{"id":2194,"date":"2016-03-14T14:33:12","date_gmt":"2016-03-14T14:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/?p=2194"},"modified":"2016-03-14T14:33:12","modified_gmt":"2016-03-14T14:33:12","slug":"darkest-before-dawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/darkest-before-dawn\/","title":{"rendered":"Darkest Before Dawn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to the art\/life trail ride! <\/span><\/h4>\n

Our journey is one of creative exploration and discovery. On the trail ride\u00a0we connect to relaxed right brained feminine\/receptive power, the fuel that propels forward movement. <\/span><\/h4>\n

Forward movement is about to amp up here at\u00a0the East Gate of\u00a0spring.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"'Steppin'\u2018Steppin\u2019 In\u2019, Drozda, Acrylic\/board, 48 x 36\u201d, private collection<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

During this\u00a0second and third week of March explore the \u2018Purity\u2019 Moon. Her energy began Monday, March 8. This cycle contains both\u00a0the closing of and the opening to the Natural Year. <\/span><\/h4>\n

One year ago, March 2015, the trek\u00a0began. In these\u00a0last days before the spring equinox\u00a0we say, \u2018Fare Thee Well\u2019. <\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0Darkest Before Dawn<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Imagine being deep in your dreams. Imagine\u00a0the moments just before waking up. That’s what this cycle offers. There is a stirring. A dream that stirs something inside. There is a dream that is pushing you. The push is to wake up. <\/span><\/h4>\n

At this time of year we engage in the heavy lifting of transformation. Begin to turn dreams into action. Expand the art\/life outlook. \u00a0Spiral into the center of your true nature. <\/span><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s time to take the dream out of The Mystery. Time to come h’OM’e to the Central. The Central refers to the home of The Archetypal Ancestors: Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Moon, Father Sky, Mother Earth and to the Elements: earth, air, fire and water…these are forces that sustain us all. <\/span><\/h4>\n

\u201c\u2026<\/em><\/strong>The power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. \u2026The sky is round, and\u2026the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Black Elk Speaks<\/u><\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"roots<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I also celebrate this turn of the wheel with the words of Gary Snyder:<\/span><\/h4>\n

PRAYER FOR THE GREAT FAMILY<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to Mother Earth, sailing through night and day–<\/span><\/h4>\n

and to her soil: rich, rare and sweet<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to Plants, the sun-facing light-changing leaf<\/span><\/h4>\n

and fine root hairs: standing still through wind<\/span><\/h4>\n

and rain; their dance is in the flowing spiral grain<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to Air, bearing the soaring Swift and the silent<\/span><\/h4>\n

Owl at dawn. Breath of our song<\/span><\/h4>\n

clear spirit breeze<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to Wild Beings, our brothers, teaching secrets,<\/span><\/h4>\n

freedoms and ways; who share with us their milk;<\/span><\/h4>\n

self- complete, brave, and aware<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to Water: clouds, lakes, rivers, glaciers;<\/span><\/h4>\n

holding or releasing; streaming through all<\/span><\/h4>\n

all bodies salty seas<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to the Sun: blinding pulsing light through<\/span><\/h4>\n

trunks of trees, through mists, warming caves where<\/span><\/h4>\n

bears and snakes sleep–he who wakes us–<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>in our minds so be it.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

Gratitude to the Great Sky<\/span><\/h4>\n

who holds billions of stars–and goes yet beyond that–<\/span><\/h4>\n

beyond all powers, and thoughts<\/span><\/h4>\n

and yet is within us–<\/span><\/h4>\n

Grandfather Space<\/span><\/h4>\n

The Mind is his Wife.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>so be it.<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Gary Snyder<\/a><\/strong> after a Mohawk prayer.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\"detail<\/h4>\n

Welcome H’OM<\/strong><\/em>‘E<\/span><\/h4>\n

As the East Gate opens on\u00a0the spring equinox we begin a new walk round the art\/life circle.\u00a0 In the tree illustration above the poem notice\u00a0the area where all of the roots come together. We call this The Central. See a similar coming together within the center of your physical body (between the heart and the solar plexus), this is your natural place of balance. This is your<\/em><\/strong> Central. This is your home port… I like to call it: h’OM<\/strong><\/em>‘e. Welcome OM<\/strong><\/em>.<\/span><\/h4>\n

This is where you ground and center. When you are grounded in your Central there is an electrical current that plugs you into deepest calm connection. At this time of the Natural Year there is a sense of beginning again…think spring. Spring gives us a creative\u00a0focus and sets us off on the art\/trail with an enthusiasm and lightness. We are lighter because we’ve been six moon\/months in the Underworld. We’ve been resting in the womb cave. Life on the Topside has continued yet we’ve tended to the inner experience of dying to what no longer functions’ We’ve re-birthed a\u00a0current strength. We’ve cleared the mind and heart so as to renew the commitment to the art\/life. We’re ready now for moving forward with much of our baggage unpacked.<\/span><\/h4>\n

We’ll have 13 tune-up points in the year ahead. Each New Moon turns your attention toward your current INNER vision, the compelling vision, for your Art\/Life.<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dreaming
\nJournal page detail, Sybil Mays, 2016<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018HOM<\/em><\/strong>ing\u2019 is natural. We welcome and remember what it feels like to \u2018come back home\u2019. <\/span><\/h4>\n

