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Wandering in Dreamland…

Posted on by sue boardman

Well! Last night was quite the trip!!! (Actually, early this morning.) You know the kind of dream where new things bump into each other in your head and make friends and the first thing you do when you wake up is scribble it down…

First, though, a bit of context!

Today is a big birthday day in our family. The fabulous human who’s married to my son. My girls’ marvelous Mom! Somehow, that calendar data must have nudged my dream along a bit, into a whole new land.

The place where mostly imaginary and totally true meet!

And, unlike much of the news, I mean well!

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were there, too. And, I think maybe I’ve been invited to be an honorary junior Inkling!

I am, of course, saying YES!!!

All of this wonder happened after some writing I did yesterday. The kind of writing where the task is cracking open doors of understanding to really, really, really big things for readers who haven’t yet reached the land where abstract thought is dependably possible in a neuro-developmental kind of way.

(And, yes… my inner surgical nurse and life-long student of mysteries, like neuro-linguistic programming and such, showed up, too!)

Anyway, the book is feeling much more focused and confident this morning! It has to do with paintings doing the work of avatars for this world, now!

A bit of button-pushing was helpful! Avatar, it seems, meant – in its ancient usage – “crossing down” from the spiritual world into the material world… a “divine incarnation or embodiment of a concept.” And, you know? That’s exactly how I feel about my paintings!

For now, though, the next right thing is a seriously nutty-crunchy woo sort of meeting where I get to wander in the land of cacao. I wonder if hanging out there has anything to do with all the cool stuff showing up in my dreams…

Glinda asked to be invited, too!

ps… longing for a bit of company on your magical road? I’m here, and ready with a medicine basket full of tools and lots of 1:1 coaching experience! Curious??? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift to you. We’ll name your next right thing, get you on the road, and talk about more next right things, like journeying together for a while. Just click here and the calendar elves will set us up with a time! I’ve got the cacao brewing!

pps… hurry! I only have space for 2 new brave souls with big dreams!

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Hope… it’s a Mom-thing!

Posted on by sue boardman

May 10 is a big day at our house. It’s our wedding anniversary every year. (36 years so far, if you’re curious!) It’s also the anniversary of the day I graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary, the first time! And, sometimes, as it was in 1990, it’s also Mothers Day.

At the moment, I’m missing generations of Moms and Grammies. I’m missing my grands and their dear Mom & Dad. And, there’s part of me that’s missing the feeling of Hope.

Here’s the thing, though… Hope is not just a Hallmark-y feeling. Hope is a choice!

A choice I’m choosing! Even in the face of the all the chaos and news. And, I’m planting symbols of hope, like sunflowers. (We’re a smidge late, due to a couple of cold snaps but, again, I’m hoping.)

I’m hoping, with my painting friend, for Peace.

I’m hoping that, like the star glyph in the painting, we will rise from the chaos. And, if you squint a bit, you might notice that the phoenix is rising from love!

There are two more hopeful things going on in my world, today. Prayer dots, which are no surprise, I suspect, and also help me a lot.

And, soup! A body-mind-spirit thing for me. With huge help from my anniversary buddy. (In case you missed the recent easy version of the recipe, just click here!) Shopping with local, sustainable farmers spreads the hope even more!

For this moment, Mama Bear and I are sending you hugs and Hope!

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Acting “As If…”

Posted on by sue boardman

This, as you may well have heard, is a therapist trick for helping folks get un-stuck. Specifically, it’s from the school of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The basics are simple… we behave, intentionally, as if our longed for feeling, outcome, or way of being is already ours.

Here’s a timely example… What would I do today if I wasn’t terrified by all the craziness in the world?

And, yes… me doing this – crunchy fingers on the key board, thinking of you, is one example! Words of perspective and hope in the midst of the crazy.

Here’s another example… push the button to trade news for Joan Baez and all my hippie-dippy summer camp song buddies! For real!!! (At the very least, it’s better for my blood pressure!)

I’m actually writing about this sort of “As If” in my upcoming Tweens/Teens book, too. You know… the difference between choosing and claiming our own beliefs -vs- feeling stuck with what THEY insisted we believe!

This is where things get complicated. THEY are not all the same! THEY have different desired outcomes! My mom was a THEY. Well, actually, she was a WE! And she firmly believed that the way WE stayed safe was by doing everything the way Granny did it. The way we’d always done it!

