Workshops – Page 16 – Dreams and a Heart

07/01/201707/03/2017

Dolls and Meditation, São Paulo, Brazil

Kitty, Leky, Livia, Luana, Gabriela, Claudia, Simone, Mariana, Maria Tereza, Glaucia, Ana Maria, Lili, Marinalva, Dedé, Gil, Rica, Neca, Vera, Claudia and Pina joined the workshop ‘Dolls and Meditation’ last December in São Paulo, Brazil. We filled the dolls with dreams and hearts and meditated all together at the end of the event.

We made 32 dolls. We were adults, teenagers, children and a dog. Pina, who always barks a lot when she doesn’t know people, unexpectedly remained quietly all the afternoon despite the fact that she didn’t know most of the people who came to the workshop, well done Pina!

Glaucia became the official seamstress of the dolls’ legs – many of us gave her our dolls to finish off sewing. I guess it was a lot of work, she ended up sleeping.

Some days before this event, Claudia, Marinalva and I cut 30 dolls, turned inside out 32 and sewed 7. The sewing machine wasn’t working properly so Marinalva took 55 dolls to sew at her house, in total she sewed 62 dolls, a beautiful coincidence – she is 62 years old!

Some comments

‘It was amazing! It’s great to join so many people with constructive energy. People don’t feel isolated and recognise that there are many of us out there and this is good for the world. Just being together is already a blessing.Thank you Re.’

‘There are so many images and sensations brought to me by this experience – courage, overcoming, compassion, unity, hope, dreams … I feel well and happy. Gratitude to all – the house, the hosts, the participants and to you and your beautiful shared dream. Thank you very much Regina, very special to meet you.’

‘Filling dolls with dreams of cotton without knowing where they are going. Children smiling, adults laughing and I …sleeping! Thank you for the opportunity to share the afternoon with nice and wonderful people like you Regina. See you in London!’

‘It was a beautiful afternoon group, people with harmonious ideas working with love. It was a privilege to be with my granddaughter learning about wisdom, love and joy, thank you!’

‘Thank you very much for today, we are going to sleep full of positive energy and faith in the human being… Pina also loved the house full of people. The good energy will remain here… thank you!’

‘It was wonderful to participate in the making of the dolls and meditation. It is an act of love. Doing this alongside loved ones and especially with my daughters, who also loved to participate, brought moments of unity and empowerment. I met the other and myself. Divine experience! Gratitude.’

Thank you everybody for your generous presence, a special thank you to Claudia and Vera who organized the event and shared their cozy space, I love you.

06/01/201707/03/2017

Dolls and Meditation Invitation, São Paulo, Brazil.

On 11 December 2016 I run a workshop called ‘Dolls and Meditation’ in São Paulo, this is the invitation written by Claudia Vasconcellos.

‘Trump president of the United States, Britain outside the European Union, far right in ascendence in the whole world. Brazil, from any perspective that is observed, in crisis.

There are concrete ways of combating the regressive wave, with vote, with undersigned, in resistance, in commitment to plural ideas and attitudes, in short, what we have done so far.

But there is a complementary, subtle, and absolutely necessary way, which is via meditation. In this case, meditation can be understood as a collective collaboration to harmonise disconcerting tendencies, to neutralise impulses of anger and intolerance; and thus propagate a deep human tune which evolves into states of fraternity and compassion.

In the present case, meditation is carried out together with the manufacture of dolls that will be donated in groups of 700, for asylums, nurseries, schools, hospitals etc., on the five continents.

This poetic exchange strengthens relations amongst the inhabitants of the planet. It is a gesture of solidarity, peace and hope spreader called DREAMS AND A HEART.

Regina Mendes, creator of DREAMS AND A HEART, has been conducting her workshops between England and Brazil for the last 4 years. The first community of dolls is ready and it will find their destiny in the hands of other people.

