What are group visualizations and how do they work? Take a listen here or read below.
Group visualizations work pretty much the same way as the one-on-one visualizations with one key difference – the one-in-one visualizations offer more of a collaborative and tailored experience between you and me. With a group, the guided visualization is provided and the participants embark on their own individual journey without speaking during it. There is enough fluidity in the guidance offered that each person will have their own unique experience.
When the visualization is complete, there will be a few minutes for participants to silently journal their experience. If it is a small group, people will be invited to share what they wish of their experience with the group. If it is a larger group, break out rooms will be set up and participants can share with their smaller group.
The sharing is part of making sense of the experience as well as allowing the imagery and gifts to sink deeper into your consciousness. As with the one-on-one visualizations, many people find this informs their day-to-day experiences as well as their access to their own intuition and inner guidance on an on-going basis.
If you and a few friends would like to participate in a group guided visualization, send me a note and we’ll work out the details.
How do one-on-one guided visualizations work? Listen here or read below.
One-on-one guided visualizations start with your question or inquiry and, again, offers a story for you to connect to. With the one-on-one sessions, you are invited to share what imagery is coming up for you. As you do so, this creates the opportunity to influence the direction of the story and the questions offered to you – making your journey very specific to you. It means, you can go to a greater depth.
Once you have the symbols and the imagery, you will be able to connect to them long after the guided visualization is complete, continuing to tap into the gifts and inner wisdom that emerged for you during the guided journey. For many people this informs their day-to-day experiences as well as their access to their own intuition and inner guidance.
I am offering guided one-on-one visualizations – if you want to schedule a session with me you can find the link on this page. I would love to collaborate with you on a guided visualization that will help you access your inner wisdom and your inner healing power.
A voice recording answering the question: What is a Guided Visualization? Listen here.
Essentially, the person doing the guiding offers imagery – a story, if you will – that your mind, spirit, imagination can connect to – and offers suggestions that invite you to fill in the blanks with imagery or symbols that come to you. These symbols will have meaning to you and you are invited to interpret them to your specific question or circumstance.
Lady of the Lake
I wrote a blog post once – here is the link – on Is this Real or am I Making it Up? The mind doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what is imagined, so it doesn’t matter. What matters is learning to trust yourself and the images that emerge for you – and that is what guided visualizations offer.
My memoir, Embracing the Stranger in Me:A Journey to Openheartedness, describes my spiritual and healing journey over the first half of my adult life. It was, by and large, a journey of accidental discoveries. Along the way, I tapped into my ability to “see” spirit guides and to offer deep and profound guided visualizations for others.
I have been considering this kind of one-on-one offering for a while now. Recently, I was inspired by one of Lee Harris’s energy updates where he spoke about Sacred Arts Rising and the impulse to share creations in a new and different way.
Embracing my spiritual identity more fully, I have decided to offer one-on-one guided visualizations with the possibility of adding on a follow-up call. We are living in times of significant shift, change and upheaval. Our best recourse for finding our way is to be grounded in who we are – embracing all of who we are. This offering is one resource to support you in this journey.
What
A 1.5 hour guided visualization where you have the opportunity to connect deeply with yourself or with your guides for any of the following purposes:
To access your power and discover ways to live into it more fully.
To access your hidden or forgotten talents and gifts.
To meet a past and/or future self for guidance, messages or gifts.
To meet your spirit guide(s)/power animal(s) and ask them for guidance, messages or gifts.
The Process
This is not me relaying information to you. This is a collaborative process where I provide structure through the visualization, you tune into what is emerging for you and we have a conversation to stay tuned into what is true in the moment.
These are stand-alone sessions although some people like to do a follow-up to share what happened post the session and ask any questions that are lingering. This would be a 1 hour session.
Fee and Payment
$150 for the guided visualization session.
$225 for the guided visualization and the follow-up.
Payment can be made through e-transfer in Canada, sent to or through paypal from anywhere else, to the email kathy.jourdain@gmail.com. Sessions are not confirmed until payment is received.
“My guided visualization with Kathy connected me to my spirit guides, with vibrant imagery. I go back to this imagery over and over again for guidance and to tap into a revitalizing energy.”
“I gained valuable insights into patterns in my life that were holding me back and discovered gifts I forgot that I had that I now draw on regularly.”
“Kathy’s voice invites a journey, her questions provide great guidance in the experience and the inner resources that are illuminated offers profound insights into alternative pathways.”
Additional Resources – Journey and Visualization Recordings
What is a Guided Visualization? I speak about it in this post where you can also find a link to a 1 minute audio recording.
What happens in a one-on-one guided visualization? Access the post and short audio recording here.
What is a group guided visualization and how does it work? Access the post and the link to a short audio recording here.
