Paper Roses

A reminder of the supply list from the last post:

• Paper
• Scissors or craft punches
• Bobby Pin
• Glue

I found this kit on clearance at Marshall’s a couple of weeks ago to make a gorgeous crepe paper bouquet (it’s also from Martha Stewart, by the way). I opened the kit, preparing to be amazed at some complex project at hand. Do you know the big secret?

Hearts.

Yup. The petals are all hearts, which if you think about it, makes perfect sense. Petals are sort of teardrop shapes, two together make a heart. So, while, sure, having a kit is great, you can totally do this without even paying $5 for this kit (much less the $10 they originally wanted for it). And, since we’re dealing with basic shapes, here, I don’t think I’m really giving away any trade secrets, you know?

Start with the Hearts	Start with a bunch of heart shapes. If you’ve got a craft punch this would be a great use for it, otherwise trace and cut with scissors or just freehand some. I’ll bet they’ll look even more realistic if hand-cut as opposed to identical pieces. Still, if you don’t trust yourself to cut without a net, go for the uniform, it’s okay.
For each of the hearts you want to curl the curved edges a bit. You can use a skewer or whatever but I found that a bobby pin (used similar to a quilling tool) makes this step SO simple: slide the bobby pin over the tip of the heart/petal, roll away from you, slide it out–it’s like a curling iron for paper. Do this to all of your hearts and then start assembling them.	Curling the Petals
A Bud from a Single Heart	The first heart creates the bud and will wrap around itself a couple of times to make a tight center. If you want to have stems for these flowers, wrap this first petal around a pipe cleaner or piece of wire. Dab a little glue on the last flap to fold over and press to secure.
Add more hearts by overlapping the edge of the previous one and continuing to wrap in the same direction until you run out of hearts or your rose is the size you want. A small rosebud will look very nice with only 3 hearts. The fuller flowers used 15 hearts each.	Paper Rose--15 petals

Experiment with different types of paper–I’ve used some shiny tissue paper, banana paper as well as some gorgeous handmade paper from the local art store to make the roses in the opening picture. The handmade paper is my favorite–it looks so much heavier and full, even in that bright turquoise.

Wired, they’d make a lovely arrangement or package tie or could be added to a headband or hair clip. Make enough of them and cover a wreath form (attach with hot glue) for a centerpiece or door hanging (just keep it out of the weather).

Want one more way to while away an afternoon making very cute things out of paper and not much else? Check out this Origami Paper Roses Tutorial from Housewife Eclectic. They could also pass for tulips, too!

How many roses will you make, today?

• You possess neither a green thumb nor a neighbor’s garden from which to pilfer.
• Your craft room comes up shy in the silk flower department.
• It’s way too late to go to the craft store (or you don’t want to spend a lot of money or just don’t want to get dressed to go out–I know, I’ve been there).

What do you do?

Do you have

• Papers or ribbons?
• Scissors or craft punches?
• Glue or tape?
• A bobby pin (optional, but helpful)?

Why, then, you can make your own flowers! And who knows, you might find making them more fun than your original idea.

Ribbon Roses 1

All you need for these first two techniques is some 1-inch ribbon (fabric or paper) and scissors. Needle and thread wouldn’t hurt but it’s not absolutely required just yet.

Several years ago, probably more like over a decade, I learned how to make ribbon roses thanks to an episode of Martha Stewart’s show. (I was in my Martha phase, then. But after seeing her do a kitchen segment with dirt under her nails my enthusiasm began to seriously wane. That many people around, a camera close-upping on your hands, and you don’t think it’s important to clean up a bit? tsk tsk)

I had brought work home with me, including my adding machine, and had scads of used adding machine tape, so practiced with that. Turns out, adding machine tape makes spectacular practice ribbon! Those roses lasted ages, sitting on the front counter at the office, and I’ve never forgotten the technique.

