Something Finished!

Completion. It seems odd to be thinking about completion at the beginning of the new year - the time when most are thinking about new projects and new beginnings.

But, this month I received my Certificate in Spirituality - the acknowledgment that I have completed two years of study, a whole lot of reading and a few reflection papers.

It feels good to be done. In the past two years I have stretched and grown in my faith journey now I am "resting in transition". I'm allowing myself time to think of what direction I want to take next, what twist in the path will this journey take me.

Completion feels good. * o

Something Finished!

How To Stay Calm......

As part of the pre-launch into her "Comfort During Uncertain Times" virtual retreat, the awesome Comfort Queen, Jennifer Louden, has been featuring a series of blog postings offering some sage advice on comfort and fear and worry and all those other things that keep us from breathing slow and natural :)

Today, Jen is featuring "How to Stay Calm When the Whole World is Worrying". Learn how to spread some happiness and calm and download a free audio.

Here's some more info on the virtual retreat - it promises to be a great weekend at a very affordable price - join me?

Looking to find calm, comfort and confidence in these uncertain times? Join 10 bestselling authors, speakers and teachers at the "Comfort Queen's" 2009 Virtual Retreat January 16th-19th and discover how to stay centered and happy in the middle of a rapidly changing world - no travel required! Call in live or download over a dozen powerful retreat sessions at your convenience and get the soul-nourishing support you need to make this year "your" year. Click here for more details. Click here to visit Jennifer Louden website! * o

How To Stay Calm......

For Presence

For Presence

Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
around the heart of wonder.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

* o

For Presence

How Not To...

...smash open a Terry's Chocolate Orange....


Boys - sometimes they just don't completely think through the process! * o

How Not To...

A Freebie and A Great Deal

If practicing your creativity was one of your resolutions this year, here is a freebie from Artella and a great deal to help you get started!

Download a FREE copy of the Artella eBook, Peace by Piece: Collage Your Way to Inner Peace and Harmony. This workbook guides you through several collage projects, each one designed to bring you closer to your true self and your powerful ability for manifesting your dreams and desires. Download your copy here!

Save 55% at Artella! Save 55% off up to 5 Artella items during Artella's Holiday Gift Gala Super Sale! Then pick your choice of 4 creative gift packs! Check out the Gift Gala Super Sale, here!

Find thousands of creative products in The Artella Store! * o

A Freebie and A Great Deal

I Will Begin

The inspiration for this comes from Lynn Jericho's "Inner Christmas - Twelve Holy Nights", The Need for Beginnings.

The idea is to take the list of verbs that indicate beginnings and write sentences beginning with "I will". So, for 2009:

I will begin each day with a few minutes of prayer.
I will birth new projects and new dreams.
I will start dreaming more often.
I will commence a journey of unlimited possibilities.
I will launch creatively and confidently forward.
I will emerge confident in the direction I'm heading.
I will initiate steps that take me towards a healthier me.
I will conceive of possibilities instead of set-backs.
I will generate as much positive energy as I can.
I will create as often as I can.
I will originate art that feeds me spiritually.
I will reveal more of what is in my heart.
I will unveil what is hidden from me.
I will renew my soul.

There you have it, a personal manifesto for the year.

A few people on a couple of the journaling lists I belong to were discussing resolutions and whether they make them or not, and they shared that instead of a resolution they chose a word for the year. Instead of trying to pick a word out of thin air, I went to a deck of inspirational cards I have, shuffled them and chose: "Learning Experience" (yay me, I get two words instead of one). So my intention for the year will be to try and see things as a "learning experience" and learn what I can from them! * o

I Will Begin

What I love most...

...about being off this week:

• sleeping in
• yoga and prayer in the mornings
• reading, and getting totally absorbed in good novels
• feeling the creative energy starting to resurface
• spending time with John and the boys
• not having to go out in the crappy cold if I don't want to
• catching up on emails
• resting in the transition

..so not wanting to go back to work yet....(sigh)... * o

What I love most...

A Poem for Christmas

I love this one - perfect for this time of year. Merry Christmas!

Sharon’s Christmas Prayer

She was five,
sure of the facts,
and recited them
with slow solemnity
convinced every word
was revelation.
She said

they were so poor
they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
to eat
and they went a long way from home
without getting lost. The lady rode
a donkey, the man walked, and the baby
was inside the lady.
they had to stay in a stable
with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
but the Three Rich Men found them
because a star lited the roof
Shepherds came and you could
pet the sheep but not feed them.
Then the baby was borned.
And do you know who he was?


