Share the Dream

Artwork today... Share the dream you had for this one precious life.

I've finally returned to my art, it seems like forever that I've been away. Renovating my house has taken my focus for the last year and a half and we are now looking forward to another new dream. I'd almost forgotten just how pleasurable it is to simply put paint on paper.

Have you ever woken from your sleep in the dawning hours of the day? It's so quiet and peaceful at that time usually. I've been waking early for the last few days, out of a dream, that disappears as quickly as it came. How real some dreams seem. In my dreams I'm often looking for a house or going on a journey. What about you, do you have a recurring dream?

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don't go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don't go back to sleep

People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.

Don't go back to sleep.

Rumi

Have you struck gold yet?

"All of us are far richer than we imagine. None of us possesses a life devoid of magic, barren of grace, divorced from power. Our inner resources, often unmined and even unknown and unacknowledged, are the treasures we we carry, what I call our spiritual DNA.

Just as our physical potentials are encoded at conception, it is my belief that we also carry the imprint, or blueprint of our gifts and their unfolding. Often we have far more gifts than we imagine. For example, a love of music may indicate a gift for it as well - a gift we may not have developed due to the circumstances of our birth.

Similarly, many voracious readers are closet writers, afraid to step into the arena of their dreams. This arena is our spiritual DNA, the treasure chest we bring into the world are are charged with developing. The tricky part is recognising it." Julia Cameron In Vein of Gold.

As you read these words by Julia, do they bring up anything for you? Maybe you love to watch dancing - do you dance? What dreams lie hidden within you?

Tao Porchon Lynch had a dream to do ballroom dance, so at 85 or thereabouts, she set off for lessons, because as she says, 'there is nothing you cannot do'. The beloved Tao passed away earlier this year aged 101. She is one of my role models.

Do you have role models? If not I invite you to create a gathering folder where you add images and stories of people who inspire you. Regularly open it, and add info. How could you integrate some of their inspiration, into your life.

Tao Porchon Lynch - this was taken after she had had 3 hip replacements! No more excuses. Dearest Tao, thank you for your grace and inspiration.

How to make a mixed media collage sketchbook with Cas Holmes

Enjoy... something to play with while in lockdown or social distancing.

Keep Calm and Stay At Home

Well it's been a while again in between posts. We've had a lot of work to do in our new home that has been unexpected, the move didn't go as smoothly as we'd thought, and we're both missing Port Macquarie. We'd been thinking about putting this house on the market, and now we are all in social distancing mode, so I'm not sure what the market will even be, or when we'll be able to do that.

So given that we all have so much going on, how do we artfully express ourselves during this time? Art Journalling can be helpful, to calm and collect our thoughts express emotions and longings.

While we are staying at home, it can be a good time to 'hatch ideas'. What would you like to do once this retreat time is at an end? I'd thought we'd go to the Greek Islands again this year, but tour on a slow pace around less visited islands. I'd still like to, one idea to hatch.

When I watch a TV series or movie now it seems strange to see big groups of people so close together. I'm astounded how quickly I've become used to space and distance. I don't like it, but I've become accustomed.

And what about social distancing? How is that for you? What are you noticing about how you feel, what are you noticing about how others respect new social rules? I've noticed that some people are respecting the new boundaries and some aren't. What do boundaries represent to you? Are they a safety for you? Or do they feel constricting?

Could you explore the theme of boundaries in your art journal? Perhaps you could try some slow stitching and then paste it in your journal.

What are you missing at present? I'm missing simple things, visiting an art gallery, coffee with a friend, yoga with my group, dancing a couple of times a week, listening to live bands.

It's a time to notice the little things that bring joy, and focus more on those, not to ignore what we are feeling, but to give ourselves space to change the track of our thoughts, like a train being given another track to go down, pull the train of thought into a station, get off and get onto another train of thought. Where would you like that train to take you today?