Tag: authenticity

The Artist Within

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Art Supplies: Photo by Pavel Danilyuk

This blog is to honor an eternal friend named Jon. We are witnessing a return to validating prejudice that denies the wonder of our diversity, which is a quest from birth that we are here to express our unique being. I offer this affirmation to celebrate your Being whatever age you are. Beloved, Jon, your heart-print is upon me.

“I celebrate the Artist within me that has created the beauty of my authenticity!”

Jon made his transition by suicide in April of 2009 after intense struggles, emotionally, physically, and coming to terms with his own identity and self-acceptance. I had the privilege of counseling him for a period and I honor the gift of his soul that he imprinted upon me. His health deteriorated, his addictions, and his despair overwhelmed him. He was a gifted artist, and I wrote this in his honor.

The Artist Within

There is an artist within each of us.
Through pain, love, joy, loss, and gain,
The artist emerges, the soul to express.
Yet the harshness of the world can so repress,
the sacred gifts we each possess.

Only when the false judgments we free
do we begin to realize and see,
The wonder that is you and me.
As in nature, there is a purpose for each to be,
a pure essence within, forever true,
an unconditioned love in which to view,
Everyone is here, as a vessel to share,
the artist within, with tender, loving care.

What beauty we shall reveal,
when the artist we no longer conceal.
when we see one another purely and real,
each with unique gifts, our passion to feel,
no longer fearing how others see our living,
but singularly defined by what is ours to be giving.
The artist … opening the soul for all to know,
We are here as a species to evolve and grow.

It is through the artist we find our humanity,
as each piece in a mosaic creates a work of beauty,
we each add onto the other … our artistry.
Let us express the artist within,
free of judgment and imagined sin.
Encourage the artist in one another, our gifts here to be seen,
expressing heart and soul without judgment or blame,
see the light we each bring through the soul’s eternal spring,
where condemnation has never been,
where it is only giving life to the artist within.

There is an artist within each of us, and I create the colors, the content, and the subject of my life canvas through my personal story and journey. We each bring to the canvas of humanity our personal struggles and triumphs and how we have dealt with them contributes to the world we all experience.

Each dawn I awaken to the opportunity to express my heart and soul, and the question: “What can I bring to this soul journey to add to the collective heart and consciousness of humankind?” I may not pose those questions daily; however, they are vital as to what I am creating in my life experience.

There is no magic pill for happiness. At the heart of what all the great Masters and Mystics have taught – that we are always living what we are believing about ourselves and others. May my journey contribute to the world the remembrance we all have value and make the heart-print upon others that Jon made upon me!

A note about artistry, not everyone is an artist in the usually defined sense. We are not all writers, nor do we create sculptures or art on canvas, write music or are on stage and film. The reality for all of us – our lives are a gift and we each have artistry to bring to what we do!

We live in a world that does not always encourage our authentic expression as a soul. We are told early on there are what the world wants us to be and the roles we are to play. Roles defining men/women, and religions that define who we “should be.” instead of celebrating the unique creativity within each of us and encouraging us to enjoy the adventure of self-discovery as to what is our song to sing.

Being the artist means that you have an intention to create your life in the most meaningful, expressive, and loving way you can. It’s not about great accomplishments. In fact, it may be the smallest of things. It’s all about our intention to bring purpose and meaning to our lives.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk.

Monthly Theme and Weekly Speakers.

Every month, we take the Key Principles of MYOB and put them into practice in our lives. Looking at the deeper call before us — What are we each to “Be” to bring about societal change through our soul evolution in ways that establish justice, love, and care for all – without exception. Please join us weekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. EDT for our virtual program.

Mind Your Own Becoming (MYOB) – A Soulful Reflection 2025 and Ongoing ACCOUNTABILITY!

celestial hands image

Join Us on Mind Your Own Becoming Thursdays

We are entering our 5th Year of MYOB. This journey began with the impact of 2020 COVID, and the ongoing injustice and brutality brought to our attention in ways we could not look the other way through the murder of George Floyd. Our belief in “others” – those with privilege, others not, our conscious and unconscious prejudices could not be ignored. It was time to face uncomfortable conversations together regarding our history and how we see one another. That was the beginning of Mind Your Own Becoming and countless groups across the country that began.

We have had extraordinary stories in these years, which encompassed not only black/brown abuse, but LGBTQ+, Indigenous, and touching upon violence and mental health issues. At the heart of MYOB is the essential reality – until we are willing to do the deeper soul work of accountability for what we pass on to future generations, nothing changes.

The Indigenous practices of being cognizant of what we are passing on to seven generations plus is something not evident in our American history – or in the world. We all matter in this awakening because we can only evolve together – or NOT. We create Healing bridges with a thimble full of willingness to listen to one another.

MYOB is about the invitation that we can come to know one another authentically, and compassionately through Awareness, Education, Action, and Accountability to open to new perspectives of healing and understanding.

In all I have absorbed in new awareness in these past four years of MYOB – I choose to not define myself by a pronoun although I celebrate the right we have to do so. I am stepping back from defining myself politically and choosing to be more aware of extremes on both sides. I want to see history truthfully. My personal charge is to clear my current prejudices and false judgments about myself and others, and carry forward regard, compassion, and love for all – without exception.

How I live daily impacts those around me through my care, loving, forgiving of myself and others. Humanity is capable of brutality and abuse beyond absorbing. It is also capable of the most profound beauty and magnificence we can imagine. May we plant seeds for future generations to Awaken to their innate beauty and carry forward – seven generations plus!

