A Creative Block And A Soul Lesson
Yesterday I had one of those days. One of those days that all artists dread - the creative block. I went into my studio happy and enlightened and by the end of the day I emerged grumpy and hopeless. After 6 hours of attempting to be an artist, all I had to show for my efforts was a 18x24 canvas blobbed with blue and white paint resembling nothing. Well, now, I could look at it this way; if blue and white blobs could be considered a masterpiece then I did accomplish something. I believe in a museum my art piece would have been defined as an abstract. However, as an artist, I don't paint abstracts. I am a reflection of water. The sea is my enlightenment. The trickling stream that winds its way from the mountain top is my enchantment. And the billowing storm clouds blowing across the land dumping rain and striking the earth with lightning are my inspiration. Today I can create those sentences with ease as the words go flowing effortless from my mind through my fingers onto the keyboard. However, my words today are a far cry from my blobs of paint yesterday.
But that was yesterday and today is a whole new day. This morning I stepped into my studio with a bright new attitude. The paint flowed across the canvas like they were old lovers reuniting. I simply held the paintbrush and watched them dance. Before I knew it I had two canvasses prepped and, as I write this, the canvasses are drying waiting for me to finish them. One canvas beckons for Orca Whales while the other canvas, well, that's a secret.
So, if I was having such a bad day yesterday, why did I endure in the studio relentlessly pursuing a masterpiece on canvas that obviously wasn't going to happen? I guess I could have packed up my paintbrushes and paint and just took the rest of the afternoon as a day off and delighted myself in watching movies or reading books. I have to admit, at one point, I had my art supplies packed away and I was about to walk out of my art studio slamming the door the behind me. Instead, I stopped and stood in the middle of my studio and just looked around. Then I shifted my attention to one wall. Hanging on that wall was a recently completed painting and I just stared at it for a while. Two days prior I had painted that canvas with complete ease. It was almost too easy as the image came together like it had been in my imagination for years. So why was I having trouble now?
The last couple of months I have been focusing on my self, opening my heart, and tackling my inner emotions head on. I have been on the journey of a mystic. Being on the journey of a mystic means following a path to enlightenment. In order to reach enlightenment (you can also follow the path of enlightenment through Buddhism) a person on the journey must first start with themselves and heal themselves from the inside out. A majority of this healing is done by working with the heart center. For anyone who has taken this journey knows that as soon as you begin working with the heart center, you literally open a can of worms.
Now, what does my journey as a mystic and my experience with writers block have in common?
Well, as I was standing in the middle of my studio staring at that painting that I had just completed (the one I just previously mentioned that came from my imagination like it had been there for years) I automatically did something that I had spent the last couple months practicing. As I was staring at the painting I realized that I was collecting my emotions and focusing on my breathing. Moments before, because I was angry and frustrated, my breathing had quickened and, along with my rising blood pressure, I was developing a bad headache.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are obviously losing your inner calm then stop. Breath. Collect yourself and look inward. Why are you feeling the way you are? What specific emotions are you feeling and why? What triggered those current emotions?
In silence is where we find answers. This is why the practice of meditation is so important. When a person is frustrated or angry or fearful, the human consciousness is overwhelmed with those emotions and the ego takes control because that's what the ego likes to do. But feeling emotions like fear, anger, frustration, or resentment, solves nothing in a peaceful manner. Emotions like these can only lead to one thing and that is destruction.
In silence, a person can go within themselves to the root of the problem and discover within themselves exactly why they are feeling these destructive emotions. From there, every person has the choice if they want to fix the problem or not.
For me, I wanted to fix the problem. As I went into myself I realized that I was feeling fear stemmed from a memory from my childhood. At that point I decided to meditate and go deeper into this memory. After about 45 minutes I was able to neutralize the issue and tackle the emotion head on. After that I unpacked my brushes and paints and went back to work. I still didn't project anything onto that canvas that is a reflection of who I am or what I love but I accomplished something more important. I learned something about myself that I didn't know and I overcame and evaporated a fear that I had been holding since I was a child. Yesterday, it didn't really matter that I ended the day creating a masterpiece on canvas because with an open heart and living with authentic power, I am creating the greatest masterpiece of all, me.
The next time that you are feeling frustrated or angry I invite you to just stop what you are doing and take a few deep breaths. Calm yourself. Look within yourself and tackle that emotion head on. Ask yourself these three questions: Why am I feeling the way I am?
What specific emotions am I feeling and why? What triggered these
current emotions? In the calm and silence, with controlled breathing, you will find your answer.
My creative block ended in a soul lesson. How will yours end?
Love and light,
Tara
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013
The Dark Night Of The Soul
What is the dark night of the soul? Some of you may have heard poems or songs with the same title. And if any of you out there are seeking enlightenment along the Mystic path, then there is a possibility that you know exactly what I am going to talk about here. Perhaps, even, you have already experienced the dark night for yourself.
