WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Life is for Growing

Life is for Growing (Circles of Healing) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010 

source image: yarrow leaf

FRIDAY FIND: Some Children See Him

Some children see Him lily white,
The baby Jesus born this night.
Some children see Him lily white,
With tresses soft and fair.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
The Lord of heav'n to earth come down.
Some children see Him bronzed and brown,
With dark and heavy hair.

Some children see Him almond-eyed,
This Savior whom we kneel beside.
Some children see Him almond-eyed,
With skin of yellow hue.
Some children see Him dark as they,
Sweet Mary's Son to whom we pray.
Some children see him dark as they,
And, ah! they love Him, too!

The children in each different place
Will see the baby Jesus' face
Like theirs, but bright with heavenly grace,
And filled with holy light.
O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!
~Alfred Burt and Wilha Hurtson ©1951

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY : Be Blessed Now

Be Blessed Now (Circles of Winter) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: eriogonum leaf

FRIDAY FIND:Mandala Quartz Crystal Singing Bowl Energy Healing Video

Feeling holidazed? I know I sure am! Take a moment and let the soothing qualities of the vibrations from this quartz crystal singing bowl meditation bring you back to inner peace.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Festival of Light

Festival of Light (Circles of Winter) © Sue O'Kieffe 2009
source image: dahlia

Abundant Blessings of Light Mandala

 

Abundant Blessings of Light (Circles of Winter 2010) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: cotoneaster

I grew up in Minneapolis, and every year at Christmas time there was always something in the news about the Festival of Lights and the celebration of Santa Lucia. I can remember seeing photographs of a blond haired girl with a crown of candles in her hair. When I finished creating this mandala, the words Santa Lucia came to mind and so I did some googling  to learn a little more.

In Sweden, the shortest day of the year is today, December 13th, and so the tradition of the Festival of Lights is grounded in the celebration that the days are growing longer. Santa Lucia was a wealthy Italian woman born in the 3rd century A.D.who was martyred for her Christian beliefs. She is one of the few Catholic saints worshipped in the Lutheran church.

Lucia was known for her kindness. When I breathe into this mandala and feel its gift to us, what comes back to me is light filled compassion. I feel that energy that hums with Love.

Please know that your lives are blessed with abundant Light and Love.

Bright blessings
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

FRIDAY FIND: Gratitude Mandalas

 I am sharing one of Atmara Rebecca Cloe's amazing kaleidoscope videos with you for today's Friday find. I first met Atmara  on Facebook as a fellow mandala creator. This fall I had the pleasure of meeting her face to face. Atmara's supportive and radiant nature shines both on and offline. Her mandala videos captivate me. Their beauty and capacity to uplift and spark the soul is apparent  whenever I view one of them. I hope you enjoy her gifts as much as I do.

Please be sure to visit her website, New World Creations and her YouTube channel, Artwork for the Soul, for more  of her mandala goodness.

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Peace Mandala

 

Peace Mandala (Circles of Awareness Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2009

source image: wild onion blossoms

Mandala Coeur Joyeux

 

Mandala Coeur Joyeux (Circles of Love series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010 

source image: beet ends

I've been sitting with this finished mandala for a few days now, breathing into the image and seeing what is reflected back to me. There was a sense, at first, of the upcoming holidays -- visions of sweetness and frosting, snow and winter wonders, peppermint candy and sugarplum fairies all spoke to me. But I think the message of this mandala goes deeper, right to the heart.

This mandala  throws open a window, inviting the self to meet the Self. The  heart at the center of this image glows with light, joy and innocence. Look at me here, the Self seems to shout. I am dizzy with Light and radiating with Joy and Delight.

And really, I really do believe that this is who we all are, filled with this Light and Love.Have you felt a knocking at your heart? Have you noticed that  quickening, a desire to let loose with the glow of who you really are?

I do not speak French, and so I asked Google to help with the translation for Joyous Heart Mandala. I wanted to title it in French, which after all, is the language of Love.

I would, as always, love to hear your impressions on how this mandala speaks to you.

