OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm.............................

..............I've been quiet this week.  Very quiet.

For Christmas I was gifted a CD of Crystal Bowls Chakra Chants......and have been pretty much playing this sound in my little abode day and night for many days.......and nights...........this level of calm is amazing to experience...........

So what is spinning in my head as the New Year is quickly approaching..........the big Long Awaited 2012!?

Mostly that I have had a really really BIG year here. I mean REALLY big.  Probably the biggest year of my life in terms of changes and experience.......and I have a long list of people to thank.........And I hear I must first Thank MySelf.......for saying YES to accepting a really big year.............for "Buying the Ticket" to quote the 'Griffin'.

And how do you say thank You?  A really really really big Thank You........make it Big Enough...........and yet soft enough to be heard by Angels? and the Souls they're meant for.   How does one do that?

So I would like to try now and thank these two gal pals...........Textile Artist, Teacher and Writer,  India Flint..........and Energy Healer, Teacher and Artist, Elaine Grohman.........for sending the signals and connections that I was fortunate enough to pick up on........signals that set my journey in motion and in purpose down under for over two months.......and to Paula Perleman.....it is under her guidance and friendship I have learned to connect with Spirit...........

And to all of my friends, family and hosts who have have an interest in and support what I do, who I am and where I have gone this past year..........who are not so public........Thank YOU and Kisses and Giant Hugs to all of You!  You know who you are!  And for those of you following this blog who don't know me!  God Bless YOU! A Thunderous THANK YOU! to you too! I am so grateful to be in your energy field!

...........And now I'm off to ponder a bit more about this past year........so I can be done with it and move on to the next ASTONISHING year! ......Which I've been gently reminded will be 2011!

OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm



In Joy.....................

Expectations.........................

On a certain night of the week I meet with a group to practice 'channeling' ...........we call the practice 'meditation' and we are given a theme.....then we set out to writing down words.......that are not ours..........but from a higher 'Source'...........what usually comes in our written words is in the form of guidance, and usually the information we receive is just what we needed to hear that night.

On this particular night, the theme was ~ Observing the frontier between Expectation and Manifestation

Our friend Molly, wrote this .............I thought it appropriate to share given this season of Expectation.
 
Sometimes our expectations can close us up to possibility...when we expect things to be a certain way & let's face it...it's really never the way we want it to be...we have a reaction.  And it's usually a negative one.  But approaching a situation with no expectations and allowing yourself to be filled with magic...that is the place to be.  Expectations often move us into the future and right out of this precious present moment.  So instead of expecting anything to go a particular way just expect magic.  And whatever is happening in this present moment is pure magic....you must trust in that!  Whether today is the most up-lifting day or you have to lift yourself up off the floor...trust that magic is there.  It is in both of those moments. 

(Book: Simple Truths by Kent Nerburn)

Expecting more of less in the future is not trusting in the present moment to take you exactly where you need to go.  Don't doubt, don't worry, don't regret...it's all such a waste of time.  Trust, dear ones.  TRUST.

Letting go of expectations is filling your heart with joy at this present moment.  Don't wait for what is around the corner...create magic now!  If there is no one around to share in the magical moment with...do it anyway!  Do it bigger!  Do it with more gusto!  Create magic that will reach into all of the corners of the world.  Don't expect much dear one...only expect magical wonderful pure perfection.  Let your heart shine.  Then let it shine brighter! 


So Expect Magic Dear Ones!.............Expect Magic! 

...........and see what happens!






Merry Christmas to All...................

Fire Ceremony......................................

Yesterday was the Northern Hemisphere's Winter Solstice................

In the days leading up to this we call in the Sun.............our daylight hours are increasing now......

Last night in reverie I communed with fellow travelers..............in a Fire Ceremony.............

We shook our rattles............in all directions........

South, West, North, East......down to Mother Earth, Up to the Heavens and in the Middle................

Calling Spirits everywhere to guide us in this journey to the New Year.....





The aim was to cleanse us of our worries and troubled energy............and to welcome in our clear 'Intentions' for this coming year..........

My guides tell me this is a very special Solstice time........energy swirling and portals open wide........which began with the Lunar Eclipse yesterday.........and ending with the Solar Eclipse January 4th............lots of spinning going on now!  Wonder Filled Benevolent Energy!

In this time, they say, it is important to Seek JOY.......KINDNESS .......and the ABUNDANCE of Life......... and it is in these wishes we can create a WAVE OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE...........

and achieve...........

PEACE ON EARTH...........

Dorothy Caldwell - Human Marks.....................

