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Dana

Sacred Imagination
May 2001 Column

Click Here to See
Dana's Current Column

by Dana Reynolds


Each month, Dana Reynolds shares her life-transforming thoughts, ideas, and sacred imagination based around our
"theme of the month."  Dana is a visionary Spiritual Midwife, who devotes herself to helping women birth their creative gifts into the world.


Embracing the Whole: Choices for Conscious Living

If everyone in this room knew who they really were, there would be only One of us in this room. ~Ram Dass

You are part of the human family and the chain of life of our planet. This simple fact is a foundational belief for living consciously.

In order to make conscious choices one must fully grasp the concept that one’s individual actions affect the whole. This is a metaphysical truth. Committing to Life in the largest sense and living for the greater good for all concerned opens the gateways to Higher ways of being and doing.

The late Danaan Perry who was the director of the Earthstewards Network left us this wise counsel, "The greatest part of really respecting each and every life is surrendering our resistance. This is true whether we are speaking of a person in our lives we don’t get along with, a group of people whose ideas or behavior are repugnant to us, or ants in the kitchen. This doesn’t mean letting them violate us, but rather changing on an attitudinal level from rejection to a desire to find a solution. If we need to have the other lose for us to win, then it will be difficult to learn respect and a cooperative spirit. But once we glimpse the expanded reality that can be ours if we let go of that resistance, then it’s worth the hard work and soul-searching."

The paradox is this:  In order to fully serve the Highest good for humanity as a whole, and in order to live in harmony with our earth and all living things, we must each take full individual responsibility for every choice we make. Our individual choices form invisible chains of thought form and action that link together to create grids and patterns around the planet. These grids are capable of creating peace and the possibility for positive outcome and change or equally capable of wreaking havoc and causing decay in the delicate balance for the Highest good.

Each day we are individually called to make countless decisions from simple interactions such as waiting in line at the Post Office with an attitude of patience or irritability, to speeding up in traffic to cut someone off, or yielding to allow them to enter the flow. These are opportunities to impart energy into the grids that are constantly evolving and changing around us.

The energy we choose to impart to the world is central to conscious living. When we make the choice to tune into the world around us, to recognize the collective presence of humanity, and to seek the wisdom of our ancestors and the guidance of Spirit for all of our decisions...we are choosing Life and we are living in a fully conscious way.

This way of being may sound like a time consuming and arduous task. How does one slow down and bring these fundamental principles into consciousness each time we make a decision?

I believe it is possible with the support of others through the creation of circles. In a circle of like-minded kindred spirits we can share our stories and ideas and pray for one another’s dreams and visions. Conscious living is dependent on changing our awareness of the interconnectedness of all life. This understanding then needs to be nourished by our intentional circles of friends and colleagues.

The sacred imagination plays a very important role. Your unique brand of creativity is a wellspring of potential for imbuing ways to live a fully conscious life. Daily individual spiritual practice and creative expression, when blended with regular circle gatherings for shared blessing/healing ritual and creative interaction, equals transformation at both a soul and a planetary level.

Perhaps the words of Kahil Gibran offer us a visual image to begin deepening the process of living consciously. "Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter it, take with you your all."

Visualize Gibran’s statement. Each morning upon awakening, imagine you are about to enter your temple. Each action you take is in honor of the Sacred that exists in every moment, every breath, every choice, every action, and every thought.

You enter your temple with all that you need; your Divine intelligence that is linked to your Higher Power and the wisdom of your ancestors, the support and prayers of your circle of support, your sacred imagination, your love of the earth and humankind, and your open heart. Let everything that you say, think, create, and act upon be guided by these internal and external resources. Bring your full loving conscious Self to the temple of your daily life.

This kind of awareness requires a shift into the transformation from myopic unconscious reacting to compassionate conscious responding. A necessary muscle for this new way of being in the world is your sacred imagination.

Begin to check in with your heart before you react to any given situation. How will your response to your current circumstances affect others? How will your action impact the planet and the energetic pattern of the present moment...or the long term?

Take a moment to imagine your choices. Call on your powers of visualization. Invite your senses to see, feel, and hear the outcome of your choice depending on whether you choose to respond for the Highest good for all concerned or for immediate self-gratification.

