Here are some of my photography projects and outings.

Jewels of Ireland Video – 2 weeks in 2 hours

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As I told my Papa, “You don’t have to look at it all at once!”.

Yes, it’s 2 hours long. Feast your eyes on beauty, bite-sized, if that’s what serves you best or enjoy the whirlwind tour of Ireland in one sitting. Your choice!

Just remember to use the gear wheel at the bottom to watch it in HD instead of SD for better quality.

The Trip – Background

I was blessed to finally travel to Ireland in May of 2022 for a 2-week CIE International coach tour of Ireland (Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland).

I say “finally” because I’d purchased this trip over 2.5 years ago and wasn’t able to get a refund when the pandemic hit.

Originally, this was going to be the touristy ending of a 2-month trip. The first 6 weeks would have been spent in 3 different spiritual retreat centres for a solo self-directed spiritual/artistic retreat experience.

If you recall, back in 2019, I’d created the painting “The Gateway” as the last piece in my Re-Connect to your True Self series.  I’d then received Guidance that there would be a need for isolation before the rebirthing of the world.

The mistake I made was to take this message personally. I’d thought it was a need for me to isolate to tune in and rebirth my world.

So I’d planned 1.5-months of isolation in an Irish Buddhist retreat Centre, a Catholic god-pod on monastery grounds and a hermitage in the Wicklow Mountains.

Months before my trip, the pandemic hit … plenty of isolation for all and yes, the beginning of a planetary re-birthing.

I’m not sure I would have booked an overseas trip this year had I been able to get a refund or received guidance to re-sell the tour.

Every time I checked in, however, it was “Go!”. So I did and no regrets.

I may return one day for the more introspective spiritual experience I’d envisaged, but am thoroughly grateful for this touristy break in my routine.

With 1 other Canadian and 22 Americans, I got to see & experience a great variety of natural & man-made sites – all of which you’ll see through my eyes in the video above.

I’d often wake up hours before breakfast to go walking or playing with my 2 iPhone cameras.

But after our long dinners together, I was always ready for bed.

Family Connections

It’s amazing how traveling further from my family (who all live in a different province than me – or different plane for my Maman) actually brought us closer during this trip.

Part of my attraction to Ireland was that some of my ancestors on the Hurley side come from there.

My Papa was never far from my thoughts during my trip as I learned more about the history and geography of this fatherland.

I connected with my brother and his wife, knowing they’d traveled there before me, actually finding the tiny “Hurley Bridge” where research had identified our bloodline’s last homestead before emigration.

Both my father & brother also came to mind at the Foynes aviation museum. They’re big into planes…

And my sister was with me as I visited & connected to her at each sacred site & healing well.

As for my beloved Maman, this trip had been paid for with some of the inheritance money I’d received from her estate. She was close in every moment of gratitude – and there were so many!

I may have been traveling solo, but I was never truly alone away from the tour group. Along with my Team of Divine Helpers, my family were sharing in the journey.

The Videography / Photography

Every day, I took hundreds, even thousands of videos and photos of the beauty I beheld.

To avoid overwhelm upon my return, I spent time editing and deleting files every evening before sleep.

My intention had been to stay off social media during my holiday.

But right before I left, Apple added a feature to its iMovie app on my iPhone 13 pro max. It’s called Magic Movie. It automatically curates a video using all the photos and videos you select, adding transitions and royalty-free music.

The amazing thing is that it takes about 2 minutes instead of the usual 2-5 hours it would have taken me to do it manually in iMovie.

So I took advantage of this new feature to create & post 32 mini-movies on Facebook during my trip.

Unfortunately, this new program had 1 major disadvantage. No matter the order in which you select the media, it starts with the newest first, ruining the chronological order of events.

This didn’t matter much for some, but did in others. I’d sometimes spend time making some manual fixes, but it was still a whole lot less time than the manual way.

It was a great exercise in letting go of perfection for the sake of sharing my experiences.

Another disadvantage is that Magic Movie sometimes cropped my photographs in a way I certainly wouldn’t have and didn’t give the option to request full frame. So I left some as is and deleted others.

The advantages of this speedy automation far outweighed the disadvantages. I only used the lengthy manual way for 3 of my mini-movies, I believe.

The day after I got back, as a way to review my trip, I spent 8 hours putting these 32 mini-movies together with scenes from the coach window & quick photo stops in between.

And that’s what I’m offering you now – a chance to experience 2 weeks around Ireland in 2 hours in this Jewels of Ireland video. Enjoy!

And if you want to spend more time contemplating the photography, feel free to visit my album on Flickr.

 

 

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Pilgrim on the Faery Path – Video Poetry

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What splendour! The neighbourhood has been transformed!

For years I thought these intricate white starbursts of flowers were Queen Anne’s Lace. Turns out, I was wrong. It happens….

As an artist, the name doesn’t really matter.

If I was a forager, however, confusing these flowers as Queen Anne’s Lace could be deadly. There may be a mix of its six lookalikes in this video – not sure. But don’t worry; there’s no chance I’ll be drinking poison hemlock tea!

Instead, I’m grateful to have these lacy beauties infuse my eyes with beauty, my heart with joy, and my spirit with poetry.

Enjoy experiencing the magic of this faery playground in this new 5-minute poetry video created with photos from recent years.

Thanks goes out once again to Jacqueline Cook for her Celtic harp song, “Visions”.

