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Magical Doodles … An Opening By Beryl McCandless

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          As I have moved into the month of October and felt our personal work deepening, larger and larger gaps in my language and languaging are apparent. The body is experiencing tension, exhaustion, irregular breathing, fuzzy and momentary lapses of processing connectivity in the brain. Fugue state it is. 
          While pressure is within and without, we are being ‘challenged’ to write the templates. I can now only observe what is rising, what seems to be contracting and what is screaming to be heard, acknowledged and integrated with loving compassion and joy. 
        Tantra has suggested writing nonsense when the wobble is especially unstable. Perfect! No-sense writing makes perfect sense. Well, what if  even that is a Herculean challenge? 
         Crazy as it may sound be Curious. Be fascinated by the brilliance of being out of your depth, out of your mind, out of your league .  Try something new to continue to feel and experience the flow of what is rising on your behalf, what has your back, what loves you. 
          This past week especially, the thought burst though, “But HOW?” No words? No problem. What came through was a doodle. That was how I opened up into. There was movement, there was a ‘happy’ that eased my body, my breath, my wobble. Lines, circles, colors. 
It doesn’t always show itself in this way. Sometimes there’s sound, a hum, music. Sometimes there’s rolling and stretching, and walking and soaking in a tub of Epsom salts and essential oil. 
          Each act of self care, self expression and Self Love is deepening our intimacy with Creation. The more we embrace what is pressing in we discover we are embracing what Loves and adores us. That is what has us moving forward.
          Register here for the Curiodyssey Water Element event:

          https://www.loc-institute.com/product/curiously-exploring-the-elements-water-element-november-8-2020/

 

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Quenching Our Thirst for Life By Liz Geyer

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The word ‘quench’ is such an incredible piece of language, isn’t it?  This word has opened up such a beautifully deep exploration into what we thirst for in our life, and I am now being present to discovering how my body and being were compelled to quench this thirst during an amazing hike/journey my partner Steve and I took this past week in Utah.  

We discovered this beautiful canyon while driving up highway 128, with red rock canyons on either side of the road, and the Colorado River on the west side, flowing gently in this particular section.  I was attracted to a particular turn-out, and asked Steve to stop on our way back.  I was already planning in my mind how he could take his camera and take pictures of the canyon, while I could answer my body’s calling to be on a trail.  My body has really been loving hiking on trails of any kind lately, and the body was almost like a precious dog wagging its happy tail, wanting to go for a walk!  This trail would be a win-win for both of us.  Steve isn’t a ‘hiker’, though he has been walking daily in his job.  I thought we would just ‘mosey’ up the trail a ways…say a mile.  I laugh now, because in my thinking about moseying up the trail, I simply took my backpack with my special ‘rock’ tools, thinking I might find some rock formation with which to leave some Shasta opals for anchoring (which did happen at the end of the trail).  Yet I did not take the second backpack with food and water in it.

Off we went, exploring this trail, called Grandview Canyon Trail.  As we continued to hike, my senses began to open up into the wide variety of vegetation, rock formations, colors throughout the canyon, and a beautiful stream that ran through it. What is even more interesting, is that we were both compelled all of a sudden, to just keep going.  Between the gurgling of the stream, and having to traverse it several times and different ways, the colors of the changing leaves on the trees, the meandering up the trail and having to climb, both Steve and I began to be in some sort of magic that was compelling us to continue to hike to “somewhere”.  Later I was present to the Primordial Mother, begging us to see an aspect of Her at the end of the trail. With each step connecting my body through the cells, in with the Earth, listening to the stream’s music, while catching glimpses of the water moving in, through and around rocks and branches, I now observe that the body was being fed and nourished with both the element of earth and the element of water.  And what a visceral, primal, physical experience we were having!  Even though the hike was mostly uphill and hard for our well-used knees to negotiate, still, we were determined to be in the vast beauty of all that was laid before us.  What a feast it was!

When we found the end of the trail, we were greeted by an amazing ‘rock-bowl’, and a naturally occurring arch to the right of this bowl.  In the center lay a small cave, about fifteen feet up the rock, with a natural spring trickling from inside the rock.  I was so fascinated by this spring, and so in love with how it had formed a crack in the rock and was flowing in such a straight line in this crack that the water had carved…just THAT straight line of water fed my soul like nothing else!  What power that water possessed!  The message from the Mother was clear.  Listen and learn.  Observe and learn.  Allow My elements to feed your physical and non-physical body. It was in a larger opening of this spring that I threw the Shasta opals.  The Mother thanked me by gifting me one of Her stones to take to Shasta.  Equity.

Quenching…nourishing…whole system response.  What an incredible day of magic!  What amazing synchronicities occurred for us to have this beautiful flow of existence. What quenches your thirst for life?  The Mother asked us to listen and learn.  I am forever grateful for my cells being nourished by all things water, earth, and connection!

 

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Messages From a Nature Mandala, by Liz Geyer

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Have you ever put something off that was pleasurable, but something just kept you from actually diving into the activity of it?  Such was the case of playing with a second nature mandala.  When I actually sat down to be in a creative frame of mind, it literally took me ten minutes to create this nature mandala!  Why had I not done it sooner?  

