Mental Health Mantra 69/365 and Dog Mantra Meet Puncho, he's 3 years old, a French Bulldog from Canada. Puncho saves lives by being there by being present by encouraging whomever is in his charge by going outside in nature. Puncho his eyes say it all they say love they say knowing they say wisdom. Being with Puncho even for such a short time, can have a huge impact. On day 69 of my Mental Health Mantras and featuring Dog Mantras for March, I am soaking up hearing about all the heart centred tales ( tails ) of these sentient beings. I have been very fortunate to have lived my 52 years with 6 dogs. They not only educate us about The Way of the Dog, they educate us about The Way of the Human. For anyone who has had a beautiful relationship with their dog friend, they will know. It's priceless. Despite all that is going on externally around you, know that you are loved. Be centred in your truth and knowing. Keep shining Star Seeds. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
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Mental Health Mantra 54/365 I opted for a different way today. This time putting down and drawing first the flowers and bottles, then going back in to fill with watercolour paint, pencils and pens. Pretty much anything that is around me. It got me thinking about Neville Goddard's book Feeling is the Secret, which I have been re-reading and studying again. He talks about how sensation precedes manifestation and is the foundation upon which all manifestation rests. As he writes "think feelingly only of the state you desire to realise. Feeling the reality of the state sought, and living and acting on that conviction is the way ....... " This book is an eye opener, if you haven't already read it, you can read/listen to it here. We're talking quantum physics. It felt well matched with this Mental Health Mantra, because stepping into the feeling of spring, of feeling like spring, of spring flowers, is a place where I'll reside, despite all the things coming up for me and needing to be 'done.' There are more huge life changes along the path in the next few months, and I have to step into the feelings of what it is I actually desire. And Reside There. Stay Tuned In Starseeds. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 50/365 I moved through this day in a complete haze - incredibly tired. Last night was such a long night and it felt like it went on for hours upon hours. I somehow managed to drop myself right in front of my studio table to start something, everything felt awful and yuk. Nothing seemed to flow, nothing was feeling like it was helping me. I decided to stop thinking about what I was doing and just immerse me, myself and my tiredness into the colours I chose. I started with yellow circles, and then added some green foliage. That seems to take enough of my attention and I could feel my heart rate falling. My nervous system was coming back to balance. I let it dry and returned, seeing different aspects and wanting to play with this lovely ultramarine blue. It felt cooling and soothing to me. The layers were drying and the background was hinting at what was underneath. I put it to one side and played on other blank pieces of paper, creating flower shapes, just generally enjoying the process of water, colour and paint brush. As this was dry, I picked it up and began to insert black ink, colouring in the leaves of my little daisy like flowers. The mantra appeared for me "Look Beyond". It really is never what it first appears. It reminds me to not judge the first thing I hear, see, taste, touch, smell. It reminds me to 'look beyond' for there is always a message hidden behind the front one. Reading behind the lines is another way of putting it. Keep trusting, keep shining. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 49/365 This particular mantra has appeared in my life, many times, when I felt stuck. Today suddenly these words appeared. I find that as a mantra appears, I will get to know it in more details, I'll start by writing it out 25 times in my mantra journal, I'll repeat it in meditation, sometimes I will write out the words and colour them in. This colouring meditation can help to soothe what is currently challenging. Today whilst dealing with a specific situation that was making me apprehensive about the outcome, and worrying. I found myself sat at my studio table, using colour and water, making these circles above, watching the water and colour merge, it was very relaxing. After letting it dry thoroughly, I returned to the desk to find a wonderful sample of circles, just calling out for flowers and petals. Here's the bit I also enjoy, taking the black uni-pen and marking out, adding in white, coloured gel pens, it was methodical and calming, again I keep using the word, hypnotic. Trance-like. It is here as a reminder - This too shall pass. Every moment passes into the next moment. Whatever I am feeling in this moment, passes. A reminder to release. The situations are still there, the worry and the apprehension Yet this is a tool for moving it through me. Keep shining star seeds. Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 36/365 I sat down at my table today to put brush to water to paper. I was feeling very discombobulated. I could hear my mind tell my self that I was stupid to even begin to commit to this 365 days practice, being just in the 5th day of February and number 35 painting, I sensed that this was going to really challenge my Head Self, (think of Headmistress) to encourage me to keep going. I heard lots of negatives, I heard lots of what's the points and who cares? I felt I was stumbling and bumbling through. Then I remembered the day was Feb 5th, the day when my Grandpa Jules passed away in 1960, 8 years before I came along, I was named after him, His names was Julius. He was a tailor, he was also a sign writer. Despite never knowing him physically, I have always felt very connected to him because my Mum, his daughter Sheila, kept his energy going, She would tell me funny stories, isms, and things they did together. I then heard this in my forebrain. Let go of the outcome Jules. I stepped away from my table and went to go something less boring instead, *playing ball with the dogs* and when I returned a few hours later, I saw something in this image. Some strange kind of flower seed pods, I picked up my pens and began outlining, ink and dipping pen, and some Signo markers, *lovethem. I am 'a pen person,' no denying it. I am surrounded. They are abundant in my life. They are always involved somewhere along the way, so sticking with watercolour with no other pen medium is unlikely during my #365creativedays. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this - it was deeply meditative. It calmed my mind and soothed my soul. I was pondering as I painted about seeds and how we don't tell the seed off for not doing things quickly or perfect, we go and check on the seed and say 'well done seed for doing your best at reaching the surface.' We are happy to see the seed is growing and moving towards the light. It then all came together for me. It's kinda abstract but something in it just says..... Let go of the outcome. This has other connections to me right now on a personal and professional level. Maybe to you too? Let go of the outcome. Let go of attachment. Let go and Let flow. It is SO IMPORTANT to FEEL right now. Keep feeling, keep connecting to that intuitive intelligence. 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 25/365 If there's one thing that has been the deepest learning curve these past 18 months, it is to stay in the moment, or as I heard today 'Take care of your current day.' I have to keep pulling my mind back in from the overwhelm of what is still to come... in the next 6 months. It can lead me down the garden path of pure apprehension and I have to just stick with what I have in this current moment. When I heard this, it resonated with me as my mental health mantra for today. Just take care of your current day. What is in this now moment. Be there. It's a daily challenge to keep a check on mindset and mind chatter. This is where transformation occurs, it is however, a daily practice. How can you take care of your current day? Keep shining :) "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 24/365 Today I went to the storage unit where our home contents have been stored since August 2019. Long story but it was only meant to be for 4 weeks and the circumstances, grief and drama, that followed could not be made up by any Coronation Street scriptwriter. I had to give the key to the Manager and we went to have a look inside and whilst there, I picked up a big basket bag of mine and a curver box with a lid. Both items that held things from my studio, which I haven't seen in 18 months. Unpacking them and saying hello to things that were in my studio felt like I was unearthing a time machine. I sat fondly looking through sketch books, affirmation books, diaries, I found my tibetan singing bowl, my inking pen, a framed Muse Mantra, plus a new stash of watercolour paper. I felt lit up. I felt abundant.
Can we spend at least 10% of our day doing something that lights us up? If we can, we may begin to feel a little calmer. Whatever that means for you.... maybe singing a song all the way through, learning to bake something or stretching out. Start with 10%. I have been doing my upmost to shift this and vibrate on a frequency that is higher than the one we are seeing. Lighting up ourselves, individually has a huge knock on effect. Don't let anyone tell you that your light energy contribution doesn't matter as it won't change anything. It does and it will. Keep shining that light sunbeams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 23/365 This mantra appeared just as I sat down to do this, I am seeking stretch, I feel I have got into limited patterns of moving, it doesn't feel beneficial for me at all. I then kept hearing in a North Eastern accent, "Stretch Love." It reminded me of the way DCI Vera Stanhope would say it (big fan) she was passing me a message - I heed the call. " Ey pet." I have two super gorgeous yoga mats that I designed myself and they are waiting for me to fall upon and stretch. This body of mine needs stretching and moving. Badly. I feel stuck. Today I woke up to a very large snowfall, I had my green smoothie, but didn't go to a new green place because, well, it was all white. Tomorrow is another day. Keep shining star beams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul"
