WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS PODCAST.

SYNOPSIS
Episode 50

Fifty! Can you believe that? 50! Let’s say that again! 50 is definitely cause for celebration for all the “staff” at WISDOM AT THE CROSSROADS the podcast. That would be me and my husband if I let him call himself the employee of the month for listening in on Tuesdays. We can pretend his Law career is just a side gig for the day. Actual thanks extend to Andrea McCallum in Ontario who has been editing and loading up my episodes to this point. Find her at concreteandcrystals on instagram to see how her art practice evolves.

If we weren’t doing a dry April ahead of warmer weather it would definitely be time for some champagne, clapping hands and high fives. So, for now a virtual cheers but please make sure to splurge on the best virtual champagne you can find. I know I will.

Thank you!

This episode is shared with gratitude for all who have been along for the ride: seeking discovering and finding pause within the noise of the busy lives we have chosen. Your support and enthusiasm is appreciated.

Numerology officiondos would remind us that 50 signifies completion while also inspiring new beginnings. 50 offers an opportunity to reflect on the growth and evolution that has brought us to this present moment while also inspiring us to trust our intuition and embrace the possibility the future holds.

Our mindful meditation concludes this episode with a colourful visual journey where we invite our inner child out to be inspired to play, with colour and materials. Believe me when I say, there are no lines to be coloured in here. I hope you enjoy this peaceful pause to conclude our 50 episodes.

Detail “Big Sky Country I” Acrylic on Panel, 24” x 36” 2023

GROWTH feels like an appropriate subtitle for this fiftieth episode, especially considering a podcast was something I didn’t even imagine I would be a part of before I started. It just kind of evolved after I took an online course with Cathy Heller and began asking myself two little questions that kept coming to the fore for me,

“If not now, when? and “Why not me?”

Tech is not my forte so imagine how chuffed I was when my web designer Chantelle complimented my developing tech skills. Yes it would be appropriate to imagine i wide grin and taller demeanour here. Her comments took me back to where I began, which admittedly oscillated between fetal position and tears when it came to anything tech related that inevitably tripped me up. But here I am now sending out links making recordings, reels and narratives, embedding data, writing and organizing weekly blog posts, audio uploads, drop box nonesence, you name it I am making the effort to learn how to do it.

“There is no time like the present, no time more appropriate than where we are”

Chartreuse on the palette …thinking of spring with spring greens

“Together we are seeking and finding, listening in and making connections.”

A large part of this podcast has been the meditations that conclude each episode. I feel they are the most important part and I have tried to be aware of developing a variety of tools for our meditative toolbox in the process. I find it remarkable that together we have been working on a meditation practice for the last 49 episodes of the podcast.

Can you believe that? 49 episodes in the can and this one will mark a 50th milestone. That means there are a lot of meditation options that you can freely return to at anytime. I really appreciate the fact you have shown up for yourself to join me in taking a pause in the busy lives we have chosen. And I am proud of us for taking this time to develop our own route to becoming more present on our own paths. If feels good to be taking the reins in hand and working towards a greater and more fulfilled and aware life.

Please consider sharing your favourites with a friend. We all deserve to find a quiet respite in the busy lives we have chosen. Sharing is also a free way that you can support my creative endeavours. Thanks :)

Creativity as you know if you’ve been listening in with me is my avenue to presence.

When I get to engage in the process of creating on the paint wall the world quiets and I can literally zone out or get into the zone, however you like to think of it. I know you have had moments when you have been fully engaged in some activity or action, when you have been fully present on your own journey, however that looks for you. When we really get down to basics, …Life is the journey, so why not make that journey the best balance we can imagine.

I’m trying to be aware and present for my journey in all the ways that it presents. I have discovered there are definitely seasons in our lives, some are our favourites, while others, …maybe not so much ….
but If we can learn to appreciated all of the seasons for the different things they bring, for the lessons we discover within them and the connections we make to others in the process, our journey will be enriched because of it.

Crystal inspiration in heart space green at the studio.

The Meditation…

In our meditative practice we are re training ourselves by trying out new ways to be present and to live in the moment. I hope the meditations that end each episode have been helping you to become more mindful. I have been mindful of my choices in sharing stories from my real world experience that might inspire
you to connect to your own stories . As One listener reminded me recently the stories are food for thought that take her on her own interior journeys through memory and inspiration.

