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FRIDAY: SEPTEMBER 30, OCTOBER 14, 28, NOVEMBER 4 * 7-8:30 PM
COURAGEOUS CREATING at the HaTha Yoga Room in Amherst
A four session Playshop series using proven & effective practices to connect you to what brings you alive. We will explore the beautiful, deep & unexpected connections between yoga, meditation, creativity and imagination.
You must be the one to start a creative conversation with your soul and stay committed to continuing that conversation – daily and forever – soul work that will last a lifetime. This is the practice of courageous creating.

Contact me directly for more information and to register. Payment in advance required. coleenmdavidson@gmail.com

True Nature

I am fire.

I am power.

I am the tap root that nourishes the sacred silence.

I stand my ground between mother earth and the deep ocean filled with sparks of light from father sky.

I am the space of silence between the sun and the moon.

I am the flow.

What practices do you have that support your true nature, your natural source of personal power?

“There is a way between voice and presence where information flows.

In disciplined silence it opens

With wandering talk it closes” Rumi

The image for this original piece of artwork which I created (6’x8’) came to me during a recent acupuncture session. My body was vibrating intensely. I asked my Naturopathic Dr. for an explanation – she said, “Ah! It is your conceptual channel” – thus the title of the piece. I have recently been reflecting on the relationship between my energy and emotion, and for several years have practiced learning to embrace my emotions as energy. By allowing my emotions to rise to the surface as opposed to supressing them, and allowing my breath to be my conduit, I can exhale the energy from my mind, heart and body allowing it to dissipate into the universe. This practice is allowing me to release, accept and create space for myself. When I am feeling ungrounded and off center, the tiny voice (sometimes not so tiny) inside my mind hears refrains such as, “too sensitive, too this & too that” – argh! These voices from the past are no longer serving me as I move forward on my path. By adopting a practice of embracing and honouring the energy that is created, and then exhaling it and releasing it from my heart, mind and body… those old triggers that show up as strong emotions of fear, rejection, judgement, and doubt, lose their power to run me around. I can trust in my own actions, energy, intuition, and personal power to conceive and manifest what I need to birth into the universe.

What do you desire to birth into the universe?

Re-awaken from the long quiet season and expand into new energy and new possibilities.

Commit to living beyond your current definitions.

Inspire yourself and inspire others.

Be abundant and connect with an open limitless heart.

Release and let go of outdated notions that you are somehow limited.

Let go of old stories that no longer serve you.

Practice flexing your bravery muscle.

Live by example – giving other people permission to be expansive and abundant.

Focus on the positive energy in your life.

Indulge in pleasure, in joy and the spring song of the birds.

Create space, create art, music, food, gardens, relationships and more.

Live in the light and shine the light into your deep inside, into your dreams, into your deep unconscious.

Dare to be perfectly imperfect and in so doing – amazing things will happen.

Be courageous and share your gifts with the world, we need them.

Find your community of people that support and serve your full out creative vision and keep them close.

What is longing to come forth?

How many Spring seasons do you have left as the planet continually spins and spins?

What are you waiting for?

I invite you to join me for the Full Body Chakra Experience Playshop, on April 26 at the Fall River Yoga Centre. You will have the space and quiet to tune into your own unique energy. You will discover how to heighten your natural rhythm and flow, empowering you to manifest the work you wish to do in the world. You will  experience a creative transformation in the life size embodiment of your Chakra energy, making the invisible, visible.  At the end of this creative day of play and visual meaning making, you will take home your own personal life size image.

All welcome and all materials provided. Space is limited to 10 participants, so register early by contacting the Fall River Yoga Centre at info@fallriveryoga.com or call  1-902-576-9642.

We invite you to join us on February 22 from 1:30-3:30  in creative expression through stream of consciousness writing, visual meaning making™, restorative yoga and meditation to explore and contemplate what is calling you now at this point in your life as you journey forward on your path, as you walk your dharma. Through meditative stillness in restorative postures you will have space to listen inwardly beneath the obvious answers – to lay the foundation for living by mindful intention rather than habit. By the end of the afternoon you will feel more connected to your own intuitive wisdom. You will take home your own personal creative expression journal to continue a practice of cultivating and nurturing your vision as you become the person you wish to be one action, one breath and one step at a time.

All Welcome & All materials provided

Hosted by:

Coleen Davidson – Registered Yoga Teacher, Certified Art & Yoga Teacher, Artist, ICF Certified Personal Growth & Development Coach and Adult Educator at www.bravelyplayfulcreations.com

Sherry Smith  – Registered Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Thai Yoga Massage Practioner, Reiki Master, and owner & operator at www.hathayogaroom.com

When: Sunday, February 22, 2015

Where: Fall River Yoga Centre, 1397 Fall River Rd. Fall River, NS  

Time: 1:30-3:30 (arrive 10-15 minutes for a prompt start)

Personal Investment: $40 + HST 

To Register: info@fallriveryoga.com 902-576-9642

I just completed the 2014 Leadership Coaching Summit with Coaches Rising www.coachesrising.com and, what has stood out most for me is that each of us is responsible (whatever our profession or calling) to be the proactive Leader inside our own lives. For me, all of the teachings, models and practices boil down to one essential ingredient – there is no secret recipe. Each of us is in charge of creating who we are, and intentionally or not, where we spend our energy and focus is what we become. We can however, from a place of intention and mindfulness, courageously and consciously choose who we want to become with our next breath. Sounds simple, and in reality requires work and bravery.

