30 August 2009

when money is not the measure of your success

you value your well-being over your wealth
your wealth is defined by how much love you have in your life
your life is filled to the brim with joy and contentment
and the measure of your success is that you have enough of what really matters.
do you?














copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

29 August 2009

eight of cups

time for restoration and rejuvenation.
non-doing is the way.
the push and pull falls away
rest and relaxation
the pathway to stillness begins with honoring the stagnation
lessons in enlightenment
quietness is what is required now











copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

28 August 2009

ask for what you want

you deserve everything you can imagine
all that you can dream
ask and ye shall receive











copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

25 August 2009

blessings for us all

head bowed.
hands clasped.
i sing a song of praise and glory.
amen.







copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

24 August 2009

just this, just this

attend to what is in front of you.
let that be your altar.
say your prayers with your actions.
settle into the thisness of the moment.





copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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21 August 2009

finding our heart

the place god calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
-- frederich buechner






copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

i am as i am

idealist and adventurer
healer and sacred explorer
make no excuses for the visions that cloud your dreams
dance on tip toes and swing your arms as if your life depended on your joy








copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

20 August 2009

life is short

time to get yourself into the game and play as if your life depended upon it.

it does.


















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

19 August 2009

love is the answer

end of story.
beginning of life.

















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

18 August 2009

there is no substitute for passion

there are no cutting corners in this world of passion
sometimes it dims, sometimes it fades
it may be time to regroup and reignite the burning flame
find the path that illuminates the road to where your heart lives
that will be the place you can call home
the place where passion lives.















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

you win

you have suffered enough
and warred with yourself
it's time that you won

Once Soundtrack- Falling Slowly


- from the once soundtrack















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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17 August 2009

enso art



dharma in the making.


















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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16 August 2009

forget everyone else

this may sound like a very rude thing to do.
and sometimes, it is exactly what we need to do.

we need to shut out the distractions that divert our attention from what we know we must do.
it is about having clarity about what it is that we must do and voicing our actions definitively and yet, non-aggressively.

sometimes, we simply need space and time to think.
to let our thoughts and ideas rest and rummage around in our hearts until they can settle into what is real and true.

and, we can give our Selves sometime to let go of "figuring it all out" and let it instead unfold in the way it wants and is destined to be.









copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

13 August 2009

opening

let the doors fly open
sing the song that only mystics dare to tell
it's dangerous to have a heart so wide open.
laughter and tears are the same now.
















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

12 August 2009

spiritual pizza

"people have different experiences of reality, which cannot be jumbled
together.

invaders and dictators of all kinds have tried to make
others have their experience, to make a big concoction of minds
controlled by one person.

but that is impossible. everyone who has
tried to make that kind of spiritual pizza has failed.

so you have to
accept that your experience is personal."

from "The Four Foundations of Mindfulness," in THE SANITY WE ARE
BORN WITH






opyright 2009 Alisa Barry

11 August 2009

take time for wonder

get up, take shower, drink coffee or tea, maybe eat something, go to work,work, work, home , dinner.....computer, sleep.

breaking it down to the basics of our day can tell us a lot about who we are and the choices we make.
sure, we've all gotta get stuff done, but with 24 hours in a day, ok, minus eight hours or so for sleep, you still have at least 16 hours! even with all the stuff and work and commitments we must have scribbled into our calendar, that still seems like a fair amount of time. couldn't we just carve out one precious hour a day for us, for our soul, for our life?

"YES!"

we can whine and moan about not enough time, but i think we all know that it is not about time at all. it is about choices.
why do we think we have to make it so hard and difficult and serious and work-related.

god loves those who play. of that, I know for sure. how? because when I do, he rewards me greatly.

seems counter intuitive, to say the least, and yet, it is exactly the meaning of the pair of opposites.
don't follow the crowd-- follow your heart.

how would you dream up your wonderful, lovely, god-loving day?
live it, now. today. just one day. then, see how you feel.

watch the day go by. somethings won't get done {gasp}. you might be surprised to see things fall away or get solved on their own. and, the rest will be waiting for your tomorrow.

the do-to list never ends. so, knowing that, how can you feel bad? pick one major accomplishment per day and let the rest unfold and unfurl as it will, as god wills.

masallah.






copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

09 August 2009

the thousand things

from chris guillebeau's website, i discovered a delightful young woman who has a website all about creativity. she listed 100 things about herself. i thought it would be a fun exercise for me to put together my own list.
stream of consciousness....consciousness streaming. who knows, i might even surprise myself.

