Mmmmusings

In the Rat Year 2008

Mary — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:22:05 +0000

The Chinese Year of the Rat begins February 6, 2008. It is the beginning of another new 12 year cycle of life and a great year to plant the seeds for new activities and personal growth. Start something new. Let go of tired old things as the Year of the Boar closes in January 2008 and early February.
Tired old attitudes about living — pitch them in the recycle bin. The rat is a fast adopter. Try adopting a new skill, a new attitude or a new toy.
Did someone move your cheese? Stop looking for that cheese you used to have — get a new one, baby!
Rat is communal and all about the family. What family plans do you have for 2008? Don’t like your family? We are all peoples here — gather a “family of choice” and start doing things together. This is not a year to climb the mountain alone.
Is one of the old things to let go of — a tired old body? Rat travels light and lean. Use the energy of the rat year to tone and trim. Rat doesn’t hoard stuff — not even body fat. There is always more — its all good. And if there is not more right now– there will be soon.
Prepare for financial turbulence — think rainy day fund versus indulge, and you will be fine.
Spiritually, it is a year for letting go. Choose some grudges, hatred, regret or vengence to let go of. Light will flood in where the grumps used to hog space. Rat was the first to come when the Buddha called all the animals. Rat had nothing holding her back.

Sudden Snowy Accumulations

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:27:13 +0000

Sudden snow accumulates in the vast darkness. An icy glow. Ferning frost and visible breath. The dark night is bright with snow. The day is dark and dull. Our wild whirling planet reverses the seasonal shift. We see black and white and clay colored branches, flesh and fur. Trusting or not, we expect to see green and color again one day.

Spring is Personal Healing Time

Mary — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:49:39 +0000

Spring is the best time to do some personal healing. The sap is rising in the body. Have you noticed that your skin texture and hair texture are improving as the temperature rises and the weather becomes milder? Take advantage of this natural flow to spring clean yourself.


Bitter herbs stimulate the liver to release stored toxins and fatty debris. Probably you are thinking, “who eats bitter stuff?!” You are forgeting that two favorite foods are very bitter — chocolate and coffee. Try eating either one without sugar and you will see what I mean. These are not the kind of bitter that I am suggesting. Both chocolate and coffee are stimulants and both keep the liver busy for up to 3 days.  The green fiber of the herbs is as important as their bitter qualities are. Try some Arugula wilted in some olive oil with garlic and salt and white beans. Another fresh bitter spring green is dandelion. Add some of the bitter greens to your salad or soup, or cook them lightly. Artichokes are a bitter spring green vegetable. You can enjoy frozen artichokes cooked with other green leafy vegetables (I use mustard greens), onion and garlic and add a dash of hot sauce to bring out the flavor. Wok on the wild side a little!
Spring is the ideal time to use castor oil packs to cleanse the liver and you will find that the packs work much better in spring. Heated castor oil applied to the skin over the liver will penetrate very gently and supply the liver with the substances it needs to detoxify. You can purchase the oil online or from health food stores and also the wool or cotton packs which come with instructions for use.
Let your mind go — be a spring fever daydreamer. Let go of everything you were pushing yourself to do, to be, to think or to believe and give yourself a real fresh start. Meditate and be empty — ready to receive again.
Meditate under a tree this spring and be stimulated. Lie on the ground over the root skirt of a tree and connect with the activity in the ground, the tree and in yourself. While you are there let your aura be cleansed by the breezes, the cool earth and the heart of the tree. Be open to what the tree is expressing to you. Trees are the helping nation and their generosity is unmatched. Be generous and grateful yourself and leave a pinch of cornmeal, pollen or tobacco under your tree in thanks.
Use a feather or your fingers to brush the aura of your child or loved one. It feels very good to be cleaned in this way and it removes dead energy from the auric field. Combine it with a spoken blessing. You can brush and bless yourself also. We forget that we love “grooming” as much as dogs, cats or monkeys do. Ask someone to rub your head, your feet or hands. Or get a spring massage from your favorite massage therapist. Ooooo — that sounds good!



Peace Initiatives in the year of the Boar 2007
admin — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 20:56:01 +0000
January 13, 2007
 Are you ready for the year of the Boar, which begins on February 18 2007? I’m looking forward to the peace initiatives that will happen this year and unusually warm weather. Certain years favor the activities of artists and this is one of them. How can a year of abundance and sensuality be bad for an artist, I ask you?
I remember the last boar year, 12 years ago, and it was a fabuloso art year for me. I did 2 of my favorite and most ambitious paintings in that year and was full of energy for my very busy life. My son Tony asked me to do some watercolors without doing any drawings under them. It was exciting to see that the puddled edges of the watercolor glazes created their own lines.
You can see what I mean on the homepage “Self Portrait January 2007″ in the hat and jacket which are cut paper with multiple layers of watercolor and no drawing. I’ve been painting and drawing long enough now that I didn’t need the training wheels of a drawing to work from and that realization was liberating.
In January I think about the year ahead and I seek guidance for the year ahead. I sit in meditation for guidance and I record my dreams.
I consult the I Ching. I create a “mission plan” (every year is like a moon launch) without peeking at last year’s plan first. I’m thinking a great deal about blue. My interest is drawn to blue everywhere and it is not a color I often use in my paintings as a theme color.
I read a nice little summary of the different spiritual blues — the blue associated with Mary (think of the Guadalupe Mary’s robe), Krishna Blue, Venus aqua blue, the holy family cielo blue, and then I thought of “Blue Rider” school Kandinsky/Munter blue and the Mark Chagall stained glass blue.