Award winning therapist, author and key-note speaker Dr. Joyce C. Mills (licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a PhD in Clinical Psychology) has created her latest system for personal growth, ”Butterfly Wisdom”.

“Butterfly Wisdom” looks at the 4 stages of a butterfly’s transformation (Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly) and compares them to the changes that we as people go through as we grow and make changes in our lives. It also explores the 4 seasons (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) and correlates each to one of the butterfly stages.

While this all may sound a bit convoluted here, Dr. Mills makes it quite easy to understand. Reading the book portion of “Butterfly Wisdom” I quite often found myself going “a Ha!” These were ideas that I felt like I should have known before now, but had never quite gotten the grasp of.

“Butterfly Wisdom” is actually a two-part system; a 38 page book that explains the four stages and seasons of transformation along with instructions for using the Passages and Imaginal Discs cards that are included in the set.

The book is extremely straightforward. It is also short, only 38 pages. The reason I bring this up is because many people these days seem to have the idea that personal enrichment books must be tomes of pages that can be also used as a substitute for weight training. This instead focuses on simplicity and gets you straight to work on looking at yourself.

The cards are used to help focus your thoughts and ideas. These are not magical or mystical card spreads. If you are adverse to using Tarot decks or Ouija board, you do not have to worry about these. These cards are there simply to help you focus your ideas, plans, and dreams for the future. It is more like meditation and “free-thinking”, letting your mind come up with as many ideas as possible. There are four different types of “spreads” that focus your imagination in specific areas.

It does take a few times to get used to using the cards, but this is more like playing than like work. This is a time to be relaxed. The cards should be used when you have a chance to be quiet and focus on yourself. Trying to focus on the cards in between fixing dinner and helping your kids with homework is not going to help you much. Consider this your “me time”.

The book and cards come in a beautiful boxed set. So this would make a lovely gift for someone (or yourself) this Christmas. Since the New Year is when so many people are setting new goals for themselves, this would be a fantastic tool for setting and working towards those goals.

I know that I will be using “Butterfly Wisdom” for inspiration myself.