Losing Your Grip, Or Letting Go

Losing Your Grip, Or Letting Go?

That really is the question in the reality we find ourselves in as the 21st century moves on.

Which is which? How can we discern the difference between losing our grip and simply letting go? My thoughts here hopefully lead to the conclusion that:

1] If you feel like you are losing your grip, you have gotten caught in the trap of letting something or someone else determine your reality and experience. It’s not a choice, because you have picked up the idea that you have no choices.

2] If you are letting go, you are releasing the old reality which is no longer working, and surrendering it to the Divine. It is a choice, and the authentic choice of a free will.

During a few moments of quiet this morning, I heard a siren off in the distance. I cringed as I often do upon hearing that sound, as I recalled all too many years of being wrapped up in a line of work that required being jerked out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to deal with what that sound so often meant – several intense hours of dealing with blood, gore, crushed bodies and bones, and being around a lot of tense people.

This is why the O.R. has been called a “theatre” – it’s one big drama scene after another. Just like the “theatre” of war!

It occurred to me this morning that almost the entire modus operandi of the world is one of general crisis, mishap, mayhem, “accident”, and emergency. Life consists of reacting, [or responding -  in the less intense and more prepared sense of that modality] – if the idea of “reaction” can even be dignified with the idea of “responding”.

Is this how it is supposed to be? Are these the limits and parameters of our experience of life – being either victims or reactors to victimhood on Planet Earth? Or could it be that somehow this could all be a set-up, complete with a free set of blinders, so you can’t see it for what it really is? It’s worth asking those questions and considering the answers. Could there be some other M.O. of being?

Perhaps there is another way. The way of another possibility, or in fact many possibilities. Dare I suggest infinite possibilities springing from unlimited creativity?

Could creativity be the exit off the fast lane of emergency into the path less taken of emergence?

Is there a way where we could consider creativity as an option, indeed an alternative to emergency? Yes, emergence as a lifestyle could be a way so unlike emergency as a lifestyle, the current M.O. of all too many, that it blows your mind. Not necessarily creativity in the sense of making art or music, but in the sense of making a life, instead of reacting to circumstances as if there are no other choices, while swimming in a virtual sea of chaos?

What has been mentioned so far – the “emergency” status quo – describes a lifestyle based on losing your grip.

Yet an emergent lifestyle springing from creativity within [and we ALL have it!] is something based on letting go.

Are you beginning to see the difference between emergency, reaction, and losing your grip, versus emergence, creativity, and letting go?

Let’s explore this a little further, shall we?

Would you like to begin to turn this around, to go from emergency to emergence? If you’re willing to read on, and if you really want an answer, I think I can offer you a place to begin. But if you really are addicted to the emergency drama, then please – stop right here and feel free to continue to fret your weary hour upon the stage.

How can you tell if you’re addicted to the drama? It’s easy – if what I’m offering here is arousing a feeling of resistance, if not even anger, within you, you may be suffering from ATD: addiction to drama. You might be asking, what the heck does she know? She’s just one of us.

Well, that’s your choice, and it’s strictly your judgment, based on the story line you’re living out. So take it or leave it. Move on to the next blog, post, or article as you wish.

But for those who are at least curious, here’s what I would offer. And it’s never an offer you can’t refuse – through deceit, threat, or coercion, such as are offered by the forces of limitation in this world. It’s free, as you ought to be.

So here’s the scoop:

Each week I invite my Facebook friends and the “public” to an “event”. It’s called the Personal Inner Peace Retreat, or simply the acronym “PIPR”. It occurs every Friday morning from 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 noon. I’m not asking anyone to come to my home, or to any other gathering place. You don’t have to go to a church, a temple, or any “religious” edifice. You can observe it in your pajamas in bed if you like. You just need to listen to the music of the inner PIPR! – the Still Small Voice inside you which plays the tune in harmony with God, the Infinite Creator Spirit – Who longs for you to know the Peace that passes all understanding, because it is not reliant on circumstances, but emerges from within you.

