Creations Call to In.Spirit.Action~~
‘It is when I seem to be doing the least that I am doing the most.
Leonardo de Vinci
As you may have noticed, my writer self has not been visible on this page lately. Since the beginning of 2010, I have been in a place of deep introspection, contemplative listening: more being than doing, the nourishing nurturing space so vital to the core of my ‘ I AM~ness’. Scanning my favourite art book, I was encouraged recently as I reread Jeanne Carbonetti’s insightful description of her process that so closely mirrors mine.
“…the world goes into soft focus…when I am in the waiting cycle…paying attention to the slightest stirrings that guide me to the next step….the being in the world, but not of the world…. Had I been busily engaged in something productive, I may have missed those stirrings.”
And so it is and was for me, when the art above began to call forth, beckon, flow on to the page guiding me from within to paint it into life. I stared fascinated, bemused by the pattern splay; the moving into intention phase, bringing essence into clear focus.
The following dialogue began running through my awareness ~ I burst out laughing, tears running down my cheeks and I had to stop the paint flow and capture the wordage flow on paper.
“I am Brigid. Brigid the goddess of Inspiration”, she began. Ummmmm… Okay, I thought: I had placed that card on my desk top recently for several months. Good, inspiration was stirring within.
AND THEN THE YAMMERING BEGAN
~I soon began to think of her as ‘Sassy Assy’ rather than Goddess Brigid, as you may immanently understand~
(~~ at sentence beginning will indicate Brigid’s words )
Hey come on You, it’s time to stop this now!
~~Huh~ I ain’t’ stopping
I mean you gotta quit spreading your fire wings…its getting ridiculous…you’re almost off the page
~~So what’s the problem…who’s to say…
Well, I am. You’re going into an art show, and so you will be viewed as a work of art and you should be …
~~Should be what! I’m a work for anyone to judge!!! No way!
Who are you? What’s up….you’ve waited all these years to come to this moment and you are telling me not to spread my wings, not to take up all the space that surrounds me…
Well no, I guess…
~~Whadda you mean…you guess…. I don’t believe you! What happened to you!!
Well we kinda created this YOU… together right?
~~Right… soooooooo
Well I only knew I was birthing something, ‘cause I felt so crappy for so long~ and then I sensed how close I was to this change within and … and I already knew what I was submitting to the International Women’s Day Art show! It was a done deal and…
~~And what !!!! I hadn’t appeared yet! ….so NO deal~!!
Well ummmmm…in my cauldron of mulling and fogginess of becoming ness ummm…ahhhh I just thought I’d play with paint…that creativity always feels good in the midst of my inner turmoil and then…
~~YAH and then….I SURPRISED YOU DIDN’T I~!!!!
Yah you did~ painted~ let it dry~came down the next day~and there you are staring at me~ Up heaving all my plans…
~~Hey you…Linda! …it’s like this…
~~if you are open to divine will, you are on the path of conscious living, willing to transform within and without…haha ~ what a word….within and out wardly….And then I am willing to allow you to paint me onto the page to show you what you are birthing i.e. Your INNER PHOENIX!!!!! What’s your problem with what I LOOK LIKE…~~!!!!!!
You’re gonna go through all this and then Give a Damn about what other people think about how I look!!!!! Seeding, gestating labouring and emerging IS MESSY work alright~~! There ain’t any other way…
~~And now that I am here, Lady….you bet I’m gonna spread my wings any which way I CHOOSE.
LOOK OUT WORLD HERE WE COME~!
Oh my jumping heavenly hosts, I silently mumbled, remembering the truth of the saying:
Be Careful What You Pray For~~
Spiritual Path Of Daily Empowerment
Un~Masking The Mask
Masks or the art of mask making had never called to me~
From my experience they had signified a sense of hiding, deceit, an attempt at confusion.
~the Masked Man
~Mask of Zorro
~Master of the Masque
None of these concepts appealed to me as I had spent my life attempting to see through, see behind the invisible to the eye masks, worn by people everyday. I understand now that I had been longing to see truly, soul to soul with another; not something society in general longs for in most areas of the ‘civilized’ world.
Why would one be drawn to masking I often queried ~ I later learned that therapeutically people may feel safer when ‘masked’ to explore, to bring into awareness, to show to the world more of their inner self, both the light and the darker aspects of their deeper nature. And of course for many they may be fun.
