Love

Rumi said: "We are the mirror, as well as the face in it. We are tasting the taste of eternity this minute. We are pain and what cures pain. We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours. Soul of the world, no life, nor world remain, no beautiful women and men longing. Only this ancient love circling the holy black stone of nothing. Where the lover is the loved, the horizon and everything within it."

The adept knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the schooling of life is found within, and that each of us has the freedom to become fully awake through our own efforts and will.

New levels of spiritual insight and contentment flood in on a regular basis and are readily assimilated.

Wells of creativity and vitality are unearthed.

My power to serve the world with great compassion and skill comes to the fore. I am no longer hiding my light under a bushel, for there is nowhere left to hide.

The path into Aphrodite’s embrace entails constant discernment, for She embodies the truth of real love.

No longer does She confuse mere seduction, which is fear-based, with love, which knows no fear. Loving and kind to all women and men, She refuses to perpetuate the competitive and jealous ways of others. She is at home in Her physical body and grateful for the gift of life. She shares this joy with all around Her. She attracts many things to herself, yet knows the path of discrimination.

I will take time for myself: sleep when I need to; vacation and play when it is appropriate. I will not overwork or bury myself in competitive work habits. Awakened Aphrodite accepts life. And I choose to live life fully.

Above all else, I am not be afraid to love completely and honestly.

Honor thyself and love will return one thousand times over.

Integrating mind, body & spirit through dance and music

Well I'm back from shaking my chakras at the ChakraDance Instructor Retreat.

This photo was snapped at the end of five very full days. From left is Douglas and Natalie of ChakraDance and my fellow trainee-instructors -- Dana, me, and Nikki.

What a week! Like onions, we peeled back the layers of our souls, as we delved into counselling training, psychology and of course those issues that floated into our conscious during our dance.

Now I'm finalising venues, class schedules and a marketing plan, so I'm head down, and tail up in the business side of things.

Some of you have been asking me what ChakraDance is:

CHAKRADANCE™ was created by Natalie Southgate in 1998. It is a journey into Self where the focus is on personal experience rather than performance.

Drawing on a fusion of philosophies and musical styles, spontaneous dance is used to balance the chakras - the energy centres which in Eastern tradition are the gateways to integrating mind, body, spirit.

Guided by music resonating to each of the 7 chakras CHAKRADANCE™ participants are taken on a dynamic dance journey through their own energy centres. As participants dance to the frequency of each chakra, different issues are experienced and energised.

These experiences can then be integrated into our everyday lives.

Music plays a major role in stimulating the chakra energies as the vibrations of the musical scale are tuned to the human energy system.

Each chakra vibrates to a specific frequency which corresponds to a specific colour vibration.

Each chakra is completely different, (energetically and in terms of the different aspects of our lives which it influences), and so the dance movements expressing each tend to be different.

There is no right way to CHAKRADANCE™ as everyone has their own rhythm and movement.

By surrendering to the music and dancing from the inside out, we are able to free our natural energy flows and feel more fully alive.

For more information about CHAKRADANCE™ visit www.chakradance.com

My personal journey with the goddess

Many years ago I posed the question to myself, "What would life look like if I lived each day as if I were a Goddess?" with an intent to seek Unconditional Love within.

Eager to understand the core potential of the Goddess archetype in everyday life, I observed my behavior and response to life with a sincere wish to rise above fear and self-denial.

As I met the crossroads of everyday challenges I committed to an awakened path, one that would ruthlessly and lovingly guide me toward an honest life.

I pondered, "if I AM the Goddess, each situation I face is a Divine Mirror of my own destiny, and, consequently, not one particle of my experience is outside the ring of my own choice and consciousness."

The concept "It is never about the other person" became more and more real.

Each opportunity for growth that greeted me would be met with the question, "What would the Goddess do right now?"

I listened with all my heart to the voice of My High Self with earnest clarity and fearlessness discovering that the commitment to live a conscious life is not without the maladies of human emotion and suffering.

