October 2016 - Allowing the flow

Welcome to the Dare to Blossom Newsletter

In this Issue:
Reflections: allowing the flow
Events: Winter Magic Carpet Ride Workshop: "Review, Reflect, Re-Vision"
Your coaching package
Inspirational links

Reflections: allowing the flow

Laughing at myself a little ruefully as I write this:it is now 4.30 p.m. on Monday. I intended today to be a writing day. I said to someone this morning that I would be working on the latest book, then I remembered that I needed to start work on this newsletter to send out to you on Friday. And then.... well, you know the story, with your own variations: shopping, doctor's appointment, going back to collect medication as the dispensary wasn't open, emails to deal with, accounts to update, a friend to contact. Not procrastination exactly, but a version of it. (You may have seen this TED talk before? Inside the mind of a master procrastinator by Tim Urban)

The title 'Allowing the flow' popped into my mind as I was setting up the outline for this month's missive to you. Now I come to write about it, I need to explore what I mean by that. Or do I? Maybe it doesn't matter what I mean, or anyone else, by those words, they are simply words. Today I have seen two pieces in my on-line meanderings - both inspiring and thought provoking: one from Nick Williams on resistance. (This is a link to a Facebook Live piece, I am not sure if it will be accessible to you, if not you will find Nick writes about this subject in his blog too).Then this afternoon Lucinda Drayton shared this piece on Surrenderfrom her blog last year.

Allowing the flow, feels - for me - to be about a balance, a tension even, between those two things: resistance, and surrender. There are many meanings of the word 'resistance' - and I was interested to see that it derives from the Latin verb meaning 'to hold back'. To surrender is to cease resisting. Whereas 'allow' comes from "the Latin allaudare to praise, reinforced by medieval Latin allocare to place." (all definitions and meanings from the Oxford English Dictionary).

All these words, and the experiences they describe can be valuable. For today, I return to exploring 'allowing the flow'. I am intrigued by those two Latin roots: 'to praise' and 'to place'. Add to those one of the definitions, of which there are several, of the verb 'to allow': "Give the necessary time or opportunity for." - and I feel a connection back to flow - to giving time or opportunity for this to happen. The addition of that word 'necessary' - highlights for me that maybe I am sometimes unrealistic, too hard on myself perhaps, when I expect myself to be able to simply step into the flow. Whether that be something like writing, creating art, meditating..... or anything else, maybe it is necessary to give permission, to give time, to give opportunity?

Another thought arose for me: that sometimes flow is just that, flow. It needn't be a means to an end. I mentioned writing and art - I have a habit with those, and maybe even with meditation, to judge myself harshly if I do not produce something to show for having been in the flow; for having taken that time, used that opportunity. Does 'allowing the flow' also include the possibility of simply being there, as well as, sometimes, doing?

An image comes to mind - that of a wave: in physical reality the water in the wave doesn't actually move forward, simply rotates in a circular motion, until the wave reaches shallow water and breaks (if you are interested in the science behind this have a look here). It is the energy that moves across the ocean, rather than the wave. If I was out in the ocean I could allow the waves to flow by. Unless my boat was powered by wind or an engine, or carried by ocean currents, I would just bob up and down as the waves passed underneath me. Whereas in a river - the water is moving downstream, following a path determined by gravity and influenced by the obstacles in its path.



Several days later......

Returning to this piece to finish writing to you, I felt what I had written might not make sense, and not 'flow' at all. As I re-read my efforts to get to grips with the concept of 'allowing the flow', I saw that I was writing about precisely that: the allowing. And all the things that may get in the way of simply 'allowing'. The resistance. The temptation to surrender in a potentially negative way, that way of saying 'Oh, I give up!' when something is not going how I think it should.

And... I didn't give up, I went away for a while. I spent a wonderful afternoon with a dear friend visiting the Japanese Garden at St Mawgan. It was a dull misty afternoon, there were very few people in the garden, in fact for much of the time I think we had the whole place to ourselves. It was too early in the autumn for the dramatic colours, and too late for the blossoms - so we could really appreciate all the shades of green, the textures and shapes of the trees and their foliage. And the mosses, grasses, bamboo, rocks, sculptures......



I felt myself dropping down into peace, into stillness. Away, in fact, from any sense of flow. Simply being in the stillness of nature. A stillness that was not static - the wind was blowing at different places in the garden, the leaves rustling, the grasses moving. While we were standing looking at this view across the pool, the wind started playing the most deeply moving song on the wind chimes, as Sharon said, the effect was as powerful as that of a gong bath.



And we sat here by the raked gravel garden for a while, on either side of a beautiful wooden buddha. So many memories here for me as I visit regularly with different people. Some of those memories go back to sitting in these quiet spaces with my mother a number of years ago now.



This dropping down, into the peace within, seems for me to circle back around to 'allowing the flow'. It feels to me, now, to be connected with the circular flow of life - not only outside myself and my body, but within. My blood circulating through my veins and arteries, through my heart and lungs, keeping me alive; my breath flowing in and out, in and out.