Newsflash!..........I received a forwarded notice from Nancy Crow's Crow Timber Frame Barn Art Retreats ............

Some of you may have heard me talk about the workshop I took many moons ago with Dorothy Caldwell......titled "Human Marks".............and expressed an interest in taking that class with her.......

Well here it is again..............and it is almost full............!

You will not regret spending time with my friend Dorothy! and honoring your marks...........

I am honored to show her work on this page.

Birthday Finale.........................

In the words of a dear friend.............it is finally the end of Birthday Week, plus a few days............

Last night I received this card...........

From two very funny friends......



Along with this little book................

Inscribed..............

"You seem to be well on your way with most of these"












And little did they know................

How right they were..............





Thank You again to all of my Wonderful Friends and Family who sent me Love and Light Filled wishes for a Happy Day, along with gifts of Music, Memory, Champagne, Sweets, Flowers, Candles and Stones...........and of course this Little Book and Cake! and more.......

The Rest of the Story..............

As I pondered the whereabouts of the 'missing' items from my Sea Post box.............It was not lost on me how calm I was about the whole thing..........that some fairly valuable and beautiful items............Indigenous Artwork........two works on paper........

Were missing from the box.

Roz and I, in concert,  had decided to roll them into a mailing tube and put that tube in the box for extra protection.........

And when I opened the box at it's destination, the tube and it's contents were missing from it.

So many things ran through our minds of what could have happened.......... the box could have broken open, the items lost.......it could have been pilfered..........

But what actually did happen, it seems, is that someone in Darwin decided to take the tube out of the box at some point and send it separately.

 Thank GOD I labeled it for mailing................as it arrived the next day.......safe and sound............

without any postage affixed............

Precious Cargo..............




Etchings by Nungalka (Tjaria) Stanley an artist of the Anangu Pitjantijatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the remote north-west corner of South Australia.

Two prints titled Milpatjunanyi/Telling Stories in the Sand.......

Sea Post...............

I received the package I sent home, Oh, so long ago from OZ.......it arrived just in time for my birthday.......a gift to mySelf.  Yippee!!!! I thought.............

Until I opened it.............knowing something important was missing.........





another lesson in non-attachment......

But OH the lovely things that WERE inside that box............

Reminding me of where I was two months ago.......so so far away from.........here









And as I gave that box to the "Gods" as it left my hands to the postal worker in Darwin, Australia..........

I am eternally Grateful to 'Them'....................

That they let me keep This...................

















India Flint Landskin...............



I want to Thank all of my Friends for Abundant Birthday wishes, and for Three Angels (and Their Mother ) who also decided be born on this day.........

Expansion and Contraction.............Re-entry Musings...............

I began this blog to chart a journey into the unknown..............thinking it might be exciting for my Friends and their Friends and Fellow Travelers and Artists, Seekers and future 'Jumpers off Cliffs' to see what the other side of the world would look like.......

An ending into a beginning, I thought.............for me.

And when I arrived back to where my 'stuff' lives, after more than two months away, I was not sure if I would continue.  With the blog, that is...........oooooh, a slip to the dark side so quickly!

I have been encouraged to continue with this blog journal to tell the 'rest of the story'........to chronicle what happens as one walks off the cliff.  I have a friend who took a similar journey and said the road home is very long.  She is an artist..........and what she will make will reflect her soul's reaction to her experience.  And she is also 'expected' to make art.  No pressure there!

I have to say that many times on my recent journey, I felt as though this would be my last one. That there was no 'beginning' beyond that. I had no perception of what was to come as I arrived back where I began.  I had a sense of nothing to come home to.  And what was Home? And who was I to BE?

I had said 'Good-Bye' to an old way of living........being attached to an old and beautiful house, that I spent many hours caring for and loving..........and 'Good-Bye' to an old relationship that I did not.  One that did not speak our truths. Perhaps one that served it's purpose in the beginning and now is not relevant. But one I am eternally grateful for experiencing.

So after a few weeks of settling back in.........a few weeks of 'quiet' and being kind to mySelf before the storm of holidays, birthdays and friends wanting to hear about my adventures descends fully upon me..............I am trying to gauge where I am.  Emotionally, Physically, and Spiritually.  I am a bit 'skittish' about re-entry to what feels like an 'old' life.  A past life.  I have learned from traveling alone that I am responsible for my own safety.  And part of that is protecting mySelf from energies that are not good for my Soul.

