Back in the day, I did a whole lot of training in Ericksonian hypnotherapy. We did a lot of re-framing which is a bit like the kind of framing I’ve learned in the land of Intentional Creativity®
As I recall, re-framing could be done in 12 steps. Or 6 steps. Or 1 step. And the number of steps had a whole lot to do with context. (Yep! Many, many things have a whole lot to do with context!)
The whole purpose of re-framing is to help someone who’s struggling to lay down the limiting beliefs that are holding them back.
My favorite days were the kind where I fished about in my mental medicine basket and came up with what I thought of as a 1 step re-frame with a big gold bow!
A really helpful link in a coaching conversation. A sentence in a sermon that makes a whole lot more room for hope. An utterly new question.
These days, I use paint for re-frames, too. And, much like the hypnosis tool, the paintings have steps. Often 13 steps! And, yes… the ones I love the best are the ones that shift the most stuff and open up my world.
Sometimes it happens in an instant. Sometimes I stare at them for years before I hear the message… often because I have changed! And because the context changes!!! It really is a lot like making soup!
Here’s my current ah-hah…
I have just read Dr. Estes’ story The Handless Maiden in Women Who Run With the Wolves.
Even the title was hard for me! You see, for the last 36 years, the words hand and power have been joined in my mind – and heart. (As much as I struggled, I did learn a few things from my Hebrew grammar professor… though it’s possible Jim meant – or said! – Aramaic instead of Hebrew on this one!) And you, dear reader, see where this is heading!
I’m not going to blow Dr. E’s story for you. Instead, I’m going to add another story to our conversation.
The Legend of the Red Thread! It’s ageless and varies from culture to culture. This is the part engraved on my heart… Long before we were born, we were connected, by the Red Thread, to those who would matter in our lives.
Now, you probably noticed, if you’ve been reading along, that we’ve been busy re-hanging paintings around here. The photo at the top is the actual, real-deal view from my favorite chair, as I write these words. And, yes, it is still a #workinprogress! (Like, recycling day being tomorrow…) Here’s the one that’s talking to me now… up close.
I painted this, 3 years or so ago, as part of my certification journey as a Red Thread Guide. And, yes… it came to me in a dream. A dream that was quite clear about process and details. So clear that I painted what I dreamed, even though it made me uncomfortable.
And, now, amidst a deluge of MSNBC, I have a new question…
Is it possible that – maybe, just maybe – it is our Red Thread that gives us our power? And lets us share our power with others???
The tears rolling down my cheeks are a pretty good sign that this might be one of those big gold bow moments. And I offer it to you…
Experiment with it, if you like. Lean into whether this perception might be a good addition to your personal medicine basket.
I’m headed off to my easel. I’d bet on red paint being involved!
ps… are you feeling the call??? There’s still time to join the 2024 Red Madonna Celebratrix journey! (And there’s a special bonus livestream this Friday with Shiloh Sophia & paint!!!) Last night, I added a new Red Thread to the collection on my left wrist – just for you! Check it out here!
pps… one of my very favorite things to do with my big gold bow skills is to help people just like you on the road to the place Frederick Buechner said we are called… the place where our deep joy and the world’s deep longing meet. And I’ve made space for two new really ready individual adventurers! Just ask the calendar elves to hook you up with half an hour. My gift. Let’s take the next step for you!
