Happy Birthday To Me

It was my birthday on
February 17th.
I am posting this photo for
my birthday cause this was a very special night.
On the full moon this month, we gathered around a large fire and drummed and sang.
It was icey cold, -4* or so, and there were shiny icicles everywhere. My 2 youngest kids joined us,
Jesse single-handedly built the fire.
Scotia slid on the frozen creek and swung on the rope swing in the dark.

For my birthday, I am planning another gathering at my place this Saturday. I want everyone to bring a musical instrument, and dress up (whatever that means to each person) and my 2 eldest children will be here to be the hosts.
I am breaking out all my collectible china and planning on lots of wonderful food and wine!

This Week The Topics Are:

The Wisdom Group will meet this Tuesday at 7:30 to discuss the Topic:

"I am what I am. I accept myself as I am. I don't need to please other people by pretending to be what I am not. I can never be what I am not. I can only be me, and that's it."

On Thursday we will gather together to consider:

"Spirit is formless, but our minds are structured from the conditioning of our parents, school, media, and society. Following set patterns of thinking has helped us to survive and get along in life, but at the same time these structures often cause us to judge ourselves and others and retrict our communication with divine love and light."

peace and love

New 4 Agreements Topics

This week on Tuesday night, we will considering the quote:
"I create an image for every secondary character in my story. The only thing I know about the secondary characters is the story I create about them. The truth is that I don't know anyone, and nobody knows me either."
from the Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz


On Thursday afternoon, the quote to ponder is:
"Take your life and enjoy it. You are alive, so take your life and enjoy it. You were born with the right to be happy, to love, and to share your love. Just to be--to take a risk and enjoy your life--is all that matters."
from the 4 Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The moderator for Thursday asked that we write down 5 ways in which we enjoy ourself and 5 ways in which we enjoy others.

peace and love

4 Agreement Wisdom

On Tuesday evening. we will be pondering the suggestion;
"I will live my life in Gratitude...beginning with myself and continueing with my brothers and sisters. List 10 ways you appreciate yourself"

On Thursday afternoon, the moderator picked a card with a quote from The Voice of Knowledge,
"We are born in truth, but we grow up believing in lies. One of the biggest lies in the story of humanity is the lie of our imperfection. When we believe this lie, we use the lie to judge ourselves, to punish ourselves, and to justify our mistakes."

Time For a New Gratitude List

One of my favourite things to do is make a List of things that I am grateful for.
In no particular order;

• Amazing supportive and inspiring friends
• My loving loyal pets
• The drumming circle
• The river
• The ocean
• Wilderness outside my door
• The stone table
• Growing awareness of unconditional love
• My talented and loving children

Wisdom Group this week

On Tuesday evening, the moderator chose a quote from the book, "Mastery of Love" by Don Miguel Ruiz;
"Every relationship becomes a living being made by two dreamers."

On Thursday afternoon, we will look at one of the core ethics of the Wisdom Group;
"We know that what is false will ultimately collapse, but what is true will always remain true. We also know that we can only give what we have; we cannot give what we do not have."

peace and love

Topics for this Week

On Tuesday evening, we will be contemplating the quote from "The Voice of Knowledge" by Don Miguel Ruiz:
"Don't believe yourself. Don't believe the storyteller, the voice of knowledge in your head, especially when the voice is going against you. Listen to yourself, listen to your story, but don't believe it because the story you are writing is mostly fiction. It isn't real."

On Thursday afternoon, we will consider the quote from "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz:
"Always do your best. Stay in the present moment. Keep your attention on today, and stay in the present moment. This is the beginning of a new understanding, a new dream."

Gift Horse

I named my Art Gallery and Studio, "Gift Horse". I got the inspiration from my long time horse friend, Kisha.
I got Kish when he was 6 years old. He died at the age of 37. He was the longest intimate relationship that I ever had.
When he died, I made a vow in honor of his spirit that I would return to my art work. So in loving memory of Angel Kish, I named my business Gift Horse Ceramics. (which is also a blog)

Lorenzo and his incredibly tolerant Horses

Please check out this You Tube video.
He calls himself, Lorenzo, the Flying French Man, and he has great skill with these horses.
They look just like my horse that I had for 30 years. We acheived a rapport similiar to this, because we spent day after day with each other.

