Sheri Ann Ponzi rocking out in her studio

Have you always been an artist?

Nope. I remember distinctly *knowing* I was untalented in the art realm. Thanks to feedback from art teachers in high school. That’s funny to me now. We are all artists if you ask me!

Can you give me and the readers a snapshot/ thumbnail sketch of your journey to the place where you are now as an artist, where you create and/or teach art as a sacred practice?

Well, when my children were younger most of my time was devoted to mothering (and homeschooling) them, but whenever I could catch a moment to myself I would doodle with colored pencils, watercolor crayons, and oil pastels. It was as if I was irresistibly pulled to be creative even though I was terrified to admit it and truly believed it was impossible. Deep down I wanted to be an artist.

In December of 2006 I attended a Quantum Touch healing workshop. At the end of our time together we did a powerful exercise. We were each asked to focus on something we wanted to manifest, and to feel and imagine it as if it had already been part of our lives for 5 years. I had no idea at all what I would focus on, but as soon as I closed my eyes I saw myself in a light-filled home, fiddling around in the kitchen as I contemplated my upcoming art show. In that vision, I *knew* I was an artist and I was making my living by selling my work and facilitating workshops. That vision stuck with me, even though I felt like it was not that likely that it would be true.

Sheri Ann Ponzi gets ready to paint

Fast forward to 2010. I signed up for Shiloh’s Leading A Legendary Life course, put a brush to the canvas, and my whole life changed. Completely changed. The night before the course started I had a dream that Shiloh was helping me to be a container for the surge of energy that would be moving through me as a result of our work together. During the first group call, I shook and cried for the entire hour. My creative urges had been released and I was overtaken by their powerful energy.

Sheri Ann Ponzi's art show

A few months later I dreamt that I would have a show by the end of 2010. I dismissed that as wishful thinking. Then I dreamt I was unloading paintings outside a particular gallery. Again, I dismissed the dream as just wishful thinking. To my surprise and delight, I had my first paintings in a show in THAT gallery in December 2010. My dreams came true. I now claim the title of artist.

 Tell me what you are currently working on and excited about?

Right now I am absolutely thrilled to be coordinating a 5-month long online course, Angels In My Studio. Finally, I am living my soul’s purpose and bringing it out to the world. The course will focus on connecting with the energies of the angelic realm and bringing their images and energies into your art and your life. We will offer a combination of video lessons from at least 10 different instructors, attunements to angelic energies, writing prompts to help you receive messages from the angels, and ways to integrate it all into your daily life.

"Keeper of the Magic" by Sheri Ann Ponzi

All the instructors and I have strongly felt the support and guidance of the angels as we move forward with this project. I am beside myself with delight at being able to serve in this way. And I am beyond excited to be co-facilitating a workshop with artist Tracy Verdugo this November in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The week-long workshop is designed to be a fabulous time for women to connect with their heart’s desires, with their creative selves, and with each other. Future workshops are planned for Bali and Hawaii. My life has become a dream come true!

 How do you feel that your environment and where you live emerges in your work? Or does it?

I feel lucky to live in an area with a vibrant art community, but honestly most of my influences and connections are with artists I’ve met online. I am continually grateful for the worldwide community that is accessible to us through the Internet.

 Can you tell me how your path as an artist relates to what you desire to consciously create in your own life?

"Communion" by Sheri Ann Ponzi

Each is integral to the other. Once I surrendered to my creative urges, my life began to be infused with much more meaning and purpose. As I learned to trust the flow of a painting, I began to trust the flow of life. And now my path is unfolding in ways I have only dreamed of.

What is the most challenging part?

For me the biggest challenge has been my health. I’ve been dealing with extreme exhaustion for the past 10 months. Sometimes I don’t have the energy to be able to stand and paint, or even hold a sketchbook to doodle. Luckily that seems to be resolving. The whole experience has taught me so much about surrender and trust. For months I felt like nothing was happening and I was wondering how I could possibly move forward with my life, then all of a sudden I have an art show, am facilitating an online course and teaching week-long retreats in paradise. Miracles abound!

I’d love to know more about your “relationship” with sparkle & glitter?!!(oooooohh I love this part!!)  Do you use it in your artwork and have you done any embellishment with beads yet?

I love sparkle and glitter. I *really* love it. I always feel drawn to it and then somehow feel embarrassed by that desire. Strange, eh? I do love my sparkly gel pens and iridescent paint. Today I am making a commitment to embrace my inner sparkle gal! I’m gonna make a glitter date with myself and go wild! Thank you, Glitter W.A.S.P.

 What projects are you currently working on?

"Keeper of the Vision" by Sheri Ann Ponzi

My focus right now is on the Angels In My Studio course, since registration opens on March 1 and there is a lot to do to get prepared for this exciting journey.

What kind of work do you do in the world and what is the relationship between that and your creativity practice?  How do you live your life “creatively or artfully?” How is creativity woven into the fabric of your life?

Before I began painting and organizing the online courses and retreats I worked as an intuitive healer, spiritual counselor, and transformational workshop facilitator.  I am now incorporating my creative practice into all of my work. There are astounding parallels between opening to one’s creative side and living a life in alignment with one’s heart. I love exploring both of these aspects now in my work with women. My creative practice has also helped me to embrace mistakes, trust the process, be kind to myself, and live BIG!

"Surrendering to the Muse-Becoming Creativity's Bitch"

How can people find you…..tell me your blog/web-site, any other info you want to pass along to our readers.

