Dream: Hungry Lions

Hungry Lions by Artful Alchemist on Polyvore

Dream: 1/18/2011
Hungry Lions


I am exploring ancient grounds – an abandoned estate of some kind. It is not in ruins, but is overgrown and neglected as well as deserted. I discover there are feeding stations in some locations. There are monkeys and there are lions. I go to one feeding station near the front of the house (it looks a bit like a metal water pump). I can read a label on it that indicates it’s for the lions. I give it a pump, out of curiosity, and a few old cheese puffs come out. The monkeys stay back and a lion comes and sniffs at the cheese puffs. I feel sad for the lions – they can’t eat food like this. It reminds me of a zoo where people come to gawk and make caged pets of these glorious animals. I’m a bit frightened to be so close to the lions, but feel it is up to me to feed them.
~~

To me, the message of this dream is so clear. The monkeys are the monkey-mind - all that chatter, inner critic, false beliefs, distractions. It is clear that I'm not to feed them. (In waking life, I feed them all too often.) The lions represent my authentic inner power (connections to the goddess Sekhmet and also to the Alsan Christ-consciousness figure from the Narnia tales). They are hungry. It's my job to feed them. And cheetos (my ultimate junk food!) are not going to cut it. My inner lioness needs real meat, something to sink her teeth into, something that will sustain her. It's my job to find what that is and provide it. It IS frightening to think of really owning my inner power. Yet in the dream, I seem determined despite my fear. That's what the dream is asking of me in waking life - to brave up and feed my inner power what it needs.

What inner power do you choose to feed? And how do you tame the monkey-mind?

Dream: Vacationing on the Moon

Dream: Vacationing on the Moon by ArtfulAlchemist

Dream 1/1/2011

Vacationing on the Moon

I have taken a trip to the moon. It is like a vacation adventure. Not unheard of or entirely unusual, but a first for me. It is exciting and filled with beauty and the unexpected. For one, I can see all the planets of our solar system strung out like a ribbon along the horizon, looking much like I recall from science books. Logically, I know they wouldn't look like this or be aligned so, but at the same time I feel a rush of excitement, as if I've made a new discovery. It is so breathtakingly beautiful. The ground is covered with a cold, frosty substance that kicks up like snow with every step. I feel at once alien and totally at home. Completely out of my element, a pioneer, an adventurer. I revel in the wonder and excitement of it all.

~~

As the first dream of the year, for me this portends a year of exploration beyond the boundaries of my current experience. The planets have aligned to support my new endeavors. Things that I thought I knew and understood come together in a different way. As I created the art for this dream, a companion (someone I was only vaguely aware of in the dream) emerged more solidly. I think this represents a guide who will accompany and support me on this exciting adventure.

What have YOU been dreaming about as this new year begins? Post your dream stories here.

Visioning® for 2011

I finally got around to doing my Visioning® collage for 2011. This only after a friend of mine expressed an interest in doing some collage work which prompted me to invite her over for an afternoon. I facilitate this work for others ALL THE TIME, yet never seem to find the time to do my own! So I was glad for the nudge from my friend, otherwise I would not have made time for it.

As I glued everything down, there was a blank space and it didn't feel quite finished. That prompted me to jump on to Polyvore and try to create the image I held in my mind's eye for Source-ress (my energetic name for this year) and it fit the leftover space perfectly.

I'm tickled with the images and phrases that came to me. "To start living your best life, Tap Here" followed by a heart ;-) EFT, but also the idea of tapping into heart energy as the source of action (as opposed to always coming from the head). Another series of phrases reinforces that idea: "Grow your mind / and heart / there's an art to this kind of balance."

Love the image of the crayons, which clearly represent my need for playful artistic creativity. And REALLY loved THESE PARTICULAR crayons, because each one is carved into the shape of an animal, which for me ties right into the shamanic path.

The little green onion riding the orange-wheel bicycle just called to me - love the sense of whimsy, humor and eccentricity AND he also ties into my intention for eating fresher, simpler, more down-to-earth foods this year.

I'm intrigued by the number of references to teams, the many, connections and collections as I tend to be a very solo-preneur kind of gal - always trying to do everything myself. Sooooo, looks like this is the year to break down and get some HELP!