Eyes of an Angel

Last year, I read the book "Eyes of an Angel" written by a former mayor of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Intrigued to know more, I looked him up on the internet, and as Serendipity would have it, he had moved to Vancouver Island, an hour's drive north of me. His name is Paul Elder
and he had gone on to training at the Monroe Institute
to become a teacher using "hemi-sync" methods.
Anyway, here he was, as close as can be, offering workshops in his home. Last weekend, 2 friends and I drove up and spent a great day with him.
It was just an introductory workshop, in Breathwork and Past life regression. I loved the breathwork. It was a great support for the other work that I am doing with the "Presence Process", which involves Conscious Connected Breathing.
We lay down on super comfy mattresses, with pillows and blankets, in complete darkness, surrounded by my dear friends, then he played the hemi-sync music as we did the breathwork. And it WAS work!
But I perservered and I am so glad that I did. Like in other meditations that I have done, or Dreaming work- like the toltecs-
I slipped into, what I call, my divinity. Pure ecstasy. Bliss.
Thankyou for the opportunity Paul!
It is so fun to see other points of view and to try different tools from time to time.

This Week at Wisdom Group

Tuesday evening:
"Imagine that you have permission to be happy and to really enjoy your life."

Thursday afternoon:
"Don't make assumptions. Say goodbye to sadness and drama. All the sadness and drama you have lived in your life was rooted in making assumptions and taking things personally. The whole world of control between humans is based on that. Take a moment and consider this."

James from England

His nickname is Tree Bee. hmmmm.
My long time friend who lives in England now, came out to the westcoast for a visit.
I picked him up at the ferry and I drove him up island to his parents home. We stopped for a lovely walk at this gorgeous beach. It was so windy and cold that we walked through the forest along side the ocean.
It was sheltered from the cold and the trees were very magical.

4 Agreement Discussion Topic

On Tuesday evening when we get together, we will be considering the following quote from the book, "Voice of Knowledge" by Don Miguel Ruiz.

"Every human is an artist, a storyteller with a unique point of view.
When we see ourselves as artists, we no longer feel the need to impose our story on others or to defend what we believe. We know that every artist has the right to create his own art."

On Thursday afternoon, the volunteer facilitator picked the quote from the same book,
"I love myself unconditionally.
With my attention focused on love, I justify and explain everything I perceive through the eyes of love. This makes it easy to feel unconditional love for all of the secondary characters in my story."

New Year's

Through a series of weird happenings I ended up having my hair dyed a dark red. How appropriate to start the New Year with a fresh pallette.

I went to an overnight retreat on New Year's Eve where we did some inner work using music and silence throughout the day and night. Our facilitator was trained by Don Miguel Ruiz and she is also a music therapist so we were doubly blessed.

One of the highlights for me. was laying on the floor (comfortably with pillows and a blanket) and listening to the CD, "Rumi" by Deepak Chopra, played nice and loud on an exceptional sound system. I was completely transported and I think I am still altered to this day.

My New Drum

Its home. My neighbour/drum teacher finished making my drum!

I asked him to make it out of the lightest weight wood and to have a fluffy skin.

I did the painting myself. I like colour.

I named the drum, "White Bunny"

What I cannot convey to you here, with the written word is the sound of the drum. Its incredible! It has a big booming base and sharp high notes as well.

Thankyou Bill, you did a wonderful job.

My Favourite Room

I love my bathroom. I have an extra deep tub that is slanted just so. I glazed the tiles myself to go around the tub. Its a serpent loosely based on the Toltec mythology of Quetzalcoatl.
Don Miguel Ruiz suggests when one goes to the Pyramids at Teotihuacan, that when traversing the Avenue of the Dead, one enters the mouth of the serpent. The idea is to come out at the other end, through the other head, thoroughly transformed.
I love lighting candles and adding soothing bathsalts and scent to the water. Sometimes I listen to music, other times I put on an inspirational audio book and soak for awhile.

Holiday Tag

I have been tagged by Candy Minx

Its a nice easy tag.




1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence
3. Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog
4. Name of the book and the author
5. Tag three people


The book, "The Presence Process" by Michael Brown has been within reaching distance for over 10 weeks now. So I opened it to page 123 and its at the end of a chapter. Still, here is the next 3 sentences;



"Session One

Our Presence Activating Statement for the next seven days is:

I choose to experience this moment.

Our Inner Presence

From birth we are taught that our identity is that which makes us different from everybody else. In other words, we are taught to believe that our real identity is based on our appearance, our behavior, and our individual life circumstances."

I tag Ruth, Ginnie and Heather!

Winter Solstice 2006

Not the best photo .....but it was dusk and I was far away, ....I should have used a tripod.
On December 21st at 4:22 pm some friends and I walked down to the Stone Table and lit candles (as seen here).
We said some nice words and sang a beautiful song. We hadn't planned it, it all came together spontaneously and it was wonderful.
Before that we had spent some time discussing Pagans, Yule and Solstice. Then as synchronicity would have it my friend posted this on her blog. (just click on the word, "this")
4 hours later, I went out to feed the horses and the candles were still lit!!
They were twinkling away just like Christmas lights.

