Month: February 2022

…or, dreaming under a Codex painting in a time of war.

According to some of the experts, it’s called lucid dreaming.

Those dreams where you know you’re dreaming and may actually have a bit of editing influence on the dream, itself.

I’ve been spending a good bit of time in that land lately. Generally early in the morning, when the paintings wake up.

You’ve seen bits and pieces of this one lately. Last night, it was the whole team! The masculine and feminine voices of the Creator of my understanding, leading a tour of memory lane.

First stop, Hungary. January of 1989, before the Eastern block fell. A handful of seminary students, one of our professors, a guide from the synod office of the Hungarian Reformed Church, and a very patient driver.

Mostly countryside, between cities. Roads with enough curves to make me feel dizzy in the back seat of the van. And Russian tanks in the fields beside the roads.

A nation of history where any question was likely to yield somewhere between 700 and 1500 years worth of answer. (Even from school children!) And a seminary student from, at that point, Romania, who said, with tears in his eyes, that he grew up checking the news every day to see who was in charge and where he lived now.

It rattled all my filters, then, and it still does, now.

We moved a lot when I was a kid, but we were choosing. Going somewhere with more opportunity. Not imagining the whims of the latest dictator-in-charge.

Next stop, Tennessee. The winter of 1991. The beginning of US involvement in the Gulf War.

I was recently ordained. Recently installed as pastor of the St. John Presbyterian Church. Female. And not from around here.

We all showed up at church that morning… the NASA crowd and the farmers and the tech folks, the city administrators and the solid rocket fuel types and the grandparents, knowing that, by Monday morning, we would be at war. Or not.

And, as so often happened on a Sunday morning, I needed something to say.

I don’t remember the whole sermon.

I do remember trembling in my blessedly flat, rubber soled pulpit shoes, the whole time.

And, I remember, vividly, my last words in that sermon.

May God have mercy on us all.

And then the bombs began to fall, on TV.

This morning, as I lay curled under one of my quilts, all spooned together with The Legendary Husband in the land of lucid dreaming, I began to hear voices from paintings on some of the other walls.

First, my Artisan (or Taliswoman) painting from Color of Woman® 2018. She’s known, these days, as The Fiercely Compassionate Artist.

And then, Bella Mama, who found form during the recent Mexican border crisis when children were being tragically separated from their families.

It was almost as though they had a committee meeting going on and the result was this…

May we, in partnership with the Divine, live mercy in this world. Now.

I wouldn’t be too surprised if you were wondering why I was telling you all this.

And you’re right… it is a whole lot of sharing, even for the writer and preacher who live inside me.

The part of me who trembled her way through that sermon in 1991, is trembling, still.

And yet..

I have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world.

I can’t not say these things.

And they come with a couple of questions…

What is THAT true for you?

And, HOW will you live it?

ps… sometimes asking new questions is at least as important as any particular answer!

pps… in case your walls need something to say, check out the original paintings section at FierceArtWithHeart.

When I finally headed to bed last night, I left that index card on top of my laptop where I’d see it first thing today.

Sometimes, my memory needs a bit of nudging and, well, what with Medicine Basket starting, I was happily energized/exhausted and open to all the help I could get.

Apparently The Muse and Grandmother Moon had a meeting and decided to let me sleep in. They also made a plot!

I woke with a head full of Harry Chapin!

It took several cups of tea – and quite a bit of singing along – to figure out why.

First… a bit more singing along. (You’ll know this one, too!)

Now, for the surprise…

With all due respect to my old friend, Harry, it feels to me like all my life’s a spiral.

Not doing donuts in a parking lot.

Moving outward. Reaching further. Claiming more truth.

And, yes, it can be a little scary, sometimes.

What we’re really talking about here is the notion that, if we truly open ourselves to life, our stories are going to get bigger.

Family stories. Safety stories. Self image stories. Career stories. Possibility stories. Spiritual stories.

And, at the risk of an all-in kind of notion, maybe even political stories.

Our Inner Critic, the Queen of Map of Reality Land, gets anxious!

Which is okay.

Though often better with company.

Which is, when you get right down to it, the Big Why? at the foundation of Medicine Basket your way… Unsticking Stuck Covidian Era/Contextual Stuff, Now!

We started, officially, last night and the magic is already happening!

And, there’s still time for YOU to join us, if the notion of a spiral, in which our stories get bigger, and some other amazing peeps along for the journey, is calling to you.

Here’s the thing… if you’re in, you absolutely have to sign up by Friday, the 25th.

So, click the link. Check it out. And let yourself wonder if, maybe – just maybe – you’re ready to bust out of the circle and experiment with spirals!

All my life’s a spiral!

ps… Thanks, Harry!

pps… Natalie and Pearl and I’ve got you!

The family mythology holds that my Granny Elizabeth once observed that she didn’t understand all the Women’s Movement conversation about finding herself.

As I heard the story, her comment was, “I’m not lost!”

I was probably about the same age, then, as my younger granddaughter is now. (She’ll be 12 tomorrow!)

And, if you’d asked me back then (though nobody did!) I’d have told you that I knew a whole lot about feeling lost!

