Donna Iona Drozda...

Follow the Moon: Wise Up

didrozda — Tue, 08 May 2012 01:14:40 +0000

Fence Graffitti, Drozda, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon… It’s the Wisdom cycle…

We’re in the Full Moon Phase through Wednesday, May 9, pre-dawn (EDT) and it’s been a Super Moon…put these pieces together, apply them creatively, and you’ll discover that it’s a great time for observing how you balance your Art/Life and take action…without making yourself crazy.

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius …and a lot of courage…to move in the opposite direction.

E.F. Schumacher

A whole lot can…and ought…to happen during this 29.6 days (April 21 – May 20) of the Wisdom cycle. It’s a time to take a risk on an idea that inspires you. Take a leap of faith. Add to your leadership skills. The 90 days between Equinox and Solstice are like flint igniting and sparks flying.

On Wednesday morning when the Phase turns to Disseminating, we have a stretch of time…until Saturday, May 12 at dusk … to share.

It’s a grand time to focus on your Art/Life vision. Notice what’s brought the greatest dose of Wisdom for you since the cycle began April 21.

Be Peaceful Now, Detail, Blue Glue Batik, Drozda, 2011

Each Moon/Month following the Disseminating Phase we enter a zone for taking stock and giving thanks. This happens from dusk, May 12 through Wednesday, May 16. it’s time to review everything that’s happened since April 21. Do this with a sense of gratitude and grown-up-ness.

At a Buddhist retreat I heard the teacher remark that the most useful mantra for Westerners is, “Oh, So ha; Grow-Up.”

This moon has a lot of ‘grow up’ flavor to it.

Don’t you love growing up, stepping out and sharing the Wisdom of your experience?

I hope that throughout this week you enjoy all the ways in which your Art/Life is bringing you a Wisdom that you couldn’t possibly find in any other way.

May you sing the day

Subscribe to the ‘Luna See’

Read the full 2012 Lifecycle Forecast for context….and find your gift.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Get a Move On

didrozda — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:01:49 +0000

My Artist in Residence at LCCC, working w/Nancy Holbrook's drawing class

Welcome to Following the Moon… I had a terrific 10 days away hosted by Lorain County Community College presenting an Artist Residency and the Earth Day Eve Creativity Salon…thanks to all… the wonderful Joan Perch, all students and faculty for such a fabulous week.

A slice of the stduio time at the Earth Day Eve Creativity Salon

This week the Wisdom Moon carries us through the First Quarter Phase…that means it’s time to take an action in direction of your wisdom as it is unfolding. We can’t see the Wisdom that we contain we can only express and meet it as it comes to find us.

First Quarter began early morning (EDT) Sunday, April 29 and extends through Wednesday, early evening, May 2.

In honor of both the beauty and wonder of the First Quarter Phase I share my dear artist friend Sandra’s writing and her ideas for how you can connect with this potent time…

Sandra Mosley here.

The Taurus New Moon on April 21 began a 29.6-day cycle highlighting all personal resources: your physical body (especially your voice, taste, touch, and smell), talents, skills, values, money, assets and income.

During this lunation we have the opportunity to honor the gifts already present in life. By acknowledging the abundance and prosperity around us, we increase our opportunities for growth and productivity.

Develop an appreciation for practicality and perseverance.

Taurus correlates to Wisdom on the Medicine Wheel. Arriving from the place of Clarity developed during the Aries lunation, we now occupy a place of wisdom. Wisdom is a combination of information, experience, self-knowledge, and common sense.

During the 1st Quarter phase of this cycle it’s important to take action that supports the expression of will and creativity. Secure the resources necessary to support your intentions. Identify and break away from old values and bondage to possessions that limit your prosperity.

Here are some suggestions for “Moving With Spirit” during this 1st Quarter phase (April 29- May 2):

Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude - Being grateful is an energizing way to start your day and a relaxing way to end it

An Attitude of Gratitude is described as a powerful Source of Happiness.
Think Simple Now, under the heading “A Moment of Clarity” suggests five tools for appreciation. Among them are:
- Write in a Gratitude Journal
- Pick up a Gratitude Rock
- Make a string of Gratitude Beads
Join the 42 Day Experiment at Go Gratitude dot org, it is an excellent practice to make gratitude a habit.

