How to Live Art Everyday Part 2

At the midpoint of the Art Everyday Month Challenge, I am both delighted and humbled. There were moments this week where it took real choosing to create beauty, ease and art with life...especially when I was very busy, tired and tempted to reactivity and survival chemistry. Though every time I choose to live my life as art, my mood lightens and I feel my commitment to my essential values.

That is what creating art does for me...kicks a log in my fire of divine love!
Here are some nuggets from the week in review:

Day 8: The Art Of Simplicity After a juicy, fun filled day of friendship, intuitive consults, family time, and all kinds of details in the marketplace, I snuggled in bed with four 4x5 postcards and a pencil. Simple- 4 line drawings, before dissolving into dream time. Turns out these wee pieces captured potent energy, and really nourished my soul. It doesn't take much. As the Bhagavad Gita says, about the path of yoga, "Even a little of this practice will shelter you from great sorrow."

Day 9: The Art of Going with the Flow Though a long to-do list met me in the morning, I looked at my journal and line drawings and knew the agenda was out the door. Today (unlike yesterday), I would make Art Everyday my first priority. I sprawled out with bright brush pens, layered papers, wrote haiku, adorned and framed each line drawing. Each was written for and since given to 3 precious peeps in my life. Later, going with the flow, found Talia and I sharing a picnic and romp at Sabino Creek all afternoon. I also shifted my evening city plans as the flow led me to a sweet mountain sunset with the hubs and snuggling our cutie to bed together. Following the current of energy, and letting go of agendas once in a while is golden.

Day 10: The Art of Shopping I am not a fan of shopping. Though I love quality, groovy, functional goods and gear, consumer madness, is cuckoo. Today, however, I set out to create an art form. I was a stealth, zen shopper. I was on a mission. And a fruitful, affordable and fun one it was! Here are my art of shopping pointers:

1. Have a list- yet be open to surprise purchases.
   
2. Get only what you *love* and need.
3. Welcome bargains (second hand can be first rate).
   
4. Have fun.
   
5. Get in, get out.

Day 11: The Art of Chanting I am a big fan of singing Kirtan and devotionals. Every week, right here in Tucson, over 150 folks from Tucson gather to sing Global Chants together. We sing songs and prayers from the Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, Native American, Buddhist and Goddess traditions and more. I love that we are all a totally diverse cross section of humanity. We are mixed in age, gender, ethnicity, size, color and background. Yet we all have in common a sweet, singing devotional heart. I love attending with Kenya and Talia. We sit in the inner concentric circle, surrounded by guitars, drums, harmonium, violin, shakers and bells. Tonight Talia danced in the center, until flopping into my lap and falling asleep to the lullaby of a Sanskrit chant.

Day 12: The Art of Zenjoyment (a word I created and use often). This day, (and all weekend solo with Talia as hubs was out of town) cross referenced with The Art of Least Resistance, The Art of Non Reactivity, and The Art of Patience. I chose to practice Zenjoyment all weekend, saying yes to life, letting go thoroughly to the moment, being wildly grateful for my experience, no matter what.

Day 13: The Art of Altars Creating a little (or big) space, here and there to welcome, honor and remember the divine is a gift you give yourself and your family. It doesn't matter if that place is where you meditate or on your kitchen counter. Adorned with fresh flowers, images of family, divine archtypes, sentimental trinkets, beautiful elements of nature, seasonal goodies, candles, and more, nurturing this space is a way to nourish ourselves. Today, I cleaned and cleared my kitchen altar. It is fresh with a trinity of Kwan Yin, Mary Magdalene and Lakshmi, with offerings of pumpkin, mesquite pods and eucalyptus. Everyday, I light a candle and some incense here and notice I immediately slow down, breathe more deeply, and relax into love.

Day 14: the Art of Sabbath A day of rest and worship...who couldn't use one? As Rumi wrote, "There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the Earth." Whether in the church of the great outdoors, your home, a spiritual service, solo or with others, taking a Sabbath day is a loving, sane practice, and truly an art given our fast paced culture. I love unplugging, enjoying time in prayer, and communion, savoring unhurried 'down' time that is focused on connection. Today, we did just that, all day long! Yes! A sweet exhale of gratitude.

How about you? How did you create art everyday, in big or small ways this week? I would love to know. Please remember to post your comments on the Blog itself. Use the "comment" link/space at the end of each post. Hitting "reply" to your "emailed" post never gets your comments to me. They are words of wisdom. I want to hear them! May you go out and "Artsper"... prosper too!

In loving Gratitude, G

10 Pearls of Wisdom for Living Love

Last month, I had a humbling, beautiful opportunity to meditate through the night in ceremony and prayer. The Universe is so generous! Many simple pearls of wisdom came to me. And, since I am a true believer in our unity and our shared dreaming, I trust there is a morsel of these "One Love nuggets", that may speak to your heart as well.

• Love it ALL- the way it is.

• In all you do, in all you are, there is no moment where you are not the divine embodiment of love. In every moment you are the divine embodiment of love.

• Let love in everywhere. Do not deny access to love- anywhere.

