Category: Guardians

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I almost changed my mind!

Posted on by sue boardman

There’s a moment for many women, somewhere in the pushing phase of labor, when they declare that they’ve changed their minds and they’re not having the the damn baby, after all!

That was me, somewhere in the wee hours between Monday and Tuesday.

Blessedly, it doesn’t work!

The PUBLISH button has indeed been pushed on the book-baby!!!

And, the Intentional Creativity® Purple Passion virtual art show was a world full of wonder and em-power-ed intentions! (Even if you weren’t there live, you can still join the amazement with the link, below.)

Just between us, those are about the only things from Tuesday that feel accomplished. And, yes… I waved my magic wand and turned the “debate” into a re-run of The West Wing! Turns out there is a point where the context can get too crazy for even prayer dots to help!!!

Here’s the thing, though… there’s external context, like – well – news. And weather. And storms. And fires. And school shootings. And remembering. So much remembering. All of which feels like it’s trying very hard to out-shout new babies and bowls of homemade soup and the wonder of finding unexpected meaning in spilled paint.

New meaning in this moment.

For me, noticing has a whole lot to do with making meaning. What gets in, amidst the chaos. Here’s a thing I noticed…

Angela Davis…a notable woman I don’t recall from Social Studies – though she should have been there! And, a cousin! Really!!! Angela and I share a Mayflower ancestor… a story which seemed to be an even bigger surprise for her, as a guest on Finding Your Roots, than it was for me, watching!

And then the stories started re-arranging themselves in my mental library, as I slept.

Stories about my French Cathar aunts, uncles, cousins, and – quite probably – grandparents. Victims of an autocratic papal crusade against Christians, some 800 years ago. People of peace, and love, and learning… women and men teaching as partners.

I have no idea what the artist intended when they formed the statue, above, and placed her at Kudzu to find her home. To me, though, she is a courageous Cathar guardian of sacred stories and just community. And a powerful reminder that it is our job to carry on!

Somehow, in the context of this moment, all those stories live on in me. And they birthed the book-baby, because Creation goes on, even now, and the story is for all of us… especially our Littles!

I’m really glad I didn’t change my mind!!!

So… we’re going to need a baby shower of sorts. A book launch event! And it wouldn’t be the same without you! All the details, along with some new ones, are here, eager for you to click the big, bright link just below…

We’re not going back!!!

ps… don’t miss the amazing art show! (And the artists‘ stories about their work!) Just click here…

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If ever there was a time for prayer dots… and hee-hee-ho!

Posted on by sue boardman

Deep breath, please. And let it all go. Thank you! And, two more, if you care to join me…

The book-baby is in the final (fingers crossed!!!) formatting phase and I am avoiding the temptation to gnaw my nails. Mostly!

Blessedly, there’s plenty to do. Kind of like those old stories of major nesting events many women experience just before labor begins!

In this moment, though, it’s prayer dots. The utterly intentional kind, on the back of my #Celebratix canvas, who appeared Wednesday.

First, the Moon came forward. She wanted you to meet her! (We’re still negotiating the eyes!)

Then, there was a dream! I’d been looking at photos of the Northern Lights online. (I’ve never seen them with my very own actual eyes.) And I heard Grandmother Moon whispering as I slept…

Stars are Creator’s prayer dots!!!

And, frankly, it feels like there’s lots to pray about! All the news stuff, of course. The utterly tragic and needless… to the actually hopeful moments.

The more personal stuff, too. Loved ones healing. A major family birthday.

A wise artist-teacher-preacher friend helping me re-frame a filter. And writing me a note like this:

This beautifully illustrated adaptation of James Weldon Johnson’s Creation offers a fresh welcome to this treasured piece of black sacred literature to every child and every sort of family.

The Rev Wil Gafney, PhD+
The Rt Rev Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible
Brite Divinity School

And, yes… I’m really excited! So much so that prayer dots are about what I can manage!

You see, this book is a really, really big deal for me. It’s like standing in the world, wrapped in hope and northern lights, trying to make a difference. Here’s Creation Moon, in the sky filled with prayer dots, straight from the book-baby!

For now, Lamaze class flashbacks… as a contraction begins, we inhale deeply through our noses, then exhale through our mouths – two short pants and one longer blow.

hee-hee-ho!

I’d love for you to be my birthing partner…

…because we’re not going back & you’re invited!

Click here, please, for all the details for the launch and a couple new perspectives on the book…

ps… yes! Some of the book art will be available for adoption!

pps… more Intentional Creativity® art to ooohh… and ahhhhh… over! Just click the link, below, for details and free tickets! The wonder starts Tuesday!!!

https://intent2create.betterworld.org/events/purple-passion-museum-exhibit

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I went to visit “my” tree, again!

