Communication from the Heart

I saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland yesterday.  Having loved the Lewis Carroll books, and Tim Burton's take on just about anything, I was curious about how he'd handle this classic tale.  In short, I liked it.
And it got me, pardon the pun, "wondering" about the red queen.  For the first time, I noticed that this person, who represents the heart, was, well, not very nice. It was an unexpected take, but as I thought about it I realized that it was true to the book.
It hit me, then, that there are a myriad of ways the ways of the heart can manifest themselves; from understanding, love, and compassion to jealousy, sorrow, and obsession. 
We may know what we mean when we say "love", and think that we are communicating clearly when we refer to it, but that ain't necessarily so. Communication is so much more than words.
Today I passed the kindergarten yard.  Three little boys were taking a "time out" because of their inappropriate actions on the playground.  I wondered what they had done, and didn't have to wait too long to find out.  They were set free from their bench in purgatory and went directly back to the scene of their crime.
"Finn!"  the teacher shouted, "I told you to stay out of the mud".
"Oh", replied Finn "Is this mud?  I thought it was dirt."
Communication is hard.  Even simples words have different meanings to different people.  How do we know if we're truly understanding someone, or making ourselves understood?  In order to communicate most effectively, we have to dive into our instincts and free up our animal nature. 
With animals, you can tell that communication is happening, even if it has nothing to do with a verbal language (as far as I know).  It seems to be about body language and energy.  Sometimes a strange dog will come up to another dog and any observer can tell right away if the dogs will get along.  Something about the two dogs' energy tells that story well before the initial "getting to know" you exchange of sniffs.
I think people have the same kind of instinctual response to others. We've been trained to disregard our first impressions, but they are very telling.
You know when you like someone, when you don't, when you feel comfortable in their presense, when you don't, and when you can trust them and when you can't.  You may not know how you know these things, but you do.
When you "understand where someone is coming from", it implies more than just knowing the meanings of the words they use. You see them energetically, and feel who they are.  Your understanding is multi-dimensional when you allow yourself the full range of your instinctual nature, because then you have the sensitivity for your understanding to be energetic, deeply empathic,and non-verbal
Since understanding is so important to creating a more peaceful world, it's time for us all to see beyond  a person's words and straight into their hearts.  Despite our disagreements, common ground does exist.  It's our job to find it, stand on it, and redirect our lives from there. Let's take the position that we're all in the same boat  and find a way to harmoniously pass the time on this voyage around the sun.
Love, Kristine

From A to Z: More Kindergarten Lessons in Life

I have often asked my questions to the Universe with this codicil: 
"Remember who you're talking to when you answer!  For me, nothing subtle.  Simple phrases in BLOCK LETTERS."
Ahh, the literal Universe!  It really takes you seriously, in an extremely funny way.  To wit:
I've been reading "You Are the Answer" by Michael J. Tamura.  Great book.  My son got it for me for my birthday and I've really been enjoying it.  Anyway, the chapter I've been reading is about finding answers to our questions by looking within. 
I've been used to looking without for my answers; friends, teachers, books (like the one I'm reading) and, naturally, my Messages from the Universe.  I know, of course, that ultimately the outer mirrors the inner, so it's all coming from the same place.  The problem I have is that, even though I know that, I often don't trust my own answers and love confirmation from others regarding the appropriateness of my choices. 
Reading this book has inspired me to acquire the confidence and trust it takes to think for myself.  The Universe agrees with me, apparently, because look what appeared on my path today:

X-ray X-- simple phases in block letters.  Do you think it's hinting that I need to look within?  I'm guessing so.

Also, as an added emphasis, just check out old X-ray's hair.  Green, the color of healing, and purple, the color of spirituality, but only colored in 4 places (the number of stability).  Sounds like trusting my own guidence and intuition will be healing, spiritually fulfilling, and will add a dimension of stability to my life.

I have my assignment.

