Intuition is something I have wanted to write about for a long time. It is used a lot in spiritual courses, yoga platforms, art teachers refer to it a lot, and artists are expected to be very in-tuned to their intuition. I have always put a lot faith in my intuition, I sensed that my radar for certain situations was quite strong. So if this really was the case why did I find myself making wrong decisions, why was making a "choices" so painstakingly hard? Why did I feel like my intuition had failed me?
My answer to these questions came when I had a conversation with one of my students, it is was clear to me that "intuition" was a very esoteric concept, it was not something that they felt they could tap into very well. It was frustrating for them every time I said "Be intuitive". We put a lot of pressure and expectation onto our intuition, leaving it clouded and often flailing. It ends up being this mystical, magic power that just slips through our fingers like fairy dust. But what if we could look at it through a different perspective, a different lens? What, if we could learn to use it differently and we took the pressure and expectations away? One of my yoga teachers recently introduced the idea that intuition was really our "inner knowing". It is built from all our raw experiences, our life journey and our true non judgemental spirit. For this to work in our favour, we must believe in ourselves and our inner knowing. We must try to practise faith, trust and love for ourselves, this is essential for us to be able to listen and tap into our inner wisdom. I belive inner knowing is more tangible, it is more trustful and beautiful than having to rely on our fickle and esoteric intuition. If you could call your intuition "inner knowing" how will this change your ability to go forward in your creative journey?
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Summer has been busy and lots of fun, and I have been lucky enough to get my hands dirty with paint. Ive been thinking about my painting style for a while and feel like I need to inject something fresh into my creations. I'm not good with change (in life and art) in fact I'm really bad at it and can get very anxious. But today I worked out that if I take baby steps into the change rather than feel like I am being railroaded I may just be able to become more accepting. So with curiosity in tow I got to the drawing board and took a step into the world of lighter tones and shade.....progress.
As another year comes to a festive close I would like to think we have made the most of each moment and day of 2015. We have met some inspiring people, have had new babies join our extended family, we have painted, studied, travelled to Melbourne to see loved ones and travelled to Byron to be inspired. I got to share my 45th birthday with some amazing women, run art workshops with wonderful creative people. One of my favourite shops opened Bella Boheme (by my niece who I am so proud of). We've enjoyed the beauty of our city. We have all worked hard (thanks to Late September!!), been stressed and cried, picked ourselves back up and got back in touch with what we love and did it all over again. A year of santosha. Thank you for joining me on my art journey/blog and I hope Christmas is wonderful for you all. That's a wrap!
I love wings and what they represent to me, lightness, treading softly, mysterious and spiritual. As we tread (or fly) through this life it is hard to maintain a "lightness of being". Things get heavy and weigh us down, decision making and life get hard but we have a choice. How do you tread? Making wings, is one of many things I do to keep my spirit light.
These can be found at Late September in Glenbrook. A person known to myself, was giving me advice the other day (on a tram) regarding artistic inspiration. They mentioned how many artist make the trip to Hill End or Dubbo to fill their cup for new ideas and inspiration. Truth be know, changing your environment is a great way to find new creativity.
However it made me realise how lucky I am. I actually do not have enough time in the day to actualise all the things I am inspired by, there is just too many. I would never get any sleep and I would then probably not like being creative. My cup is pretty full, and I do know that this is a very fortunate thing. Tapping into my intuition and having my eyes wide open, trying not to miss the "every day beauty" around me is my artistic secret. Reading and writing and experimenting with new mediums also keeps things invigorated. I also think it is important to not pigeon hole yourself to one thing. I love to paint but I always get pulled back to paper and collage....so I run with it as opposed to thinking it will diminish my painting. Eyes forward and eyes opened! "Inspiration doesn't owe you anything. Once you've found a balance between fear and creativity, you still have to do the work." Elizabeth Gilbert The process of painting for me is very intuitive, what I like to call organic. I let imagery emerge in the painting without trying to manipulate it too much, an unconscious discovery of sorts. I have however (since my trip to Vietnam) been longing for a Louts flower to present itself to me. I have tried to paint them before but I have not liked the outcome and have hence painted over them or around them. So when the Louts started to form in my new work I realised I was in a state of "Santosha", not only with my painting but many aspects of my life. One of my yoga teachers described Santosha as a contentment with life. I certainly was feeling very content as I finished my art work and it was beautiful finding the right name for it.
If you would like to see Santosha it will be on display at Power Yoga Manly in reception from tomorrow, for any enquires you can contact me! Rivers of love and self-compassion
By Bec & Dean Schopen from the Manly Community When we were asked to write about our yoga experiences, we instantly wanted to share, like a gift, with anyone who wanted to read it. However, then we realised to succinctly express what yoga has given us in a short article was surely going to leave us feeling short. So on reflection, we came up with just a few really simple words that resonate so deeply within us because of our yoga; breath, lightness, presence, truth and love. We both came to Power Yoga five years ago; little did we know how much we were going to be in need of it. There were a lot of immediate benefits, such as weight loss, improved posture and infinitely better fitness. But then the not so obvious benefits started to surface as things in life got sad. Life was turned upside down when we lost some very dear people to us in quite a short space of time. It was like having your stomach punched and not being able to get your breath back. The gift of yoga gave us back that breath and the presence, to help us both with the multifaceted emotions we felt in our individual grief. Whilst on my mat in the studio I cried myself rivers of love and sadness (especially in frog pose) guided by understanding teachers, Dean used yoga to draw from within, finding self-compassion that enabled a far more balanced approach to dealing with loss. Our journeys were very different, but in many ways were bound by similar philosophies and principles. The physical practice of yoga helped us in feeling more lightness, not only in our bodies but in our hearts too. This could only be accomplished by being opened to the practice and facing within our real truth. All of the breath, lightness, presence, truth and love that we found have manifested itself in how we communicate, empathise, and relate to others. We both believe that the practice did not change us or take away our grief, it merely was an integral part of helping us to find within whom we truly are. Yoga presents such a personal experience; if you do the work and listen carefully you will see and feel the subtleties, the shifts and the gifts it has to offer and the path forward will be full of joy and gratitude. We are however all works in progress, there is no destination, and life is to be lived in the heart of each moment. A friend of mine posted this a while back and I wanted to share it here. I just love it......not sure what it is but it makes me melt.
I write a lot on my blog about wellbeing, creativity, gratitude and love. This has a lot to do with my practise of yoga which I took up on a serious level about 5 years. I have always dabbled in yoga but never quite found the right fit for it into my life. Over the last few years I have a better understanding of how yoga can support my life, it is a gateway to all these things that are important to me, wellbeing, creativity, gratitude and love.
Here is an article I recently wrote for Power Yoga in Manly, it's a little insight into how yoga has enhanced mine and my husbands lives. Enjoy! We've certainly covered a lot of ground over school holidays, all Sydney local fun. Lots of exploring our history at North Head, my new painting went out into the big wide world to Late September in Glenbrook. I channelled my inner cow girl at the new and beautiful shop Bella Boheme in Springwood and of course my students and I explored some "Heart Art". Thank you to young Isabel who sent me a shot of her gorgeous work on her art wall at home.
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