It’s a series of 4 simple folds, each a 90-degree angle and leaving a little space between the corners creates a hole in the center of the square. For paper you can crease the folds and make life easier on yourself, the same with wired ribbon. Non-wired (aka floppy) ribbon just has to be handled a bit more carefully. The pins in the below pictures are just to leave my hands free to work the camera, once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to whip through these flowers with just your fingers in no time flat.

Ribbon Roses, Steps 1-4

When you reach the end of your ribbon (or you think you’ve folded enough–better to err on the side of extra folds and unravel some at the back of an over-full flower than not have enough), thread the end of the ribbon through the small hole in the center (this is the one part that’s easier with ribbon than paper), and twist the ribbon as you pull to create the center bud. Continue to twist more than you pull, rotating the petals around the center bud, creating that offset look that makes it look more flower-like, less square. Tie off the tails at the base of the flower and then arrange the petals the way you want them.

Ribbon Roses, Steps 5-8

You can also play with the angle of the folds for different finished flower effects.

4, 5 and 6-fold Ribbon Roses

As you can see, I’ve tacked them to this yoga block (not like it was being used for anything else) with a pearl-headed corsage pin. For more permanent use and any sort of application where they’re going to get a fair amount of moving around (clothing or accessories), take a needle and matching thread to secure the layers of petals, hiding the stitches among the folds.

The 4-fold rose likes to return to it’s squarish roots while the 5-point (fold into a pentagram, 5 72-degree angles for the precision-minded) looks the most rose-like to me. The 6-fold rose (hexagram or 6 60-degree angles) is pretty, yes, but even I had to start over a couple of times and finally placed it on the yoga block so I could fold with one hand and hold down with the other–rotating with each turn was not working. It is pretty, though.

But that’s not the only way to fold a flower.

Ribbon Roses 2

Going back to our garland knot-guru, Nimibirla, here’s another way of forming delicate ribbon roses for any number of uses.

You can certainly make these flowers with only one ribbon, but the two together are not only beautiful, they make the technique easier to see. If you’re only using one ribbon you may not need to stitch as many times as she shows.

Come back Thursday for the third way to make your house bloom with little to no cost and no green thumb needed.

Are you reaching for your ribbon, yet?

I heard it again, today: “since you’re not busy or anything” said with a whole heaping dose of good-natured sarcasm. (It’s actually being facetious–non-malicious–but I don’t know how to say that in the right tense for that sentence!) I get that a lot because folks who know me, know that I always have a lot of projects going at once. My usually answer to ‘how’ve you been’ is ‘busy, but in a good way.’

Let’s just take a look at my list of current projects:

• this blog, the 64 Arts, and the various topics it covers
• my food blog, Nibbles ‘n Bites
• my cocktail blog, Sips & Shots
• the cookbook, What to Feed Your Raiding Party, and it’s progress blog
• my podcast, Random Acts Radio
• and my custom cocktail service, Character Cocktails

That’s  just the ones that get some attention each week. Not mentioned (aka back-burnered) are both webcomics currently on hiatus, a couple of knitting projects (one needs finishing, one is an idea waiting on a swatch and a design) and the party (maybe more than one, I’ll know more later) I’ll be throwing later this year. I was fiddling around with some beads and came up with a beading pattern project that I want to finish and write up. There are canvases waiting to be painted for the living room and 3 couches to cover.

And I just accepted a commission for a painting.

Why? Because I like being busy!

It’s more than that, though. I am capable of focusing solely on one large project at a time, totally immersing myself to where it’s all I think about outside of the day-to-day requirements of human interaction.

But with such focus comes a price: burn out.

For years before culinary school I was obsessed with food. If I wasn’t decorating cakes (or teaching others how) I was baking for the office (oh, if I only blogged back then, right?). If I wasn’t baking, I was watching that new channel, Food Network, reading a copy of Cooking Light or planning the week’s menus. I got into school and there wasn’t time for anything else–I worked 8am to 4:30 pm, changed clothes, grabbed something resembling dinner on the way and was at class from 5:30 to 10:30 or 11 o’clock at night 4 nights a week.

Total immersion.

