My True Self

Last month, I participated in another three-day retreat given locally by Sri Vast, the enlightened master I first met in India in 2005. The main thrust of his teachings is the use of Self-Inquiry to discover who we really, truly are and then, to find the right environment, company and activity for that True Self to thrive. It is a given that your True Self is a happy healthy and fruitful person, caring for the planet Earth and all Beings, no matter what your specific talents and interests are.

I have always been fascinated by the question "Who am I?". Through astrology, numerology, palmistry, tarot and art therapy, I have approached the question from many angles. Yet Sri Vast brings an added element. He asks us to investigate who we are without "domestication"! What is the pure essence of our Being before we were trained, subdued, educated and adapted by our parents, schools, social environment and media inputs? The dictionary says that to domesticate means to "make (a wild animal) able to live with people and work for them". So what is the unique nature of that animal?

Our next meeting of the Women's Circle will approach this question. I was asked what my genuine, authentic person would have been....if all that domestication had not gotten in the way! My first answer was that I would be exactly as I am now. Whatever I did came out of the person I was at any given time and led to the next step in life.

Now, a few days later, I am wondering if maybe, had I had the support and means to bring out a the talent and joys that were in me......... I would have become a comic strip author! My style would be a bit like Hilary B. Price's "Rhymes with Orange" (fresh and pulpy"). I also like Dan Piraro's "Bizarro" and Wise and Aldrich's "Real Life Adventures".

Laughing and humour are timeless, indomitable ways of experiencing and expressing the beauty of life. Sri Vast knows: he loves funny movies!

Wise Women's Circle

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of the Wise Women's Circle at Enrico's in L'Orignal, Ontario. We are a group of women, led by our loving Joni Elborn, who get together regularly to share our interests, find inspiration and support each other.

This time, I offered to lead our group with a creative art workshop. We started with "The Song of the Vowels". This is a healing ritual originating in ancient Egypt. Eight energy centers in the upper body are stimulated by singing a vowel; each center has it's own corresponding sound.

After this pleasant and refreshing meditation, we sat down to paint. Using Lascaux Resonance paints on an 11" x 14" sheet of 90 lb. art paper, I invited the 15 participants to spontaneously choose colors and make marks on the paper. After 1o minutes, the artwork was passed to the person on the left, who spent another 10 minutes adding their own creativity, inspired by what they saw. Then the paper was passed on again after 10 minutes. Finally, of course, the paper came back to the original artist, who could then add or delete any part to make it their own again.




It was a lot of fun and here are some samples of finished paintings. Mine is the one with the orange sun in the top middle!

Just Fine

Hard to believe I was able to refrain from blogging for 4 whole weeks. Nothing's wrong.....I'm just enjoying my life and it's daily little wonders. One was my birthday just after the official beginning of the AGE of AQUARIUS. My gift was 6 planets in the 5th house! Oh yes, this is "Astro Speak" and means that this year I have a lot of energy available for fun, creative expression, growth and expansion and tons of LOVE. I also had a wonderful warm and sunny day in Ottawa enjoying the ice sculptures of Winterlude and an afternoon at the National Gallery. And friends over for dinner.

Also I've been busy getting my posters ready to announce the Level One courses that will be given here in two months. The first week of April for Anglophones and the third week of April for Francophones. The teacher will be Antoine Tinawi, an exuberant, bilingual official Art of living instructor. If you are interested in participating, please email me.

Today, I spent the morning at the Wise Women's Circle in L'Orignal, Ontario. We are a group of about 15 women who meet once a month to share subjects of common interest. Today's theme was "What do we want to change?" and we welcomed two newcomers to the area. Our next meeting will be in March and I will be hosting a "Paint-In": we will experience a non-verbal communication with paints on one big piece of paper!