When I awakened this morning, I was greeted by the sound of birds chirping, the Sun’s warm rays stretching through the tree branches, light playing off the moisture still dripping from the prior night’s rain. I sat in silent morning meditation, bundled against the crisp morning air, the Sun warming my brow as it rose higher in the bright blue sky. There was a special Beauty about the Fall day, perhaps brought about by the fresh post-rain air, and I felt compelled to grab my camera and take myself upon an Artist’s Date! What a Wonderful way to fill the Creative well, and enJoy the Gorgeous day! And, it is phenomenally Beautiful around here.
Just look at these colours! Isn’t it Fantastic?! 
See the vivid green of the moss juxtaposed with gold, orange and red leaves?
I fell in Love with these orange berries!
Dreamy golden Autumn Beauty
Rain-kissed roses in November are a special gift 
Blissful Beauty Abounds
The vineyards in Autumn are breathtaking!
Lastly, my favourite bright red stands out across mountaintops 
Love and Playful Blessings,
Antonia
Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.
Happy first day of Spring! Granted, it doesn’t particularly look or feel very Spring-like today in my neighborhood, but the seasons did officially change at 4:44am PDT this Friday 20 March 2009; known as the vernal equinox or Spring equinox for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. As the Earth is tilted on its axis, during the Winter months we are tilted away from the Sun, and thus have cooler months. On the vernal eqinox, also known as Ostara, the Earth tilts towards the Sun, bringing warmer days and new growth. While the word “equinox” roughly translates to “equal night”, today will not have a day and night of equal length, as the true day-night equality occurred prior to vernal equinox. In any case, Spring has been celebrated for thousands of years as a time of hope, for it is the growing season and replenishment of food sources. Mother Earth is awakening from her slumber, renewed energy waiting to burst forth in the form of new life, and I shall rejoice in this and the return of warmer days.
Yesterday was Glorious, and felt like the first day of Spring, so I went out into my new neighborhood to capture signs of its arrival. A local explained that this is fertile land, which brings with it many, many birds and various other creatures. Their morning cacophony of chirping is Lovely! I delighted in watching two birds preparing their nest. Sparrows, perhaps? But, could I capture a pic?
Granted, you cannot see its cute little face past the mouthful of nesting materials!
I Love this sweet lone bulb at the base of a Gorgeous tree
Speaking of renewed hope.. what might these bulbs blossom into?
Alstroemeria
The Freesia smells Wonderful
Citrus fruit abounds! Look at these! Lemons..
Grapefruit
Wow! What a Gorgeous lemon tree..
Pomelo? Or really big Grapefruit? My big cell lends contrast.. seriously, folks!
Lush rose bush full of buds..
The wood is decked in light green leaf.
The swallow twitters in delight.
The lonely vine sheds joyous tears
Of interwoven dew and light.Spring weaves a gown of green to clad
The mountain height and wide-spread field.O when wilt thou, my native land,
In all thy glory stand revealed?
A Beautiful Camelia tree
Nothing says, “California” like our state flower! The California Poppy!
More Beautiful bulbs..
ooOOoo! Daffodils!! It must be Spring!!!
Forget not that the earth likes to feel your bare feet
and the winds long to play with your hair.
Love and Blessings,
Antonia
I can’t remember how old I was when my mom first started smudging down the house with sage sticks, but I recall feeling the effects of what she was doing, as there was a noticeable energy difference in the house once she had mindfully gone from room to room waving the smoking bundle of sage. ‘Smudging’ is the common name given for the Sacred Smoke Bowl Blessing, a powerful cleansing technique from the Native American tradition. To define it more clearly, shamanic smudging is the burning of herbs or incense for cleansing, purification, protection of physical and spiritual bodies, banishment of negative energies and creation of sacred space. The smoke attaches itself to negative energies, and as the smoke clears, it takes the negative energy with it, and is used by Native Americans, healers, religious and spiritual groups, and more. The house felt better.. lighter, after my mom had done this “spiritual house cleaning”, and I thus learned a respect for the Native American tradition. I have always purchased my sage sticks, but when I took myself on an Artist’s Date to make herb pots back in May, I specifically planted sage so that I would be able to make my own sage sticks at long last!
