Week Sixteen ~Finger Painting!~

I've been surfing for cool videos online to go with this week's creative retreat. Here's one I think you'll enjoy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P94SEqCa0WQ&feature=player_embedded


I've also found some possibly inauthentic examples of a 3 year old finger painting genius that I won't publish here. Viewers beware when it comes to Youtube.



Retreat Time:


Head to your local craft store and pick up some finger paints. Don't forget the special paper. Now set aside a time this week, cover a surface with a large plastic bag, get your materials ready, turn on some fun music, and paint!

Finger painting can transport us back to childhood, and give us a tangible reminder of our trip. Give it a try.
I will be posting the results of my own messy adventures here.


Gettin' squishy,
Kimberly

Spring...or accepting what is ~Day Three~

Our blizzard came and went.
Lots of wind, a little snow, and eventually
a brilliant blue sky.

I accepted all of it.

Welcomed all of it.

I am thankful to be here,
whatever the season.



Shine on friends!

Kimberly

Week Fifteen ~Spring...or accepting what is~

Retreat Time:

Four times a year I will retreat with the changing seasons by sitting quietly outside, soaking in the rotation of the earth and knowing that I am perched on something vast, immense, and perfect. Join me for quiet reflection out of doors. Feel the ground and just be. 

This week we welcome the first days of spring.

Many cultures see springtime as the realm of new beginnings. There is a freshness to everything come spring. Possibilities are open wide; the road is sun drenched and bathed in birdsong. We expect the air to be perfumed with new life. We expect the sun to warm our skin. We expect green, and blue, and happiness.

That is unless a blizzard warning is headed our way.

 In a few hours the winds will gust and the snow will fall and the power might go out for me,
and it is spring.

Life is like that. We often get what we don't expect.

Peace is possible when we let go of our expectations.

I challenge you this week, as you sit outside, to dwell in acceptance. Pick an area in your life where the winds howl, where you feel restless, irritable or discontent, and shift your view to one of peace, serenity, and deep contentment. Find even the smallest thing to be thankful for. For me, it may just be a warm house to retreat to! Breathe into that blessing. We all have storms that come our way, and they are rich with lessons. How can we appreciate the ease in our lives if we have no struggle with which to compare it? Welcome your blizzard with open arms for what it can teach you and I will do the same--literally.  (((smile)))


Accepting spring as I don my snowsuit,
Kimberly

Walking Toward Chakra 2 ~Day Three~

Walking with my dog today.

Fields over my shoulder.

I wanted you to come along.

 Around the bend and things got muddy. I soaked in the visuals and imagined a masterpiece. The sound of my squishy steps sounded "painty" to me. So many colors in this wet grey road. I really saw them. A thousand shades of silver and brown, chestnut and tan, even blue and rocks of charcoal and white.

Look at the puddle below!

My senses engaged as I honored the energy of chakra two.

I started with sight. There was so much to take in. Movement, sway, shimmer, and spent snow. Intricate branches laced across the sky. Pine green against scaly bark.

I heard my sloshing steps and I listened. The world around me was a symphony. Layer upon layer of sound. Wind, Chick-a-dees, distant cars, a train, a braying donkey, my rhythmic walking, the click of the leash, breath.

Smell and taste soon followed. Spring is close, wet, musky and sweet. I felt the muscles in my legs working. I felt the heat in my body and the chill on my ears. I felt my gloved fingers, and the slight tug from little Teeka.

Almost home.

I walked two miles today. I walked with heightened senses and I feel renewed. Gotta say, I'm loving chakra two! Let me know what this week's retreat is doing for you.

From the bottom of my grateful heart, thanks for joining me,

Kimberly

Week Fourteen ~Walking Toward Chakra 2~

 

The second chakra is the creative energy center of the body.

Its color is orange.

It houses sensuality, creativity, and connectedness to all human beings.

Walking, or simply moving through space, however you are able to do it, is one of the best ways to activate the second chakra. Why? Because to align with chakra two we tap into our sensual self which is housed so beautifully in our bodies. All our senses are engaged through movement, and this week, I encourage you to

MOVE.

Retreat Time:

Make this a priority. Walk every day this week. And while you're out there, feel your feet touch the earth, hear your steps, your stride, the swish of arms swinging. Taste the air, the sky, smell all that's around you. See far into the distance, and the ground right beneath you.

If you're brave enough, and you've got a straight unobstructed path, close your eyes and go. Trust me, you will feel your body in a whole new way. When I did this today, it was as though I was without a body, I was purely floating in sensation.


Let me know how your daily walks go as you tap into the groove of chakra two.

See you on the path,
Kimberly

Cantus ~Day Five~

One of the things I love about this blog, is that I start with a retreat idea, send it out, take part in it myself so I can report back to all of you, and as the days tick by something amazing happens...