Inventory Your Resources

Personal
- The most fundamental thing you can do each day is take Personal Inventory — of your feelings, your body, and your voice — while noticing your inner images. http://www.jbactors.com/actingreading/tenactingtips/personalinventory.html
Home
- This insurance web site offers free information on different ways of inventorying your possessions. http://www.rmiia.org/Homeowners/Walking_Through_Your_Policy/Home_Inventory.asp
Financial
- Create a budget. http://financialplan.about.com/od/budgetingyourmoney/ht/createbudget.htm

Go Outside

Pull weeds in the garden. Walk on a dirt path. Smell the fresh and air and grass and flowers. Watch wild birds and animals feed their young. Play with a litter of puppies or kittens.

Questions to consider during this phase:

Do I value my talents and gifts as much as my possessions?
Am I comfortable in my body?
What is my perspective on stability?
Where do I need patience?
When am I most likely to delay instant gratification for later rewards?
Who in my life is an example of a good steward?

We have the opportunity this cycle to practice “Moving with Spirit” by answering the 1st Quarter “Call to Action” through the filter of Taurus. When we have wisdom, we understand the laws of natures and are able to produce tangible results from our efforts.

Affirm: “I prosper with appreciation.”

May we walk together in wisdom.

On Wednesday evening, May 2 the Gibbous ‘Wisdom’ Moon arrives. The Gibbous Phase extends through Saturday, May 5, near midnight. Take this time to apply what you learned during the First Quarter so as to allow the actions to blossom.

Visualize the growing ‘night light’ coming into your experience. We are now beneath the light of the pregnant ‘Wisdom’ Moon.

The heart work of the Gibbous phase offers wisdom: Do not mourn what cannot be, celebrate what is.

The Full Moon on Saturday, May 5 at midnight and takes us into Wednesday, May 9 in the predawn. During the Full Phase there is opportunity. Illuminate the intuitive aspect of your journey…this hasn’t been possible before this phase. We simply didn’t have enough information or experience before this point. Every 29.6 days this opening returns. The Full Phase of the Moon is an appropriate time to open the channel to LIFE and listen to the way that Intuitive Guidance is available. Listening now can bring a sense of present fulfillment to your Art/Life experience.

The Full Phase is where we recognize that even when obstacles and limitations jump out on the path, we can apply our Luna See, and gain the Wisdom that challenges are appearing so that we can face them square.

The moon of May provides Wisdom that transpires as a result of the Clarity that you gained in April. In the June moon of the Spring Quadrant you will discover the Illumination that radiates from the Wisdom garnered in May.

Subscribe to the ‘Luna See’

Read the full 2012 Lifecycle Forecast for context….and find your gift.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Can You Taste It?

didrozda — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:21:43 +0000

Life in Transit#1, project participant, 2012

Welcome to ‘Following the Moon’ and a time to begin to take action to negate any negativity as you find it. There’s not ever been a better time to take and extend good care. The above image is from the public art project that I’ve designed titled ‘Life in Transit’…I’m working with women in domestic violence and homeless shelter programs for the next Moon/Months as they design images that combine poetry and art to display in the busses and trains here in our area…work in progress…I’ll share more as it all unfolds.

This week we move through the final days of the ‘Clarity’ Moon. From April 15 until the close of this cycle on April 20, you couldn’t do more good for your own precious Art/Life and the over all well being of the planet than to ask ‘How can I help?‘ and then take a clear action.

I’m heading out of town today for a week long Artist-in-Residence at the small college, 600 miles away, where I’ve designed the ‘Robert Calloway Memorial Healing Garden’. It’s my home stomping grounds so it will be an excellent time of seeing friends, old and new, and family. I’ll present the ‘Earth Day Eve’ Creativity Salon for students and faculty on Saturday, April 21.

