How we ended this difficult year

We recently visited my daughter in New Mexico, (following quarantine protocols, since neither she nor we have been interacting with anyone.)

She lives in a neighborhood founded by Buddhists and artists some 50 odd years ago, headed by an artist named Herman Rednick, who painted many beautiful portraits of ascended masters.  These paintings are in a retreat building/gallery open to the public for meditation and contemplation. This portrait spoke to me.

Part of my shamanic practice is to meet spiritual teachers. Shamanism allows us direct revelation from other entities, and the portraits hanging in this room helped me envision these beings. In my journeys,  I have ventured to the upper world, to a panel of Ascendant Masters, seven of them. They correspond to the colors of the spectrum (ROYGBIV) as well as the seven whole notes of the heptatonic scale. I loved that this painting shows the rainbow behind the wise master.

The energy of this place is so peaceful. When Covid is gone, they will host lectures; right now a Tibetan Lama is visiting. There is a Tibetan Buddhist stupa with magnificent interior paintings. I am so thrilled for my daughter living here, and we hope to visit frequently.

They also are building earth bag cabins for guests to stay in, and there is a retreat center. We wandered through the snow covered/tree filled paths around these buildings, it was so peaceful and soothing.

 

This area is about 40 minutes North of Taos, and sits in a huge plain with mountains around:

I know we all are hopeful and ready for this year to be over, and 2021 to bring us health, happiness, compassion, and new focused energies.

Happy New Year to all!

I've been making soap, here's why:

A few years ago, I learned (reading wikipedia about soap making) that Marseilles, starting in the 15th Century, was the leading soap manufacturer for all of France.
This makes sense to me, because back in 1982, when I was an exchange student in Aix-en-Provence, I discovered that the big fat bars of unscented Marseilles soap, sold in the farmer's market, was the best thing I'd ever used on my skin.

Here is how it happened:

My story starts, like many, once upon a time in a land far away. I was an exchange student in France, living in Provence, loving the local market produce, the bread, the shops, the way of life that included slow meals and lots of walking. I lived with a family with 6 boys (not so strange for me since I have 3 brothers) and I got to immerse myself in the language and culture, and endure some amount of daily challenge. One challenge was the food - I always have to watch what I eat very carefully, and I just could not resist the bread. There is just nothing in the world like a crisp crunchy French Baguette.

Here I must digress a bit - I have Celiac disease, allergy to wheat gluten. At that time, I did not know it. So here I was, a stranger in a strange land, eating what was poison to my body unknowingly.

So we come to skin. 

Celiac disease often expresses itself in skin problems. I could not get rid of persistent itchy rashes, Wandering in the market in Aix-en-Provence, I found wonderful large blocks of "Marseilles" soap - which by French law must be a minimum of 72% vegetable oils and have no fragrance or color. These bars are made with ancient recipes, cooked for days, and poured directly into molds in the concrete floors, before being lifted and and chopped into chunky bars.  My skin LOVED this pure, natural soap. I bought what I thought was a huge supply when I left (3 large chunky bars or so) but never have found it here in the U.S.

Another amazing health-saving product I discovered while in Aix-en-Provence was Vervain. Even though I am a true coffee addict, I found a digestive infusion/tea that was served in all the cafes was very helpful for my symptoms. I replaced my coffee addiction with the vervain addiction, and it soothed my Celiac symptoms and was very helpful.

Vervain is a member of the Verbena family that is grown in the Mediterranean, used by Druids and Romans as a sacred herb, and one of the original Bach Flower remedies. Vervain is closely related to the new world Lemon Verbena, but the latin names are different and the healing properties of the plants are slightly different. Vervain was another product I never could find here in the states. Our life paths have a funny magical sort of way of unfolding, and I found myself in very dry Colorado 30 years later with a greenhouse, a burning desire to grow Vervain, and the urge to finally make myself some soap that my skin would love. My experiments resulted in these bars. Super moisturizing, full of olive oils and shea butter, no fragrance or dye or any drying chemical additives which commercial soap is made of,  I finally can hold that ancient wisdom of Provence that heals right in my hand in a bar of soap.

Early Riser

Early risers cut short the night.

