Articulating Silence - Deciphering Dreams - Exploring Inner Landscapes

Showing posts with label Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Show all posts

Sunday, December 30, 2012

No Resolutions, Just One Promise







Go ahead, struggle through it.
Pick up the pen already and put it to the page and stop whining. Write.

Pick up the brush and be mean to yourself for a change, paint.

Dancers, put on the loose chemise, tie the ribbons in your hair,
at your waist, or on your ankles and tell the body to take it from there. Dance.

Actress, playwright, poet, musician, or any other.
Generally, just stop talking, Don’t say one more word unless you’re a singer.

Shut yourself in a room with  ceiling or in a clearing under the sky.

Do your art.

Generally, a thing cannot freeze if it is moving.
So move.
Keep moving.

~ Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes



As the end of the year approaches we can not help but recall some of the resolutions we made in previous years, but never followed through.  Some of us will have lists of anticipated mastering while others may only have a few.  Either way, seldom are we truly successful in following through.

Let me suggest not making any resolutions.  Just make one promise to our self, and if we mindfully honor it, all else will fall into place.  If we respectfully keep the promise, we will navigate through the year with numerous accomplishments and a greater sense of self.

And what is this magical promise?  To thine own self be true. 

Think about it!  If we are monitoring our selves and really  feeling deeply within  how situations or people impact our behaviors, we use our sense of self as the measuring stick.

If we pay attention to our thoughts:

I really do not enjoy my work.
Instead of a goal to discover new employment with our crazy economic situation, begin my visualizing the kind of job where you would be challenged, creative, and happy.  Be excited about it and network with others.  Experience how this makes you feel more in control of your life and how hope stimulates how you feel inside.

My living space is unacceptable.
Instead of making a goal, begin to imagine what you may want or need to feel comfortable.  In your mind's eye, see your self happy, safe, and inspired in a new surrounding.  Be aware of how this allows the experience of calm and contentment.  Tell others what you might want to find.  Take random walks or different routines of driving and you may just discover a sign. 

I have out grown my relationships, I need new friends.
It is important to acknowledge how people make you feel.  Do they drain you or excite you?  It seems judgmental to say your friends are no longer meeting your needs, but wanting to expand your circle is not wrong.  We develop new interests or long for deeper friendships.  Just pay attention to those you come in contact with in your daily routine.  Frequently we are simply overlooking someone as we do not take the time to respect or honor those around us.  Attempt to learn more about these people and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.  Let your feelings be your guide.

Whenever we set goals, they can almost feel burdensome from the get go.   We can make a list, misplace it, or forget about it entirely.  If we simply listen to our selves, we will know what we want and deal with it in the present moment.   It isn't about daily planners, calendars or time management.  If we remain present in the moment aware of our true nature, we will create a richer way of living by appreciating what we beckon into our life moment to moment.

Just one promise:  Be in the moment with your beautiful self!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Rainmaker by Clarissa Pinkola Estes





RAINMAKER: YOU COULD BE THE WATER ...

By the scent of water alone,
the withered vine comes back to life,
and thus ... wherever the land is dry and hard,
you could be the water;
or you could be the iron blade
disking the earth open;
or you could be the 'acequia',
the mother ditch, carrying the water
from the river to the fields
to grow the flowers for the farmers;
or you could be the honest engineer
mapping the dams that must be taken down,
and those dams which could remain to serve
the venerable all, instead of only the very few.
You could be the battered vessel
for carrying the water by hand;
or you could be the one
who stores the water.
You could be the one who
protects the water,
or the one who blesses it,
or the one who pours it.
Or you could be the tired ground
that receives it;
or you could be the scorched seed
that drinks it;
or you could be the vine,
green-growing overland,
in all your wild audacity ...

Untie the Strong Woman
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD



It is important for each one of us to discover the role we play in the greater scheme of things.  We must identify our strengths and use them accordingly.  There is no role too small or insignificant as we all form the whole together.