listen..

on my birthday this year i was given a gift of new music.. when i listened to them live i felt like i had been loved and caressed by something powerful.. and woke up the next morning with a smile on my face and echoes in my body and no physical touch other than music!  music man, it really can do a number on you :) 

listen to this and then close the window and watch the video... phantogram: a dark tunnel  

...i stopped at Ceago  winery on my way up to teach a yin workshop in Mendocino <3

where my body rested while my heart and soul flew in dream filled nights

On my last day in Sacramento my friend called me and wondered what i was doing with my bed!  so i gave it away and maybe in part that is what planted the seeds for good bed karma on my travels :)
i was/am blessed to find such hospitality and kindness on my travels..

my journey started on the first day of spring.  i left sacramento and flew to asheville to hang with my sister and sooooooon to be brother-in-law ...

 Televana <3 i stayed here for three months in house with about 24+ young adults, it was awesome

in Monopoli Italy.. at my friend's mothers house.. i loved southern italy, it was magical and beautiful

in Basel Switzerland at my dear friends.  i stayed for 3 weeks and am so grateful to the gods for nanna's health and to the osmer family for love and rhythm ..

my next bed was in Mainz Germany.. i took my first yoga class in german and overall just enjoyed being surrounded by the language again.  

not only did martin give up his bed for me in Mainz, but let me stay in his apartment in Stuttgart. 

sleeping on what during the week functioned as the psycho-analysts couch..  hmmm :)

during the week..

in southern England at my aunt and uncles house

old house with crazy dolls in the room.. and lots of hospitality 

my god daughter was surprised to wake up with me in her bed 

communal living... you sleep where there is space

back in sweden.. and i am realizing how many homes i have..i am welcomed to new friends and  immediately am bed bound as i fast, hoping to fend off getting sicker.. and it worked

one of the most epic places i stayed.. its a third floor room under the  eaves, so totally reminds me of my california home,  though bigger and emptier.. and yes i was sleeping on a table.. other than the ghosts it  was one of the most comfortable places i slept!

back in yip world and this time with two bunk beds!  though i did end up putting a mattress on the ground...

mmmm... 

after a great party at first i thought it was me but again when i woke the floor was slanted in all ways possible.

upside down and back in Asheville North Carolina with insomnia and jet lag, but with a happy heart and inspired mind

thank you to all my kind friends and family that let me rest and dream in your homes. 

a little of where i've been hiding..

Ah I have been thinking about blogging so much!  Since last time I shared I have travelled from Monopoli Italy to Basel Switzerland, to Mainz and Stuttgart in Germany, over the water to London, down to Devon and Cornwall and back to Witten Germany for a second before returning to Sweden!  The continuity in my journey was seeing lots of different families: old and young, familiar and new, friends and relatives.  The way that we weave together our beliefs, habits, ideals and love manifest in family. In family we are shaped in our becoming while beautifully and sometimes painfully, our selves.  And I am honored that so many welcomed me into theirs on my journey.

Before I set off for this 6-week adventure, I imagined that it would help me answer where I wanted to go after my traveling comes to an end.  However, I am just as open and undecided as ever!  One of the biggest challenges is that there are reasons to be everywhere, there are people that miss you wherever you don’t go, and there is plenty of healing to participate with in any community.  So I must rise above reason and listen to what my heart tells me.  I am still listening…

So for now I will just share some images of where I have been.  Lots of love and happiness to you.

in beautiful old town of monopoli italy

the arch way into a magical hidden orchard in italy

one of many incredible sunsets in arlsheim switzerland

11 people came to a yoga class in a kitchen in basel switzerland!  the  setting was perfect and after our class, we cleared the mats and had an amazing dinner together.  i was so honored to be hosted and supported in such a magical way.

just a odd moment when i was strolling down the street in stuttgart germany after i visited mainz

the view out of the apartment that i stayed in while in stuttgart,  most of my time in germany was cloudy and rainy.

this photo in stuttgart doesn't quite capture how steep it was!

and when i was walking up a steep walking path in stuttgart, i was walking up steep stairs.

in stuttgart with my friend martin, visiting the school i went to when i was seven.

in england i stayed with my godmother and together we visited my godfather in stroud.

stroud is known for the luminous white stone that all the building are made of,  plus i am still enamored  with turquoise.

another steep walkway but this time in stroud, england.

