July 2014
Welcome to the Dare to Blossom
Newsletter
Reflections:
Blossom,
Fruit and Seed
Today as I begin writing this piece for you, I am
sitting in my garden surrounded by flowers and luxuriant, burgeoning growth.
Coming to the end of my week's holiday at home, I have - at last - been able to
put aside worries and even plans. I had thought I would spend a lot of time at
the computer, working on all my "what next?" ideas for my future work. Instead,
the weather has kindly distracted me and it has been far too glorious to spend
much time indoors.
Today, with just the
weekend to come, I am gradually (but only slightly) re-orientating myself to
begin thinking about these things. Sitting here, surrounded by flowers, I am
once again prompted to notice the lessons of the natural world all around
me.
The blooms are being what they
are - one stage of the cycle of life for each particular plant. They fulfill
their function of attracting bees to pollinate them, all in good time. If and
when that happens, the fruit will develop, and gradually ripen holding the seed
of future life within it's depths.
Maybe the plant needs help again once
the seed is ready to be distributed. Birds and small animals eat the
blackberries and juicy soft fruit (sadly also our strawberries and raspberries
if we are not quick enough in picking them). Other types of seeds are taken by
the wind, all are spread far and wide.
All these processes work to
nature's cycle - there is a 'plan', a time scale of the seasons, and there is
also no sense of urgency. Slowing down to nature's rhythm has helped me to
appreciate anew the value of each stage of my own creative cycle.
As you
know if you are a regular reader, I have often talk about periods of dormancy
and germination. And also that I relish learning from other teachers and coaches
working with the same aims as me, to enable and empower each one of us to
blossom and reach our full potential. Reflecting now, I see that this slowing
down on holiday has been a welcome period of 'lull' - the concept from
Kaizen-Muse Creative Coaching I learned about from Kathy Kane. 'Lull' is not simply a rest, it actively includes
'Pause, Diversion and Gratitude' (see more in the book 'The Nine Modern Day
Muses' by Jill Badonsky).
And this slowing down for me is also a
time of 'Stillness, silence and space' - as described by Julia McCutchen at our recent Conscious Writing Retreat. In
Julia's model the next stage is 'Inspiration' - and I just experienced that when
the phrase 'blossom, fruit, seed' popped into my mind a short while ago. Then
'Imagination' - adding detail as I am doing now. Then on to 'Creative
Expression' - putting this piece, currently being written by hand in my
notebook, into the structure of the newsletter - and sending it out to you. (I
know that Julia is working on a new book describing the conscious writing
process in full detail - I am really looking forward to reading that, and I will
let you know when it is available).
My observation of my experience is
that these creative cycles can be operating on different levels at the same
time, and the different levels can be working to varying time scales. So, in my
example above, the first stage of relaxing during my holiday lasted a while:
Then the idea and the chance to expand on that followed each other quickly; and
I have my target of 1 July to send this out to you - so the expression and
completion will now need to run through quickly as the end of June has almost
arrived.
At the same time, another creative cycle playing out for me is a
larger 'what next' question: how to develop the body of work produced during my
year-long reflections on the Rediscovery Cards into something that will support
and serve even more people. Spreading the word about the value of rediscovering
our inner wisdom and coming home to ourselves. Expanding on the new Dare to
Blossom Rediscovery at Home workshops. All will be achieved by a series of small
steps. Small steps during which I will enjoy the journey; small steps that will
help me learn more along the way (or should I say, rediscover more?) to inform
and clarify my work in the world.
For you: some suggestions for your journal or
meditation reflections:
- What is your personal creative cycle?
- Where
are you right now?
- Would you benefit from recognising your need for a
'Lull' and some 'Stillness, silence, and space'?
- Or are you ready to move
on into action of some sort?
I am
smiling as I tell you that for the last two days my Rediscovery card has been
'Action' - after 'Opportunity' on Saturday before I left home for the workshop
(and 'Emerging' there, see more below). Also huge thanks to Fraser, who provided
the unsolicited testimonial:
"This is not a polite little
thank you note for your rediscovery cards, but a full-on raving fan letter! It
has been such a positive experience using them in my journaling - affirming,
insightful and fruitful. They are a terrific resource......" Continue reading
here
Dare
to Blossom Rediscovery at Home workshops
The first of these workshops took place last
Saturday. I am so grateful to the person who invited me and acted as hostess.
