The Joy Diet: Truth

"Create and absorb at least one moment of truth each day."

I'm running a week behind. The kids were here for a week and I'm now catching up with The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. Above is my vision card for Truth: out of the mouths of babes. Kids seem to hit the nail on the head. They come out with some of the truest statements I've ever heard. Beck says to have your moment of truth you must be able to spend 15 minutes in Nothingness. So I tossed in the Buddha and the Lotus for my Nothing.

On the back of the vision card I've written the steps to Truth.

1. Start with daily dose of Nothing
2. First question: What am I feeling?
3. What hurts?
4. What is the painful story I'm telling?
5. Can I be sure my own painful story is true?
6. Is my painful story working?
7. Can I think of another story that might work better?

Lastly: Of the options open to me, which one brings the most love into the world? Or, as Martha also says, "offer compassion to your inner lying scumbag"! Oh, how I love this!

No one said Truth would be easy, but I'm working on it. Have to admit I think I'm looking forward to the next step: Desire!

The Joy Diet: Nothing

Last week, the Next Chapter group, under the leadership of the wonderful Jamie Ridler, began reading The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices For a Happier Life by Martha Beck. Jamie suggested we make vision cards for each practice in the book. The first practice is Nothing and here is my vision card.

"To begin the Joy Diet, you must do nothing for at least fifteen minutes a day."

I was excited. This was something I could do! Something I used to do and for some reason (something I'll have to look into further) stopped doing. It was time to return to the "center of my being" and listen. Slow down. Tell my monkey mind TIME OUT!

I returned to one of my favorite authors and teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh and the book A Lifetime of Peace: Essential Writings by and About Thich Nhat Hanh. After greeting the morning and a new day, I began to count my breath. Breathe in and count one, breathe out and count one. Breathe in, two. Breathe out, two. Breathe and count to ten. If a thought comes along .. recognize it, send it away and start with one again. Each time count to ten. Counting attaches mindfulness to the breath. Soon I was reaching ten time and time again, without really realizing it. It was so nice to return to this form of meditation and nothingness.

This, however, is not enough for Thich Nhat Hanh. He believes you can "practice meditation when you walk, stand, lie down, sit, while washing your hands, washing the dishes, drinking tea, talking to friends or whatever you are doing". Whatever you are doing - it must be the most important thing. Be mindful.

I often find this "nothingness" while I am doing handwork ... knit, crochet, cross stitch. I zone out, get into a flow, tune everything out. Even what I'm doing just flows. And after, I am refreshed, whole, calm.

It's so nice to return to nothing. To put the do not disturb sign out.

So, this is my Nothing.

I hope you find yours.

Peace Party

Did you know International Peace Day is September 21?

I was visiting Vanessa over at A Fanciful Twist this morning. She mentioned that her friend Rhonda Roo was having a Peace Party on September 21. I don't know about you, but a Peace Party seems like a very good thing to me! Why don't you join us?!

Here's a quote from Rhonda Roo's lovely blog:

"So let's do it! Won't you join me? On September 21st, let's post our little doves, and whatever else means peace to us-a peace symbol out of rose petals or the rose itself, a poem, a song, a person, a quote, a story, or a word, a picture, a moment in time, whatever it is that you see in your mind's eye when you think of peace! It doesn't have to be lavish--or, you can go extravaganza style! Whatever you can spare, so that, for just one day, there are so many people thinking peaceful thoughts a cloud bursts and starts showering us with shimmery love drops!"

Partying for Peace!

YeeeeHaaaaw!

(I'm editing this post to include the information that a new book is starting at The Next Chapter (an online book club). The book is The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. It just seems to me that JOY and PEACE go together! )

Wrecking Week 5

It's week 5 of Wreck This Journal at The Next Chapter book blogging group. I took last week off and found myself doing things like cleaning closets. So, maybe, Jamie, this wrecking is leading to other things around the house!



For this week I had a great time with the pencil poking holes in the page. Just poking the hole wasn't enough. I had to force the pencil all the way through the page. I had a great time and wrinkled the page a bit, too.




Tearing strips was great, too. Both of these exercises were active and I thought I should tear up another page and poke more holes!


I've been looking at the back of the journal. It says to tape the journal up and mail it to yourself. I thought I'd better do that before there wasn't enough of a journal left to tape up and mail. So, that's what I'm doing tomorrow, off to the post. I'll let you know when the journal returns home.

Wreck This Journal Week 3

This is week three in The Next Chapter book group and we are Wrecking a journal.

The wrecking seems to get easier with each passing week.