First of all, I would like to say that I am sorry that I missed last weeks blog. I really do enjoy writing about things that I know will reach out to at least one person and inspire or enlighten them. And I love to write about my own experiences which leads me to today's topic. The month of May was a traverse and difficult month for me because I had decided to let go of something so profound that it effected my very soul. Letting go of this 'something' spiraled me into days and nights of doubt, emotion, questions, loneliness, and pain. I, myself, was experiencing the dark night of the soul. And what a long month it was! Before I go any farther into my own personal experience, I would like to explain to you what the dark night of the soul is and what it means to those seeking truth and enlightenment.
A tidbit on history
It began in Christianity with Saint John of the Cross' poem narrating the journey of the soul from its bodily home to its union with God. The journey is called 'The Dark Night', because darkness represents the hardships and difficulties the soul meets in detachment from the world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator. There are several steps in this night, which are related in successive stanzas. The main idea of the poem can be seen as the painful experience that people endure as they seek to grow in spiritual maturity and union with God. The first is a purification of the senses. The second and more intense of the two stages is that of the purification of the spirit, which is the less common of the two. Dark Night of the Soul further describes the ten steps on the ladder of mystical love. (Wikipedia)
The dark night of the soul entered into the mystics process in the high middle ages. 'Dark night of the soul' sounds like a threatening and much to be avoided experience. Yet perhaps a quarter of the seekers on the road to higher consciousness will pass through the dark night. In fact, they may pass through several until they experience the profound joy of their true nature. However, to one engaged in the dark night, suffering seems unending. The dark night could last, as the name suggests, a single night or it could last for years. The experience and length of time is unique to the individual.
The dark night occurs after considerable advancement toward higher consciousness. Indeed, the dark night usually occurs like an initiation before one of these special seekers is admitted into regular relationship with higher consciousness. The dark night also occurs to those who do not seek relationship but immersion or unity in the higher consciousness. While the term dark night of the soul is used broadly, its general meaning — in the field of higher consciousness — is a lengthy and profound absence of light and hope. In the dark night you feel profoundly alone.
The ego self
If you were to research about the dark night of the soul, you would find a hundred different versions of what it is. The truth is, the dark night is going to be different for each person. There is no special formula or recipe to follow. There are no steps to be taken. You cannot prepare for it or brace yourself against it. You either do it or you don't. It is called the dark night of the soul because when we do make the decision to let go, we are doing so on the soul level. When we let go of something on the emotional or conscious level, the result is significantly different than when we let go of something on the soul level. This will be explained later.
As we awaken to a higher level of consciousness and as we move higher along the path to enlightenment, one becomes more aware of what the dark night will mean for them because they have been awakened to truth. Your eyes and heart have been opened to a point where you understand what you truly are in relation to the divine universe. Then the dark night becomes something you try to avoid but inwardly know that in order to achieve enlightenment, you must first walk through the darkness, the true darkness. This is why many on the path to enlightenment will not reach it because they know at some point they must open their hearts completely and doing this means facing who they truly are. In essence, one must face their ego head on. The thought alone of facing yourself, your true self, is so scary for many, that they will, unfortunately, cease their growth and settle into their lives where they have stopped.
The dark night is ultimately about transformation. Your ego, your limited sense of self, your inadequate complex of ideas about who you are had to be dissolved. Your ego was, you begin to see, eclipsing higher consciousness and your true nature. Your old sense of self was inadequate to your new hopes and proper state. Your suffering intensified because of a major misapprehension. You were too used to thinking of yourself based on inputs from your previous experiences in life. On and on through life, you gathered information and responses from the world which indicated to you what kind of person you were and are. These superficial units of related inputs became integrated in what is called the ego — your sense of self, your sense of who you are. As long as you allowed this inaccurate or only partial sense of who you are to dominate, you could not know or abide in your true nature.
Your ego sense is so powerful — you invest in it with so much of your thought and feeling — that your attitudes of life become based on an egocentric perspective. The ego gains a progressively greater foothold on your entire life because your basic attitudes about your existence and essential nature are strongly linked with ego.
Then, your ego sense, due to your suffering or your limitations in life, wants to have more power over circumstances and a more pleasant life. The ego sense often becomes motivated to seek higher consciousness and, thus, greater ability to dominate in life. Not always, but often, it is the ego sense which most eagerly pursues higher consciousness. It wants to be in charge; it wants to manipulate events and make life come out more to its satisfaction. But, as long as your ego dominates, it is on a collision course with your true nature and your higher consciousness. There’s going to be a showdown. There has to be a confrontation sometime if your higher consciousness is ever to emerge, if you are ever to know truly who you are and what your human capabilities are.
Letting go completely
There will come a point along your path where you realize how the ego is effecting your progress and you know without a doubt that you must let go. You cannot 'think' or 'wonder' if you are going through the dark night, you simply know that you are. There is no planning it out or making an appointment. One day it just happens. You close your eyes and jump.
Ego cannot, by its will or any other skills whatsoever, create the wholeness of heart which will end your deep suffering. In a sense your ego recognizes itself — in the dark night — to be the disease. It recognizes that its foothold on your mind and heart has, at an advanced stage on your path, proven a great numbing agent and a high stone wall against the light. Ego stands against the fulfillment of your faith and the realization of your profoundest yearnings. Finally your ego has found something it cannot do and, in the dark night of the soul, it becomes totally convinced it is inadequate. It cannot deal with your suffering or the fulfillment of the heart’s yearning. Nothing it can do, think, say, buy, or travel to, will in any way suffice.