Have you made any plans for celebrating our incredible Earth Mother?

BD and I received sobering news since my last post…our two Wren House pups, Ruby and Val, who are 13 and 12.5 years respectively…are both moving very much closer to the opposite shore…nothing is definite at this time but our little Valentine girl has been diagnosed with bladder cancer and Ruby, a sheer miracle at 13…her birthday was Wednesday…has an odd issue with the nerves in her throat that causes her to begin to suffacate when she gets too excited. We’ve had our ups and downs with these two rescues…as you know there are so many stories to tell when you live with 4 leggeds…love love love to these sweet girls.

Valentine, Jack Russell, 2012

Ruby Slippers of Wren House (Ruby), Airedale, 2012

That’s each of them this week…Val loves to nap in the sunshine and Ruby is all about her kibble ball…she demands that it be brought to her each and every morning.

I’m wishing you a magnificent week of creating the Art/Life you hold a vision for…remembering that this week you want to be able to savor the flavor of your days filled with all the goodness you can allow in.

Fox mom and kit, Drozda, today

It’s a bit fuzzy since I had to shoot the photo through the screen on the window…but look closely and you’ll see mama Gray Fox and one of her 4 kits resting just outside my writing studio. She remained peacefully curled up, basking in the sunshine (notice a theme) while her babes bounced in and our of the hedgerow behind her.

Love Life

Subscribe to the Luna See

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Eat Some Fire

didrozda — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:19:45 +0000

Welcome to Following the Moon…

Heat up your passion, Drozda, 2012

This week the Clarity Moon takes us through the Gibbous Phase…that means it’s time to create, create, create in the direction of your intention for the year! Gibbous begins early morning (EDT) Tuesday, April 3 and extends through Friday, mid afternoon, April 6.

On Friday, April 6 the Full ‘Clarity’ Moon comes to call. It’s the only time in the Natural Year when you’ll have the opportunity to experience a sense of balance and order in the particular way that will visit now. Pay attention. See if you can show up with true, what the Buddhist teachings refer to as, ‘equanimity’…go for it….really notice how much steadiness you possess.

This Moon is ruled by Aries and Mars. I truly respect the dynamic qualities of these Archetypes. They are here to bring it on in every and all forms.

Recently, while spring cleaning, I opened a cool looking storage box and my eyes widened to take in the surprise. There in front of me was a lost treasure… a stack of drawings done many years ago when I led a group of ‘Luna-tics’ in a year long exploration of the Major Arcana…through a process of creating ‘opposite hand’ postcard size ‘Inner Child Tarot’ cards. I’ve been missing this group of twenty two images for several years and had no idea where they might have gone. Have you ever lost a creative project and recognized how attached you get to the images and inspirations that come but once?

The Archetypes for this current Moon/Month are Aries/Emperor and Mars/Tower…they combine to challenge you to take your next step standing in your power, dying to the ego and all forms of bravado:

Aries, Drozda, Prismaclor/ink, 1993

You might ask, ‘Where am I going?’…and then you many say, ‘How do I intend to get there?’

Mars/The Tower, Drozda, Prismacolor/ink, 1993

Now… I’m pretty much committed to ‘there isn’t any place to get to’ and ‘we’re exactly where we’re meant to be’….and yet….every year, when the Natural Year opens with the Equinox and Aries it actually is simple fun to kick it outta the park and imagine ALL the possibilities for your Art/Life.

It’s the Fifth Level Global Year…that means adventure and shifting away from any situations, circumstance, relationships or challenges that feed negativity.

Jacqueline Small in Awakening in Time describes 5th level as pertaining to “issues relating to one’s individuated, creative expression in the world and comprehension of the whole of which we are a part”.

Take this week to see how you would like to ‘bring it’ to your Art/Life…and take your creativity out into the sunlight…being brilliant… just for fun.

This first 29.6 day moon cycle of Spring opens the door to the most natural alignment with resources, inspirations, visions and actions that are possible based upon where you currently dwell. By this year’s end I look forward to you being able to share the genuine advancement that you’ve made in feeling at peace and in harmony with your Art/Life. You may want to create your ‘Year of Peaceful Change’ notebook to record the ways in which you notice this taking place.

