Helper Mice Wanted : A Very Personal Ad (part 1)

Preface & Disclaimer: Though I’ve labeled this “part 1″, it’s actually more of a prequel, &  should probably be numbered part zero, or negative .4, or something odd like that.

Also, this whole thing is probably going to sound a bit wacky. I’ve tried to explain a bit of the nuttier parts so they sound less woo-filled, but, you know what? There’s only so much explaining you can do about Helper Mice.

So if you’re going to decide I’m stark raving mad, go ahead.   If you’d just like to know more about one of the concepts I’m touching on here, and why I don’t think it makes me crazier than a dormouse, well…  let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to explain!  Now, on with the post proper, in a more appropriate and readable font-size.

Over on The Fluent Self, Havi Brooks (yes, I’ve been plugging her a lot. Get used to it. ) has been doing this thing she calls Very Personal Ads.

In Havi’s own words:

” The Very Personal Ads are a practice where we ask for something we want in order to get clarity on stuff and also to practice getting better at asking for things.”

So there you have it.  On her blog, Havi’s written ads for all kinds of things, including the perfect house, personal sovereignty, and clothes hangers . Most of the things, I believe, have indeed found her.  So far as I know, her partner (Selma the Duck) hasn’t written any ads, but others have …  submitting them in the comments of Fluent Self, on their own blogs, and, I suspect, on napkins and on bathroom walls all over the country.
Maybe even the world.  Really, it seems quite likely that Very Personal Ads ala Havi have become an international phenomenal thing.

So, how do these ads work?

It’d be easy to call it a magical practice, and go all spiritual guru on you, but it isn’t about that (even though it may seem magical, at times) It’s really a lot more about being aware of what you want in your life, looking at ways those things  could happen, and opening a door to those ways.

If it happens to be a magical door that you open, well, I didn’t make it up that way.  And I’m pretty sure Havi  didn’t either (though I’m not so sure about her partner, Selma. You’d have to ask her yourself). Because the whole thing works just fine from a psychological perspective, no woo required.

The practice of writing the ad encourages you to define what you want, consider ways it might happen, and how you would support it happening, staying in your life, etc.  And by treating it as a personal ad, you’re taking your wish-list out of the realm of a letter to Santa, and making room for a relationship with whatever-it-is.

And that means that if the ad works, you’ll probably be pretty happy with the result.

Pretty Cool, Huh?

B

ut Anyway. The point of all this rambling is my way of  introducing an actual *Very Personal Ad* of my very own.   And it isn’t at all my way of procrastinating about writing my own ad.  Nope, not one bit.

So here goes!

Brain-Savvy Blogger Seeks Helper Mice!!!

(The excess punctuation and underlining helps make it real.  Trust me on this one. )

What are helper mice, you ask? Well, they’re another Havi-ism, and I’m not exactly sure what she means by it, to be honest.     But I know what *I* mean by “Helper Mice” so let’s start there, shall we?

“Helper Mice” brings up images of all those helpful, scurrying and supportive creatures found in Disney films.     They gather up supplies, help you get dressed for the ball, find your lost dayplanner,  call the prince and tell him you’ll be a bit late for the date…. even bring you a key should you happen to find yourself locked in the tower.

And they seem to do all of this because it is their nature to scurry, to help, to fix things, and because they believe in Happily Ever After.  They probably *also* do it because of the food and occasional shiny bauble that fall their way, but I like to think of that as a sort of side-bonus.

T

hey’re sort of a non-corporal personal assistants on steroids, except that they may be real live people, too. Because as anyone who’s ever watched a Disney film knows,  Helper Mice aren’t always mice.  They’re sometimes birds, rats, squirrels, racoons, dwarves…   and really, who am I to say they should be in this form or that form?

So Helper Mice  can be pseudo-imaginary critters that I project images of in my head, or they can be real, tangible people, or they might be a mix of the two.  Back when I did the whole shamanism studies deal, I called them critters power animals, tutelary spirits, teachers and helper-spirits, but those terms have become so newagey-twisted I hate to use them anymore.

But Helper Mice? I like that.

A more normal person in more normal circumstances would probably run an add for a business partner, a personal assistant, or a project manager.  But I’m not normal, and pretty much no one is under normal circumstances these days.  Mind you, I’d be happy if the perfect someone fell into any of the above roles for me, and for BrainCamp, and maybe for this blog.

But I’d rather call them Helper Mice, because, well…  I just like it.  Ok, now that we have the definition out of the way…

W

here were we? Oh yeah…. We writing the actual very personal ad.  That would be good, huh?I’ll get that posted for you in just a few minutes, k?

You’ll be able to find it here:
Helper Mice Wanted: Part 2