It’s quite ironic – it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I know that what my body & soul need is time in Nature, but I can’t seem to get myself off this chair. So instead, I’ll keep writing, this time about connecting with Nature through its animals. Then, tomorrow, I’ll head out early to explore one of Vienna’s hiking paths. (P.S. – good thing I’m not hiking – it’s now 4pm and pouring out!)
Animal Communication:
I started writing this blog in my head weeks ago when my friend Janis in Edmonton sent me a link to a fabulous video on Animal Communication (now unavailable on YouTube)- I’ve seen it 4 times now and it evokes such powerful emotion in me each time. It’s the amazing story of a rescued black panther (one of my childhood totem animals) which was unusually dangerous and therefore in peril until Anna Breytenbach, an animal communicator, came to sit with it for a while. Then everything changed. It’s not only another example of the role of imagery as a form of communication (referring to yesterday’s post), but also a very good reminder of our human potential as we reconnect to the land and its creatures – something I believe we all need for all our sakes. I have personally felt this for years, but more so since I moved to Vienna, where I must seek out trees when I feel myself disconnecting from Mother Earth – there are very few in my district. This short clip (13 minutes) is powerful , and I was lucky enough to see the full 52-minute program on YouTube during the holidays before it was removed for copyright reasons. One can only imagine the possibilities after watching such a video.
I once hired an animal communicator to help when my beloved cat Koya became mysteriously ill at 3 years old. What I learned about myself and Koya through this service was invaluable. When it comes to animal communication, some of you may be more familiar with the term horse whisperer, which became widespread after the release of the film by that name starring Robert Redford – I watched that one again last night on YouTube. (I’m so very grateful for this free resource – have I mentioned that?) I also had the chance to hear an animal communicator present at conference in San Diego – her description of how animal spirits shake off their mortal coil in joy, playfully bounding into their new form after death stayed with me. She further explained how they can transition back into another body if we wish them to do so. I can’t remember all the details, but it was great stuff!
Memories:
I love animals! When I lived in Germany as a child (in 3 locations between the ages of 5-10), I spent much of my time alone in the forests, fields, and parks – alone, but never really alone. In addition to angels, guides, fairies and other beings of the spirit world and of my imagination, there were the animals. I especially remember my solo bike rides to a nearby duck pond near the first village we lived in (in a time and place where it was relatively safe for 5 year olds to wander far and wide without adult supervision). When we moved to Baden, I found the forest. My family will recall the frequent search parties sent out into that forest at dinner time since I had no sense of time there. I can’t quite remember how I spent all that time, but I do remember getting laughed at when I’d share all my animal stories with “friends” at school. It didn’t matter – along with all my “imaginary animals” and forest creatures, there was also Heidi, my best friend, a schoolmate’s Cocker Spaniel dog who waited by her door for me every day after school. I’ll confess, I lost a few friends in my life when I’d abandon them for any and all dogs who came into view. I was obsessed – knew the names of every breed in existence! When we moved to Lahr, I spent a lot of my free time roaming in the neighbouring Stadtpark with its large flower gardens filled with animals and free-roaming peacocks. I remember “communicating” with one of the ponies who often expressed its boredom and stress at being enclosed – pawing with its foreleg up on the cement foundation to its bars that stood between us. My heart reached out to it and I’d just spend time with it. Back in Canada, I didn’t stop craving time with Mother Earth and its creatures. I’d often jump on my bike to seek out natural places where I could sit and connect. Neighbourhood animals also occupied an important space in my heart and I took horseback riding lessons as a teen – although the fantasy of it was always more fun than the reality of it since I fell off a few times learning to canter in an indoor ring in the winter. Oh well…. I was an animal lover nonetheless!
Animals as our Teachers
I learned so much from sharing a home with Koya for 13 years – as a rescued cat, she mostly taught me about love and fear. Indeed, animals are great teachers. I’m not the only one who feels this way- there are so many books out there about the lessons we’ve learned from animals. For Christmas, my friends Jen & Ken gave me a bestselling book that I truly recommend: Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog. I’ve had a lifelong love of dogs, although I’ve never had my own canine companion. Although I cried for one almost every week of my childhood, I found that once I was out on my own, I chose to live in a way that wouldn’t have been fair to a dog. Maybe one day… In order to understand them better, however (and to satisfy my need to be around them during a time of great transition), I became a Certified Dog Trainer and Behaviour Therapist with CCS in 2003. I wouldn’t hire me though – anyone who has shared a home with a dog has more experience than I do… but those 6 months were more than educational and will hopefully serve me and some dog well in the future.
Animals as Healers:
When I lived in Ottawa a bit over 10 years ago, my friends Jen & Ken and I would take their 2 golden retriever dogs and their cat Cuddles (appropriately named) to various senior citizen homes and mental health facilities as part of a pet therapy group. This was as healing for me as it was for those we were visiting. Witnessing such unconditional love and even occasional miracles was simply heart-opening. I remember the time I felt moved to place Cuddles on the lap of a woman who sat in a chair in the corner all day long, not moving – quite unresponsive to her environment. I’ll never forget the look on the nurses faces when they entered the room and saw her hand slowly stroking Cuddles – utter shock and delight. It was during those times that she would also whisper to me about her past. Together, Cuddles and I were making a difference and that felt awesome! Anyone who has loved an animal knows what powers they have – not just to entertain, but truly to heal. Blessed be the animals.
