Dancing by the Light of the Moon

As the moon swells, it seems like the best time to dance by its light, and sing the song of the Buffalo gals from 1844.....revived in 1944 as the tune Dance with the Dolly.

Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight?

Come out tonight, Come out tonight?

Buffalo gals, won't you come out tonight,

And dance by the light of the moon.

adapted by John Hodges, 1844, minstrel/blackface, known as 'Cool White'

It's been hard to blog this summer as the creative voice silenced and the hands moved instead, clearing out the old to make room for the new. Revisiting the 1980s in a pile of unopened boxes revealed photos of bad haircuts, worse clothes, and some really sad color combinations. Recently, a young friend asked me, "What was with you people in the 80's?" and I had little I could say to that exclamation. Big hair, bad bow ties and Pee Wee Herman....oh, well.  So it's time now to dance into fall, and be a Buffalo gal.

I think of the sacred bison and feel my second fetish start dancing in my soul. It is carved in turquoise by Zuni artist Stewart Quandelacy of the talented Quandelacy family. I love the strength and wisdom of this animal, known as Ta Tanka in Lakota. The bison always is with me when I go to sacred spaces and sits in my left hand balancing his cousin Bear in my right. Lakota and Zuni, together, these spirits bring prayer and introspection, strength and healing, abundant journeys and protection.

So I find myself going outside now to be a buffalo gal and dance in the light of the moon, ushering in the season of fall.
For beautiful fetishes check out this gallery: http://www.keshi.com/categories/fetishes

Divine Inspiration: Just Show Up and things and things will happen

The blogging spirit has been silent for awhile. So today, while I was looking for something else, I stumbled across the inspirational quote below, which had been sent to me awhile ago by a friend. In trying to find out who said it, I found another quote which is listed in the title of this post: "Just Show Up and things and things will happen."
Those words reminded me to return to the blog for June, although it may be a little while before I have another creative offering to share.

So, I am showing up today, and sharing both quotes from their author, Mother Theresa.  Read them and share them with others. Show Up and see what happens next.

"May today be peace within. May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be... May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you... May you be content knowing you are a child of God... Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise, and love. It is there for each and every one of you."  Mother Theresa

Supporting Inspiration: Our Animal Companions

A new month means a new singular offering, so here are two more icons, honoring two animals who across their lives inspired their owners. Emanuel was born with a twisted neck and the decision had been made to let him go. Enter an extraordinary veterinarian, who felt his spirit move her to adopt him. She undid the muscle deformity with her healing hands over time, and Emanuel lived strong and proud across the 12 years of his life, always by her side, inspiring compassion in all who heard his story. He was a singular dog, who helped his human companion bring the miracle of healing to animals and owners everywhere.

Popokeh started his life as a first kitten for a little girl. When the girl had a baby brother, he was put outside to be raised by the dog, as the family, who had little cat experience, feared he might scratch the new baby.  His intelligent, curious nature took him places the brave would not travel, so he ended up ill and fierce on my back fence. Believing him to be old and dying, we sheltered him as best we could, using holistic treatments until he stopped coughing, hissing, and biting. Eventually, his curiosity brought him inside our house, where we all fell profoundly in love with him. He was called Scarlett for his fiery temperament, and later just came to be known as Boo.  He inspired poetry and song, while he did things like admire art for hours which made us laugh. He died twice while we had him and ended up in his final passing, teaching me the power of grace. I miss him beyond the beyond. He has become my eternal source of inspiration.

The animals who are our companions give us their hearts and souls and do so without expectation of love. To return the favor and gift an animal sanctuary is the least we can do. The link below lists sanctuaries across the United States from California with 106 to Wyoming with 3, the sanctuaries struggle to help all the animals.
Find your state and make a donation if you care:
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Organizations/Animal_Welfare/Rescues_and_Shelters/Regional/North_America/United_States

Inspiration: Creating Beauty using Nature, Dedication, & Wisdom

Blogging about creativity, I find myself really considering the process of inspiration. For me, inspiration is fully engaging with something beautiful outside the self, bringing that beauty in, and then putting it back out in a unique way. It is a focusing on something in the natural world. It is a dedicated attention to seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, moving, or sensing beauty. It is a wise integration of the experience. It is a sharing. The creative form, when placed outside the self, is a future source of inspiration.

Creativity is a process of renewal. 
Creativity is doing the Hokey Pokey:

You put your whole self in, you put your whole self out, you put your whole self in then you shake it all about, you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what it's all about!

