Contemplative Creatives Journey – Spring 2017

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https://www.ipasticcidellacuoca.com/4ug7epifqgw EXPLORING — AND CELEBRATING — THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY

go site This gently guided journey with Bo has infused my existing practices with renewed energy. Her exquisite leadership is informed by experience, training and soulful instinct. I consider her a modem mystic. ~ Mary Anne Radmacher

https://nycfoodguy.com/2024/01/31/5x5vrgi https://www.skipintros.com/photos/98539/665gazy If the words contemplative and creative have a sweet juiciness for you and you’re interested in a different sort of workshop, read on.

  • Instead of schedules, I offer serendipity.
  • Instead of a planned curriculum, I offer surprises.
  • Instead of expectations, I offer possibilities.
  • Instead of learned objectives, I offer an always-available way to engage and interact with the world through art, nature and the written word.

https://www.skipintros.com/photos/98539/upybaxzqciv I combine my roles as curator of life experience, writer, artist, and Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach to offer you a meaningful and fulfilling workshop. Or might be truer if I substituted the word play-shop!

https://overflowdata.com/uncategorized/lvwr0omdjq MY SPRING OFFER: YOU WILL RECEIVE https://menteshexagonadas.com/2024/01/31/927ooyi7p0 REGULAR AND RANDOM PROMPTS, QUESTIONS, AND EXPLORATIONS as we shift from the sweet darkness and introspective work of the winter season, and journey towards light and a new time of awakening and growth. I will offer inspiration, new ideas, new ways of seeing and being.

https://www.larochellevb.com/2024/01/31/uoumvx7q1zw Together we will explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

https://ipaxcabinetsdirect.com/uncategorized/79ys6zu7 https://feriadelavivienda.co/3ju8is9jq THE SPRING JOURNEY BEGINS MARCH 15, 2017.

https://www.ipasticcidellacuoca.com/vn9ogo2rd This practice does not require that you set aside a certain amount of time each day (unless that is your desire.) Mostly, it is this:

  • a practice that is gently woven throughout your day
  • a practice that illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, enhances the uncommon in the common
  • ways of interacting with place that highlight the wonder of and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play.

source url source site We begin March 15th, as spring approaches, and we will journey together until June 15th.

https://nycfoodguy.com/2024/01/31/vu8g3v3 I will journey with you throughout the Spring as we Mine the Divine from Within. I will share dozens of creative and contemplative practices as together we explore and connect with the awakening earth.

MY SPRING OFFER:

Buy Generic Zolpidem YOU WILL RECEIVE REGULAR AND RANDOM PROMPTS, QUESTIONS, AND EXPLORATIONS as we shift from the sweet darkness and introspection of winter, and journey towards light and a new time of awakening and growth.

Ambien Sleeping Pills Buy Online I will offer inspiration, new ideas, new ways of seeing and being, as we explore themes and creative practices that inspire and encourage, elicit wonder and awe, uplift your spirit and feed your soul.

go here These practices do not require you set aside a certain amount of time each day unless that is your desire. Mostly, it is this:

follow link • a practice that is gently woven throughout your day

https://menteshexagonadas.com/2024/01/31/bop79av4w • a practice that illuminates the extraordinary in the ordinary, enhances the uncommon in the common

click • ways of interacting with place that highlight the wonder and connection with nature, no matter where you live, work and play.

https://www.eastcotesignanddisplay.co.uk/4iap151p There is a strong community and collaborative aspect in the group, but it is always invitation and opportunity, never a requirement.

https://comercialfuentes.com/me1tu5fta Bo has created a safe and sacred space for creativity to flourish, respite to abide, and healing to occur – no matter what is happening in our internal or external worlds. The vulnerable and honest sharing of her own creative practices has invited me more deeply into my own. I cannot recommend this offering or her heart on others’ behalf highly enough. ~Ronna Detrick

In community and individually, we explore these themes:

word * vision * place

https://overflowdata.com/uncategorized/x5ueksl WORD

This practice focuses on how to connect — to the world, community, and self — using words. We will play with words, explore words, and connect nature and place using words.

I will share many ways to create poetry, even if you do not call yourself a poet or a writer. Poetry can be simple to complex, straightforward to multidimensional. Many of the writing practices are collaborative invitations.

Not only will we play with words – one-minute poetry, collaborative poetry, poetry prompts to create original pieces – but during the Spring season we will create postcard art and art using letters and words.

