Sunday sketch: Solstice on my mind.

A Sunday sketchy sesh in my studio with a few of my mark-making tools.

Summer Solstice on my mind (exact 3:19pm AEDT).

A time of allowing your deep inner knowing to come into the light and let it lead the way.

Trust, and also be playful with it.

Your divine self/ higher self/ soul is ever-beaming guidance to you. 

What helps you tune into its vision?

Use this question as a prompt in your journal or art journal.

My next online course will be assisting you in this journey. We start January 2020. Stay tuned. Join my list below to receive the Early Bird special when registration goes live. 

Note, It’s Winter Solstice for friends in the Northern Hemisphere. A time of stillness and inner reflection. Yes, you can still work with the question above as a journal prompt.

Thank you for being here and reading these words.

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So much love,

Jelena xx

A reminder of the power of your dreams.

I dreamt of rain.

Do dreams have power to create any difference?

When we take inspired action on our waking dreams, they sure do.

Which reminds me of the words from 10 year old Jack Berne;

“You do whatever you can, even if that’s just a little thing.”

I mention his change-making campaign in my previous post here.

As we near 2020 and a new decade, there’s a feeling in my bones that previously brushed off or belittled authentic goodness is going to be what creates empowering and sustainable change.

Small things with big heart.

For our personal wellbeing, our families, communities, our collective humanity, Mama Earth and all life with her. 

This is what we will be tuning into during the upcoming Way of the We.Moon, Medicine Circle with me here.

Thank you for being here and reading these words.

If you found value in this post join my list below to receive the latest soul-nourishing goodness from me straight to your inbox + it’s also where I tuck in exclusive offers and freebies, yay! Know peeps who would also find value in this read? Please share the love via your fav social feed. How to work deeper with me; Check out 1:1 Sessions with me.

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So much love,

Jelena xx

Through the smoke haze, I see you deep kindness.

Even before getting out of bed, we can smell the smoke here in Sydney where I live.

The day can begin with a feeling of what’s going to happen and what can I do? 

The RFS and Emergency Services crew, many who are volunteers, are working their tukkas off doing all they can. There are no words for their courageous hearts and exhausted efforts. 

What has also got my attention is a depth of kindness and fierce support that has rallied itself together from local and greater communities. 

It is grass roots movements and every day people that feels to be holding our country up right now, doing what they can to support those directly battling the blazes, be of help to families who have lost their homes or rescuing/ assisting injured wildlife.

From A fiver for a farmer and Rescue Craft co to volunteer fire fighters that started their own GoFund me campaigns for respiratory masks and everyday folk gathering up supplies for local brigades.

This is people power in action.

And it’s gaining momentum.

A fiver for a farmer started by Jack Berne is a fundraising campaign that has inspired the entire country. Jack is 10 years old and happens to be one of my cousins’ nephews. He just wanted to help the farmers, and as a result of this, has amplified awareness of the long standing drought – and what it actually means and looks like for the farmers, animals and land.

It has also given regular members of the community a way to help.

And clearly people want to help. 

Rescue Craft co is a group on Facebook (it has 8500 members as I write this) consisting of regular folk who knit, sew or crotchet to make, craft and provide items such as bat wraps, bat pouches, hanging bags for joeys and crotched birds nests for injured animals from the Australian bush fires. People have requested to join from all over the world and are sending in their handmade items.

What to get crafting for a cause? Specific patterns are provided in the group for anyone who would like to get busy knitting.

Wollombi Firefighting Fund is but one of many fundraising campaigns set up by regular people to help the firies. This one directly is supporting local fire brigades in the Wollombi Valley: Bucketty, Laguna and Wollombi – to enable these brigades to purchase the equipment, resources and supplies they need.

There are so many established organisations along with new projects happening and groups forming to help at this time of crisis. Check in with your local fire brigade or animal rescue organisation such as WIRES to see what they might need. 

More than ever right now we need rain.

The people, the animals and the land need life-sustaining water. Until plentiful rain comes it’s fire fighters and Emergency Services crew literally on the front lines protecting what they can.

As for those of us that “don’t hold a hose” as our Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he himself doesn’t in a statement this morning from Hawaii where he is on a family vacation, there is so much that can be done.

The drought is two years long thus far.

The bush fires have been raging for months.

There is so much that can be done, and more that is needed.

The people can see that and are grabbing it by the reigns.