Pilgrims on the Faery Path

Welcome pilgrims to the path
Each year you appear like an overnight sensation
A carpet of lace as far as the eye can see
Stitched in entwined splendour
Elegant, wild, and graceful
A wave of love & beauty sweeping
The valleys of my heart
Your flurry of Divine expression
An initiation of transformation
Manifested dreams frolicking in the breeze
Widespread, fleeting
A chaos of ephemeral exquisiteness

 

I am transformed by your presence
Your intricate lace infolding my heart
I feel you. I see you. I sense you.
I am you. You are me.
An invitation to slow down
As each step reveals a new vista of splendour
Both a macrocosm and microcosm of Divine Unity
Each flower a cluster of a hundred umbels
Infinite blossoming starbursts
Lining the path
As if the hem of a bridal veil
Hosting visitors at the celebration
Flowing back to the Ocean of Oneness

 

As you beckon me forward as if onto my Self
Intertwined with purity, freedom and expansion
I breathe in this magical faery playground
Listening to the heartbeat of nature elementals
I swoon as your scent infuses my soul
Meshed with the delicate fragrance of my inspired thoughts
Permeating every cell in my body
I bow my head to the ground
In awe of you, Mother Earth
Your breezy white-petalled dance
Caressing my reverence

 

For your lacy white spread
May be considered by some as a pest
But know that here in my heart
It’ll always be a welcomed summer guest.

 

P.S. I welcome donations of any amount to support my art sharings by Paypal or e-transfers (Canadians) to [email protected]. I thank my patrons with a credit (or dedication to your loved one if you prefer) in future video productions. Thanks for your support.

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The Nosy Neighbour Staycation Challenge & my Quidi Vidi Adventure

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Here’s a fun summertime challenge for you. Be a nosy neighbour in your city, town, or village. With COVID-19, staycations are the way to go!

Pick a neighbourhood, leave the car behind, and discover it in the same way a tourist would for the very first time – keeping safe social distance & practices, of course.

Playing tourist always brings out that childlike curiosity & wonder in me – important elements to the intuitive life.

Have fun with it – see where you’re inspired to explore and who you’re curious to talk to. If you can, stay overnight for a fuller experience.

That’s what I did!

It was a cold and rainy July 16th when my friend Leslie & I headed to Quidi Vidi, a neighbourhood of the city of St. John’s that used to be its own village. Now, it’s a mix of fishing stages reminiscent of the seasonal fisheries of the 1600s to upscale inns, restaurants, artisan quarters and a famous brewery.

We stayed at the historic Christ Church that I’d been curious about for years. Did you know it was and Airbnb in the summer? You’ll get an inside look at this beautifully appointed residence owned by Aiden & Elizabeth Duff and managed by my friends Gordon Martin & Linda Chantal Hewitt of People Place & Things.

I also found myself interviewing a few of the locals for some colourful and delicious til bits. Trust me, for a nature photographer, this was a stretch of my comfort zones, but a lot of fun. Both my guests were very cooperative, informative, and kind.

Thank you to Skipper Ring, storyteller, tour guide & musician who shares stories of growing up in Quidi Vidi, beating an 80-year record in the Royal St. John’s, Regatta, and crafting the lear fence along his stage.

Thank you also to  Sam Primmer, one of the managers at Mallard Cottage, currently #22 in Canada’s Top 100 restaurants. Our 3-hour feast was a welcomed splurge – both our first time there and my first restaurant meal since early March due to COVID-19.

So treat yourself with this 24-minute video as I take on the role of nosy neighbour in Quidi Vidi village for a day. 

Oh, and if seeing Skipper Ring’s breath in mid-July discourages you from coming to Newfoundland & Labrador, don’t let it. We got sunshine & outdoor swimming weather right after it!

So what neighbourhood are you inspired to explore in your city, town, or county? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Where did you go? What were you thrilled to discover? 

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Flatrock Waterfalls – One of Mother Earth’s Powerful Energy Vortexes

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There are places on this planet that you know will instantly recharge you. The waterfalls near the East Coast Trailhead in Flatrock does it for me. Can you feel it in this video? Breathe in the beauty as you experience it through my eyes along with “Across the Sky” by Christopher Lloyd Clarke.

The first time I went, I could almost see the energy vortex. I could certainly feel it. It’s the strongest energy I’ve felt in Newfoundland & Labrador.

One of the reasons I like this island so much is that it rarely gets too hot. Even though we’d had frost warnings at the Summer Solstice, we also had a Humidex of 33 Celsius (91.5F) on June 23rd. That’s too much for me.

So at 6am, I headed to my friend Leslie’s to drive out together to Flatrock (25km) for a bit of a nature soak before the heat, before the grocery store opened, and before my full workday.

We stayed 2 hours.

I confess. Although the camera often helps me to be more present, my new film-making passion gets me so creatively excited that I sometimes forget to slow down.

Luckily, I really enjoy filming time lapses, which means putting the camera on a tripod and leaving it there for an hour or more.

So that’s what I did.

While Leslie went hiking up the cliffs to journal, I took my boots & socks off to ground, bare skin on the rocks. With the waterfalls to my left and the ocean to my right, I was in my happy place.

Making sure I spend some time every day skin to skin with Mother Earth has done wonders for me. If you haven’t seen The Earthing Movie, I recommend it. I always knew about the power of nature, but wasn’t aware that our rubber soles stopped the flow of healing energy.

