Sunday, October 21, 2012

Landscapes Of Your Soul Blog Tour

Today I have the great pleasure of being host for day 7 of the Virtual Blog Tour, for Landscapes of Your Soul, a beautiful and inspirational e book created by Essence of Wild.
Blog tours are not really a thing that I've participated in much, (only two previous) but I felt I wanted to be part of this one, as 'our connection' to the earth which Jackie Stewart and Jason Smalley are encouraging, is something I would like all people to feel.
Yesterday the blog tour visited Karina's Inner Space  Please go and visit if you have the time.

Do you know the landscape of your soul?


I've always loved the outdoors. I grew up playing in fields that sloped down to a winding stream. A fallen willow was our bridge to the other side. We built cabins (dens) and swung on homemade swings attached to huge dying elms. Our meeting place was the lightening tree. We wandered in woods, peeped into birds nests, jumped across the old weir, filled carrier bags to the brim with hazelnuts and strung bunches of primroses and violets with wool on a stick to carry home. We cooked outside on fires that we made ourselves and came in at dark with charred remains of jacket potato in our teeth. We were chased by the farmer for climbing on haystacks and building palaces with the bales. We grew up with the seasons, collected conkers, picked blackberries, mushrooms, and gooseberries that grew wild in the hedge. We walked with cats, dog and a goat. We climbed trees and came in late our clothes mud stained and grass stained. We rolled down hills, sledged down slopes, fell in stinging nettles, rubbed the stings with dock leaves and played on. This was the landscape of my childhood and it's woven into my soul. A landscape that has helped mold me into who I am today.
                                                                      ~*~
  'To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature'~ Sioux
                                                       
I believe our soul landscape goes deeper than childhood. It is our very connection to the Earth. Sometimes when we walk in ancient, and wild places we experience a strange feeling, a pull to something that we can't quite explain. Sometimes on nights when the wind howls and the rain lashes down, there is a stirring of feeling of something that has been lost. Something forgotten. Have you ever felt it? When you are still and quiet in nature, listen, it is there..... it is ancient. A golden thread entwined with our heart strings. An energy, an earth magic that resides in all of us. You know this, because you have felt it pull. You and it are stitched together. It surrounds your soul with a wise embrace that feels like home.
 At this time on Earth, when often things look dark and bleak, it's more important than ever to have this connection. It encourages wonder, appreciation, love, respect, and compassion of everything that we share this planet with.
                                                                    ***
If you would like to deepen your connection with the landscapes of YOUR soul. Landscapes of your Soul is available to buy as an instant download here.  It includes the most gorgeous guided meditation  journey that I'm sure you will enjoy as much as I did.







                                                      And while I stood there
                                                     I saw more than I can tell,
                                            And I understood more than I saw;
                                              For I was seeing in a sacred manner
                                                the shapes of things in the spirit,
                                         and the shapes of all shapes as they must
                                                       live together as one being.
                                                                      ~
                                                   Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Butterflies And Enchanted Forests

I always knew there was an advantage to not cleaning your windows very often. Look what has decided to attach itself to the frame.

There are 3 of them, and I think they will probably emerge as cabbage white butterflies? I love cabbage whites. How wonderful!
But, there was a problem.... Painters are due to arrive any day to scrape woodwork down and give everything a lick of paint before winter. Our landlord has a rota and it gets done every three years.  So, emergency 'rescue cabbage white pods' was launched. Very delicately with a small paintbrush, I removed them from the window frame. It was quite difficult as the sticky stuff that they attach themselves with is surprisingly strong. It seemed quite similar to spiders thread.  Anyway I successfully removed all three and have them here now.
 I'm keeping them on a cool windowsill and hopefully they will be ok and hatch in the spring?
                                                                       ~*~
The weather has turned and Autumn is making her presence known. The mornings have been misty and the days drizzly. Last week though I captured this beauty showing off for me on the ivy.
What a gorgeous creature the red admiral.
They absolutely love ivy. I also spotted a comma and masses of other insects. Please remember to leave some in your garden, it's brilliant for wildlife.
                                                                      ***
The sketches that I shared with you have been turned into paintings now. Here they are....
'The Light Between' and 'The Path'

  And 'Theatre In the Woods'               
I painted these for the  'Enchanted Forests Exhibition' at The Green Tree Gallery in West Sussex.
If you live nearby do go a long and see. It runs from the 13th October until the 4th November.
 Here they are, framed and all ready to go.

                                                       Have a good week! x