Regina Mendes, 25 January 2015

Many people came to the session. I have got some of the names: Ayesha, James,

Lorraine, Stella, Anna, Jennifer, Michela, Paul, David, Liberty, Cindy, Emma, Daniel,

Elspeth, Kitty, Liz, Theo, Anna, Nick, Alexandra, Rosanna, Lucy, Arne, Catherine,

Anne, Jessica, Wendy, Karen, Susie and Sarah.

I am happy to announce

YES! We have made it!

700 dolls completed in the same space I arrived in 2012, 3 years ago, with just 7 dolls

and shared the project with everybody.

Can you imagine how grateful I am to D&D people?

I told everybody that there were 49 to go today to reach the 700. I emphasize that the

most special thing would be to come along and have a little rest, a quiet moment to

connect with our own hearts, feel inspired and recharged by the experience.

We worked non stop the entire day as yesterday. It was wonderful to see so many ken

to help. Some people were disappointed when they arrived and there were no dolls

left.

Some comments:

'A profound, healing and hopeful thing to do, thank you Regina.'

'A strange but soothing ritual. unexpectedly just what I wanted to do'.

'These dolls have become an anchor and a marker on a very personal journey for me.

I love checking in with them each year and making a little person full of my new

learnings.'

'Thank you for giving me the chance to meditate.'

'Peaceful engagement, reflection and calm.'

'A moment to centre my attention on the present and to give my effort to a warm and

generous project.'

'A humble reminder that life shot a rat race where every individual is out for

themselves but that we are surrounded by people with dreams and hopes.'

'Last year I had just lost my mother to cancer. I made 3 dolls: one fore me, one for my

mother and one for my father( who passed away 10 years ago). This year a friend lost

both his parents and I made two dolls for each of them, to carry their love and values

to the world. Thank you for this opportunity to meditate and reflect.'

'This time last year I came and I made three dolls. This year I came back with a

challenge : four dolls! two in the mornings and two in the afternoons. it was wonderful

giving my time to reflect on past conversations from the day. 700 done! well done!

Good luck with your future with the dolls! All my love.'

'Thank you Regina for this grounding and attentive experience. I made the 699th doll

the penultimate doll on Sunday 25 January 2015. It was a very great and engaging

activity with such care. thank you for including me. I particularly enjoyed taking the

time to inject my heart beat into my doll and filling it with the dreams of others -

beautiful metaphor! I will tell other people about this so please keep doing it and bring

this experience to others. Thank you!'

'This is my first time at D&D and the first thing that excited me was the invitation to

make a doll. I decided to save it till the end. I was the 77th and 700th doll! I found this

wonderful experience. I felt very committed to and invested in the simple doll. I cared

for the doll and I want to make sure that I know what happens and how this can

become an exhibition. the final meditation and connection with my own heart was

grounding. I did this with a fellow Canadian. Everyone who made a doll seems to care

a lot about the work. Thank you for doing this. exciting work.'

'A project pulsing with peace and love. I am happy I made a doll.'

'Lovely and relaxing experience. Love my doll!'

'Hugely moving moment for me, making one of Regina's dolls, sending a meditation to

my surgeon for next Sat's surgery.'

'Having a break from talking, sewing with Regina - so beautiful!'

'Transformative experience and a brilliant end to my dandd10 weekend.'

A Huge Thank You for Everyone.

See you on Friday when we will start the next community of 700 dolls.

Regina