Thursday 24 September 2009

dust storm....the artist's way - week five & check in

yesterday, we had an incredible dust storm, something of which i've never seen here in south east queensland for as long as i can remember. the news said it hasn't happened in forty five years. even as we breathed we could feel the dust being inhaled so it wasn't a surprise that i woke up this morning feeling quite congested in my chest and had to use my preventer inhaler. i'm not a chronic asthmatic but i am prone to an asthmatic chest/cough under certain conditions. today everything, including the cars, is covered in a film of red dust which is basically made up of iron ore. mother nature graciously brought it to us on the gusty westerly winds all the way from the northern territory which is pretty much desert country. anywhoo, there will be a big clean-up this coming weekend when the local councils will lift water bans to allow residents to wash cars and clean down their homes etc.

the view from my front entrance around midday yesterday
click on image to enlarge


-----------------------------------------------------------

THE ARTIST'S WAY - WEEK FIVE & CHECK-IN

recovering a sense of possibility

i actually found this week quite easy as julia speaks of the power of the universe and having faith and trust that the universe will find the quickest and best route to answer our dreams if we would only allow it to happen.

being a devotee of the abraham-hicks teachings, i believe wholeheartedly that we create our own reality. yes, a lot of times we will question the negative things happening around us not realising that, by placing focus on those negative areas, we only draw more of the same into our reality. things go wrong and, because they are not as we would want them to be, we say the universe does not provide and it's just a load of crap. we don't realise that those negative happenings are usually due to resistance we have had in some form or another and negative thoughts then block our dream path and only serve to attract more negative situations into our life.

the universe is all about law of attraction and it doesn't distinguish between negative or positive thoughts. what we think about, we bring about. if we think negative, we will definitely get more of the same and likewise for positive thinking....hence the reason that we often find positives starting to occur in our lives when, suddenly, something negative will arise. it's not easy to create a prosperous life by remaining fully focused on the positive aspects. we are only human after all and we often beat the drum of NOT having the prosperous and happpy life we so deeply wish for....but in beating that negative drum we are actually keeping our reality in the 'lack of' mode. i'll be the first to say that it sure takes a lot of faith and trust to just leave it all up to the universe to provide. it's very hard to avoid any negative thoughts when we have been conditioned by society to think in a certain way and it requires re-programming our mind-set. the more we focus on the positive by reaching for better feeling thoughts when faced with negative circumstances, the more we will start to see positive situations coming into our lives.

eckhart tolle speaks of the power of now....living each 'now' moment in a positive way. i believe this is a great method to keep our mind from focusing on negatives, either from our past or from worrying about what might happen. it's not always easy but we have the power to re-condition our thinking. we just have to put the request out there and leave it up to the universe to find the shortest and easiest route and then pay heed to the opportunities that the universe throws our way. so often, we are blinded to those opportunities because we are so set that it must happen in the way we expect rather than accepting that the universe knows better.

i must say that i'm not really sure what answering julia cameron's tasks will really achieve but i am holding faith that julia has her reasons. i guess, if anything, her questions do help to either generate some enthusiasm for the possibilities or the answers help us to see where our past or current creative blocks are. as i have done this course twice before, i looked back on my previous answers to some of the tasks, particularly those which related to my future hopes and dreams....to my surprise, about 40% of them did become a reality for me.


a couple of my answered tasks for week five-


if i were twenty and had money i would.....

  1. help animals

  2. travel frequently

  3. go on a trek

  4. photograph animals in the wild

  5. be a prolific artist


if i were sixty-five and had money i would....

  1. own my own home near the sea

  2. own and run a craft/spiritual retreat

  3. go on pleasure drives frequently

  4. travel around australia in a campervan

  5. be an accomplished artist
------------------------------------------------------------

WEEK FIVE CHECK-IN

did i do my morning pages each day? Yes. i LOVE my morning pages!
did i go on an artist date this week? NO! another crazy week filled up with other issues so no time for my artist date. self-sabotage?????
any synchronicity? i don't think so....if there was, i was blind to it.
any issues significant to my recovery? not really though i'm very much aware that i need to get into a routine of creativity.