What is asked is that you take at least a half hour of this Friday time [or choose another day if that one will not work], or preferably all of it, and set aside a space where you won’t be disturbed, in solitude. That means no cell phone, no cat crawling up in your lap, no dog who wants to chase the ball or be taken for a walk, and the door goes unanswered. All these examples and any other habitual distractors are, yes, forbidden – because they so easily disturb the focus between you and the Divine. That is the only “rule” for participating, and it’s on the honor system. You can do this in your own time zone in any part of the world.

It’s best to just quietly sit in meditation, or contemplation, or with your journal, or in prayer – with the intention of having a quiet one-on-one with God.

The reason for “gathering in Spirit” like this is to allow yourself some Sacred Stillness and Silence – an appointment with the Counselor or all counselors, and to also be supported by the energy of this intention with any or many others who are also doing the same thing at the same time. This is a unique metaphysical opportunity to experience “quantum non-locality” in a simple and practical way. It’s an opportunity to break from the emergencies, the reacting, and the drama in order to connect your Innermost Being [the real you!] – with the Infinite Wisdom in Whom we live, move, and have our being. The focus here is the experience of unconditional Love in an intentional and conscious way with others of good will.

Another reason for PIPR is that it’s a reminder to get into the habit of a personal spiritual practice where you intend to simply be with the Divine Presence. And it is best to do this every day, usually first thing in the morning. However, I would cautiously add that the best time of the day may not mean the first thing in the morning for some, but it does mean the part of the day when you are most alert and receptive and undistracted. Once you work with this a little, you will discover what the best part of the day is for you. The Divine Presence will even help you recognize it! And the more you “show up for work” – the work of Grace, the more desirable it becomes, since it will only be a beneficial and benevolent space of connection with Omnipotence that moves you forward in its own Divine, loving strength.

So, how does this relate to going from emergency to emergence, from losing your grip to letting go?

What is done in a spiritual practice is that we’re putting ourself in the Presence of God. This is a particular “frequency” that can be connected with through your innermost Being, or “Heart”. You simply intend it, and then place yourself into it. [No math or quantum physics rocket science degree required!] The “Heart” may or may not be, depending on which “researcher” struts his statistics, associated with your actual physical heart. In many spiritual texts, what is meant by the Heart is the very Core and Source of who you are, the Animator of your life and even the physical body. It is the Image of the Creator still within you. It is often “asleep” – as the princess heroine or prince hero in a fairytale.

And what the Heart of you longs for, dreams about, more than anything else, is to be “kissed” and awakened and directed by the Presence of the Unconditional Love that God is, so that the Heart may in concert with the Greater Divine prioritize your life, body, and being – according to the Highest Good, or what might be called the will of God.

That is the function of your Heart, but if it is still asleep, it cannot do its job – which is to bring you out of the state of losing your grip into a state of letting go and surrendering to the Heart’s divine loving directives. That is the only “hierarchy” you will ever need to be faithful to: God’s Divine Presence directing your Heart directing you directing your life! And you will know within yourself how that Still Small Voice directs you and that it is entirely trustworthy. So if you are putting yourself into God’s Presence to experience His unconditional love, then your heart has the opportunity to receive the divine kiss that can awaken it and transform it. God always cleanses, strengthens, and renews the Heart, instructing it in the way it needs to go for the highest good of your life.

This leads to living your life from the inside out, not being driven by fear, terror, anxiety, habit, circumstances, and meaningless or even deceptive information coming at you from the outside world – the M.O. which gives you the impression that you’re losing your grip. In fact, the Divine Presence will give your heart discernment concerning all these things. The more you attend to being in divine harmony, the more it will attend you.

This simple spiritual practice is a way to consciously and intentionally receive grace and guidance and your greatest good, and that of all concerned. So if you’re losing your grip, or think you are, seek the Divine Presence every day – with your whole Heart.

