Creating, Creativity, Joy

Here's what I've been creating...

A new hip belt for our next costume. The front anyway.

How about you? What are you creating these days?

Synchronicity, Magic, Connection, Wonder

I believe in magic.

Synchronicity is a kind of magic.

Invisible threads woven out of site ~ linking, connecting, joining each of us to what & who we are truly meant to be with, so that we may be who we are truly meant to be.

If only we pay attention.

And trust. That you are being presented a glimpse (or whallop on the head) of something essential, a vital clue to who you are.

And like a spider web, strand by strand, an entire scene will unfold before your eyes, if you trust, if you follow, if you open your heart.

Stay open to the magic.

I have discovered a thread very recently, I'm so excited to see where it leads! A blog I follow of an inspiring and beautiful dancer, introduced to me to another blog, which led me to this amazing group of creative, courageous women, and their blogs, and their magic. And then, there in one photo was someone I recognized? Yes, someone I went to high school with.

Small world? Synchronicity. Magic. Connection. Wonder.

I am so excited by the possibilities.

Solstice Musings

I have been a self-proclaimed List Queen for as long as I can remember. I come by it honestly, my mom has always kept to-do lists: daily reminders of what needs to be done. My maternal grandfather, the king of lists, even kept one on his honeymoon, dutifully recording each mile, gallon of gas, and penny spent as he and my grandmother traveled from Pennsylvania down to Florida, and then on to Cuba. Quite the romantic, him!

I have come to rely on my lists as useful tools in helping me keep track of the many projects, tasks, and goals going on in my life at any given moment. They have assisted my outcome-oriented personality since high school, when I clearly remember setting the first goals for myself: I decided that I wanted to one, join the small-flag team, and two, play the cello. I succeeded in making the flag team, but realized quickly it was the idea of playing the cello that seemed appealing, not the reality. So I have also been good at knowing it's important to let a goal go by the wayside in order to make room for new ones, and that lessons can be learned in the process~from the successes~as well as from the “failures.”

This goal setting has helped me accomplish many things over the years, introducing me to new places, new people, gaining new skills, and learning much about myself along the way. I hosted a college radio show, joined a cycling club, moved to Japan, backpacked around Asia, lived in Europe, got a Masters degree, started a non-profit organization, and most recently, opened a belly dance studio and store. I’ve kept busy.

The lists that accompany these many adventures helped me stay organized and focused along the way. I’ve enjoyed listing out the steps needed, checking them off dutifully as they were accomplished, adding more items as needed, and making new lists to carry me onward.

But I’m keenly aware that when life is planned out step-by-step, with no room for spontaneity or sudden inspiration, much can be missed. In my mid-twenties my goal was to move to the Czech Republic. It didn’t matter that I was very inspired and intrigued--right where I was at the time--by Thailand, and even offered an opportunity to stay there. I had a plan. Move on I must. Yet it turns out my time in Eastern Europe was quite lonely and depressing, not at all what I had “planned.” For years I wondered what would have happened if I had followed my heart, my intuition, and stayed put, instead of keeping to my schedule. What did I miss out on, by being so “organized?”

As this year draws to an end, I’ve come across many blogs and postings suggesting how one can achieve anything you want if you set your goals and regularly check in on how you’re doing. They offer templates for plans, grids, outlines, and list-keeping tools to help you along the way. I imagine if you have bumbled about in life not sure how you’ve come to be in the place you are at, these tools are instrumental in helping you find focus, meaning and direction in our chaotic world.

For myself, I have lived this way all of my adult life. I think it’s time for something new. This Winter Solstice, as the Sun turns towards the light on the great wheel of life~my “New Year”~I can’t help but wonder, what have I missed? What has my heart, my spirit, my soul, been calling out for me to do or be, that I have not heard for all of the lists, the goals, and the plans crowded into my life?

So I bravely embark on a different kind of journey this year, one filled without plans, goals, or schedules (this just may drive my friends, family and colleagues nuts ~ please bear with me!). Instead I open my heart to its song, to the music of the trees, to the inspiration of spirit.

And yet it is not about just being blown by the wind, this way or that, directionless and at the mercy of whatever energy is nearby. It is a chance to truly hear my soul’s voice, to find out what I may have been missing in all the structure. It is living in the present, open to spontaneity, honoring the now of life, letting go of worries about the future or the “should of’s” of the past.

This in and of itself may sound like a “plan” for the year. And in a way it is. But one of a very different nature. A new adventure indeed! I am very excited!

Blessings for the Solstice and this New Year,
Indigo

Anything Really Is Possible

What is possible? Anything.

Really?

Yes, really!

We can do anything we set our mind and heart to.

Of course, there is that little factor of FEAR to overcome. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of ridicule, fear of criticism, fear of ... I'm sure you have a armada of words to insert there.

But what do we have to lose, really?

What is our alternative? To let FEAR keep us back? Then we can safely sit where we're at, saying, well, yes, but that's just too scary, so better to do what is "just okay", rather than soul-fulfilling and inspiring and spectacular.

Is this really okay with you? So-so. Safe. Secure.

Bored, stifled, asleep, frustrated, jealous, lethargic...?

No, not really.



The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, Golden Transformer, spiraling upward, higher and higher, maybe a little wobble here and there, but self-correcting, not hesitating, not doubtful, soaring higher and higher, transforming all that needs to be transformed.

There are invisible currents, ready to spiral us higher and higher. But it requires Faith and Trust, knowing they are there. Taking those risks anyway!

Transform your fear into action, try it, if something doesn't turn out the way you'd hoped, then there is a lesson to learn, and the reward of knowing that you DID IT ANYWAY! And then you move onto the next challenge. Growing, stretching, pushing beyond what you think is possible. Embracing even more than you could have ever imagined.

And...
...knowing that you are not alone on this journey, there are many of us reaching and stretching and pushing the limits everyday. Being part of a community ~ virtual or otherwise ~ of friends that will say to you, YES, GO FOR IT! or YOU ARE NOT CRAZY for wanting to pursue your dreams. Those are the ones you must seek out. I am one. I am seeking others of like mind.

Let's join together, encouraging each other higher and higher.

Beyond even our WILDEST dreams.

Are you with me?

Tribal Twilight: an Evening of Belly Dance

Hello Friends of Kundalini Belly Dance!

This Friday is the day!!

Tribal Twilight: An Evening of Belly Dance ~ and a Benefit for Khylee!

Clark's Corner Cafe in Ione.
Friday, August 28 from 8-9:30pm

(with an intermission)

This will be our 2nd show at Clark's and will be a special benefit for Khylee Monson and her family. In lieu of a cover charge, donations will go to Khylee and her family. For more information about Khylee see below, and please visit the website www.Just-One-Dollar.com

We'll have dancers from all over the foothills and Sacramento!
Last time we had standing room only, get there early for a seat!

Hope to see you there!

********************************

On June 11, 2009, 4-year-old Khylee Monson of Pioneer was diagnosed with a brain tumor that her doctors say is terminal. We are hoping for a miracle, and Khylee’s family can use all the help they can get! Friends of Khylee and her mom, Jackie Harrison, have formed the fundraising group, For Khlyee’s Sake, and are asking for your donation. All money raised will go to help pay for her medical care. You can donate at any Bank of Amador (Jackson, Pioneer, or Ione) or by going to http://www.just-one-dollar.com/. For tax-deductible donations, please send a check or money order to the Amador Community Foundation.



Tracy Carlton
Kundalini Dance
Belly Dance...Sacred Dance
Classes, Workshops, Performance Troupe

www.kundalinidance.com

209.419-1362