VISION

Mandala making will evolve from the practice of using metallic pencils on black paper – my preferred winter practice – to exploring the emergence of Spring’s color using found objects and a brighter palette of colors and papers. Focus: found art and mixed media.

We will learn to make simple book structures and incorporate these books in our exploration of the everyday sacred. Focus: Simple book structures. Content creation.

The photography component will focus on contemplative photography practices (using any camera.) Focus: new ways of seeing and interacting with your world. 

PLACE:

As Spring approaches and the days lengthen in the northern hemisphere, exploring and connecting with the outside world becomes more accessible.

I’ll be introducing the concept of backyard phenology – the study of nature’s calendar, an in-the-present survey of the cycles of plants and animals as they interact with climate and habitat.

We will consider the art of pilgrimage and how one introduces the concept of taking a pilgrimage when exploring one’s home and environment.

We will use writing, art and photography as creative vehicles to create a sense of place and embrace the essence of place.

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU CLARIFY:  

Do you see metaphors everywhere and anywhere? Do you think in metaphor? If your answer is yes, then this workshop is likely something you will love.

Do you thrive with to do lists? Do you do your best, most creative work on a schedule while meeting deadlines? If your answer is yes, then this workshop will likely be a different sort of experience. Are you ready for this kind of change? Then come along and explore the creative and contemplative life with spaciousness and spontaneity.

Are you searching for a place of sanctuary, a place to recharge your inner battery so you can show up bright and energized for the demands of everyday living?

Together we will walk on a journey of enhanced awareness of the miracles and beauty of the ordinary, of renewed appreciation for the renewal of life as the natural world reawakens in Spring.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER IF YOU ARE INTRIGUED BUT UNDECIDED:

What if you to had a creative practice that could be done in free moments? What if instead of checking social media whenever a free moment arises, you chose to check in with yourself instead! I know there is a connection with self that I greatly desire and often neglect and I want to re-establish my connection with the present and the place in which I find myself.

Do I have the right kind of supplies? You create with the simplest of supplies, things you likely already own.

  • Paper of any sort, i.e. sketchbooks, copy paper, ephemera.
  • Any sort of mark-making media you already have, i.e. pens, pencils, markers, pastels, paints.
  • The camera of your choice (Cell phone camera is perfect.)
  • Mixed media supplies such as old magazines, household ephemera, a glue stick.

Whether you have a fully equipped art room or a box of supplies you store in a closet, you will find new ways to explore these things. Surprises or nudges will get your creative juices flowing. Hints on how to see or create in new ways will offer you unlimited creative possibilities, easily incorporated into your everyday routine.

WHEN:

The Spring journey is 13 weeks long. We begin on March 15 as Spring approaches, and continue until June 15th.

HOW:

Private community on Facebook. Everything will be delivered to a private Facebook group page and may show up anytime. Surprise and serendipity! You are encouraged to share your discoveries and experiences in the private group however and whenever you choose.

This guided and easily accessible process allows you to engage in the practice wherever and whenever you choose.

THE COST:

I offer you my knowledge, my skills, my presence and my enthusiasm. The cost for the 13 week Spring journey and community is $99.00. (This is about than $7.50 a week, what you might pay for a fancy coffee. Consider this a different sort of coffee break!)

Note: This price is locked in for you. Once you have journeyed through one season with me, you are welcome to join other seasons I offer at this price.

TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE:

Registration is now open. You can use the PayPal link below.

Click Here to Register.

I do hope you will join me.

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Evening Phenology, Owen Conservation Park in Madison Wisconsin

 

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Trail Through Virginia Bluebells ©2016 Bo Mackison

May 5, 2016

Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin

Start: 6:00 p.m. (sunset 8:04 p.m.)
sunny 68˚F
wind 5 mph NW
barometric pressure 30.00
humidity 29%

In the woods:

Virginia bluebell, in full bloom along the woodland trail.
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Woodpeckers, species unknown (lots of rat-a-ta-a-tatting high in the hardwoods)
Fiddle heads, many fully opened, common in open wooded areas.
Honeysuckle, beginning to flower
Robins, common
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in full bloom, common
Dutchman’s breeches, only a few still blooming

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Forest of Bloodroot ©2016 Bo Mackison

Bloodroot, emerging foliage, common in the under-story.