(Ironic that this post is insisting on appearing so close to the holiday known as Mothers’ Day!)

It took me a long time to realize how much of my lifetime, Mom spent being scared. We moved – a lot, while she had essentially lived in one home until she married. Her experience was that the way Granny did things worked.

Here’s what I learned along the way, though… it wasn’t really the fruitcake cookies that kept us (mostly) safe. Nor the notion that we didn’t talk about the things which should never have been happening. And, in this moment, I can only speak for me.

Acting as if I could do things differently than the way we’d always done some of the ones that really, really weren’t working is a big part of how I got here. And why spreading the word matters to me!

Or, as Carl Jung phrased it…

We are not what happened to us, we are what we wish to become!

So, here’s my question… if you did a bit of acting as if what you wish were already true, what might be more likely for you? What kind of mattering might begin happening???

And, yes… it’s going to take a whole bunch of us!

ps… don’t tell, but the shortbread cookies that come in the red plaid wrapping are pretty close to Granny’s butter cookies 😉 😉

pps… there are about 87 things in the portrait of Our Lady of Fiercely Compassionate Abundance that are NOT the way “we’ve” always done them… and they help! Wanna talk??? 45 min. My gift. Your dream. And some big possibilities for as if, now! You’ll want a cuppa, something to write on & with, and a bit of red thread if it’s handy! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up!

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Of magic “they” didn’t cover in school…

Posted on by sue boardman

I learned a new thing this week. Well, ancient really, but new for me! You see, in all my years in school, we never covered Beltane! Just in case this is new for you, too… Beltane is also known as May Day, the ancient Gaelic festival marking the beginning of summer, especially in places like Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

And, yes, I have ancestors from those parts of the world.

The painting you see, above, from a couple of years back, was feeling chatty on Friday night and I could hear her in my dreams, even though she lives way out in the studio. Some research was in order!

First, though, the Moon. I love fingerprint dots… especially for elements of nature. I think it lets me imagine what Creators must have felt when they looked out on the Moon that first evening.

Then, the being. Her name is Isla which is Scottish for moonlight or halo.

Her hair insisted on being amethyst crystals, also made with fingerprint dots. Amethysts carry the energy of peace, clarity, and spiritual wisdom. Some consider them to be nature’s tranquilizer… soothing anxiety, enhancing intuition, and improving sleep. (And yes, I already found the biggest amethyst crystal in the house and placed it on the table beside my pillow!)

Then, there’s the crystal at her throat. Blue Kyanite is used in crystal healing for aligning all the chakras, aiding meditation, and enhancing communication. One source describes its power as helping to unblock, activate, and align our authentic voices. The biggest one I have sits by the chair where the writing happens!

Given the fact that the Legendary Husband and I had early-voted on Thursday afternoon, all that authentic voice stuff sure feels like it fits!

And you’re right, of course, if this conversation seems a bit far afield for a grandmotherly, USA public school educated nurse, teaching elder and pastoral counselor. Here’s the thing… I believe in learning new things. Even the really, really old kind! In fact, I’m working on a book chapter about the Dead Sea Scrolls and continuing to learn along the road. Continuing to learn and make choices!

For this moment, though, there’s a very important teal-colored line ready to join my #Apothecary painting and you can’t keep that kind of energy waiting!

This is one of those days when I’m pretty sure that creating is one of the very best ways to learn!

ps… my non-gmo, heirloom Mugwort seeds are making their way to the garden even now and, yes, there’s even more new learning going on! (Stay tuned!)

pps… there is, indeed, broth in the freezer which means it’s time to fire up the cauldron and make soup! Soup is magic, too! Ready for some magic in your world??? Just click here for my legendary secret formula! (I suspect you’ll love the title…)

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Good Trouble!

Posted on by sue boardman

Tomorrow’s calendar is overflowing. A family birthday… long distance.

Prayer dots to make for a dear friend having surgery… also long distance.

EARLY VOTING! Not so much long distance as – hopefully – long lines!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve about reached the way-too-full level on news. Well, crazy news.

My personal plan has a lot to do with putting my friend, Glinda, in charge of the world. Sadly, I’m pretty sure that’s not going to actually work which means it’s time for my magic! That leads us back to my all-time favorite question:

What am I trying to accomplish???

