you can see all of my paintings at www.DominiqueHurley.com

Love Oracle 30: Rebirth Your Reality

Blessed Holy Week & Happy Easter! What does this time of year mean to you?

Do you celebrate the resurrection of Christ? Does it spark your soul to believe that through the clouds of trials, torture and apparent death emerged the Truth of everlasting life? Does Jesus’s connection with pure Christ Consciousness give you the strength to follow His example? Does His showing us the way remind you of how loved you truly are ?

Or is Easter simply a seasonal time of hope, rebirth, awakening? Does witnessing new beginnings in nature revitalize your faith after trudging through the slumber of frozen lands? Does the rejuvenation of life and colour all around you rekindle your faith in the future?

I tried to add a third blurb on the Easter bunny and chocolate, but I’ll stick to Jesus and Mother Nature…

The 3 paintings I chose for this week’s Love Oracle all touch on aspects of the Easter story, no matter your associations with this time of year. May they help you rebirth your reality.

Ask your Team of Divine Helpers a question about your life and then pick the painting that speaks most to you. Then scroll down to read its Oracle Message.

Love Oracle Message 1: What Matters Most?

The final Communing with Community paintingDear Beloved,

It’s time to salvage for salvation! What have you built in this lifetime that matters most to you?

What is so precious that it’s worth holding onto or letting go, nurturing, honouring? Perhaps you’ve taken it for granted. Perhaps it has started crumbling without your notice. Maybe it’s ripe for the flames to destroy, just as they did the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris?

Do you remember that day? Do you remember how the local community mourned? Did you feel the flames affect you from across the world as it did for so many others? I started painting the Rose Window of the Notre Dame Cathedral hours before we heard of the devastating fire. Community rallied around the painting process as their way of processing what was happening. Then, we witnessed over the air waves a rallying – a recognition of how valuable the Cathedral was to people. Funds came in and restoration began.

What stands in your life as a treasure worth saving before fire or neglect destroys it? It could be a way of being, a relationship, a project, your values, your vocation, your legacy.

If you’ve picked this painting, it’s time to add new life to your world by not taking what you value most for granted.

See it with renewed vision. Nourish it with renewed love. Be one with it with renewed faith. Connect to its purpose beyond the earthly realm and ask your Team of Divine Helpers to help infuse it with Cosmic Energy. May it blossom and grow to be what it has always been at its core.

Painting: Communing with Community (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 2: Transform the Toxins

Dear Beloved,

Just as the peacock can transform the poison of snakes and plants into nourishment, it’s time for you to transform your challenges into blessings.

It’s time to review and renew your perspective.

Have you experienced trauma, troubles, challenges, judgment, complaints or criticism lately?

If you picked this painting, you’re being invited to look at the source of these under a new Light. 

How would your perspective change if you truly believed that your soul had agreed to these provocations before being born into this life?

Can you start to feel how this problem can help you learn something for your benefit and that of others?

What if what you’d perceived as a huge negative in your life, a toxin, was truly a treasure? What if within it lay the golden keys to open the door to your next growth spurt for the Highest Good of All?

What if you knew that therein lay the fuel for you to jump one step closer to Enlightenment, to Divine Wisdom?

Think back to when you may have had such a shift in perspective in the past. You’ve no doubt transformed toxins in your life before – it’s part of your Spirit Nature. Can you see how an earlier challenge became a blessing, a gift? Recognizing that it’s possible and true will help you use this super power again.

So call upon your Higher Self, your soul and your Team of Divine Helpers to support you in the transmutation of what you’d previously felt was a toxin into nourishment. 

Ask to be Guided to any inspired action or way of being that can help shift reality as you had seen it. Pray that your eyes may be open to how challenges happen for you, not to you.

Find your super power and watch the tree blossom before you. It is not an obstacle on your path. It’s a gift. Beauty lies beyond the veil of delusion. 

Painting: Reborn of Compassion (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 3: Awaken to the Light

Dear Beloved,

We’re living in a challenging world. But are you focusing on the darkness or on the light?

Now is the time for you to be reborn in the Light. It’s time to live at a higher level of consciousness. 

The Light’s always there – it’s just that at times, you aren’t aware of it. You can’t perceive it. Your eyes are shrouded by thoughts, moods, wrong perceptions.

It’s not that the Light is weak. It’s that your awareness of it waivers. Life does that. That’s the human part of being a human being.

In truth, however, the Light is so strong that darkness cannot exist.

You’re invited to make a choice, Dear One. Will you do the inner work to get rid of the veils of illusion and delusion to connect to the Truth, the Light, the Love that is all around, all the time?

What can you do to remove the blocks to perceiving the Light in the world? What can you do to connect more often and more deeply with your Spirit Self?

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re invited to bring new life to your spiritual practices. What helps you to know that you are One with the Light. 

Tell your Higher Self, your soul, your Team of Divine Helpers that you want to embody more discipline and devotion. Ask them to help you raise your consciousness high about the dark clouds to become one with the Light that has and always will be there.

This is a time of reawakening to who you truly are. You are a part of the Divine Radiance. Shine on!

Painting: New Beginnings (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

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Love Oracle 29: Be Happy Now

Oh Blessed Be! Welcome to this New Season!

Happy Spring Equinox to those on my side of the celestial equator and Happy Fall Equinox to those on the other!

But did you know that tomorrow, March 20th, is also International Happiness Day?

The day recognizes that happiness is a fundamental human goal, and calls upon countries to approach public policies in ways that improve the well-being of all peoples. …The initiative to declare a day of happiness came from Bhutan – a country whose citizens are considered to be some of the happiest people in the world. The Himalayan Kingdom has championed an alternative measure of national and societal prosperity, called the Gross National Happiness Index (GNH). The GNH rejects the sole use of economic and material wealth as an indicator of development, and instead adopts a more holistic outlook, where spiritual well-being of citizens and communities is given as much importance as their material well-being.

So may this not only be a new season in our calendar year, but a new era on the planet.  Happiness is indeed a priority! And it starts with you.

Happiness comes from the inside out.

Although it’s important that governments jump on board the happiness wagon, let’s play our part.

Call in your Team of Divine Helpers and ask them “How can I be happier this week?”.  Pick the painting that speaks most to your heart. Then, scroll down to read its Oracle Message.

Each of the messages includes quotes by Paramhansa Yogananda, the author of “Autobiography of a Yogi” and the guru of the Ananda Village in California, where I’m currently doing karma yoga for 2 months.

Love Oracle Message 1: Open to the Divine Within You

Dear Beloved,

Stand tall and open yourself to the Divine within you.