Where’s your go-to spot when you need to recharge? Your backyard? neighbourhood trail? I’d love to know. Please leave a comment below.

P.S. When I don’t include the actual sounds of the water or other nature elements, it’s because it was too windy. I’ll have to figure out a way to get better quality audio for you. Still learning. 🙂 

P.P.S. It’s time I purchase some new royalty free songs to use in my meditations & videos as you’ve been hearing the same 5 for several years. If you’d like to contribute to my creative life, check out my online shop for oracle decks, intuitive services, original paintings & prints. Thanks!

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Affirmations Video for a Happy Healthy Life

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May you be nourished by the healing energy and beauty of Mother Nature during this 15-minute video inspired by a staycation at The Country Experience on Hawco’s Pond in Deer Park, Newfoundland & Labrador.

For an even more powerful experience, repeat the affirmations out loud, allowing yourself to feel their truth in your life. Then breathe deeply and expand that feeling out into the Universe as you watch.

Celebrating Life

As much as I craved solitude for my first monthly creative staycation (which resulted in A Prayer for Our Times), I was thrilled to share this experience with my good friend Leslie Bridger.

The timing was perfect as June 14th was Leslie’s rebirthday, 15 years after a near-fatal bicycle accident in Toronto. Doctors had little hope for her when she came out of her induced coma, but she not only recovered from her physical and brain injuries, she turned her life around.

Sharing her love of life and belief in the healing powers of Mother Earth and the Elements has become her mission. She came out of her coma understanding that we are all interconnected Divine Beings, like points of light on a giant web. Her love for humanity is great – a wonderful influence on me.

I already knew she was a perfect traveling companion, having house-sat together in Nova Scotia for a couple of weeks in 2017. I don’t say that because she loves to cook and I love to eat! It does help, though.

We also understand each other’s need for balanced activity time together and time alone to work on our projects – my video art, her book.

I couldn’t have asked for a better staycation. Indeed, it was just what my Spirit Calling Cards suggested on the morning of our departure:

The Gift of Life

You don’t have to almost die to realize you deserve to live the life you were born to live.

With COVID-19, more people have taken the time to reflect on the preciousness of life. After the shock of having been kicked off the hamster wheel, many have simplified, prioritized, re-organized their lives to focus on what truly matters. Some didn’t have a choice!

From small changes to major life decisions, they’ve sought the opportunities emerging from these challenging times.

What about you?

Wherever you are on your transformational journey, life invites you, through experience, to make the choices that serve your Highest Good. Only you can make those choices; only you can take that responsibility.

What’s right for you may not be what’s right for everyone else. Listen in and follow your intuition, one inspired step at a time.

And if the “buts” of your ego try to keep you small, acknowledge them and creatively love your way through and past them.

For example, my ego was telling me not to spend on staycations at a time when income has only been trickling in and I have thousands of dollars tied up in credit in Ireland since my 2-month trip was cancelled due to the pandemic . I knew, however, how instrumental a change of scene and break in routine could be for my creativity.

So, thinking outside the box, I offered friends who owned or managed properties, the opportunity of receiving photography of their sites in exchange for 3-night stays. Win-win!

When you set your heart on a goal and make life-affirming decisions, the Universe provides. Stay open to miracles! Ask and you shall receive.

Which affirmation from the video spoke most strongly to you? Please share it in the comments below.

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A Warbler’s Tale of Temporary Insanity

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My house sister Orinda has always had a connected relationship with our neighbourhood birds. There’s a seagull that pecks at her window if she’s in bed too long. The ravens from across the street come when she caws, announcing a new batch of suet in the winter. Often, a lone sparrow will sit with her for hours at the end of the day in mediation. And hundreds of little feathered friends relish at her seasonal buffet featuring David Suzuki’s peanut butter & seed recipe.

This is the first year since I moved here 6 years ago, however, that a yellow warbler has demonstrated such strange behaviour. 

Orinda had already been aware for a few hours that he had come as a messenger to get her attention before I came on the scene. She’d been listening for its important message, knowing he was there to fulfill her need for peace.

I shot a short video, fascinated, in between simply watching and listening in for what message he may be conveying. We were mystified. Is he eating bugs? No. Is he trying to get in? Is he trying to tell us something?

I even practiced my budding animal communication skills, but they were tainted by Lassie movies, thinking he wanted me to follow him because his mate was in trouble, stuck in the chimney or lying somewhere around the house. But my walkabout turned up nothing.

In our open minded curiosity and desire for clarity, we kept asking.

I even posted a short clip on Facebook and heard back that he thought his reflection was his competition and that he was fighting for his mate. Ah…..

The next morning at 6am, when I came upstairs from recording a Divine Storytelling Time intuitive reading for a client, he was already there.

And he stayed there, repeating the same patterns of flight until about 9pm. What energy! What determination! What futility!

It did, however, give me plenty of chances to play wildlife cinematographer. Another day of fun behind my camera – all the while my heart was listening for messages and reaching out to him in his useless behaviour.

But was it useless? At some point, I shared my interpretation of the messages I was receiving with Orinda.

She delighted in them, acknowledging that both he and the meaning I’d allowed to come through were an answer to her prayers.

