Category: Art Journey

#Magic!Art JourneyFoodGrandmothersWisdom Cards

Let’s talk numbers!

Posted on by sue boardman

Hint… rather like the wedding I was honored to celebrate on Friday, we’re probably not going to talk numbers in the way that you learned them in school!

In fact, we’re going MetaModern! You know – that place where many seemingly different things can actually be true at once!

First, though, let me assure you that the license was, indeed, signed amidst happy tears and cupcakes.

Saturday was rest, paint, and re-group time. It was also time to give Madam Secretary a bit of a vacation and go back to wandering in The West Wing for more comforting reminders of sanity! And, yes, the rumors are true. I do, indeed, have all the seasons of both of those series virtually memorized!

Let’s begin, surprisingly, with numbers! President Jed Bartlet, giving a speech on poverty. One in five children living in abject poverty. Now, I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve heard him give that speech but, in the context of this moment, I heard it differently. Some button-pushing research was in order!

According to Kids Count, 16% of all children [currently] living in the US – 11.4 million kids total – are living in poverty.

I really can’t manage the math but I’m way willing to go with many, many too many!!! It’s the next thing that happened in my head, though, that I want to share. You see, I have a very deep connection to the numbers one in five and it goes back to my dear friend and teacher, Dr. H. Stephen Glenn.

If a teenaged child has 5 adults who will listen to them, take them seriously, and not shame or blame them for their questions, that child is practically immune from ever attempting suicide.

Forty years ago, I sat on a gym floor, packed with young adults, and promised myself I’d be one of those five people for as many kids as I could… and I’ve spread that mission far and wide.

Then, in the last couple years, I realized that, in order to be 1 of those 5 people for others, we have to first be 1 of them for ourselves! We have to believe in ourselves!!! This has become a core piece of my work with the #Magic of Filters. (And with me!)

Which brings us to the next bit of MetaMod! I am intrigued by numbers. By the ancient, magical symbolism of numbers… even though I didn’t learn that particular magic in nursing school or seminary! And the thing I realized last night was that 1 & 5 are among my favorite numbers. Somehow, they’re a sign for me that there’s something important going on.

I know… logic has left the room! And, we don’t always hear the most important messages with our logical brains!!!

So… I’m going to keep being 1 of those 5 people for as many others as I can, knowing that I must begin with me. And… part of being 1 of those 5 people – especially in this moment – just might have a lot to do with donations to food pantries!

Now, it is, admittedly, a long way from watching The West Wing to feeding the world, but what if all of this became a FILTER… a way to see and choose, now???

What if it was putting our deep beliefs to work for actual good in the world???

What if there was a bit of truth to the tradition of the angel number, 15, which is considered to signify positive change – either a change that is already in motion or one that needs to be made…

What might you do next??? Here’s an option…

Help your Littles start experiencing those 5 people, now! (And save!!!) Just enter the code Fifteen! to save 15% on in stock copies of A Creation Poem… and Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards. Discount is good through Wednesday, Nov. 19 at midnight EST. This link will magically transport you to the wonder!

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Com-plex-i-ty!

Posted on by sue boardman

And, yes… if you saw Sunday’s post, you may suspect that Tevye is back to dancing on the roof! I feel like that, too! Not in a bad way. Just in an awareness kind of way. Like metaphorically in my face!

I’m having flashbacks to my trip to Hungary in January of 1989. Partially, I suspect, because it’s what passes for cold around here and that’s a very kinesthetic reminder of our adventure, which included actual riding through the snow in a horse-drawn sleigh!

Then there’s the wedding coming up. My official tasks are leading the service and signing the license. Unofficially, I’m trying very hard to imagine how to get a bunch of families with wildly diverse traditions comfortable enough to actually – you know – celebrate!

And, yes… the world feels a whole lot like that just now!

So, frankly, does my body. Let’s just say that a collection of genetic mysteries seem to have found their home in me and they’re ready to be noticed! It’s a learning experience!!! And, I may just have found the bridge! Or, perhaps, the new/old perspective that brings the mysterious stuff into conversation!!! (Details to follow, one day!)

For now, some more things that I don’t recall from nursing school or seminary. Words like alchemist and sentences like, If one truly penetrates into the world of color, one comes to beings. (Rudolf Steiner)

And one thing I am sure of…

As my old friends on The West Wing would say… A Change is Gonna Come. (Season 6, episode 7).

