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WHERE DOES the story
of this... TAKE PLACE?
When you enter the story of this..., you are entering
a
different
dimension. It has spatial boundaries, characters,
artifacts,
designs, elements, and even Laws of Nature that are specific
to a
reality where
spirit and flesh mingle and communicate. None of these were of
my
invention.
They are what they are -- TO YOU -- at the time of
viewing.
WHAT IS THIS WORLD ABOUT?
Because it is and is not the world as we know it, this is a
palette of
metaphors -- the language of the heart. Everything here
symbolizes
something that lives inside of you and your experience of
life. A
mirror might
be a good analogy, but a mirror that reflects back to you in
universal
symbols
that you are meant to interpret for yourself.
HOW THESE IMAGES CAN BE USED
The only requisite to be part of this experience-in-the-moment
is that
your
intent is to strengthen who you are to better serve the greater
good.
the story of this... unfolds as you experience it.
When you can, pick a time that you will spend with the images,
place a
limit on
its span, choose a theme you'd like to explore, and, if you
wish, have
something to jot down notes.
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WORKING
WITH
OTHERS
By all means, these images can be used in conjunction with other
people.
But the roles of facilitator and viewer need to be quite
specific.
THE
ROLE
OF THE
"VIEWER"
As the viewer, your task is to set your intent, decide the
direction
you'd like
to take, empty yourself, and begin the work of self-exploration.
If your way includes acknowledging and establishing a link to a
Guiding
Influence for the time you're doing the work, by all means begin
there.
DISCLAIMER
Also, please be aware that
nothing on this web site is to be substituted for
sound, licensed, medical or other professional advice.
Consider
anything here
as a suggestion that you can pick up or put down, at will.
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THE ROLE OF THE FACILITATOR
As the facilitator, your task is to stay out of the way of the
process
of the
viewer as much as possible. It is not necessary to act only as
"Silent
Witness," although at times that's a valuable service. When you
do
offer
anything, try your best to keep it in the form of questions or
comments
that
help the viewer to take their experience of the moment one level
deeper.
SOME
USEFUL
QUESTIONS
TO ASK
"What does that mean to you right now?"
"When did you first experience this?"
"Was anyone else involved?"
"Who are they in the image?"
"Do you recall how that felt?"
"What are you feeling right now?"
"What part of that image is you right now?"
and Prompts, such as:
"Tell me what you see."
"Take that one level deeper, whatever that means to you."
"Bring that past feeling into right now, and tell me about it."
"Tell me that again, but express it in proportion to how you
feel it
right
now."
These questions are all
designed to guide without interpretation or agenda.
Please
remember,
the
person viewing the images is
to be prompted to follow their own trains of thoughts and
connections
WITHOUT
EXPERIENCING THE INFLUENCE OF ANYONE ELSE'S INTERPRETATION.
TAKE
TURNS
Take turns facilitating each other. Use these images as tools to
explore both
the emptiness and openness that leads to self-discovery and the
emptiness and
non-interference that allows another to find their own way.
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EMPOWERING
THE
IMAGES
Each image is meant to be a vehicle for
healing/transformation.
Each
image's power is derived from its significance to you, in the
moment
that you
are viewing it.
In essence, you are *endowing* each image with characteristics,
meanings and
applications as they come into your consciousness. The images
cannot
lead, they
can only reflect and follow that which you provide.
CHOOSING
IMAGES
TO WORK
WITH
Pick a theme to explore. Choose a challenge, a question,
a
relationship in the present, or an incident in the past to
examine
through the filter
of the images.
Take a few minutes to "flip" through the images on the web site.
Don't linger too long on any one. One or more of them will call
out to
you. Don't worry why, just go from one to the next and
note which
ones
impact you the most.
The idea is to "catch" the images that leave the strongest, most
immediate impressions on you, within the context of the theme of
your
exploration. Make a note of the image number, and then go back
to the
thumbnail
section to examine one image at a time.
WORKING
"TAROT-STYLE"
Go to the thumbnail section and copy down image numbers or
titles,
one to an index card. Shuffle and draw (blind), and then
spend
time with
each image.
Just like with Tarot, you can lay out a "spread" signifying one
card
each for a characteristic or prompt, such as "influence of the
past",
"challenges", "the direction WEST" or other themes of your
choice.
Unlike Tarot, however, you can't pick up a card and refer to a
manual
and say,
"AH... you drew the __________ and that means __________."
Share the questions of your heart with what you see. And
then,
allow the
metaphors that the images contain (metaphors that live inside
you)
speak to
you.
