Unconditional Love 101-A One Love Nugget

Feel your heart. Is it open?
When you feel angry, when you are hurting, even when you feel disconnected, you can open as love.
Pause.
Breathe.
Feel.
Soften.
Choose Love.

Especially when you are about to flip your lid, or react...
Pause.
Breathe.
Feel.
Soften.
Open your heart.

Love like a child.
Sit like a Buddha.
Be Love.

Art EveryDay - EveryWhere in EveryWay

Here I am in day 29 of the Art Everyday Month Challenge. It has been amazing, in both subtle and obvious ways. I feel infused with a soulful creative expression that is pure delight. I feel humbled, touched and boosted by the living practices of Life as Art, Love as Art and Art as Meditation. Here are written and visual snapshots of the final week of Art Everyday Nuggets.

• The Art of Visioning: I see a flourishing, functional, thriving Ecovillage, with beautiful green/solar/wind powered facilities, including homes, guest cottages, retreat center, dance/event space, school, ropes course, sweat lodge, permaculture gardens, goats, chickens, wild spaces, art spaces, zen gardens, sanctuary, aligned community and home. Did I mention it has a river running through the property and is perpetually financially fueled by a multimillion dollar endowment? You get the picture. Visioning is an Art. Dare to vision into the miraculous.

• The Art of Family Reunion: Thanksgiving week found us rejoicing with family in town from CA, AZ and FL. Surrendering to the joy of kids bouncing off walls and running down halls, tracking 3 or 4 conversations at once, and 'tai chi-ing' the needs, preferences and rhythms of many people for several days - was true art. We had a blast, and stayed committed to real connection & love.
  

• The Art Of Nature: The natural world is rich with inspiring masterpieces of art. Today as we hiked the gorgeous canyons of the Sonoran desert, I found myself creating pujas of earth sculpture and mandala prayers. Autumn kissed leaves danced around circles of stones glistening with mica specs. Rock balancing meditations, and fairy houses constructed of twigs and golden grasses were embraced within the backdrop of striking mountains and vast blue sky. Mother nature, the original Earth Artist is a potent teacher of impermanence and eternal beauty all at once.
  

• The Art Of Collage: Some of you already know that I am a serious collage junkie. It has been a heart practice of mine for many moons. I love how bits of paper of people, places, images and color somehow come together, effortlessly to express a depth that words cannot touch. As cards, prayers, full/new moon vision boards and beyond, collage art rocks!

• The Art of Movement: Running through foothills trails like a bounding deer, my heart pumps and leaps with the joie de vivre. Wind in my hair, sun shine on my face-I am not dreaming of heaven, I am living it. Followed by a yoga asana set on my front patio amidst full moon and big top sky, I am refreshed, chakras flowing with life force, body supple, mind clear, heart open.
  

• The Art of Soul Dance: A sister to The Art of Movement, the soul dance is informed by an authentic impulse to express freedom from the inside out. I love ecstatic dance. It is medicine. Flowing, rhythmic and provocative music, a dance floor, and the sacred space to ignite and shake it all loose is bliss to me. Soul dance is a practice of love, a devotion, a prayer, a joy, a healing salve, elixir and most definitely an art.
  

• The Art Of Zen Homemaking: Simply caring for home, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry can be regenerative and enjoyable. Today, Kenya, Talia and I blended our chores with crafting and art-making all day long. My sense of relaxation, gratitude and love shifted my tasks from suffering to sanctuary. Check out my greatest inspiration of Zen Homemaking, Karen Maezen Miller. She says, "The kitchen is not only the heart of a home, it can also be the heart of our mindfulness practice. In cooking and cleaning, we move beyond ourselves and into compassionate care of everything and everyone around us."
  

This concludes my 4 part series on Art Everyday. Honorable mention also goes to The Art of Tickling, Wrestling, Relating, Goofing and Doing Nothing. I am eternally grateful for the meditation, exploration, and experiment this month has been. I see clearly that the spirit of soulful, creative expression is everywhere! Life as art really is art everyday in every way. Thanks for coming along on the ride and please comment to this post and let me know what you have learned about your life as art this month!
All Love, Gabriela

How to Live Art Everyday

Welcome to my Art Everyday Series!










My dear friend, rad visionary/creative career guide, Britt Bravo always hooks me up with juicy, inspiring goods. Recently, she turned me on to ArtEveryday Month, (a genius creation of life artist, Leah Piken Kolidas). This is a wonderful month long invitation to create art everyday.

I felt totally inspired for many reasons. I love living life as art. I love the practice of focused intention to live creatively everyday.

