Relax.Enjoy.Create

November 3, 2016November 4, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ Leave a comment

Hot tub time machine. Tonight. Takes me downstream (no more going upstream to work out old karma, unless I want to paddle against the current). So, I go with the flow. Toward a beautiful waterfall. (I’ve had this lucid dream before. The first time I had enough faith to go over the edge, was quite an adventure. But now it’s easier. No more clinging to the rocks at the top, in fear.) When I land in the gorgeous pool at the bottom of the falls I notice more souls than ever before are there. (It is so lovely you all could join me.) It is peaceful, yet exciting. And the pool has seemed to expand to contain so many of us, without feeling crowded. AHHH. Well, back to the message….

I ask, What have you got for me tonight? I hear it LOUD. Repeated. “Relax, Enjoy, Create”…”Relax, Enjoy, Create”…”Relax, Enjoy, Create”. Then, “R.E.-create”… “recreate”…”recreation”…”RE-creation”… “Get it?” Yeah I get it.

Now let me explain so that you can “get it too”. My thoughts the last few days have been on setting my new moon intentions for November. I scanned through my journal from the last few months and a word jumped out at me. “Productive”. As in, “I wasn’t very productive today” or “I really accomplished a lot. It felt good to be productive”. But a month ago I made a major life shift for myself, on purpose. And it is giving me an opportunity to take a new look at what it means for me to be “productive”. So, that is what I am setting as my intention. Re-define what it means to be productive. (Does floating

in a hot tub, talking to the stars counts as “productive”. Well, yes I think so. I just need to get used to thinking of it that way!)

I moved my art studio/gallery out of a public location (the last 13 years) into the privacy of my home. I moved from a 800 square foot space to a 7 ft. x 12 ft. space. Yet It feels more expansive as I can look out continuous windows on three sides from a second floor space. I call it my treehouse. I am adjusting. I am settling in and getting ready to get “productive” again, but in a new way.

So, today I also “played” in my new studio space in a way that was relaxing, enjoyable and creative. I salvaged a pile of old cashmere sweaters that I had washed, and cut apart. By stitching them together, I RE-created a new “up-cycled” cashmere afghan, throw blanket. This is a technique I have used a lot in the past. But, it has been awhile (because of the studio move) since I’ve had time to enjoy creating and have fun. Soon I plan to get several of these cashmere blankets posted to my Etsy Shop. They would make a lovely holiday gift for someone. Something to snuggle up in and Relax, and Enjoy! Something a Stitch In Time Saved!

Cleaned, cut, cashmere pieces.

salvaged, pieced, cashmere.

The start of an “up-cycled” RE-created blanket.

A Void Dance or Avoidance?

September 5, 2016September 4, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ Leave a comment

Here it is the end of summer. Labor Day here in the United States. As I reflect back over the last 3 months I can say I spent a lot of time in both avoidance and a Void Dance. I believe it is ok to spend time in either, the important thing is to know which place you are in.

Avoidance: The act of avoiding something.

A Void Dance: Time spent in the quiet space between the “stuff” of life.

I have recently decided to relocate my business and my art studio after many years in the same location. It means sorting, clearing, organizing and packing the “stuff” of my life. I have spent much of the time between other work obligations this summer doing just that. Sorting. Cleaning. Organizing. Packing. At times I’ve been doing it to avoid doing other things I’d rather not be doing and sometimes I am doing other things just to avoid doing the difficult work of deciding what to “do” with the stuff. But either way, it’s been a therapeutic process.

As an artist you learn to appreciate the voids or negative space. It’s not always the matter that matters. (a good thing to remind myself of, as I purge and de-clutter)

20160903_202301 The voids are where the fertile earth feeds the roots. The voids are where the flames lick and spit between the burning logs. The voids are where the oxygen is. The voids are what make the beauty of the antique lace. The voids are what lets the soft breeze come through the screen door. The voids are the blue sky between the clouds. The voids are where the damp sand squeezes up between your toes on the beach. The voids are where you run your fingers through soft hair. The voids are where the sun peaks through the branches of the tree canopy. And the voids are where and when we dance.

I hope as you enjoy your last days of this summer you find time to Dance in the Void. It is this space and time between the stuff of life that is important. It is different than avoidance. It is this fertile space that feeds our creativity and our souls. It feeds what matters.

Penney_A Void Dance_40x30 — **“A Void Dance”** artwork by Pamela Penney (c) 2015

Keep the Line Open

June 6, 2016June 6, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ Leave a comment

Tonight as I ventured out to my Hot Tub Time Machine I caught sight of the sliver of a waxing new moon, just a couple of days old. It looked like “God’s fingernail”. My first thought was that it is just enough to scratch “it” off. What? Anything left that still needs to go.