Actually sitting down to create was so pleasant.  I felt as though another aspect of me sat down in ‘my’ chair…not ‘me’.  I have always loved symmetry as I create.  What goes on one side must go on another…not all art I create is this way, but in creating a mandala, that’s how I like it…balanced!  This one came together so easily!  I will say that as I collected the items on a walk last week, as I picked up each leaf, acorn or stick, I could see a pattern emerge in my mind’s eye.  If you don’t think that way…no problem.  I have practiced many years with making objects out of the clouds in the sky, patterns on tree trunk, rocks on chimneys, huge logs on hikes in the distance…once I swore I saw an Asian Kung Fu master on the trail in front of me, but when I got up close, it was only an intricate tree stump with a branch sticking out of it!  If you don’t see the world this way, it’s okay…we each have our own oddities and ‘ways’!

The coolest thing that happened was that an observing recursion popped up out of the middle of the mandala!  As I was videoing a description of the mandala, a wisp of energetic smoke came up from the acorn cap in the middle, and I could literally ‘feel’ the observing come up from my solar plexus!  It was amazing!  “Observing this beautiful configuration has me be present to nature is sending me messages.  Being present to nature is sending me messages has opened me up into playing with the elements of earth.  Opened up into playing with the elements of earth has me have great joy and satisfaction in creating something new with nature’s elements.”  I was blown away by how quickly the solar plexus had spoken!

I am so looking forward to playing with these items again, and adding the pieces I found a few weeks ago to see what pops up next.  I can’t wait to do this with you!  Go on a walk…pick up rocks or sticks, or even crunched up leaves!  Pick the ‘underdog’ acorns…the ones even the squirrels don’t want!  There are so many this year!  I have never seen so much abundance…see what you can find!  Play!  It’ll do the soul good!

We are looking forward to seeing you ‘live’ for the Earth Element event, or check out the recording, even if you cannot be at the ‘live’ event.  To  register for the Earth Element event  click here :

https://www.loc-institute.com/product/c … r-27-2020/

or follow with us on the entire adventure of the elements in the 5-part series by clicking here:

http://www.loc-institute.com/product/cu … rt-series/.

 

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A Washable Brown Paper Bag By Beryl McCandless

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    The gift of being curious continues to surprise and engage me at odd moments. While walking into Trader Joe’s last week to pick up a few items for dinner, I let my mind relax and wander as I placed fresh, organic fruits and veggies in my cart. It had been  particularly challenging that day and I was more than ready to let the simple activity of choosing healthy food replace the mysterious intricacies of online schooling with very active, elementary-age students. 
     I had been playing with the idea of going on a ‘hunt’ for an art container to hold supplies for fellow adventurers signing up for the Curiodyssey, “Curiously Exploring the Elements” series. The curiosity explorer would then be on the lookout for a personalized item from home to fill with craft items already on hand. The idea held great appeal for me.
     What would be found? Where would it be discovered? Would it come from a closet, a cupboard, an attic or garage? My sassy, playful, outrageous inner Child was whispering in my ear, ‘What you got, Lovey?’
     The selection I could choose from was embarrassingly long and varied. There were baskets and boxes of various shapes and sizes that could be transformed. Perhaps that bright tie-dye backpack or an old patchwork purse would be more interesting. All were immediately rejected. An old suitcase? Hmm,  that had potential, but..no. 
      I pushed on and came to an end cap at the front of an isle. The shelves held new items featured for the month of September. A small stack of folded brown bags caught my eye. The sign read “Washable brown paper lunch bags, $5.99”.
     Curious and intrigued I made an impulse buy and popped one into my cart and went to check out. I had been meaning to replace my 6 year old insulated lunch pack. It was environmentally friendly. Perfect! 
     I didn’t realize how perfect a simple brown bag could be. During a meditation that night before bed, I was taken on a cosmic-primal journey. Straight out into the cosmos, into the great Void then out and through an eternal light matrix.  I received a gentle reminder of the knowing and sensing, being held ‘within’ that stunning intelligence.  I continued ‘moving’ through the Original creation of the star systems, to the planets, eventually arriving upon this beautiful world into my ‘physical’ form. 
      I was escorted deep within my fields, cells, blood, organs all lit with a pulse of Life. There I became present to the vibrational resonance of ‘I am the perfect container of many containers ‘, protected and cradled within the Primal container of beloved Gaia, Mother Earth. Within Her I felt the Hum of her breath and the pulse of her Heart, and became in sync with ley lines, grid-lines, her nervous system. Everything was lit up, and glowing,  just like in the movie ‘Avatar’. 
      Embodied, we carry the Self.  The Pineal Gland is housed and carried within the physical brain, our heart contains and shares the blood contained in the vessels and capillaries. Our lungs contain oxygen, our digestion contains nourishment to be shared throughout the body. Men carry the seed of Life and women carry Life within…(breasts contain milk for nourishment, the womb contains new life). Fields within fields, within fields, spiraling within and without. We are an extraordinary creation within Creation that communicates, creates and plays with Creation,  responding and creating with us.  Add a spoonful of curiosity, a sprinkle of  imagination, and for me, a washable brown paper bag.   I’m ready for our upcoming play date with the elements.  Aren’t you curious too?

Register here for the Earth Element event!