I learned that the hardships in life are part of Her boundless effort to empower our identity with strength and goodwill.

Each woman has her own archetypal mirror that assists her to actualise fullness of Self.

I asked myself the above question time and time again, each time searching for a real answer.

What remained constant, however, was my earnest attempt to undo the shackles of my own self-defeating patterns that governed an unconscious stream of emotion.

Like many other energetic and creative women in our modern society, I willed my heart and soul to courageous tasks. When the going got really rough I didn't stop. I couldn't. I didn't want to fail at the task of offering the world a woman of strength and stamina. One that could never fail.

I later learned the trappings of that engrained paradigm, and saw how truly sad it is when we rob ourselves the opportunity to greet the natural rhythms of light and dark in our daily life.

I wanted to manifest the magnificence of life and remain open to my aspirations and dreams.

Budding like a jewel embraced by the caress of green mother stemming, I began to feel whole and radiant within.

I circled toward the question of years past "What would life really be like if I were a Goddess? Would I believe I am loved at all times, would I adorn my body with approving glances, splendor more in the movement of my hips, and would I never doubt my worthiness again?"

Not entirely.

As I embraced The Divine Feminine in my everyday life I began to embody the various archetypal stages that encompass the wholeness of Her Mystery. I came to know Her as the Divine Feminine; a source of Love existing in dark, light, and rainbow hues.

She is our mother, your sister, a daughter, a favorite aunt, or a best friend. She is The Triple Goddess representing the renewal of life and the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. She lives in both women and men. She resides in the fanciful imagination of our heart and in the earthen caverns of our deepest longings.

She is our every breath.

Her imagery can be as glorious as a papaya sunset or a fading blossom within a withering flower. She embodies the tension and strife of hunger and the gaunt look of a lost and lonely soul.

She is everywhere, in every aspect of life, each day. She moves in and out, like the tides of the ocean, appearing when she is needed, pulling back when we dare to stand on our own. She observes our mistakes and forgives. She heralds our triumphs and blesses our gain.

Protecting each human soul with her watchful eye her ecology, biology, psychology, and religion overlights us with Universal Truth and Never Ending Love.

Attempting to live my life as the Goddess might; seeking to resolve my angst and my pain within the context of Her inspired Vision I came face to face with the mystery of the Goddess in everyday life.

As a maturing woman in my early forties I reached a pinnacle of insight that would change my life forever.

As I engaged with Her essence in my daily life the answer to my previous question became marbled and chiseled with new meaning.

Essentially, the various garments, or archetypal potentials that She drapes over my life at various stages of evolution have remained the stepping stones toward a gradual acceptance of my True Self.

I learned that fear, anger, strife and suffering are as integral aspects of Her garment as joy, abundance, forgiveness, and love.

My ceaseless search for the ideal life, partner, body, financial security, etc., was an unbalanced attempt to embody Her essence void of earth bound mistakes and imperfections.

I learned that my body is the treasure that holds her Divine Truth, and, therefore, to negate the bounty of the human form is to deny Her right to live within me. Embodying this truth, I could hold my ground when it quivered with sadness, I could stand among others with head held high when feeling weak and afraid, and I could shine in all Her glory with each passing triumph that blessed my life.

SOME GOOD SITES TO HELP YOU START YOUR JOURNEY:

Chakra sites: www.chakradance.com : www.sacredcenters.com

Goddess sites: www.goddess.com.au : www.goddess-art.com.au

The field of red poppies

I start my journey through the chakras at the base chakra. And the Hindu goddess Kali appears to me to help me along the path.

This ancient goddess of destruction represents strength and unwavering will power. She helps me purge the elements of destruction in my life and reclaim my independent spirit by directing my life onto a new path - my true path where I can discover health, prosperity, security and a dynamic presence.

Kali leads me to a field of red poppies. Beautiful red blossoms surround me as she leads me to a clearing in the middle.

I take my shoes off, and feel the rich, velvety earth beneath my feet.

