manifestation

Happy New Year 2019!

Yes, I know we are already 10 days in to the year. But I’m just getting acclimated to the 2019 energies. So, far I’m noticing two themes showing up in my life in the last few weeks. First, I am really observing the duality that this earth-life offers us. Every life lesson comes back to our perspective of the situation. And while this has always been true, I am seeing it from more of a “witness” view than I ever have before. Taking a step or two back to observe all sides of situations and pulling my desires and energy out of things has really created some neutrality and peace within. Yes, peace! On Earth!!!

For example, to one person the world may seem upside down and for another they may see the exact same situation as a confirmation of their beliefs and be thrilled at how things are going. If I can let go of my own desires I might not get the satisfaction that things are going my (ego’s) way, but I can allow the situation to unfold and not be wracked with frustration and anger. It might not mean my desires change, but I can also skip a few beats and realize not everything turns into a crisis if things don’t play out the way I think they should.

The second theme for me is manifestation. I feel like my thoughts are being reflected in my physical reality much more rapidly. And yikes, I better be careful about what I am thinking…because for good or bad, it’s going to show up in some form, and soon. So, here is a little thing that showed up for me….

Manifesting Gold:

A year ago, at the beginning of 2018 I set an intention to “Spin Straw Into Gold”. I have become passionate about yarn spinning as a metaphor for life, and I set about utilizing yarn spinning as my contemplative practice. I also re-utilize as much salvaged and up-cycled materials as I can incorporate in my custom art yarns as possible. So, my intention was to go about turning what would normally go into the waste stream into beautiful art yarn, GOLD! And in turn, further the abundance that my textile art business brings to me and work to heal our mother earth.

This year I have a new mantra. It’s a bit long, but here goes….A Rainbow with Gold at Both Ends. I think I tend to get so busy looking up at either the storm clouds or the rainbows (duality in the world) that I forget to look down and notice the gold sitting at my feet and all around me. I’ve spun “straw into gold” and will continue to do so, but this year I intend to notice and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I intend to bask in the nest of gold I’ve metaphorically spun from of the bed of straw life sometimes brings.

One of the reasons I did not blog here much in 2018 was that I was working hard this past year to create a written journey titled “Spinning Straw Into Gold”. I am excited to say it is almost complete and ready to share with the world. Stay tuned, I love to have companions join me on my adventures. I hope you will join me in taking your straw bed and spinning a creative alternative. In the meantime look at what I’ve already manifested for myself in 2019…

20190108_100200 — Bottles of Amber and Gold

The day I realized my 2019 theme these two “pots of gold” showed up in a local Facebook Marketplace that I follow. They were nearby, an easy “porch pickup” and a good deal. I knew they were supposed to be mine. I know at this point in my life I really don’t need to acquire any more “stuff”. But I’ve been doing a lot of clearing and organizing this past fall and as they say “the universe abhors a vacuum”. So, with the intention that these will continue to remind me to “look for the gold” in every situation, I brought these home to hold some of my essential oil blends. Some days I just rub the sides of them to see if a genie will appear! No sighting so far, but I will post if that wish comes true! (Again, I better be careful of what I wish for.)

And in addition, yesterday they offered up a unique way of viewing the world differently.

Please enjoy my “upside down” world view in the gallery below!

Can we manifest the world we would like to see? If so, how? I believe we are being called to. At least I know I feel called to this. In searching for the “how” I have recently come across the book Coming Alive! Spirituality, Activism, & Living Passionately in the Age of Global Domination, by Rebecka Eggers. (In fact, I don’t remember selecting it, but it seems to have just appeared in my Kindle about a week ago!)

Eggers lays out a story which refers to mythology, religion and anecdote to explain how we have created the “Domination System” in our current world. She explains how this current system is the root of the troubles we face as a society and as a world. She describes a process of how that old system can be transformed. Much of her story resonates with my personal path. My “wounds” and my healing path that have led me to my own revelations. I have an inner knowing that my healing is important as it will also assist in healing the Collective. I believe we are all responsible for our own healing because it is necessary for the Whole. This is the Way we influence the Collective Consciousness, at some point reaching the tipping point and shifting the Whole. She inspires (me) us to find our own places to use our personal medicine to heal the issues we see hurting the world. I believe that is what has brought me to “A Stitch In Time Saves” as my personal medicine for the world. (Although I am still very much on the first steps of the path to how this may play out in healing the issues I see in the world!)

So, how am I currently seeing this play out in my life? Well, yesterday I rode my bike to my studio from home and was giving some thought to the discussion from a meeting of artists/gallery owners that I had attended the evening before. We are working to put together an art exhibit for this fairly new gallery to open in a little over a month. Our show title is tentatively “He Said : She Said”. The gallery had some interesting artwork currently on display with guns as the subject matter. I was thinking how outside my comfort zone working with that subject matter would be for me. Living near the west-side of Chicago has really made me very aware of the issue of gun violence over the last couple of decades. And this is “worlds” away from my upbringing in rural Michigan and the use of guns for hunting and sport.

I reflected on these thoughts during my bike ride and I had a vision of a gun that would follow the bullet as it wounds with a needle and thread that would immediately “heal” the damage that the gun created. Or perhaps it was some sort of sewing machine in the shape of a gun that could both shoot and stitch. Anyway, I got into my studio and I drew this sketch (today I added the watercolor paints to it).

2016-04-06 14.01.15

I titled it “The Seam Stress 2016” – Designed to mend wounds as soon as they are created. If guns must continue to remain “legal” then we must create different guns. (I’m still not sure if this will lead me to create a more complete work of art with this subject for the exhibit!)

Today as I was eating my lunch at home I glanced at yesterday’s New York Times Business Section lying next to me. I noticed the headline of an article titled “In Rwanda, Blood Delivered by Drone”. I immediately assumed this was about drone weaponry and how they were being used to kill (bring blood). In my opinion, drone weapons remove the “human” connection making it even easier to kill without conscience. But no, this article was about a small group of engineers near Half Moon Bay, California (I’m not making that up!) who have designed and are launching small fixed-wing drones that can carry medical supplies to remote locations almost 40 miles away. This start-up called Zipline, plans to begin operating a service with these drones for the government of Rwanda in July. “The new drone system will initially be capable of making 50 to 150 daily deliveries of blood and emergency medicine to Rwanda’s 21 transfusing facilities, mostly hospitals…”

Well, it may be just me, but I see this as an example of our weapons being “created different”. And as Eggers has described it is happening “from the bottom up”. We can no longer look for our solutions to come from our so called leaders, from the top down. We must create our own solutions and start putting them in place when and where we see the opportunities. She calls this being a Passionate Warrior, embracing the shadow side and incorporating it into what we transform our World to be.

In order to create this change I believe that first, we must be able to envision these solutions. (Eggers talks about the Seer) I see this as the role of the artist and the dreamer. So, that is where I will continue to play out my part. Sketching and dreaming of solutions, no matter how crazy or impossible….a sewing machine that can shoot and mend? A gun that stitches closed the wound it creates??? Maybe someday. Or just as soon as someone sees my Vision for it.