A Gift to Yourself and to Others Called “Holding the Space.”

Posted by Barbara Techel

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I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving. John and I spent a quiet day at home, just the two of us, which has been typical for quite a few years. We napped, played Monopoly, which I am happy (and bragging!) to say that I won.

The reason I am bragging is because I have never won a Monopoly game against John, so I was pretty excited. We also enjoyed our woodstove and as you can see in the photo, John had a special little helper to keep it stoked.

Today I want to share something I recently learned  that I thought you might find helpful and of interest.

Recently at my SoulCollage(R) Facilitator training, Audrey, our trainer told us about something called “Holding the Space.”

This is a way in which to be present for someone who is going through something difficult – oftentimes when there really aren’t words needed to fill the space, but just that someone needs a container in which to be heard.

I also think this can be quite valuable when we find ourselves in a situation that can tend to suck all our positive energy from us.

Holding the space for yourself can keep you centered and put up a protecting energetic field around you so that negative situations don’t leave you feeling so drained.

I’ve shared this with a few people lately and they said that it has helped them as they were going through some tough times.

And then I also had an “aha!” moment just the other day as I thought more about this concept.

Dogs seem to just do this naturally!  They seem to always be holding the space for we mere human beings.

It’s why I love being around them so much. When I want to talk, they hold the space. When I want to be silent, they hold the space. When I want to cry, they hold the space.

What a gift this is!  A gift we can learn to give others, as well as, to ourselves.

Please feel free to leave a comment…

Synchronicity, Saint Barbara & a Blossoming Friendship

Posted by Barbara Techel

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Synchronicity is such a gift. Though I know not everyone realizes when it happens, as it is something you have to open yourself to – to be open for those moments that come when you know there is something larger at work.

Today I met with my friend, Marie again for tea. Our friendship is beginning to blossom into such a beautiful thing. She was always the mysterious older woman who lived in the big white house on the corner. I’ve written about her before here on my blog.

She is very artistic and you can tell when you meet her as she has this flare about her. It is part of what was so mysterious to me. I wanted to know more about her.

Through a series of events that have happened over the past two years, we decided to meet for coffee and tea at a local cafe this summer. That has led to us meeting twice more since then.

Today was one of those mornings we met. She was eager to hear about my SoulCollage (R) Facilitator training I recently completed.

Before we got deep into conversation she gave me a small square package. She told me it was something she had at her house that she forgot about until she came across it recently. She knew I had to have it.

When I unwrapped the paper, inside I found a vintage ornament of St. Barbara. I got goosebumps!  Marie told me she researched information about St. Barbara but nothing was feeling right at first with what she wanted to share with me. And then she found it! A line from a Spanish play in 1936 that says: “Your story is written in the sky with paper and holy water.”

I was so very touched.

I said, “Well, wait until you hear this. I can’t even believe you just gave me this St. Barbara ornament, as I’d never even known there was a St. Barbara until I went to my SoulCollage (R) training.”

As I shared in a previous post about this also, I told Marie how out of 22 women at the SoulCollage (R) training, four of us were Barbara’s. And it was interesting how when we sat in a circle that first night in the training, a Barbara anchored each quarter of the circle.

At breakfast Saturday morning, the Barbara’s magically found there way to one of the tables, taking up one corner. Audrey, our trainer, took note and got goosebumps when she said it made her think of St. Barbara.  Until then I didn’t even know there was a St. Barbara.

As I sat with my friend Marie today and thought about the synchronicity of all of this, my heart filled with gratefulness of all the welcome signs around us that are proof of a bigger plan in the works.

Time with Marie the last few times has been such a gift for me. She is a woman who knows what she wants for her life. Very artistic and going after doing more of her art, we are hoping to collaborate in a few ways down the road — or at the very least, will be supporting each other as we embark on some artistic paths. I’m so grateful for our blossoming friendship.

When I got home today I had to find just the right spot to hang my St. Barbara ornament.

Each morning before yoga I’ve been starting my day lately by picking an animal wisdom tarot card, angel card, Archangel Michael card, Grace card, and also one of my SoulCollage (R) cards. They are a way in which to center myself and ask for guidance for my day or whatever it is I’m feeling challenged with.

As I entered my writing cottage when I returned home today, seeing the cards lying on the table I had picked this morning, I knew just where my St. Barbara ornament should go.

How lovely it is to see it overlooking my cards. Another beautiful blessing to start my days… and a sweet reminder of my new and evolving friendship with Marie.