Prana Light

Heart Opening...

I open my heart,
tipping out
the contents,
give it a good shake--
like a jewel box.
Out tumble the treasures of my life.

Love, old and new
family, friends,
even strangers--
deep encounters,
brief encounters...

New stories,
old stories,
dead stories,
fragments--
shards shining like
future promises.

I turn them all over.
And I don't turn away from the
broken pieces.
My heart breaks every day, and
then I glue it back together again.

From all corners of my heart
fall the years.
I do not order them, and I
do not care to.
The heart does not like
too much order.
It must be allowed its
own way.

My heart does not want to be tamed.
It must flow free.
There are secrets inside that
only I will ever know.
There are joys within that
I will always share.
There is a deep well of love
that I cannont contain.

Today I feel my heart,
as wide as the world.
Big as a bowl, it overflows.
The sweetness, I taste--
rosewater, milk, honey,
the stuff of poets.
Bowl, box, treasure--
it is alive with illumination.
This real
birthstone, my heart.

A last little bit of love light for Valentine's month, as we close February this week... I may be sharing more of creative writing and poems here in future months.

New at PranaLight

LOTS taking shape in the studio, and LOTS of new stock now available in my PranaLight Etsy shop! Here's a little shop tour... I've just made several mala/prayer beads and added these.  Gemstone beads strung on cotton threads, hand knotted, and accented with beautiful guru beads and my handmade tassels.

New earrings also now in the shop, with big focus on showcasing gemstones simply, yet beautifully.  See the Healing Gemstones section.

Several new necklaces too... more gemstones and semi-precious materials, story-telling & symbolism.  Some of these are found in the Yoga-inspired section of the shop.

An extra shop note that I must mention... Due to increase in postage rates, I have had to raise rates in my shop.  I am sorry about this, as I have tried to keep costs as attractive as possible.  For a while though, I was absorbing the cost of postage, but I can't do that anymore.  There are a few items still offered at sale prices in the shop, and these do have reduced shipping price in an effort to clear the shop of old stock.

For fun, I've been playing around with wire and learning to make wire wrapped rings using gemstone beads. This is one of my first attempts, using non-tarnish 22 gauge silver art wire and a large, micro- faceted fire agate bead.  Not sure yet if rings will be in the shop, but we'll see!

More new items will be listed soon, including some fiber art.  This year's collection is more limited, since I am working on several things creatively.  And I will be closing the shop for a time during the summer to focus on painting and an e-course I will be taking in June.  But more on that soon.  Thank you for stopping by and having a look!  Wishing you a BEAUTIFUL weekend now!

While I regain my step...

It's lovely,
but hard to live with.
Like one who hurts you
perhaps not on purpose,
yet it happens anyway.
It bites you.  It stings.

The heart
falters beneath
the cruelty of winter...

The winter doldrums have hit me.  Hence, my poem above... February is an especially tough month, I find. Some winter now past, but lots of winter yet ahead. Much as I do try to appreciate the seasons in all their glory, winter is my challenge. And today I'm not feeling too well. So I am quiet here, letting the images speak instead. Winter images taken a couple of weeks ago that I forgot were on my camera. These are from the area near the city of Drammen, south of Oslo. I will be back in a day or two with some special things to share!

P. S. Taking the train in to Oslo on Friday, due to a lenghty delay we very sadly missed seeing the ballet I mentioned last week.   So I have no photos to share this time. Hope we can see Giselle on another occasion...

Being Here Now: days of love

"LOVE... it surrounds every being and extends slowly to embrace all that shall be." --Khalil Gibran

• Taste--making better breakfasts with my own homemade cranberry-cinnamon granola, berry smoothies...mmm....
• Scent--wood burning, as the fireplace is getting a good workout since we're having super cold days just now
• Sound--The folk/alternative duo The Civil Wars' beautiful new offering, Barton Hollow; Maroon 5's fun & dance-licious Hands All Over; Anoushka Shankar's Traveller; and can't forget French classical composer Claude Debussy, it's 150 years since his birth, the composer whose "impressionistic" works are like painting with music
• Touch--smooth, dry--paper...a lot of my current creative project feature paper
• Sight--the FABulous Michael Fassbender in the two VERY different dramas, Shame and Jane Eyre; and DVD of Rush in concert Time Machine 2011 Live in Cleveland
• Intuition-- so many gifts found in silence, and surrendering more to quiet moments
• Delight--going to Oslo this evening to the Opera House for a performance of the ballet Giselle!
• Comfort--hot chocolate goes down a treat on chilly evenings
• Making--lots of hearts lately--paper heart confetti (today's photo), Valentine cards & notes, painting with love theme...the love continues!
• Inspiration--Pigments through the Ages, fascinating history on the colors of art
• Dreaming--a creative blog/site shared with my Dear Husband...thinking...thinking...
• Challenge--finding greater clarity, focus and direction with my paintings/subject matter
• Reading--True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh, also re-reading love poetry...The Captain's Verses by Pablo Neruda, and  the hauntingly beautiful, passionate and erotic River of Stars: Poems of Yosano Akiko 
• Gratitude--how much love transforms my every day
• Happiness--fun mail & Valentine greetings arriving the past couple of weeks from friends
• Love--LOVE to my Dear Husband, my family, and each and everyone of you good friends!

What's happening with you right now?  Tell me about the ordinary... and the extraordinary!  May LOVE grace your days...

* Being Here Now *  is a monthly celebration of the senses and the nuances of now...Take a moment to celebrate your now!  Would you like to join in?  Create a celebration list of your own and let me know--send an email or share your post URL.

You Are Love

"You are love.  You come from love.  You are made by love.  You cannot cease to love."
--Hazrat Inayat Khan

My heart overflows with LOVE for you Dear Husband, for you my family, and for all you kind friends...I am so thankful for all of you in my life!  A rose to wish you a beautiful, love-filled Valentine Week...