connect – The Joyality Program

September 28, 2015May 1, 2018

Building Beautiful Bridges

Back to Joyality 501

Purpose, Preparation, Process & Reflection

Click here to go back to the Three Big Stories of our time, in the Why Joyality? section.

Reflection: Now spend some time reflecting on what you’ve written, what you’ve imagined about this person, and ask yourself this question:

What do you have in common?

This might be aspects of your ecological shadow, a shared interest, friends, workplace or industry, or a place/location … anything at all. Spend quite a bit of time on this question and really brainstorm “What do I have in common with this person? How am I similar to them? What beliefs, values and feelings do we share?”

Throughout the rest of this week we invite you to learn more about this person and reflecting on their reality, world view and core values. You can do this through observing the person in real life, the media or if you get the chance try engaging with them to find out three things:

What they really care about?
What they think makes them and other people happy?
How they think the world can be made a better place?

Source: This exercise is based on The Philosophy of Life Game, which Dr Eshana Bragg developed and has been practicing with groups of people for the last 15 years or so. It is inspired by the work of Katrina Shields, in her book In the Tigers Mouth (1991), particularly the chapter called Building Bridges with the Opposition.

[Download MP3: Building Beautiful Bridges , or you can use the Transcript text below to guide others.]

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[Transcript Building Beautiful Bridges]

Purpose: The purpose of the Building Beautiful Bridges process is to step into other people’s shoes. Particularly those who we don’t usually relate to, or we find ourselves on the opposite sides of an issue we care about.

It’s a process to help us develop compassion and break down stereotypes. It’s a way of overcoming artificial barriers and practising stepping towards people that we don’t usually feel comfortable with in a friendly, compassionate and gently enquiring way. So … we get to open our hearts and open our minds, which sows really important seeds for collaboration in the future. Building bridges across an apparent gap of separation also helps us see the beauty in people, and find ways to respect and even admire them, which makes the world a more beautiful and joyful place for us to inhabit!

Have you heard those corny sayings “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet” and “Your enemy can be your greatest teacher”?

Well, as usual, this exercise is an exercise in imagination! Let’s get practising …

Preparation: We invite you to find a quiet space with your Joyality Journal and free yourself from the business that’s behind you and in front of you, and take some time out to focus on this process.

**Feel free to pause here while you do this. **

Having done that, take a couple of deep breaths and think about the people in your community, or the wider community, who you believe just don’t understand you. They just don’t get why you care about the issues that you do, whether its climate change, some sort of environmental protection or social justice, whatever it is for you. In fact, many of these people don’t even believe that what you care about is an issue at all.

**Feel free to pause here while you do this. Allow any feelings to arise in relation to this, breathe, and let them be.**

Try to get a bit more specific now and apply this process to your “passion action” that you’ve been developing through Joyality .. and focus on people who you want to be different in relation to your passion action. You want them to act differently and make different decisions, and to support you in the differences you want to make, the differences you want to bring to the world. See if you can write a list of these people. They can be specific individuals or a type or a role, for example the police, or other students in my course, or my family or the prime minister of Australia. Write yourself a really good list of people in your Joyality Journal.

**Feel free to pause here while you do this. **

When you’ve done that, choose one of these people. It is easiest to do this process the first time focusing on someone you already know. You may want to choose them because they are particularly challenging, or they just resonate or stand out as someone you would like to feel closer to, or perhaps they are a person that is very important in terms of your strategy for change making (refer to your journal notes from the end of Joyality 401).

“To deeply understand what is important to another does not mean that we must DO what they want. Understanding them also does not mean that we have to agree with them. And understanding them does not mean that they are right and we are wrong.”

– Jon Russell

Process: Part 1

Visualising this person that you have chosen to do this exercise with, and holding them in your imagination for a moment.

What is their usual reaction to you when you are expressing what you care about and the actions you would like to take to make the world a better place? (If you haven’t actually expressed those things to this person then just imagine what their reaction might be if you were to express those things.)
How do you feel when that happens? What emotions come up for you?

