Journal: December 2008 Archives
Being in nature and sitting with the trees is one the greatest joys of my life. Each tree, plant, flower, feels so uniquely different to me. I enjoy the solitude, the openings and the blossoming that occurs in those moments.
Today is a beautiful brisk, sun-shining day in Ojai...I could feel the invitation to meet with my tree friends. I enjoy meeting with the trees, before I start a project. It refreshes me, connects me to the flow and it's simply what i enjoy about living here on Planet Earth. So, there I went....following my heart, my intuition and inner guidance to play with nature...As I walked out the driveway onto the main road, I could feel the direction to follow. As I listened, I found myself in the avocado orchard next to our home. The views of the mountains are splendid here...The air crisp, the birds full of song, the trees so ever-present....
I met with a few oak trees on the way, each one simply being who they are...I enjoy the space they hold, just by being present as who they are and nothing else. I grow so much in their company. Ideas and visions come in so clearly and I never feel alone...I even saw a coyote cross my path...It was a big coyote...It looked like it was on a mission...It actually seemed quite bigger than all the coyotes i've seen around here. I could feel a nervous energy within me. I listened within, i listened to what was going on around me...I connected with the Mother Oak...I began to relax and felt at home in this experience and felt a love for my coyote friend.
As I walked on, I could feel the presence of other trees and I could feel the invitation of this one particular oak tree. Her energy is so sweet and supportive. I deeply relax in her presence. I felt drawn to sit with her and as i sat with her, i could feel all of nature around me..The birds, the avocado trees, the orange trees, the grass...Everything alive... I could feel energy rising up my spine. It was slow, deep and warm. I felt in this moment, that I am nature and nature is me. We became one...while being uniquely who we are.
My passion is to share this experience with others. Living in Ojai has crystallized this for me. This has always been who I am and what I am here to share with others. This is a gift for everyone, including nature. Co-creating with nature is one of the most beautiful experiences of my life and we have the opportunity to gather in ways that are supportive for our creative souls....
In many cultures, throughout the ages, creating art as a communal experience, has been a natural way of life. From body painting, to the creation of sand mandalas, to creating sacred rituals for healing and visioning,
communities have experienced art as a way of celebrating life in an extraordinary way. By creating an experience that invites community to grow together, while being fully present within the experience, our relationship to time and space changes, which allows for spontaneous and powerful visions to reveal itself to us, in a fun and supportive way.
In the 21st Century, I see and feel the importance of these art adventures becoming a more prominent way of life - I see these experiences growing in the cities, in the forests, in our schools, and even in the corporate world. This is an opportunity for us to create a deeper relationship with humanity, nature, and the universe, while also becoming allies with Mother Earth. The beauty of this experience is that it can feel very ordinary and supportive to our unique ways of being, while also being an experience that is wild and creative, with an opportunity to explore and discover who we really are. It is a fun way for community to come together, to play, while weaving our visions together in a supportive and expansive way.
This weekend, I will be leading my first Art Adventure. Stay tuned in, for I will share my experience this coming week.
Yesterday, I was given a gift in nature - A great big giant wake-up call...
this was not a gentle experience...I almost got knocked out -
simply stated, it was not an "accident" in nature - it was an opportunity...
hard to imagine, maybe, but this is the truth...
The short story of it is that I was thrown in the air and landed on the ground, touching
my head to the earth in two places...with the left side of my body to follow...
As I stayed present within the experience, I had this overwhelming feeling that I would never
be the same again...All I knew in this moment was that, I could not take this
moment, back...that I would have to deal with what lies ahead of me here...whatever it was to be.. I was scared...my head was throbbing, blood was running down my face -
and at the same time I felt an overwhelming connection with the present moment -
Everything had slowed down within these moments - and all I could do was flow with the direction of the movement "don't panic" I heard around me...I was grateful for that... So, I took my scarf from around my neck and tied it tightly to my head to hold back the blood... and headed home, wondering how much my life was about to change...
As I healed the trauma of this experience, I could feel the places where I still needed to grow in being completely being present in each moment, as my body, and as who and what I am...
So, what is the opportunity here? The opportunity in this experience was for me to fully accept of who I am and who I can be now...my life has changed forever, yet again....and in a really fun way...
So, I read in the news today that WE, the United States, are officially living in a time of recession... WE actually have been for a while, although now it is stated as official. So, I felt into this experience of a recession, to really feels what it all means...And with everything lately, I ask, what is the opportunity of this situation? As I opened to the energy of recession and opportunity, the word reassession came to me almost instantly.
I received the message that this is a time to reassess what is truly important and to feel our roots again in this beautiful world we live in. This will be a time of reprioritizing, not just economically, but in all areas of our life. Yes, there will be challenges, no doubt. The opportunity lies within how we respond creatively to what we are experiencing - within the creativity, new openings have the opportunity to happen. As we feel the contractions, and be with them in a way that helps it grow, we will see that this opportunity is the birth of a new reality for our country, for our world, and throughout the universe.
