Sailing in Real Life: Finding Brave Again.

Hawaiian Chieftain

As I considered the title of this blog, I typed “Sailing.” Then I laughed and thought, “Oh they’ll think it’s another imagination technique.” Then I laughed again thinking, “Well, it was an imagination technique that led me to real life sailing!”

Yup, visualizing,dreaming, doodling and painting endless mystical tall ships; these  just spill over into real life in a most amazing way. Huh. I guess imagination and reality aren’t really separate, after all.

Imagining bravery and courage isn’t separate from reality either. Albeit I’ve yet to be as swashbucklin’ and as much of a monkey in the rigs as the imaginary brave and courageous sailor who plays in my thoughts. But the imaginary does get me on the deck of a real Tall Ship, and it gets me climbing aloft – with some anxiousness and trepidation – but still, climbing aloft. The imaginary hasn’t gotten me aloft while feeling seasick, or when it looked like the other sailors would be much better suited to be setting or furling sails in great rolling swells. Ha ha.

But still. Imagining the possibility. Pretending I have a few seconds of outrageous  bravery to commit to such a crazy adventure;  those things have me, today, packing up for a week sail as crew on the Hawaiian Chieftain, granddaughter in tow because it’s a family adventure through the San Juan Islands!!

I am nervous. I’m nervous because I’ve forgotten the knots and I don’t know all the lines on this ship. (Sister ship to the one I trained on, Lady Washington)  I’m nervous cuz I’m really such a beginner sailor and will they have high expectations of me because I ‘made the cut’ in training?  I’m not actually nervous about going aloft, but a little concerned about my strength, given I had an injury this spring that had kept me from getting really fit.  It’s better now. But I’m not super strong.

Oh wait. I’ll imagine super strong.

And I’ll remember how stepping on the Lady Washington last fall triggered a strength I didn’t even know I had.

I’ll think of these things, right now. And feel the energy of that  in my body.

I’ll imagine the swashbucklin’ wild red haired sailor chomping at the bit to get back to the sea and who knows every knot every concocted.

Okay. I’m good.

~~~~~

I can do this. I did it before! Aloft on Lady Washington

Soon to be scrubbing decks, but on the Hawaiian Chieftain. I do love scrubbing decks!

P.S. If you’ve ever wished you could sail on a Tall Ship, Grays Historical Seaport, with their two ships Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain, are the most welcoming organization, dedicated to the education of sailors and children, and to keep the history and spirit of Tall Ships alive.

Practical Imagination and my Troll

Sometimes we just need to write.  As my granddaughter said at age 4 (while ‘scribbling’ sentences)  “Writing is important. It helps me hear what my mind is saying.”

Proof in the pudding: Writing my previous blog post likely hit home more for me than for any of you dear readers. And it led to a true commitment to imagination, creativity and intuition.

Yessirree, while leading my new online course last night, (the course that I more fully developed after I wrote the previous blog post) I heard myself say , “I know.. weird. But then, the weirder this course gets the happier I am.”   ( I had a brief second of “Eek.. how unprofessional!” Yes, I have a logical left brain that tries to have its say)  

But it’s true. The more people get to discover that their imagination and intuition is wilder and weirder and more able to empower them than most anything, and that it often does this with such curious surprises and insights… yes, the happier I get to be. Even better, the more people recognize how practical their imagination is, the happier I am. After all, through simple creative techniques, we can connect to answers that otherwise evade us, seemingly forever, using our logical cautious thinking.

Consider this.  I posted the following on my facebook page:

“You know the naysayer in your head? The one who says you’re not good enough? Quick. Use your imagination and turn them into a character of some sort. Now do tell, who did you see.”

I noticed a troll as I wrote this. Then I quickly wrote down thoughts that came to my mind:

“Troll lives under a bridge. Wants to keep people away.  Empath.. . too much energy of others bombards him and it hurts.  Living a simple life. No responsibilities. Is not actually happy.  But will do what he can to sabotage having to be out there in a world that hurts him. “

Honestly I wouldn’t logically have guessed that I have a troll. I am an empath – very aware of energies of others and very sensitive to environmental issues. (Ie: can’t be in fluorescent lights)    It is an asset when I work with dedicated groups or with personal clients.  It does, however, come with challenges.   I hadn’t recognized this little troll quietly playing havoc , especially since I felt I manage my sensitivities rather well.  But when I wrote this it revealed a huge aha moment, helping me see that there is a part of me that wants to withdraw and that creates a constant quiet resistance that I am always working against,  even though it doesn’t stop me. Who needs that? Now just the  simple awareness of the troll, especially with a visual,  is going to help us both. Noticing the resistance is enough to stop its hold. And sometimes, perhaps, I will notice the resistance and say, “Hey, maybe we’ll just paddle our feet in the water near Troll’s bridge for a little while.”

“I see you, Troll” (Also note, there’s nothing says a sketchpainting needs to be good!)

 

I quick sketchpainted him. I find that going one step further on a discovery helps to cement the insight so it is less likely to hide itself again. Seems to me this simple little imaginary connection has been worth years of therapy.

 

How about you? May I repeat that post just for you?

“You know the naysayer in your head? The one who says you’re not good enough? Quick. Use your imagination and turn them into a character of some sort. Now do tell, who did you see.”

Love to hear who you discover.

And if you’d like to read a good article about empaths and see if it’s a fit for you  (often the case with creative folks) here’s an interesting link. themindunleashed.org/30-traits-of-empath.html 

Oh, curious about the new course? I’d love if you popped over to learn more about the next ♫Way Hey Up She Rises♫ course!

Enjoy that wicked wild practical imagination of yours!