Still this didn’t call to me. Curious, I went to Wikipedia:
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer’s body, so in parts of Australia giant totem masks cover the body, whilst Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing.
Then one Saturday morning, having completed 2 weeks in the Expressive Arts Therapy course I walked into the soothing quiet of the light filled studio at the Haliburton School of the Arts. My classmate friends and teachers were gone and the familiar creative haven of ‘becomingness’ beckoned me forth.
Materials for sculpting, painting, beading, wire work, moulding, mixed media, mobiles, sound making all lay before me in a wondrous pattern of possibilities.
I had come to paint.
Intuitive art was my ‘thing’~ my returned passion, my source form of expression.
I had come to paint.
Perusing the artistic array with assured gait, I walked over and chose beads, feathers, paints, brushes, a form, other additives and moved to my workspace.
Shortly thereafter, all the while working and listening deeply within, I stared down as
my SPIRITUAL WARRIOR gazed up at me.
I had made a MASK~!
It was then I understood. I had spent my life imploring, questing, calling out for answers, the energy, the grace to UNMASK myself, layer after layer after layer~
I had had no desire to add yet another MASK of any kind ~
In yet, from the depths of my inner knowing my SoulPower Mask emerged before me.
‘Linda, I AM your truth.
I have been waiting all your life for you to come home.
I am your integrated, aligned essence: Now, let the gift of your truth shine, so that it may invite others to do the same.
A few months later, a new restlessness began to stir within me. I had to find a certain piece of prose kept for years. Lying in my filing cabinet, I finally uncovered the writing below.
Its message had been subconsciously guiding me, calling me back home to my authentic self, all along.
DAILY AFFIRMATION FOR YOUR PATH OF EMPOWERMENT
I am a new warrior of spirit
I exist in a world of sacred balance
I balance with one foot in the physical world of material substance
And one foot in the dimensions of spirit and sacred life
My course is set by my ally~ the winds of time.
Mother Earth gives me life force~
The life blood of my sacred body
The plants give me nourishment and healing
As I ride the wind horse of my intent
My sacred warrior’s transport of buoyant joy~
Into a new and unknown world of harmony
I am truly a new warrior
An androgynous spirit being of light
My weapons are the shield of awareness
The symbols of ancient truth and the sacred giveaway
Like the angels that surround me
Few see me for who I really am
I do commerce in the world
I raise my family. I live a life dedicated to freedom
I immerse myself in the physical world
So that one day I can give it up
Because I can give up only something that I truly have
People learn from me through example
Because of the integrity of my own life and spirit
I move into the world with confidence and wisdom
I am always open and learning tools of knowledge
And I share these tools with my sisters and my brothers
I am a warrior of the light
And I live the integrity of that truth with great care
From a center within myself that is pure goodness~
The embodiment of the peaceful soul
I walk with confidence
The path of heart and personal power~
Anonymous
What mask might be loosening for you?
If you lifted this mask off how would your world change ?
How would revealing more of your true self gift our world?
Blessings and gentle strength to you~
Linda
To Risk~
The First Step Is The Most Challenging~
And The One That Brings New Life~
To Risk~
To laugh is to risk appearing the fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
To place our ideas our dreams before the crowd
Is to risk their loss
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To live is to risk dying
To try is to risk failure
But risk must be taken
Because the greatest hazard in life
Is to risk nothing, do nothing, and be nothing
One may avoid suffering and sorrow
But one simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live
Chained by certitude, one is a slave
Has forfeited freedom
Only a person who risks is free
Anonymous
I Am The Ceo Of Letting Go
Grasping, Clutching, Breathing, Ahhh…
My Journal: the ‘raw unplugged’ … Lakeshore ~ AUG. 26th/09
“If the wind could blow my troubles away
Blow my troubles away…..”
I remember walking another beach years ago pleading, shouting these words into the raging storm flinging my arms skyward in supplication ~
Today – just whacked, wiped, trusting, living in the now ~ affirming ~moment by moment,
Knowing, conscious of, not in denial of all the lessons, challenges that are moving me forward to
creating the new all of which I can alllllmossstttt ~~~~see~~~ on the horizon.
So, I am sitting at a picnic table~
First time hungry today ~ having eaten a Tim’s bagel, broccoli soup ~ watching the wind surfers.
