Amazing dreamlike journeys to the true inner ‘you’.
The Journey Begins…
“ Close your eyes. Relax, and breathe deeply. Now, imagine
you are in a beautiful garden. Perhaps you can smell the flowers.
Feel the grass beneath your feet. Maybe you can hear water
flowing…”
Drifting off under the softly spoken words of Esther De Angelis
(or Bramble, as she was then), I find myself in a pleasant
waking dream of a beautiful green garden with softly rolling
lawns. Large blowsy pink roses are swaying gently in the breeze.
“Now, walk to the edge of your garden and check your
boundary wall”, she says. I discover no boundary exists
– my imaginary garden just opens straight onto surrounding
cornfields!
This seems quite nice to me, but in a later discussion with
Esther I learn that ‘no boundaries equals getting walked
over in life’ and I learn to construct some. Not difficult
in a creative visualisation – you just ask for help
from appropriate angels or guides and they appear and whizz
the perfect wall together for you in a trice! I choose a ten
metre high Gaudi-esque boggly one decorated with colourful
broken china mosaic – it’s really rather nice!
Now it pretty much stays put – I just have to visit
the waking dream to check on it and repair it sometimes.
Next, we walk around the ‘garden’ a bit more
– Esther guides the ‘journey’ and my subconscious
mind just fills in the details spontaneously. I find it easy,
though some people need a little practise at first to get
going. Approaching three doors, I open one, placing the key
in my pocket and knowing I can return any time. Walking outside,
I approach my cave. It’s by the sea, on the beach actually,
constructed of rock with a large split down the side so I
can see the waves (more boundary issues??)
Inside the cave, I find a cupboard in the rock. Inside is
my chalice. It is in a sorry state - dirty and dented black
pewter, and contains nothing but the dry encrusted remains
of some ancient liquid inside. Instinctively, I clean it and
fill it with fresh red wine. Suddenly a flower shoot appears
inside. That looks a lot healthier! Esther suggests we may
make any improvements that seem good. So I ‘magic’
my chalice into a beautiful silver one with a softly glowing
green stone on the front. That’s better! (In later journeys,
I transformed it into a much larger container – a vat
or even a well! It symbolises what we feel able to receive
in life. It is also a symbol for creative projects and birth
– so the healthy plant is a good thing!)
Next, I am told to look for my sword. It is quite beautiful
– gold encrusted scabbard, heavy blade, yet sharp. There
is a complete suit of armour, and a helmet, kind of Japanese
style here too, and I try it on. It is strong but rather unwieldy.
I quite like the style though. I brandish the sword a few
times. (In later journeys, my sword gradually transforms into
something much simpler, smaller, lighter yet a lot sharper.
A bit like one of those wonderful air-thin Japanese stainless
sushi blades. The sword represents ‘cutting through’
things in the world, the masculine – it is the symbol
of action and getting things done).
Now it is time to move on down the passageway, to the library.
Pushing open the heavy wooden plank door, I enter a massive
room – like a giant ballroom, with huge chandeliers
throwing gleaming golden light onto the many wooden tables
and racks of books. Librarians are scurrying all about the
place, organising the books. Esther’s voice tells me
to look for a book. One is open on the table but I can’t
read what it says. “Leave it for later”, she says.
Next we progress a little further down the corridor. “Look
down and up”, says Esther. I see an amazing sight –
far below is the world, with tiny people like ants, running
around. And above is the complete cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth – I see people ascending, being assisted by
others (angels?) to go up and then coming back down again.
It is an amazing sight. (Later, Esther confirms that we were
in the place in the ‘garden’ in which she would
expect this to be seen. Of which more later).
We go back through the passageways to the cave. There is
a long rough-hewn rock table and eight chairs there. The book
I was looking at earlier in the library is open on the table.
It says ‘It is safe to be you’.
