Filling up at the Well (of well-being)
‘Water the root to enjoy the fruit.’ ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
I remember my mother telling me that the glass has to be full before it can ‘runneth over’... I think she learnt this from the Maharishi.
I remember my mother telling me that the glass has to be full before it can ‘runneth over’... I think she learnt this from the Maharishi.
I grew up watching my mother practicing yoga in the living room and meditating every afternoon. When I brought my friends home from school I’d say, “Shhh! My mum is meditating.” This was many years before yoga and meditation were remotely mainstream, so some of my friends were actually a bit scared of my mother... it didn’t help that she was also the local “health nut”, which in those days was like being the local witch.
When I was 13 my mother had me initiated into Transcendental Meditation. Now when I came home from school, I had to meditate for 15 minutes every day. I don’t remember how long I had the meditation practice for, but I do remember one experience I had during my meditation... My mind went completely white. No thoughts... just a feeling of floating in empty space. I experienced nothingness.
Nothing mattered. No-thing-mattered.
It was peace.
'Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.' ~ Buddha
Now, anything that brings me to that Being state is my meditation.
When you are feeling so connected in your body, your mind and your spirit... you are in a state of Being.
I call this the creative moment. Or you could say, being in flow or a state of grace.
To be so focused in the moment of creation, like a dancer on the dance floor or with paintbrush on canvas, all other thoughts disappear...
It's not about the outcome. The point is purely the creative moment.
Nothing else matters...
To have the energy to Do and create, I must first Be.
Whenever I feel disconnected or overwhelmed, I know it's time to fill my cup at the well.
Oh, and my mother still meditates every afternoon... I just make sure I don’t call her at that time...
To have the energy to Do and create, I must first Be.
Whenever I feel disconnected or overwhelmed, I know it's time to fill my cup at the well.
Oh, and my mother still meditates every afternoon... I just make sure I don’t call her at that time...
Practicing Commitment
Making a painting is a lot like a relationship. It’s a commitment.
Little paintings, like short relationships, are good practice and you get to experience the thrill of completion a little sooner... But a BIG painting is a long-term commitment. It takes more time, dedication and determination.
Little paintings, like short relationships, are good practice and you get to experience the thrill of completion a little sooner... But a BIG painting is a long-term commitment. It takes more time, dedication and determination.
Like any relationship, there are many stages to creating a painting.
I start each painting with a drawing on canvas. It’s the beginning of our relationship... I’m getting to know it.
In the second stage I add a layer of grey paint as a tonal study. The painting is becoming more solid and real... and all kinds of surprises are showing up! Interesting shapes and characters are appearing... it’s fun and playful!
In the second stage I add a layer of grey paint as a tonal study. The painting is becoming more solid and real... and all kinds of surprises are showing up! Interesting shapes and characters are appearing... it’s fun and playful!
The third stage involves adding layers of colour. Now it becomes more serious... I must keep my vision clear and focused, especially as I go through the ugly phase. This is when doubts can show up...
It's time to listen to my painting. It tells me where it wants to go...Sometimes it takes a complete change of direction than what I expected... so it’s important to be flexible.
I need to give it continued attention now... if I leave it too long it’s easy to lose interest and start a whole new one...
In the end, the commitment is worth it. Just like a relationship you learn a lot about yourself and a lot about life. You realize it isn’t all about the finished product... it’s about the process and loving each stage of the journey. But you need to make a commitment to experience this.
Ode to January
Oh January... It is hard to love you. 
If earth is a body, then you are the bones.
You challenge me to see beauty on the muddy path where I walk...
Why are you so silent?
What is the story you are writing?
You give me quiet and solitude to face the truth of my soul.
January. You are the truest of months.
I love your wisdom, your patience, your depth...
You are the beginning and the end.
And as soon as I allow you in, you are gone...
Create Your Life
There’s a new way of being in the world. We no longer look outside of ourselves to see where we fit into the world. Instead, we create the world from the inside out .The world then becomes a match to who we are.
Each day we get to decide ~ What will my day be like? How will I live?... What will I create today? Our lives become art-ful.
Life is a play. We are the writers, directors, producers... we are the Stars of our own play...
Life is a play. We are the writers, directors, producers... we are the Stars of our own play...
That which is creative must create itself. ~ John Keats
So what will the next Act be?
So what will the next Act be?
Chapter 2013... What will Your story be?
Create Your Essence Art vision board... sign up HERE
Your Essence Art
Do you have goals and dreams for the New Year? For your life?...
I have created Your Essence Art ~ a vision guide.
Your Essence Art is a picture of what your soul desires to be, do and have in your life. It is creative expression from your soul and connects you with the vision from your heart.
Knowing why you want something helps you to become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life.
Spirit communicates through symbols and images. Art is a tool that we can use to connect us with our spirit. Your Essence Art is a vision board process that provides insight to what your soul wants to experience and express.
I have created Your Essence Art ~ a vision guide.
Your Essence Art is a picture of what your soul desires to be, do and have in your life. It is creative expression from your soul and connects you with the vision from your heart.
Knowing why you want something helps you to become clear. When you resonate with the essence of your desires you are in alignment with the truth and purpose for your life.
