Day Five: Live In Your True

"To be human is to become visible 
while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others. 
To remember the other world in this world 
is to live in your true inheritance. 

You are not a troubled guest on this earth, 
you are not an accident amidst other accidents 
you were invited from another..."

- David Whyte

MGA Summer 2014

Did the week fly by or what?!?!

Our morning gift came from my friend, Cooper Bates, of Hint Mint!  The girls loved the mints and even more they loved the story of how Coop and I crossed paths.

We began the day with a few writing prompts for our journals.

Mighty B and Mighty T taught everyone how to make tassels for our mala beads.

 Then we took a nature walk to look for things for our talisman necklaces.

 Soon the moms arrived and we began our closing ceremony.  There was champagne grapes, and pizza and zucchini bread...

 and a surprise reading by Mighty M...and lots and lots of love.

Dear Mighty Moms,
Thank you for blessing me with the gift of your extraordinary daughters.  They are precious beings.

Dear Mighty Girls,
I wish I could find the words to express how magnificent each of your are.  It is truly a blessing to be in your presence, to witness your creative process and your sense of wonder.  I will miss you all so very much, and yet my heart is overflowing with gratitude.  Also, know that my studio door and my heart will always be open to you.  If you find yourself in my neck of the woods, please stop by.

Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy




*My heart's gratitude to my beloved Chelsea who makes it all feel like a beautiful dance.


**Thanks to Robert & Satch for the help setting up and hauling a stack of pizzas to the meadow.

***Thanks to the Mighty Girls for help with the heavy lifting while I recover from my injury.

****Thank you to my friend Becky of Creative Girl for the darling bottles.  The girls loved them!

Thank you for bringing a little sunshine in my life...

Post by EmiSunshine.

Day Four: Greatness of Soul

“Though her soul requires seeing,
the culture around her requires sightlessness.
Though her soul wishes to speak its truth,
she is pressured to be silent.”  

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, (Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype)

This morning there was a black swallowtail butterfly in the meadow flitting above the grass where the tipi stood just the day before.  Once the girls arrived, some of them got right to work on their journals, while others inked themselves.

 



















Today's morning gift came from Chronicle Books (one of my favorite publishing houses because they offer a wonderful selection of art & design books).  This year, the generous spirits of Chronicle have sent the girls an inspiring new book by one of my favorite artists, Lisa Congdon.

 


















 Chronicle and Lisa had this message to send to the girls:

“Here at Chronicle Books, we’re inspired by readers like you who dare to dream big and still believe in the magic of books. Thank you for being you and for seeing things differently with us!” - Irene Kim for Chronicle Books


"Girls, don't forget to LIVE every day of your lives! And stay curious!" - Lisa Congdon

 

 


















 I took a few of the new girls aside and showed them where the wild black raspberries grow.  

Of course we ate all the ripe berries we could find.  I showed them a few other plants too, like delicious lemony wood sorrel and wild plantain for bee stings.

The rest of the group joined us and we took a refreshing walk in the forest. We saw deer tracks on the sandy bank and found an owl feather.

When we returned we began working on our Mandalas.  In Sanskrit mandala means circle as well as center.  It symbolizes the world around us and the world within us.  Mandalas are found in many forms and in many cultures like the Native American Medicine Wheels, Tibetan sand paintings, Hindu Yantras etc.  Mandalas are symbols used for meditation, protection and healing.  It is considered a sacred circle that reveals the inner truth about yourself and the world around you.

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. 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. Life is a circle, and so it is in everything where power moves.  - Black Elk

Dear Girls,

Don't forget to bring your tags to camp tomorrow.  We will need them for the closing ceremony.  Tomorrow we'll discuss our mandalas and make one last project.  Then we'll have a pizza party!  In the meantime, here are some cool mandala videos for you to enjoy!  (Moms, we would love to see you at the closing ceremony tomorrow.  It begins at 11 sharp! )




Made so & rooted by love,
Wendy

* I would like to thank Becky of Creative Girl for the wonderful paint pots & bottle charms.  We used the paint pots for our mandalas, and tomorrow we will use the bottle charms.  Much love to you xo