I Am NOT Learning That

In 2004 I sent a daily email to a list of friends which lead to this website. In 2014 I averaged two Enlightenmeant blogs per month. In 2019 I wrote 8 but only posted 3. From 2020 to 2023 I wrote 5 and posted none... until this morning when I woke up thinking about someone I dearly love and came to write a post. When I found those five drafts and read them, I was calmed by the lesson I have learned so many times. How is it possible to learn a lesson many times? Is a lesson learned at all if we have to learn it again? Absolutely, because life is not absolute. It is a constantly changing cacophony of one lesson, a living mess of unexpected opportunities to practice what we know and hone it like a sculpture of twisted wire, carved wood, clay drawn through our hands on the wheel of life -- you get the picture.

Sometimes I forget the picture, at least the whole picture. Like the lens on a digital camera, I focus through a particular part of the sensor and get my unique rendition of what's going on, from which I have opportunity to see what I'm missing. I guess that's the thing I came to write about today, what is missing in the world that I see. I used to be much quicker to land on the sensor in a place that afforded me an holistic view, ever reminding myself that how things appear is how I choose to see them. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, the "unprecedented" nature of events in our world, has become the norm in the way things play out. A few years ago I stopped writing. I think it was because I was always writing about the same thing: NOT Knowing. That may sound the same as Unprecedented, and it has a foot in that as nothing is ever the same, But NOT Knowing is, in my world, That which we are here to learn over and over again: That there is a sensor and it sees itself (yes, takes a selfie) through itself. It's not that we can't or don't know. But that We are the sensor -- NOT -- Knowing (seeing). In my imagination, NOT -- No Other Thing, is the basis, the stratum of our existence seeking to know itself through each and every one of us. And so when we see All That Is as NOT seperate from itself, and we understand there is NODifference, and NOHunger, and NOWar we can cease to see ourselves as seperate and unyielding of the litle bit we have, choosing instead to see a world where we are NOT alone, and undivided. All of these Unprecedented times are about learning this one lesson over and over again. We can stand up, stand together, stand for, but in these unprecedented times, I choose NOT to stand against focusing on the divisive. Yes, it is also NOT, but I choose to invest my viewpoint on being Lucid, to refrain from giving in to limited thoughts, choosing to believe in the power of NOT, and manifest this reality with love and dignity. NOThing Changes, as us. Pic;) . . . Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Redefining the Comfort Zone

Oftentimes my cartoons for the Whole Living Journal are based on the season, so drawing a summer camp cartoon made sense for this issue. But as with anything I do, my cartoons are usually plastered with symbolism that I love to scry through to find more and more meaning.

The symbols in this cartoon took me to a lot of places I had already traveled. Apparently I needed a few reminders. So I started with the obvious, that the comfort zone is just another name for what we think we know, which isn't always comfortable, accurate, or fun. It is pitched like a tent in the lessons of childhood.

"Okay, cute." I thought of the tent symbol, but I was certain there were more symbols in the cartoon, so I kept looking. Quickly the tent became the mind, and the two children inside represented the right and left thinking. I took a moment to add a little more to my drawing just to see it better. 

The result confused me: 

The drawing showed the reverse of what I expected.  I typically associate the right brain with imaginings outside the comfort zone, while I usually think of the left brain as the fortress of rules built to protect us from the unknown.  The right side was worrying and the left side was accepting.

When I allowed for different interpretations of "right" and "left", I could see that it often seems "right" to exercise caution, even doubt, in order to make sure I am being safe about what I do.  Then I could see what was "left":  No matter how well I plan and wait to take action until I'm sure, change from beyond the comfort zone is inevitable. Even so, comfort zones are fairly indestructible.

So instead of being about getting out of the comfort zone or trying to dismantle it, this cartoon seems to be all about flipping its negative bent and using its imaginative ability toward something more positive.  We can change the assumption that unforeseen circumstances can cause difficulties if we are not prepared, and practice using our comfort zones to invent rather than prevent.  When we imagine in this way the comfort zone takes on a whole new meaning. 

A final look at the cartoon symbols affirms that even in the dark of night, surrounded by the unknown, there is a light within which will help us see, and a reflection of the day to come.  It is not change we need to challenge, but the challenge of change that is ours to accept and fully appreciate each the moment.  Imagine that!