Check out DREAMS AND A HEART details at:

https://dreamsandaheart.com/

We invite you to extend the power of this gesture, donating some time of your Sunday in the company of people who also dream a more fraternal world.’

https://www.facebook.com/events/235533616876341/241928436236859/?notif_t=like&notif_id=1481543662060108

28/11/201630/03/2017

Florescer na Mata, Caucaia do Alto, SP, Brazil

On 27 November I run this workshop in the beautiful countryside at Florescer na Mata.

http://www.florescernamata.com.br

Before the workshop, during the morning, we walked in the beautiful preserved forest with doctor Fernando Bignardi, the idealizer of Florescer na Mata, who shared with us his knowledge about plants and animals. When we came back to the house we had organic green juices made by Heloisa and delicious lunch cooked by Julia.

After the lunch we started the workshop. Solange, Cynthia, Fernando, Julia, Eliana, Odete, Irani, Gisela, Rodrigo, Heloisa, Pedro and Lelia came, most of them working in Health Services and the Arts. We put dreams and hearts into 13 dolls and we meditated together connecting with our heartbeat.

Some comments

‘I really enjoyed participating in this project – to fill the dolls with dreams is to reactivate our relationship with our neighbour and with our own dreams. It is to know we are able to walk forward without losing our primordial essence.’

‘It was very good to welcome you with your initiative. I really like making your dolls! I feel that with them I find a channel of connection with the universal network of love and compassion. I hope we can repeat this gesture many times, each time with more participants. Strong and loving embrace and gratitude.’

‘When you were introducing the project to us, I saw a flock of angels in your head … do not be intimidated if someone says you’re a dreamer, keep going’

‘I was excited for the experience, but maybe because I was in a rush, I was unable to feel the moment.’

‘Through the dolls you are moving the matrix of thought, inserting the emotional element and giving it representative form. People may not even see the mechanism you are triggering, but this process is introducing Love into people’s lives on a large scale. I felt that there is an intense spiritual accompaniment in your work. May you reach millions of dolls!’

‘Collaborating with your project made me feel very satisfied. I would like to make a doll to myself to remember my dreams. I thought of the dreams spread all over the world. I could fill with dreams a little house, a tree, an animal, a country … I would fill any shape with dreams!’

We spent a lovely day together, thank you so much for the invitation, thank you everybody who came to make dolls and a special thank you to Heloisa who helped organised the event. Hope we can meet again soon.

06/10/2016

The Old Nun’s Head, London UK

This week we went to a residency at The Old Nun’s Head in London facilitated by Jenifer Toksvig, she call us to make our heart work. I made 14 dolls while sharing other people’s project.

The dolls got inspired by Jen’s colourful stuff, suddenly they brought a shaman to join us – whoever comes are the right people!

25/08/2016

Some more pics at D&D Barbican

25/08/2016

Barbican, London UK

Last Friday, 19th August, we went to a D&D event at Barbican ‘Shall we create a European Union of Artists?’

I called a session ‘Fear and anger are held between our shoulder blades – 700 angels to bring peace to 7 billion people, help me with the wings’

Leo, Gretchen, Holly, Dora and Greta came to the session, we made the whole process with some dolls and we put wings in 25 of them.

We were in a privileged spot that included a free colour therapy throughout the day – there was over our heads a light ceiling that changed colour all the time, rainbow colours, loved it!

I showed everybody the developmental process from the Human (‘here’) to the Angel (‘up there’) passing through the intermediate stage (‘here – there – everywhere’).

In the last session I had an important conversation, it gave me strength to deal with stuff I’ve been having some difficulties at this moment, thank you Susie!

Some comments:

‘Third D&D. First doll. Learnt how to sew and surprisingly meditative throughout, from the first efforts to stuff the feet to the final meditation. Very glad to have finally made a doll’.

‘It was very calming and therapeutic and conducive to good conversation’

We were a small group at the event but the quality of our meeting was excellent with amazing feedbacks at the big closing circle.

Thank you everyone and Sarah, Susie and Phelim to help making this open space such a loving place, thank you!