• Fully let go and come undone. Give it all for love.

• Forgive everything. Erase the past.

• Time spent in mental and emotional indulgence is wasted energy. Stop it.

• Be both gentle and swift in redirecting mind to the remembrance of the mystery of life.
  

• Be humble before/within the mystery.
  

• Let the all embracing love of the mystery flood into every cell of your being, into the whole of your neurology.

• Let Love direct your life. Let it model true compassion and surrender-from the inside out
  

What a wild and beautiful, universal journey we are all on. Love is the most powerful resource we have, let's share the wealth. Need support in connecting directly to your heart's wisdom?
Come here to get it.

Please comment and share some of your current pearls of living love. I look forward to hearing from you. Here's to freedom, love and peace for all beings. May we rest in the silence of the heart in every breath.

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Practice Being Present-Over and Over Again

The other day I spent about 30 minutes recoiling a hose in a new direction. It was like wrestling an anaconda. It was worn in a specific direction, molded to the pattern of its coil. This task practically had me cursing...which I only do when I am really mad and provoked. The hose was stubborn and resistant. It required all of my strength, all of my focus and all of my weight (literally, standing on top of it) to get it to change course. I kept at it, knowing that as I redirected the flow, it would get easier and easier over time for the hose to follow its new pathway. I thought... "this is just like life!" Sometimes there are stubborn habits to change, and it takes action to shift the pattern and create a new functional way of literally "rolling" with life. And, with practice, the rerouting gets easier and easier. Whether shifting an attitude or a neurological pathway, no matter how challenging the internal or external change may seem, the willingness to practice presence makes all the difference.

Waking up to the moment, in a tangle of hose, I saw that I was being resistant and stubborn. Further, I was not present or connected. I wanted to get through my chores quickly so that I could get on with the other "more important", less mundane items on my to do list. I laughed at myself. I wondered...Why am I hurrying, making this a "chore", and getting angry at a hose because it will not cooperate with my agenda? And what is more important than being present to whatever is before me? Life as it is, appearing moment to moment is always the obvious and ideal opportunity to open to, rather than contract to life. It is what is most important. And, when I eliminate mental gyrations, past rumination and futurization, all that is real is now, and now, and now.

In an instant of humble self reflection, I took a deep breath and noticed I had been gripping internally with shallow breathing. I dropped the hose that I'd kept tugging, forcing and reshaping, and went to the base of the coil, directly to the kink that needed attention, and focused there. I stopped and looked up, breathed the floral scent in the air, marveled at the crisp blue sky, and became more attuned to my surroundings. I felt the current of life take me, instead of struggling against it. From that moment on, getting present allowed for a more seamless, enjoyable flow to my day...even while recoiling the hose.

Sometimes these shifts are easy, other times, not so much. Dealing with a relentless internal critic, a whining child (or adult, including myself), or an argument with my beloved can be more heart and gut wrenching. It is one thing to blast my frustration at a hose...it is another to be reckless with the heart of another. I watch myself snap, lash and bite...and I pray for presence, patience and forgiveness. Being in reactivity, resistance and control serves nothing.

I am in the process of rerouting pathways that jump to react without pausing to respond. While I still hit tangles and kinks, I stumble less and practice presence more. Coming home to what is essential becomes more natural...the breath of life, real connection, seeing and feeling what and whom is before me, honoring the miracle of existence is always accessible.

This morning I woke up with a stomach full of butterflies and excited anticipation for the ZaBoomBa premiere. I so much want to give my best. I could feel the potential of spinning out on worries and fears and mentally generated strategies. Yet staying present to the moment IS giving my best (and far more effective, actually, than any other options). As I allowed deep breath and a humble wash of tears, I recognized how far I have come in just "being with" and practicing presence. In the past I might have tried to "fix" that anxiety away, to inflate or push my way through this uncomfortable tangle of feelings inside, to resist and struggle, just like I did with that hose last week. Instead, I did as my dance/life mentor, Rosangela Silvestre encourages us to do, "be naked. Get out of the way and let the Universal Energy flow through you."

In staying present and shedding layers of all that I think I know, and want to control, all that I think I am or should be, I allow space for The Universe to shine through. This is a present moment experience and cannot be forced or calculated. Surrender. This is becoming the Universal Body and dancing the dance of Light! I humbly pray to practice being present, over and over again. How about you? How do you embody the Universal flow and call yourself to the present moment?

Work/Life Balance-It is YOUR Time! How do you want to ENJOY it?

Well, it has been another stellar day in the Universe.
By 8:30 am, my dear friend, Kuumba (check out her luscious herbal products) and I were on top of our favorite Tucson mountain peak, which she has affectionately named The Stairway to Heaven! It is a direct ascension into pure bliss, nature consciousness. Simultaneously, it is a descent into the core of our strong bodies, and a merging with the spirit of the mountain. Mother Nature always provides. I take step after step and breath after breath of this strenuous climb, and she soothes my soul, reminding me of my commitment to life. As my heart thumps with momentum, life force bursts and beams with radiance all around me. This year the rains have been so generous in the Sonoran desert. The wildflowers, in every color dance across the mountain landscape and the bright green new growth is fecund.