Totem and Spirit Animals:
We not only learn from the animals who cross our paths during our waking hours. Animals will also visit and teach us in our dreams and visions. Some have talked about Animal Totems while other talk of Spirit or Power Animals (animal spirit guides). No matter the case, the power of animal symbolism has long been recognized around the globe. On Friday, in class, I spent a few minutes skimming through a classmate’s book “Animal Speak”, to research the 4 childhood totems featured in my “self-portrait” painting. I introduced you to the story behind this painting in a previous post and you can see its development over a period of a few months in the photos below – it’s still a work in progress. Friday’s research has certainly enriched my insights about their role in my life (summarized here). Very interesting indeed. I could have written a book from the years of stories we shared together in my imagination.
1. Panther: Reclaiming One’s True Power – living your life purpose
2. Hawk: Visionary Power and Guardianship
“Through its flight, it communicates with humans and the great creator spirit. It awakens our visions and inspires us to a creative life purpose.”
3. Snake (boa): Rebirth, Resurrection, Initiation, Wisdom – life transitions, changes, new opportunities, healing, awakening of creative forces, kundalini, visions and intuition becoming more accurate
4. Horse: Travel, Power, and Freedom
Although I haven’t had it in my possession for years, I recommend the divination deck of Medicine Cards that help us tap into the animal kingdom’s guidance.
However you choose to connect with this beautiful planet we live on and with, I encourage you to find time to do so. You deserve it! For today, my writing this post is my way of doing so – my way of paying homage to God’s creatures great and small, alive and in spirit form.
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Note: On Saturday night, I found a free movie on YouTube (surprise, surprise!) about love, dogs, and great artists – some real (like Reubens), some fictional. A Dog of Flanders (1999) is based on the famous book “Nello and Patrasche”. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but there are days when I’m not too fussy.
Vienna City Hike Path #4 – Jubiläumswarte
/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and TourismI woke up with low energy on Saturday – probably because I stayed up late watching movies Friday night. Still, the sun was coming out and it would be warmer than on Sunday (-2, but -7 degrees with the wind chill), so I focused on how much I enjoy being out in nature in order to get myself off my computer chair and out the door. Even waiting for tram 49 down the street I considered turning back, but I knew this wasn’t an intuitive message – it was the kind of mental noise that stops me from doing things I enjoy. Already, it was late – almost 1pm. Instead of doing all the city hikes in order, therefore, I found the shortest one on the list, City Hike #4 – Jubiläumswarte – 7.2 km and an estimated 2.5 – 3 hours.
Sure, it was colder than last week, but after a few minutes on steep inclines, my hands warmed up. An advantage to the cold weather was that there was no mud this week. Instead, there was a dusting of snow on the higher elevations (hadn’t seen snow since Christmas in Canada).
At the top was the Jubiläumswarte tower. I saw someone going up and so I worked up the resolve to do it – it would be a shame to have climbed all the way up here and not see the view, even if I was still in low gear. You can understand, therefore, why I had mixed feelings when I realized he had climbed over a shoulder-height winter fence to do it – something I wasn’t willing to do.
There were a lot less people than the other hikes, and only 1 restaurant near the very end. I didn’t want to eat there because soon it would be dark, and I didn’t know how far I still had to go. At one point, I added about 20 minutes to my trek when I took a wrong turn. There are lots of signs, but sometimes, it’s just not clear with all the criss-crossing trails and my assumption that the biggest of the 2 paths in front of me was the correct one was wrong. Oh well… no big deal. When I did catch up to creatures of the human variety, I was instructed to turn back. Even with that detour, the whole trail only took me 2.5 hours.
When I got back to my neighbourhood at 4pm, I decided to try a vegan restaurant called Loving Hut. I had a coconut curry dish that came with rice and salad for 8 Euros. It was quite good and very welcomed as I hadn’t eaten since my bowl of porridge at 9am.
Another Great Week At School
/in Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsWhat a great week! I knew it would be – it just had to be as we started on Monday morning with a dance / meditation circle. Timea led us through something similar to Gabrielle Roth’s 5Rhythms (bringing me back to all those years of amazing spiritual movement (YogaDance) classes I loved back in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia). It felt great to shake off what I didn’t need on every level, to limber up, and to open myself up to more visionary experiences.
Fantastic Creatures:
Monday was all about our Fantastic Creature Painting (1 of 3 pieces for this term). I must say – Timea is a great teacher! She really listens! I don’t even remember saying anything that would have led her to do what she did, but she did – and it was perfect. She came in on Monday with a huge piece of rolled up primed canvas and said that I was to take as much as I wanted for my Fantastic Creature Painting. I do remember saying I really wanted to learn to stretch canvas, but she was persistent about my going big. Yay! I found myself on the floor (my favourite place to paint) splattering paint and creating several layers of mirrored images with Golden acrylic high flow paints that she brought in especially for this exercise. Heaven! I so missed fluid acrylics! I spent quite a few hours over the next few days playing with it and staring at it. Our job is pull out images from our abstract background to eventually create a fantastic creature. I was in awe at what other students were able to do, either on their small pieces of canvas or on those we did on paper in a previous week. I found plenty of shapes, but am still at the point of simply outlining them. Still, that was a lot of fun and I’ve got some ideas of where this will go. Can you see an owl? This is just the beginning.
Poetic Landscape
Works in Progress:
For part of studio day on Wednesday, I worked on the totem animals on my main oil painting from last trimester. I do believe they’re finished. Love them! I still have lots of work to do on the tree and 2 figures. But there is progress!
Evoking More Inner Images
Brighid Walks The Land • Helena Nelson Reed
On Thursday and Friday, we had a special workshop with Vera and Kuba (remember, I went to their place in Payerbach for tutoring?). First, we looked at 4 images that inspired each student, discussing their conscious and subconscious attraction to various subjects, compostitions, colours, and moods. Insightful! I’ve already written about some of my inspirations. By the end of Friday, however, I had found another. I really resonate with the work of Helena Nelson Reed – gorgeous!