April, May and June provide the 90 days making up the area of the Spring Quadrant that carries the designation of ME. What we want to tap into in April is the ‘New Clarity of ME’. This is an alchemical code for your most powerful Muse. Be clear… we’re exploring the oft addressed concept of loving and caring, nurturing and tending to the needs and desires of the Deeper Self. What the Dalai Lama refers to as the “wise selfish”. This time and focus is given to us each year in the first three spring moons of the Natural Wheel. Such a lovely rhythm with which to harmonize.

April is your point of energetic New Beginning. As you move around the Natural Wheel of the Year 2012, each cycle will build upon the next. Hold to a vision during April’s moon cycle to bring Clarity. The moon of May will provide Wisdom that transpires as a result of that Clarity. In the June moon of the Spring Quadrant you will discover the Illumination that radiates from the Wisdom garnered in May….and on we go…walking the Wheel of the Natural year…BEING Natural in our Art/Life…what could be better than that?

I look forward to hearing how you’re stepping onto the hot coals of this sizzling time of the Aries/Mars energy and the Clarity Moon.

Subscribe to the ‘Luna See’

Read the full 2012 Lifecycle Forecast for context….and find your gift.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Begin Again

didrozda — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:05:21 +0000

: The New Natural Year, Drozda, 2012

Welcome to Following the Moon and our first moon cycle of the Natural Year. I’m a week behind…but here we go…this whole year is one to practice being at peace with what is…though of course that does not condone being victimized…ya gotta know how to take a stand.

Speaking of taking a stand…this week we move through the First Quarter Moon Phase, Friday, March 30 through early morning Tuesday, April 3. It’s timely to take an action that relates to your Art/Life intention. By all means know what you stand for in your precious Art/Life.

The keyword for this cycle is Clarity…can you see places where you can invite some in?

I began this new Natural Year by having a techno-breakdown…no computer and therefore no postings. When I asked for Clarity I saw that this was actually no problem. So I didn’t turn it into one.

I’m an outdoors gal…so I went outside to play… lovin’ it.

Drozda, 2012

This week I share with you some of my wandering. I recall many years ago a fellow being asked how he enjoyed his summer of travel…he replied that he made it ‘half way round the world’ and never left his back yard…I like that idea right now…though I did venture a bit.

Here’s a bit of the back yard goings on: It was very exciting when first we heard the loud sustained humming coming from high over the tallest trees and then…a large swarm of wild honey bees spiraled down and down and down moving right into an empty hive that we have sitting behind the garden house…after loosing three hives to colony collapse two years ago.

Wild honey bees arrived last Thursday, Drozda, 2012

Mixing compost, Drozda, 2012

Wren nest check, Drozda, 2012

Spring garden bed, Drozda, 2012

May Apples and Azaleas, Drozda, 2012

Turtles in the Cove, Drozda, 2012

And a little further afield…I made my way to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and more wandering…

Back Bay, Drozda, 2012

Back Bay-Coots, Drozda, 2012

Cottonmouth #1, Drozda, 2012

Cottonmouth #2, Drozda, 2012

Cottonmouth #3, Drozda, 2012

A wonderful afternoon of wandering and watching…

Back Bay, Drozda, 2012

Lotus pond, Drozda, 2012

Stopping briefly at Lotus Pond I meet two plein air artists (one willing to be photographed so I could share) visiting from Pennsylvania…members of the French Creek Art Colony… Thanks so much Pat! for stopping your work to chat and for allowing me to share a glimpse of your day in the Art/Life as you visit our beautiful coastal back country.