Am feeling stronger more connected to the world around me and am now mostly my calm observer self again. And knowing, I cannot STOP LETTING GO~ ……..letting go of stuff, things, relationships that no longer flow anymore, taking to goodwill store, garage sale-ing, gifting, recycling, repairing, restoring, refurbishing, passing it forward, giving, giving, giving, letttttting goooooooo~
Computer clearing, deleting, reorganizing, recreating, sorting, simplifying on and on and on ~ Cleaning, organizing cupboards, closets, drawers, cubbies, making space for the new~
~energy, ideas, people, love, gifts, abundance and prosperity in my mind, heart and soul, home, work, relationships
I’m the CEO of LETTING GO! Renewing, re-membering, transforming my life.
Letting go of residuals of hurt, sadness, fear, resistance, grudges, denial, confusion, disorganization,
I cant’s, don’ wannas, won’t works, of competition, of ‘better than me’s ~
The list of FEARS ~~~~ False Evidence Appearing as Real is endless~~~
Could build the Great wall of China, block by block if one chose to pile up the blocks of fear inculcated within us by all that surrounds in this world……So many blocks, damn blocks~ invisible~
Invisible ghosts in the mind ~ so powerful~ overpowering~
when we ‘BELIEVE’ THEY ARENT’ THERE…they hold even more of our POWER.
GHOSTBUSTERS~ name of the movie~
Ironically most descriptively powerful when it’s MINDBUSTING that is needed.
I AM THE CEO OF LETTING GO~ Flinging myself into the void of all possibilities….
END OF JOURNAL ENTRY…..
And then the windsurfer walks up to me and begins to tell me his story. “My wife and I came from Newfoundland 20 years ago for job interviews; I am a sail maker.
(I smile as I hear my spirit laughing…..I always know when I am in for another butt kicking into the next shift….all from good intentions, of course~! )
“I had an interview in another city and then came here. The interview went well and then my wife and I went to explore the city. We found this windy bay, full of sailboats and windsurfers and decided this was where we were meant to be. It has never been that windy since! But we have been happy here, taking weeks or months off to windsurf at the best surfing places on the continent when the work is slower. Now we have bought property in a beautiful place up north, by the Great Lakes and building our home on the water. Amazing isn’t it how spirit gets us to where we are to be, I grin and he and his wife laugh with me.
“Then I say to him: It must take a lot of strength to wind surf.
“No he responded. Actually see that young woman over there in the striped top, the one who looks like the wind will blow her over. She is one of the best surfers in the club. She knows how to sense the wind, to bend and move with the waves the motion of the bay.
She moves so beautifully across the water, with no effort.
By now, I am grinning, sassing spirit, inwardly saying…. OKAY ALREADY… You know I ‘know’ this lesson, but obviously you’re taking me through a refresher course.
I AM TO BE LIKE A WINDSURFER~ letting go of ’being strong, TRYING to make it work ~ I am to return to trusting, sensing, moving, flowing, riding the waves of life…..letting go, letting go with arms flung to the sky again,
welcoming the NEW, for the joy of the ride and highest call of my soul.
What might shift, arrive for you, if you should choose to let go~ perhaps of just one thing: the one right there ~ in your awareness?
How might that change your life?
Come join me, surfing along the waters of life~!
Curtain Calls For Another Eclipse~!
The Gifts of Insight are Worth Taking Time Out For You…
Forces will have been set in motion beyond the reckoning of the senses. Sequences of events from the corners of the world will draw gradually together, and miracles and coincidence will bring the inevitable to pass… Joseph Campbell
SOOTHING SOUND AND BEAUTY OF WATERFALLS
Astrologers call this eclipse, ‘Penumbral’: one more subtle in its effects. Whatever its nomenclature, its import if we choose, may hold electric magical energy for us. Eclipses are wake up calls from the Cosmos, to shift the direction of our lives. It has never been a more opportune time to co-create with the heavenly forces.
Dare to risk. To take time to reflect, assess and to let go of all that does not serve you and who you are becoming. Indulge yourself in:
OPEN HEARTED PLEASURES
Belly laughs
Heart talk
Fresh air laundry
Warm flannel sheets
Brewing morning coffee
Teddy bear hugs
Butterfly kisses
Early morning mists
Spilling over giggles
Baby snuggles
Wave watching
Loon calls
Star gazing
Soul sighs
Gentle
Love
on
and
on
Dare to be Self Loving, owning what is true for you.
Dare to set yourself free….
ready~~~~
JUMP~
Many blessings for an adventuresome landing~ Linda