On Friday, we were led through a creative visualization exercise based on poetry. Using a minimal palette in ways that Kuba demonstrated, we then represented our vision on paper. I loved my vision – a beautiful story about an awakening of consciousness and sustainable logging.
My first attempt at turning that vision into a painting sketch, however, was way too literal. I don’t want to be a landscape painter. Through discussions with Vera and Kuba, I was once again reminded of how my key will be to turn these visions (figures, etc) into my own unique style. How do I translate such a vivid story into something that looks and feels like my art? I still have a lot of work to figure that out and I’m trying not to get frustrated or impatient – sometimes more successfully than others. I’m starting to fantasize about having another year dedicated solely to painting (without the financial or time pressures of shows, sales, teaching, anything really – hey, it’s my fantasy) so that I can take everything I’m learning here and just work and play alone in my own studio until my art naturally evolves into what it wants to be – yes, yes, all the while loving what it is. I just know I’ll find a unique way to paint realistic elements into my work. The more I practice drawing, the easier that will be to do. Anyhow, by the end of the day Friday, I had created a few acrylic backgrounds to play with that concept, but I’m not thrilled with my first attempt.
Grant it, I was up at 4am (I spent nearly 2 hours on Skype with Deb Ozarko for a podcast that will air at the end of February or beginning of March – a wonderful experience!) By 4pm, therefore, I was tired and needed to remind myself to be gentle and loving – all part of the learning process.
Well, there you have it – another great week. It’s sunny now, and just below freezing – thinking of going for another hike. After that, I have to pack up as I’ll be moving residence rooms on Friday (this room had already been reserved by the time I extended my stay). Have a great weekend!
Yay! It’s Official – I’m Official!
/in Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsIf you’ve been following my story, you’ll remember that the school was waiting for its certification – for 8 months! Being able to stay here until the end of June, as planned, depended on that. Well, they finally got their certification at the end of December, and so I filled out all the forms, sent to Canada for a renewed Police Record Check (my old one had expired while we were waiting), got all the extra paperwork ready, paid the 100 Euro application fee, and then today, paid another 60 Euro fee for the actual card, and voilà – it’s done. What a relief! And what an experience!
This was the first time I took the subway at 7am on a workday – rush hour! Jam packed! So glad I don’t have to commute to school – love being a walker. When I got to the Magistrate’s Office at 7:30am, half an hour before they opened, there were already about 100 people in line. Yikes! I really didn’t want to be late for today’s workshop with Vera and Kuba that started at 10am. By the time Florence joined me at 8:07am (she graciously offered to help again – the letter asked that someone proficient in German accompany me), I had already made great progress towards the front door. We actually made it through the ticket line, elevator line, 5th floor waiting cue, initial interview, 6th floor cash, back to the 5th floor for card pickup by 8:30am. Wow!
Florence had other business to take care of there, so I took the tram downtown until I saw St.Stephen’s cathedral in the distance and jumped off. What fun! I had time for some exploration – and I hadn’t approached the core from this direction before. I spent more than half an hour walking around enjoying the sites, including an organic baker (where I got myself a celebratory whole wheat pain au chocolat) and a a Viennese confectionery where I found the perfect thank you gift for Florence – dark chocolate. Even with all that, I was still the first one in class.
Vienna City Hike #2 – Hermannskogel
/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and TourismThis weekend was one of contrasts!
Sunday Hike
I’m so glad I brought my real camera (last week I only had my iPhone)- I almost left it at home, not knowing how steep the hills would be, but it was worth the extra weight. There were a few times, though, when I’d wished I had also brought my long lens. Maybe next time – but that would mean a tripod too… Still, I’m thrilled with the results – lots of in-camera dancing and panning, as well as mirror work and other artistic adjustments in Photoshop. You’ll get plenty of straight shots too – a nice variety to represent both the visual and energetic experience of the day.
The trail head was 2 subways and a bus away from my place, but with Vienna’s amazing public transportation system, there’s rarely more than a 5 minute wait for anything – even on Sundays, it seems. From the bus stop, we simply followed the signs (and fellow hikers, many with their nordic walking sticks.) We were soon past the vineyards and into the forest.
The high was to be 12 degrees Celcius today – we’re having a very unusual winter… still fall, really! You’ll see that in the photos. I so resonated with the purples, greens and oranges (yes, some of these were digitally saturated, but others weren’t – that’s just how I experience colour). The birds provided background music at the beginning of our hike, but near the top, strong winds added to the impressive soundtrack.
We weren’t alone on the trails, but there weren’t nearly as many people as last weekend on Trail #1.
If you read about my love of dogs in a previous post, you’ll understand how thrilled I was when this little dog chose to walk with us rather than his elderly owners behind us – I think he preferred our calm and positive energy instead of their constant yabbering and complaining. I like listening to German for my learning purposes, but I kept my distance too. Anyhow, I couldn’t help but take these pictures of our companion checking out the smell-mail on this 1891 marker (a behaviour he would repeat along the way). Centuries of dogs have left messages there.
Once in a while, I could see the roadway and it looked shiny and wet, despite the fact it hadn’t rained in hours. It was only once we got closer that I figured out that it wasn’t an ordinary paved road. Wow! The work involved! There’s history to this, I’m sure… By the way, it’s a very long road!
At the very top top – the highest point in Vienna, we found this tower, which was erected in 1888 by the Tourism Club. This spot also marked the 0 km point during the Austro-Hungarian era.