(And here's a little technical aside, for those of you who like these things:

I created this mandala using the Illuminate photoshop action I downloaded at Paint the Moon Photography's Facebook page. I am always looking for ways to add more light to my mandalas. So, merci, Annie Murray Manning, for figuring all these details out so I don't have to.)

Bright blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Mandala Coeur Joyeux is available now in my Etsy shop (20% off through 12/6/10)

AEDM 29: Heavenly Love Mandala

Heavenly Love Mandala (Circles of Light Series & Eleven Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: organic yellow oyster mushrooms

I was totally captivated by these yellow oyster mushrooms when I saw them at the farmer's market. Mushrooms are so mysterious  out in the wild, and these organic mushrooms with their beautiful yellow caps and enticing gills just begged for further inspection.

This will be my last mandala for AEDM. I wanted today's offering to be uplifting.

May this mandala be a reflection to you of the Light that is in you and all around you and available to you whenever you want it. Know that you are Love and that you are Loved. Stretch out your arms. Expand with the Heavenly Love that showers down upon you. Be willing to receive. All is well.

Bright blessings,
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

Heavenly Love Mandala is available for purchase at my etsy shop

AEDM #23 Celestial Reunion Mandala

 

Celestial Reunion Mandala (Exploring the Mystery & Eleven Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: Mexican sage

 

The universe and the light of the stars come through me ~ Rumi

 

Exploring the Mystery is one of my favorite themes in this mandala art. I never really know what is going to come through me, for one thing, so the process itself is often mysterious. When I gaze at this mandala, I feel something very familar. Where have I seen you before? Was it last night, in my dreams, when I traveled to galaxies far far away?

I'm curious to know if this mandala, or the feelings it may evoke, are familiar to you as well? Won't you please share  your impressions with me.

AEDM #21 - Cedar Bear Mandala

Cedar Bear Mandala (Circles of Healing and Eleven Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010
source image: cedar tree branch

 

I love studying the patterns in tree bark. Cedar is especially beautiful. I know it has different healing qualities, and what doesn't smell more heavenly than a cedar chest? Ahhhh...

When I created this mandala,  the faces of eleven bears appeared around the perimeter of the circle.Bears are about wisdom and intuition; and, during these darker inner months of winter, seems an appropriate symbol to appear in a mandala.. Oh yes, and the number 11 is also about intuition, so we have come full circle!

For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere..how are you enjoying these dark days of winter so far?

Sue

AEDM #19 - Love is Our Core

 

Love is the Core (Circles of Healing and Eleven Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: cotoneaster 

No matter how gray life may feel at times, remembering that We Are Love and Our Core is Love helps it go better. Sometimes its hard for me to remember that, but I think that is the message of this mandala.

How does this mandala speak to you? We are all full of such great wisdom. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

AEDM #17 - Ground

Ground © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: mushroom gills

(for Wordless Wednesday)

AEDM #15 - Bountiful Blessings Mandala

 

Bountiful Blessings Mandala (11 Point  Series and Circles of Fall Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: turban squash

I love walking around the Farmer's Market when the bountiful blessings of harvest are on full display. I'm filled with a sense of gratitude at how fortunate  I really am to live where I do and have so much around me. This turban squash with its multicolored marking really caught my eye, and I wondered what stories it might have to share with us?

When I finished this mandala, I thought about how  much I don't know and may never know about what we call Life. Sometimes writing about these mandalas is difficult. I am filled with so much emotion, and this mandala evokes lots of feelings in me.

The center of this mandala contains the unknown, as well as an ever glowing ember inside. This is our core. We all have that glow. How much we choose to let it shine is a daily choice. The amount at which I am shining these days is way different from how I was a few years ago, and more recently I have gotten in touch with how much more I want to let that light expand. This mandala seems to speak to that desire. From our core, we naturally blossom forth and shine in the world with our very best intentions. It is a choice. We can shine or we can shrink. Most of us, and I definitely include myself in this, have no idea how radiant, powerful, and beautiful we really are.