Well, the Mission Statement right up top does say RETHINK EVERYTHING! ;-)

My favorite phrase of all came from headline in Fast Company in an article about the BoingBoing.net blog site. I edited it only slightly, replacing "they" with "you": "Do exactly what you want. It's eccentric. It's unprofessional. And it makes money." Really speaks to the "wanna do it MY way" part of me ;-)

Anyone else create a vision board this year?

I'm Wearing Purple Today

I'm Wearing Purple Today by ArtfulAlchemist (NEW GROUP!) featuring ankle booties

I'm wearing purple today in honor of ALL GLBT kids who are bullied because of their sexual orientation. My heart goes out to the families of those who have lost their children to suicide because of this horrific kind of intolerance and hatefulness. Ellen DeGeneres said it well, "Things will get easier, people's minds will change, and you should be alive to see it."

Everyone should hear Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns share his powerful story.

May we all someday learn to celebrate our differences and love people for who they are, as they are.



For any GLBT or questioning teens who are feeling suicidal, please contact the Trevor Project.

What the Heck is Artful Alchemy?

ALCHEMY [al-kuh-mee] (noun) the miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious (e.g. turning lead into gold)

ARTFUL [ahrt-fuhl] (adjective) done with or characterized by art or skill

Artful Alchemy is about transforming a common life into your golden life through skillfully facilitated art practices.

Why art?

Art is a jumpstart into a new way of thinking, a new way of feeling, a new way of being. The shift can be explained with just a little left-brain/right-brain theory.

The Western World values the left-brain and downplays the value of the right-brain. Most of the time most of us are operating from our left-brain because that's what we've been taught to do. That’s all well and good. The qualities of the left-brain are very helpful and necessary if we’re to get anything done.

However, the predominant voices in the left-brain are the Ego and the Critic. The Ego’s like the map-keeper; it holds the map to things-as-they-are and has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, because then it always knows where we are and what’s going on. So, the Ego, while a useful character for holding us together, takes its job so seriously that it really doesn’t allow us to make significant transformations. The Ego’s sidekick is the Inner Critic. The Inner Critic is the one who says, “You’re not smart enough, rich enough, good enough, deserving enough.” So the Ego says, “Let’s not change a thing,” and the Critic says, “And even if you wanted to, you’d never succeed.” Not a very conducive dialogue for life transformation.

That’s where the power of the right-brain comes in, with a whole different set of qualities and voices. If you want to know what your heart truly wants, the answer can only come through the right brain. If you want to connect to your higher wisdom, to spiritual guidance or to the pure spark of the inner child, then tune into your right-brain. This is where the truly life-transforming ideas will be found. If you want to break out of a dull, common, status-quo way of being and create your golden life, your right-brain is key.

But how to tune out or bypass the dominant, left-brain voices of the Ego and the Critic? Stop speaking their language. Their language is verbal; it’s words. Have you ever noticed how you tend to go ‘round and ‘round about a problem, with the same words replaying over and over again in your head? Break the cycle by breaking out of verbal mode.

What is the language of the right-brain? It’s non-verbal; it’s visual; it’s art.

Try it sometime. If you have been stuck in some way, or if you are facing a challenge that you can’t quite figure out how to tackle, stop thinking about it in words. Draw a picture instead. Draw a picture of how things are, then draw another of how you want things to be. I guarantee you’ll get a whole new perspective on the matter.

Meet Scarlett

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about our “Shadows,” especially since the recent release of The Shadow Effect from co-authors Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson.

Briefly stated, Shadows are those unsavory aspects of our personalities that we’ve repressed, but which continue to subconsciously wreak havoc in our individual and collective lives. If, however, we can bring those aspects of ourselves back into our conscious awareness, we can discover and harness their gifts. This is what’s known as “embracing the Shadow.”

Does that mean that if I have a rage-aholic Shadow, I should embrace that rage and go around consciously hurting people? No, of course not. It means that if I look consciously at the source of all that rage I might be able to take the energy of anger to make positive changes in the world, to right some wrongs. Or maybe I can take the physicality of that energy and channel it into marathon running. Once the rage has a safe and productive outlet, it doesn’t have to sneak up on me (or those around me) anymore.