On our way down, we stopped at a very busy restaurant (there are a few along the trails – some of which are usually closed by this time of year). We shared a table with a young couple and their newborn in a carriage. They had parked about 1km lower down and taken the smoother trail up. There’s no way they would have managed the very muddy steep trails we had taken. I sat with my back to the long wall plastered with stuffed animals (not the toy kind)- but I could feel that wild boar behind me staring… Although I resonated with many of the podcasts I’d heard on veganism yesterday (I was vegan for 3 years and vegetarian for longer), I ordered a chicken schnitzel. A few years back, after several health consultations by medical intuitives and a lot of tears, I had had to bring chicken and fish back in my diet. My body, it turns out, needs meat occasionally – and I prefer when someone else cooks it. Martin, who had eaten a sandwich partway up, had a cafe latte and Sacher cake – very Viennese!
Part of the #2 loop was closed due to trail maintenance (they were cutting down trees – a painful site to see, I’ll admit), so we took a detour. At one intersection, Martin felt we should veer right on an unmarked trail down. I used my necklace as a pendulum to confirm. It was the right decision – we ended up reconnecting to trail #2. Had we followed the crowds, we would have ended up back on the trail I did last week (which would have added another hill and about 2 hours to the trek). Instead, we were back in town for the 2:50pm bus. A truly wonderful day. I hope you enjoyed seeing it through my eyes. Now lets see for how many days this week my legs will remind me of today’s good work…
The Eastern Canon of Art
/in Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsOn Thursday morning, Laurence reviewed the proportions of human figures in the Western Canon and shared a few practical drawing tips. We then spent time copying drawings from books – a valuable exercise. I seemed to be having an off-day, but I appreciated the practice and did well at not comparing my work with my classmates’ – I include some of their work here to show the results of both talent and practice. Inspiring!
The Eastern Canon:
In the afternoon, Laurence delved deeper into the Eastern Canon. In Hindu art, for example, artists measured figures in Tàlas. 1 Tàla= 1 Face. Most gods were 9 faces tall and goddesses 8 faces. Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma, however, were 10 faces tall. We also learned about the 4 postures that make Hieratic Style so recognizable: samapada (equal balance on both feet), abhanga (slight bend), tribhanga (strong bend), and atibhanga (exaggerated bend). Using printed copies of his presentation slides, we then spent time drawing these. Alas, it was confirmed that I was having an off-day and I ended up counting the minutes until the end of class, even though this style of art really interests me. I just couldn’t stop yawning.
This drawing thing looks easy, but I’m just not a natural at it…. still, I fully recognize that I’m improving. Yup! Slowly, but surely…
On Friday, Laurence’s presentation took us on a journey to a couple of Hindu temples he had visited in India – an introduction to the various gods and ornamental features. He showed examples of the Torana (garlanded gateway), gana (dwarf caryatid), salabharjika (maiden with limb in a tree (I learned that Buddha’s mother, the queen, painlessly gave birth to him while holding onto a tree), kalascha (pots with plants, water, smoke, unknown matter raising up from them), makaras (elephantine crocodile figures with mouths open and spewing water, jewels and small figures), animals such as the vyala and nagas (hybrid figures), mitherna (embracing couples), gandharva (male musicians that accompany gods) and apsara (female dancers).
In Search of Our Inner Deity:
After a slide show on the various gods, mudra (hand positions), and attributes (the symbolic objects that eastern gods hold in their hands or have around them), Laurence guided us through a few sun salutations (yoga stretches) and a 15-minute creative visualization meditation to help us evoke subject matter for one of this trimester’s paintings. Our goal was to find or create a Hindu deity with whom we resonate, mudras, attributes, a symbolic animal to accompany the deity, and ornamentation.
Even before we started, I had an inkling that I’d be visiting Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of art, wisdom, and learning, which I had immediately resonated with when introduced to her during a yoga class in the 80s. My vision of her, however, was slightly different than the traditional way in which she is portrayed. With my memory (or lack therefore), however, that’s not surprising. What’s more surprising are all the elements that were similar.
World Museum:
Today, Saturday, is a home day apart from grocery shopping. I have a whole file of materials on the business of art to focus on. Tomorrow, however, is supposed to be 12 degrees and partly sunny, so it’ll be great for another hike.
Sacred Elements of Inner Journeying
/in Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsWe started off the week with a special 2-day workshop by one of my classmates, Kevin Campeau (also from Canada) and Alexandra Moskovchuk. I first met Alexandra in class – she’s one of our models – but she also led one of the meditations during the Avaloka night I wrote about in a previous post. I had felt a connection with her as a fellow energy worker, and so I was very much looking forward to this.
We spent most of the 2 days sitting / lying in a circle on the floor. Through sacred rituals and various exercises, we delved deeper into our selves and our creative source. We danced, did zazen meditation, automatic drawing exercises, creative visualization journeys, drum-induced journeying, and more. It was great. As one of our outside guests said “It’s good to be in a school where it’s not a bunch of idiots trying to feed you bullshit“. I had to laugh even if I’ve been a teacher in schools and universities for over 20 years. The Vienna Academy of Visionary Arts is simply a different kind of school – and I’m glad we have the space to experience this spiritual side of creativity as a group here.
