have participated in this process with me, either through a recording or live, you will know that I leave you travelling for a while before calling you back, reminding you to take your time to say farewell to all you have met. To receive and gifts or messages you have been given, and to leave anything you would like to give to them, and to know you can return and visit here again whenever you wish.
I usually suggest that people write in their journals before speaking (or maybe in this case before reading more here) to record the parts of their journey they wish to remember before it fades. [There will be a link to a recorded Magic Carpet Ride visualisation for you to enjoy here]
3: The Travellers’ Tales Circle
The Magic Carpet Ride has all taken place in that corner of the garden on the green grassy lawn, under the old spreading tree. If you are still sitting on your seat in the sunshine, against the warm brick wall, eating your perfectly ripe, juicy peach, you may now notice that over in the distance there is another part of the garden. It is difficult to see precisely what is there, there appears to be a sparkling haze obscuring your view.
You may decide to walk in that direction. You pop your peach stone into the ground beside the bench, knowing that in this magical garden it will soon grow to produce more peaches. If your hands feel sticky you shake them in the air and find they suddenly feel perfectly clean as if washed in a mountain stream and dried in a warm breeze.
You stroll over towards the sparkling haze. As you approach you hear voices, and laughter, and silence, all seemingly at once. This is the Traveller’s Circle. This is where those of us who choose to take these journeys through, or rather outside, space and time, are invited to gather to share our tales, our experiences of strange lands and extraordinary creatures. Our experiences of meeting loved ones again, of dancing through the ether and of receiving practical insights and messages.
At the end of this book I offer a selection of these Travellers’ Tales: some are my own, some are from people who have spent time with me on these journeys over the last few years. Some of the experiences cannot be shared here because there are no words: each of us will be given a range of different experiences. Some people drop into a deep sleep, or it may be that they journey but choose not to remember, this is often a profoundly healing experience.
As with all this work, there are no right or wrong ways of doing any of it – simply your way, your way on this day. And then the next, which may be quite different, and then the next.
Do you have a map now in your mind’s eye? A map of your private garden inside that ancient stone wall? Your landscape will change and evolve. It may grow to include the ocean and beaches; rivers and forests; rolling plains and deserts; townscapes and wilderness.
In summary, these components are offered here in this book, a book that is trying its best to be an adequate container to deliver magic to you. To somehow hold this landscape of dreams and mythology, of folklore and science fiction, of your inner wisdom and your magical guides.
- Your Compass Rose: the voice of your inner wisdom, offering
to guide you around the rose, the flower, in spirals of increasing
awareness and joy.
- Your Magic Carpet: using the visualisation process I have
described, or any other that works for you – taking regular meditative
journeys is a powerful source of insight and guidance.
- The Travellers’ Tales Circle: drop in and read one or two of
the stories here, leave behind your own process for a while and enjoy the
words of another.
- The fourth component is the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery
Cards, they do not have a physical place in our map of the garden, they
are wherever you need them to be. If you do not already have your own pack
and would like one, simply order via my website or contact me. These were
the starting point for me of the emergence of this journey and have become
valuable companions for many people around the world.
A note on keeping
yourself safe: these exercises and processes can be profoundly powerful. It is
for you to judge how your mental health is as you embark on these journeys.
Life coaching, even with this spiritual approach that has emerged for me
through my own practice, is not a therapy, though it can often be therapeutic.
Make sure you have support around you should you need it.
Allow yourself a quiet safe space and time to work with the exercises where you won’t be disturbed if possible. I know we don’t live in an ideal world, but there are things you can do: switch off or unplug your phone; ask your family not to disturb you; or go out somewhere in nature where it is quiet.
Another suggestion is to work through this book with a buddy. [here there will be a link to the private Facebook group for readers]
Sometimes the best strategy is to simply dive in and have a go. Many of my Magic Carpet Journal entries have places where my journeying was interrupted, and I have returned to it later. In fact, sometimes, I am told to leave it and come back another time.
Whenever you wish, as you read through this book, and especially when you are actively working through the process yourself, you may like to dip into the Travellers’ Tales in the section at the end. Perhaps choose one at random. You will see how different they all are. Some are profound and bring deep insights, practical suggestions or connection with loved ones. Others are more abstract, and it can be hard to tell the tale of these in words.
Are you ready? Shall we begin? Let’s start in our centre point, in Peace."
If you are a visual person I would love to see how you would represent this word picture as an illustration. Currently one person is thinking about this for me, and I would love to receive several ideas - they may be used for the cover, or within the book.
If you are more of a 'word' person, you may be able to help with the title, at the moment I am thinking of "The Pathway to Your Power", subtitle: "Rediscover your inner wisdom, activate your power within." What do you think? Does that work for you? Maybe next month I will have a draft cover description to share with you.
Allow yourself a quiet safe space and time to work with the exercises where you won’t be disturbed if possible. I know we don’t live in an ideal world, but there are things you can do: switch off or unplug your phone; ask your family not to disturb you; or go out somewhere in nature where it is quiet.