Friday Personal Inner Peace Retreat is a good place to start, but only a reminder, for letting go of losing your grip.

Why not give it a try, and then turn it into a daily habit?

© Rev. Yvonne R. Blasy, B.Msc.

Yvonne is an artist, songwriter, writer, and was ordained a Metaphysical Minister through the International Metaphysical Ministry and University of Sedona in 2008. Her work and ministry take the forms of contemplative art, spiritual writing, and facilitating workshops and classes on art, creativity, and spiritual studies as means of healing, wholeness, and inner Creative Path Exploration. She also focuses on live music [folk, traditional, and folk style originals] as service to the “musically underserved” – those in nursing homes and other situations where enjoying the blessing of live music is not usually an option. Please contact via Linked In, Facebook, email, or her website for more information or to book a class, Reiki session, or music event.

http://yvonne-blasy.artistwebsites.com/

Giddy Yap

Isn’t it just fun every now and again to do your own “life review”now, this side of the last round-up, instead of later? Allow me to explain what I mean and how it works.

 

What happens is that you take a little time on purpose to notice something about yourself that’s been consistently characteristic of your personality throughout your life, and then you just relax in your mind and return to those thrilling days of yesteryear when you were just a whipper snapper, knee high to a grasshopper. Then you ask yourself a few questions. You can even do this over a cup of coffee or a beer if you like.

 

What was it like back then? Who were you then? What have you morphed into now? Is it still with you, or did it get left in the dust somewhere along the trail? Or maybe it even got waylaid by a gang of bank robbers, or outlaws, or some renegade Apaches…

 

You’d be surprised what this little exercise will show you about yourself. In fact, it might be just plain fun to engage in a little “Giddy Yap” – by that I mean some story tellin’ on yourself [“yap”] that’s guaranteed to make you feel like your head’s full of moonshine [giddy], while at the same time letting you catch up with yourself somewhere along the trail. Or maybe you might want to just back track a bit?

 

So I hope you don’t mind if I share a little of my own Giddy Yap, just to help get you started on your own version.

 

Usually it begins with the pictures in that old family album. And I mean oooooooold family album! That’s the best place in town to begin a good Giddy Yap.

 

For me the photos that stand out are the ones where I’m about three years old. I’m sitting on my rocking horse, Long Shadow. I have on red cowboy boots, a straw cowboy hat, and my little six shooter in its holster at my side. I’m wearing an expression that says I intend to bring law and order to the old west – that’s the best part of the whole image, the “fear factor”. A U.S. marshall’s gotta have that, pardner! There’s a town nearby that’s been overtaken by a bunch of big ranchers who stole the water rights from the little ranchers and the farmers, and I aim to clean up.

 

So off we go. And it don’t hurt to take along a can of Whoop Ass!

 

Fast forward to along about sunset. It’s been a hard day in the saddle. Even had to go to ol’ Doc Martin’s to get a bullet wound cleaned up, but that’s OK – just grazed me. Part of the territory. It’s what I do. Tough bunch of hombres, those crooked ranchers, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Count on it.

 

But for now, Long Shadow needs a good brushing, some rest, and fresh water with his supper of oats and hay. He needs a shoe reset too, but first things first.

 

And about that time I hear Ma calling from the kitchen, “Wash up. Dinner’s going on the table!” Looks like Long Shadow will have to wait. Hope he don’t mind wearin’ his saddle a little longer out there at the hitchin’ post, ‘cause I’m powerful hungry!

 

Yet after a day of being tall in the saddle, I can barely keep my eyes open. So after supper Ma draws a bath for me. Afterward she gently tucks this buckeroo into bed. 

 

The adventure continues in my dreams where it’s morning once again, and time for Long Shadow and me to go back to the job of cleaning out that pit full o’ snakes that took over the town. Not too many of ‘em left. I think we can do this by sunset… 

 

The thing I’ve come to realize about having a good Giddy Yap is that it centers you in a more original you. I’d have to say I’ve always been a cowgirl at heart. I still love cowboy boots, jeans, and a Western style hat to this day! And I don’t care who likes it or doesn’t. It’s who I am.