Here in this dark night, the lifelong ego sense dies: impotent. Having fulfilled its part, now weak and incompetent, it is dissolved — transmuted. From a higher sense now awakening within you, you slough off your false sense of self. You now know yourself to be a different person than you thought you were. Your ego was merely experiencing some of the attributes, some of the qualities, of your true nature, while at the same time obstructing others.
You, in passing successfully through the dark night, enter the realms of higher consciousness. You’ve been cleansed of the most deep-rooted sickness: your ignorance of your true nature and your inadequate, often totally wrong opinion of who you are. You now cease your inner conflict and abide serenely in your true nature. The dawn of a new life in higher consciousness transforms your bleak life of the past into one with a heavenly nature. You have been delivered of the intolerable bondage to ego.
Henceforth, you will walk the earth seeing others afresh, living a new life, and abiding in your true nature. You have become a son or daughter of higher consciousness. Now your words and actions will be attuned with your true self. Now you express inspiration and comfort.
The dark night has passed. It is over.
(The Mystic)
My experience
My experience with the dark night lasted nearly a month. At first I dreaded the thought of entering the dark night but knew, with out a doubt, that if I was to find peace within myself and my path, I was going to have to let go. I remember I was sitting at the computer working on my website when it just happened. As usual, I could feel my ascended master near by. Prior to this day, I had had many lessons in meditation from my ascended master on definition versus reflection. How not to define myself as an individual or artist but be a reflection of who I truly am. My flaw during these lessons was that as I was releasing old energies and fears, not only from this life but also from past lives, I was still holding onto pieces. Through these pieces that I was holding onto was where I was trying to find out how I was a reflection and not a definition. Over and over again, my ascended master would question why I was holding onto these pieces? I finally asked him one day, 'if I get rid of everything, then what is left for me to reflect from?'
That day I was sitting at the computer, I realized that I was trying to be a reflection from what my ego had created. I was reflecting myself from years and many lives of definitions of the world around me and who I thought I was. My ego was interfering with the process of my growth. That is when I knew I had to let go. I remember getting through my work and then shutting off the computer. I sat right there at my computer, closed my eyes and rested my forehead on my folded hands. Taking a deep breath I emptied my mind and shifted my focus to my heart chakra. Imagining my heart opening like a flower, I then shifted my attention to my ascended master clearly stating to him that I was ready. And I let go.
Over the next weeks the emptiness was overwhelming. I could feel the dark creep up behind me and cover me like a cloak. For no reason I would cry uncontrollably then be angry in an instant. My heart hurt for days on end and a few times I thought I was actually having a heart attack. My sleep was disrupted with vivid and horrifying dreams. Depression crawled into my life and I was sick off and on sometimes with a fever. I felt very alone during this time. I couldn't paint. I couldn't even feel my ascended master near. Even though I still meditated each day, I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't settle my thoughts of random images and feelings that would flow through my mind. I began to question what I was doing as an artist if I was doing the right thing at all. Suddenly I felt myself being tugged back into old wants and professions. Maybe I should do this, maybe I should do that, maybe this is what I am supposed to do?
Then one day, a little over three weeks had gone by, I was in meditation when I realized that everything I had been going through was false. I was allowing myself to experience all these negative things. I was in control over my own life. Me, the true me and not the ego me. It was then that my ascended master interceded. He asked my again, 'how can you let go when you are still holding onto these pieces?' My answer, 'I can't. These pieces are not truth, they are illusions. I know that now. These pieces are not light but darkness. And I know that the heart can also be an illusion. It is not how big our heart is but how open it is. In the open heart is unconditional love, compassion, truth, and light. I want to be a part of the light and reflect from my light within.'
Then my human body fell away as if it were a coat. It fell to the ground and lay crumpled in a pile. I was there, floating, a bright golden and white light. I had been allowed to see my true form.
When I came out of meditation that day, everything that I had been through had vanished - the depression, sickness, roller coaster ride of emotions, questions, all of it, gone. I was back on track to my purpose reflecting myself from the light within. My energy increased as well as my love for life and everything in it. My art has taken giant leaps forward, something I am very excited to share next month when I reveal new works.
It was hard to make the decision to let go but I am not a person to just stop progress. I know there is always more ways to learn and there is an infinite amount of possibilities for my life. Today I am great but tomorrow I will be even greater. I am my own masterpiece in progress, ever shaping, with each layer more colorful and defined. Following the path of enlightenment is not easy, especially in the beginning, but if you endure and work hard enough, there is nothing more rewarding than the unconditional love granted by the universe.
Love and Light,
Tara
What is the dark night of the soul? Some of you may have heard poems or songs with the same title. And if any of you out there are seeking enlightenment along the Mystic path, then there is a possibility that you know exactly what I am going to talk about here. Perhaps, even, you have already experienced the dark night for yourself.