Or, maybe I'm just getting into it.

Mr. Dragon is even asking if there is any journal wrecking to be done today!
We've had several discussions about *turning loose* -
not being so left brained.
Relax. Enjoy. Be a kid and see where it leads us in our art/craft etc.

I followed directions and lost this page. Here it is almost torn out. I *lost* it on the running trail at Rice, but forgot to take the camera. I'm sure someone will pick it up and deliver it somewhere. Bye, Bye black page!

Burning the page was fun.
I hung the page over the kitchen sink with the water running and let it burn, burn, burn
and didn't set off the smoke alarm!
The ash started a nice mess on the next page.
A few pages near by are a little wrinkled from the water.
Success!!

YeeeHaaaw!
Onward and upward!

Here's to wrecking!

It's Friday!

The Next Chapter book group is doing Wreck This Journal. They started last week and I guess I started last week too -- I slept with the book last Thursday. You read that right -- sleep with the book and then write about it. Well, it was sort of lumpy and the bed got a little cozy with the book, Mr. Dragon and three kitties and, it is HOT here, so the book was sort of clammy by morning. But that's what wrecking is all about! I'm supposed to break the spine of the book. I've walked on it. Tossed it and flung it about. Walked on it again. Turned it bass akwards (!!) and still the spine won't give! Isn't that the way it always is? I have a chance to do something I'd never do with a book and THIS BOOK WON'T COOPERATE! I'll keep trying.



This week I worked on the page For Four Letter Words. I played with it off and on and soon it became like a game. GAME! It's a four letter word. I wonder if it's on my list? I'll have to check.



I had a great time with the circle page. Soon I was drawing circles in circles and over circles. I don't know if you can tell, but there is sort of a little circle man in the upper left. I plan on coloring him in and playing with more circles later. I started numbering the pages. Got to 50 and then thought -- why am I following directions????? Don't do that! Break the rules. Wreck the book.

Remember this?
It was the first background I did for Visual Journalism 101.

This is what it looks like now!

I love it!
It really is a journal where I can write about what's happening in my life.
And, it's a journal where I can try new art techniques.
I'm going to do the same kind of thing with the blue page.

Thanks for stopping by.

Joy to You!

Journal Friday

I was surprised when I finished the journal page for this week. It has been so busy around here that I thought I wouldn't get time to smush some paint around. But look ... I did! And I had no idea what I would journal about ... and then, almost like a dream (the theme for the month over at Creative Every Day) ... there it was .....






Shangri La!!! I really think I need to branch out a little more with the color. Green is my favorite ... can you tell? Too funny. There are other colors, but I just seem to go back to green. This page was fun. I do believe the best things are found right under our noses ... right inside of us ... our own Shangri-La.






This week in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women we've entered the Third Gateway: Actualizing Creative Results: The Power of Positive Priorities. I loved Carrie Fisher's quote, "I don't want life to imitate art. I want life to be art." Yeeehawww!

Gail McMeekin says, "You can design a life of creative fulfillment for yourself. You have the opportunity to select your goals for an abundant life of positive choices to enhance your creativity." One of the things she suggests doing is identifying your personal positive priorities.

I'm sure my age has a lot to do with where I am in my life. I quite like my life. I like that, finally, after many years of hard work in the medical profession, I am doing what I really enjoy. So here is a partial list of my priorities:

• Live with grace and beauty
• Live with kindness
• Have life experiences that are joyful. Learn from those that are not.
• Have successful relationships with people. Learn, love and hug!
• Enjoy life! Hug the fur babies. Hug Mr. Dragon. Enjoy Nature - feed and nurture it and it will feed and nurture you.
  
• Make the quality of living important. Explore!
  
• Remember the power of Gratitude.
  
• Love what you are doing.
• Care for your body and mind. (I need to work on the body part).
  

Journal Friday & TNC

First, lets add some paint to the journal pages and then we'll talk!
One of my best buddies (one of the ladies I call sister by choice) was by the house yesterday
and took a look at the original journal pages.
Like you, she had just seen them on the blog.

She mentioned that she thought I was using the same
colors that a dear friend (and artist) used
in her work.
Unfortunately, cancer took our friend from this earth
many years ago.
She was much too young and we miss her. She was one of a kind!
Perhaps she is my guide now?

This is week seven in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin and Secret Seven is Consulting With Guides.

"As the creative path can be lonely and fraught with arduous challenges, help from guides can keep you centered and well-advised."

As Oprah Winfrey says, "Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher." Being part of this book group is one way to lift myself higher. Being part of Creative Everyday is another.

