Monthly Archives: October 2012
The Mystic – A Light Journey to Ancient Origins through Painting #7
The Mystic by Tania Marie
(click to enlarge)
The journey of channeling #7 in my new series, Universal ARKitecture has been another interesting experience. Since I was working with very ancient energy of origins, it was much more earthy and heavier, but the key was in channeling an integration of this energy in a new and light way for the now.
And so, The Mystic, as it is titled, was birthed and it depicts the endangered Galapagos Tortoise, which came through as the next animal spirit guide to share a message. It kneels on the mystical Earth while communing with a Tree of Life that has a Buddha face carved into it. Between the two, a small illuminated star sparks enlightenment of new energy emerging that will transform the Earth.
Close up of Buddha carved in Tree of Life
I had the honor of visiting the Galapagos Islands a couple of years ago and to spend magical time with these ancient souls. They are amazing to say the least, and hold the wisdom of the ages.
I love how not only are they so connected to the Earth’s origins and energy, but also, to me, are very extraterrestrial in nature. I was thrilled that the Galapagos Tortoise was wanting to channel through for #7 – which in numerology holds a very magical vibration as the sacred spiritual number and ‘the energy of the mystics’ – not only because of its divinely aligned energy, but because of its connection to my Russian Tortoise, Gaia.
I knew at some point each of my beloved animal companions would show up in a painting due to the energy they emanate. Nestor and Joy had already shown up in #5 Once in a Blue Moon and when I received that the tortoise was coming next, I wondered if it would literally be Gaia. And when I checked in, I got that Gaia’s energy would be represented, but in a form she energetically identifies more as. Since her energy is SO big, and she has no concept that she is a tiny little tortoise, it was synchronously appropriate she would channel through as a Galapagos Tortoise instead. And her ancient connections, having the name Gaia, and being very extraterrestrial in nature, made perfect sense as to how this would come through.
Galapagos Tortoise close up in The Mystic
Gaia communicates much differently and I found the channeling of this painting to come through in pieces and more slowly and deliberately, as well as at times challenging to ensure I was allowing the energy and not getting in its way. Tortoises teach us patience, balance with the rhythms of life, and steadfast deliberate strength, to name a few things. To read more about what they teach us see the article below.
My newest reflection of natural origins
Synchronously, this painting came about as I recently cut my hair even shorter and felt it partially symbolic of returning to my origins and emanating a core empowerment of natural inner light in a bigger way, which coincided with this creation and its energy. It also coincided with embracing greater depths of one of Lee Harris’ themes for the month of October in his energy forecast – that of vulnerability.
These two new birthings – The Mystic and my new personal expression – both share this integration of ancient and new energy channeled in a form that mirrors the collective now.
I wrote an article, I shared earlier this year, about the origins and energy of our ancient Earth Mother, her connection with turtles/tortoises, as well as shared how Gaia’s name came about through the Gayatri Mantra – all synchronously tied. It shares not only insights into these, but how we can learn from each. The Mystic painting holds the symbolism expressed in this article. Read it here:
Gaia – Earth Mother and Turtle? Ancient Wisdom for Conscious Living
The Mystic original is available for purchase and will be up on my website soon, along with Gem of the Emerald Forest. Prints will be available shortly for both. Contact tania@taniamarie.com with inquiries and orders.
Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue. ~Buddha
October Energy Forecast with Lee Harris – New Strength Born of Vulnerability
It’s that time again for some empowering insights from Lee Harris. This month’s forecast is called New Strength Born of Vulnerability and it covers two main themes for the month of October – vulnerability and deepening.
I feel these to be “on point” with the current energy patterns emerging of deep internal reflection and accessing that power inside for the journey. Allowing that vulnerability to feel safe and truly deepening within to the core, will take things to a whole other level of experience that would benefit everyone, including those feeling they are on a spiritually enlightened path. As Lee shares, these equate to exploring how you feel about vulnerability and how that expresses for yourself and for you out in the world and the deepening you allow yourself to go to with the challenges you face in your life. See how much you can lift yourself out by burning the old emotional off.
Lee also talks about liberation and freedom in terms of relationships we have with others and that the liberation allows you to integrate everything those connections taught you to be in a new relationship with self and if you choose, with that person as well.