In this post which includes a 7 minute voice recording, shortly after my memoir, Embracing the Stranger in Me: A Journey to Openheartedness was published, I talk about the Compelling Nature of the Journey – so much so that you have to respond to the call of life.
This journey for me was an opening to gifts and talents I did not think possible for me or available to me. I had imagined only “special”, “deeply gifted” and “powerful” people would have access to these kinds of gifts. The realization over time is that we all have access, we all have gifts. Most of us just need to find our way through the persistent story telling that tells us otherwise, that tells us that these experiences are not real, that we are making them up. The mind does not know the difference between what we imagine and what is real – which is why visualization is so powerful. Check out the post and 8 minute audio recording here.
In an Open Space zoom meeting this past week, I was named two things: change maker and courageous; and I’m not sure how I feel about either of them. I didn’t originally register for the event because I didn’t identify as a change maker. It was only after reconnecting with my dear friend who called the session that I decided to attend. Not because of being a change maker but because of friendship and colleagueship. The check-in question was what is your biggest challenge as a change maker now? I was stymied. For a minute.
What Does it Mean to be a Change Maker?
Even as I said out loud that I wasn’t sure I identified as a change maker, it seemed absurd. Perhaps I was imagining change makers as something else. Maybe social entrepreneurs, somehow doing different things within and at the edges of our systems – communities, organizations, networks – than what I am doing? Doing something more substantive than what I do? I couldn’t even voice that out loud because of the absurdity of it. Talk about needing to own and embrace an identity. If what Jerry and I are doing with Worldview Intelligence and all its various applications is not change making, then I really don’t know what is.
So, what am I dealing with as a change maker? Within myself and those I work with or host: grief, overwhelm, guilt are just a few things. Grief for all that goes on in the world, overwhelm for the enormity and complexity of it all, both near and far, and guilt when life goes on in relative peace and comfort while so much else is in chaos and uncertainty.
It is important to remember where our spheres of influence are and focus attention there. It is also important to participate in things that nourish us. Which is why I joined a session during that call on ‘communing with more than the human world’. This is where someone said I was courageous and, interestingly, that carried back into the full plenary.
A Drumming Circle, Vision and Journey
I shared the story about the first drumming circle I ever participated in, talked about the vision with the shape shifting journey lion where we flew over fields of wild flowers, then trees, then mountains. On the other side of the mountains, there were people singing and dancing around a huge, celebratory bonfire. I shape shifted into the lion as we landed and joined in the celebration, welcomed home by the ancestors.
Home Base in Gold Lake – 2009
A decade later, I was in Gold Lake, Colorado, inexplicably drawn there to be with friends who were hosting an Art of Hosting training for financial planners. One of my friends said she was going to do a day long vision quest on the land following the training and the reason I felt called to Gold Lake was to do it with her. (I did, and that is a whole other story.) When I arrived at the Gold Lake Resort and started walking the dirt roadways and pathways, I could hear, in my mind, body and soul, a drum beat. It got louder with each passing hour and suddenly I realized, this land I was walking on was the land I had flown over in my vision a decade earlier and I never even knew it existed. I still get goosebumps thinking and writing about it.
This spiritual part of my identity I do own and embrace. I have pretty consistent meditation and “magic” practices. I don’t know how I would have gotten through the last four years without them. They support me in being a conscious, active participant in my own life. But courage is another thing. Is it courageous to share this part of my life with others? In this case, I was in the safest kind of space possible.
Of course, I did write and publish my memoir, Embracing the Stranger in Me: A Journey to Openheartedness. Ironically, when I describe the book to people, I almost forget to mention it is about my spiritual journey. I talk about finding out I was adopted, marriage and divorce times two, job loss and starting a consulting business, my mother’s journey with dementia, long-term care and her death, and my father’s health challenges, particularly not waking up for almost 2 weeks after his second open heart surgery. All of these things are indicators and part of my spiritual journey.
What Does it Mean to be Courageous?
So, what does courage mean? What does it mean to be courageous? Definitions of courage describe it as “facing danger”. There is perhaps a perception of facing danger by sharing stories, deemed deeply personal. But danger to what? Reputation? Professionalism? Career?
The word courage is derived from the old French word corage, meaning heart and innermost feelings. I can identify with that more than with facing danger. I can and do bring heart to everything I do, whether writing, hosting or being in relationship with others. I can accept that as an identity. Heart changes spaces, dynamics and energy fields. It welcomes people, contributes to safe spaces and can positively impact someone’s day, sometimes just by being in the same space and sometimes just in passing by another person.