Journeying:
I especially enjoyed my drum-induced journey. First, Alexandra introduced 5 elements that are important when journeying:
My intention was to focus on being an open-hearted loving being. I found myself in a grassy tropical space 3/4 of the way up a waterfall that has been in my inner world for decades. From there, my familiar black panther joined me (confirming that this childhood spirit animal is still by my side) and led me behind the waterfall, where a circle of First Nations elders sat around a fire. One native elder approached me and offered me an emerald of the same green as the panther’s eyes (this stone, I later confirmed online, is used for the healing of the heart and its power is highest at the full moon – that night). I asked him how I could become more unconditionally loving (to add to the amazing lessons I’m learning from my Real Love resources). The instant I did so, I also had that “watch what you ask for” feeling and I expressed my resistance at learning to be so the hard way. He started by explaining how many have become unconditionally loving in different ways – some through incredible hardships, some through caring for others in hardships, some by spending time with animals, etc. He showed me several examples. There is no one way of opening one’s heart to unconditional love – we each have a unique path and I would be given clear signposts along the way. I was already on the right path – learning to love myself and to be true to my personal power and path through my art and life’s journey. My very intention of becoming more loving is part of that journey and I was asked to trust that once again. For some reason, when he brought up being true to myself and my path, my old financial fears came up to the surface again and he handed me a little leather drawstring pouch like they had in olden days. It looked empty, but it wasn’t – when I reached in, I found there several gold coins – a reminder that I have never lacked for anything and that when resources were needed, they would reveal themselves to me. I keep learning this lesson. That’s about all I remember about the vision, except that just before the change of drum rhythm signaled our need to return to reality, my guide handed me a peace pipe. I loved the symbolism, but objected to smoking. He smiled, patiently, showing me how I loved smudging myself in sacred smoke to cleanse myself of what I no longer needed and how I had enjoyed the myrrh and other tree sap incenses that Alexandra had used that day. He smiled again – totally loving me as I am. I smiled. I accepted the offering with gratitude, chuckling at myself and my hangups… (ever present, even in dreamtime 🙂 ).
Automatic Drawing/Painting:
As for the automatic drawing and painting, it was very close to how I approach my own painting sessions – simply following and trusting. We started by exploring one continuous line …
and expanding that to portraits of each other. Here’s where non-judgement came in big time. I was really hoping, of course, that by being in the energy flow and having asked my guides and Lizzy’s to help us co-create portraits of each other, I would have suddenly mastered the art of drawing. Yes, I believe in miracles and magic. I must trust, therefore, that these are exactly as they are meant to be (and Lizzy was a great sport about them) I’m including a picture of her too though, so that you can see that my images are definitely not realistic in nature 🙂 .
Here’s her wonderful energy portrait of me. I definitely recognize myself on many levels.
portrait of Dominique by Lizzy
When I decided to draw Rachel and Alexandra, who were drawing each other at the time, I quite liked my results.
I then tried it again during our live figure drawing class from 4-6pm and so here’s my automatic drawing of Daniel.
I am grateful for these 2 days, which resonated with my way of being and creating. Indeed, there are many natural ways to journey and achieve visions. Although the ritual use of drugs is common in the visionary art world, it’s simply not my path. What we experienced early this week is more in line with my approach to tuning into the energy and journeying into the world of vision. Different strokes for different folks!
Here are more workshop photos taken by Florence (unless marked otherwise).
Wednesday:
We had our studio day on Wednesday this week since the Phantastenmuseum, which is attached to our classroom, was celebrating its 3rd anniversary with an open house. We too, therefore, had our doors open while we painted. I mostly worked on the spirit animals in my self-portrait painting. This piece is still so far from finished – and teaching me so much.
Healthy Stress & Hiking Paths
/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and TourismHumans are complex beings – at least I am…. a study in contrasts at times.
I have traveled around the world, yet I was almost too afraid to explore Vienna’s hiking paths on my own, and I hadn’t found anyone to join me. It’s not like I spent my first 4 months here locked up in my room, but this is something I had wanted to do and hadn’t. I didn’t know how safe it would be for a woman alone to be walking in the woods around here. I didn’t know how to get to the trail heads. All sorts of little fears had gotten in the way of my making it to the thirteen hiking paths around Vienna. Until yesterday. The sun was shining and I had done my research (plus I’d written I would in my blog, so….). I felt the fear, but did it anyway. Have you read that book? “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” by Susan Jeffers? I did about 15 years ago, and I’m a big fan! I’m also a fan of a saying that was printed on my Lulu Lemon yoga bag: “Do one thing a day that scares you.” It’s good to stretch our comfort zones – that’s how we grow. My life is a testimony to that. And lo and behold, Sunday morning, I even learned how to make my body’s stress induced reactions healthy! During breakfast, I watched a great TED Talk (14 minutes) that revealed scientific evidence on how our beliefs change our reality – worth a watch! Stress, it turns out, is not a public enemy. It’s only bad if you believe it is. If you believe it’s good, your body will respond differently and you’ll live much longer. Check out the video – I’m sure it has added a few years to my life!
After watching that, I headed out with a healthy attitude. I had chosen Hiking Path #1 (logical, I know) – Kahlenberg, described as “an uphill walk through vineyards and wooded hills rewarded by a marvelous view of Vienna and the Danube.” Perfect! And it was. As it often happens, there was absolutely no reason for fear… It was simply wonderful! It often is.
They advertised that it is a 3-4 hour hike – it took me 4 hours and 20 minutes from the end station of tramway D – the start of the 11km loop. I only brought my iPhone to take pictures, but I still like to walk at a leisurely pace, so I’m usually slower than most. It was awesome! There were times I was on my own, but the trails were far from empty: people of all ages – walking, jogging, mountain-biking, dog-walking, pushing strollers and wheelchairs, and nordic pole walking. This is how Viennese balance their café & confectionery culture!
The path was pretty well marked, but I’m glad I had written down the route’s major landmarks. There are lots of trails that intersect this loop and I had to ask a few times to make sure I was still on track (literally!). There was only once when I was wasn’t – I had gone a hundred meters down a very steep hill, only to have to climb back up again. Good exercise! As you’ll see in the photos, some of the paths are paved, on gravel, or packed dirt – or mud. I enjoyed the variety and loved being able to see past the buildings across the street. It felt so good to be in nature!
