BELIEVE IN YOU

"Believe in You," 2013, 12"X12" canvas board.

I'm still going to paint a border around the edges, but I'm quite happy with this little lady.  In fact, I'm trying to integrate the messages I NEED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO into my artwork.  I know I'm not the only one.  I know we all have doubts about ourselves;  maybe a little, maybe a lot.  The fact is though, we have all we need right inside.  We just have to fan that little flame, each and every day.  Recognize all your many gifts and stop obsessing on who you are not or what you don't have.  Have gratitude for what you do have and what you can make happen.

Looking forward to the new year and all it will bring!

Cynthia

Positivity is Paramount

Fly and Be Free, Cynthia Anderson, 2013

 

Positive statement for the day from Louise Hay: "I listen to what I say.  If I hear myself using negative or limiting words, I change them."

As Joel Osteen says, "whatever follows, 'I am,' is going to come looking for you."  So speak well of yourself, others, and even circumstances.  It is the 'framing' of our lives that can change everything.  In other words, if you 'frame' it as a horrible obstacle to overcome then that's what it will be.  If you 'frame' it as an opportunity to rise to the challenge then you are approaching the situation from an entirely new viewpoint....a WINNING viewpoint.  It's simple:  POSITIVE is WINNING, negative is not!

It's just like art or anything else in life; instead of looking at ANYTHING and picking apart everything that is wrong with it, begin to open your eyes and your mind to WHAT IS RIGHT...with your art, with the situation, with that person. 

It's funny, I found myself in a pit of negativity where all I could see was all the injustice in the world and everything that I thought 'needed fixing.'  The thing about this is that I had then BECOME PART OF THE PROBLEM, RATHER THAN PART OF THE SOLUTION! 

Once I read the Dalai Lama was asked if he had any regrets.  He said well, maybe just one.  A time ago an older monk had come to him saying that he could not attain certain yogic or meditation postures (I'm doing my best to remember the story). The Dalai Lama had told him that he may have to wait until his next incarnation to do it in a younger body.  So, the monk went off, and threw himself off a cliff, in order that he might be reincarnated all the sooner.  When the Dalai Lama heard of this he felt very bad that the monk had taken his advise to bring about this outcome.  But, His Holiness also said that if he'd have decided to get 'stuck' on this and sort of wallow in it, he would not have been able to continue on with the greatly beneficial work he has done and continues to do.  That's me paraphrasing the story, but the message is the same.  The only answer is to walk on in positivity, love and light. 

REMEMBER TO listen to how you speak to yourself and everyone around you.  What you give out, you get back, so:

Peace Out, Love Each Other, and Live in Harmony
Til Next Time, Cynthia

Letting Go of Perfection

 

Hope you are all well!  Courtesy of a painting group I'm part of on facebook, I was given the opportunity to view this lovely little gem, http://is.gd/sp0nOs, about a mother, her new sweet sketchbook, and her daughter's insistence that she SHARE said sketchbook.  When the mother tried to explain away her not wanting to share, the daughter turned her own words around on  her and said, "well, if you can't share we might have to take it away!"  How adorable.  And when the mother did share her book....well, go see what happened!  Something new was born with the collaboration of these two artists, and many insights were given. 

by Busymockingbird

One insight I really appreciated was this, "Most importantly, I learned that if you have a preconceived notion of how something should be, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISAPPOINTED.  Instead, just go with it, just ACCEPT it, because usually something even more wonderful will come out of it," busymockingbird.  Agreed!  That's what I've been doing lately, just going with it.  I don't have a preconceived notion of what I'm going to do, I just start doing.  I do know I'm going to have a character there, because I love doing characters and faces, but I have no idea who she will be or what she will be doing.  (Maybe someday soon there will be guys in my paintings too!)

by Busymockingbird

I also would like to address the fact that nothing in life/nature is perfect.  There is no such thing.  According to Webster's perfect is, "corresponding to an ideal standard or abstract concept."  I say just be perfectly you:)  That is enough!  Really, it is! 

I think there is also a wisdom and a relaxation of unreasonable expectations that comes with age (hopefully) that can help you to focus on what is truly important, and let go of the rest.  I think this wisdom (if one chooses to use it, if one can quiet themselves long enough to listen to it) can also help us lose the things in our life that no longer serve us, sometimes never did serve us.  I know I have been waiting so long for myself to WAKE UP....but all of life is a journey, everything you have done or will do is your journey, and leads you to be exactly where you should be right now.  Today is your day, this week is your week, this year is your year.  What will you do with it?  What plans will you make to help yourself reach your goals?  Don't know what your goals are, sit down and listen to yourself, meditate.  Just try it.  It's not hokey, spooky or weird.  It's probably one of the most natural things one can do; it let's you tune in to the source, and from there, all things can be achieved!!!

Take care until next time.

Peace Out, Love Each Other, and Live in Harmony
Cynthia

Healthy Life Inspiration-Raw, Natural, Fresh

Good Morning!!!!  I wanted to share with you this morning a place to find some wonderful information that may change your mind and your life.  I am not trying to 'promote' Netflix exactly, but I myself have recently discovered it, and am enjoying many of the documentaries I have found there.  Actually, they have a good number of really interesting documentaries.  The ones I have been specifically interested in lately concern weight/health/juicing, how our so called 'progress' as a society might actually be leading us to our early demise, and reducing our 'footprint' on the planet. 

So, after watching a several of these films, I have been inspired (I hope not temporarily so) to take on the challenge of living a healthier life.  I have begun by juicing with fruits and vegetables, eating mainly fruits and vegetables when I am hungry, and fish for now.  Also, I have been seriously addicted to ginger ale and some diet soft drinks, which are now being replaced with water, herbal tea and the like. 

