Sunday, September 30, 2012

Article submission afterthoughts

For my last assignment I had to choose a publication to submit an article to and actually submit it.  I enjoyed the process of finding a publication to submit to, and even found a couple of publications I did not know existed that I really enjoyed.  I have to admit, I was not too fond of the idea of submitting an article for publication, not yet anyway.  Yes, I want to write a book.  Yes, I would love to write anything that inspires, uplifts, helps to heal, but, I am just not sure I am ready yet.  But then again, will I ever think I am ready?  I suppose we'll find out.  Submitting the article is one thing, being selected for publication is another.  Right now I can blog my little heart out and I don't have to work about it being selected for anything.  People might read it, people might not read it, either way it's okay.  Regardless of my feelings on it I went ahead and submitted an article to Transformation Magazine, which is a free local magazine that features information on personal development, alternative health and spiritual growth.  I did a quick copy, paste, submit so that I wouldn't get all nervous and avoid it until the absolute last minute.  And now that I've done it?  I'm not sure how I feel aside from I don't know if I was ready.  Will I submit another article in the future?  I don't know.  Whether I wanted to do it or not the moment was perfect, one that my soul drew me to so that I could re-member who I really am.  So, I suppose, if the moment strikes me and my soul urges me to submit another article, then I just might take that advice.  Whether I do or do not, the moment will be perfect.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Sometimes I have moments (a creative free writing assignment)

While it is my intention to be inspired by every moment of my life to create who and what I wish to be in relationship to it, sometimes that moment of inspiration does not come until later.  Sometimes, as things come and they are processed, there is a gap between the moment and the inspiration.

The other day my truck had some trouble and I almost didn't make it to work.  I did make it and for that I am grateful.  Then, I almost didn't make it home.  Once again, I did make it home and am grateful for that.  It was a bit of a rough time.  My truck was having serious issues to the point that I was driving down my road at 15 mph because that is as fast as it would go without potentially blowing up the engine.  I need my truck to get back and forth to work and do not currently have the funds to fix what ails it.  In the midst of trying to figure that out I opened my mail to a shut off notice from the electric company.  I kept moving forward.  I spoke to my son's father, who is a mechanic, and he walked me through a process of spraying grease up into my transmission (to put it simply).  I have a Kia Sportage, which sits fairly low to the ground, so there isn't much space underneath and having truck parts that close to my face, and my body, gave me a bit of anxiety. As I crawled under my truck to take pictures, crawled under the other side to take another pic, crawled back under for more pics, thought about my finances and my electric bill...let's just say I could feel the weight slowly building.  I crawled out from underneath my truck and hung my head and said a prayer of surrender.  I let go of it, to the best of my ability, so that it can work itself out without my attachment to it.

And later that night, after my truck was okay for the moment, and I was back home and had a chance to process the events of the day, I remembered to be inspired by it to create who and what I wish to be in relationship to it.  And the next day I remembered to be grateful for it.  I really do see life as full of opportunities, even when those opportunities appear to be disguised as problems.  After processing I remember that each moment is perfect and that Spirit and my Higher Self are always guiding me to my Highest Good because it is my intent to be guided as such.

I often hear spiritual and personal growth thought leaders talk about becoming one with the moment and flowing with it and I absolutely agree with on.  Yet, on the spiritual path, on my way to remembering most of the time to be inspired by the moment, on my way to remembering most of the time to accept each moment and become one with it, on my way to remembering to stay present and breath, I have those moments in which it all starts to weigh on me and I hang my head.  It doesn't happen often but once in a while it does happen and those are the moments I don't hear about.  The moments in which it is okay to feel heavy, not to attach to that heaviness and get stuck in it, but to feel it and acknowledge the feeling of it.  Sometimes that is all a feeling needs, to be recognized, to be voiced, to be heard, so that it can be processed, healed and let go.  I have learned the hard way that not recognizing those feelings is detrimental to one's health in so many ways.

It is so important to acknowledge the moment, to see it, accept it, and allow it to be what it is.  Again, it is not beneficial to attach to the moment and the makings of it because then there is the danger of staying stuck in it and allowing it to become part of your identity.  Once the moment is allowed to be what it is then I can flow into deciding who and what I wish to be in relationship to it.  And really, that makes sense because, after all, how can you decide what you wish to be in relationship to a moment that you refuse to see, be in or accept?  If you don't acknowledge the existence of the moment you forfeit your opportunity to create what you truly desire in it.

It's okay to have a moment, to hang your head, to pray, to surrender, to recreate.  Allow the moment, process it, heal it and let it go and then flow into it and be inspired by it.  You can be awe-struck by a moment or you can choose to allow the moment to strike you down,  it is always up to you.   


Monday, September 24, 2012

Assignment: Inspiration

"May you dream the most amazing dream, and from that dream create something so profound, as to inspire others to dream, create, and inspire."

I wrote that back in 2002, I had stumbled upon my creativity and felt a passion for it I had never known before.  I knew that I wanted to use my creativity to have a profoundly positive affect on the lives of others, and to inspire them.  What I didn't know was that my creativity would not be the only vehicle for inspiring other, or for having a positive effect on people's lives as my journey through addiction and recovery is proving to be a powerful avenue of service.  

I wish to not only inspire others, but to be inspired myself , as well as to live an inspired life.  Inspiration is all around me and it is a choice as to whether or not I will allow myself to be inspired by All that Is, in whatever form I co-create it.  

