Category: Grandmothers

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine BasketWisdom Cards

A visitor in my dreams…

Posted on by sue boardman

Nope…

This time it wasn’t a chatty painting on the wall. (They’re probably feeling the need for a bit of time off, given the book draft and all.) And, thankfully, nobody from the news, either!

Instead, a fox appeared.

That made me curious! We have them in the neighborhood. Grey and red. It’s starting to cool off which means we’ll probably see some real ones soon. For now, though, I went hunting in Colette Baron-Reid’s deck of The Spirit Animal Oracle.

Fox Spirit is number 27 and the short version of the message is “Think on your feet.” Given all the news and such, I figured reading on was in order!

The punchline, at least for me, was…

Let this clever spirit draw out your creativity as you adjust to rapidly changing circumstances with resilience, grace, and astuteness.

Just between us, that feels pretty optimistic in this moment and I’ll receive it gladly!

With huge help from the Legendary Husband, the first 30 or so pages of the book manuscript have made their way to publisher-land! (Rest to follow after the next few days, hopefully!)

The thing that amazes me is how much this project feels like who I am becoming, rather than who I’d gotten used to being!!!

And, along with my customary Good Trouble button, I’m planning to slip the fox in my pocket when we go vote! (Early voting in Georgia has begun!!!) Something tells me the fox will join the Blue Wave!

If you hang out on Facebook, you’ve probably seen the post with a grandmotherly woman in a voting booth. A small child – like early elementary school age – asks who she’s voting for. The reply is all my hopes and dreams in two words flat…

For YOU!

ps… I’d be so grateful for a little expectation flexibility for the next couple weeks. You know, a bit more space for finishing the book. And, then… LOTS more things to share! Hugs for you and yours…

pps… huge thanks to Colette Baron-Reid for her inspiring help!

pps… there’s a new deck of wisdom cards coming with the book!!!

#Magic!Art JourneyContemplationsGrandmothers

Claiming my voice!

Posted on by sue boardman

So… this will be a quickie!

That thing we authors know that starts with D and ends with ‘line is upon me. I’ve just re-located my right thumb in its appropriate socket for the 3rd time today and the tech elves are making me crazy.

Nonetheless, progress is afoot! Magic, too!!! And I’m grateful for generations of inspiration and an assortment of actual and chosen teachers and relatives!

I feel blessed to have discovered a post from LeVar Burton, the longtime host of Reading Rainbow, who spoke at Stanford in May, and explained why reading matters. I’m quoting, with gratitude…

“If you’re a reader for life, then you can self-educate. You are – by my definition – free. Because no one can imprison your mind. Or your imagination.”

The goal of Reading Rainbow, he went on, “…was to take a child who could read and turn them into a reader for life… The love of it has to come first, and the rest follows.”

Referring, then, to teachers and librarians as his “favorite people on the planet,” he went on to ask:

What book turned you into a reader?

That, dear heart, is my question for you, this day. And how will you spread it on???

My answer is this book I’m writing. I’d love to hear yours! You can leave a comment below, or email me. suesvoice@gmail.com

ps… if you squint a bit, you might discover an inspiring message in the painting, which my grands helped me create, back when I first picked up a brush!

#Magic!Art JourneyContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine Basket

Wow, did I need questions!!!

Posted on by sue boardman

I’m going to take a wild guess that I’m not the only one having trouble sorting the world these days! The chaos in my dreams has been – well – assertive.

So, yesterday, I fished in my medicine basket for a few favorite questions, my journal, a beloved pen with red ink, and a handful of index cards because you just never know when one of those will be the key to the door! The cuppa cacao probably helped, too!

My first question was, as it often is… What am I trying to accomplish?

The thing I love about that one is that it feels like a new doorway, handle polished and hinges freshly oiled! The answer followed almost immediately!

To create a plan – a vision – a map that will enable me to be able to keep telling the stories that will help our Littles be who they were created to be… to tell the stories I was created to tell and to set them free to help the world heal! (As my ancestors did…)

Then, another question, which took a bit longer to appear… What will be better once that is real?

The answer took a bit longer to appear, too. A whole night, in fact. And when I woke, I heard…

I’ll be able to do the work, rather than grasping at shiny things out of fear!!!

Now, the last question has been one of my most terrifying favorites for a while now, and it didn’t disappoint… What’s holding me back?

