CASIMIRA

CASIMIRA
HERstory through ART
With words and images, I am telling my story.

Through art, I am remembering HERstory...

I've been blogging daily since 2007.

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Updated Daily: January 2007 - February 2020

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Monday, October 5

tired of speaking sweetly


"Love wants to reach out and manhandle us, break all our teacup talk of God.

If you had the courage and could give the Beloved His choice, some nights He would just drag you around the room by your hair, ripping your grip all those toys in the world that bring you no joy.

Love sometimes gets tired of speaking sweetly and wants do rip to shreds all your erroneous notions of truth that make you fight within yourself, dear one, and with others, causing the world to weep on too many fine days.

God wants to manhandle us, lock us inside of a tiny room with Himself and practice His dropkick.

The Beloved sometimes wants to do us a great favor: hold us upside down and shake all the nonsense out.

But when we hear He is in such a 'playful drunken mood' - most everyone I know quickly packs their bags and hightails out of town." - HAFIZ


Sunday, October 4

for Isabella and Daniel


“…If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.  For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one…

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?  And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? 

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.  And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.  And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.” 

– Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)


Saturday, October 3

flamenco red lips


vestida de negro,
labios pintados de rojo...

soy gitana,
bailando flamenco...

"Cuando sei Maria Dolores
Cuando sei quei mal d'amore
Cuando sei quei mal a su vera
Cuando sei me va al dottore

Baila baila baila baila
Baila baila baila me
Esta rumba a ta gitana
Que yo siempre cantare
Pero yo siempre cantare
Pero yo siempre cantare
Esta rumba a ta gitana
Que yo siempre cantare

Que solo vivo enamore te
Que solo vivo enamore te
Me enamore de esta gitana
Que ya se ponga a bailando..."
- Gypsy Kings

Friday, October 2

to be that unnoticed and that necessary


"I would like to watch you sleeping, 
which may not happen.
I would like to watch you, 
sleeping. I would like to sleep 
with you, to enter 
your sleep as its smooth dark wave 
slides over my head

and walk with you through that lucent 
wavering forest of bluegreen leaves 
with its watery sun and three moons 
towards the cave where you must descend, 
towards your worst fear.

I would like to give you the silver 
branch, the small white flower, the one 
word that will protect you 
from the grief at the center 
of your dream, from the grief 
at the center. I would like to follow 
you up the long stairway 
again and become
the boat that would row you back
carefully, a flame
in two cupped hands 
to where your body lies 
beside me, and you enter 
it as easily as breathing in.

I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
and that necessary."
- Margaret Atwood

unnoticed and necessary...
air...breath...yes...to enter your dreams

Thursday, October 1

esa puerta que me dabas para entrar a tu mundo


"Mira, no pido mucho, solamente tu mano, tenerla...

Necesito esa puerta que me dabas para entrar a tu mundo, ese trocito de azĂşcar verde, de redondo alegre..."

- mi adorado Julio Cortazar siempre me hace suspirar


Wednesday, September 30

questions and answers


"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
- Zora Neale Hurston




limited edition notecards, most suitable for framing

Tuesday, September 29

an advantage

- mixed media on paper -

"From the beginning, Paul and I had an advantage: we were good friends before we were lovers. We really liked each other. We could talk to each other, we could tell each other anything without fear of ridicule or rejection. There was trust." - Joanne Woodward 


Monday, September 28

mistress of the whole land


"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

detail from mixed media on paper


Sunday, September 27

to make you feel my love


"When the rain is blowing in your face,
And the whole world is on your case,
I could offer you a warm embrace,
To make you feel my love.

When the evening shadows and the stars appear,
And there is no one there to dry your tears,
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love.

I know you haven't made your mind up yet, but I will never do you wrong.

I've known it from the moment that we met, no doubt in my mind where you belong.

I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue,
And I'd go crawling down the avenue.
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love.

The storms are raging on the rolling sea
And on the highway of regret.
The winds of change are blowing wild and free,
You ain't seen nothing like me yet.