I am reminded again of Marianne Williamson's powerful words:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Bright blessings,
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM #13 - Angels of Hope Mandala

 

Angels of Hope Mandala (Circles of Healing and Eleven Point AEDM Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: potato vine flowers

I'm really grateful when people share their responses to the mandalas that pour out of me. My intent in creating is only to be a conduit. I don't have any intention of what the image might be before I begin.  I make my choices for source images by what seems to be speaking to me most at the time I sit down at the computer. Tammy Vitale mentioned in a previous post that my white mandalas spoke to her of hope, and so I decided to go through my photos in search of white flowers.

Potato flower vines are used abundantly as a landscaping element on fence lines where I live, and they seem to bloom all year round. Thank goodness for moderate climates. I took this photo recently. Sometimes it's harder for me to use an image when the energy of plant is not current in me.

When the mandala was finished I was quite amazed to find what reminds me of stars around the circumference of the circle - 22 of them, in fact. Twenty two is another master number. I won't go into all the details about 22, but the energy is powerful and used to turn dreams into reality - a powerful, hopeful meditation indeed.

Curious about 22? You can read more about it here and here.

Filling our lives with symbols that offer hope and inspiration (a quality of 11) is a loving gift that we can offer ourselves and each other.

Bright blessings,
Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM#11 Power Within Mandala

Power Within Mandala (Circles of Healing Series and Eleven Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: poison oak bark

I decided my focus for AEDM this month was to create all of my mandalas with 11 points (because AEDM is taking place in the month of November, which  is the eleventh month). I also wanted to honor the number 11 which is a number of deep insight and illumination. Many (including myself) note the numbers 11:11 as a reminder that we are heading towards great transformation. Over a million people will be meditating beginning today for 11 minutes each day starting at 11 pm to envision a world of harmony and peace that is based on the principles of quantum physics. You can find out more about it on New Reality Transmission website.

This particular mandala speaks to me of personal power and the fire within. This is not power over that is coercive and manipulative and destructive, but the power that comes from knowing who we are. We are called more and more to step up to who we really are and embrace the reasons why we are on the planet right now. This knowingness and beingness is really at the heart of my mandala art.

I smile at the use of a photo of poison oak to create this mandala. Now there is one little plant who surely has a grasp of its own power!

Have a beautiful day envisioning a new reality for our planet!

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM# 9 - Looking Up Gives Light Mandala

 

Looking Up Gives Light - (Circles of Fall and Eleven Points Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010source image: autumn leaves treetops

I think Rumi pretty much says it all --
Looking up gives light, though at first it makes you dizzy ~ Rumi



For those of you new to my blog, I wanted to let you know too that I have calendars available for 2011 containing my mandalas with inspirational quotes. They make excellent gifts for the holidays and provide beauty and inspiration for all of your friends (and you) 365 days a year
.
 
Here is a link to my newsletter that just went out. (By the way, anyone subscribed to my newsletter is entered into a random drawing each month that I publish to win 3 of my greeting cards).


Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM #7 - The Burning Circle

 

The Burning Circle (Circles of Healing and 11 Point Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: crocosmia pods

 

The month of November is primarily in the sign of Scorpio. Among other things, the  sign of Scorpio  is about power, control and transformation. When I was creating this mandala, the words the burning rose to the surface.

It got me thinking about letting go of relationships and old patterns that  no longer help me or I've outgrown. Sometimes letting go is just hard. We (I) carry the illusion that we (I) can actually control what goes on around us (me). We (I) resist change.

Burning facilitates transformation. 

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM#5 - Celebrating the Mystery

 

Celebrating the Mystery (Exploring the Mystery series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: fennel blossoms

I had the idea while creating this mandala about how we think of the mystery as dark, and well, mysterious. Because the Mystery is always with us, unexplainable and unknown, in a way it is a constant companion. Maybe we need to acknowledge this every now and then and bring it to Light.

The fennel blossoms I used to create this mandala grow in "disturbed places," according to the field guide I use.Most of us would only see it as a weed and not give it a second thought. Run your hand along the stems and your nose is filled with a yummy spicy aroma like licorice. What a gift that is, huh? A little aromatherapy right there in the alleyway.

But isn't it a mystery that such beauty can be found in such common locales? What ever was the creator thinking on this day of creation?

