Word of the Month for May: Focus

The other day while gazing at last month's new moon board I had a realization: most of that happened.

It feels like things are coming together a little easier. More engagement has been had! I went to this super magical art class. I wrote. I was more active within my online communities. There were some bad days. But all in all? April went pretty well.

So clearly, doing a new board was essential!

New moon? Eclipse? Not movies, baby, but the timing for a new board, new shifting, more magic.....

Messages from the Canvas

*

Isolation is a Dreamkiller. Barbara Sher

                                                                                                                                                   

The Motherload

 I have purple paint under my fingernail. In my mind, I'm still dancing with glitter paint and painting flowers. Paint, paint, paint. I sit at home doing my artwork and wondering, who will like this, who will connect to this, who will care? I suspect that it is the same for many artists.

The choice to go check out an intuitive art class wasn't a conscious one. That was a soul choice, rising up from within, clamoring for something deeper. I was nervous. So used to feeling out of sync with the dynamic in a room. Awkward. The warmth of my welcome was not lost on me. Hmmmm...... I was hugged, I was greeted kindly, I was listened to.

This isn't an art class on a typical level. You aren't there to learn how to draw or paint better. The purpose is get into the work and listen to your inner guide. It is so easy to forget that there is so much wisdom within us. Our inner guides, our intuition has so much to say.

Painting in a quiet room filled with other people is liberating. Knowing that there is someone there to help if you need creates a sense of peace that is needed when getting deep into the process. Which I did. These shifting waves that began in March are still tumbling over me. Still opening me.

And then came a message from the canvas. While I am ready to create more space, this is not a practice I have much experience in. Clearly my subconscious is letting me know that it is time to create something new. It is both exciting and terrifying.

My takeaway from Chris Zydel's Intuitive Art class? That out of syncness doesn't have to exist. This is not a competition. The only person I need to get really vulnerable with in that room is myself. And that is possibly the greatest challenge of all.

Turtlenecks and naps

Last week I once again fell down on the job when it came to self care. Stress levels have been high and self love quite a bit low. My big takeaway from the week is that it is essential to have something to look forward to like my upcoming trip but also my weekly tea date with one of my good friends.

And I did quite a bit of art, too, which helped. I even took the time to do a blank space page in my vision book. During Spirits of Joy I remembered how much I love the whole cutting, pasting, dreaming aspect of vision journals and having prompts was perfect to keep me on track. Some of us need little rituals to help us do the things we know we need to for ourselves. Which is fine as long as we remember to create them.

This week I also wrote my first mini course, which needs to be edited and run through my proofreader before I kick it out for beta. !!!!

 I have no idea what I did here....and I really wish I did. The more I look at her the more love is felt. She is something really special. And out of the ordinary for me!

This week, make sure you take a time out to rest, relax and replenish. Your body will thank you for it!

Blackberry: A magazine and a Giveaway!

For the past six months I have been wanting to write more. For the past three months I have been writing more. One of my goals was to submit to Blackberry: A Magazine, the lit magazine by my FB friend Alicia Sommer.

One of the reasons I have been wanting to submit is that I like what I see. More than any other magazine aimed at Black females I feel like this one gets me. Gets that I am not wanting to see a zillion ads for skin lightening cream or hair straightener. One that recognizes I am both reader and writer. One that has flesh, bone and blood.

So in January when I was able to pull together some pieces that would work with the theme I got so excited about submitting that when I was accepted there wasn't a lot of room left to get all crazy. Until Wednesday night when I got this message on FB: Hey S Luna Raven, look who made the cover. :)

Are you kidding me?!

So, I have two poems in this issue and I made the cover. I made the cover. I made the cover. Okay, I think it is safe to say that I am really, really excited!

Now the good for you part: if you buy a copy of the magazine, let me know in the comments so you can be entered to win a signed 5x7 copy of this photo. You can buy either the digital or print version of the mag, you just need to let me know in the comments that you did. That's it! It's so worth it, not only to support me (which I thank you for) but all the other ladies and the fabulous Alicia, who works so hard to make this so great!

The giveaway ends March 8th at Midnight. Don't be shy, tell all your friends!

<3

Luna

My Word of 2013: More

 "A seed, dropped into the ground, springs into activity, and in the act of living produces a hundred seeds; life, by living, multiplies itself." Wallace D. Wattles

a journal page from two years ago

I have had a hard time choosing my word for the year. There were a few that stuck out for me: feminine, shifting, release. The word that stuck though is from a book I have been reading, The Science of Getting Rich. I realize that more is really what I want even though I haven't really been able to put that into the context I was trying to convey. Luckily, Wattles did it quite nicely for me.

