Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category

i like rituals….simple self created intentions and ceremonies that initiate something, an event a project, a day, or end and bring to closure a day or some segment of our life.
i find they bring ones intention and attention to the moment in hand and a simple thought of gratitude and attitude to that moment makes it special and sets the tone and mood for what is to follow.
waking up in the morning and gently drawing ones attention to the fact of opening ones eyes and drawing ones awareness to the day and tasks that lie ahead with gratitude – make for setting the tone and mood.
rituals don’t have to be elaborate or grand, they can be just a ‘thank you’ a little nod and acknowledgement to the food one’s about to eat and the task one has finished.
when i pick up brush and paint before an empty canvas it’s very natural for me to evoke a heartfelt ritual to let inspiration and cosmic creativity be my guide to express myself as an artist…..
i find these little rituals to release and bring forth, prepare one to create a framework for what one is about to undertake. very often we have habits and quirks which are actually rituals…the same if done with spiritual consciousness become our own personal acts of ceremony and elevate the vibration and frequency of whatever action is on hand to become special and sacred.
it’s like honoring oneself and the moment from our higher self.
every morning, before stepping into a shower i bless the water – that will clean the body and the energy field around me – it’s a feeling that honors my oneness with the earth and its many bounties.
simple daily rituals connect us to our higher self and set the tone for living every day with an attitude of gratitude, joy and appreciation.
i love my little rituals.
i wish you a happy day.

there’s something about visuals, as an artist i value them.
there’s something about how we look,
how we stand…
how we talk…
how we use our hands…
how we move through time and space….
we send out messages with our energy and body language.
we don’t have to say too much – we just do it!
there’s something to be said about walking through life with an air of confidence, of walking tall and not looking wimpish. exuding quiet, graceful, dignified confidence is different from looking arrogant or as if the world owes us something!
it doesn’t…mush as our ego may think so!
people who’re beat in life sometimes often act out that part and you can see it in every move, word and gesture of theirs.
how our body moves through space and time is i feel a good indication of how we are on our inside in any given time. generally…unless we’re good at faking things.
pulling up our shoulders, walking tall, taking the frown and furrows away and forcing a smile onto our face sometimes can make all the difference to our mood and the energy we give out. if you can add real feeling to all of that you have a recipe for a confident ‘no matter what’ confident, inspiring person before you.
each of us has that capacity within us provided we’re aware and willing to catch ourselves by the boot straps.
i wish you a day of ‘standing tall…” and infinite happiness.

in my own experience and understanding i find that it’s important to ask questions everyday , as often as one can. when we ask, we get the answers… somehow from somewhere. what we see is what we get and it’s not all there is. it’s only the tip of the iceberg. life’s real stories and essence have to be discovered through our own curiosity and questioning mind. we have to constantly be reminded and remember life’s simple truths and meaning. a quiet reflective mind, digging deeper within ourself gives us the opportunity to come upon the real treasures and stories in our world. there’s value to slowing down in this fast paced, information giving world. prioritizing and sometimes doing less but more effectively what we have on hand is better than running through a million things with a brethless overwhelmed feeling. that’s no use use. take regular time out to enjoy your present moment and be in peace with who and what you are. a work in progress and part of an ever changing story. you are more than what meets the eye, so be in sync with your ever changing time and space. awareness and presence is all it takes to be a conscious writer of your own story.

just the other day i had a curious young mind come up to me to check out the book i’m reading these days….i always carry my the book i’m reading everywhere with me, in the car, to the gym, anywhere. it’s a habit and one that i love. the woman read the title and looked at me a little woefully and said that she would love to read books but is so busy and never has the time.
how often have i heard people say that… and i remembered that there may have been times in my own life, when i myself was saying the same thing….till i had understood and realized that we always have enough of time or anything else for that matter. it’s simply a matter of priority and choosing what we want to give our time and attention to.
i was at the gym and realized that so often we’re running around as if on a treadmill without really enjoying the activity or the moment we’re in. we rush from one thing to another, chalking off the activities and still feeling so much is left to be done and we don’t have time. and then we complain that we’re stressed!
i was reminded that life is actually made up of ordinary moments that become extrordinary as we savour and enjoy our own presence in every moment that we’re in. going with the flow also means slowing down to the pace of life that is our natural rhythm. everyone’s pace is different. only we can discover what our individual timing is and how we can enjoy whatever activity we’re engaged in to it’s very limit.
there’s always enough time….
enough of anything for that matter.
everything we need in any moment is already within us, the lack comes from our own limited perception.
in this case, time is there, we’ve simply lost some of it’s relevance by either being in the past or running into the future.
i have been blessed with this wonderful insight to know and be aware at this point of time, that life is extraordinary in it’s ordinariness and that there’s enough time to do anything we wish to or want to.