Nothing changes, 'cept us!
Be peace-full.
Pic;)

The Freedom of Forgiveness

Recently, I received some unexpected news that was going to have a significant impact on my quality of life.  My first reaction felt strange.   
There was a big gap in place of the expectation of how things were supposed to be which I didn't quite understand. 

A friend gave me a tiny piece of paper with this inscription: I forgive you for not being the way I wanted you to be.  I forgive you and I set you free.  She thought it might help me understand what was going on.

What really caught my attention was the last sentence, 'I forgive you and I set you free'. For while my friend was encouraging me to forgive, she also was encouraging me to not give up and make sure I stood up for myself.

So what did it mean to set this other person free?  I could acknowledge the expectations I had of what was the right thing to do had rarely been the same as the way this other person saw it.  Still I hadn't allowed myself to think too much about how my expectations of how to deal with those differences were limiting her and myself. I kept trying to make things work, she did not.  We were at a stale mate.

Forgiveness is Acceptance

Over time I've learned that forgiveness (aka acceptance) is the way to be free of grieving the disappointment of having expectations.  The most important part of any expectation is to include the possibility of things being different.  

It's not that we should expect to be disappointed, but to allow for change, because resistance to those inevitable differences comes with its fair share of grief.  It's not that we should forget but learn from our mistakes as well as successes, and develop new goals for ensuring our well-being. It's not that we then become subject to the expectations of others, but free to change the game plan by and for ourselves. 

Remembering to allow for change helps expectations be goals rather than disappointments; and each turn of event another step toward personal growth and development rather than a set-back. Sometimes things do feel permanent and irreversible, that's probably the most important time to allow for change...but also not expect it.   

When in Doubt, Look Within

There's really nothing we can do outside the sphere of own experience to change or affect the exterior world.  In truth, the world we see is just that.  So when it doesn't appear to be working right, it's time to change how we see and imagine things to be.

The Circle of Fire Prayer written by Miguel Ruiz, is a beautiful intention to live in harmony with others and all of creation, and it specifically states: with no expectations.  Apparently despite your best intentions, things don't always turn out as planned...who knew!?

I knew expectations were just stories we create to express why things should happen in a certain way. I also knew expectations could become disappointments due to differences with the story of another. Knowing that, I should have known better, but I still had plenty of both expectations and disappointments.

All things being as they are, I know what my next steps will be, and that is to always do my best, be impeccable with my word, don't take anything personally, and not make assumptions (expectations without the possibility of change).  

If living the Four Agreements is my goal, I will never be disappointed because as don Miguel is quick to point out in explaining these four little phrases, you need to accept that your best will be different from day to day and that's where forgiveness comes in again!  If I read that little paper to myself, rather than someone else, it takes on new meaning and I have all the freedom in the world!

Peacefully, 

Pic;)

The Re-Genesis of our True Nature

Every morning my dog Max takes me for a walk and I am usually moved to take a few photos of the things that stand out along the way.  Today it was the little things.  By the time I finished writing this blog I was connected to the story of Genesis and what is often referred to as "original sin".  I've written about this before, because beyond the religious overtones it is so deeply engrained in our existence, it really is something we need to forgive and forget every day.

In the story of Genesis, Eve is often cited for eating the apple she was told not to eat, but that was not the sin or - literally translated: error.  The mistake humans made in the story and often make every day is worrying they don't have everything they needed to be happy, healthy and whole. 

From the Toltec tradition as it is taught in the Four Agreements to the view of modern psychology, we are deeply conditioned to doubt our strengths and seek safety from our weaknesses from the time we are little children.  This is human nature.  Fortunately more and more people are seeking freedom from this limited view. The trick is not engaging it to do so.  For that we can take our cues from Nature.

Being human is a natural thing but human nature is often far from being natural. Nature unfolds without a second thought.  Human nature is all about second guessing what we should do to make things happen. Nature happens, humans set goals.

When we have a goal...the list of things we need to do in order to overcome challenges and accomplish the task at hand begins.  It's natural for things to develop over time, but it's human to try to control and worry about it. 

We worry because we don't know many things that could happen along the way. We worry because we know we are aware of ourselves as individuals.  We worry because we aren't confident we have the tools we need to make it through.

Nature doesn't worry the unseen and amazingly the details take care of themselves resulting in beauty and wonder day after day, season after season. No flower worries about winter, no snowflake conspires to harm flowers, the ground opens to receive seeds, and seeds become food and new flowers to be enjoyed in the spring. 