"It is the natural and inherent impulse to seek to live more; it is the nature of intelligence to enlarge itself, and of consciousness to seek to extend the boundaries and find fuller expression." 

More to me means:

 

More love: Not just what I take in, what I allow in. What I send out. Including to myself. And I reserve the right to say I don't love someone or want them in my life. Because true self love means not allowing people, things or situations into your life that hold you down or harm you,

More sacred yes. And no: I made a firm decision in November that I needed to be more thoughtful of my yes and no's. I am proud to say that I have done well with honoring my own values which means I am creating a healthy space for others to do the same, for me and for themselves.

More health: the smoothie kick we jumped on a few months ago is still going. We have been taking it seriously, a feat that is made easier by doing it together. Also, more walking, more movement, more nutrient dense food. So boring, I know!

More! More good decisions, more rest, more art, more organization, more time with friends, more travel. Expansion, expression, fullness, open dreaming, letting the sky not be the limit because there is a world beyond it!

What is your word for 2013? What represents where you want to go or who you want to be more of in this shiny new year? What are you releasing so you can grab what you want? Share with me in the comments!

The Benefits of Asking For Help

Resources. We have a tendency to think of resources as things rather than people, forgetting that we have friends and acquaintances who may know things we need to.


We are surrounded by those who not only have answers but actually wish to help. Instead we waste time and energy searching for an answer, when help was sitting right next to us, for fear that we might look stupid, or weak or like a burden.

By never putting ourselves forward, vital connections are missed that could move us in exactly the direction we want and need to go. We have to get over this desire to not burden others, especially when they long to help, to share, to encourage and to celebrate our very being.


I am delighted when I am able to be a resource for others, because I have knowledge they need and the ability to give it freely. Because to share information only helps me in the long run.It helps all of us! We give a gift when we ask for or extend help. It is part of the natural cycle of give & receive that helps keep us all in balance with ourselves and the 'Verse.


Don't be afraid to step outside of yourself, should you need help, energy, support or even just a hug! A resource is a valuable tool, a gift, and not everyone has them. There's gold in them there minds!

Bartending School Week 1

Right off the bat I gotta tell you that one of the reasons I like the SFSOB is that if you come to the Monday intro class, you actually get behind the bar. And I like that the first day after lecture we did just that. We were behind the bar making & learning drinks.

Some I knew, like the Screwdriver, the Cape Cod, the Fuzzy Navel. And some drinks were sorely testing me Wednesday and Thursday. Frou Frou drinks like the Purple Hooter and the Appletini are just foreign to my whiskey loving palate.

I know that there is quite a bit of disgust these days regarding bartending school among old guard bartenders out there, but I have to say, as well as I can spot which liquor is which and knowing what mixes with what, this is both a similar and dissimilar activity as working as a chef.

The movements, for example the lift & pop, take practice to get them smooth. Finding the rhythmic fluidity is important and yesterday I started to get it. I would rather do that in the classroom than on the job so that it becomes a natural habit without me looking like a total idjit in front of customers!

Since I already know that I am adept at retaining recipes, one trick I used was to find similar drinks and group them together. Make a Greyhound from grapefruit and vodka. Salt the rim for a Salty Dog, For a Sea Breeze, add cranberry. This has actually been a helpful tool in getting the drinks down. (pun possibly intended)

Some people are a little sad that we are using water to practice with. As our first instructor pointed out, beyond legalities, with the amount of practice we do he'd be having a heart attack every time we poured out a drink! It is also probably good for those who may think that it is all about drinking behind the bar....

I am also reading this book by William Grimes and think I need to get a copy of it.This is the sort of information I love, history and classic cocktails. Total win, right?! Well, I have to go because I have class and a midterm today, woo! But stay tuned, tomorrow we will be at the East Bay Wine Trail pouring for Stomping Girl and then tasting later in the day, so there will be an update Sunday!

Glittery hugs!

My First Etsy Sale and Daylight savings

I made my first sale on Etsy! I am pretty excited that the buyer bought what is truly one of my favorite pieces. You know how much I love things that sparkle & shine! And it feels good to have made my first sale!

 Last week was rough because everyone has been sick. Weirdly being sick made more focused so I did four paintings and started a crochet bag as well as working on my crocheted baby sweater. I sadly had to scrap one of the paintings due to the paper but that is still the survival of three I am really happy with!

I am also convinced that I am the only person I know who is excited about daylight savings time. For me it is a time of more light which equals more freedom. When I was younger I had to drive mom around in the winter due to her night blindness. It meant that my winter was never my own and the early dark still makes me a little sad. I never feel like I have lost an hour so much as I have gained more time over all.

My neighborhood at sunset

What successes are you celebrating this week?