no room for inertia in heart space

sanctuary in the heart

Ever feel reborn in your own life? A clarity & a calling born of harmony.

No inertia in this space.

This path is the process of fearlessly peering into the mysterious nature of life & relaxing our mental & emotional grip on our own place within it…..Elizabeth Lesser

feeling roots, feeling knots, feeling sky,

feeling green, feeling wind, feeling breath….

this is the tangible place where we can see our heart….can envision our place…can connect to those roots & knots & sky & green & wind & breath….make it real….

Imagining Mystery

There is something

that contains everything.

Before heaven & earth

it is.

Oh, it is still, unbodied,

all on its own, unchanging,

all-pervading,

ever-moving.

So it can act as the mother

of all things.

Not knowing its real name,

we only call it the Way.

If it must be named,

let its name be Great.

Greatness means going on,

going on means going far,

and going far means turning back.

So they say, ‘The Way is great,

heaven is great,

earth is great,

and humankind is great;

four greatnesses in the world,

and humanity is one of them.’

People follow earth,

earth follows heaven,

heaven follows the Way,

the Way follows what is.

…….Lao Tzu……

…..the Way is the Heart…..

engrave your own yearning

a fairy-tale life…

the glow of a fairy-tale nook....

There is nothing quite like the land of make-believe….

nothing else can make the day a little more magical…all things winged…

maybe a little dream time in a beauteous garden…

I could believe in a dream like this…..a fairy tale house? oh yes…

DailyGood: Man Builds Fairy Tale Home for $4700, by Heidi Stevenson.

winged fairies remind me to open to possibility, to stay fresh…

wandering & wondering…..

if you believe, the fairies will swoop in…

…….I don’t want to live a small life…….

I don’t want to live a small life. Open your eyes,

open your hands. I have just come

from the berry fields, the sun

kissing me with its golden mouth all the way

(open your hands) & the wind-winged clouds

following along thinking perhaps I might

feed them, but no I carry these heart-shapes

only to you. Look how many how small

but so sweet & maybe the last gift

I will ever bring to anyone in this

world of hope & risk, so do.

Look at me. Open your life, open your hands.

Mary Oliver

the inexpressible….listening to the shell….

the other half of our shell

contentment really is a natural & gracious place for our unseen selves to be…affirming this is seeing the whole….the other half of all of our queries, restlessness & peeking hopes…

this is a provocative & intuitive lightness….a softer truth than our usual hard edges…

maybe this is where our muse finds us…it was there all along…

There is no place to search for the truth. Though it’s right beneath your feet, it can’t be found. Look at springtime….when the snow has melted, the scars of the landscape are no longer hidden….John Daido Loori

remembering beauty…do you hear the ocean in a shell?

these subtle shifts are so welcome….

a light touch, a gentler art, an enchantment…

Every art has its mystery, its spiritual rhythm….D.T. Suzuki

what is hidden behind the moon?

roar of silence...

If we had a keen vision & feeling of all ordinary life, it would be like hearing the grass grow & the squirrel’s heartbeat & we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence…..George Eliot

Making wishes to the night sky….upon a star…..something magical in that silence of a wish…inspires an opening….no goal setting……no implementation….no roadblocks..

a  place of ease…a natural resting place…

It is the other side of silence…..playful…..deeper than mystery….

Somehow….the most beautiful place we go when in silence….wishing & waiting….. becomes not about the outcome anymore…

It’s the stillness, the intention coming from wonderment…

Receiving… 

Maybe this sweet spot is grace…this silence its own reward…the stars & moon a place to rest your heart…

‘A mystical experience is a sense of your not being what you thought you were, an experience of your heart’s or mind’s true nature. It is a startingly clear & moving feeling.’…Mark Epstein

Clear….like the night sky…..like the space behind the moon…

a nap & a shared journey

tempting journeys...

 science cannot solve the ulitmate mystery of nature….and it is because in the last analysis we ourselves are part of the mystery we are trying to solve….Max Planck

why the need for a tribal journey? because we are all on the same journey in so may ways….learning how to love…learning how to be ourselves…

our journey is not paved….and yes, it’s uphill….

remember this: your creations are the mirror in which the rest of us find ourselves…..your stories & poems & paintings contain the seeds we need to grow our own….as you look to the writers, the poets, the musicians, & the storytellers for whatever truths they have to offer, we look to you for the same….we need each other….do not be afraid…Jan Phillips

naps along the way, preferably in a bed of moss, are always welcome….and even more so when shared….

we are charmed & blessed…

glimpse of art’s night dance…

glimpse of beauty

yes, a little night magic….

The Soul’s Superior instants Occur to Her- alone- When friend- & earth’s occasion Have infinite withdrawn….Emily Dickinson

beginning to feel like preparations for the new year are more settled….a loosening around all that this year will bring….allowing what will be….

moving from planning to being…

some of my new year’s thoughts on being an artist…

I am profoundly moved by making art. Having little framework with which to explain the mystery of art, the barriers to making art & the fortitude to deepen the practice of art-making have collectively pushed me to move beyond the comfort of my craft. An appreciation for the depth of the richly faceted concept of creative process & and my own view of art as an artful living process brings a new authenticity & confidence to my search for meaning in art.

this fulgent mystery ‘comes up’ like gifts of gold, nesting in a box…

questioning the poetics of my boxes...

angels lurking…

angels lurking around...

The Solstice marks time….it is the source of all of our celebrations right now…..

It is beautiful to honor our own source, our strengths, & our blessings….

May you be filled with Gratitude for all that you have, all that you are, & all of your challenges….remembering that they too, help us to evolve, to learn & to grow….

Peace, Joy, Gratitude, & Friendship…..my placecards at the dinner table last evening for a gathering of friends….celebrating this wonderful moment….

Look outside, up at the sky, kiss your excitement, your searching & your transformations through time’s passing….

People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive…so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive…Joseph Campbell

A lustrous moment to revel in mystery…

peeking ’round corners to catch an angel’s wings…

gathering gratitude in solstice light...

Mary Poppins & the Buddha

One of those days. You know what I mean. Staying ‘present’ and in the moment meant dissolving, stooping over, slowing to a crawl, and losing my absolute and undeniable gift for multitasking to the nth degree.

Mary Poppins could multi-task and stay in the moment. Fully. Was it the umbrella? The carpet bag? No. It was the magic. And staying real at the same time. Ship shape, yet footloose. Organized yet never a care in the world. Up up and away…with sensible shoes.

The laughing Buddha reminds us of a similar paradox. We move deliberately yet without attachment to the outcome.

Does this mean my day would have danced and twirled in the land of make believe today?….if I would have had an umbrella and sensible shoes?