Queen of Dreams Radio
Archive for the ‘Art’ Category
Friday, I went to Minette’s house for an art playdate. I felt so excited because I knew we were going to do a ‘thank you’ video for Violette because her online class, Journal Bliss, literally gave us 5 months of art-full play! I highly recommend grabbing a friend and getting one of her classes (Violette’s energy gave us a creative confidence boost and inspired us!).
While we created the video, I looked over and saw one of Minette’s Zentangle gift cards. She has made many of these over the last year or so (and they are all GORGEOUS), and last year, even invited me to a Zentangle class where I was introduced to this thoughtful, meditative creative expression.
As I looked at the card, I felt myself drawn to the card itself. I liked the idea of small creations that I could start and finish and know they are ‘done.’
When I came home, I had some other projects to finish for work and I deliberately chose to take a day off from school. I felt pulled to more art, and so I grabbed my watercolors and started painting.
As I painted, I thought of those cards again. I really wanted some. I thought, I wish I had some of those cards. I painted in my watercolor notebook and thought of different things I could paint on those cards. I have always said “I wish” ever since I was a little girl. I wish works as fast and as magically for me as anything. But, last night I was not even thinking of manifesting the cards when I said it, I was simply expressing what I most wanted from my heart.
I finished painting, put up my palette book and paints, and then played a game with Mark and Chance.
As the evening went on, I felt drowsier and drowsier, so I went to bed and quickly drifted off to sleep. The cards were a distant thought and memory.
Today, I woke up and got right back at my school work, but I couldn’t force myself to get going. Instead, I wandered outside and talked to the plants and birds. I fed our mama and daughter mockingbirds as they chirped nearby. I felt the breeze on my skin as I listened to the chimes gonging in the background. I looked at the color of the sun on the surface of the pool water, and noticed the sun trying to poke through the foliage above me. I soaked up the warm rays and felt them pelting against my pale skin.
I thought I might be able to read outside, but I couldn’t. The energies didn’t match up and I felt myself wishing to just relax, to enjoy this abnormal 70s weather in May and to take time out. So I did. I put the books aside and just enjoyed the rhythm of nature complete with the smell of mint nearby.
I walked inside to get some water and met Mark’s mom coming in from the front. She excitedly exclaimed, “Look what I got for you!” And, there, in her hands were two brand new boxes of Strathmore (one of my most FAVORITE papers) greeting cards…100 cards total! I am amazed at how fast things come to me when I wish from the depths of my heart…my dreamer’s desires. She has been saying that she wants to paint and draw, and with all of this schoolwork on the intellectual plane, she has been throwing tantrums! I have been keeping my promise to her to draw, paint and play at least twice a week. Yesterday, Minette and I only had 30 minutes, so I knew more painting was in store for me. And, now, I’ll do more Zentangling, too. Thank you, Nana, for being the messenger.
I wish… Please send… I ask for… whatever way you ask, ask and expect to receive it!
Looking for a Dream Life:
So, the reason why I haven’t been posting the last couple of days is because I’ve had some type of virus that has left me feverish and severely fatigued.
The upside of being in bed is that I’ve gotten to watch movies to pass the day and to escape from my current reality.
Today, tired of watching various current movies (thanks to my fabulous husband for keeping me stocked), I stumbled around on Netflix searching for something good to download. I looked up James L. Brooks, one of my all-time favorite screenwriters and was bummed that only one of his movies was available for instant streaming (will the movie Gods please do something to speed this process up???). Somehow, though, the Netflix interface offered me a choice of Listen to Your Heart. I love indie movies, and this one had four award symbols (turns out the film has won many more, but only three would fit!) on the cover, so I knew that was the one for me.
Oh my goodness, where to begin??? This little movie was full of heart and soul, and though it was really the best of the ‘good stuff’ it didn’t come across as super sappy or predictable. That’s quite the delicate balance to achieve!
