posted July 31, 2003 03:24 AM         

the secret home of your sacred self

i want you all to do me a favor. actually, its a favor for yourself, but ill tell you how later. what i want you to do is describe to me your ideal place. it can be a real place, or a made up place. close your eyes for a moment, and think about where in the world you would most like to be. the place where you feel most safe, most comfortable, the place that is uniquely yours. it will be most beautiful to you, it will have everything your heart desires, just go wild! use your imagination if you like, or if you want describe where in the real world where you are most comfortable.

once this thread gets a couple of responses i will share what its all about, although its really plainly obvious but still, it might not occur to some people. i didnt know until i had finished it, when it was done for me, many years ago.

mine is like this

i close my eyes and imagine myself in a type of grove. its like a tropical rainforest, only its not overpoweringly hot but a bit on the cool side, and it isnt overbright. the forest floor is really mossy and soft, and i lay there on it in a loosely flowing dress made of cotton. its ambiently lit, you know there is sun up there but the trees and vegetation are like a canopy overhead, and make shade. there are tons of flowers, their colours are so vibrant, as are the trees. you can hear birds singing, but its really gentle. there are lots of birds and animals in this place, in particular there is a baby deer who puts her head up to mine, and i embrace her. there is a waterfall there that falls into a pool of clear and cool water, it really sparkles from the muted light. the light is pinpricks poking through the forest canopy, and each tiny ray makes a 'ting!' on the surface of the water. the waterfall is smallish, its no niagara falls, and it doesnt crash down but falls on the pool lightly. the water mists over to me and i feel soooo wonderful... refreshed and cool, just lovely.

i have to thank a certain dear cherished friend for reminding me of this... it was talking to him that i remembered how good this was i shared it with him first, then i realized that it might be useful to others so i thought id post it here.

have fun! i cant wait to see what some of you come up with!!

posted July 31, 2003 07:03 AM         

My sacred place? Hmmmmmmmm............

Well, my imagination is my absolute sacred place. I also feel in tune with the forest theme.

posted August 01, 2003 12:12 AM         

sunmeadow, an imagination is a limitless place of wonder and delight! i am glad that you have comfort in yours, sometimes people are burdened with an imagination that hurts them. it sounds like you have an ideal place to scamper and cavort forgive me for sounding so dreamy, im just very happy today and feeling very peaceful and carefree today

what sort of places does your imagination take you? whats your favorate? you will see why later

oh cat... that is a beautiful place. indeed, i am sure that you do have an angels arms around you. i am glad that you found such peace there! that certainly sounds like your sacred place!

i find it interesting that some of us include other people in our place, and i dont. i dont know about you sunmeadow but you sound like me, that you are just flying on your own.

i will tell you all the relevance of these things soon i promise, im so mean i just wanted to give others a chance, and without knowing what it 'means' its easier to be honest with ones self. if i had of known what it was when this was taught to me, i am sure that something in my psyche would have altered my place. thats why i am holding off, you know i wouldnt be mean.

you will all know soon i promise!

posted August 03, 2003 03:46 AM         

well, i want to tie up this loose end. i feel my time at LL is coming to a close, and so i feel a need to put things in order.

kat, you hit the nail on the head. its a very useful tool when one is feeling sad, lonely, agitated, etc. all you have to do is go back to your sacred place and spend some time there... and things feel better after awhile. its been very useful to me personally. i just thought it might be useful to others, which is why i shared this exercise. i learned it throught a therapist i saw once. oh btw, im not crazy or anything. it was court ordered because of my going to trial to testify against the person who molested me when i was a child. its given me much peace and happiness over the years when i have felt most alone, and i just really thought there were people around here who could find some comfort in it.

i hope you all have happy lives. i have nothing but best wishes for you all. take good care...

~ana

posted August 06, 2003 10:29 PM         

i was having a VERY bad day in a week of... just a not good week. twas one of those days where i just felt like running away and living in the mountains as a bush woman, eating berries and roots. ^_^

im better now, although by mere degrees... but, im sure things will be better soon.

i want to get to know you too. i would have emailed you but im sort of tidying my emotional house right now... when thats done, ill drop you a line, and im sure we will post here whenever we can.

~ana

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where i end and you begin there's a gap in between there's a gap where we meet where i end and you begin
and i'm sorry for us the dinosaurs roam the earth the sky turns green where i end and you begin

posted August 08, 2003 02:57 AM         

~ana

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where i end and you begin there's a gap in between there's a gap where we meet where i end and you begin
and i'm sorry for us the dinosaurs roam the earth the sky turns green where i end and you begin