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

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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

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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.

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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