By Mercedes Adan
When I knew I was going to write the prologue for this book, I imagined writing something spectacular that would be a great tribute to Isa and to those who have been in the accompaniment of Writing and Meditating. That “milkmaid’s tale” atmosphere is as familiar to me as my house, because it is created by my mind every time I think that, this time, I am going to write something big that is going to have an impact. As soon as I sit at my table and touch the computer keys, the fantasy breaks faster than the milkmaid’s jug in the story, and a void appears into which I have to jump.
This time my fantasy:
Shattered when I hadn’t even started to write. A day before coming to Madrid, I had been looking at places in Palencia to do in-person courses and I loved the La Ballina Creative Space. I came to Madrid for a course that, curiously, was in a room with a huge blue whale drawn on the wall. For me it’s a coincidence, because I’m skeptical about signs. If someone says, “everything happens for a reason,” I think, “or not.” And when I don’t get something and they tell me “something better is going to come along,” I think to myself with some reluctance, “I wish.”
I had asked Isa to tell me the title of the book as soon as she knew it, and at the end of the course I had a message on my cell phone that just said “Synchronicity.” And my heart sank. How could I write a good prologue with the title “Synchronicity”! The landscape of my mind changed from the story of the milkmaid to that of Hansel and Gretel lost in the forest. Let’s see now what he did.
I had to get myself together
I felt that as soon as possible, because it has been an incredible course and I didn’t want to make a mess. What had happened to me was known, sooner or later, when I have to write, the uncertainty is drowning me up to my neck, I don’t know what is going to come out, and my writing part feels about to shipwreck and drown.
I trusted, something would happen, even if I had to make a joke with the synchronicity, and I told Isa what was happening to me. And she told me that it was probably not what I imagined and that I should watch a video of Virginia GA well, our guardian angel since we took her dreams course and she opened the door for us to understand the force of the unconscious. So many things came through that door, that the girls from the “Writing to Heal” accompaniment have joked about meeting at three in the morning to get together in a dream. But that’s another story… And I started watching the video.
I write from that mental atmosphere
After watching it in which I have gone beyond the uncertainty, I know that I have now relaxed control; and yes, I feel something subtle that is going to transform me forever. In this mental landscape, I do believe that I can reach others, although next to it is the fear of sounding ridiculous or of not knowing how to convey what I feel in my body now. And I feel like whispering in the reader’s ear what I am understanding about synchronicity.
Now read the previous paragraph again, leaving synchronicity aside, and thinking about writing; and what happens every time you find a way to resolve and finish a story. Isn’t it the same magic?
I know that I can only live and write if I open my mind to other landscapes that I do not yet know.
Yes, I am cautious, more than skeptical, but I do not deny what I feel. And I feel that there are many things that I cannot understand because the human being is so small and large at the same time; that I cannot encompass the polarity of those two dimensions. But I know that I can’t stop writing because there is magic in rhyme writing, it transmutes what I don’t understand and makes me a better human being. And it is the terrain into which those who embark on and persevere in this adventure enter, little by little.
wise unconscious:
Virginia speaks of a “wise unconscious” with a knowledge in which we find ourselves to do the dance together. That dance suggests to me the sharing of the Writing and Meditation groups; what happens when we come up against what bothers us all; which is always the same: limits, perfection, helplessness, wanting to write wonders and realizing that comes out what comes out. And that touch brings with it the value of what exists; more authentic and true than what you wish there was. I am convinced that in that wise unconscious lies the beauty of metaphors, the transmutation of pain; the courage to bring conflicts to paper. And also the accurate and soft words that we use to write and make comments.
And yes, I have once experienced synchronicity. I felt like the title of this book was when I saw Isabel’s message on my cell phone, because it brought me another moment of my life. It was Thursday and the date is in the dedication of a book, June 12, 2014. That day I entered the Retire to the Madrid Book Fair, and at the same door I heard the number of the booth in the which my friend Max signed.
He was overjoyed and happy, and when we met we held each other’s hands tightly; and I told him that they had said his name when I was entering the park to look for him. And he wrote this dedication to me in his book: “My dear Merced, what a joy to see you here! This book has the magic of the Universe (causality and synchronicities). Well, they are going to happen to you too, like that announcement at the entrance to the fair. A big kiss, Maximo.
We grow as writers when we advance in the subtle and delicate nature of the human being, in what is on the other side of the veils and brings deep meaning to life.
I still feel the excitement of seeing each other there, because we knew it could be the last time. He filled his last days with meaning. And I was always exhausted, and resisting sounded more like living. My dream of devoting myself to writing and being a writing teacher was just that; and I hardly dared to even think about it. Today, I write the prologue of a book called “Synchronicity”, I am a writing teacher; I no longer live exhausted and I try to make my life have the greatest meaning possible.
It may not be a synchronicity, but it brings me that shining moment and I become aware of its value. And the Los Pines Center, where I met Max and they helped me change, is joined by Writing; and Meditating, the site that allows me to distill that change for others. ANDI know that I can only live and write if I open my mind to other landscapes that I do not yet know.
In this very sick society it is very difficult to live and write without a group. Going hand in hand with others is what allows us to hold ourselves together to open or close our eyes; and to feel the veils so strongly that uncertainty becomes a huge treasure instead of a terrible abyss. I see how each one launches into this adventure by disarming himself, letting himself be felt and opening up to the mystery of what happens when non-fiction writing. Delicacy is what we help ourselves heal wounds with.
Main Features of Book:
If an emotion is repeated in this book, it is surprise. I can feel each author and each protagonist take a breath with an “OH” at some point in the stories. That moment when you feel it together leaps to your heart. It’s nothing crazy. It is creativity, which collects those things in the world, every day or extraordinary, that lead us to amazement. Also, It cannot be any other way because when writing comes the unexpected. It is discovery or synchronicity, realization or meaning. It was right under our noses but we needed to stop; put words, release the connections of things and let the spark fly. We needed to write. Now I realize that surprise is a hidden emotion, that wants to come out; and sometimes we push it with our hand so that it hides again. And by writing we invite her out.
But suddenly, we stopped in silence. We connect with what is outside. We wrote. And so we are able to see what is inside. And enter into wonder and recognize the synchronicity, if we are lucky enough that it occurs. Because I conclude that it does exist, that it is not crazy. You may just have to give yourself the opportunity to recognize it. And let so many extraordinary moments fill life, death, and the moment of each heartbeat with meaning.