In the poll posted in the sidebar of this blog – one person said that their vision collage manifested wonderfully, but others said they weren’t sure what to do with their collage after it was created. Once the vision board is complete, use the following guidelines based on the book by Lucia Capacchione, Visioning: Ten Steps to Designing the Life of Your Dreams.
Have a journal with you to record any insights you may have.
*Be sure you share your collage or insights ONLY with those who you feel safe with and who support your dream.
1. Give your collage a place of honor in your home to display your vision.
2. Spend time viewing your collage – at least 15 minutes – several times a week.
This allows the energy of the images permeate your heart so you will ‘recognize’ circumstances as they flow toward you.
3. As you look at your creation, notice the colors and shapes of the collage pieces as well. Do you notice any recurring themes or colors?
If your vision isn’t manifesting ask yourself:
Do I spend time with my collage daily?
Weekly?
Do I follow my vision with inspired action?
That is - if you know you need to clear out the garage for the new office you are manifesting – have you done it?
If not, then why not?
Does it FEEL GOOD to look at your collage?
One reason why Visioning® doesn’t work is because often times we collage what think we SHOULD have. In other words, your collage may be what your mind says you want – but your heart needs to lead the way. The rational mind will come later, when it is time to put the plan into action.
Another reason why a collage doesn’t manifest is because of the voice inside your head that rationalizes away your desire. You’re too busy, too broke or too tired to go for another dream. Beware! This voice has IT’S OWN AGENDA and your dream is not on the list. (Read Visioning® Step Five: The Inner Critic.)
Your vision is given to you by the grace of the One that created you. It’s your gift, your blessing. Let your vision lead you. Let go of what no longer serves you to make room for your desire. Be brave enough to ask: am I following my vision today?
May the journey to your dreams be filled with yes,
Dorothy
Showing posts with label Lucia Capacchione. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lucia Capacchione. Show all posts
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Meet the Parents - Inner Family Part 2
Last week I talked about the Inner Child and introduced the concept of an Inner Family. This blog – it’s time to meet the parents. If our emotions, intuition and body sensations are the Inner Child (IC), then the way to create safety with the IC is through the Inner Parents*. Inner Family work has four parents. A9ll of these parents are needed for every stage of raising an IC. These Inner Parents are the Protective Parent, Nurturing Parent, Critical Parent, and the Spiritual Parent. In addition, two crucial family members are the Observer and the Aware Ego. These two aspects set the parent roles into motion - instantly. If your life is out of balance in the areas of health, wealth, love, creativity and general happiness, then understanding how your internal Selves operate can remove the barriers to your dreams.
The Protective Parent
The Protective Parent is the part of us that sets boundaries both internally and externally. Internally, I use my Protective Parent when I drag my IC off the beach in order to get back to my desk. Externally, I am using this mode when I put my ‘boundary bag’ on my door when I don’t want to be disturbed. I also use Protective Parent mode when I am in a new social situation. When I’m with my friends, the childlike silly aspect of my Self is free to express because I know I am with trusted loved ones.
A Protective Parent that is out of balance results in sentences like these: “Those people are taking advantage of me!” “I dread going into work – my boss is going to throw a fit when he sees my sales numbers are down!” A balanced Protective Parent keeps our IC safe. These safety measures can take the form of making agreements with others, but we need to understand where the internal agreements break down first.
The Nurturing Parent
The Nurturing Parent is the part of us that cares for our health. When its time to eat, we stop and eat. We don’t try to finish just “one more thing” to the detriment of our body. We stop writing our blog in order to watch the final episode of Brothers and Sisters. If we need to relax after work – we take a bath or have tea and read. If we have an emotionally charged day, we give our selves quiet time rather than burying our feelings with too much alcohol, television, Internet or other repetitive patterns.
After auditioning for a musical in San Luis Obispo a few years back, I allowed myself cry and be sad when I didn’t make the cut. This is allowing was my nurturing aspect let the IC express. The feeling lasted just a few minutes. Years later, for my graduation Capstone class at Antioch, I performed an original musical medley as my final exam. (The DVD footage will not be uploaded.) If I had stuffed down the audition experience with phrases such as “Oh, it was meant to be” before feeling the disappointment – I wouldn’t have performed my ‘shuffle off to Buffalo’ routine. The reason? My unprocessed disappointment would have been stored in my body. Feeling disappointed at the time yielded the joy of being onstage in an original musical later.
