Creative Magpie: Jeroen Bodewits

Dacha1 - photograph - part of the 'Russian Series'

I recently discovered the off-beat talent of Jeroen Bodewits while searching for photos of Russian dachas. Jeroen is a Nederlands visual artist working as a photographer, sculptor and print designer. His work focuses on the slightly off-centre, unusual subjects that may not have the immediate appeal of the obvious but they express beauty and interest in the ordinary and sometimes mundane; a ramshackle pile of wood, a wall fan, kitchen items on a table, an old woman in a worn-out tracksuit as well as the more serene and beautiful image of a girl lying bathed in sunlight on a couch. A mixture of industrial and sensual shapes and a diverse use of materials and ideas characterise his work. I especially love this dacha - if there is a photograph that would be a great starting point for patchwork then this is it! Here is Jeroen’s take on creativity. Continue reading »

Extraction - Clutter Clearing For the Soul

Letting go of things we don’t need; things we know are unhealthy and unhelpful for our own good. Sounds so easy doesn’t it? But sometimes not so easy to do. There are energetic cords and other energy forms that connect us to other people and ways of thinking, feeling and being. These forms can be actually holding us in a situation we don’t want to be in but we can be unaware of their influence or lack understanding of their importance as the cause of our discomfort. They can take the form of unhealthy relationships with people, food or other substances, mind-traps and emotional patternings that have us in repeat cycles of destructive and negative behaviour. Continue reading »

Beauty as a healing force

Heavenly blue flowers of the humble speedwell

I came across this lovely article on beauty. Beauty can be healing because it can be a source of fascination. Anything that fascinates us can take our focus away from current pains and worries onto something more pleasurable. But there is more to the healing ability of beauty than this. Continue reading »

Creative Magpie: Soul Poet Rachel Maullin

Here is my first Creative Magpie post and to kick off this new blog feature I am focussing on a recently discovered poetry virtuoso Rachel Maullin. Rachel is a fellow healer and runs a complimentary therapy practice called Mother Nurture at the Boot Factory in Wolverhampton. When she is not doing therapeutic massage or reiki, Rachel is writing amazingly soulful poetry (see the end of the post for some delicious examples). I asked Rachel to answer some questions about her poetry and the creative process. Continue reading »

Introducing “Creative Magpie” Blog Feature

Magpie Treasure

The magpie in me finds many and varied wondrous treasures in the world and I have decided to feature in a blog post one person each week who I find particularly inspiring. They may be a textile artist (as I am) or a poet, songwriter/singer, ceramicist, jewelry maker or dreamcatcher. This blog feature will allow me to self-indulge in some creative candy and to share the love by bringing them to your attention too along with observations about their own particular brand of creativity. If you want to star in my Creative Magpie feature then please email me.

Beautiful Corner - Making Way for a Spiritual Life

Icon Corner - Image used with kind permission of Phool4xc at Flickr

Having an altar in a house is an ancient practice stretching back into prehistoric times. In Romania and other East European countries, especially in small country villages, one would often find a beautiful painted plate, a treasured gilded icon and pictures or photos of family members  or religious figures on the wall decorated above with a beautifully embroidered cloth pinned just so to frame the collection of precious objects. Nearby there may be a small container tacked to the wall to hold a candle or a tiny bowl of holy water. Or underneath the pictures, a small wooden shelf holding a religious stauette and some flowers (maybe even faded plastic roses!). Continue reading »

Sparkle Girl Comes Home Part 4

Last weekend Sparkle Girl and I had fun shopping. We bought new clothes in purple and orange (Orange?! Yes, really that is unusual for me!) and pretty bangles with silvery bits on. I can’t afford to ditch all of my black so if I do wear it I try to dress it up a bit with some jewelry and nice scarves (that have been in hiding in the cupboard until now). Sparkle Girl loves jewelry of course.

 We couldn’t pass up the stationery shop so we bought stickers (shiny ones) and ones with little jewels on, a pencil decorated with kittens with a butterfly attached to one end and a new pencil case with a lovely mermaid design - this replaces my very austere plain white plastic pencil case which Sparkle Girl thinks is just SO boring. We had lots of fun just looking at things and exploring the world in a curious playful way. We looked at the hamsters and mice in a pet shop window (I would have normally just dismissed it and passed by). We talked to all the shop assistants and made jokes (I probably would have stayed quiet or kept it to businesslike exchanges). We looked at books about weasels, racoons and wild boar. We shook pom poms in the shop and listened to them rustle and admired all the princesses and fairy outfits.

