Category: Guardians

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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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Found by an old filter!

Posted on by sue boardman

Way back in the day, when I was just out of nursing school and – you know – being a nurse, my son hung out in preschool/daycare. The family who owned and ran the center had 16 kids of their own, plus all the kids like mine. The resident teens helped with the Littles after school. And, they had a tradition that was new to me…

Side bench. It wasn’t punishment. No shaming or blaming. More like time-out, but for getting some space.

Well, today, I declared Side Bench Day for me! And, yes… the space is a much welcome strategy… body, mind, and spirit!

My #wip #Taliswoman painting was entirely on board. In fact, she volunteered to be in charge! Nothing that involved big arm & shoulder movements! (My PT approves, too!)

Rather, detail stuff. The things you didn’t know are needed until you’ve spent lots of time staring, noticing, and wondering. First try at a red thumb print. Red Thread, with a precious, empowering hint of pink. Touch up on the wisdom crow’s beak. An eye! More color in some of the roses.

Joan and David joined in with a timely reminder…

And, yes… this is the bit I so needed to hear:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night… Take these broken wings and learn to fly… All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise!

That, dear heart, is exactly how I feel just now. And, I’m ready!

ps… our class, #Filters… The Next Right Thing begins in January. Please stay tuned!!!

pps… ready now??? Let’s talk about working individually! Just click & ask the elves to hook you up with 45 min. My gift. Your questions. Next right things!!!

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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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Whole Soul Creating…

Posted on by sue boardman

Well, that’s what it feels like, anyway. All of me. All in. In fact, I’ve been pondering what it must have been like for Michelangelo, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Lots of ladders. Trying to bring wonder to life, lying on his back. No air conditioning. No cell phones. No friends at Melton’s a with fresh BLT for lunch!

By comparison, some things are easier these days!

I do wonder, though, if his images talked to him as he painted. (I’m guessing they did, though that may be projection!) Part of this has to do with 4 of mine coming home from Scan Camp with lots to say! The one you glimpsed, above, is feeling particularly opinionated.

When she left, her title was She Persists. It is now We Persist! And that feels really helpful, given all the things jumping up and down in my calendar.

She’s back on the wall across from my chair, coaching me, if you will. One of her suggestions was to look up the Hebrew word for persist. Are you ready???

Sarah!!!

And, yes, I’ll add her new name to the back of the canvas! I may need a few more tears, first, though. You see, I’ve known another Sarah.

Yep! One of our Newfoundland rescue dogs! Tradition holds that the multi-colored Newfies have bouncier, more opinionated personalities than their solid-colored cousins. Sarah certainly fit. And she was nothing if not persistent!!!

Also extroverted. And it’s entirely possible that, if she were sending me a message from the great beyond, it would be that NOW is a time for extroverting. Not me, personally, so much, as what I’m creating. Books, Wisdom Cards, paintings, and the next gen #Filters class. And we’re all well into the third trimester!

ps… I’m also supposed to tell you that the real, finished cards – which are on their way, now – will have gently rounded corners and be printed on recycled paper! There will even be an optional Calling Cloth to help set intentional space for your journey to the place where YOU are called! (And it makes a fab scarf!)

pps… what matters to you? Enough to – you know – claim the next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your journal, a cuppa, and your readiness to take a step toward the place where you are called. And, I have a super-special offer if you’d like some company on the path! Hurry and click here and the calendar elves will hook you up!

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Love, angst, and change…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! I’m there, again! New inspirations becoming real. Old patterns becoming less useful. Lots of waiting and anxiety. Lots of not-yet-knowing. And a whole lot of reminders that a thing that many of us find harder even than change would be no hope of change!

Now, I’m going to guess that – if you’re still reading – you’re at least curious, which is an excellent place to start!

This weekend was full of reminders that change is, indeed, happening.

Four beloved paintings delivered to Scan Camp and entrusted to Uncle Barry for a week of photo shoots and singing around the imitation camp fire. (It’s a good bet there will be lots of Joan Baez involved!)