Then it stopped. The internship led to a job but that job couldn’t keep the bills paid. When I was looking for a second job to keep my car from being repossessed, the opportunity to return to my old desk job was presented and I took it.

And I stopped cooking. I stopped reading cookbooks, watching food shows, dreaming of my own bakery or catering company.

It was nearly 10 years before my passion for food returned.

10 Years is a Long Time to Go Without Your Passion

Since then I’ve become a bit of a dilettante (the lover of the arts and a nod to the root–delight–not so much the superficial interest bit).

It’s a defense mechanism against tunnel vision. Against obsession. Against burn out.

Having multiple projects going simultaneously means I’m always happy to get a chance to work on any one thing. It’s always fresh. And if I hit a road block? Just choose a different project and wait for the other to clear out.

Going back to culinary school for a minute, it was a private college that taught in modules. 16 days of focus on a single subject. 1 subject a month. For a lot of people this style of learning works well because there’s little to no distractions. No other classes are competing for the student’s attention, no other homework getting in the way.

But there are no breaks, either.

In contrast, middle and high school and the majority of public universities prefer schedules with multiple disciplines being taught over the course of a day or week. They switched to block scheduling at my old high school when my brother’s were there and, while it played hell with extracurriculars, it was the middle ground between 7-periods a day and 1 module a month.

I liked high school.

I liked the multiple classes because it kept everything in motion. It might feel overwhelming from time to time (tonight, a little, but my schedule’s been off) but, all in all, it serves me well.

So I don’t mind when folks rib me about all my many projects. Sometimes they admire me, and I–always working on accepting compliments gracefully–thank them. I think it’s given me a skill set not everyone has and I revel in that, too.

~~~oOo~~~

This has nothing to do with the 64 Arts (other than it’s the perfect project for someone like me, someone who likes to change things up on a regular basis), just something that was on my mind and I wanted to share. We’ll get back to flowers and what to do with them, soon.

Until then: where do you fit? Do you prefer a single focus or a broad spectrum?

There is no wrong answer, as long as it’s right for you.

With that in mind, we’re going to look at some other ways of assembling garlands that some talented folks have made available by the wonders of the webbernets:

Garland Knot

As I understand it, garland making is a frequent (perhaps daily!) occurrence in India. I’ve seen pictures of the flower markets in the larger cities and they are magnificent with colorful blooms. The flowers are used in all manner of ceremonies and decorations, so many nimble fingers tie the blossoms into both simple and ornate garlands. This garland knot–which looks and feels like a figure-8 with a twist–secures the flowers and solves one of my main wonders:

How do you keep the flowers all lined up and nice when they’re so imbalanced?

Answer: You place them in pairs so that they DO balance! Brilliant.

Wired Bundles

Another way to create swag-like garlands (and, no, I don’t mean swag as in Stuff We All Get goodies) is to wrap, with wire, twine or string, small bundles or stems onto a form or framework of some sort. This could be a grapevine wreath or a carved piece of Styrofoam covered in moss or greenery–even cardboard if you were intent on up-cycling some boxes or packing materials!

(The wrapping demonstration starts around 2:00)

Braiding

If you have long, supple stems you can also braid them together as-is or interspersed with ribbon. If you can do a simple 3-strand braid you can make this sort of garland, but if you’d like some visuals, check out the Braided Princess Crown at Instructables.

We already discussed flower arranging in the 7th Art: Flower Bouquets, this art has to do with more decorative applications both for the body and the home.

14: Garland making
Strung without their leaves, to venerate the gods or decorate the house.

15: Crowns and head ornaments
Headbands or circlets of flowers of all colors, used especially by townspeople.

See? Interrelated. Lots of flowers on the list, but, as with arts past, we’re not going to be bound too closely by the descriptions above. There will be fabrics and sewing, some beads and wire and paper fun if all goes well.

But we’ll start with the flowers because it’s as good as anywhere!

