en en en pt en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en ca en en en en ne en en en en en en en ca en en en en ne en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en ca en en en en ne en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en pt en en en pt pt en en en en en en en en
I meditate a lot. At least an hour a day. It’s really been ramping up lately too – the call to meditate is loud now, as opposed to a quieter time when it seemed more like a choice. For me, meditating is listening deeply. I do not necessarily quiet my thoughts or use a breathing technique. I just show up, and usually ‘IT’ shows up as well. I usually experience a quiet state of relaxation and often will get impressions, mainly in words or ideas that I write down if I need to. Not a lot of color, not a lot of detail. The calm I experience walks with me and lingers behind me in indescribable ways. (I think this feeling-state is what St. Patrick was describing – using the words that made sense of it to him – a feeling of presence surrounding you anyway you look at it.)
I meditate mainly because I think it helps. For me locally, and for the world in general. Basically I figure that if I’m in a feeling state of internal kindness and warmth, I am also emoting that vibration out into our collective breathing space, making it a little easier for someone else, including myself.
Today, I tried something new.
Background: In previous classes and groups, we have discussed postures and their effect on ourselves, demonstrated it with Vanessa’s horses, and intended a class structured around ancient power postures. No wonder this book caught my eye at Half Price. Got it Sunday, started reading it last night. Had my first encounter today.
The Book: The Ecstatic Experience, Healing Postures for Spirit Journeys
Here is what ‘happened.’  wrote down my impressions after a 15 min experience:
My tribe. Men. Glorious dancers – red body paint – shoulders
with white stripes on face,
Wanting me to recognize them –
My little brother – the drum- also my son,
dancing, hooting, strutting head thrown back howling
I’m out of shape, losing form – healing me
it will take time they say
Sitting there absorbing in this posture.
Blessing me, the hot sun warm, the rattle
the drumming of the feet, the boots – moccasins
with beads red, white some blue. Fringe.
Good boots. I had boots like this. I am one of them.
They are my tribe. They are re-cognizing me through all
my disguises – and they are willing me to re-member
them. They Keep looking at me, so surprised to see me
show up like this. One really keeps interrupting his dance
(they have drums) to peer at me, as if I were barely recognizable
But once they recognized me they were laughing – little brother, son
knew it was me straight away though. They’re laughing delighted
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Tags: ancient postures, Belinda Gore, body postures, experiencing other, Felicitas Goodman, healing, mystic, shaman, St patrick, The Ecstatic Experience, the Lady of Atotonilco Posture, vision
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The key. Everyone is looking for this key. Do you know who holds it? Whose hands it has always been entrusted to? The artists. The writers, the poets. The creative. Across the centuries creators have held the key to the imagination. And the key to the imagination is the key to everything. Writers imagine whole worlds. Poets catch verse out of thin air. Artists shut their eyes and see an apple in their mind. Spots, colors, size, wormholes; every part of that specific imaginary apple. And if you can do that, conjure up an apple in your mind, imagine what type of world you could create- if you put your mind to it. It all starts with you. Internally. In your imagination. So let your vision flow forth, into our vision starved world and begin the most human and divine experiment possible. Creation. It’s what you came for.
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Tags: creation, imagination, rusty key, vision
Choosing Where You Are Going
heart chakra – drawing in progress
When you are on the path to knowing who you are and consciously directing your energy in the direction that you want to go, you are courting inspiration. Identifying who you are and where you are coming from clears a lot of psychic clutter; old beliefs, dead weight; all the stuff you are not. It’s hard to get filled with inspiration when you’re full of old baggage.  The initial effort must be to head in the direction of joy daily, no matter how small that step is. Getting rid of all the emotional baggage and clutter connects you back to open space. The place of potential is where inspiration starts.
Inspiration literally means to be spirit- filled. On the wings of spirit comes vision. The Bible states, ‘without vision the people will die.’ Being inspired and having a vision is the difference between looking forward with anticipation to our days rather than just getting through another day.
Inspiration fills you from within. Recognizing what you love, getting excited. Consciously making room for those things you love creates the attitude of joy and inspiration. The importance of being inspired cannot be overstated. When you are fired up about something, you have the motivation necessary to accomplish it. When you are uninspired life is a boring waste of time. It becomes difficult to perceive any meaning. You have to have inspiration and vision so that your life can have meaning.
Vision is the over-arching dream from which goals and directives present themselves. Vision by its nature is inspired, therefore, inspiring. Filled with a vision, you are overjoyed and blissful, motivation is easy and natural. Vision, when combined with your love for what you want to accomplish and delight in expressing your talents, will start an avalanche of motivation.