Gail McMeekin said many things that grabbed me by the tail (see earlier posts for being swung around by the tail reference!). Among them:

"It's amazing how the power of being heard and valued can clear the cobwebs and allow us to identify what we really want."

And

"We are all guides to someone in our lives and therefore we have opportunities to nurture and support others. It is not appropriate to condemn and devalue other people's innovations. We can express our honest opinion but with reverence for the person's courage to express herself. A world where each of us sees our chance to play guide as a sacred role will help to heal the scars of creative destruction that too many of us have already experienced."

Amen!

Which leads me (finally) to the almost finished Friday Journal Page.

Somewhere out there in blog land, I read about Tarot Journaling.
I visited half price book store last week and found, lo and behold,
a book titled Tarot Journaling and next to it was The Runic Tarot.
Ok. Sometimes the big U does not have to hit me over the head.
I brought both the book and the cards home.

Then I decided to work with cards I already had, the new ones
and picked The Lovers from the major arcana to start with.
It was an experiment and, I must say, it was very successful.
I used the Lovers from my old Waite deck -- the deck I used 30+ years ago
almost daily for myself and for others.
The Japanese Deck is based on woodblock prints.
But the card I found that sounded the most like me today is one
from the Dragon deck and the new Runic Tarot. (Really!)

Enough! I could go on and on. I will try this again, but next time
I will pick a card at random and use all the decks again
and see what I learn about myself.

This came in my morning email -- my message from the universe.
I'd like to share it with you.

Whatever it is you want, however you want to have it, no matter why you want to have it, Snap, you can have it faster if you can first be happy without it.

Sneaky, clever, foxy, wry -
The Universe

Have a wonderful, peaceful, innovative, joyful, Friday!

Valentine Journal Page

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I'm a day early, but I was ready and I've been eating chocolate!

Today is Friday which means journal page day and I'd like you to meet
Mr. and Mrs. Dragon on their wedding day.

A few presents for you! (Thank you Dover!)

Cute little Valentine Putti is clip art for you.

Another clip art bouquet for you.

I think the swans are my favorite clip art.

The next chapter in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women is titled Conquering Saboteurs. "In order to leverage your creative growth, you need to defend yourself from saboteurs, both internal and external". In order to do this McMeekin suggests that we value our natural abilities, overcome the fear of criticism and others, but it was these two that I *felt* the most. She talked about gremlins -- those persistent little voices of doubt. The gremlins suddenly turned into dragons that needed slaying. I laughed. Interesting what symbols mean to people. You see, my imaginary friend when I was a kid (a very long time ago) was a dragon. Sort of a dragon of the Puff the Magic Dragon type, with a nice big belly that made curling up easy and comfy with his wings draped around me. My dear Puff has changed over the years. Sometimes he was a fiery monster that kept all the bad *stuff* away, but he always was on my side.

My natural abilities were never nurtured at home. I had a chorus teacher in grade school who recognized my perfect pitch. I still kick myself for not continuing voice studies, but the finances weren't there -- the support wasn't either. I quit singing in high school. I hum a tune every now and then. I loved Barbara Sher's quote "A good teacher is the holiest of God's creatures." Amen. To all you teachers out there -- bless you!

My father had the most beautiful handwriting. He was taught in school the Spencerian Script. It was hard to read with all its flourishes, but what an art! He should have been an artist.

I've always been interested in *things*. I've always *crafted*. I don't think of myself as an artist -- craft person is ok with me. Is that a gremlin sneaking in and telling me I can't do it? Good question!

When this month is over, and all my talks and tours are given, I'm going to take a kid's art class. I have the books and I'm going to be a 5 year old going to my first art class with my crayons and pencils in tow. Don't worry, I'll share!

One more quote from this chapter: "To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another." ~Katherine Paterson, writer.

Journal Friday on Sunday!

Here's the journal page that I normally would have posted on Friday. One of my sticky fingers took Mr. Robin's head off and I had to repair him. Now that he has his head again, here's the page. All of these birds have visited our backyard -- some only once -- some everyday. This page is a continuation of the My Favorite Things list which I'm still adding to - the latest being Micky Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I wanted to remember nature ... remember the visitors to our backyard that have given us so much pleasure and true joy with their beauty, their antics, and their *friendship* (birdship?).

I didn't post on Friday about The Next Chapter and The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. As I read the last chapter, I kept thinking about the Metta Prayer that goes something like this:

May all beings be peaceful.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings awaken to the
light of their true nature.
May all beings be free.

