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| Flying Heron - Art by Sylvia Kay |
From The Introduction to "An Inner Journey..."
"I'm learning to live my life in the same way I create my art – one moment at a time, often without it "making sense" or understanding "why?" and allowing my feelings to be completely different from one moment to the next. Just like with my art, I'm learning to allow it to feel like I'm making a BIG MESS and trusting somehow, impossibly it all works out in the end just like it always has with my art. I accept each moment's flavor and honor how I feel however this is – understanding each feeling is given to help guide me through LIFE's maze. No feelings are rejected as unacceptable or unwanted. I've found pushing something away only makes it talk louder and more in an attempt to be heard. I do my best to listen to each voice and feeling I have with open curiosity as I work to unravel their messages for me. Every part and face too, has to have a place inside where it can contribute its best to my being as a whole. I only find a best place for each part or face by taking the time to understand its nature as completely as possible. Once its heart is understood and honored, I've found the part or face to be happy to go where it is able to contribute its best, even when this requires some adjustment. As a result, "I" am often just the organizer of all the parts and faces "I" contain. I work with each moment and what it presents creating a constantly changing space inside where body, mind and spirit can meet and function in harmony. No longer is anyone inside afraid to speak up when opinions differ, nor to admit to being frightened, hurt or confused. We work together to take "right" steps best we can, as well as to learn what we can of "good" and "beautiful" from what they teach.
“AN INNER JOURNEY...”, like its predecessor “FOOTSTEPS IN THE SANDS OF TIME...”, is intended to be a joint exploration, so it includes blank pages, for “Your Feelings & Thoughts”, where you can record what comes up for you. I’ve included a page for “Your Feelings & Thoughts” beside each image, so if you wish, you can spend time contemplating and understanding the image on your own, without knowing what I’ve written and record this here on this page. I’ve also included a page for “Your Feelings & Thoughts” opposite each of my poems, giving you an opportunity to explore anything my poem sparks in you, as well as differences you may note between my interpretation of the art and yours. I’ve needed notebooks to work my own way through the explorations I’ve shared. I suspect you will too, so I haven’t included blank pages for these. I feel, to get the maximum benefit, from the art in particular, it is necessary to look at it fresh, from your own unique perspective, unclouded by mine. I feel sure, each piece of art contains messages for others, different from those intended for me. It’s also taken me years to understand this art. Perhaps others don’t need to spend as much time as I have, to glean the messages it contains, but it still feels necessary to allow it time to speak to you in your own language. After understanding its messages to you, comparisons between my perspective and yours may be beneficial and enriching. However, this is just how it feels to me and is why I’ve created the book this way.
There is no single right way to approach this book. What I’ve presented doesn’t have to be read in any particular order. This isn’t a book designed to be read in sequence with page one followed by page two followed by page three... It isn’t even necessary to read or examine everything I’ve included; only those parts which “speak” to you. Follow your own intuition and interest – examining the art and reading the written material, according to the path these dictate to create your own inner journey. Find the mix which works for you and let your own inner journey unfold... How you actually work with what I’ve presented will be uniquely right for you. I wish you the very best with your self-exploration; wherever you go and whatever you face! It is my hope that you find this book a beneficial catalyst for your process whatever it is. I’ve certainly enjoyed creating it!"
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