Your Light is so bright, reflecting the Light of All that Is. Take the time to nurture and connect to it. Feel the exaltation of living as a unique expression of the Divine.

It’s true. Your life is not without challenges. How you experience them depends on you. Don’t wallow. Seek the Light. Where attention goes, energy flows.

As Paramhansa Yoganada said:

“The best way to be unendingly happy is to be conscious of the Divine.”

“Whatever comes of itself, let it come.”

“There are no obstacles: There are only opportunities!”

“Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! Forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! Control the present! Live supremely well now! This is the way of the wise.”

Focus on what you love and let all else to fall into its rightful place. Attract what you want. Align with the Universe, raise your vibration and shine!

Allow your wellspring of unconditional love, gratitude, purpose, and passion to overflow.  You are radiant. You are a lightworker.

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re invited to get up and dance to Bobby McFerrin’s song “Don’t Worry Be Happy“. And if dancing doesn’t do it for you, find what does and be happy now.

Painting: Exaltation (SOLD). Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 2: Deep Roots Grow Rich Fruit

yoga tree post painting "Happy"Dear Beloved,

How are you growing and nourishing deep roots in your life so that you may bear the rich fruit of happiness? 

This is not an outward journey. It’s an inward one.

Are you dedicating enough time and energy to your spiritual practice? How can you invest more? or make what you have more quality time? 

When times get busy or moods get low, it’s easy to let your happiness practice aside. But that’s like depriving your roots of nourishment, only to result in the withering of your Life Force.

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re invited to make wise investments on what has the most returns – in the here and now and every here and now that comes after it.

As Paramhansa Yogananda said:

“Happiness blooms naturally in the hearts of those who are inwardly free. It flows spontaneously, like a mountain spring after April showers, in minds that are contented with simple living.”

“Accept change as life’s only constant. Life is change.”

“Never lose hope. Your soul, being a reflection of the ever joyous spirit, is, in essence, happiness itself.”

“Open the portals of calmness and you will find the bright sun of joy within yourself.”

So go ahead. Make your happiness a priority. It’s your birthright. It’s your magic. It’s the fruit that you will then share with others.

You all deserve your taking the time to find that peace, that calm, that happiness that’s already inside you.

Painting: Happy (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 3:

Dear Beloved,

The happier you are, the easier it will be for those around you to be happy too.

There’s nothing selfish about doing what you need and being who you truly are in order to connect to that happiness at your core.

So what makes you truly happy? Is it really that new pair of shoes, chocolate sundae, compliments from your partner, achievement, or award?

Or is it the joy that bubbles up from being simply and completely in the present moment, loving what is, recognizing and feeling the Divine within yourself and all around you?

As Paramhansa Yogananda said:

“Even if life gave you at one time everything you wanted – wealth, power, friends — after awhile you would again become dissatisfied and need something more.  But there is one thing that can never become stale to you – joy itself.”

“In all your seeking among different things, directly or indirectly, you are in reality seeking happiness through the fulfillment of your desires. Why not seek joy directly? Why seek it through the intermediary of pleasures and objects?”

“Happiness comes, not by helplessly wishing for it, but by dreaming, thinking and living it in all circumstances.”

“A good rule to live by, and one that will take you sailing through many tests in life, is, under all circumstances, to remain even-minded and cheerful.”

“The self-improving man is the increasingly happy man. The happier you become, the happier will be the people around you.”

The key to happiness is that your soul and your life are in sync. Are you living as your True Self? Do you even remember who that is?

Pause for moment to take an inventory of what you prioritize in life. How can you raise your personal Happiness Index to contribute to the National Happiness Index and the International one too?

Take the time to reconnect – through meditation, Right Living, spiritual practices, loving service, and being content with life as it is.

Be happy now!

Painting: Divine Union (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

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Love Oracle 28: Embrace Your Divine Feminine

Happy International Women’s Week!

As we gear up for International Women’s Day on March 8th, I invite you to embrace your Divine Feminine, no matter your gender. 

Reclaiming my Divine Feminine was a crucial part of my personal journey. Intuitive painting and intuitive living have been amazing support to my embracing my Divine Feminine. That’s why I teach them!

In our western world,  Masculine qualities are taught and reinforced. Success usually means doing, achieving, rational logical thinking, perseverance, resilience, courage, strength, Left Brain, etc.  These are awesome qualities. But there’s too much emphasis on them.

At one point, an intuitive healer told me “Dominique! Your right brain is shrinking. Do anything! Cut paper dolls!” She wanted to encourage a rebirth of my creativity after I’d spent a few years focusing on being a Left-brain support to an artist that had enough Right Brain for a team of 20. I’d completely neglected my own creativity. I was living an unbalanced life, and it was taking a toll on my body, mind & spirit.

So today’s Love Oracle is all about embracing your Divine Feminine Qualities. These are:

  • Creative
  • Intuitive
  • Emotionally intelligent
  • Right-brained
  • Vulnerable
  • Nurturing
  • Cooperative
  • Wanting to be rather than do
  • Acting for the experience of joy rather than outcomes
  • Seeking self-mastery for the greater good
  • Defining success through relationships

So ask your Team of Divine Helpers and Higher Self what you need to focus on to embrace your Divine Feminine. 

Pick the painting that calls you the most. Then scroll down to read its message. 

Love Oracle Message 1: Nurture Your Relationships

Dear Beloved,

Do you need a hug? Does someone in your circle?

If you’ve picked this painting, your Divine Feminine is asking you to reach out with your arms and heart wide open to connect, truly connect, with another human being. 

Perhaps you’ve been so busy with your to-do list that you haven’t had or taken the time to reach out to a friend.

Are you so focused on the physical needs of your family that you’ve missed their emotional needs?

Maybe you’ve been in cocooning mode and it’s become so … comfortable.

Whatever the case, spread those lovely wings of your and spread your love. 

You are pure Divine Love at your core. And so is everyone else around you.

Connect to that loving nurturing part of yourself and let Her be all she was meant to be – for yourself and for others.

Who comes to mind, to heart when you read these questions?

  • “Who needs me right now?”
  • “Who do I need right now?”
  • “Whose company do I enjoy?”
  • “With whom is it easiest for me to feel loving?”

Then take inspired action. Schedule a time to meet. Call them to remind them they are loved. Express your love in whatever way you’re intuitively guided.

Make someone’s day. It’ll make yours too.

Painting: With Arms Wide Open (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 2: Follow Your Inner Light

Dear Beloved,

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine….” Come on, sing along.

That little light of yours is enough to dissipate the darkness. Let it shine. Let it guide you.

Every time you light a candle, call in your Team of Divine Helpers to be here with you. Let the flame remind you of that God-Essence that already shines brightly at your core.

