Shamsi

I have been in and out of the Wishcasting for the last couple of months.  It was not intentional… things just happen.  Today Jamie’s prompt (deceptively simple as ever) is “What is your winter wish?”

I read the prompt, an odd thing occurred.  I decided I wanted to participate.  I opened a new post and typed the header.  Then I sat, looked at the prompt and went off to do other work.  My world (almost imperceptibly) began to shift.  A creeping awareness overtook my body.  There was no great ‘Aha! That’s it!’  just a gentle knowing.  A peaceful contemplation that began with a tingling in my head, which then spread to my spine and across my lower back, finally settling in my legs and arms; sensory knowing.

I kept coming back to the prompt.  Each time I re-read “What is your winter wish?” I received images, feelings, emotions… no words.  This odd thing of which I speak… it is not nameable… it is not foreign… it is though, a space, a place I find myself maybe once or twice a year, if I am fortunate.

I find myself open.  The feeling inside me is ‘OPEN’, ‘VAST’, empty like a large white hilly field covered with snow before the geese find it.  Pristine.  I’m not sure why, but words have failed me of late.  I cannot grasp a word, just the feeling of it.  I cannot speak, but instead mime and give descriptions of what I would like the words to be.   I know these things all sound disjointed, and even unrelated, but they are not.

When I reach inside myself and feel around for the light switch, I realize it is already on, but there is so much to see, feel, experience, I need a spot light to shine deep into the corners and crevices.

My winter wish… is simply to be in this oddly warm, ever unfolding state of the vast, open, expanses of my interior.  I wish to experience each little thing that comes up, like a gardener or a zoo keeper tending each flower or bird that resides within their care.  I wish to witness all that is within me, all that I feel within me.  I resist the urge to ‘dump’ all of this out for examination and judgement of each piece.  Instead, I witness and in the dreamy way our bodies perceive, I give myself over to life. 

Sunshine Sneaux December 08

Shelly and the Sunsetting over the Mississippi

In my world… a world that contains creativity and love and support there is a magical place called “Jamie Ridler Studios” and each day it is worth scouring her site for something  inspirational, or just good food for thought.  Every Wednesday, Jamie prompts us to reach into that deepest part of ourselves, and pull jewels out of our souls.  It is a practice called “Wishcasting Wednesday” and if you are reading, you are participating.

Today Jamie asks “What do you wish to begin?”  I laugh and ask, “What don’t I wish to begin.”

I’m a strange bird, it’s been affirmed, accepted, I’ve grown used to and comfortable with my mottle-colored, irregularly shaped feathers.  I have a lot of Hawk energy in me by nature.  The ability to look out and see what’s on the horizon, the energy to create, to start, but it’s always so difficult for me to finish.  I’ve often thought my dream job would be as a consultant for start-ups.

Today I wish to begin finishing.  Today I wish to begin with the completion of all of those tasks, projects, assignments, books, etc I’ve been sitting on since I lost my mind at some point almost four years ago.  I got caught up in myself… I kept looking to the future and beginning things without thought for how much I was taking on.

Today I wish to begin living now, here, as I am, not as I see the future, just working toward the future that I see instead of trying to be immediately in it without doing the work to get there.

I wish to begin clearing out my life of those projects which no longer serve me or for which there is no real need for my attention, that which I can give to others if it is important enough for the world.

I wish to begin to kick the mental dust off of my life from those long ago dreams, attached with bell-cords so that every thought of them brings me to a halt of despair at another in-completion.

I wish to begin the emptying of my life so that I can bring forth the life that sings to me under the surface of the clutter.  I can hear her, her soft sweet voice, not a siren, not a banshee, nor a harpy, but rather she is a lightly-winged faerie, who also wishes for me to begin… the beginning.

Now, what is it that YOU wish to begin?

Each week Jamie Ridler (@Starshyne) asks us a very important question.  At first it may not seem important, but once the question gets a little breath in it, well…the results are often staggering and frequently lead many of us answering the question into realms of our hearts and souls we’ve either forgotten about or never knew existed.  And sometimes the question is so right in line with what we’re going through at that exact moment that little doubt is left as to Jamie’s ‘in-tune-ed-ness’ to our little Universe.  Today feels like the latter.