~~~oOo~~~

Basic Garland Making

Fairy Fest Garland

This garland is actually left over from last year’s Midsummer Fairy Fest–they surrounded the Mason Jar Centerpieces–but could easily be worn as a circlet or headband. (Instructions for the centerpieces and the garland can be found in the eHow article linked to the name, there.)

The first garlands this art mentions, though, specify no leaves and are created in the same way that Hawaiian leis are–it’s simple stringing. You can use fresh flowers if you’ve got them available but I’m going to use silk ones and make a bracelet for the sake of time.

What You’ll Need:

Fresh or Silk flowers, heads only, stems and leaves removed (lots)
Needle and Thread

Really, that’s it.

Needle, ribbon and silf flower heads.

01: Measure the length of your intended garland, add an inch or two for knotting and double the total.

02: Thread your needle with the thread and knot the two ends together.

Since I’m making a bracelet with silk flowers, I’m using a tapestry needle and some 1/8-inch ribbon but for fresh flowers you’re probably going to want a regular sewing needle (a long one) and regular sewing thread. Some sources suggest mono-filament but it’s slippery and can sometimes be difficult to knot. Cotton or poly-blend will be perfectly fine for this.

03: Divide your flower heads in half. We’ll be stringing each half in an opposite direction.

Stringing the first half of the flowers.

04: Starting with one half of the flowers, thread the needle through each flower-head from the top down through the middle, towards where the stem would have been. Slide the first flower down to the end of the thread (or as close as you plan to have them if you’re going to have streamers trailing) and snug each following flower up next to the previous one.

Another benefit to silk flowers is that most have a little plastic bit in the center for the stamens–use this! It’ll keep your flowers separated just enough to be fluffy without being loose. If you want the same effect using fresh flowers, snip small sections of straws and use them as spacers between each flower.

Stringing the second half of the flowers.

05: Once you’ve strung the first half of your flowers, thread the needle through the remaining half from the opposite direction (from stem to stamen) until your desired length is achieved.

06: Knot each end with a pair of butcher’s knots to secure the flowers and then finish based on your purpose. For a lei or circlet, tie the two ends together flush with each other. For my bracelet I tied on a pair of clasps and left the rest of the ribbon loose. This would be a great time to pull out the ribbon tips I used in the drawstring bag project and attached a little drop bead or two.

The finished bracelet is cute but it is a bit of a statement piece–folks are going to notice it–so keep that in mind if you make one for yourself. Ribbons tied and left streaming from various points of the garland would be cute, adding spacer beads would work, too. This could easily be converted to a necklace by attaching a chain (metal or crocheted ribbon) to each end and maybe adding a large-bailed pendant to the center.

The finished garland bracelet.

For a home decoration, use flowers of various sizes or string multiple strands, each a little longer than the previous one, and knot the matching ends to a ring or loop. The loop can then be hooked onto hooks on a wall–even used as curtain tie-backs!

What other uses can you think of for this sort of garland?

~~~oOo~~~

08: Dyes and Colorants for the Body and the Teeth
You know where this leads: Make Up! and girlie fun for 5 posts.
Browse the aisles or head straight over to my reviews in A Good Foundation.

09: Mosaics
Playing with Mosaics was so much fun I did two projects over 6 posts.
The end result was my mixed media piece, Broken Ties.

10: Bed Arrangement
Here we traveled through home decor, feng shui and creative living for 6 posts starting with the basics of Bed Arrangement.
If you only have time for a nap, make sure to check out my Interview with a Do-Gooder: Bed Days.

11: Musical Instrument Made of Bowls Filled With Water
Have you ever played the Water Glasses? I tried my hand at making it work and we heard a bevy of beautiful performances over the 6 posts.
My own experience with the glasses can be heard in my Pruney Fingers Performance–it’s quite okay to laugh (encouraged, even!).

12: Water-Spewing Games
At first I had a bit of an issue with Water-Spewing Games but I found my groove in memories of summers past in a three-part series.
Jonesing for some water-balloon fun? Check out Water Wars, Part 2 for tips on hosting an epic balloon-battle.

13: The Use of Charms, Drugs, Magic Words
This one was a loaded subject but one I was so looking forward to, mainly because it gave us a chance to examine the ideas conjured by Charms, Drugs & Magic Words over 8 posts.
Need a little break from the day-to-day crazies? Find out how to get it with a peek into Deep Breaths and Shallow Thoughts.

