WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

“This anniversary edition inspired a new beginning that starts and ends with gratitude”

Thank you for joining me in this experience of story as we pause to connect, to make ourselves available to the creative magic all around us through the action of slowing down.

It was your curiosity that motivated me to visualize this virtual morning tea or afternoon coffee break.
In choosing to be present for you I am reconnecting with my own need for stillness and for that I am grateful

The meditation begins at around 7:15 in the recording.

Self care is the focus of our meditative practice in this episode where we encourage our automatic pilots who easily express gratitude for others, to step aside for a moment. This practice brings gratitude home by directing our mindful pause in mantra form, to all the parts of our body.

”Our energy flows where our attention goes” Cathy Heller

This episode is all about gratitude. One of the things I am most grateful for is the ability to have maintained a studio art practice since 2001. I may be dating myself but I am grateful for every second I get to work at my passion. “Big Pink” evolving on the paint wall at the moment is inviting new directions to manifest on the surface without judgement. She is 48” x 48”, acrylic on panel, 2023

WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS the PODCAST, now in its second year!

If you’ve been following along with me you’ll know stories feature creativity and inspiration and the paired Mindful Mandart Meditations that conclude most episodes are a short few minutes of self-care you can take anywhere. This year I’ll be adding to the catalogue as we continue the search for wisdom at the crossroads, where action and presence meet.

I can hardly believe a year has gone by since the day I gathered all of my courage and (with help) pushed the publish button on this podcast. The project began as a response to a question I had posed for myself while doing an online course with Cathy Heller. What would I be doing a year from now?

What I didn’t want was to be doing was looking back thinking I wish I had or I could have or should have. Instead I asked myself two simple questions, “If not now, when?” and “Why not me?”… and then I dove imperfectly into this new adventure.

The podcast thing was not actually even on my radar at first, As an expat with an accent and a comfortable studio art practice an audio based tech heavy adventure was really stepping out of my comfort zone. I’ll be totally honest, I’m scared of technology, it makes me cry… and swear, sometimes a lot.

I was digging in the archive and came across this acrylic and chalk pastel on paper, 22 1/2” x 30” from the early 2000’s. “Pina Colada” was one of a series of 4 full sheets of heavy duty water colour paper that I pinned to the paint wall. I approached the same subject matter in 4 different ways in a very fun game of problem solving in colour. One of these 4 version greets visitors at my front door. “Strawberry Margarita” was the subject of a podcast in episode #12. A local tree backlit in St Vital Park was the inspiration for a study that began with the premise of exploring the shape of snow.
A studio neighbour at the time remarked my quads were more like cocktails than winter trees. And so this new series became “The Cocktail Hour”. I am grateful for the ability to play at my work and for all the contributions large and small made by friends and colleagues through their words and actions over the years.

Moving into the closet…

What you should know about podcasting is that it is not as glamorous as some of the hip 20 somethings might make it look. For me for example, McGivering a recording space has been an adventure, sometimes I’ll admit, a ridiculous one. I move into my closet on recording days and settle under the ironing board that stands precariously on the sound absorbing pillow foundation I gather and tumble around on the floor. The goal is to transform the space into a makeshift recording studio.

Think Barbara Eden in a more haphazard set of “I dream of Jeanie”. I feel more tech savvy than that seventies sitcom with my iphone in my hand and my laptop on my knee. I am grateful that I am not reliant on anybody having to rub a lamp to let me out. Can you picture it now?

The vowels have it…

The choice to create a podcast has been an additional challenge for me. I enjoy words but sometimes my accent gets tangled up in the vowels or hung up trying to annunciate a particular word that is just having none of it. On a couple of occasions I have ended up in hysterics, alone in my closet laughing out loud to the point of tears because the dance with the quilt covered ironing board has come to a tumbling end, again, or the word that is tripping me up is relentless. Its taught me to not take myself too seriously and I am grateful for that too.

Above is the cover image for my Podcast which turns 1 this week. YAY!! Cue the anniversary celebration!
I am grateful to my daughter who designed this image. She has tech skills I covet and I am always grateful when she shares some of her many talents with me. Cue the applause for Emma now.

Gratitude is what I’m feeling right now. ..

I am grateful to have made a choice to try something new, to make new connections and support the connections that have brought me to this place in my life. I am grateful to all who have sent me personal messages and comments. Words are powerful. Sometimes it can be the smallest phrase or individual comment that can have a resounding impact. and yours have had an impact on me.

I’m not sure where this new year will go but I am grateful to have the opportunity to dive in with your support.

