fear, inspirational, life, motivational, process, success, transformation

What do you fear?

What do you fear? I was thinking about that this morning as I had my tea in the backyard. Then I saw that my friend Tobi Camilli had written a blog post about How To Be Fearless today. (Link at the end of this post.)  Let’s kick fear to the curb!

I don’t live a life filled with fear, but it’s exactly what holds me back from creating a life that is truly great! As I had my tea I was watching a dove picking at my lawn, not showing much fear of me. I remembered a time when one of the feral cats caught a dove and the screams of fear the bird emitted. Animals (as far as I know) live in the now. I doubt they have a concept of life and death, but they feel fear at the moment of death, or at being caught.

We are born into this world as predator or victim. It is a world based on eat or be eaten, the jungle law prevails. That is the natural law of things. Animal and human alike don’t want to die. That is a built-in fear that can’t be avoided.

However, humans have taken fear to staggering heights. Through history we have tales of horrifying torture, greed, betrayal, you name it.  No wonder we don’t trust each other since history inspires nothing but mistrust of our leaders and people in general.

That fear is known and normal, but what about the fear that stops us from accomplishing our goals and desires? It’s like two strains of fear that have been downloaded through the ages: one for survival and the other to make us small and helpless.

Humans rule the world and the animal kingdom with a heavy hand, all due to fear. The strongest and the wealthiest is the one in power, but truly, that is just a huge buffer against the threat of being poor and helpless.

True greatness comes from the inner unfolding of the soul / spirit.  Mahatma Gandhi is a good example of that. As we know he didn’t have many worldly riches, and he ordained peaceful solutions to all conflicts. A truly masterful leader who created massive change through peace.  I don’t know if he walked around with fear of assassins, but I doubt it.

Bravery comes from within. It’s not the product of an outside situation. To grow true bravery we have to become intimate with our soul and its needs. It does not want small and fearful. It wants us to step up and unfold into true greatness. We are all seeds of the gods.  Your greatness is different from mine, and it’s there for the taking. We all compliment each other.

Fact of the matter is: that kind of fear is a flimsy excuse. It’s like smoke and mirrors, not really real. We are bamboozled by the specter of fear and we swear to its veracity.

But, if you have challenged fear in the past you know about the flimsy excuse and it gets easier and easier to act in the face of it.

The real challenge is to release the old patterns that our parents’ (and history) imprinted in us from day one. My parents’  message was, play it small and safe. But I have rebelled against that over and over so now is the time to eradicate such imprinting for good! I’ve been using EFT, Emotional Freedom Technique, with great success in the past, and it keeps on working. If you want to kick your fearful small self out for good, check out some YouTube videos on how to do EFT and get started.

Take charge of your life now and do the things you really want to do. You’ll be happier for it.

Tobi, as I mentioned above, has some other suggestions to releasing fear. Check out her blog HERE.

xo

Maria

P.S. If you are looking for some free or paid e-courses that I offer, please go HERE.

art, inspirational, life, motivational, process, purpose, self help, success, transformation, unstuck

Begin anywhere and anyway!

 

looking-muscle-21999417

Hello friends,

Begin anywhere and anyway; have you heard it before?  I’m sure you have. I have, many times, and I’ve told myself to “just do it” many times, and I do, BUT the tendency is to always fall back to the status quo of mediocrity.  I could call that laziness, but that word is like a bog of negative possibilities, all not supportive of life.  The solution to this is to strengthen the muscle of resolve.

So many TV programs and self-help books are dedicated to bettering yourself in some way, like losing those 30 lbs, or becoming a better parent. We get lost in the possibilities and the result is inaction, or in my case, boredom.

Let’s talk about the muscle of resolve. When you decide to stop smoking or losing weight for instance, you must have resolve, or that busy little devil on your shoulder will soon talk you into starting the new habit tomorrow, always tomorrow.

So, any time we take on a challenge we have to face making a decision. If you want to start exercising or stop a bad habit, you make that decision. There is usually a threat involved, like bad health that propels a person into action, but not always. I have seen people with stage 4 lung cancer wheel their drip bag stand out to the smoking room at the hospital and puff away. That is what I call giving up. The little devil won.