The final photograph to share from the garden is this one: and I did not realise the true message for me until I saw it on the computer after downloading from my camera. Somehow the light gives the effect, the impression, the feeling that the koi carp could be swimming overhead, in the sky.



The sensation of dropping down, going within, is now - for me - opened up, turned around. 'Within' is linked to 'without' - not in the sense of lack, but rather the external. Interior space connected to the greater universe around: the place where down can be up; up can be down. So, I am now feeling I need to finish this piece, and not knowing really where to finish. My earlier anxieties, resistance, surrender, definitions, discussion have all led me here to this place of allowing, allowing the flow of life. Moving through life as I moved through the gardens, and at the same time being still within.

As a final thought, it was even later that I noticed the single tiny golden leaf floating on the surface of the water, showing that this was in fact water and not the sky, and for me, providing a subtle link back to last month's reflections on 'reap your harvest' and my thoughts of the golden nuggets I have collected throughout the years.

For you, for your journal or meditation practice:
- what does 'allowing the flow' mean to you? Maybe flow write or meditate on those words
- what emerges for you?
- what gifts can you find within?
- do you wish to paint, draw, collage - express this visually in some way?

Your coaching package

My new package of flexible monthly support is now available. Two coaching conversations a month: choose one hour or 30 minute slots. You can book and pay for one month at a time to ensure you have the ability to adjust to time and budget, and at the same time arrange the continuity of commitment to your own growth and development.

For full details visit the website here.If you would like to talk before booking: to ask any questions you may have, and to check out how I work and if it feels right for you - with no obligation to buy - simply contact me to book your initial (free) consultation.

Events: Winter Magic Carpet Ride Workshop: "Review, Reflect, Re-Vision"

This will be confirmed very soon, once I have visited our new venue on Monday and confirmed the booking, and then full details will be on my website and Facebook pages, here is a date for your diary:

Date: Saturday 19th November
Time: arrive from 9.30 am, 10.00 am start, 1.00 pm finish.
Venue: The Blue Lotus Therapy Centre, Scorrier, Redruth, Cornwall (NB still to be confirmed)
Price: £25.00 per person (book via the website or contact me direct by replying to this email)

Spend some time with a group of like-minded people to look back over your year so far; to review and reflect; and then to look forward into 2017. Full details will be provided on the workshop page and through a Facebook event page next week.

Dare to Blossom at Home workshops can be booked at any time: if you are in Cornwall or west Devon and are interested in exploring the option to host a group of friends in your own home, have a look at the website here and contact me so we can arrange a chat to discuss what you would like.

Inspirational Links

This month I am sharing the websites of two dear friends. Each of them I met through a series of synchronicities and mutual connections.

Sharon Whittock is a image consultant and fashion feng shui advisor (don't you just love that idea? I do!). Here is her beautiful website, do take time to browse and read about her story and all she has to offer.

And here is Mary McConnell, a massage therapist, reiki healer, and health coach. She also has a blog here.

As always, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts and comments. 

If you would like to own a set of Dare to Blossom Rediscovery cards to explore their power for yourself please visit the dedicated page.

Thank you dear friends for visiting with me again this month and sharing my musings.

Until next time,

with love,
Mary

Find 'Dare to Blossom Life Coaching' on Facebook, @daretoblossom on Twitter

September 2016 - Reap your harvest

In this Issue: 
Reflections: Reap your harvest
Guest article: "Meeting with Mary"
Events and offers: reminder that Early Bird offers end on 31 August
Inspirational links

Reflections: Reap your harvest

Here in Cornwall, this is the time of harvest. In the fields around my home, the combine harvesters are working, bringing in the crops to store for winter animal feed, or to send off for use elsewhere. In the hedgerows, there are blackberries, hips and haws. Seeds of all descriptions. Here in my garden, we have an abundance of produce: tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes (some becoming marrows before we have time to eat them), runner beans, apples ripening on the trees.



Reviewing my year, I am looking at what is ripening from all the seeds I have sown, the delicate green shoots tended, in some cases sacrificed by 'thinning out' - letting go of some ideas to focus on other, stronger, ones. Planning the Autumn Magic Carpet Ride Workshops here in Cornwall - the theme this autumn is 'Reap your harvest'. As I reflected, I wrote about how, throughout the year, we have each been planting seeds of ideas and projects, nurturing them into fruition.... and then, and then usually rushing on to the next thing. Without pausing - pausing to review, maybe simply to admire, the results, the 'fruits of our labours.' More about the workshop is to be found below.

Writing in my journal, exploring how I want to re-write some parts of website to become even more authentically me, I started thinking about 'reaping the harvest of my years'. I see an image of a woman winnowing: shaking the sieve so the grain falls safely into a large bowl and the chaff blows away in the wind. (I have just started a Pinterest board 'Harvesting my years' to give life to this image, and to collect others that feel relevant.

Then going back to the idea of rewriting my story, I found myself getting lost, my thoughts ran around inside my head, something like this: "Let go of my story." "What is left?" "You are not your story." "Rewrite the script."

and yet......
and yet..... the past was the present once, circle back, see it again, see it from another perspective, see afresh.