So here it is. If you see a reflection of yourself in here somewhere, then may it help alleviate your suffering and bring a layer of peace to your day.

Namaste.

A WARBLER’S TALE OF TEMPORARY INSANITY

Have you ever gotten so caught up in a mental spin
Convinced there was something outside of you to fight about
Wasting your time
Wasting your energy
Wasting your peace of mind
For an illusion of your own making?

Have you ever found yourself defending your perspective
Arguing the measure of your rightness,
Competing for affection,
Jealous of a threat that never existed?

Have you ever butted heads
Fighting to be heard
Only to realize after days of going nowhere
Exhausted from repeating the same mistake
Reliving outdated patterns of thought or behaviour
That all this time
You were the only one there?

What a revelation
To awaken to the truth
That all you saw & believed
Was only a reflection of your own mind
No one was stepping on your toes
No one was clipping your wings
No one was invading your territory
Or pushing against your boundaries
No one was threatening your chance at love
Except you, yourself.
That’s who you were at war with
Battling your inner demons
Projecting your fears upon the world
You made it all up!
Face to face and
Fist to fist with your ego.

Insanity, Albert Einstein said
Is doing the same thing over and over again and
Expecting different results.

And that, dear yellow feathered friend
Is what you’ve come here to show us
Day after day
As you fight your own reflection
Competing with a non-existent foe
For a prize long gone while you were too busy trying to hold onto it.

Oh darling yellow warbler
It’s time to let go of your self-defeating efforts
You’ll never win against an imaginary adversary
Choose love instead
Choose life instead
For your mission here is done.
Our hearts reach out to you
Healed by your message,
Your wise & true teachings.

And once we’d understood the lesson you were here to demonstrate
We tried to deflect your reflection
But you only perched on our wisdom
Staring at your false belief
Swinging from your stance of self-sabotage
To come face to face again with your misperception of reality.

Oh blessed winged one
Please stop this temporary insanity
Don’t wear yourself out
Leaving yourself defenceless against the real enemies.
Can’t you see how your own thinking and doing
Drew them to you in the first place?

And until you find your way
Back home to where your mate awaits
We’re so grateful to know that
Someone has your back.
So sleep well tonight and rest your weary wings
And please don’t come back again and again and again tomorrow.

Thank you dearest messenger
And goodnight to you
Fare ye well
To where your return is awaited.

For as the Course in Miracles says,
On the card my house sister pulled to shed further light
Upon the true purpose of your visit for her:

“You are altogether irreplaceable in the Mind of God
No one else can fill your part of it
And while you leave your part of it empty
Your eternal Place merely waits for your return.” T167

So please return to your nest.
And here, we too, shall rest
In Peace reborn

 

P.S. This was the truth of the moment. In the next few days, its messages morphed according to Orinda’s state of being. The original message wasn’t fixed in time. Its message for you may be completely different. Have fun exploring the layers of meaning-making or meaning-revealing.

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Seaside Solitude – A Video Contemplation at Middle Cove Beach in the Rain

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Exercise

You’re invited to use this video contemplation as a tool to help you connect to your inner guidance. Here’s how.

Ask your soul & Team of Divine Helpers a question and listen in as you experience this rainy morning at Middle Cove Beach, a few minutes from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada.

Access your intuition through the symbolism of the sights and sounds.

Give yourself the space to feel, hear, see, remember, know, smell & taste – whatever channel your intuition finds to speak to you.

If the meaning isn’t immediately clear, dig deeper. Analyze your insights and data through reflection or journaling.

Notice any inspired actions that rise to the surface of your consciousness and Act upon them. Remember, intuitive guidance is useless unless you act on it.

Then Allow your life to unfold, knowing that every inspired action acts like a piece in the puzzle. Embrace the mystery and keep on moving on.

Like the waves of the ocean, living intuitively means repeating these 5 Steps over and over again – a dance with your Higher Self and your Team of Divine Helpers. Enjoy!

So Glad I Did!

Here’s where I ended up on my first Offline Sunday – a new habit to help me disconnect from the Internet to reconnect on a deeper level.

There must have been hundreds of people there in the 2 hot & sunny days before, but I found myself in blissful solitude for 2 hours communing with the elements and playing with my iPhone camera on a very rainy morning.

Truly, making movies has become one of my favourite pastimes. There’s so much beauty to explore and this is just one more medium for me to express my love of beauty and the beauty of love.

And yes, my new rain gear is waterproof. Yay! I sure tested it that morning.

Of course lifting my jacket to wipe my camera lenses on my shirt didn’t keep me completely dry, but I was happy.  lol.

When you equip yourself for the weather and obstacles, there’s a whole world to discover. I’m so glad I listened that morning when my soul said “To the sea!!!”.

What is your soul calling you to do or be? What space is beckoning you to come and discover it (or discover another layer of you within it?)

Make time in your schedule this week to disconnect and reconnect. You’re worth it!

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A Prayer For Our Times – Video From NL’s Irish Loop

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Mother Nature is a wonderful healer. Her breath, her beauty, her heartbeat, her love, and her bounty are constant sources of inspiration. In this 16-minute offering, she shares so generously of her energy through the beauty of  Newfoundland’s Irish Loop and the prayer for our times she inspired. May it nourish your transformational journey, a balm to your soul as you continue to navigate your way through the crises of 2020 and the new world they are birthing.