this is the coast in devon england.  it was on the first night staying with my aunt and uncle, and when we got to the beach it was nearly night, amazing to have this beautiful spot all to ourselves.  after we left rick took the scenic route back to their house and pointed out all the things i would have seen if it were day time :)

this is a very curious (probably just hungry) pony up on the dartmoor moor.  i was surprised how much i loved the country side of devon, after driving through ridiculously narrow roads with hedges looming high on either side, coming out to the vision of the mysterious moors stretching for miles is like a gulp of fresh air after diving deep.

an incredibly old kept garden by dartmoor university, the type of place you can imagine all the drama of jane austin played out in.

all through out my journey i have been in love with the sky and clouds.  most of the time the camera was unable to capture the epic radiant quality.. guess i am gonna have to paint..

on a ferry in corwall england 

an old norman castle that was in the town where my mother grew up.  i was staying with her childhood friend and she told me that my mom and her and the boys they fancied used to break in at night and hang out here!

a surprising side of england that i didn't imagine, aqua waters and summer time retreat in the southern town of st. ives.

you can't really read the sign, but it says the painting school of st. ives.  they offer weekend and week long courses and hopefully i will be able to teach there next time i travel to england!

one  of my favorite things in england was cream tea..  tea with scone,  clotted cream and jam!  

in the woods near my friend's parents house in witten germany.  a wondrous place to be a kid, and grow up playing in the forest.

coming back to sweden had a flavor of coming home.  i continue to love the earth and nature here and feel that it nourishes and grounds me.

so those are a few peep holes into my european adventures this summer.  of course they are the moments with photos and there were many other sweet moments not recorded in picture, but in my heart instead. i am so grateful for all the love and hospitality i received that made my journey possible!

a couple days in Italy

June 29, 2011

The earth is different.  Instead of the soft grass edging into the Baltic Sea here ancient old worn stones greet you in their knowing.  Dirt and stone, sand and dry, like old roots, lead you down into the saltiness of the Adriatic Sea and a rope can lead you back.   The sun is nearer, more golden and buttery than the stretched Swedish light.  To and from, we’re winding through streets that can’t help themselves but dance you.  As the ancient roads rock you back and forth and the swerving reversals, cradle your fears, you find yourself at ease, racing around the next corner of possibility.  I have found myself rediscovering letting go and regaining the flush of excitement, rosy and joy filled, coloring my moments. 

 

July 1, 2011

My head feels stuffed and slow, not sure what I am allergic to, Italy? Dogs? Cats? Olive trees?  Or?   Italy!  A place for lovers and food, the romance of the senses,   I sit back and watch as it isn’t me quite like that right now for me. While I celebrate the light in their faces, I want to loose my head a little in the dizzying power of a kiss, to feel like you are Eros dropped down from above for just awhile, even it is a lie, make it a lie I can believe.  But instead I feel guilty for using too much toilet paper as I rasp my nose to a more injured raw, with every welcomed blow.   Despite these challenges, it’s good, really good.  I jumped into the ocean from the rocks and didn’t just observe from a far.  I witnessed a story unfolding, epic and passionate, hard and easy.  I took some time for myself even when I didn’t want to.  And of course I am in Italy so I had some delicious food, strong coffee and a good windy adventure!

July 2, 2011

Spent the day in Tati’s workshop, most of the time in a sea of beautiful non-understanding.   It’s interesting to watch people tell their stories and understanding only words here and there like shooting stars.   I noticed my way of listening is engaged and it’s really odd cause I am guessing at what they’re really saying while attempting to be supportive of the process at the same time.  I lead a yin yoga series, translated by Tati and that brought connection.The atmosphere was sincere and engaged, I believe Tati to be a natural teacher, leading confidently as the spiraling stories of biography come forth.   And just like what happens usually if you find yourself spending time in one room with the same people, connection comes :)

some of the things around me

for more information google dagara cosmology <3  or check out this link http://www.asarimhotep.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91:fire-water-earth-mineral-or-nature-which-1-r-u-&catid=34:articles&Itemid=55

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of it's furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.