By the way, there are religious traditions that hold hair to be very powerful.  That idea gives having a "bad hair day" a whole new dimension, doesn't it? 

Love,

Kristine

The Karmic Wheel of Fortune

Sometimes things happen that seem to come out of nowhere.  It takes a huge leap of faith to assume responsibility for random acts, and the Wheel of Fortune recommends that we make that leap.
If the universe is all about energy, then we have to assume that we attract to ourselves energy of the same vibrational frequency that we are exuding.  I'm sure that you've noticed that when you go out with a smile on your face and confidence and love in your heart, the day goes well.  When you wake up feeling sour and miserable, the day tends to go poorly.
If this is true, and my experience tell me it is, then there is no such thing as a random event.  You get what you put out there.  If you're worried about illness and disease, you get sick.  If you focus on lack of money, you struggle with your income. 
However, if you start to notice what is going well, and begin to look for and see what you wish to see in people and circumstance, you change your energy frequency.  The universe responds to that change by bringing more of what you are wanting into your life.
Changing your vibration takes work.  We're so used to complaining, skepticism, and feeling like the victum of circumstance.  It takes courage to accept responsibilty for your life and wisdom, focus and persistence to change it, but it's not impossible.  Count your blessings.  That's a start. 
Looking at the Wheel of Fortune card provides more guidence.  At the top of the wheel sits the sphinx.  The sword she's holding represents wisdom.  She is able to answer the question of who's in charge of your life in every circumstance, your job is to ask.
In the four corners of the card sit an angel, an eagle, an ox, and a lion, possibly representing water, air, earth and fire.  The books that they're studying, indicate that there's always something to be learned in every situation.
Even though the wheel is in the air, which is the element of wisdom, we can be a little too "in our heads".  The snake on the left encourages us to ground what we've learned in our own experience in order to validate the truth of it. 
The little red jackel/human creature on the bottom right of the wheel I see as the trickster.  He represents the sway of our agendas, the plans we have for ourselves and our life.   We often try to mold ourselves to our ideal constructs, plans and dreams, even when they aren't right for us.  Following our agendas too ridgedly blocks the true wisdom that comes from the heart. When we disregard the heart, and turn away from who we truly are to what we think we SHOULD be, that's when the wheel turns toward trouble.
As a friend of mine once said, "the mind changes the heart wants what it wants".  As you learn to become more sensitive to the promptings of the heart, your mind will turn from a nagging dictator full of "shoulds" to a gentle guide offering quiet counsel, and you'll feel wonderful.
The wheel of fortune reminds us that whatever happens, good or bad, the universe is giving us loving guidance.  All we need to do is trust life to lead us where we need to go.  When we do that, we'll ride the ups and downs of the karmic wheel with grace and power.
Love,
Kristine

Kindergarten Yin Yang

I often walk by the Kindergarten yard on the way to my favorite hiking trail.  I find such interesting objects along the way.  Today I found this piece of paper in a mud puddle.  It's a worksheet that helps kids with their vocabulary.  It deals with opposites like in/out, up/down, etc.

It made me think about the nature of duality. 

On the one hand, and in a minor way, duality thinking all too easily steers us into concepts like right/wrong, good/bad, black/white.  These are easy to grasp, and often feel like they're the only way to understand this complex world.  They can also make sensing our connection with each other, and with the world, more difficult; and understanding the concept that we are all one almost impossible.  (If I'm black and you're white, we are not one. We're different.)

On the other hand, the Yin Yang sign represents the duality/oneness connundrum in a very healthy way.

Its shape and colors embody the concepts in a tidy package.  It tells us simply and directly that we need the light to understand and appreciate the darkness, and we need the darkness to understand and appreciate the light.  Plus, like the black bit of yin in the white yang, the symbol tells us that there is no such thing as a "pure" feeling.  There is always a hint of sadness in our joy, and a hint of joy in our sadness. 

