Category: Medicine Basket

#Magic!ContemplationsGrandmothersMedicine Basket

A noisy night in the ‘hood!

Posted on by sue boardman

My ears are quite certain that many of my neighbors were thrilled with the weather which improved enough to make fireworks possible for the actual 4th of July.

I am somewhat less thrilled. It’s an old trauma kind of thing for me.

Instead, I’ve been claiming my Independence – my vision of the future – with paint! (Also, cleaning closets. Meaningful, but decidedly less fun!)

I won’t dump all my disappointments and fears and buckets of fury on you. Instead, I am inspired to share something I wrote several years ago. It’s not all sparkly and full of watermelon. Instead, it’s a promise. A claim of my hopes for the future… preferably starting (again) NOW! And I could really use your help!

You see, my right wrist and thumb hurt more than usual tonight and we’re going to have to go with basics in terms of design here. Imagine, please, all this with with a fun, kid-friendly font and the shadow of a tree behind the words. You can decide! Oh… imagine that every time you see the letter “o” it looks like a heart!

The Grandmothers’ Manifesta

We are the Grandmothers.

We are in charge of Hope. We are not done!

We are becoming dangerous old women.

We hold those we love under our danger like a

Tree of Life with bountiful branches.

We have spent our lives learning many things.

Some of those things were helpful.

Some of them were not.

We will KEEP living the empowering things.

We will say goodbye to the things

that were hurtful, so they are not passed on.

We matter more in this moment

than EVER before.

We are significant. We are capable.

We have influence in the lives

of those we love and in the world.

Using all our hope and wisdom,

we will share these things

with all the generations who come after us.

We are DREAMERS of dreams,

TELLERS of stories,

and MAKERS of images.

We see our littles as souls bright with wonder.

We are the Grandmothers and we welcome all those

who wish to be here.

Today, we choose to matter in the world.

It may be hard,

but we are in charge of Hope!

Sue Boardman ®

ps… if you have dreams, stories, images – even puppies or dance moves – you’re longing to share with the world, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. I’ll bring my magic medicine basket with some cool new tools. You bring a cuppa, something to write on & with, a Red Thread if it’s handy, and a smidge of courage. We’ll name your next right thing and muse a bit about what it could look like to work together. Just click here and the calendar elves will find us some time. Hurry, though! The calendar is filling up! (In case you’re curious, my book-in-progress is something over 8,000 words in!)

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I really, really wish the tech-elves would quit changing things!!!

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep… you probably have to squint quite a bit to make this out, so I’ll help. It’s under layers from my most recent #Apothecary painting, a couple moths ago. Truthfully, it isn’t done yet, as in it isn’t complete, but also it isn’t done teaching me.

Here are three of the VERY intentional words you probably can’t quite read in there, crossword puzzle style:

Courage. Hope. Determination.

And, yes, I’ve mentioned them before.

When I fired up my laptop tonight, this wasn’t exactly what I had in my mind but apparently the elves have been secretly “making things better” again, and it took me about 3 tries to get this post to start happening. (I want elves that follow directions!)

In any event, I am still learning… anyway! When the paintings whisper in my sleep, they are insistent!

So, my #Threshold painting work in progress has announced her name, insisted on background revisions, and whispered some of her favorite star glyphs for me to include. The really cool thing is that, as all that magic was happening, she also solved the structural challenge with my tweens & teens book in progress!!!

Frankly, she kinda blew my mind! (And she prefers to wait until she’s finished to make another appearance!)

Then, I did a new thing. Yesterday, I had a Zoom meeting with a dear friend who now lives in Egypt. It was so good to catch up! And, she did a mini-numerology reading for me! (Yet another thing we didn’t cover in nursing school or seminary!!!)

Here’s the thing that really grabbed me:

My core challenge – at least at this point in time – is a tendency to feel responsible for EVERYTHING and hand-cuffed by perfectionism…

Wow, does that hit home! And, I suspect I’m going to want to explore more.