I blog regularly about my creative process and my healing journey. You can find my blog on my website: www.paintingherseifintobeing.com. You can also find information there about the Angels In My Studio online course and our November 2012 retreat in Mexico. Please stop by and say hello!

  GLITTER W.A.S.P. is a visionary artist and teacher and an “Art Critic” who champions women artists. She considers it her own personal mission to spread sparkle around the world by celebrating the delightful, shimmering beauty that women offer to the world through their gorgeous, artistic creations.

She resides in San Francisco at the Palace of the Soul with her three fabulously talented children and her “revolving extended family.”  She is known in the Cosmic Cowgirls community both as Glitter W.A.S.P. and the Bejewelled Baroness. She can often be found in her studio playing with sparkling arrays of dazzling beads and glitter.  “Glitter Therapy” is her favorite pastime. She teaches transformational art & embellishment classes at “The Palace of the Soul Divine School of Glitteracy.”  To view a complete menu of classes offered go to http://www.enchantedeye.net/elizabeth-gibbons-one-on-one-classes.html.  Stay tuned for Glitter W.A.S.P.’s new web-site and blog coming soon, thepalaceofthesoul.com.  If you are interested in collaborating or co-priestessing an event at the Palace of the Soul with the Bejewelled Baroness, please e-mail me at pangels@pacbell.net to learn more about this great opportunity!! http://www.cosmiccowgirlsuniversity.com or www.enchantedeye.net & click on Upcoming Events to see the schedule.

Don’t be surprised if after reading this article you discover that you find mysterious pieces of glitter upon your being!!  Glitter W.A.S.P. has been known to travel far and wide in her mission to spread sparkle around the world.

If you would like her to feature you and your art in her column please contact her at pangels@pacbell.net If you would like to learn more about her inspiring art and workshops offered to enchant your life and awaken your divine inner sparkle visit her web-sites at http://www.enchantedeye.net or http://www.glitteracy.com or  http://cosmiccowgirlsuniversity.com.

Desire is Your Devine Messenger

By Laura Toller Gardner

Desire is Your Devine Messenger. Let that statement sink in. How does it make your body feel? Might it ring true for you? Does the voice in your head shout, No! or hesitantly squeak, Maybe? Depending upon your mindset, that truth may challenge years or generations of belief that can hold you in a prison of disconnection, self negation and/or fear.

When we acknowledge that our drives, desires and yearnings are a sacred indicator of “just-right for me,” we make room for sensual allowing.

Desire is Divinity’s powerful herald of infinite possibility; it is the way-shower and cheering section for potential.

The rub: we live in and with a culture that demonizes desire. For millennia, desire was vilified as the enemy of goodness, righteousness and morality; especially the desires of women. Why, pray tell? My hypothesis goes something like this… desire clearly points the way to personal power and freedom. Empowered people are hard to control and manipulate. Heaven forbid there are a bunch of empowered people running around, thinking and acting independently! The power structure just can’t tolerate that.

Currently with rampant addictions, obsessiveness, and narcissism (Facebook and Twitter-verses, you’re on notice!), it’s no surprise that the sweet holiness of desire continues to be besmirched as “indulgent.” Let’s be clear, if we are behaving in ways that make us feel bad about ourselves or someone else, if we or others are hurting, or try-as-we-might we just can’t shake anxiety/fear/shame, then we need to look unflinchingly at our beliefs and behavior — possibly with the help of a professional therapist or a spiritual counselor. Devine desire is healthy, uplifting and life affirming. Dysfunction masquerading as desire is harmful, marginalizing, and oppressive. We as a race are in desperate need to discern the difference!

Sacred desire encourages us to embrace vulnerability, to take the journey back to ourselves. Claiming our Devine desire allows us to do that which we didn’t believe was possible.

For the record, I purposely haven’t defined desire. Please don’t allow society’s conditioning to limit desire to sexuality alone for you, for any of us. The very nature of Devine desire can not be limited or constrained. Desire is alive in all aspects of our being-ness. It ignites sacred sensuality, holy creativity in our lives. The desire for learning, physical achievements, music making, garden growing, red-painted toe nails, travel to Malaysia or Minnesota, prayer and thanksgiving, it is all transformative and awakening.Treat yourself with great care and savor your desires daily.

How does desire sing to you, ignite your heart, help forge the pathway forward? How do you honor your desires? Do you betray them?  I strongly encourage you to experiment with a seven-day, sensual desire experiment and see how life opens up for you. For five minutes once a day (twice a day if you can swing it), sit undisturbed and breath into the space of your heart chakra. Focus your attention on your heart space; FEEL your Desire radiate out from this space, filling up and energizing your physical and energy bodies. Ask your sacred self the question: How does Devine desire call me to awaken today? Expect answers! I guarantee that one week of earnest, loving questioning will open up surprising, miraculous insights and possibilities.

____________________________________________________________

Notorious Author Laura Toller Gardner

Laura Toller Gardner I am a liberating-thought leader, a published author, animal intuitive, and branding and marketing executive. I have worked for close to 20 years with non-profit and for-profit clients helping them tell their compelling stories and enhance their bottom lines.

My writing focuses on heart and soul sovereignty, overcoming the Cult of Perfection, and spiritual healing through the embodiment of Notorious. I’m a contributor to Partner, Potential and Play (PPP). PPP is the brain/soul child of Cosmic Cowgirl Kathryn Elliott; it deserves your attention. http://www.partnerpotentialandplay.com/

I believe that transformation is a daily ritual. I value authenticity, compassion and mirthful humor. I know for sure that my willingness to spiritually compost all that no longer serves me is the sacred alchemy that makes my life a masterpiece. What do you know for sure?

