Tuesday, May 31, 2011

365 Days, Day 351

To fly one must first shed the weights of doubt (Carlene Primus)

You were born with potential

You were born with goodness and trust

You were born with ideals and dreams

You were born with greatness

You were born with wings

You are not meant for crawling, so don't

You have wings

Learn to use them, and fly

(Mevlana Rumi 1207 - 1273)

A hunch is angel talk, and probably should not be ignored.

Listen to your hunches, pay attention to your intuition, do not dismiss your random thoughts, inspirations or ideas.

Heaven talks in snippets, not in speeches.

Angels whisper fast.

They have to when they're flying around...

Honour your Hints from Heaven.

They could be giving you the best advice you ever had.

(Neale Donald Walsch)

This statue by Albert Toft is part of The Hall of Memory in Centenary Square, Birmingham (which commemorates the 12,320 Birmingham citizens who died in World War I). There are four statues on the outside of the memorial representing Army, Navy, Air Force and Women's Services. From my quotes you can guess which this one represents.

I remember doing my matric final English speech on aviation and how it fascinated me. I am still somewhat attracted to flying, but these days helicopters of a military nature instil a passion within me. Past life…

Today I labelled myself as an ‘artist’. I felt like I was stirring my wings a little. Maybe if I shed the weights of my doubts (about being an artist), I will take off and fly!

Monday, May 30, 2011

365 Days, Day 350


I am interested in the body because it is the place where emotions are most directly registered. When you feel frightened, when you feel excited, happy, depressed, somehow the body registers it (Antony Gormley)

The impossible thing that I'm trying to do is accept that we live in the world of the visible but make it unsatisfactory enough that behind the visible is some other kind of potential that does not exist in the sculpture but exists in you the viewer (Antony Gormley)

The body is put together from these pieces of mould taken at a particular time. That time has been fragmented, broken apart and then remade, healed in some way (Antony Gormley)

Antony Gormley’s work has long fascinated me. His use of his own body in his art works, because it is practical and available, makes sense. His bodies/sculptures are scattered around the country. So it was with much delight that I discovered this one is Birmingham. It is called Iron: Man, and was meant to pay tribute to the traditional skills of the ‘Black Country’.

Seeing this work has inspired me to revisit the documentation of his art, which speaks of bodily sensation and memory and inhabiting a Space. Gormley’s work is often controversial, but is loaded with thought and intellect.

I enjoy the tension he creates in his bodies: leaning or suspending them, or placing them in the ever-changing waves on the beach. His work provokes thought.

I have ideas in my head of creating clay torsos. But after being confronted with Gormley’s work again, I shall give each torso serious thought and a narrative before I commence working. I shall consider Time, creating, breaking down, fragmenting, re-creating; healing. Each work needs to go on a journey before it reaches completion. Documenting this journey will become part of the journey. The viewer needs to take over the journey and become part of its continuation.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

365 Days, Day 349

I am that I am, I am beauty, I am peace, I am joy, I am one with Mother Earth. I am one with everyone within the reach of my voice. In this togetherness, we ask the divine intelligence to eradicate all negatives from our hearts, from our minds and from our actions. And so be it....ashe (Babatunde Olatunji)

It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity (B.K.S. Iyengar)

The real beauty of realizing your true nature is in the freshness,

peace and deep bodily relaxation which touches to the core of

your being, flows into your everyday life and bursts forth naturally

into blossoming from within itself. Without you 'doing' a thing

about any of it.

This is a beautiful and simple change of lifestyle.

A lifestyle of letting go and living openhandedly, curled

up in the sunlit warmth on the lap of

the Divine - your heart

(Julie Sarah Powell)

Day out in Birmingham visiting Kyle and Sarah. It was a day of sensory overload: with only snatches of the stimuli received being assimilated. Thoughts, images, words, sounds all overlapping. But a general feeling of warmth and contentment.

Kyle and Sarah have created a lovely little home for themselves, they are happy and finding their feet. Slowly unfurling in their new environment.

