My Core Values

Week 2 of the Vision Journaling Workshop through True North has been about identifying your core values.

As Kathryn questions:

What do you stand for? What is important to you?

"Our set of core beliefs are unique to each of us."

By listing the values of people we admire, both past and present, we were then to choose key words. From these, we were to choose 10 core values that really are our truths.

This was a very powerful exercise - first, the focus on people we admire and why, and then extracting those 10 core values.

The person I chose first was my Mom. From her I have learned much and still refer to her teachings. The other people I look up to are: my Dad, my dear friend Marg, Mother Teresa, Oprah and Katherine Hepburn. There are many others, but for me these were the primary mentors.

My core values ended up being:

Caring Serve Others Positive Spiritual Teacher/Learner Patience Loyalty Passion Peace/Equality Creativity

I created a journal page using a watercolour background.

Dream

This week my focal word is "DREAM".

I have just begun an online course on Vision Journaling ( Creating the Life of Your Dreams) with Kathryn Antyr of True North Arts. Each week, for 6 weeks, we will be completing challenges and activities to uncover our goals and apirations.

Our first project was to create a collage of what brings us relaxation and serenity.

 

The images I used reflect my belief that there is growth, beauty, power and change involved in our dreams. Thus the images help to show that.

As I worked I could not help but think of where "dreams" have been used: - DonQuiote"s "Dream the Impossible Dream", Martin Luther's and JFK's Dreams. When I went online, I found many dream quotes, some I had never heard before:

Anais Nin: “Dreams are necessary to life.”

Anatole France: “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

Carl Sandburg: “Nothing happens unless first a dream.”

George Bernard Shaw: “You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?"

Harriet Tubman: “ Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Victor Hugo: “There is nothing like a dream to create the future.”

William Arthur Ward: "If you can imagine it you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it."

Sue Ebaugh: "Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities."

Stephen Leacock: 'May be that those who do most, dream most."

Visualizing

Then I went on to create my serenity collage. The images here all bring me peace/relaxation/serenity. Water has always been a source of peace for me, thus most of the images show water. But dance, music, massage, sky, flowers are some of the ways that I use to relax.

Besides the collage I will also be creating affirmation cards to lead me through this visualizing course. I am looking forward to uncovering more of my intentions and deep dreams. Inward reflection will be a part of this journey (as well as with "The Artist's Way" - which I am reading with another group).