For this moment, though, it’s cacao ceremony time. And getting ready for observing the solstice time. (Really!) You see, I spent lots of time watching Georgia run-off election returns last night and I’ve decided to be open to all the help I can get!

My #Threshold painting is totally onboard!!!

ps… my Wisdom Cards are ready to meet you! Just put 2 decks in your basket and get 20% off, automatically. They go really well with cacao and perhaps a smidge of ceremony!!! (Also, sign up for the Winged Ey Wisdom mailing list and get an extra 10% off your order!)

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Old Adventure… New Perspective!

Posted on by sue boardman

If you’re just joining us, welcome!!! Fix yourself a cuppa and pull up a comfy seat. We’re going on a journey… long ago, for me, and right now, I suspect, for most of us!

The journey in question involved a 40-foot sailboat, a rapidly building hurricane, and the Bermuda Triangle. Really! My Presbytery Young Adult buddy and I were doing the midnight watch… actually sailing the boat through the storm with no navigational equipment but a compass and the stern lights of our buddy boat.

Terrifying, for real! And I was a young single mom at the time, with a 6-year old waiting at home for me.

The question of the moment was Which Direction???

I realized, as I was dreaming along last night, that Which Direction??? is also my question in the context of this moment! Perhaps yours, as well…

As is often the case, paint had a lot to do with my musing!

On Friday, we Intentional Creativity® types began the 10 month adventure known as Stardust Initiation. Frankly, I have no clear idea of where we’re going. What I do know, from lots of past experience, is that things will get different inside me. Well, they’ve already begun, with a big batch of input from the news.

The question, in my dreams, boiled down to this:

Am I sailing toward myself or away from the chaos of this moment???

I’m going with toward myself. I just don’t have the strength or energy to try both directions at once!!!

I’m sailing toward living my Promise. Honoring my body and my path and those who walked it before me. And, yes, it feels like a huge #Threshold!

The work-in-progress we began with is a huge hint about the chaos!

What’s happening now is making meaning out of the chaos! You should know that there are many layers of paint going on here. Somebody keeps changing her mind!!! I’m listening to her voice, though… stay tuned!

ps… I’d gladly listen to YOUR voice, too, if you could use a bit of focus and strategy on your path! 45 min. My gift. We’ll name your vision, claim your next right thing, and muse together about how we might work together on making it real. Just click here and ask the calendar elves to hook us up. Then, gather your dream, a cuppa, something to write on & with, and a piece of Red Thread, if it’s handy. As Josh Lyman, my old buddy from The West Wing, reminded a wandering friend one day, “I’ve been down here before and I know the way out!”

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The paintings are getting more insistent!

Posted on by sue boardman

Today is primary run-off voting day at our house… aka Good Trouble day! Last night, in my dreams, the artwork decided to help, along with the voices of the two actual Grandmothers I grew up with.

The first thing you need to know is that I come from long lines of Republicans, pretty much as far back as there have been political parties in America. Let’s just say I grew up with huge doses of the way we’ve always done it…

Things got really interesting when the paintings got involved. #Archetypes and #Legends and even a deeply personal Magic book cover, all trying to help. Finally, the image you see above cleared her throat rather assertively, and raised her hand to speak. I literally felt my heart beat faster. This was exactly the answer I needed!

Not the answer for which boxes to check on the ballot, but deep, deep claiming of why.

Her official name is #Taliswoman. A representation of core identity in symbols on canvas! MY core identity!

Since you’re reading along, I’d love to have you join in! Take a deep breath, please, and see what comes to mind when you muse about a symbol of the deepest, most real YOU! Just one, for now. No judging. Just noticing and wondering…. (And, yes, you can change your mind as we go along!)

Let’s begin with the Universe, way up top… Sun and Moon. El and Asherah. Masculine and Feminine. A tiger star glyph for courage. A unicorn, said to call up the true teaching of Yeshua. And, if you squint, a dove for peace, of course.

