Repairing our connection . . .by "checking in."

“Learn to let your intuition—gut instinct—tell you when the food, the relationship, the job isn’t good for you (and conversely, when what you’re doing is just right).” ~ Oprah

Every time I've gone against my gut instinct, I've paid the price. And I do mean, every single time, without exception. I have recently been more attuned to it and have made a conscious effort to truly listen and pay attention to my gut at all times. It's how I've come to create my art. The fact that I now work on something that brings me so much joy and feels so good is all due to following my gut instinct and listening to Inspired Action.

This hasn't always been the case. I have plenty of experiences where I decided to either listen to other people, or I've let my ego get in the way. When I've done this, I've completely turned my back on my inner voice, my intuition, and the results have always been disastrous! That is because we come into this physical world reality with this miraculous built-in connection to Source Energy. I mean, we are born with this otherworldly GPS device already programmed with all that we'll ever need to guide us in this world. From the start it is giving us information to help us along. As babies we cry when we're hungry or sleepy or need changing. Nobody told us to do this! This was all instinctual. We came here knowing this was how things had to be until we learned to communicate with these beings that were our parents and started using words.

As we get older and get exposed to outside influences, we tend to start listening to other people, maybe a little too much. We also start dealing with our friend, ego. And our ego, if we let him or her, will take over our lives. Dr. Wayne Dyer likes to say that the word ego stands for Edge God Out. I think he's totally right. That's one of the things our ego loves to do. It gets in the way of our gut instinct and tries to shut it down. Ego believes it has what's best for us in mind when in reality, it's only thinking about what's best for ego to survive. The more it can get in the way of our connection to our Source Energy, the better its chances of sticking around telling you what to do.

So, as the years go by and our ego gets stronger and we start listening to other people, we tend to rely less and less on our gut instincts. We pay less attention to that built-in GPS system. Especially if what our guide is telling us to do goes against what everyone else thinks we should do.

We all have stories of times when we went against our instincts and things went horribly wrong. What we have to do is remember these instances when a similar event happens and we're about to do something we feel deep down that we're not supposed to do. It's important to exercise our instinctual powers. Really get in touch with our inner voice and get that connection to Source Energy or God back in fine working order. One of the best ways to do this of course is by spending some time actively seeking to repair the connection.

In the mornings I like to do Ah Meditation sessions for about 10 minutes or so. But, I've started to extend this time a little at the end and do what I like to call a "checking in" exercise. I check in with my core and make sure that all is well. How do I feel about the state of my life at this very moment? Are there areas that feel wrong, that don't fit with me? Are there things I'm doing that I know I shouldn't be doing? Am I happy with my life?

When I first started "checking in", I found that ego liked to come in and answer the questions for me. It liked to come up with excuses for any of the questions that I instinctively knew the answer to. But, the more I calmed my mind and quieted ego, the easier it got to repair that connection to Source, that invisible line going straight from my core, my center, to Source Energy. Now in my periods of checking in, the answers come immediately. I can't even say they come in the form of words but more as immediate feelings. My gut remains calm and peaceful whenever a question is asked and I'm living in its truth. If I ask myself a question and I'm not in a good space with that question, my gut lets me know in the form of a small yet palpable twisting feeling. Whenever I get that response, that lets me know that I'm dealing with an area that needs further investigation. It doesn't mean that I now have to berate myself and that I've done something wrong. This just means that it's time to look inward and seek for the answer, which is already there, at a deeper level.

To start repairing this connection to Source, or make the connection you already have even stronger, I do recommend doing the "checking in" exercise a couple of times a week. As always, I like to make things easy, because you know what I believe . . . if something is easy to do, the more likely you are to DO IT consistently. So, depending on how good your connection is, then that can determine the amount of time spent checking in. At first, like I said, ego might like to get in there and mess with you, so it could possibly take a little longer to get through the questions.

The questions are simple ones. You can come up with your own set but I usually start with these:

• How are you?
• How is your life?
• Are you happy?
• Is there anything troubling you?
• What is going right for you?
• Is there anything you'd like to see change?

