Accessing Our Inner Wisdom

Now that you have your completed your calendar collage, you are ready to dialogue with the images. You will use your non-dominant hand.

This is the hand you do not normally write with.

We use the non-dominant hand to access the right-brain,

which is the seat of our emotions and inner wisdom. 

Step 1.

Take a moment to find a quiet place to sit with your collage.

Give yourself 20 minutes minimum.

Step 2.

Close your eyes and take several breaths.

Release any tension, thoughts or anxiety.

Step 3.

Allow your gaze to take in all of the images on the collage.

Let yourself get curious about one of the images. 

Step 4.

Using your non-dominant hand let the image write about itself in the first person.

Allow it to tell its own story.

What part of you is it expressing? What are its qualities? Why is it on your collage?

Step 5.

If you notice any critical voice regarding the journal writing itself or this process,

simply take a breath and release it. 

This naturally occurs whenever we are trying something new.

Step 6.

With your dominant hand, write down any insights from this exercise.

You may want to write about how the process itself felt to you.

The more you view and write with these images, the more insights you will uncover.

Next post: Learn how to have a written dialogue with your collage. 

June Collage Calendar

July Collage Calendar

Our Allowance Receiver Meter

I recently lived a manifestation of my new collage. And it relates to what Esther Hicks, the popular speaker of the Abraham talks, calls The Art of Allowing.

I was in a Dodge Dart rental. Driving home after work on Highway 46 was an act of spontaneity. While driving, I realized I was inside the image of the car pictured on my collage. That is, I was in a squeaky clean new car, driving through rolling hills...listening to an Esther Hicks CD.

The next day, I decided to write to the image using the Dominant Hand/Non-dominant method. This method used both hemispheres of the brain to let our heart speak. Basically, we have a conversation with the image by asking questions with our dominant hand and answering with our non-dominant hand.

I intended to write to the entire image of the car, but became interested in the little diamond shaped antennae above the back windshield.

DH: Dear Diamond on Car, who are you in my collage?

NDH: I am your allowance receiver meter.
DH: How do you feel?
NDH: Like I am flying along ready to continue the journey!
DH: Why do you feel that way?
NDH: Because you are open to listening to your Self in a way that you never had before.
DH: How can you tell?
NDH: How excited, content and satisfied are you?
DH: Why, I feel the best and most excited in a grounded way, than I ever had before.

To take this understanding even further, antenna's are how we perceive our environment. That is, when you encounter someone in a bad mood, do you take it personally? If you aren't able to complete a project on your own, do you seek help or just give up? Do you allow yourself to enjoy a vision for your future, or do you habitually cut the dream off as soon as it appears because you can't imagine how it will happen?

Allowing ourselves to perceive through our heart, feel our joy, practice visioning and use right-brain journal techniques, keep life's magic alive.

What are you visioning for yourself today?  

Happy New Vision Board

Last week I created a vision board for the year. The best thing about the workshop was having the facilitator hold the creative space so I could listen to my to heart. I was able to relax and let go of my everyday life.

Vision Board January 2015

The first step was to find a Creative Self symbol. The reason is that we want to listen to our intuitive guidance about our desire. Marianne Williamson says it best. "What do I want? Now what do I really want?" Creating a vision board is about wanting something so we can have a state of being, rather than a goal to strive after. After all, we set goals because we think it will make us happier.

I chose the image of a woman wearing glasses as my Creative Self. After placing this image in the center of the page, I meditated for a few moments and let my non-dominant hand (to access the right brain) write "I want to be a published author."

Creative Self image

This is not surprising.

I've been a blogging, songwriting, magazine-published journalist for years. But I want to publish the books that I am creating. Not self-publish, although that is a wonderful start. I want my books to be published by a publishing house: small press, big press, online, off-line, down the line. Those details don't matter. What matters is that when it comes to desiring, then pasting that desire to a board for ourselves to see, well, the devil really IS in the details.

I'm talking inviting the Critic to join me for the ride.

First off, the reason for calling this negative rant in our minds the Critic is to distance ourselves from this voice. The Critic is really a negative thought pattern running loose in our mind. After the process of selecting, sorting and arranging the images that depicted my focus phrase, I allowed the Critic to speak. The reason is that I wanted a chance to talk back. But I can't do that until I journal the rant. Using the dominant hand for the Critic voice externalizes the thought. Using the non-dominant hand to answer back allows the inner child to stand up to this scary voice.

DH.

Critic voice using dominant hand

You just read that the publishing industry is dead. So maybe you can be a self-published author with your cute little books, but that's it.

NDH:

You don't have the capacity to do anything but complain. You're not my guide. You're not even on my team. I'm following my Creative Self.

Inner Child voice using non-dominant hand

After this 10-minute exercise, I was ready to glue the images to the page.

Now, here's what the Creative Self had to say. (I use the dominant hand so I can be a left-brained interviewer. The Creative Self answers with the non-dominant hand.)

DH: Dear Creative Self, tell me about yourself.

NDH: I love wanting to be a published author. It launches a fun creative play list that flows seamlessly into my wonderful life. Delight and joy and trust and love in the journey to published author starts with me. 

Delight and joy? I say YES!

Next month...the first image manifests.

Learn more about this journaling process with my book My Body, My Car: How to Coach Yourself Through Life's little Accidents. Part memoir,I wrote this self-guided workshop so you can blast through the blocks that stand between you and your dream.It even includes a music CD.  For more information, visit WriteInside.com 

Sanctuary at Work

My work territory has expanded recently.

The office moved from a cube environment to open space. Instead of working in a corner with a nice cubicle wall next to me, I am now in the middle of a large room. If I sat down I'd have cubicle walls, but it's more comfortable to work at a stand-up desk.

So what's a cubby-hugging woman to do? 
How do I create a comfortable place to work within an open space?

At first I tried resisting the change. I thought of ways to keep people out of my cube. I relived memories of my last open space environment job. But after struggling for a couple of weeks, I gave up.

During this time I kept stress at bay with non-dominant hand drawings and writings. The pictures were generally of someone inside a square with chaos happening all around.

One night, after most everyone went home two co-workers and I raided the meeting room and swiped one of the tables.  This was set up perpendicular at the left side of my desk. Now I had an L-shape space, or a square that is open on two sides. 

This small act of rebellion has reaped huge rewards.Yes, I am still in the middle of creative chaos. But taking the time to build myself a sanctuary allows me to focus on the task at hand. Adding an iPod Shuffle packed with my fav tunes also helps me feel good. 

Now when I'm hanging with my work people, I love it. Sometimes it's a quiet riot, with the roomful of us focused on our computers. And sometimes it's just riotous, with nerf footballs flying and folks scooting down the main aisle on lime green scooters. I've even threatened my co-workers with a Tarzan call ala Carol Burnett. Regardless of the co-worker weather, taking the time to set up my personal square lets me enjoy the co-worker chaos from the comfort of my almost cube.

How do you take care of yourself at work?