Pat Riley, pastel artist, Drozda, 2012

Don’t you love Pat’s beautifully organized colors:

Pat Riley's pastel box, Drozda, 2012

And there, once again, in the small tree hanging over the pond just a couple of feet from Pat’s easel…yet another stunning, sunning snake…

Cottonmouth #4, Drozda, 2012

And beneath it on a lower branch of the same tree yet another:

Cottonmouth #5, Drozda, 2012

A day filled with the beauty of Snake Medicine, all observed from a safe distance, requires a bit o’ tribute…if you have a copy of Jamie Sams Medicine Cards check it out on page 61. Snake/Transmutation…it’s powerful. Here’s the poem that opens the entry…I won’t try to get the spacing as the html and I aren’t seeing eye to eye this evening…

Snake…come crawling, There’s fire in your eyes. Bite me, excite me, I’ll learn to realize, The poison transmuted, Brings eternal flame. Open me to heaven, To heal me again.

I hope that you have a lovely week of acting upon the wanderings of your heart and taking the time to relax in the sun…or whatever makes you feel most at home in the world…and in love with your precious Art/Life.

See you next week for the Gibbous Phase of the Clarity Moon Cycle…

Read the 2012 Lifecycle Forecast

Subscribe to the monthly ‘Luna See’

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Open the Door

didrozda — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:53:24 +0000

welcome to the new Natural Year

Welcome to Following the Moon, March 19, 2012 the doorway of the Equinox opens to a new beginning!

I like to say, ‘Something wonderful is emerging’ when Aries comes to call . Read my dear friend Sandra’s take on what’s coming to meet us astrologically….you may have to give her a day or so to post for Aries.

2012 is the 5th Level Global Year of the Middle Way. What does it mean for you to stand in the center and notice when you’re a person in or out of alignment? That’s the opportunity of this walk round’ the wheel.

Jacqueline Small in Awakening in Time describes 5th level/throat chakra as pertaining to “issues relating to one’s individuated, creative expression in the world and comprehension of the whole of which we are a part”.

Read the full 2012 Lifecycle Forecast for context. We’ve experienced the first three Moon/Months of the Roman Calendar. January through March provided varying levels of deepening. The last three Moons of each year from Solstice to Equinox create space for our deepest inward focus. As we look deep within we can tend to any outward release.

Can you feel and connect with the space that lies before you in the 12 Moon/Months ahead? The idea now is to be visualizing the birth of this new phase of your Art/Life as you communicate from a place of balance and inner peace. There’s a grand challenge ahead and solutions to problems include listening, listening and listening even more deeply to your intuition… call it your Muse, your Inner Guide, Shaman, Hero, Grandmother, Alchemist, Advisor … name this part so you can really become intimate.

Hindu Flyer

I have learned so much from years of commitment to a 4 part Tibetan Buddhist practice called Metta that I feel can help us keep our balance…you may enjoy seeing if it can help you come back to center when the ground moves under your feet.

Gift yourself first…

Part One: May I be at peace, may my heart remain open , may I awaken to the light of my own true nature. May I be healed, may I be a source of healing for all beings.

Gift someone you care for:

Part Two: May you be at peace, may your heart remain open , may you awaken to the light of yout own true nature. May you be healed, may you be a source of healing for all beings.

Gift someone you’re neutral toward: (a clerk, a passing driver, etc.)

Part Three: May you be at peace, may your heart remain open , may you awaken to the light of yout own true nature. May you be healed, may you be a source of healing for all beings.

Gift an enemy:

Part Four: May you be at peace, may your heart remain open , may you awaken to the light of yout own true nature. May you be healed, may you be a source of healing for all beings.

Every aspect of our Art/Life is open now to our new seed vision…May you be at peace…May your heart remain open.

lotus

Subscribe to the Luna See

Read 2012 Lifecycle Forecast and find your gift

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: The Art of the Start

didrozda — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 18:16:55 +0000

MediaBlend1a_W_2012

This week I celebrate the work of my Winter Media Blend Studio at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. What a fabulous and edgy unfolding as we traveled our seven weeks together.

Welcome to the Purity Moon cycle. I get pretty jazzed at this point in the Natural Year…I love being able to look over my shoulder taking in the breadth and depth of the physical, emotional and intuitive experiences that have come to visit in the year now closing.