When I got to the top, the clear blue skies had turned a bit cloudy, so the views of Vienna weren’t perfectly clear. That’s OK. I joined all those who had gotten there by bus or by car (the parking lot was full!) to admire the view. I also treated myself to some roasted potatoes and a delicious bowl of goulash soup (that was for you Papa), which I ate sitting on a bench in the sun. I don’t usually eat beef, but was in the mood to taste this traditional dish. I then entered the packed church in time to hear a lovely hymn. In addition to the church, Kahlenberg is home to a transmission tower, a historic tower, food stands, tourist shop, a fancy restaurant, ballrooms, hotel, private university, conference rooms, and a house with a big back yard and several Newfoundlander dogs. Nice! By the way, the washrooms on the descending path near the bus stop are the only free ones. I saved a Euro there and many people do along the trails, as I found out when I saw something move downhill from me while I was talking a picture. (The elderly gentleman standing next to me didn’t say a thing while I was shooting away near his wife’s hideaway… oops!) After spending half an hour at the top, I headed back down past a really cool hebertism trail (obstacle course among and up the trees) and through the forest and vineyards. In the fall, tourists and locals spend a lot of time up here at all the heurige – wine taverns. Since I could never get past the smell of wine, this hasn’t been part of my experience. I love Vienna’s spring water though 🙂
Note: There was an interesting plaque at the top of the hill that left me curious – I don’t have much time to research it now as I need to get to school soon, but it turns out that it’s about a parallel universe and the creatures that live there. Seems that Kahlenberg is also known to some as Seen des Himmels (Lakes of the Sky). Check out their website if you want to know more and click on this image to see it larger – hopefully you’ll be able to read the text.
P.S. On Saturday night, Ellen and Monica, two of my roommates, went to a ball in the Hofburg Palace – it was organized by their university. Ball season is such an important part of Vienna culture, and one I won’t be participating in, so I wanted to share a couple of their photos.
Have a great week and hope you get some time in nature!
Connecting with Mother Earth Through Her Creatures
/in Inspiration, Paintings, Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsIt’s quite ironic – it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I know that what my body & soul need is time in Nature, but I can’t seem to get myself off this chair. So instead, I’ll keep writing, this time about connecting with Nature through its animals. Then, tomorrow, I’ll head out early to explore one of Vienna’s hiking paths. (P.S. – good thing I’m not hiking – it’s now 4pm and pouring out!)
Animal Communication:
I started writing this blog in my head weeks ago when my friend Janis in Edmonton sent me a link to a fabulous video on Animal Communication (now unavailable on YouTube)- I’ve seen it 4 times now and it evokes such powerful emotion in me each time. It’s the amazing story of a rescued black panther (one of my childhood totem animals) which was unusually dangerous and therefore in peril until Anna Breytenbach, an animal communicator, came to sit with it for a while. Then everything changed. It’s not only another example of the role of imagery as a form of communication (referring to yesterday’s post), but also a very good reminder of our human potential as we reconnect to the land and its creatures – something I believe we all need for all our sakes. I have personally felt this for years, but more so since I moved to Vienna, where I must seek out trees when I feel myself disconnecting from Mother Earth – there are very few in my district. This short clip (13 minutes) is powerful , and I was lucky enough to see the full 52-minute program on YouTube during the holidays before it was removed for copyright reasons. One can only imagine the possibilities after watching such a video.
I once hired an animal communicator to help when my beloved cat Koya became mysteriously ill at 3 years old. What I learned about myself and Koya through this service was invaluable. When it comes to animal communication, some of you may be more familiar with the term horse whisperer, which became widespread after the release of the film by that name starring Robert Redford – I watched that one again last night on YouTube. (I’m so very grateful for this free resource – have I mentioned that?) I also had the chance to hear an animal communicator present at conference in San Diego – her description of how animal spirits shake off their mortal coil in joy, playfully bounding into their new form after death stayed with me. She further explained how they can transition back into another body if we wish them to do so. I can’t remember all the details, but it was great stuff!
Memories:
I love animals! When I lived in Germany as a child (in 3 locations between the ages of 5-10), I spent much of my time alone in the forests, fields, and parks – alone, but never really alone. In addition to angels, guides, fairies and other beings of the spirit world and of my imagination, there were the animals. I especially remember my solo bike rides to a nearby duck pond near the first village we lived in (in a time and place where it was relatively safe for 5 year olds to wander far and wide without adult supervision). When we moved to Baden, I found the forest. My family will recall the frequent search parties sent out into that forest at dinner time since I had no sense of time there. I can’t quite remember how I spent all that time, but I do remember getting laughed at when I’d share all my animal stories with “friends” at school. It didn’t matter – along with all my “imaginary animals” and forest creatures, there was also Heidi, my best friend, a schoolmate’s Cocker Spaniel dog who waited by her door for me every day after school. I’ll confess, I lost a few friends in my life when I’d abandon them for any and all dogs who came into view. I was obsessed – knew the names of every breed in existence! When we moved to Lahr, I spent a lot of my free time roaming in the neighbouring Stadtpark with its large flower gardens filled with animals and free-roaming peacocks. I remember “communicating” with one of the ponies who often expressed its boredom and stress at being enclosed – pawing with its foreleg up on the cement foundation to its bars that stood between us. My heart reached out to it and I’d just spend time with it. Back in Canada, I didn’t stop craving time with Mother Earth and its creatures. I’d often jump on my bike to seek out natural places where I could sit and connect. Neighbourhood animals also occupied an important space in my heart and I took horseback riding lessons as a teen – although the fantasy of it was always more fun than the reality of it since I fell off a few times learning to canter in an indoor ring in the winter. Oh well…. I was an animal lover nonetheless!
