#Magic!ContemplationsMedicine BasketOffering

Me, taking my own advice!

Posted on by sue boardman

Nope! That’s not me. It’s a peek at under-layer number two of my work-in-progress #alchemist painting, Glinda. Turns out, she’s fussy.

She can also be bossy. And I am choosing to pay attention! Around here, that often means fishing in the Medicine Basket for a timely bit of magic.

My sore, cranky right wrist was thrilled when I pulled the whole dominant/non-dominant question and answer magic out of the basket! (Hang with me…) Basically, that means an inquiry, written with my dominant hand – the sore one! – some waiting and, eventually, a received response, written with my non-dominant hand, which is way less sore.

This is an adventure I love for more than pain management. It’s a brilliant neurological strategy for hearing things that weren’t conscious before. And, yes… it utterly wonders the I’ve been in there surgical nurse who still lives inside me!

And, I just had a new ah-hah, literally as I’m typing this!

What if… maybe, just maybe… we’re here on this planet, now, to keep learning new things that help us stay on the road? Things that could also help others stay on the road???

And, what if this ah-hah is the big sign-post on my sabbatical journey??? The meta-mod version of my sense of calling…

My old friend, Frederick Buechner, is happy dancing in the great beyond. He’s the one who first taught me that the sudden flash of tears we get is the surest sign of truth we have.

Here’s the thing, though…

I believe that, after the gift of a sudden flash of tears, we are called to do something with that new truth!

One step at a time. (Okay, maybe 2 or 3!) And that means a map!

Now, here’s a thing you may not know about me…

I’ve never been very good with directions. Or maps. The only reason I did well in middle school geography was because I was good at staying in the lines when we had to color maps!

Turns out, I needed to make my own map! Specifically, my MAGIC MESSAGE MAP®!!!

And, it’s working!!! Working so well, in fact, that I’d love to help you make your own MAGIC MESSAGE MAP® from where you are to where you feel called to be! (Glinda will be delighted to help, too, even before she’s fully present on the canvas!)

One of the steps along the road might just be laying down things that aren’t helping. I’m about to do just that. I’m expanding my notion of Sabbatical to include a vacation from Facebook. In the next week or so, I’ll be closing down my pages for a while. That’s why NOW would be a really good time for you to sign up for my email list, if you’re not already there, so that you don’t miss out on anything! (That’s what the pop-up thingy is for on the main page!)

ps… And, then, there’s the step after that! If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

#Magic!Art JourneyContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine BasketOffering

Choices!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, I kind of broke my own rule. Too much news!!! Too much, as in way more than my nervous system finds helpful. And too much of that on Facebook, which is a whole other ball of wax!

As much as I wish I could, I can’t change all the sad, tragic, infuriating, ludicrous stuff at once. And even really, really dark chocolate only helps so much. (Well, maybe less than it seems!)

Blessedly, I got tired enough to sleep!

Then, it happened. A visit from Glinda – my #Alchemist painting – in my dreams. And she was in a mood to spread some magic! You see, we’re making progress on our book, she and I, enough that she’s even made an appearance, below!

I’ve been working on beginning steps like the table of contents and cover art. She, on the other hand, is in full-on adventure mode. In this case, the adventure called choice!

Choice, as in turning off the news and picking up a paintbrush. Joan Baez is, of course, part of the team!

Also choice, as in what we’re trying to accomplish. You know – big picture!

And choice, as in being gentle with my exceedingly cranky right wrist.

And choosing – again – to walk the talk from Pope Leo XIV, during this Lenten season:

… let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Side bar: I just got off the phone with the GrandTeen who’s turning sixteen. Exactly the reminder I needed for why all our choices, in this moment, matter so much! They’re all counting on us, and my biggest choice is to stay all-in, doing whatever I can to follow in the footsteps of Our Lady of Fierce Compassion in these days.

ps… If you’re feeling the call to bringing your kind of magic into the world, let’s talk! You, me, and Glinda – even in the midst of the chaos! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. Our gift. It’s the next right thing!

pps… I’ve you haven’t yet, now would be a really good time to get the annoying pop-up thingy to add you to this email list! (More choices are on the way in my world!)

#Magic!ContemplationsMedicine BasketOffering

So! Fix a cuppa & hang with me, please…

Posted on by sue boardman

Today, in the faith tradition where I hang out, is known as Ash Wednesday. The beginning of the season of Lent, on the way to the wonders of Easter.

What I grew up knowing about Lent was mainly what I learned as a child in a very Catholic neighborhood where, according to my friends, it was a time of even more things you’d go to hell for, if you did them.

Fast forward, please, to last night and my dream of my first Lenten journey in the first church I served, in a tiny town in Tennessee. It turned out there were lots of things we hadn’t covered in seminary!

Well, maybe I missed a few as a single mom trying really, really hard not to fail Hebrew!

Anyway… there I was, in 1991. Cold, grey weather. Planning for Lent. My congregation had never had a service on Ash Wednesday before but the Worship Committee (all 3 of us!) were cautiously curious, so the planning began.