An art teacher once told me that when shading a figure, the whitest white and the darkest dark meet at the apex of the curve, and the shadowy shaping  flows from that.  Incorporating the opposites gives dimension and depth to our feelings. 

In addition, when we feel bad, we ask to feel better.  That keeps us creative and alive.  We need contrast to keep us moving, growing, changing, and evolving.

In truth, duality thinking helps us evolve spiritually. 

When I finally reconciled myself to the usefullness of duality thinking, I turned the page over.  On the other side was a veritable portrait of oneness.

This little child might have needed to learn his "opposites" words, but his loving heart was speaking the language of connection with fluency and grace.

Love,

Kristine

Kyote Graphics

Some Messages Aren't So Pleasant

I was walking a bit off-trail the other day. My dog had raced through the underbrush in an unfamiliar direction, and I followed. Between her and me was a very steep slope. She had negotiated it perfectly. Now it was my turn.

In the East Bay hills, adobe mud is the most common earth underfoot. It's really a type of clay and, mixed with hay and cattle dung, the ideal medium for making bricks. It comprises many an early California home and cathedral.

It's also very slippery, especially after the rain.

So there, right in front of me, was a steep and slippery path. Should I go in that direction or seek a safer route? Well, I'd been watching too many Olympic skiers sliding effortlessly down snowy peaks to go the safer route. “If I just keep my feet underneath me,” I told myself, “I'll be fine.”

Out I stepped and in no time I was sliding down the hill with my left leg at an angle that defied the notion that the knee is a hinge joint. I also heard a very disconcerting "click".

I'm home now, with a swollen joint and lots of questions. The first night I asked myself the usual "why me?" and I got an answer. It made me laugh.

The last few blogs I've posted have all been about the healing and saving power of art. I blush to tell you that, for all my talk, I've not made anything in months. I started a piece, and it's on my table ready to be finished, but I've resisted working on it.

What happens is that I approach my work, initially, with joy. I love my ideas, and want to see them manifest. Then as I continue working, the doubts come up: doubts about my ability as an artist, my age, my lack of connections in the art world, my conviction that no one will like my work, that I'll never be able to support myself as an artist, and that I'd best get back to the business of living.

Works stops, and I put my creation aside.

My heart keeps working, though, and everyday I think of new things to do and I wish I'd do them, but instead I arrange my life so that I have no time left to actualize my visions.

I guess the universe wanted to send me a message. Through the blog, it's had me writing about the power of art. I realize that I was writing the words that I personally needed to hear, but I wasn't listening nor taking what I was writing personally.

I've been told that when you don't attend to a Universal tap on the shoulder, it will do more to get your attention. It did; up on that slippery slope on my favorite trail, the one where I get so many of my ideas.

Now, I can't go anywhere with this sore and swollen knee, but I can sit in my studio and finish that piece. And here is what makes me laugh: I named that piece months ago and it's called "Slippery Slope". No Lie.

I realized that the true "slippery slope", the one that hurts us more than a fall from a patch of mud, is the discouraging words we use to prevent us from doing what would bring us the most joy. I’m listening now, and I know I need to heed that message from the Universe and get to work!

When I finish the piece, you’ll be the first to know. I’ll post it.

