From India with love

Kundalini

Thinking back on my Indian experience, I am convinced that most of what I lived was happening not in the ordinary reality but rather in dreamland or on the archetypal level. Ordinary reality, that kept me firmly grounded, was great physical discomfort and long driving hours with a maddening driver. At the same time I experienced many emotions and insights that cannot really be explained by what I saw or did. Well, I suppose I can see Coyote's paw in my everyday miseries leading to insights. I think it is just possible that one of my chakras opened up in the bargain - while I was in the jungle.

Anyways, while in India it came to me that this country is probably a Paradise for trees. There are trees everywhere, incredibly healthy and green, even when it doesnt't rain, plus many trees are sacred in India. Just have a look at these beauties...

Tree on the side of the road, Tamil Nadu. They all wear numbers for some reason.

Trees in Pondicherry's French quarter

Tea trees near Munnar, Kerala

Sacred tree inside Thanjavur's temple, Tamil Nadu

Tree spirit in Thanjavur's temple

Sacred tree hidden near the beach of Rameshwaram.

Goodbye India

I am sitting in an internet shop near Chennai (Madras) airport, highly excited because tomorrow I meet my partner and children, the day after I meet my parents and my sister and her family, but very depressed because tomorrow I'm also leaving India.

After this trip, I know that my soul is part Indian, I must have been here before. Although on the material side it was a nightmare (I have been sick all the time, unable to eat and sleep properly, prey to fever, insect bites and tourista and so on), on the emotional and spiritual side I have been truly blessed. In a very humorous and matter of fact way, God has been giving me the answers that I had been praying for, with the help of the most amazing guide. I feel humbled and stunned, lucky and so much alive ! I also feel I am no longer a child, but at last a grown-up !

God's message to me ? "Work harder in all you do" ;o)
Amongst other things... (Hey, you have to work too, can't tell everything lol)

See you soon !

I'm leaving today for a three weeks trip. Will be back mid-April, hopefully with lots of beads and textiles stories to tell, and with lots of pictures to share !

Take good care of you,

Hugs

Hélène

TIF March

For the month of March, Sharon B has asked us to do as piece using the above palette or the following theme : "Do you ever notice the little things, the small moments, the details in life? This months challenge is to do just that, pay attention to the tiny details. Sometimes the small things become emblematic for something larger."

For me details are linked to spirituality, sense of humour and life itself. To notice details, you have to be aware of what is going on around you and inside you, you have to practice attention, which is a classic spiritual/meditative exercise.

It is life and fun, because often a detail is something you notice because it is unusual, unpredictable. For instance a plant growing in a pavement crack, an weird cloud, a strange insect. Or, as in the classic Robert Frost poem, a grassy road. On gloomy days I have often had my spirits lifted by tiny details, I even used to visit open air markets just to get a whiff of life as a teenager.

Details for me are also representations of the individual against the group, something that stands out, something that you use to stand out too, as in fashion... and art. Detail is probably what transforms something into art.

(c) Yayoi Kusama 2004, Naoshima Island, Japan

The other night I was watching a documentary about fashion icon Marc Jacobs (VOD available here), and they were talking about japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. She has been fascinated by dots since she was ten, and has made dotted art ever since. It's wonderful and I think she illustrated well the theme of details taken to a very large scope, have a look at her biographic slide show on her website here to judge by yourself.

So my piece will probably be around fashion...

BJP February

"Out of the box"

This is my BJP page for... February. When I was a child my parents often stressed the importance of having degrees ; they didn't have any, because life had played tricks on them. I remember a particular message from my mum ; she said I had to put all my efforts into obtaining my Baccalauréat (A levels), she used to say "you are a circle, and you have to find a way to get into this square. Just pretend you are a square for a while and then get on with your life". I didn't know I was a circle, I wasn't sure I wanted to be one, and found all this pretty mysterious and quite scary. I didn't understand either why square society was prejudiced against circles... This has been in my mind for quite some time :o)

Years later, I heard of the expression "getting out of the box". I also learnt that in India, sacred mandalas are based on circles and squares, which are supposed to represent heaven and earth. I also heard the thoughtful phrase "there is no way to happiness, happiness is the way". Thus the arrows that are also tendrils.

I'm in the middle of an emotional turmoil at the moment, and I have decided to use some of my savings to do a trip to India - a dream I've had since I was a teenager. Because I've just realized that no charming prince is going to come my way and fullfill all my dreams, it all depends on me somehow :o)

With love,

Hélène

TIF February

I am old enough to remember... a carefree childhood - before the illnesses of my mum and dad, before my own illnesses. I have covered the main picture with net, net representing the veil of memory that gently changes things, as well as the thickness of time. The black heart with the spider is in front of the net.

The theme of the Berlin wall has proven too difficult for me to tackle, as I realized that for one wall taken down, many have been constructed since in my lifetime, in Israel, in Irak... I would like to be able to be something about walls, protective walls, prison walls, but I will need time to design this.

BJP progress

Hello, I'm back :o)

This is my BJP page in progress for... February. What I really wanted to do is a square and a circle, though now I'm doing it I can see stories behing them, which I'll tell you about later on.

Take care,

Hélène