retinal perspectives

a sense of trust, volume 9

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust - my word for 2011}

a very special visual reminder of my word of the year. with thanks to kim, the queen of arts.

worth a visit

for your reading (and viewing) pleasure, here are a few things i've found recently and bookmarked as worth re-reading and considering:

• a blog post from jen lee on going into monk mode in order to refill your inner well
• a video from liz lamoreux on making your corner beautiful
• a blog post from gwen bell on life-alienating behavior in the form of judgments
• a drawing by rachel awes about places where you can just be yourself (it's the third drawing in the post - i had to buy the print because this is exactly what my home is for me and what i want it to be for others)
• a post from havi brooks on the wisdom of dogs and children

and in other news ..

• i opened registration for a january - june session of postcards from heaven (i've had such lovely feedback on the current sessions and am changing postcard makers for the new session so am even more in love)
• i added some fun new card sets to my etsy shop, including a photographer's choice (in case you're having a hard time choosing a set) and a 3 month card club (like a fruit of the month club only the fruit never spoils!)

that's all for now, folks. happy tuesday!

inside-outside

i was inspired by brooke's inside/outside poem.

inside, i am marzipan lullabies
outside, i am otter mirth
inside, i am snap-crackle-pop
outside, i am ponds snoring
inside, i am circling longing
outside, i am tickling blossoms

p.s. she's right; it is fun. you should try it.

kick up your heels

so, remember when i mentioned that we had a little incident on vacation where atlas took off down the beach? well, i did an animal communication session with bridget to get information about something else and had her ask him about that incident too.

do you know what he told her? he was pretending he was his own dog.

in retrospect, this was totally what he looked like. his head was high and he was prancing happily along, like he was free as a bird.

this just makes me smile. (partly because he also told her to tell me that he will never do that again.)

a few people i think are just great

a while ago, se'lah hosted a gift of jewels mail exchange. imagine my surprise and delight when i opened my jewel to discover that the lovely kath had knitted me a pair of yoga socks. yoga socks! i've always wanted a pair of yoga socks. and just look at them. are they not the prettiest yoga socks ever?

she also wrote a note on one of christina's cards, which i keep missing when they're available on etsy. the cards are so lovely. and the texture!

vivienne just opened registration for her new self-portrait e-course called "you are your own muse". you might want to run, not walk, and check this one out. i suspect it will be transformative.

i met brooke at the be present retreat a couple of weeks ago (weeks? already!). she has an etsy shop too. you must visit it. i have one of her altered books and one of her magnets. she does the most amazing things with the books; when i first saw them, i got a little teary.

i also got to hug madelyn at the retreat. whenever someone asks me who my photography inspirations are, she is the very first person that comes to mind. her words and photos always inspire me. (she has the most delightful sounding e-courses; someday i will get to sign up for another one.)

isn't the world full of lovely creative souls! (including you, you know.)

fuzzy starbursts

the galaxy, not the candy

why reiki is like the cheshire cat

continuing on with the celebration. yay.

this is definitely not my work, but i cannot resist showing you my adorable reiki kitty from the fabulous amy crook. is this not the cutest image ever? i just want to hug the kitty.

so, why a kitty?

when i had the idea for cartoon buttons, i tried to think of an image that would work for a button for reiki. goodness, was that ever hard. i had no good ideas.

i decided that instead of an image that would explain reiki, i needed an image that would convey the qualities of curiosity + play + comfort/safety/support, since those are the qualities that i associate with my reiki sessions.

when i emailed amy, the image that kept popping into my head was that of the cheshire cat in alice in wonderland. the more i thought about it, the more perfect the idea seemed.

