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Wishcasting Wednesday, on Thursday,where ever does the time go?

 

How do you wish to be brave?  is the question that Jamie

 at Jamie's Studio  asks us.

 

 

I wish to be BRAVE enough to search the darkness for the tiniest bit

  of light.  I've been reading The Dark Side of The Light Chasers, by

 Debbie Ford,  which is about acknowledging and owning those

 parts of ourselves hidden in the Shadows, those parts

 we don't want anyone to know about, parts even we have forgotten.

 I bought the book about a year ago, knowing I needed to address

 this as part of my spiritual path. 

 I knew it was coming.... well,.... it's time now.  So I finally opened

 the book and began reading.

 Even though I've been silent lately, working on other things,  I

 need to take some time to work on this aspect of myself. 

 So far, I'm on Chapter 5 and have had a few Aha! moments, even

 without doing the  exercises at the end of each chapter. When I  

 finish, I'll read the book again and do them at that time. 

      I do SoulCollage but haven't explored this area of the practice

 yet. I just "kind of" put it off. Ignored it.  But I'm ready now.

 The best thing about it, Debbie Ford says,  is that within every

 shadow is a gift, secreted away in the darkness, much as we would

 hide a treasure.  ( You just have to get past the Dragon first.)

 So I have decided to look at it as a treasure hunt, to

 see what gifts are buried within the dark Shadows.  

 That's my way to turn  Fear into the Courage I need, 

 so I can be Brave enough to look without tightly shutting my

 eyes and covering my face with my hands.

 I'm open, I'm open.  I'm ready to face the ugly parts of myself, the

 Dragon,  to see what gift it has hidden. 

 I will be Brave.

 And to all of you who are also Wishcasting, that which you Wish for

 yourself, I wish for you also. Be Brave. I will be Brave with you.

 

  With much Love,

  Mary

 

 

Late again with my monthly dreamboard

March's Full 'Worm' Moon Dreamboard

Here it is, the end of March, almost new moon for April, but I wanted to post this dreamboard because I feel like it is more a part of me than any I've ever done.  Don't ask me why I didn't post it before now, I don't really know. 

 

 I actually put my dreamboard together on the night of the full moon, I just didn't

 get around to taking a picture of  it or posting it.  I was surprised to see so much

 reference to the garden and the word 'Love' to show up.  Well, maybe not so

 surprised about the garden.   Gardening is one of the mainstays of my life.  I

 started when I was a child and it has always been one of the constants in my

 life. 

 Art has been too, but this month's dreamboard reminded me that I've almost

 ALWAYS gardened every year, but I haven't made art every year.  Even when I

 thought I didn't have time to make art, I seemed to find time to garden.

 Sometimes it was because we depended on the vegetables, which I would

 preserve for the winter's menu.  Green beans, tomatoes, peaches and  pears,

 spaghetti sauce and salsa,  jams and jellies.  Corn  and apples in the freezer and

 potatoes in the basement.  Braids of onions hanging  in the pantry.   And it felt so

 good to know we were eating clean organic food without preservatives.

       Other times it was for the sheer joy of  being in touch with the beauty I

  found all around me. I have a love for flowers and a passion for nature that is

  hard to put into words.

      My Dreamboard also contains my wish for more fun and relaxation in my life

  this summer. Although I may not be a driven with action as some, I seem to

  have this voice that is constantly telling me what I should be doing, driving me

  to get things done.  There's always a list of things to be done that I can't seem

  to ever complete. It's never ending.... and I was taught "work before play"  so

  I never seem to take much time to "play" and relax. So this dreamboard is

  calling me to relax, read a book, feel the wind, go barefoot, drink lemonade,

  work the beach, and go RVing. 

     Sounds like a good idea to me, how about you?  What is your dream calling

  you to do?  Dream along with us at Jamie's.

 

  

Full Snow Moon Dreamboard

I'm Soooo late posting this for February but I know it is still weeks before the next full moon so I'd rather post it late than not at all.  Thanks to Jamie at Jamie Ridler Studios for continuing to inspire us every month or I would not be doing these, and would be missing out on this wonderful practice.

 

I'm beginning to notice a few things that keep showing up on my dreamboards each month.  I've noticed a figure meditating and other things related to self-care like massage, soaking in a hot tub, and the last one showed a woman that was having a facial.  I'm pretty sure I will be getting  my first massage before the next full moon.

I'm also learning more about myself, getting in touch with my deeper self, what I truly want in my life, who I want to be, what I want to experience in my life. 