Allow yourself to sit with that feeling, exploring it gently and nurture yourself and do whatever you feel to take care of yourself in that moment. You might feel to draw upon one of your selves from the Voice Dialogue process. You might want to use the focusing technique. Just breathe and allow that feeling to release back to where it came from, or down into the earth, into the nature that we are, or just to be there present without needing it to change.

You might want to ask yourself what you need, or what you would like to happen in that situation, and see if any insights come.

The main thing we need to do is to give ourselves some attention and nurturing in that situation. It is important to give ourselves compassion first, connecting with our feelings and needs, and maybe even figuring out a request for ourselves or the other person. That way, we can move through a potentially triggering situation, in an empowered way.

You might like to write a few notes in your Joyality Journal.

Process: Part 2

When you are ready, shift your attention to the person in your imagination in front of you. What do you know about them? Their lifestyle? Their values? Their wants and needs? We’re going to explore a series of questions, so if you haven’t done so already I invite you to close your eyes and image as clearly as you can, making up details if you don’t know them, but its important to try not to parody this person. So be as realistic as you can be.

1. Getting Aquainted. The first set of questions are:

What does this person look like? What sorts of clothes do they wear? What sort of hair style?

See them as clearly as you can in your imagination. Just allow images to pass across your minds’ eye, inviting you to consider different aspects of this person. You don’t need to write anything down, just get in contact with them through your imagination.

How do they spend their day? How do they earn a living? Who do they spend their time with? And what do they really care about?

2. What Makes Them Tick? For this second set of questions you might want to use your journal to explore your answers:

What might they think makes people happy?
How might they think the world can be made a better place?

3. Why is That So? Again, use your journal to explore your answers:

Why do you think they see the world that way?
What media might they be immersed in? What big story does that media tell about the state of the world? About whats important? About what makes people happy?
Like us they might be increasingly bombarded with disturbing news about the state of the world. How do you think they might deal with that information? Would they push it away and deny it? Do they get depressed by it? Do they take positive action?

Reflection: Now spend some time reflecting on what you’ve written, what you’ve imagined about this person, and ask yourself this question:

What do you have in common?

What they really care about?
What they think makes them and other people happy?
How they think the world can be made a better place?

Other Resources: See Marshall Rosenberg’s Compassionate Communication.

Back to Joyality 501

April 30, 2015March 27, 2017

Voice Dialogue (Community of Selves)

Back to Joyality 401

Preparation: Like many of the tools in Joyality, this exercise is not something you can do once and be “done” with. It is a constant process of growth that we hope you will use in many situations in your life, but particularly when you meet with a conflict or difficulty. Try Part 1 now, and if there is a personal or interpersonal difficulty you are facing, try using these concepts and questions to reframe it in Part 2.

Society presents us with a model of the Self, but it is often a one-dimensional, atomized model that does not fit our true experience or serve our growth. The emphasis is on the individual, our separateness from others and from the world around us, particularly the natural world. Separateness is not unimportant – we must know our separateness to know our power, we must explore our own personal uniqueness in order to discover our passions, our path, and our self-realization. But we must not forget that while we are individuals we are also part of a deeply interrelated and co-creative universe. We are active participants in the evolution of this world, and while it is important to honor our personal truth and become empowered in our uniqueness, it is also important not to let that stand in the way of our connection to all people and things and our creative and collaborative participation in the world.

In this exercise, think of your own Self as an ecosystem. You have your own unique personality, but within that personality are many “mini personalities” or “mini selves”. We all have a self that is critical (most of us probably know this self too well), we all have a self that is a pleaser, a self that is a judge, a self that is a thinker … we may have a self that is a beach bum, a self that is quiet and careful, and a self that is adventurous and wild. Some of these selves are very strong, we know them well and experience them often, and others are less developed, some we may not even be aware are present inside of us.

Process Part 1: In your Joyality Journal, begin brainstorming all the different “selves” you have that you can think of. Once you have done that, spend a little time with each one of those selves, getting to know them.

When do each of these selves come out?
How do they express themselves?

Perhaps even experiment with giving each of them names to make it more tangible and in order to help you explore and develop your relationship with that part of yourself. Try writing a discussion between two of the different ‘selves’ in your journal, and see what they have to say to each other!