Some other key notes were how before people would seek awakening in different and outward ways, but now we’re in a world awakening and it happens within.
I agree with Lee’s perspective that while changing thoughts is powerful in terms of changing our experiences, that there are missing pieces in this process and it’s not just about the mind. Lee explains one of the aspects not to forget, which is the body. Attending to your physical body by providing air (breathing), good nutrition and exercise is beneficial because the body moves slower than other parts. Getting in touch with deep vulnerability and survival, while ensuring you feel safe in the process is essential. You can listen to the video below for more on all of this, but Lee provides one powerful exercise you can practice:
Breathe in and say to yourself “I am safe. I allow everything.” And then release your breath and all with it.
Lee addresses the importance of saying what you feel and expressing yourself truly and authentically. This will naturally allow you to be moved to those you’re supposed to be around and they to you, while others will move away on their own. It avoids harboring unhealthy feelings, repressing, denying, or telling half-truths.
I also agree on standing by the goodness of people and Lee shares the importance of strengthening community ties.
The last few points are about anger, judgments and broken trust. Remember if you’re angry that’s a sign of your fuel around something and if you look within and recognize the root of it you can find the answers and turn that anger around into positive effects to channel that energy. The same goes for broken trust. Look at yourself rather than pointing fingers and ask yourself where did you lose trust in yourself? Keep in mind to be gentle with yourself and realize that your judgments are largely society-programmed. Keeping an awareness about that can help you get in touch with yourself.
And lastly, take time to yourself. If you feel to be quiet, do so. If you feel to be active, listen.
Thank you again Lee for laying a framework of support to be mindful of.
Nature’s Gifts – An Artist’s Inspiration
Gaia’s Gift by Tania Marie – original available for purchase: http://taniamarie.com/gallery2.htm
Painting is my sacred key of life. Like the wing of a butterfly is essential to its flight, creating visionary art is the breath of life to my soul. My inspirational muses are the natural world, Earth’s beautiful creatures, the mystical and ancient worlds, the Cosmos, celebrations of life, expressions of the immensity of love, and conscious, collective awareness.
Nature provides an abundance of miracle beauty to feed the heart and soul of each of us and if you are an artist, there is unlimited inspiration to immerse yourself in to your heart’s content.
When I view the world around me, I see everything as a miraculous birthing from the source of boundless universal love and creative power that explodes into experience each time a new conception of inspiration takes place through a channel of the Great Central Sun, Universe, God, All That Is, Source….
I honor with deepest gratitude our loving Mother Earth, Gaia, Terra…she endlessly and tirelessly nurtures us with her precious gifts.
My painting pictured left, Gaia’s Gift, was channeled in honor of her and currently I am completing a new piece in my series, Universal ARKitecture that also honors our beloved Terra and connects us to the roots of these ancient origins through another animal spirit guide – the Tortoise.
The mysteries of the Universe cease to amaze. There is unlimited awe-inspiring bursts of creative beauty every fleeting moment.
Spending time in nature is balancing, healing, and integrative for us all. For me in particular, I need time spent immersed in it, as well as soaring the “other” realms. It not only nurtures my soul, but provides inspiration for the work I do, along with a constant sustaining source to fuel me.
Water or its essence, in particular has always been a main source of my healing, energy, creative inspiration, clarity, flow, and sense of home. That may be no wonder by my being a Pisces, but there is definitely a theme of energy I have been surrounded by my entire life and where I chose to birth into. Having lived nearly all of my life on the Southern California coast, this has been a gift to my soul to be near the Pacific Ocean and its Lemurian energies. Each of the other places I lived all either were on the water, by the water, or of watery and Lemurian essence as well. This included living on the water for about a year in Indianola, Washington (on the Kitsap Peninsula in Puget Sound), living in Sedona, Arizona a couple of years, and living at stunning Lake Tahoe, Nevada for a few years.
Definitely life themes for me in where I feel drawn in order to be most naturally me and channel my expressions of that, but being by a large body of water I have found to be a necessity and not a luxury for me – whether close to it, or actually on it. Otherwise, as they say, I feel like a fish out of water….