While it is human nature to take control and plan, the intention behind our true nature is to appreciate this creative process called life.  When we are centered in nature as it unfolds all around and through us we are uniquely qualified among all that is natural to recognize the meaningful and beauty of life. 

Peacefully,

Pic;)

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Lightening Up the Acronym of FEAR

There are times in our lives when we need to let go of our attachments.  That can bring on a whole lot of fear.  So much so that the word fear has been popularized in some circles as an acronym for what fear feels like.  Very often the first letter of FEAR has been assigned a 4-letter word that expresses frustration, but not necessarily the cause of the frustration.  Forget is a much better interpretation making the popular acronym stand for Forget Everything And Run.    
It may seem that what is to be forgotten is whatever doesn't seem to be going well, but there is another way of looking at it.  What are we forgetting when we are afraid?  When I am in such a funk, I am forgetting everything I know and love about how I create my experience by the way I express the life that comes through me. 

When we pour what we bring up from the unconditional, limitless wellspring of life into the fearfully shallow container of loss, lack and limitation nothing improves and the negative is magnified.
When we lighten up we do not need to be contained by fear. What is most important for all of us is that each of us pull up the love of life that wells up from within and flood our view of life with all the gratitude and happiness it can produce. 
We transform the classic example of FEAR when we Find Enlightenment (lighten up) And Re-lease the investment of our energy into new life rather than forget the power we truly possess to create life and run from what doesn't seem to be working as though it has power over us. 
Any way you look at it we are creating a masterpiece of life through the instrument of our being. Don't mistake the paint for the brush.  Lighten-up, enjoy the process, and your life will always be a work in progress!

Peacefully,
Pic;)

The Importance of Life's (not always) Little Hiccups

If you set a goal, there's a chance you might attain it. If you have a dream, it's possible it might be fulfilled. With each accomplishment there comes the additional responsibility of maintaining the ground you have gained so you don't lose it. Really!? Hmph!

The painting in this month's Enlightenmeant cartoon is mixed media consisting of déjà vu, karma, and hiccups. My unqualified definition of déjà vu is what we think we already know, karma is the actions we have taken and will make, and hiccups are.... necessary

If we only work with what we think we know and are used to doing, the best part of life can seem like it's finished too soon. We might not think about it as much. It might seem like a well-known painting hanging in a museum that needs to be carefully maintained. Unless it becomes necessary, changing it could alter its value, seem disrespectful, or risky.

But Life truly well-lived, like the real practice of art, hangs not on the wall but in the moment of creation, and each moment appreciated, is a masterpiece. That's where hiccups come in and why they're so important.

As media on the canvas of Life, hiccups contrast with the status quo created via what we think we know and do. Hiccups remind us Life is for living by creating a situation in which attempts to take it in are sharply blocked.

All manner of crazy things are tried to stop hiccups: hold the breath and swallow until our ears pop, drink water upside down, and last but not least, face unknown fears. All these "solutions" represent doing things differently that expected. At first we might see Life's (not so) little hiccups as something that needs to be "fixed".

When we appreciate Life as something that's okay get messy while creating it, and see what doesn't seem to be working as an opportunity to explore, experience and love change into expression, the hiccups soften and we become more masterful at shaping the canvas of our lives.
Remembering this from moment to moment is one of my greatest challenges (but that's also a masterpiece) and why I am so grateful I have the practice of art to re-mind me. If you would like to get messy in the studio, try some cool new ways of doing things, or explore my art for your home or office, just let me know!

Nothing changes,
'cept us!
Pic;)

Taking the Next Breath

The caption to this cartoon is one of those statements that push us to think about the things we hold onto and what we have not yet reached. The "leap" can be about making big changes which seem so due to the implications of the unknown. In responsible, obligation-based culture leaps should be calculated and not undertaken without knowing everything we can about where we might land in order to keep us safe from harm. The truth is we would all be dead if we did this at the most fundamental level.  Breathing would be a good example. 

There is a leap to every breath we take.  We know what it's supposed to do, but we rarely micromanage that even though we can never be sure what will fill our lungs and affect our senses.  There may be scents of cake and we will feel hungry.  There could be the poisons of smog or the smell of skunk and we might hold our breath trying to avoid what is unpleasant, but it's already in us. There is no time to test, measure, or manage the next breath.  Without knowing for sure, we have to take the leap of inhaling or we will absolutely die.

