The Core of the Spiral

By Michael de Glanville  &  Viola Edward….

Symbolism and our Desire for Love.

Most learning curves are accelerated by the use of symbolism and we have chosen the Spiral as a dynamic symbol of the movement that can help us to grow as we travel through the unexpected events of the natural cycles of life. Imagine the movements in a whirlpool or a dust devil and see how the spiral’s motion continually draws its elements in towards a central core. Spiral Riding is a personal process that will lead you from where you are now towards your inner core, to how you would like to be. The courage and motivation that we need to complete those personal changes comes from the power of our desire for love. Buddhist Tantric philosophy teaches that this desire is just what is needed to power the drive that motivates our repeated returns to the task of understanding and transforming our weaknesses. By learning from our experiences, we can develop the awareness that will bring joy and fulfillment into our lives.

The Rhythm of the Universe.

We are born, we live and completing the cycle, we die. Our breathing is a steady rhythm of inhale followed by exhale in a continuous connection so familiar that we can actually live unaware of the wonder of it. The moon turns around the spinning earth as it circles the sun. Night follows the day. There is no beginning, there is no end, our sense of passing time measured only by the curving dance of these whirling celestial cycles. The spiralling galaxies of stars, whirling planetary systems, atmospheric rhythms of Gaia’s life cycles, even the smallest particles of quantum physics, all share the cyclic origins of the breath that animates animal life. Spiritus is Latin for breath and shares its roots with today’s word Spiral.

Core content.

By core we mean the central, innermost and seemingly irreplaceable component of our energetic entity or physical body. Naturally, the elements contained in our core we refer to as the core content. Take a moment to consider what would be the qualities of your core content. How would you like to be “deep down inside”? What would be the essential components of your core? Go ahead and imagine some of the ideas and notions that mean the most to you. For example:- Joy, Fulfilment, Vocation for service, Gratitude, Generosity, Contentment, Peace of Mind, Pleasure, Awareness, Clarity and many more. Now visualise the whirling movement of a spiral system, any selected point will be moving in towards the core of the spiral with a characteristic curving motion. The symbolism of the Spiral suggests that once we have understood how to go with the flow and ride upon our dynamic internal energy system, we will be continuously drawn in towards our core, progressively assuming, practicing and owning the core content to which we aspire.

What is Spiral Riding?

Riding the Spiral transforms life’s repetitive cycles into a rich sequence of progression towards your core. It begins when you realise that you can’t control which experiences life will place in your path, when you become aware of and take responsibility for your part in the creation of many of the unpleasant scenarios in your life. The excitement continues when you decide to look for the lessons within life’s experiences and understand the related teachings, and extends when you choose to focus on changing your own habits and actions instead of trying to control those of others.

How to Start your Ride.

There are certain positive states of body, mind and spirit which nourish us and help us move in towards our core, closer to our core qualities, and there are certain negative states which will aggress and diminish those qualities, reversing our inward motion and spinning us away from our core. What will be required of us to join the ride in towards our core, is that we recognise the importance of our own well-being in all the actions and relationships that make up our daily life. To this end we must get generous and give ourselves the Opportunity, the Time and the Means to learn the lessons presented to us by our daily life’s experiences. If, to the contrary, we neglect our own well-being in pursuit of other goals, by being economical with the time and the means that we are ready to give to ourselves, we will progressively drift outwards, away from our core and the core content that we aspire to.

The Spiral Map.

Our diagram is a map of the geometry and the dynamic movements within the Spiral. Represented at the centre is the Core of our being. We create the core content with a number of Universal Qualities that we have chosen for their importance to our personal holistic well-being. In the space around the core, the six Components which contribute to our inner wellbeing are named and situated on their radiating spokes. They are Relationships, Mind-Health, Body-Health, Spiritual-Health, Sexuality and Mind/Body Activity. Between each named component and the core are some of the related Positive Qualities that will draw us in towards our core. For instance, we know that in a Relationship, Loving and Feeling loved together with Support will comfort us and draw us in towards our core. Likewise for Mind-Health, the qualities of Gratitude and Consciousness will nourish and bring us inward. Radiating outwards from the six components are listed the Limiting Qualities which weaken and empty the core of its content. For example, Loneliness and Conflict are sure to damage a Relationship as Sickness, Anxiety and Stress will damage our Body-Health, and so the map continues in its spiral around the core. The full list of these contributing qualities is much longer than we have room for on the Map itself, but for example, contributing to our Sexuality is our connection with Love, Sensuality, Tenderness, Jubilation, Beauty, Play, Surrender and Communication.

Hanging in there.

The vehicles that take you closer to your core are your personal strengths and motivations, combined with any number of external opportunities that will come your way on the spiral. Recognise and acknowledge your natural strengths, develop them, use them with love and be sure to recognise and pick out the opportunities that are aligned with your core. What will move you away from the core are personal weaknesses and various external threats. Take the time and get the necessary help to heal and transform those weaknesses and identify the threats that can diminish you.

Key actions for Riders.

To summarise, remember that “life’s cycles are filled with experiences over which we have no control but the only wasted experiences are the ones that we don’t manage to learn from”.- Recognise experiences as opportunities for learning and pathways to understanding.- Identify the lessons within them and understand the teachings of the experience. – Modify inappropriate habits and approach the beauty of your core.

The Tools of Spiralling.

Develop the skills of Spiral Riding with Courses in Self-development. Use Relationship Coaching to improve your communication skills, resolve confusion, personal conflicts and boost your self esteem. Holistic Psychotherapy will help you recover lost hope, trust, generosity and confidence. Breathwork can reconnect you with a sense of achievement, diligence and reliability, unity and the meaning of life. Massage Therapy brings your sensitivity to the surface and opens the heart to receive.

We would love to hear from you with your comments, experiences and questions.  Contact us at   info@violaedward.com   and 0533 867 3685. Facebook ViolaEdwardCoaching.

You can download a free copy of Viola’s book “Breathing the Rhythm of Success” and find a collection of previous articles in this series from   www.violaedward.com.

Find out about Michael’s 2015 Home Massage Training Course by clicking here  or discover Watsu, a relaxing warm water flotation massage by clicking here

About Viola & Michael

Viola came to Cyprus from Venezuela in 2002 to join Michael who was born on the island and returned from France in 1999.  Viola and Michael are both therapists and trainers in Breathwork and they founded Kayana Ltd. in 2003. Viola specialises in Relationship Coaching, Business Consulting and Colour and Image.  Michael has an engineering background and specialises in Massage and Watsu.