Here are snapshots of the week in review.

• Day 1: "The Art of Lounging" I slept in till 9:15 am (a rarity in our household, which I have done less than 5 times since becoming a mama 4 years ago). Later I enjoyed a lounge on the Hammock, with my sweet hubs, Kenya and daughter Talia. Laughing, snuggling and swinging together was luxurious.
  

• Day 2:"The Art of Sharing" I posted 10 Pearls of Wisdom for Living Love. Being a true believer in our unity and shared dreaming, I shared highlights from a recent vision quest. Today I felt into my broad definition of Art. I feel so grateful for all the ways that art reflects the beauty, mystery and infinite possibilities of life. True art touches me on a heart/soul level. Later, I played around with watercolors, for the first time in years! Painted a "You Are Love" sign for Talia's room. She loved it!

• Day 3: "The Art of Gift Making"Talia and I played for 2 hours with a sprawl of art supplies, making holiday cards and bookmarks as gifts. We talked, laughed, listened to music, sang and enjoyed a quiet shared creative space.

• Day 4: "The Art of Haiku" I love this Japanese poetry practice, inspired by Zen/Buddhism (5-7-5 syllables). Ideally, it encapsulates deep feeling and gives a sense of the infinite- in a nutshell. Take a deep breath in between lines as you read.
  
  Renewal, Rebirth
  Gut, Release, Dissolve
  Steeping in the Love.
  

OK, by now, I am also in awareness and celebration of how much art expression there is in my life! Improvisational play, puppet shows and family dance parties, singing, chanting, drumming, strumming are a daily part of life. We host a chalk mural canvas patio, the length of our home, 3 cupboards loaded with art supplies and a wide ranging family of instruments. We bring love and creativity into cooking, parenting, relationships, professional work and to the chop wood carry water details of life. And while this lifestyle is the norm for us, I notice that the exception is not nearly as fun or life giving. Surrounding ourselves with art creation and creativity, in all forms, feels good! It is a way of being good to ourselves.

• Day 5: "The Art of Earthing" Yes, Earthing is actually a real word and a movement to stay connected to earth energy as a sustaining factor of vitality and health. We enjoyed an afternoon out in Bear Canyon, with 3 kids under the age of 4. With head to the big sky, sun kiss upon us and bare feet in the ground (literally), we dug in sand, splashed in the creek, played on rocks and communed with nature and friends. First thing that morning, I created a tiny 5"x3" bookmark of Sky/Starfish/Ocean with brush pens. Knowing it would be a full day out, I wanted to begin with the practice of "creating art everyday". Even small expressions of creativity can be so fulfilling.

• Day 6: "The Art of Blessing" I savored a full day in meditation on divine love, peace and unity. I was initiated by soul kin, Zelie and Lucia, beautifully tuned medicine women, as a Deeksha-Oneness Blessing Giver, This profound transmission of divine love, intended to inspire global peace, comes to us from the Oneness University . Check out their amazing vision. Also highlighted today was the "Art of Yoga and Napping in the Garden", on our midday break. I *LOVE* when these art forms blend together.

• Day 7: "The Art of Play" I played with Talia and two of her pals at our home. Hubs was giving their parents a djembe drum lesson, while we romped. We played karate/yoga class, zoomed on scooters, climbed the fort, drew with sidewalk chalk, went on the swings and hammock, shared snacks while coloring with Crayons, told knock knock jokes as we played with the sand and water table, read books (I read), pretended a birthday (complete with gift offerings and song), and had a bubble party, dancing to One Day and Give Love. Thoroughly playful. And they played ten times as much on their own. Children are masters of presence, play and wonder. They are natural life artists.

All that in just week one! I am finding that living Life as Art and Art as Meditation are my ideal lifestyle. Art Everyday Month has already been such an inspiration, to deepen and grow this life long practice that gives so much-inside and out! What's more, this week I got that it is not just "Art Everyday", it is also "Art Everywhere" Thank Goodness.

There are still 3 whole weeks left. Join me, and comment on your experiences here! I'd love to hear about your journey. Stay tuned for week two.
Let's Live Art Everyday, Everywhere, Together!
LeHaim! To LIFE!, G

Heart Driven-Oil Spill Clean Up

This weeks One Love Nuggets come to you in response to a fellow One Love Alliance reader question and from a letter written by Paul Kelway, a member of the Shambhala Buddhist community, in regards to the oil spill in the Gulf.