Animals as our Teachers
Animals as Healers:
When I lived in Ottawa a bit over 10 years ago, my friends Jen & Ken and I would take their 2 golden retriever dogs and their cat Cuddles (appropriately named) to various senior citizen homes and mental health facilities as part of a pet therapy group. This was as healing for me as it was for those we were visiting. Witnessing such unconditional love and even occasional miracles was simply heart-opening. I remember the time I felt moved to place Cuddles on the lap of a woman who sat in a chair in the corner all day long, not moving – quite unresponsive to her environment. I’ll never forget the look on the nurses faces when they entered the room and saw her hand slowly stroking Cuddles – utter shock and delight. It was during those times that she would also whisper to me about her past. Together, Cuddles and I were making a difference and that felt awesome! Anyone who has loved an animal knows what powers they have – not just to entertain, but truly to heal. Blessed be the animals.
Totem and Spirit Animals:
We not only learn from the animals who cross our paths during our waking hours. Animals will also visit and teach us in our dreams and visions. Some have talked about Animal Totems while other talk of Spirit or Power Animals (animal spirit guides). No matter the case, the power of animal symbolism has long been recognized around the globe. On Friday, in class, I spent a few minutes skimming through a classmate’s book “Animal Speak”, to research the 4 childhood totems featured in my “self-portrait” painting. I introduced you to the story behind this painting in a previous post and you can see its development over a period of a few months in the photos below – it’s still a work in progress. Friday’s research has certainly enriched my insights about their role in my life (summarized here). Very interesting indeed. I could have written a book from the years of stories we shared together in my imagination.
1. Panther: Reclaiming One’s True Power – living your life purpose
2. Hawk: Visionary Power and Guardianship
3. Snake (boa): Rebirth, Resurrection, Initiation, Wisdom – life transitions, changes, new opportunities, healing, awakening of creative forces, kundalini, visions and intuition becoming more accurate
4. Horse: Travel, Power, and Freedom
Although I haven’t had it in my possession for years, I recommend the divination deck of Medicine Cards that help us tap into the animal kingdom’s guidance.
However you choose to connect with this beautiful planet we live on and with, I encourage you to find time to do so. You deserve it! For today, my writing this post is my way of doing so – my way of paying homage to God’s creatures great and small, alive and in spirit form.
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Note: On Saturday night, I found a free movie on YouTube (surprise, surprise!) about love, dogs, and great artists – some real (like Reubens), some fictional. A Dog of Flanders (1999) is based on the famous book “Nello and Patrasche”. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but there are days when I’m not too fussy.
Back to School – 2nd Trimester at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Arts
/in Vienna Academy of Visionary ArtsWe started our 2nd trimester at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Arts on Tuesday – and we’re off to a great start!
It feels good getting back into the routine, although I’m still having to wake up with an alarm, which is quite discombobulating. Still, I’ve managed healthy breakfasts, occasional yoga, and online art business studies before my walks to school. I treasure these walks (despite the ever-present clouds of cigarette smoke) as there’s so much to see thanks to our school’s ideal location in the historic core. Depending on my route, it takes me 30-50 minutes one-way.
Tuesday:
During our opening circle, we shared intentions, did a few sun salutations (yoga), and activated our classroom altar. Laurence Caruana and Timea Tallian, our main teachers this trimester, gave us an outlook of the months ahead. Unfortunately, one of the scheduled teachers cancelled, but fortunately, that has opened up exciting opportunities for special guest teachers. The structure has also changed a little. I was thrilled to find out that my positive feedback about my 2-day tutoring experience in Payerbach during the holidays has led to programming the trimester as a series of 2-day workshops that will allow us to focus on each subject more intensively: learn, practice, and integrate. That sure works for me! Fridays will be reserved for studio time, and we’ll still have live figure drawings for 2 hours twice a week.
Our theme during the winter trimester is – The Hieratic Style: The ‘Eastern’ Canon of Ancient, Islamic & Hindu-Buddhist Art. I’m very much looking forward to this! Already, my interest was piqued as we reflected on what sacred geometry underlies our own art and how to apply this to a makara,a figure which is recognizable straight on, but also as symmetrical profiles. There are many examples of these in architecturall elements of places of worship around the world, but especially so in Hindu ones.
Our group will be smaller this term – Donnalynne and Jake are now gone, but Rachel from New York has joined us – for a total of 7 students. Now that the Academy has finally received its certification (received a few days after the end of classes in December – Congratulations Laurence & Florence for the materialization of your vision!), it will be easier for students to arrange attending for longer periods. I’m still in the process of getting my residence permit, but it’s looking very good. Stay tuned!
On Wednesday, Laurence opened a discussion on evoking inner Images through dreams, especially the symbolic ones that represent life threshold crossings. We’ve become more and more focused on words in this age of prose, but life has a rich history of expressing itself through images. If you’re interested in this, take a look at Laurence’s book “Enter Through the Image: The Ancient Image Language of Myth, Art & Dreams“. We had been asked to write down our dreams for a couple of days, but I only managed to do so in my dreams, waking up to a blank paper beside me… I’ve found dream journals very useful during major decision-making times, but so treasure my sleep that I haven’t gotten back into the habit this week, despite increasingly rich dreams. I could see how dreams would be a rich source of inspiration for paintings – just look at Dali’s work! Together, we looked at examples from our past/childhood that featured connections with animals, superpowers, etc.
We ended the day on Wednesday with 2 hours of life figure drawing – which confirmed that if you don’t use it, you lose it! I confess – I haven’t been practicing, and my results show it. Laurence warned us to be gentle on ourselves as this is to be expected…. Still, by the end, it was starting to come back to me. I feel I’ve got much less psychological baggage around drawing this trimester – I’m certain, therefore, that learning will be much more fun now – so glad I decided to stay here more than 1 trimester!
