A New Circle

The next MYSHA Women's Circle will be held monthly in Nerang.

Commencing Monday 12th October.

Leading this new circle with me, from Lavendilly House is

Jennifer McCormack.

Jen is an extremely gifted mama, teacher, artist, and celebrant! Jen will bring her passion for storytelling, sacred ceremony and ritual pampering expertise which will meld with our Meditation Yoga and Self Healing Arts magnificently!

At her new blog http://www.lavendilly.wordpress.com/ Jennifer writes:

I am very excited about our circle – there will be singing, ritual pampering, storytelling and an exploration of a variety of artistic modes through which we will process our experience of the story.
There will be peace, healing, shared wisdoms and creativity to take back home with us into our daily lives until the next circle.

If you'd like one of the candles in the circle to be yours this time, email us to reserve your spot!

MYSHA Women's Circle

For the past nine weeks now we have been leaving behind our busy lives, just for one blissful night in the week..... to join together in circle, celebrating our very nature, our sacred feminine, our lives, ....and each other.

Around our cermonial circle of muslin white and silky blue, adorned in blossoms, we have lit our candles and brought light to the sacred within ourselves and between ourselves. We arranged our yoga mats around the circle so that our energy balled like a sphere of feminine light and shade... and we have gently woven a scaffold together... working toward balance. We warmed, soothed and stretched our spirits and our bodies with the beautiful art of Yoga, enriched and nurtured our hearts and souls with creative expression through clay, pastels, charcoal, paint, movement, collage, body sculpture and more.... And we shared.

We have shared with eachother some of our deep feelings and sensings as we described our experience with the artful materials. We have dipped our toes into this multimodal world of creative possibilities and been invited to go deeper through our Inner Wisdom...

....to flesh out and to make sense of our daily lives through the arts, while massaging our ability to be present to the emergent tellings from within and between ourselves.

I only wish I had taken more photos of the beautiful and inspiring work of these beautiful MYSHA women!

And soon it will be time to close our circle and put out invitation to those who will form the next.

Om Shanti

Birdlife Presence

In my quest to be more present in my everyday life, I have been noticing more. One of the blessings about living where we do is that we are descended upon each day with a colourful spectrum of birds in the dozens... or more. I scarely know their names nor can I match them to all the songful calls that fill our skies here. I have taken to pointing them out to our little one and while we're admiring, I've been photographing them....
Look at these noisy crazies...

and this little cutie made itself quite at home....

on the edge of my yoga mat...

This is one of many kookaburras that fill the area with cheer each day...

and this little cutie is one of a pair who have been dancing together and

drinking sweet nectar from the pom pom flowers...

There are so many more.... lorikeets, magpies, doves, pee wees (is that really what they're called?)

I am really enjoying connecting with nature in this way. Such lovely visitors.

Back in the land of the living!

Well we were hit by a terrible virus this past week.

Seems our trip to Sydney wasn't without souvenirs.... of the worst kind.

Shivers, chills, high fevers, aches and pains, all the usual horribles of winter flu.

Our little one took it hardest. For a whole week she has been doing little more than sleeping and being miserable. It has been a struggle for all of us.

It's so hard watching the light of your life suffering as she has been. For the first couple of days I handled it as her Mummy with such grace and patience.... Then I have to admit it wore me down. It was by far one of my worst experiences as a mother.

Today was the first day she has bounced around home again. I have to say the relief and the joy are so welcome. We celebrated with family cuddles and painting!

Oh that smile.....

Visiting Grandma

There’s a place we go in the Hills,
Where there’s room to run and fly
To stir and mould and bake
And watch the clouds go by

It’s filled with trees and flowers
Leaves the colour of sun
Lace on the windows
And so much time for fun!

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We feed the chooks that lay no eggs
We run with the dogs that don’t nip!
We pick citrus fruit from the orchard
And from rosy tea cups we sip.

There’s so much to love in this pretty place
And there’s one thing that’s best by far
It’s being close and having hugs
With ‘specially wonderful Grandma. xx

Bud Babies

Lately, we have had a few special little friends celebrate their winter birthdays. It has been a chance for my little one to delight in treats, laughter, games, and all things magical.

It has also been a chance for me to treat my inner child.

I have carved time out for myself to take my own inner child to the rainforest and even to buy her a garnet ring (my birthstone). In the forest I was blessed with wondrous synchronicities one of which was the materialising of my most recent children's story.

It is a story set in a mountainside forest about a small shrub who feels scared and alone in the winter storm. An ancient tree falls in the storm leaving a vast hole in the canopy. This affects all the trees in the forest, and particularly the small shrub. When the storm passes the new dawn of spring casts her light on shrub's tender green leaves, warming her through in a way she has not known before. She notices herself changing and that she is adorned with sleeping buds. Eventually with some help of the water fairies, she blossoms.



Hear the whisper of the leaves
While softly and still you lie
Tiny buds in your cosy beds
Blossoming time is nigh...

I had written the story some days before seeing the exact scenario before me in the forest... A giant tree had fallen in a storm and left a huge hole in the canopy where the sun was now streaming through, gleamily dancing on the young leaves of many budding shrubs on the forest floor. It was one of those feelings you get that make me feel oh so affirmed and connected to our beloved Earth Mother.

Pictured are the little needle felted bud babies we made as gifts which accompany the story.


Love and Blessings to all our winter birthday friends!

Backyard kangaroos

Recently we had a visit from some great friends, one of whom lives in Alaska. Hi Tim and Karen!

When they were here, our backyard kangas popped in to say hello which was so nice for them.

This afternoon, I was sitting here checking my emails and they came at dusk for a munch. I just had to share this with you.

We really are so blessed living here...

Definitely need that fence around the vege garden though... before we do any major planting.
We'll keep their access open for the grassed area though... How could we deprive the bulge in Mama Roo's pouch that succulent green cooch?