First of all, I would like to say that I am sorry that I missed last weeks blog. I really do enjoy writing about things that I know will reach out to at least one person and inspire or enlighten them. And I love to write about my own experiences which leads me to today's topic. The month of May was a traverse and difficult month for me because I had decided to let go of something so profound that it effected my very soul. Letting go of this 'something' spiraled me into days and nights of doubt, emotion, questions, loneliness, and pain. I, myself, was experiencing the dark night of the soul. And what a long month it was! Before I go any farther into my own personal experience, I would like to explain to you what the dark night of the soul is and what it means to those seeking truth and enlightenment.
A tidbit on history
It began in Christianity with Saint John of the Cross' poem narrating the journey of the soul from its bodily home to its union with God. The journey is called 'The Dark Night', because darkness represents the hardships and difficulties the soul meets in detachment from the world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator. There are several steps in this night, which are related in successive stanzas. The main idea of the poem can be seen as the painful experience that people endure as they seek to grow in spiritual maturity and union with God. The first is a purification of the senses. The second and more intense of the two stages is that of the purification of the spirit, which is the less common of the two. Dark Night of the Soul further describes the ten steps on the ladder of mystical love. (Wikipedia)
The dark night of the soul entered into the mystics process in the high middle ages. 'Dark night of the soul' sounds like a threatening and much to be avoided experience. Yet perhaps a quarter of the seekers on the road to higher consciousness will pass through the dark night. In fact, they may pass through several until they experience the profound joy of their true nature. However, to one engaged in the dark night, suffering seems unending. The dark night could last, as the name suggests, a single night or it could last for years. The experience and length of time is unique to the individual.
The dark night occurs after considerable advancement toward higher consciousness. Indeed, the dark night usually occurs like an initiation before one of these special seekers is admitted into regular relationship with higher consciousness. The dark night also occurs to those who do not seek relationship but immersion or unity in the higher consciousness. While the term dark night of the soul is used broadly, its general meaning — in the field of higher consciousness — is a lengthy and profound absence of light and hope. In the dark night you feel profoundly alone.
The ego self
If you were to research about the dark night of the soul, you would find a hundred different versions of what it is. The truth is, the dark night is going to be different for each person. There is no special formula or recipe to follow. There are no steps to be taken. You cannot prepare for it or brace yourself against it. You either do it or you don't. It is called the dark night of the soul because when we do make the decision to let go, we are doing so on the soul level. When we let go of something on the emotional or conscious level, the result is significantly different than when we let go of something on the soul level. This will be explained later.
As we awaken to a higher level of consciousness and as we move higher along the path to enlightenment, one becomes more aware of what the dark night will mean for them because they have been awakened to truth. Your eyes and heart have been opened to a point where you understand what you truly are in relation to the divine universe. Then the dark night becomes something you try to avoid but inwardly know that in order to achieve enlightenment, you must first walk through the darkness, the true darkness. This is why many on the path to enlightenment will not reach it because they know at some point they must open their hearts completely and doing this means facing who they truly are. In essence, one must face their ego head on. The thought alone of facing yourself, your true self, is so scary for many, that they will, unfortunately, cease their growth and settle into their lives where they have stopped.
The dark night is ultimately about transformation. Your ego, your limited sense of self, your inadequate complex of ideas about who you are had to be dissolved. Your ego was, you begin to see, eclipsing higher consciousness and your true nature. Your old sense of self was inadequate to your new hopes and proper state. Your suffering intensified because of a major misapprehension. You were too used to thinking of yourself based on inputs from your previous experiences in life. On and on through life, you gathered information and responses from the world which indicated to you what kind of person you were and are. These superficial units of related inputs became integrated in what is called the ego — your sense of self, your sense of who you are. As long as you allowed this inaccurate or only partial sense of who you are to dominate, you could not know or abide in your true nature.
Your ego sense is so powerful — you invest in it with so much of your thought and feeling — that your attitudes of life become based on an egocentric perspective. The ego gains a progressively greater foothold on your entire life because your basic attitudes about your existence and essential nature are strongly linked with ego.
Then, your ego sense, due to your suffering or your limitations in life, wants to have more power over circumstances and a more pleasant life. The ego sense often becomes motivated to seek higher consciousness and, thus, greater ability to dominate in life. Not always, but often, it is the ego sense which most eagerly pursues higher consciousness. It wants to be in charge; it wants to manipulate events and make life come out more to its satisfaction. But, as long as your ego dominates, it is on a collision course with your true nature and your higher consciousness. There’s going to be a showdown. There has to be a confrontation sometime if your higher consciousness is ever to emerge, if you are ever to know truly who you are and what your human capabilities are.
Letting go completely
There will come a point along your path where you realize how the ego is effecting your progress and you know without a doubt that you must let go. You cannot 'think' or 'wonder' if you are going through the dark night, you simply know that you are. There is no planning it out or making an appointment. One day it just happens. You close your eyes and jump.
Ego cannot, by its will or any other skills whatsoever, create the wholeness of heart which will end your deep suffering. In a sense your ego recognizes itself — in the dark night — to be the disease. It recognizes that its foothold on your mind and heart has, at an advanced stage on your path, proven a great numbing agent and a high stone wall against the light. Ego stands against the fulfillment of your faith and the realization of your profoundest yearnings. Finally your ego has found something it cannot do and, in the dark night of the soul, it becomes totally convinced it is inadequate. It cannot deal with your suffering or the fulfillment of the heart’s yearning. Nothing it can do, think, say, buy, or travel to, will in any way suffice.
