Its an interesting word, it means almond in Italian. I sometimes think I’d like to find a different word for it.

The ancient symbol with its profound meaning, was always called the Vesicus Piscis. And that means fishes bladder…even stranger!  So in my work I just think of that place in the middle. The place where polarities meet, where we stand in the tension between opposites and life happens, vibration happens and we feel probably more deeply than at any other time in our lives!

Being a middle child I always knew a little of this place, being born on the solstice also, a place between dark and light. Born in the Midlands was another dimension to it and from those moments many other places from the middle territory, or landscape began to emerge I realized. I became fascinated with this world, which I began to call ‘Middle Earth Medicine Ways.’ I visited Tolkiens home once, a huge Unicorn stood in the garden and a black cat statuette sat on the roof and all manner of strange things lay around. Tolkiens middle earth wasnt my middle earth but we seemed to relate to much of the same magic!

But back to the dance of the Mandorla territory – we are stretched beyond our normal existence and yet, it is part of who we are, the magic of all we can become when we are brave enough to BE that opposing force within us. It exists and we cannot escape it. I have discovered it time and time again, struggled with it, resisted it and pushed it aside. But it always comes back, either biting my ass or seducing me into its lull of familiarity. For it is the essence of who I am and I cannot fight it.

Sound in any way familiar to you or completely alien? Well I feel absolutely sure that we have all felt the pain and profundity of the ‘power of polarities’ within us at some point in our lives. And when we do, how do we react to it?
I learnt  a particular dance, what I would now call medicine, but also a dance of acceptance, the true essence of our soul, the power and the humility that bares us to the bone….that tears our heart to shreds yet re-boots it to a greater strength.

Dancing with the Mandorla is a stance for freedom, for the warrior within us to awaken and be deeply, in no doubt, about our truth. It might shake us as we dance in its wave, it may frighten us when we shed these old skins that enforce a structure too old to be taken seriously any more. And it might shine the greatest light from our core, into the world where there is no escape, but to be seen.

Taking the Mandorla into our journey, into our heart, creating a totally new awareness of who we are, is a brave step to take. It’s a creative one too, for I believe we cannot grow without creativity, its our birth right, no matter who we are, for we are creative beings after all.

If you are called to dance with the Mandorla’s energy and discover your absolute potential from the deepest part of your inner being, come and dance with us.
This is the very first time I am offering the Magic Of Mandorla in the UK, so it is extra special for me. Maybe for you too?

“Sometimes within our individual self and within the self of our worn-out society, there is no answer to conflict. There is, however, a way to stand within the center of the opposing forces. Conflict creates tremendous energy. If we leave out judgement then that ‘energy’ can become a vibration of light. Not always just a single light but many lights, sending out a vibration that is LOVE!”  —

Caroline Carey

Here are the details of the our gathering next month:

This work is open to all adults, regardless of gender, age, experience or ability. Whether you want to work with deep-rooted issues, or simply discover new insights, whether you are training in therapeutic studies, or a student of life’s experiences, this work has something to offer you.

17 – 19th February 2017      Friday 7pm – 9.30pm, Saturday 10am – 6pm, Sunday 10am – 5pm
Contact Mags Bradley  mags@movementmedicinesouthcoast.co.uk
Early bird price: £135 paid by 18th Jan. £150  thereafter. Deposit 50%.
Venue:  GuildCare, Methold House, North Street, Worthing,
West Sussex, BN11 1DU

West Sussex website    www.movementmedicinesouthcoast.co.uk

During this workshop, we will use the tools of dance, creativity, movement meditation and constellation-work to work with the magic of the mandorla. You will have the opportunity to explore some of the conflicts in your life, looking at how they play out in your life and how they affect you by embodying them in the dance. Then, with the support of the group and a constellation process held and guided by Caroline and the drum beat, you will enter the space of the mandorla, allowing it to work its magic upon you, bringing the riches of wisdom and new insights.

As human beings, we can exist on multiple planes of being; the one that we are usually most aware of, however, is the material world. By its nature, the material world is a place of duality – a place of opposites that we often experience as being in conflict with one another. Examples include heaven and earth, light and dark, masculine and feminine, loyalty and betrayal, to name but a few. The polarity between these opposites creates a fundamental tension at an evolutionary level that has the potential to be either profoundly destructive or powerfully generative and creative. The evidence of the destructive consequences of this tension lies all around us in the terrible scourges of war, inequality and conflict within and between individuals, groups and societies.

The key to transforming the destructive consequences of conflict into life-affirming outcomes lies in how we relate to the tension between opposites. When we can hold the tension within ourselves, bearing the pain, beauty and terror that this brings, we bring the two opposing elements together, creating a space in which the split between the two can be resolved. We call this space the ‘mandorla’ – a word derived from ‘almond’ in Italian, which refers to the almond shape created when two circles overlap. The mandorla also known as the ‘Vesica Piscis’ is the sacred space of our soul work; when we stand in this place, we have the ability to transform what once was a curse into powerful medicine for the soul. Its energy is that of the Father Mother Principle in the Divine Union, the Mother of all Forms and the Yin and Yang that has been known to us for decades.

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