I want sane people to be making choices. I want food and shelter and healthcare and education for everybody. I want skin color and gender and faith traditions to help us marvel at the complexity of humanity, rather than being used as wedges to divide us.

All of which is, admittedly, a pretty big goal for your average Thursday. Here’s the thing, though…

I’m going to do my best, anyway!

One day at a time. As many days as I can manage. And grace for the days when Joan Baez and cacao feel like all I can actually pull off!

And here’s the surprising part – the odds are good that I’ll actually dream up something useful, even in the midst of the crazy. You know… like creation out of chaos!

Just in case it gets scary, my tiger has agreed to join me. My courage spirit animal from way, way back in the day! You could adopt one, too!

ps… that magic you’ve had all along – Are you ready to set it free??? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up! You bring your dream, a cuppa, and something to write on & with. We’ll name your next step and talk about what might help, around the next curve…

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Listening Deep…

Posted on by sue boardman

I’ve been working on this painting for almost a year. She’s Mother Nature from the Red Madonna journey I help lead, which began in 2025.

It took us a while to begin to get to know each other. Actually, it took me making space to notice and wonder, even in the midst of – you know – this world, now.

Something big shifted yesterday. I was writing about Red Thread Circles. Well, one circle in particular. My first, at Summer Camp, when I was about 12 years old. Our inquiry was all about how the different beings around us – plant and animal – were related to, and dependent on, each other.

It was like a big window opening in my awareness. How were ‘possum and Manatee connected? Alligator and poison ivy? You hear me… That day changed my world view. And it changed it again, today, when it dawned on me that a huge part of the chaos we’re living through is being intentionally created by powerful people who don’t get it. Or, don’t care to get it.

Blessedly, the paint did what the paint does. Small changes. Layer after layer. Bringing this forward. Adding light. And depth.

And, you know, none of it was really about the image, itself. It was about being along for the journey! It still is… lots and lots more journey.

It’s about trusting myself to notice and wonder. To wander, even, off the path and toward something not yet known.

There’s part of me that wants to pitch a tent and live there, in that forest which is emerging from me. Frankly, my literal neighborhood has felt scarier these days. More shootings in the news. More sirens in the night. Close. And voting coming close, as well.

There’s a John Lewis Good Trouble sign in my front yard. A woman I didn’t know was walking by with her dog and, as I rubbed the dog’s ears, she asked if I was afraid to have that sign out there, in what used to be Congressman Lewis’ district.

My intuitive answer surprised me.

Having it makes me feel less scared than I would feel if I didn’t put it out there just because it could be scary!

I suspect, if Mother Nature was the blog reading type, she might agree! She’d also suggest that the painting needs some grape vines!

All of which feels like it boils down to taking care of ourselves so that we can keep being part of the circle that connects all life. I suspect she’s been chatting with the owls, again!

And, I’m supposed to remind you that her hand – crooked and crunchy as it seems – is a symbol of power. Power FOR!

ps… Red Madonna is gearing up for 2026! Stay tuned!!!

pps… ready for some help claiming YOUR Magic and setting it loose in the world, NOW??? Let’s talk… Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 min. My gift. You tell me your dream and I’ll tell you about some accessible paths to next right things!

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The up-side of fear…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep… the walls are whispering again. Well, more like still! Lots of very scary dreams…

I’m guessing I’m not the only one!

I woke this morning with a hint of reassurance in my ears. Not a whole quote… just a familiar sense. Hunting was in order. Hunting for a sense of courage. And, I found it!

Before I share, let me say first that I grew up believing that both of my emphatically Republican grandmothers would probably threaten to wash my mouth out with soap if they even suspected I was thinking such a thing, let alone admitting it!

The times, however, have changed! So…

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.

– Franklin Delano Roosevelt

I’m claiming that, now! And, yes… you do detect a book chapter sprouting like the inspiring dandelions in my front yard!

In fact, you could help!

I’d love it if you’d leave me a comment below – or email me at suesvoice@gmail.com – and tell me about something in your world that’s carrying the magic of scary/hopeful newness!

For now, Mother Nature, in my #Red Madonna painting, is busy calling for another coat of glaze. I’m also supposed to let you know that details of our upcoming journey for 2026 will be available soon and we’d love to have you join our circle of Dangerous “Old” Women! Stay tuned…

ps… Check out the fun… WingedEye Wisdom.com !