A few weeks ago, it became quite evident that it was time to harvest my sage for my first ever smudge stick making attempt. While many different herbs can be used to make smudge sticks, such as sage, sweet grass, rosemary, cedar, mugwort, pine, and/or juniper, they are most commonly made with white sage. I grew common sage, which can cause respiratory irritation in some people, although the same can be said for sage in general. (Note: Please experiment carefully, especially if you are asthmatic or have respiratory issues.) I have not had a problem with it, and was grateful for its abundant harvest. I asked the plant for permission, cut it down with loving intent and appreciation, then hung it to dry. Ohh, no! What’s that? If you know how smudge sticks are traditionally made, you know that it is to roll them while the leaves are fresh and moist. But when I researched it, I came across directions telling me I could dry the leaves first, and, knowing how long it takes for common sage to dry, mixed with an unwillness for any mildew to form in the middle of my smudge stick (yuck! the antithesis of its intent!), I opted to use the drying-first method.
Just as there are many uses for them, there are many methods for making a smudge stick. The easiest and most common way is to bundle a few sprigs, about 8-11 inches in length, tying them together at the base with jute, hemp or cotton (the length of string needed is about 2 1/2 times the height of the cut sage branches).
Wrap the string firmly around the bundled branches from base to the tips, then switch directions, wrapping back towards the base. This should form a criss-cross pattern. Tie the two ends of string together at the base. More complex methods of smudge stick making use newspaper, or even sushi mats to tightly roll the leaves together. Find what works best for you.
I didn’t have the heart to cut in half such beautifully tall branches, so one smudge stick came out rather tall. I was thinking I could send it to Barack Obama, as clearing negative energies from the White House is going to be a BIG job! *giggle*
With my smudge stick made, I carefully lit the tips, which was quick to smolder without burning. Hey! Perfect! I went about the house clearing away all the emotional and psychic “garbage” that may have gathered. I always begin at the bottom of the house and move upwards. I also choose to work in a counter-clockwise direction to remove old energies. Smudging in a clockwise direction, around the perimeter of the room or building, or honoring the four directions and elements are the more common methods of smudging, but as always, it is about the intention and what feels right to you.I can always feel the stuck energy, awaiting release. My smudge stick burned evenly, smoothly and better than many that I have purchased in stores! Awesome! Not only that, my house felt wonderful!
I was very careful to carry a ceramic dish beneath it for the bits of burning leaf and ash that fall. You must always be very mindful with smudge sticks. Always make certain your smudge stick is out before leaving the room. The best way to extinguish a smudge stick is to dampen it in sand or earth, but you can also just press it into the bottom of a shell, glass or ceramic dish. If you must, you can use a small amount of water, which is how my mom chooses to extinguish her smudge sticks.
Regardless of the types of sage stick used, or your smudging method, it is an easy, totally adaptable, user-friendly tool which I highly recommend. Our bodies and all that is around us vibrate as a subtle, invisible energy (chi or qi, prana, quwa, etc.) which needs to be brought back into balance. Smudging is a wonderful way to cleanse, purify, clear, and release this spiritual energy, restoring harmony and creating a greater flow. It’ll make you and your home feel better. Happy smudging!
This being a particularly challenging week, I knew that taking time for myself, my inner child and creativity was more important than ever. I chose to venture out into an unexplored arena by making my Herb Pots! After all, the Universe had so kindly provided the pots, so it was meant to be! Plus, having access to fresh herbs for cooking was going to be so wonderful!
With my sights set upon the purchase of dirt and herbs, I headed for my local home store. The staff was eager to assist in helping me find what I needed. His first question surprised me, “Do you want it to be organic?” Well, yes! Of course! And, truth be told, I am in a place in my life where I am looking for toxic free solutions, whether it be in what I use to clean my house, or my face, I just don’t see the point of allowing poisons into the home and environment. However, as I listened to this man explain all of the problems I would have by going organic, I found myself giving in and purchasing the regular potting soil he highly recommended. Their herb selection left must to be desired, but I picked out some basil, oregano, sage and rosemary and headed home. Man! Did that basil smell good!
When I got home, I thoroughly washed my pots and prepared them for planting. Somehow I got the dirt from my trunk to the pots and began preparations. Golly! The smell was intense! Which had me asking myself, “What is in this dirt?” It felt great to have my hands in earth again, but I found myself questioning the slightly toxic smell. After all, this was the foundation for something I would be ingesting.