Turning around I see Kali stomping her feet with all her might, and I join her in this dance ... our feet pounding to a hypnotic rhythm, beating out a message.

At this stage of initiation, the ego meets the daunting task of unraveling and unmasking itself in surrender to the Divine. The price of pursuing true freedom can be very high, at least from the vantage point of the ego; to the extent one is unable to let go of the trappings of the false self, a deep, spiritual form of suffering may result. We must enter the path of awakening through love.

Kali stands guard, sword in hand, seeking to clear the demons of the unconscious that may obstruct my progress toward liberation. Perhaps the most ruthlessly compassionate of the Dark Goddesses, Kali will do whatever it takes to wake me from the dream of my life.

I do not fear - love heals all.

In accepting my weaknesses, I find my greater strengths.

Shaking my chakras

I'm heading off tomorrow to to shake my chakras at a Chakradance Retreat, and will hopefully come back with my instructor certification.

Natalie and Douglas explain Chakradance best:

As a healing art form, dance can be traced back thousands of years. In ancient cultures dance was used in celebratory, ritualistic and spiritual ways. Primitive man danced the shifting of the seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon, and the transitional moments in life -- birth, death and rites of passage.

Long before any formal religions existed, man danced to connect to his spiritual source, to commune with his Gods, to find meaning from life. As formal religions developed, they too embraced the spiritual nature of dance and it became a significant part of many religious practices. For example, in Hinduism, many of the great epics are taught through dance, whilst in Sufism, the whirling dervishes surrender their individuality and dance into spiritual 'oneness'.

One of the oldest references made to religious dancing comes to us from the Old Testament: "Let them praise His name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre." (Psalms 149:3).

As a metaphor, dance symbolises the rhythm of the universe, divine 'play', the eternal dance of life (birth, death and re-birth). As one of the most evolved healing art forms, dance weaves together all aspects of human existence.

Chakradance drawws inspiration from the true origins of dance, and puts us back in touch with the 'sacred', both within ourselves and with the universe. Dancing through the ancient chakra system awakens not only our bodies, but expands the mind, and calls out to the soul. Dancing the seven chakras is like dancing into seven different worlds, each with their own lessons, meanings and stories. although the dance of each chakra is a unique dance for each of us, we can draw inspiration from the dance roots of each chakra.

The dance of the base chakra draws inspiration from tribal dancing, as found in the indigenous cultures of Africa, Australia and North America. These tribal dances were linked to the issues of the base, including one's roots, survival and grounding. In Chakradance, emphasised movements of the legs and feet connect you to the solid earth. Many envisage dancing around an ancient campfire, bringing the primitive tribal dance to life. These ancient cultures also had imitative dances, emulating the movements of animals. Again, one can draw inspiration from these roots and dance in an animal-like way. In this wild and raw animal dance, our innate instinctual self is reclaimed.

The dance of the sacral chakra can be inspired by the feminine dances found in the Middle East, South America and Hawaii. Dances from these regions celebrated many of the qualities associated with the sacral chakra, including feelings, emotions and sexuality. This sacral dance can be slow and sensual, or flirtatious and erotic, with fluid movements of the hips and lower belly. Throughout this dance we transform into a gypsy, a belly dancer, an ancient goddess, as we surrender to the serpentine movements of the feminine.

To dance the solar plexus chakra is to call on the warrior dances of ancient Greece, Morocco, Spain, Mexico and Brazil. These warrior dances were masculine, powerful, althletic and virile, as they rhythmically mimicked the art of the fight. In Chakradance we enter this dance with dramatic movements, strong, purposeful and clearly defined. As the energy builds, movements can become more complex, even frenzied. Through this dnamic movement, the solar energer ignites, and your inner warrior emerges.

To dance the heart chakra is to move with joy and compassion, reflected in dances from ancient Spain, Egypt and China. many of these dances used exaggerated arm movments to gently whirl into deep states of joyful harmony. Other dances of China symbolised balance, where mimetic movements expressed the union of heaven and earth. In Chakradance we draw inspiration from these dances, and move the arms to feel uplifted, light and free. Inspired by the whirling of the ancient ones, we dance a soaring journey of love, compassion and joy.

