lately i have been thinking about how much i miss creating performance art. most of my creative time has been spent making jewelry. while satisfying and money making (both very important to me as a self-employed artist), there is just something about being hunched over a dusty dirty bench that can never compare to a huge open studio space and bodies moving together.

this pic may have to be my inspirational jumping off place…

From my daily reading, The Language of Letting Go.

“Times are changing for the better. Continue on the path of trust and obedience. Be open to the new.”

I am taking Polychrome Jasper along for this ride. Here are its healing properties:

Polychrome Jasper

Use it for:

• Stability
• Balance
• Grounding

All jaspers help balance the emotional energy in the body.

And here is the necklace I made to help me remember (for sale soon, but in the meantime visit my shop):

I love to laugh at myself. I encourage others to laugh at themselves. Selves make silly mistakes, say stupid things, mess up. This (in my humble opinion) is no reason for feeling shame, hiding the truth, or creating defensiveness if caught.

What if we all simply “outed” our mistakes and laughed at ourselves? Whether it be a big thing like hurting someone’s feelings by sticking the proverbial foot in the mouth, or using the wrong word in a sentence, or, _____________.

I’ll start with a small one from my own day (after all ,incrementality is the only way to get anywhere)!

I woke up this morning so excited. I remembered that it was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and that I had just taken a picture of a jewelry piece that had a partial quote of his hand-stamped on it. The whole time I was getting ready for the day, walking the dog, eating breakfast, I was thinking about how I could do a blog post today and honor him and myself in the process! (self-promotion is not a bad thing, a hard thing, but not a bad thing.)

I downloaded my photos, picked the best one, and sat down to write what was going to be a simple two sentence blog post.

Suddenly it was not Martin Luther King, Jr.’s face that I saw but rather it was Gandhi’s face. So, here is where laughing at myself really comes in handy. They are clearly not the same person, do not physically resemble each other, and did not live in the same country. I was about to proudly post the quote, “BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD”, alongside the picture of my jewelry piece, and a link to Martin Luther King Jr.

I could have just let this go, after all, you would have never known about it. I caught it in time. This time. What about all the other times that I don’t? Laughing at myself and telling you about my mistakes makes me ask these questions? Do you  feel a bit better knowing that “you” are not alone in your mistakes? Do I feel a bit better knowing that you will still like me even though I mixed up two great but very different men? And will this put a big smile on your face right now and cause you to giggle or laugh at me, yourself, and the ways that we are all so unbelievably beautiful in our humanness?

PS. Is there a Gandhi Day? If not, I declare this day the day to “have a dream of being the change you wish to see in the world.”

This New Year I was not drawn to create resolutions, list goals, or make bold promises. This New Year I am called to live where my feet are at any given moment. Why my feet? One possibility is that they are not my head and in fact are no where near my head. My head, aka my mind, likes to wander, scatter itself all over the place, and muse about a lot of things (don’t get too excited…things like, dust bunnies, grocery shopping, dog pee).

I needed something to bring to my trance dance group last night. We were journal writing and dancing into the New Year. Usually we use a writing prompt brought to us years ago by Patti: Oh 2012, that was the year of ________, and then we write as if the year has already happened.

I was wanting something more (needing something stronger to pull me away from dog pee and firmly plant me in the present moment). But I also wanted something simple, as most people I talk to are feeling too complicated right now.

My InterPlay mentor and teacher, Cynthia Winton- Henry brought the perfect thing (click on her name for the whole blog post). Here is a line from her short, sweet, and seductive suggestion: ” That is why my letter for 2012 is Q for quiet, for quest, for question. may my heart be open. what is your letter for the year?”

Taking her lead, I made a bunch of cards with letters of the alphabet on them and let each participant choose one. I asked them to come up with three words that began with the letter to help guide them into the New Year. Our trance dance is broken into three 20 minutes sections and I invited them to hold one word at a time as an intention and then gave them a few minutes to journal or draw between each dance segment.

We also had some time at the beginning to write using our “old” writing prompt and our “new” alphabet letter invitation. Surprisingly or serendipitously (is that a word?) I also chose the letter “Q”. Here is the beginning of my journal entry:

Oh, 2012, that was the year of possibility, of Quivering into the Quiet Question and knowing, YES!

Here is a picture of the letters that did not get chosen last night. Pick one and let me know what your letter is for the year!

Here’s to living where our feet are planted in every moment of 2012!

Nothing is heavy to those who have wings.

…to BE AMAZED!

it is also the season of sparkle, glitter, and glitz ~ so go for it!

Sometimes our animal friends really do “get it” in ways we need to emulate.

Aphrodite (aka Te Te) left this world last week, but not before spreading her love and wisdom far and wide.

Here is some of what she taught in her last days:

~eat whatever you want (but make the portions small)!

~let it all hang out (and don’t be a bit embarrassed).

~sit on as many laps as possible, for as long as possible.

~spend some time outside each day (fresh air is a healing balm).

and as cats know so well:

~maintain your sense of self and your confidence (that is an attractive feature that most cannot resist…even the dogs)!

A wise man said to me last week, “Humility is the spiritual replacement for shame.”

My daily inspirational reading for today is “Letting go of shame.”

hmmm, why not replace it with Humility?

and a new idea for inspirational art: pocket prayers.

Here is the first one inspired by today’s message.  On one side Humility and on the other Shame.  The Shame side will tarnish and blacken over time from contact with your hands, the air, etc. The silver side will not change with the elements. Eventually, my guess is that the Shame side will completely blacken so that the word is hardly or no longer visible.

Can you say metaphor?

There are signs of spring everywhere right now….inside and outside.

Day 7 of interesting ways to use the InterPlay Inspiration Deck.

It’s a wrap! I  am officially  finished my week of giving you interesting ways to use the InterPlay Inspiration Deck for your personal home use.

BUT

AND

If you don’t have a deck,  you won’t be able to practice, and then you won’t be able to change your life.

OK

that was a bit strong, but you get the point…time to invest in yourself and your practice.

Here is one incentive: FREE SHIPPING! click here and then when you are ready to pay use the coupon code ABD3334 and away you go!

(pssst…this code will work for the jewelry on the site too!)

(double psssst….this code is only good until dec. 1st.)

Thank you so much for walking the path with me and giving me the inspiration to keep changing my life!

To read testimonials from people using the deck, click here.

Become a fan of the deck on Facebook here.

Follow me on Twitter here.

OR send smoke signals….

Any and all ways of connecting are welcomed!