The Spiritual Parent
The Spiritual Parent is the aspect of us that is our all knowing, grounded Self. It is connected to the Spiritual plane and knows that we are loved. The qualities are acceptance, patience, compassion and loving kindness. In the New Age movement, many people identify with this aspect. Or they judge this aspect as the better than the other parental modes. This is dangerous because hanging out in the ethereal realm creates an imbalance. That is, when its time to come to earth and do the work – there is a tendency to maintain the spiritual high through drugs or drama. The limitless quality of this parent does not allow for the reality of limits that the material world imposes.
The Spiritual Parent forgives a betrayal, while the IC feels the hurt, the nurturing aspect heals, and the protective aspect leaves these relationships behind - or insists on couples counseling! Rushing to forgiveness before processing the pain only buries the hurt in our cellular memory.
Journaling with the Spiritual Parent using the non-dominant hand technique (see January Blog) dispels the societal beliefs of “Daddy God coming in for the rescue.” Journaling with this parent gave me the clarity to take the action in plenty of situations. For instance, in a car accident I had in May of 2007, I called on the Spiritual Parent. After I realized I was not hurt, I closed my eyes and gave thanks. I remembered blessing the journey of insurance paperwork that greeted me. But when it came time to meet the other driver – my Protective Parent took care of business.
The Critical Parent
The Critical Parent is the one I have discussed the most in my blog postings because I have spent a lot of time either listening to its voice or resisting its voice - which energetically, is the same thing. Dr. Capacchione teaches that this parent is necessary in the same way that Inspector Clouseau wrestled with Kato in the Pink Panther movies. That is, he needed the surprise attack to keep his sleuthing skills sharp! If only my Critical Parent’s grousing were as hilarious as Peter Sellars movies. Actually, they can be – once you recognize the disguises this crafty parent uses.
In her book, The Energy of Money, Maria Nemeth calls the Critical Parent, Monkey Mind. Warning signals that we are making decisions from Monkey Mind are being vague, being defensive, taking things personally, making excuses, using either/or thinking – you get the point.
Two aspects of the Critical Parent are The Pusher and The Perfectionist. Both of these aspects are rampant in the Western work world.
You know me - I created a Visioning® collage of my Inner Family. In the Critical Parent section a woman is cringing under the photo of a skinny, persnickety cartoon man. This cartoon man represents the Critical Parent. Beneath the cartoon man is a little Buddha face laughing. Phew! Critical Parent techniques are in my April Blog.
The Observer and The Aware Ego
The Observer: Also on my collage is an image of Buddhist Monk sweeping. This is my Observer representative. But the Observer only observes and needs the directorial skills of the Aware Ego. My Aware Ego is represented by Cesar Milan and Chris Rock. These images remind me to ‘be aware of the energy I am emitting” and “the laughter behind my human drama.”
The Observer is the witness to the events in our life. It simply sees what is happening and reports on the facts. There is no emotional attachment. These reports are used by the Aware Ego, who is the internal director. The Aware Ego gets information from the Observer. Here is an example. The Observer tells the Aware Ego “Dorothy’s boss Susie is yelling again.” Nowhere in the Observers reporting does it mention any personalization. It’s just the facts, ma’m. The Aware Ego can now make a decision.
In this real life circumstance, I was aware of the Observer voice and realized that Susie was like a child throwing a tantrum. I simply let the tantrum happen, and then repeated back what I heard Susie wanted. Because I didn’t jump on the “Susie is yelling there must be something wrong with Susie, with me, with ____,” bandwagon, the situation diffused quickly. If I had tried to fix the situation instead, well, I’d still be standing there with a red faced Susie boss.
We know that the Aware Ego is asleep at the wheel when we go on vacations with our files from work or go to meet prospective clients wearing our swim trunks. The Aware Ego is the decider. It chooses which role is appropriate for which setting. Going to negotiate a contract? Better take the Protective Parent. Stymied by a major decision? Then spend some time journaling with your Spiritual Parent.
The important thing to realize is that we are not any of these roles. We are not our Inner Child. We are not the Aware Ego and we are not the Protective Parent. We are human beings, set on this planet to enjoy our incredible lives. Get to know your Inner Family and the roles they play. They are here to help you move through life’s situations with grace.