Then close your eyes. Ask for Guidance for your Highest Good and the Highest Good of All. Then Look. Listen. Sense. Know/remember. Smell. Taste. Use whatever intuitive channel is most open to receive. 

Life is so much more fulfilling when your intuition leads the way.

Embrace your Divine Feminine. Let Her connect to the bigger picture – the one that can only be seen when you join your light with its Source.

Then engage your Divine Masculine to help you take inspired action to manifest your best life. 

What are your Spirit Calls?

What does “Follow your Bliss” mean to. you?

What does your heart crave to be, to feel, to do?

Ask your Team of Divine Helpers to add their light to yours so that the road ahead becomes clearer. 

The answers are all within you. They’re in your Light.

Use whatever intuitive hearing aids that you need to tap into them. Try an intuitive walkabout or an intuitive vision board. Do some automatic writing / journaling. Pull some oracle cards, use a pendulum.

Eventually, you won’t need the tools and will be able to simple shine the inner light of your Divine Feminine more brightly to immediately connect to the best answers for you.

If you haven’t already, listen to my 75-minute Intuition into Action free tutorial here.

May it help you strengthen your relationship with your intuition.

May it help you shine your unique light brighter in the world. You are an individualized expression of the Divine. Embrace that!

Painting: Our Lady of Light (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 3: Honour Your Emotions

Dear Beloved,

You are a beautifully emotional being – that’s part of the gift of being human. If you don’t acknowledge or accept your emotions, there’s a price to pay.

If you picked this painting, you’re being invited to embrace your Divine Feminine by honouring your emotions. That’s how you’ll increase your EQ – your Emotional Intelligence.

Let’s look at a lotus flower. Rooted in the mud, it rises through the water – the realm of emotions. By the time it emerges into the light above the water,  it has completely cleansed itself of that mud. Its petals are designed to do just that.

So are you.

  • Do you ever feel your emotions aren’t appropriate?
  • Are you afraid you’ll be judged if you express them?
  • Are you worried that your emotions aren’t as important as other people’s?
  • Do you need to learn to explore and express your emotions in healthy ways?

The only way to live as your True Self is to get comfortable with your emotions.

If you’re not being real, being authentic, it can have health consequences in body, mind & spirit.

So embrace your Divine Feminine by increasing your mindfulness practice. Become more self-aware of how you feel. First with yourself. Journaling is a great way to do that.

Love yourself through those emotions. Be aware of how you judge yourself for what you feel. Do you even give yourself permission to feel?

Next, if needed, call upon your emotional support system. Let go of your story, the details and the drama. Work on staying focused on seeing, accepting and loving those emotions so you can process them more quickly.

What do you do to honour your emotions in a healthy way? What makes this challenging for you?

The majority have never been trained to comfortably and constructively process emotions.

According to Goleman’s EQ theory, there are five core components to EQ: empathy, effective communication or social skills, self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation. 

If this peaks your curiosity, follow that intuitive nudge to learn more.

Your ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you is a skill that can be developed.

Investing time on fostering your EQ is a gift that will keep on giving.

Painting: The Perfect Unfolding (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

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Love Oracle 27: Everyone Counts

Everyone counts. Seems obvious, doesn’t it?

But do those words float at the conceptual level or do they really live deep into your belief system?

Do you feel you count? And everyone else you encounter in a day? How about in some obscure place around the world?

March 1st is Zero Discrimination Day.

Organizations like the United Nations (UN) actively promote the day with various activities to celebrate everyone’s right to live a full life with dignity regardless of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, skin color, height, weight, profession, education, and beliefs.

Many countries have laws against discrimination but it’s still a problem in all layers of society in every country in the world. Many countries have and still use discrimination as a way of governing.

The symbol for Zero Discrimination Day is the butterfly, widely used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards positive transformation.

So this week, let’s see how we can positively transform our truth to better reflect Truth – that everyone counts!

Ask your Team of Divine Helpers “How can I be more loving?” Then pick the painting that speaks to you the most. Scroll down to read its Oracle Message.

May it help you love yourself and others at a much deeper level. 

Love Oracle Message 1: Discover Different

painting "MindShift"Dear Beloved,

Once upon a time, I went for a walk with a woman who told me something like “I make it a point to meet people who think differently than I do. That’s how I grow.”

She likely had no idea how her words would impact me. Of course I’ve met many kinds of people living and working on 3 continents and 5 provinces. But I definitely gravitate to spending all my free time with like-minded folks.

If you picked this painting, you’re invited to observe and reflect on how your thoughts, your words, your perceptions change when you’re in different environments and with different kinds of people. This includes those you see in the news, or on the Internet.

Make it a point to test yourself by going somewhere different to practice mindfulness, self-awareness.

Do you judge others for being different than you? for believing in a different deity or having a different way of living?  Or are you curious and open to learning and expanding?

Are you a “my way is the right way” kind of person? Do you suffer from black & white thinking? Or do you relish different perspectives to stretch your horizons?

This week, use the affirmation “I am curious about my earthly brothers and sisters. I delight in differences.” to ask questions and discover the multiple facets to our human family.

Love yourself compassionately if you notice you’ve been negatively influenced by cultural or popular prejudices when it comes to appearances, ways of speaking, ways of dressing, socio-economic classes, habits and mannerisms, etc.

See if you can let go of a layer of delusion that you are either inferior or superior. 

Discover the differences and delight in them.

Remember, to someone else, you’re the one who’s different. Wouldn’t you like to be seen, accepted, and loved for who you are? Consciously try it with another.

Painting: MindShift (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 2: Feel the Positive Transformation

Dear Beloved,

What is your vision of a loving, harmonious world with zero discrimination?

Close your eyes and dream this vision into reality, first in your heart & mind. Take at least 5 minutes and explore the various details of that ideal world. If that doesn’t work for you, try journaling instead.

Really feel it as you imagine it – first in your family, then in your immediate circle, community, city, country, continent and all around the planet.

Transformation starts with you. How would you travel in your day and in your world differently if there were zero discrimination?

How would you perceive others’ acceptance of you? How would you imagine your acceptance of others?

How would being truly seen and seeing change the love in your heart and the love in the world?

What would be the ripple effect of everyone living this way? What would happen on a social, economic, political, etc. level in the world?

Stay focused on the positive transformation.

Just like with the butterfly effect, your small seemingly trivial imagination play can ultimately result in something much greater.

The power of your visioning is being added to that of all those who picked this painting on this day and for years to come. 

So as you flap your love-wings here and now, it could ultimately change the world into one of zero discrimination.

So go ahead. Flap away in your imagination and in your life.

Positive transformation starts with you. Thank you.