Right off the bat I was drawn into the music. I loved hearing the piano and the guitar in the background. I felt comforted, and boy did that feel good. I’ve felt so crummy the last few days, I’ve shown up to Mark looking for a hug because there’s literally nothing to do with a virus but to pray it out and to let the body do its work. This movie was like watching and feeling a bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Next, the chemistry between these actors is crazy. I really believed every single one of them. Even the simple, backdrop characters displayed a richness that you usually don’t see in movies these days. The lead male character, Danny Foster, is acted by Kent Moran. I felt so much through his character, and also in the lead female character, Alexia Rasmussen. These two reminded me of what was so special about The King’s Speech and how Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth could barely glance at each other leaving the audience with a knowing of what that glance meant. Of course, no movie would be complete without conflict and Cybil Shepherd delivers a heavy dose of controlling, mean-spirited mother. Oooh, from the first line you just don’t even like her!
Finally, the literary feel of this movie saved it from being a sappy do-gooder romance. Yes, the little symbols are in there. Yes, the foreshadowing is there. But, somehow, it doesn’t come off as trite. It’s a sweet ride that leaves you feeling grateful for the life you have to live and for the love you have to share.
If I had to choose a word for the movie, I would call it absolutely satisfying. I didn’t wish for anything to happen in any other way than the way it did. And, that’s rare for me since I am a writer and I have been a movie reviewer of sorts since I was in 8th grade (an award-winning reviewer, too, I might add)! I don’t watch movies like most folk do! LOL
Yesterday, I watched a documentary about screenwriters called Dreams on Spec. In it, Nora Ephron (another one of my all-time faves!) talked about who ‘writes’ a movie. She said that the screenwriter writes the story in words. The director of photography writes the story in pictures. The composer of the score writes the story in music. The actors tell the story of the characters through emotion. There literally are layers and layers of the story being woven together to make what we call a ‘movie.’
When I look at Listen to Your Heart, all of these layers come together in a way that is so right that it feels amazing. It reminds me of when you see a painting that takes your breath away. Maybe you don’t know why the artist used this color or that, but you just know you love it. I loved this movie, the actors, the score…really all of it.
After I watched it, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I called a friend who reminded me of both the primary characters. Told her about it, but I still wondered…What else can I watch that has this guy in it? Or this girl in it?
That took me to Kent Moran’s website where I found out why I probably responded to this piece of art like I did. Turns out that Kent wrote the script, acted the lead male role, created the score, wrote the lyrics and songs for the movie, performed the songs for the movie and soundtrack. No, he didn’t direct it, but he did co-produce it, too!
I often write about artists and their ability to impact people by opening up their hearts and sharing their special brand of love with the world. The subtitle of the movie is One song can change your life. Indeed, one movie can do that, too. This movie does that, and Kent’s heart is written all over this movie. I hope you’ll get to share some time with him soon.
Looking for a Dream Life:
Last week, Julie Loar and I took an adventurous ride into the divine feminine on Queen of Dream Radio. Ever since I received her book, I must say that I have been spellbound by its pages. I feel as if I have stumbled upon an ancient resource full of magic and power, and each day (the book introduces you to a new goddess each day…366 in total…thus the name of the book: Goddesses for Every Day) I show up hardly able to contain my excitement for meeting another one. The daily focus is a mix between historical research, storytelling and wisdom…thus the subtitle of her book: Exploring the Wisdom & Power of the Divine Feminine Around the World! So sensual and delicious for all levels…mind, body and spirit.
This book takes you on an odyssey into many other cultures and traditions, and it also provides a daily contemplation that grounds you in the here and now. These contemplations have touched me deeply and I find myself meditating upon them throughout the day without even trying. It is as if the energy rides along with me throughout the day. A couple recently that spoke to my heart, for example… Sometimes mystery is its own source of power, and knowing the secret spoils the magic. And another…It is wise to know where I am vulnerable and whether openness or protection is the best defense.
I realize as I am sharing these contemplations that they have less meaning by themselves than they do united with the Goddess’s story the contemplate is inspired by. You will have to get her book and see for yourself. Of course, I look at this book and am amazed at the treasures!
On the show last week, I asked Julie how she divided the goddesses into the 12 astrological signs – a task I felt would be huge and I could barely fathom what kind of time and attention it would take to research and sift through more than 1,000 goddesses to choose the 366 for this book, and then to further divide them by attribute into the cycles and rhythms of the year – wow! Julie shared that the goddesses themselves assisted and helped and she enjoyed many miraculous, magical moments in the writing of this book.