Her quarter eyes inflated
to silver dollars.
The baby was God.

And she jumped in the air
whirled round, dove into the sofa
and buried her head under the cushion
which is the only proper response
to the Good News of the Incarnation.

by John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected, Allan, Texas, Argus Communications, 1977 * o

A Poem for Christmas

Give Us Courage

Give Us Courage

Give us courage, gaiety and the quiet mind.
Spare us to our friends, soften to us our enemies.
Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavors.
If it may not, give us the strength to encounter
that which is to come, that we be brave in peril,
constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath,
and in all changes of fortune and down to the gates
of death, loyal and loving to one another.

~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~

(Prayers Written At Vailima)

* o

Give Us Courage

We interrupt this month......

Bladder infections suck - and that's pretty much all I have to say about that. I've been laid low with one for almost two weeks now. My energy is pretty zapped, and every day is a balance between what I must and have to get done vs what I would like to do. I know there are lots of people who struggle with that every single day because of some sort of chronic illness and so I will not go on and on about how crappy I feel. Suffice it to say I've been laid low, I'm getting behind on some things, and I'm really hoping to not enter the Christmas season holding as much fatigue as I did last year. Meanwhile I'm crossing the days off the calendar and panicking that Christmas IS coming! Yikes!

I need a time machine, please - anyone have one they can spare??? * o

We interrupt this month......

Cats Rule, and Dogs Drool

As the dog barely manages to get a corner of rug, we know who rules the roost in this household :) * o

Cats Rule, and Dogs Drool

Non-Sucky Yoga Month

I (heart) Havi Brooks (and her duck Selma) and am a recently new fan of her work, especially her stuff on Dance of Shiva (which is something I've been doing for almost a month now and will post about some other time).

Havi's got a great promotion going on for the next couple of weeks, "Non-Sucky Yoga Month". Included in her "package thing" is Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga DVD and some awesome stuff from Havi to get you started and to get the most out of the DVD.

If you're looking for something new to kick up your yoga practice, or you're looking for something to get you started with yoga without a lot of "woo woo foo foo" stuff, check this offer out. It might just be what you are looking for.

And if not, check out Havi's blog anyway - good stuff there! * o

Non-Sucky Yoga Month

I Follow Barefoot - Hafiz

I Follow Barefoot

I long for You so much
I follow barefoot Your frozen tracks

That are high in the mountains
That I know are years old.

I long for You so much
I have even begun to travel
Where I have never been before.

Hafiz, there is no one in this world
Who is not looking for God.

Everyone is trudging along
With as much dignity, courage
And style

As they possibly
Can.

~ Hafiz ~ * o

I Follow Barefoot - Hafiz

This Could be a Really, Funky Mellow Post...

...because I just got back from yoga class and have had a hot, salty, lavender infused bath and I should be like all blissed out and in the zone, but mostly I'm fried and hoping I can post something that makes sense.

I'm feeling guilty because I'm kind of in a blog slump. A giant blog slump. I haven't been posting much lately. Not sure if it's because I'm too busy or just can't figure out what, if anything, to post. Mostly, I think it's just too many choices. When I have a spare moment that doesn't involve working for a living I have all these options. I can read, I can work on my courses (an art course, and a spirituality course - don't ask me why I had to take on two at the same time), I can journal, I can exercise, I can do some art.....etc, etc. The problem with choice overwhelm is that you end up choosing nothing.

I'm trying to be gentle with myself. I'm trying to take care of myself and not do overload. I really don't want to wind up the winter in the same state of exhaustion I was in last spring. It's all about balance right? Ya, most days it's balance, shmalance - right out the window. But I keep trying at it, and keep trying to mindful of what I choose to take on, and what I need to let go of. It's a process.

There are two nice things that happened to me today, that I needed to share.

One, I've been blessed today by a sprinkling of comments throughout my blog from a wonderful woman who is taking the same spirituality course as I am. She's taken the time to read my posts from the beginning, which made me realize I've been blogging for three years. Going back through some of those old posts has been a bit like finding an old journal - lots of things I had forgotten about. Thanks, S, for making my day brighter today!

Two, I had some really good comments from my art instructor about my last two assignments. Specifically, she mentioned that I should continue with pastels after the course is over because she thinks I have a "good feel for it". Cool.