On walking back to their studio apartment, Sarah and I walked past a burned out building. Looking through the window I saw a pigeon perched on the window ledge. It was a little angel message: let go, unfurl, and the Divine will warm your heart.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

365 Days, Day 348

The object in being on the spiritual path is not to have just a little influx of energy, but to be the energy itself – consciously (Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami)

To liberate the human spirit we must embrace heightened consciousness and enhance the flow of positive energy. We are beings of light and energy, once we accept this truth our soul can soar with the angels (Micheal Teal)

Inspiration does not come like a bolt, nor is it kinetic energy striving, but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time (Brenda Ueland)

I was delighted by and amazed at the energy and talent of the students at the Youth Theatre in Camden today. I watched them sing (brilliantly - enjoyment tingled down my spine) and dance an urban dance and a jazz dance (I was entranced). As I watched them, I knew why they were there: keeping their creativity bubbling and boiling.

My role will be to make costumes for some of the cast. Being with creative people will enhance my flow of creative energy. I will become creative energy…

Friday, May 27, 2011

365 Days, Day 347

Make everything in you an ear, each atom of your being, and you will hear at every moment what the Source is whispering to you… you are - we all are - the beloved of the beloved, and in every moment, in every event of your life, the Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know. Who can ever explain this miracle? It simply is (Mevlana Rumi 1207 - 1273)

If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk (Raymond Inmon)

You may command Nature to the extent only in which you are willing to obey her. You cannot intelligently obey that which you do not comprehend. Therefore I also say, ask of Nature that you may be one with her and she will whisper her secrets to you to the extent in which you are prepared to listen. Seek to be alone much to commune with Nature and be thus inspired by her mighty whisperings within your consciousness. Nature is a most jealous god, for she will not whisper her inspiring revelations to you unless you are absolutely alone with her (Walter Russell)

A fast but long walk in the forest with Lilly today was good for my body. But I did not take the time to be with Nature or to listen to her. But I am making everything in me be an ‘ear’ – listening and picking up on whispers.

Tomorrow into the vibe and energy of London… what will I hear there? I will endeavour to hear the whisperings.

Sometimes in between Nature and Life, the whispers seep through. Right now my soul needs to be stabilised, so it has withdrawn from the world to an extent: to find peace and stillness. I have been fighting the system, the world – thinking that I need to find a job, need to earn money, need to be useful, need to be perfect. Perhaps I need to be kinder to myself and realise that what I think is right for me, may not be. Maybe I should stop trying to fix everyone and everything and let myself heal first. I wouldn’t mind a good relaxing Reiki session…

Actually I don’t like airing my feelings like this – it is very hard because I keep thinking that you are going to read this and be concerned about my well-being. But it is just a churning of thoughts that would usually be in a Diary that no-one would read. Sometimes just expressing in words what I think is a process of healing. Making order out of the chaos. So when you read these words, tread very carefully for you are treading inside my head…

Listen to what is being whispered to you: take time to be still and really listen. Will you share your whisperings with me?

Thursday, May 26, 2011

365 Days, Day 346

Rules for Being Human

1 You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.

2 You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or you may think them irrelevant and stupid.

3 There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works."

4 A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then move on to the next lesson.

5 Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6 "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will, again look better than "here."

7 Others are merely a mirror of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something that you love or hate about yourself.

8 What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.

9 Your answers lie inside you. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

10 You will forget all this!

Harmony

Embracing the Way

you become embraced

Breathing gently

you become newborn

Clearing your mind

you become clear

Nurturing your children

you become impartial

Opening your heart

you become accepted

Accepting the world

you embrace the Way

Bearing and nurturing

Creating but not owning

Giving without demanding

This is harmony

(Tao De Jing)

You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life (Krishnamurti)

I found today’s quotes in an entirely unexpected place – not my usual-plethora-of-quotes-site – but from a church website! It is a long story, but basically I am going to see about a possible (unpaid) job at this church hall: making costumes for a Youth Theatre project. I am quite excited about this, because even though I won’t get paid, it will possibly open doors for a new venture…

So tomorrow after I have finished the poster for the next Barn production, I will look at the skies, read a little, dance and write a poem…

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

365 Days, Day 345

I vow to interpret every experience as a direct healing of the Goddess with my soul (Rob Brezsny)

The Optimistic Frog Two frogs fell in a deep bowl, one was an optimistic soul, but the other took the gloomy view. "We shall drown," he cried without more adieu. So with a last despairing cry he flung up his legs and said good-bye.

