Southwest Spirits Calling Part 2

...continued from Part 1
Nature has a way of making you stop in your tracks. It is a silent reminder that you are but a small piece of the larger picture. When we take the time to immerse ourselves we find that our heart matches the earth's beat. I traveled as a teacher yet all along I was always the student.

As we wandered through the various stops along the book tour it became very clear that the journey was the destination. It was an important revelation as it made us slow our pace and breathe in the beauty. The land was filled with tiny towns sprinkled throughout the desert. Where do they work? Where do they buy their groceries? Do their children become computer whizzes and electronic-game-zombies? I was contemplating this as we pulled into a tiny town called Wickenburg, AZ. I had wanted to see the Saguaro cacti and they only grow in the Sonora dessert. I was overwhelmed with joy as we had arrived during their blooming season. We took some photos and then stopped to visit this quaint town in the middle of giant cacti-land. We found ourselves in a lovely shop that seemed to be the local-hub for catching up on all the news and gossip. We grinned as the clerks smiled and then busied themselves with their morning routine of chatting with their merchant neighbors. The shop was filled with a beautiful collection of gifts including local artisans. I struck up a conversation with the owner and she bought four of my books as this shop was a perfect fit for a book on wild horses.

The state is planning a bypass to run around this tiny town, much like many others that are now empty. It will effect their economy greatly as the tourists will no longer stop. All for the sake of traffic moving even faster through this beautiful terrain filled with such natural treasure. Mankind is always in a rush to get to the next traffic light it seems.

As we resumed our trek across the country I continued daily meditations soaking up all of the wisdom that seemed to intensify like a surging river.

Meditation: I am shown a white feather and I hear "take flight as the feather is the bridge between spirit and physical – together we are one energy – always with you. Keep as a token knowing you are never alone and are connected to spirit – take flight."

The book on the wild horses was given to me by the Calico Horses that once roamed in the Calico Mountains in NV. Many were killed in a brutal winter roundup in 2009, those that were spared found their way to safety at Return to Freedom in Lompoc, CA. They called out to me time and again in meditations that began in 2011. I journaled everyone of those accounts and an outline for my book appeared. Three years later I would publish that book and I would meet the few remaining rescued horses. Read more about them here.

Meeting these animals was as natural as stopping by to visit an old friend. I felt an intense connection and so blessed to stand among them. They are battered, scarred, tangled and resilient. We have so much in common, we share so much and I had never realized it until that moment–we are survivors. A videographer was on hand for the moment as I am in the process of creating a film about their plight and when I was asked how it felt to finally meet them, I was too overtaken with emotions to even speak. Here it was… my big moment and my tears were the only thing captured on film. Tears of joy, gratitude and extreme awe. Soon after that encounter another meditation would find its way to my door.

Meditation: A red tailed hawk is circling overhead and I hear “heightened perspective”

As I continue to record my meditations I can sense that I am being taught more then ever before. Its as if I have been given a new vantage point in which to peer across the earth.  An added bonus is the realization that all of the stress or concern I had about teaching now melts away as I stand before students knowing I am doing exactly what I am called to do at this time. I am not a mere teacher–I am a fellow traveler on this journey called life. Meditation has opened my heart to accept this role.

Meditation helped me write my book and it is how I will move forward on the next project that was also given to me. It began as the spirits of the southwest brought me the following…

Meditation: Lights of energy appeared as I began to see images forming. I heard "February 11." I saw a white horse running. I saw an old fashioned round globe light with the name Aurora on it, I immediately thought of a comic book. I heard someone say, "Well how do you think you got here?" I saw a drawing of my own. It was a comic strip panel and there was a round-up with horses jumping out of the frame. They were escaping the frame of the panel. Some of the panels had borders but now the horses were behind and around them as they had escaped the frame of the story… it ended.

And so I will begin my next project, a new Comic Book series about the wild horses. I will write and draw all I know about the lessons of survival something I have in common with these beautiful yet hardy creatures.

My southwest experience does not end here and I will conclude the recordings of all I have learned in Part 3.
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To learn how you can begin using meditation to enhance your life please read How to Begin.