I’ve included the prayer below in the 1st person in case you’d like to recite it for yourself.

Intention

This sojourn by the sea was an answer to a Spirit Call for what turned out to be an energetically powerful time of rejuvenation, channeling and simply being in bliss:  2 sunny days of hiking & photography followed by 2 cold grey days working indoors, looking out at Ship Island and listening to loons call.

This was social isolation with style! Just 40 minutes from my home in St. John’s, my friend Elaine’s Whale Watcher House & Apartments is located in St. Michael’s on the Irish Loop of the Avalon Peninsula, on the road between 2 sections of the East Coast Trail: Tinker’s Point Path & La Manche Village Path. At the time of writing (May 29), I’d just witnessed my last of Mother Nature’s sunrise intuitive painting parties over the ocean before returning to the city. It was perfect!

After 2 months of walking in my neighbourhood, I needed time by the sea. Painting “Salacia – ocean goddess” wasn’t enough. Breathing in the beauty and grounding myself on the East Coast Trail was definitely top of mind.

The fact that a minke whale was feeding right outside my room when we arrived confirmed I was in the right place.

In addition to connecting to Nature, I thought I’d be spending time writing 12 prayers inspired by 12 of my paintings for a new series of posts. That didn’t happen! Not yet anyway.

Frustration

On my 3rd morning, after meditation, energy work, yoga, Spirit Calling Card journaling, and frequent contemplations of the ocean, I just wasn’t inspired to work on my project. (A hawk just landed 6 feet from me on my balcony roof as I was writing this. One of my childhood totem animals. Wow!) I’d spent time preparing by opening my channels, but then tried to force things into being. That didn’t work.

I was getting restless, being so goal oriented but without results.

So instead of writing, I kept joyfully editing my photos and working on making a movie on my iPhone, one of my favourite new creative playtime activities. 

I thought it was done once I’d paired the imagery with music as I’ve done in the past – creating a nature meditation.

Revelation & Tears

At 9pm, I lay my head down, ready for sleep. I decided to play my video one last time in gratitude for all I’d seen and experienced so far.

As I watched in my semi-awake relaxed state, the symbolism of the scenery started speaking to me. I could hear the words of a prayer come through my inner hearing.

Energy so strong was coursing through my body like an inner buzzing vibration from head to feet focused more strongly around my heart. I was trembling and wasn’t sure my body could handle that much energy.

I had to switch on the light and write a few sentences down. Switching it off, I kept watching my movie, tears in my eye, humbled at the presence of so much love & inspiration in the room.

I realized I’d been standing in my own way with pre-conceived notions of what I was supposed to be doing while here. I was trying to force something on paper when what I had been doing – following my bliss in the moment through the creation of this video – was exactly what was meant to happen. Intuitive video making – one layer at a time.

It wasn’t about making it happen… it was about making it welcomed…

As the words kept flowing, I remembered a friends’ recent suggestion to use voiceover, something I didn’t know I could do on my iPhone if I also wanted a music track.

This co-creation is what my Team of Divine Helpers and soul wanted to share with you when I’d been guided to come here to pray for humanity. It wasn’t 12 prayers to go with my paintings (a Left brain decision with undertones of marketing for my artwork).

It was 1 long prayer coming through the offerings of Mother Earth. So very humbling indeed.

On and off, I tried putting it aside to sleep. I’m the kind of gal who likes my 8 hours!

But no! Between frequent cold visits to the balcony to watch a blanket of stars like I hadn’t seen in years (couldn’t quite capture it with my iPhone but you get a taste of it near the end) and scribbling all that was coming through, I was up until 4 am.

Going back to bed yet again, I asked my Team to ONLY wake me up for the sunrise if it was important for me to see/record it. Sure enough, 1.5 hours later, I woke up in a bolt and was back outside filming a 2-hour time lapse that the iPhone turns into a 30 second video. These were my first nature time lapses ever. Fun!

I spent the rest of that cold windy day writing and editing until I came out of my creative cocoon at 4pm to scale the eroded cliffs next door to  ground myself on that horseshoe beach you see in the video.

That’s what it’s like to be in the zone – fed by Spirit (in-spired). It took breaking my routine and being out here to do it. And I’m so glad I did. I had to make the inner space for it. I often achieve this zone in the studio painting, but not with quite the same intensity of energy. That was something else!

P.S. The next day, I listened to the video again and was still happy with it (even not minding the trip up on the words “miraculous” and “diva” instead of “deva” that I didn’t know how to fix) – but I’ll admit it sounded so much better in my sleepless state of creative ecstasy. Again, to me this is a sign that although the poetry of it could use some refining beyond the first few drafts, it’s the energy that comes through and between the words which offers its gift as much as the language and imagery. That’s how I feel about my paintings too. It’s perfection in its imperfection and my job is to simply allow it to come through me.

May it serve you well. It certainly has me. Thanks be to God!

Prayer For Our Times – in the 1st Person

If you like this prayer – yes, it’s a long one – I recommend you record it in your voice and play it once in a while – making it your own.

A PRAYER FOR OUR TIMES

As I venture from my home
To embark on the road less traveled
May I greet my neighbours anew
To rebuild a compassionate community
Grateful for the rebirth of caring
Fresh ways of seeing
Healthier ways of being.
May I choose to garden a perspective of gratitude together
And be here now to colour our oneness with my laughter.
For on the shores of our planet’s beating heart
Treasures abound
New dreams are found.

