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SOUTHERN CA ARTISTS
We Want Your Art!
The California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum Store is in search of new consignment artists of all kinds. If you make jewelry, scarves, prints, photography, soap, bags, ceramics or any other type of creative merchandise, please contact us to schedule a viewing of your work. If you are interested, please send three to five images [jpeg, no higher then 650 dpi] of your work and your contact information to centermuseum@gmail.com. The entry deadline is December 20.
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"I say that religion isn't about believing things. It's ethical alchemy. It's about behaving in a way that changes you, that gives you intimations of holiness and sacredness."
Karen Armstrong
It is as if a raindrop fell from heaven into a stream or fountain and became one with the water in it so that never again can the raindrop be separated from the water of the stream; or as if a little brook ran into the sea and there was thenceforward no means of distinguishing its water form the ocean; or as if a brilliant light came into a room through two windows and though it comes in divided between them, it forms a single light inside. Teresa of Avila
Our soul is oned to God,
unchangeable goodness,
and therefore
between God and our soul
there is neither wrath nor forgiveness
because
there is no between.
Julian of Norwich
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A passage from The Art of Original Thinking
Transformation originates in people who see a better way or a fairer world, people who reveal themselves, disclose their dreams, and unfold their hopes in the presence of others. And this very unfolding, this revelation of raw, unharnessed desire, this deep longing to be a force for good in the world is what inspires others to feel their own longings, to remember their own purpose, and to act, perhaps for the first time, in accordance with their inner spirit.
Transformation involves a major shift in consciousness that results in a new way of being and acting in the world. It leads to embodied and enacted insight-it is deeper than a revelatory idea which may remain cerebral and particular to the thinker. Transformational thinking is
cellular, non-local. It belongs to the whole; it is in service to the whole.
Transformation is a human family affair.
It does not happen because we will it or work for it. It comes gratuitously when we clear the passageways between our minds and hearts, when we trust and act upon our bodies' messages, and when we master the art of transcending duality, which simply means that instead of resisting what appears to be "other" we embrace it, bring it into ourselves, and see what transpires when the poles unite.
Our imaginations are the most potent engines of change in the universe, and there is no doubt that we can convert our patterns of destruction once we replace our dualistic habits with thought processes that aim at convergence and are informed by compassion.
In this matter, emotions are essential. They are our guide, our body's means of instant messaging to the brain. Yes, this decision is wise. No, that choice is unwise. Our bodies are hardwired for survival of the species, and if we listen deeply to them, if we are wise enough to trust the feelings they emanate on our behalf, then we will find the clarity necessary to make inspired choices that are as good for the whole as they are for the one, which is an absolute prerequisite for thought leadership today.
And because the work of transforming our own thought processes is so evolutionary an act, it requires the total engagement of body, mind, and spirit. This is not business as usual. This is reorienting to a new star.
(I'm donating up to 100 copies of this book to non-profits, green businesses and/or schools who can put them to good use. email me if you're interested.
jan@janphillips.com)
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Dear Jan,
I'm sending along a couple poems to startle you back into place, in case you start losing your center at this zany time of year...
Annunciation
It isn't just that an angel entered: realize,
this is not what startled her. She might have been
somebody else, and the angel
some sunlight or, at night, the moon
occupying itself in her room - , so quietly
she accustomed herself to the form he took.
She barely suspected that this kind of visit
is exhausting to angels. ( Oh if we knew
how pure she was. Didn't a deer,
catching sight of her once in the forest,
lose itself so much in looking at her
that without coupling it conceived the unicorn,
the animal of light, the pure animal! )
It's not just that he walked in, but that
he placed the face of a young man
so closed to her: his gaze and the one
with which she answered it blended
so much, suddenly, that everything else vanished
and what millions saw, built, and endured
crowded inside of her: only her and him:
seeing and seen, eye and whatever is beautiful to the eye
nowhere else but right here. This
is startling. And it startled them both.
Then the angel sang his song.
Rainer Maria Rilke (Franz Wright, trans)
holy night
joseph, i afraid of stars,
their brilliant seeing.
so many eyes. such light.
joseph, i cannot still these limbs,
i hands keep moving toward i breasts,
so many stars, so bright.
joseph, is wind burning from east
joseph, i shine, oh, joseph, oh
illuminated night.
Lucille Clifton
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The word/season Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning coming to. When you think of it, it has 2 meanings: one, that something special is on its way to us, that we are in a state of readiness and expectation; the other is that we may be coming to, as if awakening from unconsciousness. I think both are true. As we awaken, we see that we are drawing the future toward us, with our thoughts, words, actions. We are collapsing certain probability waves (the potential future) based on what we give our attention to, causing those waves to materialize into particles of matter that we experience as the present. WE do this. It is not done TO us. The future is what we create.
Now some physicist is going to write me and say I have it all wrong and that will be fine. I'm just casting images into the air. That's the job of artists, to help us see things differently, feel things differently. I have a chapter in Divining the Body called A Cell in the Right Brain of God. I felt that way for a long time. Today I feel like a neural cell of this planet, busily making new neural networks along with six billion other co-creators. I think I'm making music and writing books and making videos, but all along I'm helping to evolve the whole planet forward. Right along with the rest of you and the great Source of Everything. Thanks for being my partner on this journey! It's been quite a year, hasn't it?
o, illuminated night!
Happiness and Peace to you all,
Jan
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Facilitator Trainings in San DiegoJanuary 16-18 and February 27-29, 2009(Friday evening-Sunday noon)
a great time to be in sunny California
This training is for people who are ready to
harvest your own experience, discern and declare what you are experts
in, and learn how to produce and promote workshops where you share your
own wisdom and unleash the wisdom of others. Free download of the Facilitator manual Circling when you register. Cost is $495. Limited to six people.
What you will leave with:
· an ability to speak clearly of your own gifts and expertise
· a sense of readiness to do that which your
life has been preparing you to do
· a beautiful photograph of yourself to use in
your promotional materials
· everything you need for a flyer that
announces what you are offering,
who
ought to come, how they will benefit and
what they will pay
· media training for interviews
· deep gratitude for the step you have taken
toward an integral life
If you want to know if it's right for you at this time, call me and I'll help you discern 858-571-1417. To register, email jan@janphillips.com
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A Sabbatical for the Soul in the Southwest - March 11-16, 2009
This is a trip to some of the most beautiful places on earth. While there will be a focus on photography, we are welcoming all souls hungry for beauty and balance. We'll fly into Flagstaff, drive to Page to see Antelope Canyon (see my CD cover for an image taken there), then on to Monument Valley and Sedona.
Cost will be in $1100 range and will include hotel lodging, all ground transport, and Navajo guides into the sacred grounds. I'm limiting the group to 8, so email soon if you're interested, jan@janphillips.com.
And if you can't make this one, you can join us in the Sequoia National Monument April 2-5, 2009. Same mission: back to the Mother, back to balance, back to bliss.
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