I am choosing to shake it up and to release old stories that no longer serve me…to create new narratives for the yet unknown path ahead. I am uncomfortable as I sit with lack of clarity. My well-worn habits are tough to break free from… so I work with my own set of practices (and a new added practice from Pam Weiss that I share below), including a deep commitment to being curious and open to learning with the Buddhist practice of “Beginners Mind”.

I wish to share a pragmatic “practice” that Pamela Weiss www.appropriateresponse.com  brought to the Summit – she advised us to step into a practice of listening through stream of consciousness writing… in response to the question “What is calling me now?” For 5 minutes write freely– keep your pen moving, do not worry about spelling or punctuation and if you get stuck – write the question “What is calling me now?” again or write what you just wrote. Once the 5 minutes is up – turn the page and do not review it – practice for the next 5-7 days and at the end of that time, review and highlight the common words or themes and see what might emerge.  If there is a theme that emerges you can then respond to that theme by continuing the writing practice in the same manner – exploring the deeper layers. Exploring through the mind, heart and body “What is calling me now?”

It is helpful prior to the practice, to settle in, take a few breaths, centre and ground yourself. I invite you to visit her site which is rich with free resources, including wonderful and accessible meditation practices.

Let me know –

What is calling you now?

I have been meditating on this theme of experimentation lately, and have come to the uncomfortable conclusion that there is no comfortable way to experiment – so these are my musings and perhaps they may speak to you…

Dare to:

Experiment

Fail

Be bold

Succeed

Look foolish… be brilliant, be your authentic self…

Live your deep life

Answer the calling of your soul

Speak the truth in your heart

Step up…step out

Take a chance

Try again… and again… and again if necessary

Be brave

Be courageous

Step back if you need to

Sit in silence…hear/feel/sense your intuition

Trust in the universe

Is it true the more experiments the better?

What is the one small thing that you can do in this moment to experiment?

Live a perfectly imperfect life

Joyfully experiment with your unique one-of-a-kindness

Stand in your center…one breath, one step, one action at a time

Dare to breathe and step into the flow of life…

As James Hollis asks, “Does this path enlarge or diminish me? I know I always want my path to enlarge my life – thus the need to live in experimental joy – sometimes I do require an extra dose of bravery.

What are you joyfully and bravely experimenting with?

“The Dream Thing”

 I am sitting in the center of my own life, firmly rooted in what grounds me, knowing what ignites my passion, knowing what a ‘successful’ life is – more pleasure, more ease – being in flow. I am engaging in multiple endeavours collectively – focusing on what nurtures and feeds my deep soul.  Am I always in this place? – No – but now know, when I am out of sync, and consciously return to the practices that guide me back.

I am reading Thomas Moore’s new book, A Religion of One’s Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World. It is abundantly rich with wisdom. The right book for the right time. I have highlighted so many passages – multiple notes – so much relevance. Moore shares, “Everyone has a “dream thing” to bring to life and work: an active imagination, an openness to inspiration, and the ability to unveil the invisible, spiritual realm to be revealed.” My images are my “dream thing” come into the light.  Someone asked me the other day where my images come from – my reply – “they come to me through my meditation and yoga practice, from being in stillness and staying open to the constant flow of images that play in my mind’s eye.”

I suspect that we all have a need to express ourselves, whether it is through music, visual art, writing, gardening, cooking, yoga, whatever your passion, building, designing, being in nature – the key is taking the time and space (whatever that may be – it is different for each of   us) to allow your creative gifts to flow out from you – allowing the art to breathe it’s own “life”.  This is the power of the image – the artist is the conduit.

What is your “dream thing”?

It has been a long winter (and still continues) even though it is the middle of March in Nova Scotia. I felt compelled to create this mandala to conjure up my own internal spring.  Pema enlightens us, “Each person’s life is like a mandala – a vast, limitless circle. We stand in the center of our own circle, and everything we see, hear, and think forms the mandala of our life…we don’t get to choose what or who shows up in it…everything that shows up in your mandala is a vehicle for your awakening…”

I am practicing, standing in the center of my own shifting mandala… choosing (most of the time) to be present . I wonder what will happen today? And can I bravely stay open and present  in the center of my life?

What has happened or is happening in the center of your mandala today?

Pema Chödrön- Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change {above quote: p. 110}