100 X 10= 1,000
here's the first one hundred.

1. I was born and raised outside of chicago, il,
2. I am one of 7 children {yes, I was raised Catholic}.
3. I currently live in atlanta, georgia
4. i love farmers markets around the world and sometimes miss the amazing agriculture, food and restaurants/cafes of northern california
5. i lived in spain for a year, which was the catalyst for opening a cafe
6. i have a terrible long-term memory, and yet i remember some pretty detailed stuff
7. i am intuitive and often know the answer unexplicably about things that I have never been told, especially about people.
8. i live with my two favorite boys- one is a furry bunny rabbit - like dog named jack. the other one is a handsome sweetheart named smith.
9. I live in a 1908 sears kit home.
10. my {not yet legally official} husband designed a kitchen for me with subway tile we found at a salvage yard in berkeley
11. i love to write and would if I could most all day long. the rest of the time i would like to cook and draw japanese ink ensos.
12. i love to cook when i don't have to.
13. i am an introvert.
14. i love yoga. it makes me feel really good, but i wish i had more discipline to do it more regularly.
15. i devour food magazines, but have rarely, if ever, cooked a recipe from them.
16. i am intrigued by languages and often imitate accents and intonations.
17 . i dream in other languages, mostly italian and french. can't speak much in my waking life, but it must be buried back there somewhere.
18. i am in love with europe and hope to live there someday, again.
19. i want to rent an apartment in paris and write for 3 months, drink cafe au lait and shop the markets and cheese shops daily.
20. people think i am a freak because i really could care less about chocolate.
21. i do love mashed potatoes. and chop suey. and applesauce.
22. rice is my favorite comfort food.
23. people call my house "white world" because the floors, walls, and most of the furniture is white.
24. i used to be really, really book smart, but then I traded it in unknowingly for intuition.
25. i don't always trust my intuition, but i know the power of its gift.
26. one of my vices is drinking coca-cola.
27. I sometimes have to go on a 30 day hiatus because I become addicted to the sugar, or caffeine, maybe or both.
28. going to the movies is my secret afternoon indulgence.
29. i love warm weather.
30. i could pack a bag {or not} and be on a plane to wherever with little to no notice.
31. i hated pasta and spaghetti sauce when i was growing up.
32. i was a tomboy as kid.
33. dancing has always been a secret passion. oh, and I wish i could sing. i mean REALLY sing. next life.
34. the other night i dreamt i was dancing with gabrielle roth. it felt like poetry in motion.
35. someday, i hope to study more about carl jung and philosophy.
36. i am intrigued by theology and mysticism.
37. i like things ordered, but not necessarily neat and i am a bit of a slob sometimes.
38. julia cameron's "the artist's way" class was an amazing creative experience.
39. in 2004, my life and business were falling apart and i took a month off to do an artist's retreat. it changed my life.
40.. i consider myself to be spiritual, and yet, sometimes, I find i am just learning what it means to be kind.
41. i love to pick vegetables and flowers from the garden.
42. surrounding myself with beauty is like oxygen for me.
43. i love to study and learn.
44. listening to little children speak in foreign languages is pure delight.
45. even though i went to culinary school, i am not a chef. i do have a love for balancing flavors and developing new recipes.
46. music is like a lifeline to living.
47. i should have been a groupie.
48. there is a bohemian artist in me waiting to be born.
49. i can live on little money, but i would much rather have at least enough to do all the things i love without worry or stress.
50. i love to laugh and be around others who make me laugh.
51. my family will tell you i am goofy.
52. my family wonders how i could possibly run a business.
53. i have been known to lose my wallet--often.
54. i like to keep my car clean.
55. i never learned how to use excel. and, i am sure i never will.
56. i love to be surrounded by people who are simply themselves.
57. i dislike stuffy, overpriced restaurants.
58. i love hot dogs with ketchup and relish. and marshmallows. and tofu.
59. being by the water on a beach is cleansing, soothing and relaxing.
60. i wonder what it would be like to birth a child.
61. i sometimes think of adopting a child.
62. laughing children fill me with spontaneous joy.
63. i am a hard worker and inherently lazy.
64. i used to have a photographic memory
65. i love to swim in warm water , especially if it is adjacent to a sandy white beach
66. warm baths with absolute rose essential oils are my salve
67. i love lingering in bed on sundays
68. my family called me chicken legs when I was growing up {how I would die to be called that now!}
69. I have an LA face {ok, maybe more like SF} and an Oakland booty, {saw that posted by a friend on facebook and thought I would steal it}
70. i love tamales.
71. some day, I will make a good living as an artist .
72. i have scribbled art installations in my head and on paper
73. I create beautiful books and inspire others with my words {declaration for what is- what is to come}
74. i sometimes feel like everyone is ahead of me, even though i am running at a ridiculous pace.
75. i love the polar opposites of the quiet of the country and the urban excitement of a european city.
76. a million times a day, i love my dog, jack.
77. being in love is delicious. and, its not always easy.
78. i do my best work in cafes.
79. i think of myself as an optimistic person.
80. i like when my husband goes out of town. I get stuff done. i eat when i want. I do nothing. i miss him.
81. i can glide through a book in one sitting if i love what I am reading.
82. i am really inherently lazy. {did I say that already?}
83. i wish i had more color in my wardrobe, but alas, it is mostly black.
84. one day, I will hire a bohemian stylist to take me shopping and find all the clothes i have been dreaming about
85. i would love to create a line of vintage-inspired clothes and jewelry.
86. i love new york. and rome. and barcelona. and nicasio.
87. i fell in love at 22. that is if you don't count the fourth grade.
88. chilled prosecco is always in the refrigerator
89. writing is what i love most.
90. i always surround myself with fresh flowers, green branches and found objects
91. when i first heard joseph campbell's The Power of Myth, I knew that i could finally understand everything
92. i often think of my aunt elaine
93. i believe in angels on earth
94. i can't believe i am old enough to have a mid-life crisis
95. when my mom was my age, she had already raised seven children.
96. the older i am, the more i appreciate my parents, even if I don't agree with them, mostly.
97. i love when its dark and cloudy and pouring down rain.
98. strange how much i love music , but i am not musical at all.
99. slowing down is good
100. fresh squeezed orange juice makes my day.















