not much journaling time

I have not had much time with my journal lately - I was in Portland, then Breitenbush, Oregon for a mushroom festival where I showed my mushroom collage paintings and enjoyed some beautiful hikes in the woods learning about mushroom foraging, and some lovely hot springs soaks.
Lots of photos are here at my Facebook page:
Photos of Mushrooms and More

I am starting to organize and pack for our move to Denver, so please bear with me as I get my life moved across the country. I promise there will be much journaling to come! And I hear there is lots of snow there already, to greet us as we head West.

My mom celebrates her 80th birthday next week, so to honor her just a bit, enjoy this photo collage of the two of us:



"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." --Lucille Ball

Starting a new journal, and a new chapter in our lives.

My current journal is now full, the pages bursting with collage, ink, scribbles, and words. It will join about 40 others on the journal shelf, and I will very soon start a new book.
This book went to Iceland, California, and Oregon, and now, it will move with us and all our stuff to Denver in two months.
We are starting a new life, and my journaling work will certainly help me figure it all out.
Since I have a household of 6 (with dog), and a studio to pack, and a decade of living here in New Jersey to tie up, clients, groups, friends, yada yada yada; I won't be here quite as much - please know once we are settled in Denver, I will be back full force.
and do keep on journaling!



"The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs." --James Allen

Shamanic Circle in Central Park, NYC

Sunday, the annual NYC Shamanic Circle met. There were Aztecs from an ancient line of Shamanic dancers who did a demo and it was magnificent - journal pages to come, but here are some photos in the meantime:





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Being led by intution

Go chase your dreams.
Ignore the data, and then . . . . SCORE!!!!!!
Brain - 0
Intuition - 100

So my life goes on in this pattern, it might not make any sense, but it sure is turning out to be a wild ride.
Details to come very soon.



"I'd like to write the way I do my paintings, that is, as fantasy takes me, as the moon dictates." --Paul Gauguin

The Red Book of C.G. Jung

I saw it.
Carl Jung kept an "art" journal where he visited his subconscious in a series of experiments and journeys, then he wrote and drew of the experiences and entities he visited in one large leather bound volume. He said much of his psychological theories were drawn on these early years of connecting with his own inner creativity and "madness."
His family suppressed the book's publication for many years (90!) because they thought it belittled his academic achievements.

Well here we are in the New Age, finally.
Finally we are in a place where a gifted academic is allowed his magical inner life, his connection to Spirit, his meanderings in and out of what we call sanity.

I have always deeply valued the brave work done when artists, writers, creators, and thinkers delve deep into their inner selves, connect to that universal place of Spirit, and share what they found.
Sometimes, they do find insanity, and the work is too much - Vincent Van Gogh was one of these souls. Sometimes this soul work takes us out of this reality so much, we have a hard time finding our way back.

But if we stay aware of our own needs, if we feel supported and loved, and know how to ask for that support, the inner journey is a rich, rich landscape of this inner connection to the divine.

I get support with my numerous sounding boards - my journal, my Shamanic journeying for others and with others, my Goddess group, my loving and supportive family, and taking plenty of time to process my journeying and journaling work.

So - if you are in NYC the next few months, stop in at the Rubin Museum and see this remarkable book. You can page through a copy of it, and although I was bit surprised at the carefulness of Jung's work (he made rough drafts of the words and drawings before committing them to the book) I know he was a product of his very stilted Victorian time; he also was a pioneer in exploring the inner self.

Thanks, C.G.



"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being." --Carl Jung

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don’t open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground."
--Rumi

Red

Red is the color of passion and love.
Red is the color of bright Fall leaves, and the photosynthesis slowing down from doing its work, sending those leaves into the next phase of their lives to be compost on the woods floor.
Red is the color of blood.
The Red moon happens during Harvest moon, when it is very low on the horizon, and because red is the lowest vibration in the spectrum it is reflected more in our view.

I am loving the Fall weather, feeling the coolness in the air, the brightening of the colors, the emergence of forest mushrooms and harvesting of all the fruits of summer labor.
Soon the ground will be fallow, and I, too, tend to slow down in the Winter, in the darkness, absorbing the quiet time of reflection and hibernation.

Thank You Fall/Mabon, for the balance of light to dark in our lives, for the movement of the seasons in our understanding of ourselves, and for the changes that help us know new life emerges after the quiet.



"Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be Revelation." --Eileen Caddy

creativity as spiritual practice

ToDaY
I vow to spend my precious hours being in grace, and knowing I am in the right place.
I vow to know my contribution to the creative work in the world is valuable and will add meaning somewhere somehow to someone.
I vow to breath in my suffering, and breath out compassion for ALL beings.
I vow to know being in Truth sometimes means doing what others' need before doing what I think I need.
I vow to access my inner magic, to go to this place as a first resort, not as a last resort when I am needy and scared and want something.
I vow to serve Spirit in my work, serve Spirit in how I spend my time, serve Spirit in how I take care of myself.
I vow to work on remembering that I am Loved, by humans, by my dog, by my spirit teachers and power animals, by random beings who connect with my art, and truly, by my self.

I vow to continue to work on sharing these truths with all I meet, with all I send these words to, with all I have chance and planned encounters.
Blessed Be.



"This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love: the more they give, the more they possess." --Rainer Maria Rilke

Monday monday monday morning

The White sage incense is alit.
I have stretched my body a bit, put it in a few yoga asanas to get the blood and oxygen flowing.
I open my journal, surrounding myself with lovely papers to tear, photos to cut out, inks to spill, juicy markers to put lines and marks on the colorful pages I will make.
I breath in any pain I feel for me, my loved ones, this world.
I breath out compassion, and begin work in my journal.

Welcome, Fall.
Welcome, Creativity.
Welcome, to the inner Wisdom that comes with the suffering of all the years and all the experiences in my life, and even the difficulties.

Blessed Be.



"F--- logic!
Bravo to instincts and sweet intuition!“ --Björk

thankful

Last night the full moon shone on a foggy ground, rain came in bunches then left a clear sky.
This morning our dog gleefully chased some deer, then came running back so proud of his accomplishment.
Today I thank the power animals in my life who help me, I thank my Spirit teachers who guide me, I thank my family who are there, in love, for me.
I thank the water for it's sustaining lubrication, the earth for it's cycle of birth and death, the fire for heat and energy, and air for the breath of life.
Blessed be for all the gifts in this one small world we share.



"Everyone is in the best seat." --John Cage

opposites

light and dark
smooth and rough
above and below
curly and straight
struggle and rest
success and failure
all are opposite sides of the very same coin

through it all, I breath in suffering, and I breath out compassion.



"The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by obvious realities. We need men and women who can dream of things that never were..." --John F. Kennedy