It all starts with us, doesn't it. Making time for ourselves. Knowing ourselves. I start with myself when I say the Metta Prayer. May I be peaceful. May I be happy. May I be safe. May I awaken to the light of my true nature. May I be free. Then I go on to my loved ones and then to all people.

May you all be peaceful, happy and safe this beautiful day.

I Have A Cold

What a title for a post! I Have A Cold. Well, I do. And this too shall pass. I know that. Meanwhile, I feel sorry for myself!

Quite a lead in for Surrendering to Creative Cycles, the next chapter in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. The cold is a cycle of sorts -- it will end and I'll feel better about everything! Cycles I understand. By the time you have lived 5 decades on the earth, cycles became a part of you. Listening to the moon. Enjoying the seasons. Which brings me around to another quote I remind myself of often. It comes from Gardening At The Dragon's Gate. It goes something like this: "all four seasons of the year are present in the span of one day. Thus, spring is the dawn of the day, full summer is high noon, autumn falls at dusk and father winter oversees the midnight hour." Life is the same. I'm at the end of summer and entering autumn. I am nearing a crone and proud of it. I actually believe, at times, that I will make a terrific wise woman!

Creativity follows cycles, too. I wasn't very creative this last week and I'm blaming it on my cold, but I did get one journal page done.



This is Teddy. I moved the chair so that I could put my journal in it to take a picture. He decided that it was his chair and if any picture was to be taken it would be of him. Look at his eyes! Too funny!

Monday was the Lunar New Year 4707 - the year of the Ox. I am an Ox -- calm, hard working, with a resolve and a tenacity that at times is tiring! I didn't like how my stencils in the corners turned out -- too much paint (even though I thought I used very little) so I wrote over them.

My word for the year is LISTEN. There's a message to the cycles in my life -- LISTEN!

Happy Day Everyone!

Engaging Your Creativity

Today the group at The Next Chapter is talking about Engaging Your Creativity, Chapter 3 in the book 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. I read a few of the comments this morning that my fellow members made, and found that I wasn't the only one who wasn't turned on by this chapter. Some of this may be my age. I'll be 60 this year and I've been through the pains of working in jobs that didn't interest me and spent a lot of time wondering where I'd gone wrong. I just fell into my profession. I worked in a hospital while I was going to university and once I graduated I just continued in the medical profession. I made a living wage and met Mr. Dragon - so not all was bad. And, it wasn't bad, just didn't *turn me on*. But I was successful enough to be able to retire (thank you Mr. Dragon), became a professional volunteer, which I really enjoyed, working with Ronald McDonald House, art centers, humane shelters. It really wasn't until the last 10 years that I've been able to do what I really wanted to do -- Asian art. Again, it's volunteer (mostly) -- doing research for the curators in asian art and is especially exciting right now because the galleries are moving into larger space. Lot's of research to do and I love it. I get to "lecture" (with a very little L) to the docents and try to teach them why I am so excited by this art -- ancient and modern.

I did relate to Jolen Godfrey (Independent Means, Inc.) when she said, 'For the last 20 years, I have watched when I have begun to bounce off walls, and that's real information that things are not great. Rather than put up with a really dysfunctional, unhappy life, I have at least been able to say, 'Uh-oh, things aren't right here, and I need to find something that will make me sane and more at peace with myself." Amen! That's usually when I'd start a new yarn project of some kind and escape into the meditation of the project -- calm, serene work.

I did find a few quotes that I especially liked, but have to say that my favorite was one by Dolly Parton, "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow you gotta put up with the rain."

This brings me back to last week and my list of things I love. I prepared the journal page (above) and have started to list them there (sorry,no picture -- I ran out of time today). Here they are (so far):

• teddy bears
• museums (all kinds)
• books, libraries, used book stores
• dragons, wizards, fairies, magic, science fiction, fantasy
• laughter
• art, yarn, crochet, knitting
• nature, birds, trees, critters, oceans, rivers, snow, flowers, waterfalls
• kitties,puppies, pets
• tea, tea pots
• soup
• Buddhism, meditation
• the color green
• anthropology
• the zoo
• chickens, deer
• cookies, jamoca almond fudge ice cream
• chocolate
• candles
• ceramics, hand built/thrown pots
• butterflies, dragon flies
• Chinese and Thai food, sushi
• music
• pink plastic flamingoes
• picnics
• college baseball, hot air ballooning
• champagne
• gardens
• snowmen
• walking barefoot

I'll leave you today with a quote from OFFERINGS: Buddhist Wisdom For Everyday:

"On the day that you were born, you began to die.
Do not waste a single moment more!"
~Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Week Two: Secrets of Highly Creative Women

First, No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Life just interrupts our plans sometimes. The good news is we have finished the repairs and painting downstairs left from Hurricane Ike. We started on the upstairs this week including getting a new computer - finding a place for it and moving data from the old computer to the new. I've spent the day going through file cabinets and shredding. The shredder and I have developed a relationship! I feed it and, so far, it enjoys it!