Mental Health Mantra 21/365 What was going through my brain as I wrote go and ing on separate lines. It felt like a BIG word and this BIG word needed space between the Go and the ING. It got me thinking about the word, defining 'going' it says in the Dictionary 'to make headway' and 'reach a goal.' I liked the headway bit because that is quite often what we are trying to navigate in this realm of many thought connections. I am feeling the need for real deep peace and quiet. I have to foster this inside of myself, so please if I don't answer your text message, or call you back I am 'keeping going' and what that means right now is focusing inward, there is alot to process. Much is coming through right now, a breakdown of systems and paradigms, I am feeling alot of it, not only in my personal life, but in the greater field of life 'out there.' As an empath I am truly ultra sensitive to other's emotions and vibes so I have to hunker down in 100 acre wood and calm my mind and soothe my soul. That has been my tag line for 10 years now since beginning to draw people, in real terms I have used this tag all my life. Whomever you are reading this. Keep Go ing. You're making headway. It may seem you're not as all around you is crazy town. Stay centred strong in your truth Keep shining your light from within you. For, it matters. It matters A lot. 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
I’m a huge fan of Vera and I like to challenge myself so here I am drawing DCI Vera Stanhope and creating her Muse Mantra. I love everything about the series, the scriptwriting, the cast, the one liners of Vera. Priceless. For this Muse Mantra I thought I would have a go at doing two different images one with watercolours and one with professional markers. These are my usual go-to but I wanted to see how watercolour would feel for this image. I am always listening and writing down mantras and affirmations, and the one that Vera says in one of the episodes really resonates. xo Julia xo
People often ask me how I integrate and weave Reiki into Muse Mantra Portraits How can a 2D piece of paper/canvas absorb Reiki and what does that mean anyway? I find myself talking about this a lot, so I thought I would share my ritual, whether I’m working with paper or canvas. If you’re not familiar with Reiki, it is a wonderful energy system that can be used in any part of your life. It's pronounced “ray-key” which means Rei “spiritual” or “sacred ” and ki “energy.” Together they are translated in the West to mean “Universal Energy.” Ki has the same meaning as Chi in Chinese, Prana in Sanskrit, and Ti or Ki in Hawaiian, however, whatever you choose to call this energy, it’s the same vital energy force of all things. Energy in ArtHave you ever looked at a piece of art and felt the energy within the painting? Or perhaps been drawn to an image on a greeting card in a shop? Are you pulled to certain colours and felt soothed by them? As a Reiki Master and having worked with it for the last 15 years, I know that everything is energy; you can feel it, hear, see it and sense it. Ultimately I am infusing the 3 of the symbols I use into the paper. You've heard of using a proxy when giving Reiki, often we can use a teddy bear, or plant or a photograph to send the Reiki, in drawing an illustration of you, I am weaving in the symbols directly into the pencil, pens and markers. You won't see it in the finished piece, but you'll feel it. Any Muse Mantra will become a totem or a talisman for your daily journey. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass onSo what do I do? There are three parts: 1) Setting up the Space: I always take time to set up the zone and space where I’m working. As I gather my things together, and lay them out, I will light incense, a candle and put on some mantra music – I love Snatam Kaur and Deva Premal. 2) Quiet Time: Sitting down, ready to start, I get quiet, and relax. Here I will invite in my Reiki, Spiritual and Animal Guides. I activate my hands with Reiki and ask for it to flow freely within the sketch/or the colour. I wrote my own private prayer so this is where I’ll say it. After I have done this, I then cast my eyes over the collection of photographs that I have of the person I'm drawing. The photos are for me to get a sense, a feeling of who they are. I never create the same image from a photo. 3) The Creative Act (sketch/colour) I now just let this process flow – I begin to sketch. I note down any thoughts, feelings or messages I’m getting, which I can share with them when we connect later. Whether this is for an individual or for a family, the process is the same. During this time, I like to listen to any sonic music, sometimes classical. After I have finished the sketch I then move on to the colour-fill. I make sure to haven lemon water by my side. I’m never without lemons : ) When I’m happy with the finished illustration I will invoke the distant healing symbol within the piece, sending a blessing to the person who I’m creating, even if they have passed over. I also create portraits of animals and do the same. In the past couple of years I have been choosing crystals, laying the illustration down on a crystal grid - the crystals add more insight to the process and I love discovering the ones I have chosen and their meaning. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass on. Julia xx |