Money is holding me back. More specifically, the FEAR of not having enough. Of all the things that could go wrong, of not wanting to over-stress my beloveds. I took a deep breath and wrote it all down.

And then, another piece of the answer arrived, like a gift…

Maximize the resources I already have access to. Continue to ask for help from my healing tribe. And, most of all, act on what I can!!!

No clue what will come next. Only that I am less afraid and that, dear hearts, is not a bad day’s work! Give it a try and let me know how it goes. You can leave a comment, or email me at suesvoice@gmail.com

For now… one more word:

ONWARD!!!

ps… as you might have guessed from the painting, you are not alone!

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine Basket

The way we’ve always done it…

Posted on by sue boardman

If you’re anything like me, you probably grew up with a pretty good dose of just that philosophy. You know… the way we’ve always done it must be the right way because that’s what our elders taught us and they couldn’t have been wrong! Besides, we’re still here!

And it starts long before we have the neurological development to think abstractly, which makes it even more powerful.

Tempting as it is, though, it’s not enough. And, when we’re living that battle, it’s exhausting. Or, as one of my collection of wise teachers suggested yesterday, we wind up feeling like our buckets are too full… like our nervous systems are under siege.

I can relate! And, I went way out on a limb and decided to experiment with a different strategy!!!

As I’m writing this, it’s late afternoon. I’ve written other things, today. I’ve made an illustration – this one in charcoal pencil – for my upcoming tweens and teens book.

I’ve made some progress on the Feng Shui list, including arranging the shelf next to my magic chair so I can reach things more comfortably.

I spent some time in an online meditation experience with my Compassion annointing oil and another wise friend.

And, I spent some time communing with the painting, above, who has just told me her actual name… Our Lady of Fiercely Compassionate Abundance!

Now, here’s the surprising part…

I made a promise. Fifteen minutes of MS NOW with my first cuppa this morning. Then, off! You see, of all the things on my overflowing list for this day, that’s the one I most needed to set aside. I’m guessing you might be able to relate.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I looped the Legendary Husband in on the plan and he graciously agreed to let me know if there was anything actually earth shattering going on. Not the incoherent hissy fit kind of stuff… which I truly didn’t need. And you know what… it helped! In fact, it’s helping still!!! I’ll probably check in about 9pm tonight, just to see what the headlines are. Otherwise, my list. Including things intentionally chosen to help my nervous system feel safer!

In fact, I got a great new idea in that meeting with my wise friend. He asked if I’d tried having a conversation with my body about comfort and safety and such. It was a great question and it reminded me of one of my favorite Medicine Basket treasures!

Two handed journaling. Inquiry with my dominant hand. Breathing. Perhaps even sipping a bit more cacao while listening for a reply. Then, writing what appears with my non-dominant hand. It really is a perspective shift!

After I put another coat of paint on Gloria, the cat! Here’s where we are at the moment…

ps… love for you to leave me a comment, below, and let me know how it goes in your world. Or email me: suesvoice@gmail.com

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Limbs of the family tree…

Posted on by sue boardman

Both my mom’s family, and my dad’s, had people in the way-back days who were named variations on Mattie. I can’t find the details of who and where, just now.

Here’s what I do remember… Mattie-ing on somebody meant something pretty close to herding them. You know – expecting, directing – those kinds of things. And, yes… I’ve been watching the news! (Though not nearly as much as usual!)

Now, I’m no fan of expecting and directing. I’m much more comfortable with intentional questions and suggestions. With noticing and wondering.

At this moment, though, I seem to be the one who needs a bit of Mattie-ing. Self Mattie-ing, to be exact! You see, it’s pretty tempting to just quit trying to make things better. Fires. Floods. Earthquakes. Plane crashes. Murder. Racism. Poverty. Megalomania. You hear me. And I’m hugely aware that I can’t fix it all. In fact, some of it’s way too big for me to fix alone.

What I can do is make what I can reach just a bit better.

That’s where the creativity and Feng Shui come in! (Really!)

The cat-in-progress you just met is a wise voice in my tweens & teens book-in-progress, and she’s coming to life! Layer by layer. (I never tried to paint a cat before!) Her name is Gloria and she informed me, emphatically, that we – you and I – are part of the message Gloria Steinem left for us to carry.

