Do what you love and…..

Posted by Anita Bondi on November 25, 2011 under Anita Bondi | 2 Comments to Read

…..the money will follow.  Day 5 of interesting ways to use the InterPlay Inspiration Deck

I think that was the title of a book I once read or a quote I once saw somewhere and I have been carrying it around in my head ever since.

It is a beautiful concept and something I wish to aspire to (I know you sense it too? There is a BUT coming, right?) Let’s list some of the But’s:

1. I don’t know how.

2. It doesn’t come with benefits or health insurance.

3. I don’t have time to do what I love because I am too busy working my “regular” job.

4. The laundry needs to be done, house needs to be cleaned, bills are due, the family needs come first, I have to waterproof my boots (you get the idea)…

Making time for what I love is scary. Alright, there I said it. It is scary. Scary because (see numbers 1-4) if i go beyond the distractions of my above list I find number 5: I may fail, or at least become so vulnerable that I may not be able to function.

Since this is just a blog post (and the experts tell me not to go beyond 500 words), I will stop there and bring the tool of the day into the foreground.

Here is how I will use the Inspiration Deck today: I will start with a single focus for doing what I love and having the money follow.  My desire is to find ways to sell more decks and get more people interested in InterPlay as a life practice.

My questions (along with the cards that I pulled):

• What can I do to calm my fears right now so that I can move forward? EASY FOCUS
• Is there something that I am overlooking in my present approach? FOLLOWING and LEADING
• Where can I get more advise for my next steps? BABBLING

Depending on how much time you have you can keep going and going….

Today it makes sense to me to see what InterPlay teaches about these concepts and to take the wisdom from there.  In order to do that I have to go to the instructional booklet that comes with the deck. Once again, read on if you are interested in my process and how I make sense of these messages and apply them to my focus.

my first question is about calming my fears and the card i chose was easy focus. in the booklet i read, “easy focus allows our body to relax, helps us engage more of our senses, and puts us in the middle of our experience instead of observing it from the outside…” this helps me to see that the tension in me and the fear is coming from the place of hard focusing on the outcomes and not really being present to what it is the i am creating and working on. doing this blogging for a week has been an amazing and wonderful experience for me and the comments i have been getting awesome. i want to be able to breathe all of that in instead of just “zooming” to the next piece of productivity.

the second question is about something i may be overlooking in this approach and i chose following and leading. the line in the booklet that catches my attention is,”on occasion we get to have that wonderful experience where we are not sure who is leading and who is following…” because i have engaged easy focus right now i am able to see a bigger picture. i am not sure if i am leading and you are following or if you are leading and i am following. right now that produces a wonderful sense of anticipation and excitement. where will this blogging lead? how might this produce more interest and intrigue out in the world?  also, i want to acknowledge that i am following my own desires and leading myself on the path to manifestation.

the final question is where can i get more advise and i chose babbling. babbling is also free flow talking where we don’t have to censor ourselves (one of the gifts of blogging for sure!). “…we end up sharing information about who we are and what is important to us.” what is so great about this card is that i see that in the process of doing this week of blogging and babbling i have really learned more about how much i love this deck, love this life practice, and love sharing about it. AND i love hearing what YOU have to say about it.

I WANT MORE! more of you, and your process and what it is like for you to use the principles and practices of InterPlay and ideas about how to spread the word (and alright, i admit, sell more decks!). This is life changing, I swear it is!  But don’t just believe me, try it for yourself!

Three card spread

Posted by Anita Bondi on November 23, 2011 under Anita Bondi | Read the First Comment

Day 3 of interesting ways to use the InterPlay Inspiration Deck

Sometimes I do a three card spread. This is a way to use the cards that is similar to what you might do when you pick tarot cards or rune stones or animal medicine cards.

In this spread we will look at past influences, current situations, and future action.

Let me explain.

I have in my mind a question I am holding that I would like to have more understanding and information about. (you may even wish to do some journal writing first to flesh out your question or do some exformation with a friend to get more clarity.)

This time I am going to spread the cards out on a flat surface and close my eyes and pick that way. (you can use any method for choosing that you wish.)

The first card I will pick signifies the past. This gives more information about what may have been at play to create the situation.

The second card signifies the present. This gives me more information about current energies at play.