What fun! On Thursday, Timea gave us a great presentation on Subject Matter: Natural History based on Max Ernst. He found new worlds, for example, through his obsession with floorboards while snowed-in in the Tetra mountains. If you’ve ever recognized figures in clouds or rocks (like this one I photographed in the afternoon), you’ll know what I’m talking about. By rubbing (frottage) such textured surfaces, you can easily be inspired to create new worlds.
In the afternoon, we took these to the Natural History Museum to study textures and patterns and find inspiration for some of our trimester paintings which will include the creation of new creatures onto these decalomania experiments. After walking around the museum for a couple of hours photographing reference material, I sat in a corner of the insect section and drew in a meditative state – using coloured pencils to transform one of my blotches into a butterfly.
I had visited this museum during The Long Night of the Museums and had a similar energetic experience. Although its floors are filled with beautiful examples of minerals and creatures of all shapes and sizes, the place feels very …. dead. I think those huge rooms filled with rocks and crystals could use a cleansing – the kind that could easily occur if they opened the blinds the night before the full moon. My feelings were confirmed by Timea who spent years working there – she explained how it’s the biggest cemetery in Austria – 6 floors underground filled with human and animal specimens from all around the world. Before and after our explorations, we stood in a circle under the dome of the front lobby, thanking all spirits for our visit there and informing them that we’d be leaving them behind. I tell you – this is my kind of school – not quite Hogwarts, but pretty close on some days 🙂
Friday – Studio Time
Making Fridays a studio day was a great idea – this will allow us the time to get in a state of Flow and working on our trimester paintings from both last trimester and this one. My main painting certainly progressed a lot this Friday, even if it’s layers away from being finished.
Recommended Movie:
During class this week, the movie Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds was strongly recommended and after watching it, I agree. I’m starting to understand my longtime obsession with spirals more… You can see all 4 parts for free on YouTube: Akasha; The Spiral; The Serpent and the Lotus, and; Beyond Thinking.
Summary:
What a great first week! I am so grateful to be here, investing time, money, and energy into my art. Life is good!
Reflections on War & Peace: Visas & Vienna’s Augarten
/in My Travels, Vienna - Life and TourismThis morning, I took one of these steps – I went to the Austrian Registry Office to make my official request for a residency permit that will allow me to study here until June. I could only apply once my school received its certification, which only happened late in December. I was nervous. I’m sure my holiday reading didn’t help – stories of abuse by authorities who wielded the power of life and death behind the iron curtain. Truth be told, though, I’m usually nervous in such situations (“Is there a document missing in this 1-inch thick envelope of paperwork? Did I fill-out the 9-page German application accurately? Will they accept my renewed criminal record check if it hasn’t been notarized? Can my future really be determined by a yes/no from officials even if I’m a good girl?)” You get the picture. Part of me has a very spiritual take on events – nothing is good or bad, it just is, and a decision either way will be a sign of what I’m meant to do next – but part of me gets all uptight around anything to do with authority and bureaucracy. Luckily, Florence, our school’s administrator, was kind enough to accompany me, the first student to go through this process. Better still, the officer who greeted me was very nice and even complimented me on my German. She double-checked all of my paperwork and, after a few minutes, so did her colleague, who then sent me to the cash to pay my 100 Euro fee. I’ll find out the results in a few weeks. Wish me luck!
Since it was sunny and above zero (although not yesterday’s 10°C), I then decided to explore a nearby park that seemed huge on the map. The Augarten, I discovered, is actually a 52 hectare walled-in park with tree-lined avenues, flower gardens (no blooms now), sports fields, playgrounds, dog parks, an outdoor swimming pool (still full, but covered in ice), a retirement residence, a palace, a contemporary art gallery, a porcelain factory & shop, restaurants, home of the Vienna Boy’s Choir, and more. It’s the oldest Baroque garden in Vienna. Even though the grass is still green, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as it will be in the spring (I will definitely return if I get my visa). Walking amongst thousands of bare trees, however, added to the ominousness of the two huge anti-aircraft gun blockhouses that loom over this public park. What a strange sight! I wasn’t sure what they were at first, although I felt uneasy around them, so I looked it up on Google while sitting on a park bench and found out that these flak towers also served as air-raid shelters during WWII. I’m surprised they weren’t in the movie “The Third Man” with Orson Welles, which showed a lot of Vienna post-war. Standing here, at the foot of these foreboding structures, I recalled how uncomfortable I also felt when I heard the anti-raid sirens being tested in Vienna and when I learned how they test them weekly in towns and villages across Austria. (I just checked and found out that they are now used as fire sirens instead). All in all, the juxtaposition of war and peace – concrete bunkers and baroque gardens – was thought-provoking. The cold war only ended in 1991 and the last world war only 68 years ago. Although monuments and stories remind us of this in Canada, it is so much more evident here in Europe – at least for me. I smiled though, as I was nearing the end of my walk, when two white doves flew in front of me and landed in a tree (OK, they could have been pigeons). I also smiled when I followed my nose into the palace restaurant for a delicious daily special – rainbow trout on a bed of risotto for 7.90EU ($11.50 Cdn) – although I was surprised that it came without any vegetables. Still, it was excellent energy for my 2-hour walk home along streets I had yet to explore.
May 2014 be a year of peace and freedom all around the world, and may we all learn to choose love over fear.
P.S. After writing this post, I found 2 films on the Hungarian Revolution online: “Revolution’s Orphans“, a Canadian short film (click to view) and “Children of Glory” – which I watched in German (click to view) because the English version wasn’t available on YouTube.