Needless to say, the water is but one of the magical elements Earth has to share with us. The trees, the animals, flowers, weeds, dirt, sand, rocks, mountains, lava, wind, etc. each have their own majesty. And as an artist, I view them through a different lens, which is one of the reasons I am always photographing what I see, as I find it all so spectacular and like “instant art.” I’m like a little girl unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning every time I see something new, as each fleeting moment is full of creative spontaneity manifesting. I envision everything as a painting that has been beautifully brushed into being and I draw upon the awesome explosion of colors as an emulsion of nature’s heart and soul.
Intuitively, I’ve been drawn to get out on the beach with my toes in the sand and feet in the water at least 2-3 times a week lately, either for the day or at sunset or both. It’s mirrored my integrating balance and listening to my intuition, as to what my soul needs for the shifts I am going through and how I can best receive what is needed to assist and serve others. I have found it very helpful with my artistic creations and this new series of paintings I have been channeling forth.
And every time I visit the beach, there is always something amazingly synchronous and beautiful that takes place, as if the Universe is gifting me for listening to the calling. Whether dolphins appear, encounters with pelicans and other sea birds I end up helping, new discoveries, no one there making it a private beach, or otherworldly, amazing sunsets, it all helps my sense of peace and connection. And thereafter, I approach my painting with freshness, flow, and greater access to my innate abilities to bring forth the visions I feel. If I feel anything blocking, the ocean energy quickly helps me to flow once again.
It is because of this that I also recently incorporated the Laguz Rune – literally meaning Water or Ocean, but more importantly the essence of what that is esoterically – into my “Spiritual Skin” I wear as an energetic portal of its embodiment – utilizing the productive energies and honing and being conscious of the undercurrents as well.
The last time I just ventured to the beach for a picnic dinner sunset, there was such a breath-taking dance of color in the sky that surrounded me full-circle. It was so beautiful and it kept shifting moment to moment, each second was like a personal performance I was watching in gratitude and amazement. It is arrays like these that inspire my personal style of painting and of course I not only was running in the sand like a little girl and saying, “wow! look at those colors! and oh my gosh look! and there’s this and that and a portal and a celestial being and…in the sky,” as I snapped away photograph after photograph, but I was also conscious that these displays mirror something for me and that they provide energetic downloads. I always say thanks and feel blessed and honored.
Not only the artist me receives abundant inspiration from such beauty, but the entire “beingness” of me receives all that it needs and in return I mirror that creative expression and love through the gifts I have to give and share with the collective.
I hope you enjoy these photos from my sunset time at my favorite beach in this area – Crystal Cove (no surprise this beautifully named beach would energetically draw me in – love the name and reminds me of all the towns along Lake Tahoe’s shores named after crystals too). The following photos share how the sky developed into one new painting at a time, in front of me while I communed with Source – the Great Central Sun. My way of sharing inspiration so that you may feel the joy and receive an expressive experience of this energy in your own life. And if you too are an artist, I send a little extra creative inspiration energy through these images to support imbuing new energy into your creations. In love, Tania
Keeping Your Glow Rather Than Burning Out
Often, I’ve been guilty in the past of blowing myself out energetically and hence, physically, by getting myself out of balance. Then it takes time to replenish, regroup, and start anew. I’ve been known for being an extremist, although I saw it as driven passion that didn’t let anything stand in the way. There’s nothing wrong with committed drive to do what it takes to create what you desire, however when the drive exceeds the natural flow and synchronous timing that comes from the presence of being in heart and divine alignment, then chances are a burnout will take place in some way.
We all have things we feel important and called to do, yet sometimes we get in our own way and contrive timelines and “shoulds” that might otherwise be “coulds” if we lessened up on the accelerator a bit. Staying very presently aware of, and taking time to integrate, the messages and signs both your Higher Self and Universe are supporting you with, would provide a healthier approach, fresh perspectives, and perhaps bring new paths to the journey that may void some of what you deem necessities, or lead you more quickly to intended results.
There is an insatiable desire to do all and be all, rather than enjoying each moment of the journey and realizing this is not necessary. And sometimes you create blinders to any helpful signs and nudges along the way, as well as forget to ask for help, or nurture your well-being. It’s wonderful to be focused; it’s counter-productive to inflexible.
