woman on fire

in the midst of releasing 2010 with love and gratitude, I witnessed a woman catch fire...how am I to catch fire this coming year?

2010 coming to an end

Searching the skies for angels...

roses and feathers

plumas y rosas


yo me regalo plumas y rosas

bailo al ritmo de mi alma

y soy feliz...



I give myself feathers and roses

dancing at soul's rhythm

I am happy...

journeys into the self

...life is a wildly wonderful adventure made up of journeys. Throughout each journey we encounter individuals who influence us, impact us in such a way that we are never quite the same thereafter...I have vivid memories...

excerpt from a series of writings, 2006

creating

"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself." - Anaïs Nin

let us be a light

"Lord, make me a channel of your peace,



That where there is hatred,I may bring love:



Where there is wrong,I may bring the spirit of forgiveness:



Where there is discord,I may bring harmony:



Where there is error,I may bring truth:



Where there is doubt,I may bring faith:



Where there is despair,I may bring hope:



Where there are shadows,I may bring light:



Where there is sadness,I may bring joy:



Lord, grant I may seek rather



To comfort than to be comforted;



To understand than to be understood;



To love than to be loved;



For it is by forgetting self

That one finds,



It is by forgiving

That one is forgiven,



It is by dying

That one awakens to eternal life.

Amen."



- "Prayer for Peace" by Mother Teresa and The Sisters of Charity

adapted from the Prayer of St. Francis

Merry Christmas

the REAL santa
"It came without ribbons!

It came without tags!

It came without packages, boxes or bags!...

...Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!" - Dr. Seuss

noche buena

vintage photo from my grandparents' home, circa 1970s or 1960s
Tonight families gather to celebrate each other and to honor the Eve of Christ’s birth.

Those who are far away are missed more than ever.

Those who have passed away are always remembered.

A feast is prepared and enjoyed amidst laughter and song.

At midnight, bells ring to announce La Misa del Gallo, midnight mass with choir and candlelight.

Esta noche es Noche-Buena
Y no es noche de dormir.
– old Spanish verse

originally posted in 2007

a peaceful state of being

Remember

This December,

That love weighs more than gold!

~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

Let us not go crazy attempting to shop until we drop. A piece of paper with LOVE scribbled on it is more valuable than any other gift, even gold. A relaxed and peaceful state of being is more appreciated than a tired, stressed out state.

Take a nap instead of wrapping those last ten gifts...

Sip a cup of tea and contemplate the true meaning of the season...

Remember

This December,

That love weighs more than gold!

~Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

remembering His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda

Sri Gurudev playing with me, circa 1973-1974

His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda was born on December 22nd in 1914.  I celebrate beloved Gurudev, today and always...OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti...

winter solstice

The wheel has been set in motion again for the New Year.

I am entering a new phase of my life...and it is time to celebrate the light.

total lunar eclipse

in full glory and majesty

Celestial Goddess strolls through Mother Earth’s shadow

with Father Sun bestowing coppery crimson kisses

originally published on March 3, 2007 in anticipation of the total lunar eclipse

dreaming with Luis H. Debayle

mixed media from an ongoing series

my great-great-grandfather visited my dreams last night and invited me to write...

married to art

“You must learn to love your art as though you are married to it.”
- Loïs Mailou Jones (1905-1998)

grateful to my tribe

we are loud

we laugh a lot

we celebrate life

we multiply in an instant

we take over

we never apologize for who we are...

my tribe...my family, my friends...always loving and supporting me...

G R A C I A S....!!!

Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa

recordando a Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa
mi bello Popo de colonias y cuentos


Popo quien me enseño a dibujar
a jugar con palabras
a platicar con seguridad


a ser una verdadera pavo-real-la
de plumas blancas y plateadas como las de las hadas


Popo, siempre impecable y notable
un genio genial y jovial
de medallas y honores
Popo de mis amores


siento su mirada noche y día
escucho sus consejos
segura que nos encontramos en mis sueños..

a dancing star

One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.

- Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

she tells me a free spirit requires discipline

In preparing the final details for my exhibit tomorrow, I came across this important reminder:

"It takes discipline to be a free spirit." - Gabrielle Roth

gems of the soul

goddess of the sea


whispered


you belong to me


write of my lovers


sing of my pirates


dance with my waves


make gems of the soul


goddess of the sea


mother nature and me


excerpt from “The Goddess Speaks” a manuscript in progress

mystical universal mother

her roses

invaded me with sacred blessings

mother mary, mother earth
 
mystical goddess
 
mystical mother of the universe

taste only sacredness

"Something opens our wings. Something makes boredom and hurt disappear. Someone fills the cup in front of us: We taste only sacredness." - RUMI

today, let us taste only sacredness in the ordinary...

earth's gifts

She placed earth's gifts around her neck, each one a memory, each one a lesson, each one a dream...

casimira: protective healing amulets

the shaman handed me a pouch of carved jade and rough gems, instructing me to create protective healing amulets...

Mama Linda

my son & his great grandmother's Madre Maria


he calls her "Mama Linda" - "Beautiful Mother"

how do we reach out to the Mother within every woman?

how do we surrender to the wisdom of Mother Earth?

how do we embrace the Goddess within every woman?

love as a mother loves

Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child.
- Buddha (563-483 B.C.)

after my morning yoga and prayer, I found this quote from one of my journals

prayerful evolution

I woke up before the sun and prayed...

"Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this hidden meaning is serving your own evolution.” - Deepak Chopra

new moon dreams

wearing delicate diamond feathers, she bathed her dreams in moonlight

amanecí con alma de mar

amanecí con ganas de crear

amanecí con ganas de volar

vamos a bailar

vamos a soñar

amanecí con alma de mar

calling back wasted energy...forgiving

forgiveness keeps us young, forgiveness keeps us light, forgiveness keeps us in love with life

who do we need to forgive?
who needs to forgive us?

"The act of forgiveness is the act of returning to present time. And that's why when one has become a forgiving person, and has managed to let go of the past, what they've really done is they've shifted their relationship with time. Forgive and call back the energy wasted on past events."
- Carolyn Myss

whispers of the gods

"Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

queen of the rivers & winds & sea

"I am Isis, mistress of the whole land...I am she who separated the heaven from the earth. I have instructed mankind in the mysteries...I have ordered the course of the sun and the moon. I am queen of the rivers and winds and sea...I have made justice more powerful than silver and gold. I have caused truth to be considered beautiful. I am she who is called the Goddess of women..." - excerpt from the Inscription on The Temple of Isis at Sais

his kiss still makes me blush...today

he kissed me
16 years ago
today

he married me
8 years ago
today

his kiss still makes me blush...

the artist, the author

another self-portrait?  why not?   MIXED MEDIA 2010

What do you like best about yourself ?  How are you true to yourself ?

"What I like best about myself...is my audacity, my courage. The ways I have found to be true to myself without causing too much pain or damage. What I hate so much is my vanity, my need to shine, my need of applause and my sentimentality. I would like to be harder. I cannot make a joke, make fun of anyone, without feeling regrets."- Anaïs Nin (1903-1977)

I love the artist in me who dares with such security...

I love the author in me, birthing new worlds out of dreams and hopes...

I don't use the word "hate" - but I do dislike my need to please others...my need to be loved by all...although the older I get, the less I seem to care...

the aztec king dressed in dreams...art is air



detail from the cathedral in Leon, Nicaragua


el rey azteca se vistió de mis sueños

cantó de cristales y piedras con sedas y palabras

el arte es aire

from an ongoing series of writings

remembering Estrella Maruca on her birthday

The story-poem is about a little star who dreams of becoming a mother...it was written for Grand Mother, in her honour:


Un día, una estrellita muy bonita fue hablar con el Padre Sol, pidiéndole un gran favor.

- Padre, yo sueño con ser Madre. Quisiera vivir en la tierra para sentir y amar hasta llorar.

--- Estrellita, hija mía, tu lugar es en el cielo, de donde puedes alumbrar y atravez de esa luz, amar.

- O, Padre Sol, te pido que me dejes caminar el mundo. Prometo llevar conmigo el manto de nuestra Madre María, ya que es por Ella que sueño con ser Madre un día.

excerpt from "Estrella Maruca" © 2005

gratitude heals

"I thank God for all the things I don't have."- St. Teresa of Avila

gratitude, over and over again, gratitude

thanksgiving recipe

5 pounds of gratitude

2 cups of forgiveness

4 cups of laughter

spice with a tablespoon of mischief and a pinch of mystery

add wonder to taste

mix well and serve with dance, joy and light


happy thanksgiving

wisdom from a paper bag

value simple pleasures

savor what is naturally good

REUSE and RENEW

cook with humor, eat with meaning

give thanks for farmers and support bountiful oceans

give and give back

share home-cooked favorites

do good and be well   - Whole Foods Market recycled brown paper bag

this Holiday season...let us focus on SIMPLE PLEASURES....

time of great change

The Once-Great-King would travel for hours on horseback to consult an unassuming crone who had studied with renowned healers in India.

The wizened old woman lived on a cave-like secluded farmhouse amidst herbaceous vegetation known for its medicinal and supernatural properties. She concocted magic perfumes and potions from her enchanted herbs.

The petite soothsayer was in direct communication with the spirit world and the Once-Great-King trusted her predictions and visions with his life and his kingdom.

One strange day, when the moon and sun were both presiding over the skies, a swarm of butterflies appeared, attaching themselves to every living tree in the land. The flutter of countless wings created a humming chant that reached the Once-Great-King’s ears in waves...he understood the time of great change had finally arrived...

- excerpt from a story I began writing years ago

Madre Musa

"My mother is a poem I'll never be able to write, though everything I write is a poem to my mother."- Sharon Doubiago

Happy Birthday Bella Mama, Musa de mi Vida

muse of muses

Earth is a Mother to us all.  She nurtures us with ancient wisdom.  She nourishes us with infinite love.

My spiritual journey is directly linked with Nature...Mother Nature, my Muse of Muses.

originally published in 2008

enjoy every leaf

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus (1913-1960)

spend the day outdoors

art of living

Are you living your life as if it were a work of art?

Mi vida es mi obra: Siento la inmensa dicha de haber nacido bajo la tutela de los Andes que son la expresión de la fuerza y el milagro cósmico así mi obra expresa el espiritu de mi tierra Andina y el espiritu de mi gente aymara. - Marina Nuñez del Prado (approximately 1910 -1995)

mujeres

generation of women, generation of daughters, generation of mothers

PHOTOGRAPH:  from an ongoing series, "MUJERES" featuring the women of Nicaragua

surrender

from my window

delicate leaves of gold hold tight to their mother's branches


father wind whispers encouraging words


LET GO      FLY       SURRENDER


it is time

rains of gold dance down

all around


FREEDOM     INDEPENDENCE     SURRENDER

drop by drop, it is time to dream & write

Rain Mother wakes me up




softly



sweetly



slowly



drop by drop



it is time to wake up



it is time to dream and write...
 
 
originally published in 2007