Full Moon Dreamers ~ Pink April Moon

Full Moon Dreamboards ~ a creative way to express what we wish to manifest in a particular month. Each month has a name, a this becomes the theme or inspiration for the dreamboard. For more on Full Moon Dreamboards, visit Jamie's site.

Full Pink Moon - April - This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon (the full moon before Easter), and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the Shad swam upstream to spawn.

Pink ~ the colour of fresh, young skin; the colour of deliciously broiled Wild Sockeye Salmon fillets; the colour of White Zinfandel (a favourite of mine); the colour of the tartest, most refreshing Pink Lemonade; the colour of bitter and juicey Grapefruit flesh; the colour of sunrise skies, also of sunset skies; the colour of the sun on a lazy and sultry summer evening; the colour of magnolias and Cherry Blossoms; (in Feng Shui) the colour of universal love.

Pink emits a soothing energy. Designer use pink to convey softness, tenderness, playfulness. Both bold and gentle could describe pink. Pink expressed joy, hope, and gentle vibrancy. I entered this world through my mother's pink door, just as my sons entered this world through my own pink door. Ahhh, pink ~ portal of life, as in the pink canal.**

As the Full Pink Moon approaches, my spirit stirs to embrace life more vibrantly, taking courage to hold hope closer to my heart, and remembering the plethora of joys that bless me in my life. I feel also, a stirring in my soul to work toward spreading hope to others with the smallest of gestures, and to embrace transformation with my whole being.

** credit to my husband, Martin, for coming up with this interpretation of and metaphor for PINK**

~ all photos taken by yours truly;

I created this mosaic at BigHugeLabs~

Inspiration and its Source

Inspiration ~ breathed upon. As in, words, lines or curves breathed onto the page, screen or canvas. The expression breathed upon has divine connotations. It conjures up the imagery of the divine being breathing the creative source into the heart, mind and soul of the inspired one. This implies, then, aura of openness. In order to receive breath, one must relax and open oneself to the experience. Think about the fact that we do have awareness of the fact that our lungs expand approximately 12 times per minute. What happens at those rare, unfortunate moments when we do have such awareness? The Eisenberg principle takes effect ~ manifested as A-N-X-I-E-T-Y, a force which blinds us to the simple and sublime.

Inspiration seems much like a grace ~ unsought (though desired), uncontrolled, and irresistible. The artist's performance involves her body and mind, yet it remains a cherished gift. Inspiration exists prior to consciousness and outside of the realm of skill. It defies comprehension. It embodies the sort of poetic madness that comes from having glimpsed at the empyrean and the ninth sphere of paradise. Inspiration provokes a compulsion to create. Through creation, the artist reaches revelation. The struggle becomes striking a balance between divine impulse and the artist's own human consciousness. Art ~ defined as the product of inspired creation ~ promotes conscious revelation. Does this increase self-awareness? Does it enhance the well-being of one's inner self?

At the core of inspiration lies madness and irrationality, as sourced by genius. What is genius? I think it's an innate ability to channel the frightening beauty of the divine winds. A quick foray into the etymology of the word tells us that, in Ancient Rome, genius described the guiding or guardian spirit of an ancestor who guarded his descendants. Genius ~ guiding spirit. Kant saw genius as 'the ability to independently arrive at and understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person.' Focus lies upon the concept of originality ~ a talent for producing ideas which can be described as non-imitative.

Do you know, dear Reader, what are the three characteristics shared by geniuses?

1. Systematic and orderly approaches to problem solving.
2. Sense of wonder, ability to look at things in a fresh, almost childlike way. Keeping an open mind and a flexible attitude on all subjects.
3. Ability to concentrate with greater depth and intensity than the average person.

So ... genius lies within the grasp of us all. Neither excellence achieved at skill performance nor some culturally-biased quantification of intellectual strength embodies the true spirit of genius. Genius refers to the way in which one sees and processes one's surroundings; it requires self tolerance and patience. And of course ... some good, old-fashioned perspiration.

visceral intuition

I have spent my days, this week, immersed in Photoshop. I love graphic design. I love Photoshop. This Photoshop course has sent me on another photo-choppy jag. Hours on end, spent with squinting at the screen, talking to myself, wearing my glasses on my forehead, searching for just the right image ... or look. And then, in the midst of it all, when I have my glasses on my forehead, and someone walks by and starts talking to me, I have gone so viscerally into my intuitive self that I find myself thinking, I can't talk to you right now, I'm not wearing my glasses. Like ... my brain felt incapable of processing outside auditory stimuli because I could not see through my eyes clearly. The two have some sort of connection ~ not sure just what though.

And so, it seems that different modalities of creativity have different energy fields ... and and reside in different areas of the Self and the psyche. Photo-chopping takes me to a very intimate place of my being. A place so spiritually visceral, it defies words. And at that place, dear reader, I have arrived. Like a weary traveller who failed to adequately prepare for his journey. Yet, who marvels at the wonder of all he encounters. Viscerally. Words make no connection. Only image ... colour ... shadow ... texture. My eyes have now become the vehicle through which my heart escapes its bondage. Bear with me.