Following the Moon: Wake Up

Esperance, Drozda, 72x54" mixed, 2010

Welcome to 'Following the Moon'. The 'Purity' Moon cycle begins Tuesday, February 21.
Today, February 20, is the last day of the Balsamic Renewal Phase. Dream of being awake!

My wandering friend Sara sent along this beautiful reminder to wake up on this day:

Maha shivratri is the day when shiv tattva touches the ground.

The consciousness (ethereal world) is 10 inches above the surface. On this day, it touches the Earth element. It is very useful for people to keep awake and meditate. This helps in fulfillment of desires....

 

It helps you grow stronger in your being.

It is like a new year for a sadhak (seeker).

The night on this day, when the constellations are in a particular position, it is auspicious. It is considered an auspicious moment for a spiritual aspirant.

 

It is the wedding of the spiritual and material world.

 

Ratri: That which comes you comfort is Ratri.

That which takes you from the issue to the solution is ratri. Ratri means night. It removes 3 types of discomfort.

 

Shivratri gives you comfort and confidence that the Divine is with you and He/she is your valentine.

 

Ask yourself what really, really, really works and reassure yourself in the areas that feel like a fit. As you come closer to the Equinox of March 20 sense that there is a shift taking place. Energy is beginning to move at a quickening pace.

The Crescent Phase of this 'Purity' Moon cycle begins Saturday, February 25...read more

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I send along special heartfelt thanks to Ursuline College and Tri-C College for including me as Guest Artist, Keynote Speaker: 'Planting Seeds/Harvesting Health' and Workshop Presenter: 'Making Life the Master Peace' at 'The Art of Mental Health and Wellness' the 12th annual Art & Healing Exhibition at Tri-C Gallery East, Cleveland, Ohio.




Thank you Mary Sender, Amy Jacobs and all of your staff. Thank you gallery curator Roy Bigler. You all created a smooth and effortless ease that surround every aspect of a delightful experience. Thanks to all who attended the lively opening talk and the amazingly jazzed workshop...what a fabulous day!

If you, Dear Readers, are in the Cleveland area I invite you to stop in at Gallery East through March to savor the creative works of many who understand the power of creative healing. The exhibit is sponsored collaboratively by the Tri-C Creative Arts/Pre-Art Therapy Department, the Ursuline College Art Therapy & Counseling Department and Tri-C Gallery East, with support from The Buckeye Art Therapy Association.


See you next Monday for the First Quarter Phase of the Purity Moon



Following the Moon: The Beauty You Love

Facing Her, Drozda, 2004 14x20" Acrylic/mixed/wood

With the Full moon having arrived the evening of Friday, October 22 and beaming down upon you through Tuesday evening October 26, there’s the opportunity to look over your shoulder all the way back to April 2010.


Take a deep breath and open your journal, blog or calendar. Review last April and then move forward through the weeks/months. Quietly recollect what has happened. That’s what the Full moon does…she reflects and if you can remember to do likewise while she’s hangin’ out overhead you’ll find that month by month a rhythm that plays your music is gently established. This idea of taking several days to reflect each month during the Full phase brings a dividend… no heavy waxy build-up of stale creative projects in your brilliant Art/Life! Read more...


Note: I hope that you will 'Follow the Moon' by subscribing to my new blog address I'll be phasing out this post location in the next few weeks. If you want to do a copy paste its: http://donnaionadrozda.com/blog
 
Merci~
Iona

Following the Moon

'Bodhicitta Heart', Drozda 2009

24x20"

under painting on canvas

Welcome to Monday's brief opportunity to look-up and recognize your beautiful 'Luna See'. The keyword for this moon cycle is Illumination. The New Moon started on June 12 and extends through Tuesday afternoon. This is a great span of time to refresh the brilliance of your creative vision:

The world needs us to be balanced in creating and communicating.  What's possible through our collective brilliance? During this week illuminate your heart/mind and reconnect to your creative vision. Remind yourself daily of the importance of your talents and skills. Do your very best to stay close to your heart. Remember, as you may have read in the Luna See newsletter, that the last time our planet felt this level of collective global energy (for a full year) was in 2001. You may feel terrorized in new and different ways right now. Be aware and have courage.

In the five years (1990-1995) that my studio was located on the top floor, high security lock-up ward for women, in the former Fairhill Psychiatric Hospital in Cleveland I learned a great deal. I learned, in this raw unrenovated space, more (I'd previously learned a lot) about loss of power and loss of voice. I could feel, as a sensitive and member of the scar clan, the desperation left behind by the former occupants. The powerful residual deposits of  fear and agony were embedded in the walls and literally carved into the broad wooden window sills. I was there in that cavernous space alone. I could feel the pain and isolation of the women who had been there. I spent many a morning doubled over in heaving sobs.

The book The Cracker Factory (Natalie Wood starred in the movie) had been written by a patient. Reading her pithy stories about heavy medications, electro shock therapy and isolation deepened my resolve. I could stand for greater strength and self expression in my own life. I could honor those broken women in the name of the creative spirit that does no harm.

Within two months of moving into the Fairhill studio I became Artist in Residence for The Art Studio: Center for Therapy Through the Arts, now renamed Art Therapy Studio. I opened my doors and began holding many workshops and studios including the all day first Saturday Creativity Salons. Each Salon had a focus...the keyword for the current moon cycle gave twelve artists a 'way in' to discover fresh levels of self expression. We forged great friendships and shape-shifted the energy of a heavy, dense and foreboding space into a gathering place of tremendous healing and joy.

'Creativity Salon', Drozda 1991

Fairhill Studio

I share this story intentionally. I ask today that each of us consider all the ways we can deepen our commitment and resolve. This is the Illumination moon cycle. I am hoping that each of us will turn on our brilliance and contemplate the strength of the heart. Feel the depths of what your heart can create.

I know about brilliance from my recovery process. I know from my years in my Fairhill studio, how very powerful each brilliant creative step we take is for the whole.

'Bodhicitta Heart', Drozda 2009

24x20"

mixed media on canvas

There are so many exciting ways to engage your creative energy. Choose one and place it into the brilliant light of your imagination. Your imagination is like no other on the planet...celebrate that radiance.

What I have come to appreciate since 1989 when I started working with time in this natural 'follow the moon' way is the awareness that there is space for addressing what's most important. Find what that is for you. Then move through the year, following the moon, with a vibrant yet quiet focus.

Before we meet again for our Monday 'Following the Moon' we'll have moved through the first three phases of this cycle. That gives us from now through Tuesday afternoon to create our vision for this four week cycle, Tuesday through Saturday we can research the vision, Saturday through till next Tuesday we can take action on that vision. It would be lovely if you would tell your vision to someone who will honor you.


~May your heart find its song