I had the most wonderful morning this morning creating Dreaming Pots with the mentors and kids at the Phoenix Youth at Risk!

Each and every Dreaming Pot was so unique and full of images and symbols depicting good dreams, aspirations, goals, and desires.

The Dreaming Pot was created by Dr. Joyce Mills and is one of the many Story Crafts included in her strength-based, self-empowering coaching model called StoryPlay®. Click on the link for more information on StoryPlay® as well as for any inquiries on workshops and training opportunities.

Now, enjoy some of the creations!

Until next time!
Love and Blessings,
Joy

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For those of you wondering the origin of my Playful Practices, I wanted to add a brief history of their foundation; as well as give credit to the amazing creator of these practices, my teacher, Dr. Joyce C. Mills.

After completing my Master’s in Counseling at Argosy University, I began searching the computer for topics that were in the area of my interests. I was looking for something, anything, that caught my attention. Well needless to say, I found what and who I was looking for without even knowing in advance what exactly that was.

I’ll share that juicy story with you all later in a later blog post!

Anyway, the end of the story is this: The universe led me to my incredible mentor, Joyce Mills, almost one year ago, and I have been training and working closely with her ever since!

Joyce is the creator of a model of therapy which has since evolved into a coaching and mentoring process. The model is called StoryPlay®.

StoryPlay® is a heart-centered, strength-based model, which includes creative approaches to improving productivity, life-balance, change, problem solving, healing, self-growth, and self-empowerment.

So, I am proud and honored to say that my Playful Practices are founded upon the StoryPlay® model, and the Creative Steppingstones, created by Dr. Joyce Mills!

Please stay tuned and subscribe to my Blog for more Playful Practices, and read What’s New and upcoming in the arena of Educational Coaching™, session discounts, workshops, and trainings.

Love and blessings to you all!
Joy

My playful practice the other week was to find a five sided rock, sit with it,
and let it teach me something that would be helpful for me to know. The intention of this practice was to experiment with my senses and to listen to my intuition. So after searching through my parent’s rock garden, I finally saw, felt, and heard the rock that I was meant to borrow. 
The following depicts my experience:

On one side I see a mother holding her baby; I see a heart. The mother’s head is lighter in color, reminding me of the moon. The baby is shaped as a 3D heart, almost as if the baby is the mother’s heart.

Next, holding the rock up close to my ear, I listen, and I hear the mother shhhing her baby as she gently and lovingly rocks her in her arms.

On the other side of the rock, the smooth side, I feel their connection and togetherness as they blend into one. Back on the 3D side I can feel where the mother’s head ends and the connection to her heart baby begins. I feel the extension and division of the baby’s heart right down the middle, as the left side of her heart blends into her mother’s embrace, leaving the right side of her heart open and exposed to the world; inviting in love and creativity.

I smell the fresh earth all over them and I know that they are safe and protected, for they were before resting in the Great Mother’s womb and will soon be returned home.

As I gently refocus my eyes I see the shape of a bird who is wrapping its wings around its body as if embracing himself. He looks so calm and peaceful. I hear him cooing as he drifts off into sleep; his beating heart singing in his chest. He is home.

When the rock is finished sharing itself with me, I tenderly take it outside, place it on the earth, and form a small cairn with some of its friends, demonstrating the importance of balance.

Just before I turn and enter my house, the rock speaks to me one final time. Its message to me was this: To love and nurture myself; to embrace myself and to courageously expose my love and vulnerability to the world. It told me to be present and peaceful, and to listen to my body’s signals; to mother myself, and to trust myself and the universe.

This StoryPlay® relaxation practice for children was created by my teacher Dr. Joyce Mills.

I will teach it to you as I learned it in my training.
First get into a comfortable position. Then find something
that you enjoy looking at, and let your eyes rest on that spot.
Now that you have that spot…We’ll beging taking a Magic Happy
Breath like this…Breathe in deeply through your nose (you want
your belly to expand or stick out like a balloon if possible), and
hold it for five seconds or so. Then exhale, or let your breath out
slowly, through your mouth, as if you were gently blowing a feather,
(you can hold your hand up to your mouth and pretend you have a feather).
Then check in with your body and notice how wonderful you feel inside.
Repeat two more times, or as many times as you wish. If you are teaching
the Magic Happy Breath to your child, you might want to demonstrate
the inhale and the exhale for them a few times so they can see you do it first.
Happy Breathing!
Until next time…