Reflection Part 1: Exploring and getting to know our many selves is crucial to our evolution, both personally and collectively. It is a way not only of getting to know oneself more intimately, but also of experiencing how the world is working with us, inviting us to be all that we can be, constantly presenting us with opportunities for growth and expansion and connection to all that is.

This can be seen especially in situations of conflict or difficulty. When a difficulty arises, try to use it as an opportunity to understand and get to know yourself more deeply.

Process Part 2: Think of a conflict or difficulty, either with yourself or others, you are experiencing right now. Use this situation as a way to further explore your many selves and their expressions in your life.

What self is reacting to or coming out most in the situation?
Why do you think that is? We often react most strongly and negatively to things in others that we struggle with ourselves. Our frustration with others is often a projection of something we are frustrated with ourselves about (this is, of course, not always true).
Are these selves helping you be the best (most enjoyable) version of yourself that you want to be?
Are some of our selves over-functioning? Are some under-functioning?
Does this difficulty or conflict represent a pattern? Is it a pattern that you enjoy or one you would like to break?
Might choosing to embody, and therefore strengthen, another self in this situation lead to a more desirable, more joyful outcome for you?

Try thinking of yourself (the one sitting here doing this exercise) as separate from the selves you are identifying as reactors to this situation at hand … kind of like a facilitator in a community meeting, helping each voice be heard, and creating an atmosphere of respect and harmony. This can be helpful in mentally and emotionally stepping “out” of one self and “into” another. Once you have identified what self or selves you would like to oversee and resolve the conflict you are facing, spend some time acquainting yourself with this new persona. How does this version of your Self act, talk, question, think? It’s helpful to get as specific as you possibly can.

Maybe try re-playing conversations or situations that have already occurred in regards to this conflict as this new self you are embodying. What would this new self have said in that situation? How would that have changed the course, and perhaps the outcome, of it?

Reflection Part 2: Once you feel comfortable in this new self, keep it in the front of your consciousness when dealing with the conflict you are facing. As you feel yourself begin to react in the old way, pause, remember your goals for the resolution of the situation, and remember the self you embodied through this exercise that you believe will be most effective in helping you achieve that goal.

You might come back to this process many times throughout a single situation as breaking psychological and behavioural patterns can take time, discipline, effective strategies, or sometimes simple inspiration/insight. However, breaking free of patterns that are not serving your goals and desires or bringing you joy is an incredibly exciting and satisfying experience. It allows us to know, to feel on a cellular level, that we have some power over who we are and how we live, and that this in turn influences the course of our lives.

Also, as we begin to look at conflicts as the universe presenting us with opportunities to grow and develop, our relationship with the co-creative forces of the world is strengthened, and we begin to see these opportunities everywhere in our lives and feel more and more like an active, creative participant.

Sources: This process was developed based on material provided by Dr Caresse Cranwell, and inspired by the original Voice Dialogue work of Drs Hal and Sidra Stone. For more on the “eco-systemic self”, read Caresse’s paper ‘From Ego to Eco‘.

Back to Joyality 401

April 27, 2015January 31, 2020

What’s Your Mode of Communication?

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Preparation: One of the main forms of communication is direct communication – person to person contact through conversations, words, facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, dress, speeches or presentation. As you can see, direct communication can be either verbal or non-verbal.

The other main form of communication is mediated communication- writing letters or emails, social media, websites, text messages, stickers, t-shirts, signs, graffiti, photographs, television, books, music and other forms of art. Again, there are both verbal and non-verbal forms of mediated communication.

Process: Take a minute to think about how you most commonly communicate about things you care about. Write answers to these questions in your Joyality Journal.

Which forms of communication do you use the most?
Which are you most comfortable with, which do you really enjoy, and why?
Which are you uncomfortable with? Why?
Which forms of communication do you think you are best or most effective at using? (These may be forms you are comfortable with or they may not.)
Which forms would you like to improve your use of? How could you go about doing this?

