And The Tower Shakes

With all the tragic events unfolding over the last few weeks...hurricanes, flooding, fires, earthquakes...

I don't think that anyone who either reads cards, or is familiar with Tarot imagery, has not 
had this particular image come into their head.

  The Tower...

"Facing the Unexpected"

"Upheaval"

"Out of the Blue"

"Shocking Events"

The reason I'm writing this post, however, is to remind everyone what 

comes next during The Fool's journey.  
The card 'after' The Tower.

The Star...

"Faith and Hope"

"Courage"

"Inspiration"

New life through new possibilities and hope.

When we have been shaken loose from our roots and it all seems to be hopeless, 

we look within and then start anew. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all.


You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Energy Follows Thought

"Whatever manifests in your outer world is first

created in your inner world.

The energy that follows thought, and that you are

constantly experiencing in your life, is the result of whatever

resonates within the vibration you set in motion 

with your thoughts.

The world around you is mirroring the world within

    you via your subconscious mind."

Just as these seeds are about to blow away, scattering

to the wind...so are the thoughts and vibrations

you are currently creating. 

We all need to keep that in mind ~

Enjoy your day

The quote was taken from the book 

Spiritual Balancing by Diana Burney

photo by Diane Fergurson

                     

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

             

Be A Bright Light

 The soul chooses where and went to incarnate.  

Why?  

To learn lessons and 

work through challenging situations so it can evolve.

  It's important to keep that in mind during the upcoming years. 

Remember...you chose to be here AND it's for a reason.

Do your best.

Be kind, learn from your mistakes, and keep going forward.

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and 

Twitter 

Shine Your Light

It's been a tough day for many people today.

Now, more then ever, we need to remember to send 

light and love and hope out into the world.

Remember who you are and why you're here.

You need to shine now more then ever ~

Zucchini, Kittens and Rabbits

As I was chopping up some zucchini for dinner last night, I realized that summer is finally here.  Zucchini always reminds me of summer.  Both my mother and grandmother grew it in abundance in their gardens.  My mother would cook constantly with the massive amounts that we would harvest. She served it as a vegetable, but also made zucchini bread, which was definitely considered a new, fairly exotic item during those times (at least in the Midwest). I considered zucchini bread to be a real treat because my mother was such a “no sugar” healthy food advocate.  Sugar rarely passed my lips as a child.

My grandma, an immigrant from Italy, would also cook with zucchini when it was in season.  She would make it for literally every meal.  "You eat what is in season and in the garden," she would say.  Sometimes she would use some of her zucchini to work into the antipasto she canned during the summer.  Other than that we ate our fill and gave away bags and bags of it to the neighbors.  I got really tired of eating zucchini at her house.  I still have it memorized…  "Saute a little butter with a little onion, add a fresh sage leaf from the garden, cover, cook on low until it sweats."

Al dente.  Of course, she was Italian.

Right after it rains - if you have been lucky enough to have rain this summer, or not battling the horrible floods - the summer days bring a humid, lush feeling like no other.  Although I'm pretty notorious for disliking the heat immensely, I do definitely respect and appreciate the season.  Yes, zucchini flourishes in the summer.  Everything seems to flourish in the summer.  

This year it seems to be our urban backyard that is flourishing.  Two overly active birdbaths.  A mother rabbit plus her little bunny baby, and this year the biggest surprise of all, a mother cat and her two orange kittens.  Nothing like opening the back door at 6am and finding two orange little balls of fur fast cuddled up in the chair - wide eyed and surprised.  My husband said "at least they're cuter than squirrels (which we also have in abundance).  Maybe they'll even help keep the mice away."  My neighbor says all the activity is due to the “good vibes” radiating out from our backyard.  Other friends suspect the fairies in the rose and herb garden.  I think it's because they all know they are safe and we will not hurt them.

Of course throughout all of this, our two sweet old rescue pugs snore their day away.  The third rescue, Franky, remains on high alert.  So I guess I'll be outside clapping and banging before we let him out.  

Enjoy your July.  Take some time to observe and love your own backyard.  You might be surprised what you find.

 

~ diane fergurson

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Be a Weed

I never fail to leave the garden uninspired.  Whether it's with colors, wildlife or Fae.  Today as I trimmed away the dead rose branches and pulled out the weeds that are already sprouting up...the words that keep running through my head were, "Be a Weed".

Yes, be a weed Diane.  

They strong, resilient, and really quite patient to grow among the other more acceptable plants.  Best of all, no matter how many times you pull them out, a weed will just keep coming back.

I see every other inspirational quote known to man immortalized through Facebook posts.  