Painting: Visionary (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

Love Oracle Message 3: Embrace All Spirit Vessels

painting of double heart-shaped woamn inside hands and glowing circleDear Beloved,

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re being asked to burn away whatever negative judgments you may have adopted, cultivated, and perpetuated about physical appearances – yours and that of others.

It’s often subconscious.

First, let’s start with you.

Can you honestly say that you love your body fully and totally for all it is, has ever been and will become?

If yes, bravo! You’ve picked this painting to celebrate this miracle. For it is a miracle in this day and age if you’re able to do that.

Next, can you honestly say that you love everyone else’s bodies no matter the shapes, sizes, colours, unique characteristics, states of health, etc.?

If yes, consider teaching this to others. Our world greatly needs it.

Beauty standards and expectations often vary depending on ethnic backgrounds. This results from tradition, deeply held beliefs, social pressure, and media influences.

In some cultures, being full-figured is a sign of health and prosperity. In others, it’s a sign of ill-health and low body image.

In some cultures, being tanned is a sign of health. In others, the paler the better.

In some cultures, short women are considered feminine yet short men are seen as weak.

How different life would be if we all simply honoured all bodies, no matter how they were born and what has happened to them since.

Every body is a vessel for the spirit.

These spirits have chosen to come into this world in all shapes, sizes & colours for a reason.

If we were all the same, it would be so boring, not to mention complicated in terms of knowing who is who.

Embracing everyone’s spirit vessel is part of burning away the layers of discrimination. 

How would total body acceptance manifest in your life?

Would you love yourself more unconditionally? Would you have more friends? Would you find your right partner? Would you accept your children more unconditionally? Would you be friendlier to all you meet? Would you welcome aging and death?

How would your life positively change if you truly accepted and even celebrated the differences in the costumes souls chose to dress-up in for this lifetime?

Reflect on this as you go through your days. You may better appreciate your own reflection in the mirror the more you appreciate the variety of shapes, sizes & colours of everyone’s unique expression of the Divine.

That would be first step towards becoming more unconditionally loving to who they truly are on the inside too.

Painting: Bridie’s Flame (SOLD). More on it here….  Order prints here.   

 

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Love Oracle 26: Know Thyself

What do you want in life?

Where do you imagine yourself being in 5 or 10 years?

What are you passionate about? What brings you joy?

What matters most to you?

You’d think these questions would be easy to answer, but for many, they’re not! 

If you’re stumped at these questions, you’re likely not living your life to the fullest. Maybe you’re just going along day by day going through the motions.

Do you feel you’re wasting your precious life? Are you living the life others wanted you to live? Do you envy those who seem to be living in alignment with their True Self?

Whether you’re at a complete loss as to who you truly are or simply want to live more in alignment to your values, your faith, your purpose – it’s a good thing you’re here.

Are you ready to shift life into gear? Your gear?  Know thyself.

Ask your Team of Divine Helpers “How can I know myself better to live in alignment with my Higher Self?” Then see which of the paintings above draws you the most.

Once you’ve picked your painting, scroll down to read its Oracle Message. Then, remember to take inspired action to get to know yourself even better.

Love Oracle Message 1: Nurture your Relationship with Nature

Dear Beloved,

How can you add space in your life to reconnect to your Self?

Is your life so noisy you can’t hear your Self? Perhaps it’s like that by design – so you wouldn’t have to listen. Or is this simply a super busy chapter of your life by nature?

If you’ve picked this painting, it’s time to create space for you to pause, just be, and listen in Nature.

Reconnect to the magic of the natural world, to the Elements. They can help you.

You are a part of Nature. Does that concept feel foreign to contemplate or oh so true!?

By developing your relationship with nature, you reconnect to both the human and spirit nature of your being. 

Spending time in nature is great for grounding to Mother Earth, connecting to the Universe and tuning in to your intuition.

So get your bare feet on the ground or your bare hands in the snow or in the earth. Hug a tree. Make snow angels in the park or hike along the coast. Are there any hot springs nearby? Are you a polar dipper?

You can choose to take 15 minutes in your backyard or a week at an exotic destination, but whatever you choose, don’t fill that time with distractions.  

Pause. Listen. Meditate. Ask and be open to receive answers. Follow your flow. Let the weather, the creatures, the scenery talk to you.

If you have specific questions in your life or are faced with difficult decisions, try an Intuitive Walkabout in a natural setting.

You may feel jittery or bored. It takes a while to decompress or to get used to a slower truer rhythm of life.

Memories may come up of what you used to love doing outside. How can you live the essence of that memory today?

This may be cliche, but success is a journey, not a destination. Remember to take the time to enjoy the journey of life. Your inbox will still be full when it’s time to transition to the next phase of your soul’s life.

So how can you appreciate this life in this body in this time and place on Earth? How can you cultivate a nourishing partnership with nature? 

It’s there for you. You’re also meant to be there for it – in whatever way is meant for you.

Think about that and take inspired action – schedule time in nature and follow through. You not only need it, you deserve it.

Painting: Nature Bound (24″ x 48″). More on it here….  Order prints here.  Buy the Original here

Love Oracle Message 2: Be Successful Through Self-Discovery

Dear Beloved,

You are everything that you’ve ever experienced – in this lifetime, and if you believe it, in previous ones too.

Who you are today is part nature and part nurture.

Knowing what has brought you here and now is a great way to understand why you act and think the way you do.

Self-understanding can lead to shifts in lifestyle, career paths, perspectives, behaviours, and so much more. 

Do you know who you are? Do you know what brings out the best in you? The worst?

Do you feel you’re living on purpose?

What self-discovery tools do you find the most fun, the most revealing?

Is it astrology? genealogy? Akashic Records? numerology? spiritual books? journaling? personality tests? mindfulness? exploring interests? discussions with various kinds of people? reflecting on your past? professional therapy?

The list could go on and on.

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re being encouraged to delve deeper into self-awareness play in whatever form speaks most to you.

It’s an invitation to step off the hamster wheel to take a good look at yourself, so that you can more consciously choose the who, what, when, where, why and how of your next best steps in life.

And remember to Lighten Up. You’re a spiritual being in human form for the fun of it.

Happy trails!

Painting: Journey of Self-Discovery (24″ x 48″). More on it here….  Order prints here.   Buy Original Here.

Love Oracle Message 3: Meditate for Miracles

Dear Beloved,

Are you having relationship problems in your life? Meditate.

Are you having financial difficulties? Meditate.

Is your health challenging you? Meditate.

I recently heard something like this in a sermon. It certainly confirmed my decision to spend 2 months at an ashram to learn to meditate at a deeper level.