...a new, more engaging experience comes my way. The activity I had planned morphs into something meaningful without my even trying.

This week we have Cantus. A most extraordinary women's choral group from Norway.

Listening to Cantus has reminded me that there is a whole world of creative expression out there, and by stepping out the door to savor it we reap its rewards.

Tonight, although I have no one to go with me, I'm seeing a local production of Hamlet. For a couple of hours I will be on retreat while bathed in the Baird's words.

Who knows what's around the next corner. Life's a jolly mystery.

Curtain up!
Kimberly

Cantus ~Day Four~

My heart is heavy today.

Cantus is not helping.

Thought I'd let you all know, that retreat is not an instant fix. Not even for me who so loves this form of self-nurturing.

I'm going to breathe deeply whenever I can today, and remember that
                                                                                                this too shall pass.

That's the best I can do.

Thank you friends,
Kimberly

Week Thirteen ~Cantus~

Last week my Mom told me she would love to spend some time with me. It had been ages since we had any time just the two of us. She mentioned a one-of-a-kind concert she had heard about through church taking place later in the week.

"It's a choral group from Norway and they will all be wearing Bunads!"

See, part of my ancestry is Norwegian, and I love to sew. Bunads are the national costume of Norway and they are exquisitely beautiful. Each region has its own, and each Bunad is uniquely embroidered with swirls and florals much like rose malling.

 

Since my Mom and I also both love to sing, this event sounded perfect. We had no idea we were in for such a treat.

The women sang in what sounded like twelve part harmony. Their voices soared to the rafters of the old Norway Hall in Duluth, MN. Their faces sparkled with a palpable love for the music. My Mom and I sat in the front row, holding back tears, and loving our time together.

Needless to say I bought a CD, which leads me to this week's retreat:

Find a way to get ahold of some Cantus.
(here's a link to their web site)  http://www.cantus.no/
Now play it every day on your way to work. The melodies will stay with you, as they did with me, and will transport you to magic land just by remembering the ride in.

Don't believe me? Have a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g6mIuDwy-o

Retreat with CANTUS. Ahhhhh.
Kimberly

Dazzling, Boisterous Permission ~Day Six~

I've decided that the Free Pass should truly apply to anything.

This one gives me the green light to BE whoever I want to be. Now. Later. From today to tomorrow and beyond.

This retreat gave me the time to create, go within, and admit some things to myself about where I want my life to go.

Tomorrow I'm going to add color.

Keep dreaming, reaching, and discovering,
Kimberly

Dazzling, Boisterous Permission ~Day Four~

I took a free pass from adulthood yesterday.

I work at a middle school. I decided to become a sixth grader while helping a student during Social Studies. I learned about the Industrial Revolution, the Spanish/America war, and the Roaring 20s. If only I could have raised my hand. I had so much to say.

Later, while walking the hallways I remembered the anxiety over missing assignments, the lack of attention from cute boys that was the end of my world. The really bad perm. The snubs from all the popular girls who had the coolest clutch purses and wore Gloria Vanderbilt perfume, and knew just what to say.

I have a new appreciation for the kids.

Since I became one yesterday.

Thanks to my Free Pass.

Here's to all the teachable moments,

Kimberly

Week Twelve ~Dazzling, Boisterous Permission~

Hello friends.

I try every week to post a new retreat by Monday morning, and here it is Tuesday. My schedule was such that yesterday Retreat With Me took a back seat to a jumbled up day.

This week's retreat seems appropriate.

It's about giving yourself a free pass, a get-out-of-jail-free card, a written note from home as to why you're missing in action. For a few minutes, or hours if you can swing it, every day, let yourself off the hook. Breathe, dance, sing, stretch, remember why you're here--to share your unique, wonderful, and magically dazzling self with the world. Here's what I want you do to:

Find a blank index card, and in big letters write:       Free Pass

Then decorate the heck out of it until it makes you giggle with delight. The sight of your creation should give you a boost.

Now put it in your pocket, purse, briefcase, satchel, you get the idea, and take it out occasionally to follow its lead. Let yourself go. Give yourself permission to disengage from what pulls you down, or sends you off course, and reallign with your true self.  

Believe me, I understand having responsibilities in life can be draining, and distracting. It's human to sometimes feel discouraged and down and want to play hooky once in awhile. This blog is about taking back those moments and claiming them as your own. Today's suggestion will give you a physical reminder that you are the boss of your own happiness, every minute of every day. It's up to you.

(Note to self--take your own advice Kim)

Watch for a picture of my Free Pass, and let me know how you spend your hooky time.

Gotta go dig out my art supplies,
Kimberly