Category: Phoebe and Luther

Okay, sleeping in a bit doesn’t necessarily count as a miracle but it sure felt like one on Saturday! There’s a whole lot going on and The Muse is a very early riser!

Wonder of wonders, though, I made it clear to 9:00am, which was a perfect time for a cup of cacao. Then, on to checking all the various sorts of messages.

One that really called out to me was from Shiloh Sophia McCloud who is busy with a whole lot of newness in her world, too. And, like me, Shiloh has been known to switch from preachin’ to meddlin’ on occasion. That’s one of the things I love best about her!

The short version of her message was, Make one much needed change today.

And, yes… that particular message set off a cascade of ideas in my consciousness!

Kind of surprisingly, I’d done the first step Friday night, without even being aware of where it was headed.

Here’s the intention that insisted on being the beginning…

When I’d made enough progress Saturday morning for the thinking to kick in, I claimed my personal plan for much needed change. Before I tell you what it is, though, you need to know that I’m up to my eyebrows in the kind of tech challenges that go with new book-babies. And, my right hand is really grumpy which makes the tech stuff even harder.

So, kind of predictably, I started my much needed change by editing a filter!!! A strategy filter!

Here’s what it sounded like…

Me, to my Inner Critic: Oh! I just learned that Saturday is the new official Critic’s Day Off. That means you can go down by the lake and watch the swans. Or go window shopping at Kudzu. Or go to the library. Yay! Have fun! No need to hurry back!!!

Then, I enlisted The Muse’s best buddy, my Inner Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother, and put her in charge of getting the word out, in whatever ways it could be heard, as easily as possible, by the folks I want to reach. We weren’t going to worry about everything matching. We were just going to tell our Beloveds how excited we are about the book-baby! Because this world needs to hear what the book-baby has to say. Now! And, yes… the photo we began with is a big hint!!!

Just in case you’re new around here, or we accidentally missed you, just click here for all the details. We’ve saved a seat especially for you!

Now, even in the midst of this story, which might sound a bit woo-woo around the edges, I suspect I’m going to need some more practice with this new strategy of mine. Especially the part about enlisting my Inner Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother when things feel hard and I’m afraid of not getting it right enough.

The thing is that now I have a new strategy to choose. Consciously. Intentionally. Frequently!!! Some of which might just come up at the book-baby party! 😉 😉

For this moment, though, a new being is appearing on my canvas. I’m already learning new things!

ps… if you hurry really fast, you can still sign up for Abracadabra, Shiloh Sophia’s new year-long course. And, yes, much needed chosen changes will be involved… Click here… and hurry!!!

pps… there’s a pet portrait challenge going on at Dick Blick! Click here if you’re curious…

Yep! You guessed it… she’s doing her Critic imitation, just to see if I’m listening! And, frankly, it took me a bit to remember that, when it really matters, the Muse will use all the medicine in her basket to help! Now seems to be one of those times!

This glimpse of the painting on my easel will give us a place to start.

My heart is over the moon thrilled.

The Muse, who always has my back, knows that there is more thrilled to come, if I just keep going… and do the scary things.

Which, frankly, feels a whole lot like life!

I woke, this morning, resolved. And quaking! All the puzzle pieces are there. And, more truth than I’ve been able to claim before. And, still, we need more paint.

Not different. Just deeper. You see, she and I want others to hear the message of the Cura Archetype and claim their own inner healing healer! And that, dear heart, seems to mean my picking up the brush again and taking the risk of more paint. More clarity.

The thing you glimpse just a wee bit of, off to your right, that looks something like a rainbow, was the game-changer! It’s her stole. A symbol, in the land where I was raised right, of being willing to show up, intentionally, with stories of healing and hope. And, it’s a familiar symbol around here, borrowed from an old quilt pattern.

The triangles form what’s known as the Flying Geese blocks. These are Liberated Flying Geese, in the worldview of Gwen Marston, whose Liberated Quiltmaking convinced me I could be a quilter! And, just in case you haven’t heard, wild geese are a Celtic symbol for the Holy Spirit who, in my heart, is utterly liberated!!!

There are lots of other symbols on this canvas. Things that my heart-eye discovered in the intentionally swirly, messy, random space of the under-layers. Symbols for the most cherished things I’ve learned – and use – on my own intentional path of helping hearts, and families, and the world in which my grand-teens are growing up, to heal.

Much of that healing work involves three things…

Choice. Voice. Sovereignty.

Owning our ability to choose.

Using our voices in service of our choices.

Claiming our sovereignty in our lives. Sovereignty over our chosen journeys.

And – fair warning – sometimes that means doing new things. Some not-the-way-we’ve-always-done-it things! This, for me, is a moment like that! You see, this is where my painting is at right now. A place that could reasonably be labeled farther from done than before! And, frankly, my inner good student is a bit anxious about it!

Here’s why… there’s a thing, Friday. A big event kind of thing. And in an ideal world, my painting would be finished before it begins. Frankly, that’s somewhere between really optimistic and not very likely!

What is true, though, is that I’m claiming what this painting was meant to teach me. I’m more ready than ever to share that learning in the world! And, it isn’t just my head that’s learned. It’s my heart and soul and my inner Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother. (She, by the way, is the one who has tears rolling down her cheeks, even as we’re typing!)

And the Muse just gave me a high-five!

For now, though, rest. Then, food. And Joan Baez, because freedom helps get the Good Trouble done!

ps… ready to claim yourself as your medicine basket??? Let’s talk! Just click here and the calendar elves will hook you up with 45 minutes, as my gift. You’ll want a cuppa, paper and markers, if they’re handy. (Hell, eyebrow pencils will work!) Oh, and a bit of red thread… real or imaginary!

pps… the book launch is even closer! Stay tuned!!!