As I soak in my tub my Guides tell me to “just relax. You’ve earned it. Climbing the mountain was hard work. There will be days of white water rapids ahead in this river, so enjoy the warm spring fed pool at the top of this ride.” I then ask my Guides if there is anything I should do. They tell me, “just be available. Keep your LINE OPEN. If we call, PICK UP THE PHONE!” Ha Ha. My Guides have such a good sense of humor!

Mountain Top

June 5, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ Leave a comment

This morning as I transitioned out of sleep I heard that Voice that whispers to me before my head gets cluttered with the thoughts of the day. (I am not a person who likes to jump out of bed at the sound of an alarm. I linger and listen. I get my best guidance in this liminal space.) The Voice said, “We are so pleased, Pam. You made it over the mountain top.”

What do I see from the mountain top? I expect to see a beautiful fertile valley below, but it’s still “early in the day” and the fog is hiding the view. So, I will linger here for a while. I will wait for the path ahead to clear. I will enjoy the beauty as it gradually appears through the mist. I know the trek ahead will become so much easier. I have made it over the Mountain Top! Thank you, Guides for helping me get here and for celebrating my arrival. I couldn’t have done it without You.

Quieting the New Mo(o)nkey Mind

June 4, 2016June 4, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ Leave a comment

Saturday, June 4, 2016. New Moon. Card of the Day (for me). The Hanged Man XII. Well, I should have seen that coming! That is exactly the energy I am feeling this morning. This new moon energy has a feeling of sadness and a little grieving as I try to release “the old”. But that is the message of the hanged man: “Waiting, Surrender, Release”. So easy to say. So hard to do. The “monkey mind” just wants to know ” what’s next?”. The hanged man just answers, “take this time of waiting as an opportunity to practice being present with yourself.” The new moon says, “the answers will show up with the light of the full moon. Just wait.” And so I let go of yesterday and sit with TODAY.

Warrior New Moon

April 7, 2016April 11, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ 7 Comments

The Warrior archetype is showing up all over the place for me. According to Jose and Lena Stevens of The Power Path School of Shamanism we all have the Warrior even if we have another over-riding personality or archetype. I am primarily of the “artist” archetype and often have a difficult time tapping into my inner warrior. The Power Path 2016 Trends forecast indicates that this year will have an energy of dominance and aggression. It could be very beneficial to utilize my inner warrior So, how do I reach my Warrior?

Well in late February I pulled the Tarot Card: II High Priestess and chose to work with it as inspiration for a mixed media sculptural art piece. I had two 5^th grade girls coming in after school and they wanted to work on sculpture boxes. It is sometimes easiest to teach by example. So, this was to be my example! I like to work on process pieces that evolve over time answering some inner subconscious questions for me. (Learned through my time spent at Whispers from the Moon) This piece did just that.

I began my sculpture on an old blue box with the brand title “Crown” embossed upon its cover. I created a tape and foil female figure with a long flowing skirt. Each week she gathered more details. Paint in violet and a red flowing skirt, beads, a “sea glass” face and jewels in her skirt. Her hair was wild like vines with silver sparkles. Her arms outstretched. Yesterday I finished the box by collaging a magazine cutting that I had snipped and held in the box from the first day of the project. “It’s a New Day!” I then water-colored a sun-rising from the eastern edge of the box (This was inspired by Rebecka Eggers vision for over-coming the Domination System through the symbolism of the Great Eastern Sun of Chögyam Trungpa.)

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Last night I finished reading book that I started a few days ago, Coming Alive! Spirituality, Activism, & Living Passionately in the Age of Global Domination, by Rebecka Eggers. (mentioned in yesterday’s post) In the final chapter Egger’s states, “I want to address the aspects of the Passionate Warrior that are contained within the one who came to me. Ishtar is inside of me. She is knocking around the edges of my being threatening to explode in a red-hot fountain of lava. Can you feel her too?” Today I went to my trusty source Google, to find a comparison of Ishtar to the High Priestess. I found this at the Tarot of Eli: “The Thoth- THE HIGH PRIESTESS. The Tarot High Priestess ….represents the Supreme Mother, without her smiling mask, revealing a True face of cold yet beautiful countenance. This “cold and beautiful continence is also known as Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna/Ananna), who is depicted on The Babylonian key 2 card. One of Her titles was Belit (demonized by the Christians) the feminine of Bel, meaning Lord. As does the Moon, which is the planet attributed to The High Priestess, she has her “light and Dark” sides. Complex and of many roles, Ishtar/ Inanna (Lady of Heaven), had Three distinct Functions (As does the Three Paths of the Upper Triangle of the Tree of Life).”