 

Was it the influence of the likes of early cowboy heroes and heroines like Gene Autry, The Lone Ranger, Annie Oakley, Dale Evans, or John Wayne? Maybe. But the reality of it is I was like that even before I knew about these legends. I’d say I was drawn to those characters because of who I already was. I used to stand in the back yard and face southwest and dream of cowboys and Indians even before I knew what “west” even was, and what seemed so far away in the distance.

 

Horses also figure into the picture and always have. Although I no longer ride, due to some injuries as well as the unsustainable expense [for me] of keeping horses in the twenty-first century, I still love horses and admire them as both art subjects and as spiritual symbols of the power of the Free Spirit. Their imagery often sustains me as such in moments when life, so to speak, seems to pitch you out of the saddle.

 

So allowing yourself a Giddy Yap moment or two along the trail can bring you back in touch with  more real and original you. It can even bring on a smile and make you giddy with gratitude in these recollections.

 

I also realize and acknowledge that it’s not that easy for many people to even give themselves permission to have a Giddy Yap moment. A lot of lives are overcome by what can only be characterized as twenty first century stage robbers which hold up any progress in self awareness or Self Realization. These come most commonly in the form of jobs and demands that push and pressure so many, as if there’s a gun held to your head, and you feel you must comply with all of it or else. There are family demands, societal expectations, religious obligations and the like – none of which allow for any Giddy Yap moments, let alone taking the next exit and heading down the trail less travelled of the Authentic Self.

 

But what if you could… just for a minute or two? You close your eyes, imagine, daydream.

 

So what I’m offering is just a small step you might like to try if you’re interested in making that connection with a Giddy Yap moment and the you who’s the real deal…

 

So how about headin’ for the basement to that old chest underneath the stairs, where the family picture album waits? What are you waitin’ for, buckeroo? Giddy Yap!

 

 

© 3/12/2012 Yvonne R. Blasy

 

Yvonne is an artist, songwriter, writer, minister, and Reiki Master. She was ordained a Metaphysical Minister through the International Metaphysical Ministry and University of Sedona in 2008. Her work and ministry take the forms of contemplative art, spiritual writing, and facilitating workshops and classes on art, creativity, and spiritual studies as means of healing, wholeness, and inner Creative Path Exploration. She also focuses on live music [folk, traditional, and folk style originals] as service to the “musically underserved” – those in nursing homes and other situations where enjoying the blessing of live music is not usually an option. Please contact via Linked In, Facebook, email, or her website for more information or to book a class, Reiki session, or music event.

http://yvonne-blasy.artistwebsites.com/

About That Pesky Easter Bunny

Rather than throw stones, call people stupid, or start arguments about the “rightness” or “wrongness” of celebrating Easter, I prefer to do a little research on these traditions and what brought them about.

 

This one took a little work, but here’s the skinny on the Easter Bunny – who happens to be a hare and not a rabbit. Seriously, I didn’t know that. Did you?

 

It has to do with the relationship between lapwings and hares.

 

Lapwings – birds whose eggs were often gathered in Spring in earlier times among the Celtic peoples – inhabit the same territories as hares [which unlike rabbits live above ground] and make a “nest” of the grasses, sometimes called a “form” – perhaps because it may take on the hare’s shape or form. Often a lapwing will hijack a hare’s nest and lay eggs in it. Thus it seemed among ancient indigenous Celtic peoples – where admittedly this custom came from, as well as the habit of gathering eggs at this time of year – that the rabbits, rather than the lapwings, had deposited the eggs.

 

Or is that really what they thought? Or do we just stereotype them as “primitives” with unsophisticated views? At any rate…

 

The Easter Bunny and “its” eggs are ancient symbols of rebirth, new life, and fertility “borrowed” from the Celts by the Church in those days to coax the Pagans away from nature worship and into the Church. That’s where the association with egg-laying rabbits came from. I’m not saying it was a good idea, one way or another – just filling in a little history on how folks did things way back then. This is not meant as a theological treatise or an apologetic.