In choosing to be present for you I am reconnecting with my own need for still ness. Along the way I am discovering that I really enjoy the practice of writing and I am able to think and reflect on my words my work and my actions. So thank you for inspiring that opportunity for growth within me. We’re never too old and it’s never too late to find creative ways to connect to each other and to ourselves.

I am grateful for THE WAVE Interlake Artists Studio Tour. I have been a member for several years. I am grateful for all the visitors who have become friends and return year after year like the perennials in my garden; rain, hail or sunshine. This pair of dear friend made a purchase and walked away in Jazzy style. I am grateful for the support my studio practice has received since 2001. It is your support that keeps a girl like me in business and able to continue doing what I love to do…and for that I am exceedingly grateful.

On the paint wall…

I am grateful to be reacquainting with my painting process after a holiday that took me back to the Land of Oz to visit family after a 5 year covid induced absence. Yes, it was magical. I am feeling refreshed and refilled and overflowing with new ideas. I am definitely ready to see where this new chapter takes me. Are you ready to dive in with me? Feel free to invite a friend to join us on this journey as we play with story, explore the creative process and discover some of the wisdom our souls wish to share with our meditation practice. I hope you’ll bookmark your favourites and return to them often.

A new year of the podcast includes a Mindful Mandart Moment…

The intention of the meditation in this episode is to experience lightness and ease in the various parts of our body.

Our meditation practice is a way for us to pause and to connect to the deepest part of ourselves. We begin by being deliberate in naming our gratitude. The simple courtesy of saying thank you is something we turn inwards with this self care practice. As Cathy Heller so enthusiastically declares “Our energy flows where our attention goes”. It feels like good advice to direct some of our intentional focus to the many mechanisms and systems that make up the physical body that supports us in every action of every day.

I hope you will join me in the recording as we invite the healing energy of the universe within. We begin with our intentional breath and once our bodies settle we allow ourselves to visualize the healing light of the universe. I imagine it to be like static on a tv screen, or the tiny bubbles rising to the surface of a champagne flute, the visual equivalent of white noise that dissolves into a sparkling mist that can be any place or all places simultaneously.

Tune me up Scotty…

The body is an amazing machine. Like your car it can require regular maintenance and can benefit from a tune up or attunement. By applying practices such as this one that offers gratitude for the contributing parts of our body, we can assist our bodies to run more efficiently, to experience lightness and ease, to pause and recalibrate as we rest and relax. Our choices, our dreams and desires are made possible because our physical body leads the way. .. and for that I am very grateful.

Creativity and painting in particular are my favoured avenue to presence. The process of painting quiets me as it draws me in to the action of problem solving in colour. Engaged, painting, time can literally fly by. This image is of developing work in the wings at the studio. I have been changing things up and trying new things lately, like black gesso in the foundation despite having used compliments to create contrast in the last, oh let’s say, twenty years or so. I’m grateful to never say never and to be able to freely make, and change up, my own creative choices.

At the studio this week…

I have continued working with my website designer developing an opportunity for visitors to purchase my book, “Wisdom at the Crossroads” and greeting cards on my website. Chantelle Andercastle is a dynamo, a podcast host, magazine editor and entrepreneur. I am very grateful for her input and assistance. Email Chantelle good vibes at hello@clearquartzcreative.com

Also…

My interview with Whitney Baker for the “Electric Ideas” Podcast went very well this week. I was strangely nervous and had to remind myself it was not a test but a conversation with someone genuinely interested in what I am doing. I am grateful for Whitney and the invitation to share my story with her audience. I will share the link on socials as well as here when the show airs.

Lastly…

I am grateful for you, for reading to the end here, bravo!, and for your questions about the how’s and the why’s of my studio practice that evolved into this podcast and blog. I am grateful for your curiosity that has inspired me to visualize new ways to connect and share my ( weirdly accented) voice.

I am also grateful to have the use of this space. I call it my Sunday office. It is a corner of the board room at Leven Tadman Golub Law Firm. I am happy to accompany my hubby there for his regular weekend calls and very grateful to take in the views of downtown while I work. It is a big upgrade from my lovely studio and reserved for writing and planning. The 40” x 60” canvas shown, which for the life I can’t recall the name of, was commissioned for this space. I am grateful to all who have purchased or commissioned work over the years. Your choice to live with original local art allows me to continue doing what I love and I am very grateful for that.

Thank you…

I appreciate you tuning in to this podcast and joining in on this journey with me here on the blog. I hope the images are helpful and that you are finding something of your story within mine. If my work or words inspire you please consider inviting a friend to share in our adventure or writing a review. Every shared word or post helps helps my to work reach those who could benefit by it and I would be very grateful for your help in growing my audience.

With gratitude as always,

Nameste, Amanda

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