As a matter of taking the next breath we must let go of the breath we have taken no matter how good it was, because the breath changes and is not the breath we took in.  What got us pleasant scents and fresh oxygen is replaced with wastes and toxins we need to release.  There is no time to sort through it and see if there is something salvageable; we must let go or we will surely expire.

Because it's so important that we breathe we don't think about it very often.  But to be mindful of the breath is to be mindful of what life is about at its very essence. We can plan, but we can't know for sure what will happen next and we must move forward regardless.  There's no sense worrying about it.  Like the breath we just have to go with the flow.  Like the butterfly in the drawing, we can take the advice of the teacher on the precipice, and move on without fear of falling.  Breathing is faith well practiced, that what we need will be abundantly available to us as it is required.  Mindfulness of this truth makes every day a little easier. 

Breathe easy,

Pic;)

In Sync with Shifting Seasons

While the calendar sets a date on the arrival of "Spring" on March 20, those in the Flow, simple know a time of new growth is upon us.  We are leaving what indigenous people refer to as the time of Rest and Cleansing Moon, ( obviously so named before there were cars and streets to dig out of the snow. ;)

s

On March 21, we are moving into what is known as the Budding Trees Moon.  The small buds some of us have already ogled will move into full bloom during this time as gray clouds that have blanketed us will part to let through the light while the earth opens to let through more sprouts.  Water as rain will soak into the ground and help feed the new growth, and the wind will circulate seed and pollens to further the process. 

It is a time for opening and as is usual with my art and writing (and ancient systems of knowing), these four elements are all symbols for the opportunities we have to open ourselves in the Universal Flow of life.  Each of us possesses and demonstrates qualities of all four elements at various times.  Sometimes we are the earth, solid yet opening to support growth, other times we are radiating light, warming, encouraging growth.  We each also can bring the qualities of water softening the earth like rain, bringing nourishment and deeply drenching life to the roots, and like air we circulating life and connecting it from place to place throughout our world. 

Like birds building nests, flowers breaking forth, and fawns stumbling into life for the first time, Spring represents an opportunity to be open, adventurous, courageous, enthusiastic, imaginative, and expressive. This is not a season for micro-managing our lives to make sure we don't miss this opportunity. 

The turning of the seasons is a macrocosm of what can happen for any of us in a single day, or even a moment. Recognizing the transition between the seasons and the elements as they symbolize our gifts and challenges can be helpful in releasing, receiving, and more.  Just as the magnolia will surely carry the blossoms appropriate to its type, we don't need to worry, we will be, have, and express what works in the moment when we are in sync with the Universe.

A Natural Process is the topic for the Universal OS Wisdom Group.  More here.

Peacefully,
Pic;)

What's Your Gravity?

I recently checked "repeat " in the itunes app on my phone for a song from the musical Wicked. It is about the witch of the west breaking free of the limits that were placed upon her. As happens with just about everything I do, interesting symbols came through - some of them new - and I just needed to keep repeating the message I heard.

Maybe it's always been this way, but this time when I heard the song, the Wizard and the "gravity" about which Elphaba sings, were of the nature of what the Toltec call the parasite, which is the negative ego. In the musical, Glinda, the good witch, is an expert in doing what is necessary to secure a place of popularity in the world. She is like the ego which is supposed to be supportive, but eventually becomes protective and too often suppressive of us (parasitic) as we move through life.

When I listen to the lyrics from this point of view, I feel the determination and intent of the character rise up. The force she is defying is not without, it is within. It is an operating system that does not deliver as promised. She sees this and it is too late for her to double back and feign ignorance. She must defy it in order to live by her instincts, close her eyes and leap. To do that is to live by the Universal Operating System, rather than the fear of loss, lack and limitation.

Take four minutes to see and listen to this video and enjoy Defying Gravity. If you did, play it again and listen deeply. Breathe it in.  For as manifold as are the messages to the contrary, listening once is just a start.  If you don't see the video in this post, watch it on youtube.

Everyone deserves a chance to fly, think about what tethers you and how you can let it go, because you may not be tied down, you just might be hanging on. Imagine life if you let go and trusted your instincts! When we defy the gravity of our fears we are unlimited! I recently got a taste of that and I want more, more... oh - that's another musical, also very symbolic, but I'll let that go for now.

"The Gravity of the Situation" will be part of the topic at the next UoS Wisdom Group!  Consider taking the leap and bringing your wisdom to light!

Be!