I’m not at all sure that feels safe. Or comfortable. I do know it’s true. Around us, for sure. And in us, if we’re very brave. (Well, in us, kind of regardless!)

It’s not what so many of us learned. I suspect, though, that it is the way we were created!

Last night, after hours of election news, I dreamed of soup pots. Really! And I realized that part of my mission in this moment is to be a soup pot! A precious, cherished container where magic can, indeed, occur… if only we give it a chance!

And, I’m going to invite you to join me. Shortly! For now, though, a peek into the soup with my MetaMod Wisdom Cards! (You might want to notice my newly claimed & codified category called Somatic Signals!) Just click this link and the shop elves will set you right up!

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It really is all relative!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, it was about 3 am by the time I got comfortable enough to finally fall asleep. Body dueling with inner artist. To-do lists and big dreams wrestling for attention.

Then, suddenly, I peered at the clock beside the bed and it said 10:30 am. That was a bit more sleeping than my calendar had space for! And, it got worse. According to my more contemporary toys, it was actually 11:30 am, which was even less optimal!

And then, I remembered. It’s an old electric clock that gets confused about daylight savings time! And, yes… I’ve been lobbying to retire it for a while!

Fast forward, though, to tea and news. And an overwhelming, informed sense of relating to what the people of Jamaica are waking to, this day. If, indeed, they are waking.

Fast forward a bit more, to #wipWednesday post up, another cup of tea, and what felt like a zillion emails. (I’m guessing you hear me!)

So, I yelled at some politicians. (The ones who live in my “clueless” file.) I encouraged some more. (The ones who actually care… and reminded myself how blessed I feel to have some of those on my team!)

And then, it hit me!

It’s not just that I’m relatively lucky that the raindrops falling on my metal roof remind my auditory processing self of prayer dots… it’s also that we are ALL part of what’s happening in Jamaica, and Cuba, and the Bahamas. The environmental challenges. The “othering”. The increasing fascination with telling all the “little people” what they must believe and accept. And, perhaps most of all, the not caring how many living, breathing humans get hurt because a few of the “cool” kids are trying to steal even more power.

It isn’t just all relative. It’s all related!

Take a deep breath with me, please. Feel your heart beating. And join me, if you like, in re-membering that this world needs a whole lot more connection circulating in it!

For this moment… a wisdom card, like the photo, above. But first a note! There are 66 cards in the deck, plus 11 blanks for users to add their own. Several different categories. I usually choose a category or two, related in some way to my inquiry, shuffle them together, and then run them through my hands until one calls me.

This time, I went all in. I pulled out the blanks and then mixed all the rest together, even though that means lots of sorting later! Then, eyes closed, listening deep, wrist whining, I passed them through my hands. The one that found me was from the Memories category, and looks like the photo, above.

Alternative Context

January, 1989. A study trip with a gaggle of Seminary students and a very patient teacher. Budapest, Hungary. Alternative, indeed!

If you’re doing the math, this was less than a year before the former Eastern Block fell.

Christian and Jewish Seminaries where no new books were permitted since before Hitler. Russian tanks busy with target practice in farmers’ fields.

My hand on a stone altar in a Catholic church crypt, where the sacrament of Communion had been celebrated every day for 1500 years, even when it was deeply dangerous to do so. Full body chills. Not from the weather!!!

All of this, Filtering the news in this moment. What are you remembering???

I’d really love to know! You can leave a comment, below, or email me!

ps… curious about the cards? There are still some in stock for quick shipping! Just click here!

pps… World Central Kitchen is at work, feeding Hurricane Melissa’s surivors!

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Can I get a witness, please?

Posted on by sue boardman

You know that old saying about not looking a gift horse in the mouth??? Well, I’m taking that for my motto this week!

I am naming that horse Hannah, a Hebrew name which means blessing. In this case the amazing blessing of having more than the usual amount of space in my calendar, this coming week, for taking care of me! And a very special Red Thread reminder!

Some time with docs and physical therapists. Only meetings that matter. (Shhhh!!!) Voting!!!

And space for making things. Art. Stories. Soup. Plans… you hear me!