I am a chronic early riser, I get up many days to teach my Chinese students how to speak English, and as a result I am up all the other mornings as well. I drink my coffee, look at the internet, maybe put a few words or images in my journal.

The witching hour.

The creative hour.

Four AM is a magic time to be awake.

Soap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soap making has begun! In this crazy year, soap is crucial, so I will be making sure my shop is full to the brim this holiday.

If you visit my Etsy shop, you can pre-order, all shipments will go out the first week of December.

https://whiteowlbotanicals.blogspot.com/2020/10/soap.html

 

. . art . .

New Art! Unfortunately shipping prices have gone up so much at the USPS that I cannot afford to ship right now. Come back soon for more information.

Solstice thoughts

Saturday was the longest day of the year. I enjoyed checking in online with the small crowd at Stonehenge, and seeing the sun set there among revelers as it has been celebrated for perhaps 4500 years.
A slip of orange sky outlined the monolithic stones. It indeed was magical.

I also had a little ceremony with friends online, right at 3:43 PM, the time the earth's axis made us the closest to the sun we will be in 2020. We talked about the cycles of the seasons, the turning of the earth and the moon and the sun and the stars. We reminded ourselves that even as we celebrate these rhythms and repetitions, that all life is impermanent.

The poet Shelley talked about the insecurity of time in a poem about Ozymandias (which is the Greek name of Ramses II.) He found a stone fragment in the sand with these words:
"My name is Ozymandias
King of Kings
Look upon my works
Ye mighty, and despair."

but then, nothing but endless sand. . .

Ramses the II lived right about when Stonehenge was being built. One monument survived, others did not. Yet we still can think about both achievements, those that remain in physical form, those that are remembered in words.

Yes, we are part of the turning of the Universe, we will flow into this new season of summer, as the days shorten again, bringing us back to where we started, and into another cycle. We can connect with our own helping spirits to honor these changes in the season, and even in the seasons of our own lives.

These past months have been so chaotic, scary, shifting sands beneath our feet so we cannot really get a foot hold. The virus, and eruptions in political tensions, protests, change for the good in the long run.

For me, I need to remind myself to reflect on how perfect and beautiful our journey is, how difficult and marvelous, both.
Happy Solstice.

Remember:

No such thing as a failed *creative* (yes, I mean you.)

Some of us need to create.
When stressed, we have a choice - eat and go back to bed, or make something.
The last few months of this quarantine, I have done both.
The food did not feed me as much as the creativity.

But I have to work at NOT feeling like I am a failed creative.
Because what I do does not always get embraced by the world.

I love writing poems, but really only have one or two I even like.
I love to paint, and worked on that skill for decades, but the shows I had did not sell very well, and I found it was a bit too stressful to make the work public.
I took ballet in high school, the teacher always poked my chubby tummy.

I played guitar, that was fun, but I don't even remember any songs. Well, maybe a few bars of Stairway to Heaven.
and a little bit of Blackbird.

I worked for years at creative journaling, made some books, shared lots of images here on this very blog. You might have noticed I am not here that much. Or you didn't notice, because the YOU I am talking to might not really even be here. at least, not any of you seem to comment. So I have no way to know if you are here or not. For a long time I thought that meant this blog was not successful. But guess what, it is successful for me. I succeeded in making this blog and expressing myself here. It has been a nice record of some of my creative ideas.

In terms of interfacing with the world, I do have an agent, and they love my graphic work, they represent me and try to sell my images to put on things. So I have a few cell phone cases with my collage art. Kinda cool.

I wrote a children's book about whales, which I am really proud of.

Now I teach. Because the bills need to get payed. and I do enjoy teaching and feel successful doing this.

but I really need to turn to creativity to really be the most authentic me. Society does not reward creativity, at least, my creativity doesn't seem to have taken off.  At least in the world's eyes.

But I am saying all this to tell you that there is no such thing as a failed creative. Don't think the world needs to acknowledge what you do.
Do it for you.
Do it to put that voice that is uniquely yours into the world.

