Creativity as a Daily Practice…

“Life is a journey, not a destination” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. Our world has been turned upside down recently, as we moved house… We left an old cottage in the woods for a more urban dwelling in a very quiet town on the edge of the forest. We had to readjust a little bit to our new surroundings, and now we are pretty much settled in. We had to change our habits and a house move was a great opportunity to get rid of a lot of our possessions that were just sitting around. I believe that if we have too many things, then these things end up owning you as you will need a bigger house to accommodate all of your belongings, therefore you will need more money and will have less time for yourself, and your dear ones… I was worried that our cat Henry was going to suffer the move as he was so used to living in our old neighbourhood where he was thoroughly enjoying a busy social life of his own, with some of the neighbours, people and cats alike. He was invited for dinner to a few houses a few times a week, eating with his feline friends and their people! I’m sure he is sadly missed! So I was worried that he would struggle to live in a town, even though we have a private garden surrounded by other gardens… He is so sociable… But soon he made friends with another cat, had a few fights with the hot locals and has already seduced a few human ladies…. I have caught my neighbour feeding him cat biscuits the day before yesterday.

His Royal Highness Henry the 1st.

Thom and I have been immersed in The story of Peter Pan, reading a new chapter of the book every night…

We watched a beautiful Peter Pan broadway musical and we had great discussions about the story, went to a pirate event by the sea front, had a boat ride around Eastbourne’s harbour and Thom enjoyed dressing up as a pirate a lot… Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading J.M. Barrie’s book, which gave me a deeper understanding of the character of Captain Hook, captain Paul Watson remains my favourite pirate ;)

I have been struggling with sciatica for 9 months now, and things got worse a couple of weeks ago when I did my back on top of it… After 3 days stuck in bed I ended up being just about able to make my way to the osteopath, who said she would have rather seen me 9 months ago… So it was time for me to surrender to stillness… Stillness is a great place for me to make felted animals from…

Here are 2 of the animals I made :)

Thom called the blue tit Mr Nice

And this is Lady Nice, which I made for Thom’s birthday but I gave her a makeover…

And I made another owl for the birthday of a special little girl who turned 7 last week…

Thom and I have a great project on the go, we have exactly the same sketchbook and we do a double page spread everyday. Whatever we feel like doing. So far it’s been water colours, drawing and glitter for both of us. It’s nice to sit down together at the coffee table and start our daily creation :)

Yesterday’s paintings

Today’s creations… (You may have noticed, owl is one of our totem animals :)

We have also been doing some action painting in our new patio, which I found to be very therapeutic! Thom really enjoyed mixing all the colours together to create new ones and we were drumming with our brushes on a large sheet of paper pegged on a laundry line… It was grand… We ended up experimenting holding the brushes with our toes, and then just walking in paint and all over big sheets of paper rolled out on the floor… It got messy, but it was fun. I think process art is definitely the way to go, for children and adults. If we are not attached to produce something “nice” then we can thoroughly enjoy the creative process, the release of tension and blocked emotions and letting go of inhibitions that hold us back. Plus for kids experimenting helps them to understand better how things work, build their confidence and problem solving skills (along with free play and good stories to feed their imagination… ) Well to my humble experience anyway…

What about you? How do you nurture your creativity? Do you manage to make time for it?

I definitely feel happier when I do :)

Speak soon,

Noemie.

On Connecting with the Heart…

Animal Communication, Animals, My Poems, Videos, Yoga

As some of you, dear readers, may already know, I have spent some time over the last few years exploring the extremely profound experience one has when connecting with the heart. Heart to Heart communication can take many forms such as telepathy, animal communication but also art, poetry or music. It requires us to be open, to be still and to listen. This openness means taking the shield down and foregoing shame, shyness and any kind of worry about what other people may think. And of course, being observant. This heart-felt way of connecting with other beings requires courage and open mindedness and the willingness to listen. It’s a path for the warriors, the bold ones who are willing to embrace new ideas and ways of thinking.

Connecting with Nature with our hearts is, I believe, what would ultimately heal our society.

If only everyone were to spend 5 minutes a day just paying attention to Nature around them and allowing the healing to take place…

Just noticing what direction the wind is blowing, or the subtle transformation of the trees every day, or noticing and listening to the bird song filling the air, connecting with a dog or a cat, lying on the grass to watch the clouds passing by or admire the beautiful artwork of a spider spinning her web…

Or just walking barefoot on the earth, acknowledging the animals you meet and the natural world around you, even if it’s just a small garden or a park…

Taking the time to whisper something in the ears of the animals who live with or around you…

Just 5 minutes everyday, spent connecting with the natural world with an open heart, taking it in and letting it go through you… Try it and tell me how you feel :)

This video tells you how it works, and I hope that it will make you reflect on the power of connection through the Heart with other earthlings (plants included).