These are just a few examples. It really helps to customize your questions to whatever is going on in your life at the moment. I like to do the checking in exercise before I undertake any new project, no matter how exciting or lucrative it might seem. Checking in with specific questions relating to the issue at hand really helps to clear my thoughts and get in touch with my gut instincts. If all my questions come back with a positive response and my core remains calm and relaxed and at peace, you better believe it, I'm going ahead with that project. It's that simple.

Spend some time checking in and see how your connection to Source will help to guide you in the right direction. The stronger the connection the easier it will be to immediately trust your inner voice. It is right. Every. Single. Time.

Peace and Light to you and KEEP DREAMING!

Gene-Manuel

The Dream Symbol

Symbols are an integral part of my art. Whenever I'm working on a piece, they somehow make their way in. Most of the time I am not really aware of what symbols will end up on a particular piece. It's really a moment by moment process unless the art is commissioned and I know what specific symbols I need to concentrate on.

Dealing so much with dreams and daydreaming lately, I decided to Google "dream symbols" or "symbols for dreams" and all I received were either books on dreams and what they mean or images that really had nothing to do with what I was looking for. I really wanted to find a symbol for just dreams or dreaming. As it turns out, there weren't any. So, I thought I'd give it a try and see if a symbol came to me. I wanted to start using it in my art and also as part of "Day-Dreaming Tuesdays."

I sat down at my drawing table and the symbol below came to me rather quickly.

As you can see, it's very simple. The flame in the center stands for many things. Sometimes I think of it as our imagination. The spark where all dreams reside waiting to explode into the physical world. The symbol also stands for always keeping your dreams alive. That's what that flame represents as well. It means to always keep that little light burning inside of you. Many times during my major bouts with depression in the past, one of the ways I got through them was just knowing that I was meant to do something with my life. I might not have known what that was, but I always felt some thing, some small piece of hope inside me that would always keep me going. I see that flame in the symbol as that small amount of hope that has always kept me going in times of deep sorrow or depression. Even when I wasn't aware of how the Universe works and the power of my thinking, I always had that inner knowing. That spark within me was always flickering and giving me, whether I was truly aware of it or not, strength to continue.

I've started using the Dream symbol in some of my art. It also stands for HOPE and BELIEVING in your dreams, your future, your LIFE! There's always a space for all those things in my work I think. Feel free to copy the image above and print it out. Place it on your Vision Board or anywhere that's visible to you. Make it a reminder to always believe in your dreams and no matter what your present situation might be, that spark within you will never die, it's always flickering away. We're here to enjoy life and make our dreams come true. We all have the power to do so. And, we all need a reminder every now and again.

Peace and Light and KEEP DREAMING!

Gene-Manuel

Making your own Sacred Space

To me, a sacred space can be any where I choose or any thing I choose. In the mornings, my sacred space is the chair near my living room window where I do my Ah Meditation. When I'm working on my whirling art, the entire work area transforms itself into a beautiful and precious sacred space. The box where I keep my dream, written on a piece of paper from Bali and folded many times over, is also a sacred space.

I think it's important to create your own sacred space in this world. We live in a time where we willingly give up our privacy on a daily basis. I'm a self-admitted Facebook and now Twitter addict! I love the ways we are all able to share our joys, frustrations, happiness, rages, loves, dislikes, bodily movements, you name it! By typing in a few sentences on Facebook I can let all my friends know how I'm doing or how my family is. When my mom was in the hospital back in February, Facebook became a constant source of support for me. Every time I posted a status update letting everyone know that we were still in hospital and things weren't improving, I was comforted by the kind words of friends, some of whom I haven't seen in over 10 years. But, they were there for me, instantly. I also believe their prayers, chants, lighted candles, etc., helped mom recover enough to leave the hospital after 2 1/2 weeks. 

So, I'm not knocking the ways we communicate and share ourselves with the world at large. But, in the midst of all these technological advances in communication, it's now more important than ever to create a space all our own. A space where we are able to be alone. . . still . . . quiet. A space where we can save our secret hopes and dreams or share a knowledge you'd like to keep private until the right moment to blast it into the Universe with a "tweet!"