The dance of the throat chakra can be inspired by many ancient dances, where the voice and dance were woven together. The Gree word 'XOPOC' (HOROS), referred to both dance and song, and is the origin of the word 'chorus'. In Ancient Egypt, performers often danced while reciting poetry, while in Hawaii, chant and dance were combined to communicate the story. In Tibetan culture, mystical rituals performed by monks would combine chanting and sound (gyaling horns, symbols and bells), with delicate movements of the body. In Chakradance we weave sound and movement to intensify self expression and creativity.

At the third eye chakra, one can life up into ecstatic and altered states of consciousness through trance dance. This practice is still common throughout the world, and existed in many of the ancient cultures of South East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and theAmericas. There were numerous reasons, ritualistic and medicinal, for entering into transce. In Chakradance trance dance is used to open the third eye chakra. Each dancer drifts into his or her own visual universe ... images, colours, insights ... the third eye has no boundaries.

The dance of the crown chakra is a deveotinal dance. Cultures from every continent have embraced some form of religious or spritual dancing. In ancient Shamanic practice, dance was used to commune with the Spirits, whilst in Ancient Egypt there were certain ritual dances that wer crucial to the successful outcome of religious rites. The Tantric Buddhists of Nepal have an ancient dance tradition known as Charya Nritya, a Sanskrit term meaning 'dance as a spiritual discipline'. In Chakradance we open the gateway to the soul through a meditative sacred dance. This is the most paradoxical of dances: it is the dance of stillness. Often there will be little physical movement visible to any observer. The dance is internal, for now it is the sould which dances, dancing with the gods.

Chakradance is all about finding your own free authentic movement to express the energy of the chakras. Just as each chakra has its own unique energy, and its own inflence, the way in which we move and the experience we have during the dance are inteensely personal. In Chakradance we guide participants in to each chakra with a simple movement designed to stimulate the energy. From there the process involves letting the movements emerge spontaneously. The beats of the music may move your body, the images in your mind may play out their roles, physical sensations are often expressed, and the energetic flow dances your body to life. The experience is like being moved, dancing from the inside out, an unfolding, an awakening, freedom.

For more information about CHAKRADANCE™ visit http://www.chakradance.com/

Mysticism, Art, and Tarot: Reflections on the Sanctuary of the Soul

Rudolph Steiner, a mystic and an educator in the early 1900's spoke of the increasing need for art in culture. In his view, art and visual beauty stimulate "picture consciousness" within an individual.

A skillful artist has the ability to unlock mysteries and imagination previously dormant within the human psyche, as well as to assist us in drawing upon the spiritual forces and angelic realms which overlight human intelligence and creativity.

Whether the form of expression is painting, drawing, mosaic, stained glass, or some other medium, the opportunity always exists to see within a work of art the freedom and individuality of the artist.

Art and visual beauty stimulate the moist and fertile places within the human soul.

Colour is a symphony heard throughout the rainbow spectrum, and, likewise, the truest expression of the human soul is a rainbow body.

Ultimately, the soul is nothing other than a translucent, multi-colored field of pure consciousness, shimmering with feeling. The more conscious we become, the more brilliant and fluid is the colors of our auric rainbow.

We need a full-color spectrum of possibilities in order to open the heart and stimulate joy and inspiration as we transmute through life's many challenges.

The universal archetypes of the tarot -- the fool, the wizard, the priestess, the king -- are common picture archetypes living within the soul of humanity.

For centuries, the tarot has served as a medium of art, inspiration, and wisdom. Its roots are deeply embedded within the alchemical mysteries of nature.

The four suits of the tarot represent the four elements of air, fire, earth, and water. The twenty-two Major Arcana cards have been painted over and over again, each artist seeking to translate the pictures of the Soul.

A tarot card serves as a mini universe, mirroring the inner world of each individual seeking guidance from this multi-dimensional panorama of visual wisdom.

