“A house can become a little self-enclosed world. Sheltered there, we learn to forget the wild, magnificent universe in which we live.” John O’Donohue

The spirit of homelessness can be viewed as the ability to walk through life without attachment- the ability to work and play without the inner walls of confinement restricting the spirit of our being.

O’Donohue informs that when we domesticate our minds and hearts, we reduce our lives. We disinherit ourselves as children of the universe. Almost without knowing it, we slip inside ready-made roles and routines which then set the frames of our possibilities and permissions. Our longing becomes streamlined. We acquire sets of convictions in relation to politics, religion and work. We parrot these back and forth at each other as if they were absolute insights. Yet for the most part these frames of belief can be viewed as self-constructed barriers, fragile cliches built around our lives to keep out the mystery.

As we break down the inner walls of confinement, we evoke homelessness of spirit, a vast and expansive movement that allows us to reach and navigate our full potential. Walls crumbled, we are no longer trapped within the invisible prison of the home but free to ride our vast ocean to great heights. In our humble state of homelessness the mystery of the universe becomes the table at which we dine.

Everywhere around us mystery never sleeps and this same deep nature is within us. “Each person” says O’Donohue, “is an incredibly sophisticated, subtle and open-ended work of art. We live at the heart of our own intimacy, yet we are strangers to its endless nature.”

I recently moved through a spurt of growth and not without the spiritual growing pains that result from this kind of displacement. Growing requires movement: moving away from our point of origin to a new state of being; moving away from comfort zones; navigating deeper waters; and greater risk taking.

Displacement, in Newtonian mechanics, measures the difference between the initial position and the final position of an object. It is a vector quantity that refers to an objects overall change in position. In contemplating the human condition, the object is us and the displacement our growth.

As we usher in change, we are required to stretch our awareness, thoughts and actions to new limits. The feeling of displacement is an indication that we are doing so. Encompassing new creation and new direction is bound to be painful.

Like a snake that is forced to shed its old skin, we too must expand if we are to allow new growth into an old way of life.

Exactly how much we are growing can be measured by the amount of displacement we feel. The more discomfort, the greater the movement, the greater the growth. Displacement can also evoke a deep sense of homesickness as we gravitate away from the environment we once felt safe and at home in.

Sometimes we describe displacement as feeling messy, fragmented, overwhelmed. We can fall into fear as we question our ability to survive and achieve our goals- even the small ones. The path of displacement is rarely smooth travel, to the unaware, displacement can feel like movement backward instead of forward, and for this we can often fall short of achieving our goals, giving up instead of pushing through the final frontier of struggle. Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I find myself reflecting upon memory and it’s relationship with time, pain and recovering a sense of place in the world.

Memory can sometimes spark moments of grief for a life long gone, particularly when all I recall are small glimpses, fragments of image, as though my life has been suspended in time rather than fluid and present.

Often memory evokes a sense of feeling rather than seeing, placing my past just outside my reach. How important is memory in recovering a sense of identity, in knowing Self and understanding why it is we do the things we do, the way we do them.

It seems memory may have an agenda of its own, for on it’s own accord, it has worked it’s benevolent way into the creative non-fiction work that has my attention and devotion at present.

I cannot ‘will’ a memory to life, only glimpses of it appear. And yet a place, smell or sound can open flood gates and I am dowsed with image, impression and feeling that reveals lapses of recorded time – events that have shaped and molded my persona.

I cannot block memory, yet memory can block itself from me – it’s stealth like rudder guiding my life course. The duality of memory can render me powerful and productive or usher destructive thoughts of fear.

And what of collective memory? To what effect does this have on my sense of space, place and achievement in the world?

My confidence, decisions and fears are all born out of memory: unconscious recordings of time that silently determine the choices I make in life.

My unspoken history is locked in memory, it’s my dreamtime. Memory is who I am.

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Contemplating memory has awakened a new sense of passion for me, one that requires an approach of observation. Zen masters remind us that life should always be approached with a ‘beginner’s mind’. For only a beginners mind is open to discovering all possibilities.

If this were my first or last week of life what would I notice most about my world? In the quiet hours what would I most wish to commit to memory?

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

William Stafford

Commitment to spiritual growth is the key to change and achievement.

