Gifts from the Sea
I watched the classic movie, The Bishop's Wife. I watched with a different slant on the scenes this time. I absorbed the magic of black and white film, the plays of darks and lights, so expertly focused, a Yin and Yang of rest and motion. In the introductory panorama, I saw eager children in a big city gazing in wonder at the giant store window displays of mechanically animated Santa and Reindeer playing. I was that child again as the electric train whizzed along the track! I remembered my Dad and I played with the Lionel Electric Train under the tree, our white cat batted at the cars. In my imagination, I enjoyed again the Bavarian Chocolate from Gimbel's Department Store in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA.
I became the child resting on a magic carpet, a royal blue and ruby patterned oriental rug. I was drawing pictures of horses on a paper pad in my Grandfather's home office. Scenes of the Bishop's house in the movie brought back graceful wooden archways, carved banisters, tall ceilings, and stained glass window panels of my Grandfather's home setting of long ago.
The closing dialogue of the movie shook me into the present. The priest was delivering his Christmas Message, he ruffled through his typed sermon. He looked confused. This was not the sermon he wrote! What happened? The visiting Angel has written a new one for him! The priest cleared his throat and begin to speak:
"Then there are the gifts, especially the gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie...." but the true gifts are:
"Warm Hearts, Loving Kindness, and the Stretched Out Hand of Tolerance...."
Happy New Year, Y(our) Evolving Door!
Related Posts:
For the Love of Chocolate (Jan 2011) and A Christmas Memory (Dec 2011)
Resources:
The Bishop's Wife, (1947), classic movie starring Cary Grant (Angel), David Niven (Episcopal Bishop), and Loretta Young, The Bishop's Wife.
Gift from the Sea is classic book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the power of solitude, reflection and creativity.
http://lindtchocolate.com
Lindor Chocolate Truffles from Lindt recreate the taste and creamy texture of classic candies. Master Swiss Chocolatier Lindt Chocolate since 1845
http://www.taichiforhealthinstitute.org
Dr. Paul Lam, a family practice physician in Sidney, Australia creates Tai Chi for Health programs with medical doctors and Tai Chi experts. Tai Chi opens and balances the power of your mind's creative and logical thinking plus helps you achieve better physical health and well being.
Image: Gifts from the Sea, seashells from Susanne, photo by Dahlis Roy
Like Clouds, Soft and Gentle,
May Peace Come to US All~
Create A Memory of the Future....
Images by Dahlis Roy
Wind and Clouds, oil painting
Sun, Clouds, Water, photo
The continuing adventures of Our Christmas Puppy, a Sirius-ly painted event....
Before painting Canis Major (CMA), I also made a stylized sketch of the constellation like a star chart. The wolf's head was shaped like a triangle with Sirius Star as his dog collar tag.
On Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22 USA) as I was setting the table, I glanced up at the Sirius painting and was star struck by the image of the triangle shaped shadow radiating out from the wolf dog's face. Why was this? I grabbed my camera, chased and captured the fleeting shadow.
Where did the triangle shape come from? While eating dinner, we realized the shadow was cast from a torch lamp nearby. The sun had hit the lamp at just the right angle to throw the shadow as seen on the above painting. We just happened to be at the exact time and space to view the ever changing beacon of sunshine light that quickly lit up the dog and gradually faded. The painting then returned to "normal." If I hadn't made the sketch, I would have missed the shadow.
If I had copied someone else's path, I would have missed my own....
Deepak Chopra:
"Synchrodestiny requires gaining access to a deep place within yourself while, at the same time, awakening to the intricate dance of coincidences out in the physical world."
Related Posts:
A One in a Million Sky, viewing Sirius as a beacon of flashing light (Oct 2010), Crystal Tiger Out of the Blue ( Dec 2010), Star Struck (Sept 2011), Sirius Blue (Apr 2012), Our Christmas Puppy (Dec 2012).
Update: On 12-12-12 my husband, Paul, and I saw red star Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull plus bright golden Jupiter lighting up the sky. We smiled seeing the smudge of stars, the Pleiades. We watched Orion, the hunter rise, in full glory. Later my son, Rob, and I watched parts of the Geminid meteor shower cut and pasted with views of Sirius star flashing various colors of bright red, ice blue, and yellow orange. While we watched the stars in the heavens, we also enjoyed stars on TV with the 12-12-12 Concert including The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney and many others. Cosmic Events are on Earth and Beyond.