Reflection: Our experience is that, if you sit in a group of people sharing this exercise, you will find that people have different modes of communication. That is, different people enjoy, and are effective at, communicating in different ways. Some people like talking one-on-one with people, others like using social media, another person might be a good visual artist, and someone may even like public speaking! This means that if that group were to get together to focus on creating positive change, communication modalities can be shared amongst the group, creating a very effective communication strategy. We can also share the communication skills we have with each other, if we want to improve in certain modalities.

Back to Joyality 201

April 26, 2015January 31, 2020

Natural Symbol Play

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We all have objects or images that we are continually attracted to. Perhaps you love flowers or dragonflies, maybe you are always collecting rocks or shells, maybe you surround yourself with images of mountains or birds or collect little frog or buddha statues. Usually, whether we realize it or not, the symbols and images we are consistently drawn to are from nature.

Think about what symbols or objects you love in nature. Look around your room or even at your clothes and notice what patterns you see. Pick one of these symbols, the one that is most common or that you feel the most drawn to at that moment.

Pick up or focus on one version of that symbol or object that you have. Find a quiet place and make yourself comfortable sitting on the floor or in a chair. If you have a physical version of that symbol, hold it in your hands. If you only have a photo or image of the object that is fine, just hold the picture or sit in front of the image.

Close your eyes, take a few slow, deep breaths and center yourself. Clear your mind of the debris of the day, put any tasks and worries to the side for a minute, just be where you are. When you feel calm and grounded, open your eyes and focus on the object or image.

What do you love about this symbol or object? What draws you to it?

Are there any deeper significances, ancient meanings, mythological stories or metaphors surrounding this symbol or object?

Think about this symbol in nature- what role does it play? How does it behave or function?

How is this symbol like you?

What can you learn from this symbol? If it helps, imagine yourself becoming this symbol and see what thoughts, feelings, or realizations this brings to you.

Source: Caresse Cranwell of Ecollaborations.

Back to Joyality 201

April 25, 2015September 24, 2019

Elemental Being

Preparation & Purpose

Process

Reflection

If you are by yourself, write answers to these questions down. If you are with others, take turns sharing your experiences and listening to the experiences of others.

[Download MP3s: Elemental Being 1 (Preparation & Purpose), 2 (Process) and 3 (Reflection), or you can use the Transcript text below to guide others.]

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[Transcript Elemental Being]

Preparation: Find yourself a quiet place and sit on the ground. You can sit on a cushion if you wish, or in a chair if you need to. Preferably this place is in or near nature, but it doesn’t need to be. This meditation focuses on the nature inside us, the nature that we are.

Purpose: This process can be done alone or with others. It is meant to relax and help us realize that, while there may be a physical separation, there is no ultimate separation between the “environment out there” and ourselves. The nature “out there” and the nature “in here” are completely and intricately interconnected.

This process is based on a traditional Buddhist practice and is also inspired by the work of Wes Nizker, author of Buddha’s Nature.

Process: If you are sitting on the ground, recognize that this symbolizes entering a deeper state of consciousness and your connection to the earth. If you are in a chair, bring your awareness to your bare feet on the ground, linking you to the earth. Sit with a straight back, and feel the crown of you head stretching into the sky. Feel that sense of expansiveness, combined with a sense of groundedness through your feet’s connection to the earth.

Start with you eyes open focusing gently on any nature you can see around you, maybe out a window, maybe a potted plant inside. Then gently close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Allow any tension that’s in your body to leave you. Sink into the earth, into the floor, blowing that tension out with every exhalation. If any thoughts come into your mind throughout this meditation, allow them to be, let them go, don’t try to change them, and focus back your breath (or my words).

Start by focusing on the element of earth in your body. As you sit there with your eyes closed, feel your teeth resting together, move them slightly so you feel tooth against tooth, reminding you that your teeth and your bones exist as rock, as calcium phosphate. These hard substances form the framework of your body, keeping you together, keeping you where you’re meant to be. The element of earth is the body’s solidity, its hardness, its mass and its weight. This is what responds to the effects of gravity. Feel yourself resting heavily on the earth, knowing that no matter what you do you are always held by the earth’s gravitational field. You cannot fall off this planet, you are always held securely to it. Spend several breaths just feeling the element of earth within your body.