So, today I am sharing a view from the Hubble telescope which I find inspirational. It shows the birth of thousands of stars in a galaxy. I love this image for its archetypal form. I see it as the symbol of movement found in so many cultures from the nautilus to the native to our now. Spiraling in and out, up and down, a coming and going. For me the image is a fluid process where two sides meet in movement. I share it as the image I will use as the start of a future Singular offering, which I am entitling Peace of Prose.  The vision for this project is a collaborative artwork to inspire Peace by words and images. The artwork will be passed hand to hand for people to see and share then possibly extend in image and word, if they are so inspired.

In the meantime, here's a link with beautiful imagery, celebrating the Hubble telescope's 21st birthday. We see the universe through the mighty eye of the Hubble.  Notice the connection and interaction of two galaxies, which is perhaps the best outcome when stars collide.

http://www.batangastoday.com/hubble-space-telescope-stunning-image-of-arp-273-by-space-telescope-science-institute-released-to-celebrate-21st-birthday/12011/

Marching Out Another Singular Offering

Marching out an offering, I have been contemplating creativity.  Here is a short version of my creative process:
If you immerse yourself in something outside the self that you truly enjoy and take that whole experience in, then the creative force flows, fast and furious. Immersion can be either external observation (bringing in by sensing out) or internal relinquishment (bringing in by sensing in).  For example, sometimes, when I am writing, I calmly open my sensory awareness to bring in. I sense in to bring in.  Other times, when I am starting to create visually, I look outside the self for inspiration. I sense out to bring in.  For me, creativity becomes a process of both outside and inside observation, which could be a process of inspiration and respiration. In short, a process of experiencing the senses and breathing. Most people might call this LIFE.

So here is my singular offering for March posted in April...Foolish me. The singular offering is two collages from a series I call Iconic Animals, honoring important animals in our lives. These two images reflect the beloved dog of a healer and the beloved cat of an artist. The icons are dedicated to Heidi and Mezzo, who are still loved by their owners,
beyond the beyond.

Creativity - Slowly Add in Nature #8/8

Today I am reminded of the power of nature in a good way. After a stimulating discussion last night with close friends about meditative approaches, I took a mindful eye outside this morning. I watched the birds singing, I watched the cat watching the birds. I watched the eating of the seed and the inspection by the cat of all that is botanical. In this watching, I felt the natural world all around and relaxed, despite urban noise, into what neuroscientists might call a dorsal vagal resting place. From rest, my thoughtfulness expanded. I grabbed my journal and immersed myself, digesting my experience by writing a circular poetic and drawing its form in minutes. Nature gave me the gift of rapid creative inspiration, a rarity for me. 

Patty Carpenter in her song entitled A Thousand Hands of Compassion writes of giving and receiving in this way. She sings, "New energy in giving, the power of receiving, openings in time." It may be that the energy from the gifts of nature, if we can receive it, opens us into the timeless flow of creativity. To receive a gift of nature, try meditative listening to the bird songs on this 5 minute link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4Z9d9oObY

Creativity - Add In Wisdom #7/8

Attending to the wise, who spend time in contemplation, we find the Hopi elders writing on healing with images and words to consider. What is life, if not our heart's path? This message went winding its way from Arizona across the Internet to Japan. It came back to me to share with you. The process of passing along wisdom for renewal.

The elders urge us to attend to balance and to seek renewal, so the world is passed along, as the treasure it is, to all the generations yet to be. In considering creativity, we need to add in the wisdom of what it is that our heart wants us to do. I say this blessing aloud to invite creative opening:

May we all find our heart's path and walk the tao of the heart creative.  Thanks again to Charlie Badenhop for his way of creating harmonic  inspiration. 

See his practices link at www.seishindo.org

Creativity - Sprinkle in Dedication #6/8

Japan Animal Rescue - Click on Link Below to Donate

http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support

Today finds me continuing to hope for healing for Japan and for several friends, struggling to regain their footing. This dog survived a 4 foot wall of water, then got reporters to come so they could help. The power of this dog's love and dedication moves our hearts in the rhythm of expansion, a powerful part of the creative force.  Animals love beyond reason and that love sustains us even in the worst of times.  Animals live through and despite challenges, and often it is humankind who create the challenges animals face. To feel the force of being alive in adversity and to bring that dedication into the creative process is to live in joy.