I feel like somebody kidnapped my teddy bears!!! Those paintings were specifically hung in places where it was easy for them to inspire/nag me! Fortunately, they all have space in my phone, too! And they seem to be full of ideas for museum quality prints to have on hand for the Decatur Book Festival on Oct. 4.

The #Filters cards – aka Grammy’s MetaMod Wisdom Cards – have been ordered from Greenerprinter! (On recycled paper!!!)

If you’ve known me for a while, you probably realize that tap dancing naked is not high on my list of desirable activities. (For many reasons!) That is, however, a handy metaphor for how I’m feeling in this moment!!!

I suspect doing things that matter deeply feels like that for many of us, if we’re being honest. I’m not quite sure if it’s a context thing, or an astrological thing, or even an age thing. What I do know is that there are things inside me insisting on being let out of their crates and into the world.

Now, I don’t know much about astrology, though I hang out in places where I’m learning. One of those places is a yearlong journey known as Red Madonna. This year we’re focusing on Mother Nature… ReBirthing and ReWilding. Part of my role is contributing Crone Moon posts. Here are a few of the things that snuck in through my #Filters this month, as I was exploring the digital universe…

This phase (which is now-ish) is all about introspection, release, and clearing the path for new beginnings. It encourages us to reflect on what needs to be released from the past cycle, embrace the wisdom gained through experience, and prepare for a fresh start. Focusing on health is also encouraged.

All of which sounds at least potentially more helpful than swearing at the news!

ps… the photo at the top, which doesn’t, perhaps, seem to have anything to do with, well, any of these words, is actually the reason for all of my learning and creating and sharing. I have two grandteens and that one’s about to be a senior in high school. In this world. Now.

pps… what matters to you? Enough to – you know – claim the next right thing? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring your journal, a cuppa, and your readiness to take a step toward the place where you are called. And, I have a super-special, offer if you’d like some company on the path! Hurry and click here and the calendar elves will hook you up!

ppps… Atlanta area friends… digitalartsstudio.net is a great resource for scans & prints of your fabulous art!

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Perhaps, the place where we are called is here!

Posted on by sue boardman

Wow, has this been a day!!! Big decisions. Empowering feedback. That sense your inner-Little may recall of finding missing pieces to the jigsaw puzzle. All of that in the midst of proof-reading and tweaking and stretching from the familiar place known as comfortable toward the one called empowered!

Even sitting down to tell you about it makes my heart go pitty-pat!

There are two kinds of things going on. My most recent adventure with the Intentional Creativity® adventure known as #Codex has begun. Again. It officially began a couple weeks ago with help from a lonely, unfinished canvas in the basement. Sadly, my joints and muscles decided that canvas was too huge for this moment, so I took a bit of a break.

Then, my very first #Codex painting found a new job being a voice in the MetaMod Wisdom Cards, on the condition that I get busy on the next generation. (How could I say no???)

That’s the new beginning, above. And she had a few strong requests! The first one was some ceremony! (It’s a bit of a challenge to be out-of-sync with the group.) Truthfully, I was glad she thought of it!

There are three miracles in the photo I’m about to add. All this morning, before I began actually painting.

  • I put all the paint away! Scattered bottles collected and sorted by color, in their little plastic homes. (Enjoy… it doesn’t happen all that often!)
  • I cleaned off one of my ever-so-useful paint tables on wheels. (ie – recycled enameled table tops from the 1950’s!) Cleaned off as in completely clear to hold the canvas!
  • I invited my new Panda Drum to join the party. Our first ceremony together!!!

Here’s a glimpse, complete with my cheat-sheet index card!

I played Kumbayah! I only know two songs, so far, but I’d have chosen this one anyway. It’s the part that means Come by here… that matters so much in my heart!

There’s a whole lot more painting to go. In theory, 12 1/2 more moons, though I suspect I’ll get obsessed and adjust the calendar a bit. (I know how big an adventure this is!)