Just as art reflects the mood of cultural shifts, each tarot deck is designed and interpreted to reflect the aesthetic and bias of its respective artists and values.

The union of art, inspiration, and wisdom is what distinguishes the tarot as a medium of esoteric genius.

Antero Alli, a noted astrologer and esoteric teacher, writes: "Like art and also like philosophy, a tarot system is a reflection of an epoch, an era in human history."

The tarot acts on the soul. Through imagination, art, and wisdom, the tarot brings us closer to our own psychic dialect.

As one meets the demands of the twenty-first century, they may discover a void, or hollow place within.

This empty feeling of alienation or loneliness may trigger the need to reclaim the virtues of intuition and mysticism, both the cores of invention and imagination.

Without these aspects of human artistry and beauty, the continuum of evolution may be thwarted and the genius of the human soul undermined and damaged.

My work as an astrologer and tarot consultant is inspired by a need to look beyond the framework of this culture, and extract the wisdom or genius of each individual I meet.

The mind is full of pictures guided by the forces of inner and outer experiences.

Awakening subconscious stories and memories heals the spirit and brings greater meaning to everyday existence.

The images of the tarot are living aspects of initiation and growth depicted by frozen frames of imagination and wisdom.

It is our task to expand the lens of each picture so we may explore this life's adventure. From this vantage point, we live the story of our soul and joyfully unfold the mastery of our destiny.

Perhaps the Fool is the wild card that governs your inner world. The Fool, ruled by the planet Uranus, has a ruthless desire to awaken and invoke risk and change. The fool can shock, entertain, tease, and is as unpredictable as shifting tides.

Has someone new and eccentric entered your life? Are you considering a big change in life that requires a major leap of faith? Do you suddenly feel as though you are lost in the woods, not knowing where to turn?

Archetypes appear in the media through the people who we watch in politics, sports, the movies, and glamour magazines.

Through color, style, music, and art we connect ourselves to the "movie screen of life," and earnestly play out the role that fits our inner world best.

The most difficult task rests in our ability to maintain an individual stance within the "hall of mirrors" of life, and, reap the abundance of a colorful, wise, and imaginative life.

Pay attention to the pictures and images that greet you and capture your attention each day. Watch for signs and omens, especially signals that grab at your imagination or stop you in your tracks. Be cognoscente of the people that fascinate, mesmerize, or repel you.

How do they reflect your inner world?

Archetypes, represented by tarot or any other cultural medium, color one's life through dreams, every day experiences, and through the people one meets each day.

Observe those who personify these archetypal qualities, and, while doing so, seek to understand the way they reveal the art and wisdom of universal truths.

Mermaid energy

I met a woman recently who approached me and told me that I exuded mermaid energy. This was a bolt out of the blue and intrigued me. So I got to researching, and what I discovered was eerily accurate ...

The Mermaid is an expression of a woman living an artful life colorful, open to possibility and yet balanced and grounded. She is a symbol of when you feel most powerful, when you are creating and teaching. Ok - so there is a synergy straight away!

The mermaid is the symbol of the old Goddess energy that represents women, particularly the mysterious, life-generating element. She lives in the element of water the element of the unconscious and dreams.

If you say that you are drawn to water and yet afraid at the same time, this could mean that you are drawn to living your authentic creative life and yet fear it at the same time. I've always loved the water - I grew up on the beach, and now I live on a lake.

Pisces energy is directed toward your inner self. - I am a leo with a pisces rising - You are meant to learn about the power of your thoughts and feelings and thereby to discover the greater degree of choices available to you. Choice is born out of opposing polarities the twin fish of Pisces.

You are drawn to fire, (I'm a leo) as if you are drawn to experience your passion this is symbolised by the color orange (one of my favourite colours, and key colour of goddessfire). A large heart/ breasts (ok - now I think I'm being spied on) symbolises your loving heart and the wish for a life filled with love and affection. Breasts are symbols of maternal nurturing. She represents that which is emotional, loving, empathetic, and giving. She understands sorrows and know how to comfort.

