Tag Archives: energy

old friends, new experiences

02 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in art, Darwin, Life, Recommendations

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

darwin-chinese-temple

Chinese Temple, Darwin City

We have been in Darwin the past week. I’m still processing the events. Whenever we visit, I am taken back to memories of the first years of my life in Australia. Because we stay in the city, and our first flat was in the city, these are my old stomping grounds! But not. So much has changed it is hard to grasp. For example, Darwin is much more beautiful now than it was then. But I was newly in love and so it still appeared beautiful to me. But mostly it was, and still is, so unique and diverse.

dried wildflowers by the sea

dried wildflowers by the sea

 

The Esplanade Bicentennial Park area did not exist in its current form and now is a joy for my early morning walks, with many glimpses of the sea just beyond the trees. This time I did something I have never done before, walked down to Lameroo Beach where the very rocky native stones meet the sea. It connected me in a new way; this mountain person who could love living by the sea.

darwin-lameroo-beach

Native stone on Lameroo Beach

Three days were spent with old friends, two days with the same friend who I came to know here in Alice, but who moved to the North 10 or so years ago. Jo is recovering from a brain injury through an accidental fall at work. She is doing very well but is working very steadily at it. She never once bemoaned her bad luck or her ongoing issues of headaches and memory struggles. It was my joy to be able to help her set up a blog page which I commend to you. She is still learning the ropes but I know you will be kind to her. Her first post was so moving, she will most certainly be a fabulous contributor to the blog community. Jo plans to write about her many interests as well as her journey recovering from the brain injury. Because I think you will enjoy her writing and her story, here is a link: https://intralude.wordpress.com/

friends living room in filtered light

my artist friend’s living room in filtered light (Waterlogue edit from original photo)

quilty-after-afghanistan

painting by Ben Quilty

My other dear friend is one I made 30 years ago. We share an interest and practice in art, among other things. This time we attended the ‘After Afghanistan’ Exhibition by renowned, and official war artist, Ben Quilty. Having seen a documentary about his creation of the works, I was still unprepared for how moving they would be in person. You’d think I would know better! They were really about energy–the energy of one’s being that is changed when going off to war. I felt the emotion of several of the pieces as if they were physical blows to my solar plexus. Even thinking back on them now my tummy tightens with emotion. That is art.

quilty-after-afghanistan

painting by Ben Quilty

quilty-after-afghanistan

painting by Ben Quilty

Arriving home yesterday to the flashing button of the answering machine was an inauspicious welcome, as it turned out. My credit card has been compromised. Fortunately the bank was quick to recognise it and so there is only a $7 debit that got through. But now, everything that I normally do with my card, which is EVERYTHING, must be changed over when the new card arrives, probably in about a week. It could have been so much worse, and for that I am grateful.

But it has unhinged me a little. The post I had been working on will wait for another day.

This much I know for sure, and needed no processing…I have loved my life and cherish my friends, who are testaments to that life, as I am to theirs. In the words of German theologian, philosopher, Meister Eckhart “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘thank you’, that will be enough”.

darwin-sunset

Serenity at sunset from Bicentennial Park

Changing the flow

09 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Creativity, Inspiration, photography

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

At the moment I am resisting everything that tells me I must do.  The stack of papers on my kitchen bench that indicates I must do some filing, the leaves outside the front door that show me I must do some sweeping, the plants in the garden that look at me to re-pot them, the kitchen window that shows me the dirt that needs washing away.  The list is endless. Always. Seldom do I ever feel caught up. It feels insane. And you know what they say: Insanity is repeating the same behaviour over and over but expecting a different result.IMG_7351

In an effort to change the river’s flow, I am practicing patience… learning to dwell in Ambiguity.  It is a place where there are no demands (due to a patient husband), but there are many things that beckon.  I am floating, rather precariously, between the two shores, at times.  Drifting close to the edge of demands, then back again toward the vortex of ‘never-never’.

Being comfortable with ambiguity allows more creative flow. My river of creative flow has temporarily gone underground.  I am a dry riverbed, with still waters running deeply but with no access… temporarily… awaiting a flood of new energy rushing in and raising me up to see possibility.  At first it seems like Ambiguity is nothingness.  But it is everything-ness.  All things are possible when we have not yet chosen. Dwelling in Ambiguity gives me more time to examine the possibilities.

And even if we have chosen, we can choose again.  We have the Universe’s permission.

Filing papers, sweeping leaves and floors, dusting table tops, washing windows rob my energy, steal my focus, reduce joy and energy.

If I first think I must, then I must not.

But if I first think, I would like to, then I must.