The crow, for wisdom, was huge fun to paint and she’s a very handy reminder on days like this! Generations, with family symbols everywhere. Roses. Blue grapes. An ancient Red Book.

And one you might not have noticed. The rainbow triangle quilt pieces on her stole. Liberated wild geese quilt blocks are Celtic symbols for the Holy Spirit.

What else do you notice? I’m guessing the Red Thread feels familiar. An ancient connection among all of us who choose to be included. And, yes, this is where my book-cover-in-progress friend, Glinda, found her magic wand in the gold circle which calls to mind the ancient wisdom of As Above, so Below.

Many things to ponder! And reasons to vote like the world our Littles are inheriting depends on it!

That, dear heart, is the place my dream Grammies and I are connected, still and always, even if I am voting blue!

ps… searching for a way to live your core identity in the world??? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. You bring a cuppa, something to write on & with, and a bit of Red Thread if it’s handy. We’ll name your next right step and talk about ways we might work together. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook us up. And, yes… Glinda will bring her magic wand!

#Magic!Art JourneyGrandmothersMedicine Basket

Of calendars and singing walls…

Posted on by sue boardman

It’s one of those forward and backward kind of days in my world. You know… memories and dreams bumping into each other!

Friday, my older grand-teen graduated from High School!!! Her world is about to change in a huge way. My hope and prayer is that the “who” she’s always been will learn and grow, and discover more of her chosen path!

Then, the memories. It was just about exactly this time, in 1987, when – having just finished my BA – my son and I set out for Columbia Theological Seminary in an ancient VW bug. He was 7 years old. Some young adult church buddies caravanned along with us, to help with the move before continuing on to Montreat in North Carolina. It was quite the adventure. Especially the flat tire!

And, there were way more adventures to come!

That first summer was known as Baby Greek School, and wow, was I lost! In fact, I was approaching hopeless when the miracle happened. Our word for the day was Blepo which is Greek for “I see!” Suddenly I had something I could relate to as I was very familiar with eye surgery words, some of which actually begin with Blepo! And there was a bit less chaos in my world!

Our friend, above, is a bit of one of the paintings that whispers in my dreams. That’s the Asherah side of a 60″ wide canvas, from the adventure known as #Codex. The Divine Feminine side, if you will, complete with her winged eye for wisdom.

And a bunch of triangles on her forehead. The Greek letter Delta, which is a symbol for change!!!

Last night, she was singing…

“The times, they are a-chan-ange-ing!

They are, indeed. And, yes… it’s scary! (Well, at least a lot of it is for me!)

When I was making our Graduate’s card, a bit from an old movie came to me. Perhaps you’ve seen The Help. Old, southern, USA. Plantation country, in a way. Comfortable white families. Lots of help from black folks. And, lots of vastly overlooked wisdom, too!

Imagine a young maid/nanny whispering to the small girl she’s more or less raising:

Remember! You is smart. You is kind. You is important.

That is part of my prayer for our new graduate. And for ALL our Littles!!!

Our job is to VOTE like that matters!!! (Early run-off voting has begun in Georgia!) I’m choosing the ones who aren’t focused on keeping the White House happy. Who know that we are ALL important!!!

For this moment… a peek at the card I made for the amazing person who helped me see a whole new world and a whole new me…

ps… have some smart, kind, important magic of your own to set free in the world? I can help! 45 min. My gift. You bring your dreams. I’ll bring a lot of years of practice and a medicine basket brimming with cool tools! You can also bring a cuppa and a bit of Red Thread, if it’s handy. We’ll name your next right thing and then talk about what it might be like to work together. Just click here and the calendar elves will hook us up. Hurry, though! The calendar is filling up!

pps… more questions, before you click??? Here’s the basic bio stuff…

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All the “me’s” have bizzy brain!