Yellow bellwort, bloom done
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) in dense bloom, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) profuse bloom, common
Dandelions
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet) in bloom, profuse
Trillium, Grandiflora, two bunches
Wood sorrel
Small white violets, uncommon

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Tree Canopy ©2016 Bo Mackison

White oaks, leaves emerging; Red maples, silver maples, leafing.

Arrow-leaved violet, uncommon
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, full bloom
May apples, emerging foliage, no bloom.
Sumac, 6 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, cover the forest floor.
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate-full bloom

Finish:

6:35 p.m.
64˚F sunny, few high clouds to the south
wind 5 mph NW
humidity 28%

~~~~

Twice a week phenology reports in woodland; once a week reports from prairie and pond. Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin

Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating,  flowers blooming, trees leafing.

Phenology is Alive and Well – Report #1

Lesser Periwinkles ©2016 Bo Mackison

May 1, 2016

Owen Conservation Park, west side of Madison, Wisconsin

Start: 8:10 am
cloudy 43˚F
wind 10 mph NE
barometric pressure 30.10
humidity 80%

Woods:
hear Woodpeckers, species unknown
Fiddle heads emerging
Trout lilies in full bloom
Jack in the pulpits, just emerging from earth
Honeysuckle, in tight bud
Chokecherry, leaves clustered
Robins, common
Bluejay, male adult
Lesser periwinkle (vinca) in moderate bloom
Dutchman’s breeches, close to full bloom
Virginia bluebell, full bloom
False solomon seal emerging
Wood anemone in bloom, moderate show
Bloodroot, emerging foliage
Yellow bellwort, in moderate bloom
Columbine emerging
Creeping charlie (ground ivy, spreading mint) dense blooms, disturbed ground near trail
Wild geranium (potted geranium) in moderate bloom
Maple tree shoots, six inches high, thick
Crabapple trees, several varieties, in moderate bloom

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Golden Alexanders ©2016 Bo Mackison

Prairie:
Common blue violets (wood violet, wooly blue violet)  in bloom, profuse
Garlic mustard in bloom (invasive weed threat)
Golden alexanders, moderate bloom
May apples, foliage emerging, no blooms – love these clusters of green umbrellas
rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, three adult females
Confederate violets (blue and white variation of common purple) uncommon
White oak trees with emerging leaves
Ironwood trees, partially open leaves, still curled
Red maples, partially opened leaves
Silver maples, partially open leaves
Sumac, 5 ft high “sticks” with emerging red leaves
second rafter of wild turkeys – one adult male, five adult females

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Rafter of turkeys ©2016 Bo Macksion

Pond:
Red wing blackbirds, common
Cardinals, a pair
Mallards, pair in water
Yellow warbler

Finish:

9:43 am
46˚F cloudy
wind 5 mph E
humidity 72%

~~~~

Twice a week phenology reports in woodland and prairie; once a week reports from pond. At Owen Conservation Park, Madison Wisconsin

Phenology is the study of plant and animals and their cycles influenced by climate and seasonal change, i.e., birds nesting/migrating,  flowers blooming, trees leafing.

 

On The Road to Why — A Poem

Brittlebush

Brittlebush © 2013 Bo Mackison

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. ~ Ernest Hemingway

Checking the map, 112 miles to Why, then south to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Highway 86, Ajo Highway, I head west on the road of roadside memorials
and shrines, over a hundred I photographed a few years ago.

I travel through urban sprawl, then open space.
Silver Star Road, brown earth, barbed wire fences.
Robles Junction.
Water puddles in the irrigated fields at Buckelew Farms.

Fuller Road. Battered mailboxes along the road, a row of scraped paint,
crushed metal, gunshot holes and red flags.
Where are the shrines and crosses? They’ve disappeared.
Scraped off the desert earth.

Kitt Mountain is due west, dotted with white observatories,
celestial connections on the highest peaks.
Telephone poles string across the desert scrub. Earthly connections.

Tucson Rifle Club. Members Only.
Hayhook Ranch Road. Ranch For Sale.
Watch For Animals Next 54 Miles.

Yellow bundles of brittlebush and desert marigolds crowd the median strip.
Gravel piles stands where once there were roadside memorials,
the adjacent desert has been scraped level for a road widening project.

A bush of orange mallow, waving stalks of purple pestomen,
white sacred datura, like bridal bouquets dropped along the road.
Tohono O’odham Nation. Green desert, red earth.

