Art

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha

I know the term SELF-LOVE gets tossed around a lot and honestly, I think it’s for good reason. We are starved for compassion towards ourselves. Being okay with who you are, just as you are – imperfections and all is what it all boils down to. It’s those imperfections that make you, well, YOU.

We are not taught to love ourselves unconditionally. “I will be able to love myself when …” is an all too common loop that happens inside our heads. I know growing up if you thought too highly of yourself you were called names like conceited or arrogant. So, I would knock myself down a notch. But, over time, knocking myself down became quite the nasty habit. You then look for love outside of yourself when what you really need is to LOVE YOUR WHOLE SELF.

This is a great excerpt about self-love from Whitney Freya’s book Rise Above:

“The only source of true unconditional love is within YOU.

Until you rediscover this unconditional love you have for yourself, you will continue to look to others to provide this energy, this feeling, for you.

And when they let you down, because they don’t love you perfectly, your love for them becomes conditional. Then, their love for you becomes conditional. Or it feels that way. And you feel like you’ve been cheated or robbed, or somehow left out. You become the victim.”

Wow! Do you see how the act of not fully loving yourself ultimately puts you in place where you put conditions on your love and give others permission not to love you unconditionally either.

I saw this prickly pear cactus heart on my walk this morning. Seeing a heart out in the wild is a message of unconditional love and support from the universe. It all starts with you. The more you practice being loving, to yourself as well as others, the more love shows up in your life. Love is all around you.

Have you seen hearts around? What do their messages mean to you?

My Buddha painting shown above was painted live during the Phoenix Festival of the Arts. If you are interested in purchasing this Buddha painting (mural #9) or any of the murals that were created during the festival, please contact the Phoenix Center for the Arts at info@phoenixcenterforthearts.org. All murals are $300 + shipping.

Be the LIGHT – A message from my muse:

Rise up towards the light, rising sun, shining moon, illuminate and birth ones self. Smile. Notice the beauty that surrounds. Make more art. Let your inner radiance show. When you are in love with life, you naturally radiate that love.

You are here to light up the world. Take time to listen to your inner voice, that is all you need to inspire. Shine with the purest intentions. Show up as the shining light that you are and the best qualities of being human will continue to flow and circulate throughout the world. 

This little light of mine … I’m going to let it shine!

My heart has chosen LIGHT as my sacred word for 2018.

Choosing a sacred word of the year is one of my favorite New Year rituals. I love how it weaves it’s way through my year. It usually shows up in unexpected ways and always prove to be a guiding light. This is my 6th year choosing a word – I have chosen ABUNDANCE, CONNECTION, NOURISH, DEVOTED and PRESENCE. Some words served me better then others, but they all had something to teach me.

In sharing my word of the year, I believe that it creates a sacred energy that nourishes it’s intention.

I “tried on” a few word variations of light such as shine, illuminate, radiant and vibrant but, LIGHT felt right. Light brings visions of sunlight, moonlight, starlight that literally enables vision guiding us on our path. My 2017 word presence helped me to focus and re-focus on the now and with 2018 my desire is to focus and refocus on the light that surrounds. Allow it illuminate the dark places and bring forth goodness.

“We never really see the world exactly as it is. We see it as we hope it will be or we fear it might be.” ~Maria Popova on the podcast On Being with Krista Tippett

I’m tired of seeing the fear it might be and want to see it as I hope it will be.

Ways I wish to embody LIGHT

• to seek the light while acknowledging and honoring the dark
• to be the light; focus on what lights me up and share that with the world
• to literally FEEL and BE lighter
• to be a lightworker who chooses actions that raise the vibration of the planet
• to have a lightness of being; to connect with my authentic joy
• to be light-hearted, take control of anxiety and laugh more
• to light a fire under my ass and take positive action

Why Choose a Sacred Word for the Year?

ONE WORD deepens change. It relieves the pressure of having to make too many changes all at once and provides a laser focus on one significant change. Most of us forget our long list of intentions. It is easier to remember one word.

Tips to Choosing your Sacred Word

➳ Ask, “What word do I want to embody into in 2018?”
➳ Intuitively choose a magazine.
➳ Flip until you find a word that surprises or delights you, cut it out.
➳ Research and contemplate what your word means to you.
➳ Let your word pick you. If you “think” it’s not right but, you can’t shake it – honor it.
➳ Create artwork to celebrate and illustrate your word.

This month, in my  private Facebook community I’m sharing about choosing a word of the year.

I talk about how to find your word and then walk you how I created a word of the year visual intention collage as a reminder to amplify your intention. If you would like join, click here: Discover Your Creative Magic Community

“Emerge”
Original sold
Prints are available in my shop, here

I have always been drawn to lotus flowers, not only for their beauty but also for their symbolism. I painted this at a time when I was feeling the pull to create art intuitively. My life, as all lives, is full of challenges and opportunities to rise above those challenges.

The journey of the lotus flower is a wonderful analogy for the human experience and journey of enlightenment. In challenging conditions, the stem begins growing in muddy, murky water and slowly rises above the surface, just as we also rise above our challenges. As the petals unfold, we too unfold and bloom into something beautiful. According to a traditional story, the more muddy the water, the more beautiful the lotus flower when it emerges.

Its open blossom stands for enlightenment and beauty. Its flexible stem symbolizes resilience. At night the lotus closes and emerges again with the sunlight of a new day. Each day is a new life, a new rebirth for the flower.

The lotus is considered a sacred and divine flower in many religions, most notably Hinduism and Buddhism.  The life cycles of the Lotus evokes how the human spirit unfolds: from humble beginnings in the mud to the blossoming of the soul in the light.

May we live like the lotus, at ease in muddy water.

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