Everyday Meaning

Sometimes it seems only right that we wait for some event to be completed or a milestone to pass before we take the time to appreciate its accomplishment.  And yet it is only through appreciation that anything is ever accomplished and milestones are marked.  That conundrum illustrates the delicate balance of what goes into every moment, every day of our lives -- our imaginations. Without this, there wold be no amount of thanksgiving, faith, or love, nor would any sacrifice, victory or act of service be of any value.  We imagine our needs, we imagine the fulfillment of them or not. When we are aware this creative process is not an event; and we are mindful about how we manifest it through our attitudes, words, and actions, we give our lives meaning beyond measure.  Make everyday a holiday of possibilities and intent, and the whole of life will be special.

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.

Albert Einstein

One of the most limiting things in life is what we know. Well, okay, not what we know, but our attachment to it.  For many, knowledge is the map by which life is navigated, but often it leads to dead ends because life is constantly under construction, and those orange barrels never get put away.

Nineteen Out of One Hundred

I don't have the time to draw it right now, but I'm imagining this cartoon where a confused character is scratching his head whilst looking at a picture of President Obama and muttering, "But I thought Jimmy Carter was president."  What's behind this cartoon?

Thirty six years ago things were so much like they are today (with the exception of who was president) that one of the most often quoted lines in movie history (ranking 19 out of 100) was first heard in the 1976 film Network.  In it, news anchor Howard Beale states:

"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be! We know things are bad - worse than bad, They're crazy!" 

At the end of his tirade, Beale tells his television viewing audience he isn't going to recommend they riot, or call their congressman, and he admits he doesn't know how to fix any of the problems.  Instead, he tells them they have to value their life and get mad as hell.  He tells them to get up out of their chairs, go to their windows, open them and shout: 

"I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"   

Believe it or not, that's not what started the idea for the cartoon, but it works. The point is nothing ever changes except us.  In truth, nothing really exists except the ability to perceive.  How we look at things determines if the world is hopelessly dismal or as Howard Beale offers the only hope we have to effect real change in the world.

In addition to the presidential primaries and race this year, there are plenty of ways our attention may be hooked out of the power of the present moment, and diverted to fuel the planetary dream of loss, lack and limitation.

Like the vote, it may seem like a right or a responsibility to get hooked up in the world.  There are many who would say it's as "mad as hell" (read: insane) to consider doing otherwise, but that's what I'm suggesting based on my own long, long history of not being able to make anything better by focusing on how bad it is.

Lets all get mad as hell: smile inside, keep our outlook open, and to all that is dark and negative, happily shout out, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"  Forget what 'everybody knows', let's choose instead to create heaven in as many moments as we can.

links:   A great clip from the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ELleCQvew  full text at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Network_(film) (Two good reasons SOPA shouldn't go through as written.)

With gratitude to mom and dad for helping me see what's really important. 

Celebrating New Cycle's Eve

Got plans for next Christmas? Some folks think you might want to move your holiday celebrations up to December 19 or sooner to beat the end of the Mayan calendar.  It's been almost 5,125 years since the count went into effect and there are plenty of ideas about what this means to those of us who have shown up for the finale.

There are some who point to various natural, man-made, and unseen changes in the world and say it portends the end of the world...a better world...or nothing new in the world. Since what happens in the world is subject to perception, at the end of the year there will be a lot of people claiming their predictions were right -- whatever they were.

This year more than any other year since Y2K, people are asking what to expect so they can be prepared, a strategy I hope will end with this cycle. For thousands of years this cycle has been filled with fearful anticipation. Expectations are the tools which have been leveraged to ensure personal safety, financial solvency and spiritual salvation, with rather poor results one of which is making life a matter of prevention. In this new cycle (and yes, there will be another cycle) we have the opportunity to live with intention as our way of life. This is the message shouted by so many from the wilderness to the modern times of the closing cycle -- wake up!

Unfortunately, those who are attached to any doomsday or nay-say 2012 story may well be missing the whole point of having a cycle that has an ending.  Closing cycles provide the opportunity (daily, monthly, annually or every 5000 years or so) to see how things are going, determine what works and what needs to change. The old cycle promoted an intention of inattentiveness which is being thrown off and overthrown around the globe.  Much of humanity is no longer willing to trade in freedom for fear.

The trick now is to release attachment to the past so the new cycle of intention may unfold.  Unlike the old cycle, the new cycle will not be about the bottom-line. The mastery of Intention is to live effortlessly, free of expectations and fear. The closing cycle would say that's irresponsible, even dangerous.  In the new cycle it will be recognized as unconditional -- like love, liberation and our true potential.