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM 3: Walk Between Worlds Mandala

 

Walk Between Worlds Mandala (Power Shield Mandala) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: red tailed hawk wing feather

I believe that the feather I used for this mandala came from a red tailed hawk. Sometimes it is kind of hard to tell after the fact; but I found a nice website with a good guide to feather identification, so that's what I'm going with.

When I was creating this mandala, the phrase "Walk Between Worlds" came to mind. Think about being able to travel between one dimension or another. You know how that feels when you dream and imagine. Traveling in non ordinary reality, such as during a shamanic journey, is another. I feel the power of wind under wings and soaring easily between one realm and the next when I feel into this mandala.

I'd love to hear your response as well.

Because AEDM is keeping me busy with creating every day, I've decided to forego a lot of the research I often go through for inquiry, and focus on my own intuition with these 11 spoked mandalas.And I think that is a bigger piece of the creative journey for me this month as well! I will rely more on what I know and feel inside, instead of looking for outside sources to validate my experience. Hurrah!

Bright blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

AEDM #1 - Spirit Flower Mandala

Spirit Flower Mandala (Circles of Healing series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image - cactus fruit

In Celtic tradition, November 1st is New Year's Day. This first month of the Celtic calendar is called Samonios - "Seed Fall"  - from death and darkness springs life and light (livingmyths.com)

Im not sure about the plant or the fruit from which this mandala was created, but I believe it is a variety of cactus. I love the way the berries cascade like beads on a string. Seeing the white berries as a contrast to this darker time delights my senses.

I was guided to create this mandala with eleven points. Eleven is a number of transition. In numerology, it  represents illumination and deep insight.

Reach for your light when your days are seemingly filled with  darkness. We may sorrow and grieve for what has fallen away. Life may offer us circumstances that seems hard to navigate. Take deep breaths and reach within and know that your internal brightness is always available, wanting so much to be discovered and brought forth to shine and share with the world. A ring of eleven angels with outstretched wings surrounds this mandala. Let them lift you upward. You are blessed. You are here.

November is the 11th month of the Gregorian calendar. November is also Art Every Day Month. I think this is my 4th year to participate in AEDM, and I only decided to do it this morning. So for the next 30 days, I have decided, as an experiment, to create all of my mandalas with eleven points and to see what messages around the number eleven rise up in me. I will be alternating my AEDM postings here with those on my sister blog,  Sue Doodles, so I am not making myself crazing trying to create for both blogs every day this month.

Bright blessings,

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

Autumn Portal

 

Autumn Portal (Circles of Fall) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: plum leaf 

I was going to wait until Monday to post this, but it's message needs to be shared today.

The time of going inward is upon us. We have cycled to that place of meeting with our inner space. We  greet the dark in order to find the light. Some of us find comfort there. For others it brings up fear. This is a time of transition, but it is not the end. It is just another moment in time. What I heard this mandala share with me upon completion is that there will always be Light to guide us during our darkest moments. Solace is available and Love is a constant.  We are never alone.

Bright blessings!

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

FRIDAY FIND: Inner Portals

if you are viewing my blog post from your inbox, you will need to come to my blogsite to view this amazing video

Illuminate Your Mind!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Holding the Heart Mandala

 

Holding the Heart Mandala (Earth Mystery series) © Sue O'Kieffe © 2010

source image:serpentine stone

Sacred Circle Mandalas 2011 Calendars

Many of you know that I create a calendar every year with mandala art and inspirational quotes.  This year I was super inspired and created two! Creating these calendars is an act of love.  We need these reminders of healing in our daily lives as we move forward into greater awareness.

The Love of Nature

I hope you enjoy this year's uplifting mandala imagery inspired by nature. These calendars are  perfect for everyone on your holiday gift giving list who is on a journey of spiritual growth. People are drawn to the sense of balance and calm that the mandala imagery offers.

This year I am once again offering the opportunity to order calendars directly through me. Doing so will afford you a bit of a price break in shipping. In order to make sure I can get your calendars delivered in time for the holidays I will need to have payment via PayPal, check or money order by November 30th. Email me with the number of calendars you want to order, your payment method, and your email, and I will send you an invoice for your order.

