An Invitation to Inspiration

Carol Babeau Illuminations

Navigating 2014 with Grace and Ease

Posted in Art and Healing, Art as Awakening, Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, tagged 2014, abstract painting, ascension celebration cosmic art, beauty, cleansing, detox your life, Divine Feminine, illumination, Lena Stevens, nature love, Power Path, Soul Cosmology, wooden horse chinese astrology on January 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Path to the Great Unknown ©LE Fine Art (photo)

“The past has no power over the present moment.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Aloha fellow travelers!

Happy New Year greetings from the magical and mystical island of Kauai! What amazing and expansive times we are in! I am personally experiencing a time of great change and gracefully releasing what no longer serves my highest good. Ahhhhhh. This month, much like December, is a period of transition for many, and I am certainly feeling this. Why is January still feel like a transition month? Well, from what I know, the Dec. 31/Jan 1 shift is just one of many larger cyclical passages that occurs and effects us energetically. The others are the Chinese New Year, this year occurring on January 31 (always coinciding with the new moon), the astrological new year with Aries (first sign of the zodiac) and of course, our friend the groundhog who pops up on Feb. 2, often signalling a new season. So, with all of those factors in the field, it’s no wonder the vibes are feeling like they do!

Navigating the course moving from the Chinese year of the water serpent to the soon to be wooden horse has proven to be a time of great growth, detachment, adjustments, preparations and education on all levels. I have re-dedicated myself to my daily yoga practice and embarked on a deep cleanse and all level detox sourcing many of the fruits of the sacred land that I am living on, (fresh Noni, aloe, parsley, coconut water, to name a few) and letting go even more through my long exhales…

I read something recently from the Power Path by Lena Stevens, where she talks about being prepared, getting ready, set, to GO in the coming months of this year. Here’s an excerpt from her January forecast: “The question is, “What are you preparing for?” This is an unknown as to how the future will manifest, but the preparation is always for something new and better to come into our lives, a new paradigm, a new perception, a new frequency. We do not yet know how it will manifest, but if we are encumbered by all of our excess baggage (physical, emotional and psychological) we will certainly not be able to take advantage of it.” Oh yeah love that!

Yep! This is what I am experiencing full on and feel that what I can do at the very least, is to prepare my body/mind temple, my emotional and my Spiritual bodies for what it is I am here to do and what lies ahead. Starting here with baby steps and moving into what I can change/create in terms of nourishment, in thoughts, emotions, beliefs, relationships and especially letting go of what no longer serves is my focus at this time.

What to prepare for? One thing I know for sure, this Chinese year of the wooden horse holds lots of promise of dreams fulfilled from following my bliss step by step and through patiently watching the mystery unfold. From astrologer Carol Barbeau: “Horse magic is always about traveling free and following your path: Horses are to me about Travel, Power, Freedom.” How exciting indeed! I look forward to sharing more of the adventure and magic as 2014 rolls on!

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

The Power Path

The monthly forecast from these amazing folks is an invaluable tool.

Her weekly and monthly forecasts are fun, inspired and always insightful!

www.lorieneck.com

“Hope is a waking dream.” ~ Aristotle

Why is Art Healing?

Posted in Art and Healing, Art as Awakening, Cosmology, Divine Feminine, tagged art, art and medicine, art for all people, beauty, bridge to soul, cosmic paintings, COSMOS, Divine Feminine, hale arts space, healing, healing art, Soul Cosmology on November 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Water IV 48 inches X 60 inches Mixed Media on Canvas ©LE Fine Art

My relationship to art and healing is complex and textured with many personal stories close to home as well as those from my professional career. In my experience, my spiritual evolution is in direct relation to my artistic process. My self-expression has morphed in its form, yet the reliable resource has consistently been a source of resiliency, growth and ascension to this day. My artistic process has served me as an outlet moving me from hope to despair and back to hope again throughout my life. And, my art “products” have served as a living document reflecting my upward spiral.

My exposure to the arts began from birth really, as my father is an active fine artist thus I grew up in a household that supported and fostered both art making and an appreciation for the arts. I was immersed in a creative atmosphere and was given active permission to “play” in the arts. My sister was an avid artist and it was through her creating of art that she was able to cope with the pain and suffering that she endured through a terminal illness with grace and ease. Her fragile life is a strong testimony to the healing and liberating power that art carries. Art continues to be a central resource to my family’s healing, grieving and transformation from a tragic loss.