Here’s the thing… the place where this painting, the Wisdom Cards, and a long conversation I had with an old friend today all come together. The world needs what you and I have to offer! Now!!! Our Littles need to see us out there!!! And, I have two ways I can help! (Well, three!)

Ready soon? There’s virtual group #Filters class coming up this fall and I’m saving you a place. A step by step journey toward the place where you are called… where your deep joy and the world’s great longing meet!

Ready sooner?? Be sure to check back on Sunday (Aug. 17) for pre-order info on the actual MetaMod Wisdom Card decks!!! And the special bonus info-gift that will only be available to those who pre-order!

Ready NOW??? Let’s talk! Want help along the way to the place that’s more important, for you, than fear??? Individualized, personalized help??? I have a very special package offer to make. Now. The next move is yours. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift. You tell me (and yourself!) about that place where you feel called. We’ll name a next right thing. And talk about working together… Oh! Bring a cuppa, something to write on & with, some Red Thread if it’s handy, and one visual representation of your journey. A photo. A crystal. A word on a scrap of paper. An old piece of jewelry. I’ll bring 30 years of coaching experience, a huge soup pot full of strategies, and absolute conviction that now is the time! Wondrous things are possible when we open the door in the back of the wardrobe! Right now you can get five private sessions for the usual investment for four. And I only have space for two brave new clients!

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Walking the Courage Road

Posted on by sue boardman

Once upon a summer, about 50 years ago, we had a special night at Camp. It was the last night of the season and the week had been rough. Some big storms. And some big cats! A broken arm. Nightmares. And a young teen I’ll never forget.

It was my first year as a Senior Counselor. She was one of my campers. I found her, sobbing, in the bathroom.

I don’t want to go home, she wailed. Nobody sees me, there.

I did the only thing I knew, back then. I sat down beside her, on the concrete floor, and said, I see you. And I’ll listen if you’d like to say more.

It turned out that her first moon time had begun and she was scared. Embarrassed. And in pain. I ducked out long enough to raid the infirmary, and to borrow a spare Junior Counselor from next door to hang with the rest of my kids so she and I could talk.

When she told me that she was afraid of asking for what she needed, I got chills. The I can relate kind. We talked about different kinds of brave.

I’ve been thinking about brave a good bit, lately. My paintings, who apparently read the news, all seem to feel like it’s a good time for a whole lot of brave.

Given the one who insisted on joining us, I’d say they’re also in favor of healing!

She hangs on the wall, near my chair and whispers about mystery. She was a mystery when she appeared as an elephant on an #Apothecary journey, embodying wisdom, strength, and compassion. And she’s one of the first ones that appeared on her own and waited patiently for me to figure out why she was there! (It’s big fun!)

A whole lot of prayer dots. A myrrh-bearer’s jar. A still-mysterious being on her forehead, with a blessing, I think. And, the #Filters profile image you might glimpse above her head. All of which is huge medicine in our world.

Here’s a better glimpse…

I think she also brought us a quote for this moment. Well, technically, it came from the movie, Princess Diary and it goes like this:

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

What is more important, for you, than fear???

I have several things on my list, just now! One of them is actually publishing my deck of Wisdom Cards! (Stay tuned!) They’re all about things that are more important than fear!

ps… I have no clue – yet – about what’s in the top right corner! I do know it will speak when I’m ready!

pps… Want help along the way to the place that’s more important, for you, than fear??? Individualized, personalized help??? I have a very special package offer to make. Now. The next move is yours. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes. My gift. You tell me (and yourself!) about that place where you feel called. We’ll name a next right thing. And talk about working together… Oh! Bring a cuppa, something to write on & with, some Red Thread if it’s handy, and one visual representation of your journey. A photo. A crystal. A word on a scrap of paper. An old piece of jewelry. I’ll bring 30 years of coaching experience, a huge soup pot full of strategies, and absolute conviction that now is the time! Wondrous things are possible when we open the door in the back of the wardrobe!