My friend Robyn Hubbard has been teaching a Dream class in the studio.

During each 4 week session, I join the last week and share how I use the creative process to find deeper meaning in my dreams.

Finding symbolism through writing is powerful,

finding metaphor through image, moves us beyond the linear mind,

into our unconscious and becomes what I call

DREAMING AWAKE.

This is an image from a dream I had several months ago.

I had two dreams back to back with black panthers in them. 

Somehow that felt important,

so yesterday she and I met in the studio and worked some dreams together.

It was profound to share the process. 

I found this today on PINTEREST

It really hit home for me.

Why is it challenging to speak our truth? 

Shall we count the ways?

I won't be liked...

I'll hurt somone's feeling...

Someone will leave...

They'll think I'm a BITCH....

Any of those sound familiar? Well they do to me. 

It took years of practice to learn to speak my truth

and now I really can....

EVEN IF MY VOICE SHAKES! 

How to begin?

Practice saying "NO" 

EVEN IF YOUR VOICE SHAKES!

I've been spending some time on TED this weekend.

Can you say EXPANSION!

Their tag line is true...

IDEAS WORTH SPREADING!

Go ahead...

take charge this week 

and

IMAGINE the POSSIBILITIES!

I felt a deep need to share this writing with you today.  It is a copied article from The Daily OM (they have no share button unfortunately). Hopefully I won't be going to jail for this...

January 31, 2012
Clinging to the Core
When Our World Falls Apart

When external factors shift we have an opportunity to rediscover our core which is the only truly safe place to call home.

There are times when our whole world seems to be falling apart around us, and we are not sure what to hold onto anymore. Sometimes our relationships crumble and sometimes it’s our physical environment. At other times, we can’t put our finger on it, but we feel as if all the walls have fallen down around us and we are standing with nothing to lean on, exposed and vulnerable. These are the times in our lives when we are given an opportunity to see where we have established our sense of identity, safety, and well-being. And while it is perfectly natural and part of our process to locate our sense of self in externals, any time those external factors shift, we have an opportunity to rediscover and move closer to our core, which is the only truly safe place to call home. 

The core of our being is not affected by the shifting winds of circumstance or subject to the cycles of change that govern physical reality. It is as steady and consistent as the sun, which is why the great mystics and mystical poets often reference the sun in their odes to the self. Like the sun, there are times when our core seems to be inaccessible to us, but this is just a misperception. We know that when the sun goes behind a cloud or sets for the night, it has not disappeared but is simply temporarily out of sight. In the same way, we can trust that our inner core is always shining brightly, even when we cannot quite see it. 

We can cling to this core when things around us are falling apart, knowing that an inexhaustible light shines from within ourselves. Times of external darkness can be a great gift in that they provide an opportunity to remember this inner light that shines regardless of the circumstances of our lives. When our external lives begin to come back together, we are able to lean a bit more lightly on the structures we used to call home, knowing more clearly than ever that our true home is that bright sun shining in our core.

ARTICLE REFERENCE: http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2012/31870.html

This Saturday, Feb 4th, 1-4 pm is an intro to Painting Your Heart Out!

I thought I would share with you the beginning of this intutive painting called, Rising.

THE PROCESS

As you can see we begin with...

COLOR + SHAPES...

not pefect shapes...but shapes a child would make

SHAPES you have inside of

YOU...

And then if we LISTEN

and release

JUDGEMENT

a STORY unfolds...

This painting is not complete...

as the story is still

REVEALING itself to me...

Won't you join me in AWAKENING the painter 

who LIVES inside YOU?

Register here...

© 2012 www.sherigaynor.com. All rights reserved.

Every Thursday morning, the studio becomes a magic kingdom
for little hearts and minds and their families. 

This week I arrived at the end of Music Together with Annie Flynn and a mother greeted me
with "The kids were just WILD today, someone said it was the Solar Flares!"
As I looked at the energy that had now spilled into the round room, I could see exactly what she meant.

The little ones were running hither and yon and
 one little gal, was trying her best to keep up with it all,
crawling on all fours, at about 20 miles an hour.

The laughter and energy was absolutely contagious and I found myself in awe of it all.
The photo above of sweet J. was taken as the chaos went on around us.
It was seeing the world through her new eyes, as she held her mother's phone to take a picture
that allowed me to remember...

Do YOU?

Remember what it was like to be completly in your BODY? 

Remember what it was like to have the world and everything in it seem

BRIGHT.   ALIVE.   FREE!

This week...

Step out your front door and view the world through

THE EYES OF A CHILD! 

"Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child." ~Ron Wild

As you know I am a BIG proponent of making a mess and  letting it flow. 

This weekend I decided I want to get more comfy with figures. Because of my weird spatial dyslexia, when I draw "realistically" everything is backward. I really have to SLOW DOWN and SEE the lines. 

This activity actually takes quite a bit of effort on my part and it can be exhausting, but it's also fun to challenge myself to stay out of the CRITIC. 

You know, "Geez, that sucks!" "A third grader draws better than that!" Etc...ad nauseum. 

I pulled out a figure drawing book I found in my grandmother's closet after she passed. It's been here a long time, but I've never sat down with the conscious intention to use it. I did yesterday. 

It was a blast as it was like having an aspect of her guiding spirit right here in the room with me. BTW...I worked on the floor of my home office! 

I invited the gremlins to sit in the corner...what helped? 

I told them I was doing figure drawing...

MY STYLE! 

© 2012 www.sherigaynor.com. All rights reserved. Inuitive Painting on Bristol Vellum

Wanted to update you with a painting I created in the studio on Monday. 

When we say "I don't have time."

I think it's really important to look at the deeper meaning of that phrase.

What is hiding in the shadows? 

This paining birthed in about 1.5 hours.

Yes...I have a studio and my stuff is out on a table.

Yes...I work for myself...

but I'm here to tell you that when I first started painting in 1999...

I painted on my hands and knees on a tarp and was working two jobs. 

There was something very HOLY about that! 

Here's part two of Painting Your heART Out! 

Now...go to your studio, tarp, corner or closet and CREATE! 

xoxo

Painting Your Heart Out! - Intutive Painting
Saturday, February 4
Time: 1pm-5pm 
Facilitated by Sheri Gaynor
Open to 6 participants 

Free Your Heart! Free Your Mind! Free Your SPIRIT!

Are you feeling called to awaken to your creativity? Are you ready to paint with the freedom of a child?

If you are a returning student or you have never painted before, join us for a day of inspiration, creativity and community and Paint Your Heart Out! 

Investment: $50.00Includes all materials and snacks

EASY WAYS TO REGISTER!: Call Sheri: 970-618-0561  Email sheri@sherigaynor.com 

or... click on in through our BUY NOW secure server paypal!

Be Fearless...Be Bold...Let it go...so it can FLOW!

I

1. Roll of newsprint or crappy paper - stops the gremlins need for perfection

2. Acrylic paint in TONS of luscious colors - go to your kids paint box

3. Cheap brushes...whatever you have to start is just fine or use your hands

4. Listen...Dive In

5. Trust

Part two tomorrow....

What are you WAITING for??

I spent the weekend rearranging my home office. 

A friend came by to help me visualize a way to make it feel more cozy.

It's amazing how the simple things like light and furniture placement can make all the difference. 

Sunday I painted in the studio. I've felt the simmering for awhile.

This began as a blank page with a series of loops.

Completely unplanned. 

NO EXPECTATION...NO IDEAS

If you stay with the process and relax into it...

images reveal themselves

Tomorrow I will share a video of the inuitive painting process....

© 2012 www.sherigaynor.com. All rights reserved Title: All My Relations