 

Just the facts, madame, just the facts…

 

The hare was also sacred to some of the goddess traditions in those lands. The eggs thus signified for these people her provision for their needs, which after a long challenging winter of perhaps struggling to survive, was cause for celebration and gratitude.

 

So that’s a little background on the traditional idea of the Easter Bunny and the Easter Egg hunt.

 

So is there a “lesson” in all this?

 

What it tells me is that perception is a tricky thing. If the ancient Celts may have thought that the hares laid the eggs, because they didn’t have all the facts, it may be a good idea to consider in any situation: do I have all the facts? What’s the bigger picture here – in anything that comes into question.

 

Of course I’m preachin’ to the choir on this one, right?

 

Yes, I think I just turned my Easter bonnet, with a little lunatic fringe upon, it into a thinking cap.

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The Shattering

The Shattering.

The Shattering

The Shattering

 

Some days you float along in cloudy nebulosity,

Not having sense of what makes up reality;

The things you thought would make you happy just last year

Have scampered off like frightened, hunted deer.

 

You realize that somewhere deep inside of you

There’s something missing of the best and true;

You try to probe and figure out the pain,

But emptiness has been your only gain.

 

As life goes slipping through your fingertips,

Along with words you wish had not passed from your lips;

You thought you were so right, but life’s all wrong;

It keeps your mind in pain the whole night long.

 

You see that nothing matters more than to be kind,

To try to understand, and not be blind

You want to stretch, and love, and higher ways embrace

But fall and stumble, never really keeping pace.

 

You fail, and try to make it right again,

And shed more tears than since you don’t know when;

The ones you love are scattered now like leaves;

Your heart’s a mortal wound that bleeds and grieves.

 

You find yourself surrounded yet alone,

A dried up leaf tossed by the wind and blown

Along some street you always walked before,

Where no one really knows you anymore.

 

A muddy pool of water shows a face;

The wind disturbs it, as its fractured forms displaced

Send ghostly echoes through your empty mind;

The image there no longer has a shrine.

 

You understand that everything you thought you were

Is only hazy wave and quantum blur;

Perhaps then, once that shadow being flies away,

The Love That Is may finally have its way.

 

 

© 3/12/2013 by Yvonne Blasy

A Simple Beginning For Spiritual Practice

 

First of all, what is a “spiritual practice”? Perhaps the simplest definition is that itʼs a means of getting to know God on a one-on-one basis. Letʼs just begin with that.

The entire subject of spiritual practice is often laced with overwhelming images of cloistered monks or nuns spending day after day within the confines of ancient gothic buildings, where there is little or no contact with the outside world. Silence is the rule. The experience there is one of rigorous prayer, meditation, contemplation, ritual, chant, and shared work which maintains the communityʼs day to day basic bodily needs.

While this may be the life a few feel called to embrace, this extreme isnʼt the case for the vast majority of us. However, there is a hunger within many of us in these times which makes us ask, “Is this all there is?” Is this frantic life where I feel like Iʼve lost track of myself, everyone and everything I hold dear, and the dreams Iʼve had for my life all there is? Is the chase after the almighty dollar all there is? Or is carving out even a drab existence all there is, never mind the corporate ladder climbing?

Iʼm going to approach this writing from the perspective of essentially over 35 years of personal experience with spiritual practices – and also as someone who at the same time has led a very busy, ordinary life in the work-a-day world, with all the usual roles and responsibilities that go along with a family. I will not at this time share specifically what my own spiritual practice is because this isnʼt about that, nor is it about me. What this is about is a simple way to begin, if you are sensing that the life you are living offers you little peace or satisfaction.