Here I wrote a list of many of my experiences, looking at them, winnowing them, or panning for the gold in them - another metaphor suggested by a friend and fellow coach.

What are the nuggets, what are the golden grains I want to harvest? And which are the ones to share with you when you read my writing - here, or on my website as a new visitor?

Which are the ones that will call to your heart and suggest you connect with me? Connect for a conversation, a coaching programme, a card reading, a workshop, or as a friend - whatever that connection prompts. And that connection may be nothing other than reading my words wherever you have found them.

Some of my golden grains - so far (I am still winnowing) -  are:
- that quiet people matter, have value
- re-living past experiences takes me nowhere
- re-viewing past experiences can be a valuable source of insights, stepping stones to avoid stepping in the murky, sticky mud of re-living again, and pass over to the future.

I wrote these questions for myself, and maybe for you:
"What is behind, beneath, deeper? What is above, beyond, higher? What, who, can you be when you dare to expand in all directions?"

(If you choose to do so, you could use this process, and those questions for your own reflections.)

From all this is evolving a new coaching offer, some fresh ways of presenting what I do, and a new 'my story' website page that goes deeper into who I really am - well, that is to say, who I am today, and how I see that. Tomorrow I - and you - may be, will be, different again. That, that is the joy of daring to blossom.

Guest article: "Meeting with Mary"

Last month I wrote about meeting up with friends made on-line, one of whom was Rosemary from Australia. She has written the piece below to recount her side of the story.  

Contributed by Rosemary, who describes herself as "in tune follower from down-under & sometime magic carpet flyer..":

"Some four or five years ago, a net savvy constant researching friend forwarded me an e-copy of “Dare to Blossom”, Mary’s newly born newsletter.  Not only did the title catch me; I wanted to blossom.  As a person who had struggled with living and with depression over half a lifetime I managed at times to go with the flow and find ways to blossom with joy and achievement, only at times.  What I loved about Mary’s musings was the fact that frequently she was writing about the very thing I was grappling with i.e. Change. (in fact in midst of writing this I was also sorting some papers and came across Mary’s Dare to Blossom August 2011 when she wrote on Authentic Voices; so helpful to reread!) So I began to respond to Mary, thanking her for her writings, for illuminating my own thoughts, or adding my own to hers, for raising difficult subjects and of course complimenting for her beautiful photographs.

With a trip to the southern part of the UK planned for earlier this year I began to contemplate the possibility of meeting up with Mary thinking of the challenges of timing. I mooted the idea not long before I left Australia on 14 June 2016.   Much to my amazement we were able to connect quite simply and smoothly.  Fortunately Mary had started adding her picture to the newsletter so I had a real person to look for in a beautiful town called Padstow (often referred to as Padstein by locals due to the restaurants delis and stores bearing Rick Steins name) not far from Mary’s home village.

Much to my delight we met on Friday 15 July in Greens café high above the main part of town and with gorgeous expansive views over the harbor and across to huge sandy estuary to the hills beyond and the little town of Rock reachable by ferry across the river.  We took Marie Antoinette’s idea and “ate cake” as we tentatively reached out to each other. Mary then took me on a charming walk firstly above the harbor to the  common with its newly planted wildflowers and then around the narrow streets of Padstow telling me about goings on in the town such as the German TV series being made at the towns mansion, pointing out some of her favourite things and places.

Passing a very old cottage that was being renovated, I barged my way in dragging Mary with me to find a very friendly specialist builder happy to tell us of his extraordinarily detailed work.  As I love houses & architecture and history this was a real bonus.  In our walk and talk I discovered Mary has an extraordinary background herself and someday she may share with you the marvelous things she has done and the life she shares."



Thank you for this Rosemary, and for being such a constant supporter for me. I have included the only photo I have of the two of us in Padstow, (even though I have my eyes closed!) - it is a beautiful reminder of the time we spent together that day.

Events and offers: reminder that Early Bird offers end on 31 August

As regular readers will know, I have been offering you special rates on a 'Summer Special' coaching package, and Early Bird prices for my autumn workshops in Cornwall.

These end on 31st August, so you may like to pop over to the website to check in with your own feelings about these again and to see if one or the other is calling to you now, even if that did not happen earlier. I suggest this as I know I sometimes have the experience of needing to revisit something several times before making a decision.

Once you book the coaching package there is then no hurry to take up your four sessions, though having said that - why not get cracking with them while 'the iron is hot'? And, for the workshops - if you do not yet know if you will be free, and in Cornwall, on 10th September for Camelford, or 24th September for Hayle, but would like to be able to take advantage of the offer if you are - just contact me and we can discuss what will work for you.

And this applies to any of my offerings - if you feel a connection but can't see how it will work for you financially, please do book your free Skype or phone consultation anyway. There is absolutely no obligation to continue any further, and often a solution can be found that will work for both of us - and we will have enjoyed a delicious conversation in the process, whatever the outcome.