Artists Who Have Crossed Over Part 2

Me working on Alex Toth art

Continuing on from my last blog. I am not alone in channeling energies - this has been going on for centuries. Man wakes and creates each day. From the smallest things such as how you arrange the furniture in your home or how you prepare a meal - there is a process of moving thought into action. It's in the times when you quiet your mind and clear away the debris that you can sometimes come away with profound inspiration. Where does this come from? Many would say- from yourself, and they would be correct, some would say your Spirit or your higher consciousness. Both are possible, but so is connecting with loving guides who want to assist. This assistance can only come by asking, something I would never had considered before as a professional artist.

As a young girl I could always see the object, draw it, paint it... whatever, I just moved with it. As an adult I continue to build on this experience and experiment with different mediums. I have created bouquets of sculpted fruits and vegetables -  art with fabric, wood and even broken dishes. Why have I tried a gazillion different ways and what leads me down those paths? I cannot say for sure, but I'm beginning to request assistance from my guides:)

Alex Toth Volumes 1, 2, 3

I have progressed through many phases of my career and now, as I have stated in my past post, my work brings me to a place where my focus is on artists from the last century. I collect and gather their hard to acquire artwork and design books filled with these precious gems. These artists may not be familiar to many, after all, the current generation is more interested in the world of pop stars, the gods that rule the sports-world or the hottest video games. The artists I work with lived during the time when newspapers cartoonists were kings. Some of the books I currently produce: Chester Gould's - Dick Tracey, Milton Caniff's - Terry and the Pirates, Harold Gray's - Little Orphan Annie, Alex Raymond's - Flash Gordon and finally Alex Toth. Toth's list of credits is so long we had to break it into 3 volumes. It would be too difficult to list them all in this post, (I'll put a link at the bottom) but he did brilliant storyboards for Disney's Zorro and many Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Space Ghost.

Before and After of Jon Fury strip by Alex Toth

I spent hours and hours working on Volume 1 Genius Isolated. Images were found of a rare newspaper strip he did while in the military. He created "Jon Fury" and it was distributed among his fellow soldiers in a camp newletter. The story was about a dashing detective that drove a fast car and always got the girl. As his career progressed and he became famous, these early strips were never published. They were seen by the men stationed in the military and collectors who hunted them, but for the most part a complete set was never released for viewing - until now.  I was given the task of scanning and cleaning the smudges and placing them in order so that they could be viewed as they were in the 1950's. I did the best I could and we inserted them into the book, among hundreds of other sketches and drawings he created throughout his career. My next task was to take all of the family photos we had borrowed, some cracked, many faded, some with huge creases and restore them. So many unseen photos. There was even a rare photo of he and his mom and dad. He was a small boy and it was difficult to see Alex as it was a very dark image. I worked on that using the skills I have learned though many many years of photo restoration and brought it to life the best I could. I found another image of Alex when he was in high school. It was creased and his eyes seemed dull, just a worn old photo. I worked on this and was particularly happy that I was able to give some spark to him and I remember telling my co-worker my main goal was not to fix the tears in the image, but to restore the glint in his eyes. The book was completed, sent to the printer and that was that...

Alex Toth's high school photo

Two months later I contacted a wonderful medium Bernie Scott who lives in the UK. I learned of her through the wonderful work of Mick and Sylvie Avery who gave me insight into my akashik records, but that's another story:)  Bernie's expertise lies in connecting individuals that have crossed over with those of us desiring to communicate. I was once again reunited with my parents, my brother and a good friend that passed in his 30's. I laughed as my dad was even collecting all the pets that have crossed and Bernie named them one by one- Cassie, Ashley even fish from my nephew's aquarium, what a delight.