What is offered here will amount to a very rudimentary introduction to the idea of a spiritual practice, and a simple approach. This is where you can go if youʼd like to answer the foregoing questions, or your own versions of them. If it appeals to you as something youʼd like to explore, I only offer it as a small step forward in what can hold the potential of redirecting your life. The simplicity of this may appeal to those who are turned off by more “religious” and rigorous approaches.

To begin with, the best part of the day is its beginning – when that beginning is spent with the intention of becoming aware of the Presence of the Divine. It matters not what name you call “God”. The point is the intention of awareness of God, of making contact with God.

It is a marvel to me that so many of us allow the heavy boots of the grinding systems of the world to so invasively overrun the boundaries of our lives that we lose track of God, and therefore of ourselves. How and where is anyone to find inner peace, or deeper meaning to our experiences, let alone a redirection of life toward greener pastures and calmer waters? how does such a journey begin?

If the prospect of meditation, prayer, spiritual studies, or the idea of contemplative practice seems like it may hold the answers, yet it also seems at this point to be onlyanother brick on top of the load which already overburdens you, hereʼs a suggestion for simpler beginnings which may work for you.

First of all, daily allow yourself 10 or 15 minutes of solitude and silence. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and sit in the stillness – where you can shut the door and have some privacy. No television, no radio, no newspaper, no noise, no distractions… just you being in the space with God. Let your breathing slow and deepen, and begin by telling yourself, “God is, and I am in God; therefore all is well in my life and my world.” This simple shift of focus signals the Universe that you intend to calm the waters, and that you are up for experiencing some inner peace first of all.

Stay with the quiet of that moment until youʼve finished sipping your coffee. Sipping, not gulping and hurrying. Maintain the moment. Let the calm and the peace of it sink deeply into mind and body. Then as you move into your day, intentionally take the peace of these moments with you, regarding yourself as always being in God.

This is only a suggestion regarding how to begin – a simple break in the mundane routine, recommended first thing in the morning, with a view to committing to it every day without fail. It is a little prescription for world weariness.

Considering the circumstances already confronting most of us in these times, it is good to first establish a practice which is not going to be overwhelming. A spiritual practice tends to “grow itself”. It is like physical exercise – not too much too fast, because then it is too easily given up because we expect more of ourselves than we can handle at the beginning.

The most natural tug on our hearts is that of having contact with our Divine Source, or God, so as this little space is set aside for that, allowing it to be first priority, the desire for it expands, and we find that all of life is energized and redirected through this daily contact and encounter.

“There is a balm in Gilead” is a line from a very old spiritual song. Taken into the context we are discussing, it means that there is a “spiritual healing ointment” in the presence of God. If we reach out to it with the open hand of intention to receive it, it is given! This contact with the Infinite Good that God is, as often as possible, is a way to have our weary souls soothed. All we need already is! We just have to make ourselves available to it.

Spending time daily immersed in Godʼs presence can transform a life characterized by anxiety, weariness, stress, confusion, illness, or that sense of being on a gerbil wheel from which there is no exit. The beginning of this transformation is most readily accomplished by a simple refocus of attention away from the problems toward the quiet Center of Infinite Peace. This refocus – a practical “shift” of intention and awareness – starts to restore, to heal, and even to redirect life into a far happier and more compatible sphere of being.

Within that sphere we become aware that we are not separated from unconditional love, but that it is always there, always has been, and always will be – if we will only turn toward it.

This process can require a bit of time and the exercise of a bit of patience. It must be given that. Yet it requires no theological understandings or the embracing of any dogmatic ideas. It only begins when weʼre willing to take a little time by beginning each day with an intention that says, “Now it is my time to spend a few minutes with God.”

As is often discovered within those few moments, it is possible to break away from a frenzied overwhelmed existence. We realize, yes, this isnʼt really all there is! If the blessing of inner peace can be experienced for a few minutes, why not more?

Indeed there is so much more! If we knock and keep on knocking, the door to Infinite Love and the “peace that passes all understanding” is opened to us, and we can begin to experience it for ourselves on an increasing measure – not only during these little Personal Inner Peace Retreats, but also in the midst of those times when we seem to be sailing through lifeʼs tempests.