Everyone can be Courageous, Have Heart
Everyone can be courageous, can have heart. It doesn’t have to be loudly proclaimed, it can just be what we embody. I think it takes a pretty special person to be able to do this all the time. I know I can’t. Some days the stress of things, of worry or concern, in my life is too great. Those days I have to dig deep, sometimes just to get through them. Other days I can radiate heart. This is why practices are so important. They help tether us to what is most important in our lives.
In some ways, the terms are irrelevant. What does it take to show up fully and to embrace all that we are? Being present. Communing with nature. Seeing the beauty all around us. Allowing ourselves to feel. Giving permission to self to live into the things that bring joy, even with all that goes on the world, near and far.
Embracing My Power, Brazil, circa 2012
“Maybe I’m a Queen”
I am reminded of this William Stafford poem that a dear friend shared with me in the months after finding out I was adopted, as the question flowed into my mind: Who are you, really? Maybe, I’m a Queen. It spoke to me then, it speaks to me now. Enjoy.
A Story That Could be True
By William Stafford
If you were exchanged in the cradle and your real mother died without ever telling the story then no one knows your name, and somewhere in the world your father is lost and needs you but you are far away.
He can never find how true you are, how ready.
When the great wind comes and the robberies of the rain you stand on the corner shivering.
The people who go by — you wonder at their calm.
They miss the whisper that runs any day in your mind, “Who are you really, wanderer?” — and the answer you have to give no matter how dark and cold the world around you is: “Maybe I’m a queen.”
Many people have described personal or business challenges, set within the context of news cycles full of increased war, a challenged economy, high interest rates, higher prices for just about everything, increased debt loads and higher rates of homelessness. Personally, as an example, I have become price sensitive at the grocery store, which had never been the case. The cost of groceries is a common topic of discussion amongst friends and family.
With so much chaos all around us, it can be hard to focus on the good, the small gestures, kindness, the heartwarming stories. For some, it almost feels like we are not allowed to find the joy and yet not doing so only hurts us while not solving any of the issues we see, but have no influence over.
The Season of Amplification
And, now, we are in the “festive” season and the stress for many is more intense. We carry expectations about the holidays, about how they should be, about what we should do, buy, make or gift. Yes, it can be a season of joy and it is equally likely to be a season of grief and both at the same time. As I wrote years ago, ‘tis the season of amplification. Whatever we are feeling, we may feel with more intensity. So, how do we stay grounded, connected, nourished and supported amidst so much intensity and chaos in the world?
Embrace the Possibilities, Small Gestures, Kindness and Generosity of Spirit
So many possibilities. Seek out, remember and offer small gestures, kindness, and generosity of spirit. Offer a sincere compliment to someone and watch their face light up. I do this whenever I see someone bring vibrancy to their role or interactions or extend great service or courtesy to others. It makes a difference and it is easy to do. It is following through on noticing.
Connection and Relationship
Find connection in all ways that matter and especially through all forms of relationship. Relationship with loved ones and particularly with the little ones in our lives. Give them the gift of time and attention. All the moments I spend with my grandchildren or with Jerry’s, bring me joy and delight, as I see and experience the world through their eyes. The relationships I have with my and Jerry’s adult children are gratifying and provide sustenance.
Relationships with extended family, friends, neighbours and colleagues who care and who we care about. Relationship with nature, to stay present and keep perspective. Accessing the music, books and movies that make us feel, while reducing media and social media that drags us down.
Relationship with Self Also Matters
We can also offer small gestures and kindnesses in our relationship with self, taking care of mental and physical health and well-being. We might not be able to affect a lot of what goes on in the world, but we can influence and impact those within our circles of influence, including ourselves.
The Promise of 2024
As I look ahead, 2024 holds lots of potential and possibilities. Writing brings Jerry and me joy. We have a couple of projects we’ve been working on that we hope to see come to fruition in 2024. They are The Little Book of Great Grandparenting and Dancing on the Razor’s Edge of Change, both of which include contributions from friends and colleagues.
Jerry and I are beginning a very exciting partnership with a global company that will take our Worldview Intelligence work to new levels, new clients and new cities. We can’t wait to see what emerges as a result.
My Wish for Us All
My wish for you, for me and my loved ones, for the world, for 2024 and beyond, is for peace, hope, connection, joy, and prosperity. The ability to both sit with and work through the tough spots and varied emotional experiences that show up along the way. The ability to influence the world around us in extraordinary and positive ways. The ability to invite and entertain different worldview perspectives, so we find our way in the world with beauty and grace.
All the best of this Holiday Season, from me to you.
Most of us, if not all of us, have experienced shame at some point in our lives. The work of shame is so powerful that it shuts us down, depletes us of energy and makes us want to hide. It can rob us of vitality and voice. It can feel like shame is sending out signals that you are a person who has failed, that here is someone who wasn’t smart enough to figure out something, someone who misjudged a situation.