Spirituality is not a religion or a philosophy and it does not belong to new age incense burning hippies. Spirituality relates to relationship and lifestyle. The type of relationships we have with self and others and the type of lifestyle we create for ourselves is a direct reflection of our level of spirituality. Read the rest of this entry »

Image by Audrey

When you follow your dreams, you connect to a wellspring of healing and happiness. Unite your life with Spirit by living the highest vision for your life. – Susan Santucci

With out awareness it is difficult to know where or how we are positioned, nor how to navigate through life’s wilderness. Self-assessment requires contemplation and reflection – tools that are responsible for the development of self-awareness.

A great self-assessment exercise is asking “What stands between me and the vision I have for my life?”

If we have the power to make the choices that create the life we have, then we certainly have the power to make the decision to chip away at the beliefs that hold us back.

I choose success, peace, security and serenity. But I have other material goals equally important to me … I choose to write and my goal is to produce books – lots of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Each morning I draw three affirmation cards from a small handcrafted bowl that I keep on my desk.

The words on these cards provide me with daily goals, they help me to maintain a focus on how I can provide safe, nurturing support for my soul.

This morning I have drawn spontaneity, compassion and authenticity – important qualities necessary for soulful creative expression.

It does not surprise me that I have drawn the word ‘authenticity’. The last few days I have been contemplating these two questions: How am I being authentic? How am I keeping my life real?

I grew up in an environment where it didn’t feel safe to feel, it actually felt uncomfortable.

This probably had a lot to do with the fact that neither of my parents grew up in family environments where they were encouraged to feel or discuss their emotions.

Im not unique in this situation, many of us grew up in emotionally silent environments. Read the rest of this entry »

 
Shifting our gaze is refreshing for the Soul. Even killer whales know how important it is to take time out and look up. The keys to creative recovery and personal development are perception and focus. It is about shifting our gaze to encompass a view of our world that is big, bold and beautiful.

Be willing to shift your gaze from the immediate world.
As we broaden our vision we allow our intuitive faculties to touch a world greater than our own. A world in which the Soul can be inspired and flourish – Kazi

Our immediate world is the environment around us that is filled with the day to day activity of living. We can often get so caught up in this world that we forget to lift our heads and look around. This simple action is how we shift our gaze.

Shifting our gaze requires shifting our attention, its an expansive feeling that allows us to access the spirit of life. When we add to this action a retreat into silence, we begin to manifest the ability to tap our intuitive faculties. In silence we align ourselves with Divine Will. Read the rest of this entry »

Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down and turn them into paper,
That we may record our emptiness – Kahlil Gibran

Cambodia has some of the most intriguing, prehistoric jungle. I stood beneath roots that spanned the height of three story houses, then atop of this a tree that blows open the most vivid imagination. Equally fascinating is the ancient world buried beneath this jungle, its secrets held captive by these towering forms.

I spent an amazing amount of time exploring, wandering, sitting, contemplating and writing with both pen and camera; and I had the pleasure of stumbling across other artists tucked away from the world, in the bowels of this vast and truly remarkable landscape, writing with ink, brush and paint.

These artists were both locals and travellers like myself, all of us with similar goal in mind: to sit still enough, quiet enough, long enough, to capture a sense and feel for the stories hidden within this jungle; and I got the sense that, lingering here, were stories wanting to be told. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people are aware of the health benefits of meditation, but many do not know that the process of meditation awakens our higher consciousness and as a result, we become highly creative beings.

Throughout the centuries artists have informed us that art is not about talent but rather spirituality.

Julia Cameron author of The Artists Way, believes creativity is a spiritual issue, “creativity leading to spirituality or spirituality leading to creativity, I do not make a distinction between the two.”

In his book Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultvating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life, Thomas Moore says creativity is about “the preservation and containment of soul. It is about arresting life and making it available for contemplation. Art captures the eternal in the everyday, and it is the eternal that feeds soul – the whole world in a grain of sand.” Read the rest of this entry »

Recovering a Sense of Identity

When you learn to love and to let yourself be loved, you come home to the hearth of your own spirit. You are warm and sheltered. You are completely at one in the house of your own longing and belonging. – John O’Donohue

In ancient Celtic tradition the ‘house of belonging’ was used as a metaphor for the human body as the earthly home for the soul. In Week One of The Artist’s Way we work on creating a sense of safety in preparation for Week Two – returning home to reclaim our spirit. Read the rest of this entry »

The integration of spirituality and creativity is a subject close to my heart and I am very passionate about the healing benefits this type of integration evokes within us. Actually it is not just the healing that is of interest to me. What we are able to achieve in our life as a result of this form of integration, is in itself, quite remarkable.

Recently I was drawn to the topic of creative tension: that is, the energy that suspends and blocks our ability to channel creative inspiration from a source greater than ‘Self’.

This tension often results from a loss of balance between higher will or higher consciousness and self will. We loose sight of the bigger picture, our connection with the divine and with our own divinity. This can happen so subtly that we often do not realise until we have hit a brick wall, there is no more gentle forward movement.

When we run on our own will – self will, we are driven, there is tension and stress involved. When we run on God’s will we are drawn.

There is of course the polar opposite to also consider. There are times when I can be too spiritual to be any earthly good. I receive lots of inspiration, but I do not follow through and create. So there is a fine balance between self will and higher will. Read the rest of this entry »

Regardless of whether we throw paint, string together words, play music or capture pictures, we do what we do because we have an urge to express something inside that needs to be born. Most artists have a force within that propels us to create, and we use our body, mind and spirit in whatever way is necessary to give life and expression through Art. Art is what feeds our soul, Art is what we must do with our life.

Writer, Hubert Selby, Jr., once said “Oh, God, did it terrify me, to think that I’d live however long I was going to live and look at my life and be forced to say, ‘Cubby, you blew it.’ And then I’d be snuffed. Pmmfft! Oh, it was terrifying. So I had to find some way of doing something with my life. I couldn’t stand the idea of living and doing nothing with this thing.”

With the right information, support and inspiration it is possible to tap our creative passion and turn it into a profitable, life long career. Contrary to the myth, it is possible to make money in a creative field by working for yourself, and it is rewarding beyond measure.

I often imagine myself running through fields of lavender. My shoes are off, the fields are soft and padded beneath my feet. The sun shines warm on my shoulders, a hint of breeze gently lifts my hair.

This image evokes a wonderful sense of freedom for me. I feel light and childlike. In this visualisation I carry no heavy burden, I am completely carefree.

I tap the light joyous freedom I am feeling and I bring it through into this world with me. I anchor that energy into my present moment.

I am free to feel this light, joyous and free, all of the time. And, if ever I am in a situation where I struggle to feel this way, I recall this image in my mind.

I have the power to evoke a sense of joy and freedom regardless of what is going on around me.

I create my reality based on what I’m feeling.

Through imagination we establish a vision for our
individual lives.

The way we perceive our world is not always objective or real. Our way of thinking and processing is an underlying factor to the way we experience life Read the rest of this entry »

It seems like just a few short months since making the decision to rework The Artist’s Way and already I have had many opportunities open up.

Today I make time to honor the elements in Nature by taking my camera, writing materials and self on a date.

From botanical gardens with the lovely spread of summer flower to rugged coastline and then into the mountains to my perch.

My favourite rock where I sit and reflect, write and commune with the Gods.

Today it is overcast, soft rain and early morning mists gives the landscape an otherworldly feel that I just adore. Leaves, trees and flowers play host to rain drops and dew that hang like glittered jewels awaiting Christmas.

Everything is so quiet and still and I feel as close to a higher power as I ever will. I take my time bidding farewell to some of my favourite haunts, as I prepare to move from the southern coastline up into the southern highlands.

I honour the element Water – the air damp and rich in moisture, provides a cleansing effect on my Soul.

After spending time moving slowly through forests and gardens photographing everything that beckoned to be captured in a moment of time, I stop to honour the ocean – my move to the highlands will require me to draw upon imagination to visit the sea, so I lock the vastness that lay before me firmly into memory – it may be some time before I stand before this beauty again.

The ocean reflects for me the vast depth of the sub-conscious. Today it is rough and wild, the sound of waves thunder to shore, crashing upon wet sand. The absence of sun renders the ocean colourless, a mirror of the dull grey skies, heavy with cloud that threatens more rain.