Here are the links again:
Summer Special Coaching Package
Autumn Magic Carpet Ride Workshops: Reap your harvest

For those of you who choose to avoid Facebook, and for ease of access for anyone, I have, I thought, edited the sidebar of this newsletter to include links to my Soundcloud and YouTube channels. However, for some reason I cannot see those links in the preview here - so we will all see if they appear once this is published. In case they do not, you will find them below.

People tell me it helps to hear my voice before taking that step of picking up the phone, or connecting on Skype for a conversation. A coaching client some years ago, on making the first contact by phone, literally sighed, relaxing, and said how she immediately knew when we spoke that she wanted to work with me, that it was right for her.

On Soundcloud there are currently two pieces, an introduction to life coaching, and a sample 'magic carpet ride' guided visualisation. These are both also accessible through the Welcome Page on my website. On YouTube I have one short video demonstrating how the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery Cards can be used during a life coaching session (there are some other pieces on Facebook too). I am very new to seeing myself on video so I am sure I will become more practised over time.

Finally, don't forget that you can host a tailored workshop for you and your friends in your own home by contacting me to discuss a Dare to Blossom at Home event. For practical reasons these have to be mostly in Cornwall or Devon - but I am always open to suggestions to visit other areas too.

Inspirational Links

I have so many friends writing amazing inspirational blogs that I have decided to feature one of them here each month:

Here is Sandi Davis from Luscious Life with a piece on "Thresholds". Sandi also has a beautiful offering at the moment: Oracle Alchemy

As always, please feel free to comment below.

If you would like to own a set of Dare to Blossom Rediscovery cards to explore their power for yourself please visit the dedicated page.

Thank you dear friends for visiting with me again this month and sharing my musings.

August 2016 - Evolving

Welcome to the Dare to Blossom Newsletter
 This is coming to you early this month, so you will have the chance to look at the Summer Special before all the places are taken.

In this Issue: 
Summer Special Coaching Package
Reflections: Evolving
New writing: working title 'Rediscover your inner wisdom: a companion workbook for the Dare to Blossom Cards'
Events: Dare to Blossom Autumn Magic Carpet Ride Workshops
From 'on-line' to 'in person'
Guest Blog: 'The Willow's Raven'

Summer Special Coaching Package
I have put this at the top of this newsletter to make sure you see it in case it is of interest. You may already be aware of this as I wrote a blog post about it, entitled 'Curiosity'. The key details are below, the offer expires at the end of August, but as long as you book your place by then, you can use the sessions at any time.

“If not now, when?” coaching offer

A one-off package of four 30 minute Skype 1:1 coaching calls, plus tailored exercises and email support

PRICE: £100 (ten places only available, during July/August)

Contact me direct to book, or to arrange to have a Skype chat first so you can decide if this is for you. At the time of writing, two places have already been taken up.

Reflections: Evolving

So much has happened over the last month: I wrote a piece a while ago, to include here, and that has been superseded by events. Things feel as if they are moving too fast for me. In some ways that is great; at times I feel I need to take a step back, to consciously choose to step aside from the fast flow. I feel as if I could lose my footing and be swept away.

One thing I can do for myself is to return to a practice I started in 2013, the year I challenged myself to write a blog about one Dare to Blossom Card each week. It took a whole year to cover the fifty cards. (Those thoughts are still available here if you are interested, you will need to dive down into the archive files as the first entry was on 2 May that year).

The practice of sitting with a card for a longer period of time than just one day proved fruitful. As this is a monthly newsletter, this will be a card for the month. For now at least, I will continue with the daily card postings on the Dare to Blossom Life Coaching Facebook page, it will be interesting to see how these two practices intermesh with each other. And it may be interesting to return to this at the end of the month and write about how I feel about the word then.

So, the word that came out for August 2016 is - Evolving, with a dark green coloured background.

As often with these words, I smiled when this came out - having just been writing above about the pace of change. The Cambridge Dictionary on-line, defines 'Evolve' as:  "to develop gradually, or to cause something or someone to develop gradually." In the context of the evolution of species, of course this is a very gradual process.

In my life at the moment, things seem to be changing very rapidly. At the same time, and rather ironically, when I have a review session with one of my own coaches, I often find myself feeling that I am 'stuck' or repeating words, actions and behaviours, over and over.

And now I find myself wondering as I write, where this is leading me, what use these words will be to you if you read them. Then the thought comes, maybe the key is 'review': when I remember to step back; to pause and observe myself; to see those words, actions and behaviours - that is when I am open to insights for myself. That is when I can see that although some things may not have changed, in fact they have moved on. Upwards in a spiral, where I may be revisiting familiar ground, but I can choose to take a view from another perspective.



I was going to write 'a higher perspective' then, but changed it as I don't want to imply - to myself or to you - that this alternative perspective, later in a time-line, is 'higher' meaning 'better'. As if what I was doing before was 'lower' as in 'worse'. The process of life coaching that I use and practice for myself too, has 'non-judgemental' as one of the core principles. 'Better' or 'worse' are value judgements which may change between people, and for the same person at different times.

