By Kelly Sullivan Walden
I awoke the morning after Extraordinary BookWoman Day with a dream about an ornate golden key going into a keyhole. The door opened and there was Robert Langdon, the hero from the Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, presenting a talk on symbols.
He lectured about the value of symbols and their impact on our lives, in that they can convey in an instant a meaning that would otherwise take a paragraph (or two or three) to express.
Professor Langdon taught that symbols are not only the language of our dreams…but are a key to fulfilling our dreams (deepest desires) in the waking world. As an example he showed the class a slide of the color red, to which the class shouted out in unison, “STOP!” He showed a slide of a handshake, to which the class shouted, “Friendship. Agreement. It’s a deal!” He asked the class to imagine the symbol that most people would associate with them.
At this point I awoke (darn!). However, in the hypnagogic state (the twilight zone between sleep and awake) I was in, I pondered my personal symbol and what I represent to people.
Because I’m the author of “I Had the Strangest Dream,” I believe I symbolize “dreams” to people as well as a resource to make their awake dreams (desires) come true.
As you enter into July, and celebrate the 4th and all that it symbolizes (independence, life, liberty, and the freedom to pursue all the happiness we can fit into a lifetime), I hope that you will ask yourself, “What do I symbolize?” “What do I WANT to symbolize to people?”
Perhaps the ability to be conscious of the brand that we symbolize to people holds a (the) key to our success.
As one of our keynote speakers from Extraordinary BookWoman Day (and WNBA/LA member) Ruth Klein says, “There is no competition if you are being 100% authentically YOU.”
Thanks for the lovely post. For ages my symbol has been a spiral. And the meaning of that seems to grow and deepen as the years go by. This year it is, for me, connected with some spirit work I did naming the feminine energy I wanted to cultivate this year. The image I have of Oya, the fire goddess of transformation, has a spiral of lightening swirling around her. Even though I have though about my symbol, I really appreciated this reminder to evoke my symbol and consciously bring it to the front of how I present myself.
re: competition. I totally agree. I have been “doing” myself (and digging into myself) for 30+ years. No one could possibly do me better than I do. (that doesn’t mean I don’t have tons of learning and growing still going on)
Thank you for the spark today!
thank you for the wonderful article, kelly! yes, you are the dream queen! i think of you every time i have “the strangest dream” and wonder how you’d interpret it.
love your powerful symbol, jean. a spiral evokes for me flexibility and infinity and a layered and textured evolution. thank you for sharing that~
and yes, i love the inspiration to “do” yourself because only you can do you to perfection.
my symbol at the moment is a huge “thumbs up” ~ utter permission, an easy manner and a listening ear, indication that everything is ok, upbeat, feelin’ good, anything goes, YES to life, no to fear, welcoming, encouraging, hope, fun, inspiration.
Moira…what an honor to have you publish this article. I think it is not only great to identify your personal symbol…but then to blog about it and share it with those who have a heart to “get” it and support you adds mojo to your vision and all that you symbolize to the world.
I envision you, Moira, as a living, breathing thumbs up with permission to be all that you are and do all that you are inspired to do!
and I see you Jean, as that magnificent spiral…infinitely deep with a message of spirit that ripples out to envelop the world…and beyond!