The pianist was delighted. The nursery helper was thrilled, too. Message… no problem! Logistics, on the other hand, became a challenge. My first question was where to get ashes for the service.

Nobody knew. I called Cokesbury, the store for all things church-y. They didn’t carry them. Turns out, tradition includes drying palm fronds from Palm Sunday the year before, saving them all year, and burning them for ashes the next year. Not so much an option!

Next phone call to the pastor in the big church up the road. As it happened, they hadn’t done that either, but he graciously offered me ashes from his fireplace and I accepted with relief.

In case you’re curious, we all survived our new liturgical adventures!

This year, I have a different plan. A very personal one, inspired by a new teacher, in the context of this very odd moment where we find ourselves… Hear the words of Pope Leo XIV:

I would like to invite you to a very practical and frequently unappreciated form of abstinence: that of refraining from words that offend and hurt our neighbor. Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves.

Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media, and in Christian communities. In this way, words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace.

Now, I understand that, by tradition, the Pope is infallible so, rather than presuming to edit his wisdom, I’m going to go with one of my favorite grammatical strategies and add – you guessed it – a postscript!

ps… let us strive to do this in all our communities and interactions. I know I won’t get it perfect. I’m pretty sure perfect isn’t the point. Perhaps, awareness and choice are the point! In any event, with huge thanks, I’m going to practice!

pps… lately I’ve been thinking about all the things we carry that feel unexpressed. And, I have some new magic for changing that. If this speaks to you, let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift!

#Magic!ContemplationsMedicine BasketWisdom Cards

“I do – I do – I do believe in magic!”

Posted on by sue boardman

The last time I said this aloud, it was nearly a year ago. We were planning for the beginning of Red Madonna… the annual journey a whole lot of wise women make into the land of the Divine Feminine and traditions of painting and writing in community.

Notably, that same conversation is about to begin anew and I’ll keep you posted, for sure. Today, though, the magic is a bit more personal. You see, there’s a new book hatching and, last night, the cover began to appear!

I know… not much so far. And the High Museum is not likely to fight me for it! Here’s the thing, though…

It’s a doorway! A doorway for me to pass through to allow the book to come forth. A doorway for me to begin to see what I know and feel… what I’ve made a promise to share. Now.

Promises can be scary!

Showing up as who we really are can be really scary. Especially these days. And yet, it is – I believe – the reason we were imagined. Created. Nurtured.

You, wise soul, have already guessed that there’s a whole lot more wandering to go on the path to an actual book cover. Here’s the amazing part…

I’m not worried! I know what I’m trying to accomplish. I know who I’m working to reach. I know what consciousness windows I’m hoping to open.

And, in a lot of ways, life is like that!

We start with questions and move on to answers that matter to us. Step by step to an opening where others can join us. Where we can set our magic free in a world that so needs it!

For this moment, I also need a bit of space for Valentine’s Day which is happening for us with Sunday brunch. And, possibly, a few more heavy body paint spatulas… there’s a wee neighborhood hardware store just across the street from the restaurant! Romance is in the eye of the beholders!

And, just in case you’re feeling the need for a magic wand tune-up, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your dream. Your promise, perhaps! A cuppa, of course. Journal and pen. We’ll talk next right things. And, quite possibly, pull a card! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up. (Patience appreciated… the calendar is a bit wonky just now!)

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine Basket

I am declaring “Real Deal” Day!

Posted on by sue boardman

The canvas is, indeed, my work-in-progress for this moment. And, you know??? I’m really proud of it! There’s a whole lot of musing, there. Of claiming what I’m actually trying to accomplish, deep inside. There’s also a good bit of moving on from what wasn’t working, before.

And, yes… I’ve been watching the news! (You do the math…)

You’ll have to take my word for it, but the canvas you’re witnessing is on about her third attempt to become my #Alchemist painting. Turns out that creating such a thing involves taking the huge mental-emotional risk of believing that alchemy – the good kind – might actually be possible, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Here’s the thing, though… I have to believe!

I have to believe in Creation with Intention and Love. In Hope. In the wild notion that we can learn new things and see farther than our own vested interest.

At least, enough of us to go on.

If you’ve been hanging around a while, you probably already suspect that this is me, being one of those five people for myself. Those five people we all need who – as my old friend Steve Glenn taught me – listen to us, take us seriously, and don’t shame or blame us for our questions.

Here’s the part I don’t remember Steven mentioning, all those years ago… the part it seems I had to learn for myself:

In order to really do that for anyone else, we have to learn to be one of those five people for ourselves!

And, yes, it’s likely that you’ve heard me mention this lately. It really is the best thing I know in terms of things we can actually choose and do!

In this moment, it’s time for buttons. (Stay tuned! They’re way more comforting than news!)