when i paint there’s no logic.
creativity does not require logic or science….
there are things in life that are and happen for no apparent logical reason, they happen for some unknown reason.
they are.
logical thinking and reasoning is a good way to get stuck in a rut.
it’s a good way to shape paradigms that in turn shape the way we are…simply creatures of habits.
any surprise then that we get the same results?
guess not.
any surprise that we look like our relatives?
we seem to pass on a way of being and doing things from one generation to the next and then we wonder why things are the way they are.
if we want different results then we have to change our habits, set paradigms and throw logic out of the window every now and then to change the course of our lives.
logic has its use, but it’s also useful to let go of it every now and then in order to create something fresh… something new.

in this day and age of do’s and don’t, fitting in and staying within some niche or kind of comfort zone, i’m always drawn to the rare birds that have maverick qualities and tendencies.
i’m talking about people who have an easy, natural sense of style, a certain j’en sais quois charisma and attitude that percolates into every aspect of their life. being creative is a way of life for me. it’s an atttiude a way to express your individuality even as you remain contemporary – in fashion, art, designing your home, the way you live, work and are. there don’t have to be any rules that you must follow. it’s a way of being that is different, distinctive, catchy and appealing no matter what. there’s a certain quality of being current along with a touch of the classic and traditional…a certain timelessness that is apparent.
for me it’s something that comes naturally and from being true to who i am. people who are mavericks have a sense of fun and passion about them with an air of self confidence and courage thrown into the bag. one does not need to be overtly outrageous to stand out or be different, just be yourself and create a style that’s your own and that you own and feel at home with and it’s natural, classy, appealing, fun and maybe just out of the box…an affirmation and celebration of who you are!

‘enough’ is a magical word for me.
it implies having the abundance of life in every way in every moment.
it also gives me the feedom to create more abundance of whatever my heart desires…having enough is simply an attitude.
knowing and feeling i have enough takes the ‘lack’ of anything away.
the things we most desire in life are immeasurable…love, peace, happiness.
having ‘enough’ of anything means being in a state of peace, gratitude and satisfaction right now in the moment you allow yourself to believe you have enough.
believing that one has enough liberates one to enjoy endless joy and abundance in ones life and the potential to create even more.

this mind plays games.
‘feeling good’ comes from the heart…..not from the head!
for me the heart ruling the head is a much better place to be in…for the more one thinks and thinks about things we don’t want in our life and things which are far from positive the more the mind gets us to a point where we don’t feel good.
how “i’m feeling in any moment of time” is a barometer of how “i am” in that moment.
the mind and it’s thinking polarizes the stuff life is made of into good and bad, right or wrong.
the heart has the capacity to rise above this polarizing and see things from a bigger picture and look at the unified and interconnected whole.
so i pay attention to how i’m feeling.
it’s my business to get myself to a place of ‘feeling’ good. it’s not anybody else’s concern or responsibility….only mine.
opening my valves rather than closing them to the positives and good in any situation is a function of my heart. the head and it’s analyzing and ‘thinkng’ simply has to follow my hearts wish and command.
no wonder…. when we talk about getting to the depth of anything we talk about getting to the ‘heart of the matter’ not the’ head’ of it!
i consciously practice and let my heart guide my head to a place of feeling good.
a life lived from an open heart is eventually a life lived with love and compassion, forgiveness and grace, peace and harmony.
follow your heart and keep your valves open.

it never ceases to amuse me on how every other person i meet tells me about ‘how i’ll get used to it’!
in this case’ get used to’ the way of life i’m settling in to after a gap of 15 years. my sta’dard response for the moment may sound a bit stubborn when i say, ‘ i don’t wish to get used to it’.
it’s interesting to see how generally people wish to see you settling into the way of life they have accepted and become used to, no matter how much they like it or not. human nature, i suppose. it’s a passive way to stay away from stress and lead a peaceful life of co -existence with the others.
i wish all of them well. still i hold out quietly as i remind myself to deal with what is the so called reality of where i am, even as i remind myself of living in the flow without ‘getting used to’ what i clearly find is not my cup of tea.
i gently hold on to my inner vision of what i want and remain in peace as my higher knowing lets me know that this is all for a reason and purpose and eventually it all falls into place exactly in the way it’s meant to and we have a role in that as co – creators of our life.
so i can make my way in the moment where i am without ‘getting used to’ things even as i accept where i am and live my life in the best way i can with conscious awareness of this present reality being a journey to get to where i wish to be.

a long tme ago a greek philospher said ‘know thyself’. centuries after these words were spoken how many of us really do i wonder? very few….and even those who claim that they know themselves perhaps will realize that the more they think they know of themselves how little they really do. maybe when we really think we know ourselves we’ll realize how little we do know of ourselves or anything else. with that understanding perhaps it’s best to be in peace and accept that  truth and  know that what you do know …. is enough for that moment in time and that is what you’re meant to know.