The Power of Imagination

Fri, 16 May 2025 16:08:47 GMT

The Power of Imagination

Since I was a kid , creativity has been a natural element of everyday life. I would spend hours immersed in “make-believe” stories, engaging a colorful cast of characters playing out scenarios with my beloved puppet collection. I also enjoyed wandering in the woods near my home, making friends with the trees, lightning bugs, and forest creatures who inspired my imagination. There, my whole world was simply being & observing, and I developed a strong sense of pure connection that remains to this day.

When I lost a tooth and was told the Tooth Fairy was coming, I was filled with delight and created a beautiful space at my bedside...hopeful she might hang out for awhile, so I could catch a glimpse. The scene included delicious snacks, sparkly gifts, and a soft inviting bed for her to rest from her travels. The next morning, I drew a detailed picture of what I imagined she looked like, with the most magical glittering wings and brightest loving smile I had ever seen!

Mythical tales have been an integral part of human life since the beginning of time, as a way of making meaning of our existence. We are born with INFINITE potential to create, with a rich tapestry of cultural and uniquely individual gifts to draw upon. Then, we often lose or forget these inherent strengths in the hustling demands of adulthood. We wonder why we end up feeling stressed & disconnected with a loss of hope and simple joy. While there are therapeutic terms and words from many belief systems to describe techniques for visualizing and accessing different states, the power of imagination is clearly not a new concept. What IS new in our modern age is the amount of time spent feeding our minds with someone else’s imagination!

Consider all the stories, movies, media, reels, screens and information overload flooding our minds to a numbing excess every single day. We must realize that in each moment, we are actually engaging our imagination, for better or for worse. It does not matter if the images & content are real or fictional, past or future, seen on an external screen or playing out in your head...the mind and body responds to what it is experiencing in that moment. This is where the power exists- CHOOSING with discernment to engage the creative mind for the experience you actually want to have.

That sounds fantastic , right? And you might be saying, “But how do I stop thinking and worrying about all the real problems in the world and in my life?” The answer is simply to allow yourself to stop, and take your power back! Make space for the present moment to exist, and give yourself the FREEDOM to imagine & expand the state of being you wish to live in. I am not saying bypass the work of dealing with issues, we absolutely must address things that require attention and energy within our ability. I am suggesting that we make time for building up our mind “muscles” with images and feelings that fill the senses with pleasant states such as: peace, joy, relaxation, safety, connection, wonder and curiosity. It is a mindfulness and somatic practice, and it is one that I personally engage in daily...honestly, all throughout the day.

Whether sitting or laying comfortably in silence, walking in nature, or moving & dancing with sound, meditation opens new pathways for creativity and the results include feeling more resourced to manage life. As you practice, it will become less of a thing “to do” and more of a way of BEING. I absolutely love sharing this wisdom with my clients and students, and I have seen the most profound shifts with this one simple mind trick. Best part is it’s a free resource always available, and we’ve actually had it all along.

Journey to the Core of Love

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:37:30 GMT

Journey to the Core of Love

Once upon a time, after graduating high school, I moved to Colorado and dreamed of having my own family. I was married at 18 and had three beautiful children. I so loved being a mom, but I realized this marriage was not a healthy relationship for my kids to learn from either. It was too often a volatile scene, and we were all wounded. Then an event happened that shifted everything. I was a passenger in a car accident, and sustained some serious bodily injury including concussion. I couldn't do anything for awhile but lay in the dark quiet of pain, avoiding light and sound. When I was finally able to move out of the basement, I started painting everything that I felt and I found myself again. When the yelling and anger resumed, I finally got the strength to go and found safety and support at a women’s shelter. I did love their dad, and he was injured too as a child. I now know I am the curse breaker, it’s a high honor not a shame .

The struggle...

did not end there, not at all. And I kept going. With no money, I put myself through college writing for every grant and scholarship I could find, while also working full-time. I worked as a social worker and advocate for women and children for many years, then I put myself through grad school and became a licensed therapist to serve others with what I had learned. I enjoyed that for several decades, specializing in trauma and somatic-based therapy helping thousands of people transform trauma and heal, as I continued my own personal and professional mastery.

Meanwhile, I also grew in my spiritual and intuitive practices participating and leading in circles…a living walk of faith, connection with God & nature magic. I later became an ordained Priestess accepting my role as a ceremonial leader, and it’s really just a natural shamanic arts way of life. I deepened my yoga and meditation practices, and I began dancing and having fun again. There was so much amazing magic and then life happened some more. I feel like it’s not all linear, it’s more like a continual unwinding into our true nature. This is a book coming!

Before I turned 50 years, I became suddenly debilitated with neurological symptoms that prevented me from walking and everything felt weird, like I was looking out from inside a wavy glass globe. My hands, arms and everything was buzzing and numb, I even struggled to grasp a spoon to eat. That’s when the biggest unraveling started. I ultimately had to let go of everything- my home & possessions, relationships, so much just to focus on my wellness. It took tons of money, everything I had and years of health providers, detective work and a whole lot of determination.

As I got a little stronger, I sent myself to a very special yoga teacher training in the jungle of Costa Rica. That’s where the journey of becoming Adhara began. I felt a powerful awakening there and found strength I didn't even know I had. When I got back to CO, I sensed that I needed to leave the city and find a quiet home I could afford. I moved alone to a rural area in Colorado, sure enough just in time for a world pandemic .

I felt blessed...

to be eating farm food and enjoying the outdoors and music, but I didn’t know anyone much and it was a scary time in a strange place. I did my best and fixed up my new nest, but then experienced another injury and concussion. I had to let go of the smart phone and got off of all medias, it was too much for me to manage cognitively and on every other level. Yet it was this experience that brought me to my beautiful core and all my creative gifts came flowing out. I definitely felt like a child and my vestibular system was messed up. I didn't have much support and it took awhile for the world craziness to settle down. Feeling exhausted and afraid but determined, I returned to the city I’ve lived in most of my life.

Here I have been blessed with my own personal team of amazing health providers and some close friends & community who cheered me on. We all need a good team for this long unwinding road! The greatest gift of those years was that while my brain went through the equivalent of a hard drive wipe out and rebuild, my soul was catching songs and singing and my refined somatic movement practices, magic & meditation saved me. I knew I could do that very well, so I stayed with my core along with a heart of faith and some Angels. The songs kept coming and I found myself again.

So here I am...

with all my wisdom and authenticity, a stronger than ever perfectly beautiful, powerful, sensitive and quirky me. I am grateful to be alive, well and free to share this wondrous treasure of experiences for all who seek authentic joy in their journey. I hope that our stories inspire each other to keep loving, playing and being the best you/me/us. That’s all that matters now.

If you can relate, I’d love to be your personal Somatic Wellness Professional- a playful loving, tried and true ally available to gift more magic & fun to your life with body-intuitive practices to liberate your true nature. I’m confident in saying I’m an expert with this stuff, a reborn version and I know this for sure- we need now more than ever to be on the winning team of Love.

Blessings and Namaste,
~Adhara

adhara

The Power of Imagination

Journey to the Core of Love