------------------------------------------------------------

today, i would like to give some blog love to james oh. his blog uplifts me every time i visit it and, in this link, james shares some ideas on how to cope with getting older. his post was just what i needed to read today. thanks, james ~

love, light and peace

17 comments:

  1. Wow! Makes a beautiful picture though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've never witnessed a dust storm personally, but I've always been fascinated by them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, what a dust storm! We have such rich, black soil here that if that wind came it would be night! My mother was from Oklahoma and I remember being so intrigued with red dirt!
    I really like your 'if I was...' plans. I love the retreat idea. That would be awesome!
    Thanks for the visit my fellow 'half centurion'! LOL
    Darla♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. it looks like Mars in the photos I've seen. Very eerie

    travelling around Australia in a campervan would be wonderful :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw the footage on BBC website and strangely it looks beautiful but definitely not healthy and oh so much cleaning you will have to do. If you can avoid going out it would be good.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 40%came true of your intentions from past TAWs? That is great. Gives hope to all of us.
    For me the exercises are the best part. Gets you dream.
    Your connection the the Morning Pages is amazing. If only I could like them a bit, just a bit...

    ReplyDelete
  7. We saw pictures of this storm on TV, Serena. It looks eerie and I'm sure it's dangerous for your health. Be cautious and take care of yourself til it passes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post! Still have to read the power of now! I have the book and I think it is time to dust it off!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The dust storm picture is unbelievable! I'm glad you showed us because I couldn't have imagined it. What a horrible thing to deal with--especially with asthma! Take care of yourself.

    I can't even remember what I listed last time I did AW. Liked yours, tho. You're missing your artist dates and maybe need to put yourself in the foreground a bit more? I loved the list (link) and totally agree with the 45. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great post! I enjoyed reading your lists, I could have created them myself :-) So glad I "discovered" you. I am a follower now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh Serena, so sorry you are not feeling well. Inhaling of that dust was not good. :(
    I saw the footage of the red dust on the news and I was wondering if you were being affected. :(
    Great photo!
    Please take care and hope you get better soon.

    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Serena,
    Gosh, that dust storm looks crazy.
    I bet it felt really eery.
    Happy 21st Birthday to Reece.
    What a lovely young man he is!
    Love reading your artist way notes/stories.
    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs,
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've seen pics from others there. The orange hue is unbelievable. Beautiful photo!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have never been in a dust storm...I can relate with the asthma...it looks scary to me from that point of view!!! I know I would have to stay inside, for sure!

    I find it interesting that your list of what you would be doing in your 50's is just what you do now! I love that...you are living your dream perfectly!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've been watching the news about this bizarre dust storm. What a mess that must be, and for sure an irratant to people's lungs. I hope your air clears quickly and you are breathing easily again.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am failing at my morning pages this week.. too busy sneezing my fool head off from the dust down here! the wind is whipping up the pollen..

    I have no idea what those questions were about.. so I didn't answer many of them... I love my life, absolutely love it, so it is difficult for me to find things that I would love to do that i already don't do.. (does that make sense??)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just catching up reading the posts from the last two weeks' TAW, and it is so very encouraging to read that you had a 40% success rate on your lists coming true from a previous run. Actually, it sounds amazing.

    That dust storm looks intense. I was in a dust storm once, and only for a few minutes, it came upon us as we were walking back across the bridge from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso, crossing the border from Mexico into the u.s. It wasn't nearly as thick-looking as that one was, but that may be because the soil was golden/beige, not red.

    It was nasty, and my skin felt so icky afterwards, and yes, it was unpleasant to breathe.

    Hope the cleanup went smoothly and quickly!

    ReplyDelete