These Sacred Spaces provide wonderful opportunities to dream or be grateful or simply make a connection to something greater. It all comes back to shutting down the noise that surrounds us on a daily basis and coming back to your center. I look forward to stepping into my sacred space each day because I know that it is time specifically devoted to me. All is indeed well when I've had at least a few minutes to step away from the whirlwind that surrounds me and just breathe or write in my journal or place another dream in its special hiding place.

After this becomes a habit, what you will see start to happen is you will get the ability to remain in a sacred space even while you're out in your every-day world. Your connection to your space, to that quiet place, will remain with you. A beautiful, joyous calm will always be with you no matter where you go. 

I'll write further about Sacred Spaces in future postings but for now, I urge you to at least start thinking about creating your own space. Just putting that thought out into the Universe will be a great beginning.

Peace and Light and keep DREAMING!

Gene-Manuel

Inspired Action (2)

When I paid attention and listened to that inner voice (Inspired Action) that told me to go to the arts supply store and buy markers and paper, I had no idea what was about to happen. I bought an 11" x 14" pad of paper and a small supply of markers. I didn't know what I was doing or buying, but it all felt right.

As soon as I had the markers and the paper in front of me, and I was alone, I suddenly got this flashing vision of a leaf that I knew I had to draw. The need to draw this leaf was so strong, that for the next two hours, that's all I did. I drew this big, red leaf, with small dots and little details. After stopping, I realized two hours had passed but it had felt to me like a few minutes. A few precious minutes of bliss. For those two hours I had not thought about anything else but the leaf that was appearing in front of me. For two hours I did not think about any of the usual problems that would creep into my head. For two beautiful hours, I felt as if I had entered the Silent Mind I had heard so much about.

That's when I knew that I wanted to do this drawing thing more often. From this day on, every single free moment I had, I spent drawing. After the red leaf was finished, a blue candle kept popping into view until I had it in front of me on paper. This drawing showed the beginning of my use of symbols. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had about 8 pieces ranging from Native American symbols to Egyptian hieroglyphs. I could not stop. As if I were possessed, I would walk into my apartment and immediately go to my drawings and start working. I would be in the middle of a sentence and as if in a trance, I'd stop talking and start drawing.

One day, I was compelled to investigate whirling dervishes. I suddenly remembered Kate Bush using whirling dervishes in many of her videos, especially the one for "Love and Anger," which I immediately searched for on YouTube. Something in their whirling made me want to know more about them. I ran to Google and was treated to an instant course in the history and images of whirling dervishes. After some time, the image of a whirling dervish in the Sema came alive on the page before me. Again, I was struck by how natural this felt to me. How creating this image was something I knew I had to do. "The Whirling" was the first of many whirling dervishes that I have had the honor of creating.

I have let Inspired Action guide me through this new-found passion and it has not led me astray. I am on an incredible journey that has brought such peace and tranquility and JOY into my life that is hard to describe. I learn from every single piece of I art I create. Every image, whether it is a whirling dervish or Buddha, a Tree of Life or a lotus flower, brings with it a message. I am humbled and consider myself one of the happiest people on this beautiful planet Earth every single time I get to sit down and create something on paper.

Always listen to that voice inside that is telling you what to do. Call it Inspired Action, Divine Intervention, gut feeling, the Universal voice, God, whatever feels right to you. You know what I am talking about because we all have it. Listen to it because it will never guide you wrong. If I would've ignored that voice that told me to go and spend money I really didn't have on art supplies that I had never bought in my life, who knows if I would be doing the art that I'm doing now? Although I have a strong feeling that I would've somehow ended up doing this anyway, it might have taken alot longer. But, by listening and not second-guessing myself, and trusting, I now create art that brings a never-ending supply of joy not only to me but to many others. I finally got the answer to those questions, "What am I doing here?" "What is my purpose?"

The answers we sometimes look for outside of us and in "things" are, most of the time, right in front of us. We have those answers and if we only make the room in our lives for them to come forth, by meditating, spending a quiet moment or two during the day contemplating all of the wonderful possibilities in life, they will come through. Like Eckhart says, "Stillness Speaks."

Peace and Light and KEEP DREAMING,

Gene-Manuel