As the year draws to a close, let us honor everyone and everything that came our way - all of the blessings (especially those still in disguise). Let us release 2012 with love and gratitude. Let us stay open to joy. Let us stay open to miracles. Let us stay open to love...
Updated Daily: January 2007 - February 2020
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2012
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December
(31)
- let us stay open
- for my circle of women
- peace through courage
- all part of one another
- only that breath breathing human being
- every breath hallelujah
- Merry Christmas
- noche buena - misa del gallo
- nostalgia
- His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda
- Mother Night births the sun - Winter Solstice - 12...
- each other
- it's the way you carry it
- joyful opportunities
- humanity renewed
- recordando a Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa
- writing on the wings of a dragon
- prayers and love to all
- so many doors
- 12.12.12
- patience, passion, persistence
- besos celestes
- to have a friend
- festival of lights
- ¿Quién causa tanta alegría?
- mystical mother of the universe
- only because I love
- revealed secret
- life
- who supports & celebrates your dreams?
- soul mates
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December
(31)
SEARCH ARCHIVES
Monday, December 31
Sunday, December 30
for my circle of women
"Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman.
A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories.
Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.
Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself.
A woman who listens to her needs and desires.
Who meets them with tenderness and grace.
Imagine a woman who acknowledges the past's influence on the present.
A woman who has walked through her past.
Who has healed into the present.
Imagine a woman who authors her own life.
A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf.
Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and wisest voice.
Imagine a woman who names her own gods.
A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness.
Who designs a personal spirituality to inform her daily life.
Imagine a woman in love with her own body.
A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is.
Who celebrates its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.
Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body.
A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom.
Who refuses to use her life-energy disguising the changes in her body and life.
Imagine a woman who values the women in her life.
A woman who sits in circles of women.
Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.
Imagine yourself as this woman."
“Imagine a Woman” © Patricia Lynn Reilly, 1995
Saturday, December 29
peace through courage
"Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace, the soul that knows it not, knows no release from little things."
- Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)
Friday, December 28
all part of one another
"The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the
interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another,
and all involved in one another.”
- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Thursday, December 27
only that breath breathing human being
"My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless.
Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing human being." - RUMI
Wednesday, December 26
every breath hallelujah
I have not been able to stop thinking of this song...
"I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah..." - Leonard Cohen
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It's not a cry you can hear at night
It's not somebody who has seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah..." - Leonard Cohen
Tuesday, December 25
Merry Christmas
Monday, December 24
noche buena - misa del gallo
vintage photo from 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.
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
Sunday, December 23
Saturday, December 22
His Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda
Friday, December 21
Mother Night births the sun - Winter Solstice - 12.21.12
"Circle round, and I'll tell you a story about when the sun was born again...
It was the middle of winter, and the sun had grown very old. All year long the sun had worked very hard, rising and setting day after day. All year long the sun had fed everybody on earth, shining and shining, giving energy to the trees and the flowers and the grasses so they could grow and feed the animals and birds and insects and people...
Night felt sorry for the sun.
"Come to my arms and rest, child." she said. "After all, I am your mother. You were born out of darkness, billions of years ago, and you will return to me when all things end. Let me cradle you now, as I shelter every galaxy and star in the universe."
So Night wrapped her great arms around the sun, and the night was very long indeed...
Every time a child said thank you, the sun began to feel a little warmer, a little brighter. Wrapped safely in the arms of Night, the sun grew younger and younger...For in the long night the sun had rested well and grown young from the songs and the thanks of the children, young as a brand-new baby, born out of Night once more.
"The sun has returned! The sun is reborn!" the people cried. And they danced and sang to celebrate the birth of a new day..." - STARHAWK
It was the middle of winter, and the sun had grown very old. All year long the sun had worked very hard, rising and setting day after day. All year long the sun had fed everybody on earth, shining and shining, giving energy to the trees and the flowers and the grasses so they could grow and feed the animals and birds and insects and people...
Night felt sorry for the sun.
"Come to my arms and rest, child." she said. "After all, I am your mother. You were born out of darkness, billions of years ago, and you will return to me when all things end. Let me cradle you now, as I shelter every galaxy and star in the universe."
So Night wrapped her great arms around the sun, and the night was very long indeed...
Every time a child said thank you, the sun began to feel a little warmer, a little brighter. Wrapped safely in the arms of Night, the sun grew younger and younger...For in the long night the sun had rested well and grown young from the songs and the thanks of the children, young as a brand-new baby, born out of Night once more.
