Spirit Calls Again... and I'm listening - Dominique Hurley

It sometimes takes my brain a few days to catch up to the Guidance I receive, especially when it involves a major change of plans (was never very good with those), but it has, and I’ve got exciting news to share. My latest Spirit Call is sending me to Bali in April to attend a Flora Bowley intuitive painting workshop + extension program. Now that the decision has been made, it feels great. Once again, the signs were quite clear, but letting go of what I thought I was meant to do (3 full trimesters in Vienna) wasn’t so easy. I still might do part of the third trimester, but that depends on a few things, some of which are out of my control. Let me recap before filling you in on the signs that led to this latest decision.

Recap:

In the winter of 2013, I was strongly guided to attend the Vienna Academy of Visionary Arts for 3 months thanks to a series of events that started with my finding Flora Bowley’s book and taking her 5-week e-course.
When I exceeded my fundraising goals and the Academy changed its curriculum so that the original 3 months of drawing were split up throughout three trimesters, my left brain kicked in, and I came to the conclusion that I must be meant to stay here for the full school year (9 months of classes)
I currently have a visa that allows me to stay in the country until December 21 and have experienced quite a bit of stress (still learning about trust) due to the delays in the Academy’s certification by the Austrian government, which have caused delays in my being able to apply for a residency visa to stay longer. It was only 2 weeks ago that we were told that because I hadn’t used up the 3-month visa-free tourist allocation, I could actually stay until March. That takes me to the end of the second trimester. What a relief that was!

All this uncertainty around the visa situation certainly tested my abilities to let go and trust. As I wrote in my September 28 post, before I knew I could stay after Christmas, I was one step closer to achieving that: “I open myself to guidance and will live day by day until there’s something I can do”. What I could do was pray for signs. And signs I got.