Today marked Chapter Two over at The Next Chapter of 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. Chapter Two is about honoring your inspirations. There are several keys involved including practicing play, communing with your senses and nature, creating a sanctuary, and inventing rituals.

Sanctuary really hit home for me along with communing with nature. I've posted before about our sanctuary garden (Musashi's Garden). Playing in the dirt has always been important for me. I remember being very young and quite taken with being outside and planting something -- watching it grow. Playing in the dirt is relaxing for me. It lets me escape from the daily *junk* into another reality. Ideas, creativity -- also seeds that are planted and grow.


This is the background for my next journal page. This time I remembered to take a picture of it before I started with the collage elements.


This is the page with the collage elements added. I will journal this weekend. I have to admit that I really like the page the way it is! My added words may be very brief! The Buddha is a garden Buddha. The bird and flower are from a piece of wrapping paper I've been saving for years. It is old and somewhat fragile (one of the reasons I didn't cut too much around the flower and bird). Once again I had the idea for the journal page before I read Chapter Two and I'm delighted that they fit so well together. Sanctuary in the garden and in my home -- with candles burning, ideas flowing, new insights and ideas.

Once again I made note of a couple of my favorite quotes from the chapter: "Imagination is the highest kite we can fly.' (Lauren Bacall) and 'Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes I even have trouble doing it." (Tallulah Bankhead).

Jamie suggested we make a list of the things we love. I'm going to start my list this evening. I'm afraid I won't know where to stop!

This evening I'm taking a break from the shredding and back to the crocheting.

Journal Page

This is a journal page I finished late last night. My old friend the Universe must be on my mind because it is the theme of the page. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture before I added the collage elements. I really liked the paint application.


I found representations of the Universe: the Eagle Nebula, Saturn, Jupiter and the Galileo module, the Crab Nebula, the human brain, a fossilized ammonite shell. The universe within and without. The journaling includes information about each.


There is also a story here. In late December I was visiting Dragonfly Reflections and found a post about messages from the universe and the web site Tut.com. I now receive a daily message from the Universe by way of Tut and have included parts of them on this page. Things like:
"It's within you. The answers you seek. The direction you want." and "the power to be whoever you want to be. Your dreams are not yours by mere whim. They've been matched to your gifts... Listen (that's my word for the year) to your heart. You have the right stuff."

The Next Chapter started today with the first chapter from The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin. One of the sentences I marked to quote is: "your creative self is alive and waiting for your invitation to evolve. Dare to embrace your creative self and manifest your dreams." Interesting how the journal page came first and then the reading of this book.

Oh, great Universe. I get the message. Listen it is! Create! Play in the garden! Paint! Knit! Yippee!

5 A Day

I was visiting Leah today. She had been tagged to take part in the Mindapples project telling the world what five things you do that help keep you mentally well.

Here’s how it works:

• Write a post telling your readers five things you do that help keep you mentally well.
• Link to the Mindapples site.
• Invite five blog-friends to do the same (if you want to)

And that’s it.

I've decided to list my five things that calm/ground me, but I'm not going to tag anyone. Play along if you like.

1. I like to meditate.
2. Walk around the neighborhood.
3. Listen to music - usually with a Celtic flavor.
4. Be creative. That might mean playing with paint, working with yarn, cooking.
   
5. Reading. Keep the little gray cells active!
   
6. Stay interested in life! Get up in the morning and welcome the day.
7. Opps -- guess I've gone over 5!

It's not 2009 yet, but already the January calendar is getting busy. I enjoyed Creative Everyday so much in 2008 that I signed up for Creative Everyday 2009 (check out Leah's blog). Jamie at TNC is starting a new book in January - Twelve Secrets of Highly Creative Women. I'm sure it will be as much fun as Soul Coaching was -- not to mention good for me, too! Paulette Insall has a new journaling class that starts January 5. The Houston Zoo is starting off its wild life lectures in January with cotton top tamarins and I have a short, 15 minute presentation for the docents early in the month. Wow! That should keep me busy. Perhaps I should add number 8 above: Keep Busy. Then there is no time to get flustered!

Seeing the little Christmas tree widget counting down the days to Christmas reminds me that time moves quickly. Make every moment count. Embrace every moment.