So donʼt be afraid to allow yourself a new daily shift of focus by beginning with this simple practice. Hereʼs to “coffee and contemplation”! Or maybe “tea and transcendence”? Whatever you may want to call it, hereʼs where “shift happens”.

 

 

 

The Art Of Conscious Dreaming, or the ART of Dreaming Awake

Imagine for a moment that a fellow purchased an old house. He did so because a trusted source told him that in the attic of the house there was a treasure which would change his life forever if he were to access it. However over time the attic had been sealed up and made to appear that there was nothing at all above the ceiling – no attic, no treasure.

Within the old house was also a capricious ghost. We’ll call him Charlie. Charlie’s delight was to make sure anyone who lived in the old house never discovered the attic, let alone the treasure it contained.

So during the night, Charlie would enter the dreams of the home owner and convince him that he had never heard anything about this attic treasure.

If that didn’t work, Charlie made sure he provided plenty of distractions to keep him away from unearthing and discovering the treasure by making a lot of strange noises, or even making objects move about the house seemingly by themselves. Some things even came up missing. That was usually scary enough to make Mr. Homeowner move out and give up on any potential treasure hunts! But not THIS Mr. Homeowner.

Charlie also liked to stir up animosity among the family members living in the house. He put little thoughts into their minds about the others, so that all the focus and energy went into stirring up strife, hard feelings, and trouble. After all, even if Charlie couldn’t have the treasure, he certainly did not want anyone else to claim it either.

Eventually the owner realized what the score was and that he needed to plan accordingly. First he was going to need some help getting rid of Charlie’s interfering spirit, and then he must also learn exactly how he needed to proceed with getting through the ceiling and into the attic without bringing the entire structure down on his head. This had to be followed with the construction of some kind of staircase or ladder which allowed him to get from the ground floor all the way up into the attic.

The story isn’t much different in our spiritual life, which actually supports our creative life. Within ourself lies a little piece of heaven all a sparkle with Divine Radiance itself! This is represented by the attic and the treasure. What’s needed to experience the reality of this is some sort of means of access.  We’re told by some that this is not possible. They’re like Charlie and all his antics designed to keep us from any experience with the treasure and the Good that it can bring into our lives.

Charlie’s strategies can come in the form of beliefs keeping us tied down to all the busyness and distraction life can throw at us, to a gerbil wheel existence. Or it can come in the form of counter-productive relationships. He also represents anything [particularly in religion] which presents useless means of accessing the inner treasure, but also serves Charlie’s ideas about how to keep you tied up in dogmatic approaches which never allow you to go for the inner gold, so to speak. And in some cases Charlie’s modus operandi may actually be harmful or destructive, and is certainly prohibitive of full treasure access!

Long story short, at some point when you’re finished with gerbil wheel existence, as well as Charlie’s claims, and want to reclaim your Self, you set out to discover a means that works for you to access your own attic treasure, your Higher Self.

What I’d like to share, especially with people who are interested in more creative and whole living, is what works for me. I’m merely offering some suggestions of practices I use as an artist to access my own inner treasure stores, or what Jesus refers to as the “Kingdom of Heaven within you”.

It may seem odd that I’m NOT going to suggest prayer, Bible reading, meditation, contemplation, or study of spiritual and inspirational information at this point. Those are of course perfectly valid, and I do practice these as well. There is a unique way, if you’re an arty type like me, and that is through making intuitive art.

Making intuitive art, as far as I’m concerned, is a means of “dreaming while you’re awake.” The whole process acts like meditation or contemplation – it bypasses all the mental clutter [drifting thoughts,worries, obsessing, anxiety, negative emotions, and so forth] and takes you right into the Heart and Center of your Soul. It’s here that you may meet with your Higher Self, your Inner Creator and all the spiritual and life changing awarenesses you may be looking for. This is the attic, and I’m suggesting that this is one kind of staircase up to it is through intuitive art.