Walking around the circle of the year by ’Following the Moon’ becomes more natural and brings an instinctive focus as you apply the Moon to Moon rhythms to your own Art/Life.

This final cycle in the Natural Calendar opened on February 21 and now we are in the Third Quarter Phases the point of giving thanks for what you have experienced from the past year.

This is an ending place. There’s much possibility in endings. This attending to closure is powerful … it sets the tone for your Vision of the Natural Year ahead. As one door closes and the new opens on March 22 when the Aries cycle begins all possibility awaits your Art/Life.

What seeds will you plant for your Art/Life vision ahead?

Media Blend, Virginia MOCA, 2012

Media Blend, Virginia MOCA, Group, 2012

This was also the close of the fantastic seven week Saturday in the Studio at the Museum…here’s a peek at the youngun’s work…

MOCA_6-8_2012

MOCA_9-11_2012

And I was a visiting artist for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Statewide Educator Program where I am the Green Artist…traveling with Hazel the sheep made of recycled materials.

VMFA-2012_IndianLakes

Shown here with stellar art teacher Linda Gerek and one of her many classes…Thank you all!

See you next week for the beginning of the New Natural Year…prep your Seed/Dreams this week…review the last year and step into the ‘Art of the Start’…how glorious is that.

Subscribe to the Luna See

Read the 2012 Lifecycle Forecast

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: No Evil

didrozda — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:01:09 +0000

hear-no,see-no,speak-no

Welcome to Following the Moon and the Full Phase of the Purity cycle. This moon cycle began on February 21 and provides us with 29.6 days to release the residue of all that we would choose to leave behind prior to stepping over the threshold into the new Natural Year at Equinox on March 20.

What a wonderful time of the year this is to take a fast from the intensity that surrounds…take a walk, a nap or a moment to forgive whatever it is that is weighing heavy on your heart/mind.

My maternal grandmother was a gardener and a closet Buddhist…she never spoke of her interest in the loving kindness wisdom of the Buddha but she had several visual prompts, what we students of Buddhism refer to as ‘sight meditations’… such as a small bronze of the Monkey Mind sculpture: ‘Hear no, See no, Speak no Evil’. I loved that compact, fit in your hand, reminder of an exotic and mysterious way of considering moving through the world. When Grandmother died I was given a box of treasures including a ‘Hear no, Speak no…” and a dimunitive booklet on the Essentials of Buddhism circulated in 1921…the year my mother was born, and costing one dime.

This Moon/Month is an opportune time for all teachings that connect you to compassion in action…and also for dreaming the dream of the world you would choose to help foster through your precious Art/Life.

As we know ‘This aint’ no dress rehearsal’ and the Natural Calendar offers us these days to Purify not so that we feel ‘better than’ but rather ‘connected to’ all that is/all that lives. Metta.

From Thursday, March 8 until Sunday, March 11 there is time to steam clean your shadow. Get real. Be humble and embrace your darkness until it melts into the lightness of your being.

I am a fan of Sandra Mosley’s ZodiacArts and Lilan Laishley’s Full Moon Newsletter…Here’s a small excerpt…

This Full Moon in Virgo is a call to each of us to find a way to be of service. Sometimes the problems in the world seem so huge there is a sense that our small actions don’t matter, and so we end up shocked spectators in a world that seems out of control. The combination of environmental disasters, war, poverty, and politics overwhelm our systems, causing us to want to shut our eyes and make it all go away.

I hope you’ll subscribe…both for the beauty of the visuals… as well as for Lilan’s wisdom. I look forward to seeing what each of these Wise Women will bring whenever they share their deeply compassionate views.

Homage, Drozda, Acrylic/board, 1998

Recently Sandra shared some links and ideas that fit so very well for this time of the yearly cycle when we purify and dream the dream of what can be…here’s a bit of her ‘art of compassion in action’:

This 7 minute guided meditation at the Mayo Clinic web site focuses on relaxation via rhythmic breathing.

Do something tangible to support your goals
Communicate your spiritual intention by creating a sanctuary or meditation space to connect with your divine essence, or make an altar to act as a focus for your awareness of the divine.