"The sun has returned! The sun is reborn!" the people cried. And they danced and sang to celebrate the birth of a new day..." - STARHAWK
Thursday, December 20
each other
“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)
limited edition prints of this mixed media are now available for purchase online: click on red
SHOP CASIMIRA
- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993)
limited edition prints of this mixed media are now available for purchase online: click on red
SHOP CASIMIRA
Wednesday, December 19
it's the way you carry it
- Lena Horne (1917 - 2010)
limited edition prints of this mixed media are now available for purchase online: click on red
SHOP CASIMIRA
Tuesday, December 18
joyful opportunities
Monday, December 17
humanity renewed
Sunday, December 16
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..
remembering my beloved grandfather, truly a Grand Father
Saturday, December 15
writing on the wings of a dragon
"To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing her/his name on the wings of a dragon." - Proverb
Friday, December 14
prayers and love to all
Mother, sing me a song
That will ease my pain,
Mend broken bones,
Bring wholeness again.
Catch my babies
When they are born,
Sing my death song,
Teach me how to mourn.
Show me the Medicine
Of the healing herbs,
The value of spirit,
The way I can serve.
Mother, heal my heart
So that I can see
The gifts of yours
That can live through me."
- Jamie Sams
Thursday, December 13
so many doors
"I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them." - Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
Wednesday, December 12
12.12.12
"Be humble for you are made of earth.
Be noble for you are made of stars."- SERBIAN PROVERB
2012 mixed media inspired by a dream
Tuesday, December 11
patience, passion, persistence
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." - Harriet Tubman (approximately 1818–1913)
contemplating patience, passion and persistence...
contemplating patience, passion and persistence...
Monday, December 10
besos celestes
I dreamed with blue oceans and lions,
I heard his voice calling to me...
I wrote to him in blue spanish
~~~~~~~
lineas azules,
besos celestes,
abrazos morados risas rosadas,
y luz infinita...
excerpt from a letter
I heard his voice calling to me...
I wrote to him in blue spanish
~~~~~~~
lineas azules,
besos celestes,
abrazos morados risas rosadas,
y luz infinita...
excerpt from a letter
Sunday, December 9
to have a friend
Saturday, December 8
Friday, December 7
¿Quién causa tanta alegría?
2007 mixed media featuring the interior of León's cathedral
Who causes so much happiness?
This is the cry of millions of Nicaraguans during the December 7th “La Griteria” (The Shouting) celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. An elaborate altar is set up with fresh flowers, lights, candles and more. Celebrants gather to sing prayerful hymns to Mother Mary. After the singing, massive amounts of food are distributed. Everything from oranges with colorful little flags, candies made of condensed milk and coconut, tamales wrapped in dark green plantain leaves and a sweet pink drink made of corn. The tradition began somewhere between the 18th–19th century in the majestic colonial city of León, Nicaragua.
I have always seen “La Purisima” (The Purest) as a fascinating pagan-like ritual, one of my favorite parts of growing up Catholic. As a child, I believed we were honoring all the mothers, all the women and not just a statue of a pretty fair-skinned lady dressed in blue draping gowns. Even more so today, I like to believe the songs, the prayers and food honor and celebrate the goddess in every woman...
originally published in 2007
goddess mother everywhere
more than ever
we need you
Who causes so much happiness?
This is the cry of millions of Nicaraguans during the December 7th “La Griteria” (The Shouting) celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. An elaborate altar is set up with fresh flowers, lights, candles and more. Celebrants gather to sing prayerful hymns to Mother Mary. After the singing, massive amounts of food are distributed. Everything from oranges with colorful little flags, candies made of condensed milk and coconut, tamales wrapped in dark green plantain leaves and a sweet pink drink made of corn. The tradition began somewhere between the 18th–19th century in the majestic colonial city of León, Nicaragua.
I have always seen “La Purisima” (The Purest) as a fascinating pagan-like ritual, one of my favorite parts of growing up Catholic. As a child, I believed we were honoring all the mothers, all the women and not just a statue of a pretty fair-skinned lady dressed in blue draping gowns. Even more so today, I like to believe the songs, the prayers and food honor and celebrate the goddess in every woman...
originally published in 2007
goddess mother everywhere
more than ever
we need you
Thursday, December 6
mystical mother of the universe
Wednesday, December 5
only because I love
"Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love." - Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
Tuesday, December 4
Monday, December 3
life
"Life is a song - sing it.
Life is a game - play it.
Life is a challenge - meet it.
Life is a dream - realize it.
Life is a sacrifice - offer it.
Life is love - enjoy it." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba (1926-2011)
Life is a game - play it.
Life is a challenge - meet it.
Life is a dream - realize it.
Life is a sacrifice - offer it.
Life is love - enjoy it." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba (1926-2011)
Sunday, December 2
who supports & celebrates your dreams?