An antidote to shame is transparency, using your voice, sharing your story. From my own experience when I felt the power of shame, a few times over the course of my life’s journey, relief started with sharing my story with one or two trusted individuals who witnessed me in that moment. Their reactions – acknowledging, witnessing, validating, seeing the fullness of me beyond the particular situation for which I felt shame – was freeing. It restored trust in myself. Not immediately, but over time.
A partial definition of transparency is “the quality of allowing light to pass through” – and how uplifting to consider light passing through to our heart and soul, soul essence, the core of who we are. Transparency doesn’t have to mean proclaiming everything loudly to everyone – although those who do share profound stories that have been kept secret for a long time provide inspiration and hope for others who have experienced similar situations.
If you have experienced, or are experiencing, shame, know you are not your shame or your experience. Take the time you need to move through it. Find trusted spaces to share your story as transparently as possible and allow yourself to be witnessed into healing.
I am currently near a wild fire zone, near Bedford Nova Scotia, where I live. All my attention, and that of those around me, is focused on news and updates about the fires, evacuations, comfort stations, acts of courage (thanks to the fire fighters and everyone working to contain the many fires in our province right now), generous acts of kindness, people in search of support.
It is all consuming and can feel paralyzing. Grateful to be outside the fire zones and feeling for those who have lost their homes and, for some, their pets.
Inertia is the tendency to do nothing or to remain the same. It is also, in physics, the tendency of something in motion to continue in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force. For some of us, this could mean moving along in a mechanical or automatic manner, not thinking about what we are doing.
An antidote to inertia is movement. Intentional, thoughtful movement. Because I was very close to an evacuation zone last night, that thoughtful, intentional movement was packing up, preparing to leave quickly, with my cats, if that was needed.
While this is a very specific, situational example, the same can apply to any situation or time in life. Any time you notice that movement, or lack of movement, is automatic, mechanical you have an opportunity to make a choice. Sometimes, inertia serves us. It helps us get through a situation, a time, an emotional experience, a freeze or flight moment. When you realize it doesn’t serve anymore, you can make conscious, intentional movement toward the future you want to bring alive in your life.
Today, I will combat inertia through writing. Proposals, book editing, blog posts. And remind myself of all the people, things and situations who fuel my passion, life, love and joy. Because that is all still here, even as danger lurks nearby.
Our thoughts fuel our feelings. Turning attention to what is going on in our minds enables us to change our thoughts and, thus, change our feelings. This is why an antidote to distress is blessings, thinking about the blessings we have in life, things we can be grateful for.
This is not about seeing life through rose coloured glasses. It is about deliberately turning our attention to focus on something that can make us feel better, lift us out of distress, so we can function in our day, week, life.
For me, it is children, grandchildren, my partner, his family, remembering my journey over the last 13 years in my home and all I have been able to accomplish here, the longer journey of my life with all its twists and turns, memories of my parents and grateful when they show up in my dreams, the work I do, the joy in writing, my quirky cats, friends and people I know and am connected to in a myriad of ways, good neighbours.
Really, there is no shortage of things to be grateful for. Where does your list begin?
Anger can get a bad rap. It is not because it is inherently bad, but because many do not know how to express it, other than lashing out and causing harm to others. Some do it purposefully, intending to do harm. Some do it defensively, to not work with their own emotional experiences or fears, which is not necessarily a conscious response.
Anger can be intimidating when we are subjected to it. And our own anger can make us afraid that we might harm others, especially if we have not witnessed anger expressed in healthy ways – which was my case for a lot of my life. I learned that not acknowledging or expressing anger that is present can look like false harmony and that is not helpful or healthy either.
I also learned to stand my ground in the face of anger and that is not been easy to do. Being subjected to someone else’s wrath, justified or not (and usually not) has accompanying physical and emotional reactions. This is why reflection is an antidote to anger.
Reflection is important when you are the one who is angry. Feeling angry usually means a boundary has been violated. Understanding what is contributing to your anger means you can address it in more thoughtful and intentional ways. Or let it go. For me, when something happens that goes against my values, when someone does harm to someone else, when people take advantage of other people, hypocrisy – these are all things that contribute to me being angry. Understanding the source helps me consider my choices and my actions.
When it is someone who is angry at you, and if it matters to you, reflecting on why they are projecting their anger towards you can help you step out of your own responses and help you find a way to address the issue with the other person. In my experience, it usually involves a delay in response, past the heat of the moment. Sometimes, stepping away is the healthiest thing you can do in the moment.
Anger is an emotion. Acknowledging it can be one of the most powerful things you can do. Learning how to work with it can be even more powerful. Demonstrating healthy ways to work with anger can be a gift to those around you.
Embracing the Stranger in Me 