Halloween has traditionally encouraged children and adults alike to stretch their imaginations, role play, and practice asking & receiving. Leaving the tricks aside, there are a lot of treats in this seasonal skill set.

These are the same treats I hope to bring into more schools in 2024-25 thanks to the ImmersArt micro-grant program for Canadian French Immersion junior and senior high schools.

This program fosters links between Canadian schools, cultural organizations and artists. I found out about it thanks to the Newfoundland & Labrador chapter of  Canadian Parents for French (CPF).

Last week, CPF brought me to Ascencion Collegiate in Bay Roberts, where 50 grade 11 students were the first to experience my “Intergalactic Peace Council” workshop I plan to deliver through the ImmersArt Program.

This 1-hour transformative art workshop came out of a teacher request to touch upon the theme of diversity and an appreciation for various cultures and languages. 

How thrilling to help these students stretch their comfort zones to explore creative movement, visualization, visual expression, visionary word play and experiential sharing!

How fun to hear that different students preferred different parts of the activity. One young man said visualizing perfect peace on Earth was the most powerful for him. This brought a smile to my heart and a tear to my eye.

It was also the first time I got to use my new Visionary Word Cards in a group setting. (Don’t forget that if you’d like a set before Christmas, you have until November 1st to pre-order / pre-pay. Learn more here. )

Here’s a description of what we did in case you know of any French immersion high schools in Newfoundland & Labrador  (or Ottawa mid-December to mid-January) that may want to bring me in. I will travel out of St. John’s if we can get more than 1 school in a region.

Also contact me if you’d like to bring me in to lead the Intergalactic Peace Council or other transformative art program with your group (teens or adults) in French or English in your work setting, social gathering, etc.

Intergalactic Peace Council – a transformative art experience with Dominique Hurley

The year is 2222. Earth has experienced absolute peace for 111 years. Students become ambassadors throughout the galaxies to convey the experience of peace through the universal language of movement and colour. They then provide advice on how to achieve this appreciation and respect for diversity through visionary word play and creative visual expression. In this 1-hour session, students will use visualization, imagination and personal process before debriefing in groups.

“It was a refreshing opportunity for students to express themselves creatively in French, and also invoke feelings of serenity and calm. I would describe the experience as unique and enriching.”  

Susan Higdon – Grade 11 French Immersion Teacher, Ascension Collegiate, Bay Roberts

Conseil de paix intergalactique – une expérience artistique transformatrice avec Dominique Hurley

Nous sommes en 2222. La Terre connaît une paix absolue depuis 111 ans. Les étudiants deviennent des ambassadeurs à travers les galaxies pour transmettre l’expérience de la paix à travers le langage universel du mouvement et de la couleur. Ils fournissent ensuite des conseils sur la manière de parvenir à cette appréciation et à ce respect de la diversité grâce à des jeux de mots visionnaires et à une expression visuelle créative. Au cours de cette séance d’une heure, les étudiants utiliseront la visualisation, l’imagination et le processus personnel avant de débriefer en groupe.

“J’ai eu le plaisir d’accueillir Dominique dans ma classe de 11e année. Sa passion pour l’art a retenu notre attention lorsqu’ils sont entrés dans la salle. La séance a incité les étudiants à sortir de leur zone de confort. Dominique a mélangé une expression artistique authentique de langue française, encourageant les étudiants à s’engager avec le matériel. Merci pour cette séance mémorable !”

Morgan Kearly – French Department Head, Ascension Collegiate, Bay Roberts

There are so many possibilities of how to use these 111 large Visionary Word Cards, alone and in groups:

• poetry or journal prompts
• word / painting of the day
• randomly pick 3-5 cards and create an affirmation for the day
• as oracle cards
• ice-breakers
• French/English learning
• framing / decorating (each card is 5″ x 7″)
• etc.

I’m only printing as many decks this year as I’ll need in schools or as pre-ordered / pre-paid by you. A set of activity suggestions is included.

$177 (shipping included).

Watch the video here.

Pre-pay yours here for shipping before Christmas.

May they enhance your creativity and intuition, nourishing your transformational journey.

Intuition is often an invitation to grow.

Your heart, your Team of Divine Helpers, Source – whatever your beliefs – are pulling you forward, showing you the next best step on your soul’s journey.

It’s an answer to a spoken or unspoken need – an answer to your prayers.

