Blue jay day...

It's dry and cool-ish this morning out on the lanai. 

That meant morning meditation was headed outside today.

I even opened the slider a bit so my furry friends could join me. Pumpkin, the meditation cat, settled in right away! 

The blue jays, butterflies, dragonflies, bright blue sky and the gentle breezes helped me ignore the drone of the ac units near by.

All decked out in my new feather earrings I made for myself, I started the day off right. 

Headed in to the studio for awhile. Still being totally inspired by Tracy Verdugo's Paint Mojo e course. 

This butterfly flew into being yesterday after a mono printing exercise. 

Happy bluejay morning, Beautiful Ones! 

Round here…

Round here…

we meditate like this.

 

Round here…

pages get filled with inner wisdom

bubbling up to the surface as we play.

Learning to love it all.

 

Happy Wednesday, Beautiful Ones !

This day is savable.

Hard to believe that the holidays have come and gone.

The visit to Montreal and my peeps was awesome !

And so was the visit with my friend Suzanne,

who came and spent a fun New year’s week with us.

Now she’s gone home,

David’s gone back to work

and I need to re-find a routine that makes me fill fulfilled and like I am living towards my purpose.

Big ambitions, huh ?

Well, I started off small, which always works better for me.

I have pretty much given up coffee in the morning in favor of protein shakes (gluten, dairy, sugar free vanilla veggie protein powder with fresh fruit, spinach, water and ice in the blender).

They are super yummy, and keep me full and energized until lunch most days.

I have also re-committed to a meditation practice each morning.

I tend to have pretty lousy self discipline, but so far this new morning routine is really comfortable.

Pumpkin likes to join me at meditation time and perches herself on the arm of my chair.

Sweet Cat vibes add to the goodness.

The next addition will be some more physical exercise. Walking and/or a bike ride on my new bike that Santa Dave got me for Christmas.

My 7 speed cruiser in retro lilac ! Cute and comfortable.

Won’t be in any triathalons on it but good for getting this butt moving !

 

Another important piece to reviving my self-loving routine

is to bring back the ART !!!

Worked on a little 6X6” canvas today.

Acrylic paint and collage.

I was flipping through an old dictionary looking for a title and

the word

SAVABLE

popped out.

“Capable of being saved.”

Hmmm.

I think we all are.

I hope we all are.

I’m planning some fun arty days with some East Coast Florida friends soon. I really need that art tribe to make me feel complete.

I hope your new year, new month, new week, new day

routines are off to a good start, Beautiful Ones.

Big love to you !

Seeking Inner Sunshine

Trying to find my inner sunshine and my inner calm in a chaotic,stress-filled world.

Wishing you the same sweet discoveries.

Big love, Beautiful Ones.

Doing what you can from where you are right now…

Here we are at the last week on November.

These sweet ducks were swimming on the pond when I took a cold walk last week.

Saturday night brought the abrupt change from Fall to Winter weather.

I spent a lot of time thinking about those ducks and the little birds that have been happily eating at my bird feeder on the back deck

when that cold, cold, cold wind was upon us yesterday.

I was thinking about their bravery and strength to face the winters here,

exposed to the elements as they are.

Also made me think about the people who were not as blessed as I am

with a cozy shelter, heat and an abundance of warm clothes to choose from.

My thoughts led me to great gratitude for all that I have and for how really blessed I am.

That carried on into this mornings meditation, where I placed this little green treasure on my simple altar during my quiet Being moments.

My blog friend Kim from “art in red wagons” has created these little sea glass treasures to help raise funds for ShelterBox to help those stricken by the typhoon in the Philippines.

As we celebrate and give thanks for all we have this week,

I hope to spend time remembering those who do not have as many blessings as myself in this moment,

and find little ways to help

and do what I can do to share the love.

Happy Monday, Beautiful Ones !

Be extra kind where you can today !

Sharing the joy–Welcome, Brave Ones !

From this week’s joy list…

1.The green eyes of this Pumpkin cat and her beautiful bitchy kitty face.

2.Chickadees et al. at the brand new bird feeder on the back deck. After three days of empty, they finally showed up !

Those sweet little black headed guys are the bravest!

3.New 3.5X4.75” watercolor book that feels just the right size to play in, no matter what else is going on or has to be done.

4.Bizarre creatures from my imagination that come to life with a bit of time and my hand.

5.Returning to my meditation class after over a year away.

It felt so good to be physically in a group of people who all had the intention of being in the moment and radiating love and gratitude out into the world.

I need more of this.

 

Happy Thursday, Beautiful Ones !

For more joy sharing, visit Meri at Love, Meri.

Quick Art - Your Heart Knows.

New mini-watercolor journal.

3.5 X 4.75”.

Easy little pages to fill in an hour or less.

Page inspired by today’s meditation from Deepak and Oprah’s Desire & Destiny 21 Day Meditation project.

A bit of collage, a bit of spray ink, a bit of doodle and draw,

and the question of the day is documented.

Kimbo was here.

Happy Hump Day, Beautiful Ones !

Morning Gifts

From where I stand this Monday morning, November 18, 2013.

New art doodles, new Rock Beings, new day…

 

Centering Thought : A gift resides in every moment.