I could make you happy, make your dreams come true.
Nothing that I wouldn't do.
Go to the ends of the Earth for you,
To make you feel my love..."
- Bob Dylan 

on this full moon lunar eclipse, 
on this blessed blood moon,
on this harvest moon,
I could hold you for a million years,
to make you feel my love...

yes, YOU...

stay open to receiving,
say YES to the feelings,
stay open to the healing...

snapshot taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City




Saturday, September 26

calling back energy


"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

who do we need to forgive?

who needs to forgive us? 


Friday, September 25

witness


"When we cultivate mystical awareness or transcendent identity - which is a natural outgrowth of meditation and other practices - what happens is that we begin to take a witness position on our own lives, and that includes our minds."
- James Redfield


Thursday, September 24

seremos uno


"el talismán de tu piel me ha dicho
que soy la reina de tus caprichos,
yo soy el as de los corazones,
que se pasean en tus tentaciones,
el talismán de tu piel me cuenta
que en tu montura caerán las riendas

cuando una noche de amor desesperados
caigamos juntos y enredados
la alfombra y el alrededor, acabaran
desordenados
cuando una noche de amor que yo no dudo
la eternidad venga seguro
tu y yo, el desnudo y el corazĂłn...seremos uno

yo soy la tierra de tus raíces: el talismán de tu piel lo dice,
yo soy la tierra de tus raĂ­ces: lo dice el corazĂłn y el fuego de tu piel,
yo soy la tierra de tus raíces: el talismán de tu piel lo dice,
yo soy la tierra de tus raĂ­ces: a ver que dices tu

el talismán de tu piel me chiva
que ando descalza de esquina a esquina,
por cada calle que hay en tus sueños,
que soy el mar de todos tus puertos,
el talismán de tu piel me cuenta
que tu destino caerá a mi puerta"
- song lyrics - © ROSANA ARBELO


Wednesday, September 23

autumn equinox


I find myself awake at dawn, before the sun on this Autumn Equinox, with a poem on my mind, in my heart:

"Do you think peace requires an end to war?

Or tigers eating only vegetables?

Does peace require an absence from
your boss, your spouse, yourself?

Do you think peace will come some other place than here?

Some other time than Now?

In some other heart than yours? 

Peace is this moment without judgment.

That is all. 

This moment in the Heart-space
where everything that is is welcome.

Peace is this moment without thinking
that it should be some other way,
that you should feel some other thing,
that your life should unfold according to your plans. 

Peace is this moment without judgment,
this moment in the heart-space where
everything that is - is welcome."
Dorothy Hunt

in the heart-space where everything that is - is welcome...

snapshot: detail from an autumn equinox altar I set up yesterday in celebration of a NEW YEAR beginning in nature, in celebration of longer nights and inner journeys...


Tuesday, September 22

imagine and become


"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

snapshot - detail from a corner of my altar




Monday, September 21

International Day of Peace


"All we are saying is give peace a chance..."
- John Lennon (1940 – 1980)


Sunday, September 20

transformation of energy


"In the process of self-realization the highest goal, identified with the arousal of Kundalini, is recognized as a microcosmic version of the feminine power of Sakti. The tantrikas identify the power of Sakti with Cosmic Consciousness, since she projects the biounity of male and female principles."
- Ajit Mookerjee

excerpt from a wonderful book I find myself re-reading


Saturday, September 19

honoring dreams


"She shows up just when you need her. She always gives you the support and counsel you need, and never judges you.

She is an amazing psychic advisor: she knows what the future holds for you, and she can tell you what to do and what not to do to avoid something bad or find the right job, or the right home, or the right partner.

She is a...healer who can help you to fix your body before you get sick, and who has the right medicine and nurturing to speed you into healing and recovery...She makes house calls at any time, and she never charges you a cent.

She's fabulous fun and a great traveling companion. She makes you want to get up and dance, and sing, and play. She loves to fly off to exotic places...

She has wonderful energy. An hour in her company gives you a boost for a whole week.