Maybe mine should be...Be a Weed!  😉

Enjoy your day 

Welcome Mabon/Fall

Every culture has it's beliefs, rituals and traditions associated with the seasons.  The transition from summer into fall is no exception.  As I look around me I see baskets of summer flowers on my neighbors' porches being replaced by mums and pumpkins.  In more rural areas, the farmers have been busy bailing hay for the winter, and are beginning to gather the bounty from the summer harvest.  Apple picking, of course, is at it's height and abundance.

The Autumnal Equinox, or the holiday Mabon as it is known in Celtic and Pagan cultures, ushers in these seasonal changes and welcomes the second harvest.  This is the time of year when the sun shines equally on both hemispheres.  The days and nights are of equal length, but we begin to move from the light half of the year to the dark half.  The leaves turn, the birds migrate, and we start our cyclical descent into winter.

As I observe everything around me starting to wind down, Mabon, much more then the Thanksgiving holiday, feels like the most natural place in the year to pause and be grateful for all the blessings and experiences that I have had.  To re-view it all, in it's entirety on a cyclical but equal basis.  This year in particular my personal wheel of life truly has experienced it all.  A death, a (soon to be) birth, and a developing creative re-birth.  I'm thankful for it all these things.  They continue to shape and guide me to be the person I am, and have yet to become.

Enjoy your day ~

diane fergurson

Autumn Hay photo courtesy of Nellie Levine

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Your Facebook Feed - You Are What You Read

Yellow Crabapple Autumn Print

It's been awhile since I posted in this blog, but like most artists who are fortunate enough to be able to express themselves through multiple platforms, I write when I'm inspired to write.
When the words fill my head, I write.
I paint, draw and take photographs when I'm visually inspired.
The last few months, the visual has definitely taken a front seat in my life.

This morning I read something on my Facebook page that has come up several times.
That I've actually posted about it on our Mind Body Spirit Marketplace page in the past.

A friend had requested that her friends post photos of baby animals to counteract all the hateful comments and negativity that she was seeing in her Facebook feed.
  

I had to ask myself...why?
 My Facebook feed doesn't look like that, and neither does the MBS page.

So I commented:

"I honestly don't see much hatred in my feed. In fact mine is usually full of artwork, nature and people posting positive, inspiring quotes. My 'FB friends' don't tend to post negative things or hateful, political spew. The one thing about FB that a lot of people overlook, is that what you see is totally within your own control. So people need to ask themselves....who 'do' you friend with that would post such negative things to begin with?? If I don't like what I see...I just block or unfriend...
I mean, why not?"

We become what we choose to feed ourselves.  
Not just food, but what we choose to ingest visually and auditorily too.  
What we read, what we watch, who we talk to...what we listed to and choose to focus on.  
Who DO we talk to?  
Who DO we choose to spend our time socializing with?  
Both online and off.
Does it make us more intelligent and informed?
Do we feel better or angry after we read it?
Does it bring us up, or dumb us down?

We make our own choices everyday that either uplift our soul or compel us to dive down and 
swim with the bottom feeders.
  
What do you think about in your spare time? 
And -
How do you think about it?
In positive or negative terms?

  Are you thinking about how much you dislike someone or how angry they make you?
Or do or you move your thought process on to more 
positive  thoughts?

It's all within your own control, you know.

  Good example:  
This morning I was talking with a friend in his yard.  
Yes, it would have been almost too easy to focus my attention on all the work he 
needed to catch up on around his house... but when I looked in his yard, his wonderful 
 little trees, the trees that he loves so much and has patiently cultivated and 
nursed over the years, 
stood out like little golden jewels. 
Their fall colors vibrated wildly in the sunlight.
They were simply stunning.  
(I'm obviously still thinking about them)

Next time you wake up in the morning and and find yourself mindlessly scrolling through 
your Facebook feed, ask yourself -

"Why do I choose to allow myself to ingest the things I do?
And - how does that not only effect my own well being, but the well being of others?
(especially when I choose to re-post)"

Don't become a Facebook drone.  
Disconnect from the things that do not bring you to a good place and move on.

Enjoy your day!

diane fergurson

Yellow Crabapple Tree Autumn Print courtesy of Jude McConkey Photography

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Positive Affirmation - Live Your Dreams

Take Time To...

Lean against a tree

and dream your world of dreams

Work hard at what you like to do

and try to overcome all obstacles

Laugh at your mistakes

and praise yourself for learning from them

Pick some flowers

and appreciate the beauty of nature

Be honest with people

and enjoy the good in them

Don't be afraid to show your emotions

Laughing and crying make you feel better

Love your friends and family with your

   entire being

They are the most important part of your life

Feel the calmness on a quiet sunny day

and plan what you want to accomplish in life

Find a rainbow

and live your

world of dreams 

~ Susan Polis Schutz

Artwork - "It's All In Your Dreams #17 by Diane Fergurson

prints available on Etsy

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

A June Sunday at the Cloisters

June 1, 2014

One of my favorite places is the Cloisters.  
I've said it before, and I'll probably say it many, many more times.
It's one of the most beautiful and spiritually uplifting places I've ever visited.

