There is an optimum gentle phoenix available to us in any creative endeavor. The question is, "How do we access it?@  Although there are layers to a gentle phoenix in the same way there are layers to Creation and layers to the nonconscious mind, and there can be layers as to what we experience faster, easier and gentler, the layers are not what determines the optimum gentle phoenix.

The key to the optimum gentle phoenix is the feminine aspect of our being as reflected in the body and what it feels. It is the key as a result of the awareness which lies in what we feel In working one or more of the four steps outlined in the topic, "Creating a gentle phoenix,@ or simply open ourselves to feeling one or more of the issues we face in using the body and what it feels will surface to be addressed. Unless we are willing to do the work to use the body and what it feels, we will be unable to access the optimum gentle phoenix that is possible in any situation. As discussed in the topics "Creating a gentle phoenix,@ we can make many of the aspect of any creative endeavor somewhat faster, easier and gentler without fully using the body. However, we will be unable to create that optimum gentle phoenix. 

The optimum gentle phoenix for any creative endeavor  is obtained through the use of the body, the body wisdom and what the body feels and senses. It is to use what we feel and sense within our being and how what we feel and sense gets translated into what our body senses. The energy giving rise to what our body senses based on what we sense within our being is then interpreted by our mind and characterized by our mind based on our past experiences.  The optimum gentle phoenix is to work "out of mind@ with the  awareness which lies in feeling and work with the energy before our mind step in to characterize that energy in some way and/or overlays it judgments, its fears and the pains of the past.

The primary reason why obtaining an optimum gentle phoenix is obtained by using the body is that the body desires to feel what is pleasurable more than pain. Additionally, although our body works better when it is exercised and the muscles are strong, it does not necessarily like to be over exerted to the point of stress or strain. There is a razor=s edge here. It is to exercise to the limit of the strength of the muscle but not to cause pain and discomfort in pushing too far past the limit.  Pain is a gift and a warning that some threshold is being exceeded and damage has occurred or will occur. In exercising the body,  it is to push to the limit but not to cause pain.

The body wisdom will not look to create pain for the body for the body wisdom is of the body and is in total alignment with what the body desires to experience. It will use the nonlocalized aspect of the body energy to explore the unseen realms to sense the best way to achieve a creative endeavor without causing unnecessary pain.  Additionally, since the body wisdom is aligned with the body and what the body desires, it takes us into alignment with the intention for our life and the source of our creative power in our current life.  It needs to be remember that our body is the perfect vehicle for the experiences we incarnated to have. What give a fullness of being and inner satisfaction that never runs dry is sensed and experienced in the body and directs us to have the experiences the body was designed and chosen to experience through the intention for our life. Consequently, in using our body wisdom, we can expect to be lead toward the intention for our life. This fact  is frightening to some for mind will loose an element of control.

However to access and used the awareness which lies in feeling that is available to us through the body wisdom and what the body feels we must be able to access and use the feelings that lie beyond sexuality.  This of course means that we will have to face our sexuality, come to understand what it means for us as an individuals and then be able to move past the sex knowing when and how to act on the sexuality we feel that arises as a result of our creative endeavor.  To face our sexuality is not to deny it, nor deny the feelings within the body that arise from it. Rather is to literally move through it and to be able discern exactly from where the feelings arise and why. 

There is information in our feelings especially the deep feelings which lie beyond sexuality and which give rise to sexual feelings. If we are open to feeling, we will be able to discern very subtle differences in the energy and where it is lead. We can learn not to mistake sexuality feelings for the need to have sex with the feelings of sexuality that arise relative to a creative endeavor. We will be able to distinguish between when the sexual feeling arise in relation to a creative endeavor when acting on the sexual feelings will destroy the unfoldment of the creative endeavor and when acting on the sexual feelings will allow the creative endeavor unfold to completion. All sexual feelings are not meant to be acted upon in the same way. 

It has been observed, the most significant issues we face in using the body and what it feels are: (1) having a working perspective about Creation that reflects the true capabilities and purpose of the body we have;  (2) the reason why we raised the threshold on what we feel and/or shut down the ability to feel;  (3) learning to interpret and act on what we feel when mind may not have the necessary minimum requisite set of experience to properly understand what we feel and act in the appropriate way on the information being provided; and (4) face and move past our sexuality to work with the deep feelings and awareness which lie beyond, or behind, the feeling of sex. The primary and most important feeling that lies beyond the feelings of sex relative to our creative ability and creative power is the intention for our life and the reason why we elected to have a human physical experience in our particular body. Quite simply, the intention for our life is the source of our creative power in our life for it is what brought us into life and gives us life.

In looking to address any one of these issues, it is recommended you find a safe and secure space and do whatever you need to do in the way you need to do it to learn to use the body and what it feels.  Finding such a place is probably  best done by setting the intention to create a gentle phoenix for learning how to use the body and what it feels. In doing so, the door is open to both learning to use the body to find a faster, easier and gentler way for any situation we face and learning how to create a gentle phoenix for any other creative endeavor you may desire to pursue.  

Addressing the four primary issues of learning to use the body and what it feels

In addressing any of these four primary issues, our primary tool should be our intuitive guidance and body wisdom and not any external source. External sources can assist us and advise us, but they should not lead us. What we face is unique to us. Generic approaches can be of great assistance but eventually we will need to come to understand what we need to do and do it in the way we need to do it.  

A perspective about Creation: To access and use the awareness of the body, we need to develop a perspective that addresses the body and it can be used as an asset in our creative endeavors, especially in creating a gentle phoenix for any creative endeavor. What needs to be noted here, many prevalent spiritual, religious, social and philosophical views of the body do not address the nature of the body and its relation to our creative endeavors. Some even talk despairingly about the body and the benefits of being in Physical Creation. Many will have to explore their enculturated beliefs to see if they are supportive of the body and how it should be used in a creative endeavor. One aspect that will need to be faced is the body and its relationship to pain, in particular the gift that lies in pain. The topic, "Concepts and ideas to explore to create the conditions for a gentle phoenix,@ provide a starting point for contemplation of some of the ideas and concepts one may wish to incorporate into the perspective they have to be able to create the optimum gentle phoenix. 

Why we raised the threshold: To use the awareness of the body, we need to be open to feeling. To be open to feeling, we need to look at the ways and reasons as to why and how we have raised the threshold of what we feel. Many of the reasons will go back to the earliest days of our life and childhood and how we lost the ability to be in childlike play. We will have to face the reason and develop response patterns to life that better serve us and our creativity that allow us to lower the threshold to discern the variety of different feelings we sense in the body.  

This effort is probably best started in exploring our creative imagination  to see where we are free and not free to pursue any and all options as a result of what we have come to believe about ourselves, our life and Creation. Then pull the string as to why we have the limits, barriers, blocks or restriction  rather then being free to explore. The second thing is to enter creative activities and look to see why we are unable to enter these creative states in childlike play. We need to pull the string looking at where and why we are unable to spontaneously and innocently enter a creative endeavor.  

When we pull the string on either of these two endeavors, we will find pain of the past or the fears the pain of the past have created. Only in facing these pains and releasing the bound energy can we lower our threshold to feel. Additionally, we will need to replace the response patterns to life we created as a child with response patterns that better server our creativity and do not allow the fears of the past to continually haunt us and divert our awareness from our creative endeavor.