Hearing a Poem
By Ti Klingler

When in doubt, ask your friends. I’ve written over a thousand poems since I began my poem-a-day adventure back in 2009, so choosing one to feature can be a bit daunting! So for this month’s column, I asked my friends what poems stood out for them. Thank their generous hearts, they remembered! I found out my poems are being taped to mirrors, read to schoolchildren, and sent in cards. Isn’t that lovely? (I’m sure my friends who want me to publish will read that in horror. Sorry, dears, but free distribution makes me glow.)

My friend Kate suggested this poem. As I read it, I felt such affection for this woman. The people who populate my poems are very rarely people I’ve met. They are more often sent to me by the Muse and I meet them in the writing. This poem started when my heater whooshed on and I wished I had my sweetheart there to spoon. I let that thought rest in someone else’s head and the poem emerged. Listen for a moment, now, to the everyday sounds around you. What happens when you imagine that familiar element as heard by someone else?

Some seasons are internal.

She Thinks of Spoons
Lying on her back,
She thinks of spoons as
The heater talks itself
Into starting, loud
In winter quiet.
Sure as a friend, the
Doorframes creak before
The rush of hot air.
She has never thought
Of tropical life
Until this last year.
Without him, more than
The air is cold, more
Than her taps freeze on
Crystal dark nights. It
Is time for a new
Season; calendars
Lie more easily
Than flesh.

_________________________________________

Cosmic Cowgirls can submit poems and a brief bio directly to Ti at ti.cosmiccowgirls@gmail.com. (Submissions may be edited due to space constraints. Please limit submissions to 250 words.)

Ti Klingler

Ti is an Intrinsic Coach® and artist who lives in the East Bay. A graduate of Shiloh’s Legendary Life and Medicine Wheel mentorships, she has been writing a poem every day since April 1, 2009. Ti enjoys coaching others to find their best thinking and is passionate about women seeing their own beauty and trusting their desires.

StellaMac Gets Her Groove Back!
By Mary MacDonald

Whew – no seriously – WHEW. You know that feeling of when you think you’ve hit bottom and then realizing there’s more bottom? The roller coaster to hell was not on my list of places I wanted to go before I entered the Pearly Gates of fun, freedom and frolic but that trickster called life had different travel plans for me.

The WOOWOO California energy healing course I’m taking is kicking my ass! And what’s really f***ed up is I’m loving it. You know you’re on the righteous path of healing when you tell your friends you’re on the train from hell and they say such ridiculous things like “I’m so happy for you,” or, “Yahoo Honey, you’re breaking down and breaking through.” And knowing exactly what they mean.

Whose bright idea was it anyways for me to move to The Land of the Loonies, California USA? Actually I’m pretty sure it was a whole pissed off gang of Muses who decided to get together and shove me off the ledge cause whispering in my ear was having no effect whatsoever. And here I am surrounded by the coolest people on the planet who  insist I show up for my life decked out in all my finery. Have I said thank you recently? Well now that I’ve got my groove back – gracias!

Since I decided secrets and lies were no longer on my menu, the Rat Bastards decided to have their way with me through the sneak attack maneuver. You know the one where you’re exhausted, run down, working insane hours and still need to be somewhat gracious, loving and organized and they see their chance to bring you down?

As I began to dismantle my version of the Berlin Wall the memories began to rain on my parade. The ones where I was silenced negated, patronized, abused, isolated. You know the ones. The old stories and pictures that I continued to live into not only raised their ugly heads, they rushed at me with bared fangs. They usually did their best work behind the scenes, preferring the shadows. But this time they stepped into the light as they could smell my courage getting stronger. You know – like a lover, distant for so long who sniffs the air knowing some thing’s up, not exactly knowing what it is but realizing they need to sweep in again with whatever will keep you from walking out the door?

I felt the frostbite of their disdain, their arsenal consisting of shame and guilt, which has been a favourite of theirs due to its high success rate. They knew what instruments would take me down and they chose wisely. Those whom I trusted appearing to betray. But Gypsy Dancer had hardened her spine and wasn’t going down without a little warrior action.

In the past I would quickly, with precision, stuff down any of those treacherous thoughts or feelings that could fell me with their intensity and ugliness. Not this time. I had my secret sauce:

• A pound of friendship
• A dollop of backbone
• A tablespoon of anger
• A pinch of tears
• A cup of resentment

Stir them all together and it was time to take the rat bastards down.

It was a high wire act to be sure as I knew I had to let some of the steam escape while still maintaining some equilibrium as there were innocents all around. And I’m sorry to say those closest to me had some scorch marks when all was said and done but I knew this time it was essential I not back down. It was time to break down and break through.

A warrior faces fear head on. The brave acknowledges fear’s presence. [S]he considers options and alternatives and responds rather than reacts. Fear is then neutralized and becomes of no consequence.” ~ Author Unknown

And then, for the moment, it was over – the monster was banished with the help of my toolbox, filled with awareness, understanding, my community of Cosmic Cowgirl friends who, with open hearts stood by my side helping me stare the memories down, and my practices of excavation through intention, meditation, prayer, conversation and writing. Another layer of healing completed, some more boundaries discovered and a little more clarity achieved.