In early October, our in-class music playlist included the soundtrack to Flora Bowley’s e-course, reconnecting me to that experience and filling me with joy.
Determined to spend more than 3 months on my art education even if the visa didn’t come through, I looked at Flora’s website in the first week of October, but the timing/programming for the retreats she was a part of in in Mexico and Ireland didn’t speak to me.
On October 14th, I received the advertising email for her 2 Bali retreats, which got me so excited (one in March during the Academy’s Spring Break and the other in April) . Her 100% refund policy was the security blanket I needed to apply right away, even if the logistics/decision-making process involved had me a bit overwhelmed. I applied for the March one, thinking I could go for a week and come right back for the beginning of term should my visa come through, but asked if I could also go to the April one in case I wasn’t allowed back in Austria. The idea of 3-4 weeks in Bali had me dreaming.
The application form asked for an introduction/description of why we wanted to attend as they would handpick participants. I filled it out quickly and got an email back right away saying there was a bug in the system and that the description part of the application hadn’t come through. I had to rewrite it in an email, giving me a chance to tell my story more completely (you know how wordy I can get). I wanted to be totally honest about the uncertainty of my 2014 plans and the path that had led me to applying.
After that, I was fully able to let go and be present for our wonderful 2 week Intensive (Oct. 14-25). The decision was out of my hands and I knew that whatever answer I would get, it would be a sign. I wasn’t attached.
Once the Intensive was over and we were getting ready to go buy our art supplies for the next phase of our course, I asked if I could use the oil paints donated to the school instead of purchasing my own set as I wasn’t planning on using oils again after the course (mostly due to my concerns over toxicity and my current preference for quick drying intuitive work). This led to one teacher asking me “Then why bother learning it?” – a very fair question that propelled me into clarifying my artistic and arts education goals over the next few days. Indeed, it helped me remember that I had never intended on learning oils, but had originally signed up for 3 months of drawing. I will definitely learn very valuable skills and principles in the next month of working with oils and the Mischtechnik that I’ll also be able to use with acrylics (and who knows, I may fall in love with oil painting although the fumes are already getting to me) and have no regrets about that at all, but this teacher’s question assisted me in letting go of the idea of having to complete an entire year to get what I truly wanted. (I’m not the most comfortable with uncertainty and knowing I had the next 9 months planned would have been nice, but the Universe /Austrian government wasn’t going to let that happen anyway).
With clearer goals, I started imagining myself hermitting somewhere with YouTube to focus intensively and solely on my drawing – no matter if I could attend 2 more trimesters. After a month of drawing classes here, I’m off to a good start, but realized that I’m so far from my original goal and that I don’t have enough time to just practice.
In the first days of November, therefore, I came to the conclusion that the workshop in Bali would definitely be in line with my goals and would help me integrate all I’ve learned back into my more natural way of creating. This time (vs. in the e-course), I might not stumble when it came to adding drawing elements to my pieces.
On the morning of November 5th, 3 weeks after my application, I woke up saying/asking that if I heard back from Flora that day, I would definitely go – it would be a clear sign. At this point, I was only thinking of the March workshop in Amed since it fell in between my school terms, so it wouldn’t be affected by whether or not I could return to Austria. It would only seriously affect my finances.
10 minutes later, I heard the “ding” of an email coming through – I got it! I was handpicked as 1 of the 14 out of over 80 applicants! But wait… it wasn’t for the Amed one, but for Ubud, the one that started at the same time as the third trimester. I immediately emailed back asking to be put on the waiting list if someone cancelled from Amed that day. Two days later, I got an automated message that my message had never been delivered (an effect of Mercury retrograde or perhaps some Higher Assistance?).
During those 2 days, however, I had had a chance to review my finances, my plans, my goals/desires, and the fact that I was indeed receiving clear Guidance, even if it wasn’t what I thought I had wanted/expected. I came to the conclusion that actually, only 1 week in Amed (missing the last 2 days of classes here in order to get there on time and then rushing back) wasn’t such a good idea. Plus flights to Denpassar are 22-30 hours long according to my initial research. Therefore, the Ubud workshop in the artistic/cultural centre of Bali seemed better in some respects – plus this workshop also offered an extension week to keep painting with the co-facilitator Nicole Lawrence whose second home is in Bali.
Several emails back and forth with Nicole led to my being reassured about the safety of staying alone in Ubud for an additional 2 weeks in a small very affordable family-run resort that her relatives uses all the time. I haven’t firmed up all the details of that yet (she might also hook me up with a private drawing teacher), but it feels good, despite the risks. (Indonesia/Bali have travel advisories attached to them, as it is governments’ responsibility to do so after a few terrorist incidents in the past. But then again, I was cleared out of a New York airport due to a bomb threat, so anything can happen anywhere. I’ve considered the risks – as millions of tourist to Bali do every year. I have to trust my inner guidance on this one and choose love over fear.) Double checking with my Guidance tools has also reassured me.
On Friday, I sent my deposit.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some of the signs along the way, but this gives you an idea of my decision-making process. Now you’re up to date on my life and where the funds you’ve helped me gather for my art education are going. I smiled when yesterday’s mantra in the 21-day online meditation program I’m following was:

“I set my goals, allow the power of the living Universe to take over and enjoy the ride.”

My Spirit Calling cards have also been very useful in this decision-making process. You already saw one of the messages I got at the beginning of this message. Here was another:

I haven’t booked my plane ticket yet. I’m still unsure of what I’ll be doing and where I’ll be going after Bali. With the difference in prices between return flights vs. one-way tickets to Bali followed by one to Canada – and the fact that I already have a ticket from here back to Canada in June – I think I’ll leave here for Bali 88 days within my tourist time so that I can come back and either stay for the Spring Intensive and special workshops here in May/June + self-directed drawing (if I get a residence visa), or pick up my stuff and head home to Canada within my leftover 2 days of tourist time allowed in Austria. I won’t need to figure that out right away if I buy a return flight here. One thing for sure, my budget will be stretched to its very limit, so there’s still a bit of figuring out to do before I buy my ticket. I’m definitely waiting until after Mercury Retrograde stops today though, which can affect things like transportation, technology and major purchases/contracts. According to my trusted astrologer, November 12th is supposed to be the best day of the month for this kind of thing and more (and a great one for the year too) – it also happens to be my birthday. Finding continued direction for my life as I explore and express my love of beauty and the beauty of love has been a great birthday gift indeed!

Did you find this inspiring? Please share it.