Posted on by sue boardman

She’s still there, on the campus of Columbia Theological Seminary. We “met” last Spring, though I’d no doubt passed by her hundreds of times!

And, yes… it’s a Filters thing! You see, I was working on a new painting and engaged in a conversation about living in Creation, as part of the miracles. And, there she was!

She actually showed up in my dream last night. Reminders were in order! Back to hippo spirit animals… yet another thing I didn’t learn in 5 college degrees!

Here’s the short version… The hippo is considered a spirit animal that symbolizes strength, power, fertility, and healing.

And, there are about 3 million reasons why The Muse might be sending me such messages in the context of this moment in time!

All the ones on MSNBC, of course. And a more personal one…

The Book Launch!!! (And a mockup of the cover…)

Here’s one of the things I’m most excited about…

Many friends and colleagues have been generous with book blurbs/reviews and I am hugely honored. Some of those dear souls are children!!! Kids, grandkids… joining in the journey! My Fiercely Compassionate [Rebel] Grandmother heart is overflowing! (And, yes, my tear ducts, too!)

Not simply because it feels good! It also gives those young people a chance to see their words matter and we’re all about that around here!!!

Here’s the thing, though. The virtual book launch is happening in the context of this moment in time! And we’re going to use that for a learning experience in the launch event! A big step in the direction of that place where YOU feel called…. where your deep joy and the world’s great longing meet. Just click here for all the juicy details…

Here’s what one of those book-reviewing Littles had to say…

I love this book! The lyrics (yes, it is songworthy!) are vivid and the paintings are fun and colorful. I know people of all ages will enjoy this.

Renae Sharpe, age 13 (Pen-name, used with Renae’s permission and the concurrence of their adults!)

And here’s a bit of what Renae’s Grandmother said:

What a gift! My youngest grandchildren explored the paintings, simply transfixed, while the teens delighted in the inclusive language. The use of the plural, “They” for Creator was not lost on them, embracing as it does a Creator who welcomes all genders…

For this moment, I’ll save Renae’s Grandmother’s name, and just include her initials! MD, MDiv, PhD

Here’s another peek… this photo is of a painting that was created intentionally for A Creation Poem… The Cardinal, toward your right in the dogwood tree, is a reminder of my Gramma Elsie who taught the 6 year-old me that Cardinals are our ancestors, coming back to check on us. (Just – you know – in case!)

ps.. here’s that link, again. We’re not goin’ back!!!

pps…tomorrow is Grandparents’ Day! Check out that link and get the coolest gift ever, for yourself or someone you love. Helping empowered women weave dreams into being! Love to have you at the launch, with comes with a hand-autographed book!

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“Just tell the story!”

Posted on by sue boardman

I suspect I’ll always hear that voice thundering in my ears. I was about 30 years old, and Walter Brueggemann was exhorting a room full of wannabe preachers!

I felt like I was being handed a terrifying thing I’d been seeking all my life! And, I feel even more like that now!

Maya Angelou put it this way:

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Thus, the glimpse of a painting, above. She was a total surprise. Literally. And she didn’t begin to appear until I set reason aside and followed my heart. Months of under-layers disappeared under the biggest, scariest glaze of my life.

Well, almost disappeared!

Once everything got purple, I began to see things I had not noticed before! And, rather than putting new things in all that space, I brought forward what I saw.

Their name is Choice, Voice, and Sovereignty!

Frankly, it was terrifying. Especially for one who is only beginning to have access to visual processing!

It’s the Voice thing that brings them here, today, because this moment is feeling a whole lot like time for speaking out. For showing up with all of ourselves. For finding our authentic voices. And, if you’re at all like me, that may not be what you learned as a kid!

I had a chance to practice, yesterday. Yep, Social media! Somebody who thought I should say things the way they would, instead of the way I did. I imagine you can relate! And the whole inner debate about leave it up/take it down/walk away from disagreement, etc., etc.

Then, I walked down the hall, past the place where this 48×60 inch canvas hangs, waiting patiently to be noticed again. To be helpful!

And I left my post the way I wrote it. Not because I wanted to win… but because it grew out of the top part of the painting. The part that looks like a huge moon. The part that carries some of my deepest chosen beliefs. Here’s the whole deal…

The teal blue place, above their heart, is their voice. And their hands are part of my code for power. And, perhaps most urgently, in this moment, their heart is painted in the chakra-green of compassion.