The above journey took place at one of Esther’s creative
visualisation workshops (attended by a refreshingly diverse
audience – a vivacious octagenarian sculptress, an aspiring
actor, a successful marketing executive and myself). Since,
I have made many journeys into my inner landscape using this
form of meditation, and have been surprised at the results.
What surprises me most is how universal the imagery, symbolism
and even the layout of the land, is. Although this is not
a ‘real’ place, it seems to follow certain rules
(as in the location of the place where you can see the ‘cycle
of existence’ as mentioned above).
The other thing that is very powerful, is that if I change
something in my ‘inner world’ during a creative
visualisation, it quickly manifests in the real world. It’s
like a kind of inner ‘Feng Shui’ – though
instead of having to clear out your cupboards, you can merely
adjust something in your inner realm in order to make major
changes in your real life!
For example, once, in a creative visualisation I came upon
some bare yet fertile looking earth in my garden. So I instinctively
pressed some of the heavy gold English pound coins into the
ground, planting them. On leaving the garden, I was suddenly
caught in a ‘pound coin shower’ – hundreds
of coins rained down on me, and I caught them in my skirt.
The next day, in the real world, I landed a contract I had
been going after, and gained a massive increase in income
(eight times what I had been previously earning). Was the
gold coin shower a reflection of my inner self, what was already
happening? Was I ready to earn more? I think so, and yet I
think acting on it and planting coins helped to affirm it
and make it happen.
The Kabbalah
Esther has studied Kabbalah for a long time, and this forms
the map for the landscape she guided me through.
The ‘Kabbalah’ (which means ‘to receive’,
or ‘oral tradition’) is the ancient Jewish mystical
tradition. With branches existing both inside and outside
the Jewish church, the Kabbalah is a fascinating and deep
collection of esoteric teachings. At the centre is ‘The
Tree of Life’ – a diagram that is deceptively
simple, consisting only of a series of connected circles,
yet incredibly sophisticated in what it conveys. (Its very
shape, in sacred geometry, is said to form the basis of all
existence.)
Essentially, Kabbalah is a depiction of man, of humanity.
Each circle (or ‘sephiroth’) on the Kabbalah tree
represents a different quality of existence. Briefly, they
are:
1 Kether – Unity, Divine wisdom / Spirit, the Infinite.
The summit of the transpersonal realm
2 Binah – loving awareness, the womb, Mother
3 Chokmah – Spiritual will and purpose, Father
4 Chesed – Mercy / Loving-kindness / sharing, Cooperation
5 Gevurah – Severity / Justice / Inner strength / Competition,
being tested, the Warrior
6 Tipheret – Beauty / Equilibrium. The summit of the
personal realm. Where the
physical and spiritual first meet. The heart.
7 Netzach – Victory / Endurance / Eternity / Prophecy
/ (Feeling) The outgoing quality of the ego
8 Hod – Splendour / Glory / Awe / Communication / Responsibility
/ (Thinking)
9 Yesod - Foundation / Sexuality / Truth-Speaking –
the past, memories and
conditioning
10 Malkuth – the earth, the body, the real, the physical
The Kabbalah includes not just a definition of different
parts of the psyche/the soul, but the links between the different
aspects. The pathways between the ‘sephira’ and
indeed, the journey among them are an essential part of Kabbalah.
One way of exploring Kabbalah is to visit different parts
of ‘the tree’ in creative visualisation journeys.
A lot of Esther’s beautiful art is inspired by her journeys
– you can see at http://www.joycatcher.com/esther/
Both the positive and negative are represented as together
they form the whole. A central belief of Kabbalism is that
we can recover missing parts of ourselves individually in
order to heal as a group. Man is but a part of God; God is
in man. It’s the ‘universe in a grain of sand’
theory where the microcosm contains the essence of the macrocosm
and vice versa.
“ To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an Hour.”
William Blake
The White Flower Garden and The Rainbow TV
I once guided a creative visualisation for a friend. Beforehand,
I channelled some information on what might be useful and
was told to ‘look for the TV’.