What I have discovered is that when you approach art this way – with the intention of being put in touch with your own inner treasure – it often yields some interesting results. I’ve been experimenting with art as the spiritual practice of dreaming awake for the last few years, and discovering that the “brain-mind complex” is bypassed, while the hand [with pen or pencil or brush in it!] is directly guided by what’s coming from the treasures of the Heart [ also called God Mind, Inner Christ, Inner Buddha, etc.] deep within.

As you make art in this way – intuitively and with intention – the process is both relaxing and at the same time gently exhilarating. Often it is pleasantly surprising. Images, shapes, and even symbols emerge – things you did not realize you were even creating because your will is surrendered to and trusting the process. Sometimes there is also a clear “interpretation” or understanding of their meanings for your life from a personal perspective, as well as for others who view the art. One is left with distinct impressions. Each one “sees” his or her own meaning in the art! Often these meanings can provide confirmation of such things as where you are in life, or where you need to move forward, or what in the world is happening to you for “Heaven’s” sake, and other useful answers you may be seeking! Surprisingly these meanings can be multi-layered, as you become increasingly aware of yourself as a far more expansive Being than you may have ever realized before.

The way I’m “wired”, as someone who seeks more expansive creativity in every area of life, this spiritual practice of making art as conscious dreaming becomes more and more meaningful the more time and attention I give to it, as well as approaching it with quiet anticipation and joyful expectation, but WITHOUT attachment to an outcome. Here is where art can move from merely surreal or abstract nebulous “stuff” into something deeply, personally meaningful, healing, and spiritual on many levels.

It is possible to practice the art of dreaming awake wherever you may be – on a bus or plane, waiting in the doctor’s office, or just grabbing a quiet moment to retreat to the kitchen table with pen and sketch pad in hand, while the kids are doing their homework or watching their favorite television program.

However, I would recommend that if you desire to commit to and to take this inner treasure hunt seriously, that you carve out some “sacred space” for yourself, and at least a half hour of time per day when you can distance yourself from routine concerns and commitments, and insist upon committing to this on your own behalf! After awhile all the “Charlies” in your life will disappear and leave you alone, as they respect what you insist upon to benefit from your Highest Good. Mornings are often best – that’s been my experience anyway.

It is good to quiet yourself with a few good, slow, deep breaths before you begin. A little gentle relaxing music can also help you to enter into a quieter more receptive state as well. If possible, enter a quiet room where you may shut the door. You may want to light a candle to add to the sense of this being sacred space and sacred time for you.

And I cannot say enough about letting your family in on what you are doing by communicating that at such and such a time every day, you will not be available for contact, distraction, or interruption. [Exceptions may be exsanguination or the inability to breathe!] You will be going on your treasure hunt in search of the Holy Grail of your Highest Self. Eventually they will “get it” that this is your time to do your spiritual practice, leave you alone, and maybe even become curious enough to try it themselves!

Here is another suggestion. Sometimes the art you are working on will invite you to go further. Here’s what I mean. I have begun pieces this way that by no means can be “completed” in half an hour’s space.  Allow for that. Put it away somewhere safe where the cat cannot tear it apart, or Junior will not spill his milk on it, and return to it as many times as you need to until you sense that it is finished.

I have started these works at times when they require many sessions over many weeks or even months to complete, but it is always well worth the effort! Each leg of the “journey” in this process is important. But at times it can seem as if you’re asking yourself to walk from New York to California in a half hour, but please – do not put that kind of expectation on yourself. It just does not work that way.

This is the kind of “dream experience” you can return to again and again. It is deeply personal and can provide meaning for your life as no other practice can, if you feel drawn to it and sense that it is for you.

Happy “dreaming” through your art! May it lead you deeply into the Highest and Best in yourself and you life!

© 2/19/2013 by Rev. Yvonne Blasy

http://yvonne-blasy.artistwebsites.com/