Now shift your attention to the element of water. Bring your attention back to your mouth and feel the saliva that is in your mouth. Feel around with your tongue, feel the wetness. This wetness, like sweat, lymph, and blood, is coursing through our bodies all the time. Our blood is very close in chemical composition to the ancient sea water from which we once evolved. The organs of our body average at about 75% water, and some, like the lungs and the brain, are about 90%. Feel your body as a bag of fluid. Also bring your attention to the sensation of this liquid flowing throughout our body, transporting nutrients, oxygen and waste, through our organs and out into the environment. Spend several breaths simply feeling the element of water within your body.

Now bring your attention to the element of fire in your body. As you sit there, see if you can be aware of the very subtle heat radiating from your body. This is your metabolism, the result of your digestion of food. These chemical reactions create energy from the food we eat, and this food, whether it is plants or animals that once ate plants, ultimately comes from the sun. Plants transform the energy of the sun into their bodies through photosynthesis, animals eat the plants, and we eat the animals and the plants. So as you feel the warmth of your body, feel that connection back to the sun. Spend a few breaths feeling the element of fire in your body.

Now bring your attention back to the element of air. Place your attention on the effortless inhale and exhale of your breath. With every breath we take, both in and out, there is no separation between the atmosphere around us and our bodies. When you think about it, we are actually sharing breath with not only all the other humans and animals on the earth, but also all the plants and the trees. Every out breath of ours full of carbon dioxide is absorbed by these plants and trees, used to create their woody bodies, and breathed out as the oxygen that is so vital to our existence. Spend a few moments just breathing and being aware of our sharing of breath with all other beings on this planet.

Finally, as you sit here, see if you can bring all of those elements together, and realize that we are the intersection of those four elements. Earth, water, fire and air. They are all constantly moving, traveling, changing and transforming through our bodies.

Feel an answer to the question “Who am I?”

Reflection: Resting gently after those experiences, just allow yourself to be still and connected to the elements of nature within yourself. When you are ready, gently open your eyes. Reflect on how you feel different after this meditation. How do you feel emotionally? How would you describe your sense of awareness? If you are by yourself, write answers to these questions down. If you are with others, take turns sharing your experiences and listening to the experiences of others.

Back to Joyality 201

April 24, 2015May 1, 2018

Letter from Gaia

Back to Joyality 401

The living organisms of this planet interact with each other and with the physical aspects of Earth to form a complex, synergistic and self-regulating system. This is known as the Gaia Theory, after the Greek word for the ancestral mother of all life, the primal Mother Earth goddess. It refers to the view that the Earth as a whole is a living system, a living organism, of which we are a part and from which we are born.

Imagine the Earth could speak to you – what do you think it would say? As you have begun to deepen your relationship with nature through Joyality, the idea that the Earth can speak to you may not seem so crazy. Indeed, the Earth speaks to us everyday in many ways, and we can view climate change and the environmental crises happening right now as messages from the Earth, cries for help, warnings that something is wrong. Additionally, when we see a rainbow, a dragonfly lands on our coffee cup, or long awaited rains come causing everything to bloom, these can be seen as messages of love and nurturing from the Earth.

Take a minute to imagine that the Earth is speaking to you in your language. In your Joyality journal, write a letter to yourself from Gaia.

Begin this way: “Dear [insert your name], this is your mother Gaia…”

Relax and see what comes, don’t think, just write. Remember, no one will see this so it doesn’t have to be “good”. Just write what comes, listen, allow yourself to be a transmitter, allow the Earth to speak through you.

Source: John Seed. The Gaia Theory, or Gaia Hypothesis as it was first known, was developed by chemist Dr James Lovelock and microbiologist Dr Lynn Margulis in the 1970’s.

Back to Joyality 401

April 23, 2015January 31, 2020

Dare2Care

Back to Joyality 301

If this process brings up distressing feelings that you are having difficulty processing, please contact your Joyality facilitator for support.

Each of the four objects symbolizes a different emotion.