I'll try to make this as uncomplicated as possible. Here are the details:

U.S. Customers
1-3 calendars is $24.95 each plus $4.90 shipping Priority Mail.
More than 3 calendars ship $10.70 Priority Mail.
(In comparison, ordering directly from the publisher will cost you $8.99 in shipping for one calendar, $11.99 for 3 calendars, $14.99 for 5 calendars sent FEDEX ground)
6 calendars or more are eligible for a quantity discount.
California residents will be charged applicable sales tax.

Canadian/Mexican customers
Each calendar is $24.95 plus $11.45 shipping Priority Mail.
More than 3 calendars ship $26.95 Priority Mail.
6 calendars or more are eligible for a quantity discount.

Customers outside of North America
So that you can be sure to receive your calendar on time, I would recommend ordering directly from Lulu. com

Circles of Love 

Local customers
I'd be happy to make arrangements to deliver directly to you.

Gifting someone? Want me to mail directly to your giftee? I can do that. Just send the necessary information in your email.

Rather just order yourself? Not a problem. Lulu.com has a 3-5 day printing turn around, and shipping ground FEDEX takes about a week. (Shipping US Mail will take longer and cannot be tracked.) Just go ahead and order when you are on the site. Links to ordering directly from Lulu.com are here and here

Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about ordering these calendars. My contact information is in the sidebar to the right.

FRIDAY FIND: Mandala Circles for Healing

Enjoy this beautiful slideshow of illuminated mandalas drawn by the students of the late Judith Cornell. Her legacy lives on through all that she touched.

From the Mandala Universe website:

Dr. Rajita Sivananda (Judith Cornell Ph.D.) is the award-winning author of MANDALA:Luminous Symbols for Healing. Since a radical awakening in 1979, she began pioneering a method to help others to awaken and heal at the deepest levels. Her method blends the sacred art and the spiritual science of the mandala with theories in quantum physics, raja and kundalini yoga, and transpersonal psychology.

Rajita is remembered as a bringer of light on the planet. Her life was dedicated to helping people on their path to awakening. She introduced people all over the world to healing on many levels using mandalas long before they had regained their current popularity. Rajita was a pioneer in blending sacred art and meditation and today there are many who use her process as a method for spiritual, emotional and physical healing.  Her focus was in helping others to awaken by experiencing unconditional love, forgiveness, gratitude for the present moment, connection with Nature and the spiritual depth of Silence. Rajita guided many souls to live with integrity and intentionality, honoring their True Nature.

She leaves a legacy of great award winning books and many mandala facilitators that will continue to bring her brilliant work out to the world for the greater good of all.
We will miss you, Rajita and we are certain that you will continue to do your light work on a higher plane.
Fly with the Great Ones, beloved friend and teacher.

Have a great Friday!

Bright blessings

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Autumn Mystic Mandala

Autumn Mystic Mandala (Circles of Fall series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010
source image: autumn leaves

Spice of Life Mandala

 

Spice of Life Mandala (Circles of Fall Series) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010

source image: wild dried fennel stalks

Fennel grows wild along the roadways. I love its umbrel blossoms, but appreciate it even more in its dried autumn state. Last week when I was in the southern part of the county, it was wonderful to run my hands against the plants and smell the spicy aroma of fennel seeds while basking in the warmth of autumn sun.  It was just so fallish!

This mandala, with its thirteen points, seems to whir and spin if you stare at it long enough. I think thirteen is actually a lucky number that represents both endings and beginnings. I actually began this mandala on October 13th, but it was spirit that guided me to use thirteen points. I know not why.

Recent events in my life have shook me awake just a little and led to me believe that variety just may be the spice of life after all. I have been thinking about wanting to make some changes to my blog for a while anyway, and now is a  good  time to put some of these ideas in motion.

Each Monday I will offer you a new mandala along with my interpretation of its meaning. Wednesdays shall be wordless. My offerings will be totally visual. I would love to hear your words and feedback. At least, come say hi. And Friday I will offer 5 things I have seen elsewhere of a spiritual nature around the interwebs that you might find useful, illuminating, or maybe just a little fun.