This past Saturday, I led a group of women in an exploration of a Shadow Self through mask-making and journaling. My own mask, and the work I did with it, was quite revealing and healing.

For the past several months, I have been working to develop the structure and direction of my Artful Alchemist practice with my wonderful coach and EFT master, Rev. Anne Presuel. During the course of our work together it has become apparent that I have HUGE resistance to all things marketing.

In a recent session together, Anne helped me to tap into a key image for what I’ve been resisting. The visual that represents my distaste about sales and marketing is that of a prostitute standing on the street corner hiking her skirt. I don’t want to prostitute myself, I don’t want to sell my soul, I don’t want to be all flash (and flesh!), I’m not interested in offering a quick trick or a fast fix, I don’t want my work to be all about the money, yada, yada, yada. Wow! Juicy Shadow stuff!

So, guess what shadow I chose to explore with my mask-making?

Meet Scarlett, my Shadow Prostitute:

She's actually a rather lovely painted lady and I'm growing quite fond of her. Here are a few excerpts from what she had to say to me through journaling dialogue:

“I am Scarlett, but NOT Scarlett the Harlot as you’ve been thinking of me. Think more along the lines of Scarlett O’Hara. I am strong and resourceful, but not afraid to use my own beauty.”

"What are you afraid of, darlin'? Little Ole Me? Why, I don't bite Baby Girl, unless of course that's what you want."

“I am the one who knows she’s got it. I ain’t afraid to shine, to sparkle, to PUT IT OUT THERE.”

“I am the one who knows my worth and demands it. AND GETS IT!”

“I am the one who entices with flash, but delivers substance.”

"I can help you be a better business woman. Believe me, you get pretty money-savvy turning tricks. You don't get taken advantage of for long. Not when you decide to run your own show, anyway."

Oh, my dear Scarlett! Let me embrace all of that!

Is Emotional Pain Necessary?

Remembering Cameron by ArtfulAlchemist on Polyvore.com

Is Emotional Pain Necessary?

This is the question posed by today’s NPR piece, which talks about a recent change in the American Psychiatric Association’s new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM. The proposal is to remove the “bereavement exclusion” from the guidelines for diagnosing major depression. In other words, if one’s grief is severe and lasts too long, it should be treated like depression. How long is too long? In the words of the article:

“ . . . if symptoms like these [acute upset, loss of sleep, appetite, energy and concentration] persist for more than two weeks, the bereaved person will be considered to have a mental disorder: major depression. And treatment, either therapy or medication, is recommended.”

TWO WEEKS?!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!

Are we, as a culture, so afraid of feeling the depths of our emotion that we would choose to medicate the pain of grief as soon as two weeks out from a major loss? It seems ludicrous to me.

After losing my son six years ago, my journey of grief (which I chronicle in my award-winning book The Deep Water Leaf Society) took at least TWO YEARS and in many ways continues even today. Were there days that I would have liked to take a pill and make the pain stop? Yes. And if I had, would I have learned and experienced all that I did and healed so completely? I think not. For me expressive arts, journaling and dreamwork allowed me to honor my pain, learn from it and heal by moving headlong into my pain, not running away from it.

It is the conscious journey through our grief that creates healing. In my opinion, if you stuff it down, ignore it, drown it in alcohol or happy it up with Prozac you will miss the meaning, the lessons, the growth that come from being real about how it feels. I learned more about myself and let go of more useless baggage during those two years of healing than I had in my entire life up to that point. I am a better person because of my loss and because of the very real pain it caused. Had I numbed the pain with Prozac, I know my loss would not have created the same level of positive personal transformation.

I am reminded of Kirk in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. When the mysterious mystic Syvok wants to take away everyone's pain, Kirk is the only hold-out while everyone else is all silly with nirvanic joy. "Damn it, Bones,” says Kirk, “you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!"

I’m with Kirk on this one.

It’s not that we should choose to live in the depths of that pain permanently. And certainly if someone becomes suicidal or is completely unable to function for long periods of time there may be some call for intervention. But to put an arbitrary timeframe on how long it should take to process the pain of grief is ridiculous.

TWO WEEKS?!!! I don’t think it’s we grievers who have a mental disorder. I think the authors of the DSM should have their own heads examined!