Thursday, November 26, 2015

Holiday Blessings 2015

Winter reflection beckons me to visit precious memories, connections, challenges, growth, and accomplishments that have blessed my life over the past months. As the holiday season arrives, I reflect upon the gift of simplicity, and how the power of this one word continues to have a transformative impact on my life. Appreciating how words of wisdom never seem to grow old, I deeply cherish the lyrics of this enduring song like a dear ole’ friend in this modern world that grows bigger, faster, and increasingly techy.  

"Simple Gifts”
(written and composed in 1848 by Shaker Elder Joseph Brackett)

Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
We will be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.


In the Spirit of Simplicity
and Seasonal Gift-giving,
Check out my aromatic, fiber art. 
Spreading Blessings of Joy, Peace & Grace


Website Promotion at

In celebration of this magical season,
I offer these RENYA TALES below
for inspiration and delight.

"Christmas Goodwill"
&
"Holiday Joy"

Wishing you the Peace of Spirit
Blissful & Bright!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING

THANK YOU CREATOR
for the opportunity to
Love, Serve, and Remember.
THANK YOU SACRED MYSTERY
for awareness and illusion,
the symbiotic dance of shadow and light,
the human drama wink of time
within infinite change, for all the
experiences that slow me down and
wake me up, for guiding my steps
in trust and surrender in
Oneness Potential with the
Grand Divine Design.
THANK YOU EARTH
for your exemplary teachings
of cycles and seasons,
balance, partnership, and respect
inspiring me to live with
greater awareness, compassion,
cooperation and responsibility
in allegiance to All Living Forms. 
THANK YOU BRIGHT SOULS
with whom I abide on the spiral path
of continuum. Infinite thanks for
 soul family recognition
and sacred kinship collaboration
that lights the way.
GIVING THANKS
for all the growth and possibility…

Blessings upon Blessings of Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

HOMECOMING

Traveling many miles and visiting diverse landscapes has become a very enjoyable obsession. Hours of riding the open road invites me into silent awe. Drinking in the rich tapestry of Mama Earth’s spectacular landscape humbles my heart time and time again. At the time of writing this, I was riding through south central Idaho where vast prairie lands surrounded by panoramic peaks of light and shadow touch the mystery of sky. My heart responds in vibrant appreciation of how deeply I love the Gift of Earth.


Having the joy and privilege to trek in vast wildlands is a full emotion experience. One moment, I am riding high beholding with gratitude all the beauty around me, and then suddenly I am overcome with sadness pondering the mindless actions of humans damaging the natural world. In awareness, I offer gratitude for all the beauty that abounds and in the same moment I surrender to what is here and now. I must not lose sight that this earth training ground was set up on a free will basis and the drama beats on. If I judge it, I will be adding to the drama of huffing and puffing with anger and frustration complaining about how things ‘should’ be different than they are… and what good does that do, except create judgmental separation and add to the collective unconscious!

This year’s Ren & Ran gypsy traveling has come to a close. Back at home base in enchanted New Mexico where sunshiny days, bird symphonies, coyote howls, raven caws, critter crawls, and golden cottonwoods are alive with Autumn glory. What a welcome!



This current chapter of my life invites me to dig in, listen deeply, and love earnestly. There is learning and growth in each moment. My greatest calling is honoring spirit, loving earth, living my joy, remaining open and authentic, and showing up to what unfolds before me. Here’s my unfurling self-discovery.

Prior to meeting my John Muir-alike wilderness man Ran who invited me to live in the vast open lands of the southwest, I lived the proportion of my life’s daylight hours inside-bound. Even living off-grid now, I am one who can be oh so contently occupied in my cozy, warm, ‘Wren nest loft’ reading, writing, and creating.  Such is the life of a visionary artist overflowing with inspiration. Hours slip away before it even occurs to me to take a break. Arrr….. not a healthy, balanced choice.

Are you familiar with the saying, “we are human beings not human doings?” Well…. I am applying those words of wisdom, and this is what I sense. More often than not at home base as I tend to my home business tasks and indoor daily groove, I am forgetting, postponing, and overriding that a daily connection in nature is where I tap into miraculous discovery, heart happiness, soul gratitude, balanced well-being and nourishment.