Making things feels especially comforting in these days, when it feels like so many things are falling apart. Making plans feels comforting, too! Plans for newness! And, yes… the paintings are whispering again!

Here’s what I heard, early this morning, gentle and insistent… Draw the circle. Start with the map! The first bit you consciously chose!!!

And, yes… I know exactly what that means and why it’s showing up, now! And, there’s a whole lot more to come!

For this moment, though, a card!

Hmmmm…. interesting!!!

From the Symbols & Language category… Mother!

Once a Maiden, then a Mother, this archetype carries the wonders of fertility, nurturing, and creation. It is, quite possibly, the universe’s most complex job description!

We are, of course, not born mothers. We become archetypal and relational mothers, as well as, for some of us, biological mothers. Live-giving, in all its expressions, is a creative wonder. It can also be terrifying and dangerous. That part of the journey is real, as well.

If there is a greatest truth about motherhood, I suspect it is that it will ask more of us than we can imagine and create some of life’s greatest possibilities for awe, wonder, and challenging change. I believe Creators understand!

I suspect that at least part of the message, in this moment, is that I need to be life-giving for me, and that The Mother is on my Red Thread!

What do you hear???

ps… maybe my weighted chair blanket wants to be known as Hannah!

pps… the “mother” image is under-layers of a 2024 Red Madonna painting!

ppps… curious about the Wisdom Cards and their really cool Calling Cloth??? Just click here, while there are still some in stock!

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Friends… and strategies for our time!

Posted on by sue boardman

I didn’t know it then… I didn’t even know the word… but she, the red giraffe to the far right, was my introduction to the notion of MetaModern!

We met, she and I, in the “old” chapel on the Columbia Theological Seminary campus during a prospective student weekend in 1986.

I was surprised. A bit uncomfortable, too. You see, I was raised with the notion that WE didn’t do stained glass… especially not the kind with – gasp – images! (There’s a magi with a gift in the middle panel, too, if you look closely!)

Now, there’s a whole lot of history and a great many power struggles behind that notion that WE didn’t do stained glass, though that’s not our big focus for this moment. It’s vocabulary time! (And, yes… if you’ve been hanging out for a while, you know where this is heading!)

Heresy!

Not in the old sense you may have learned, often having to do with women being burned at the stake or hanged. (And yes… several of them were my family!)

Instead, though, the meaning from the Greek…

Able to choose!

Which is where we come full circle to the whole notion of MetaMod, which basically means that many things are true and they don’t always get along very well. And, yes… it’s a #Filters thing!

Turns out, it’s also a survival tool for our time!

I’m betting you can do the math on that one, so I’m going straight to the #NextRightThing!

There’s a preview call on Thursday afternoon. (Yep, tomorrow!) A chance to wade in the waters of our upcoming #Filters class. To, literally, see what it feels like to claim your current vision of the place where you are called and to add some strategies to your Medicine Basket – or Soup Pot – to sustain and empower you on the journey.

I’ve been learning this stuff for decades and I had no idea I was learning it for such a time as this. I’m grateful. And called to share! Not just for the two grandteens I have growing up in this world, but for all our Littles who need us to catch on, now! To set out for the place we are called with fear, trembling, and determination!

The first next right thing is easy… click the button to sign up for the preview on Zoom. (It’s free!) You’ll want a cuppa and something to write on & with. Red Thread would not be amiss, if it’s handy. It’s time!!!

Register Now

Dr. Sue Boardman, Warrior for Concrete Passion & Very Large Hope!

ps… you are totally welcome to bring a friend to the Preview!

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Of fish and pools and courage – of filters and of things…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! I had a dream… very, very early this morning. Before we go dream-diving, though, a bit of context is in order! You see, I’d been on an adventure on Saturday. An adventure with my friend, Sam, (TheRealSamBennett.com) to a place many of us were taught not to go! To the place where we – gasp! – talk about ourselves!!! (More on that after the fish…)

Do you remember Dr. Seuss’s McElligot’s Pool? I do! That’s what I heard in my dream! Well, bits of it…

And, yes… the world has changed some, since 1947, when this tale was first published. Though, perhaps not all of it, as much as we had hoped!

Now, the original version isn’t quite the way I’d tell the story myself, but stories are rather like that! So, we might say, is the world! It’s a context thing! And, yes… it’s also a filters thing!