If you have any suggestions for how to do balance, and not overload, I'd love to hear them.

image - Island, Jessie Lake, pastels, August 2008 * o

This Could be a Really, Funky Mellow Post...

Kelly Rae's New Book

"My journey into artmaking happened mainly because I was inspired by the spirits and creativity of other artists. Without their ever knowing it, they inspired me to simply begin. To search for my own creative voice. To collage. To paint. To play." - Kelly Rae Roberts, "Taking Flight"

When Kelly Rae's book arrived Monday, and I flipped it open to the page with that above quote, I knew I was going to love this book. Because I could have written those words myself. Because artists like Kelly Rae continue to give, teach and inspire. "Taking Flight" is simply a beautiful book. Sumptious art, tender writing, well-laid out pages of instruction for projects you can do yourself. I dare you to read it and not be inspired to do something!

Go, buy one now - you owe it to your creative self! * o

Kelly Rae's New Book

She Dreams of Trees

Part Three in the Artist's Healing Journey

That night, she dreamt of trees. In the first dream, she was very angry. A beautiful tree was being hacked to pieces by an evil woman. She screamed at the woman over and over to stop and go away. The evil woman stood beside the tree, axe in hand, and gave her a jeering sneer of a smile. She yelled over and over to the woman to go away, while the woman just stood there. In the second dream, she awoke to look out her window and she saw a beautiful, healthy tree that rose up to the sky. Strong and tall and full of red berries. In the third and final dream, she was in a lovely, peaceful grotto. The grass was green and lush, and the grotto was surrounded by trees all ablaze in various autumn colors - oranges, yellow, reds and even some dark evergreens. She felt so content here - like she never wanted to leave. She awoke with that same peaceful feeling. She didn't know yet what these three dreams meant but she was sure she would figure that out on her journey.

(image - "She Dreams of Trees" - acryclics, watercolors and pastels - copyright 2008) * o

She Dreams of Trees

A Cup of Summer

Can I interest you in a cup of summer?

A few of our cherry tomatoes are finally starting to ripen although I doubt we will get many before the first fall frost hits.

There is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh tomatoes! * o

A Cup of Summer

A Different Migration

MIGRATION
(By Harriet Brown)

All fall you watched the geese fly south,
a soundless movie through the bedroom glass,
their long plain marvelous wings beating,
warm-blooded, creaturely, willing themselves
into their own features. Days after you stopped
speaking, you eyes stayed on that gray sky.
When there was nothing left to hope for,
still the last light in you lifted as they passed.

And now, of course, the geese
are coming back, flying in slow twos
and threes, in sure unbroken lines across
the spring bleached sky as if they know
for certain something that we don't.
I wonder if, wherever you are, you know it too.

The seasons are marked by the honking of geese in the sky. They are marked by other things too. A packed vehicle, an empty room, a quieter house. They return, but each return is different - and every leaving another step on the journey. * o

A Different Migration

Quick and Easy Grunge

Easy Grunge Page

1) Start to clean off desk
2) Glue bits of notes, receipts, envelopes, post-its onto journal page - whatever is laying around on top of desk - cover page completely
3) Color background with watercolor crayons or ink pads
4) Decorate with Sharpies and watercolor crayons to your heart's content * o

Quick and Easy Grunge

Butterfly Woman - The Journey Continues

(you can read Part One of this journey here)

On a cool moonlit night in the garden, Luna Moth Fairy again appeared to Butterfly Woman. "It is time for you to leave this garden and set out on a journey - a journey of healing and adventure to discover yourself and your soul's true desires. It will be difficult, it will be scary and at time you will be quite lost. You will be traveling the Shadowlands of Your Soul. But at the end of the journey will be a great reward. You will have a helper along the way. Fox has decided to accompany you. She will not interfere but she will provide advice and wisdom as needed. She is quick and cunning. Not everyone you meet along the way will help you or can be trusted. You may need to rely on Fox's ability to discern. Now my child, pack up your things, take only what you need, and in the morning leave this garden." Then Butterfly Woman was left alone. Out of the corner of her eye she thought she caught a glimpse of Fox but she wasn't quite sure. She tucked her leather book she had received from Luna into her bag, along with a journal, a change of clothes, some food and a gold, heart-shaped locket. Then she sat down to pray and settle in for some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

(image - collage with beeswax - @ 2008) * o

Butterfly Woman - The Journey Continues