Here in this dark night, the lifelong ego sense dies: impotent. Having fulfilled its part, now weak and incompetent, it is dissolved — transmuted. From a higher sense now awakening within you, you slough off your false sense of self. You now know yourself to be a different person than you thought you were. Your ego was merely experiencing some of the attributes, some of the qualities, of your true nature, while at the same time obstructing others.
You, in passing successfully through the dark night, enter the realms of higher consciousness. You’ve been cleansed of the most deep-rooted sickness: your ignorance of your true nature and your inadequate, often totally wrong opinion of who you are. You now cease your inner conflict and abide serenely in your true nature. The dawn of a new life in higher consciousness transforms your bleak life of the past into one with a heavenly nature. You have been delivered of the intolerable bondage to ego.
Henceforth, you will walk the earth seeing others afresh, living a new life, and abiding in your true nature. You have become a son or daughter of higher consciousness. Now your words and actions will be attuned with your true self. Now you express inspiration and comfort.
The dark night has passed. It is over.
(The Mystic)
My experience
My experience with the dark night lasted nearly a month. At first I dreaded the thought of entering the dark night but knew, with out a doubt, that if I was to find peace within myself and my path, I was going to have to let go. I remember I was sitting at the computer working on my website when it just happened. As usual, I could feel my ascended master near by. Prior to this day, I had had many lessons in meditation from my ascended master on definition versus reflection. How not to define myself as an individual or artist but be a reflection of who I truly am. My flaw during these lessons was that as I was releasing old energies and fears, not only from this life but also from past lives, I was still holding onto pieces. Through these pieces that I was holding onto was where I was trying to find out how I was a reflection and not a definition. Over and over again, my ascended master would question why I was holding onto these pieces? I finally asked him one day, 'if I get rid of everything, then what is left for me to reflect from?'
That day I was sitting at the computer, I realized that I was trying to be a reflection from what my ego had created. I was reflecting myself from years and many lives of definitions of the world around me and who I thought I was. My ego was interfering with the process of my growth. That is when I knew I had to let go. I remember getting through my work and then shutting off the computer. I sat right there at my computer, closed my eyes and rested my forehead on my folded hands. Taking a deep breath I emptied my mind and shifted my focus to my heart chakra. Imagining my heart opening like a flower, I then shifted my attention to my ascended master clearly stating to him that I was ready. And I let go.
Over the next weeks the emptiness was overwhelming. I could feel the dark creep up behind me and cover me like a cloak. For no reason I would cry uncontrollably then be angry in an instant. My heart hurt for days on end and a few times I thought I was actually having a heart attack. My sleep was disrupted with vivid and horrifying dreams. Depression crawled into my life and I was sick off and on sometimes with a fever. I felt very alone during this time. I couldn't paint. I couldn't even feel my ascended master near. Even though I still meditated each day, I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't settle my thoughts of random images and feelings that would flow through my mind. I began to question what I was doing as an artist if I was doing the right thing at all. Suddenly I felt myself being tugged back into old wants and professions. Maybe I should do this, maybe I should do that, maybe this is what I am supposed to do?
Then one day, a little over three weeks had gone by, I was in meditation when I realized that everything I had been going through was false. I was allowing myself to experience all these negative things. I was in control over my own life. Me, the true me and not the ego me. It was then that my ascended master interceded. He asked my again, 'how can you let go when you are still holding onto these pieces?' My answer, 'I can't. These pieces are not truth, they are illusions. I know that now. These pieces are not light but darkness. And I know that the heart can also be an illusion. It is not how big our heart is but how open it is. In the open heart is unconditional love, compassion, truth, and light. I want to be a part of the light and reflect from my light within.'
Then my human body fell away as if it were a coat. It fell to the ground and lay crumpled in a pile. I was there, floating, a bright golden and white light. I had been allowed to see my true form.
When I came out of meditation that day, everything that I had been through had vanished - the depression, sickness, roller coaster ride of emotions, questions, all of it, gone. I was back on track to my purpose reflecting myself from the light within. My energy increased as well as my love for life and everything in it. My art has taken giant leaps forward, something I am very excited to share next month when I reveal new works.
It was hard to make the decision to let go but I am not a person to just stop progress. I know there is always more ways to learn and there is an infinite amount of possibilities for my life. Today I am great but tomorrow I will be even greater. I am my own masterpiece in progress, ever shaping, with each layer more colorful and defined. Following the path of enlightenment is not easy, especially in the beginning, but if you endure and work hard enough, there is nothing more rewarding than the unconditional love granted by the universe.
Love and Light,
Tara
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Reflection, not Definition
This past week I had the opportunity to do some ascension work with the intelligence of nature. Sitting next to a tree, I overlooked where a stream came down from the mountains and flowed into a lake. As I focused on my usual meditation when I am working with nature, after about a half hour, I opened my eyes and began to take in the energetic flow around me. The energy of the water glimmered in a bright turquoise while the surrounding trees shined in brilliant yellows and greens. Birds that were singing, their songs became amplified to my ears. In this particular location, there was no requirement for Earth healing. The forest, water, and animals were all as they should be, happy and healthy.