Do consider joining us on Thursdays on MYOB pm ET and view my weekly blogs on our website.

With Love, Charles

Monthly Theme and Weekly Speakers.

Every month, we take the Key Principles of MYOB and put them into practice in our lives. Looking at the deeper call before us — What are we each to “Be” to bring about societal change through our soul evolution in ways that establish justice, love, and care for all – without exception. Please join us weekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. EDT for our virtual program.

A Farewell Celebration of JOY

Big Sky Retreat 2024

The Big Sky Retreat – Aug 31 to Sept 4, 2024

I wrote the prose below to Honor this amazing accomplishment of having achieved the record number of years of an ongoing metaphysical retreat! I had the privilege of being with it from its beginnings. For me – it was my spiritual anchor – reminding me of my personal freedom to discover my own authenticity and encourage all to do the same.

“A Journey to Love” was our Theme.

It is Remembrance that is the key,
Angels go before us to prepare the way.
That we open to our destiny.
The Power of Love to see.
It’s the quest to sing our song,
That we all belong.
We are born into forgetting,
And believe life is about getting,
When Life is about Being
That we are here to shed our Light.
And open to inner sight,
There are no others – just all.
Seeking Remembrance of the “Call”
It’s a journey to Love that we may rise.
And come to realize.
That sacred quest we all share,
That we all matter and are here to care,
That as Mother Nature proclaims – Be!
Sing your song that all may be free!
Remembering – That journey to Love is our Destiny.

Our keynote speakers – Dr. James Mellon – our Music Artistry by Robin Hackett, workshops by Angel Howard and Paul Hasselbeck, power talks by Rev. Liz Luoma, Rev. Jen Dickey and Rev. Dr. Liza Marques were all WOWS!

There were 25 new attendees, 50 returnees – all know it was our last retreat and all arriving in such JOY to celebrate our history – the moment – and honoring 48 years of touching lives was a phenomenal achievement.

Rev. Dr. James Mellon made a wonderful observance that tough our theme “A Journey to Love,” he put forth to consider it “A Journey as Love.” This retreat has been an ongoing journey of 48 years to ever deepening love, because its origin was rooted as LOVE to begin with.

May we all be mindful, more than ever, we are here to evolve and build bridges, not walls that we learn from one another for the salvation of all humanity. Check out the pictures on the Big Sky Retreat Facebook page.

Monthly Theme and Weekly Speakers.

Every month, we take the Key Principles of MYOB and put them into practice in our lives. Looking at the deeper call before us — What are we each to “Be” to bring about societal change through our soul evolution in ways that establish justice, love, and care for all – without exception. Please join us weekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. EDT for our virtual program.

A Story of “Baby Thing”

starling

From Ernest Holmes – Science of Mind Text – “… there is that Eternal Voice forever whispering within our ear, that thing which causes the eternal quest, that thing which forever sings and sings.”

A couple of facts about starlings: “Starlings are known for their beautiful iridescent feathers, which can appear black, purple, green, or blue, depending on the angle of light.

Starlings are extremely vocal birds, and they have a wide variety of calls and songs. They are also able to mimic the sounds of other birds and even non-bird sounds, such as alarm clocks or car engines!”

That voice within Baby Thing touched my heart forever – reminding me we are all here to triumph and to sing our song that lifts the heart of all – without exception.

A Rescue

In my late twenties, my partner, David, and I rescued a starling that had fallen out of a tree. We nursed this precious being … that I named “Baby Thing” back to health and Baby Thing lived in our home. Baby Thing learned to speak and would often be saying words, not always discernable, but very engaging. Baby Thing loved Mario Lanza singing songs of Caruso, and when I would play Mario, he would sing his heart out and hit the high notes. It was Baby Thing’s way of making a JOYFUL noise unto the Lord.

Check Mario out with this YouTube audio – “Without A Song.”

I would share in the JOY of Baby Thing flying out of his cage and onto my shoulder when I came home. What an immense sense of LOVE that was.

On warm days, we often kept Baby Thing on a porch, with the cage closed. One day we came home to discover a cat had knocked over the cage and attacked Baby Thing. Baby Thing was still alive, and we immediately went to work with prayer and the most tender care. And yes … Baby Thing lived through that horror … never looking quite the same … yet still hitting those high notes with Mario Lanza.

The miracle of Baby Thing was the JOY he felt singing his song and expressing love, no matter what he had experienced.

Baby Thing reminds me that we all are to find our Voice and Song. That song is meant to be healing and honoring for all for the right to be. In this world now where we have the opportunity of such enlightenment, we are still in centuries old warring, hatreds, and the denial of freedom for all without exception to realize their inner song as Baby Thing so magnificently expressed. May we be in prayer for our planet to awaken to what we are here for – the quest that our songs of authenticity and love can be known for all. Thank you, Baby Thing, for your forever heart-print upon my soul.

A starling carried a universal message for all humanity – Let nothing prevent you from singing your song, from claiming what is yours to BE. Have the courage to rise from adversity and as your earth journey is complete, you will soar into Eternity.

Monthly Theme and Weekly Speakers.

Every month, we take the Key Principles of MYOB and put them into practice in our lives. Looking at the deeper call before us — What are we each to “Be” to bring about societal change through our soul evolution in ways that establish justice, love, and care for all – without exception. Please join us weekly on Thursdays at 7 p.m. EDT for our virtual program.