What if we’re completely wrong when we assume our immune system has to defend us? Maybe it is an organ of discernment and recognition.
The image above shows us one of the cards from the ChancesToChange board game. When you draw this card, you are invited as a participant to first share what speaks to you or inspires you in the painting. You then read the text and reflect on the question – how it feels to be together and how it feels to be alone.
Today we are using this card as a metaphor for the way our body, and more specifically our immune system, interacts with the outside world. In fact, there is scientific research that shows the importance of micro-organisms in the evolution of all ecosystems, and therefore also in the evolution of humans. This is our topic for the day and we would love to start a conversation about our immune system.
These pioneering studies raise new questions:
What if we have been wrong for so long?
What if our immune system does not serve to defend us against everything foreign to our bodies. Is it rather a way for us to connect with other parts within the larger ecosystem of the earth and all life on it?
Just looking at the painting, it appears to be a representation of how the cells of our immune system interact with other cells. There is a specific interaction in the middle where information is exchanged and DNA is affected. This is also what these pioneering studies show, that ecosystems evolve by exchanging information.
If this is the case, the text on the card is completely accurate. Our immune system acts with recognition and discernment. Relationships with micro-organisms also appear to be an essential ingredient in the development of who and what I am and who and what I become.
Re-reading the text on the card, you might experience a deep respect for the inherent wisdom of your body, remembering that your body loves you unconditionally. If you are willing to really listen to your body, then a deep connection occurs naturally and you know that everything is connected to everything else, and through that connection a capacity for deep healing becomes available.
It is so fascinating to allow this wisdom of our body to infect our personality. What if we do not have to defend ourselves against people who think differently to us? What if we can choose not to go into polarity? We will then continue to feel the power of connection and create new possibilities together. We know that in essence we actually want the same thing, we simply choose different paths.
In acknowledging your self and the other, you become aware of what it takes to express the truth of who and what you are through relationships. You recognise a deep knowing within you that everything and everyone comes from the same source, regardless of how you define that source – separation is no longer an option!
with love and care,
Elaine and Veerle
Veerle De Bock: Each day I add a bit more colour to the world, I colour within and outside of the lines as I take up different roles. My different roles are social entrepreneur, physician, coach, teacher, therapist and most of all facilitator of emerging possibilities
Elaine Mc Googan: I am a traveller, healer and organiser of admin things. I trained at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Europe over a period of 6 years. I am passionate about supporting my healing clients, exploring what it means to be in community, as well as supporting this amazing board game.
There is an ongoing, never-ending weaving happening between our true self and all the aspects of our human self. This kaleidoscope creates our reality.
It is often so hard for us to make a conscious choice. What does that mean to make a conscious choice?
For those of you who have played the C2C game, you will already be familiar with the steps that take us through the game, and for those of you who have yet to play, we felt that including all the steps would perhaps be too much information and detract from the unfolding story. When you have the opportunity to play with one of our facilitators, the rhythm of the game will become clearer.
This is the story of a woman – let’s call her Anna – who has trouble choosing whether to move to a new house with her partner or to stay where she has been living and loves to live.
She’s all too aware of these opposing sides within herself: one side absolutely doesn’t want to move and is afraid of losing her ground if she does. She experiences the new house as too open, unable to protect her. Anna feels she will be disconnected from her family and friends if she lives there as she sees herself as someone who doesn’t easily create new relationships. On the other side is a part of her that looks forward to having a new adventure and exploring a new environment – this part loves to have new experiences and is excited about life.
To help her understand these opposite sides of herself, Anna agreed to play the ChancesToChange board game.
Two aspects, two blue cards
Anna’s first insight into her reserved side was through the painting on the card of ‘being’. It spoke to her of being ungrounded and yet feeling completely safe and at home. Something very precious was being held in her hands.
On reading the card, Anna was struck by the realisation that what she, Anna, is protecting is her true self – “it’s precious and I care for it” she said. As she sat with this awareness and the question offered by the card, she also realised : “I want to be seen and I don’t want to be seen – I have both sides.”
In her next card – the card of ‘relationships’ – representing her adventurous aspect, Anna had the impression of an outwards expanding form and an inwards contracting form, holding a tender place in the middle.
Reading the card, what touched her most was the importance in relationships to first care for her own self and from that place move out into relationship.
We imagine that many of you can relate to Anna’s dilemma. Let’s take a moment to sit with what is unfolding here.
The magic of listening to our human self
Our human self is made up of aspects which are constantly changing through experiencing. In our story, Anna presented two aspects of her human self. They received a place on the board in all their beauty and complexity. They were seen and acknowledged.
Only through completely accepting the two aspects were they able to reveal themselves and be willing to listen to, and receive, the true self. Our true self is the totality of who we are and who we become and is in constant connection with source. Her true self speaks to Anna through the cards of Being and Relationships.