Although my ongoing practices showed me the dark places, they also gave me the lantern to find my way out. It’s not always pretty and sometimes when we take the leap of faith there isn’t always a net to catch us. And yes there are those many days I don’t want to sit in meditation, be grounded, write, paint or practice loving kindness and my hand goes to those things that have offered solace in the past – a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, a whole lot of wine, a bag of chips and a trashy novel (yeah, okay, sometimes only sex, drugs and rock and rock will suffice). Although I know there is no magic salve or instant cure it doesn’t stop me from wishing it so. On an everyday basis there are moments when I temporarily fail to see the benefit of my practices, but when life seems so unbearable is when I know it’s because of those practices that I am able to make my way through.

I so value those teachers and friends who are transparent in their truth. You know the ones – Before enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment chop wood, carry water. It doesn’t help me when I hear only one side of the story without the telling of the falling down even with all the tools, the resources, and the people. I desire the truth of their stories so I can learn and grow and weave their practices with my own.

Wise Ones tells us that the Dark Ones will only show themselves when we are ready to take them on and let them know we no longer believe the lies we wore as truth. It turns out those Wise Ones know what they’re talking about!

I got my groove back because I took a risk, tried something new, looked at my life through the lens of gratitude, and surrounded myself with friends who love me, hold out their hands in support and let me know when I’m off course. My teachers are showing me that, yes, it is important to own my own shit and also, at the same time, to let you know when you’re stepping on my toes and when it’s time to Back off Baby! It appeared I was missing this piece, so when I began to look back at old wounds with this new information I got angry and resentful before the healing could begin. And guess what?  Hearing my voice sounding pissed off, feeling the rebel within stiffen her spine, tasting the bile on my tongue let me take an up close and personal look at what was still roiling around my psyche, hiding in the shadows ready to be revealed and healed. Painful? Yes. Scary? Check. And ultimately the best gift of self-love I could give myself. I could hear the roaring of the crowd as my body began to move to MY music.

And so on this day of LOVE, I invite you to look at what practices you can embrace to shine the light on the Dark Ones in your life and let them know you’re no longer willing to play their game. What do you need to do to get your groove back?

She blesses all of her wounds as important gifts that bestow wisdom and grace. She accepts and blesses the dark parts, the hurts. She leaves what might have been to become available to herself and what is.
~ Jeannine Roberts Royce

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Mary MacDonald, aka StellaMac, is the Countess of Curiosity and the Queen of Questions whose Muse prods, cajoles and believes in her without condition. StellaMac gives new meaning to the word versatile. For the past 30 years she has boldly gone forth in the not for profit, artistic, educational and for profit worlds where she has used her extraordinary relationship building skills to achieve success for her clients in marketing, fundraising, public relations, communications, training and development, and writing. She is now working in California as a teacher, coach and consultant.

Mary is passionate about innovative education and business through the lens of a feminine paradigm that incorporates creativity, story telling and conversation. As a Consultant for the past six years in Canada and the United States, Mary is an expert at supporting individuals and organizations in achieving their goals in a way that is uniquely them. Mary is the Director of our Cosmic Cowgirls tribe where she gleefully applauds the reverent and the irreverent existing side by side. She is proud to count herself among the revolutionaries creating opportunities for women and girls to transform their lives through publishing healing journals and transformational teaching at Cosmic Cowgirls University. You can find StellaMac at www.thestellamacreport.wordpress.com

Written by Michelle Fairchild

I am unable to count how many times I have come to learn that a woman who I find to be amazing, beautiful, fabulous, inspirational and talented, will underneath all her obvious strengths, find fault with herself and thinks she is “not enough” in one way or another.

When I read the poem “What’s Wrong with Me?,” that appears in the book Words Made Flesh by author Patricia Lynn Reilly, I felt she so amazingly captured in her writing what we go through when we question our self-worth.

What’s Wrong with Me?

We frequent the therapist’s office,

Hoping the past holds an answer within it.

We fill the churches,

Maybe God knows the answer.

We attend self-help meetings, assured an answer is encoded within the Twelve Steps.

We write “Dear Abby” and every other expert,

Certain that they must know the answer.

We sit at the feet of spirituality gurus,

Believing they will show us the way to an answer.

We buy every self-help book that hits the market,

Confident that a new project will quiet the question.

We consent to outrageous measures

To guarantee our fertility or our attractability,

Convinced that the presence of a child

Or a love in our arms will dissolve the question.

We sign up for diet clubs and plans and spas,

Convinced that our bodies are at the core of the answer,

Whatever it turns out to be.

We spend hundreds of dollars

On new outfits to hide the question

And on new body parts to eradicate the question.

And then at night after the day’s search is over,

We binge on a quart of ice cream or a bottle of wine,

Or we spend hours on the Internet or telephone

In tormented conversations trying to figure out

Why the relationship isn’t working,

Hoping that when we reach the bottom of the quart or bottle,

Or the far reaches of the internet or conversation,

Things will have shifted deep within us

And once and for all we will know the answer

And what to do about it.

Yet no matter what we do in search of an answer:

No matter how much we lose or how slimming the dress,

No matter how expensive or authoritative the expert,

No matter how many babies, relationships,

Possessions we have or don’t’ have,

No matter how spiritual, therapeutic, or recovered we become

We are left with the same question over and over again

As we look into the mirror horrified

That the restructuring of our relationship, our womb,

Or our breasts did not quiet the question

There it is in the morning whispering from the mirror,

“What’s wrong with me?  What’s wrong with me?’