Hmmm.... (says my inner critic) .. that was a rather convoluted explanation, though one I hope is helpful. (If not, I know you will simply skip over it, dear reader.)

I will leave you to explore more with the prompts below if you wish.

For you, for your journal or meditation practice:

- What does the word 'evolving' bring to mind for you?
- What else is there? (maybe ask yourself that question more than once)
- Does the colour green have any specific associations for you today?

If you would like to, come back to these questions after a week or several and see if your responses change.

New writing: working title 'Rediscover your inner wisdom: a companion workbook for the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery Cards'



This book is, at last, starting to take shape. As you will know if you are a regular reader, I have always felt I did not wish to write any sort of guide to the interpretation of the Dare to Blossom Rediscovery cards. The principle is that they help you rediscover your own inner wisdom, so it is not for me or anyone else to tell you what to think. As I know from using them daily myself, the meaning I take from any particular card, and from the colour, changes from day to day.

However, many of you have told me that it would be helpful to have some idea where to start, whether with a regular practice, or simply dipping in occasionally. So - deciding that this is the year to make this happen and get the book published, I have enrolled in the '10,000 word challenge' - which is also an on-line course, with Karen Williams starting on 1st August. I have known Karen for a number of years and feel her skills will keep me on track, as will sharing in a private group. In a beautiful piece of synchronicity, I had already been thinking of devoting August to writing in more depth than I do here or on Facebook - and then her offering appeared for me, perfect timing.

A request for you
I would like to invite any of you who have your own pack of cards, or who gain some inspiration from reading my newsletters and/or Facebook posts - to send me in a submission for the book. The vision is to have a quote for each card, just a few words to inspire others. I will be very grateful to any of you who would like to contact me to offer your experiences. Any other suggestions or feedback will be very welcome as always, thank you in advance.

The cards and the book will be sold either together or separately. The book will not be in colour but there will be a description for each card so the book can be used to open at a random page in exactly the same way as choosing a card. Or, as some people do, you may wish to choose a word consciously to work with - and that may be easier with the book. As many people tell me, the cards are easy to carry with you during the day - the book could become an additional resource for deeper reflection, and as a guide when you may be unsure of an approach to take.

Some people told me that being presented with the little pack of words with very little in the way of instruction can be daunting. This has always been my intention - not to be 'daunting' exactly, but to challenge you (and myself) to access your resources within; not to rely on other people, however wise, knowledgable and well-meaning they may be. However, having some examples of how other people have used them, will enable a start to be made if someone is uncertain. In a similar way to how it is easy to forget how difficult it was learning to drive (though I do remember not being able to steer and change gear at the same time...) - those of us who have experience of the use of any sort of prompts, such as these cards, for introspection, may forget our rather wobbly first steps.

Please contact me if you have any thoughts on this at all, or any experiences you would like to share

And finally, I will say that there is still another book that has been germinating for a very long time, and I feel that 'clearing the way' by completing the book for the cards will help that other piece blossom in due course.

Events: Dare to Blossom Autumn Magic Carpet Ride Workshops - Reap your harvest



- Saturday 10 September, at The Clease Hall, Camelford
- Saturday 24 September, at the Heliodor Wellbeing Centre, Hayle

Both will run from 10-1 as usual, Early Bird Price (ending for both on 31 August) is £25 per person, £35 after that.

The details are now available on the website, and bookings starting to come in. If you prefer not to use the PayPal link there, please contact me direct to arrange another method of payment.

I am hoping to add a date in the St Austell area too, probably in October. As I write, I am still exploring potential venues, so if you are in that area and can suggest somewhere, or would like to host a workshop in your home, please get in touch.

Sadly the date previously announced, Saturday 19 November, for a second workshop at the Heliodor Wellbeing Centre, has been cancelled as Val has decided to close the centre for various reasons. Those of you who have joined me there will know what a beautiful place it has been for sharing time together. I am very grateful for the environment Val created and the way she looked after us with so much love and care, I am sure you will join me in wishing her all the best for the future - and I hope, take this last chance to join us again on 24 September. I will of course be looking for other venues in that area.

Here is an extract from the workshop description:

Throughout the year you have been sowing seeds - ideas, projects, dreams, ambitions - and nurturing them as best you can. Throughout your life this has also been happening. As the seasons turn in nature, so do the seasons of our lives - irrespective of your age as measured in years.

Sometimes you may be too busy with the next thing to do your seeds justice; may be some of them, as in nature, were never destined to germinate.

Step back and take some time, now, with us in our group for half a day. Take time to notice - and harvest if you so choose - the fruits all around you, the results of your ideas and your work.

The tried and tested Dare to Blossom Magic Carpet Ride concept has, for over a year now, been sparking the imagination; opening eyes to the new; developing business ideas and creative projects. Read more here on the website...

From 'on-line' to 'in person'

I have recently had the enormous pleasure of meeting two people in person who I first met on-line.