Resources:
http://www.deepakchopra.com Deepak Chopra, medical doctor, author, and spiritual teacher
http://www.skyandtelescope.com This Week's Sky at a Glance and much more. Sirius is 8.6 light years away, the brightest star in the night sky.
http://taichiforhealthinstitute.org Dr. Paul Lam, a family practice physician in Sydney, Australia promotes Tai Chi for Health worldwide. Tai Chi helps improve physical strength, relaxation, and well being.
http://imaginehealing.info Joel P. Bowman, Ph.D., and Debra Basham, CHTP, NLP, HTt, and RMT help create your healing journey.
http://dbasham.blogspot.com Yellow Brick Road, Your Path to Heart and Health
Stories from my Heart, for and about You, Debra's New Book illustrated by Patty Reddy, see products at
http://www.scs-matters.com
dahlis.roy@gmail.com Visionary Artist. Author, and Tai Chi instructor
Photos by Dahlis Roy
Sirius Triangle Shadow
Star Sketch, Canis Major (CMA)
This is Sirius! On Beams of Light
Surprise! A few days ago I blocked in this story with the usual black type. When I opened the post today for editing, all the letters had automatically changed to denim blue!
Recently I had some "home alone" time, my Stay-Vacation. The music flowed and canvases came out to play~I let the flow of paintings choose themselves except for one "Sirius" idea. I wanted to paint the Great Dog, Canis Major (CMA) for some time now. At least three years ago, I chose the canvas and pictured how the painting might look. Grabbing a thin brush, I swished in the outline of the "great white wolf" in the sky. I know him well. Sirius star shines like a blue-white diamond in the night.
All these years, Canis Major, stayed and played, an unfinished painting in my art room. What color/colors will he be? Might he have a background of faded denim blue or strong dark French ultramarine purple-blue? Might the star Sirius show and glow with red beacons of light, or ice blue, or neon white, or gold? Might there be pink tinges in the sky? Will there be veils of clouds and light or comets?
On a crisp sunny September morning not knowing "what" would emerge, I opened windows and doors and placed the eager canvas on the table. I got out a small ink sketch of Canis Major and carried in my paint box. Opening the box and up-ending it, out tumbled paints and my stash of Q-tips! I keep Q-tips with the paints in order to touch up small areas, paint in a sun image or add tree leaves. Fun without brushes!
Well! I just went ahead and painted the entire wolf-dog and stars with Q-tips, cobalt blue, titanium white, and imagination! I Q-tipped in a new painted outline over old brush strokes and pulled in the strength of the Great Celestial Wolf. I recalled how legend has him parting the curtain veils between Heaven and Earth.
Soft music played. Aspenglow by John Denver accompanied me as I began the dance of lights and shades, bringing the wolf into three-D effect with soft and gentle strokes. It was fun to see winter stars appear. It was glorious to feel the animal's coat fluff and guard hairs spike, protection from the chill of night.
I stepped back, placing the painting on the mantel for viewing. Paintings must work up close and from a distance. In painting and in life, a balance of emptiness and harmony work together like Yin and Yang. Blank canvas and paint meld into One. The Sirius star dog collar tag had begun to look like a sparkling Christmas Tree ornament with points of light radiating outward. In my imagination, I held the ornament in my hand and felt it's sparkly aluminum foils of silver and blue. Smile, we still had a blue-green round shiny ornament hanging on our fireplace from last Christmas~so long ago yet so near right "now."
I let the painting rest. I rested too. Cats awakened from their naps, and leaped outdoors. I breathed in the fresh clean September air. I felt the "well done" feeling of accomplishment and wonder as another painted surprise takes shapes, in his own "space and timing."
Rob came home in the evening:
"Mom, that's our Christmas Puppy!"
"He's a young animal here. He has a face like Tom!"
Tom is our large grey wolf-like tomcat.
Christmas Memory
I visited a friend and viewed her Christmas Tree decked with heirloom ornaments. I spotted a shiny one radiating silver and blue. It was a hand made foil ornament! I parted the branches. I touched the ornament from long ago, then held it.
"This one belonged to my mother."
Holding memories in our hands and hearts radiates love and joy.
And so he is....Canis Major is keeping company this fall and winter with the painted Angels, beaches, tree leaves and more than meets the eye....
Long Live (Love) Imagination!
Later this Title appeared: This is Sirius!
Related Posts:
A One in a Million Sky Canis Major's Sirius Star shows multicolored light effects (Oct 2010), Escape Artists (Feb 2011), By an Unfaltering Trust and Running Wild in the Universe (July 2011), Starstruck (Sept 2011), Sirius Blue (Apr 2012), Another Time Another Space (July 2012), Off the Grid and Grow With The Flow (Oct 2012)
Resources:
Wiki, Canis Major, Sirius
John Denver, Aspenglow, Take Me Home Country Roads and more songs.
Brian Cox, physicist, On Beams of Light, Children of the Stars and other programs on the Science Channel. Books, Wonders of the Universe and Wonders of the Solar System.
dahlis.roy@gmail.com Visionary Artist, Author, and Tai Chi Instructor
Images:
This is Sirius, oil painting by Dahlis Roy. A beam of sunlight touches the young puppy.
Ink Sketch of Canis Major (CMA) shows the wolf hunter in full power and maturity.