Dear One Love Alliance,
I sure could use a nugget of wisdom to support my practice of staying present with what is real, rather than tripping out on my mentally generated yaya. What have ya got?
Monkey Mind

Dear Monkey Mind,
Thanks for your very universal question, as usual, one to which we can all relate. I feel ya, and your yaya. You are already aware enough to know that the mentally generated noise is NOT real, so, when you hear it, give thanks and take it as a cue to drop from the head to the heart. The heart allows access to the goodies of wisdom, intuition, truth force and love. No amount of thinking can get us there. Lovingly invite the monkey mind into the magic moment (the present). Take a deep breath, wiggle your toes, shift your attention to your heart presence and direct the mind to become a servant to the heart. Rest there. Breathe, sense and be guided into whatever empowered action, doing or non doing is inspired. No more mind calling the shots. Heart drives. Mind copilots. Period. I promise you this simple practice will shift your experience and reality. You already have all the tools you need. Drink of the love.
____________________________________________________
On another note, the last many days I have felt so psychically aware of the oil spill in the Gulf. My heart has been engaged in prayer and living my way into the question...how do I hold space for this? What can I do to contribute to the resolution, to the transformation of this specific environmental mess, and the broader mess as a humanity, that we are creating on Earth?

Today, I read the passage below, written by Paul Kelway, a regional manager of the International Bird Rescue Research Center, which has teams in the Gulf of Mexico. His words seemed a direct response to my inner prayer. Perhaps they will speak to your heart as well.

"...As a Shambhalian I have been trying to reconcile all of this with my relationship and allegiance to basic goodness. More than ever before I realize that this journey is not for the faint hearted. I also realize that it is what the world needs more than anything else. It needs people who can hold this incredible amount of pain but who know that the energy of this suffering and sadness must be held with fearlessness and gentleness so that it does not become the fuel for further wars on whomever we decide is 'the other' to be blamed for this event. In this particular situation, as I think about my fellow Shambhala warriors, I would suggest that of all the help we as a community could provide, the most valuable gift right now truly is our practice, for all those directly affected and for the world at large. I am reminded of the words of the Sakyong, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, in his Earth Day message in 2009, when he said: "In the Shambhala tradition it is said that it is precisely in dark times like these that the inherent wisdom of the universe makes itself felt. Now is the time to draw on the inspiration of humanity's wisdom traditions. All remind us of the sacred oneness of life, the interdependence of all beings, and the inexorable laws of cause and effect. These teachings could not be more relevant to our collective imperative: the creation of enlightened and sustainable societies." Our aspiration to walk this path of basic goodness and to work tirelessly for enlightened society, no matter how great the obstacles may appear, is what the world needs. Only by holding true to these principles, beyond hope and hopelessness, can we have any chance of navigating these turbulent times. "

I will continue to practice and navigate as best as I can. I trust in the basic goodness of humanity. I trust in Mother Nature's relentless ability to regenerate. I trust in the Sacred Law of transmuting poison into medicine. And I trust in the Universal Law of Love. I will work tirelessly for an enlightened society, with all my heart. Join me. So be it.

Spacious Being- Stop, Drop and Flop.

Stop...Pause.
Drop...Drop in.
Flop... be held in Love, in the Mystery, in your deepest self.

There is a sacred marriage of being and doing and I am always in the dance of living this harmony. I sense this true intimacy and unity is available in any moment! I wrote the following thoughts a few weeks ago after falling asleep and waking suddenly from a dream.

I am coming out of the dream time to broadcast a very important message:

GO TO SLEEP!
I know, this may sound contrary to all this "waking up" I constantly spout, but it is not at odds with awakening at all. Nor is it a polarization to the "Carpe Diem" of living fully.

The last few nights, I have fallen asleep in total ecstasy. I snuggle beside my 3 year old love bug, massaging her feet to the soundtrack of my sweetheart's deep, loving voice telling an epic bedtime story. Last I remember, he was talking about shooting stars with rainbow trails of light. Then, Talia's breath fell deeper and her body dropped (and flopped) into the bliss of sleep. Mine too apparently, till I got myself up to come bring you this important message.

During the Winter season, all kinds of living things draw inward, root deeper into the Earth, into darkness and stillness, only to emerge with new life in the Spring. Bears hibernate, nights are longer, our psyches call us into a deeper quiet, "being with" and " dropping in" to the depths. Are you responding? Are you stopping to pause? To rest and sleep? The Dalai Lama says, "Sleep is the best meditation". I admit, I definitely am not getting enough sleep. Are you?