I’m not sure if it was ironic or predictable that I went on to be the Camp Counselor who got the 12-year olds, the girls just finishing 6th grade, for my cabin every summer.

Nobody else wanted them.

I adored them.

They always seemed to me to be hanging out in the middle of the bridge between capable and needing support, but not wanting to admit it.

And I’m going to go out on a limb here.

It seems to me as though our world has got most of us right back there in the middle of that bridge.

At least those of us who are paying attention!

And the cool thing about the middle of the bridge is that, when we’re there, we have choices!

Also, support, if we let ourselves receive it.

So… Medicine Basket your way… Unsticking Stuck Covidian Era Stuff!

aka: What to do when you find yourself sorting a context you never anticipated!

And, yes… there’s been a lot about Medicine Basket around here, lately.

That’s because my sister-in-magic, Natalie Moyes, along with Pearl and Daphne the Bear and I believe in you and in what we can all do when we all get unstuck enough to do it.

Taylor’s request for her birthday gift implies that there might be a few things she’s feeling a bit anxious about these days.

How could there not be???

Grampy and I, of course, sent what she asked for, along with a book that’s been calling her name.

Medicine Basket is, deep in its core, the same thing.

Trying something new, with some enlightened information, that will, predictably, feel comforting and result in real life working better, now. For you and the ones you love!

If that sounds good to you, be like Taylor. Click the link. Learn some more. Take a chance on asking. We start Tuesday!

Be Like Taylor!

ps… might there be two people in your home who would be interested??? Invest once. Get unstuck twice! (And, there are bonuses!)

pps… like mailing gifts to tweens, there is a guarantee!

Today is Work-in-Progress Wednesday. And yes, dear friend, I am the work-in-progress today!

But, first, a bit of context…

Last night was the free preview webinar for the Medicine Basket your way! journey my sister-in-magic, Natalie Moyes and I are about to begin!

Kind of an invitation with benefits event. You see, actual magic happened!

I know… the photo, above, doesn’t look like much, but it really is a lot.

It’s the image of my work in the spiral adventure.

It’s also a reminder that power-full change can happen in about 15 minutes with a willingness to try something new and a couple of markers.

I suspect that adventure has something to do with the fact that I (literally) woke up this morning humming an old Livingston Taylor song called Railroad Bill.

Frankly, much of the song is not particularly useful for our discussion. Here’s the part I love:

I’ve got the pen in my hand, and I can do whatever I want to!

Last night, what I wanted (Intention!) was to reframe some of my anxiety about tech stuff. Live time. In the midst of the biggest, most complex Zoom adventure I’ve ever hosted.

And I did!

Even though, to borrow another metaphor, I already knew how the trick works!

And you can make some magic, too. There’s a video! (And a link below…)

First a confession and a bit more magic.

I am a recovering camera-phobe.

It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I can handle sharing pics I actually like!

Which might suggest why this freeze-frame beginning of that video felt momentarily horrifying…

And then I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world and I really do believe in the Medicine Basket magic enough to let you in on me becoming my own work-in-progress.

And I’m so hoping you’ll join us!

IF THERE REALLY IS SOMETHING YOU WANT ENOUGH TO TRY A NEW THING!

But first another seemingly – but not – mixed metaphor…

These prayers appeared in my email this morning, while Railroad Bill was still singing in my head.

The email came from a new friend and Wisdom Keeper, a Shima, named Maria Yraceburu on the occasion of the Eagle Full Moon.

It’s a long email, filled with ancient tales and ritual and dancing. This bit was near the end. I’m hugely grateful for Maria’s blessing to share.

Dance the World Curing Soul Sickness

Prayer before dance: We have seen the prayer!  All stories carry the need to be honored and forgiven.  Furthermore, compassion fills the heart when forgiveness and noninterference have been accepted as the path to peace.

Dance the World Coming Together

Prayer before dance: We have seen the vision!  Grandfather Sun, Changing Mother Earth and Grandmother Moon, shield and hold us.  Everything breathes.  Everything grows.  With the Earth changes, we have been caused to accept our sacredness.  We have crossed the Edge of Reality and the Winds of Change have brought us here.  Time undivides.

These traditions are new to my conscious mind. They feel deeply familiar to my soul.

And they are, in ways that amaze me, the truth underneath Medicine Basket your way…

So.. the link! View the recording. Bring your markers! Read all the info.

Whether you’ve checked out this journey before, or you’re curious enough to check in this moment, you’re invited! We begin on 02/22/2022 and the price will never be lower than it is right now!

There is, in fact, a path toward…

unsticking your stuck stuff now

ps… if you have questions, jump on my calendar and we’ll sort them out!

pps… sign up for a 4-week Medicine Basket journey. (Or all four!) If, after you do the first week, it’s not your thing, we’ll graciously refund your investment.

If you’ve been reading along for a while, you’ve noticed that I am, perhaps, the world’s biggest fan of The West Wing.

One particular episode has been tickling my consciousness for a couple of days.

It was Zoey Bartlet’s birthday and there was a big party at the White House.