 

May I rejoice in the flow of my passion
To shine & align in my own true fashion.
May I dance in the ebb & flow
At One with humanity
A witness to the glowing love & courage
Carried by the flow.

 

As I once more embrace life & loved ones.
May I breathe our planet’s cleaner air
My bosom rising and falling
To the rekindled rhythms of my soul.
May I allow this Life Force to grow within my being
Connecting me to my inner guidance, my intution

 

Thank you dear God & Goddess, Mother Earth & Universe
For your comfort when the tides are low
And your bounty when the tides are high.
As I relax into the layers of transition
May I celebrate the unity that follows change.
May I trust in the purity of my emerging health & prosperity.
May I welcome and receive guidance
To harvest and keep growing from my truth.
May I intuitively shift from my challenges to meditate on healing.
May I find balance in the fruit of my solitude
As I begin to awaken.

 

May my miraculous life be nourished
By Nature’s freedom of expression.
May I be still and contemplate,
What once I passed by or took for granted.
The treasures are already at my door.

 

May I attract complete wisdom through imagination and inspiration.
May I stretch my creativity as I seek in the direction of my mystery.
May I reflect upon the teachings of love to manifest clarity.
May I continue to explore through time
The light of my dreams and the dreams of my Light.

 

May I continue to rise above the harsh grounds of my challenges
As I journey onwards from this shore.
May I transform my memories to reveal the depth of my purpose.
And always feel at home at my core.

 

Walk on my beloved self, walk on,
May I be of service to friends and family along the way.
For no man or woman is an island
Separated by a sea, lost or astray
So walk on, beloved self, walk on
May my heart alight with the burgeoning hope of a new era
Reflecting on these times gone by:
The grief, the fear, the gifts & the blessings.
May I let go of what no longer serves me
To make room for the people, places, things, and feelings that do.

 

May I always know where I am welcomed
To explore and express my love of beauty and the beauty of love
Here my seat awaits
A gathering of those known and unknown,
Delights to discover.
May I always feel at home in the world
Knowing I’ll forever be nourished & loved.
May I take time to rest and relax
May I feed my body, nourish my soul.
To reconnect to my Higher Self
And take sight of my vision floating
On the calm waters of my shore.

 

And if I’m harkened back to the hidden beaches of my past
May I not be afraid of what I might find there.
May I uncover the clues to my destiny
Beachcombing amongst the garbage washed ashore.
May I remember what gave me the greatest joy
To bring that back into the expanse of my days ahead.

 

May the sun rise in my morrow with gentle splendour
To call me forth from my slumber
So many treasures await for me to discover
As I unlock the gifts of my shadows
To love myself forever more.

 

May I connect to my Team of Divine Helpers
In this, the the time of awakening.
There’s no need to journey alone.
Ask and I shall receive
Connect and the doors will be open unto me
I Welcome at my side:

* My Soul and OverSoul (I Am Presence),

* My Support Teams,

* My Guides in this dimension and beyond,

* My Ancestors,

* Nature Spirits and Devas,

* The Inner Earth Elvin Kingdoms,

* The Angelic Realm,

* Star Races and Star Councils I have a connection with.

 

May I tread gently and bravely
My every step a blessing, a prayer.
May I know that as varied as my pathway may be
There are those who love and support me
Walking alongside
May I know not loneliness in my solitude.

 

May the signposts to my healing
Bring me back to my Light within
From where I can illuminate my inner and outer landscapes
For my Good and the Highest Good of All.

 

May I emerge from my isolation
More familiar with my own design
May I revel in the symphony of my soul
My unique voice blending harmoniously
Into the choir of a community reborn.

 

May I stand tall
For I have the strength of giants at my back.
Ancient wisdom coursing through my veins
Divine unity at my beckoning call
Whenever I am ready to be joined again
Of my own free will.

 

May I breathe this beauty in as a mirror to my soul.
May I smile as I feel within every cell of my body that I am already home.
Let me take my shoes off and stay awhile
My feet firmly on the ground
Feeling the healing energy of nature rise within me
As I reconnect to the truth of who I am.

 

For we are all the light and the love,
Breathing as one,
Holding each other’s hand,
Holding each other’s dreams:
To be seen, accepted and loved
For the spirits we are in human form.
Each with our own design,
Each following our own path
Together intertwined.

 

May I walk on
Guided through my challenges
Rising above them with ease & grace
Stronger yet lighter for what I’ve left behind
Shedding the skins of old patterns and behaviours
That encumbered my gait.

 

May my attention be drawn to the light ahead
The evolving vision of my life unfolding
And the planet ascending.
And when I feel overwhelmed by the gap between here and there
May I take a leap of faith
Trusting that a bridge will appear
There’s no reason to fear.
May I simply pause to appreciate the spaces in between
And the vastness of the beauty all around.
May I see how far I’ve travelled
The precious footsteps of my passage through time.

 

May I embrace the mystery
As I enter the portal to the blessed unknown
May I choose love over fear
Rooted in the knowledge that I am
An individualized expression of the Divine.

 

May I walk on
Loving the grooves and textures of my journey
May my path be clear
My head held high
To find my way back to community.
May I always be provided for
May I welcome those at my door
May I be of service through the very gift of my presence.