Lately, I stay up late doing creative work and then savor sleep till the crack of dawn or a bit later, if I am extremely lucky. I can count the number of nights of uninterrupted sleep I've had since becoming a parent, on one hand. Extra luxurious nights have minimal swats and kicks from little limbs in the bed or my kind hubs takes our little one to the bathroom instead of me. But even beyond sleep, lately, I am feeling the need to just STOP. Where is my "off" switch?

The richness of my life is a joyous blessing that I treasure with gratitude. However, if I am not mindful to stay in balance, my life, my body and my mind get over active. Whether the over activity comes with working or playing, dancing, running, writing or thinking, traveling in cars, planes and trains, there comes a time when I need to stop, drop and flop!

In my family, we experience "flopping" as a total letting go. It is a complete surrender to having to hold up our bones as well as our postures of an engaged "go for it" human. Even our nervous system releases any grip when we flop. Lately, I have been craving the "flop." Flopping on the couch and doing nothing or flopping on the Earth in the sunshine, this is ecstasy. I am after the no-thingness, the just be-ingness. I want to dissolve all agendas and responsibilities of time, caretaking and cultural agreements. I want to be like the frogs on the canyon walls that lounge all day and commune with the elements of water, earth, wind and sun.

I know that quieting the monkey mind and nervous system rev is a moment to moment choice. I know this choice is available any time, any where. There is a quality of reflective spaciousness that though subtle is pure soul food. While I often experience being lit up by the muses of movement and expression. Stillness, quiet and stopping also fill my cup and refuel my soul. I love prayer, ritual and meditation for all these reasons. They bring intention and attention into the very breath of now and the time space continuum (which can sometimes feel like a fast train going everywhere at once) disappears.

I know how to live in the world of people and things. Yet the Indigenous idea of time as a circle is really much more nurturing and ultimately more life giving to me.

I invite you to join me...stop, drop and flop. Step out of linear time, even if just for a few moments and be receptive to what you discover there. Stop, pause, breathe. Drop in more deeply into your core, your source. Flop into the arms of the Divine.

And with a long, luxurious exhale, in just an instant, we are deeper in our center, where nothing is lacking, relaxed at home in our selves, wherever we are.

Ah yes, Spacious Being.

How about you? How do you strike the balance of being and doing?

Compassion For Haitians and All Humanity

Greetings, Lovers of Life!
This morning I read my friend Britt's post on the Earthquake in Haiti. I don't follow the "news" at all, partly because there is so much media brainwash and "bad" news reported. I relate to my friend Darren's teacher, Lee Lozowick, that it is important to 'make judicious choices about what kind of impression food we will eat.' In reference to films with suffering content, he says , "We should already be so deeply in touch with the reality of suffering, it should be such a cellular knowledge for us, that we hardly need to go to a movie to remind us of it." I agree.

The devastation and suffering in Haiti is part of daily life. It is not my daily life, yet a part of me and of humanity I cannot deny, even if it hurts to see it. The world has plenty of sorrow and devastation. We need not be resigned to it. Thankfully, trusted sources, like Britt can keep us up to speed on how to "do good" and make a difference. She offers several options for making donations and participating in relief and support efforts to Haiti.

According to the U.S. UNICEF press release: "Funds are urgently needed to provide safe water, temporary shelter systems, essential medical supplies etc. . . . Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has a population of 9.6 million inhabitants, of which more than half are under 21 years old."

I saw photos of the Earthquake and instantly my heart ached with the suffering of the Haitians in their reality. In addition to making a donation towards relief efforts, I began to practice Tonglen. Tonglen is Tibetan for 'giving and taking' (or, sending and taking). Wikipedia says "in this practice, one visualizes taking onto oneself the suffering of others, and giving one's own happiness and success to others."

'It is a practice of 'using what seems like poison as medicine. Using suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.' Pema Chodron writes,"Tonglen reverses the usual logic of avoiding suffering and seeking pleasure and, in the process, we become liberated from a very ancient prison of selfishness... It awakens our compassion and it also introduces us to a far larger view of reality. It introduces us to the unlimited spaciousness that Buddhists call shunyata. By doing the practice, we begin to connect with the open dimension of our being...

Tonglen can be done for those who are ill, those who are dying or have just died, or for those that are in pain of any kind. It can be done either as a formal meditation practice or right on the spot at any time. "

Please, give yourself and all of humanity a gift. Read more about the simple steps to practice Tonglen, and make it a part of your daily, on the spot awakening of compassion. Donate your consciousness and loving kindness to the people of Haiti and to all of humanity.

And a special thanks to my mother in law,Terra, for introducing me to this practice. She is a Bodhisattva beacon and an awakener of compassion in the world.