~~~oOo~~~

And that brings us up-to-date on the Arts so far. Did you find a post you missed the first time through? Maybe have a favorite that I didn’t mention here? Let me know in the comments!

Oh! And if you’re interested in hearing some fun music with a travel theme, head on over to my podcast, Random Acts Radio, and check out the newest episode: On the Road.

Today’s post will cover the first 7 arts (Thursday’s #8 through #13) and showcase the first post of each art (sorta like a Table of Contents) and my favorite or a really good read if you’ve only got time to hit up one of them. After these two starter-posts, the list will be kept on a page linked to a sidebar and update each time we finish with an Art.

~~~oOo~~~

Introduction:
A New Direction, in which I explain what I’m doing and how I’m going to go about it

01: Vocal Music
It begins with How Can I Keep From Singing and includes a total of 8 posts.
Just have a moment? Check out Singing in the Shower for fun and science all rolled into one!

02: Instruments
Staring with We Are the Music Makers, it’s another 8-parter.
Only want a clip? My favorite post asks the question: What’s Your Anthem?

03: Dance
Cliches are cliches for a reason and we start the dancing chapter with Dance Like No One’s Watching and go for 5 posts on the subject.
Need to get up to the getting down? Step right on over to Embrace the Insanity.

04: Drawing
A 6-post arc on art starts with a trip Back to the Drawing Board!
For a short-cut to drawing fun, point your pencil to From Stick to Chick.

05: Cutouts
At this point I started titling the beginning of each art with an ironically less-than-creatively titled post, like this: the 5th Art: Cutouts.
Of the 8 posts in this series an unusual–but fun–application can be found in How Ap-Peel-ing.

06: Carpets of Flowers or Colored Grains of Rice
Starting with Carpets of Color we explore sand art and mandalas in 3 breezy parts.
Channel your inner child with a little Sand Art fun.

07: Flower Bouquets
Did you ever wonder about making and giving Flower Bouquets? Now you can learn some basics and then some in these 5 posts.
Rather leave the arranging to the florist but still don’t know what to send? Here’s a short list on the Language of Flowers.

A little abracadabra here… some wingardium leviosa over there…
Maybe an amen or a blessed be in the mix, too.

What’s that? Don’t think those 2 phrases belong in the same sentence? Ah… but that’s what’s so interesting about words… they are tools! What are you using your tools for?

An Unpopular Idea

I have a theory that occurred to me a few years ago and I’ve yet to be able to prove or disprove it. I’ve managed to make some people upset with it, but that’s what happens when you question a closed mind. It’s a theory based both on logic and feelings, of opening our mind to see our similarities amid the differences and a desire for tolerance, a common ground.

Basically, I think a spell is just another type of prayer.

To Those who Depend on Only One Way

I grew up in church. By choice (my mother did not attend) I went every Sunday and some Wednesdays as I got older from the age of 8 to 18 and then during various periods after.

I grew up understanding the concept of one narrow road, requiring sacrifice and strict obedience, that our way was the only true way. Even though the church down the road a bit was mostly the same and only differed on one or two points, ours was the only way.

I grew up and wondered just how arrogant that sounded to everyone else.

Questions Were Not Welcome, So I Asked Them of Myself

What makes one person’s method of asking wrong and another’s right?

Seriously, what’s the difference?

Both…

• Ask for something or are done in reverence–be it a request for physical health, in praise of something good, we’re all going to someone or something for some reason
• Appeal to a higher power–we can all use a helping hand; granted, some believe that power of a deity resides in them, but I find that on both sides of the Christian/non-Christian fence