 

And when the clouds darken my skies once more
May I remember I am vaster than the passing weather
And that light always comes to fill the darkness
And when the sun sets upon my day
May I rest my head in peaceful slumber
Wrapped in the warmth & comfort of a prayer answered.
May I know that I’m protected in the glow of Divine Love
As the stars cultivate my gratefulness
Multiplying my wishes & dreams come true
To be welcomed back unto me.

 

And if the night hangs heavy upon my mind
May I remember that as the sunrise I will find
Love, peace, joy, health, wealth, happiness and freedom.
May I continue to appreciate the promise of an open path of compassion.
Dream on, beloved self, dream on.
May I never sleep alone.
Loved by the sun and the moon,
The earth and the sea
Loved by the Heavens above and within me
For that is where is found the love & beauty of my heart
With a song so pure
Resonating with the original sound of OM.

 

Namaste

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Spiritual Photo Tip 19: Motion

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Welcome to the last of my Spiritual Photo Tips – #19 Motion. 

I truly hope this series has opened you to new ways of seeing and being in the world.

There are many ways to capture and even create motion with your camera. 

Motion as a Photographic Element

1. Freeze Frame:

The most common is to photograph something that’s moving at a high shutter speed.

This is also the daylight default on smart phones.

It’s like a moment suspended in time. 

2. Slow Shutter Speed:

The alternative is to shoot it at a slow shutter speed so that the photo is being created while the subject keeps on moving.

If you’re on a tripod, the surrounding will be in clear focus while the subject in movement becomes blurry.

Take this example of running water. The image on the left is a freeze frame and the one on the right was shot at a slower speed using a tripod.

Which do you prefer?

I’d say 90% of my students over the years have preferred the freeze frame. Perhaps its’ because that’s what they’re used to seeing. I prefer the silky smooth water.

I’m not sure if most smartphones  allow you to do this, but with newer iPhones, take a photo in Live (shooting a wider frame than you want) and once it’s taken, swipe up on the screen and choose the Long Exposure mode to the right. It won’t be as sharp as with an SLR on tripod, but great for social media.

3. Panning:

Traditional panning is used a lot in action photography like sports and wildlife.

Imagine the photographer following a race car as it crosses his vision from left to right. His camera is also panning from left to right at the same speed, keeping the car at relatively the same spot in the frame. When he takes the picture, the car is in perfect focus but the background is all blurry. You need a very fast lens to be able to do this right.

I’m terrible with this technique. Looking through a lot of my albums, the best examples I could find (and they’re not great) are the shot of the puffin in flight and the show jumper at the Vienna Masters in 2013.

Non-traditional panning, however, is one of my favourite ways to play with my camera. This, to me, is art!

The opening image to this post is a perfect example (one of my favourite photos of all time).

The subject doesn’t have to be moving. You are. You’re dancing while moving the camera around.

You can pan in a straight line – from up to down, down to up, sideways or at a diagonal. See how some of the trees below lose their features, becoming more painterly?

You need to use a slower shutter speed. Play with speeds on your SLR until you get the effect that you want.

You can also dance by making tiny circles or wide arcs with your lens while you shoot.  Dance away!

Click through this collection one at a time, using the arrow to navigate between full-screen shots to detect the direction and shape of my movements.

If you look closely, you’ll notice the pattern in the colours or light.

I’ve accidentally done a few of these with my smartphone while accidentally clicking the shutter while putting it away in my pocket. But I haven’t explored the possibilities, saving this technique for my SLR.

4. Zooming:

You can also zoom with your SLR lens on a slower shutter speed to create streaks of motion.

The subject may have been perfectly still, but the effect isn’t.

Usually, the subject ends up dead centre in the image. I’ll sometimes crop after the fact for better composition.

Zooming can be used for visual effect or for storytelling.

For example, the graffiti artist below asked that I not show his face in my photo. So using this technique created a bit of mystery and camouflage for his illegal activity.

Heart Sight: Creating Momentum

Your thoughts and emotions create momentum in your life. What you focus on expands.

You’re creating momentum with every choice to focus on one thing or another. The Law of Attraction is at the heart of momentum.

It’s important to learn how to build momentum the right way, and to know what to do when momentum is going in the opposite direction of your desires.

One of my favourite teachers on this topic is Abraham, channeled through Esther Hicks. 

“One day’s focus is enough momentum for you to allow anything you want to flow into your experience.”

Here’s a 10-minute coaching session on being the conscious creator you were meant to be.

If you want more, just type in the keywords “Abraham Hicks” and “Momentum” in YouTube and you’ll be inspired for hours.

Moving Along – Happy Shooting, Happy Living!

As you capture or create motion with your camera, reflect on the power of momentum.

No matter if you’re allowing your positive momentum to sweep you faster towards your desires or starting positive momentum from scratch first thing in the morning, may your beliefs, thoughts, and emotions move you forward on your Path to your Highest Good.

Thank you for accompanying me over the past 38 weeks as we explored & expressed our love of beauty and the beauty of love through my 19 Spiritual Photo Tips. You can access them all via the INDEX in my Free Resources.

Happy shooting! Happy living!

Namaste

 

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Spiritual Photo Tip 18: Reflections

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Welcome to Spiritual Photo Tip 18 – Reflections – opening new ways of seeing and being in the world.

There’s so much to say about how light plays on and with surfaces to create reflections. I’ve broken it down into 3 parts – each with its own photo & heart sight tips.

