Open To Trust

This being human is a guest house.  Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

--Rumi

I had thousands of thoughts running through my head this morning.  I took them all with me on a short run beneath the rising Indiana sun.

The usual breathing techniques weren't working, so I simply started repeating, "Open. Trust." with each breath.  I envisioned leaving any anxiety, any to-dos behind me like footprints on the pavement.

Open.  Trust.  Every time you sit down to create - a painting, a sculpture, a drawing.  Each time a bill comes due and you have no idea from where the money is going to come.    With each movement - each yoga pose or each step.  Open.  Trust.

We have visitors of anxiety, fear, and doubt.  We have more welcome visitors of inspiration, enthusiasm, joy, and excitement.  But at the end of it all, the visitors leave and we remain. 

Keep opening the door.

Welcome those experiences and listen to what they have to say.  Trust that they are sharing with you exactly what you need to hear.

Today I will turn to my wax and let it melt where it may.  Today I will join in conversation and let it flow with what needs to be said.

Today, I open.  I trust.

And I invite you to do so with me.

Namaste.

Three HUGE announcements!

There is SO much going on I just have to put it all in one place.  

I.

I have donated a $250 Encaustic/Mixed Media painting for my dear friend Kathy's Blogaversary-apooloza over at Bliss Habits.  You can WIN THIS PAINTING!

Head over to my guest post (which, if I may say, is worth reading as well...) and you'll see instructions on how to enter at the bottom of the post.  (Hint: It as simple as a comment!)

Then take some time to peruse the rest of the site where there are over $1500 in prizes up for grabs and tons of insightful wisdom being shared!!

Note: You can see more photos of the painting and learn more about the story behind it HERE.

II.

I am deeply honored to have been asked to be interviewed by Mark Lipinski for his internet radio show, Creative Mojo.

Creative Mojo, "was chosen by Digg.com as one of the Internet's five most motivational webcasts and was a featured podcast on iTunes.com. The entire premise of the show is to spotlight creativity and the creative process and has a following of roughly 40,000-plus listeners."

Mark himself is an enthusiastic and fabulous person!  Take a look at what he's done!  (If you click on that link, you'll understand why I'm so honored to be talking to such an individual.)

We'll be discussing Awareness Arts and a few more surprising things THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 16th.  His show is from 3-5 p.m. EST.  (I'll be on somewhere around 3:20ish)

You can Go HERE (http://toginet.com/shows/creativemojo ) to listen live OR subscribe to his podcast over at ITunes (highly recommended - I'm LOVING the interviews he does!) and hear my lovely voice anytime.

(You can also read more about my reaction at my previous post.)

III.

If all of that wasn't enough, I'm also honored to be a contributor to Sprout Magazine!!  I'm sure most of my readers are already familiar with Sprout, but in case you aren't (you should be):

Sprout is a monthly, online magazine chock full of color and inspiration.  Amanda has explored such topics as creativity and abundance, and this month moves her way into ADVENTURE!  (You can explore more, including previous issues, HERE: (http://www.sprout-mag.com/)

To explore / order Issue #7: ADVENTURE, click HERE.  

(Karma Note: Affiliate link.  Help me afford to keep making these encaustic paintings!!)

Thank you to ALL of you for your ongoing support.  I am thrilled at all that is aligning right now and continue to remain humbly in awe.

Namaste.

Am I Allowed To Be Nervous?

 I probably shouldn't be writing this.

I should save it for my journal, not my professional site.

Should, should, should....

Allow me to provide some context:

I have been invited to be interviewed by Mark Lipinski on Creative Mojo, a live, 2-hour, weekly internet radio show that addresses crafting and the creative lifestyle.  

A live show.  With 40,000+ potential listeners.  (Did I mention it was LIVE?)  THIS WEDNESDAY.  (Again, it is a LIVE interview.)

Now, allow me to repeat: I probably shouldn't be writing this.  I should be sharing the information, my excitement, and listing all of the reasons I am qualified to do this and why you should listen.

Screw That.

I'm freakin' nervous.

Is that allowed???

Seriously: Admitting one's anxiety in the business world is equivalent to saying, "I have no idea what I'm doing".  It invites doubt where a facade would have kept it at bay.

How often do people admit their true emotions in situations like this?  In the professional world it's all about the glitz and glamour.  You aren't supposed to be nervous.  You are supposed to be over-qualified, confident, blessing others with your presence.  You are supposed to know what you are doing (or fake it if you don't).

I've run in that world.  I have degrees, certifications, work experience, and scientific publications that speak nothing of who I am.  That world was stressful, competitive, and downright insane.  

I'm not interested in going back.

So as LifeUnity progresses, as I share my messages with broader ranges of people, I want to commit to YOU and to myself that I will never hide again. 

I declare that I am qualified to do what I am doing because of who I am, not because of what I've done or what titles follow my name.  I promise to tell you if I don't know the answer and to make an attempt to learn.  I commit to focusing on increasing AWARENESS, not on increasing numbers (followers, moola, etc.).  I will journey WITH you instead of ahead of you, I will make this life a joyous practice instead of an anxiety-ridden pursuit, and I will do it all as honestly, compassionately, and with as little judgment as I possibly can.

And I invite you to do the same.

So, yes, I'm excited.  I'm THRILLED!  I'm honored...and I'm NERVOUS.  That's how I roll.