Quoth the other frog with a merry grin, "I can't get out, but I won't give in; I'll just swim around till my strength is spent, Then will I die the more content." Bravely he swam till it would seem his struggles began to churn the cream. On top of the butter at last he stopped, and out of the bowl he gaily hopped. What of the moral? 'Tis easily found: If you can't hop out, keep swimming around (Author unknown)

I am ‘swimming’, interpreting each experience as part of the ‘healing’ of my inner Goddess. Being ever optimistic.

I think life is easier if one is optimistic. It must be very hard dealing with each experience as high-rocky-insurmountable-mountain.

I will go on churning cream until the butter-making is done.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

365 Days, Day 344

The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson (Tom Bodett)

Breathe Smile Be

(Hikamiko)

Often the lessons are there but we don’t know what we are looking at.

I found this posted on someone’s webpage:

Life’s Many Little Lessons

Everything Happens For A Reason..................

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there.....to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help figure out who you are, or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be, but when you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realise that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will power, or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart to.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen.

Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go out and live it.

Please copy and send this to anyone who you believe has made a difference in your life!

So I am sending this out to YOU.

Thank you for making a difference in my life :)


Monday, May 23, 2011

365 Days, Day 343

Remove Formatting from selection

Whatever you do, do it with love. When you do everything with the right attitude, it is bound to be done perfectly, so take this attitude into everything you do… What a difference the right attitude to work makes to yourself and to all those souls around you (Eileen Caddy)

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation (Brian Tracy)

What life means to us is determined not so much by what life brings to us as by the attitude we bring to life; not so much by what happens to us as by our reaction to what happens (Lewis L. Dunnington)

Spent a lovely day out with Ada and Ariél in London. We visited the British Museum. What stood out for me today was an employee at Tottenham Court Road tube station. We were looking at a map trying to decide which way to go; he came up to us and asked if he could help. I asked how to get to the B.M. adding that I wanted a coffee first. He was so helpful and friendly and enthusiastic. He went beyond the basic-polite-help-the-customers. He did his job with love. I remarked on this as we walked up the stairs. It made a tiny difference to my day.

I am sending him a large thank you bound up in positive thoughts. I hope he is aware of the positive energy coming his way.


Sunday, May 22, 2011

365 Days, Day 342

To be an artist is not to wait for others to define us, but to define ourselves, claim our lives… (Jan Phillips)

I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream (Vincent van Gogh)

The most potent muse of all is our own inner child (Stephen Nachmanovitch)

Gardening can bring out the inner child, and sometimes, especially after all that time out in the hot sun, it can bring out the inner surrealist. When the urge comes over you to construct a zucchini zeppelin or a tomato truck, give in to your muse and then document [photograph] your masterpiece, preferably against an uncluttered background (Bart Barlow)

MUSINGS:

thoughts, especially when aimless and unsystematic

philosophical musings

Musings was to be the theme of today. And I went down a delightful little path in my quest for quotes. I like the randomness of the journey, how juxtaposing them creates a new mini dialogue with my thoughts.

SURREALISM:

an early 20th-century movement in art and literature that tried to represent the subconscious mind by creating fantastic imagery and juxtaposing ideas that seem to contradict each other

Reiki session: am drawn into the moment. Fingers are alive and tingling. Thoughts of A mingle with my own. On another level. In the future: a cloth of Writing sessions woven with Reiki sessions, Aromatherapy, Massage and Reflexology. Calmness pervades. Sound.

SOUND:

vibrations travelling through air, water, or some other medium, especially those within the range of frequencies that can be perceived by the human ear

Being bathed in music. And my thoughts linger on the idea of attending a workshop with Carlo –does he even do workshops with students who have NO formal knowledge of music… Lie on the ground and allow the sound to cover you and fill you. Movement to music.

The NIA experience:

Done Barefoot to Diverse and

Inspiring music, Nia is a

transformational movement practice

that teaches you to be more

JOYFUL, EXPRESSIVE and ALIVE.

Nia is holistic, engaging your

body, mind, emotions and spirit.

