Healing Mandala

I started the process of the footprint mandala for my client. She visited my studio on Thursday. We talked for a little while, and I meditated on the blank canvas for a while. The images that were given to me were very interesting. I saw a triangle, which turned out to be a Mayan temple, and a rainbow colored serpent, orchids and palm fronds, and cuneiform writing. All of these elements were profoundly important in matters which she is working on. It never ceases to amaze me when these mandalas touch the recipient so deeply. If that ever stops being the case, I hope that I have the sense to stop doing this work. I don't want to become one of the many "new age" practitioners that have become commercial and are only doing their work to make money. I actually have a huge issue with how to charge for my time and effort because of that. The client that I am doing this mandala for recognized that, and said many good things to help me in that process.

I am grateful that even after a year and a 1/2 of procrastination and avoidance, I still have the ability to be a vessel for divine information. I know that this time I can't run away from this, or I will probably not be given another chance to do this work. It is time to give back to the creator. . .Thank you, Universe.

Tribal Tassels

Monday night, I had another class in Tribal Fusion. We worked hard, and it felt great! My instructor had a simple tassel belt on, but it was very effective for some of the hip moves. So, Wednesday before class, I made a new belt! I had a belt base that I wasn't sure what to do with, and I decided to use that. I made 12 large tassels and 12 small ones. I sewed them to the belt, and added some brocade trim and tassel fringe. When it was completed, I slipped it on over my costume, and felt a transformation begin. I felt the energy of Pele, the Goddess of Fire and Dance, come over me. I felt powerful, and strongly feminine. Now, I want to paint the canvas front of the belt with flames. I have a performance on Saturday, and I would like to wear the belt for that.

I also agreed to do a painted mandala based on a woman's footprint. I have been on a 2 year hiatus from doing these. . .it's amazing what fear can do to keep you from doing something you love. When I was writing the email to the woman I am going to do the reading for, I kept seeing arms around the woman's head. Three on each side of her, to be exact! And I also saw an elephant's trunk. Ganesh. So, I asked the woman if she was working with Ganesh energy. I didn't tell her why. She replied that she has images of Ganesh all over her workplace. I picked up on that from 1/2 an hour's drive away, without direct contact with the woman. When I realized the significance of that, I cried, and thanked the Goddess for that awakening. Now it's time to step out and have faith in this process, and start doing the work I was intended to do in this life.

New Project

Last night I started researching for a new project. I am creating a spiritual divination deck featuring portraits of local women. I put a couple of hours into researching traditional interpretations and imagery, and then I realized I may be going about this incorrectly. I think I have to get to a quiet space (both spiritually and physically) and meditate about what each individual card should be. I was trying to do it the other way around, and it felt like I was trying to fit things into a mold. Some didn't fit, some overlapped, and some weren't appropriate at all. Maybe I need to keep it very simple.

Tribal Inclinations

Today was the second Tribal Fusion bellydance class. I think I learned more in two hours of classes with my new teacher than I have learned in the last two 6-week sessions with my other (former?) teacher! My arms are sore. . .but at least I am working hard! This new teacher even uses the kind of fast and driving music that I am drawn to. I learned that I have a long way to go to be the dancer that I want to be, but I am also farther along than I thought. We danced in a "troupe setup", and it was interesting to create a dance with women who otherwise, are perfect strangers to me. Now, I can't say that I actually felt a connection with them, but we were able to create an artful, choreographed dance together as people who have only known each other for two hours.
As I sit here and write this, the full moon crept into view in the transom of the front door of the 1896 Victorian house that my husband and I just bought last month. Luna oversees everything that I do, and it is only appropriate that she is in the fullest of her power as I start down this path. Reflection, glow, female, strength, full, ripe, light, steadiness, are all words that come to me as I watch her curved path above me. Thank you for blessing and shedding your light on the path that lies before me.

Oops!

Ok- I found out a bad thing. . .if you move away from a post that isn't complete or saved, YOU LOSE THE WHOLE THING! Rats.

And we're off. . .!

Have you ever had a day that you knew, even when it started, that things were about to change? That's what it was like for me today. It felt like a new chapter from the moment I woke up. As I went about my business, I had snippets of great ideas all morning. They were things that felt like they were a part of the bridge I have worked so hard to build the foundation of; the bridge from fear to really living. I even committed to taking a new Tribal Fusion bellydance class- it starts tonight! I've been putting that off for forever, but as I made the committment, I felt the door open and I stepped out across the chasm, knowing that there will be a sturdy path underneath my feet even though I may not be able to see it right away. And so I walked with a clip in my step, and as I made my way back to my car through a busy parking lot, I heard snippets of the two songs that touch my spirit and make me feel confident in myself. What are the chances that I would hear them both within minutes of each other on a day like today?! There are no coincidences.

So the next leg of the journey begins. . .!