How hard is it to make a decision?  It’s hard unless you’re so fed up with status quo, or as Anthony Robbins says, “you’re in so much pain you have to change.” The old is no longer an option.  It’s something to pray for. Pain is good because it forces us to change, but why go that far?

That’s where the headline of this post comes in: Begin anywhere and anyway.  Say you have a dream of accomplishing something great in your life. It’s that thing that’s always bugging you at the back of your mind.  A deep desire for change.

I’m appalled at how stuck we are in the ruts and routines and the FEARS of change. But if you truly want to change, to create something new for yourself, start NOW.  You don’t need fancy equipment (well, you might at some point but not now,) you don’t need extra time, you don’t need a block of 2 days of me-time to get things straightened out.

All you need is to make that decision, and make it over and over when you fall of the wagon. As you keep dedicating yourself you build the resolve muscle you will have to re-make your decision. The trick to staying on the wagon is to get some excitement going about your project. It makes the decision easy every time.

Start with ONE thing to forward your dream. It could be as little as a phone call or email.

What can you do this week, Monday-Friday, to make strides? Make a short list of doable steps. Only you know what is needed. As you take small actions every day, your excitement will grow, and so will your commitment.

Then you fall off the wagon again…  and again.

BUT the tool is simple. Make tiny goals each day and accomplish them, and as you follow this path, your to-do list will grow because you can see the progress, and you want to get THERE, so you delve more deeply into the dream and find more possibilities for expansion.  One step can reveal a big revelation. One email can open doors to connections you only dreamed of in the past.

What do I do every day? I am an artist and writer, and those are the subjects I keep delving into every day. My morning looks like this pretty much every morning:

Cup of tea in my back yard.

Meditate to get in the flow.

Walk 20 minutes. Hot as hell sometimes in FL. I slacked with my exercise for years, but I used to be committed to keeping in shape, and I discovered that muscle memory still works! Now I’m addicted to walking.

Write 750 word in my online journal at 750words.com. I usually write more than that since writing is in my blood and I like to blog as well.

Have a green smoothie for breakfast, and after that I feel out what I want to focus on that day. It’s not always easy. The little devil will always sit there and jabber away, but he can be trained!

When I was a fulltime writer I made up my mind to write ten pages a day, and I have followed that for forever. The writing isn’t always glowing. It rarely is, but I keep going.  I have no fears around showing up on the page. Crappy writing can always be fixed.

Art is a different animal altogether. That muscle has a mind of its own… I have never been able to tame it, but my challenge is to show up at the art journal page or the canvas. I can do that, but the resistance is powerful most of the time. They say to push through the resistance and I do, and I find myself happy on the other side. The other kind of resistance is the one that says “this is not good for you.” It has a different feel, like facing a brick wall. Then I listen to that, and every day has a forward flow of small positive increments.

When I fall off the wagon I get so uncomfortable in my skin that I have to get back on, or DIE, (not really, but there is no compromise.)

To accomplish something worthwhile, start tiny and grow from there. Make that decision, dedicate yourself, kick the fears to the curb, take small action steps, and soon you’ll have something new and wonderful in your life. Grow your awesome self via the muscle of resolve!!!  🙂

inspirational, intuitive, life, motivational, purpose, transformation

The moment of NOW.

now

Hello friends,

We plan and we struggle. We look toward the future and the possibilities that might unfold for us. We like to watch the horizon and imagine new things. Nothing wrong with that, but the fact is, the only time is NOW.

You can’t imagine now. It can only be experienced, and it can be boring, right?  We are addicted to excitement, shiny new things. Meanwhile life happens, increment by increment, and who says there will be more than just ONE moment?

There is a moment when you take your first breath,  or more correctly, the breath is given to you, and there is a moment when it leaves the body.  All that awesomeness happens in one moment, no beginning, no end. It just “is.”

I’m hearing this quite often now: “Do what you want or what you feel like doing. That can change from moment to moment. Isn’t that how small children live?  They do something wholeheartedly for one moment, and then move on to the next thing without a thought of what went before.  The world stands still because they are present in every moment.  Awareness…

What does that have to do with a successful art business or any other business? I have learned that no matter how much I plan or try new things, they never end up as planned, or new inspiration comes in, or doesn’t, that moves the path forward in a new direction.