This is very interesting, because for the last few weeks I’ve been painfully

Spring sunset from our yard in Sunshine, Louisiana

remembering all of these amazing things I Used to know.  I say painfully because, such valuable lessons deserve not only to be remembered, but practiced-implemented-each and every day… and somewhere along the line, I let the frenetic energies of the world around me take over and dictate not only how I would spend my time, but how I would think and the things I would do. 

I think people do not know (because I do not often say it) that my favorite meditations are often my power animal meditations.  I had forgotten how amazing it is to not just communicate with but to actually Travel, Explore, FEEL and Revel in the messages and lives of the animals with whom I travel.  I love them, and they have taught me so much.  I wish to remember the sense of peace, power, strength and deep sense of self I have whenever I journey with the animals in meditation, and not just speaking to them from this realm.

I wish to remember that I am a power manifestor.  That because of the amazing gifts I was given when my human form hit this Earth, I have the ability to *FEEL*the sparkling, kinetic energies around me, around others, that I can control these sensations and bring them into complete and total accord with the current moment and create something new and vibrant that wasn’t present moments ago.  THIS IS A GIFT…and I want to remember that not everyone is so fortunate and that I should use it with gratitude and awareness.

I wish to remember the feel of dirt under my fingernails and the sweaty exultation at ripping up the weeds that have taken over my garden.

Weird Fungus

I wish to remember all of the stories I have ever known… because many of them are unique in the world, and sometimes mine were the only ears to have heard them.

I wish to remember to laugh at myself when the world seems dire – my spirit is made of laughter, and I wish to remember.

I wish to remember I come from a long line of creative, intelligent, amazing people…and this is not only my lineage, but also a seedling available to me whenever I choose to draw on it.

I wish to remember the several pictures I’ve drawn in my life that were good, not great, but good and how much I enjoyed spending the time and focus to create them…and that I DID THAT….

I wish to remember how special it is just to sit and drink the world in without worrying about what needs to happen next.

I wish to remember that music lives in my soul and sometimes I create music that needs to be let out.  I wish to remember that a little effort on my part often goes a helluva long way.

I wish to remember all of the exceedingly useful, powerful tools and lessons I’ve been given, shown, taught and experienced throughout my life, so that I can fulfill my mission on this planet to the best of my abilities.

Eggplant flower from my garden

Today, as every Wednesday, Jamie Ridler of Starshyne Productions prompts us with a question.  Then we all do some blog-hopping to see what others are wishing for, then we add our energies to their wish by commenting “As N wishes for herself, so too do I wish for N.  This week, ”What do you wish to tell the world?” is the prompt and I am totally balking at this question! OMG!  That’s HUGE.  And I’m a Leo…that’s a **HUGE** question!

I have always wished to tell the world so much… my soapbox is quite large.  And now that I am asked…I really believe I just wish the World to know how much love there is …how much compassion and hope there REALLY is, please don’t overlook it because there is grief ripping holes in the fabric of our being….THAT is the illusion!  I wish to tell the World that we are so much more alike than we ever are different, so much more a part of one another than we are separate.  I wish to tell the world that if even once a week when they feel anger, despair, grief, hatred, longing, sorrow, fear…  draw back from the picture that is immediately in front of them and SEE THE BIG PICTURE.  I wish to tell the World that WE ARE THE BIG PICTURE.  Every last cell of each of us IS THE BIG PICTURE.  We are a single organism, writhing, breathing, living, lusting, loving, conquering, creating, expanding, contracting, shimmering, shivering on top of a thin layer of crust floating in the most devinely dark and perfect theater known to the Infinite Cosmos….