4 Agreement Discussion Group

Next meeting will be January 2nd and we will be considering:

"Always Do Your Best. Practice makes the master. By doing your best over and over, you can master the art of transformation. By doing your best, the habits of misusing your word, taking things personally,and making assumptions will become weaker and less frequent with time."

The following Thursday, January 4th, we are examining part of the Circle of Fire prayer:

"When the divinity returns to me
when living my free will, and with all the power of my spirit
I decide to live my life in free communion with God
WITH NO EXPECTATIONS"

The moderator this week asked that the emphasis be put on the no expectations part.

The Topic This Week for 4 Agreements

On Tuesday evening we will be considering the quote:

"Imagine that the message of love is possible and you will find that it is yours."


For the Topic of the Thursday meeting: December 21 is the Winter Solstice, when the days begin to get longer, the light returns, another cycle of nature begins, another turning of the wheel of time. We look back with gratitude on the joys and challenges of the past year, look forward to new opportunities and awareness in the coming year, and contemplate the coming of the era of the Sixth Sun.

I Feel Blessed

My son comes home on the weekends and rents my bachelor suite at the end of my house.
I feel thoroughly blessed to be able to see him and not feel burdened. He has his own space and I earn an income at the same time. Its a win win.
Even though he is making fun of me in this photo, I love his smile and the fact that he is enjoying himself cancels out any tendency to want to take it personally.
Oh and nice shirt, Caley!

Joanna Newsom concert in Vancouver

Well, I got to see Joanna! I had an especially good time because I was with my 2 eldest sons.
Bill Callahan (smog) started off the show with some beautiful tunes,
Callahan's voice is an acquired taste, a low baritone croon that recalls Leonard Cohen or a countrified Lou Reed.

I was surprised when cheering in between songs and my sons friends were whistling....that the seats in front of us got upset. They didn't like the whistling and asked her to stop because it "hurt their ears"....I piped up and said "Wait til Joanna comes on!"
(Her singing has been known to hurt ears)
We were seated in the balcony and were showing appreciation at a concert. I have never heard of being asked to stop before. The worst of it was, after every song they would turn around with absolutely disgusted looks on their faces. ( the stinkeye)
During the break, before Joanna came on, my sons friend was so upset that she left and missed the rest of the performance. Then the security gave us a talking too. I was pretty perplexed. Josiah says the crowds are like this in Vancouver. Kind of reserved and prudish.


Joanna's performance is summed up here;
"Structure of the new work, a complex narrative of love and desire eschewing traditional song structures, illuminated a progression in her skills as a songwriter and confidence as a performer. Without the backing of an orchestra, Newsom and her harp were instead augmented by tambura, banjo, glockenspiel and musical saw. The result sounded far more organic and it naturally integrated with Newsom's delicate songwriting. As the only "Ys" song without orchestration, "Sawdust & Diamonds" served the starkest contrast with Newsom's earlier songwriting. Building to a mesmerizing vocal crescendo, it demonstrated Newsom's new songs as bigger in scope, more expansive in range and clearly more ambitious. This material makes significantly higher demands of the aud -- 15-minute complex metaphorical narratives lacking traditional pop structures -- but is all the more rewarding for it.

These days, opener Bill Callahan is better known as Newsom's partner, but under the nom de plume Smog he's been carving his own idiosyncratic niche for some 15 years. Judging by the morals and ethics of their lyrics, Callahan and Newsom clearly share certain philosophies and attitudes but their styles of expression are polar opposites."
--by Alex Romanelli
*

Wisdom Group Topic

The topic for next Tuesday's 4 Agreement meeting is:
"Don't Make Assumptions.
Learn to ask questions. It is always better to ask questions than to make assumptions. Have the courage to ask questions until you are as clear as you can be. Once you hear the answer to a question, you won't have to make assumptions because you will know the truth."
~Quote from The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Next Thursday afternoon's group will be contemplating:

"You no longer have the need to be good enough for anybody, including yourself. You accept what you are, whatever you are, even if you don't know what you are. And you don't care to know anymore. It's not important to know, and that is wisdom."
~Quote from Voice of Knowledge by Don Miguel Ruiz

This is the Same Place

What a difference a season makes. Here is the view from the deck, overlooking the small orchard and then down into the horse pasture. If you look carefully you can see the rope swing hanging in the maple tree.
I enjoy the contrast. Both seasons have their charm and I embrace them equally.

Crackerjack Snow!

I stole Steel String Poetry's expression. Cracker Jack! Last post she commented that the snow was cracker jack. I don't think I have heard this expression. That is what is nice about blogs and having access to wordsmiths.
Here is some shots of down in the horse pasture. The stone table is obscured and the trees are bending over from the weight.