The rock symbolizes anxiety and fear
The stick symbolizes anger and frustration
The pile of leaves symbolizes sadness and grief
The empty bowl symbolizes feelings of not knowing, of emptiness and despair.

Reflection: We invite you to use your Joyality Journal to write down a few of the so-called “negative” feelings that came up for you on the left hand side of a page, and write your very own “flip-side” on the right. Some unexpected insights or gifts may emerge…

Treat yourself very gently if you’ve gone deeply into this process. Do something that is simple and nurturing for you … a quiet walk, warm bath, a cup of tea … whatever it is for you.

[Download MP3s: Dare2Care ]

Back to Joyality 301

[Transcript Dare2Care]

Purpose: The purpose of the Dare2Care process is to connect us to our deeper feeling and knowing about the state of the world. It’s an opportunity to focus on the so called “negative” feelings that our culture and society tells us either that we shouldn’t have, or if we do have them, that we should hide. This practise helps us discover what we really care about. What do we love? What really matters to us? What moves us?

Contrary to what we might expect, our so called “negative” feelings, such as fear, anger, sadness, and overwhelm are often the keys to finding our motivation and our life’s passion. Sharing these feelings with other people who we feel safe with also deepens our connection with them and helps us realise that we are not alone. We encourage you not only to “dare to care” but to “dare to share”.

This process is based on the Truth Mandala, which was developed by Joanna Macy as part of The Work That Reconnects, and is included in her most recent book written with Chris Johnstone called Active Hope (2012).

It is a chance to acknowledge, honour and release feelings about the world that we may have been carrying around for quite a while!

Preparation: The first thing to do is collect these objects from nature. Get an empty bowl to put the objects in (the bowl will also serve as one of the objects). Find a largish stone that fits nicely in the palm of your hand, two handfuls of dead leaves, and a short sturdy stick. If you can’t find these things, that’s okay, just use whatever you have around that works for you.

Each of these four objects symbolizes a different emotion.

The rock symbolizes anxiety and fear
The stick symbolizes anger and frustration
The pile of leaves symbolizes sadness and grief
The empty bowl symbolizes feelings of not knowing, of emptiness and despair.

*** Pause here while you gather these objects and jot these notes down in your Joyality Journal or open the Dare2Care webpage to this list of emotional symbols. ***

Find yourself a quiet and private place, either inside or outdoors, but somewhere that feels cosy and safe to you. Use a cushion, or a chair if you need one, and place it in a clear space on your floor. Arrange the four objects in front of your cushion – the empty bowl, the stone, the pile of leaves, and the stick. If you want to use a chair, clear a table and arrange the four objects on the table. If you would like to, light a candle and place it in the centre, symbolising hope, light and life!

Like all of the processes in this toolkit you can either do this Dare2Care process alone, with a friend, or with a group of people. Sharing it with others truly deepens the experience and what you get from it. If you don’t feel okay about visiting these feelings by yourself, perhaps ask a counsellor to do this process with you, or wait to do it with your Joyality Circle.

If you’re with a friend, get two cushions and put the objects between you.

If you’re in a group, sit in a circle with the objects in the centre. When someone wishes to speak they will go into the centre of the circle and sit beside the objects.

You might like to get yourself a glass of water, and maybe some tissues, and make sure that you won’t be disturbed. Take off your shoes and make sure that you’re comfortable. If you’ve chosen to use a candle, light it now.

*** Pause here while you do this. ***

Process: Sit down and get comfortable, either on your cushion or in your chair. Take a few really deep breaths, and with each exhalation feel all the muscles in your body relaxing. Allow any tensions to release. Close your eyes. Bring your attention to the earth beneath you, feel it supporting you as it always does. Feel yourself sitting on the ground, or feel the soles of your feet on the ground, and allow this sensation to connect you to the earth and also to be a symbol of entering and experiencing a deeper level of consciousness. See if you can feel that sense of relaxation, gratitude and support just by sitting there.

You might also want to draw upon a more personal source of support, something or someone that makes you feel safe and strong. Imagine a place, a nature being, totem animal, ancestor, relative or close friend sitting close behind you, “having your back” like a guardian and protector. If things start to feel “too much” then allow them to deal with the situation. You might also want to imagine your Joyality Circle with you.