(From Deepak Chopra)

 

May your Monday be full of light, Beautiful Ones !

Haiku May Heart–Filling up

Fill the inside up

With joy, love and gratitude.

I need to start from there.

****************

Working really hard here to keep my insides filled with the good stuff.

This darkening season is always a challenge for me.

I have picked up my gratitude journal and placed it by the bed, so the last thing I do at night is write a few things I am grateful for that day.

I have re-dedicated myself to my meditation practice, with the help of Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s Desire and Destiny 21 Day Meditation.

Next steps include bundling myself up and getting outside everyday for some daylight, even as my body cringes at the idea of the cold right now.

And also working with cutting back on comfort foods and sugar and putting nourishing stuff inside this one vehicle I have to get me through life.

I think the one thing I really, really have to work on is having self-compassion.

Even if I was to do everything in my power to help myself with my seasonal depression symptoms, (in other words, be perfect ! ),

there will always be days when the dark over takes the light.

After about 30 years of this, I know that to be true for me.

I need to learn to give myself compassion on those days, especially.

And keep looking towards the light.

Fill your insides up with the good stuff, Beautiful Ones !

Happy Friday!

For more haiku beauty and a loving community of haiku writers,

visit recuerda mi corazon every Friday.

Try Something Tuesday – Take a Walk !

I have been attending Monday Meditation class at Full Spectrum Wellness for over three years now.

I have to honestly say that there are very few beneficial practices that I have adopted that I have been so dedicated to and been able to really stick to.

There is something about being in a group of people who are all present and wanting to live in the moment for an entire hour that feels so very, very good to my Soul.

My wonderful instructor and friend, Deb, sets a casual tone in the class.

Move if you need to, breathe however your body works best, sit on the floor with a back jack or on a chair.  The most important thing is to have compassion for yourself and know that there is no such thing as a wrong way to meditate. That you are taking this precious time for yourself (and the world) is the key.

Occasionally, Deb switches things up. Last night we were a small group, only 4 participants. Upon request, Deb began our evening with a walking meditation.

For about 15 minutes, we all walked in a large circle around the room, slowly, mindfully, paying great attention to our feet and our stride, and all of the sensations this activity brought with it.

While I have done this meditation before, last night something totally clicked in me. I really reached a beautiful state of relaxation and came fully present in my body. Man, did it feel good !

And when we sat down to continue the rest of our meditation, I was so comfortable and centered that I really got to experience some deep and powerful present moment thought.

Last night was the best night of meditation that I have ever experienced. And I really believe that preparing my body with the walking meditation was the key.

Walking meditation doesn’t have to take place in a class or indoors. It is an activity that anyone who can walk can do and can be practiced anywhere in our day to day lives.

I found this great link to instructions on how to begin a walking meditation instruction, from a site called WildMind.org. It is Buddhist in nature but completely non-religious. Not only does the author explain what some of the benefits of this practice are, but it is also all about adapting the walking meditation to your own needs. 

So it’s Try Something Tuesday, Beautiful Ones.

Are you ready to walk this way ?  

See you on the trail !

Time to Play Ball

Life has been all over the place around here lately.

A lot of sad news, like my friend Colleen’s untreatable metastasized breast cancer diagnosis.

Some scary stuff, like facing a lot of fear about medical tests myself, as well as waiting for results.

(All of which came back fine yesterday. Next up, Mammogram on April 3rd.)

Processing the sadness and the anxiety resulted in a whole lot of crazy monkey brain last week!!

So much so that this nutty page and equally weird haiku turned up in the journal.

I so wish I could get through my emotions a bit better instead of basically making myself a rather sick, nervous wreck.

I am proud of the fact that I did use some newer tools to help me through, and that the really icky, scary anxiety stuff was a little less intense than it has been in the past.

I told many a friend about what I was going through, and got a lot of wonderful support for my fears and feelings.

I used medication where needed, and also turned to meditation a few times. Man, those deep breaths and quiet moments can be so comforting.

And of course, the amazing support and unconditional love that my husband, David shows me is unbelievably precious to me.

This week, having received good news from my doc yesterday, and the fact that the weather has been so warm and sunny, I am coasting into a more hopeful and peaceful place, thank God!

That kind of shows up in my journal page today, don’t you think ?

I have been able to spend some important, tender and often sweet and fun time with Colleen, and will continue to do so as many times a week as our schedules allow.

Yesterday, we went to Pandora store at the mall and chose this Friends Forever Butterfly dangle charm for our bracelets.

It is so perfect as a symbol of our friendship !

It reminds me of the magical day a few years back, where we stopped at this out of the way attraction called “The Butterfly Place”, and shared an hour or so in awe as butterflies of all kinds flew around us in a spectacular, beautiful show.

Our gang of artsy friends have planned a long weekend away on Cape Cod in two weeks.

Girl time, sea and sand, and LOVING. I know it will be such a balm for all of our tender spots.

So today, I will find some sweet ways to celebrate the first day of Spring,

also the birthday of Thomas, my whiz kid awesome nephew!

I think it will include the first grilling time of the season

and definitely some time outside playing with this beautiful Chica-Dog !

Spring is here, so let’s play ball, Beautiful Ones !

Big, big love to you !