• Can be free-form or scripted–spontaneous spell-work and prayer both exist, as do rituals that include lit candles, sacramental wine and bread, and patterned responses at either end of the spectrum
• Are part of a spiritual practice–I don’t see as this point needs additional explanation.

Is the Devil in the Details?

Yes, it’s true there is a commandment that states “Thou shalt have no gods before me.” As such, it’s a tiny leap (more like a silent shuffle) to the thought shared by many of my former pew-mates that all other deities were false, evil and wrong.

And, yet, I remember sitting in church several Sundays in a row as the preacher, our Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher, going through his series of the names of god–that there were different ones for different places and situations throughout the Old Testament. He was given the names of the Provider, the Healer, god of the battlefield and god of peace, among others. And then there’s the whole idea of the trinity, separate entities with different purposes but all, ultimately, part of the same whole.

Is it really a stretch, then, to consider the possibility that everyone is looking to the same force, just under different names? That having a god of the battlefield (Jehovah-Nissi) is that different from the God of War (Ares/Mercury)? That the duality of god and goddess is any more difficult to understand than that of the trinity?

Or is it a Dependence Thing?

Some joke that religion is an exercise in co-dependency. Some do more than joke.

Maybe the biggest difference I see between the two sides is the belief by one that we are not enough, ever, and that it’s totally up to that higher power to make it happen. On the other side is the belief that power lies within us all and that we have the ability to manipulate that power, that energy (remember we talked about energy being neither destroyed or created?) to our purposes with, maybe, the help of others whether they be in-the-flesh or of the spirit.

But, you know, the Baptists I know say you had to “put feet to prayer,” too.

One Destination, Many Roads

For the record, I’ve become quite comfortable with the idea of a Universal Divine–a creator force, a higher power, that goes by different names depending on the culture or situation you find yourself in. And that’s about as close to a label as I get, these days. I think any time the human mind–with it’s flaws and agendas that might seem well-intentioned but almost always go too far–tries to organize something so organic as beliefs we muck it beyond reason.

But that’s the wonderful thing: we have choices. Which road is right for you?

Because that’s what I’m after here, today: a little creative thinking, a little understanding, a little tolerance.

Why should the word–tool–we use to describe an action make it acceptable or not if it means the same thing? How do we presume (sometimes assume, with all the implications accepted) to know that our way is the only way. If we’re lucky, we do our best with the information we’re given and hope we’ve got it right.

We won’t know until it’s too late, after all. Might as well use this time the best we can, be nice to one another, accept–even glorify–our differences and use that mind that we were granted by someone or thing–that mind that is equipped for thinking and reason and making connections, and accept that there’s more than one way to live this life.

Let’s spend our time creating, not tearing down, the things and ideas that make this life special.

What common ground can you find with someone, today?

If you’ve never seen it (or it’s been too long since the last time), it’s about a boy who goes on an adventure in an alien spaceship. The ship is piloted by a robot and, like all stereotypical robots, it speaks in a particular manner. There is no yes, no, maybe stuff, it’s all negative, affirmative and–my favorite–compliance (robot pilot for “I’m on it!”).