A mantra that accompanies us the length of our days.

Why are we so critical of ourselves?  Why do so many of us attempt to attain some sort of perfection, and perfection being unreachable, then flagellate ourselves for failing.

I found that a book entitled The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are has the best definition of perfection I have ever read.  According to author Brené Brown, Phd, LMSW, “Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect, and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.”   Embracing perfectionism is about adopting a belief system that “I am what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it.  Please.  Perform.  Perfect.  Healthy striving is self-focused – How can I improve?  Perfectionism is other-focused – What will they think?”

Brown also shares that “Research shows that perfectionism hampers success.  In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life–paralysis.  Life-paralysis refers to all of the opportunities we miss because we’re too afraid to put anything out in the world that could be imperfect.  It’s also all of the dreams that we don’t follow because of our deep fear of failing, making mistakes, and disappointing others.  It’s terrifying to risk when you’re a perfectionist; your self-worth is on the line.”

Prior to writing this book the author had been a self-described “shame researcher.”   She shares incredible wisdom in every point she hits in her book.  For example she touches on worthiness.  Here is a taste of what she shares:  “The greatest challenge for most of us is believing that we are worthy now, right this minute.  Worthiness doesn’t have prerequisites.  So many of us have knowingly created/unknowingly allowed/been handed down a long list of worthiness prerequisites:

I’ll be worthy when I lose twenty pounds.

I’ll be worthy if I can get pregnant.

I’ll be worthy if I get/stay sober.

I’ll be worthy if everyone thinks I’m a good parent.

I’ll be worthy when I can make a living selling my art.

I’ll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together.

I’ll be worthy when I make partner.

I’ll be worthy when my parents finally approve.

I’ll be worthy if he calls back and asks me out.

I’ll be worthy when I can do it all and look like I’m not even trying.

Here’s what is truly at the heart of Wholeheartedness: Worthy now.  Not if.  Not when.  We are worthy of love and belonging now.  Right this minute.  As is.”

Consider what opportunities you are missing because you are too afraid to put something out in the world because it isn’t perfect. 

Consider what you hold over your own head in order to feel worthy. 

Name at least one such situation in which you hold back because you are seeking perfection.

Are there ways that questioning your own self-worth holds you back?

 After considering the downfalls of perfectionism what might you do differently now?

 After hearing that you are worthy now, right this minute, as you are, can you embrace this truth? 

Can you live it?  Does it change anything for you?

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. ~ Anna Quindlen

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Michelle Fairchild is married to a middle school science teacher and is also mommy to identical twin daughters, who are very active 5-year-olds that keep her dancing.  She is a writer and artist who has a business called Red Boa Productions. She also works for a non-profit foster-adoption agency in Northern California.  At Heart she is a soulful and sensitive intuitive, a courageous creator, a resilient visionary, a self-esteem fluffer, a marvelous music mixer and one who offers up bridges of connections to her fellow travelers. She believes that We Are All Meant to Shine! You can learn more about Michelle’s vision and read more of her writing on her blog The Red Boa

Do you have a feeling there is something waiting within you? A glimmering truth, a deeper knowing, a truer calling? Do you move through your days with love and joy and yet still feel like there’s something more? Something deeper, greater, grander or maybe even smaller, shyer, quieter that longs to come into the light? Is there some part of you that really believes we all have gifts and talents to be developed and shared, even enjoyed…and yet it doesn’t feel as true for you as you know it is for others? As if somehow the other aspects of your life are more important, more valid, more necessary than developing your gifts or following your longings.

You have a gift that only you can give the world
—that’s the whole reason you’re on the planet…
the miracle of your existence calls for celebration every day.
~ Oprah Winfrey

Hidden below
beneath the shiny
under the improvements

Hidden below
beyond the busyness
behind the more

There in the stillness
the darkness

Hidden below
past the urgent
and the important

Is the smooth grey-silver stone
of glimmering truth

waiting

It’s been there
all along.

Hidden below.

_____________________________________

Isabella Vickers is an artist and a writer. She is passionate, curious, and actively living a creative life with her poet husband and dancing daughter. She also practices as a Jungian-oriented psychotherapist in Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley where she utilizes creative and expressive arts to facilitate growth and healing. She offers Creative Bliss Art Retreats and Blossoming into Fullness Women’s Creative Groups. She and her husband, also a psychotherapist, offer Co-facilitated Couples Therapy: An innovative journey through the mysteries of dialogue, both within each individual and between, to cultivate the sacred ground of relationship. Isabella is the Managing Editor of Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine where she writes the column “Dare to Bloom.” You can see her art at: www.IsabellaVickers.com, learn more about her therapy work at: www.LivingAirDialogue.com, and follow her column right here on www.Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine.com.

Dear Ones,

So that is a silly question  -  Want to connect with the Legendary Woman in YOU? Who doesn’t want to connect with their inner legendary self? Who doesn’t want to transform their life into a legend? Who doesn’t want to make contact with a brilliant delicious muse who tells you things you would never dream of doing on your own?