It’s also time to claim Hope where we find it!

ps… I have some cool new ideas about doing just that! Do you have a dream? A path that needs claiming? A next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. on me. Your dream. My new process offering. Just click here and the elves will find you some space on the calendar. Hurry, though. There’s just one place on the path open!

#Magic!Art JourneyContemplationsGrandmothers

Of cold and quilts and hope!

Posted on by sue boardman

Let’s be real! It’s been a hard weekend. The news is crazy. Well, most of it. There’s a lot to be mad about. A lot to be scared of. And a smidge of hope in recent election news… at least in my mind.

Frankly, I was kind of surprised when my story & quilt Gramma showed up in a dream. Elsie passed in January of 1989… an adamant, life-long Republican. I often wonder what she’d have to say in these days.

In my dream, though, she showed up with quilt pieces! The Grandmothers’ Flower Garden kind she taught me to love. Scrappy, assorted bits of what was available, hand-pieced by painfully arthritic fingers. Her way of helping people who were cold or lonely.

Those bits and pieces help me, still! And, that, I think, was the message of my dream!

The world is filled with things none of us can fix by ourselves. And, yet… there are things we can do!

Words are one of those things, for me. And, wow, is there a flood of that going on! I’m really excited. And, a wee bit scared. Well, maybe more than a wee bit. Let’s just say there’s more real deal coming through.

There’s also more unknown floating around than I’m personally comfortable with. I’m pretty sure there’s always a lot unknown floating around and I’m just more aware of it than usual, right now.

That, my friend, brings us to CHOICES!

  • A bowl of homemade soup for dinner. Local, sustainably raised bone broth. Organic wild rice. Veg, herbs, lots of garlic.
  • Helping to plan next right things.
  • A new John Lewis sign for the front yard.
  • Prayer dots. Lots!!!
  • A quilt to curl up with.
  • And, a reminder from Walter Brueggemann… Just tell the stories!

Also, encourage the Littles!

A dear friend was at the house today and she asked if her nearly 10 year old boys and their friend could see some paintings. (It’s really hard NOT to see paintings around here!) One of the boys found a favorite… one that kind of reminds me of one of Elsie’s quilts:

“Wait!” he said… “You don’t have to stay in the lines???”

When I assured him that we really don’t, we both cried.

ps… curious about the magic of not staying in the lines… of folded paper, markers, and next right things??? You could be just the person I have space for in my new 1:1 offering! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook us up with 45 min. on me so we can ponder the road to what you’re dreaming. (Fair warning… the next week or two are extra hectic. Patience & flexibility appreciated!)

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersGuardiansMedicine Basket

Of history and perspective…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yesterday was a challenging and intense day. Strength work for terrified muscles in physical therapy. It helped… and it wasn’t fun!

My chair was calling when I got home. Comfort food. Weighted blankets. Kind of like hibernating!

Then, news.

Witnesses and family members from Minneapolis testifying before Senate and House Democrats. Hard stories to hear. Harder, still, to tell. Renee Good’s brothers speaking, tears in their eyes. Aliya Rahman struggling to express her experience as a differently able person with communication and mobility challenges, detained by ICE without reason, except – presumably – her skin color. And elected leaders, with tears in their eyes. (MS NOW reports that, though invited, no Republicans attended the forum.)

I, too, had tears in my eyes, so I turned off the news coverage and reached for my Medicine Basket. A bit of musing about paintings. Lots of journal notes. Slightly delayed Morning Pages. Anxiety about some unclear questions.

And a tidal wave of memories!

Hungary. Just about now, in 1989. A group of seminary students on an adventure known as Alternative Context. Before the Eastern Block fell.

Russian tanks playing target practice games in farmers’ fields. Being treated like unwelcome radical foreigners in airports. Especially the women among us. Touring a rabbinic seminary where women were “not permitted”. Where frost covered the walls inside the buildings, and adding new books to the library had been illegal since before the World War.

And, for this kinesthetic processor, perhaps the biggest memory of all… of literally throwing our luggage from a moving train and leaping into a snow bank to avoid a border crossing, where we Americans could have been immediately arrested.

Add to all this, the fact that my son was home with neighbors in the Village at Columbia Theological Seminary, postponing his ninth birthday party until my return.

And, yes… these memories show up about this time, every year. (Perhaps it’s the weather!) Today, though, the trigger was the voices of human beings, in the United States of America, trying desperately to talk some sense into the nation, because what was happening, then, in Hungary, is feeling way too close to home, now.

Then I heard it, deep inside my heart.

It’s ALL-IN time!

Frankly, I’d kind of assumed I was already there. Now, I know more!

And, yes… there’s a new book coming. First, though, I need to start over on my #Alchemist painting. And #Mother Nature’s friends, the Manatees, need some more attention.

It really is all part of the journey, if only we have the courage to notice!

Which brings us to questions… what are YOU noticing? And, how can I help???

If you have big questions, too… if you’re ALL IN… let’s talk! I have space for ONE new 1:1 dreamer/client looking for some new tools and guidance along the way. Click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes, on me, to explore possible roads ahead!