And all of this – as you’ve realized – is happening in the context of this world, now. A context that perhaps even Walter hadn’t anticipated when he was helping so many of us claim our calling to tell the story.

Then there’s the other story I’m telling. The one for our Littles. All of them. The one of belonging and mattering. It’s very, very, very nearly done!

And that, dear heart, means book launch! Which feels like a whole lot of voice! Mark your calendar, please, for September 22. And stay tuned! It’s time to cause some Good Trouble, and you’re invited!!!

For now, though… grace, peace, and blessings!

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Meet Dr. E’s cousin, Fern!

Posted on by sue boardman

You know how sometimes you learn something new… realize one new thing… let go of one limiting belief… and everything feels different???

Well, that happened in me, this week!

But, before I tell you that story, I need to introduce you to a neighbor of ours, way back when I would have been a pre-K kid, if we’d known about such things in those days. Fern lived across the street from us in Pittsburgh. I liked her. And, she had a fashion thing going on that drove my mom nuts! Let’s just say that Fern hadn’t learned the same rules about what goes as my mom had!

In fact, Fern became code, in our family, for You’re wearing too many colors. Or, flowers don’t go with plaid. As in, Go try it again, Fern!

My recovery began gradually when I discovered Blue Fish brand clothing, much to my mom’s dismay. And made quilts with too many colors!

These days, I wander the world covered in paint. Intentionally! Today, a lot of it’s pink after some work with my #CuraArchetype painting!

Recently, I began to notice some new things. You see, there’s a whole lot of new going on! (Like the new book I’m about to launch and the two I’m already writing to follow it!)

And, I’ve been hanging out with my teacher/sister, Julie Steelman, and a whole bunch of women working on getting out there.

As you’ve probably noticed, I have this thing about context. And there’s been a whole lot of that coming from Chicago this week. And, in places I hang out, like the land of Intentional Creativity® there’s a whole lot of conversation about the rising archetypal feminine. We might even go so far as to say, She’s Risen! And, if we did, we might think that has a whole lot to do with context in this moment!

You do you!

Here’s the thing… in the midst of all that, I realized…

I am ready to be seen!

In fact, this particular Dangerous Old Woman is ready to be more dangerous than ever!

And I mean that in the way Dr. Estes did, when she talked about sheltering under the danger of a tree. A place where those gathered were safe. Honored, even. And, as far as I’m concerned, we need as much of that as we can get!

I am, inherently, an introvert. Between the challenges of 6 knee surgeries in 9 years and the pandemic, I got pretty comfortable at home. Nobody calling me Fern. You get the drift…

Except, I have things to say. Things to help change. People to support as they look for ways to set their SuperPowers free in the world. And a future to help protect for all our Littles.

Besides, I like bright colors! And patterns!

You, clever soul, have already realized why chartreuse ferns have just appeared in the #fleursavage #innerwilderness painting with which we began…

So, today I weeded the closet. Donated a bunch of things I thought I should have, but never enjoyed, to a church that operates a clothes closet. And ordered myself another bright denim jacket, which will also be delighted to become a vest/accessible purse. One with flowers and swirls and something that just might turn out to be a mandala! All of which should make it easier for Daphne & me to share!

Then, I hatched up an idea for a reading in a local bookstore, and asked some dear souls for book reviews. And I made a list of more exciting ideas! All of which – as you might imagine – involve some sense of being seen.

And, drum roll, please… I had fun!!!

ps… all that pink, above, is a path of sorts. A 6-petal rose. Wonder where it will lead???

pps… are you ready to learn something new… realize one new thing… let go of one limiting belief??? Or more??? Let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will be delighted to hook you up with 30 minutes, my gift!

ppps… curious about Intentional Creativity®? Got dreams? Check this out… Abracadabra! I can’t wait to begin!

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When the way-back machine helps shape the future!

Posted on by sue boardman

True confession… I’ve been spending a whole bunch of time in (virtual) Chicago! Back when I was 10 years old, I was spending actual time there! Now I know more…

In August of 1968, the Democratic National Convention was in Chicago. My dad was traveling, as he was every week back in those days. I, as the oldest child, was in charge of watching the news with my anxious (Republican) Mom.

Dr. King had been murdered in April. Chicago experienced massive riots and protests which we, in the suburbs, experienced as cancelled school field trips, when the National Guard was camped on the grounds of The Museum of Science & Industry, and school buses were being turned over in the streets.

Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed in June.