The dogs were both rescued and have moved the world with their dedication. The link above goes to the ChipIn website and Paypal account for three Japanese no-kill animal rescues. HEART, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network are linking their resources to rescue, reunite, and rehome lost animals in Japan. Please donate.

Creativity - Add Water and Shake #5/8

Following the events in Japan, I find myself curious as to how one might live in the most challenging of times, and still find joy despite such uncertain footing and loss. I feel the grief of those who survive having lost family and friends.  I also sense their gratitude for who and what remains in their everyday. I notice the collective need to focus on the now. 


Checking in on a masterful life teacher who lives in Tokyo, I find him feeding birds, offering prayers, breathing, and chanting. In the midst of uncertainty and fear, I find him creating. So, today I honor Charlie Badenhop for his work in holding ground, praying for a southwesterly wind, and facing hard challenges as he and his adopted country struggle to right what has washed away. In the empty spaces I know there will be new growth and possibilities. To hold growth and new ways of living as truth despite troubling times requires faith in creation.


To see Charlie create and share during these times, is to feel the power of creation, faith, and love. Blessings to Charlie and to the southwesterly winds. May gentle breaths now blow away harm and bring in healing. To hear Charlie and feel his prayers, check out his Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Seishindo or his website http://www.seishindo.org/ .

Creativity - Add in Milk #4/8

While thinking about cooking up creativity, I could not resist adding in MILK. Check out the farewell to these British animation heroes, who have advertised the benefits of milk through their antics for 4 years. The music rocks and the heroes deserve a farewell swan song for beauty in healthy advertising that we need more of in our culture. The website of Cravendale, is worth a gander too. http://www.milkmatters.co.uk/

Arla Foods, located in Leeds, actually strain their milk of bacteria, enabling it to be described as beneficial for healthy teeth.  While milk may not be good for everybody, milk calms the soul by supplying tryptophan, an essential amino acid that we must ingest in order to digest proteins. Tryptophan converts into niacin and is a precursor to serotonin, the neurotransmitter in our brains and guts that fuels healthy minds and bodies. When food allergies prevent drinking milk, tryptophan from other non-dairy food sources like bananas, nuts, seeds, and soy products may be a viable alternative to discuss with your doctor or nutritionist.  So, goodbye cow, pirate, and cyclist and hello kitty! See the TV link on their website for more creatively delicious images.

Creativity - Blending in Beauty #3/8

Today I am remembering that creative cooking requires the witnessing of beauty. To start from calm and to be able to observe beauty, is to start simmering the creative force.  We only need to observe and then notice how our observation is reflected inside ourselves to develop the beautiful creative.

An amazing photographer took this picture of my cat considering a painting that her landscape architect husband had rendered. The photograph and oil painting are as beautiful to me as the actual world they reflect, now changed by these works into other art forms. This perpetuation of art is important, and a process I invite you to do, however it is that you do art. If you feel you don't do art, consider your gardening or your cooking or you humming or even your cleaning. Beauty grows from what the hand touches and the heart loves. See the beautiful Kiva photo below for helping beauty emerge in the world, and see ClaireRule.com and JeffreyRule.com for more beautiful works in photographic and fine art inspired by the natural world.

Creativity - Cooking it Up #2/8

And the first ingredient is....Calm. Sitting with my cat across all the days of his illness was to sit in calm. His steady composure was contagious, and created a kind of joyful peace that I will always remember despite the sadness of those days. In setting an intention to evoke and share the creative in community, then I have to start with Calm. The largest sense of calm for me comes from the natural world whether in sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste, the calm "is always there, except when it is not" (cf., Bill O'Hanlon). Today, I blend Calm in a slideshow below on the sidebar; sharing some resources for Calm, for us and for those who may live with us. I give a shout out 3 times to Dr. Lee Bartel, a University of Toronto musicologist who started his career by putting babies to sleep. His CDs evoke the magical by inviting the brain to settle into coherent brain waves. Calm creates a foundation for creativity, whether we believe we have it or not. Finding the sense of calm, noticing and connecting with that, then opening our eyes from that place within is how we begin to cook the creative.

New Recipe - Creativity #1/8

Today I am creating a new recipe for community. I like to cook up unique verse projects that nourish the soul; turning them into singular books, iconic images, or collaborative verses that are shared among us. The opening verse is a decorative passage, honoring an iconoclastic cat who lived strong and well across the nine years of his existence. I miss him beyond the beyond, and hold his spirit in my heart. ONE is my verse of his passage into grace. The witnessing of his love and courage was a gift that he would want shared with you.