Her abundant, flowing hair, symbolising an abundant love potential. (check!)

The Mermaid is full of soft edged shapes representing feminine energy and she is shaped very much like a full bodied woman. (check) Her tail curves up into two spirals symbols of healing energy.

The mermaid in our culture is the most persistent and pervasive symbol of the old Goddess energy that represents women, particularly the mysterious, life-generating element.

There is an opening with a door located in between your second and third chakras. On either side of this opening are two guardians. This opening is a shrine of a sort, a place to focus energy on self and goals.

Your second chakra governs sexuality, creativity, emotions, anger, fear, instinct to nurture, spleen, perceptions concerning food, women's power and female identity. Second chakra patterns and lessons apply to relationships and power and taking charge of a situation.

Your third chakra governs confidence self-esteem, self-care, decision making, and personal honor.

SELF LOVE....is the capacity to take care of yourself and to make choices that nurture you and renew your vitality. The most important thing to remember is to give yourself the right of choice, self- expression and self-respect. When you stay in a place of self love you will draw in energies that will support and empower you and allow you to in a creative engagement with Spirit and "flow in the power of your creative fire."

Making a difference

If you didn't think you could make a difference, think again.

This link was sent to me by Kate Nowark. The appeal of Make A Difference Movie on a world-wide level, is seeing it's impact on a personal level. The Teddy Stallard story has the capacity to reach out to people to make a huge difference in all humanity. We must be the difference we want to make.

The miracle of what happens when people come together is that we can change the world.
There is truly a pull inside each and every one of us to make a difference while we are here. It is up to each and every one of us to make our time matter.

Compassion IS the key to making a difference.

View the Make A Difference Movie here.

Maia Day! Maia Day!

I just wanted to share with you an article Anita Ryan-Revel recently wrote for Goddess & Nature Commentaries:

It's so weird yet lovely to think that my Northern Hemisphere goddess sisters are welcoming the approach of summer. While I am snuggling under my blanket and patting my growing spare tire, Northern gals are emerging from their caves, sprightly, sparkly, shiny and new, Amaterasu-style.

I know, I know, this winter and summer thing is part of the Wheel of Life — it's an endless cycle of beginnings, endings and reruns ad nauseam. But why then, as I'm stocking up on cold-and-flu tablets and preparing for hibernation, does my mind turn to May 1 celebrations in England and the United States?

It just doesn't seem fair that millions of spruced-up guys and gals will be swanning around phallic maypoles, electing a queen of the May, creating May Day baskets, rollicking around a bonfire, or washing their face in May dew to restore beauty or, at the very least (as the single gals in the Ozark Mountains believe), help her marry the man of her choice.

But here in the Southern Hemisphere, Aussie goddesses are preparing for Hallowe'en. Also known as Samhain, Hallowe'en is celebrated from April 30 to May 1 and is the most sacred holiday in the Wheel of the Year. This is the time to celebrate the Wise Woman and make contact with those who have passed on.

We're so serious about it, we even have a public holiday to commemorate our dearly departed around this time every year. Although the origin of ANZAC Day isn't rooted in Christianity, paganism or Hallmark (as most significant public holidays seem to be), it is "a day on which the lives of all Australians lost in war time were remembered."

This energy of withdrawal and introspection is probably the reason I have been compelled to do some serious "cave time" since returning from my tour in the USA.

You know how it is. You turn off the phones (and if you're strong, the Internet too), forget the outside world and surround yourself with the comforts of home? Delicious, inspiring and wonderfully necessary ... and absolutely something my Northern sisters wouldn't associate with the onset of summer in May!

History lesson commences: The month of May was named after the Greek goddess of spring, Maia. She was the eldest daughter of Atlas and the most beautiful of her seven sisters, all of whom we can see in the night skies in the Pleiades constellation. Her day of celebration, May 1, is a day of games and feasting celebrating the end of winter, the return of the sun and fertility of the soil (and randy couples). As summer approaches, the earth is juicy, rich, productive and magic — the perfect time to empower summer wishes with some Maia inspiration.