The process of the climb and the outrageously stunning view from the top, with swooping sparrows, hawks and glorious wilderness - with city, so tiny and far down below, puts everything in my life into perspective. My mood soars, my heart is humbled. Just yesterday, I was feeling bogged down with work; stressed and annoyed at my busy schedule, short tempered and yearning for some down time. Today, I claimed it.

My dear friend Britt (Check out her inspiring blog and work) had just sent me this article, inspired by our ongoing conversation about what makes for a rich, authentic life.

Writer Anne Lamott shared, “the foundation of almost all wisdom traditions...is that there is nothing you can buy, achieve, own, or rent that can fill up that hunger inside for a sense of fulfillment and wonder. But the good news is that creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty. Then I bring up the bad news: You have to make time to do this."

I just loved this. I have been fortunate enough to live what is mostly a life of fulfillment and wonder. Though I admit, sometimes even the creative work, that is my joy becomes too full, tiring, out of balance - driven by agendas. Living in our culture and cultivating non doing can seem like an upstream swim at times. Though I value simply being, slowing down and staying present, I need to choose it as often as possible.

The allies and opportunities to remind me are everywhere. My mountain top meditation gave so much. The mountain spirit even gave me a bit of 'a talkin' to.'

"Savor your life. Be more patient. Cherish your loved ones. The life of your dreams is here, now. Not when the work is done. Not when there is more money. Not when there is more space. Receive it now. Give thanks."

With gratitude, presence and contentment, we ran down the trail in half the time of our approach. We felt more energized than when we'd began, regenerated by a frequency of total abundance. The myriad of reasons to feel stressed now felt unimportant and dissolved away, and the reasons to feel grateful just kept expanding.

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In the afternoon, Talia and I made chocolate cupcakes for another dear friend, Kimi's (MultiDisciplinary Artist/Educator) birthday. We have made it a mother-daughter tradition to bake for birthdays. We experiment with alternative ingredients - coconut and brown rice flour - never measuring anything. Mostly our experiments are delicious, but even if they weren't nothing would be lost. I practice being relaxed with Talia's messy mixing and constant desire to dip her finger in the batter. I delight in the alchemy of creating together.

Today, Ziggy Marley sang in the background "Lift up your hearts with a smile, lift up your feet with a dance, lift up your spirits with a song". We sang and danced along. Talia used her batter covered spatula (the licking trophy) as a microphone. As our goodies baked, we watered our backyard plants (which I inherited from yet another dear friend!). We loved up our fuchsia bougainvillea, aromatic jasmine, bright yellow brittle bush and a community of inspiring green beings. The wind chimes sang, the quail, doves and cactus wren chatted. We laughed, splashing each other under the sun-kissed blue sky - views of the mountains in every direction. Heaven on Earth.

All the other "work details" still got attention. Yet everything I touched today felt lighter. It all had a flavor of effortless flow. I experienced that phenomena (many of you know well) of accomplishing more in less time, while also additionally enjoying quality restorative and family space.

I have no complaints at all whatsoever. Time is what I make it. It is my time, it is your time. It is THE time. How do you want to enjoy it?

"Now is when it is. Here is where it is. You are what it is. Celebrate."
Unknown

Wake Up To Life-The Love Generation

"Buddhahood is your birthright. You claim it every time you wake up to the present moment."
Karen Maezen Miller

My daughter, Talia, is a Buddha. She is a master of living in the now. She savors life. She delights in simplicity. She is devoted to playing, dancing, giggling and exploring her world. She loves all that sparkles. She loves being silly, making up rhymes and singing songs. Though at the core of all of her high energy and life discovery, she is a lover, an awakener. It is not lost on us that she is offering constant opportunities to be present, to let go of rigid adult agendas that at times blind us to real connection, and to the miracle of life happening before our eyes, every moment.

Last week, she said "Mama, let's go play our violins." (She has a ukulele and I have a guitar, but for short sometimes she just calls them "violins.")

"Mama, let's sing about love 'n generation," she said.
"OK," I said, "You start and then give me the signal to come in and we'll duet."

She sang, "We are love 'n generation. We love to sing, dance and play. We love ourselves and we love each other. We are healthy and free. We are the love generation."

Then she gave me the thumbs up (my cue to sing). We continued to sing, strum and laugh in timelessness. Dropping into the sweet spot of creativity and communion with my 3 year old is ecstasy. And on this day her lyrical improvisation was especially touching.

Naturally, I have a bias. I think my kid is channeling the genius of her generation...The LOVE GENERATION... and why not? We have had the Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and now, the "Love Generation." Their time has come. They are reminding us of what is most important...offering ourselves as love in a life giving way. One definition of generation that I love is Genesis: a coming into being. I extend the invitation to you. Come into being LOVE. BE the generation of LOVE. That is the message I'll take from my child oracle. I give thanks for her effortless modeling of what it is to be truly alive.

"The miracle is not walking on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive."
Thich Nhat Hanh