LANDSCAPE FEATURES AS SYMBOLS

Bromo Crater, Indonesia

There are many elements of a physical landscape that can be used to explore an Inner Landscape. Here are a few to consider:

Color Colors can reflect concepts such as passion or grief (red), harmony (blue), abundance or new life (green), hope or happiness (yellow), foreboding or depth of feeling (black), or spiritual connection (blue or purple). These of course are oversimplifications, but we include them here to get you thinking of color as an expression of feeling. There are also personal color associations which will differ greatly between people. Exploring these can provide valuable insights.

 

Land Forms Land forms offer a variety of symbols to work with. Mountains, for example, often reflect achievements or desired goals ('going to the top'). Alternatively, they may feel like an obstacle to seeing what is on the other side. Water is often about emotions or being 'in the flow' of life. A road may be a path to something new, or lead back to something in the past. A tree is often about feeling rooted or secure, or about being connected with the sky (or a sense of expansiveness), or with Spirit. Blossoms or spring leaves might indicate new possibilities, growth potential, or hope for the future. Valleys often convey safety or homecoming.

Textures: Textures can also be useful elements to work with. Uneven terrain is often seen as a hindrance, whereas smooth surfaces might be seen as easy to navigate -- or perhaps even boring, without a challenge. Rocks may be seen as blocking a path, or as adventuresome steps toward a goal. Groups of pebbles or boulders are often seen as symbols of abundance. A sandy beach may elicit memories of childhood pleasure or relaxation in the sun, whereas a sandy desert can bring up a sense of desolation, or feeling 'dried up', or lost in the wilderness. There seem to be endless ways of looking at the world, limited only by the fertile imagination of each person.

For Example:

A client came with a quest to find more meaning in her work.

This Pool of Possibilities image helped her to identify her tendency to always be looking elsewhere, thinking the 'grass is greener' somewhere other than where she was at the present time. She recognized that the branch of leaves (on the lower right) that was touching the water was creating a ripple, and she questioned where she might be able to create the best ripple effect with her work.

The colorful impressionistic reflections of flowers suggested to her that she needed to get her life in focus, to look deeper into her "pool of possibilities", beyond the surface reality, to find all the options available to her.
 

Messages From Sacred Places

Another level of understanding with Inner Landscapes may be the themes conveyed by mythologies or mystical experiences.  Once clients have assessed an image to as deep a level as they can, if the picture is of a place from our Sacred Earth collection, I may then offer another level of understanding which might add to the meaning they have already gleaned.

For example, one client's question was about how he could move a new industry forward, and how this work might impact him personally and professionally.

When this image came up in the Future position, he was first frustrated and annoyed, feeling that it indicated he had yet "another mountain to climb!" ...

However, on pondering the image, he then wondered if it might be suggesting that he had a new opportunity. Like the building of Machu Picchu, what he was doing was not easy. Otherwise everyone else would be doing it.

By the end of the discussion, he also recognized that this image  portrayed a peak achievement in the ancient Incan culture.

He also saw that the original foundation was still there and that it was solid - and he was able to relate this to the foundation he had already built with his current business.

Finally, he saw this sacred place as a reminder that what he was attempting to do could also be achieved with being aware of the spiritual guidance in his life.

Now it's your turn.  Try a free Sacred Earth Reading or Pool of Possibilities Reading for yourself.

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