Once the herbs were properly planted, I stood back and admired my herb pots. I would be doing a great deal of research to learn what is actually in my potting soil, but the sheer act of taking time for myself, my creativity, and reconnecting with nature was a beautiful gift to give myself and I felt recharged by this loving act. And, my herb pots are lovely! I cannot wait to watch them grow and be able to enhance my everyday meals with the blessings of home grown herbs.
The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”
~Stephen Nachmanovitch~ On Saturday night I stayed home and therefore found myself actually taking the time to watch a movie. I had not done so in quite awhile, despite being a huge movie lover, and fortunately chose one with gorgeous cinematography, acting and directing. The next morning I awakened feeling artistically inspired. I was reminded of the need to set time aside specifically for nurturing my creative consciousness and inner artist. Ahh, yes! It is time to commit to going on Artist’s Dates with myself again.
If you’ve read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (and I Highly recommend it!), then you are fully aware of not only what an Artist’s Date is, but the challenge and rewards involved. The idea behind it is that by spending a specific set time (at least two hours per week) with ourselves in an excursion (play date), we inspire the artist (child) within and gain insight and guidance into our craft/art form. It works beautifully too! Have you ever been to a film, the beach, a museum, or something like that and filled yourself with inspiration for your work? Or gained insight into how a role should be played, or a piece of art should come together? This is of what I speak. It’s a conscious choice to set aside time just for you and your child to play and have fun. This “visual therapy” can take many forms, but in doing something beautiful just for yourself, you will rejuvenate, feel energized, and fill yourself up again so you can hear what is longing to be expressed. The trick for me is in actually doing it!
I know I am not alone in my inability to routinely take these Artist’s Dates. It’s really sad actually; not being able to take time for ourselves! How can that be? Julia cameron suggests that resistance is a fear of intimacy with ourselves, but that we must take the time to care and cultivate a real relationship with our creativity in order for it to confide in us and bond with us. Perhaps the fear in being still is that we won’t like what we’ll hear. The objection I’ve most commonly heard is “guilt”. We freely give of our time to loved ones, friends and family members (or at least I hope you are!) but have trouble taking just a couple of hours per week to give to ourselves. Others say they have trouble finding an activity in which to participate each week, so I am going to attempt to make a few suggestions, and ask for yours as well, dear reader. My hope is to inspire myself, and you, to foster a relationship with that inner child/artist self within us all.
Taking out, pampering and listening to our inner child does not need to be expensive. In fact, you may be met with resistance if you choose a culturally sophisticated activity. This is about self-nurturing, play time. Anything which feeds your soul is an Artist’s Date. I love being outdoors, because I feel “connected” and the closer I am to “source” the more inspired I become. Quiet time at the beach, hiking a mountain, or a stroll around a local park are all great “me” time activities. Are there historical homes, botanical gardens or a local greenhouse you’ve always meant to explore? Can’t get away from the house? Grab your camera and climb a ladder to get a new perspective on your current surroundings!
Exploring other’s creations can be a lot of fun too. Whether it be at a local museum (I am blessed to have The Getty nearby and *that* is an incredible gift! It offers stunning architecture, world renowned art, a gorgeous garden and sweeping views! It’s one of my favorite places in Los Angeles) or local galleries; exploring the works of another can help us envisage our own creations more clearly. Visit a local bookshop and pour through their art or landscaping books. Go to story or art time at your local library. Spend a few hours perusing an antique shop. Rent some children’s movies!
Since we are talking about fostering inner child behavior, I think it is important for some dates to look a lot like preschool activities. Get out a box of crayons, coloured pencils or finger paints. This is not only a great expression of play, but can help us get in touch with our inner creator as well. Since we create our own reality, what we draw/paint can be a direct reflection of what we could create in our lives. As long as it looks like arts and crafts time, you’re on the right track. My favourite story was of the woman who had a play date with a can of shaving cream! I also love the idea of building sand castles on the beach, a snowman or swinging on the swing at the local playground. Or perhaps you want to bake cookies!
Let’s commit to taking two hours per week, because keeping these dates with yourself feels really amazing and will make your inner child very happy. When the inner child/artist is happy, our work will come through more easily. Do not judge yourself or feel guilty for reconnecting with you. Follow your passion and that which has magick for you! Create without rules and see how your work becomes more inspired. “Imagination at play is at the heart of all good work,” says Ms. Cameron. By taking time to care for and cultivate our creativity, we will renew our resources! Take this journey with me and see what we can accomplish!
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