Errrr, back up a second! What are us Southern Hemisphere gals supposed to do with Maia's yummy summertime energy when we are heading into Winter?

To answer this, let's delve deeper into Maia's history to find another aspect (as all goddesses have). It turns out she is sometimes referred to as the grandmother of magic and as the shy and gentle patroness of mothers and nurses. I sense she also enjoyed cross-stitch and bocce, but that's a whole other story.

I reckon this aspect of Maia gives us permission to spend time in May paying special attention to our own mothers, especially on Mother's Day, and every other day in May, for that matter. We can participate in a big-scale event for charity, share a fabulous breakfast, or gift a small token of appreciation — a white carnation should do the trick (as per the example of the founder of Mother's Day).

As for me, during the entire month of May I'll also be spending some time reflecting on the wonders of being a mother. I'll be stepping out of my cave for long enough each evening to star-gaze and give thanks to Maia (sitting pretty in the Pleiades, the constellation located between the hunter Orion and Taurus the Bull) for her gifts of renewal, joy, mother-love and cross stitch.

Anita Ryan-Revel is the author of "The Goddess Guide to Chakra Vitality," aimed at helping you connect with your beautiful, sassy, intuitive, lovable, sacred and authentic self. She has incorporated her journey into hundreds of articles, countless websites and numerous books, many of which can be found at her website, Goddess.com.au You can read more of her columns here. © copyright 2007 by Anita Ryan-Revel.

Weeeeeeeeeee ...

I had such a fun day today.

It started with a 3 1/2 hour road trip to Sydney with my friend Dion. I swear we did not shut up for the entire time. And the ultimate destination? The Mind, Body & Spirit Festival in Sydney.

I really connected with some incredible people today: a lovely lass from Wollongong; Jo & Brian Olley of Olley Ear Candles; two incredible artists -- sculptor Rochman Reese and his partner, artist Sofan Chan http://www.theartofhappiness.net; and the crazy gang at Chrysalis!

I so loved this outfit made by Chrysalis ... its from their Goddess Venus collection ... I had to have it (even the same colour). Can you believe its made from bamboo fibre! Its fit for a goddess ... its sexy ... its comfortable ... its so me!

An incredible clairvoyant ~ Rahda ~ gave me an incredible reading, and I had a chakra reading too!

And then the 3 1/2 hour road trip home ... and there was not a quiet moment.

Weeeeeeeee ... what a fun day!

Birth of the moon

It was Rumi who said:

A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe.

The Moon Goddess glowed as she unveiled a beautiful full moon this week. It glowed in the midnight sky like an orb of silver light.

Moon Goddesses are always protector deities who lovingly watch over all living beings on Earth.

They teach us, by example, to extend ourselves well beyond the boundaries of the individual self into the realm of service to the world.

The path of the Moon allows each of us to explore the vast region of the collective unconscious and to solve the deep mystery of the soul.

Moonbeams danced across the lake. A lone waterfowl called out, paying homage to the to her beauty.

As I communed with the moon goddess, dancing naked in the moonlight, I realised that I am the moist and vast ocean of the heavenly Womb.

The tides and waters of the earth respond to my changing reflection.

I allow the magical light of my Moon glow to illuminate my path inward to the place where my soul’s thirst is quenched.

I feel, dream, imagine, and open to the spirit of the feminine orb of light that embraces my soul in the luminous sweetness of the night.

You know you travel too much when ...

1. You reach the requirement to maintain your frequent flyer status 4 months early



2. You've seen all the in-house movies at least twice before at different hotels



3. You opt to sleep through the in-flight movie



4. The airport security staff all know you



5. The flight attendants know your name



6. You wake up in the morning and don't know where you are


7. You feel like you're living in a daze


8. You become the world's greatest clutz -- in the past two weeks I've cut my heel, and tonight I dropped my suitcase on my ankle

I'm a tired girl ... I need a holiday!