Remember that the consequences of your individual actions create living breathing energy forms/grids that cross and intersect one another, day in and day out. Think of a time when you walked into a business meeting or family gathering that was steeped in dissension. Could you instantly feel the negative energy permeate your spirit while your defense mechanisms engaged in fright?

Now remember the last time you were in a place that nurtured your soul and supported your humanity. Contemplate the different energy of that experience, the sense of well being, and the way it seemed natural and effortless to feel love and to want to express love in return.

The shift into conscious living and being takes practice. It is an ongoing process that requires engagement with the soul, the sacred imagination, and Spirit, moment by moment throughout the day. It is a call to change existing habits for new ways of assuming responsibility to be compassionate, loving, awake and aware individuals.

Imagine a world where each time a person made a decision he/she stopped first to still the mind by taking a deep breath and asking the question, "How will my decision affect not only myself, but others and the planet? How can I put forth my best effort for the Highest outcome for all concerned?"

This kind of conscious and responsible processing for any given situation would soon have our planet surrounded with a strong, soulful and nurturing energy grid that could support the changes humanity and the earth need to survive and flourish into the next millennium.

Once again, the words of Danaan Perry, "It is not necessary that we 'understand' our Oneness, for understanding is the way of the intellect. Rather, we can feel this intimate, total connection, experience it with our hearts, allow our inner voices to whisper to us of this oneness of all life. This experience of Oneness is reflected in the eastern greeting, 'Namaste.' Namaste means, 'The place within me where God dwells honors the place within you where God dwells,' or, 'That which is God in me sees that which is God in you.'"

Your thoughts and actions impact our world. Invite your sacred imagination to envision what would happen to our world if we each began to recognize the Divine in one another. Contemplate the ways you can make a difference by choosing to live consciously.

You are invited to submit your story and accompanying photos to be considered as a feature for the Sacred Imagination column. E-mail me at dana@sacredimagination.com for details.

Copyright© 2001 Dana Reynolds. 

 

Read Dana's Past "Sacred Imagination" Columns:

April 2001 "Nourishing the Souls of the Children"

March 2001 "Opening the Senses to Beauty"

February 2001 "The Eyes of Love"

January 2001 "Patterns of Authenticity"

December 2000 "Finding Peace in the Fields of Time"

November 2000 "Cultivating Gratitude: Heart-Hugs and Prayer Leaves"

October 2000 "Journey to the Center - The Sacred Mystery of the Labyrinth"

September 2000 "The Heart and Craft of Healing"

August 2000 "Transforming Life’s Challenges into Beauty and Story"

July 2000 "Sacred Spaces Invite the Muses of the Soul"


Read Dana's Soulful Living Feature Articles:

Visual Prayers

Intuition and the Sacred Imagination: The Dance of Co-creation

 

 

For ten years, Dana Reynolds has been facilitating women’s spiritual presentations and retreats nationwide. Her work as a Spiritual Midwife, one who assists women as they birth their creative gifts into the world, is the foundation of all her endeavors. Her background as a visual artist and writer enriches her Spiritual Midwifery: Birthing the Feminine Soul workshops.

As the creator of an art making process known as visual prayer, Dana teaches women how to combine ritual with sacred intention to create altars, collages, spirit dolls, and other touchstones. The creation of sacred spaces is also paramount to the Spiritual Midwifery experience. Her web-site http://www.sacredimagination.com offers samplings of her visual prayer collages, poetry, and a workshop catalogue.

Dana is the author of the whimsical and colorfully illustrated book, Be An Angel, a co-creation with illustrator and graphic designer, Karen Blessen, (Simon & Schuster). Her essay, Visual Prayers is included in the anthology, Our Turn, Our Time: Women Coming of Age, edited by Cynthia Black, (Beyond Words Publishing).

A trained labyrinth facilitator, Dana incorporates the labyrinth and other spiritual wisdom into her retreats and workshops. She recently traveled to Chartres and Vezelay Cathedrals in France to gather information pertaining to ancient sacred mystical traditions. She currently lectures on such topics as spiritual midwifery, sacred journal keeping, feminine spiritual wisdom, and the early Christian women saints and mystics.

Dana’s life follows the spiral path from rim to center and back again. She looks for the sacred in forgotten places and openly embraces the great Mystery of life. Guiding women to the discovery of their creative inner gifts is the passion that fuels her soul.

 

Visit Dana at:
www.SacredImagination.com 

 

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