When it is implied on social media that I must ‘share’ or re-post something if I agree with it, I will not.  Ever.  Don’t tell me what I must do, how I must behave.  I no longer even listen to myself on that topic.

Share your thoughts with me if you wish… but only if you want to.

The ‘W’ word

31 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by in Creativity, Inspiration

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

Have you ever committed to doing something that you didn’t particularly want to do but were talked into it?  Most of us have.  I try not to let myself get talked into things these days, but now and then it happens.

Recently, a friend bought a batch of tickets to see a one man musical performance by a guitarist.  She and her husband asked if we wanted two of the tickets. We declined on the first offer… not really into guitar music, concert didn’t start until 8pm (on a school night, lol) etc, etc.  A week or so later, ‘said friends’ were at our place for dinner, as was another couple.  The topic of conversation turned to the concert and again, we hedged.  Our friends gently, but firmly, rejected our response and upon their recommendation we finally agreed to go.

About 10 days before the concert, panic.  The night had been changed due to the artist’s availability or something.  Did not bode well for my already hesitant inclinations.

The night before the concert I did not sleep well, so I was going to be even more tired than usual and going to be up late to boot.

We arrived fashionably early for the concert, collected our tickets and as soon as possible we went to our seats.  As I sat I felt my tiredness.  The theatre was nearly filled to capacity, just under 500 seats.  The staging was simple, just guitars, an amp, a small seat and a bottle of water.  The lights dimmed and a shadowy figure walked briskly to the microphone.

He had me at ‘hello’.

The energy the artist’s voice exuded with that single word, matched perfectly by the energy of his performance, was nothing short of the exemplification of the creative human being in full flight… at the top of his art.  His entire body melded with the guitar and at one point, I joined them, sending chills up my spine and down my arms.  He was what those of us who dabble in art strive for, a place that leaves no doubt you are doing what you were meant to do.  No shortcuts (he told us those are at the butcher shop!), just hard work to ready oneself for the flow of the creative.

I love to be wrong.  And Tommy Emmanuel was just the person to show me, how wonderful wrong can be.

Feeding an ego.

08 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in Inspiration, People

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , ,

IMG_1944The ego loves to complain and feel resentful. It loves to feel superior.  What it cannot abide is indifference.  It has come to my realisation in recent years that most troubles between humans come from our inability to control our own egocentric behaviour and our reactions to it in others.  Ego is a necessary part of our being, but we know little about how it works.  Most of the time our choices are made unconsciously, feeding egos in unintentional ways. (read: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle)  But we can grow beyond that unconsciousness and become aware of our ego’s nature, and produce positive outcomes from it, regardless of circumstances.

Newsworthy events this week have shown both sides of the ego.  Early in the week, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch passed away at the age of 103.  A TV interview with her was run as a tribute, recorded in 2008, when she would have been just shy of 100.  She was the epitome of selflessness, almost to the point of disbelief.  Certainly I can only aspire to such existence.  Her wizened, wrinkled face was imbued with radiance and exuded love.

Yesterday, the Morcombe family showed us what courage and love is, while shouldering the pain of their beautiful boy who was killed, tragically, nine years ago.  As I listened to the father at the memorial service, tell the assembled thousands not to be sad for Daniel’s passing but to celebrate his life and dedicate his memory to helping other children avoid a similar fate, tears streamed down my face.  The Morcombes and their supportive community represented the human race at its best, even in the face of an evil act.

At the opposite end of the ego spectrum was a series of events still unfolding this morning. A few days ago, two misguided Aussie radio personalities made a prank call to the hospital where Duchess Kate had been hospitalised with severe morning sickness.  Wasn’t it enough that this couple had their early pregnancy disrupted with unfortunate sickness and hospitalisation?  Did these media personalities need to feed their egocentric selves and inject their prank just to make a name or garner rating points? Whether or not the death of the nurse involved is connected to the prank, the stunt would have caused her and her family great discomfort in what turned out to be her last days.  And the vitriol released in social media only serves to feed the dark side of this unconscious behaviour.  It does nothing to enlighten the world.

All of these events follow closely on the heels of the ugly, egocentricities of our political leaders who seem, continually, to raise the benchmark for bad public behaviour.

It is sickening to see how low our human race can go, at times.  And yet, there is positivity all around us, if we choose to focus on it.  Let’s reign in our egos.  Be indifferent to the egocentric behaviours in others, do not feed that energy.  Deny its power and turn away. Be aware of your own motives and aspire to constructive intention with every action.  It will ensure a much happier life for our loved ones, the world, and us.  Stunts and evil deeds may feed egos but they are not what feed our souls.

What’s in a Number?