Living in homes are grand and certainly serve a practical and enjoyable function, and yet the more time I spend traveling in a 5x8 ft. teeny pop-up camper and living off-grid in 135 sq. ft. tiny house (210 sq. ft with loft) with my partner the meaning of home is changing for me.  A simple set-up is refreshing. I prefer to make every small cubby of space count over the so-called luxury of having lots of inside space with plenty of room for accumulation.

The space in my life that I am welcoming more and more is the natural world that sets me free to explore wilderness in any direction without being bombarded by extensive population and pollution, excessive commercialism, and dependency technology.

Looking at the word HOMECOMING, I recognize in me a newness emerging. In coming home, I am growing roots beyond my preoccupation with the lovely structure that houses me. As I tap into loving earth, I am cultivating a relationship with the land that sustains me. Suddenly I’m paying attention to sustainability, solar energy, wind direction, soil erosion, animal tracks and critter scat, raven calls, community ant tunnels, changing climate, and more. In living closer with the land, I am appreciating the gift of earth in new ways. In growing respect for all that has been given, received, resourced, consumed and taken for granted, my heartfelt aim is to live more fully awake inwardly and outwardly.

Throughout the 80’s and 90’s, I practiced a good deal of meditation living from the heart up. My feet and legs were visible, but not rooted in my heart-centered being.  Expanding my inner world in lotus position with open heart and eyes closed was my modus operandi. Inasmuch as I was attuned with the starry soul world, I was barely grounded in the physical world.

My greatest form of meditation now is time on the land and under the skies. I recognize the potential pitfall of being a full-time homebody. Too much time caged indoors behind walls, windows, and doors cuts us off from fully appreciating the true richness, vitality, health and well-being of the great outdoors! Through quality time spent in nature we are more in touch with, impassioned about, and motivated to tend to the importance of caring for our fellow lifeforms with whom we share this beloved earth.

More deeply rooted in my body and growing a deeper partnership with honoring the earth, I am discovering more and more ways to take a stand for what I want to see more of in the world. Constantly identifying what I choose to participate in and what I don’t, I am not only loving the earth with my heart, but also cultivating a practical responsibility for this land that I love.

Recognizing that every choice I make and every dollar I spend has a direct impact on the world and the earth is causing me to constantly assess the quality of my lifestyle choices. When is enough… enough? Am I accumulating more stuff? Am I adding to pollution by driving a car more often than I really need to?  Do I really want to support corporate institutions instead of supporting local small businesses?  Do I really want to live beyond my means on credit card debt? Do I really want to shop at stores that keep sweat labor factories in business? Do I really want to support homebuilding, eating food, and growing a garden filled with toxic chemicals? In what ways can I live more consciously and sustainably? Am I living my life (or is my life running me) on mindless routine and habit?  Am I living awake and fully present to each moment through observation, inquiry, and rightful action?

One thing’s for sure, this world we live in, and the earth we stand upon, is shifting in every way possible.  Clearly, human impact and imprint is dramatically affecting all kingdoms and species of present and future generations. In honoring and witnessing this truth, more than ever, I am stepping up and stepping out to live as consciously, lightly, simply, and sustainably as possible. Along with, I am practicing unconditional acceptance. The more fully I am able to unconditionally accept all parts of myself the more I am able to deepen my relationship to the world, earth, and all its inhabitants in sacred kinship. However the earth continues its evolution and consciousness revolution, it seems to me in this ripple of earth time that my personal commitment to practicing unconditional acceptance and living my joy is the greatest stand I can take and contribution I can make.

As I walk the path of being human, I stretch my roots into the soil, and expand my spirit to higher ground where the great eagle flies. With feet in earth and arms outstretched, I am reminded of one of my clay sculpture creations entitled Heaven & Earth are One through Me. As I grow in balanced acknowledgement and working relationship with both of these currents flowing through all that exists, in respect for all life, I sense a magic hum within, below, above, and all around me.


In the spirit of self-awareness and rooted responsibility, I rest in the resonance of oneness where we are walking each other home.