Reflections – Be Still My Heart

Photo Tip:

Photographing reflections in water has been a longtime passion of mine.

When the water is perfectly still, it’s like a mirror.

This can be a perfect time to use symmetry in your photo like in the first shot below (an exception to what I taught in Tip 4 on Horizon Lines).

I can’t begin to express how thrilled I was to impose my own symbolism to that shot of the snow egret gazing intently at itself. OK, it was probably looking for fish below the surface, but doesn’t its mirrored pensive pose create stories & conversations in your head?

Puddle-play is just one of the reasons I like to go walking during or after a rainfall. Looking for splashes of colour or upside down sceneries simply delights me.

When the water isn’t still, it creates mirages of colour & movement that dance with the imagination. 

This week, find bodies of water to connect with – be it an ocean, lake, river, puddle, or cup of water. Change your position a little to see how the worlds within them change. 

Try symmetry or cutting out the original to only keep the reflection. Have fun!

Heart Sight – As Above So Below:

According to the Law of Correspondence, our outer world is a reflection of our inner world.

The world as we see and experience it emanates from our thoughts and feelings.

The more we nurture and cultivate our inner world, the more our outer world will match our true essence. 

So how are your waters? Are they overly excited & distressed or still as a mirror?

What can you do right now to calm your water so that they reflect your true essence of love & light instead of your monkey mind filled with worries, distortions, fear, etc.

Reflections – Peek-a-Boo

Photo Tip:

Water isn’t the only reflective surface.

Have fun looking for reflections in mirrors, windows, glasses, etc.

Heart Sight – Mirror Play:

When we look at ourselves straight on without our illusions and delusions, we open the portal to a fuller, more authentic life.

Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Your feelings are a reflection of your thoughts. 

Are you seeing your Self without illusion or delusions?  Can you see your beauty, your Light?

If not, what are some of the false thoughts that you’re ready to let go of.

Keep looking at yourself, eye gazing for at least 5 minutes, to see beyond the judgments, beyond the surface and right into your soul.

Mirror work is powerful healing work. If you’re not familiar with it, Louise Hay explains one famous version of it here.

Reflections – When the Light Hits

Photo Tip:

Photography is all about light.

How that light hits your subject can completely change its appearance.

Here are a few light tips for your next play sessions.

  1. The best time of day to take pictures is early in the morning or late in the day before sundown. These magic hours are when you get the long shadows created by light hitting your subject sideways. They also create greater contrast on structures like houses, for example.If you don’t want harsh shadows in your portraits and close-ups, shoot on an overcast day or head for the shade.
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  2. The magic hours are also great for backlighting like with the photos of the spiderweb or wild grasses. The strong light behind the subject gives it a glowing edge. For silhouettes or emphasis on the light, make sure to expose for that light, not the object. For example, if taking a picture of a backlit tree with a smartphone, tap your finger on the light, not the tree. Or tap on the tree and then drag down the lighting so that the tree is dark and the glow is properly exposed.With an SLR camera, put it in Manual Mode and use a spot meter to measure the light. Or simply underexpose from your automatic setting to favour the light vs. the subject.If you’re taking a portrait and want both to be visible, add fill-flash. You can force your flash on smartphones too.This is one of the trickier lighting techniques. There’s nothing like playing and practicing until you understand the possibilities. Take lots of photos!
    *
  3. Glare from lights can add a lot of mood to a shot, like in the first photo of the boardwalk below. Look around for glare on objects like cars, glass, etc.
    *
  4. Lens flare can also add a lot to your shots or even become the main subject like in a few of the photos below. This happens when light hits your lens – when you’re shooting right into the sun. Depending on your lens and its angle, it can add orbs, rainbow streaks or sunbursts to your images. I like to play with these with both my SLR and iPhone. They give an ethereal quality to portraits & even selfies.With an SLR, the narrower your aperture (i.e. f16, f22+) and wider the focal length (i.e. 18mm lens), the better.With a smartphone, you just want your light source to be much brighter than the rest of the image and hitting directly into your lens.And as I show with the selfie, you can then edit the shot to increase the contrast or saturation of colour. There’s no limit to the fun you can have!

Heart Sight – Let Your Light Shine Bright:

The Light within you is a reflection of the Light from Source. It’s of the same essence. 

Sit with that knowledge. How does it feel?

Knowing that this is true about everyone else too, how does it change how you see them?

These are great questions to journal about. But don’t stop there.

Take time to reflect on the people in your life and ask yourself these questions:

  1. With whom do I focus mostly on the shadows? How can I better appreciate and be compassionate about those shadows? How can I shine my Light brighter with them to change what I see?
  2. When are my magic hours, when it’s easier to access my own Light and the Light in others? What activities/ thoughts/ techniques help me access that inner magic for longer periods of time or in times when it’s harder to do?
  3. How can I focus more on the beauty of the Light in the world, in others, and within myself instead of focusing on the dark side?

Share the Light

You have the power to inspire by your inner & outer work. Trust me, the light will spill over to shine on others. 

Start by spreading beauty through your photography online on social media or with friends.

Let every picture be a catalyst and a mirror of what’s happening inside. 

Every person that does their inner work is helping light-up the world. If  you’ve read this far down, you’re one of them!

Thank you for your sparks and your flames. You’re magnificent! 

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