Nia draws from dance arts,

martial arts and healing arts to

create purposeful movement that

will help you grow and learn.

“Nia inspires me to continue on a personal journey of self-discovery, self actualization and healing. For me, learning is one of the most exciting journeys and being in a body is one of the most poetic and romantic experiences.”

- Debbie Rosas (Nia co-founder)

Tired of Thinking. Listen to Sarah’s words: “If you want something: make it happen”. Shape your own life. Take the clay into your hands and feel the flow.

CLAY:

a fine-grained material consisting mainly of hydrated aluminium silicates that occurs naturally in soil and sedimentary rock. Use: in making bricks, ceramics, and cement (!)

I have pictures in my mind of clay forms with objects on their heads, whimsical bodies with fantastical bric-a-brac – waiting to be moulded. To feel the pliable clay between my fingers. I have the clay…

Saturday, May 21, 2011

365 Days, Day 341

You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it (Charles Buxton)

Sometimes opportunity knocks, but most of the time it sneaks up and then quietly steals away (Doug Larson)

For the first time in your conscious memory; for the first time in fact, since your were a baby; a single tear, full and warm, rolled down your right cheek and you fell into a very deep and entirely dreamless slumber (Dave Sim)

This entry is dedicated to opportunities lost.

Agitation, feeling that time is trickling out of my hourglass, frantic grasps of nothingness. Nothing is where it should be. Melancholy. And splatters of anger.

The Mother in me wanted to be the Best. Doubts start to cloud my ‘success’. An Outsider; Different: this has always suited me. Now that I step back and survey my {new} surroundings, I am neither successful nor the Best.

Mediocrity in a swirling sea of specialists. Swimming Against the Tide. So tired, so very tired. Which way to turn, which way to swim, no life boat insight… Head up, kick your legs and swim.

Smile and wave, girl, smile and wave!

When you wake tomorrow, it will have been a disturbing dream and the light will stream in through the window, with birds chirping noisily outside. Everything will be back where it belongs. Take a deep breath and smile.

[P.S. Don’t worry about me: I AM fine, just on a wandering journey of the mind].

Friday, May 20, 2011

365 Days, Day 340

We are caretakers of the earth and as such we must use our minds in the highest way by embracing the beauty of all living things. Hear the winds whispering words of wisdom that inspire and instil hope for a brighter tomorrow. The sunshine in our souls radiates in a way that allows each of us to light a path of heavenly wholeness. Plant seeds of love and the earth will reap a harvest of happiness and joy (Micheal Teal)

Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair (Kahlil Gibran)

If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees (Kahlil Gibran)

Wind turbines are beautiful. Their sleek elegance, as they arch into the wind, suggest whispered secrets of the clandestine trysts. Reaching out to one another, but never quite reaching their culmination.

Although rooted to the ground, being seduced by the wind lends to them a sense of freedom. When we danced at the Buddhist centre, we were barefooted and in touch with the earth; I felt this wondrous sense of freedom: being at one with the earth and with the rhythm of the music and myself. at times slow and gentle, at other times fast and wild.

In dancing, I identify with the wind turbines.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

365 Days, Day 339

The coffee mixes with the cream only if you STIR it up! (Zoomair)

A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked (Anaïs Nin)

At a little table in the sunlight overlooking the cathedral, armed with a cappuccino obtained after a flinging about a few French words and many hand and arm gestures, I sat with my book and sketch paper. At 12h05 the church bells resounded across the mirror lake to envelope me in resonance.

My cappuccino was sublime. I did not expect it come with cream. Or a biscuit. Or with a square of nougat. I tried to read in the sun but the words turned green and were moving across the page, so I did some sketches. Of dress ideas for the mother-of-the-bridegroom (!) and for a poster I have to create for the Barn. I was engrossed in my tasks and did not take in any other people around me. I will have to return there for a repeat cappuccino and a bask in the little life-moments around me.