25/07/201625/07/2016

Cressfield Close Sheltered Housing, Kentish Town, London UK

On Wednesday afternoon 13th July we went to Cressfield Close sheltered housing with the dolls. Mary, the lady who takes care of the elders, Connie, Peggy, Jean, Ivy and Karol came and we made 9 dolls. At the end of the session we all meditated together.

In the three workshops I run with the elders so far we shared our life stories, ‘good or bad’, with an incredible sense of humour, it was so fun, we laugh a lot and I was specially inspired by their joy of being alive (some of them over 90). I needed to stay for almost two hours more than planned because they all wanted to finished their dolls.

Thank you so much Karol for invited me to spend such a good time together, my heart is with them all.

I went out feeling that depressed people could benefit a lot by doing volunteer work with the elders, they can cheer them up.

25/07/2016

Delton Tower Sheltered Housing, Kentish Town, London UK

On Wednesday 13th July we spent the morning at Delton Tower sheltered housing for the second time. Janice, Mary, Catherine, Patsy and Karol came. We turned inside out 20 dolls, Janice and Mary finished the dolls they started in the last time. Patsy wants to be called the sewing lady, she can’t deal with the stuffing as she is allergic of it, so she sew the leg of a doll that she named Millie. Catherine started another doll and left us earlier.

At the end of the session Donna and ?, the ladies who take care of the elders, joined us and we all meditated together focusing on our pulse and breath, it was a beautiful moment!

I really enjoy being with them again, we feel relaxed and happy together.

25/07/201625/07/2016

Delton Tower Sheltered Housing, Kentish Town, London UK

On Wednesday 11th May I went for the first time to Delton Tower sheltered housing. I was invited by Karol, a puppeteer that I met in a D&D last year. Mary, Janice, Catherine, Lili, Reginald and Karol came, we put dreams and hearts into the dolls and we meditated connecting with our pulse.

We had an interesting conversation about the new Mayor of London with very different opinions – ‘here is not England anymore’, ‘ it is much better now’ and so on. They also shared lots of jokes during the entire morning.

We are going to meet again to make some more dolls, to finish some of them and to have more fun together.

Karol has donated her pillow full of dreams to the project, thank you!

See you all soon!

16/07/201617/07/2016

Barbican, London UK

Last Monday, 11th July, we went to another D&D event at Barbican ‘Shall we create an European Union of Artists?’

I called a session ‘Fear and anger are held between our shoulder blades so 700 Angels to bring peace to 7 billion people. Help me with the wings’

We sat in a gorgeous garden, at the Barbican garden room, in the spot called flowers.

Ruth, Francis, Shemine and Joe came to the session, we put around 30 wings on the dolls.

The meditation has changed – we held the dolls/angels on our hand with our fingers on their hearts and on their back (what we have been already doing before) but now we focused our attention in our pulse and in our upper back. This meditation including the focus on the back brought us the area between the heart and the opposite point in the back, we can feel the area inside our body, the volume of it, in a way we were not able to feel before when we meditated just with the heart.

The fact that we now have the front and the back to meditate with gives us a deeper/ wider dimension for the practice.

At a certain point three of us stayed more than half a hour meditating, it was the first time such a long period of time happened when we meditate with the dolls, it was a special moment we shared in that beautiful garden.

We had also a inspired conversation about babies and how the educational system can hurt our children and what we can do to minimise it.

Some comments

‘ this was an extremely calming experience and I realised how tired I am and how thankful I am for this opportunity to be peaceful’.

‘ I remarked how these angels and Regina’s ideas for an art installation brought to mind the Steiner schools where my children went as youngsters. I think perhaps there might be possibilities within the Steiner world for this sort of project to happen’

Thank you for all D&D staff – Sarah, Susie, Rachel, Phelim, Lee, Nick – who quickly organised this emergency D&D to give us support and hope, You Are the Artists Guardian Angels, you help us to be connected and have a voice in the middle of this chaos, I am once more immensely grateful, thank you!