A friend of mine who does a blog on creativity asked if I would be a "sample" counseling client.
I wondered why she did not chose me as an inspirational guest with my own creative ideas to share . . . .  but okay.
I was game, and we chatted for her blog. She gave me lots of nice ideas.
I am happy to let go of ego and put my vulnerabilities out into the world.

and I will always need to create.
Words.
Poems.
Drawings.
Paintings.
Paintings of whales.
Dreams.

Gardening.

Cooking.

Go out there and do it.

"Let the beauty we love be what we do."
and let the creativity itself be your reward.

Covid-19 Quarantine crafts

From my facebook page, where I am trying to post a craft everyday of our quarantine. Here's the first set:

Quarantine Crafts Day One: sew a piece of clear, heavy vinyl to a hat. Now you’re ready to face the world! (Only for necessary trips to the grocery store, be safe!). #quarantinecrafts

Quarantine Crafts Day Two: get an old flannel sheet, scissors, and a ruler. Cut 4” x 8” rectangles. Reusable wipes! Store in a plastic container with soapy water, or leave a stack in the bathroom to use as needed. Wash double cycle on hot water and you’ll be all set. No need to hoard TP! #quaranteencrafts

Quarantine Crafts Day Three: Not Your Mother's Macrame. (Unless your mother was a hippy in the 60's and then this IS your mother's macrame.) I bet you have a stick and some string! Just cut long lengths (I did 12 feet, because I want to suffer through many snarled knotted strands.) Loop them on the stick taking care to space them evenly. (You can hang the stick with wire so you can work vertically.) After you do all this, take a break and watch a movie, because I am tired just from this much work. Tomorrow I will show you some knots I added. I am thinking a knotted border at the top, then a whale shape. I've never seen a whale in macrame, so it's time. Then another knotted border at the bottom. Maybe I will even live dangerously and add some shells!

Quarantine Crafts Day Four: Not Your Mother's Macrame Part Deux. Some progress on the macrame. I tell you, tying knots is very therapeutic. If you haven’t started, seriously go find a stick and string. And we have snow here in Colorado. So today’s an inside day. Peace and love to you all. 

Quarantine Crafts Day Five: KNITTING! There a ton of great How To videos on YouTube, here’s your chance to dust off those needles and pull out the yarn. I find knitting very therapeutic, the rhythm is like a meditation.

Quarantine Crafts Day Six: FACEMASKS! Anyone with a sewing machine can try this. and if you don't know where to donate them, don't worry, we will all find out soon. Don't have any fabric? I bet you have a bag of old clothes you were going to donate. 

Quarantine Crafts Day Eight: meditative cooking. What? you say. Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GptAgiAxDP4 This is an example of spending time with deep intention, enjoying each step of the work, connecting with each ingredient and absorbing it's qualities. Making the act of cooking into an art is something I don't usually take time to do, but these videos (her whole channel is fabulous, you can get lost in watching) have helped me slow down and enjoy the process. Let's bring intention to each act of the day, and make cooking an art again!

Quarantine Crafts Day Nine: go outside. Find some rocks. Make a tower. Contemplate your work and the beauty of our world. Be at peace.

  

Quarantine Crafts Day Ten: you know what this is. The funnest thing is seeing how it turns out. Tomorrow, come back here to see the finished product.

Quarantine Crafts Day Eleven: undoing a tie dye is like opening a present. You don’t know what you’ll get.

Quarantine Crafts Day Twelve: this is a fun one; eraser stamp carving. Using white erasers and linoleum carvers, you can make a stamp to use for cards, your journal, wrapping paper, so many uses! [If you need supplies, Michael's will let you order on line and bring your purchase out to your car.] Geometric or curvy patterns can be repeated to make decorative edges. Preview: tomorrow I’ll show you a multi-eraser carving set printed with 3 colors.

  
Quarantine Crafts Day Thirteen: multi-eraser carving set printed with 3 colors:

  
Quarantine Crafts Day Fourteen: Not Your Mother's Macrame, Part Trois: working on making a circle in my macrame. What are you working on? 

Quarantine Crafts Day Fifteen: make a postcard. You can use old photos, digital images, markers, glue stick, card stock. You can even use a cereal box as the base. I know you have someone who would love to get some old fashioned snail mail from you! Bonus points if you use the eraser stamp you carved. (Did anyone try that?)