My coffee moments…

365 Days, Day 338


For me the appropriate metaphor for the inner spiritual centre is a garden, a place of potential peace and tranquillity. This garden is a place where the Spirit of God comes to make self-disclosure to share wisdom, to give affirmation or rebuke, to provide encouragement, and to give direction and guidance. When this garden is in proper order, it is a quiet place, and there is an absence of busyness, of defiling noise, of confusion. The inner garden is a delicate place, and if not properly maintained it will be quickly overrun by intrusive under-growth. God does not often walk in disordered gardens. And that is why inner gardens that are ignored are said to be empty (Gordon MacDonald)

I believe the root of all happiness on this earth to lie in the realization of a spiritual life with a consciousness of something wider than materialism; in the capacity to live in a world that makes you unselfish because you are not overanxious about your own comic fallibilities; that gives you tranquillity without complacency because you believe in something so much larger than yourself (Sir Hugh Walpole)

The cathedral in Evreux was possibly built in the 10th century; it burned down in the 11th century and was rebuilt in roman style between 1126 and 1140. Fifty years later it was again destroyed. Louis 11th rebuilt it. The unfortunate cathedral was also damaged during World War II.

In the bishops home (palace) is a museum; downstairs is a Gallo-Roman archaeological dig, with remnants of the time encased in glass cases. A delightful exhibition.

Being away from the immediacy of housework needing to be done, gives me time and opportunity to be more tranquil. I have spent the afternoon by myself, wandering around; had a cappuccino at a café in Evreux, reading my book. I have found that in this medium town no-ones speaks English, it is rather arrogant of me to suppose that the inhabitants would be able to speak anything other than their home language. So I have had some interesting moments trying to communicate with them in ordering my coffee and in an attempt to get information at the tourist bureau.

I am putting my inner garden in order…

Monday, May 16, 2011

365 Days, Day 337

As we begin to become aware of the narrative patterns around which we structure our lives, we learn how to take charge, revise, refine, and even completely rewrite them (Mandy Aftel)

There are patterns which emerge in one’s life, circling and returning anew, an endless variation on a theme. So musicians say the greatest sonatas are composed; whether or not it is true, I do not know, but of a surety I have seen it emerge in the tapestry of my life (Jacqueline Carey)

In silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and watch how the pattern improves (Jalal ad-Din Rumi)

New shiny threads will need to be woven into the new patterns of my Tapestry of Life.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

365 Days, Day 336

What matters most is how you see yourself (Unknown)

I've learned that my goal shouldn't be to affect change. It's too easy to think I've failed because rarely is the person who plants the seed of change the person to see it bloom. Instead I've decided to make my goal to affect good. Trying to affect change can feel overwhelming, but good always self-propagates and ultimately leads to the change we're usually after (Unknown)

Never forget that you are one of a kind. Never forget that if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place. And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life's challenges and problems seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter in the world come about. So be that one person (R. Buckminster Fuller)

It has been good having Sarah and Kyle to visit; I enjoy their company and always have a good laugh with them. Sarah and I have agreed to visit each other when one of us needs cheering up!

When I was at Findhorn, my angel card was “Wellbeing”. I have had it on my bedside table for nearly two years. Yesterday Lily chewed the Wellbeing card.

After the little downward deluge, I am now surrounding myself with positivity, eschewing negative thoughts and words. I am setting about re-inventing the new me. In essence I will still be the old me, just with a new covering?

I am off to invent an imaginary new me, who will be bigger and better and stronger, with bells and whistles. (This is somewhat inspired by Steampunk, methinks).

Saturday, May 14, 2011

365 Days, Day 335

If I was to survive, I must literally believe myself into being. This, of course, was essentially no different from what I'd always done. I'd simply believed in myself until, in fact, I existed (Sol Luckman)

And then I found myself losing myself (Sol Luckman)

Juxtaposing dissimilar images and text creates an interesting dialogue. I take pleasure in the little visual journey that emerges in my head.

I have been very strong and positive, even though sometimes it is a snow-covered- uphill-climb. There are times when I lose myself. A bit of my soul withers and needs to be nourished back to life. I cannot allow myself to get too ‘lost’ because there is always someone else needing nourishment too.

I must take time to go within and find my rhythm again; so that I can believe myself into existence. I want to be myself and not somebody I am not. I need to be able to be ME, not just an empty vessel. I want peace, tranquillity and serenity to emanate from me, so that I can create harmony in the world that I encounter.

Listen to the whispers, listen to the whispers…