According to Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings:

“As you progress in meditation, gradually you experience an ever-increasing inner peace and joy that comes from the soul. In the most exalted states, your soul realizes its complete oneness with God. This is the goal of meditation — ecstatic, superconscious, blissful divine communion, which is called samadhi.”

Doesn’t that sound amazing?

This takes time. Lifetimes. It takes motivation. It takes practice. It takes finding the kind of meditation that resonates most with you.

If you’ve picked this painting, you’re being asked to ponder if what’s described above is a priority for you. 

If you’ve answered yes, take inspired action. Over and over again. 

Seek the teachers that align with your soul callings. Dedicate the time. Invest in your ascension.

With that growing inner peace, all your challenges and problems will seem different. You’ll connect to inspired actions. Miracles and magic will appear on your path.

Reflect on how reading this was received.

How do you feel about meditation? What makes it easier for you to meditate? Can you arrange more of that in your life?

And if you think this painting had a different message for you, great! Meditate on it. 

Peace be with you!

Painting: Time of Ascension (24″ x 48″). More on it here….  Order prints here.   Buy Original Here.

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Love Oracle 25: See, Accept, Love

As we approach Valentine’s Day, let’s look at unconditional love.

What is unconditional love? A definition I’ve long contemplated is that to love someone unconditionally is to see them for who they truly are, accept them as they currently are, and wish for their happiness without expecting anything in return.

There are a few challenges here.

First, to see someone for who they truly are – at both a soul and human level –  we need to be able to see past the words, behaviours and many masks that so many have become used to wearing – sometimes different masks for different occasions or environments.

Next, to accept someone as they are in the moment – with all their quirks, behaviours, beliefs, drama, judgments, etc. is … tough. Their being-ness often splashes on us or our space. It may even go against everything we believe in, value, or want around us. Fear for ourselves and for their future brings in elements of control, manipulation, and all sorts of getting into their business.

And lastly, the most exacting of all – to not expect anything in return. Now that requires a level of selflessness that’s rare in this world. The closer they are in our inner circle, the harder this one becomes. The more their decisions seemingly affect us, the more we may feel our own happiness is at risk. Therein lies the spiritual practice and a discussion far beyond the scope of 1 blog post.

Rare are those who grew up unconditionally loved. Most children know at a deep level that when they are “good”, they are “loved” and when they are “bad”, they are not. They can see it in the look on people’s faces or hear it in the tone of people’s voices. They can feel it too. They shape their behaviour to please the conditions of parents, teachers, peer groups, society, etc. This is conditional love.

I also believe that everyone is doing the very best they can at any moment  – and that can vary with time. So there’s no one to blame in this world of conditional love. How can someone who has never been unconditionally loved then turn around and unconditionally love another?

The lack of love in the world dates back from the beginning of time on this planet. But the more aware we become of our lack to focus on learning to love ourselves and others, the more we can change the tides of time. The more we can ascend as individuals and as a planet.

That’s this week’s theme.

So take a good look at the 3 paintings above. Choose the one that calls you the most and scroll down to read its Love Oracle message. Does it inspire a shift in how you live your day – in how you see, accept and love those you’re with … you included?

* Note: Original Paintings will continue to be on sale through my online shop while I’m out of the country for a few months. If you’re interested in a payment plan, please contact me before Valentine’s Day. 

Love Oracle Message 1: Love Thyself

Dear Beloved,

Take a moment to look at yourself in the mirror before reading on. Listen to your inner voice – is it the voice of someone from your past, of your ego, or of your Higher Self?

Now look again. Fake it til you make it if you have to. Talk to yourself as if you were truly seeing yourself through the eyes of your soul, of your Higher Self, of your Guardian angel. Use whatever works for you.

What would pure unconditional love say to you as you look deeply into your eyes?

How did that feel? Did you say it or hear it only at an intellectual level?

Try it again. Now this time, let the words absorb into every cell of your body.

Let them open your throat chakra, the chimney between your heart and third-eye chakra (intuition).

Let them penetrate through the walls of your heart.

Basically, feel the words as you speak them out loud.

Then repeat them in your mind, continuing silently. Allow love to imbue your thoughts.

How does it feel? Familiar? Strange?

With years of unconscious negative self-talk, self-criticism, and judgment, you may have carved grooves in your thought-patterns.

This exercise will help fill those gutters with love and create new pathways to self-love. 

If you feel you need to, schedule this exercise daily or weekly to transform your inner landscape.

Or simply pause before every mirror you encounter in a day, smile, and love yourself. Rinse past conditioning and repeat. You deserve it.

Painting: Holy Encounter (8″ x 10″) Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required.  $427 CAD More on the original painting here…

Love Oracle Message 2: I See You

Dear Beloved,

Have you ever closed your eyes while standing in the sunshine? Have you truly basked in the warm glow of the light. Have you noticed how bright the world seems, even through closed eyelids?

The Love of the Divine is always shining upon you.

You are seen for who you truly are.

You are accepted at your current stage of growth, whatever that happens to be on any day.

You are loved unconditionally.

But as the walls of a windowless basement cannot let the light in, a busy stressed-out life of fear can block your sight to what is always present. 

So take a moment to pause & pray. That’s like moving up one floor to a room with large windows. Use whatever words feel good to you. Here is a suggestion.

“Dear Mother/Father God, Guiding Spirits, Archangels, Angels of Light & Love, to all beings of all dimensions who wish for my Highest Good, help me to feel your Love. Help me to let the Light in. I welcome the warmth of your Love within and all around me. Shine your Light brightly in my life that I may see beyond my conditioning, that I may emerge more fully as the individualized expression of the Divine that I am. Thank you for fuelling the divine spark within me. Amen. So Be It.”

Now, when you’re ready, step out of the house, into the great outdoors, and start looking for the love & beauty in the world. Seek and you shall find. Your sight will penetrate others’ walls. Your scenery will appear brighter, more abundant, more vibrant.

I see you, says your Team of Divine Helpers, says the Great Creator. Feel how unconditionally loved you truly are.

Feel the warmth of that shine penetrate your very being and reflect it back.

Shine your love and the world will also reflect it back to you.

Painting: Dripping Sunshine (30″ x 30″) Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required.  $3,177 CAD More on the original painting here… Buy it here.   Order prints here.

Love Oracle Message 3: You Are Not Alone

Dear Beloved,

You are a delicious fruit on the abundant Tree of Life. 

From bud to blossom to fruit to fertilizer, you are part of the Life Cycle of this planet.

And so are the other fruit on this tree… and on neighbouring trees in your orchard … and on different kinds of fruit trees in other orchards around the world or in the wild.

All these trees are connected at the root system, through the tree communication network.