Treat yourself to a healing with a pedicure, a foot massage, or an appointment with a reflexologist.

Questions to consider during this phase:

What are my spiritual beliefs?
Do my beliefs bring me comfort or produce anxiety?
When am I most likely to assume the role of martyr?
Am I sensitive to the moods of others?
Do I listen to my intuition?
What inspires me?
Do I get enough alone time?

Tempt (detail), Drozda, Acrylic/canvas, 2008

At this time of year you can be courageous and look at what tempts you to move away from your wisdom ways…you can take advantage of these past six Moon/Months by reflecting on the beauty of the quieting glimpses of the deeply rooted Within. You can feel where the pull to slow and reconnect to your Muse and all of her guidance has tugged on your sleeve to STOP. And you can purify your spirit by breathing into the depths of the Natural You.

How beauty full you are…just as you are.

See you next week for the Disseminating Phase of the Purity Moon.

Subscribe to the Monthly Luna See

Read the full length 2012 Lifecycle Forecast and find the gift that’s waiting for you.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: A Final Test

didrozda — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:23:32 +0000

Being a Verb, Drozda, ink on Bristol

Since last October we’ve been exploring the quieting and calm that can be practiced for six Moon/Month cycles of each year. Now we come to the culmination and closure of that primarily inward time.

Here, at the close of the Natural Year we will do well to review, reflect and release anything that may still linger as a negativity built up since last spring. In the Purity cycle we can forgive the world.

During the Purity segment of the Natural Year we can make a conscious choice. Each of us is born with an inner support system. Joseph Campbell refers to these archetypal energies as Helping Hands. These unseen forces are also called Mighty Companions, Angelic Forces, Muses and the spontaneous occurrence of Synchronicity. Leaning into this level of support provides assistance when the Art/Life feels like it is on the floor, knocked out for the count. This is when, here…at this point on the wheel… we can get in touch with the Alchemical Shamanic Artist Within. We can engage in shape shifting the direction of the Art/Life so that it feels more and more like a true fit.

When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it – a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand – as a final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. If there’s a clash between the two, it’s bad art.
Marc Chagall

Ask for support from all of the Unseen Forces waiting to assist your Art/Life dream. Get grounded. Feel your roots. This is such a terrific time to be aware of being rooted into equilibrium. Once there, can you locate that natural thing within you, that thing made by the hand of the Divine. What is that which connects you to the pulse point of your Art/Life?

Today, February 27, we’re moving through the Crescent Phase. The 3.5 days of the Crescent Phase provides time for struggling. Every Moon/Month gives us this allotted time to push into our vision for the cycle. The primary creative activity for this cycle is dreaming. To be the Dreamer is like holding a seed in the hollow of your hand just before you tuck it into the earth. You know what you’re planting. You therefore know what you’ll see sprout and grow. And naturally, since we don’t have a crystal ball, we assume only that as the growth occurs there will also be challenges and problems to address…all making us stronger and more capable.

On Wednesday, February 29…Happy Leap Year…and the First Quarter Phase of this ‘Purity’ Moon cycle opens. The First Quarter Phase of each Moon/Month produces action as a result of the tension that pushing into our vision creates. Cause/affect. My favorite reminder for this point each cycle is that “to affect the quality of the day is the highest of arts.” Thanks Henry David.

I love this one too for the Purity Moon/Month…from Buckminster Fuller in I Seem To Be a Verb:

I live on earth at present,
and I don’t know what I am.
I know that I am not a category.
I am not a thing-a noun.
I seem to be a verb,
an evolutionary process-
an integral function of the universe.

So here we are just days away, literally, from the Natural Year and its beginning at the Equinox on March 20. Isn’t it grand that we can look back over the past Natural Year and see, sense and feel the expansion of the Art/Life that has occurred and at the same time reflect upon the quieting time that entered in at the Equinox of September. That quieting time ushered in the opportunity to begin the 6 Moon/Months of descent into the roots of our being. In our root zone we can uncover and rediscover our purity, innocence, integrity and transparency.

