Ways to make a Decision

Beauty

The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with such properties as harmony of form or colour, excellence of artistry, truthfulness, and originality.

How might you choose a home design that suits all your dreams, desires and needs?  A feeling of certainty can seem elusive in these frenetic times, and multiple options and possibilities can easily overwhelm as well as excite.  It is worth acknowledging and accepting that the choosing of a home design for life is generally perceived to be a huge decision, but that is because we tend to equate its meaning and significance to societal beliefs and perceptions of cost, value and worth.  We recognise that such a potentially expensive and life altering decision will have to be lived with and in for many years, and so we imagine that the process of deciding has to be taken very, very ‘seriously’.  We imagine that we ‘need’ to take time to decide, to furrow our brows, to check, check again and double check that further. 

The shape, form or geometry of a home (although of great importance as a coherent tone throughout the whole process) can seem like a very small element in a vast field of variables, including budget limitations, site restrictions, environmental considerations, planning and building regulations to name just a few.  We understandably seek out the advice of others, hoping that with enough supporting opinion the certainty we so are so eagerly seeking will manifest and guide us.  Those opinions can sometimes obscure and confound the original spark of inspiration.  As our vision blurs we actively engage our scepticism, healthy and unhealthy, scanning the horizon for potential trouble and hidden potholes and pitfalls, reducing our forward motion to a crawling pace, developing a simmering psychosis of self doubt that can oftentimes bring our original dreams to shipwreck. 

These words seek to offer some alternative methodologies that may support and facilitate the choice making process.  There are as many pathways to clarity as there are people and it is not intended to list these in any particular hierarchy of importance or relevance.  However, it might be fun to start perhaps with some possibilities that may be considered a little fuzzy or nebulous to begin with, but which get increasingly more practical and pragmatic as we explore further. 


Intention

A determination to act in a certain way

Intention is a very real and spectacularly potent biological imperative.  It fuels all levels of personal and collective evolution and sets in motion the forces of the Universe in the manifestation of generating thoughts.  It is an exact process that becomes optimised by coherent thoughts and efficient actions.  Lubricated by the imaging of the thoughts, and accelerated by the implosive power of gratitude and receptivity, our natural ability to draw our dreams into focus is perhaps the single most powerful initiator of change and transformation in the world.  A clear thought, drenched in feeling, defined and well formed, planted in the fertile field of potentiality, will inevitably give rise to that which is imaged by the thought.  This process requires focus, faith and freedom. 

An intention to make manifest a beautiful healthy home, filled with the warm light of love and laughter represents the dream of so many of us.  It begins with the desire of life itself working through us to anchor the dream.  The power of intention is a skill that can be learned and harnessed, truly for the good of all.


Intuition

The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

Our intuition is a powerful tool of perception, bridging the gap between feeling and knowing.  It surfs the waves of potentials, possibilities and probabilities and presents a path to perfected expression with grace and ease.  Our intuition weaves a tapestry of quantum fluxuations, neuronal firings, bio chemical signals, and emotional manifestations, in order to gift us with clarity and guidance towards our dreams.  However, for such a profoundly useful ‘tool’, it remains for the most part underestimated and remarkably underused.  It appears quite acceptable to trust our instincts in deciding whether to go into town today or tomorrow, or perhaps to choose what to eat on a menu – the ‘little’ things.  We are heavily conditioned into not trusting our intuition fully, especially when it comes to the really big or ‘serious’ questions.  For apparently big serious decisions such as the choosing of a house design we tend to fall back on the good old reliable left brain, with all its logic, pragmatism and rationality. 

They say the mind is a great servant but a poor master, and our developed obsession with the attributes of the left brain approach has resulted in a culture of distrust and doubt in the subtlety of intuition and instinct.  We submit to you that this may be utilising a literally half brained approach, displaying thinking patterns of limitation and lack – certainly not the holistic full spectrum consciousness that is our birthright. 

Sometimes the introduction of a second word or concept can help in the better understanding of the first.  Intuition operates in part due to a phenomenon known as ‘resonance’ - which can be defined as the condition or quality of one sound being in sympathy with a neighbouring source of sound.  It comes from the Latin verb resonare which literally means – to re sound.  We frequently speak of people being ‘on the same wavelength’, meaning they concur or agree on something shared.  They are sounding and re sounding the same sound, vibration or wavelength.  Resonance can be felt as a sense of connection, familiarity and comfort, and it is far from being limited to ideas or concepts.   Indeed it is usually accompanied with a physical or emotional sensation, and commonly both.  So when we perceive something, be it an image, a thought or concept, a feeling or emotion, which presents a vibrational pattern that is in resonance with one that we incorporate in our per-sona (through sound) we find ourselves in a comfortable safe place.  How this phenomenon expresses itself in the choice making process is our first port of call, on our journey to clarity and focus.

When you peruse the gallery and design presentation pages of this website, you will see many different building shapes, geometries, patterns and forms.  You could use this as a source of inspiration in terms of what shapes attract you.  Imagine a circle, a golden rectangle, a vesica, a triangle, and cube, a pentagon, hexagon and so on.  Leave the brain in neutral, just allow your attention to align and linger momentarily on each imagined shape and symbol, and let your body offer a response.  Be open to subtle changes in the sensations of your body; tingles, energy flow, tightening etc.  

If one of the symbols engages you a little more intensely than the others, then there is some resonance at work.  First impressions, and gut instincts are vital components in this process, as the stomach, unlike the mind, has not yet developed the capacity for self doubt.  Second guessing is of limited use here, and serves only the egoic mind, which continues on its tireless mission of creating more and more drama, confusion and distraction.  So intuition, when exercised, is undoubtedly a valuable tool in the choice making process, bringing us into alignment with our hopes and dreams, guiding us toward an optimisation of our living expression.


