This past week we had a horrendous ice storm here in Salem, Oregon. As I laid in my bed at 3:00 am listening to trees crack and fall in the neighborhood and watching the fIashes of light from broken power lines, I felt nearly paralyzed with fear. My mind started down the rabbit hole of what-if's. What if a tree falls on my house? What if I can't get the car out? What if the power goes out. Of course, the power did go out and remains out even as I write this. Lying there in the pitch black, I reminded myself: Don't panic. Stay in the moment. Show up, and do the next right thing.

I believe that right now, perhaps more than ever, we need a personal code to live by in these unrelenting stressful times. A "true north" to guide us -- a foundation for living that anchors us when things feel out of our control. Things like catastrophic weather, wildfires, environmental instability, social inequities, politics and pandemics. In other words, everything that's happened in our world over the last twelve months. A personal code to live by allows us to turn our minds away from reacting like a victim and toward taking control of the only thing we really can change, ourselves.

I found my "true north" years ago when I first read The Four-Fold Way - Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer and Visionary, by Angeles Arrien (may she rest in peace).The simple, tried-and-true tenets in the book have proven helpful to me time and time again since I first read it in my eartly forties.

Angeles was a Basque-American cultural anthropologist, educator, author, lecturer and consultant. In her book describes the Four-Fold Way as "honoring the perennial wisdoms found among the indigenous peoples of each continent so that the legacies of land-based peoples are not lost and are retained to further attend to the...stewarship of Mother Earth." Right in line with my principles, and I hope yours, too.

Mercury is in retrograde and I'm feeling inspired to revisit the Four-Fold Way foundational practice and share these principles with you, in community, and with art. Art offers us a doorway to journey into deeper parts of ourselves, those places within us that are beyond words. Visual imagery reminds of who we are, what we love, and what we believe.

I'm offering a four-part SoulCollage® series centered around The Four-Fold Way this spring (details below). I hope you will consider joining me to create your own "true north" imagery to navigate your life journey. Here is a summary of the four paths we will be working with in this series:

Leadership, power, honor, respect, responsibility.

How are you you showing up for what's most important to you?

Pay attention to what has heart and meaning.

The Path of the Visionary:

Tell the truth without blame or judgement.

Be open to outcome, not attached to outcome.

Here is a link to an Angeles Arrien TED talk about the Four-Fold Way that was recorded just a year before she passed away.

Here are links to purchase this book: link to Amazon; link to thriftbooks

4 Sundays in April: 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm PST

Zoom Gathering at GG’s Virtual Down to Earth Studio

Sliding fee scale $65 - $85 (Please talk with me if the fee is beyond your financial capability. Do not let money keep you from participating.)

Register with GG here

Courting the Muse

Friday, February 19, 2021 at 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm PST

Zoom Gathering at GG’s Virtual Down to Earth Studio

Sliding fee scale $20 – $30

Join me in a gathering to invite the elusive Muse into our creative lives.

The Muses were the Greek goddesses of poetic inspiration, the adored deities of song, dance, and memory, on whose mercy the creativity, wisdom and insight of all artists and thinkers depended.

Legend says if you don’t open the door when The Muse knocks, she will bypass your house and move on down the street to another, more willing, soul. Let’s make a SoulCollage® card to be sure The Muse knows we are ready and waiting for her inspiration.

(If you are new to SoulCollage®, and are interested in this gathering, please contact GG for details on introductory SoulCollage® info)

Friday, March 19, 2021 at 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm PST

Zoom Gathering at GG’s Virtual Down to Earth Studio

Sliding fee scale $20 – $30

Join me in a gathering to welcome the inevitable return of Spring and all the joy and promise it has to offer. It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter. Let’s celebrate new growth and possibilities.

“It is the thing that sends us out, questing recklessly, pushing the edges of comfort, safety and sense. It is the legacy of the animals we have always been, the cumulative wisdom of spring — new every time, ancient, timeless.”  from Maeanna Welti, Spring Equinox, We’Moon 2021 Gaia Rhythms for Womyn.

(If you are new to SoulCollage®, and are interested in this gathering, please email GG for details on introductory SoulCollage® info)

*If you are new to SoulCollage®, and are interested in any of these gatherings, please email GG for details on introductory SoulCollage® info.

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