 When I sit and try to "think" about what I want, I either come up with what we've been programmed to want via media/society, what I think I "should" want based on what would be best for my family, or I get overwhelmed with making a decision and come up with nothing. 

 But in the process of making a dreamboard, I just look through magazines and let my intuition choose what appeals to it, and viola! What's really important  or what I need, comes through somehow. 

In this dreamboard, the bridge represents my family, an Uncle and many cousins, who live out west, mostly in California. I've never visited them and have only met one of my cousins when she visited us over 12 years ago. I would like to take a trip out west and finally meet them and have family time together.  My father died when I was ten years old and his whole family moved west before that, so I never had Aunts, Uncles or cousins in my life. I've always missed that. 

 The picture of the lady getting a massage is something I've always wanted to do and never had the nerve.  I will be reaching out of my comfort zone to do that, but I will do it. Soon!

 The handsfull of grain represents abundance to me. Who doesn't want more abundance in their life?

The mailbox post and windowbox are two things I've wanted for a long time.  I think this is the year for them to be a part of my life. 

 Meditation lady...she shows up a lot on my dreamboards.   I meditate already, but have never done it outside.  I will as soon as it gets comfortable enough for me to sit outside for half an hour. It's too cold now. I think that's part of what the pond and gazebo are about, getting out into nature, something my oracle cards told me I need to do more of.  Also it's not easy to see, but there is a horse behind the lady meditating, and the horse is one of my totem animals.  Another thing I hope to do this year is go horseback riding.

The three women?...that's still a mystery.  As is the russet orange design, though I've noticed I've been attracted to hues in that color range for a few years now.  Last spring I painted my newly remodeled bathroom terra-cotta, and have that color as accents in my living room.  I have quite a few orange flowers in my garden too..a practice many gardeners shun....  wonder what that means?  The words "trip to Scotland" is something I've been dreaming of for years, my grandmother was from Scotland.  When ever I see photos of Scotland, I feel like it's home.  Listening to bagpipe music always brings tears to my eyes and I have a longing in my heart, like I'm homesick.  I'd love to make contact with someone from Scotland, and make a trip there, but that's a "someday" dream for now.

If you want to start making dreamboards, why not join me and others who are enjoying this delightful, enlightening  practice with Jamie and maybe you will discover  fun things about yourself you didn't know. And who knows, some of them could come true!

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish to Enjoy?

Wishcasting ...on this cold January day

Once more Jamie at Jamie Ridler Studios asks us what we wish for and gives us a

 nudge by providing prompts.  This week she asks us "What DoWe Wish to Enjoy?"

 

There are a lot of things I wish to enjoy but the first things that come to mind right now are:

* A quiet afternoon in a shade dappled garden, just relaxing,  just Be-ing..

*Sitting next to a bubbling creek ( I have a particular one in mind) with my journal and a pen..

*An early morning in the country, sun shining, dew on the grass, listening to birdsong...

*The newness of exploring an area of our big beautiful country I've never seen before...  

*The snuggles of my youngest granddaughter who is young enough to still want to snuggle...

*Having family all around me when we have a gathering at our home...

* A walk in the woods with the sun shining, spring wildflowers blooming...

* "Girl time" with my daughter

* Going to a good movie with a good friend

*Art friends who understand the angst and joys of being an artist..

* Really, I just want to enjoy Life more,  in many different ways...

These are just a few of the things I can think of that I want to enjoy...how about you?  What do you want to enjoy this season, or this year?  

Whatsoever you wish to enjoy, may all your wishes come true.

 

 

 

 

January's Full Moon Dreamboard

Dreamboard for January's Full Wolf Moon

 

I'm still new to Jamie Ridler's Full Moon Dreamboard community where, as Jamie says,..." you can connect to your dreams in a powerful way this year, and tend to them in a creative supportive community".

This month's full moon is called the Full Wolf Moon and we are asked what we hunger for as the wolf hungers in the winter.  The pictures I've chosen represent some of the things I hunger for and hope to enjoy this new year, such as spending more time painting and being more creative, getting fit, having meaningful connections with others, and finding more peace and joy within, among other things.

I was having difficulty finding images that spoke to me until the day after the full moon. That day it seemed like several pictures jumped out at me.  One picture even almost looks like me....well, if I lost about 30 pounds that is.  I spent that afternoon cutting out, then arranging the images and gluing them down.   Then I took a photo of it, but didn't post it because I thought it was too late, the day of the full moon was past. 