Shamanism

Shamanism is an ancient wisdom practice based on the complete integration and use of body, mind, and spirit. Its history extends back hundreds of thousands of years, and stretches from the frozen plains of Siberia to the scorching deserts of Australia.

This tradition displays a deep understanding of the natural order of things, from the subtle energetic matrices of the sub atomic realm to the cycles of movement of the stars and planets to the staggering bio diversity of all living systems. It encompasses a vast storehouse of practical knowledge which can be accessed through countless traditions and modalities.

Shamanic techniques vary from one culture to the next, but all share the basic foundation of altering consciousness in order to gain insight into issues that require exploration, clarity or healing.

Modern science, fuelled by recent discoveries into the nature of the mind is developing a growing appreciation for Shamanism. The more that is understood about the fundamental workings of consciousness the more it appears that shamanism has been meaningfully engaging with the warp and woof of formation for millennia.  The emergent knowledge that time and space are entirely relative and cannot be considered absolute has revealed the role of mind – to surf the waves of creation without limit.

With some learned skills and gentle practice it is possible to develop this natural ability to release and project your mind to times and places that are not normally accessible to the five senses.  With discipline one can literally ‘journey’ to a destination with full awareness and recall, in order to gain information, insight and inspiration.  In the contemplation of your dream home it can be a very exciting experience to perceive, enter and literally move around your final home.  In effect you are remembering the future, which is not at all as mad a concept as it may seem.  If your dream home represents a pattern of energy that optimises your own unique signature, then it already exists in the infinite field of pure potentiality.  In order for it to become manifest all that is required is a point of attention, of focus, of desire.  It is quite a gift to glimpse the future, especially when it portents and displays a beautiful space that is filled with love and light, and most importantly, you and your family.


Divination

The art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens (phenomenon believed to portend a future event)

However poorly considered Intuition may be in the modern decision making process, the age old art and science of divination as an information gathering tool is only recently re emerging in a wave of new ageism.  Divination can be regarded as a natural extension of our intuition into the immediate environment.  Everything is energy, expressing as waves; each wave singing its own song, resonating throughout the Uni-verse.  The Universe sings to us continuously and all we need to do is listen.  By opening to and interpreting the rhymes and rhythms of this symphony using diverse media such as cards, dowsing and kinesiology we can gain valuable insight into the currents of change that carry us to our dreams. 

A simple exercise that one can do to ‘check’ the viability of several options is to stand up, knees slightly bent, spine erect and relaxed.  Place your feet together and establish your balance.  Then open your mind to the first possibility and notice any shift or variation in your balance.  If you remain steady and stable then this option is certainly worth further consideration.  By continuing this process of option elimination one can arrive with one possibility which can then be explored furthered through other means.

In effect what is happening is that we are increasing the context richness of our awareness, but doing so without the mill stone of conscious processing.  We are giving voice to our ‘subconscious’ which is well versed in the language of signs and symbols.  In the practical application of ‘decision-making’, it is certainly worth exploring some divination playfulness, allowing apparent randomness to shine a light on the way forward.  In the potential selection of a house plan, one might consider writing out the names of the designs that caught your attention and interest, and literally putting them into a hat!  In truth it is impossible to ever be lost along the way… as there is only the Way!


Thinking

The action of using ones minds to produce thoughts.

In light of what has been written above, and contrary to popular opinion, thinking does not necessarily represent the most efficient pathway to clarity.  It is of course a very powerful tool, and when utilised with skill and training and can lead to quite stunning creativity and wisdom.  The ability to form and hold a coherent focussed thought is a vital survival mechanism.  However, our thoughts are heavily filtered through layers of beliefs, conditional perceptions, reduced perspectives and limited mental protocols.  We are constantly receiving and transmitting fields of information that confuse and distract, effectively reducing our ability to turn awareness into knowledge based certainty.

There are many ways that we can turn indecision into decision and confusion into fusion; the fusion of thoughts, feelings and dreams.  One very effective and easily learned tool is through the concept and practice of mind mapping.  This process utilises the organisational tendencies of the left brain with the free flowing creativity of the right.  On the centre of a sheet of paper one writes the subject that requires exploration, usually coupled with some playfully appropriate and colourful graphics.  This subject can be your dream home.  Extending out from this central point of intention and focus are drawn tendrils of possibilities, simultaneously dissecting and expanding the subject, creating sub aspects which in turn give rise to further evolutions of thought.  Eventually, the process literally unfolds with fractal friendliness until the sheet is a multi dimensional map of a mind that has being freed of the normal limits of perception.  Mind Mapping is a wonderful way to compile a detailed wish list of what you want, especially when it comes to the design of your dream home.  This matrix of variables presents a brief that can feedback into the original vision and intention and serve to bring the emergent reality into a place of greater power and focus.


Integration

Presented here are but a few paths to clarity, and all worth exploring.  They can serve us most efficiently when they no longer are considered ‘exercises’ or specific protocols that must be followed every time there is a new decision to be made, but when they become integrated into a natural way of being.  Our innate ability to ‘know’ is a profound gift, and one which can bring us forth into perfect equilibrium with all the elements of our environment, and guide us on the path.   The choosing of a specific design and the subsequent creation of the resulting sacred space represent a great opportunity for coherent integration of your world and the World.  The choice in truth is already made.  The outcome is set.  Enjoy the ride!