04 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in Books, Life, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

hand turned tea cups

I am not a superstitious person.  Nor am I a person who follows my horoscope regularly, or any other discipline, except that which ‘feels true’ to me and which is a useful ‘tool’ for understanding myself and Life.

However… some years ago I did participate in a series of workshops about colour therapy.  Within those workshops was an overview of Numerology and how numbers and their energy (vibrations) relate to colour vibrations, and therefore are useful in therapeutic situations.  As I understand it, this is a discipline that attempts to explain all things, based on numeric values which have inherent vibrations.  (Apologies to devotees, if I oversimplify this, I welcome your comments…)  If it helps, most of us learned in high school science that each colour has a different ‘wave’ of energy assigned to it, red being larger, blue being smaller etc.  Carry this idea of energy to the broader world to understand that everything, even our thoughts and prayers have ‘energy’ to them.

The way I was introduced into this concept was through assigning numbers to each of the letters of my name and birth date (the numbers are specific, not at my discretion).  Eventually, the numbers are reduced down, by adding them together, to a single digit, except in the case of the numbers 11 and 22 as they have a special meaning.  (consult a book called ‘Numerology and the Divine triangle’ by Javane/Bunker, if you want a more detailed explanation)  In my own case the numbers 7, 11 and 4 were very significant.  The number 4 was the product of the procedure for finding one’s ‘Life Lesson’ number.  As I have understood it,  a person’s life lesson is about why they are here on earth, and what they are meant to learn from experiences in life.

The number 4, among many things, is about balance and building foundations in one’s life (as in the four corners of a building).  When you have a number for your Life Lesson, you will also find that multiples of that number have significance as well.  So in my case, 2, 8, 12 and 16 will also bring to bear on the experiences contributing to my life lesson.  Are you still with me?

Last year when I turned 58, I confess to the sceptics, I was aware that this would be a number 8 ‘year’ for me, all year, and that it had a strong ‘4’ vibe to it, but I had only made note of the fact and pushed it to the back of my mind.  My birth day (17th) and month (05) adds up to 13 which is reduced to a ‘4’ and then you add the year, 2011, another four, which made it an ‘8’ year all up, but because I had turned 58, which also adds up to 4 made my Life Lesson ‘4’ vibration very strong for the year.  Three days after I turned 58, on the 20th of the month (a ‘2’), I received a phone call that my mammogram had something unusual on it and I needed to have another one.  On the 26th (an 8) I had the mammogram and ensuing needle biopsy the same day.  On the 31st (4) I received the news that I had cancer.  By this stage I was not surprised.

On the 2nd of June I learned I had ductal carcinoma.  On the 16th (16/06/2011 = 8) I had the surgery.  I was in room #4, bed #2 and was operated on in theatre #8.  The day I left the hospital, the 17th (8) Don and I had lunch at a little café around the corner from the hotel and when we sat down I noted the table was #4. (I did not consciously orchestrate any of this.  I did not choose the date on which I was operated, or the room I would occupy etc.  However, I do acknowledge it may be possible to subconsciously ‘cause’ these things to happen on these dates etc. based on vibrational energies, though I profess NO skill in this area.  Also, there are many ways to interpret numbers in numerology and it’s entirely possible someone else would interpret them differently.)

On November 20 (20/11/2011 = 4) my dear friend died of breast cancer (see ‘Remembering Ivy‘), and in February our daughter left home to begin her new life and I noted… it was the 4th. (see ‘She is gone‘)  I’m not trying to draw any conclusions, on which to base future decisions or life path, but likewise, I don’t believe in coincidences.  I do think there probably is some significance in all of this.  What it is, I’m not sure, but of one thing I am very certain.  There is no doubt in my heart that I have been on my true path the passed year.  I’m also certain that numbers bring with them an energy, just as colour has ‘waves’ of energy, and our thoughts, words and deeds are accompanied by energy.  If you doubt me, look for a book by Gary Zukav called ‘The Dancing Wu Li Masters’.  It explains the ‘new physics’ called Quantum Physics, so that the non-academic reader can (mostly) understand it.  There are many things in this world/Universe that we don’t understand, and I like to think I can expand my mind to at least include the possibilities they represent.

What did I learn from my #8/4 year?  That I am extremely blessed and loved.  What greater lesson can life hold?

(I began writing this several months ago, and have only finished it today.  Just now I looked down at the calendar on my computer desktop to see that it is indeed the 4th.  I swear I didn’t plan this.  My year of 4’s was over on the 17th of May 2012, but as you can see, there is a lingering energy, perhaps trying to help me make sense of it all… or perhaps the Universe is just revealing its wonderful sense of humour!)