You are not alone. You are connected to everything and everyone!

What a harvest life is! So much abundance. So much nutritious deliciousness to be a part of.

Look around. You are not a solo apple on a bare tree standing alone in a desert. You are part of the lusciousness of life.

You are nourished by Mother Earth’s Life Force, drawn through the roots of your tree. You are nurtured in the Light and Love of the Divine.

As are all those around you!

Every stage of your growth is a miracle of Nature. You have so many Gifts to delight and nourish many.

Join with the fruit of your community to create a feast for the world.

You can make a difference by adding your flavour to the mix.

You already are. Thank you for being you!

Painting: The Gathering (8″ x 10″) Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required.  $427 CAD More on the original painting here…
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Love Oracle 24: Listening

Have you picked a word for the year? One that calls you, guides you, stretches you?

Mine for 2024 is “Listening”

When I received it intuitively, I knew it didn’t only mean listening to my inner guidance, to my intuition. I’m pretty good at Listening to those on the vertical plane – to Spirit and my Team of Divine Helpers.

It also means Listening much better to those on the horizontal plane: my fellow humans, my community, whomever I’m face to face with.

Having spent so much time on my own, it’s easy to let those skills go.

Active listening is definitely a skill that can be practiced. I used to teach it at university to my English Second Language students.

But it’s more than a skill. It’s a natural outcome of having an open heart – of caring, of loving, of compassion. It’s also the result of being fully present in the here & now. 

I know I’ll be getting a lot of Listening practice on both the vertical and horizontal plane while living in intentional community this March & April at Ananda Village in California. As part of the Karma Yoga program, I’ll not only be listening to my fellow volunteers and our leaders, but to all the guests who we’ll be serving.

I can be pretty goal oriented and, when I am, can forget to Listen – inside & out. That’s why I chose “Listening” as my word for 2024.

What’s yours?

Love Oracle 24: Listening

It’s been a year and a half since I added to the Love Oracle series. Here’s #24 with paintings created since. To revisit previous ones, access the index here.

Listen to your heart as to which of the 3 paintings at the top of the page most speaks to you today (on all levels).

Then scroll below to read its message, asking your Team of Divine Helpers and Higher Self how you can translate that message into inspired action in your life.

*** Note: 27 of my paintings have found a new temporary home as I prepare to leave the country for a few months of karma yoga. Thank you to Una Keenan of Boathouse Wellness at Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s NL for welcoming my energy-infused paintings into your gorgeous space.

Recently opened, Boathouse Wellness includes a rental yoga studio, so whether you’re coming to see one of the therapists on site or to do a little stretching or dancing, enjoy!

Original paintings will continue to be sold through my online shop while I am out of the country. If you’re interested in a payment plan, please contact me before Valentine’s Day.

Love Oracle Message 1: In Truth You Are Free

Dear Beloved,

Listen in. Focus on the voice of your heart.

Fine tune your hearing to let go of the ego shouts of “coulda, woulda, shoulda”.

It’s only once you discern the whispers of your soul under all the exclamations of fear and resistance in your life that you can set yourself free.

Are the people, places, activities, etc. that you choose to spend time with/in/doing filling your inner and outer space with aggravating noise, or do they help you zone in on the soulful song of love that is forever humming at your very core?

Do one thing today to help you Listen more care-fully to your Truth.

Reduce the cacophony of peer pressure, self-limitations, doubts and judgment (yours and that of others).

Hear your heart. Soar on the wings of inner peace that naturally grow from living in alignment with your True Self.

Painting: In Myself I Am Free (18″ x 24″)  Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. CAD $1,297. Buy it here.  More on it here…

Love Oracle Message 2: Enjoy the Fruit

Dear Beloved,

Stop. Step back to admire all the fruit that have abundantly filled your life – the fruit that came from growing such deep roots. 

You did that. Through intention, hard work, following your bliss, perseverance and patience, you have become a most beautiful thriving garden. And through all the lessons learned, you have become a most expert gardener.

But do you hear a call? When you pause, take a deep breath, are grateful for all you are and all you have, you just might hear an invitation to take a break from all the toil. What is that invitation to?

What does your soil truly need to ensure your garden continues to thrive?

Is this truly the time to get your hands deeper in the dirt, to water the roots, or to climb up a ladder to pick the fruit?

Or is it time to let the land rest, to grow new sprouts, to notice what is budding, flowering, and ripening?

There is a season for everything. Listen in. What season is it for you and your garden right now?

Painting: Vive la Vida (30″ x 30″)  Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. CAD $3,177. Buy it here.  Order prints here.   More on it here…

Love Oracle Message 3: Can You Hear Me?

Dear Beloved,

What have you stopped hearing?

Is it the prayers or affirmations you recite by rote? Have the words lost meaning, vibration?

Is it the voice of your loved ones because you’re too stressed to truly hear the meaning behind their words?

Is it the signals your body has been giving you to propel you to care for it or to seek care for it in ways that are aligned with wellness?

How about the taps on your shoulder from your Team of Divine Helpers as they place events, people, signs, and synchronicities in your days to guide you in an answer to your calls for help?

When there is so much static on the lines of communication – anxiety, fear, depression, boredom – it becomes hard to hear … to truly hear.

So ask your heart: “Where can I become a more active listener? What am I too hurried to notice? Who is feeling unheard in my life?” It could even be you.

Then call on your Team of Divine Helpers, Angels & Archangels, Ascended Masters like Buddha, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, or whomever you feel connected to. Call on them to show you the way on your Path to your Highest Good.

Then become hyper-aware of what presents itself as you truly Listen for their answer. It may not happen immediately or how you would imagine it could. But if you’ve asked, know that the answers will come. Keep Listening through all your channels.

When you hear the Guidance, take inspired action. Trust. From baby steps to leaps of faith, you’ll find yourself back on track to hearing clearly.

Painting: I Saw the Lord in a Vision (Mary Magdalene) (12″ x 24″)  Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. CAD $867. Buy it here.  More on it here….

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The Chakra Drum

Oh bliss! The Chakra Drum was inspired by a week of leading my Holiday Spirit Circle through the 7 main chakras.

The main chakras are the 7 energy centres of the body located along the spine, starting at the root (tailbone) all the way up to the crown.  They’re part of our astral body within the physical body.

Every day for 7 days, I taught about one of the chakras then channeled a guided visioning meditation to help participants open and balance their chakras. These meditations will soon be available to download from my online shop.

Then, I was guided to co-create this drum with spirit, starting with the 6 lower energy wheels around the frame on a violet background: red (root chakra), orange (sacral chakra), yellow (solar plexus chakra), green (heart chakra), blue (throat chakra), indigo (third eye chakra).