Posted on by sue boardman

I’m guessing you might, too! News… much of it of the lunatic persuasion.

Metro DC going through massive chaos and dragging way too much of the world along.

In my own calmer and considerably more intentional way, things are also shifting. Part of it is the normal course of endings and new beginnings. A year’s worth of community and work completing even as the next artful adventure takes form. (Stay tuned!!!)

Yet more painting adventures beginning, as well.

The Book-in-Progress is taking over my world and I’m thrilled! The individual stories pretty much existed from the beginning. The structure – the flow – the voices – are appearing magically in my dreams and, in the context of this world, my Grammy Heart is overjoyed.

All of that newness leads – at least for me – to new awareness of things which aren’t yet optimal. And, as so often happens in our world, that involves moving things. You know… being body comfy while having easy access to books, tools, light, etc.

I think our magic friend, Glinda, must have invited the Feng Shui books to join in and – wow! – did that help!

Here’s an example… as much as it made sense and I tried to make it work, the whole nesting thing just wasn’t going to work in the studio. So, the most adaptable chair is back in the room now known as Sacred Skills & Knowledge, so that I have a better chance of being able to create deep and be something which loosely resembles comfortable. And, yes… that will mean moving books!

The paintings, of course, all want to be new places, too. Inspiration. Energy supportive colors. Even a sleep supervisor dedicated to healing and abundance! She’s the one up top… a mythical shape-shifting Selkie in charge of useful things like intuition and unblocking trapped potential!

There’s another painting going on in my world, too. #Threshold. If I believed in being behind, I would be. Instead, I’m going with being exactly where I’m supposed to be to be, hearing what I need to hear! My big ah-hah, so far, is to discover… instead of expecting! As we used to say back when, that’ll preach!

For this moment… an invitation!

If you’re a real human reading this, instead of some AI mystery being, and you have dreams about putting your magic to work in the world, let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. We’ll name a next right step for your path and explore what it could look like to work together… you, me, and Glinda! Hurry, though! It’s about to get book-busy around here and I only have space for two brave folks like you. Just click here and the calendar folks will set you up!

ps… now would also be a great time to check out all the magic at WingedEye Wisdom! Just put 2 sets of my really cool wisdom cards in your basket and save 20% on them!!! Great gifts. Fun for travel. Best of all, a doorway into wonder and wisdom! (And you don’t even need a secret code!) Oh! Browse around while you’re there… everything from art prints to kids’ books, many items on sale!

#Magic!ContemplationsGuardiansMedicine BasketPhoebe and Luther

A new volunteer for the book!

Posted on by sue boardman

His name is Luther. He came to us on MLK weekend about 8 years or so ago. A Newfoundland rescue from a despicable, intentionally cruel puppy mill. Terrified. Hungry. Not at all sure love existed… but hopeful.

I love him, still. And, yes… he’s still helping, years after he crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Early this morning, he appeared in my dreams, offering comfort. Reminding me of the power of courage and love over evil. He even offered to tell his story in the book that’s finding form around here these days. In his own voice. Hope, if you will, for some of our Littles living in the midst of the chaos, now.

He also made me promise not to tell everything before the book is ready!

That’s Luther on your left, with his “blind dog” collar, curled up with his chosen sister, Phoebe. I have some two-handed journaling to do. Dominant hand, my questions. Non-dominant hand, his musings. Tissues will no doubt be involved!

Here’s the thing, though… somehow he knew, even before I did, that what we learned together in those years holds a way to make our way through these days. And our Litttles need to hear that hope! (Even the ones headed for college!!!)

For this moment… another reminder of holding hope:

May we have ears to hear!

ps… I have ears to hear the magic you feel calling you! And a medicine basket full of ways to help you get there! Want to chat? 45 min. My gift. Just click here and the calendar elves will find you a time! You’ll want a cuppa, some Red Thread if it’s handy, and something for notes. Glinda can’t wait to meet you!