The three hour workshop was everything I hoped it would be. If I receive any
detailed feedback with permission to share with you, I will of course - in the
meantime the 'one word feedback' comments people made at the end of the morning
include:
*Inspiration *Support *Relaxation *Safe
*Grateful
*Nurturing *Welcoming *Gentle *Open-Up
(two words, hyphenated, are allowed!)
As a description of 'Coming Home to Yourself', I feel
these words are perfect. Thank you so much to the people who were there, and to
our wonderful hostess who shared her home with us for the
morning.
It is not easy to describe
exactly 'what happened'. What we did was share conversation; followed by a
flow-writing exercise where we each drew a card and then we chose a spot -
inside or out in the garden - to write without our inner critic piping
up.
It is not for me to presume to write here about the experiences of
others. As mentioned earlier, the card I drew was 'Emerging'.
Having described to the others the concept of
flow-writing - keeping the pen moving on the paper even if what you are writing
makes no sense - I laughed when I had trouble with this.
I
wrote:
"I've been afraid to be seen,
why? ....[long pause here]... Keep the pen moving! Not stopping is good, no need
to think at all. Listen - a whirring; the birds tweeting, cawing. They are just
themselves. Earthy red-brown like the Devon red soil on those wonderful cliffs.
Delicate emerging - nurture and care but know when to let go and give a shove to
fly the nest."
As you see, this makes little sense, and that is
fine, it doesn't need to. As with doodling and having fun with paint or crayons
- this sort of writing is not for sharing (even though I have chosen to do so
here).
Then we discussed what we had
felt while we had been writing, and if we wished, shared a little of that
writing. Some people found, as did I, that this elicited more unexpected words.
when talking aloud All part of rediscovering our inner wisdom - my experience is
that if I can provide an environment for myself, and here for others, where I
can write, speak (and draw) from the heart - unexpected insights
emerge.
After a refreshment break, the second part of the morning
consisted of creative play, where people
could make a greetings card for themselves. I provided the cards and envelopes,
coloured pens, some pretty wrapping paper covered in butterflies, and a
selection of packs of stickers with hearts, flowers, birds, stars, and more
butterflies (such a powerful metaphor for transformation). The words people
wrote in the cards as messages to themselves were private and everyone went away
with a beautiful creation. How long is it since you allowed yourself to play
without expectations - and without a child being present to provide 'an
excuse'?
Other parts of the workshop were short opening and closing
meditations and several inspirational readings that I chose carefully to share
with those present.
For me, the fact
that the workshop took place in someone's home meant that it had a very
different feeling to other workshops I have run in the past. These have been
equally successful - just very different. I felt a connection with the ancient
land, in this case of west Cornwall. A place inhabited by generations of miners,
farmers and fishermen and their families. Wives who were strong women who
managed households in days with no labour-saving devices; women who also worked
alongside the men as well as bearing and raising children. A connection with
humankind; with inner wisdom and coming home to myself - to the larger Myself
that we are all a part of; feeling a part of the web of life stretching back
into the past and forwards into the future - all connected by individual
people.
That last paragraph is a
total surprise to me - a piece of flow writing that I choose to share with you
unedited and untouched by my internal critic (which is jumping up and down a
bit, and I am choosing not to hear).
I look forward to connecting with
other places as well as people. Places such as a terraced house in a town, a
suburban bungalow, a country farm-house - will all have their special characters
and connections.
If you would like to
host a Dare to Blossom Rediscovery at Home Party, please contact me. at present I can offer them in Cornwall or west
Devon, on a limited selection of dates. In the future I will have more
flexibility and be able to travel further afield. The person hosting the
workshop receives a free place in return for providing a room and refreshments
(tea, coffee, biscuits etc), and recruiting at least four paying guests. Within
Cornwall the price is currently £25 per person for a half day workshop. That
will vary for locations involving more travel or for a full day
event.
Special
offer for readers
For those of you interested to explore the Rediscovery
Process in more depth, there is a special offer open to readers of this
newsletter:
One Hour in depth Rediscovery Coaching Session: £35
(usually £65)
'Short and Sweet' Rediscovery Session - 15 minutes £12.00
(usually £16.50)
These sessions are on the telephone or Skype,
just contact me to book your time slot, some evenings available.
Offer
expires on 31 October 2014.
As
always, please feel free to comment with your thoughts and comments.
If you would like to own a set of cards to explore
their power for yourself please visit the dedicated page.
Thank you dear friends for visiting with
me again this week and sharing my musings.
Until next time,
with
love,
Mary
*if you have any
difficulty accessing the 'blogspot' service, you can also read here on
the Daring to
Blossom website, or find 'Dare to
Blossom Life Coaching' on Facebook.