Spirit communicates through symbols and images. Art is a tool that we can use to connect us with our spirit. Your Essence Art is a vision board process that provides insight to what your soul wants to experience and express.
Click here and receive Your Essence Art vision guide.
How to Un-Create
When we want something to disappear from our lives we must un-create it.
When we create something, we have a vision in our minds and an intention to create it. We dream and imagine it coming to be... we keep our attention on it. We think about it all the time... And then we take action.
So how do we un-create?
When we create something, we have a vision in our minds and an intention to create it. We dream and imagine it coming to be... we keep our attention on it. We think about it all the time... And then we take action.
So how do we un-create?
If I have something that I really don’t like (lets say a painting) and it’s on my wall and everytime I look at it I say, “Oh, I hate this painting. It’s got to go!” If I truly want it gone, then what do I do?
Do I keep looking at it saying, “I really hate this, I wish it would go!!”
I could look at it forever... just wishing it would go away... but the truth is, the more attention I give it, the more emotion I give it... the more it will remain as an ugly painting on my wall.
Here are six steps to un-create:
- Be clear that you want this thing (person, experience) out of your life.
- Make peace with it. (Thank it for being a part of your life and whatever it has given you).
- Imagine your life without it. (Imagine it floating away... or disappearing and getting smaller and smaller.) How do you feel?
- KNOW that it is on it’s way out.
- Take whatever action is indicated to you.
- Now give your attention to what you Do want.
That’s it!
Un-creating can be almost as much fun as creating... and opens the door for something new.
What do you need to let go of?...
What will you un-create today?
Once upon a canvas...
Once upon a time there was a white canvas. The white canvas stood next to many other white canvases on a store shelf... some bigger than others, but all looking very much the same.
All the white canvases wanted to grow up to become paintings, but this particular canvas was also a dreamer... She wanted to be so much more than an ordinary painting. She dreamed of becoming vibrant with colour and expression and to live an amazing and unique life! She wanted to be all that she could BE. She wanted to come alive and to travel the world.
One day she was picked up and brought to a room full of light and colour. The room was so bright that at first she couldn’t see...
Gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the new light, she found herself surrounded by bright and colourful paintings... and she was in awe. She wanted to be like them. She was so excited for the possibilites before her... it was hard to be patient. She wanted it NOW.
Finally one day, lines began to appear on her white canvas skin. She watched as the lines became shapes, and the shapes became characters... White Canvas was coming to life...
All the white canvases wanted to grow up to become paintings, but this particular canvas was also a dreamer... She wanted to be so much more than an ordinary painting. She dreamed of becoming vibrant with colour and expression and to live an amazing and unique life! She wanted to be all that she could BE. She wanted to come alive and to travel the world.
One day she was picked up and brought to a room full of light and colour. The room was so bright that at first she couldn’t see...
Gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the new light, she found herself surrounded by bright and colourful paintings... and she was in awe. She wanted to be like them. She was so excited for the possibilites before her... it was hard to be patient. She wanted it NOW.
Finally one day, lines began to appear on her white canvas skin. She watched as the lines became shapes, and the shapes became characters... White Canvas was coming to life...
Stay tuned for the adventures of Daisy...
Preparing the Canvas
How I love a blank canvas! The possibilities at this stage are truly endless...
The Possible's slow fuse is lit by the Imagination. ~ Emily Dickinson
I love creating. I love the dreaming, the imagining, the doing... I love each step in the magical process of creating...
The Possible's slow fuse is lit by the Imagination. ~ Emily Dickinson
I love creating. I love the dreaming, the imagining, the doing... I love each step in the magical process of creating...
If I were a painting...
If I were a painting, what would I be? 
What is the essence of Me?...
My essence is a beautiful, blissful love energy that radiates out from my heart, warming me like a pink blanket.
My essence is a deep red, velvety rose...
It is sky blue and dreamy... a feather floating in the wind.
It is an emerald green forest... full of magic and faerie tales... adventurous, courageous, fun and playful.
My essence is like a wild garden... rich with ideas, creativity and colour.
If I were a painting, what would I be?
I would be a wild garden of red roses...
If You were a painting , what would You would be?
Just imagine...
I love my imagination. We are best friends.
As a child I lived in the world of my imagination. I could sit for hours daydreaming out my bedroom window...
As a child I lived in the world of my imagination. I could sit for hours daydreaming out my bedroom window...
Time ceased to exist.
With my imagination I can travel wherever I want. I can revisit past pleasures and visit future dreams...
Sometimes I just say to myself, “Well, I can always go there in my imagination!”
The past and future exist only in our minds. We can change our past and future by what we imagine right now.
Live out of your imagination, not your history. ~ Steven Covey
So when I wake up in the morning I begin imagining my day. I imagine the new painting I’m going to create... Where I might live or travel to... my next project to birth... I imagine all the details of this waking dream...
Just imagine...
If you could be, do or have the life of your dreams ~ What would you create?
What can you imagine?...
If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream it, you can become it. ~ William Arthur Ward
Are you ready to start living the life you've imagined? Click here for your 21 Day Dream Journey and bring your dreams to life.