The first exchange happened through the paintings. Already magic was happening: Anna realised that she can be present and at the same time be ungrounded and how important it is to her to protect her true self as something precious almost new born.
At the beginning both aspects seemed opposite in their expression, even the blue cards chosen were on opposite positions on the board: one in the green where you move into relationship with yourself and the other in the orange where you move into relationship with others.
The texts on the blue cards already allow both aspects to connect and appear less oppositional – a mingling happens almost effortlessly. Both cards talk about choices and both cards talk about the true self. The first card brings in the responsibility for the choices you make and the second card points out how important it is to make choices independent of the choices of the other. Remember how our story started with the difficulties of Anna to make a choice. The first card defines being as our capacity to own and honour our true self. The second card explains how in relationship we express our true self. In our story, Anna protects her true self as something very precious.
What further unfolds
Anna’s next insights came from diving more deeply into more of her self through the game which invited her to form a ‘how can I” question. She asked: “How can I tend to my true self and allow the flow of my life to happen?” This provoked an aha moment and she exclaimed: “When I bring my energy into my relationships, I am pioneering.”
These insights further anchored both aspects of her human self into their own essence and beauty. They are both seen and embraced which gives them the strength to allow. The action of allowing might be the key for our human self to engage with our true self.
It becomes clearer how we are playing with an ongoing exchange between the human self and the true self as pictured in the triad. We might also consider the possibility that the ‘I am’ actually is our player.
She was invited by the game to deeply connect with the intelligent design of the body. What opened to her was: “I am willing to share my true self in relationships with others and I also need my own relationship with my true self.”
As the game continued, Anna listened to her inner being, to source within. She heard: “My only support is being here now. No more planning, only following the flow.” The game offered her the statement: “In the silence I intuitively understand the overarching direction of my life”.
It is fascinating to observe how the board game invites the facilitator and the player both to listen, even to listen to the different aspects of the human self and to the true self.
Her body’s wisdom brings an extra flavour to our meeting with both aspects of her human self and her difficulties in making a choice. We begin to see how both aspects are facets of the true self – they don’t have separate true selves as they’re both facets of the same true self, a true self that resides in the middle of our game, the area of silence.
We have a clearer picture here of the weaving that has happened in the silence to ground everything that has unfolded so far with our connection to source. Through the connection with her true self she becomes more aware of the direction of her life as it weaves the beautiful tapestry of all of who she is, including the different aspects of her human self. Nothing is discarded, everything is valuable – all beautiful facets of who she is.
Conclusion
Let’s go back to where we started this article with the question: How do we make choices?
The triad of the aspects of our human self, the facets of our true self and the ‘I am’ ( that is the player) make up our inner tapestry. Our human self is the part of us that takes care of what we need and want and uses thinking to accomplish these tasks. Our true self knows and trusts that our needs, wants and desires will be met. The ‘I am’ is the director, the result of the interplay between the human self and the true self, closely related to our soul and our intention. Every human being is represented through this triad and is a work in progress.
Our article starts with presenting different aspects of a human self (that is Anna’s story and dilemma). These aspects are seemingly contradictory and make contradictory choices. It is clear that the ‘who’ within ourselves making the choice is important.
Our choices will determine what we experience and the choices made through any aspect of our human self mostly bring us back to our history. We learn through recycling our childhood stories. Bringing awareness to how we choose is the definition of a conscious choice. Awareness allows us to see how our choices colour our experiences and how we can have new experiences when we make different choices which are more in kin with our multifaceted true self.
The ChancesToChange board game assists us in bringing awareness to the amazing complexity of our human self and all its aspects. Most of all, it invites us to embrace our human self on this amazing journey that is called embodied realisation where we include all of us – our human self, our true self, our ‘I am’ and our soul.
Through playing with the ChancesToChange board game we listen with an open heart. We welcome all that is with loving kindness and complete acceptance. We learn to be deeply patient and to allow.
Veerle De Bock: Each day I add a bit more colour to the world, I colour within and outside of the lines as I take up different roles. My different roles are social entrepreneur, physician, coach, teacher, therapist and most of all facilitator of emerging possibilities (full bio)
Elaine Mc Googan: I am a traveller, healer and organiser of admin things. I trained at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Europe over a period of 6 years. I am passionate about supporting my healing clients, exploring what it means to be in community, as well as supporting this amazing board game.
Veerle De Bock: Each day I add a bit more colour to the world, I colour within and outside of the lines as I take up different roles. My different roles are social entrepreneur, physician, coach, teacher, therapist and most of all facilitator of emerging possibilities
Elaine Mc Googan: I am a traveller, healer and organiser of admin things. I trained at the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Europe over a period of 6 years. I am passionate about supporting my healing clients, exploring what it means to be in community, as well as supporting this amazing board game.