Westcoast Snow

I think we have some sort of record snowfall. 2 people came to the last day of the Christmas Artisan Tour as opposed to the 158 people the day before. Because we generally don't have alot of snowfall each year, we have just a handful of snow plows and sand/salt trucks. The back country roads (where we live) may not see a plow for days.

Thank goodness for strong teenagers. He shovelled our walkway to the barn and our neighbours path to her door.
Thankyou son! Schools were closed and many businesses in town were shut down. Even the public transit wasn't running.
Power may go out. We are prepared with a woodstove and candles.
Actually, its amazing that we have power now. Usually a heavy snow will bring down lots of trees on to power lines by now.

Art, Music and thou

The Artisan Tour is on this weekend. Today I counted the people that came into my gallery..........158.
I thought that was awesome.
The kids have been very supportive. My son and his friends played music for hours on Friday. People were treated to live original music.
Bill, our drumming teacher, shared the space with me. He brought his handmade drums and these incredible wood creations. We call them bowls but they are really art.
Tomorrow is the last day. We plan on gathering our drumming circle together for a drumming performance.
Believe it or not, it snowed today! Alot of people on the westcoast are not comfortable driving in snow. So we may not have alot of visitors tomorrow.

There's Nothing Wrong With You

Here is an awesome video that is an assisted meditation.
It might take a bit to download, but it is wonderful.
Click Here

Or check out the website, Be Who You Are

4 Agreements Contemplation

Tuesday Evening, someone suggested we read the Prayer for an Angel from "Book of Prayers" by Don Miguel Ruiz

Today, Creator, help me to remember my real nature,
which is love and happiness. Help me to become what
I really am, and to express what I really am.

Beginning today, help me to recognize every human as
your messenger with a message to deliver. Help me to
see you in the soul of every human, behind the masks,
behind the images we pretend to be. Today, help me to
deliver the message of my integrity to that part of me
that is always judging. Help me, God, to let go of all my
judgements, to let go of all the false messages I deliver to
myself and to everyone around me.

Today, help me to recover the awareness of my own
creation as an angel, and let me use my awareness to
deliver your message of life, your message of joy, your
message of love. Let me express the beauty of my spirit,
the beauty of my heart, in the supreme art of humans:
the dream of my life. Amen."

Thursday afternoon, the next moderator chose a card from the Voice of Knowledge deck:
"The word is pure magic. The power of the word comes directly from God, and faith is the force that directs this power. Everything in our virtual reality is created with the word. We use the word for the creation of our story, to make sense out of everything we experience."

To Brighten Your Day

To gain perspective and to brighten your day
Press Here

Joanna Newsom and Smog

My son got tickets for me! Yah! She is playing in a really nice venue and my 2 oldest sons are going to accompany me. It should be lots of fun. Smog is playing with her. I haven't heard alot of his stuff but I am going to start listening now. Check them out on Youtube.
Truth Serum by Smog
Joanna's Song, "Book of Right On"

She is truly unique. If you haven't encountered Joanna's music before you are in for a treat!..... of Interesting Lyrics, Harp and a voice that is only for some of us.

Topic for the Wisdom Group

On Tuesday evening, the moderator asked us to consider the quote: "Imagine expressing what you want without fear, choosing what you want without doubt, and moving into action with commitment from every part of your being."
Thursday afternoon's group will be comtemplating: "What does it mean to be a Spiritual Warrier?"

New Four Agreement Topic

"Imagine Living without the fear of loving and not being loved in return. You are no longer afraid to be rejected, and you don't have the need to be accepted."

The Stone Table Drummers

Here we are: The Stone Table Drummers!
All summer we have been meeting around the Stone Table in my horse pasture to learn African drumming. Now that it is dark and cold in the evening we meet once a week in either my living room (as seen here) or my neighbour's Joanne's. I am not sure if we are "good" or not, but I do know we laugh alot and I always feel better physically and mentally when we are done our 2 hours or so.
I will have to get some more photos as Joanne was at a Farmer's meeting and I was taking the photo (but you can see our drums)
Last month we actually performed on stage! It was a hoot. Our first coffee house. This month we will be giving a small performance during my Artisan's Christmas Sale. I have always been more of a Pagan celebrator than the customary Christmasy thing anyway. Bill is our teacher and he has been a fabulous coach and lender of drums.

The Next Topic for the Wisdom Group

Wow, a week has gone by already.
Next Tuesday evening's meeting we will be sharing about, "Assumptions. What are some of the ways in which we make assumptions."
Next Thursday afternoon, the volunteer moderator picked a card with a quote from the book;

"Don't take anything personally. Everyone lives in their own dream. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind. They are in a completely different world from the one we live in."

love and light