As an arts educator for over 14 years, I personally witnessed a multitude of what I call “transitions in consciousness” within the thousands of students that I was able to reach. My art classroom provided a safe container for their artistic expression to flourish and heal/relieve the suffering from loss, disease, grief, poverty, social injustice and other life threatening situations that many of them faced. Time and again, it was self-evident that creative expression through the arts provides solace, an inward refuge and for many hope through a shift in awareness and perception.

Overall, art is a potent path of healing both as a practice and a profession for me. Art, creativity and healing are to me synonymous. Art is the glue of the Universe and provides a nourishing space for the Soul to rest and take refuge. More than ever, art and the artistic process serve as the means for the evolution of human consciousness and planetary healing.

Silence as good medicine, just like beauty sleep!

Posted in Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, tagged abstract painting, beauty, consciousness, cosmic art, Eckhart Tolle, hawaii, inspiration, kalani, kalaniretreatcenter, lorien eck, lorieneck, self-inquiry, silence, Soul Cosmology on November 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Kalani Wedding Flowers ©LE Fine Art (photo)

“If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet…maybe we could understand something.”

~Federico Fellini

The month of October was a very special month for me. After a solid commitment and about 4 months of careful preparation, that included a renewed daily yoga practice, more silence and lots of focused inner work, I felt ready for my retreat at Kalani with one of my teachers’ Cass. The title of our retreat was Path of Love and its focus was LOVE. Love as a practice, love for the journey itself, love through all of the spirals, curves, twists, turns and for the SELF. The retreat center itself was on the Big Island of Hawaii, where Pele the goddess of fire and passion resides. Kalani retreat center is a beautiful backdrop and sacred container for any retreat, gorgeous jungle, clean air and away from civilization. Truly a ‘bubble’ enclosing a tropical paradise serving as a crucible for many a phoenix rising.

Our retreat encompassed diving into breath work, movement, art-making, dancing, bio aquatic time in the Watsu pool, silence, sharing and lots and lots of PLAY in the quantum field of LOVE. During our 5-day “intensive” together, we honored a day of silence. This intentional silence time/space truly provided me with my nourishment and the integration that is essential after so much deep unwinding and unraveling…. Yum! I enjoyed that silence time so much that after retreat concluded, I spent more time in silence during my extended stay at Kalani. I experienced pure pleasure as I steeped in my own medicinal brew of heightened SELF awareness, synchronicities and surprises.

Silence has also been a core theme of my long time Raja yoga meditation practice started up in 2001. So, this was nothing “new” to me, but is so so so integral to propelling my creative evolution forward at this juncture. What this silence provides for me now is the critical “stitching up” and full embodiment of what emerges and is dis-cover-ed through such a retreat, or any created space for personal growth. So, as each day rolls out, my beat goes on of weaving the tapestry of my gifts to offer up to our world in a form that is visible, vibrant and juicy…

Thank you for reading and I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally grateful to one of my lifetime teachers, Cass.

Kalani Retreat Center

Kalani is Hawaii’s largest retreat center, one of the best-loved centers in the world for more than 35 years.

The Torus

The involuting of the Self into itSelf.

www.lorieneck.com

“When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.”

-Eckhart Tolle

Unplug • Re-Set • Balance

Posted in Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, tagged Astrological Apothecary, balance, beauty, cosmic art, cosmic paintings, Genoa Bliven, Human Design, Lena Stevens, Libra, New Moon, Power Path, Soul Cosmology on October 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Common Ground Buddha ©LE Fine Art (photo)

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimension.”

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy Harvest season, Autumnal Equinox and New Moon Friday! September was an amazing month, full of abundance, overflow and BIG quantum leaps in my world. How is YOUR world, how was your month? How are you feeling? What amazing transformations are evolving and leaning into? I personally have been experiencing so many amazing moments, rich and textured emotions, new experiences and my outer world truly showing up to reflect my inner world. Whew! Feeling Blessed Out! Now, we have October on our heels…. we are in our new season of growth and expansion, trans-form-ation, and letting go/receiving.