• the cheshire cat - and the whole story of alice in wonderland - makes me think of curiosity and playfulness.
• the idea of invisibility makes me think of safety.
• animals are very good at asking for what they need to feel comfortable and supported.
• the answers the cat gave alice did not really tell her what to do. they really helped her find the right answers inside herself, which is how i think of reiki. (i could be remembering this part wrong; it's been a while since i read the book.)

i explained what happens during a reiki session, and amy said that it made her think of a cat kneading and purring.

and that's it! that's the story of how i wound up with my little orange cheshire reiki kitty. i do so love it.

p.s. naturally, atlas approves. it is a kitty, after all.

this week, i'm celebrating retinal perspectives

i often do a bit of journaling after shiva nata practice. sometimes i'll write, "what does my business need?" and see what comes up. without fail, the thing i write next is that my business wants a party; it wants to be celebrated.

the first time i wrote this, i bought a piece of cake and ate it in celebration. apparently that wasn't enough.

the second time i wrote this, i started to write a post that celebrated my business but it turned into a post that celebrated a dream coming true. sort of related, but not exactly the same thing.

last week, i introduced the idea of celebrating things big and little. on that note, today (and all this week) i am finally celebrating retinal perspectives, my dear sweet little business that i love ever so much. in fact, i am throwing it a {virtual} party. naturally, you are all invited. yay!

please, help yourself to some cake.

feel free to wander around and make yourself at home. i've done some cleaning and redecorating so you may notice some changes around here. (do you see my lovely new buttons from the fabulous amy crook in the sidebar? aren't they the best thing ever?!) (also, rp will have a lovely new grown-up home at retinalperspectives.com whenever i finish sorting that out. don't worry, existing links will work just fine.)

and of course there are gifts. (except i was so excited that i did my giveaway a few weeks early.) if you purchase something from my etsy shop this week, i will throw an extra-special card into your package; this card is not for sale and it really is special. if you purchase a reiki session this week - for yourself or for your favorite furry friend - i'll do a second session for free. wheeeeeeeee!

now please, do sit down. relax. enjoy your cake. rest for a bit. i'm so glad you're here.

as always, i'd love to celebrate with you. feel free to share something you want to celebrate in the comments, and i will jump for joy along with you. (you can also whisper it into the wind, and i will celebrate with you in spirit.)

the theme is - breathing sky

{as i can, i am sharing a few more pairing ideas based on the entries for the name your own giveaway. it is fun for me, and it gives you a way to meet other lovely people.}

this one comes from meredith. her choice - breathing sky.

why i think of my business as a yoga & music festival

i don't know if you read the fluent self. if you do, you might be familiar with havi's metaphor technique. we use metaphors all the time (like "time flies"); her technique helps us use them deliberately in a way that's helpful for you.

so .. back when i was still at the day job, and at one of havi's events, i came up with a metaphor for my business using her technique. i don't love the word business - the qualities that spring to mind are dull and colorless and boring and i think of people trying to be all business-like - so i thought it would be useful to have a metaphor.

i wrote down all the qualities and aspects that i wanted my business to embody. the list included things like flexibility, steadiness, unexpected bonuses, writing, creativity, love, kindness, photography, spirituality, in control, variety, freedom, color, silliness, fun, time to play, movement, dog-friendly, time to rest, nature, beauty, solitude, happy people, stillness, delight, hugs, taking care of ourselves & each other & the planet, health, joy, compassion, giving, sharing ..

then, i looked at everything on the list, and asked myself what they reminded me of.

the first image that came to mind was a circus. except i am not a fan of circuses - the thought of animals confined in small cages and forced to do silly tricks makes me sad - and many people don't like clowns. clearly that wasn't it.

the next image that came to mind was the wanderlust yoga & music festival. it's a four-day festival in lake tahoe that includes yoga + music + dance + art. i was so excited at the idea that i squealed with delight. it was absolutely the right metaphor.

and it still is. i think it is the best metaphor ever. part of my mission is to create space for people to pause and see the beauty in and around them. to that end, i do believe in the power of a festival (or retreat, since wanderlust is really a yoga retreat + music festival) to take people outside of the ordinary for a moment and fill them with beauty and love and joy and connection so that they go back into the ordinary taking more of those things with them.

now, i want to actually attend the festival someday.

p.s. i am reusing a yogi photo of atlas, in color this time, just because it makes me laugh.

p.p.s. speaking of business: first, in case you're wondering about the whole reiki thing, i wrote a post titled (everything) i think about reiki. second, in case you were interested in the postcards from heaven, i am doing a smaller session from october - march and it's now open for registration.