Over here at Cosmic Cowgirls connecting with your Legendary IDENTITY – she who lives within you is part of the 13 Tenets of Cosmic Cowgirl culture. It is one of our VALUES to explore an express yourself and who you are. Hint hint: Wanna know how we do it? I am going to share a little bit of the magic with you below so you can learn about your own Legendary self…but if you want to go deep and wide with this method of knowing yourself you are gonna have to throw some paint around by joining us LIVE and ONLINE

WHO IS LEGENDARY WOMAN?
She is the visionary muse that lives within each one of us who listen to us, knows us and continually invites us to express ourselves. Legendary Woman has the ability to see between the worlds. She is an inventor of possibilities. She is not governed by reason and rule, but by a sense within herself that there is something she is called to do – and indeed must do. She refers to a way of being, a space held within all women where seeing what is possible, has more power than our limitations.

That which has not been created yet can be seen by our legendary, visionary Woman.

This very ‘seeing” inspires a woman to develop the skills and tools she needs in order to move her life in a direction that is in alignment with her vision, and who she is. The visionary screen within us gives us glimpses of “calling”, that which we are moving toward and participating in our entire lives, seen and unseen. She grants us access to our seventh sense, the sacred art of intentional creativity.

Legendary Woman is the name for a way of seeing, that can and does inform and altar the course of our lives from “existing” to “being.

At the heart of her function, is the work of personal identity. We are not just made up of who we have been, or where we came from or what our future looks to hold right now. That we can have an active part in the unfolding of our personal future, that we can be a co-designer of our own identity is a revelation of grand proportion. And much of the world, for various reasons, are not able to ask these questions, and have not asked them – so busy are we in the business of survival, that the business of “being” seems a luxury, instead of an essential. But it is an essential – to our very core – it is essential that we wake up to who we are and what we want and refuse to think the thoughts others are thinking, and think our own thoughts.

Legendary woman teaches us how to Lead A Legendary Life.

Legendary Woman has been there since we were lit as a divine spark in our mother’s womb, but she is ever changing and renewing how she sees and what she chooses to show to us. Her function is to illuminate, literally to shed light upon. To teach us how to BE ART. To open us to clear seeing. Seeing forward without hindrance or limitation, she sees through spaces human eyes cannot begin to decode. She lives both in the mystical realm, and in the physical because our generative actions are inspired by her presence within us. Her primary purpose is to encourage towards that which we are here on earth to create or fulfill.

Legendary woman is our view finder. Our “aha!” moment maker. Our waker upper. Every single woman has the visionary woman within her – we just may not have called upon her services yet, but that time has come. Oh yes.

Legendary Woman is alchemist and housewife. She is cowgirl and business tycoon. She is the checkout girl and the scientist. She is the politician and the housekeeper. She is active in all women, a function of all our psyche, residing in the imagination our hearts – and now, we need to call on her. Her time has come, and we who activate her presence – will have the benefit of her wisdom, which in a magical way is connected to the wisdom of women who have gone before us. Visionary woman is the mystical red thread that continues to link us one to another throughout out time.

She is a truth teller, legend maker – she is visionary.
She calls us to our own leadership. She calls us to teach. To share. To see. To dream. To vision.

If you want to see a sample teaching video, or a slideshow of student work, you can go here…

Our Legendary Life ONLINE course starts in a few weeks, and our Legendary Woman in person course starts in March – come on over and let’s paint our Legendary Women together!!

I am sitting on my new couch with the sun beaming in and drinking the MOST yummie cup of coffee in the world. If you were sitting with me right now I would want to ask you a few questions about you…and who you are and what your legend is. So I have put them below. Get your cup of coffee and join me. This week we celebrate the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, Candlemas and Brigid, Lady of Fire. So let’s light up the fire’s of creation and together… we light up the cosmos.

In Fire and Legend,

Shiloh Sophia

Projects: http://www.shilohsophiastudios.com
New Paintings: http://www.shilohsophiagallery.com
Courses: http://www.cosmiccowgirlsuniveristy.com

Questions for YOU

1. How does your story sound different if you tell it like a LEGEND?
2. If you ask yourself, Who am I, what answer comes up immediately?
3. What becomes possible for you…if you consider the possibility that the future is unwritten?

Wisdom for a Frustrated 9-to-5er
by Grassroots Rose

If you want the sure-shootin, git-r-done kind of truths only Cosmic Cowgirls will tell you, just ask Grassroots Rose.

Dear Grassroots Rose,

If one more person tells me I can do anything I want, I’m going to lose it! I’m a single woman who pays all her own bills and has no debt. In order to do that, I stay in jobs that don’t have me skipping with joy on my way to work. I keep hearing that I should do more or follow my bliss or give more time to my art (I’m a fabric artist and quilter). It’s gotten to the point where I’m embarrassed to admit I have a regular job, as if it’s a sin not to make money from something I love. Am I in denial or am I being smart?

Frustrated 9-to-5er

Dear 9-to-5er,
Let me get right to the point. I don’t give a hoot –and recommend you don’t, either—about what people think about your job or how you spend your time. The real question is: Are you happy? Are you sure it’s other people’s opinions that have you embarrassed about your job? Most of us know people who are scrambling to make ends meet. If your money’s in good shape, what’s eating at you? And don’t you just love advice columnists who ask a bunch of questions instead of giving you some goldurn advice?!  

Honey, I’m asking because I live a life that has set more than one tongue to wagging. For the most part, that don’t bother me none. When I get all riled up about what folks think, it’s ‘cause I’m not thinking too highly of myself. Here’s one more of those pesky questions. What makes you so mad about people saying you can do anything you want? It’s true, with the exception of flying or making a lighter biscuit than my mama. You can do anything and everything has a consequence. If you ask me, I think you’re doing great, you sound smart, and there may be a dash of denial in the soup. But the only opinion that matters is YOURS.