Rosemary, who lives in Australia, has been a subscriber for many years. She also has given me thoughtful feedback and suggestions over those years, which has been a great support to me. So when the opportunity came to meet up while she was touring in the UK, I was so delighted. We shared good conversation over coffee (and cake) at one of my favourite cafes in Padstow (Greens, owned by Sharon (and her husband) who I again met on-line, and who has since become a dear friend). Followed by a walk around the old streets of Padstow (and more talk, naturally).



Then, even more recently, I was contacted by Ellouise, a fellow contributor to '365 Moments of Grace', who was on holiday in Cornwall, and we met for lunch in Truro. Again, a contact that originated on-line, brought into the greater reality by meeting up and sharing hugs.



Guest blog: 'The Willow's Raven'

By my friend in the USA, Sheila Howe If anyone reading would like me to feature your blog, do let me know and send a link for me.

As always, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts and comments. 

If you would like to own a set of Dare to Blossom Rediscovery cards to explore their power for yourself please visit the dedicated page.

Thank you dear friends for visiting with me again this month and sharing my musings.

Until next time,

with love,
Mary

Find 'Dare to Blossom Life Coaching' on Facebook, @daretoblossom on Twitter

July 2016 - the balance of black and white

In this Issue:  Reflections: the balance of dark and light New writing: a collaboration and a prose poem Forthcoming Events: autumn 2016 Dare to Blossom workshops Inspiration: featured blog Reflections: the balance of dark and light Everywhere in life there are opposites: hot/cold, night/day, summer/winter, sweet/sour, wet/dry, up/down, north/south, east/west, and black (or dark) and light. Some of these are observable, many are subjective: one person's 'hot' is another's 'cold' (or cool at least). As human beings trying to make sense of our lives the tendency is to make judgements based on past experience. This can mean that what is happening to me now, in this instant, the only moment that is actually 'real' - this instant is seen through a filter of assumptions. These may, or may not serve me well. Some have been acquired through my own physical experiences, and others learned from those around me. If all those people who influenced me as I was growing up as a young child believed that a certain thing was 'good' and another thing 'bad' - it can be very hard for me to un-learn those prejudices - in the sense of 'pre-judgements. (I find it interesting that I have to explain that - am I 'prejudiced' against the word 'prejudice'? And, I feel I need to say, I am very purposefully writing in the first person today to do my best not to assume that anyone else makes the same 'pre-judgements' as I do).  What I can be doing is making assumptions that one thing is 'right' and therefore the other, the opposite, must be 'wrong'. I come to see more clearly now that usually I benefit from some of each quality. This is necessary to enjoy the temperate maritime climate here in Cornwall  - I love the sunshine, and I know that rain is needed to enable the land to remain as green and fertile as it is, so I wouldn't say rain is 'bad'. So, when it comes to black and white or dark and light, as in the title of these reflections today, there are so many centuries of culture, tradition, superstition, story-telling behind me, that it is an interesting exercise to tease out some of what I feel about those terms. The picture shows our 'yin yang' garden just after it was freshly laid last year. This definition, found on Google, illustrates the point I am trying to make: "In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (also yin-yang or yin yang, 陰陽 yīnyáng "dark—bright") describes how opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another." Coming back to complete these reflections after a gap of twenty-four hours, I have had the phrase 'from black and white to colour' running through my mind. It is the title of a book by Richard Wilkins (he is very active on Facebook, and his website is here.) I met Richard sometime in the 1990s, and he was, and has been ever since, a great inspiration. This little book is a collection of his poems and sayings drawn from his own experience of getting to rock bottom and finding the only way was up. I think the thought I am stumbling towards is this: life truly is never black and white. There many shades of grey between those extremes. And, if I am able to choose to see life this way, there is an infinite variety of glorious colours too. Science shows many more that my human eyes cannot detect. ................................................................................ As often happens for me, sharing my flow writing, my personal process, with you is beginning to feel exposed and a little scary. I have lost the thread of the point I was making here, starting off to talk about black and white. Or is it necessary to have a 'point' at all? To answer myself, yes, sometimes, absolutely - if I need to convince someone or explain something clearly. And also, no - not here, not today. I feel no need to be 'right'; no impulse to show that someone else may be 'wrong'. Those "contrary forces" that "are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent" contain gifts in their interdependence. Maybe venturing into the dark, the shadow, within me will allow me to see things that the sunshine of the light obscures in dazzling brightness? ..................................................................... Another break. A walk on the cliffs this morning. Some extraordinary insights - which will need me to spend some time with in meditation before I write anything I feel able to share about them. The images I saw were about going deep within - inside the earth, or inside myself - into the dark. Emerging changed by the dark, and by treasures - the jewels, the crystals - of light I found there. For you, for your journal or meditation practice: - if any phrase or word resonates with you from this piece, choose to flow write or meditate on those words - what emerges for you? - what gifts can you find within? - do you wish to paint, draw, collage - express this visually in