Remember to keep breathing through all your feelings, and you can even imagine that as strong feelings arise, you allow them to be expressed through you, then let them settle and be absorbed by the earth, dissolve in the air and water, and burn in the fire of the candlelight.

Now you’re in that beautiful protected space, start to allow images and thoughts and feelings to arise about the destruction of the earth and its ecosystems, climate change, social injustice, war, famine, economic collapse – all the things you know about that are happening in the world right now that make you feel distressed. Just allow any feelings that you have to surface.

Now gently open up your eyes and allow your gaze to rest upon the four objects around you. Each of these four objects symbolizes a different emotion.

The rock symbolizes anxiety and fear – as you gaze at the rock, allow those feelings to arise.
The stick symbolizes anger and frustration – as you gaze at the stick allow those feelings to arise.
Now turn your attention to the pile of leaves – these leaves symbolize your sadness and your grief about what is happening to the world. As you gaze at them, allow those feelings to arise in you.
And finally, gaze at the empty bowl – this symbolizes feelings of not knowing, of emptiness and despair – allow those feelings to arise as well.

When you’re ready, pick up one of those objects, whichever one calls to you first, whichever one you are feeling most strongly at that time. Allow yourself to fall more and more deeply into the feeling. Welcome it, accept it, don’t try to change it. Feel the physical sensations that come along with that feeling. Maybe you are slightly shaky, perhaps tears begin to come – that’s okay, just let it happen.

Remember, emotions are simply energy, you don’t have to hold onto them any more, just let the energy flow through you … and see what emerges, if any new feelings and sensations take their place.

Once you’ve allowed yourself to feel this emotion, try to speak it out loud. Even if you’re alone, giving voice to your emotions is a powerful and often relieving thing to do. Speak in the first person, trying to express whatever feelings you feel symbolized by whichever object you are holding. (It might feel a bit strange to talk to yourself like this, but we encourage you to give it a go.)

Repeat this process for each object when you hold it. Yes, it’s important that you actually pick each object up and hold it. Feel free to come back to an object or feeling you have already expressed if something else comes up for you about it.

If you are with a friend, simply take turns sharing, similarly in a circle. Don’t be afraid to allow silence between your sharing.

*** Pause here while you spend at least five minutes doing this process. ***

Reflection: Now, remember that the rock symbolizes anxiety and fear, the stick symbolizes anger and frustration, the leaves symbolize your sadness and grief about what is being lost, and the empty bowl symbolizes a state of despair and not knowing what to do.

Thank you for having the courage to get in touch with your deeper feelings, speak them, share them. Know that you are not alone in having these feelings. There are many of us who share your experiences, your knowledge, and your reactions. Remember, too, that each one of your feelings is a healthy psychological response to the current crises and the unhealthy state of the world.

We would like to remind you that each of these “negative” feelings also has a flip side to it. When you were holding the rock and feeling afraid and anxious, know that courage is not possible without those feelings of fear. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to take action despite feeling afraid.

When you were holding the stick and feeling angry or frustrated, know that anger is nothing more than a passion for justice and that it is a necessary force in empowering and motivating you to make change.

When you were holding the leaves and feeling sadness and grief at what is being lost, know that you wouldn’t feel those feelings unless you loved or cared for those very things. So the leaves also symbolize your deep love and care for the planet and for people.

When you were holding the empty bowl and recognizing your despair and not knowing what to do, know that we need that emptiness, that not knowing, that space, in order to imagine new solutions, make the changes that we need to make, and create a better world.

So thank you for your courage, your passion for justice, your love and care, and your openness and ability to change. Thank you for daring to care. Imagine what is possible if we apply each of those feelings, and the strengths that come from them, to making a difference in the world.

Treat yourself very gently if you’ve gone deeply into this process. Do something that is simple and nurturing for you … a quiet walk, warm bath, a cup of tea … whatever it is for you.

Source: Dr Eshana Bragg has been facilitating the Truth Mandala for over twenty years, and this is her own version of the original process created by Joanna Macy, adapted for use by one person, and renamed “Dare2Care”.