It also isn’t helpful if you are working against yourself by having one foot on both sides of the fence, believing you can do it all. It’s silly to think this doesn’t catch up with you. It creates the feeling of running in place, since every step forward feels tugged by two steps back. If you decide to create new things, then you must make peace, at the least, with the old and find a way to see it in the light of a gift that has fostered this new to birth. When you make peace within, then you have more energy at your hands to utilize for all you intend, without it being eaten up by frustrated inner turmoil. You then also are not using up all of your energy needed to create the new while shifting the old into closure.
Equally important in all of this is to find balance in your life, which at first will have to become a disciplined practice to reteach yourself how to make it natural again, and avoid extremes that can deplete you. That doesn’t mean you won’t have times when inspiration hits in bursts, but if you maintain a balanced, natural, and more nurturing daily life the rest of the time, these won’t blow you out the way they would if you didn’t. They also then become a natural alignment with the ebbs and flows of your life, rather than self-created. Eating healthy foods, combined with time in nature, gentle exercise, good sleep, quiet inner time, some light fun, spiritual stimulation, creative expression, being open to new experiences and perspectives, and practicing presence, patience, love and compassion, all will aid in keeping you glowing rather than burning out. And this results not only in raised quality of life on all levels, including longevity and youthful vigor, but will support more magic and synchronous opportunities to manifest in your life.
I can personally share that my past experiences of burn outs are just that, in the past. It has taken a lot of discipline putting to practice all that I shared above, but now my life is naturally flowing in this regard and the daily stresses I used to feel, have dissipated. Stress is an unnatural pressure we self-create. The more I have stepped into my natural flow and “beingness” I am at a soul essence level, the more peace I experience not only in my personal experience, but in relation to outside experiences as well.
All this to say, be lovingly present with yourself, as often you don’t realize the risks of setting the world on fire until you get smoke in your eyes and you’re about to crash. And there is the tendency to not pay much attention to burnouts since they aren’t always dramatic like a heart attack or life threatening disease. However, you don’t want it to get to that point, so better to take heed of the warnings. Long periods of too much overwork, overload, self-created pressures, time restraints, going against your natural inclinations and intuition, minus creating balance with the things above, is bound to lead to disastrous experiences of physical, mental and emotional burnouts.
Here are signs of a burnout and a few words from Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy:
- Sense of complete exhaustion at the end of a long, challenging and intense project
- Illness including a bout of flu you can’t shake to chronic fatigue syndrome and usually accompanied by depression
- Going to bed exhausted every night and waking up tired every morning and no amount of sleep refreshes you
- Everything becomes too much effort: combing your hair, going out to dinner, visiting friends, even going on vacation
- You can’t believe, under any circumstances, that you’ll ever want to make love again
- You find yourself cranky all the time, bursting into tears, or going into fits of rage at the slightest provocation
- You dread the next phone call
- You feel trapped and hopeless, unable to dream, experience pleasure, or find contentment
- Neither big thrills nor little moments have the the power to move you
- Nothing satisfies you because you haven’t a clue what’s wrong or how to fix it – because everything is wrong – because something is terribly out of whack: you
- You feel there is not one other person on the face of the earth who can help you
And you’re right.
When you’re suffering from burnout, you are the only person on earth who can help because you’re the only one who can make the lifestyle changes that need to be made: to call a halt, to take a slower path, to make a detour. When you have no strength left, you have no choice but to rely on the strength of a saner Power to restore you to Wholeness. In the pursuit of our souls, Spirit takes no prisoners.
Let Your Light Shine: You Can’t Be Original – You Can Be Authentic
Bali Sunrise
As many visionaries in the fields of healing and creative arts are stepping up and into their unique roles they came to embody, challenges may present themselves to overcome. There are many factors that potentially may be blocking, limiting, frustrating, or discouraging you, but they all stem from the illusions of fear and in some cases can be hard to see for yourself, as you know just how to ingeniously hide and disguise them with self-sabotaging finesse. Sometimes the seeming challenges can also be linked with collective, divine timing and therefore patience, flow, and taking aligned, synchronized steps may be needed and remind yourself to enjoy and be present in the moment, rather than live in the future or past.