Another suggestion is to work through this book with a buddy. [here there will be a link to the private Facebook group for readers]
Sometimes the best strategy is to simply dive in and have a go. Many of my Magic Carpet Journal entries have places where my journeying was interrupted, and I have returned to it later. In fact, sometimes, I am told to leave it and come back another time.
Whenever you wish, as you read through this book, and especially when you are actively working through the process yourself, you may like to dip into the Travellers’ Tales in the section at the end. Perhaps choose one at random. You will see how different they all are. Some are profound and bring deep insights, practical suggestions or connection with loved ones. Others are more abstract, and it can be hard to tell the tale of these in words.
Are you ready? Shall we begin? Let’s start in our centre point, in Peace."
If you are a visual person I would love to see how you would represent this word picture as an illustration. Currently one person is thinking about this for me, and I would love to receive several ideas - they may be used for the cover, or within the book.
If you are more of a 'word' person, you may be able to help with the title, at the moment I am thinking of "The Pathway to Your Power", subtitle: "Rediscover your inner wisdom, activate your power within." What do you think? Does that work for you? Maybe next month I will have a draft cover description to share with you.
And, if you
have travelled on any 'magic carpet rides' with me, and would like to share a
story to be featured in the 'Travellers' Tales' chapter (and maybe some will be
scattered through the book also), I would love to hear from you. You will
be able to choose if you would like to have a link in the book to your website
if you are in business, or you can of course be anonymous.
Early summer in Cornwall
As usual, our weather is variable, to say the least. Fog, rain, gales, glorious sunshine. Sometimes all of those in one day. Yesterday was one of those days: It began with mist, drizzle and then quite heavy rain. By lunchtime the clouds had cleared and the air was sparkling and fresh, so decided to walk on the cliffs. When I got there, I realised that the wind was blowing strongly, helping to blow the clouds away, and making it very cool. In fact the wind was so strong it nearly blew me off my feet at one pint.
I was able to find a slightly sheltered spot to sit for a while and simply enjoy watching the sea, and the sea birds wheeling and calling around the cliffs where they are nesting.
Events and ways to Dare to Blossom
As well as the Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group June that features above, here are other ways to connect with my dare to blossom work.
Early summer in Cornwall
As usual, our weather is variable, to say the least. Fog, rain, gales, glorious sunshine. Sometimes all of those in one day. Yesterday was one of those days: It began with mist, drizzle and then quite heavy rain. By lunchtime the clouds had cleared and the air was sparkling and fresh, so decided to walk on the cliffs. When I got there, I realised that the wind was blowing strongly, helping to blow the clouds away, and making it very cool. In fact the wind was so strong it nearly blew me off my feet at one pint.
I was able to find a slightly sheltered spot to sit for a while and simply enjoy watching the sea, and the sea birds wheeling and calling around the cliffs where they are nesting.
Events and ways to Dare to Blossom
As well as the Dare to Blossom Mastermind Group June that features above, here are other ways to connect with my dare to blossom work.
One-to-one coaching : I currently
have spaces for two new clients. Whether you have worked with me before or not,
you are very welcome to book a complimentary consultation to chat about what
your aim would be for enrolling in one of my coaching programmes and how we can
make it work for you. Please ask if the regular price is not within your budget
right now. I am well aware that just when people would most benefit from
coaching may be when they can least afford it. And, it is also true that unless
people are committed to investing in themselves: in time, and in money, then
maybe that true change they desire may never happen.
Three Card Listenings These are continuing to be popular with people who want a snapshot of insight for themselves.
Cornwall Workshops: The next event is on Saturday 6th July, from 10 am to 1 pm. This time we will be exploring Power.
Root and Branch Listenings are available at any time as a one-off, or as a quarterly 'Four Seasons' subscription. If you choose to subscribe, you will receive your personal Listening four times a year. The next issue will be in June for the Summer Solstice.
Point of Focus Membership: if you prefer a monthly timescale with Dare to Blossom Cards drawn for you to reflect upon, with the option of adding on one-to-one coaching calls with me, the Point of Focus subscription may be for you. Some people find subscribing to these and the 'Root and Branch Listenings' together a valuable source of support.
Thank you dear friends for visiting with me
again this month and sharing my musings.Three Card Listenings These are continuing to be popular with people who want a snapshot of insight for themselves.
Cornwall Workshops: The next event is on Saturday 6th July, from 10 am to 1 pm. This time we will be exploring Power.
Root and Branch Listenings are available at any time as a one-off, or as a quarterly 'Four Seasons' subscription. If you choose to subscribe, you will receive your personal Listening four times a year. The next issue will be in June for the Summer Solstice.
Point of Focus Membership: if you prefer a monthly timescale with Dare to Blossom Cards drawn for you to reflect upon, with the option of adding on one-to-one coaching calls with me, the Point of Focus subscription may be for you. Some people find subscribing to these and the 'Root and Branch Listenings' together a valuable source of support.
Until next time,
with love,
Mary
) After so much noise, music,
bright lights, cameras, applause, conversation, excitement, plus that mixture
of disappointment and pride that two out of three of we finalists were feeling
- what next?