A big thank you to my sister Krisi who answered the call out for supplies from Medlow Bath Fire Brigade. A four hour round trip by car. She organised a collection of donations – that ended up being from a group of several women, including our sister Dana. And off I went with Krisi on Monday to deliver a car full of requested items.

Basic items like toilet paper.

Thanks to Caroline, the Station Secretary for greeting us with such warmth, and generous hugs.

Even before Caroline unpacked the bags, she wanted to note down our names and contact address to send a thank you – that is the calibre of kindness going on. She even asked if it would be okay for her to share the supplies with other local brigades. Ah, yes!

There’s much to be frustrated, enraged and upset about right now in regards to how the drought and bush fires are being addressed and dealt with by the government. 

Where this could be cause for wider division amongst the people, instead I’m only seeing, hearing and learning about how it is bringing everyday people together.

It is with great sadness today Australia woke up to the news two volunteer fire fighters from Horsley Park crew lost their lives. Both were in their 30’s and fathers of young families.

On Thursday NSW was officially declared as being in a State of Emergency for the next seven days. The same was declared on 11 November for seven days. Which means, even when this official title is lifted (as it was in November) the bush fires spanning hundreds of thousands of hectares (as of 7 December 2 million hectares have been burnt or are burning in NSW this bush fire season) and the long-standing drought will still be impacting people, animals and the land – and will continue to need awareness and on-going assistance.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, dismayed, frustrated, angry, in grief or helpless during such times, here’s a quote from Jack, inspired by his school’s motto;

“You do whatever you can, even if that’s just a little thing.” – Jack Berne

Indeed.

Thank you for being here and reading these words.

If you found value in this post join my list below to receive the latest soul-nourishing goodness from me straight to your inbox + it’s also where I tuck in exclusive offers and freebies, yay! Know peeps who would also find value in this read? Please share the love via your fav social feed. How to work deeper with me; Check out 1:1 Sessions with me.

Pop onto my list here:

So much love,

Jelena xx

Make art like no one is watching.

When we make art we birth something from within.

We give form to a vision that’s arrived to us via an inspired nudge, an emotion, a felt sense, a mood or desire. Whether our art is abstract or realistic, stick figures or fine-detail, a masterpiece or purely for play.

Art is a broad term extending into all realms of self-expression.

We each have our unique soul print imbued into everything we create.

There’s no one else on Mama Earth that can “do you” like you know how.

From the way you place food on your plate to the way you move though this day.

Imagine your entire life journey as art.

Only you know how you want it to look like, and feel like.

Do you stay vigilant to that?

It’s a daily practice for me to lean more into the “making art” part and soothe the “who might be watching and what do they think” part, particularly if what “they” think is not-so-fabulous-feeling.

For example, the other week I created a sacred spiral gathering of charred leaves and charcoal and shared it on my social feeds. It was seen by close to 3000 people, shared by over a dozen and tucked in amongst the kind comments was a negative one, in response to someone’s question about the direction of my spiral. 

In my life I’ve definitely experienced moments when such a comment, no matter how little it may seem, would have seen me prefer to shut down and not ‘make art’ for a while. 

It’s been deliberate and deep inner work that sees me feeling very differently now.

And it’s daily inner work which helps me maintain that place and return to it more easefully when I’m “off in the weeds”, as Abraham Hicks would say.

So, to my relief I felt not to respond to the negative comment.

It was their view to have.

I did however feel to respond to the question about my spiral.

Why was it anti-clockwise?

It would appear that way if viewing the spiral as starting from the balancing stones at the centre.

However this particular spiral was a prayer offering from me and so began from my hand.

Meaning it is clockwise.

The way I see it, symbols hold Universal meanings and personal meaning.

I pinch myself I get to witness this in my every day work during 1:1 Sessions with me, Courses and within my Circles.

Even though one might learn a spiral going one way is ‘positive energy’ and the other way is ‘negative energy’, for others a spiral holds the pure positive energy of the Universe/ Source/ Mama Creator no matter in which direction it appears to flow.

So rather than choosing to doubt or question my art, I used the comment as an inspiring reminder to keep on making art. 

Another will always hold their individual perspective about your art.

How it looks, what it means, what is wrong, what is right, what it ought to be, what they like, what they don’t like.

Whether it’s a piece of literal artwork or the art that is your life.

It’s not a stop sign to diminish, tone down or dismiss your personal self-expression.

Sure, some wont love it.
Some will like it.
And for sure, there are those who will adore and appreciate it – and you, period.

How do you feel in the making of your art?

Tune into that life-enhancing focus.