So, I feel the new dynamic is to enjoy life, to forget the sweat and the struggle to get SOMEWHERE.  Find the joy in the moment and be moved by that joy. The mind thinks it’s a boring endeavor, and it doesn’t want to stop and breathe and listen.  It likes to charge ahead and accomplish things, do the lists, execute the PLAN, and reap the lucrative results.

All we get is exhaustion and disappointment, even if things got accomplished. I pretty much spent my life there…

Success is to be able to slow down to the “still point” of existence and really be present in life. From there we can move in the direction of what truly fires us up, and if there is nothing exciting, to listen even closer for the deeper movement that might point toward a whole new path.

There is nothing to prove, no goal to run after and accomplish. Success in the Western society is based on physical and mental accomplishment. If we don’t fall in with that template we are losers or less than those who succeed in wealth and careers.

What about those who are physically and mentally challenged? I have noticed at lot of blissful smiles and stories of inspiration of a greater life among such people.  Not always of course, but we have a choice.

I have stood in front of that choice many times in my life. Right now I have come full circle again, back to point zero. I spent the last year accomplishing GREAT things (in my opinion.) I learned a lot of new skills, which I enjoy.  However, I didn’t get to where I wanted to be in my life, and some say, “try harder.”

BUT, I know that will not work.  I choose to delve more deeply into the moment. I choose the mystery of life over great accomplishments. That’s where the right path lies, and it’s infinitely more intriguing than the next mountain to climb.

There is nothing wrong with challenges. We grow through them, but hey, stop a moment, take a deep breath and realize where life truly IS.

It takes courage to follow the moment of Now, but it gets easier as we see the workings of that magic of life in our daily existence.

Are you excited about this new possibility, which is not new? It’s ancient, but we run faster and faster away from it…

I know I’m excited about it. The struggle stops here!

now2

art, art journaling, creativity, intuitive, process

Process versus product.

Process versus product is a concept I have struggled with for a while as an artist. Do you paint pretty paintings that sell, or are you true to your own process?  Small kids will always be true to their process. They paint with abandon, and their art is filled with joyous energy. We lose that wild creativity because we start judging the art at some point. According to our preferences, it’s good or bad. There are artists like Jackson Pollock that I don’t particularly admire, but the energy in his dripped art is phenomenal. People pick up on the energy. Art that we would reject without a second glance sell for millions.

Artists love making a living from their art; that’s a given. I find myself always judging my own art. Is it salable, or is it junk? We would not judge kids’ art as junk, but maybe some do.

I do enjoy making crafts too, but they don’t count in this kind of dilemma. Crafting is a more peaceful, straightforward process and you know the end result. It tends to get tedious in the long run while painting never gets tedious but can be extremely challenging. Sometimes it gets to a point where I don’t want to be challenged, and I paint something pretty.

There is nothing wrong with pretty, but I want to paint from my true inner genius.

In my years of painting, I was always drawn to intuitive expression, which means standing in front of a blank canvas and just reach for the first color that comes to mind and paint something, whatever I am drawn to paint. The canvas will decide what is to come. It’s a frightening but exciting process to watch the artwork emerge on its own. It’s torture sometimes, but it’s a process I’ve never quite been able to leave. I started painting this way back in the 90s after reading Aviva Gold’s Painting From The Source. Later in this post I will display a list of the books that have influenced my intuitive painting the  most.

When I started reading Gold’s book, I could not put it down. She suggests using poster boards and tempera paint, which are inexpensive tools to experiment with. No expensive canvases to “destroy.”

Here are two pictures of old intuitive art I painted in the 90s. I have some huge paintings that are rolled up in my closet, and I can’t bear to throw them away. However, there is no wall space for them where I live.

100_0121These guys ended up being parrots in the jungle, but I probably started out with a blob of paint in the middle of the poster board. There is a lot of detail underneath the birds, and I believe that all layers add to the finished art. I still paint in many layers.

100_2289This is a huge, really weird painting, but it had lots of energy. I painted it over an old framed painting, and it sold and was shipped off.  Intuitive art is like dreams in many ways. The images are fragmented and don’t seem to make sense, but there is always an underlying message. The subconscious speaks through the art if you ALLOW it.