some way? If you would like to comment or share (either in the on-line blog forum, on Facebook or privately) please feel free. New writing: a collaboration and a prose poem Collaboration: "365 Moments of Grace" This book is a collaboration of 250 writers, all brought together by Jodi Chapman and Dan Teck. I have posted a special piece on my website blog to tie in with the 'blog tour' for the publication. You may have already read that if not, you can find it here. For UK readers, there is a link here - which I hope will take you to my author page (I have found it technically challenging setting it all up), and if not, simply search for my name or the book title. If you are outside the UK, this will take you to my affiliate page with Jodi where you can see details of all her and Dan's offerings. Just been interrupted to sign for the delivery of my copy of the book, what great timing. No one around to take a 'good' photo for me, so here is a selfie with me looking rather astounded. Prose poem: Coming Home At my recent Midsummer Magic Carpet Ride workshop, with the title 'Rediscovering your Inner Wisdom', I decided to read a piece I had written myself, amongst the words of other writers that I also share. This felt a big step for me, and my inner critic popped up very loudly proclaiming the usual 'stuff' - 'Who do you think you are?!' etc. In the words of Marianne Williamson (and I always read the whole piece during workshops) 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' (read the rest here)  The piece below has not been edited since it was written during my meditation/visualisation practice, some time in June - and I had not even read it through before sharing it at the workshop. I am sure it could be polished and honed, at present it is a raw, unpolished flow of feeling from the heart. Coming Home Breath In, breath out Breathe in, breathe out. Connect with my body, feel, settle Connect with the earth... ...fertile, strong, mud, rock. Connect with nature:  Abundant:    Seeds waiting, germinating    - green shoots becoming strong    - green shoots becoming trunks, branches    Buds forming, slowly breaking    - flowers blossoming    - flowers fruiting    Fruit falls, fruit scatters    Seeds waiting  Abundant. Connect with the air, all it signifies:    Breath of life, winds that blow the seeds.    The Universe around me    The world of the unseen, unknown,    - alongside    - guiding me if I listen. Abundant. Breath in, breath out Breathe in, breathe out.    I am home Abundance embodied Abundant. Coming home. Forthcoming Events: autumn 2016 Dare to Blossom workshops With the busy time of summer arriving here in Cornwall, my next workshops are planned for the autumn and full details will be available on the website soon, and to you here n a future newsletter. I am currently working on ideas. I am finding that participating, as well as facilitating, the current 'Global On-line Midsummer Magic Carpet Ride to Rediscover your Inner Wisdom' is proving very fruitful for me in that. It is making sure I take my own time out, to meditate and write, away from the computer, to share with the group, and some interesting insights have been arising. I think the title of 'Magic Carpet Ride' will stay - people connect with that as it awakens a child-like playfulness. Do let me know if you have any feelings on this: do you like that idea? Does it not not a chord for you? Even when thinking about what we may feel 'should' be serious subjects such as business or career, this approach can yield unexpected gifts. As to the next seasonal theme - watch this space. The dates in Cornwall at present are: - Saturday 10 September, at The Clease Hall, Camelford - Saturday 24 September, at the Heliodor Wellbeing Centre, Hayle - Saturday 19 November, at the Heliodor Wellbeing Centre, Hayle Each workshop will run from 10 am - 1pm, there will be Early Bird and 'frequent flyer' or (magic carpet rider :-) ) rates once the price per person has been set. (I will keep them to £25 for Early Bird bookings if I possibly can). If the first event in Camelford is a success I may well choose that as a regular location as I have been looking for somewhere in north Cornwall for some time. Dare to Blossom at Home workshops can be booked at any time: if you are in Cornwall or west Devon and are interested in exploring the option to host a group of friends in your own home, have a look at the website here and contact me so we can arrange a chat to discuss what you would like. Inspiration: featured blog I have so many friends writing amazing inspirational blogs that I have decided to feature one of them here each month: Here is Diana Frajman with The Crone's Apprentice. As always, please feel free to comment below with your thoughts.  If you would like to own a set of Dare to Blossom Rediscovery cards to explore their power for yourself please visit the dedicated page. Thank you dear friends for visiting with me again this month and sharing my musings. Until next time, with love, Mary Find 'Dare to Blossom Life Coaching' on Facebook, @daretoblossom on Twitter

June 2016 - Midsummer Magic

In this Issue: 

Reflections: Midsummer Magic
Dare to Blossom Events
Inspirational links

Reflections: Midsummer Magic

It is almost nine o'clock in the evening, and here in Cornwall, at the end of May, still three weeks until the longest day - it is still light. Today has been a perfect early summer day, warm with a cool breeze. As the sun sets there is sea mist in the air, creeping in from the coast just a few miles from here.

The garden is producing well, and we are surrounded by luxuriant greenery and flowers. The bird feeders are visited by small birds such as chaffinches, blue tits, sparrows and great tits, as well as the dramatically coloured great spotted woodpeckers.



Writing now on 31 May..... tomorrow I will be celebrating a full twelve months running Dare to Blossom full time. After setting up the business in 2003, I had always worked within organisations, at first with a local college part-time, that contract ended and the post was made redundant. Then I found work with a new business start-up support programme and worked there for nearly six years - coaching and training dozens of people. That again ended when the funding disappeared and all the staff made redundant.