Thanks for writing and tell your mama I said, “Hey!”

Grassroots Rose

Grassroots Rose is here to tell you – no, really, she’s here to tell You. What you need to know, want to know, already know and ain’t admitting to no one, no how. She knows you’re way smarter than you think and if she can help you see that, she’ll be the happiest girl in the hollow.

Takin' a Breather Between Roundups

So holler at Rose at GrassrootsRose.CosmicCowgirls@gmail.com to get her four cents. (Used to be two cents. Aint inflation a crank?)

Grassroots Rose

Goddess of Too Much…Unapologetic

By Laura Toller Gardner

Original version published in “Petals and Bones” zine #3 “Sorry”, Summer 2011. This incarnation yearns to be aired out in the powerful potential of the new calendar year; free to stretch and smile in the winter sunshine. So, without further ado, I share my “ode of sass” to heart and soul sovereignty…Long may we all reign!

Dear Laura, Goddess of Too Much:

My love…when your inner mean chick (a.k.a. internal/infernal, shrill puppeteer, free-rent squatter in your head) snipes that you’re Too Much, you sit her down hard and remind her that absolutely, you ARE Too Much.

When her disembodied condemnation echoes the voices of all time and shrieks “witch! too big, too powerful, too different, too self possessed, bitch!” she knows not what she alleges.

You, Laura, are audaciously More Than Enough, and your cup opulently runneth over with sacred succulence. Too Much is just where you want to be, need to be, were designed to be.

Too Much and More Than Enough don’t happen by accident, honey; they are your natural, Divine state. So little miss judgmental/pinched face/repressed/terrified by authenticity/”what will THEY think”/nasty girl better get on the bus now and bow low — with reverence — to YOU when she says Too Much.

Too Much is the evolved version of: “Absolutely perfect, flawlessly right, magnificently aligned, hot stuff, top dog, spiritual supermodel, Laura rules her galaxy and you better be slap happy grateful to call her your sister”!

Sweet pea, you just have your inner mean shrew try THAT on for size for the next 30 days and let’s see if she doesn’t enthusiastically blossom into your personal fan club president! You just remind her that her disempowered days are numbered, because blessedly she too… is Too, Too Much. It’s high time for her to step into her More Than Enough stilettos and strut her stuff — in alignment with our brilliance. Authentic. Unapologetic. Way, Way Too Much.

Loving you across the miles of our limitless life,

Laura, Goddess of Honorable Self Affirmation

____________________________________________________________________

Notorious Author Laura Toller Gardner

Laura Toller Gardner I am a liberating-thought leader, a published author, animal intuitive, and branding and marketing executive. I have worked for close to 20 years with non-profit and for-profit clients helping them tell their compelling stories and enhance their bottom lines. Additionally I serve clients as a commercial real estate broker with real-world experience as an investor.

My writing focuses on heart and soul sovereignty, overcoming the Cult of Perfection, and spiritual healing through the embodiment of Notorious. I will launch my own author platform website in 2012 (should have been 2011, but you know how that goes) at www.lauratollergardner.com I was recently featured on BlogTalkRadio’s GET GLOWING radio show, hosted by fellow Cosmic Cowgirl Jennifer Alhasa. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jenniferalhasa/2011/12/02/get-glowing-with-guest-laura-toller-gardner And I’ll be a contributor to Partner, Potential and Play (PPP) at its official launch in early 2012. PPP is the brain/soul child of Cosmic Cowgirl Kathryn Elliott; it deserves your attention. http://www.partnerpotentialandplay.com/

My authorship is informed by academic and professional training as a journalist and public relations practitioner. I received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations, from the University of Southern California.

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.” ~ C.G. Jung

I am delighted to share with you the radiant art, presence and work of the beloved, legendary Isabella Vickers this month. Congratulations and celebration are called for as she claims and shares the brilliance of her light with the world……her first art show, entitled “Kindling A Light” opens this month!!! This is music to my ears…another cowgirl illuminates the world with transformational art!! Isabella invites us to breathe deeply into the beauty and light of her paintings and to choose to be surrounded by this in our own lives. Reflecting deep peace and light through her images she inspires others to discover this within themselves. I invite you to discover the jewels of “interior opulence” that Isabella embodies as she “dares to bloom” and blossoms into a shining light who speaks her soul’s language with purpose, passion and power. After you finish reading this article featuring her fabulous-ness I encourage you to go see the gallery on her blog, www.isabellavickers.com so that you may savor the splendor and magic of her art!!

Isabella Vickers painting in her home studio

Have you always been an artist?

YES! But I haven’t always owned it. I am new to painting, yet each moment I stand at my easel, brush in hand touching canvas, bringing color and form to light, I know I have come home. In painting I have found my soul’s language, my mother tongue, the song that’s been playing all along.

Can you give me and the readers a snapshot/ thumbnail sketch of your journey to the place where you are now as an artist, where you create and/or teach art as a sacred practice?

I’ve always been creative and artistic. My early years and undergraduate work were in music and piano pedagogy. For years I taught piano and group music classes to children and adults and organized education outreach for the symphony. I experienced and witnessed the power of music to hold soul and it carried my voice for a long time. It was my first and foundational creative expression.

What led you from music to art?