Each year it’s a natural process to visit our roots in the Under World (not a negative zone when used for replenishment and regeneration). We take time out to breathe and rest and savor and imagine. Soon we’ll emerge into the Topside World and begin the active and accelerated movement that the extended days urge us toward. The Topside World will be providing us with six Moon/Months for experience, expression, creating and contribution.

This week we’re spanning the Crescent Phase with its ‘struggle to sprout our vision’ moving to the First Quarter Phase where we ‘take action upon the awareness that the struggle brings’. All in preparation for the birth that fast approaches.

I leave you with this fitting reminder, again from Buckminster Fuller:

The most important fact about Spaceship Earth: An instruction book didn’t come with it.

I hope that you enjoy this time of celebrating your goodness, decency, wholesomeness while honoring your never to be repeated Art/Life…
as you Dream your Art/Life Dream.

It's Raining, Drozda, Acrylic/mixed media/canvas

Subscribe to the Luna See

Read the 2012 Lifecycle Forecast and discover the gift waiting for you.

See you next Monday, March 5 for the Gibbous Phase of the Purity Moon

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post

Following the Moon: Wake Up

didrozda — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:35:29 +0000

: Esperance, Drozda, canvas tapestry, 72×54″, 2010

Welcome to ‘Following the Moon’. The ‘Purity’ Moon cycle begins Tuesday, February 21.

Today, February 20, is the last day of the Balsamic Renewal Phase. Dream of being awake!

My wandering friend Sara sent along this beautiful reminder to wake up on this day:

February 20

Maha shivratri is the day when shiv tattva touches the ground.
The consciousness (ethereal world) is 10 inches above the surface. On this day, it touches the Earth element. It is very useful for people to keep awake and meditate. This helps in fulfillment of desires….

It helps you grow stronger in your being.
It is like a new year for a sadhak (seeker).
The night on this day, when the constellations are in a particular position, it is auspicious. It is considered an auspicious moment for a spiritual aspirant.

It is the wedding of the spiritual and material world.

Ratri: That which comes you comfort is Ratri.
That which takes you from the issue to the solution is ratri. Ratri means night. It removes 3 types of discomfort.

Shivratri gives you comfort and confidence that the Divine is with you and He/she is your valentine.

Ask yourself what really, really, really works and reassure yourself in the areas that feel like a fit. As you come closer to the Equinox of March 20 sense that there is a shift taking place. Energy is beginning to move at a quickening pace.

The Crescent Phase of this ‘Purity’ Moon cycle begins Saturday, February 25, and extends through Monday, February 27. During the Crescent Phase you can instinctively nurture your Purity vision. Feel the strength required to push into the ground of your being as though you can root into the earth. Stretch into the light and ask questions to learn what is waiting for your pardon. During the Purity cycle we can forgive the world.

I send along special heartfelt thanks to Ursuline College and Tri-C College for including me as Guest Artist, Keynote Speaker: ‘Planting Seeds/Harvesting Health’ and Workshop Presenter: ‘Making Life the Master Peace’ at ‘The Art of Mental Health and Wellness’ the 12th annual Art & Healing Exhibition at Tri-C Gallery East, Cleveland, Ohio.

Thank you Mary Sender, Amy Jacobs and all of your staff. Thank you gallery curator Roy Bigler. You all created a smooth and effortless ease that surround every aspect of a delightful experience. Thanks to all who attended the lively opening talk and the amazingly jazzed workshop…what a fabulous day!

If you, Dear Readers, are in the Cleveland area I invite you to stop in at Gallery East through March to savor the creative works of many who understand the power of creative healing. The exhibit is sponsored collaboratively by the Tri-C Creative Arts/Pre-Art Therapy Department, the Ursuline College Art Therapy & Counseling Department and Tri-C Gallery East, with support from The Buckeye Art Therapy Association.

See you next Monday for the First Quarter ‘Purity’ Moon

Subscribe to the Luna See

Read the 2012 Lifecycle Forecast and receive your 2012 Personal Year Energy gift

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post