After those experiences - in spite of my first thoughts of diving into activity, my first need was for a rest. Gradually I got back into a flow, beginning with the on-line Midsummer Magic Carpet Ride last June. Since then I have run workshops around Cornwall, and in Glastonbury; attended numerous business networking events, and had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at a few of those too. Exhibited at a business show in March. Spoken to many people on-line and in person about coaching and worked with some of them through one-to-one work to help them rediscover their inner wisdom and move forward in their lives.

"I used to feel like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders which turned out to be my own thoughts dragging me down." Tash Read more

It is a joy and a privilege to do this work, thank you to each of you who has trusted me to support you in this journey that each of us is on. During the year I have also devoted considerable time, and money, to my own support and personal and professional development through one-to-one coaching with fellow coaches, on-line programmes, workshops, books - a whole range of tools.

I have taken part in groups on Facebook where I have met wonderful people, all committed to doing business in the way I wish to go forward - in a spirit of support and collaboration rather than ruthless competition. Yes, some of us are technically competitors, but probably not looking to work with the same people, or at least, not at the same time. I am finding that by getting to know everyone I can working in my field, offering services like mine - then I can not only find the best support for myself at different times, I can also refer people who come to me to the best possible help for them.



And - I have had time for walks, photography, art, reading, spending time with friends, gardening, (and simply sitting there, in my garden,with a good book). Through all of this, I feel much more secure in who I am and what I have to offer people through one-to-one work, workshops, and all the rest.

What next? More of the same, and most importantly with more emphasis and ..... what is the word I am looking for? Oh yes! Daring - daring to blossom, daring to be me, daring to stand up and say to you "Try this, talk to me, I can help you change your life."

"After a hard 18 months or so I can now say that I am ready to move on and the ideas that keep springing into my mind since the Magic Carpet Ride are phenomenal...." Ruth Read more

It truly feels as if midsummer magic is in the air - fresh potential, new ideas, moving forward even more surely and confidently. If you would like to find out for yourself how I work now, please contact me for your complimentary twenty minute consultation. Even, or maybe, especially, if we have worked together before. People tell me, and when I pause to reflect I can see for myself, that I have personally learned and grown so much over recent years, and especially the last twelve months, that you will feel a big impact for you too if you are drawn to find out more.

Contact me by replying to this email if you are a subscriber, or via this link if you have seen this on-line or received it from a friend. Let's talk soon and see where that leads.

The card I drew this morning for my daily meditation was Serenity - this has taken me through a busy day, with a great conversation with a new contact, and lots of tasks to be done. Now, connecting with you here, and drawing a card for us, today - whenever you are reading this - here is: Beginnings. Ha! No, I didn't 'fix' it - this is how it works, more magic, the words that emerge always have some link to the sub-conscious, inner wisdom, higher self - which ever term you prefer. And if the link is not initially clear, it will become so.




For you, for your journal or meditation:

You may like to review the past year, or even the past five months of 2016:
- what have you achieved?
- looking back at where you were, and where you are now, what hurdles have you overcome?
- who have you made new connections with?
- how have you changed?
- how do you feel?
- and, what are your aspirations for the year ahead? How would you like to feel in another five months or another year?

If you would like a sounding board, a mirror (for those are my roles as a coach) to help you through those questions, and more that you may have, feel free to contact me for a conversation. There is no obligation at all, no pressure, simply sharing thoughts and getting to know each other a little better.

I invite you to celebrate with me the journey we have all been on together, however we are linked. Whether we know each other well or not - you somehow come to be reading these words. Thank you, thank you for being the wonderful person you are and for being here.

This quote is one I always read aloud at my workshops and one that always inspires me:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles

May we all shine together and generate magic to change the world as we each dare to blossom in our own special and unique way.

Dare to Blossom Events

Global On-line: Midsummer Magic Carpet Ride to Rediscover your Inner Wisdom
We take off for the first time on Monday 20 June and end - though you may well continue flying - on Friday 15 July. Price £29, or £99 with two thirty minute Skype coaching sessions with me. Includes a new audio guided visualisation for each of the four weeks, materials and prompts, 1:1 support via email and a private FB group to interact with fellow magic carpet adventurers. Full details here.

Hayle, Cornwall: Midsummer Magic Carpet Ride to Rediscover your Inner Wisdom
Saturday 25 June, 10-1, a half-day to share creative visualisations, creative play, laughter and conversation. £25 per person. Full details here

Future dates: Hayle: 24 September and 19 November. Dates in East Cornwall to be announced.

Dare to Blossom at Home events - details here, contact me to discuss.

Inspirational Links

Here are links to some of the people who have been my companions along my journey this year, my apologies to those of you not mentioned here - there are bound to be some as my connections have been so rich and varied, thank you. Email me if you would like your business mentioned in a future newsletter.

Amy Palko "Words to guide you home."
Victoria Smith of The Mojo Lab
Kathy Kane of Kane Creative Consulting
Lucy Pearce of Womancraft Publishing

As always, please feel free to comment below 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 month and sharing my musings.

Until next time,

with love,
Mary