What I have found to be very insightful are these words from Lena Stevens of The Power Path:“The theme for October is RESET- There are two faces to this month’s theme. The first one is the deconstruction, dissolving, taking offline, shutting down, turning off, letting go, letting down, and allowing things to fall apart. The second is the re-booting, turning on, flipping the switch, restarting, reconstructing, solidifying, bringing online, resetting and refocus.”

I am choosing to take this time out and unplug, as well as allow this cycle and my own clear inner guidance and voice to reveal each step, each and every day. One of the skills that I have been learning and practicing this year is being what Cass Phelps calls self referential. This way of being is simply the art of following my own inner guidance, listening closely to what my innermost knowing and wisdom is telling me and following that implicitly. Sometimes I will not have the clarity to “know” right away, and that is part of the journey and commitment to leading my life from a self referential orientation. Waiting out the “pregnant pause” and observing the wave of emotion is the element required for me to allow the clarity to arise. So beautiful, intriguing and wonder-ous!

As I sign off for now, I leave you with these words: “It’s a time where we may find ourselves liberated from past conditioning, offered a pathway to really grow into the we-we-know-we-really-are-at-our-core”, Stephanie Gailing of Astrological Apothecary.

Thank you for reading and I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Mystic Mamma

I love this website, always on the pulse of the cosmos in a positive way.

Human Design

Incredible resource and system for Self knowledge and Self realization. I highly recommend the work of Genoa Bliven. Amazing individual who is a master in this work as well as a teacher of the HD.

“Be in the void and find a peaceful place to drop into where everything temporarily comes to a complete stop. From this place receive whatever it is you need. Be in gratitude.”

~Lena Stevens, The Power Path

Surfing the Waves of Change

Posted in Cosmology, Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, tagged Abstract, beauty, Cass Phelps, consciousness, Cosmic, cosmic art, inspiration, lorien eck, love, Moonkissed Astrology, Mystic Mamma, Rob Brezny, self-inquiry, Soul Cosmology, spirituality, The Sovereignty of Love, water on September 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Waves ©LE Fine Art 2013 (photo)

The secret of change is to focus all your energy,

not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

~Socrates

Firstly, Happy New Moon! We’ve arrived to the harvest month of September, the time of the year when the gradual transition of the autumn season starts to stir in the winds. This time of the year is also very rich and fertile for me, as it’s the time of my solar return, my birth-day~ now what I refer to as my “re-Birth” time of the annual cycle. I love it! The feeling that I relish in is what I have come to know as the “pregnant pause“. It’s the introverted, reflective and introspective pause when I relax into this pause before both my personal and the collective seasonal transition comes to pass. And, this is the harvest season and blossoms, and abundance is everywhere!

Themes that I have been exploring lately in the midst of these winds of change, (and that are also being experienced in my friends and family circle), are the themes of acceptance and receiving. Looking at each separately is not viably possible, in my opinion, these themes are inextricably linked.

I have been meditating on and folding in acceptance of who I am, as a multi-dimensional being; ALL of myself, my brilliant light, my shadow, my sacred wounds, my need for community and support, and my Divinity. Accepting what is, accepting people as they are, and accepting each moment for its beauty, its perfection and its imperfection. Acceptance is an act of generosity, compassion, patience and love towards the Self and others. Sometimes when there is a lack of understanding, compassion or patience, acceptance is the medicine that soothes like a healing balm. Acceptance is the ultimate act of grace. (Jessica Shepherd) What comes to mind is the beautiful work of my friend Alaya DeNoyelles, from her book The Sovereignty of Love. Her work weaves together the Hawaiian healing art of Ho’oponopono, ancient wisdom and modern science inspiring what she calls: unconditional loving presence. This also sums up what I am feeling about acceptance from Osho: “Don’t say this is good and is bad. Drop all discrimination. Accept everything as it is. Liberation cannot be desired because desire is the bondage. When you are desireless, you are liberated. Tantra accepts everything, lives everything.”

