by Deborah Globus
I just got done leading another of the Virtual Business Retreats that I’ve been doing every couple of months with these great groups of women.
I mentioned how I’ve been feeling pinched in my dreaming and envisioning lately, how everything I think up goes crashing into a mental brick wall with the words YEAH, BUT written on it.
They all seemed to know exactly what I was talking about.
I mentioned how I’ve been feeling pinched in my dreaming and envisioning lately, how everything I think up goes crashing into a mental brick wall with the words YEAH, BUT written on it.
They all seemed to know exactly what I was talking about.
So. for example, when I said I think to myself “Oh! I’d love to do this for my business” and another, louder voice shouts back “Yeah, but your website still isn’t finished!!” they totally understood.
And that statement from that nice loud voice is true. I’m not debating the truth of it – my website is, indeed, unfinished. It’s true but unhelpful. The reminder will neither help me finish those undone webpages, nor will it give me fun, new ideas to chase in my business.
After close to 30 years of journaling there’s one thing I’ve learned: the surest way to get stuck is by trying to write within mentally imposed barriers. As soon as I try to direct where that writing is going, it all comes to a grinding halt.
Same goes for dreaming. If I’m not free and open about it, if I let myself be limited by perceived realities and constraints, then the bigger dreams don’t get dreamed. The real desire doesn’t get revealed.
For the good of our businesses, we needed a ritual to help us get past this problem we were all having!
So we needed to get those pesky “realities” out of the way.
We had to name them.
We had to put them down in writing.
We had to put them away from us so that they couldn’t influence this early dreaming and planning phase.
My word for the year is “root & branches,” and trees have figured heavily into the way I look at life so I borrowed on that imagery for this ritual.
I wanted these things/realities/constraints to drift away like so many colored leaves off of the trees in autumn. I figure I can collect those realities later (rake them up and bag them) or I can leave them as fodder as I choose. So long as they’re contained for the time being.
And that statement from that nice loud voice is true. I’m not debating the truth of it – my website is, indeed, unfinished. It’s true but unhelpful. The reminder will neither help me finish those undone webpages, nor will it give me fun, new ideas to chase in my business.
After close to 30 years of journaling there’s one thing I’ve learned: the surest way to get stuck is by trying to write within mentally imposed barriers. As soon as I try to direct where that writing is going, it all comes to a grinding halt.
Same goes for dreaming. If I’m not free and open about it, if I let myself be limited by perceived realities and constraints, then the bigger dreams don’t get dreamed. The real desire doesn’t get revealed.
For the good of our businesses, we needed a ritual to help us get past this problem we were all having!
So we needed to get those pesky “realities” out of the way.
We had to name them.
We had to put them down in writing.
We had to put them away from us so that they couldn’t influence this early dreaming and planning phase.
My word for the year is “root & branches,” and trees have figured heavily into the way I look at life so I borrowed on that imagery for this ritual.
I wanted these things/realities/constraints to drift away like so many colored leaves off of the trees in autumn. I figure I can collect those realities later (rake them up and bag them) or I can leave them as fodder as I choose. So long as they’re contained for the time being.
What you’ll need:
What you’ll do:
Light your candle.
Focus for a moment on the way these constraints are holding you back and think about the freedom you’ll have once they’re out of the way.
One by one, write one constraint, lack or limitation on each leaf. Make a pile as you work. Once you’ve gotten them all out of your head, look at your pile.
- A candle for creating sacred space
- A pen
- The leaves pdf, printed and cut up
What you’ll do:
Light your candle.
Focus for a moment on the way these constraints are holding you back and think about the freedom you’ll have once they’re out of the way.
One by one, write one constraint, lack or limitation on each leaf. Make a pile as you work. Once you’ve gotten them all out of your head, look at your pile.
| What do you want to do with your leaves? Crumple them? Bag them? Burn them, like my grandpa used to do? How about put them in a basket to deal with later? The choice is yours. What feels right? These constraints, now in a concrete form, are yours to decide what to do with. (Hint: they always were but putting them into a physical form makes it easier to realize that and decide what to do with them.) |  |
Decide how you want to deal with them and do it, trusting that they are contained. If a thought crops up, just remind it that it’s in the bag or basket, or ashes already and go on with the dreaming and planning!
When you’re done, extinguish your candle.
When you’re done, extinguish your candle.
In the end I chose to crumple my leaves, reveling in the sound and feel of crushed paper. I put them in a basket, out of the way.
Now I was free to
DREAM BIG.
PS If you’re looking for direction in your business (or your life) and doing it with rituals along the way appeals to you, maybe you’ll consider the next Virtual Business Retreat – February 9th-13th. Check out the details here!
Here is a pdf of the ritual and the leaves to use for your own ritual:
| falling_leaves_a_ritual_for_freeing_up_mental_space_to_dream.pdf |
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