The last card signifies the future and the action that can be taken to help the situation or give more clarity and direction.

If you are still with me and want more details I will do a sample spread below:

Question/Issue: I am struggling with my current work situation and some of the personal dynamics and wish for more clarity and some help to change the situation and the uncomfortable dynamics present.

Card 1. The past. Babbling (upside down is how i drew the card).

~the answer is not so clear to me so I read the story on the back.(each card has a story in which the principle or practice becomes personified through character, symbol and color.) From this I am able to see that one of the past issues has been a lack of babbling or talking (maybe why I drew it upside down). Most of us work as subcontractors and there has not been a lot of interpersonal communication. There is also a lack of clear communication and leadership coming from the directors. (I can say that because I am one of them)

Card 2. The present. Big Body

~this message was clear to me right away. For a while now I have been bringing the fullest expression of myself to the workplace. I have been willing to begin the hard conversations, to speak the truth, and “feel the fear and do it anyway.” Big body’s message is inviting me to bring all of me!

Card 3. The future. Grace

~what I feel in my heart at this moment is that if I acknowledge the “sins” of the past, make amends and apologies for my part in creating this situation, and stay committed to “Big Body” and all of its wisdom, then the result will be GRACE. The atmosphere around the office will be able to move out of stress and into ease/grace.

Amen to that!

It is official….

Posted by Anita Bondi on March 21, 2010 under Anita Bondi | Be the First to Comment

I know it is spring because I feel like I have cobwebs in my eyes, nose, and brain. I asked Stan this morning if he liked Spring.  I even noticed my tone was a little sour when the question came out of my mouth. I also noticed that I felt a bit lifted by his answer. Turns out his favorite season is Fall.  So is mine.  I feel a little bah humbug about Spring, the same way folks feel about Christmas (which by the way, I Love!). I know. I know. Things are popping out of the ground, birds are singing, trees getting ready to burst, and all that good stuff.

I am suspicious it has to do with work. The sense that it is time to get moving again, after the long winter’s nap kind of thing. The other day I practically closed my eyes while walking from the car to the back porch for fear that all the fallen branches, leaves, peeling paint, splintering wood of the deck, would somehow reach out, grab and strangle me. See, it is the work thing. I can’t enjoy the season because I think I now have to work harder, do more, accomplish something.

This accomplish something thought has had a hold of me for quite awhile. I think it relaxes a bit more in the Autumn and Winter. As I feel it waking up from its slumber it scares me. Maybe this is the year I don’t have to invite it in? Maybe this year, this new season, there can be a chance for a springing up and over the old. I can land on the other side of it and with eyes forward keep walking-not look back.

This kind of talk always sounds good and makes me feel like an athlete after a good motivational speech from a coach. I feel focused, ready, at the top of my game. Of course it is still early in the morning and my coffee is still hot!

What people are saying about The InterPlay Inspiration Deck

Posted by Stan Stewart (Sawyer) on December 3, 2009 under Anita Bondi | Be the First to Comment

In addition to the Cheryl Cutler quote, here are what some people are saying about Anita Bondi’s InterPlay Inspiration Deck!

I have been using the deck for my Hospice work… Asking patients or caregivers to pick a card and see how it “fits” them.
Inevitably, the card is just right for the moment.

Some of the families I work with have logged onto the Interplay
website as a result of the cards and have grown interested in Interplay.
It’s a beautiful deck of cards and such an easy way to show what
Interplay is.

social worker, Hospice chaplain

So I brought my fun pack of round cards.  I was drawn to the Loosely and Tightly card…..I am thinking take it loosely….yeah…relax…then take it tightly….yeah….strangle it…till it can’t breathe…..back and forth back and forth…loose and tight. And then I turned the card over……Loosely and Lightly.  Aaaaah.  Ok.  No strangling involved whatsoever….interesting concept.  I am having to rethink this whole thing now….soften my grip and relax.

hard-working Mom with a corporate job

InterPlay Inspiration cards are easy to use and provide sweet insight into the everyday challenges.

under-employed, highly talented and trained person

I love using Anita’s InterPlay Inspiration Deck and the way it helps me tap into my own inner wisdom.  The suggested exercies are also a great way to bring InterPlay into my every day.

Mom, fierce advocate for the weak, dancer