Circular Sounds is the story of my life. Or rather – the process of Circular Sounds – is the story of my life.
My life’s journey has been quite a ride, in particular the transformational period of the last 15-20 years which has pushed my boundaries every which way. However I would not trade one day of it for anything different. For it has led me to you, and has given me the skills and qualifications to facilitate your journey through the Circular Sounds process.
As well, each moment of it has led to my present understanding of the immense value that lies in knowing, and taking responsibility for, my true desires. Along with that has been the realization that my potential for creativity is boundless and, is only ever limited by self imposed restrictions, beliefs and doubts. To challenge and surpass these I now continually apply the fundamental question posed by the Circular Sounds process – “Is there another way to look at this?”
Like many of us I have lived what most people view as a “normal” life, albeit with it’s share of trauma and hardship through my childhood years. I did what was expected of a female of my generation. I left school early, married young, became a wife and mother, raised children whom I love dearly, and spent the next 30 years putting the needs of others before my own. No complaints about it, that’s just the way it was. It was my world.
Over those years I worked in various occupations, all of which afforded me wonderful grounding and experience in organizational skills and human resource management. It was work that I excelled in, and culminated in my years spent as the Executive Officer for a community services organization that offered wide ranging programmes for disadvantaged people. Balancing the often disparate needs of paid staff, volunteers and clients provided me with invaluable experience in all the “highs and lows” of our human nature, but also opened my eyes to its potential. Concurrently, the management and administration of diverse and numerous programmes funded by various levels of government, ensured that the knowledge-based, sequential left hand side of my brain got a good workout.
However, that was to the detriment of the intuitive and creative yearnings of the right side of my brain. For during this period of my life I was aware, yet fought to remain unaware, that a larger proportion of my self was starving for expression. Worse still it was atrophying through lack of use, for it is only in fairly recent years that creativity, outside of the arts, has been recognized as an invaluable resource in all human endeavours.
So – what to do?
Have you ever noticed that when we ask that particular question with due seriousness and intention to know and to act upon the answer, then life provides for us a signpost? My signpost appeared while searching for a solution to problems my son was going through at the time. Because “traditional” solutions did not seem to be working, in desparation I began to look at others that were (at the time) considered “alternative”. In short, I had to find other ways of looking at the problem.
The need to find help for my child forced me to leave behind the safety of my known world, and the way in which I had always done things. In the belief that I was doing it to find answers that would help him, I became an explorer. Unknowingly, I set out upon a journey that has led me to this point right here and now with Circular Sounds, and with you, the reader. It was some years before I recognized that my son was merely the catalyst for a journey that I had to take. The personal transformation that has since taken place, and which continues to this day, was vital if I was to live my life to it’s fullest and thereby make my unique contribution to this wonderful world that we live in. It was imperative to bring balance to my own nature by marrying my right brained creative and intuitive desires, with the talents already developed for left brained analytical and organizational skills. In short, I needed to become whole.
So I set forth, armed with what I like to think of as an open mind and a certain level of discernment that would protect me from falling too deeply into my own well of gullibility. Slowly over the years I pursued a personal curriculum of study in subjects that were totally foreign to me during much of my life, but which served the purpose of unlocking the river of creativity that I believe flows, without exception, within everyone. Steering a course of personal experience and validation – finding out what worked for me – deep transformation occurred and along the way I gradually gathered a ‘toolkit’ that is shared with all who undertake the CS process. Part of that toolkit is the mandala, a form of self expression that uses both sides of the brain during the creative process. It now forms the basis of much of my work and has fired my life with a passion for developing “wholeness and authenticity”.
The true value of what I have to offer as a Facilitator lies not in any “pieces of paper” I may have gathered along the way, but in the fact that I stepped out of my known world and undertook a journey of transformation, along with all of its inherent risks, challenges, trial and error, plus the inevitable changes that it brings. But more than that, I have learnt that the journey itself never ends, that we can and do survive it – continually – and that there is not even one area of life which does not grow richer and more abundant as a result of unlocking the creative potential within the individual.
Will you join me for this continuing journey of transformation through creativity? No passport is required and no borders apply. If you’re ready to explore the wilderness of your own true potential and desires – come and share part of your journey with me. My committment to it is total!
To view Joellen’s mandala artwork visit: mandalalily.com
To email Joellen directly: joellen@circularsounds.org
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