Receiving is the call of the Sacred Feminine within all of us, the rise of the Divine Feminine in our times is to balance out the energies of the masculine and feminine within/without. Being a woman and conditioned to give, to over give, and at times in the past, to give from a place of deficit, has come up for transformation in 2013 and receiving fully has become my soul’s natural evolution. Receiving had not been a habit or behavior that was modeled for me, therefore, I am in a process of remembering how to receive. Learning to receive is an ongoing practice of mine inspired to balance out the imbalance of over giving in all areas of my life: career, personal relationships and across the board really. What I am especially and more importantly interested in is in receiving myself whilst I am giving. Giving in and of itself is essential, yet to give from a place of wholeness, completeness, fullness and love, is the key to avoiding experiencing ‘burnout’ or feeling drained. What does that mean, to receive oneself? I invite you to reflect on this for yourself and I’ll be exploring more on this beautiful topic in my future posts.

In closing, the tides of change are upon us, in the cosmic realm and on an individual deeply internal level. It is a great time to take it all in stride, to integrate the new and let go of the old, continue to live from our opulent, abundant space and give lavishly to ourselves and each other. Love much and love often!

I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Mystic Mamma

I love this website, always on the pulse of the cosmos in a positive way.

Moonkissed Astrology

I enjoy Jessica’s perspective and writing style!

Rob Brezny’s Free Will Astrology

Pure Awakened Genius!

The Sovereignty of Love

by Alaya DeNoyelles

_______________________________

“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it,

you will live along some distant day into your answers.

Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart.

Learn to love the questions themselves.”

~Rainer Maria Rilke

“What we are, the world is.
Without our own transformation,
there can be no transformation of the world.”
~Sri J Krishnamurti

Process as Catharsis

Posted in Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, tagged Awake-One, beauty, catharsis, cosmic art, cosmic painting, Dr. F. Batmanghelidj, Emoto, Michael Apted, Process, Soul Cosmology, The Water Cure, water on July 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Kalalau 3 ©LE Fine Art (photo)

Happy nearly mid-summer to you! How is yours coming along so far? Mine has been dedicated to completing a new body of work, a series of paintings concentrated on the element of water. You most likely know that water comprises over 70% of our bodies and about 70% of our planet Earths’ surface. The oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water and water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers. Did you know that the proportions of salt to fresh water on the planet are the same as in the body, the fresh water being in the in spine? Wow!

My passion for water is many layered. Firstly, water “in-spirits” me, inspires me to create, to feel, to allow my spirit to BE. Growing up near the ocean and the fact that seashores have always (and will always) be a very healing, cooling and nourishing place for me to simply BE. During the past few months, I have been inspired to engage with the waters of life in any way that I can. For example, long essential oil and salt infused baths, swimming in the ocean lots, sitting on the sea shore, hydrating the body with more and more pure water and feeling the inner waters of e-motions.

Through my daily practices revolving around water, old layers of sadness have emerged to be made love to and let go of… Embracing fluidity and stillness in my life process, resting in vulnerability and surrender allowing old thought/feeling patterns to bubble up and dissolve… This life process is vital to go through for me vs. the avoid-dance, catalyzing catharsis to create (in this case) my art from a place of authenticity and true beauty.

And, honestly, from what I have learned from being a lifelong artist and student, moving through the layers of the shadow and the strata of the defense structure, are what make great art. Even if it’s not “pretty”, it’s a beautiful and necessary process. I was challenged lately by one of my teachers Cass to face my pain, anger, sadness and other “ugly” shadow stuff, especially if I call myself a “transformative” artist. Amen, he called it! No steps can be skipped and this is the journey that I have accepted that I am on. He encouraged me to look at my favorite artists’ (all mediums) and their work for evidence of this fact. Vero vero. Gratefully, I accepted this challenge as my aim is to be extraordinary and real in my expression of my Gifts in our world, similar to my favorite artists. 🙂

Courage, I embrace the waters with courage. Nourishing from the source of life, our waters both inside and out.

I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

http://www.findaspring.com/

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a

phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally indebted to my teacher Cass.

The Work and World of Dr. Masaru Emoto

Masaru Emoto has studied water for over twenty years. Water has been Dr. Masaru Emoto’s passion. He has studied water around the planet form the perspective of an original thinker, and is the author of a number of bestselling books, a three-volume photo collection of beautiful water crystals, and now two children’s books about water. These books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages.

Books:

The Water Cure with Dr. F. Batmanghelidj

Love his books!