San Pedro Road. Coyote Trading Store, open for business no gas.
Asphalt shoulders, graded hills with rolls of burlap hold back the earth.
Where are the memorials? Relocated? Destroyed?

Pan Tak Road
Kitt Peak Ahead, Turn Left
Road construction Expect delays

The road is wide, the shoulders wide,
and safer for the driving living.
Fewer memorials on the side of the road.

Saguaros relocated from the easement, twenty feet tall, propped with 2 by 4s.
By law, saguaros must be relocated.
A saguaro must face its original direction, or it will die,
and become another road casualty.

Gouged earth. One giant saguaro still stands
upon the graded bank, its roots exposed and twisted in the air.
Yellow earth movers shovel the ancient earth into piles.

This is progress. A safe road is a good road.
A good road is a safe road.
Smooth and homogenized, the desert tamed.

Three hawks soar high. Far enough west, the road narrows.
Red plastic ribbons flutter from branches marked for the bulldozer.
But for now grasses encroach over the yellow lines.
Mesquite and tree cholla crowd the roadside.

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A single white cross remains, decorated with bright flowers.
The peak of Baboquivari, I’itoi’s sacred mountain, pierces the desertscape.
Border Patrol. Their green-striped white truck is parked
under a mesquite while they search the scrub.

Littering Unlawful
You Are Entering Sells, Arizona, Population 2734
Komkcʼeḍ ʼe-Wa:ʼosidk, Capital of the Tohono O’odham Nation
The O’odham name means Tortoise Got Wedged.

Indian Oasis School Baboquivari District

Watch For Animals Next 10 Miles
Papago Assembly of God

Highway 19 Junction, Hospital Here
The Shell gas station pumps regular for 3.47.
Two wild horses, white and shaggy, graze along the road,
unperturbed by passing trucks.

Eugene Tashquinth Livestock Complex hosts
76th Annual Tohono O’odham Rodeo
January 26 – February 4, 2014

Tree cholla forest.
Yellow flowering mesquite, seed beans swing in midday breeze.
Road to Nolia. Turkey vultures. Triple decker saguaro.

Quijotoa. A historical marker tells me
it is Papago for Mountain Shaped Like a Carrying Basket.
Carrying Basket had pockets of gold and silver.
And a mining boom in 1883.

Ghost towns. Logan City, New Virginia, Brooklyn, Allen City,
there was only a small pocket of precious metal.
The desert reclaims the abandoned.

Highway 15 Junction to Santa Rosa Casa Grande.
Desert sprawl, yellow blossoming brittlebush color the cactus floor.
The road narrows, ocotillo arch over the pavement. Toothpick saguaros.
Quijotoa Pentecostal Church of God.

Red and purple bows tied to mesquite branches,
remaining traces of a roadside memorial.
The dirt is leveled, the pull-off blocked with a rock pile.

Flashing lights on a Park Ranger’s truck slow oncoming traffic.
Three teen runners jog in the truck’s exhaust fumes,
one carries a banner. Unity Runners.

Road to Pisinemo.
San Si:mon. Tohono O’odham High School.
San Simon Health Center.

Flash Flood Area Next 10 Miles
Why 18 miles. Ajo 28 miles
Chain cholla glitter silver in the sun.

HIWAYRVPRK next road. Shuck Toak Road
Desert Diamond Casino, asphalt parking lot.
Coyote Howl RV Park. Abandoned.

Road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ©2016 Bo Mackison

Road in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument ©2016 Bo Mackison

Highway Junction 86/85
Lukeville 27 miles. 10 miles to Ajo
Approaching Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, A Biosphere Reserve

12:46 pm. March 18. 86˚F.
Blue skies. Windy.
Relentless sun bleaches color from the desert.

The organ pipes loom tall,
massive and thick, multi-armed.
Alien. Grotesque. Beautiful.

~~~~~~~

Not so much a poem, more a travel log.

Praise the Day – A Desert Poem

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Tree in Yellow © 2014 Bo Mackison

Praise the day, first light.

Praise the bird chatter. Cacophony.
Praise that word, a wild word, a burst of joy.

Praise the velvet acacias in yellow bloom,
its yellow fuzz paints the pavement.
Bees and stardust.
The tree alive with buzz and bee swarm.

The desert a sanctuary; the birds its choir.
The tree a storyteller; the bees her audience.

Sing praise. Sing praise.

~~~~~~~

It is good to begin the day with a praise song.