I had meditated long before my reading and sent my thoughts to ask questions, never revealing them to Bernie. The answers flowed through in a natural rhythm and I was overcome with emotion. I was hoping to move past all the spirits assuring me of their identity and we did... and then some! It was quite refreshing. It was near the end that Bernie began to ask me about my work with newspaper artists. It threw me a bit, as I was not focusing my attention in this direction. She began to describe a gentlemen that was wishing to make contact with me. She gave his description, the circumstances surrounding his death and none of it registered at all with me. She spoke in what seemed like riddles- how I took broken images and put them together like a mosaic. I actually love doing ceramic mosaic work so I though she was speaking of this. She continued to talk and said he wants to "thank you for the tribute you are doing for him." This meant nothing to me. He wants to tell you how "healing and therapeutic your work is and how much he appreciates the work you are doing." Still I sat there listening as if she was getting a message that was meant for someone else. Maybe Bernie's wires were crossed... and then she said something that brought me to tears...
he particularly wants to thank you for the "work you did on his eyes... he loves what you did on his eyes."

And so each day at dawn as I begin my meditation I ask for protection, blessing and a little help from my friends. Help in finding new ways to spread that joy to the people that walk among me and to those that have crossed over. I am so honored to be able to give joy to artists such as Alex Toth. It has given me that extra assurance that not only does my work bring pleasure to the readers of today, but I bring light and love to the artists of yesteryear who are cheering me on. I am doubly blessed and for this and hope that others will stop and take notice of all that they do. We continue to bless others long after they have passed. I hope you find as much comfort in this as I have. To learn how you can meditate please read my book Sæ-sii Meditation: How to Find Your Bliss in 15 Minutes a Day
To learn more about Alex Toth please follow this link.

Creating Art Through Meditation

How many times have you woken from a dream with a sense that you had just been having a conversation with someone and you cannot recall who? It seemed so real, ah but alas it was only a dream. Since beginning meditation I am increasingly becoming aware of more and more visits or conversations with beings on the "other side" of the veil.

This cover was given to me in meditation

I have at times seen distinct patterns between my "visits" and so I started to journal them. I strongly suggest that you try it yourselves as this is a wonderful tool in which we can increase awareness that is brought to us by others who have walked the path before us.

 For example, recently I was working on a project, as I am a professional designer. I was creating a cover and the thumbnails and comps were really not hitting the mark so to say... It was a cover for an archival comic strip known as Flash Gordon.

Here is my journal entry:

Feb. 4, 2011 - Meditation: I stir and decide to meditate as I am not completely awake and I decide to just enjoy the silence of my mind and accept whatever message my guides have for me today.
"Constellation" comes to me.
Huh? constellation?
"Star charts use the universe." I thank my guides and wake with what just happened slowly filtering through. Oh man...the missing element in my Flash Gordon Cover.

I was particularly happy with the results as Volumes 2, 3, 4 were given to me as well, and are all completed way ahead of schedule. Not all of the meditation experiences come through in this way. I think for many there are moments you come away from it with an overall feeling of peace of mind. If you continue this practice daily you will even begin to feel that you are aligning yourself to the universe. You have a love for your planet and all of those existing in it. Yes, I can see the changes in my own life. I cannot squash a bug!

Here is another journal entry:

Feb. 13, 2011 - Meditation: I had what seemed like a meeting with spiritual entities--I am not sure who they were as it was as if I knew all of them. Upon saying goodbye I was reminded over and over again to remember what they had told me. I was kinda miffed and said --ok, ok I'll remember this--chill all of you....relax...I'll remember
then as I lay in my bed I reflected...who were they? It seemed a cozy room, big overstuffed furniture a fire in a large hearth. They were impressing upon me this truth.
We all need to "let go"of any feelings we have of people who have wronged us. In other words the mind shift of letting go of the pain and hurt is extremely important. I have had occasions in this life to confront people who have harmed me and I have faced them--they were saying that this took and enormous courage on my part to face my enemies or people that meant me harm, but even had I NOT faced them, the "letting go" of the negative thoughts I had towards them was AS important. This, they said was what I need to include in my writing. Many people cannot for one reason or another confront people (maybe they have passed, etc) but that it's ok--it has to be a "letting go" in a mental thought. It will raise our vibration.

And so I will continue writing and sharing these messages that are being brought to me through meditation as I truly feel that they were given to be shared.
To learn how check out my latest book Sæ-sii Meditation: How to Find Your Bliss in 15 Minutes a Day