May you and your Inner Family celebrate your life!
Dorothy
Dot in Pacific Grove
PS:For specifics on the Inner Family dynamic,
read Recovery of your Inner Child by Dr. Lucia Capacchione.
The Protective Parent
The Protective Parent is the part of us that sets boundaries both internally and externally. Internally, I use my Protective Parent when I drag my IC off the beach in order to get back to my desk. Externally, I am using this mode when I put my ‘boundary bag’ on my door when I don’t want to be disturbed. I also use Protective Parent mode when I am in a new social situation. When I’m with my friends, the childlike silly aspect of my Self is free to express because I know I am with trusted loved ones.
A Protective Parent that is out of balance results in sentences like these: “Those people are taking advantage of me!” “I dread going into work – my boss is going to throw a fit when he sees my sales numbers are down!” A balanced Protective Parent keeps our IC safe. These safety measures can take the form of making agreements with others, but we need to understand where the internal agreements break down first.
The Nurturing Parent
The Nurturing Parent is the part of us that cares for our health. When its time to eat, we stop and eat. We don’t try to finish just “one more thing” to the detriment of our body. We stop writing our blog in order to watch the final episode of Brothers and Sisters. If we need to relax after work – we take a bath or have tea and read. If we have an emotionally charged day, we give our selves quiet time rather than burying our feelings with too much alcohol, television, Internet or other repetitive patterns.
After auditioning for a musical in San Luis Obispo a few years back, I allowed myself cry and be sad when I didn’t make the cut. This is allowing was my nurturing aspect let the IC express. The feeling lasted just a few minutes. Years later, for my graduation Capstone class at Antioch, I performed an original musical medley as my final exam. (The DVD footage will not be uploaded.) If I had stuffed down the audition experience with phrases such as “Oh, it was meant to be” before feeling the disappointment – I wouldn’t have performed my ‘shuffle off to Buffalo’ routine. The reason? My unprocessed disappointment would have been stored in my body. Feeling disappointed at the time yielded the joy of being onstage in an original musical later.
The Spiritual Parent
The Spiritual Parent is the aspect of us that is our all knowing, grounded Self. It is connected to the Spiritual plane and knows that we are loved. The qualities are acceptance, patience, compassion and loving kindness. In the New Age movement, many people identify with this aspect. Or they judge this aspect as the better than the other parental modes. This is dangerous because hanging out in the ethereal realm creates an imbalance. That is, when its time to come to earth and do the work – there is a tendency to maintain the spiritual high through drugs or drama. The limitless quality of this parent does not allow for the reality of limits that the material world imposes.
The Spiritual Parent forgives a betrayal, while the IC feels the hurt, the nurturing aspect heals, and the protective aspect leaves these relationships behind - or insists on couples counseling! Rushing to forgiveness before processing the pain only buries the hurt in our cellular memory.
Journaling with the Spiritual Parent using the non-dominant hand technique (see January Blog) dispels the societal beliefs of “Daddy God coming in for the rescue.” Journaling with this parent gave me the clarity to take the action in plenty of situations. For instance, in a car accident I had in May of 2007, I called on the Spiritual Parent. After I realized I was not hurt, I closed my eyes and gave thanks. I remembered blessing the journey of insurance paperwork that greeted me. But when it came time to meet the other driver – my Protective Parent took care of business.
The Critical Parent
The Critical Parent is the one I have discussed the most in my blog postings because I have spent a lot of time either listening to its voice or resisting its voice - which energetically, is the same thing. Dr. Capacchione teaches that this parent is necessary in the same way that Inspector Clouseau wrestled with Kato in the Pink Panther movies. That is, he needed the surprise attack to keep his sleuthing skills sharp! If only my Critical Parent’s grousing were as hilarious as Peter Sellars movies. Actually, they can be – once you recognize the disguises this crafty parent uses.
In her book, The Energy of Money, Maria Nemeth calls the Critical Parent, Monkey Mind. Warning signals that we are making decisions from Monkey Mind are being vague, being defensive, taking things personally, making excuses, using either/or thinking – you get the point.
Two aspects of the Critical Parent are The Pusher and The Perfectionist. Both of these aspects are rampant in the Western work world.