And if I have other things to share along the way, it might just end up being a full week!

Please know that my intent is to create uplifting mandala art to heal your heart and soul. If you have any questions about my art, my process, or my inspiration, please be sure to let me know. I will do my very best to always answer your comments and questions.

Bright blessings to you always,

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

Magic Mountain Mandala

 

Magic Mountain Mandala (Circles of Fall) © Sue O'Kieffe 2010
source image: dwarf huckleberry leaves

This photograph of dwarf huckleberry was taken during a recent visit to Mount Shasta, which I wrote about earlier.  I traveled to the mountain on a full moon, so the energies of that day are contained in this mandala.Curious about those energies?  This newsletter , written by astrologer Lisa Zimmerman, offers information about the Full Moon in Aries.

My intuition suggested that I create this mandala with ten points. I was immediately struck by the center of the image looking like an eye. Traditionally, the center of a mandala is the Self/the heart. The Eye is the I, as Life Coach Richard Ingate pointed out to me on a comment he left about the mandala on my Facebook page. The Self reaches up to a circle of ten elders, spirit guides and guardians raising their arms in support and jubilation of the Self. The circle is uplifting. I was curious about the significance of the number ten and discovered that 10 represents unity.  In Judaic tradition, ten is used to signifty God, who is thought to incorporate ten intertwining divine attributes. (Susanne Fincher, Creating Mandalas).

One of the messages that I received during my day on the mountain was about change and a shift in consciousness: When you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got. So many of us, including me, fear change and the unknown, even when change is really the only constant. What I/eye perceive when feeling in to the message of the mandala is that through the challenging transitional times when we aren't quite sure what to do next, that there will always be spiritual support available. We can call on it at any time. I forget this.

And it seems appropriate also that the colors in this mandala are of fire and earth - fire to transform and earth to ground it into a new view of reality. (Oh and yes, according to Fincher, the number 10 is also one of realism.).

I sat with this mandala for quite a long time, trying to hear what it was trying to say to me. I suspect the conversation is just opening now, since in my own life I am actively asking for change and shifts to occur to take me to the next level.

If you feel inspired, won't you share your perceptions of this subtly powerful mandala with us?

Bright blessings on your path this day!

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

Solo Show at Moonrise Herbs Arcata, CA Opening Oct 8 2010

Crow Drums with Shaman © Sue O'Kieffe

This mandala, along with seven other framed prints, other matted prints and a wide selection of mandala greeting cards (some available nowhere else but this venue), will be on display from October 8th through November 11th at Moonrise Herbs. This will be my first solo show and I couldn't be more excited! When I first began creating these nature mandalas, I envisioned having a show at Moonrise Herbs, and here I am!

If you live locally in Humboldt County, I hope you will consider stopping by and saying hello. I love talking about my art and the process of making these mandalas. Come join in the discussion.

See you there!

Sue O'Kieffe

Sacred Circle Mandalas

I Went to the Mountain - Part Two

So I thought I'd finish sharing my experience of Mt Shasta before the significance of it all fades away. Did you miss Part One? You can read it here.

Walking on the meadow path and really being present, I sunk my feet in and grounded. I could feel the earth vibrate beneath me. I felt connected to the mountain and all that was before me. Being present, I could feel the intense energy contained in the meadow, reverberating off the volcanic stone that is this magnificent mountain. I found a secluded area off the path where I wouldn't disturb vegetation and stripped to the waist, baring my breasts and my soul, shouting out to the Spirits of the Mountain Make me free! Make me whole! This had really been my desire the whole time and not that other, that should which I held onto for so long, I am grateful for my courage to fulfill my vision for my time on the mountain.

It really is ok to do those things that our soul most desires.

Something shifted while I was there. I asked for that shift. I came home feeling full of love and light. I have also been crying a lot and needing a lot of sleep. It's a time of release, of letting go, of making way for what comes next. It's a time of awakening.

I am ready.

 mountain vistas

 panther creek

 paintbrush flowers

 self portrait

volcanic voices

May you fulfill your desires as you wish them!

Bright blessings

Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas