Releasing What No Longer Serves Me: A Full Moon Ritual

This beautiful Full Wolf Moon greeted me this morning.  

Part of my commitment to my word for 2018 - Focus, is returning to those rituals that serve me. Using Raelene Byrne's Full Moon Ritual, I used the quiet of the morning to write, consciously releasing from my life what no longer serves me and those things that I need to be free of.    I forgot how freeing it felt to burn the words, releasing all those things weighing down my heart.

Full Moon Facts:

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, "the Full Moon for January was called the Full Wolf Moon. It appeared when wolves howled in hunger outside the villages."  Both of January's Full Moons are Supermoons.

What needs to be released from your life so you can begin living your life with intention?  Try this: light a candle, play some quiet, meditative music, then invite Spirit (or God, Universe, whomever you believe in) to help you release what is no longer serving you.  Consciously begin writing everything that comes to mind.   When you feel you have written everything down find a safe place to burn your words, allowing them to be released from you into the Universe.  Let me know how you feel afterwards.

Get up. Get Dressed. Paint.: The Power to Choose

As I embarked on my last week of summer vacation before returning to the classroom, I found myself becoming anxious and angry (I still have no idea where or what I am teaching).  All summer I have been working on mentally leaving the dysfunction, ineptitude, and constant inconsistency behind but this week it has begun gnawing away at me, disrupting my sleep, invading my thoughts and creativity.

I found myself inspired by a reading passage in Stephanie Dowrick's book Choosing Happiness.

Message: "Choose to pay attention to the positive rather than the negative..."
Admittedly, it is going to be tough.

Have any advice?  I would love for you to share it in the comments below.

Joining in at Paint Party Friday; What color paint is on your fingers?

52 Small Changes Challenge: The Beginning

I find myself hesitating, worried about sharing this post.  Why?  Accountability.  By posting it here I now must follow through.  With the beginning of the school year looming, now is not the best time to start something as I tend to throw out all good practices in lieu of stress habits. 

But I want this habit to stick so I am pushing forward knowing that accountability is one of the requirements for making successful changes.
Why am I doing this and why now?
I feel stuck and have felt stuck for several years now.  The stressors of teaching in an inner city dysfunctional school system has taken its toll and changes have to be made.  I want to approach this up coming school year differently.  This book found it's way into my life in a round about way which I believe is Spirit's way of saying, "Here, do this."

I completed week 1 and have begun week 2.  Here are my notes:

Week 1 Put Pen To Paper

Maintaining a Journal.  While I have been writing in a journal off and on for several years I have not been fully committed. Putting my thoughts and feelings to paper scares me yet this is exactly what I need to keep the stress in perspective.

How it went: Enrolling in Susannah Conway's Journal Your Life online course was the conduit to getting started.  Having enrolled in her course gave me structure to help carve out a routine I can stick to.  I still feel myself holding back, not allowing the thoughts and feelings to flow freely.  I remind myself that this is normal and as this practice progresses my comfort level will settle in.

Difficulties:  Since the end of the school year I have been in the habit of going to my craft room and painting every morning.  Making the change back to my morning reading ritual and journaling has been easier because I had this practice in place before.

Concerns: once school begins I worry I will fall into my default mode of working on lesson plans and grading papers.  I need to create an alternative means of getting these done to keep my mornings devoted to journaling.

Week 2 Let the Music Play

I have the right equipment: an iPad, portable bluetooth speaker, and a Pandora account with pre selected stations.  I already listen to music while I am painting, gardening, driving, and housecleaning. 

Concerns: I do not make my own music nor do I see myself indulging in this.

What changes do you need/want to make?  What are some practices that help you maintain the changes you have successfully made?

Joining in with Microblog Mondays.

Reclaiming

The last few days have been spent reclaiming neglected spaces.  Below is a section of the garden, overgrown with grass and weeds, chocking out the once beautiful plants.  Looking out the window and seeing it everyday overwhelmed my mind with all that needed to be done to get it back to the way it was.   

Several hours later it looked like this:

 My plan is to replant in the fall and next spring then keep adding layers of mulch to keep the grass from returning.  When I look out the window I no longer feel as anxious and overwhelmed.  Getting started and seeing progress ignites a positive energy and propells me to want to get out there and get it all done.  But I don't want to get burned out either because then progress will stall which is what caused this to happened in the first place.

I'm also reclaiming my soul time: time spent alone, journaling, unwinding, connecting with self.  When life is going well I keep up with this practice but as soon as the school year restarts it gets pushed aside for lesson planning, grading papers and destressing in front of the TV.   I want this debilitating cycle to end so I signed up for Susannah Conway's Sacred Alone course to help create a practice of  refuge, wisdom and calm.

Already I feel lighter and optimistic, my mind a little more clearer knowing I am reclaiming my sacred spaces.

What spaces do you need to reclaim in order to gain a sense of calm and refuge? 

Joining in with Microblog Mondays

WOYWW: Card making deligh!

I wanted to create a card for a photography swap and that's how this delightful, painty mess came to be.  I am still wrestling with how to incorporate my photographs with my passion for mixed media.    Last week I stumbled on SuZe Creations via Pinterest.  Inspiring!  While I usually do not incorporate many flowers in my work I looked at her cards as a springboard to get me started.  Many of you may recognize the photograph of the flower from the tag swap.  I had a couple extra left decided to use it for her card.

On my desk is the bin of Distress paints which they have outgrown. These are by far my favorite paints to use.  Admittedly, I do not follow the directions well in using them.  You are to "dab unto surface, do not drag tip."  But that's how I use them the most.  Bright colored flowers, textured trims, my favorite trim, Offray, in olive green,a torn tea bag, my go-to Mixed Media Glue, and UHU stic.  Pure delight!

Pandora decided I needed assistance and plopped down center stage making it difficult to get the envelope done. I am working my way into mail art, creating envies that are more colorful and fun to find in the mailbox.

The card

Adding a touch of pearl metallic paint to each flower petal

Using the olive green Offray to offset the straight line of the photo

A tough of metallic gel pen to the cutout words

A peak at the envie; painted with a touch of glitter glue and an embossed stamp.

I enjoyed the creative process but still struggle with how to deal with the straight edges of the photograph without it looking like I'm trying to cover them up.  A work in progress.

Joining up with What’s onYour Workdesk? Wednesday where desk snooping is not only allowed but all part of the fun!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 272

Welcome to my messy desk!  While I am still in somewhat of a slump, I can feel  my creativity returning in bits and pieces, sputtering then stalling outright.  Today has been like a breakthrough day!  

While doing my morning reading ritual I found myself inspired while reading Choosing Happiness : Life & Soul Essentials.

"When my anxious temperament prompts me to react rather than act, speak before I think, or jump before I plan, I’ve learned to pause.  Those simple words, ‘Set your inner compass,’   remind me that I have the power to choose my direction day by day and minute by minute.” 

After reading this I thought, “I have to collage that!”  I miss participating in the Summer of Color Challenge and I thought I will create my own challenge!   I selected 3 paint colors then pulled coordinating scrapbook paper, some stencils and I started in.  It felt REVITALIZING! 

The beginning of a mixed media collage

Creating

Yogi Tea tag ATC swap

This challenge required using yogi tea tags somewhere on your ATC.  I completed these before partners were assigned so I decided to go with 2 different styles of ATC’s. 

APC’s: Jacks

This is an ongoing series, swapping  the various suits in a deck of playing cards.  My partner liked Hitchcock, Nancy Drew, food themes, eggnog year-round, grunge & modern designs, Sherlock Holmes and abstract.  I went with the abstract using modeling paste  pushed through stencils.  I used spray ink then Perfect Pearls Mists.  When done I felt they needed something but didn't want to go with quotes.  I went back to my Yogi teas and added a tag to each.

MANY THANKS to those who left advice and encouragement last week.  This is why I love being a part of this wonderful group..so loving and encouraging.  It truly has helped. 

Having fun peaking in other artist’s desk at What’s on Your Workdesk? Wednesday.  Join in!  We would like to visit and see what is inspiring you. 

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 270

New desk and shelves

Construction is done and the process of finding a home for everything is close to being complete.   I am sticking to my rule: if I can’t find a place for something it is not allowed in. 

Allistair thinks we built him a new jungle gym:

Trying to figure out how to climb across the door frame

 Creating

 

Flower ATC Swap#3 Roses: Fragrance of a Rose

GROUP: ART: Letter F Rolo (Global) (front)

GROUP: ART: Letter F Rolo (Global) (back)

My partner for the July scavenger hunt liked peacocks so  I  incorporated a stamped feather which I hand colored using Sakura Gellyroll stardust pens and 5 other things from the required list: ric rac, charm, painted paper, rhinestone, & crochet (flower).

 

ATC of ABC's #6 "F": Feathers, Flourishes, & Flutter

For the past 3 weeks I have been experiencing a creative slump; I lack my usual creative enthusiasm and ideas. I sit looking at a blank ATC and come up with a blank.  It takes me 5X longer (or so it seems) to create something then I am not happy with it once done.  I believe the cause for this is twofold; the flow I had while creating has been disrupted by changing the placement of all my creative tools - including now working on the other side of the room- and the anxiety of returning back to school in 2 weeks.  To push through it I have been focusing on my morning reading and working in my collage journal. I also am working on getting a daily routine in place so when the stress of teaching returns I will be better prepared.  

Thank you for stopping by my new creative space!  Any suggestions or experiences you can share regarding pushing through creative slumps would be truly appreciated.

Sneaking peeks at other’s creative spaces at What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday  Won’t you join in on the fun!  We would love to see what’s on your work desk!

Finding myself noticing more...

I noticed that Spirit was working overtime to gain my attention this week. 

1.       Participating in these weekly memes has opened me to noticing more of the beauty around me, especially in the tiny, minute things.

 

2.      Mother Nature’s fury reigned down on us once again and dropped 6+ inches of snow.  This gave us 2 more snow days which I was ecstatic about.

Except out router went kapluey and I found myself home for those 2 days with no internet.  It made me realize just how often I was on and how much time I wasted.  Hmm….

3.      While at library I stumbled across this book. 

Normally I would have gone right past is except I had stamped that exact word in my morning journal just days before: "Noticed I am in this kind of limbo - this "going no where" place, STUCK"

4.      I found these cabinet cards just waiting for me in a booth at a local antique consignment shop, 31 in all.  I thought I would invite my friends come over in the spring for a belated birthday celebration.  Instead of bringing a gift, I would ask each one to adopt a card then write a short story about the person. I plan to bound them together in an altered book; An Altered Book of Altered Stories.   

4 of my favorite cards.  Love the last one as find very few that pose with a smile.

5.      I caught myself while out to lunch, wrapping up pieces of pizza crust to take home to Cleo. 

No, we don’t spoil our pets!  Okay, perhaps a bit; just enough to make them feel special.

Celebrating my finds with Kim Klassen at Friday Finds and Nancy at Random 5 Friday.  If you find yourself stuck or in need of inspiration, stop by!  You will be amazed at the beauty that is found weekly by all of the participants.  It will lift your spirits, I guarantee it!

Contemplating My Disheartened State

“Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job. And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another – that is surely the basic instinct . . . Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is.” – Barbara Kingslover

This quote was sent to me and I found it to be very timely.  I have been contemplating my career; how unhappy I am where I am at but have no sense of what direction to take to begin making a change.  At this stage of my life, the other side of 50, I never dreamed I would have to make yet another career change.  I thought I made my last career change when I went into teaching. 

The district that I work in has been making bad financial decisions over the last 10 years and now the state has caught up with them and it is under financial restructuring with everyone taking a 19% pay cut (OUCH!).  And it isn’t simply the money.  We no longer “teach”.  The state has us jumping though all these hoops, having to prove that our  students are learning yet all this extra requirements leave us with no time to actually teach!  It is all simply disheartening.

 Morning reading ritual

This week during my morning reading, this got my attention:

“Your life is your ultimate creation.”

“Let yourself fully imagine the life you want to be living.  Until you can imagine it, ou will never achieve it.”

“Give priority to whatever increases you sense of being fully alive.” 

“The happiest people are also the most altruistic.” (Dowrick, 135)

So I get through my day, working hard and not allowing the stress to take me in.  Creating helps.  Sharing via this blog helps.  Reading through your blogs helps.  I find myself looking forward to sitting in my office creating ATCs, altered playing cards, journals, scrapbook pages…

Alter my playing cards - Round 4

GROUP: Photo Scrapbook Page January: my very 1st scrapbook page

Bottom left corner:  love this feather!

Top corner: shows off the glass bead gel

1.  Christmas Angel ATC swap, 2.  ATC challenge #2: paper flower, 3. Quote ATC Challenge #2

ATC challenge #3: bumble bee

Swap: Your TURN in MY art Journal (this is my journal which I sent out into the world Monday)

I am starting several journal swaps of of which I am totally thrilled about.  It is a magazine journal swap.  I will be keeping a month long journal with 30 entries incorporating a magazine cuttings. The cuttings can be a picture, an article, words or anything else from a magazine. Then our written entries will somehow relate to the cutting or, vice versa, the cutting needs to relate to the entry.  How fun does that sound?  I found the perfect journal and have a pile of magazine waiting to be cut and pasted.  

What are you creating these days?  Remember, creating is not limited to paper, paint, and glue.  And if you aren't creating something, what are you waiting for??????

Dowrick, Stepahie, Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials.  New York: Penguin Group, 2007.