 Today was my first go at it and it wasn't too bad.  It's strange, for sure, but I really like and am interested in all the places I think this thing can take me.  Eating extremely healthily will make me healthier overall, cleaner, clearer, lighter, brighter and stronger....mentally, physically and spiritually.  It will reverse much of the damage that has been done by following a bad diet, not exercising, and engaging in 'too much of the wrong kind of fun!'  It is an opportunity to regain my self-esteem, change the course of my life and live far longer.

I can already see that I use food to, 'fill in the gaps' of time during the day; as a reward....perhaps several times a day or all day long, and that is not a healthy relationship to have with food.  It's no wonder I am severely sluggish, tired, foggy, obese and terribly unhealthy. 

What food is supposed to look like!

Fight the good fight, and live in the light:)

 

 

Until Next Time...Peace Out, Love Each Other, and Live in Harmony,

 

Cynthia

ENERGY!!!!!

ENERGY

My New Art Journal, 2013

Good Day All!  Today I'd like to talk a little bit about ENERGY!  Energy is created by us every day.  The words we speak, the things we think, the way we act towards others, the moods we allow ourselves to create....all are energy; energy that WE GIVE INTO THIS WORLD.  That energy can either be good or not so good.  And remember, what you give out, you will surely get back! 

I very much believe in this energy, and I believe it is what connects us all together and gives rise to this other thing I very much believe in:  that there is a collective consciousness among us all.  We all share whether we know and realize it or not.  There is so much more to us, this world, and those beyond than we can even dream....just look at the amazing fashion in which our universe came into existence!  Look at the circle of life here on earth and how very interconnected we all are.  The MYSTERY AND BEAUTY ARE UNDENIABLE....all you have to do is OPEN YOUR EYES.
Which, funnily enough, is the hard part. 

Our society has largely evolved into a place where we are on auto-pilot most of the time.  Sunday evening comes and we dread going to our workplace the next morning.  Why do we dread our jobs so?  Because most of us are doing mundane jobs that we feel we HAVE TO DO to earn a paycheck and be 'responsible adults.'  We have let others determine our fate....tell us what is right and wrong and what we SHOULD BE DOING with our precious human lives....when all the while, they are completely disregarding the fact that HUMAN LIFE IS PRECIOUS...and TIME IS NOT A THING TO BE WASTED. 

So what do we do to WAKE UP?  We listen to our HEART.  We have all the answers inside of us, we just have to be quite and listen.  We have to set the stage and the rest will just happen.  Make yourself ready, and the messages will come, things will fall into place just like the pieces of a puzzle.  Start today by caring for yourself, showing yourself compassion and kindness.  Give yourself the RICH LOVE YOU DESERVE....feel your cup pouring over, and SHARE with the rest of the world.

Some things you can do to love yourself and build good positive energy within are:  yoga, meditation, prayer, Tai Chi, dance, exercise, healthy consumption of foods and drink, affirmations and positive thinking.  Also, do a sauna and sweat out all the impurities, get a massage, get out in the sunshine, walk by a large body of water, do walking meditation, meditation on the beach or in the woods, go camping and reconnect with nature, swim, shoot hoops, play tennis, sweat, sweat, sweat!  Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and less meats...become LIGHTER....increase your connection to the SOURCE. 

Finally, FEED YOURSELF and FALL IN LOVE WITH AS MANY THINGS AS POSSIBLE!  Meaning, read and study positive enriching texts, think positive thoughts, surround yourself with affirmations and repeat them often, delve into hobbies such as art (or whatever you choose) and create something beautiful to share with the world, develop a social circle of like minded people who can build one another up and support each other through the tough times. 


Here is a good link for affirmations:
http://www.aplacefortheheart.co.uk/frame.php?sp=/affirmations/affirmcareer.htm
Start your morning with these.  Do it for a week and see what happens, what could it hurt?  I'm going to try it:)

Peace Out, Love Each Other, and Live in Harmony
Cynthia

A Beautiful Place to Grow!

Hi there!  I'm Cynthia E. Anderson, and this is a blog about my CREATIVE JOURNEY; bringing together my LOVE OF ART & my DESIRE TO LIVE A LIFE ROOTED IN SPIRITUALITY.  It is a sacred place to share kindness, goodness, camaraderie, loves, dreams, ambitions, hopes, prayers, poems, intuition, fun, and joy:)  A place you can visit any time to be uplifted and inspired.  A place for LOVE. 



"Trust Your Heart," Cynthia Anderson, August 2013.


This piece is fresh off the worktable today!!!  I finally put the finishing touches on her and discovered a new technique in the process...very exciting!  She is one in a series of "face themed" pieces I am currently doing as a journey of discovery....hopefully discovering my own signature look.....honing my own particular voice. 

 

I am also very interested in intuitive painting and what the development of intuition can do for one's life as well as one's creative journey through any choice of medium.  That being said, I am most fond of mixed media art.  It is so freeing to have a number of different ways to achieve effects.  I find it easily allows one to become lost in a kind of meditative/altered state while creating.  Without much thought at all, one makes marks with paint, pen, pencil, charcoal, brushes, found objects, stamps, foam brushes....one sprays the canvas with water, applies gels and papers forming rich textures....to which even more layers of paints and light washes will be added.  One becomes wholly lost in and devoted to the process, letting it happen.  And...it reveals itself...to YOU.  Aren't you special:) 

 

So this is my NEW PATH....MY CREATIVE JOURNEY....TO BALANCE A SPIRITUAL, WHOLESOME LIFE WITH A LOVE FOR ALL THINGS CREATIVE AND ARTISTIC...and I invite you to come along....or at least stop in once in a while for a little enrichment and encouragement. 

 

Peace Out, Love Each Other, and Live in Harmony

Cynthia