Instead of dwelling on the end of the old cycle, wondering what, if anything, will happen on December 21, Let's treat 2012 as one big giant New Cycle's Eve. Celebrating for a year is a far smaller fraction of the more than 1.8 million days in the ending cycle than one of our holiday weekends is to our 365 day year. So this is not overdoing it.  Forget shopping, we should have started celebrating decades ago!
 
Happy New Cycle's Eve!

When the Moment is Not the Present

 Watercolor Meditation Sampler     

simple art practices to express, reduce stress, engage peace

Monday, November 7, 7-9pm  $20

513-549-4607

email

Recently a student described by-passing judgement and criticism of her work as when something "just clicks".  In my art classes students practice oscillating between the present and the moment more than any other technique. This is the invisible step in the creative process.

The moment is not the same thing as the present. The present is filled, wrapped up and decorated, waiting to be opened in the light of contrast and comparison. That's what happens on paper and in our daily lives when we check and balance what is transpiring. The moment is empty, neither incomplete or whole, beyond comparison, the moment is not the present, unrelated to past and future.  

The limits of one's creative talent or belief system does not factor into the moment.  The moment is not a level to be attained, it is not a challenging process, a skill to be developed, nor does it make any of these possible. It is what is left when we let go of these notions.  It simply is the remainder of nothing, and the practice of art is a beautiful way to know it. 

The Remainder of Nothing

It is not necessary to suffer hardship and disappointment.
Life is not good only when there is joy. 

The end of suffering is to have no means to experience it,

no attachment to what has been or ever may be, 

grounded in that which has not been and never will be.

This cannot be attained only after years or lifetimes of cumulative effort.

There is nothing you can do to deserve it.

If you need it you cannot have it.

Only when you no longer want can it ever be

Enlightenment is the remainder of not doing anything.

When the end of seeking is no longer sought,

when what is known is not needing to know,
when what is felt is freedom of the desire to feel anything else,
what remains is perfect peace in the moment.

;)

Reds on the Greenway courtesy of Stewart Black's Photostream (no real name given) 

CC license: attribution/share alike

The Remainder of Nothing C. Pic Michel 2011

Drawing with Wire and Finding Hidden Dragons

Changing channels between artist and creative facilitator has its challenges. Oftentimes its tough to just find the time to get the word out.  So it is that I'm blogging at the last minute to let you know about two very different events both dealing with creative energy at the beginning of October.

Saturday, October 1, the Kennedy-Montgomery Building Art Studios will be open 6:30-8:30, 6566 Montgomery Road, in conjunction with CLICK! an exhibit of photography at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center (right next door).  I'll be in my studio pulling wire creating continuous-line drawings in mid-air while my paintings hang on the walls.  Ask about classes and commissions, or just hang out and have a cup of tea and conversation. One thing I might be talking about is a new group that will be meeting for the first time on the following Monday...

The Shamanic Arts Party is different from the classes that cross-reference life and art, in that we will be applying the media of creative energy to life alone as the canvas.  The first workshop is Crouching Jaguar, Hidden Dragon, Monday, October 3, 7-9pm.  In this workshop, the three Toltec masteries are blended with the metaphor of the Chinese Cheng Yu (idiom) to gain better understanding about how the jaguar could miss the dragon, and what the dragon really is.  We will use journeying, and reflective exercises (awareness) to positively identify, free and re-direct this energy in our lives (transformation) according to our will (intent).  Learn More about the Shamanic Arts Party or call 513-549-4607 to save a place (space is limited).

CC licensed Dragon photo by miheco and jaguar photo by magicmonkey at Flickr.com

Why Do You Fly

Listen, everybody! There's no limit to how high we can fly! 
We can dive for fish and never have to live on garbage again!

Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Recently I took this picture off of seagulls flying off the back of a ferry boat on Lake Erie.  In an instant the birds went from gliding so perfectly on the wind to folding their wings so they could dive into the churning waters below scrabbling against one another to get a pretzel someone tossed to them.  To see something as awesome as flight ditched to chase bits of refined-carbohydrates that couldn't possibly be healthy was at once entertaining and sad.  

The lady who was throwing the pretzels giggled and commented on how easily amused she was, and the crowd cheered when a gull managed to catch a pretzel in mid-air. It was quite a feat, but it reminded me so much of the hope Jonathan Livingston Seagull held out for his flock to fly just because they could, even as all but a few rejected his dream of freedom as a threat to their values that maintained the purpose of flight was only to gather food.