Then, there’s the place where the Legendary Husband and I abide. It hasn’t so much kept up with our changing needs and, for a while, I think we might have been busy pretending we didn’t notice. I’m choosing to notice, again, and it’s getting better, already. Intentionally better!

We’re working hard to make this brick ranch, built in 1962, be safe and comfortable and supportive, here and now. It’s a challenge… though I am starting to feel a smidge more hopeful! (Though the new fridge still needs some help!)

Somewhere, deep in my consciousness, I can almost hear Mattie brusquely suggesting that we stay on the road.

I’m in!

ps… I just rearranged the book shelf next to the magic chair and put some wisdom cards in easy reach. Some from friends. Some of my own! And you can get your very own deck of mine! Just click here for all the info. I’d be delighted and honored to mail you a batch. They really were created to help all of us make what we can reach just a bit better. (Or, maybe… lots better!) It’s that whole perspective and strategies thing!!!

pps… internal book release goal: November 1, 2026!!!

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In-ten-tion!!!

Posted on by sue boardman

You know how, when you’re in the midst of something that you’re trying to accomplish, it often feels crazier than before you started???

I can almost feel you nodding your head! Let’s just say that if I were the tattoo type, I’d go get one proclaiming progress is messy! As it is, I think I’ve found the intention for the first layer of my about to be begun painting! Come to think of it, there may be several reasons for that!

The up-side is that the Legendary Husband and I made some actual progress today! This big piece of furniture over there. About 24 feet of bookshelf space re-claimed!!! (This is a huge thing around here.) A whole house Feng Shui chart/map! (It’s been simmering for quite a while. Apparently now is the time. Maybe the recent Lunar events are nudging me!

Here’s the thing, though… my right wrist and shoulder are not – shall we say – feeling quite as enthusiastic as the rest of me, and that gives me an idea for this moment.

Whether you’ve ever tried dominant/non-dominant hand journaling before, or it’s a totally new idea, let’s give it a go!

Actual paper and writing wand. A cuppa wouldn’t hurt.

An inquiry… perhaps about any intention you’re pondering, written with your usual writing hand. In my case, that’s my right hand, writing: What’s the next right step in making the home we have work more comfortably for us.

You do you!

Then, the response… with your other (non-dominant) hand. It could come instantly. It could take 3 days! (Or, whatever…) Something will appear in response. Add it to your paper when it does.

I’d love to hear what you notice!!! (You can leave a comment below… or email me. suesvoice@gmail.com

In a world where Cherry Blossom trees are giving their lives for ego and money, anything that includes intelligent intention could actually help make this world a bit better!

And HOPE can’t hurt!

ps… I chose that photo, above, because it, too, is the outcome of allowing newness! What finds you???

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Of darkness… and light!

Posted on by sue boardman

First, let me apologize to my Southern Hemisphere sisters! I didn’t learn much about Moon Magic in school. Back in those days, we “smart” kids – read that “college-bound” – didn’t have time for such things. (Though I did memorize the entire periodic table of the elements as we knew it in those days!)

Fortunately life is for learning, and that’s just about my favorite part of the journey, so I’m declaring this to be Moon Post Wednesday! Specifically, in this hemisphere, the night before Crone Moon just before the total eclipse due on August 12.

Spiritually, this night could be considered an “ultimate cleansing” opportunity for letting go of toxic patterns or clutter or things that drain us, rather than fill us.

What comes to mind for you as you’re reading along???

The clearing, of course, leaves Owl – or Athena – space for truths that have been hidden. For planning and for winning through wisdom.

In this moment, though, we’re having contextual darkness of a different sort. I’m going to assume that you know as much about the news as you’re choosing to handle and not add any of that here, except to say that I did notice a smidge of hope earlier today!

Fortunately, space for practical creating also goes along with Crone Moons, and I have lots of that to do! The photo at the top is currently directing some major plastic surgery on my #wip painting. And I’m heading back to that, as long as the power holds out in the storm that just began rattling our neighborhood.

First, though, a message from a #wip glimpse at my #RedMadonna 2025 painting, Mother Nature. She – and Athena of the Crone Moons – are so hoping you’ll come check out the adventure with Primordial Waters that’s about to begin. Just click here for all the info… A safe circle of wise women, new perspectives, community, and actual medicine for your basket!!!