Detail of "Song of Grace" by Isabella Vickers

In addition to music, I also practiced all kinds of arts and crafts. I followed and admired Shiloh’s art for more than a decade before I participated in the Cosmic Cowgirls University course “Leading a Legendary Life,” in 2010. It introduced me to Intentional Creativity and intuitive painting. A year later, after more CCU courses, I became Shiloh’s Project Manager and learned so much about being an artist, getting the art out into the world and teaching others to do the same. And then in August 2011, I became part of the inaugural circle of Color of Woman, which crystallized it all for me, making it very real and totally personal. Simply put, painting is unlike any other creativity I’ve experienced! At last my soul has found her voice!

So, how has that changed your creative practice?  

In the six months since our training began, I have stepped into myself as an artist and visionary entrepreneur. And in doing so, it has become sacred. I wouldn’t be here now without the mentoring of Shiloh, Sue Hoya Sellars, and Caron McCloud. Their guidance and encouragement have given me permission to take myself seriously as an artist.

Isabella Vickers home studio

Tell me about your studio.

I have a home studio for which I am deeply grateful. It’s my personal creative space, and it’s warm and cozy with two big windows that open to a naturalized backyard. I love it so much, I have a hard time leaving! I also have a wonderful light-filled office downtown where I see my therapy clients, hold circles and provide art retreats.

Tell me what you are currently working on and excited about?

Invitation to Isabella's first show "Kindling a Light"

I have an art show opening this month — my first show — and I am filled with joy and excitement! It seems surreal, and yet as with painting it feels like one of the truest, most authentic things I’ve ever done. As a visionary entrepreneur I’m dreaming of all kinds of things I never before imagined! One of the things I’m developing is Creative Bliss Art Retreats and Dinner Parties; other adventures include creative women’s and couple’s painting circles.

How do you feel that your environment and where you live emerges in your work? Or does it?
My paintings explore the archetypal feminine and emerge from my imaginal and dream worlds, and the collective unconscious. I am particularly drawn to story, myth, and metaphor so elements of these also emerge in my paintings. I paint intuitively, so really everything informs this on some level!

What kind of work do you do in the world and what is the relationship between that and your creativity practice?  Please share what is most challenging and what is most delightful to you.

Detail of "Bella Ruby" by Isabella Vickers

I am a Jungian-oriented therapist and specialize in creative and expressive arts, dreamwork, and dialogue  within and between with individuals, couples, and groups. Through my work as a therapist and an artist, I am honored to answer the call to tend Soul in and of the world.  I am also mother to a talented and perspicacious 12-year-old daughter, and wife to an inspired and creative poet husband. Together we live a very sweet artistic, soulful life filled with joy, passion and great dialogue.

Right now the most challenging thing is balancing the ordinary with the artistic ecstasy. I’ve learned that everything can be sacred practice, yet I’d still rather paint than clean the house!

What do you envision for this coming year and what kind of delicious offerings will you be sharing with our community?

This is my year of Inhabiting Joy and I anticipate Joy, expect Joy, and believe in Joy. I recently claimed Joseph Campbell’s quote: We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. I choose Joy!

Isabella inhabits JOY!!

I choose to live there, to fully inhabit it, and to allow it to inhabit my body and my Life. For me, that means lots and lots of painting, new creative offerings like I mentioned above, and savoring every moment. It also means continuing to step into and fully inhabit myself as an artist and visionary entrepreneur and manifesting those dreams and visions. For one, I’ll be writing regularly on my own blog, Kindling a Light, and continuing my work as Managing Editor of Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine where I write the column Dare to Bloom. Another adventure I’m planning is community collaborations in both art and therapy projects. This is the year of standing up, stepping out, and speaking my truth in visible ways — I’m so excited!

How can people find you…..tell me your blog/web-site, any other info you want to pass along to our readers.
My artist website/blog is: www.isabellavickers.com. The site for my psychotherapy practice is: www.LivingAirDialogue.com. And you can find my Cosmic Cowgirls Magazine column, “Dare to Bloom” each month right here at www.cosmiccowgirlsmagazine.com.

GLITTER W.A.S.P. is a visionary artist and teacher and an “Art Critic” who champions women artists. She considers it her own personal mission to spread sparkle around the world by celebrating the delightful, shimmering beauty that women offer to the world through their gorgeous, artistic creations.

She resides in San Francisco at the Palace of the Soul with her three fabulously talented children and her “revolving extended family”.  She is known in the Cosmic Cowgirls community both as Glitter W.A.S.P. and the Bejewelled Baroness. She can often be found in her studio playing with sparkling arrays of dazzling beads and glitter.  “Glitter Therapy” is her favorite pastime. She teaches transformational art & embellishment classes at”The Palace of the Soul Divine School of Glitteracy”.  To view a complete menu of classes offered go to http://www.enchantedeye.net/elizabeth-gibbons-one-on-one-classes.html.  The Beaded Lady will be returning to the Palace soon. This workshop, taught by Shiloh & Elizabeth, is only offered once or twice a year so don’t miss out!!!  Limited to 10 women. Go to http://www.cosmiccowgirlsuniversity.com or www.enchantedeye.net & click on Upcoming Events to see the schedule.

Don’t be surprised if after reading this article you discover that you find mysterious pieces of glitter upon your being!!  Glitter W.A.S.P. has been known to travel far and wide in her mission to spread sparkle around the world.

If you would like her to feature you and your art in her column please contact her at pangels@pacbell.net If you would like to learn more about her inspiring art and workshops offered to enchant your life and awaken your divine inner sparkle visit her web-sites at http://www.enchantedeye.net or http://www.glitteracy.com or  http://cosmiccowgirlsuniversity.com.

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