Posts Tagged ‘Be Yourself’
Once upon a time I lived in a house with a woman who was CRAZY about art and creating lively, cool things.
She made the MOST WONDERFUL Halloween costumes (surely the reason why Halloween is one of my MOST FAVORITE holidays – and it IS a holiday – of the year). Her costumes were elaborate and full of imagination.
She made wild, crazy art in her 30s, and into her 40s. THEN, (insert tire screeching sound), in her 50s, she decided ‘enough’ with this stuff I LOVE to create. I’m going to follow the money train.
Soon, this artistic woman’s body began to break down. Her heart lost its vibrancy. She couldn’t sleep. And bears (yes, bears…like the big grizzly bear kind) started coming to her right before she would close her eyes to go to sleep each night.
Bear energy is all about the inner dreamland. Bear comes when we need to go inside again.
Night after night she would blink her eyes praying that big ol’ bear head would GO AWAY! AAAAaaaaaah! She would pull the covers up over her head and then peek outside and there it was – still hanging over her looking at her.
One night she said, “What do you want?”
And the bear said, “I want to invite you to dream again.”
That’s when the artist began dreaming again, and she began to play again with her art and she danced with the ideas in her head and made many wonderful creations that touched the lives of the people she met.
What’s the moral of the story?
Follow your art… not the money.
The money follows your art and your art comes from your heart.
P.S. This is based on a very TRUE story. Bear and all…
Some of my favorite heavenly artists…HEAVENLY!
http://www.inspired-art.com/inspiredartworks/home.html
Is this a sanctuary or what?
Nancy’s use of light makes my heart smile.
Last week, on the show, we talked about giving the critic a summer vacation (or at least a nice, long break). I seem to be noticing the hyper critical nature of everything around me lately, and decided to use that as a catalyst to let the inner critic in me to take longer naps each day.
Let’s do this together and meet up at the end of the summer and see what happened!
But first… what am I talking about?
1. You know how we notice and judge things constantly? So, we look at a purse and we say… Oh, that’s pretty. Or, that’s ugly. Or, that’s interesting? Well, that part of who we are is the critic. It is observing and judging all kinds of things. Most people think that critic means NEGATIVE critiques, but as Ricah has told me for years (and honestly I believe I GET it now), to judge a rose as beautiful is still to judge it!
First, just notice how often every day, all day long you are observing and critiquing things. Don’t judge yourself for how often you are doing it… just take a baseline reading for our little summer siesta for the critic.
2. What would replace this? Hmmmm, how about an experience? That would be fun. Same purse. This time, instead of observing it and critiquing it, let’s share its energy and notice how WE feel when we are with it. Does it feel magnetic to you? If so, then there’s some type of attraction or alignment. Does it leave you feeling cold? Then, move away from it. Does it make you laugh? Then, spend some more time with it. This is an example of NOT THINKING about something, but EXPERIENCING it.
You can do the same with people, with animals, with nature, etc. As you do this, notice how you begin to feel within you. How YOU feel as you move through your day. There are a lot of wonderful byproducts from this exercise – even ONE DAY can radically shift how you feel.
One last word about the critic. I believe God knew exactly what S/He was doing when we were created so I believe the critic is an important part of us. That said, most of us have a critic that is way too active, and way too much part of leading us (which is what your soul/heart is here to do).
Our aim is not to ‘get rid’ of the critic, but rather to amp up the spirit side of us that can guide us more easily and effortlessly!

Last week a client and I talked excitedly about all she is creating in her life. She would say one thing, I would say another, then we would laugh and talk even faster. It was as if we couldn’t talk fast enough.
At one point we paused to catch our breath, and the conversation turned to ‘new’ things – things she had not ‘mastered.’ As she began to say, “Well, I’m not that great at that yet.” She must have hit the phone key pad, and heard the operator say, “Your entry is not valid.”
Startled by the woman’s voice coming over the line, she said, “What was I just saying? Wow, that was weird. Was that the Universe’s response to what I just said?”
After such a long conversation about trusting, following, knowing all is well, the contrast was palpable. We laughed as I said, “Yep, you were saying something about not being that great at it yet… and, YOUR ENTRY IS NOT VALID.”
She said, “What a great reminder – I’m always great – and ready!”
What entry in your life isn’t valid?
I’m so excited about this movie!!! I can’t WAIT! I have a very distant memory (but its never too late) of hearing about the book the inspired the movie (YEAH – it’s WRITTEN and DIRECTED by Nora Ephron!!!! – *Happy* DAYS!), but I just saw the trailer, and am SUPER excited now to read the book AND see the movie.
I have always loved biographies…learning about how people follow their dreams, how they drive through their fears, and this movie has lots on both.
The woman who wrote the book that inspired this gem is Julie Powell. She writes on her blog… From dead-end secretarial job to a 110-pound dog and a job writing in my pajamas… this is the story of Julie.
Here’s the movie trailer – see for yourself! Oh, and here’s a link to Julie’s book, too. Yeah for you Julie! And, for me, next stop – your book!
From an Amazon Review…
Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell’s attempt to revitalize her marriage, restore her ambition, and save her soul by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days. The result is a masterful medley of Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Like Water for Chocolate, mixed with a healthy dose of original wit, warmth, and inspiration that sets this memoir apart from most tales of personal redemption.
When we first meet Julie, she’s a frustrated temp-to-perm secretary who slaves away at a thankless job, only to return to an equally demoralizing apartment in the outer boroughs of Manhattan each evening. At the urging of Eric, her devoted and slightly geeky husband, she decides to start a blog that will chronicle what she dubs the "Julie/Julia Project." What follows is a year of butter-drenched meals that will both necessitate the wearing of an unbearably uncomfortable girdle on the hottest night of the year, as well as the realization that life is what you make of it and joy is not as impossible a quest as it may seem, even when it’s -10 degrees out and your pipes are frozen.