~~~oOo~~~

A teen of the 90s, when I think of the word “affirmations” I think of the SNL skit Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley. His affirmation?

I’m good enough, I’m smart enough,
and, doggone it, people like me!

This probably explains a lot about why I feel incredibly silly practicing affirmations in my day-to-day life. Well, whenever I’ve entertained the notion. That is to say not very often.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for the personal pep talks and keeping the good thoughts going strong–I just have issues with the must-do, regimental feel that they’ve been presented to me in the past. Combine that with the SNL memories and, well, yeah. Affirmations and I don’t go over so well.

But they do help plenty of others, this much I know for certain!

Remember the story about the Little Engine That Could? His mantra of “I think I can, I think I can” sounds a lot like an affirmation with the exception of the potential for failure. Oh, sure, the Little Engine does and he learns his lesson, but the key between his phrase and a true affirmation is the difference between thinking and knowing.

Ideal affirmations are constructed in a very concrete, very  now sort of language. You wake up, you look yourself in the mirror and what?

Are you more invigorated by ‘I will be a productive member of society, today.’ or ‘I AM a productive member of society.’ Is your confidence bolstered more by ‘I think I can do this’ or ‘I’ve got this in the bag.’ What psyches you up better: ‘I will do my best’ or ‘I am the best.’

It’s a matter of degrees, sure, but it’s an important degree.

And it seems like there’s a certain amount of fake-it-til-you-make-it in affirmations. In a good way, of course, but it’s still there. It’s part Law of Attraction, manifestation, visualization and a little bit of Whistle a Happy Tune from The King and I.

DIY Affirmations

I know it sounds like I’m beating up on well-intentioned affirmations today, but it’s mostly because I think (scratch that! I know!) we can do better. For ourselves and for each other.

Who says affirmations have to be accompanied by tweeting birds and babbling brooks? Let’s affirm our awesomeness to the sound of a little Joan Jett or Lady Gaga if that’s what gets us feeling good. Affirmations spoken quietly to yourself so as not to disturb anyone still sleeping? Forget that, let’s shout it out in the shower while we wash away the grime of the day (or the one before)!

Let’s make our own affirmations that really speak for and to us. Here’s how:

1. Start with the ‘I.’ Just like you can’t change that guy that’s almost perfect, all you can change is yourself. Feel like talking about yourself in the third person? Sure, why not? But it really has to be you. The exception would be if you’re co-creating an affirmation for a group or organization–less of a mission statement, more of a Now-ism.
2. Future-tense verbs need not apply. Best is present but I can see some use for past-tense in the sense (hah!) of “I’ve got this in the bag”–you’ve confident because you know you’ve got the skills, have practiced, are prepared. Nothing passive, either. None of this ‘I will be…’, stick to the ‘I am…’ and ‘I have…’ statements. Future tense is great for goals, for planning, affirmations are in the current, the now.
3. Be objective. And be clear–no vague affirmations, here! Give a little thought to exactly what you’re fixing into place for the day, week or more.

Does this change your opinion of affirmations? Did you not have the hang-ups I did, before? Are you going to try out the affirmation habit?

Chakras are energy centers that begin at the based of your spine and extend up to the top of your head, totaling seven (though there are minor chakras up into the twenties that correspond to other areas of the body). These centers correspond to areas of the body, have assigned colors and have been matched with certain stones. There are diets based on chakras and healing modalities focused on targeting damaged centers. Chakras are very big in New Agey woo-woo, but even in the non-woo they’re pretty interesting.

Here’s the cliff-notes version:

And that really is a nutshell-summary, but you get the picture, right?

Notice how the colors from the root to the crown follow the acronym for the color spectrum? Good old ROY G. BIV, learned it in childhood and find that it’s still useful!

One of the first guided meditations I participated in used this color progression and visualizing a staircase as it’s main vehicle. It was a lengthy meditation, nice and slow so that each color had time to become fully materialize in the mind’s eye before moving on. One of the more amusing parts of the meditation was at the end, in the 8th level (pure white light and the destination of this particular meditation) when the guide mentioned that once you were comfortable with the stairs you could hurry the process up–use the escalator or elevator on future trips.

This turned out the be useful because future sessions, on my own this time, I would move faster through the colors to my destination.  Sometimes, though, I would get stuck on a certain color. It wouldn’t materialize or I couldn’t hold onto the color with my mind and I’d slip into a different color, usually the one just before the troubled one.

Turns out, this is a way of finding chakra imbalances and, some believe, pinpointing areas of disease (sometimes mentioned and thought of as dis-ease to highlight the out-of-whack-ness of the body). Knowing where the problem is can help you work through it and resolve any imbalances or ailments.

Which is where the crystals and colors come in. Skilled chakra therapists can pinpoint issues, apply the right crystals and bring things into alignment through energy manipulation. Depending on your self-awareness (which, hey, you’re considering your chakras and travelling through them–that’s pretty well on the path!) you can begin to align your chakras, yourself, or at least have a clue where to start when you visit your regular doctor for a persistent issue.