Getting into the green…

In this episode we bring colour within on our intentional breath and aim to be accepting and imaginative within this visual practice. We begin with green because green has been a recent feature on my paint wall and it is also associated with our heart chakra. Who can’t benefit from a little heart medicine, any time or day of the week? When I think of green there are many varieties that come to mind: It might be the Chartreuse of new spring growth like that on my palette above? Or the warm pale mid green of aventurine that also has the ability to radiate positivity and to diffuse any negative emotions?

You might connect to the deep rich healing patterned green of malachite. Malachite is known as a stone of transformation as it brings ease to our system during periods of change and helps us to heal. In the recording I ask you to visualize the green of your choice. You can isolate separate colours or invite them all in on a blended pallet of refreshment. Colour decisions for me often end up in the “too hard basket, so I use them all.

Chartreuse detail from “Growth: Inner Resource/Wisdom”, Diptych. Acrylic on Panel, 2023, 36” x 48” each.

It’s time to invite our inner child out to play

We continue our meditation in the recording by visualising those colours forming a crayon or a marker and
imagining ourselves reaching to take a favourite tool in hand and begin to make marks on a large blank a sheet of paper.
The child within embraces this request because they are naturally enthusiastic about the invitation to feel and are genuinely curious to find connections between materials and surfaces. This inner part of ourselves is uninhibited and wowed by the discovery of this colour and the miracle of lines as they move in a generous sweep of fluid action.

Green detail, LTGLC Office Commission, Sweeping movement

Adding to the arrangement…

We add blue to keep things harmonious. Blue and Green are adjacent to each other on the colour wheel and naturally relate. Blue adds a breath of fresh air to the meditation with its associations to the throat chakra and our ability to share our voice (light blue).

What version of blue are you drawn to?
The blue of the sky on a clear summers day? The clear icy inference of aqua marine imbued with the properties of happiness hope and everlasting youth? Or maybe the rich aqua of turquoise to shed light on undiscovered artistic abilities?
Your preferences might lean to the dark side and the rich dark navy blue of sapphire that sparkles with the promise of wisdom and expansive vision at the third eye? In the recording we notice the course of your intentional breath and accept these creative and metaphoric decisions. You can access the podacast recording on all platforms. Press the arrow in the player at the top of this blog to listen directly on Podbean, or scroll to the end of this post and press the listen now button to hear it on Apple Podcasts.

Green detail, Tropical House, The Leaf, Winnipeg. I love a good contrast like these red stems and the lime green fronds. red and green, opposites on the colour wheel to keep our visual cortex firing..

Creativity really is a gift. The meditation tries to infer the gift that comes with agency. This simple invitation is without any expectation or judgement. It is simply an invitation to feel, explore, engage and allow. It is essentially a reminder that the marks we make become a permanent record of our physical presence. Right now wherever we are.

“I allow myself to become present, in the knowledge of who I am,
what I can do and who I can be.”

Big Sky from the Sweet Suite Series, 11” x 14”, Acrylic on panel, 2023

At the studio…

This week has been heavy on the painting as well as the showing. I finished up works for THE PULSE GALLERY Show, “Spring Fling” that opened April 1 st at Johnston Terminal at the Forks in Winnipeg.

I have always loved the connections I have made through my art and I was grateful to be able to reconnect with old friends and new at the opening. On more than one occasion I regretted not recording conversations I had with attendees as they would have been great fuel for future episodes of the podcast.

As you know WiSDOM AT THE CROSSROADS is all about presence: for me on the paint wall and for all of us through meditation and story that hopefully inspires a connection to your own stories through my examples.

After 50 episodes I’ll be taking my own advice and pressing the pause button on this initiative. I have new tech skills to learn as my editor Andrea will not be continuing with her side gig. Taking a pause will allow me a chance to recalibrate and to come back to the podcast at a later date with a renewed focus.

In the meantime I’ll be continuing my growth journey by learning how to replay the first 50 episodes in full or in part to keep us in the habit of our practice. I hope if you have questions or suggestions you will feel free to reach out. I appreciate your comments questions and feedback.

Thanks for listening in…

Our time together is coming to an end for the time being. If you have enjoyed our visits or have found something that resonates for you within my stories I hope you will return to your favourite episodes regularly, and consider sharing with a friend. Every share, review and comment helps this small initiative to grow and to be found within the complex algorithms that challenge us on social media.