If I asked, Why do you fly?  What would you say?  Many say they can't fly, just as they tell me they are not creative when I talk about how I teach life through artistic practice.  They think being creative is difficult even as they fluidly and perfectly create that impression without a second thought.  They believe any attempt at art falls short until it accurately represents whatever one intended to create, and this is then their limited experience. They feel similarly about life and I wish they could see how beautifully they are flying.

Art is not what hangs on walls, it is the intent to create, holding space for creative energy to flow according to a process that continuously unfolds rather than getting done.  Life is the same way.  The best life is one that is constantly unfolding according to our intent. Art and life are all about getting messy, enjoying the thrills of chaos, getting it, being unattached to keeping it, and letting our creative nature soar unfettered.  Because they are so similar, art is an excellent place to explore life -- how we create it, judge it, and enjoy it.  In art we can make mistakes and laugh like children learning. 

A wise leader once said one must be like a little child to get into the kingdom of Heaven.  In Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the Elder Gull teaches Jonathan, “Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect. -And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there."  

Yes, I really did just quote an imaginary seagull alongside a spiritual master.  The point is this, if you would like to experience Heaven on Earth practice consciously "being" through some creative experience.  


Starting October 3 we will explore creating a masterpiece of life through discussions and practices directed at using our life energy as a creative media. Eastern and western philosophy and shamanic practices will be explored to help us free up our intuitions to soar through life effortlessly.  Make a reservation by email or call 513-549-4607. 

What's the Leap?!

  In the Toltec tradition, of which I am very fond, there are two lineages which may be followed.  One is the Jaguar and the other is the Eagle.  Among other things, the names describe the method of stalking that is unique to the animal representing that lineage.  Jaguars stalk with their feet on the ground, or close to it and their prey.  Eagles take to the skies and survey the land, looking for even the most minute movement, swooping in on it from up high.  In Toltec Tradition, the "prey" is what is untrue or illusion.  Stalking includes all erroneous conclusions and strategies to overcome them (aka agreements or beliefs).  At one level of personal development, "stalking" is about getting to know how we tick and later understanding that we are not or actually are much more than what ticks (like a little bomb in the back of our minds all the time).  

  Toltec wisdom as well as many other systems such as Advaita Vedanta suggest that humans are unaware of illusion and need to awaken to it's existence in order to transcend the suffering included therein. Many times on the path to awakening those who take up various practices come to believe they have awakened only to find themselves still suffering the same old habits and outcomes.  That is often the impetus to go seeking a new way to gain awareness and stop the cycle. As long as this is one's motivation, the same results will persist because there really is no cycle to stop.  

  When I drew this cartoon for the Whole Living Journal, I knew my character had nowhere to go, that whatever she thinks might be out there that might make a difference would be of little help.  The leap toward living her best life would be to stand where she is, and learn how to be comfortable not knowing (Don't take anything personally*), giving up expectations of how things should be (Don't make assumptions*), accepting and appreciating everything, even the most uncomfortable feelings as perfect manifestations of what they are (Be impeccable with your word*).  This is the Big  Leap that takes one from constantly stalking to learning how to enjoy the ride (Always do your best*).

Register for more information about What's the Leap?! a four-step workshop and discussion on living free of limiting conditions, Sunday, July 10 from 5-7pm, in Cincinnati.  For more information send your name and contact information.  

Peacefully, Pic;)

(*The Four Agreements from the book by don Miguel Ruiz)

Singin' in the Rain

So, if was true -- really, really true, that the Age of Aquarius was upon us and old ways were giving way to something much better, so much better that it beat the heck out of any conceptual thought the planetary consciousness had ever entertained before -- what would you do? Could you trust...allow...invite...this in to your life with no expectations? Or would you stick to the old conditional ways based on severity and amount of anticipated loss, lack, and limitation? If you knew something different was being poured down on you, would you grab the nearest container and go out to catch you some, or would you cower at the thought of the unknown? On some level, these are the questions that are being asked and answered. The most important question is how your answers serve you. Gene Kelly once demonstrated the sheer joy and entertainment of singin' in the rain. With or without the benefits of an economic or cosmic stimulus package, the bottom-line remains, when soaked to the skin, and no quick way out, you might as well enjoy yourself. Sing, dance, play and keep your spirits up!