30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. DAY 4.

The Moon Rising.

8"x10" Acrylic on Canvas.

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. DAY 3.

A bit of relaxing colour fun.  

I am playing with painting without much planning or scrutiny for detail.

8"x10" Acrylic on Canvas.

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. DAY 2.

Flying Away Into The Sunrise.

Acrylic on 3 - 4"x4" canvases.
 

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge. DAY 1. Canada Day!

Happy (belated) Canada Day to all!

This beautiful day was spent with a coffee on an sunny patio, magically purchasing all the groceries ever desired thanks to my dad, and starting the first day of the 30 Day Painting Challenge.
Woot Woot!

Day 1 of this challenge is inspired by Zaya (black + white), one of my 3 lovely bunny friends. 

This is how Zaya might look like if she was actually pink and purple and from a different planet.

*disclosure*  There may be more rabbits to come in the next 29 days.

Planning for the Future is Now

I am learning how to enjoy more of my life today.  One of my practices is to have Intentions for the future, not Plans.  Since tomorrow never comes, the idea is to plan to Enjoy Today instead of Enjoy Tomorrow.

In a year from now, I will be a different me. 

In a year from now, I hope to learn new ways of doing, living, understanding, seeing, … 

In a year from now, I hope to be a little bit wiser.

So how could Today’s Me plan a better future for the slightly wiser Future Me?  My amount of wisdom today is the highest I have ever had so far.  I will use it to plan my day today.  Making plans today for a year from now will produce a plan with one year less of experience.  The Future Me might go, “What was I thinking?!”  The Future Me would do a much better plan for herself IN THE FUTURE. 

So enjoy your moments as they happen.  Plan for today to be the Best Day of Your Life.  Have great intentions for the future and act as opportunities arise.  Grow, do not hold yourself back.  Let the Future (wiser) You take care of tomorrow.

A great little poem from a book that jumped out at me this week.

Free Your Toes Revolution - Grounding

The idea of Grounding has been introduced to me in a variety of ways over the past 3 years.  Since then I found this tool very important to my sanity.

Why I love staying Grounded:

-It is a way to release built up energy in the body; letting go of pressure, tightness and stress.

-It brings powerful Earth energy into the body which is naturally abundant, cleansing and calming.

-It tunes the body, mind and spirit with the surroundings, experienced as a feeling of belonging.

-It makes the world look more vibrant and beautiful. 

-It connects us to others instead of isolates.

-It makes physical, worldly tasks and decisions easier and smooooother.

You Are NOT Grounded Symptoms:

·         -Feeling as your head is ‘in the clouds’

·         -Time often runs away from you causing you to stress

·         -You view those around you with fear or annoyance

·         -Simple physical tasks can be confusing or take waaaay too long

·         -Problem solving on daily basis is harder and less creative

·         -You do not feel your body ‘in’ your body

·         -Your body feels tight or like it is about to blow; particularly your head, neck, shoulders

So how would you Ground yourself?

The following 2 ways have worked well for me:

Grounding  # 1.  Physical.   Spend time in nature. 

This is the easiest way!  No need to visualize, just have fun.

Walk barefoot on the grass or sand.

Dip your toes into a natural source of water; a lake, an ocean, a stream. 

Lie down on natural ground and just relax.

 

I cannot stress the importance of barefoot walking on natural ground (not cement).  My Canadian upbringing stressed that shoes are a MUST.  We fear bare feet.  What if we step on something sharp?  Don’t our arches need support?  What would people think?  This all may be right.  However, wearing shoes everywhere all the time breaks the contact between our bodies and Mother Earth and makes us feel very ungrounded.  So toss those shoes to the side and free your toes!

Grounding #2.  Visual.   The Golden Grounding Cord.

This exercise can be done when you are indoors with no chance to kick back.  Or it can be used in conjunction with the first exercise. 

Imagine a thick, beautiful, strong, golden cord as a continuation of your body.

The cord stretches stretching out from the soles of your feet.  

(If you are in a sitting lotus position the cord will connect to you at the base of your spine.)

Now one end of the cord is attached to you.

Visualize the second end going deep, very deep into our planet.

This second end connects to the very centre of the Earth.

Play around with visualizing how think this cord is. 

Imagine how it stretches into the ground from wherever you are positioned.

Once the Grounding Cord is established watch as the Earth sends energy up towards your body. 

Feel the energy enter your body. 

How does it feel?  Does it have a colour?

As you do this exercise more often you might notice that your cord will change.  

It could change in colour or thickness or feel.   

If one day you find that your Grounding Cord is feeling a little weak it may be time to build a new one. 

Cutting the Cord

Imagine a large pair of vintage scissors.   

Slice the cord in half and watch as it disappears into the Universe.  

Right away you can rebuild yourself a brand new, stronger Grounding Cord.

Many recommend that a Grounding Cord should be changed often for ultimate results due to wear and tear.

Have fun!

What method do YOU use to ground yourself?