Then I heard a soft voice ask, "What color is the water?" Shifting my focus back to where the stream becomes the lake, I answered, "The water is clear. At least, in the beginning, it is always clear." Then I let my eyes drift to my right where the lake opened up to its full size. Around the edges of the lake, the water had become a deep forest green color whereas, in the middle, the water turned into a dark navy blue.
Pure water is always clear and water that is shallow in a stream will be clearer than, say, the water in the lake. The deeper the water, the less reflections off the lake floor. The scattering of light across water also plays a huge part in the color of water. And, if there are any particles suspended in the water, they will increase the scattering of light. In coastal areas, runoff from rivers, re-suspension of sand and silt from the bottom by tides, waves, and storms and a number of other substances can change the color of the near-shore waters. Some types of particles (in particular, the cells of phytoplankton, also referred to as algae) can also contain substances that absorb certain wavelengths of light, which alters its characteristics.
Exactly where am I going with this? Well, after my meditation that day, a couple days later in my art studio I was struggling a bit with my global purpose. I could feel myself growing agitated, feeling frustrated, and losing my focus. I felt like I was an octopus with all my tentacles going in different directions. Stopping myself, I decided it was time for some more ascension work to regain my focus. As I was working, I heard that familiar soft voice ask me, "Why are you trying to define yourself?" My answer was quick, "Because it will let others know who I am in this work." The reply was instantaneous, "You are not a definition of your talents, but a reflection of what is around you, what has taught you throughout your life, and everything that has brought you to this point. Your art is not a definition but a reflection of who you are, where you have been, and where you are going."
Then I immediately thought of that day when I was meditating by the lake. I was able to see the correlation between the water that day and my life. When I first began my journey towards my global purpose, my path was clear, fresh, and moving quickly like the water running off the mountain. However, over the last few months, as I had begun to settle into my new life, my surroundings had calmed and my artistic endeavors were growing and expanding into a lake. What I had failed to realize in the process was that I wasn't maintaining my lake and I had stopped my artistic flow. As I was worrying about how my art was going to fit in the mainstream, I had begun to define myself and my art; I was trying to wedge myself into a category. In doing this my natural light was scattering more and more across the water and my lake was becoming a muddy and dull color. And as things turned muddy, I could no longer see my reflection or that clear refreshing stream that my path once was.
To define ourselves and our life is to set a series of perimeters or fencing around us. Think of how we define words. A word has a definition so that you can only use it in a limited number of ways in a sentence. When we define ourselves, then we too can only be used in a limited number of ways. But to be a reflection, then we have no perimeters and the possibilities are endless. We can take an idea and run with it, expand it, change it, learn more about it, add to it, and grow with it. The key is to always be that clear, fresh, moving stream. Yes, you can stop now and then and let your life rest like a lake. But keep your lake small and manageable so then, when the time is right, you can easily move forward again and not have to worry about first clearing off the negative things that have collected across your lakes surface. In continually moving forward we remain that clear reflection of ourselves and of everything that is around us. This is done by continually allowing ourselves to be better than what we currently are. Learning never ends and it should never end. If we feel that we have mastered something, then go out and master something else. Do not allow yourself the belief that you have gone as far as you can in this life. There are more roads to travel, more streams to swim, and more mountains to climb. A definition is limited but a reflection can ripple through eternity.
I hope over the next week, you will take a few moments to realize and acknowledge how you are a reflection to yourself and others. How is the way you are living now reflecting how you want to be? Is it helping you or hindering you? What changes do you need to make to become that clear moving stream?
Love and Light,
Tara
Then I heard a soft voice ask, "What color is the water?" Shifting my focus back to where the stream becomes the lake, I answered, "The water is clear. At least, in the beginning, it is always clear." Then I let my eyes drift to my right where the lake opened up to its full size. Around the edges of the lake, the water had become a deep forest green color whereas, in the middle, the water turned into a dark navy blue.
Pure water is always clear and water that is shallow in a stream will be clearer than, say, the water in the lake. The deeper the water, the less reflections off the lake floor. The scattering of light across water also plays a huge part in the color of water. And, if there are any particles suspended in the water, they will increase the scattering of light. In coastal areas, runoff from rivers, re-suspension of sand and silt from the bottom by tides, waves, and storms and a number of other substances can change the color of the near-shore waters. Some types of particles (in particular, the cells of phytoplankton, also referred to as algae) can also contain substances that absorb certain wavelengths of light, which alters its characteristics.
Exactly where am I going with this? Well, after my meditation that day, a couple days later in my art studio I was struggling a bit with my global purpose. I could feel myself growing agitated, feeling frustrated, and losing my focus. I felt like I was an octopus with all my tentacles going in different directions. Stopping myself, I decided it was time for some more ascension work to regain my focus. As I was working, I heard that familiar soft voice ask me, "Why are you trying to define yourself?" My answer was quick, "Because it will let others know who I am in this work." The reply was instantaneous, "You are not a definition of your talents, but a reflection of what is around you, what has taught you throughout your life, and everything that has brought you to this point. Your art is not a definition but a reflection of who you are, where you have been, and where you are going."