I wish to tell the world to Chill. Breathe. Listen. Look. LET GO OF EGO… or as we say it…Let Go and Let Shimmy baby… Surrender & Release.  Faith is a choice and we can choose to “abandon all hope ye who enter here,” or we can lift one another up, bouyed by the individual spark we find behind one another’s eyes, hearts, words and actions….  It doesn’t have to be a big spark, maybe the spark isn’t even recognizeable as a spark anymore it’s been so mangled…and so I wish to tell the World to have faith, some of us have enough spark to ignite the ones that have gone out.

I wish to tell the World… we are all here for the ride, have fun, please don’t push, there’s plenty of room for everyone.

Each Wednesday, Jamie Ridler prompts us with a question for our wishes in an event called “Wishcasting Wednesday.”  Last week was Jamie’s grand unveiling of her new website and she asked us to share our wishes for her website!  It’s a truly spectacular site, with all sorts of goodies and good stuff for the in-depth creative types or even if you don’t think you’re creative and just like to doodle on the edge of your page during meetings or class   It’s all in there.

I was splendiferously honored to win a *door* prize of a podcast series called “Your Creative Spark” which was something I’d been eyeballing already!  I couldn’t believe my fortune, but I sure am grateful.  I haven’t gotten but an hour into it but I can’t wait to get into the rest.  This place really has been so much more than inspiration for my soul, more like the FAO Schwartz of my creative world  one gigantic playground with lots of support and supportive people.  It’s awesome.

So today, Jamie asks us, what do wish to Invite In?  No holds barred, I wish to invite in *ME*.  I wish to invite into my life my true self, not the good girl who always went along with what was needed, or what would get me praise or attention, but me.  I wish to invite in the clarity and peace of mind that comes from knowing exactly who I am when I put my feet on the floor every morning.  I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve done this…or will do this again, the re-inventing of me, but I wish to invite in Me, My Shadow & I.

I wish to invite in the knowledge of all the nooks and crannies of my psyche, the knowledge of what truly makes me sing, the knowledge of my heart’s true desire…every day.  I wish to invite in the knowledge of just exactly what it is that I want…and the knowledge to understand when that changes.

I wish to invite in *me.*

Wreck This Journal By Keri Smith

It just looks like too much fun.  My creative side has been all bound up for too long …and I’m bound and determined to get in over my head right now, so let’s pile it on!  So, I’m going to Wreck a Journal, somehow, some way…here I come!  Now I just have to go read the destructions…um, instructions on how this thing *actually* goes rather than my assumptions based on everyone’s pictures…which are totally fabulous btw.

Again, another joy ride, organized from the fabulous mind of Jamie Ridler (Jamie Ridler Studios…Ontario, Canada) aka Starshyne Productions.  The book was written ? by Keri Smith (please see other of her works….) and I’m really looking forward to wrecking it

http://www.tnc-wreckthisjournal.blogspot.com/

Today I wish for myself peace.  I wish for my family and their families and for all of my friends near and far, peace.

I wish for each of us to have the strength, courage, wisdom and insight to be able to whatever is necessary to create these worlds of peace for ourselves.  Life is joy and my wish is that each of us remembers to choose joy and peace over machinations of things seemingly bigger than we are.

So I wish for the “peace which passeth all understanding” and that it falls lightly on all of our shoulders like mantles of comfort and strength.

Thanks again to http://starshyneproductions.blogspot.com/ for the ritual inspiration – and for me healthy rituals are GOOD! thanks.

“My wish for June is that all of my current and back tax information is in the hands of my CPA by month’s end.”

One of my favorite new things is Tweeting…I’m quite serious.  I’ve met a number of truly brilliant souls there since I started up and they’re full of inspiriation.  One Tweeter @starshyne (Jamie Ridler) has a blog “Starshyne Productions” and each Wednesday she has a “wishcasting” segment – http://starshyneproductions.blogspot.com/2009/06/wishcasting-wednesday-june-2-2009.html

All that is required is that you answer the Promted question “What is your wish….” – today’s is “What is your wish for June?”  Then on her page for today, add your name and the link to your blog where you post your wish and then follow her instructions for visiting others’ blogs and encouraging their wishes.  As she says

“Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.”

~Shamsi