We bought herbs and came home and planted them out in pots straight-away. (I probably would have had them sitting there languishing for weeks before Sparkle Girl). We enjoyed the rain when it came down even though it was cold. We felt the enjoyment and fun of being outside and getting dirty and messy.

This process of receiving and re-discovering the delightful energy of Sparkle Girl is amazing and I am sure it’s effects will ripple outwards for the rest of my life. I cannot recommend highly enough the process of soul retrieval. The key here is not just to receive the lost part back but to really dialogue and enjoy it, revel in it’s company as you would the return of a long lost friend you thought had died. If one is sensitive and respectful enough the soul part will offer it’s wisdom, compassion and innocence and any other gifts it has to share with you wholeheartedly.

If you would like to find out more about soul retrieval I suggest reading Sandra Ingerman’s book Soul Retrieval -  Mending the Fragmented Self. This is THE book on Soul Retrieval and I highly recommend it. There is also an excellent detailed account “Home, Sweet Home” of  the personal soul retrieval of Dr Cat Saunders performed by Sandra Ingerman herself.

But of course, nothing beats actually having a soul retrieval (performed for you by a reputable shamanic practitioner) and enjoying the return of your own soul part leading you into greater wholeness and joy. I can’t think of anything more sacred, joyful or precious than that as we can testify, right Sparkle Girl? She nods enthusiastically.

Sparkle Girl Comes Home - Part 3

Here is a poem I wrote to describe my personal soul retrieval from the returning soul part’s point of view. I have taken out the name of the person in the first line for the sake of privacy.

My Spirit-House-Woman

He let me go and he went high on a grey cloud full of little lights up into the mountain lands.
The elders of my village all said it was time for me to leave.
So a big bear-man came and took me like a shepherd carries a lamb,
Over hills and valleys and streams.
His fur smelled kind of funny like a granddad’s coat and it tickled a bit,
But I held on tight because I wanted to see my home.

And then I saw her standing there smiling; my mother-sister-friend-soul.
My spirit-house-woman, waiting, waiting for me,
Like a tree waiting for the dawn, like a bird waiting for first light to lift up it’s head and sing.
So I ran to her,
And she caught me up in her silver-wet smile embrace,
Like a necklace of raindrops garlanding me.
She wrapped me in a blanket of love and acceptance,
And took me to her gingerbread home all warm, spicy and yummy.
It smells good my new-old heart-home!
And I sat down in my little seat at her left hip, the seat that I knew, where I used to play. Continue reading »

Sparkle Girl Comes Home Part 2

To welcome Sparkle Girl home

Since my soul retrieval memories have been flooding back, and they are mainly to do with creativity and enjoyment of things, books that she liked, musical instruments, crafts like puppet making  and pom-poms but also fragments of experiences and household objects in the house that we were in when Sparkle Girl left. She wanted me to show her all my embroideries and expressed her admiration for them and reminded me about ones that she had done at school. Sparkle Girl asked me to show her a shell that was in the bathroom, she looked at the beautiful colours and told me firmly that she wanted that shell in her bedroom and it turns out that the shell makes a lovely dish for my earrings when I take them off before bed. She loves bright colours and told me that she wants to wear the skirt with the pink flowers and pink tights…when I told her I don’t have any tights that colour she was disappointed and thinks I wear WAY too much black and brown… she is right.  She is so wise, fun, warm and loving. She loves writing stories and poetry and I feel inspired to start writing again and doing all the lovely things that Sparkle Girl enjoys like collecting pretty pebbles, dancing, making butterfly mobiles and having tea parties with girlfriends. I would like to fulfill as many of Sparkle Girl’s wishes as possible. She is so much FUN! Continue reading »

Sparkle Girl Comes Home: My Personal Soul Retrieval Story

Chocolate Lollipop

I recently had a healing which involved a soul retrieval - a part of myself that had been away for about 30 years or so came back! This wasn’t the first soul retrieval I have received but it appears to have been the most profound to date. It involved the theft of part of my soul by someone who has now passed over into the spirit world. This person was stuck and needed help to release hold over my soul part and also to find their rightful place in spirit.  As the soul part was brought back to me she ran towards me and I caught her in my arms and I felt an immediate rush of relief, gratitude, love and joy. Needless to say it was a very emotional and beautiful experience. After this strong wave of feeling had passed I felt my returned soul part (approximately 12 years old girl I have named Sparkle Girl) sitting really close on my left hand side which had previously felt empty and lacking in energy. It had been as if my whole right side was in charge but now the left side began to fill up with this wonderful warm vibrant energy. Continue reading »