The drum head represents the crown chakra, in violet & gold. The symbol for the crown chakra is a thousand petalled lotus with an OM symbol at its centre.

Full crown chakra opening is enlightenment! It takes lifetimes of opening and balancing the other 6 chakras for the crown chakra to blossom.

Notice in the video above how the centre of the lotus and OM symbol appear and disappear AND changes colours from violet to gold.  I used special professional paints create this effect, but I’ll admit that I didn’t know that superimposing 2 of these would have quite that effect on the OM symbol. Love it!!!!

The couple in tree pose represent the Divine Feminine and Divine Masculine within each one of us. They’re grounded on Gaia and connected to the Cosmic Energy of Source.

I’m vibing high after painting it and I’m sure that its new owner will feel the same.

SOLD but the Labyrinth Drum is still available.

Commission a Drum

With my workload before leaving for Ananda Village for 2 months of karma yoga and 3 weeks of family visits on the way there and back, I only have time to paint 2 more drums before I leave Newfoundland on Valentine’s Day.

If you’re interested in commissioning a drum, please let me know soon. They’re $1111 and channeled based on our conversation and the visions I receive for you.

If I don’t receive a commission request soon, I’ll follow inspiration and present you with a few more drums before I leave.

The commission in this photo is called the Lotus Tree Drum, created for Meranda Squires of the Lotus Centre and Tree of Life Retreat Centre in Salmonier, where I spent 5 days filming over the holidays. It incorporates the essence of both their logos within a tree whose trunk is also their magic waterfall.

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The Labyrinth Drum

The End of This Path is the Beginning of the New One

“Follow your bliss” – such wise advice by Joseph Campbell and what this drum embodies.

As we approach Solstice, Christmas and the end of 2023, it’s the perfect time to journey within your inner landscape, following the arrow of your intuition to reflect, step by step, on your Path: the one that brought you here & now, and the one that is opening up to you the more you align to your True Self, to your Highest Good.

What is the essence of the 2024 you’re manifesting with every step you take?

I co-created this drum with Spirit while celebrating my year’s journey into Self, community, and the world (including my visit to Chartres in the Spring of 2023 to walk its labyrinth, reproduced here).

It was painted in the same time period as my leading the Holiday Spirit Circle, which has raised my vibration to new levels. I’d said Yes! to Spirit after receiving its Guidance – an answer to a prayer that has done so much more than stretch my technology comfort zones with my first online program. This profound morning ritual of sharing, channelling, and holding space for its participants has filled my heart and soul to overflowing.

The Labyrinth Drum was created in that space of love and gratitude while spending a few days in creative bliss: painting, listening to an audio book by Saint Teresa of Avila, chanting & praying.

Chanting & Drumming – Bliss Boosters

Painting this drum was a gift I gave myself and is now a gift I offer to you. 

You might enjoy the short video above, the story it inspired here, or the inspired action it has led you to take so that you too can follow your bliss.

You may even decide to bring The Labyrinth Drum home – for yourself or for another. I know it will be the right bliss booster for the person it’s meant to serve.

Chanting and drumming are truly bliss boosters. They help open the throat chakra (the energy centre within your subtle energy body that regulates expressing your Truth). This chakra is also the chimney that allows your energy to flow from the heart to your third eye (intuition) & crown chakra (enlightenment).

Paramahansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogi , the guru for the Ananda Ashram I went to in Italy this summer) used to say that chanting is half the battle on the path to self-realization. It can open you up to the bliss of this style of meditation, of devotion.

My drum and I attended the St. John’s Sacred Sound song circle the night before writing this post – and I’m still vibrating from it. I truly recommend you give chanting a try.

Is joining a devotional song circle something you’re inspired to plan & schedule for 2024?

The Labyrinth Drum

The Labyrinth Drum is a one-of-a-kind hand-painted drum infused with so much love, energy, and symbolism. Can you feel it?

As you journey with the peace dove to the centre of the labyrinth, you gather what you most need.

Feel its beat as you journey towards and pause at your centre, with gratitude. Then carry whatever peace, wisdom, inspiration you gathered during your walk inwards back out into your daily life.

The lapis lazuli stone acts as an arrow and support on the path to the labyrinth. Its energy assists in opening the third eye – centre of wisdom and intuition.  This stone also helps you discover your inner truth,  leads to peace of mind and calmness in body.

The stone is embedded in mica, which radiates the energy of love & compassion.

The peace dove also symbolizes freedom, expression, a rising of vibration and Spirit.

The golden dragonflies on the outer rim and frame help remind you to look and live beyond the illusions and delusions of this life as you more fully emerge as your True Self on this transformational journey.

The sound of Labyrinth Drum is deep and rich. It’s a 16″ Remo vegan buffalo drum.

The Remo Standard Buffalo Drum is inspired by the indigenous cultures of the Americas. Equipped with a rope handle and a single mallet. The Remo Standard Buffalo Drum is manufactured with Remo’s Fiberskyn® drumheads and patented Acousticon® drum shells for enhanced durability in any environment. Producing the same tonal characteristics found on traditional wood shell drums, the standard Buffalo Drums feature excellent projection and enhanced low-pitched fundamentals.

If the Labyrinth Drum is meant to be yours, you can purchase it here in my online shop. $999 (Canadian).

 

Happy Solstice & Merry Christmas dear one. May whatever your inner & outer experiences be this holiday season, may they nourish your transformational journey.

You are an individualized expression of the Divine! May every step you take be a part of that re-membering.

 

 

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In Myself I Am Free – the painting & process

An Example of the Transformative Power of Intuitive Art

The layers of paint and process behind what you see above are many. I’m choosing to share this story to illustrate the powerful transformative powers of creativity – in my case, intuitive painting.

It’s a story of letting go of the layers of “shoulda woulda coulda” that keep us stuck doing & being in ways that aren’t aligned with our Higher Selves.

In 2 weeks, I’ll be sharing an interview that goes deeper into the parallels of intuitive painting & intuitive living. You’ll get so much more out of that video after reading this story.

Today, my hope is to inspire you to find a creative outlet to process whatever it is that arises in your life for your inner peace, your inner freedom, and therefore for the good of all.

It could be gardening, song-writing, poetry, painting, pottery, puzzle design … anything.

The Blank Canvas

I hadn’t painted on canvas since before my sabbatical in Europe. My focus and passion had been directed to painting drums.

The time was approaching, however, for submissions to our annual provincial Arts & Letters Awards. I won this award with its accompanying cash prize & prestigious place in an exhibition back in 2019 with the painting “Every Dot a Prayer“.