In case our fishing friend, Marco, is unfamiliar to you, he is, as one reviewer said, all optimism, even in the face of adult skepticism. Here are a couple of the narrator’s questions…

What if the pool is deeper than anyone thinks? What if it connects to an underground stream that flows under the town to the sea? Might not all sorts of fish then swim up the stream and be caught here?

And, now, a few words from Marco, himself:

I might catch an eel… (Well, I might. It depends.) A long twisting eel with a lot of strange bends. And oddly enough, with a head at both ends!

For this moment, though… back to Sam on Saturday!

We were talking about talking about ourselves. Really! As in, how to tell people what we do! What we do that matters so much that we’d actually wipe our sweaty palms on the seat of our pants, open our mouths, and be real! And, you, wise reader, have already guessed that I was thinking about my free #Filters preview call, happening on Thursday! (Yep! FREE!)

And, yes… there are parts of that which feel scary.

For this moment, though, I’m counting on you to play along, please. We’re going to forget any old voices which might be whispering inside us… things like, it’s not polite to talk about yourself. Or, don’t be braggy!

Or, maybe, we’re just going to intentionally ignore those voices in the service of OUR journeys to the place my old friend, Fred Buechner called…

The place where our deep joy and the world’s great longing meet.

Being on that road changes things. I know! And, long before I was conscious of it, I was collecting a magical soup pot full of perceptions and strategies and conscious choices to help folks just like you, and me, get to our versions of that place!

Our friend, Marco, said:

If I wait long enough, if I’m patient and cool, Who knows what I’ll catch in McElligot’s pool?

Here’s the thing, though… and, yes, I believe this with all my heart:

The world all our Littles are growing up in needs us, NOW!

So, this Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother, with recently claimed Rebel tendencies, is sending the third grader who still lurks inside me – terrified of being different – on a fishing trip with Marco, while you and I go future-fishing on Thursday!

I’m busting out my whole intuitive, perceptive, creative, determined self and one of the very most helpful things I know FOR YOU, because the rules most of us grew up with AREN’T ENOUGH!

Take a deep breath, please, and push the button for all the info. And sign up! We’ve got this!!!

Register Now

ps… yes! You’re welcome to invite a brave, open-minded partner or friend to join us! Just share this post with them, so they can sign up, too. (Or park a chair next to yours!)

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How many times???

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! You know the rest of the question. In many ways, everybody’s least favorite question… How many times do I have to tell you???

Lots of people are writing about it these days. In my personal inner file cabinet, though, it goes in the precious folder labeled Developing Capable People. Not the question, itself, so much as the answer from my teacher, Dr. H. Stephen Glenn. Here goes…

As many times as it takes if you want me to know what you want me to know!

I used to think, 40 years or so ago when I was hanging with Steve, that it had to do with developmental readiness. With language skills and processing patterns. Even with tone of voice!

Now I know more!!! Likely with lots of help from paintings like my first #Legend painting, above!

You, wise soul, are probably ahead of me. It does, indeed, have to do with #Filters! Also, with our Maps of Reality. And, it matters!!!

Here’s an example… my new Good Trouble button:

What do you see? Really!!!

You probably know it’s a political statement of the open-minded, inclusive sort. It’s also a claim of personal power. Not power OVER, so much as power FOR! You see, in Hebrew, the word that means hand also means power! I see individuality, too. And creativity.

So, I made a bunch. Sold some at the Book Festival. Gave one away in the elevator, heading home from Physical Therapy yesterday, which is one of my favorite things! The woman I gave it to had tears in her eyes and said, “My world just got bigger!”

That, dear reader, feels like good work! That, and helping people like you claim YOUR good work and make a map from here to there… one Right Thing at a time!

NOW is a very good time for that!!!

And you probably have questions about this whole #Filters thing, so… we’re having a preview call! (I love questions!) It’s free to join in and you can, indeed, invite a curious buddy! We’ll do a bit of why this, now. We’ll talk about how the class will work and what you’ll need to be ready… including paint! We’ll even play with some Wisdom Cards! This world needs all the MetaMod folks it can get! All the calendar stuff, etc. is waiting with baited breath for you… just press the pretty button!

Register Now

ps… it really is time to be a Phoenix, rising out of the soup pot!!!