We started in her garden and she explored freely and I guided
instinctively. Eventually, we found the TV in a house up the
garden path. It was tuned to programmes that my friend was
not really interested in (a sign perhaps that she was spending
her life on things that were not central to her). I asked
what she wanted to tune the TV to and she answered ‘rainbows’.
A sweet and child-like idea. So, we re-tuned the TV to rainbows.
In another part of the visualisation, we came to the ‘white
flower garden’. My friend said that she quite liked
it there and might like to stay. Later, on discussing the
journey, we were both quite chastened by this – the
white flower garden is an obvious metaphor for death, and
my friend has cancer.
I have been told by more than one shaman that cancer patients
are the most difficult to work with as they are essentially
on ‘self-destruct’. Part of them doesn’t
want to be here, hence the cancer that is destroying from
within. I encouraged my friend to plant some other colours
in her imaginary garden. The imagery in the experience seemed
so beautiful (though poignant) that it inspired me to create
several paintings and even some ‘Rainbow TV’ jewellery.
(The ‘place’ that one visits in creative visualisation
journeys is the same magical ‘place’ that art,
music and all creativity emanates from, by the way.) My friend
is busy now creating a lovely (real) garden of her own.
Creative Visualisation Tips
Getting Started - It’s simple – one person ‘guides’
– or describes the basic structure for the journey,
the other person relaxes and lets the subconscious mind fill
in the imagery. Once you get the idea, you can just explore
on your own. Start in your garden, look around, try to involve
all your senses – what can you see, hear, feel under
your feet, smell…? Follow a path, find a doorway and
go through it, and then see where it takes you!
Intuition - Allow yourself to be your guide – trust
your intuition as to where you need to go (or not go!)
Pathway – to help in decision making – visualise
three gates. Pin a different choice on each gate. Go through
each gate in turn and follow the path to discover what the
outcome of each choice may be. (Don’t be afraid to create
another gate labelled ‘something better’!)
Dreams – if you’ve had a puzzling dream, imagine
yourself back in it, and start the creative visualisation
from there. Approach anything strange or scary and ask politely
what it represents.
Guides – people, power animals, angels or guides may
appear – it’s fine to approach them, ask them
how they can help you, or what they want, or even request
a gift (which will usually be symbolic of something you need).
However, note that just as in real life, you should use discernment
when meeting someone new – they can on occasion be mischievious!
Follow your intuition. If you feel stuck, in trouble, need
help – call on appropriate guides to appear and come
and help you in your visualisation.
Resources: Shakti Gawain’s little book ‘Creative
Visualisation’ is a concise and practical guide, and
includes many guided visualisations that you can try.
‘ The Journey’ by Brandon Bays takes creative
visualisation a stage further with a simple yet profound process
that enables present day hurts (physical or mental) to be
healed by rapid resolution of the original root cause .
A fascinating website which manages to capture some of the
mystery and depth of the Kabbalah is: http://www.byzant.com/kabbalah/
Some of these things – you can’t explain them
in books or in an article – you have to just trust the
intuition and the mysterious workings of the mind, and just
GO there. I hope you will try it – have fun, and let
me know how you get on!
NEXT ISSUE: Why We Get Sick. How our thought patterns and
feelings have profound affects on our health – and how
we can ‘think ourselves healthy’ and avoid sickness
in future.
Jeli Lala created the ‘Ashram of Spiritual Jewellery
and Art’ at no. 1, Sukma St., Tebesaya, Ubud, with her
husband, Putu S. She has studied yoga and many other spiritual
practices for more than ten years. She writes “As a
life-long artist, I’ve been exploring my inner world
since I was a child. In this column, I will share some of
my personal experiences and spiritual methods – hopefully,
you’ll find this interesting, and maybe it will give
some ideas for your own journey”.
Jeli welcomes comments and may be contacted on:
Email: jelila@jelila.com
Website: www.jelila.com or www.imagine-retreats.com