One of the recurring themes of fear I see is that of self-doubt, feelings of unworthiness, or self-devaluation. There is a tendency to disregard the unique gifts you have as being valuable and instead to compare or compete with others, rather than simply embracing and honoring what only you can share with the world. Energy gets diverted and drained in trying to emulate or live up to what you see “out there” rather than focusing and honing that energy into simply creating and channeling forth from “within.”
Some may feel that my approach of staying within my experience of art (as one example) and not immersing myself in other artists’ works, may seem counter-productive. Why would you not study, view, take technical classes, etc, for the thing you are doing as your work? Would you not want to refine it and have it be something more? My question to that is, who is judging the “more” and by what definition of refinement am I to be working towards? While I honor all artistic expression as valuable, my answer is, by creating from my heart in each moment and learning through the experience of doing, do I grow and evolve and create art that is uniquely from my expression alone and what I am meant to create, regardless of what standards the outside world has boxed art into.
This is not the way or process for everyone, but for me, it is how I stay authentic and true to what wants to channel through me. This is, in many ways, the way I operate in all areas of my life. I am not naive, but I do know that the innocence I retain in drawing from within, is my unlimited creative power.
To express what is most naturally authentic to you in your own way is what makes a difference. There are reasons we are each in an individual body, even though we are collectively connected. One of which is to naturally be who you are and to allow that to channel through your heart in the way that mirrors the gifts you chose to birth in with. Let your light shine.
This theme is perfectly and simply expressed by Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book, Simple Abundance: A Day Book of Comfort and Joy. I hope you find some gems of supportive insight in what she shares:
You Can’t Be Original – You Can Be Authentic
One of the reasons many of us have trouble getting our Work out into the world is that unconsciously we’re competing instead of creating, which always short-circuits the flow of inspiration. A friend of mine is a gifted playwright. She denies herself the pleasure of seeing anything on the stage other than revivals of classics, preferably Greek. It’s too painful for her to watch contemporary work because she is addicted to comparisons.
Why do we make ourselves sick competing against strangers? I believe it’s just another sophisticated, seditious form of self-sabotage. If we don’t measure up, why even try? The fault line of comparison runs so deep in the lives of many of us it’s heartbreaking. I know women who quake at the thought of school bake sales because their brownies don’t sell as fast as those of another mother, and the psychic phobia over Halloween costumes is the last frontier in feminine psychology.
Five years ago when I published my first book, which updated Victorian family traditions, there were few popular books on the Victorian era available. But the late nineteenth century was just about to be rediscovered, and within two years there were so many books in the stores the market was completely saturated. Today it would be extremely difficult to find a commercial publisher for a Victorian book even if you channeled Queen Victoria as a spirit guide. This doesn’t mean if you are writing one that you should stop. The cycle of creation is cyclical. There’s a reason the past is prologue.
Sometimes you’re ahead of your time. Mozart was known to qualify his genius by declaring he was composing for future generations. There are literally millions of aspiring and working artists writing books, publishing poems, selling scripts, directing movies, auditioning for roles, designing clothes, entering juried craft exhibitions, starting home-based businesses, looking for an agent, praying for a lucky break. Don’t panic. It is impossible for you to be an original. But you can be authentic.
“God has lots of movie ideas, novel ideas, poems, songs, paintings, acting jobs,” Julia Cameron reassures us. “By listening to the creator within, we are led to our right path.” You aren’t the only one starting a mail-order catalog this year, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t know exactly what niche yours will fill perfectly. Why do you think you were offered the spiritual and creative opportunity?
Once you accept an artistic assignment from the Great Creator, it’s yours. Nobody can take it away from you, unless, of course, you relinquish it. Nobody can duplicate your work because there’s no one in the world like you. They can imitate, but they can’t duplicate. Your work is born of your sensibilities, temperament, experience, emotion, passion, perseverance, attention to detail, idiosyncrasies, and eccentricities.
When you’re authentic, so is your art.
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Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heart-ache when we read those lines written by the hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths. We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about the origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, to discover what is already there. ~Henry Miller
Even Kings and emperors with heaps of wealth and vast dominion cannot compare with an ant filled with the love of God. ~Guru Nanak
When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you. ~Lao Tzu