At that time, I’d been Guided to spend 11 months co-creating the Re-Connection Collection of 11 canvases. It was a deeply personal project that later became the focus of 11 Reconnect to Your True Self video lessons. These give others the chance to benefit from what my Team of Divine Helpers had guided me through.

That year, I had no problem going deep in the co-creation process and keeping the painting off social media and the Internet for 5-6 months until the jurying results were revealed. This was a criteria for submission. I was following inspiration. Submitting the painting to the competition was part of that intuitive flow.

Last year, I didn’t feel as comfortable keeping my submission hidden for almost half a year. I couldn’t quite identify why, but it didn’t feel good.

This year, I started this painting with the goal of submitting it to the competition and hopefully winning a cash prize. Bills had been unusually high after my sabbatical and income unusually low.

My only purpose (on the initial start day) was to paint to win … already, not a good feeling. And not pretty to admit … but it’s true.

Revelations by Layers

I started painting in layers of warm and cool mark-making like I teach in my free Guide to Intuitive Painting.

It didn’t take long to get into the flow – to be blissfully thankful that I’d set aside a big block of time for this painting marathon. 

Visions came and were translated onto the canvas. The face in the painting above is but one of many of various genders, ages & races that covered the canvas at one point.

As the hours and days passed, however, the initial feelings of oneness, connection and community that inspired the imagery transformed into the uncomfortable realm of societal pressure, limitations & judgment.

Timing is everything when engaged in an intuitive process. Everything that comes into your space has meaning. 

During the initial days that I worked on this painting, I received many email notices of grant submission deadlines, competition deadlines, corporate & government art application deadlines.

These are all ways that many professional artists rely on for funding their passion. But none of these emails received an instant strong intuitive”Yes!”.

So why was I feeling a mounting sense of overwhelm? My left brain had kicked in big time with layers of “shoulds” and “coulds” – all related to money. 

To add to my bubbling anxiety, the email I’d been expecting for weeks with the results of a Fall school project proposal still hadn’t come in.

Painting helped alleviate the stress build-up. It kept me focused in the observer mode – contemplating what was being revealed in the mirror that was my painting.

I was face to face with questions that called for deeper reflection.

Sabotage or Alignment?

At one point, about 30 hours in, I simply had to stop painting. 

Some may have said that the piece looked complete.

There was 1 face left with many swirls giving it a sense of forward momentum. And, of course, thousands of dots, each one a prayer and an opening to Divine Energy and Guidance.

What the painting told me was that I needed breathing space. So I took it. I didn’t touch it for a week.

To the outside world, it may have looked like I wasn’t doing anything. I spent my days either in stillness or watching movies (my decompression & escape tool).

But that “week off” was all part of the process – once I was able to let go of additional layers of “shoulds” and “coulds”about “not working” that week. Accepting that meant accepting myself as I was.

I chose to let the deadlines (and therefore funding opportunities) pass. And what I felt was relief. 

Was that sabotage or alignment?

I really had to question that. I’m not one to shy away from hard work. Every application can take 15 hours or more. I’ve done it many times before.

Was I going into a “why bother?” mode because I hadn’t succeeded in the past?

Something deeper wanted to emerge. A deeper truth.

Here are some of the conclusions I came to in my discussions with Spirit:

  • For me to be in alignment, money can’t be my primary motive to create.
  • Forcing project ideas into being simply to take advantage of grant opportunities won’t work for me. The inspiration for a project must come first. If the timing doesn’t work with grant deadlines, then support will come through other channels.
  • Keeping this painting a secret for half a year only to have it be judged as worthy or unworthy didn’t feel right.
  • I never got the Fall school tour project because it wasn’t in my Highest Good this year. Sending yet another email to ask for news of their decision could put that unknown to rest.
  • Even though I’d been waiting for a particular art acquisition project for 10 years, the way it was articulated and its technical criteria didn’t fit with what I have to offer. I had to let go of expectations instead of trying to fit my square peg into a round hole.

My sense of relief at letting all those “dead”lines go was a sure indicator that my decisions were in alignment.

So Do I Quit?

The layers of awareness and decisions that came from this contemplative process only led to more layers of questioning. It’s just like intuitive painting – one layer after another until if feels complete.

If I wasn’t going to take advantage of the many available sources of funding for professional artists, what do I need to do?

  • Was it time to quit painting for anyone else but myself?
  • Was this the end of DominiqueHurley.com and all my social media?
  • Did I need to go back out there after 10 years to look for a job?
  • How can I be of service if the energy flow in my art & intuitive services was so low?
  • What needed to change in me or my life for this next chapter to be fruitful and fulfilling?

I could have easily spiralled downwards had I gotten stuck in the thinking realm about all this.

Instead, I returned to the studio for the first time in a week to stare at my painting while dancing on my mini-trampoline. I asked. I prayed. I listened.

I started journaling for the first time in a long time. Instead of my notebook, I used both sides of a large sheet of sketching paper.

By the time I’d finished processing my past week, I felt free! 

I was 100% sure my decisions weren’t the result of self-sabotage but rather staying in alignment with my inner guidance.

Resisting that inner guidance with the layers of “shoulda woulda coulda” is what had caused the angst. 

A vision of a peace dove appeared, which I sketched on top of the writing on my journal page. I then cut it out to make the stencil for the dove you see in this painting.

A few hours later, the painting was complete.

My faith in my Guidance and my Path had also been restored. 

And soon after that, I was given a job … by Spirit – to lead the Holiday Spirit Circle online from December 1-January 1st. It’s not too late to join.

Its purpose it to help you get back into alignment while following Spirit’s leadership so that we may all (me included) end this year in the Highest Vibration possible and start the new one in alignment with our Highest Good. If any part of you says, “That’s for me!”, please take inspired action here.

As soon as I said “Yes!” to Spirit’s job offer, the energy started flowing into motion again in many forms. I just had to take out the dam (spelling intentional) “shoulds” & “coulds”.

In Myself I Am Free – the Painting

Now you know why it’s difficult to answer that common question: “How long did it take to make this painting?”

Sure, there was about 50 hours of painting. But do I add the whole week of transmuting, processing, transforming the layers of inner questioning and patterns that were revealed before adding the final peace dove?

So really, the best answer I can come up with is: “A lifetime!” to include all the painting & personal growth practice that led me to it in the first place.

The name “In Myself I am Free” is a lyric from the song “I am Free” by Swami Kriyananda that I heard on Radio Ananda just as I put the finishing touches on the dove and was asking it: “What’s your name?”, ” I know “Freedom” is in there somewhere”.

Answers come through all our senses…

Title: In Myself I Am Free
Year: © 2023
Size: 18″ x 24″ (45.72 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required.
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
Price: CAD $1297
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