Love, Kristine

Feel Free to Do Your ART

I was listening to public radio the other day and heard a couple of interesting programs.  They're noteworthy to me because they seem to back up an idea I have.  First I'll talk about the programs. 
One was a Terry Gross interview with Ewan McGregor.  She asked him what inspired him to act, and he talked about his uncle.  Ewan lived in a rather conservative, lovely little small town in Scotland.  His uncle was an actor, a figure of romance, and a breath of fresh air in that rather insular town who brought with him the scent of a wider world. Ewan left his village and went in search of the illusive "something" that he sensed in his artist uncle. 
The other program was about a small town in Mexico. I don't remember the name of the town, but it was unusual in that it, too, was an insular little place; but instead of the young people wanting to leave it, they wanted to stay.  The reason being that the city band was so popular. Everyone was either in the band, or had been in the band when they were younger, or were waiting to be old enough to be in the band.
The band played all the time, at all the town events.  Music teachers and instrument shops make a good living there. There is something for the young folks to do, but more than that, what they get to do is what they love to do: make music.
So here's a young actor leaving his home to seek his art, and young musicians staying home to be where their art is.  The common denominator: ART.
Here's what I think:  I think the pursuit of an artistic life helps one cope with "ordinary" life.  It does this because it encourages one to think more broadly and more creatively, and when you do that your life is filled with choices rather than obligations. Any feelings of being trapped in your life dissappear when you are engaged in the intellectual and emotional freedom that happens when you do your art.
Art gives the gift of  hope, because it shows us that life is full of possiblities.  We need to understand that in order to live fully and richly. THAT is why we need to encourage the pursuit of art as a priority for our children and ourselves. 
What if you're not an artist? 
We are all artists.  We may not know what our medium is, but there is creative work that we are specifically designed to do.  Look for that thing that you get lost in, that when you do it, you don't notice the time passing. That, that right there, that is your art!  Do that.  Feel free.
Love, Kristine

The King of Cups--The Perfect Olympian

The King of Cups is the diplomat of the Tarot. His throne on the water represents his ability to sift through the ocean of information and intuit the appropriate action. He's tuned into his feelings, yet able to articulate them with intelligence and understanding. His focus is on the art of life, the beauty possible when understanding and compassion hold sway in a discussion, and both sides are intent on the solution rather than the problem.

Solutions are what the King of Cups is all about. (I love it that "solution" is a word that also means a watery distillation.) He can chart an effective course through troubled waters (like the ship in the background), and understand how the baggage the ship carries might effect the outcome. If too much baggage gets in the way of the answer, he becomes like a fish, unafraid to go to oceanic depths to get to the bottom of any problem.

He also understands that art can free the soul, and that diving deeply into any artistic venture can save us emotionally, intellectually, and even, through sport, physically.

Watching the athletes at the Olympic Games, seeing their dedication, focus, and artistic devotion, we can see his point.  Life has focus, purpose, and devotion when you're an Olympian, and you can see the rewards of that life on the faces of these young people as they do what they need to do as best they can.  Even in defeat, there is a radiance there that's undeniable.  Through their sport, as any artist does through their art, they transcend the idea that they are alone in the world.  Their pursuit of excellence closely unites them with others involved in similar pursuits.

Stephen Cobert talked about the Olympics as part personality contest, part athletic event, and part war. The way I see it, the Olympics is the closest we come to Universal peace. Sure, we have the United Nations, but pure politics rarely gets us to that feeling place, to that heart center where peace lives, as easily as the Olympics.

In the Olympics we see each nation's marvelous young people doing their best at the sport they excel at. We pull for them, even it they're aren't on "our side". We watch their victories and defeats with love and admiration in our hearts. They give their best to us, and we, in turn, wish nothing but the best for them.

Art unites.  Sport unites. The reason these disciplines unite us with each other is that in order to be our best, we must find what our best is.  Finding what is good in oneself allows us to see the good in others.  If we never feel our own value, we have a hard time seeing other people's worth.  We'll be defensive and insecure, seeking differences to justify our angry hearts, sowing seeds of inevitable misunderstanding and, ultimately, confrontation.

In truth, there are no differences between us.  We are all drops of water in the sea of life, each one unique, but also a part of an organic and growing thing: the vast and diverse ocean that is our world. The Olympics show us how we can be with each other when we measure our differences as insignificant compared to the shared light and delight of the pursuit of excellence.

That is the visionary gift of the King of Cups.  He sees clearly, with his heart and mind, into your heart and mind.  He knows that he and you are one, and he sees your potential. He asks us all to polish up our act, seek knowledge, enlightenment, and our hearts desire.  When we focus on that, all good things are possible.

That's a true Olympic spirit.

Love, Kristine