Last night when I revisited Jamie's site to see some of the other dreamboards, I found that others had posted theirs late, and I'm so glad they did.  I enjoyed their dreamboards so much, they really spoke to me. That's when I knew I needed to post mine as well. 

If you'd like to join us or want to see more dreamboards, come visit  Jamie Ridler Studios. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Hunger Do You Wish to Feed?

 

Wishcasting under the light of the Full Wolf Moon with the lovely JamieRidler  as she asks us, What Hunger Do You Wish to Feed?

Jamie's prompts are so thought provoking,it always takes me some time to find the answer.  This prompt was no different. By the time I get this posted it will be Thursday!

What am I hungry for in my life? What do I crave?  

I hunger for connection with other women, young and old. My family is made up mostly of men.

I hunger for accomplishment, something filled with meaning, solid, that gives my days weight. 

I hunger for change, new experiences, new sites, new people, new foods. 

I hunger to be able to give others I meet something meaningful, something useful, that they will remember when they need it.

I hunger for wisdom. I hunger for grace.

I wish to feed these hungers.

 

 What are your cravings? What hunger do you wish to feed? 

I wish you satiated, filled, as you wish for yourself, so do I wish for you.

 

Honoring the Artist Spirit

Where the Spirit of Art lives..

 I had been trying to figure out how to work all my interests into some kind of schedule so that I could do all the things I love and make some progress on each them this year. I have so many interests I find it hard to decide what to work on when I have a block of uninterrupted time.  I got the new Goddess Calendar and Workbook and was excited to get some intentions set for the month before time got away from me.

 As I was pondering how to do this I got the idea to make a card for each of the projects or interests I wanted to work on this New Year of 2011.  I have no idea how I'll use the cards or why I'm making them.  I'm just doing what I feel led to do.

I made the first card for Art. I've been doing some art journaling but not paintings and I wanted something that represented creating art, whether it be painting, mixed media, ACT's, whatever.

  I used playing cards, sanding off the glossy finish and collaging images and words cut from magazines. I changed the background three times before I pasted on the words.  I had cut out the words with no idea how I would use them on the card until it came time, arranging them and rearranging them until I felt they said what they had to say. When I was finished, I marveled at the message. I just now realized it's all in present tense.

"Powerful images, light and shadow, Spirit ART

 Be  the vision

 Look into the Invisible landscape of the Spirit,

 The Artist Is Present."

 

  

 

Wishcasting Wednesday: What do you wish to say yes to?

 

This is the first Wishcasting Wednesday of the new year and

 Jamie asks us to answer the prompt:

 "What do you wish to say yes to?" 

My answer is "JOY".   I wish to say Yes! to Joy..

the bubbling up from your heart,

sparkling light in you eye kind of JOY!

 

 

You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes.  There's great power in wishing together. What do you wish to say "Yes" to?

Wish along with us at Jamie Ridler Studios

 

WishCasting Wednesday

 

At Jamie Ridler Studios , Jamie asks 'What do you wish for the New Year?'

 

 

What do you wish for the New Year?

I wanted to take time to really think about that question. What do I wish?

 I've been avoiding the year end exercise of looking over the past year and planning for the new one.  I don't know if I'm just not ready to deal with it or if I'm just still in the holiday "relax and take it easy" mode.

After some thought, here's what I've come to.

I wish to be able to use my energy more effectively. To organize my activities with a flow that allows me to get more done with less effort...in other words to turn downstream and allow the flow to carry me.

I wish to get out of my head and more into my heart.

I wish to overcome the fear of putting myself "out there", especially here on this blog.

I wish to make the little changes that will make big differences in my life.

I wish to thank Jamie and all of you here, supporting each other in wishcasting.

What do you wish for the New Year??

As you wish for yourself I wish for you also!

And,

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Wishcasting Wednesday

 

It's Wishcasting Wednesday again at Jamie's Studio  and Jamie invites us to answer the question,    

                                  "What do you wish to shed?"

 

Standing at my kitchen window, watching the our Maple tree shed it's leaves, I thought about the things I would like to shed from my life, some of them external, some internal. For me, in this instance the word shed means "to let go of".

A few things I would like to shed:

~outdated beliefs that no longer serve me

~negative thoughts  and feelings I sometimes have

~uneccessary clutter

~sleepless nights

My wish is that it becomes effortless and easy for each of us to let go of what we wish to shed,  like a leaf floating away on the wind.               

 

 

 

 

~