We expect to be adding on more images and other tools for you to
use to
allow
more freedom of choice in your experience.
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JOURNALING
Begin
a Journal. Write
about your impressions of each image. You will discover
that over
time,
you can go back to the image and experience a completely
different set
of
connections. You can often note your own progress by going back
to see
the way
your relationship with each image matures. (Leave room to make
multiple
entries
for each image!)
This will form the basis of your personal guide book. You can
use your
experience to teach you what questions you can ask others, as
Facilitator, that
will not interfere with their process.
FOLLOWING THREADS
In
each session, as
things start to gel, some form of in-sight is certain to present
itself
to
you. Follow that thread to completion and then take a
break for a
few
minutes. Go back to the image and then see if that thread can
help you
discover
another...one level deeper.
LEVELS TO EXPLORE
You can choose a theme, or direction that you wish to explore.
There
are
various "levels" that you can access through these images. Set
your
intent to receive information on one of these aspects of self:
Physical
Psychological
Emotional
Sexual
Spiritual
Etheric
Symbolic
Archetypal
Past Life
Chakra
A GOOD BEGINNING QUESTION
A good beginning question to yourself might be something like,
"In this
moment, what does this image have to tell me about my current
(fill in
the
blank) state?"
Place a section in your journal to record good questions that
you can
use with
yourself and others.
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A
USEFUL ANALOGY
Think of it this way. You know how, sometimes just before you
step out
the door
to go somewhere important, you might glance in the mirror to do
a quick
check
to see that everything is everything before you take that
crucial first
step
out the door?
Do the same with one of these images. If you endow it with the
power of
being a
touchstone for your intent to, say, be the kind of compassionate
person
you
respect, then simply allow that image to be a representation of
that
intent.
IF YOU START TALKING TO THEM, ARE YOU NUTS?
You know what? There's absolutely nothing wrong with entering
into an
internal
OR external dialogue with them. (At least that's what my voices
tell me
;-)
After a particularly frustrating day -- one where I felt like I
didn't
have a
friend in the world -- I took out one of the images that I had
printed
on silk,
placed it on the passenger seat of the car I was driving, rolled
up the
windows
tight and proceeded to drive down the road screaming my lungs
out at
the
injustices of the miserable life I was living.
I was amazed at the image's patience and, yes, Unconditional
Love! Just
like a
good friend, the image just sat there and witnessed, silently
and
without
judgement OR earplugs.
Each image is a symbol of your intent, in service to you and the
greater good,
and has unlimited patience. Use that as a
springboard to be
the
most powerful you you can be.
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HERE'S AN OUTRAGEOUS CONCEPT TO WORK WITH...
In Conversations
With
God, God, I guess, says: "I made you as a three-in-one
being",
and goes on to discuss the three aspects of self which include
the
concepts of
Body, Mind, and Spirit/Soul; Super-conscious, Conscious and
Sub-conscious; and
through them, the tools of creation; namely Thought, Word and
Deed.
These, of course, are metaphors, yet, they suggest a way to use
these
images.
What if you were to pull up one of the images on the computer
and look
at it as
if you were looking into a mirror? You, of course are the
Body,
the
Conscious, and the Deed of the triadic relationships of self,
but in
the mirror
of the image lives the other aspects of your self, namely, Mind
and
Spirit;
Unconscious and Super-conscious, and Thought and Word.
The challenge is, when you look into the image, can you
EXPERIENCE
yourself as
looking in to those other aspects of yourself? If so, what
are
the other
parts of you saying? And what do you see about the WHOLE
of you?
MY AGENDA SHOULD BE OBVIOUS BY NOW...
This
society has trained
its members to seek solutions from others, and to surrender
their
individual
wills to the so-called experts -- often at incredible cost!
The cost is that individuals rely on external direction rather
than
taking the
time to explore what their own inner world is telling them.
I'm doing my very best to place the responsibility squarely
on your
shoulders to manage your use of these images to promote your
well-being. I do
this because I'm working on the premise that whatever you call
forth to
heal/transform yourself will be something that you are able to
both
grasp and
use without having to rely on someone else's interpretation.
THIS
WEB
SITE IS MY
STATEMENT THAT THE ANSWERS LIVE INSIDE YOU, AND YOU ARE
CAPABLE OF
FINDING THEM
Mahalo for taking the time here. Please feel free to write
me
with your
experiences.
Russ Reina,
a firetender
russ@afiretender.org
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