You know me - I created a Visioning® collage of my Inner Family. In the Critical Parent section a woman is cringing under the photo of a skinny, persnickety cartoon man. This cartoon man represents the Critical Parent. Beneath the cartoon man is a little Buddha face laughing. Phew! Critical Parent techniques are in my April Blog.
The Observer and The Aware Ego
The Observer: Also on my collage is an image of Buddhist Monk sweeping. This is my Observer representative. But the Observer only observes and needs the directorial skills of the Aware Ego. My Aware Ego is represented by Cesar Milan and Chris Rock. These images remind me to ‘be aware of the energy I am emitting” and “the laughter behind my human drama.”
The Observer is the witness to the events in our life. It simply sees what is happening and reports on the facts. There is no emotional attachment. These reports are used by the Aware Ego, who is the internal director. The Aware Ego gets information from the Observer. Here is an example. The Observer tells the Aware Ego “Dorothy’s boss Susie is yelling again.” Nowhere in the Observers reporting does it mention any personalization. It’s just the facts, ma’m. The Aware Ego can now make a decision.
In this real life circumstance, I was aware of the Observer voice and realized that Susie was like a child throwing a tantrum. I simply let the tantrum happen, and then repeated back what I heard Susie wanted. Because I didn’t jump on the “Susie is yelling there must be something wrong with Susie, with me, with ____,” bandwagon, the situation diffused quickly. If I had tried to fix the situation instead, well, I’d still be standing there with a red faced Susie boss.
We know that the Aware Ego is asleep at the wheel when we go on vacations with our files from work or go to meet prospective clients wearing our swim trunks. The Aware Ego is the decider. It chooses which role is appropriate for which setting. Going to negotiate a contract? Better take the Protective Parent. Stymied by a major decision? Then spend some time journaling with your Spiritual Parent.
The important thing to realize is that we are not any of these roles. We are not our Inner Child. We are not the Aware Ego and we are not the Protective Parent. We are human beings, set on this planet to enjoy our incredible lives. Get to know your Inner Family and the roles they play. They are here to help you move through life’s situations with grace.
May you and your Inner Family celebrate your life!
Dorothy
Dot in Pacific Grove
PS:For specifics on the Inner Family dynamic,
read Recovery of your Inner Child by Dr. Lucia Capacchione.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Visioning® Step Five: The Inner Critic
The reason that there are 10 steps in the Visioning® process is because our feelings are also a process. Not seeing the cycle leads us to the false belief that whatever we are feeling now will last forever. We want the good emotions to last and the bad to stop. The fact that we hang our societal hat on the HAPPY FOREVER peg is obvious when we watch television commercials. The internal advocate of this false advertising is known as The Inner Critic.
Corporate America dumps huge dollars annually on advertising. If advertising didn’t work – big business wouldn’t be paying the big bucks. Business owners count on you to sit through the commercials so that their message will be recalled the next time you make a shopping decision. Our Inner Critic works the same way.
Other names for the Critic are Monkey Mind or ego. In the Visioning® process, the Inner Critic comes at Step Five, the crucial step where all of the collage pieces are laid out but not glued down. Objectively listening to the Critic’s messages and gives us a chance to answer back.
Unfortunately, once out of the workshop environment, where you are supported in your Visioning® process, you forget to be objective to the critical voice – and then POW, your Vision has spontaneously combusted. The critic’s fear based, controlling messages create a slow leak of energy that siphons the juice out of your inspired dream.
This is why Visioning® manifestation seems so far away. When we first begin the Vision, we are in our large, expansive intuitive minds. That is what our collage is based on: the unlimited potential. But when chaos descends on our Vision like Zeus’s thunderbolt from the heavens then what’s a mortal to do?
Stop and feel the thunder.
If you don’t feel the chaotic thunder, then the sun can’t come out. It will stay in hiding for days until the thunderbolts of doubt are seen, felt, accepted and released. Once I told my friend Amy that I felt sad, but I hated having that feeling. She reminded me that when I’m happy, I don’t judge that feeling, so why is sad different? The difference is the powerful advertising from our Inner Critic.
Luckily, I am revisiting a collage created on the theme “Standing in My Own Space in This World” – that I also call Toilet Man because he reminds me to flush when the critic starts yapping. I used to think that this collage meant to stand up for myself only externally. But the most important place to stand up for ourselves is internally, so we can protect the dream that lives in our heart.