If you are interested in joining this roller-coaster ride and hearing me discuss Awareness Arts and current events LIVE, Please join us!

Mark's show, Creative Mojo, is every Wednesday from 3 - 5 p.m. (EST).  You can listen LIVE online at :

http://toginet.com/shows/creativemojo

OR, if you aren't available at that time (or want to check out some of the other episodes), you can subscribe to his podcast on ITunes.

I've listened to a few of the shows and would recommend tuning in for the whole thing.  (It was rated by Digg.com as one of the Internet's five most motivational webcasts and was a featured podcast on iTunes.com).  Mark is enthusiastic, funny, and has a great energy while interviewing!  And the range of guests are FANTASTIC (check out previous guests on his blog site).  But if you are short on time and just want to hear my lovely, shaky voice, I should be on around 3:15/3:20ish this Wednesday, May 16th.

Thank you, dear friends, for all of your support this far.  This is another day, another breath, another beginning...

Namaste.

Nothing More Than A Story (A $250 Value Giveaway!)

"You are the sky.  Everything else - it's just the weather"

~Pema Chodron

Nothing More Than A Story, 12"x12", Encaustic, oil, mixed media on cradled panel

This encaustic (beeswax+damar resin+pigment) mixed media painting by moi, valued at $250, can be yours for FREE.  (Not a print - the ACTUAL painting!)

Read on...

Nothing More Than A Story originated from inspiration by the Pema Chodron quote.  

It is comprised of SEVERAL layers of stories - each one inscribed into the wax and then layered over.  There is a translucent beauty and sensual texture that beckons you into the piece...

Displaying this painting in your home will remind you that the emotions you are feeling, the drama you are caught up in, the headache-causing stress....it is all a story.  

And the beautiful thing about stories is that we can step outside of them.  

We can become the sky, breathe into the openness of our true being, and act through the stories from this place of peaceful awareness.

Vague words are visible on the tree, the figure, the grass, even in the clouds....let them whisper to you what you need to hear.  And then release them - let the wind carry them back to through the sky.

Nothing More Than A Story was done on a cradled panel and comes ready to hang or display on an easel.

How To WIN:

I am giving this painting away (!) as part of a large blog party for a very dear friend.  Kathy at Bliss Habits is hosting a Blogversary-apooloza with several guest contributors and over $1500 in giveaways.

You can enter to win this painting by visiting Bliss Habits and leaving a comment on my guest post.

(Click on the link or visit here:

http://blisshabits.com/2012/05/see-it-be-it-and-a-chance-to-win-a-gorgeous-250-encaustic-painting/)

(There are also ways to gain a few additional entries: See the guest post for more information!!)

If you have any questions about the painting or the giveaway, please contact me! (lifeunity at gmail dot com)

The giveaway will close on June 3rd - but I recommend going and entering NOW so you don't forget!!

GOOD LUCK!!

Namaste

The Time of the Mother

A mother is someone who, using the wise words of Oriah Mountain Dreamer, "can get up after the night of grief and despair weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children".

For some it is a role taken on initially by choice.  For others, it is an unexpected gift.  Regardless, once we are placed into the role of Mother, we are blessed with responsibilities that promise to break us open.

Our eyes and hearts and hands are opened to ways of being that we never before considered possible.  When the smiles are wide and the giggles are flowing, we feel blessed.  When hearts are breaking and sleep cannot be had, we ask why and cry ourselves into a dark oblivion to try to escape it all.

Women, I'm talking to you.

Men, I'm talking to this part of you that is stirred by the recognition of this within you.

On mother's day, we tend to celebrate with a visit to mom or perhaps only to her memory.  Restaurants are filled, flowers bought in dozens.  Tomorrow, we will wake up - a Monday morning - and return to what needs to be done.

Mothers are called to return.

Every single one of you who reads this, you are being called to respond. Your children need you.  We are all weary and bruised to the bone, aware of the clutter hidden in our closets, the to-do list that will never get done, the bullying in our own schools, the sex trafficking across the globe, the wars that continue seemingly without any more desire to fight.  Mothers no longer have the luxury to indulge in escape.  We shall do what needs to be done and, through the process, delight in the awareness of what this means.  

Every single one of you who read this, you are being called to surrender.  All of our hearts are breaking.  A mother who is not healed cannot heal others.  We must surrender to the pull of our heart, the choked breath, and cry until what is no longer needed inside has flowed out into the universe that can release it.  

Today, I celebrate the mother in each of us.  I acknowledge the pains and delights and challenges and celebrations that biological and adoptive mothers take with so little recognition.  I acknowledge the single fathers and grandparents and caregivers who do what needs to be done though they, too, are weary and struggling to move on.  

I invite us all - YOU - to spend even one moment in silence and to honor that within you that feels the suffering of your children, your loved ones, your neighbors, those you will never meet.  I invite you to honor that mother that sighs and, with a knowing smile, takes the next step and offers it all through love.

It is time.

Namaste. 

p.s. After posting this, I came across this wise post by a dear friend, Hali, on her site, LilyWheelSlide.  She puts the same idea I discussed above into such poetic and artistic expression...please take a look.

p.p.s. It seems we are all on the same vibe here: January Handl shared a very touching poem, titled, "Women-You Are Called" today over at Bliss Habits.  Synchronicity??