The new issue of SageWoman should be in stores and arriving in subscribers' mailboxes sometime soon. My Two of Water is on the cover. Marijanka, my model, is in Prague right now. Hope she gets to see it soon.
Happy New Moon in Sagittarius!
Happy Solstice!
My drawing table, a couple of days ago.
When I took a workshop from Elizabeth Lyon at the Surrey Writer's Conference last month, I heard her say that there is a universal process that is common to all writers. First, the resistance to beginning a new project (this is where we suddenly find dozens of important tasks to take care of before we start, like reorganizing our files or sharpening our pencils). Then we finally begin the project, which often goes quite well and proceeds rapidly. About two thirds of the way through, we hit stumbling blocks and have difficulties, which is followed by an almost overwhelming desire to give up and quit. If the work isn't abandoned at that point, the author plugs on through and finishes it.
When I heard her say this, I thought, Huh. That's just what happens to me when I create a drawing or painting. I always, always, always get to a point where I'm sure I've ruined it and I'm certain I will have to toss it out and start over. I get into a real snit about it and I'm nearly unbearable to be around. Craig, bless him, always reminds me that I feel this way about every piece I do, which is something I seem to conveniently forget. So I spend a good ten minutes explaining to him why it's different this time, I really did screw it up this time, and it's not like the other times at all, at all.
Then of course I take another look at it, make some adjustments, edit and refine and finish it. And then I like it. Then I fall in love with it. And I want to dance around and show it off.
Huh. Good thing we have mentors and partners to remind us of our process when we forget.
P.S. I just finished the Explorer of Earth and I am totally in love with her! I promise, you'll see all four Explorers soon.
I spent four days last week at the Surrey International Writers Conference up in British Columbia and had a fabulous, exhausting time. I learned a lot about the publishing industry, took a wonderful master class on "writing with style" from Elizabeth Lyon, and experienced the pure pleasure of New York agents oohing and aahing over my Gaian Tarot cards. I have some very promising leads, so wish me luck, light a candle, send energy, whisper a prayer if you're so inclined . . . for the best possible agent and the best possible publisher for my deck and book. Thank you.
I also spent some time with my friend Waverly. She's been editing my work and helping me become a better writer since the olden days on the Beltane Papers in the early 90s. Craig came up on Saturday evening and joined me in my swanky hotel room. I blew off the banquet (by that time I was in people-and-information overload). We ordered room service, cozied up on the big bed and watched a rerun of Bridget Jones' Diary. The TV station deleted all the curse words in the movie, which was amusing, especially with Colin Firth's final line.
I've been home since Sunday night, but I've been catching up on my sleep and replenishing my well. That is, when I'm not in a writing and revision frenzy, working on query letters and polishing my proposal. Today things have calmed down a bit.
I received several emails from folks who have not yet been able to put their hands on a copy of Seven Whispers. So I think we'll put off the Second Whisper for another week.
Keep maintaining that peace of mind!
I've been rereading Christina Baldwin's wonderful little book, The Seven Whispers: Spiritual Practice for Times Like These
There's a great interview with Christina about this book posted here.
If you can pick up a copy of the book, please read along with me. If not, you can still participate in the conversation. Christina has a downloadable study plan on her website with discussion or journaling questions.
So, for now, I'm going to post the Seven Whispers with a wee bit of explanation and I'll start posting my thoughts about Whisper One next Sunday or Monday. A whisper a week for seven weeks — what do you think?
1) Maintain peace of mind ("the cornerstone of a spiritual life")
2) Move at the pace of guidance ("rehumanize our speed of life")
3) Practice certainty of purpose ("a commitment to figuring out why we are here and what we are going to do about it")
4) Surrender to surprise (this helps us "practice the resilience we need to respond to whatever life offers")
5) Ask for what you need and offer what you can ("become spiritual traders of life's energy, time and abundance")
6) Love the folks in front of you ("look for the good in people even if we don't think it's there")
7) Return to the world (remove yourself from the simulated world and "return to the world of the body, the senses, the world of Nature")
Blessed be.
There's living, and then there's writing about living. Through the writing, the journaling, the contemplation and consideration, we find patterns and assign meaning to the events of our lives. The best kind of journaling is a spiritual practice all its own.
I've been doing a lot of writing since coming home from California, but most of it is more personal than I want to share on my blog. So I thought I might share a few photos from the journey and tell the story of each photo.
(Photo by Craig Olson, taken 9/25/06.)
My mother's ashes have been interred in an open air columbarium in a cemetery in Orange County since she died in 1984. My dad requested that his ashes be placed there with hers. Craig and I carried the urn of ashes on the plane to southern California. The urn was inside a velvet bag with a gold cord, which was inside a Pt. Townsend Farmer's Market canvas bag.
I hadn't been back to the cemetery in about ten years. I'd prefer to have my own ashes scattered on the shore of the island here, or in the woods. But I wanted to honor my parents' wishes. I've been learning a lot about the death-for-profit industry from my mermaid sister Nora, so I had some fairly negative expectations about going back to Forest Lawn. I'd forgotten how lovely the little garden is outside the Columbarium, and how often I used to go there to walk and sit in the peaceful setting.
But the best surprise was the Goddess that graces the wall of the columbarium. I had completely forgotten She was there and I was so glad to see Her. There are statues of saints and angels and the Savior throughout the garden. But in here, the One who looks over the ashes of my beloved dead is the Lady.
After placing a vase of flowers on the niche that holds my mother and father's ashes, I laid an offering of blossoms at the Lady's feet.
The rhythm of my life has changed. When I rise now, it's still dark. The time of Balance approaches, Dark Ascending. I've kept only one "bread & butter" client so I can focus the better part of my day on working on the Gaian Tarot. And it's so quiet here on the island during drydock. I've left the island only once in the past ten days, and that was to go to town Saturday night to see a performance piece called "One Crazy Raven" (which was hilarious and touching and fed our spirits).
This last week I've been consumed with writing my book & deck proposal plus sample chapters for the book. It's been flowing, and it's good. But I wake thinking, "oh I'll just tweak that one thing," or "I wonder how I can make that part better?" Then I'll rise, start writing and before I know it a couple of hours have slipped away. So then I do my "first thing in the morning things" — devotions, yoga, walking, breakfast. Last night I sent off the proposal to my friend Waverly, who teaches classes on writing book proposals, and I eagerly await her feedback.
(For those of you who are interested in such things, these books were invaluable in guiding me on writing the proposal: Elizabeth Lyon's Non-Fiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write
This coming Friday is the Autumn Equinox, a New Moon in Virgo (the second one in a row) and a Solar Eclipse. A very auspicious day. Craig and I will be flying to southern California that day, taking my father's ashes with us. Over the following few days we'll visit old friends and neighbors of my parents, go to a family reunion, and put the ashes into the niche at Forest Lawn with my mother's ashes. After I'd made plans for this trip, I found out that LATS (Los Angeles Tarot Symposium) happens the same weekend, Saturday the 23rd. It seemed like a fortuitous bit of synchronicity. So I'll be there, with decks and prints to sell. I'm looking forward to seeing old Tarot friends and meeting new ones.
I expect the journey to be one more chapter in the process of saying goodbye to my dad. I'm glad it won't be all looking back, but will have an element of looking forward too.
But now it's time for devotions and yoga and walking and breakfast. Blessed be.
Recent Comments