Corporate America dumps huge dollars annually on advertising. If advertising didn’t work – big business wouldn’t be paying the big bucks. Business owners count on you to sit through the commercials so that their message will be recalled the next time you make a shopping decision. Our Inner Critic works the same way.
Other names for the Critic are Monkey Mind or ego. In the Visioning® process, the Inner Critic comes at Step Five, the crucial step where all of the collage pieces are laid out but not glued down. Objectively listening to the Critic’s messages and gives us a chance to answer back.
Unfortunately, once out of the workshop environment, where you are supported in your Visioning® process, you forget to be objective to the critical voice – and then POW, your Vision has spontaneously combusted. The critic’s fear based, controlling messages create a slow leak of energy that siphons the juice out of your inspired dream.
This is why Visioning® manifestation seems so far away. When we first begin the Vision, we are in our large, expansive intuitive minds. That is what our collage is based on: the unlimited potential. But when chaos descends on our Vision like Zeus’s thunderbolt from the heavens then what’s a mortal to do?
Stop and feel the thunder.
If you don’t feel the chaotic thunder, then the sun can’t come out. It will stay in hiding for days until the thunderbolts of doubt are seen, felt, accepted and released. Once I told my friend Amy that I felt sad, but I hated having that feeling. She reminded me that when I’m happy, I don’t judge that feeling, so why is sad different? The difference is the powerful advertising from our Inner Critic.
Luckily, I am revisiting a collage created on the theme “Standing in My Own Space in This World” – that I also call Toilet Man because he reminds me to flush when the critic starts yapping. I used to think that this collage meant to stand up for myself only externally. But the most important place to stand up for ourselves is internally, so we can protect the dream that lives in our heart.
When you hear the Inner Critic, you’ll want to notice what it’s saying, but not take its words personally. This means learning not to identify with this internal voice. I use the dominant hand, non-dominant hand technique outlined in Visioning, Ten Steps to Designing the Life of Your Dreams by Dr. Lucia Capacchione. This method allows me to hear the voice of the Inner Critic and feel where its energy lives in my body. In regards to creating a Visioning® collage, the critical voice may use phrases such as: “I’m sure, pictures from a magazine?” “This is a waste of time, you need to _____.”
The Inner Critic is really on our side, trying to take care of us by keeping us on the SAFE path – even if it’s not what our heart desires. In fact, the chaotic rumble of the Inner Critic gets louder as we move closer to our dream. Other ways that the critical voice often manifests is bodily pain such as headaches, fatigue, and depression. These body signals tell us that there are feelings that need to be expressed. In fact, Dr. Capacchione states that addictive behaviors are our way of muffling the voice of the Inner Critic.
Journaling the Inner Critic and talking back via an empowered, yet often disowned energy called The Inner Brat teaches me that these energies are separate from WHO I AM. As I work with these energies it becomes easier to notice and then turn off the critical voice. Ways I use to bring myself into balance after I’ve wrestled with the Inner Critic are The Jimmy Kimmel show, reading Dave Barry, daily affirmations from Abraham-Hicks.com and spending time each day doing what I LOVE.
You also have your ways of dispelling the Inner Critic. Please share them in the Comments section at the end of this Blog and let’s get a dialogue happening.
The world is in need of big dreams and the Visionaries brave enough to face the internal blocks that keep us from our calling. This means you.
May your journey to your dreams be filled with laughter,
Dorothy
To order Lucia’s book visioningcoach.org
To start a Visioning Group or have a Vision party in your home, contact me at dsegovia1@yahoo.com
Finally, hoorah for the Cafe Violette in Capitola, for standing up to its sloppy customers with snappy signage:
“Newsflash: Cafe Violette has trash cans – yes it’s true. So use them or suffer the wrath of the owner – you won’t like her when she’s mad. Use them or suffer the consequences.”
After my fabulous food, I asked about these consequences to see if I could get away with leaving my plate on the table: turns out that any offenders will be assigned to the midnight clean up shift. Yikes!
For a delicious, decadent meal that won’t dent your wallet – stop in at the Cafe Violette at 104 Stockton Avenue in Capitola Village. They’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and feature locally made Marianne’s and Polar Bear ice cream.
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