Richard J. Daley, who was the very Republican mayor of Chicago from 1955 – 1976, was NOT amused. And he ranted a whole lot on TV. And sent more National Guard forces. VP Hubert Humphrey became the nominee for President, in a divided Democratic party, and lost the election to Richard Nixon.

What I remember most is being scared. Scared of the shootings and riots. Scared by my mom’s tears of anxiety.

I’m scared this time, too.

Not of what’s happening. The hope in this convention is palpable!

I’m scared because, this time, I know how much is at stake! Like the future of our Democratic Republic. The far too real threat of Pr0ject 2O25. And, the world all our Littles will inherit.

The neurological flip side of fear, though, is excitement! And I’m consciously choosing to go with excitement!!!

So, I put extra Good Trouble buttons in the pocket of my rainbow denim vest and went off to Physical Therapy yesterday, wearing my Chucks and pearls. And I made some new friends in the elevator and gave away all the buttons, including the one I was wearing.

I came home and took a nap. Then, I went back to the final steps of laying out my children’s book.

A Creation Poem… is my version of hope in the context of this moment. Of inclusion. Of mattering.

An antidote, if you will, to the poison of Pr0ject 2O25.

Complete with some really intentional art!

Here’s a peek you probably haven’t seen before… as our lonely Creator decides to create a human.

Here’s the thing… this world needs all of us using our SuperPowers for good. NOW! Much to my amazement, this book is one of mine. Another is helping people just like you claim YOUR SuperPowers and set them loose in the world!

I’m going to launch a group opportunity for just that – complete with paint! – in September. And, if you’re ready NOW, let’s talk about working together individually. Just click here and ask the calendar elves to hook you up… my gift!

Also, if you’re interested in reviewing an early pdf copy of A Creation Poem… please email me. I’d love your help in getting the word out, into this waiting world! suesvoice@gmail.com

ps… you guessed it! The power of a hand has appeared in my #fleursavage lotus pond! As above… so below!

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When really good hearing gets better!

Posted on by sue boardman

Do you remember standing in a line in the school gym, with an index card over one eye, trying to read the chart with the big E on top?

I do! And I did pretty well on the test. What I had no way of knowing was that I wasn’t actually seeing the letters. I was memorizing what the kids in front of me said! And it helped that I could hear really, really well.

My 4th or 5th grade teacher ratted me out. And I discovered that, with a pair of sturdy (read that ugly) glasses, I could see individual leaves on trees! And I could still hear really, really well!

What I didn’t know back then was how much our brains have to do with what we think of as seeing and hearing. Also, feeling… as in touch and movement and emotion.

Now, as the old story goes, I know more!

It was pretty strange for me, at first, to begin to hear the paintings whispering in my sleep, but I’ve gotten really comfortable with that by now. (Which, as you’ve probably guessed, is just as well since the walls are covered with a whole choir of whispering images!)

Another thing just shifted for me, though. I realized that all those voices – each in their own way – are actually my voice, filtered through various experiences and wounds and dreams. And I wouldn’t blame you if you might be thinking that I sound a wee bit like I’m headed for the place known as round the bend.

Instead, I’m headed for more fully me! And, as I move my fingers to make these words appear in the land of WordPress, I keep glancing up at a sign hanging above the door to the hall, across the room from my chair.

And our stories – yours, mine, all of ours – do matter. They are some of the filters through which we experience the world. Through which we form questions and create things.

I had a really big experience of that today! The first pdf layout of my new book appeared in my email! And, even though I chose all the words and created all the art, it was still a surprise in its externalized form! A whole, if you will, instead of a bunch of individual pieces. (And, yes… there’s more work to do!)

My dear friend, and first reader, Natalie, put language on what I was feeling!

It feels like holding a newborn infant!

And, it does!!! A whole, separate, unique individual with multitudes of ancestors and traditions, complete with a whole batch of needs… and, frankly, what feels a lot like expectations!

Final choices on fonts, and re-sizing some art, and rounding up reviews and all the things that we book-parents do…

And, no… it’s not To Kill a Mockingbird. (Though it might grow up to be!)

What it is, in this moment, is the very most I have to offer to all the Metamodern Littles growing up in our world, now… and to the adults who love them.

Complete with some invitations to listen deep and imagine!

My dearest hope is that it will help us all travel the mountains and valleys of this world, and to make space for more and more of us to feel at home and to hear our own voices in the midst of the din!

ps… the painting at the top is a glimpse of the cover art for the book-baby!

pps… this glimpse of a painting is shorthand for the absolute best thing I know. I’m ready to share… and we have to start with ourselves!!! Just ask the calendar elves to hook you up!