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Posted by Jenni on July 8, 2011 in Bodymind Bliss, Self-care, Spirituality

My Vision Board: More Bravos Make You Smile

Eight of us mamas sprawled on the floor of my living room, magazines, scissors, and glitter pens strewn about. We pored over words and images, searching for just the right ones to express hopes, dreams, questions, and answers for the rest of the year to come. We worked intently on our vision boards, with spirits and hopes high, moving easily between reflective quiet and a month’s worth of conversation.

We’d intended this project would happen at one of our first monthly meetings of the year, but in our circle, three mamas have had babies in the past 3 months, four of us are nursing little ones, one mama is training to be a midwife, and all of us are beckoned by big decisions, unexpected changes, and small but significant shifts.(You know, the usual!)

Moving through the mid-point of the year, we immersed ourselves in the churning waters of our lives, felt sands shifting beneath our feet, and greeted shorelines at once familiar and new.

In this way, visioning work in mid-year felt just right. Having created a Vision Board back in January, I looked again at the intentions I’d set months ago, delighting in what I had forecasted and marveling at how ideas I’d had were shifting slightly and for the better.

Looking at the boards created in our circle, I saw visions of:

-remaining days of summer freedom, mindful movement, deeply nourishing heart and soul,

-healthier, more soulful eating; a desire for more fulfilling ways to parent beyond “just” getting baby to sleep; and finding more passion for and meaning in work,

-and an open question about place, space, home, heart, and how the four intertwine and connect.

For my own board, I envisioned the best for a project I dearly want to get off the ground in the next month, certain qualities in myself that I want to nurture, a funny mix of phrases that revealed what feels like a profound truth (More bravos make you smile!), and possibilities from the first of the year that I want to return to, refreshed and rededicated.

The title of my board is captured in a small label, but one that sets a big theme for the rest of my year: the Art of Craft … the art of my craft as a writer, the art of crafting a spiritual practice, the art of crafting and creating with my children (literally, hands on cutting pasting glittering painting gluing), and the art of parenting them.

Opposite the “Art of Craft,” the sentiment is “efficient by nature,” because I’m longing for more time outside, connecting with land and sky, water and wildlife, for inspiration. A picture of metal art—the image of a tree—reminds me of a piece I’ve seen at a local home store and have been drawn to for months (Go get it!).

Another wild world image that caught my eye is a picture of a woman beneath a tree, with the words “constructive meditation … go outside and create art from the world around you.” What more to say than “yes!”

I included a picture to inspire beauty in my office, which is one of the final frontiers in my great home decluttering project. “Kind design” is what I’m keeping in mind. To me, that means simple, elegant, beautiful, meaningful, and inexpensive. One idea—3 small framed pictures of yogis in beautiful poses that remind me of my favorite body practice—perfectly exemplifies that.

Two cravings made their way on to this new Vision Board: one for financial prosperity and one for deeper spiritual connection. A single quote summed those up: “Let us insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the kingdom of God.” –Mother Teresa

Personal, if obvious, translation … focus on spiritual ritual and don’t worry about the rest of it!

For all the intentional things expressed on my vision board, there is one–“Interpreting the Dream”–that feels so magical. I keep getting pinged about dreams. I have dreams for my day-time, in my home life and work life. But I do not have them, literally, in my night-time. Two of my teachers in the past month have offered teachings about dreams witnessed in sleep. So I’m listening. And the first thing I’m hearing is that if I want dreams to interpret, I need more sleep. In this moment, I am setting an intention for that sleep: I sleep deeply, soundly, and dreamily every night, and when I wake, the dream is my good guide to a happy, healthy life.

And so I will see (I do see!) what 2011 holds as the days grow shorter, and the nights grow longer and more dreamy, from now through year’s end.

What’s up for you, for the rest of your year? Do share, dear women!
xoxoxo

Posted by Jenni on July 7, 2011 in Bodymind Bliss, Spirituality

Spiritual Progress, Please

It’s Wishcasting Wednesday over at Jamie Ridler Studios. This week she’s asking, “What do you wish to make progress on?”

I wish to make progress on discovering spiritual rituals of connection and meaning for my family. I dabble at meditation. I found a little inspiration in picking up sticks earlier this week (and I did it again today!). Some egg visioning and decorating projects earlier this year hinted at meaningful moments that I’d like to repeat in the spring. Yoga is a regular practice for me, but not one that yet extends –consistently, anyway– to my family.

So I’m staying open, sitting still, listening, and soul searching for ways small and big for the four of us to celebrate the mysteries, wonders, and majesties of the universe as they show up in all their brilliant and mundane ways here in our daily lives.

That’s what I’m wishing for. How about you? What kind of progress are you wishing for?

As you wish for yourself, so I wish for you, for the greatest good of all concerned!

~~~

More about Wishcasting Wednesdays: Creative spirit Jamie Ridler, of Jamie Ridler Studios, has claimed the middle of the week as Wishcasting Wednesday: “Wishcasting Wednesday is a safe haven for wishes, a fertile field in which to plant wish seeds and have them witnessed and tended lovingly. It’s a place where magic begins … Make a wish: Dare to dream. What would happen if every week you made a wish? What magic might start to stir?”

Visit Jamie’s blog to inspire your own Wishcasting work!

Posted by Jenni on July 4, 2011 in Bodymind Bliss, Motherhood, Spirituality