Your ego is trying to protect you – wanting to keep you in the status quo, wanting to keep you small.

But staying in that place, ignoring your intuition, leads to dis-ease of many sorts. It’s stifling.

Emerging more fully into your True Self means growth. And growth often comes with a stretch of your comfort zones.

Change is scary. Stretching your comfort zones can be daunting. But it can be exciting too.

That mix of fear and excitement is often a sign that you’re about to grow. Go for it!

Going from intuition into action takes courage, and it’s worth it!

Every time I say “yes” to an invitation to grow (often following a “not again!”), it has led to some amazing experiences – and a life without regrets.

I’d say I’m more of a chicken than most – no stranger to anxiety.

But I also have a very strong faith – a trust in my Team of Divine Helpers, in my intuition.

It’s evolved over the years the more I’ve said ‘yes!’ and experienced the amazing results.

From baby steps to leaps of faith, I’ve lived, worked and studied on 3 continents and 5 provinces.

That doesn’t mean I don’t experience the fear. I just do it anyway.

As you’ll see in the story below about how this video came into being, living intuitively can be fun, inspiring, creative, fulfilling, and yes, still a stretch of my comfort zones.

So take those baby steps. When you get an intuitive hit to call someone, go somewhere, do something – and can discern that it was intuition and not ego-driven, then go ahead!

Sometimes, the reason becomes obvious and immediate. Sometimes, it remains a mystery.

I’ve occasionally  found out years later that something I wrote, said or did led to major changes in someone’s life. That’s when I thank Spirit for the Guidance, knowing that my role was to say ‘yes!’ and now to give the credit to Source.

The more baby steps you take, the more you’ll learn to trust your intuition.

The more fulfilling results you experience from your baby steps, the easier it’ll become to take those leaps of faith that can totally transform your life. 

Just going to Ananda Village to live in community and volunteer for 2 months was a stretch of my comfort zones.

I’ve written in previous posts how the thoughts of having a roommate, physical labour, and long scheduled hours caused me a bit of trepidation before heading across the continent to be a karma yogi in the foothills of the Sierra Mountains of California.

But when I’m Guided, nothing stops me.

It turns out I loved it so much that I can see myself repeating the experience on a regular basis.

The fact that the scenery was so soul-nourishing helped. I shot quite a bit of video footage.

Walking around Lotus Lake, just 2 minutes from my room, was one of my usual nature breaks in between volunteer shifts and yoga classes.

Weeks into my stay there, I saw horseshoe prints in the dried up mud. I immediately thought: “Oh, I’d love video footage of a horse here”.

Within hours, the first photo on my Facebook feed (the only one I see when I turn on fb to post) was of a horse and person. Inner bells rang!

I looked at who posted it – it was Mai Lee, a local who had just become a FB Friend after messaging me to ask if she could share my photos of the Crystal Hermitage Garden.

I’ll admit, there was a moment of hesitation before reaching out as I can be quite shy. The camera has given me courage over the years. Part of me knew that seeing that post was a gift from my Team of Divine Helpers.  

So I turned intuition into action and messaged Mai, asking if the horseshoe prints at Lotus Lake might have been from that horse in the picture.

She said yes and gave me Andrew Heinemann’s contact information. I only found out later that it was her husband!

Soon, we had a sunrise date and he even brought a change of wardrobe. This guy was ready to play! Yay!

Andrew later told me he doesn’t usually go to Lotus Lake but had felt called to on that muddy day. This was divinely coordinated for our joy (and hopefully yours too through the video above).

Ruby (the horse) and Red (the dog) were just as photogenic and cooperative!

I was thrilled that Andrew had taken his intuition into action and that I’d followed through on mine too.

Was it a stretch of my comfort zones? Sure. A happy baby step!

This is the last video from my Ananda Wishlist with all the footage I captured during my 2 months.

The storyline evolved as I was playing with my 105 clips from our session and the song “The Spirit of the West” from Epidemic Sound (a source of royalty free music I pay a yearly membership to access).

I won’t tell you too much about what I was thinking, but see if you can tune into the themes of:

• going around in circles
• circling opportunities
• transformation
• darkness to light
• walking on the Right Path
• wise Guides

And if you’ve enjoyed this post and are moved to support my creative endeavours, I invite you to donate through PayPal here. Thank you!

To learn more about taking intuition into action, sign-up for my free 75-minute tutorial here.