Did you know?

Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.

Our health is truly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water we drink.

Water

FindaSpring.com is a community and user created database of natural springs around the world. Spring water is the cleanest, healthiest, most natural water. Now is the time to reclaim our water!

Film:

Inspirations

This latest documentary film by Michael Apted (7Up series, Gorillas in the Mist, Nell) explores the creative process through candid discussion with seven artists from diverse media. (note: Chihuly loves water too, it’s fuel for his creative expression!)

“About 70 percent of our bodies are water. This is the case for adults of all races, and it is why people should not be divided by political strategies and ideologies. Just like water, people must always be allowed to flow freely.”

~Dr. Masaru Emoto

Summer Solstice: Wedding of Heaven and Earth

Posted in Cosmology, Divine Feminine, Evolution, Inspiration and Ascension, Natural Beauty, tagged beauty, confluence, cosmic art, cosmic painting, kauai, Soul Cosmology, summer solstice on June 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Pacific waters filled with the light of the sun…

Summer solstice June 21, 2013 is around the corner. Are you ready? What is the significance of the Summer solstice? To quote, “Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning “sun” + “to stand still. As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year.” And, the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June. (Source- http://www.chiff.com/a/summer-solstice.htm)

Isn’t that fascinating? I always feel excited when the solstice is near. I feel like there is so much to be grateful for, to look forward to and to celebrate in life! We are lovers of life, yes? Waking up each day, facing the mystery that each moment and in turn each series of moments making up a day, a week, months, and so on…. it’s a wonder!

I am simply writing today to share my joy, inspiration and love for and of life, the light, the beauty, and the shadows (helps me appreciate and seek out beauty even more!). On this summer solstice, (in the Northern hemisphere) when the sunlight shines the longest, may it inspire you and light your way. (Fun fact: Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut in Canada, will see a whopping 20 hours and 49 minutes of daylight on June 21!)

I look forward to your comments and questions … would love to hear from you via this blog, FB, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Recommended Resources

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a

phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…

“Now is the time to see the sunlight dancing as one with the shadows.”
~Rumi

Gently Moving Forward Blog Talk Radio

Every Day is Our Day of Love

Posted in Art and Healing, Divine Feminine, Natural Beauty, tagged beauty, cosmic art, cosmic painting, Soul Cosmology on February 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

http://lorieneck.com/personal_essence_paintings.html

“Diane” Personal Essence Portrait

Self- love is the source of all our other loves.~ Pierre Corneille

Dear Beloved Community,

As I write this my heart is filled with love for the beautiful gifts of friendship, community, laughter, and the beauty that is found both in nature and co-created with our hearts/hands. Love in general and specifically self-love, has been a current theme for me. I found this question to be very interesting and inspiring: “What does it look like or mean to love ourselves?” Yes, of course, a daily spiritual practice, some pampering (or plenty of pampering!), eating well, exercising, deep breathing, plenty of pure drinking water, green drinks, yoga, etc etc etc. These are all excellent and vibrant expressions of self-love that I love! Yet, let’s look a little deeper into the question posed above as a form of self-inquiry. I invite you to create a quiet space and explore these questions, inspired by Judy Satori and Mother Mary.

•What is that my heart desires? Tune into your heart and ask How do I desire to Be?

•What are my soul’s true qualities?

•How can these soul qualities be expressed in my day-to-day life?

•What modifications do I require to make in my day-to-day life to be in more alignment with the true nature of our being?

I invite you to explore these questions and to see what kind of energy changes or ways of Being emerge for you. I am practicing this self-inquiry now right along with you… Take your time, take a few days, a week, or longer… Relax and lean into this blossoming of you.

I look forward to your comments and questions … would love to hear from you via this blog, FB, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude, and Unity Consciousness,

Recommended Resources

A fabulous radio show that my good friend Kat Nelson Troyer did recently!

North Point Astrology

It appears that this Full Moon is an initiation of sorts. Through experiencing its energies, we have opportunities to come into even greater alignment with our spiritual path, given a willingness to learn and perfect the steps along the way — our cosmic “dancing lesson”.
~Pam Younghans

“Sometimes an artist’s first invention is herself.” ~Stephanie Vaughn