"Choose to be in close proximity to people who are empowering, who appeal to your sense of connection to intention, who see the greatness in you, who feel connected to God, and who live a life that gives evidence that Spirit has found celebration through them."
- Dr. Wayne Dyer
who supports you and celebrates your dreams?
- Dr. Wayne Dyer
who supports you and celebrates your dreams?
Saturday, December 1
soul mates
"I don't believe in rules. I think it's the heart that should talk. The first thing about love is that you have to love yourself. No relationship will work unless you do...I wanted to be his friend. I thought he would be a good friend to have. But we were completely taken over by passion, and it was completely, utterly unexpected on both sides. That made it more exciting, because it was so unexpected...Yes, I do believe in soul mates." - Diane von Fürstenberg (b. 1946)
mixed media from an ongoing series
mixed media from an ongoing series
Friday, November 30
his kiss
"Tonight is a night of union and also of scattering of the stars, for a bride is coming from the sky: the full moon. They sky is an astrolabe, and the Law is Love." - RUMI
he kissed me (my first kiss)
18 years ago
today
he married me
10 years ago
today
his kiss still makes me blush...
he kissed me (my first kiss)
18 years ago
today
he married me
10 years ago
today
his kiss still makes me blush...
Thursday, November 29
irresistible
"She was so extraordinarily beautiful that I nearly laughed out loud...I fell in love with her at once. She was like a mirage of beauty of the ages, irresistible, like a pull of gravity. She has everything I want in a woman." - Richard Burton (1925-1984)
mixed media from an ongoing series
mixed media from an ongoing series
Wednesday, November 28
on this full moon - a reminder to be true
"It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments."
© Oriah Mountain Dreamer from the book "The Invitation"
a reminder to be true to myself, to my dreams, to my art...
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments."
© Oriah Mountain Dreamer from the book "The Invitation"
a reminder to be true to myself, to my dreams, to my art...
Tuesday, November 27
Estrella Maruca
The story-poem is about a little star who dreams of becoming a mother...it was written for my beloved Grandmother, in her honor:
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
Monday, November 26
emerald dream
Her world had become green...alive with mother’s bounty. As she reached for the earth, she discovered emeralds all around; she found hope. Her energies went from serpent to butterfly in cyclic dance and harmony, she was neither one nor the other, but both. She had merged with Mother Nature.
excerpt from one of my dreams
excerpt from one of my dreams
Sunday, November 25
let go of the past
"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
- Carolyn Myss
Saturday, November 24
tranquility
"Bind the fragments of my heart
with hope and peace
As the butterfly soothes the petal
of a flower soon to cease.
Draw forth the strength
beneath woe's dark shade
As moonlight breaks through the trees
of a verdant, secret glade.
Urge me not to yearn
for that which I cannot have
And instead trust Your wisdom
to provide a gentle salve.
Show me Your love
in a young deer's sable eyes
As I enter the grassy lair
where tranquility lies."
- Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, from her beautiful book "Healing Light: Thirty Messages of Love, Hope, and Courage"
with hope and peace
As the butterfly soothes the petal
of a flower soon to cease.
Draw forth the strength
beneath woe's dark shade
As moonlight breaks through the trees
of a verdant, secret glade.
Urge me not to yearn
for that which I cannot have
And instead trust Your wisdom
to provide a gentle salve.
Show me Your love
in a young deer's sable eyes
As I enter the grassy lair
where tranquility lies."
- Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, from her beautiful book "Healing Light: Thirty Messages of Love, Hope, and Courage"
Friday, November 23
smile
"If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace." - Thich Nhat Hanh
Thursday, November 22
my mother and Thanksgiving
My Mother is celebrating another glorious year of dancing on Mother Earth...Mama, I am grateful for your love and light, for your example and your vision...I believe the best is yet to come...
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with LOVE, GRACE, and GRATITUDE." - Denis Waitley
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with LOVE, GRACE, and GRATITUDE." - Denis Waitley
Wednesday, November 21
Tuesday, November 20
a secret sky
"This is love: to fly to a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet." - RUMI
2012 mixed media
Monday, November 19
you dance inside my chest
"In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you." - RUMI
2012 mixed media from an exciting new series I am working on
Sunday, November 18
projections
"Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."
- Carl Jung (1875-1961)
Saturday, November 17
the soul - purple empress
"Purple - is fashionable twice -
This season of the year,
And when the soul perceives itself
To be an Emperor." - Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
This season of the year,
And when the soul perceives itself
To be an Emperor." - Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Friday, November 16
sculpting with dreams
re-inventing vintage turquoise and corals,
silks with silver,
sewing and hammering,
sculpting with dreams...just another morning
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