In the past, you have often been told that you need a plan, a strategy–goals to accomplish your new vision. So, thinking about it, you write down what you need to become and would like to accomplish. Your initial glow of intention lasts the entire day, but then you wake up the next day with zero motivation. In addition, you can now add frustration, disenchantment and depression to your emotional bank account. Fabulous.
The problem? Most people use their heads to goal-set. This way of arriving at outcomes, looking ‘out there’ and deciding what is needed, (often based on the expectations of others, or extenuating circumstances) – is always external and therefore intrinsically uninspiring. Writer Michael Neill came up with a great way of describing the standard left-brained way of goal setting. He calls it S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-specific.) Another recipe for millions of people leading lives of quiet desperation. When you set your goals in this frame of mind, what outcome can you expect? A mechanistic life that will be specific, measurable, action-oriented (read exhausted) realistic and time-specific. Where is the joy? Where is the excitement?!! Where is the human being and her ability to create? LIFE, participating in life; means feeling inspiration, excitement – passion; things that bring out your best and challenge you to become more. How are these things going to manifest if the path to achieve them is based on an uninspired list of external ‘things I want’ or ‘I want to achieve”?
Vision on the other hand, has the emotional fire of passion behind it. Your emotion from the heart is what gives you motivation. Passion comes from the heart, not the head. It takes courage to put your heart into something. You risk involvement. But isn’t that what you want? Involvement with life? Aren’t you done with watching your life drift by? To seize the day is what it means to be human, to make the most out of life. You are intended to be co-creative, interacting– a participant.
To the degree you invest your heart into your life is the degree that you will love your life. Where are you already investing your heart? What are the things you love? Notice the things that you are passionate about, the circumstances that make you want to jump for joy. Your passions are clues to where you will find inspiration, power and motivation. These ‘things’ are not things out there, but qualities you possess, skills you have, states of being.
It’s a subtle perceptual adjustment, but the new path has to be based not on ‘things I want’ or ‘things I want to be’- but on who ‘I AM’.
Bring forth and develop the being that you already are, that which make you unique. This is the only way to find joy, abundance, and meaning in every area of your life. Learn to tap into the source of joy and watch that feeling begin to manifest in your life. Watch in amazement as the Universe reflects joy back to you. Or abundance, or creativity. All these things you already are, your talents and gifts, once expressed will be where you find your true fulfilment.
When you are inspired, you begin to have a vision of how things could be. The joy of working that vision into reality with all its challenges and difficulties is exciting and fulfilling in itself. Fulfilment comes from expressing who you are as fully as possible. Nothing helps express you more than living your dream wholeheartedly.
Your desires will remain a vague wish unless you give them the power to manifest. No one can do this birthing for you. Your job is to bring these thoughts down from the mental plane into the material realm. This is the human’s co-creating ability. Spirit fills you with desire; you pull the desire into material form. Your part in co-creating is visualization.
The Universe does its part- it gives you the desire to express more. Without you, nothing will happen. You must do your part. Only you can give the desire direction (imagination and visualization) and energy (emotion) thereby producing the feeling that will change your now into wow. It works. But you have to do your part.
Somewhere, not too far into this process, you will catch on fire. The moment any part of your vision becomes a reality, you will sense it. You will believe.  The instant this happens your way will become smoother–magical. ‘Unseen hands’ will appear–events and people will spontaneously appear, with the information, encouragement, and support that you need at exactly the right time. It will be easier to hold your head up, because you will have a sense of strength from deep inside you that will bring you joy. You will know in your heart that you can do anything you put your mind to. You are becoming self -reliant and truly prosperous– from the inside. You have to be before you can do or have. You are mastering the first step–’be’. ‘Do’ and ‘have’, action and attainment, will naturally follow. All your actions and the results they bring you are the direct result of who you are being.  You too will be on fire, watching your vision turn into reality.
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Tags: achieving, creativity, direction, encouragement, goal - setting, goals, heart chakra, inspiration, joy, love, motivation, participating, S.M.A.R.T, vision
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Categories creativity, expression, inspiration
Janet Balboa (#janetbalboa) is an artist, writer and teacher living in the Chicago suburbs. Read more
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Congratulations Zoë and Ian!!!!
Here are some of the new additions to this Sundays Farmers Market at The Dole, this sunday, 18th, 10-2!
The Far.ers Market Sunday!
Come meet me at The Dole!
#29 Gilded Lilies finished-
4th Friday at The Dole tonight!!! Great Art, artists, fans, community, wine, etc etc. $10 entry/ fun night OUT!!!