Then I immediately thought of that day when I was meditating by the lake. I was able to see the correlation between the water that day and my life. When I first began my journey towards my global purpose, my path was clear, fresh, and moving quickly like the water running off the mountain. However, over the last few months, as I had begun to settle into my new life, my surroundings had calmed and my artistic endeavors were growing and expanding into a lake. What I had failed to realize in the process was that I wasn't maintaining my lake and I had stopped my artistic flow. As I was worrying about how my art was going to fit in the mainstream, I had begun to define myself and my art; I was trying to wedge myself into a category. In doing this my natural light was scattering more and more across the water and my lake was becoming a muddy and dull color. And as things turned muddy, I could no longer see my reflection or that clear refreshing stream that my path once was.
To define ourselves and our life is to set a series of perimeters or fencing around us. Think of how we define words. A word has a definition so that you can only use it in a limited number of ways in a sentence. When we define ourselves, then we too can only be used in a limited number of ways. But to be a reflection, then we have no perimeters and the possibilities are endless. We can take an idea and run with it, expand it, change it, learn more about it, add to it, and grow with it. The key is to always be that clear, fresh, moving stream. Yes, you can stop now and then and let your life rest like a lake. But keep your lake small and manageable so then, when the time is right, you can easily move forward again and not have to worry about first clearing off the negative things that have collected across your lakes surface. In continually moving forward we remain that clear reflection of ourselves and of everything that is around us. This is done by continually allowing ourselves to be better than what we currently are. Learning never ends and it should never end. If we feel that we have mastered something, then go out and master something else. Do not allow yourself the belief that you have gone as far as you can in this life. There are more roads to travel, more streams to swim, and more mountains to climb. A definition is limited but a reflection can ripple through eternity.
I hope over the next week, you will take a few moments to realize and acknowledge how you are a reflection to yourself and others. How is the way you are living now reflecting how you want to be? Is it helping you or hindering you? What changes do you need to make to become that clear moving stream?
Love and Light,
Tara
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Why be creative?
Before I answer that, let's first take a look at the definition of the word create: 1. To bring into being. 2. To give rise to. Now, let's look at the definition of creative: 1. Inventive. 2. Imaginative.
I don't know about you, but those definitions seem incomplete. Perfect! In essence, they are not specific to any one set of ideals or guidelines. Again, perfect!
The one comment I hear the most after I tell people that I am an artist is; 'Oh, wow! I'm not that creative.'
And my answer to that is always, 'Yes, you are!'
So now let me answer the question, 'Why be creative?'
Because when we are creative, we bring into being something that stirs the emotions, thoughts, and consciousness of others. Because when we are creative, we give rise to hope, inspiration, and we give rise to humanity to want to be a better society, to live better and treat others with respect.
Above all, when we are creative, we acknowledge our inner longing to be free from the constricting force of the ego. Our ego is that part of us that tells us each and everyday that we must submit to an idealistic set of expectations of what life is and how we must continue with our mundane existence just so we can pay the bills. But more on the ego in a bit.
Being creative isn't about picking up a paint brush and painting the next masterpiece or playing an instrument and becoming the worlds next big music scene. It goes much deeper than that. Being creative is about opening ourselves to who we truly are in this life and living our life purpose. When we create, we don't stop and think about what is right or what is expected. Inside our creative bubble, we define what is beauty, what is inspirational, and what is truth. We create this way because when we are creative, we are experiencing ourselves from our heart and soul. When we are creative, we are exactly who we are supposed to be in this life.
Releasing your inner creativity.
A question I get asked a lot is, 'how do you know what to paint?' The answer to that is that I don't know until I sit down and look at a blank canvas. When I sit down at my easel, there is no one there to tell me what I should paint. No one except for me. The real me. The truthful me. The imaginative me. The me that is free from my ego.
Remember earlier when I was talking about the ego? That thing that makes us feel inadequate or a lost cause? Yep, that's the ego. Everyone has one and believe me when I tell you that there is no other force in this life that is more destructive than the ego. I think I will dedicate a future blog to the ego. But for now, for example, the ego is that lovely little voice that tells us why we can't quite our job that we hate so much. You know your job, the one where your boss is a jerk, your unappreciated, you get paid as one person but do the work of ten people. That job. The one you can't quite because you have a car payment, a house payment, and a child who wants to play every sport known to mankind. But secretly, you have a passion to become an interior decorator or the pies you make are so amazing that you could open your own pie shop. So what are you waiting for? Your ego to tell you it's impossible?
First of all, stop listening to your ego. And that is always easier said than done. Remember, everything comes in small steps. So this is your first step and I'll repeat it, stop listening to your ego.
Start listening to your heart. The bad news is that you can't kill the ego because it is a part of you and we need the ego to learn lessons (that's another blog for another day). The good news is that you don't have to be a prisoner to it. Instead, you can reduce the size of your ego from a watermelon to a grain of sand. It won't happen overnight but you can release your inner creativity!