In the first week of March we took an end of life view. Now we are ready. It takes courage to reconnect to the meaning that we intend to make in the year ahead.<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

\"Hail_detail_temenos_2004\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Hail (detail)\u2019, Drozda, Acrylic\/board, 14 x 16\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine this week that you are turning to your deepest inner power. It might be imagined as a rebirth of sorts. There is something accomplished and triumphant in this part of the cycle.<\/span><\/h4>\n

March brings us full circle and allows us to celebrate the progress that we have made solely because of the sustained support that has made it all possible. As my teachers remind; \u201cYou don\u2019t become yourself by yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\"I\u2018I Once Had Other Dreams\u2019, detail, Sybil Mays, Lampshade, Media Blend, 2016<\/span><\/h4>\n

During the days between now and March 20 (when spring begins) take time to expand your dream. Prepare to reach up and out<\/span>. P<\/span>urify the creative practices that you\u00a0are most invested in. Let some worn out habits and entrenched ideas go. Soon you\u00a0will climb back into the saddle and be off and running. <\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

The art\/life trail ride this year lines up with Compassion in Action. 2016 is going to sync in with slow time, wholistic, integrative time\u2026.natural time…this kind of relationship with time emanates from the Central and allows for a more effortless ease. <\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"InIn the Dream, Drozda, Acrylic\/canvas, 64 x 64\u201d, price on request<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our link to <\/span>The 2016 Lifecycle Forecast <\/span><\/a>…check in on the Global Year to support each next step on your path of \u2018Compassion in Action\u2019. These two weeks prior to the Spring equinox is a good time\u00a0to make your\u00a0commitment to what you will create\u00a0in the new Natural Year.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

WISE WOMAN OF THE WEEK<\/span><\/h4>\n

Welcome our Wise Woman companion on the art\/life trail…<\/span>in the second week of each moon\/month I choose a well known powerful force for change. I choose a wise woman who stands the test of time. <\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\"Elisbeth2\"<\/h4>\n

Her <\/span>five stages of grief model<\/span><\/a> (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), can be applied in many different ways to this point of winding down The Mystery quadrant of the year. \u00a0<\/span>K\u00fcbler-Ross was a catalyst for<\/span> personal change. She faced head on the emotional factors resulting from death and dying.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"MyMy Brother Myself, Drozda, Acrylic\/board, 12 x 14″, private collection<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanatology (from the Greek word ‘thanatos’ meaning death) is the study of death and dying. Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross, a thanatologist, is considered to have contributed significantly to the creation of the genre.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross’s book <\/span>On Death & Dying<\/i><\/b>, published in 1969 \u00a0introduced and explained her ‘five stages of grief’. We could say that sharing \u00a0this information was her healing dream. Hers was an outspoken and bold revolutionary vision at the time. Her desire to change the way that we approach end of life and the loss of those we love is her legendary strength. She sensitively and compassionately pioneered the valuable concepts that we can apply to our own experience.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

Thanks to the spirit of\u00a0<\/span>Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross for gifts from\u00a0The Mystery given action <\/span>and voice<\/i><\/b> in the world.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0\"butterfly\"<\/h4>\n

Compassion Action for this week\u2026<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Consider your Sacred Dream. What would be good here? What will you allow to come to meet you on the fresh trail up ahead?<\/span><\/h4>\n

Journal your ideas. Mind Map your direction.<\/span><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"bodhisattva_balance\"<\/p>\n

If you are looking for a creative\u00a0GPS tool that is geared to lift you beyond current roadblocks and challenges email me and I’ll send your 2 page printable 2016 Personal Year PDF.<\/span><\/h4>\n

TIME MASTERY IS SELF MASTERY<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n

With Luna See and Lifecycle your ability to experience, express, create and contribute your deepest, wisest, most authentic gifts to this beautiful world will naturally expand.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Donna Iona Drozda, All rights reserved. \u00a9 2016<\/span><\/h4>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to the art\/life trail ride! Our journey is one of creative exploration and discovery. On the trail ride\u00a0we connect to relaxed right brained feminine\/receptive power, the fuel that propels forward movement. Forward movement is about to amp up here at\u00a0the East Gate of\u00a0spring. \u2018Steppin\u2019 In\u2019, Drozda, Acrylic\/board, 48 x 36\u201d, private collection […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[36,79,99,2,3,32],"tags":[27,37,100,22,158,95,43,49,10,38,16,159,30,119,143],"class_list":["post-2194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artlife","category-buddhism","category-donna-iona-drozda","category-natural-time-management","category-slow-time","category-starting-over","tag-art-life","tag-artlife","tag-black-elk","tag-donna-iona-drozda","tag-elisabeth-kubler-ross","tag-gary-snyder","tag-lunar-phases","tag-masculinefeminine-time","tag-natural-time","tag-natural-time-management","tag-slow-time","tag-spring-equinox","tag-starting-over","tag-sybil-mays","tag-wise-woman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6htPT-zo","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2194"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2212,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2194\/revisions\/2212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donnaionadrozda.com\/lifecycle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}