Yes, Ishtar has indeed come to me. I can feel her. My Ishtar has a face of polished glass, cold yet beautiful. She has a skirt of Lava. From the Tarot of Eli, “The Thoth High Priestess is shown with all veils removed, all illusion is dispersed, and we must face the crystalline reality of our own absolute free will when facing her; a task not for the weak who fear mortality.” Yesterday I also felt compelled to add the word “Crone” to the box. In my mind the word Crone played off the existing word on the box “Crown”. I believe you earn your crown as a crone! And as the silver threads start to appear on my head I just smile and tell myself my crown is coming. The Crone is also a female character who has aged out of the fertile years, she is a bit more androgynous. The Tarot of Eli goes on to say, “the High Priestess is the Womb of Consciousness, but she is both Male and Female, much like a Hermaphrodite (Hermes-Aphrodite) that can impregnate itself.”

Through synchronicity, my dear friend, artist and writer, Sallie Wolf discussed her encounter with the Warrior at our March New Moon Meeting. (I am part of a small group of artists and writers who meet monthly to set our creative intentions, plan action steps and witness the progress for each other) Sallie had felt some inner resistance when her yoga teacher had asked the class “what are you a warrior for”. I’ll let you read her story HERE.

Today is the April New Moon. I feel it is the Warrior New Moon. It is also “a New Day” symbolized by the rising Great Eastern Sun. Let us bring the Sun, the Stars and the Moon together, masculine and feminine, for a new Dawning. My Warrior looks like the High Priestess, Ishtar. I am a (Com)-Passionate Warrior for utilizing my talents and skills as a catalyst for Change through A Stitch In Time Saves.

Post-Script: yes, the boxes that my students created turned out wonderful too. See their finished creations at www.PamelaPenney.com.

Mesa Clearing and Activation 2016

March 9, 2016March 9, 2016 ~ pamela penney ~ 2 Comments

We just experienced a solar eclipse. Did you feel it? I ask that because those of us in the USA were not be able to see it. But, the energy did affect all of us here on the Earth Vessel. This will be the only total eclipses of the sun in 2016. It gives scientists the rare opportunity to really study the Sun’s Corona. It is a rare opportunity for all of us to use the energy of the shadow brought to light, to really clear out what is in our shadows and bring into the light what we would like to focus on over the next 6 months.

On February 20th, I worked alongside a few of my Moon Medicine Circle friends to cleanse, clear and give gratitude to what I had been holding on my Mesa over the past year. My Mesa is a small metal tray that I hold crystals and meaningful objects to work with their energies for meditation and healing. Here is what my Mesa looked like going in to the ceremony:

Old Mesa 2.20.2016 — Mesa before Clearing 2.20.2016

For the clearing of the old I used my pendulum on each item to feel the energy and determine what pieces would stay and what pieces would be cleared. I also used Himalayan salts and smudging to clear old stuck energies. Here it is after the clearing:

The cleared Mesa left me with just a few special items and a lot of open space for new opportunities over this coming year. In the North I have raw amethyst and in the East I have topaz crystals that I picked up at a little gift shop last October while hiking through a forest preserve (and talking to the trees) in Southern Illinois. In the Northeast is the lovely pine scented candle that my daughter gave me as a gift for Christmas. The South holds a piece of ash from a fire ceremony last December and a special stone my friend Karen brought back from South America while there studying shamanism. In the Southwest is the wing of a grouse that gave his life by accidently flying through my brother’s kitchen window, breaking the glass. My nephew cleaned the bird, saving me the feathers! And my brother’s family had a special dinner that night. The West holds a sea shell from my friend and Transitions Circle Facilitator, Susan. And in the center is the Selenite Heart that I acquired in February along with a drying rose from the funeral of my friend Lisa’s mother a few weeks ago. These are all very special treasures.

Last night into early morning the New Moon and Eclipse occured creating a special portal for Activating the New Mesa. After blessing my Mesa I left her near the window to activate with the dark moon energies. This morning I lit the candle and felt guided to add a few new items. This is my Mesa today:

March New Moon Mesa 2. 2016 — Activated Mesa 3.9.2016

First I wanted to add the beautiful cotton handkerchief, a gift from my friend Jane. It has a lovely crochet butterfly and edging along with some amazing fine thread work in the center. I then added the new fossil stone that looks like it has a leaf print on it that my friend, Lisa gave me for my birthday last Friday. Then a small pinecone jumped on too! And finally, to bring in the energy of my paternal grandma who came to me in a dream last night, I added three metal leaves from a broken necklace that were from her jewelry box. Grandma, I hear you. I feel your love and guidance (there is that dance word again!) I look forward to heading into my “new year” with you by my side.

I urge you to do something to honor the special energy of this portal provided to us by the Universe. Offer just one small ceremonial clearing and one little thought of what you would like to see manifest between now and early September. If you allow the space and the ideas/thoughts the Ancestor and Star/Planet Guides are just waiting to be invited in to assist you in creating your dream come true. Ajo!