So what is it that you love to do? Not sure? Then I highly suggest that you learn to meditate. And if you are one of those people who have a very busy schedule, then make yourself an appointment. Yes, you read that correctly; make yourself an appointment every morning, everyday, for 15 minutes. In the silence of meditation is where you will quiet the ego and connect to your heart, your soul, your higher self. It's in that connection where we learn what our true passion is, our creative side, our life purpose.
As you begin to realize your creative side, you will begin to see a happier and healthier you. Finding your creative side will help restore your faith in humanity. You will realize how you can be a part of the bigger picture, how you are a part of the bigger picture. You will realize how you can fulfill your own dreams and aspirations and how you can help others do the same.
Wrapping it up.
For a moment, let's go back to that definition of create: 1. To bring into being. 2. To give rise to.
How would you finish these two definitions? For me, I would finish them like this; to be creative is to bring into being who we truly are. Because when we are living our life purpose, we are creative. We can be nothing less because we can only be better today than we were the day before.
If each individual is creative, then everyone has something positive to give to this life. Imagine the wonderful things that would be left for future generations. The possibilities are endless. Therefore, the possibilities in being creative, are endless.
How are you going to be creative?
Love and light,
Tara
Before I answer that, let's first take a look at the definition of the word create: 1. To bring into being. 2. To give rise to. Now, let's look at the definition of creative: 1. Inventive. 2. Imaginative.
I don't know about you, but those definitions seem incomplete. Perfect! In essence, they are not specific to any one set of ideals or guidelines. Again, perfect!
The one comment I hear the most after I tell people that I am an artist is; 'Oh, wow! I'm not that creative.'
And my answer to that is always, 'Yes, you are!'
So now let me answer the question, 'Why be creative?'
Because when we are creative, we bring into being something that stirs the emotions, thoughts, and consciousness of others. Because when we are creative, we give rise to hope, inspiration, and we give rise to humanity to want to be a better society, to live better and treat others with respect.
Above all, when we are creative, we acknowledge our inner longing to be free from the constricting force of the ego. Our ego is that part of us that tells us each and everyday that we must submit to an idealistic set of expectations of what life is and how we must continue with our mundane existence just so we can pay the bills. But more on the ego in a bit.
Being creative isn't about picking up a paint brush and painting the next masterpiece or playing an instrument and becoming the worlds next big music scene. It goes much deeper than that. Being creative is about opening ourselves to who we truly are in this life and living our life purpose. When we create, we don't stop and think about what is right or what is expected. Inside our creative bubble, we define what is beauty, what is inspirational, and what is truth. We create this way because when we are creative, we are experiencing ourselves from our heart and soul. When we are creative, we are exactly who we are supposed to be in this life.
Releasing your inner creativity.
A question I get asked a lot is, 'how do you know what to paint?' The answer to that is that I don't know until I sit down and look at a blank canvas. When I sit down at my easel, there is no one there to tell me what I should paint. No one except for me. The real me. The truthful me. The imaginative me. The me that is free from my ego.
Remember earlier when I was talking about the ego? That thing that makes us feel inadequate or a lost cause? Yep, that's the ego. Everyone has one and believe me when I tell you that there is no other force in this life that is more destructive than the ego. I think I will dedicate a future blog to the ego. But for now, for example, the ego is that lovely little voice that tells us why we can't quite our job that we hate so much. You know your job, the one where your boss is a jerk, your unappreciated, you get paid as one person but do the work of ten people. That job. The one you can't quite because you have a car payment, a house payment, and a child who wants to play every sport known to mankind. But secretly, you have a passion to become an interior decorator or the pies you make are so amazing that you could open your own pie shop. So what are you waiting for? Your ego to tell you it's impossible?
First of all, stop listening to your ego. And that is always easier said than done. Remember, everything comes in small steps. So this is your first step and I'll repeat it, stop listening to your ego.
Start listening to your heart. The bad news is that you can't kill the ego because it is a part of you and we need the ego to learn lessons (that's another blog for another day). The good news is that you don't have to be a prisoner to it. Instead, you can reduce the size of your ego from a watermelon to a grain of sand. It won't happen overnight but you can release your inner creativity!
So what is it that you love to do? Not sure? Then I highly suggest that you learn to meditate. And if you are one of those people who have a very busy schedule, then make yourself an appointment. Yes, you read that correctly; make yourself an appointment every morning, everyday, for 15 minutes. In the silence of meditation is where you will quiet the ego and connect to your heart, your soul, your higher self. It's in that connection where we learn what our true passion is, our creative side, our life purpose.
As you begin to realize your creative side, you will begin to see a happier and healthier you. Finding your creative side will help restore your faith in humanity. You will realize how you can be a part of the bigger picture, how you are a part of the bigger picture. You will realize how you can fulfill your own dreams and aspirations and how you can help others do the same.
Wrapping it up.
For a moment, let's go back to that definition of create: 1. To bring into being. 2. To give rise to.
How would you finish these two definitions? For me, I would finish them like this; to be creative is to bring into being who we truly are. Because when we are living our life purpose, we are creative. We can be nothing less because we can only be better today than we were the day before.
If each individual is creative, then everyone has something positive to give to this life. Imagine the wonderful things that would be left for future generations. The possibilities are endless. Therefore, the possibilities in being creative, are endless.
How are you going to be creative?
Love and light,
Tara
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