Tag Archives: inspiration

Dragonfly

A Balanced Life, Animal totems, , , , , , ,

Carl Jung coined the term synchronicity to describe a series of coincidences that are experienced by various people. Yesterday began with a challenging decision to make. It ended up being a magical day where the Universe conspired to provide some memorable moments.

Inspiration

I’m a great believer that the Universe sends us inspiration in various ways. I’ve found that random songs on the radio will be played to help with mindset.  My mind was on my decision,  when a song came on the radio. It was upbeat and lifted my energy.  I mentioned the name of the song to the participants in the Mental Health workshop and they all knew the words.

The afternoon Art Therapy workshop.

After the introductions we did an exercise with eyes closed to help with mindfulness. A few moments passed and time to open their eyes.  There was much merriment when one of the group discovered that she had been drawing with the blunt end of her pencil!

Just as the group had started to share their individual experiences a large dragonfly flew in through the open door.

Dragonfly is a symbol of transformation, change and new beginnings. A perfect visitor to the Art Therapy room.

Many cultures celebrate the symbolism of Dragonfly.  In India, it is thought to represent intuition, which is something that Art Therapy helps to develop. Japanese people believe that the Dragonfly represents courage and rebirth.

The visit tied in with the intent of the activities and the group members in sharing their own interpretations of their work, and how they have started their transformational journeys.

The two hours always seems to pass so quickly. We finished off the session with an oracle card from the Spirit Warrior deck. Each person got a card and again the Universe dealt a card that had meaning to that person as well as resonating with the whole group. Random events? I’m sure that the Universe has a message for everyone. You just have to be listening.

Time to go home and prepare for an evening client. Yet another song on the radio helped me to centre myself. Things will be alright!

Well, it’s alright, ridin’ around in the breezeWell, it’s alright, if you live the life you pleaseWell, it’s alright, doin’ the best you canWell, it’s alright, as long as you lend a hand
Travelling Wilburys
And the day ended with a message from the evening client to say how much they appreciated me. Truly a magical day!

 

 

Revisiting old books

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With several bookshelves full to capacity, it makes sense as we start the winter months to spend some time revisiting old books. When I mention old books, yes – some are very old and were printed in the 1800’s, others are from the 20th century and just a few are from this century. There is an eclectic mixture of classics, novels, poetry, self help and spiritual books interspersed with textbooks that cover Asian history and religions, homeopathy and teaching texts. Just a few remain unread, waiting for the right time to deliver the information within.

Revisiting old books today, I was looking for some inspiration for a workshop and I rediscovered M.Scott Peck’s  The Road Less Traveled.  I often open a book to a random spot and find inspiration from that page.

So, for today’s inspiration (which would have been useful for a workshop), I discovered the following quote:

“By far the most common and important way in which we exercise our attention is by listening. We spend an enormous amount of time listening  most of which we waste, because on the whole most of us listen very poorly. “

A balanced start to the New Year

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sundown NYEStill waters run deep ……

I wasn’t about to test the depth of the dam waters on a clear summer evening in the bush, but it was pleasant watching the sun go down over the horizon for the last time in 2013.

As the evening lengthened and the first stars made their appearance, the reminiscences of the past year and earlier years began…

Gradually the night sky darkened and unveiled the Southern Cross, the magnificence of the Milky Way and more… Our necks grew tired from leaning backwards in our chairs… satellites, shooting stars…. all glowing brightly in the night before the new moon and the new year.

The only thing missing was the music from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon…..

Breathe
(Waters, Gilmour, Wright)

Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don’t be afraid to care.
Leave but don’t leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don’t sit down it’s time to dig another one.

For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.

Autumn Equinox

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observationA day late for the actual Equinox which according to the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne was at 11.02am on the 20th – the 21st is the Wicca festival of Mabon.

Celtic tradition also celebrated this marking of the change from Summer to Autumn.

Harvest festivals meant that people could celebrate the abundance of fruits and vegetables and great feasts were held, business concluded as people began to prepare for the winter months and a period of reflection.

It also marks the passage of womanhood from the fecundity of motherhood as she passes into the crone or Wise Woman.

It’s a time to reflect on the balance between light and dark as the equinox brings us a period of almost equal length of night and day.

A time too to reflect on the change of season and although Australia marks the change of season by the calendar – Australian Autumn starts on the 1st March – we have experienced six consecutive days of temperatures in the high 30C”  (which crisped the leaves nicely) and then marked by high winds and a terrific thunderstorm today. All serving to remind us that warmer days are now being left behind and colder weather lies ahead.

So how to celebrate or mark the Equinox?

Bring some balance to your life.

  • Show gratitude for any abundance you are experiencing and become aware of the high energy of this time….. the waxing moon as we head to the Full Moon and Easter will affect many people energetically.
  • Draw up a “Gratitude List” – putting it down on paper will help to bring a new perspective to your situation.
  • If you are blessed with abundance, share some of that with others less fortunate. Perhaps donate some non perishables to your local charity or do some fundraising for a worthy cause.
  • Reconnect with nature – walk in the local park and enjoy Nature’s technicolour show of Autumn leaves. Visit your local orchardist and pick some new season apples – you will be amazed at how different they taste to shop ones which often have been in cold storage for more than a year.
  • Gather some friends together and have your own “feast” – savour the taste of the harvest fruit and vegetables and feast on timeless stories….

 

 

Inspiration

Life balance, Philosophy, , , ,

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”

Thomas Edison

Where does your  inspiration come from?  Other people, books, social media? Daydreaming or travel?

What does inspiration mean to you?

The concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as a noun

“1. Drawing in of breath.

2. Inspiring: divine influence, esp. that which is thought to prompt poets etc.”

The verb to inspire also has two meanings. 

“1. Breathe in, inhale, (air etc.) :

2. Infuse thought or feeling into (person; esp. of divine or supernatural agency) animate: (person etc with feeling); infuse (feeling into person etc)

Adels Grove I am going to take a deep breath, an inspiration and fill my lungs with fresh air. I will do this several times before starting my meditative reflection, or daydream and allow my mind to clear of the daily chatter. By the third inspiration, my heart rate will have slowed, my facial muscles relaxed and my eyes may have closed. The thoughts and ideas of the day will start to sort themselves out, unravelling through the tangled skein of neural pathways until there is a quieting of my mind.

As the various muscles unwind with the improved  blood flow resulting from conscious inspiration,  the subconscious starts to step out to play. As the mind starts to drift steadily and rapidly from the daily dross,  an occasional fleeting thought passes across my awareness like a cloud scudding across the sky. Random thoughts; are they divinely inspired? Foremost in my mind are questions that I hope will be answered by this exercise.

The breathing slows and for a moment time and space ceases to exist. Aaahh! Nothingness! Elusive and yet achieved by steady inspiration. A sudden jolt and it is as if I have moved through a membrane into a different space. All my senses heightened,  I take a deep breath in and open my eyes slowly. The light seems to have changed imperceptibly and I focus on what is in front of me.

There is the physical environment, the same as before, but now there is clarity of thought.

An answer to what I thought was a difficult problem has come to me in that moment. The reflection has revealed there is more to the picture.

So this is the other inspiration!