If you feel called to, use that question as a prompt for your notebook or art journal.

Thank you for being here and reading these words.

If you found value in this post join my list below to receive the latest soul-nourishing goodness from me straight to your inbox + it’s also where I tuck in exclusive offers and freebies, yay! Know peeps who would also find value in this read? Please share the love via your fav social feed. How to work deeper with me; Check out 1:1 Sessions with me.

Pop onto my list here:

So much love,

Jelena xx

The rescued Storm Petrel + a free poster for you.

This week I rescued a Storm Petrel.

True story.

Actually they rescued a part of me too.

So there I was the day before thinking about life after a period of chronic external stressors.

Maybe you can relate or know of a loved one moving through this.

When there are goings-on ‘out there’ that push and pull you, or major life changes unfold, maybe it sees you losing sleep and needing to be reminded to eat, there’s a part of the brain that switches-on.

There’s a survival mode going on.

And with enough time, the body can get used to that level of stress as a new sort of normal.

It’s like enduring a storm but human-made storms come with a completely different vibration to Mama Nature made storms.

I journeyed through such a time a couple of years ago. A year later the stormy outer conditions were brought under control, and the stress factor went down numerous notches but one more detail was still in my everyday awareness. Earlier this year that detail was divinely sorted out.

What happens next is the body and its internal systems need to receive the same memo.

I have no words for the support team around me, for the love, good vibes, cups of tea, walks, hugs, chats and amongst other priceless gems, the gold-star cheerleading-squad that they are for me to be me, to keep being me and keep on doing my work in the world.

I get it.
I know it.
I see it.
I sense it.
I feel it.
I breathe it.
I adore it.
I embrace it.

Still, it took my body time to integrate that it’s okay.

So, it was all of that that had been on my mind this particular day, earlier this week.

The next morning I went for a walk along my local beach. I happened to be with my car, and parked it down one end of the beach. And off I went.

Along the way I passed a few sea birds washed up on the shore. Due to exhaustion during migration times some of the birds do not make the entire journey. As I reach the other end of the beach, there was another.

However, this one was alive.

I stopped to observe the bird to see what might be going on. As the waves came close, it made no motion to swim. I could see if the waves came in any further, it was going to drown. I slowly approached the bird, and asked if I could lift it up (being a mama human to a flock of hens has taught me how to hold birds so they don’t flap out of your hands). Its webbed feet were in tact, as were its very long and elegant wings. At first I moved it a few steps away from the water, and its instinct was to head back closer. But it was unable to hold its weight.

The bird was either going to drown or it needed to see a vet.

So to the vet it was.

I picked up the bird, held it close to my chest and made the half hour walk along the sand back to my car. Talking to the bird as I went. Telling it how amazing it was, and appreciating the opportunity to hold its wild precious self.

When I got back to the car, I wrapped the bird in a cloth bag, put it on my lap and drove to the vet.

So much thanks to Newport Vet for looking after the bird and doing what they can to help the bird return to its natural habitat.

I have since learned the bird is a Storm Petrel.

Being me, I looked up the wisdom of Storm Petrel and tuned into its messages.

One particular message stood out;

“The Storm Petrel, which is the spirit of storm-wisdom, advises that when our human storms arise and the first release is over, it is wise to command the raging elemental forces and calm and contain them until their jangling vibrations are soothed. The Storm Petrel will show us how to do this without surrendering our own power to domination by others. Its purring message is: “Blessed are the peacemakers!” – Excerpt from Angel Messages: The Oracle from the Birds.

And something in me clicked into place.

The Storm Petrel recused that part of me that was still worried about the jangling vibrations.

The experience of holding a wild Storm Petrel to my heart centre was the soothing healing I didn’t know I needed.

What a gift it is when divine connections and communication find us on our path.

Your divine self is ever-aware of where you are at, and where you are in relation to what you are wanting for yourself and your life.

From this place birthed my latest creative offering.

Want the printable poster?

As a playful way to remind the self when storm clouds arise your divine self knows how to raise you above the storm, I created a free printable poster for you. Pop your name in below and I’ll send you the high quality printable. You’ll also be on my list for regular soul-nourishing goodness (psst. this is where I tuck in exclusive offers + freebies). Yay!

Yes! Send me the poster!

Thank you for being here and reading these words.

Know peeps who would find value in this read? Please share the love via your fav social feed. Ready to align deeper with your divine self? Check out 1:1 Sessions with me.

So much love,

Jelena xx