It is Winter here.  It is Cold and Dark and I am faced with nesting in a place, a very nice place that is near to where I was.   Geographically and in life.  Having just moved before I left, I'm going a bit in circles.  Should I decorate for the Holidays?  Reconnect with old Friends?  Celebrate my Birthday.........? And what will I do?  What will I make?  Where will I go next?  How will I answer the question, "What do you Do?'  And really, "Where IS that extension cord !?", and why is there water on my basement floor?

So I observe myself slipping back into the grind of 'performance'......... the pressure of 'doing' and 'making', and considering 'Shoulds' instead of just 'Being'.  Which is what I've been for the last several months.  Being.

This trip has changed me.  Arriving home is filled with contrasts to what I've just experienced............

And it's not at all one bit bad........really............I am blessed beyond measure in every way possible........Good Health, Beautiful Home, Wonderful Family and Friends.................all manifested by me.........

But how can it be, well, OK, this sounds greedy.....but BETTER....!?

Just before I left, I worked briefly with a Life Coach,  Vicky White, who left me with this little 'tool'.......

It is called Nature's Guidance System.............Expansion and Contraction

She had me list all the words I might substitute for Expansion.......like Receiving, Joy, Happy, Large, Buoyant, Loving, Loved.........filled with Breath.......

And then list all the words I might substitute for Contraction......like Small, Constricted, Tight, Smothered, Fear, Unhappy, Irritated, Depressed ..........(clearly I have more experience with Contraction)

The tool is, or the Guidance is..............You MUST feel good about what you are doing, or stop doing it.

Simple as that.

So that is where I am today...........monotoring...........tuning in............somewhere in the middle..........a little too much leaning toward Contraction........

And having experienced it..........I can say for sure...........

Expansion is a better path to follow..........

Awwwwww........NUTS!!!

Before I left on my Epic Journey..............I had an idea........a thought........a longing...........

I was headed to a new Spring in September, instead of an Autumn and I longed to work with nuts.......really, in particular, Walnuts.

I had done a smatter of dying with some I had collected my previous spring and longed to do a large scale project this year..................

So days before my departure for OZ, I put out a call for 'spotters'............where would they fall this year?  I would wonder.......and wander to find them...........when I returned to winter........

And upon my arrival home, I received...................................

This Gift..............

Of Precious, Precious, painstakingly dried............



Walnuts............515 of them if one was counting.......







From a very Good 'Joe'.....................

Another deep heartfelt Thank You to a dear friend!



And now.........what to do........?  Goodness, it was SOOOOOOOO much easier to do a boil up in the summer...........

To be continued................

Giving Thanks...........

Last Week Thursday was a day for ThanksGiving in our country.............

A day where as family and friends we give thanks for the gift of each other and the food and shelter we enjoy............usually involving a big Turkey Feast!

For me I was also given to recall the special friendships I made on my journey of the last two months and to this special gift that was given to me in ceremony my last day in New Zealand.

It is a Greenstone, or Pounamu in Maori.......

When given as a gift it is particularly Sacred and Meaningful.

This stone was given to me by Annette........

Who had it with her for 25 years and was called that day to pass it on to me............

I remain honored and touched by the significance and Spirit of how it came to be held by me............


This gift was accompanied by a reading from a book by Barry Brailsford........here is one portion of what he wrote about this stone.

  When Pounamu calls to you it brings the power of the healing way.  Yet, there is more, for this stone gathers to itself the most ancient of wisdom.  It joins as one the seer and the sage.

  Pounamu speaks to you of your journey.  It reminds you we are all of the stone.  See it as a true companion.  Learn to listen to its song.  Understand it is of the Before and Beyond, the Above and Below, and the most ancient realms of space and time.  Trust its power and it will honour yours.

  The Spirit of Pounamu is healing and reconciliation.  If you have chosen to acknowledge this stone in your life, you are moving into perfect alignment with the long trail of your ancestors.  It is a time of reconnection, of discovering the wonder of the heart and mind joined.

  The gift of Pounamu is love, the love that helps us see deeper into ourselves, the mirror placed to reflect back the essence of our being, and hear the sacred song within.  Pounamu is the touchstone of the truth that heals, our inner Wisdom.

Bring all to One

Bring mind, heart and stone together

To know healing

Bring mind, heart and stone together

To find learning

Bring mind, heart and stone together

To complete the journey

Bring all to One

In light of the last leg of my Spiritual journey.........the connection to stone.............this gift is more than meaningful to me.

"Love is the Creation of all Things, even the Stones"...........a message relayed to me by gifted healer Jan Inger.

Thank you Annette..........I wear this deeply 'In Joy' and the memory of our time spent together

Resurfacing...................

Not sure where I am...............

But pretty sure I'm close to where I began................