100_2467Here is another kind of fun variation of intuitive painting. I ended up painting my own hands all over the art.

Art journaling is also a good way to experiment. You know the art is just for you. The pressure of selling it is gone, and you can go crazy on the pages.

I admire my big brother, Ingvar Staffans, who has painted all of his life. He only uses black, white, brown, and maybe some beige in his art. He paints HUGE abstract expressions and have never even tried to paint pretty pictures. He is true to his own art. Some of it I don’t like, but some bowls me over with its amazing energy. He’s not afraid to experiment and I respect that.ingvarsart

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Hard to believe we’re related, huh?  He never read any books on intuitive painting, lol.  He is a process man, not a product man.

Anyway, here is the list of books that can inspire you to paint intuitively. I particularly recommend Michele Cassou’s books. They will tell what to do when you get stuck.  Her process is totally freeing.  The book links are to Amazon. Some you can probably find at the library.

POINT ZERO by Michele Cassou HERE.

LIFE, PAINT and PASSION by Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley HERE.

PAINTING FROM THE SOURCE by Aviva Gold HERE.

A more recent book: PAINT MOJO by Tracy Verdugo HERE.

Another book to help open up your creativity is THE TRICKSTER’S HAT by Nick Bantock HERE.

And the classic THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron HERE.

I thought I would try a grungy sort of art journaling technique since I always paint in bright colors. My brother would be proud! 🙂

008This is not pretty, but meaningful to me. At this point I just want to express myself, not necessarily paint pretty pictures. It is an evolving  journey! I made a video of this art journal spread, and you can watch it HERE.

What are you working on today?  It is important … because life happens NOW.

xo

Maria

P.S.  If you’re interested in receiving my newsletter, you can sign up HERE.

 

 

art, art journaling, creativity, ecourse, intuitive, transformation

45% off on my art journaling e-course!

What a deal! 45% off on my art journaling e-course for two (maybe four) days. I’m tickled pink to be offering you this opportunity to try something new in art journaling. Here is the page from my website that explains it all:

 

VISIONARY ART JOURNALING -A Journey Of The Six Senses
The ultimate intuitive art journaling e-course

Are you curious about intuition and how it works?  What if I could show you some simple ways to always be in touch with your intuition?  Maybe you have read books about it, but can’t seem to put it together. Are you going to do something about it? Learn how to break through and have some real experiences, not just book learning.  Find your inner guidance easily via art journaling.
Why take this e-course?
Visionary Art Journaling is perfect for you if :
• You never found a simple way to tap into your intuition in a consistent manner, or trust the information you received.
• You have been unable to follow through because the lessons or books bored you?
• Heart-centered art eludes you?
• If you’re a beginner, but eager to learn to tap into your intuition, and quickly.
• You feel fears around art journaling or intuition.
Imagine making art with an easy flow, straight from your heart!  No experience needed.
Visionary Art Journaling e-course takes all the mystery out of the art and intuition process.
Personal benefits:
• Unleash your creative side.
• Tap into your innermost self and gain confidence in all areas of your life.
• Support from me personally online and from other artists in the group.
• Experience less stress and worry about the process of art journaling.
• A sense of pride and accomplishment for taking steps to deepen your art dream, or even start a dream!
Art benefits:
• Learn how to create a fun background that fits what you experienced in the meditations.
• Learn how to create exceptional details that describe your vision.
• How to avoid pitfalls as you move through the art spreads.
• Learn about the practical side of interpreting what you feel onto a journal page.
• Get your creative juices flowing.
• Make new discoveries that inspire you to continue on the journey.
Now is the time to get started on your dream to get more deeply into your art!
Visionary Art Journaling e-course consists of intro videos, 6 meditation audios, and 6 downloadable art instruction videos with a multitude of examples and suggestions that cover all you need to know about art journaling, and the six senses. All the materials are yours to keep.  Again, no experience necessary to follow this e-course.  The guided meditation audios are very relaxing and about 7 minutes long each.
Audio 1: Deals with the sense of Taste
Audio 2: Deals with the sense of Smell
Audio 3: Deals with the sense of Sight
Audio 4: Deals with the sense of Touch
Audio 5: Deals with the sense of Hearing
Audio 6: Deals with the Sixth sense, your intuition
Bonus videos with more tips on honing your intuition.
After finishing the e-course you will have a clear picture on how to put together an art journal spread, using what tools you have.
You will have a clear and easy understanding how to access your intuition and how it works.
You will feel confident that you can create similar art on your own.
You will have a way to keep your inspiration flowing, using your inner senses that never grow stale!
JOIN ME FOR AN EXCITING LEARNING EXPERIENCE!
Suitability:
This e-course is suitable for beginners and for those who are art journaling veterans.
The art journaling pages will provide inspiration to add your own style and imagination.
If you like putting in the work up front for better results later, and have fun along the way, this course is definitely for you!
This is great for you if you like to take online courses and implement the advice. If you do the work, you will have excellent results.
If you are ready and eager to learn this kind of approach to art and see quick results, this e-course is definitely for you.