--Rumi

 

 

 lots o love to you

it's been awhile :)

The program here is two weeks shy of finishing and the light is bright and long, together creating a palpable excitement in the air.  For a lot of the people here, myself included, is what next. Some people are going home, others traveling and some doing amazing projects such as creating a café on a bus and touring different festivals around Scandinavia and Europe.  For me, so far, I have bought a ticket to go see a friend in southern Italy and then to Switzerland to visit another friend.  Then I am not exactly sure how but traveling in Germany and then to England to hopefully teach a painting workshop and see some relatives and my godmother.  After moving around for July and the beginning of August I will come back here to Sweden before flying to Asheville North Carolina.  Now this is a lot and to be honest with you, as I said I would, I’m not sure how I am going to afford it all. Despite responsible planning, life and people don’t always follow your plans.  I have often found myself in these moments in my life where I am not sure how the finances are going to manifest to support my intentions, its just a little bit more unnerving when your away from home!  But I still must trust that if I’m doing the right thing, if I am meeting the world in right relationship and working, then the money will show up.  And to date my life has shown me this to be true.  

a little spot for magic, june 2011

I offered a portrait painting workshop here and have been teaching yoga every morning.  And still new people from the surrounding community keep showing up along with a number of yippies.  I also continue to paint, albeit a little smaller.  It’s kinda funny that when I describe what I do, it changes little even when I travel!  Right now I am working on putting a workshop together for England, and it’s a struggle to organize things from afar.  Ok, even in the same city as the event I am planning, the organization and promoting challenge me, turns out everywhere you go there you are!  It would be dreamy to have an agent, but I fear that like gurus this is a dying tradition, a thing of the past so you have to work in the places you struggle.  Instead we build our reputation on the relationships we have and the experience we leave people with, allowing our integrity to be the source of attraction.  I will let you know how it works out :)

ah.. svasana ... and their portraits from our course hanging on the wall <3

Ah the moments of magic and white rabbits …

This morning when I woke up one of my first thoughts was ‘oh, wouldn’t it be awesome if someone made me coffee this morning’ and just now, as I was starting to write, a housemate on facebook asked me if I wanted a coffee and they would deliver it to my room in three minutes!  Thank you Jonathan!

The most obvious moments of magic and manifesting are usually so simple and little we often miss them. Also I find that they always involve the action and participation of another.  All of our creations powerfully happen with more than one, more than the self, more than our own desire.  

         This past week is again so full that what I am able to share is just a sliver of the gifts and moments that happened. We  (the YIP community!) finished the course in nature observation and the lingering message from the last class for me was that ‘living alone is the most inefficient thing’.  This idea dovetailed nicely into the theme of peace, the topic of the past week.   While I could give you a blow by blow rehash of the course that is not what this blog is about.  I mention this course to give context to the first powerful moment of magic this week.   As an exercise in this course I partnered up with an amazing woman to sit and say what we saw in each other.   The assignment was to sit close enough so that you could place your hand on your partner’s heart and for the next twenty minutes go back and forth saying what you saw and thanking the other for what they saw.   Sounds simple enough and my mind quickly thought about how this was an exercise in receiving, oh so new age-y so blah blah blah.  The woman that I did this exercise with is so beautiful that my fear was that I wouldn’t be able to notice or say anything else, and as we started that was a challenge J  As we proceeded the exchange became more genuine and abstract (at one point she said she saw a big strong oak tree!).  The moment of surprise came when I told her that I saw courage in her and tears started rolling down my face.  It was amazing to feel so moved by what I saw in someone else, someone who I really don’t know that much about, who I don’t have any agreements with and no expectations.  As we moved through the exercise even though she shared some insights about me that where true and powerful, the moments that moved to tears where the moments that I saw something powerful in her.  Thank you Zuhayra.

          I’m not sure exactly when it started but sometime over the weekend or maybe Monday signs and messages began appearing.  Especially at first they where totally cryptic, such as ‘pay attention and notice the signs’ or ‘something is coming’ sort of apocalyptic and prophetic!  And I just assumed it was someone expressing angst in an odd way or making art.  And the signs kept coming, on the black board in the room that we practice yoga and have most of the courses the question appeared ‘would you follow the white rabbit?’  and small in the corner next to a drawing of a white rabbit it read ‘…I would…’.  Then when it was just starting to become a little ridiculous it happened, we followed the rabbit!  Food was the bait, on Wednesday there was a sign up on the door to where we usually dine to follow the white rabbit if you wanted dinner!  What awaited us was a beautiful mystery dinner party!  We walk into the room to discover a huge table complete with name cards, candles, balloons and flowers.  On each of the name cards there where specific instructions ranging from reciting parts of a poem (other people had the other parts) to putting on a tiara that was taped to the bottom of their chair and telling the group how much she loved them to helping serve the food.  It was inspiring and amazing, plus a delicious meal.  Thank you universe <3

         There are still more magic stories to share but they will have to wait for another day.  Love lots so you can experience more magic in the world and remember the potions are not as important as the other people, known or unknown. Xoxoxoxes from ytterjarna Sweden to you