The activities in this chapter inject new energy into your work by introducing the unexpected.

WORK IN DEPTH

In the visualisations which follow, you will use objects of personal significance to help you work at a deeper level. Some of these objects will be used to ‘time travel’, rediscovering things you had forgotten. Some will be used to take you into new territory. Use them to explore your own life first. Later, you can adapt the text of the visualisations to enable you to explore your characters’ lives. This can be done in two ways:

• 1.On behalf of your character. You as author look at your character’s life.
• 2.As your character. You become your character doing the visualisation.

Experiment to see which you prefer.

When you first do the visualisations, bear in mind the advice given in Chapter 4. Do not work too deeply if you are under emotional stress. One alternative is to visualise the scenes as though you were watching them on a stage or on television (see Visualisation 4) This helps you to feel less emotionally involved. Or it might be better to wait until you are feeling less vulnerable.

In Chapter 4, Karen decided to ‘take the Grail Maiden with her’ on guided journeys. The Grail Maiden was acting as a talisman on those occasions. A talisman represents our own inner wisdom. It can be any person, animal or object which helps us to feel supported or protected.

In guided journeys a talisman can also offer advice and answer questions. They are very useful to have with us. Close your eyes for a moment and allow a talisman to appear for you. Ask this talisman to accompany you in these visualisations.

NB As these visualisations work at a deeper level, when you tape them allow longer pauses than before, giving your imagination plenty of time to explore.