I am inspired by so many things, events, and people that my list would be eternal.  But here is a sampling of what inspires me:

I am inspired by the beauty of the sky which, at times, seems like it has been painted by the Divine just for    me.

I am inspired by the people I know in recovery who fearlessly look inward at what needs to be healed within themselves and take forward steps toward do so

I am inspired by my son as he helps to motivate me to run on our nightly runs/walks when I don't necessarily have the motivation to do so

I am inspired by the pain people share with me, to find a way to guide them toward healing that pain

I am inspired by the people who write some of the blogs I follow, who are raw and real and authentic in their vulnerability for the whole world to read, I, too, wish to do the same

I am inspired by the artwork that people create and the videos I watch of them making it, artists giving of themselves so freely a piece of their soul

I am inspired by stories of people overcoming diversity

I am inspired by the pain in my body to process, heal, and release any resistant energy or energy from the past

I am inspired by the personal and spiritual growth leaders, as I listen to them speak the truths and wisdoms that have attained it is my desire to continue grow to that space within myself

I am inspired by the man in my life who is amazing and loves me like no one has ever loved me and who looks at me as if I am the most beautiful and amazing creature, it inspires me to remember that that is how my Creator sees me

I am inspired by each and every breath of my life to decide who and what I wish to be in relationship to it.  The person who cuts me off in traffic inspires me to be a more courteous driver.  The homeless person who asked me for $0.75 so he could buy a beer inspires me to continue to be sobriety, and compassion.  The electric bill that is $50 higher than usual inspires me to be the person who can pay it in full and on time.

In my artwork I am inspired by colors that I love, stamps, papers, and where I am in my life and what I am healing and transforming

In my writing I am inspired by authenticity, healing, transformation all within myself or others.  I am also inspired by perspectives of others that I read about.  I am inspired by healing topics that I feel will help guide people on their healing journeys back to wholeness.

The things that inspire me help to move me forward, I don't ever feel like they block me in any way.  Dictionary.com gives the following as one of the definitions of inspiration:  "a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind and the soul."  Inspiration is the Divine and the Soul reaching from within to shake us a bit, in the most wonderful and profound ways.  No matter what life brings it is an opportunity for me to be inspired to create who and what I wish to be in relationship to it.  I am doing that in every moment, regardless of whether I realize it or not so why not intentionally chose to be inspired to chose who I wish to be?  So I chose to be inspired, to be an inspiration, and to live an inspired life.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Assignment 2: Creative writing sample

I sit on this table, surrounded by bottles of beautifully brilliant colors, waiting patiently for her.  Some of my pages are covered with colorful self-expressions and healings, some are covered with colorful creative play, some have the remnants of the cookbook I used to be, before she decided to love me and fill me with pieces of her self, her soul.  I yearn to be loved each and every day, and I feel her yearning as well but sometimes she stays away for far too long as she allows life to carry her away from me.  I know she thinks about me, I see her glance over at me from her computer with desire to spread herself all over my pages, then she sighs and looks back at the screen as there is homework to be done.

She came to me the other night on impulse, without thinking about what else was waiting to be done, as she knows there is healing in my pages.  She spread the thick beautiful colors on my page with her hands, she let the energy of "it is safe to feel my emotions" flow from her fingers to my pages without any words.  If felt so good to be loved by her, used by her, to help her find that feeling place within herself that she is often times afraid of.  She covered me with paint, stamps, stencils and yarn and looked at me with joy and affection and, more importantly, she released some resistance within her and took a few more steps toward healing and transformation.  It was good for her and I catch her looking at me more now with an intent of healing, the energy of what the page wishes to be beginning its silent communication with her soul.  I feel that the true healing nature of her time spent with me is starting to make itself known to her in ways that it hadn't been known before, truly known deep down in her soul.

Sometimes she spends time with the pages of others, some store bought, some made, some rescued, but that does not affect me.  Although I experience joy when I am loved by her, it is more important that she spends that healing time, that creative play time, that time of connection with her soul, with the Divine, with All That Is.  So it matters not to me which one of us she graces her creativity with as long as she is gracing one of us then she is healing.  For we are here to serve her on her journey back to wholeness, preparing her to help guide others on their journeys back to wholeness and our wholeness comes from being of service to her and to those she will go forth and help.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Assignment 1: Biography

Tia lives in sunny southwest Florida with her 12 year old son.  While the birth of her son started her on a path of personal growth and spirituality, it was a long and very rough road.  When she stumbled upon her creativity in 2002 she came to a point in which she knew she wanted to have a profoundly positive affect on the lives of others but it wasn't until she got into recovery, and started to heal from her addiction, that she felt the call to help others heal.

Tia began to visualize a coaching concept that could utilize spirituality and creativity, along with other healing modalities, with which she could help guide people on their healing journeys back to wholeness.  She found the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts and knew that it was the perfect place, aside from her own experiences, to build a foundation for her healing practice.  She is currently studying Holistic Healthcare with a concentration in Mind Body Transformational Psychology with an emphasis in Spiritual Studies.

It is Tia's desire to use her life and experiences to serve by way of helping to guide people along their healing journeys back to wholeness and self-empowerment, helping people to find their own answers and discover their own truths.  She plans on providing a loving, compassionate, and safe space in which to facilitate the healing of others through the use of creativity, coaching, hypnotherapy, nutrition, and intuition.  We all began our journey in wholeness and through life we became fragmented; it is her mission to help guide people back to that sacred space from which they came.