I adore the ocean in this weather, even more than it’s state of bright blue, boldness.

I resonate to water, it makes me feel alive and, for whatever reason, inspires me to capture image with camera, paper and pen. It awakens the poetess, evokes the desire to write books and hum old love songs.

It is a time when I most enjoy and give thanks for my solitary aloneness. I feel a deep reverence for the beauty and power of the great creator that stands before me in the guise of Mother Nature.

I reflect upon the difference between a powerful ocean and a stagnant pool and intuit the connection in my life.

I think upon the relationship between calm seas and choppy oceans; slow moving creeks and bubbling brooks and rest upon the essence of the life source provided by a deep running river – connecting mountains, land and sea.

I acknowledge why our indigenous people reflect the significance of the great river in dreamtime.

I reflect upon the ocean and the sub-conscious; mountains/waterfalls and higher consciousness; and the river as the physical force and power that connects the two.

I lock into memory the beauty that stands before me, around me and that which flows through me. And all though there is a sense of sadness in my heart, I feel at peace, for the vision and essence of ocean will travel always in my heart.

My creative journey ends at one of my favourite writing places, perched on a massive and ancient stone, resting high above the bush and overlooking the ocean. Here I am blessed by many passers by: a pair of sea eagles courting in mid air- they inspire me with their grace, strength, beauty and more particularly the way in which they navigate the wild forces around these high peaks.

Distracted from studies, this young Vietnamese Buddhist monk daydreams in solitude – an act essential for nourishment of the Soul and creative inspiration.

This image was taken on my travels through Indochina, it evokes in me a sense of mindful innocence.

The Macquarie dictionary describes innocence as: showing the simplicity of an unworldly person – and unworldly is certainly how I felt in the high peaks of Vietnam.

Without what we consider ‘worldly’ attachments there is the luxury to go slow and space to breathe, I was afforded plenty of time to contemplate life with purpose.

Moving with an inner stillness through foreign lands is captivating for an artist regardless of the medium with which we work. Read the rest of this entry »

The authentic Self is the Soul made visible – Sarah Ban Breathnach

A wise person once wrote “a peaceful relationship isn’t finding the right person but being the right person.”

Most of us, at some stage in our life, have experienced the discomfort of living a life removed from, or not in harmony with, who we really are.

Sometimes we may be unaware – drifting from our truth, our sense of centre, until we start to feel out of sorts. Left unchecked – stress and depression, feeling stuck in a rut and traveling without a sense of direction or purpose, are all spiritual reminders that we’ve stepped off path.

Writing is not about having or learning skill, it is about connecting with a rich, rewarding reservoir deep within our self and learning how to confidently reflect it on our surface – it’s a soulful experience. Read the rest of this entry »

I recently received an email from a friend – a fellow artist, that I met during my travels in Vietnam. She wrote to let me know that she had recently finished a painting that was inspired by our travels on the Mekong River and about to start another.

Whilst Vietnam was truly inspiring, I found my rhythm in the Cambodian Jungle, exploring and photographing 12 century ruins of Angkor Wat – religious temples engulfed in ancient rainforest.

Travelling through foreign and exotic lands was appealing to my inner artist, my urge to capture images so strong. Even the food of this country stimulated my creative senses – rich with colour, texture and flavour.

Most appealing was the movement of light across the jungle floor, Read the rest of this entry »

When we come into rhythm with ourselves the false burdens fall away – John O’Donohue

One of the great gifts I received from the Artist’s Way came unexpectedly from the artist date. A block of time we pencil into our diary for our self. We date our inner artist in stimulating and playful ways and it is a solitary exercise. This means no one goes on the date but you!

An artist date could be a walk through a field, a trip to the movies, a puppet show, or hunting through a bargain store to buy your inner child a piece of senseless treasure.

Many blessings have come from dates with my camera. I have always adored photography but have no formal training, just a gift for observation and an eye for detail.

I find that photography is holistic in nature. It is a creative form of meditation and expression that forces me to slow down and pay attention to the details. From this artful date I realised that I have an inherent gift for capturing the rhythm of nature. Read the rest of this entry »