She'll mother you when you, and your beautiful inner child self, need mothering, hold you when you need holding, and give you a shove when you need to jump through a hole in the world.

She knows you better than you know yourself, in your everyday mind. When she holds up a mirror in front of you, you don't notice the blemishes. You see a being of radiant power and possibility, your ancient and shining self. And in that moment of recognition, you begin to remember and live from your soul's purpose, the sacred contract you signed before you came into your present body.

...and you never say thank you, or remember her birthday. You ignore her advice more often than not...You forget the songs you sang together, and those nights of love and beauty...If you find the moon through the smog and city lights, you do not recollect that she flew you there...

If she were a regular friend, she might dump you as a miserable ingrate. This friend is beyond the ordinary, and she has the patience of an angel - but even the patience of angels is not endless. So if you won't take her advice, she might make less of an effort to warn you...Then the magic begins to flicker in your world, and you are more alone than you ever need or want to be.

...dreams require action. We must take action to honor the friend who visits and advises and travels with us in our dreams, but the most important is the one we find in the mirror - when our sight is clear: the ancient and shining self. 

Taking the right action to honor dreams is practical magic of a high order. Real magic is the art of reaching into a deeper reality and bringing gifts from it into the physical world. This is what we do when we honor dreams, and the powers that speak through dreams."
- Robert Moss


Friday, September 18

motherworld


I am on this earth to mother: to nurture, to birth, to heal, to create, to mourn, to play...to dance the sacred, wild dance of motherhood, remembering HERstory...

"Avalon is psychologically a motherworld. It is the shadow of patriarchal consciousness, repressed and thus feared and distorted, as are any contents of the personal or collective unconscious that are denied. It is also the world of the Mother we once lived in if we were cherished in infancy; in growing up, we left this behind. This mother-world is personally prehistoric, before our own specific memories, as matriarchal history is also. Avalon as mother-world also continues to exist, side by side with rational consciousness, to be entered only when we alter consciousness by falling asleep and dreaming, fall in love, or are in a situation in which the veils between the worlds are thinner and we cross over.

...A model for the existence of motherworld and fatherworld exists as right and left brain psychology, in which the dominant left brain is rational, verbal, and linear, while the right brain is nonverbal, nonrational, nonlinear. The function of the right brain is less appreciated but has to do with images, emotional coloration of experiences, and song (if words at all); the right brain is open to alternative realities.

To cross to Avalon is to remember the archetypal Mother, the Goddess in her several forms and many names, to rediscover the feminine mysteries and the sacred in embodied experiences. Avalon exists where divinity dwells in nature and quickens in the pilgrim. Where there is feminine divinity, there is access to Avalon..."
- Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

a favorite snapshot from a series 


Thursday, September 17

painted branches


“Great art picks up where nature ends.” - Marc Chagall


we found a few branches on our walk and decided it would be fun to paint them...


Wednesday, September 16

don't miss out on the world


"Your past is over!

By bonding to your past, you not only ensure that you'll be immobilized today, but you prevent yourself from healing...

In a universe that's an intelligent system with a divine creative force supporting it, there simply can be no accidents.  As tough as it is to acknowledge, you had to go through what you went through in order to get to where you are today, and the evidence is that you did.  Every spiritual advance that you will make in your life will very likely be preceded by some kind of fall or seeming disaster.  Those dark times, accidents, illnesses, abuses, and broken dreams were ALL IN ORDER...

Practice living in the moment, and REFUSE to allow any thoughts based on your past to define you.  Stop and take notice of all that's in your immediate space - the people, creatures, vegetation, cloud formations, building designs, everything.  Stay in the present by meditating and getting closer to the ultimate now...God.

Your past history and all of your hurts are no longer here in your physical reality.  Don't allow them to be here in your mind, muddying your present moments.  Your life is like a play with several acts.  Some of the characters who enter have short roles to play, others, much larger.  Some are villains and others are good guys.  But all of them are NECESSARY, otherwise they wouldn't be in the play.  Embrace them all, and move on to the next act."
- Dr. Wayne Dyer

2013 limited edition mixed media on paper