July 08th 2008 - The Healing Power of The Visionary
In the time before words, each of us caught a dream…a vision that we want to bring to mother earth. Oh, may this one be the one to bring their life dream forward in the world. You are the one…Angeles Arrien
Dreaming just comes naturally, and we carry our life dreams everywhere we go. What is your life dream, your creative purpose? Dreams belong to the Visionary archetype. According to Angeles Arrien, “The Visionary archetype is the relentless power within us that constantly extends an invitation to be who we are and requires the expression of authenticity, vision, and creativity.” Summer, nature’s time of fullness and abundance is the time of the Visionary and the perfect time to manifest our life dreams.
Living authentically, or coming home to who we are at our essence, requires truthfulness. Being truthful to ourselves and to others without blame or judgment is the guiding principle of the Visionary. Truth telling makes the truth visible. This honorable communication requires conscious awareness of timing, context, content, and body language. The Visionary within calls us to increased awareness of truth-telling and invites us to practice “speaking with spirit tongue.” In the words of the great Nez Perce Chief Joseph, “it doesn’t require many words to speak the truth,” and truth is necessary in order to manifest the great gifts and talents of the Visionary spirit that lives within us.
Truth-telling requires that we let go of two harmful patterns and that we learn to communicate with clarity and directness. The first pattern that blocks “authentic seeing,” or truth-telling is the pattern of denial. When present, we avoid certain people or issues and we see things as we want them to be, not as they actually are. This fear of conflict takes us out of authenticity and prevents creative dreaming. Indulging, dramatizing, and sensationalizing our experiences reflect an underlying need for acceptance and approval and is thus the second pattern that has to be released in order to access the visionary spirit. Both patterns interfere with manifesting our authentic self and actualizing our life dreams, because they indicate a lack of self-trust and self-respect.
Bringing our life dream to fruition involves honoring the four ways of seeing: intuition, perception, holistic seeing, and insight. Intuition, that still small voice within that often reveals a truth about self or the world, when noticed, sparks external seeing. External seeing or perception relates to the actual observations we make in our life. These observations reveal important truths about our personal and professional relationships. Acknowledging our perceptions leads to the holistic seeing, or seeing the big picture—how others and the world are affected by actions or inactions. Insight is then gained when we apply what we have seen and learned in a spiritual way. By honoring these four ways of seeing, we are brought into community, feel connected to the world, and know the truth of the visionary spirit.
Creativity is also one of the cornerstones of the Visionary. A guiding force of the creative self is love. Love, the greatest healer, takes us out of our insufficiency and connects us with acceptance, validation, and generosity. Acknowledge your creative self by doing the things you love, the things that give you great joy. Walk in the world with a curious, open, joyful and loving heart, connected to the creative Visionary.
Decide to reconnect with your life dream or re-dream your life—step into your “sacred hoop”, your authentic self. During this summer season, you are invited to expresses your authentic, creative self. Allow the playful Visionary spirit full expression in your imagination—let yourself daydream about possibilities.
Step into the dream. Trust that you are the one to bring your life dream forward into the world. Turn your eyes toward the heart and reflect. Reflections lead to vision-making which leads to insight (recognition) which leads to wisdom (true, just, and lasting) which leads to foresight (positive changes to make) which leads to purposeful action and realized dreams.
Choose to walk the healing path of the visionary because…
In the time before words, each of us caught a dream…
Ellen Hitchcock, author of Nature’s Magical Moment: Reflections on Nature and Self, is a licensed psychotherapist and personal life coach in private practice. “Wisdom Whispers Through the Four Fold Way” is a retreat scheduled for November 7-9, at the Norris Dam State Park. This retreat is an experiential exploration of the Warrior, Healer, Visionary, and Teacher archetypes. For more information about Ellen and her programs, go to www.creativementor.net or e-mail her at ehitch@comcast.net.
Ellen Hitchcock
PO Box 6606
Oak Ridge, TN 37831
United States