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The Magical Mystery of Attaching Meaning to Metaphor

1st Apr 2016 by Dolly Kary in Client Stories

I recently attended a Personal Journey weekend with Sue Charman and Marian Way at Sue’s lovely home in Devon. There were five of us on the weekend, all working on our individual landscapes over two days. Marian and Sue gave us quite a high level of free reign – we could have a session, walk, read about our symbols, write, draw or reflect in the hot tub – while definitely holding the whole picture for us.

I loved being free to work with both Marian and Sue and I loved the magical quality of being asked simple clean questions. This allowed me to meander through my thoughts audibly, and at no time did I feel that there was an answer they knew that I was trying to guess – something I have experienced before with other therapeutic interventions. Stumbling across metaphors was like being on a treasure hunt with hidden gems scattered along the path of self-discovery. I found it incredibly exciting and sort of knew that the final pieces of a jigsaw were being put into place.

I gradually converted the metaphor of a circle into a bouncy super-ball metaphor and I now consciously remember that I can choose that energy and so frequently do. The metaphor has allowed me to feel more buoyant and resourceful then I normally give myself credit for. I came away feeling very strongly that I am no longer in a story of self-doubt and lack of self-confidence and low self-esteem. I learnt that I have a strong “can do” energy that is quite powerful and compassionate towards the part of me that feels less able to find the path forward. The bounce in my super-ball is a very potent metaphor for me to go away with and has sustained its resonance since then.

Then there was the food! The food was perfectly catered and absolutely delicious and Martin’s sensitive invisible presence ensuring all was well behind the scenes was welcome and much appreciated. The evident care to making sure all was organised felt very comforting and that everyone involved in creating the weekend worked well as a team. I appreciated having a variety of spaces to occupy for the sessions and the care and attention taken with each space.

The only thing I would have changed would be to give space and time for a deeper check-in each morning in service to a deeper connection to fellow journeyers while hopefully not infringing on the personal journey taken by each individual.

The weekend was peppered with moments of profound revelation – the magical mystery of attaching meaning to metaphor in a wholly individual way allowed the weekend to be life changing giving me resources previously unavailable to me.

Photo by JR Korpa on Unsplash

About Dolly Kary

Dolly Kary lives in Devon with her husband Nick and their three children. From their home and creative environment, Dolly manifests her dream to develop a place where people from all walks of life meet through a shared desire to free their creative spirits. Dolly has a passion for facilitating and promoting the opportunity for others to explore their own creativity. With a strong belief in the healing powers of art, Dolly runs “Creative Being” workshops as a space for others to embark on their own creative journey and reconnection with their hands.