The gardens are always changing.   
Stunning... whether lush and full in the fall, or stark and bare in the winter.  
Traditional herbs, medieval herbs or magical herbs...they're all there, along with 
topiaries, miniature roses and small fruit trees. 

We went in for a while this morning, probably one of several visits before the year's end.
Some of the photos are from today's visit, others are from years past.

August 2013

August 2013

6-1-14

6-1-14

One of the reasons I find the Cloisters to be a unique environment
 is that the pieces in the collection seem to be in harmony with each other,
 both visually and vibrationally.
That isn't always the case when displaying religious and spiritual artwork and
artifacts together.

  Angels and Gargoyles look down upon dragons and unicorns.  
Age old tapestries - some, internationally famous - adorn the walls.
There are beautifully carved altar pieces and triptychs. 
You'll see a silver chalice here and there, along with scepters and crosses belonging 
to royalty and clergy of centuries past.  
Illuminated manuscripts and books are also on display.

The famous 'Hunt of the Unicorn' tapestry.

Silver Chalice 15th Century Spanish

The colors in the stained glass windows are simply stunning.  

You could easily become mesmerized by all the patterns, symbols and saints that they depict.

The Cloisters are part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, but it's 
located in a separate space in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan.  
It houses an extensive collection (over 2,000 pieces) of art, 
architecture and artifacts from Medieval Europe.  

The Cloisters opened to the public in 1938 and overlooks the beautiful Hudson River.  
The building itself is not a copy itself of any specific medieval structure, but a deliberate 
combination of ecclesiastical and secular spaces arranged in chronological order from four 
medieval cloisters, as well as from other sites in Europe.

Many people come to visit NYC and may include a quick visit to the Met part of their travel agenda, but not necessarily plan to visit the Cloisters.

If you have the time to go, it's just a quick subway, bus or car ride from the Met.

  You could also easily spend an entire day in Fort Tryon Park itself, where it is located.  

Especially on a beautiful day like today.

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Being Thankful for the Little Things

They say we should be thankful for the little things in life.  How many times have you heard that expression?

I had to opportunity to hear a woman speak recently who was recovering from a stroke.  She was leading a meditation, and was talking about how we should be grateful and more mindful of all the little things in our lives.  She then proceeded to share with us some of the little things 'she' was grateful for.


 
Her list was long and meandering - but the beautiful flow and sincerity of her words deeply touched everyone in the room.  It wasn't so much a meditation, as a journey.  Her unique journey ~

" - like when you are looking for a parking place and you happen to see the very last one in the lot...and you barely have room to squeeze your car into the corner - but hey, you got to park!  Or how about there not being any ice on the roads anymore so you don't have to worry about hitting another car or falling down when you try to get out?  Those are some of the things I'm grateful for...and I'm also pretty grateful to get my plants in the ground after they have been sitting on my deck for a long time ~"

Through my silent laughter at her candor - eyes closed and tears of happiness streaming down my smiling face - I felt my heart completely open up and send all the love and hugs I had within me to this wonderful, brave soul.
Yes, I thought - it really is the small things we overlook that we should be thankful for.
It really is ~

~ diane

It's all in Your Dreams #1 by Diane Fergurson
Prints available on Etsy

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter 

Mind Body Spirit Questions and Answers: Your Karmic Reward

The more we read, the more we know,

the more we want to know,
and consequently, the more questions we may have.

 In this new series we will look at questions raised by a variety of topics.

Your thoughts and input are encouraged...

and your questions, of course.

Question:  "How can you tell whether a condition that has come upon an individual, good or bad, is the result of Karma, or direct divine decree"?

Answer:  If at any time we receive a rich reward, blessing, opportunity or advantage, let us be thankful for it and realize that whatever may have been the cause that brought it about, it is our responsibility and duty to use it constructively, lovingly and wisely.

That is the lesson - don't over analyze it.

If sorrow, disadvantage or disappointment come to us, instead of trying to search into your past for a probable cause, we should strive to learn the lesson that the situation may include,
and do our best to work through it and overcome it.
We need to try to master the conditions, strengthen our character, and increase our knowledge base so we do not earn a similar experience through any Karmic action in the future. 

Trying to keep this balance within the Universal Law will turn all our experiences and situations, good and bad, to good advantage.  

It will benefit ourselves as well as mankind.

Yellow Flower Photo courtesy of Joy Glenn Photography

You can follow the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace 

on Facebook

Pinterest

and

Twitter