Visionary Art Journaling will help you to:
• know where to go next in the art process. It takes all the guesswork out of creating an art journal page.
• take the mystery out of the tools used.
• plug all the elements into your art via intuition.
• keep the excitement going for eternity. 🙂
Follow your dream of exploring art. Seize the day now, learn something new. Get excited again. Allow your talent to shine. Give yourself the gift of creativity.  Get re-inspired if you lost the spark.  Come along on the journey.
You can buy it by clicking HERE. 
xo
Maria
P.S. You can check out some of my original art in my etsy shop: HERE.
asskickery, inspirational, life, motivational, purpose, self help

Stop if your heart is not on fire.

hellyeah

Stop if your heart is not on fire for something. I have been kind of in a slump lately and I’m pretty much re-evaluating everything. My friend and writer, Laura Probert, wrote an excellent post for Huffington Post, (link at the end.) She was inspired by Marie Forleo who said if it’s not a “hell yeah,” then don’t do it. It got me thinking about my own life and it’s been a while since I truly felt a “hell yeah” about anything.  Life is more like “meh.”

When I do things I don’t like to do to earn money (and that is the only reason,) I feel like a vague shearing sensation in my chest. It occurred to me that’s what people do; they spend a lifetime doing stuff they don’t like and then end up with heart disease. What is the greatest killer today: heart disease. I don’t know the statistics on how many people hate their jobs, but I suspect it’s a hefty percentage.

We created this mess. The kids are funneled like cows to slaughter through a school systems that does not work, to learn stuff they will never use. But stay in the fold for when you grow up, kiddo, you will or must have a job or you will be an outsider, and you will be poor.

I suppose a boring job is not the only cause for heart disease, and doctor’s will tell you it’s the food you eat, but I believe it’s a lot more than  that. It is based on deep misaligned emotion.

When we force ourselves into a shoe that doesn’t fit, we feel uncomfortable.  We know it’s wrong for us, but we force ourselves out of fear or out of lack of ideas for something better. School never encouraged you to think for yourself.

The forced and unhappy behavior will create disease in the body. You’ve heard it before.

People sometimes say that whatever disaster they went through was the best thing that ever happened to them, because it changed the course of their life. People who have had an awakening can’t go back to the old  mindset. It’s like society in general hypnotizes us into a humdrum existence and it takes something drastic to shake us up enough to see that we act like sheep.  We work like sheep and play like sheep. It gets very old.

My point here: What gives you fire in the belly? There is no time to waste. Screw humdrum, screw fear. It’s time to wake up and do it!

I have done a lot of passion inspired things in my life but right now I feel kind of “meh.”  I’m hoping life is taking a new turn soon, because the sense of “been there done that” is overwhelming. I can’t wait to get excited again. I don’t like that shearing feeling in my chest when I force myself to do things I don’t like. Hello anxiety.

What to do? Take stock of your emotions and pains in your body.  When you think of your job do you feel excited or full of dread? If you have no clue what makes you fired up with excitement, do some excavating of dreams and desires, the ones you shoved under the carpet, maybe?  It will take action to get out of the status quo, but everyone can do it with some effort. I know it’s possible.

For more ideas, read Laura’s article HERE.

xo

Maria

P.S. for some free art how to videos, check out my YouTube channel HERE.

Artist and writer