Vol 1, Issue 9

Summer arrived in Boston at the same time the college gratuates did!  Sleepy summer is over as we move into the fall.

I appreciate all the incredible support and care you have given me.  It's been a pleasure to expand into new arenas and have vibrant contact with you.   

In addition to the VIP coaching I'm doing with some people I was inspired to create a series of 1/2 day workshops called "Beyond Therapy - Embodying Your Potential: a Psycho-spiritual approach to living the life you want to live."    More on that below. Only 2 spaces left!!

It's also time to be welcoming the first group of people into the Safely Embodied Online Community (SEOC).  Email me to give you information about a free telecall which will give you more specifics.  

In the meantime, this September ezine has: 

www.dfay.com

www.meditation-ptsd.com

Safely Embodied blog

I've been thinking about ways to have more intimate conversations with people who have, out of the cauldron of their lives, transformed their experience of life - and share them with you.  I know that when I was in the middle of my healing there were many times when I felt lost in the dark realms, thinking life could never get better, or that there was no way to change. 

When we're in those times, we often feel like there is no way through, yet there always is.  I'm hoping that having some conversations will generate resonance, linger in the recesses of your psyche, and when ready, open up possibilities. 

I had an internal list of people I wanted to talk with, yet when I listened to Bob Child's latest album Waiting for the Dawn and read his liner notes, I knew he was first on the list!  I'm still aglow from that conversation. 

Bob is the centrifugal force behind Childsplay, a group of musicians connected around fiddles, fiddling, and violins that Bob has made over the decades.  Bob was always this mythic figure to me.  After all, he is a violin maker.  Maybe you're different, but I don't know that many violin makers!  Plus, the music of Childsplay always resonated with me due to my Irish heritage.

Bob writes in the liner notes to Waiting for the Dawn about his early childhood of being given up for adoption and living in foster homes before being adopted by a loving family.   In our conversation, we talked about the imprint that made.  Bob speaks eloquently of his own story.  I encourage you to listen to the whole conversation that we had.

I listened as Bob talked about the concentration that it takes, the focus of crafting a violin.  His speaking evoked the practice of meditation, the concentration of tending to this moment, this present experience.  Bob describes having to drop all other issues going on to be with the wood and his tools, shaping the violin to hold the beauty of the person and the music that will channel through this instrument. 
 
From the album liner notes, Bob writes, "It is often said that when played soulfully, the violin, of all musical instruments, sounds the most like the human voice.  Through my dreams, I came to realize that by crafting violins I had learned to give voice to a part of myself for which I had no language, no voice."  and from Fiddler Magazine when taking on a violin commission, "I try to get a sense of what they hear and what musical sounds they want to send out to the world." 
 
How truly beautiful.  And isn't that what we are doing when we are caring for our internal journey?  We train ourselves to listen to the turmoil, the vast cascade of sounds, to hear what those sounds and those images are trying to communicate. 
 
We learn to concentrate, to follow one sound rather than the whole tidal wave that arises at first.  In training ourselves to stay with one sound, sorting and relaxing all the rest that wish to be also heard, we begin to carve out space so the communication can be known. 
 
A similarity Bob made to the practice of meditation is that when we focus and hone our concentration on the basic building blocks of experience we become a kind of recycling machine.  All the noise gets held in this open space.  Over time we train our mind/heart to free the charge and release the wisdom. 
 
Another inadvertent connection between neuroplasticity of the brain and community came from our conversation.  In our conversation Bob spoke of what happens when you are surrounded by people who encourage you and inspire you to explore and express yourself.  This kind of positive repetition and practicing a new skill trains the brain to move in this new direction rather than collapsing into the old, familiar path. 
 
Take a listen to the conversation.  Bob speaks with clarity about his own internal process, his experience as a psychologist and as a violin maker.  If his story resonates with you I know you'll love his music!  
 
Click here to see the lyrics to Tears of Healing Rain  by Mark Simos.  This song speaks to me of the healing journey so many of us are on.  

Beyond Therapy - Embodying Your Potential: a Psycho-spiritual approach to living the life you want to live!

4 - 1/2 day workshops / starting September 25, 2009 /  Boston, MA / $997 or $779 with a deposit before Sept 9th / contact Deirdre dfay@dfay.com for more information or to register 

BEYOND THERAPY: Live the Life You Want To Live!

(2 Day Workshop) / November 13-14, 2009 / Dublin, Ireland

contact Pauline Beegan (beegan@gofree.indigo.ie)  (corrected email!!  sorry I had it wrong last time....)

There are some people who have finished the course of therapy they are in.  They need different tools.  Once a person's internal foundation is built they want to engage with the world in a different way.  They want more!
 
This workshop explores how to reach for "more."  
 
Our time together will be about creating a field of possibility to investigate how our old patterns and beliefs continue to operate even though we're more solid inside.  The opportunity is to stretch beyond that and ultimately to feel limitless inside, to no longer be bound by those old patterns.
 
We'll be looking at how a painful history is the exact right cauldron in which to birth who you are really meant to be in this world. 

Living in alignment with your own unique life purpose propels you into the life you truly want to live. 
 
If you want to experience the joy, satisfaction, incredible self confidence and internal strength that comes from dissolving these blocks that have kept you stuck, then by all means, I'd love to have you join me on this incredible workshop!
 
I can't imagine anything more fun and invigorating than helping you explore ways to step beyond your comfort zone and have the life that you want.
·         Imagine really deeply knowing that there's no way to live life wrong
·         That you can be free from the fears and limitations that hold you back.  
 
That's what we'll be doing in this weekend workshop, laying the groundwork for that possibility!  I hope you come along!  It'll be fun to share this with you and have you open to yourself in the greatest of possible ways.

         If you're interested in more information about our     Safely Embodied Online Community which will include 24/7 access to people who are on a simliar healing journey just reply to this email.  We are gearing up to let a few people in at a time to create an easeful connection for everyone.  Love to have you there!!

 You may notice the new logo above!  Ruth LaGue did a marvelous rendition of Becoming Safely Embodied.  Many thanks to her for her support.

As always, I value your thoughts, comments and connection.  Many of you have taken the time to write and let me know your thoughts.  Coming out of isolation is a critical part of the healing process.  I thought we might want to make it easier for you.  Click here and we'll send you to my blog where you can post to your hearts content!

With love and kindness,

Deirdre