Penn & Teller brought their magic act to the festivities.

I loved their performance. (It did create a bit of a political storm for the President, but that’s an issue for a different day.)

Let’s it boil it down to a big debate over whether they actually burned something or it just looked like they did.

Magic is like that. And I, word nut that I am, have been pondering magic as Natalie Moyes and I move closer and closer to the beginning of our Medicine Basket your way… journey.

So, in an effort to transform all the stuff swirling in my head into something I could actually share with you, I did a bit of clarifying. (aka research!)

I’ll spare you the rabbit trail and go right to the prize. (A prize which I’ve loved for quite a while but didn’t necessarily expect to bump into on this journey!)

We’re going to move from the notion of magic to the Hebrew word, dabar (or davar) – which means word – to one of my all time favorite revelations… the Hebrew word abracadabra – which means something pretty close to I will create with the word!

In fact, according to The Jewish Chronicle, “the kabbalists tell us that reality itself is forged from combinations of the 22 Hebrew letters.”

That article goes on to say that, “We, too, create our world and the things of our lives through words.”

And all of that creating happens… wait for it… in context!

So, back to the notion of medicine baskets and magic.

There really are simple, accessible tools which regular folks like us can use to alter the stories – the actual words – we’ve toted from one context to other vastly different contexts so that those stories can work for us rather than against us. We just have to get our brains involved in new ways!

And, no, I’m not messing with your mind! In fact, I’m helping my granddaughters learn the same adventures!

Natalie and I are ready for our part of the magic.

Your part is to show up with something that’s holding you back. With an argument in your head that’s been keeping you stuck.

And we’re making it as easy as we possibly can with a free preview call on Tuesday, February 15.

You’re invited!

In the interest of full disclosure, we won’t be handing out millions of dollars. But, assuming that there are some things in your world which could be better and you’re actually ready to risk doing something different, all you have to do is click the link. From there, you’ll be magically transported to the land of the elves, where the special information/registration page lives.

Get all your questions answered. You know… materials and such.

Fill in your name and your email address and click the sign up button.

And, just in case you’ve already signed up… Yay!!! (Once works!) We’ll send you reminders.

Click HERE to be part of the magic!

ps… yes!!! Invite your friends. As you’ve no doubt heard me say, I have 2 granddaughters growing up in this world, and I’m way past serious about transformational magic.

pps… curious? Season 6, episode 8 of The West Wing.

Wait, please!

Yes, I am going to invite you to Medicine Basket before we’re done.

But, FIRST, I have a story that might be really useful to you in this moment. A story with a couple of perception shifts that feel like gifts to me.

Yesterday morning, I actually slept until there was light in our room. (This is something of a miracle lately!)

The reason I know I slept that long is that, when I opened my eyes, I could see the magic surrounding me. Just like in the photo!

I spent a bit of time in that dozy, between-the-worlds place, doing one of my favorite things…

Yep! Noticing and wondering.

Well, in this case, maybe more like wondering and noticing.

You see, I’ve been wondering about something really big for quite a while. Consciously, for exactly four and a half years… since July of 2017, when I first encountered the land of Intentional Creativity®

I didn’t dip my toe in. I dove. Deep.

The Black Madonna Pilgrimage.

I was so new at the whole “art” thing that I’d pretty much only ever painted walls… mostly with rollers. I had to ask the home team how to wash paint brushes!

Little did I know that journey would shift virtually all of my filters. That I would begin to see and hear and explore things which had never managed to make it through my list of extremely well educated shoulds and oughts.

Or, perhaps, should nots and ought nots would be more accurate!

Here’s what I know in this moment… my faith has become way more about offering all who are seeking company on the path of life some new ways to see and make choices, than it is about blocking out things – or people – which don’t seem to follow the rules.

Or, to put it another way, I’ve decided I’m able to choose without needing to block out big chunks of things that are useful just to claim new ones that also work!

And all those Divine Feminine images on my walls – who’ve helped Natalie Moyes and me hatch up the Medicine Basket your way journeys – are inviting you to join us on the path!

This next bit is all you!

The answers to all the regular questions are waiting for you and all you need to do is click the big, colorful letters near the bottom to discover them.

There’s also a link to my calendar in case you have questions we haven’t yet imagined!

Here’s the thing… Our whole world has become a lot like my deep dive into the Black Madonna Pilgrimage… a place most of us never imagined.

A place we didn’t have strategies for.

A place filled with a great deal of loss and – in a way that’s much harder for many of us to see – some new opportunities.

And, for all that newness, we need new tools! That’s what Medicine Basket is all about.

Finding and claiming the tools we need going forward. (Which is the only way we can really go!)

A safe place to experiment and ask big questions.

Guides who’ve been on the path for a while.

The path which leads not so much out as it does beyond.

Here’s the thing… the journey won’t be the same without you. So click… just in case you hear the paintings on my walls whispering your name.

Click HERE for new perspectives, answers to questions, and a power-full choice!

ps… this journey is not about “art” as in the stuff the High Museum would hang on their walls. It’s about using new tools for changing things that matter to you!

pps… who might you be able to help if you were less stuck???