I can feel it!
Oh, and if you are in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area on April 2, Julie Loar will be here at PJ Spur’s Soul Compass MeetUp. Join her for a special Divine Feminine workshop!
http://www.meetup.com/Soul-Compass/events/16750480/ – Go here to sign up!
When: Saturday, April 2, 2011 12:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Las Colinas Executive Suites
320 Decker Drive
Irving, TX 75062
972-822-4548
Price: $44.00 per person (includes a copy of the book Goddesses for Everyday)
I’ve had the opportunity to talk to several people who have been reading my praises for The King’s Speech, and each one has asked me, “What exactly is it that you see in this story?” No doubt they can feel my enthusiasm floating off of each blog post, but perhaps I haven’t communicated all that I felt from this movie…a great story of triumph!
As I watched the Oscars last night, I truly felt the presence of love as Colin thanked Olivia for being in his life…not unlike Sandra Bullock’s heartfelt tribute the year before to her husband at the time, Jesse James, which I believe was as real as anything regardless of what happened afterward – that moment was true. Natalie Portman, in love with love growing in her belly, also swept the big awards this year.
I asked Mark, “Have you ever noticed how people who are in love seem to leap to greater heights?” Perhaps I put two seemingly random connection points together, but it made me think about my own life and how when Mark and I first met everything seemed to bloom … it seemed like nothing would not grow in that energy. I had never known unconditional love like that before…it buoyed my spirit (I’ll share more thoughts on this and how love grows deeper over time in another post).
Great love…that’s what I see when I watch The King’s Speech. I see a man who stutters who has great love for his children, his wife, his country, but he does not yet have that great love for himself. Enter two others who bring heavy-duty mirrors to show him the love he is…to assist him in reclaiming his voice. Lionel (his speech therapist and friend) brings tough love and the unrelenting challenge of pushing the would-be King to be all that he already is. Elizabeth, the Duke’s wife, will not give up on love or on her husband. Her love holds space for the love the Duke already is to grow. In her Presence, he can bloom…and that is just like what I see in these actors…they bloom, grow more vibrant in the swirl of love. The King found his voice and acceptance (a.k.a. love) for himself through love – both friendship and deep romantic love as well as the love of his children. In so many ways, it is the most perfect example of ‘love conquers all.’
The saying, “Behind every great man is a woman no one knows,” and every other version of it seems to say that a great man is great and the woman is unknown, but the truth is without the woman, the man likely would not have been great. And so I see this, too, in The King’s Speech. In our day and age, there are as many men standing behind a woman, loving them…seeing them. Both necessary, equally as critical to the whole. Click on the image below to go to a great clip of “Elizabeth” in this stunning movie!
Looking for a Dream Life:
Last week as we watched the Top 24 on American Idol receive their good news, I thought to myself, “Oh my goodness, I have SO many favorites this year! What am I going to do?” A feeling of supreme happiness bubbled up from deep inside of me as I watched each one walk away knowing they had made the cut. I genuinely felt like it was me there, the feelings felt so real and intense.
I see so much beauty and love in each of them, in their dreams of doing what they love. Perhaps this is oneness…perhaps this is a reflection of the beauty and love I feel inside myself, too.
No matter what it is, I felt the exact same way as I watched Colin Firth accept his first Oscar for his performance in The King’s Speech (and, if you have not seen this movie, GO. SEE. IT. NOW!). I could feel his enthusiasm underneath his calm British exterior. I could not have been happier for another person at that moment. I have loved him as an actor for years and years and A Single Man was a stunning masterpiece on so many levels, only to be followed up by this award-winning performance in The King’s Speech. (this interview below is one of the best I’ve seen…Colin, always humble, talking about his approach to capturing the feelings of a misunderstood gentleman.)
Art has a way of moving us and uniting us…of uplifting the human spirit and allowing us to tap into our own inner genius. This year, there seems to be so many ‘plug-ins’ and I love that I can energetically share in these big wins.
Congrats to all of the Oscar winners…and best to each of the contestants this season on Idol!