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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creativity heals

"odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order."

--Virginia Woolf


things that can normally disrupt and distract us can be at once interrupted and silenced when we engage ourselves in some creative act.















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

08 August 2009

it's inevitable

a simple sentence. a monumental commitment.
not because it is so big or hard or impossible.
because it simply is.
whatever it is.
it is the thing you must do.
the thing you must do that forwards you and your desires.
the thing you must do to push yourself further than your cushy comfort zone.
the thing that you know will take you there.
persist. persevere. enjoy.
it only makes sense if it is more of what we love, not a burden of what we "should" be doing.
focus on the joy and it will all fall into place.

unnecessarily being hard on yourself is no longer needed.
shedding..........new skin.















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

06 August 2009

life begins

there is nothing quite like the beauty of holding a newborn baby to remind us of the miracle of life.
in an instant, miracles of our everyday existence are the only things that matter.



copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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05 August 2009

let the lover be.

let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded. / someone sober will worry about things going badly. / let the lover be.



-- daily poetics






copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

things as they are

there are moments in which we feel we are seeking something that is not meant for us, knocking on doors that don’t open, waiting for miracles that don’t manifest themselves.

fortunately that is the way things are - if everything went the way we wanted, soon we would no longer have anything to write about, nothing to guide our daily thoughts. this script serves our dreams as nourishment, but to our battles as energy. ...... as it always happens with the warriors that spend all their energy in the Good Fight, there are moments in which it is best to relax and believe that the Universe is still working for us secretly, even if we cannot comprehend it.


because they believe in miracles, the miracles begin to happen.

because they are certain that their thoughts can change their lives, their lives begin to change.

because they are certain they will find love, this love appears.



-- from the Warrior of the light, by Paulo Cohelo author of The Alchemist















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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spring cleaning

art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

--Pablo Picasso

clean out your soul as you might your closet
get rid of the clutter
make room for something wonderful + new.


























copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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03 August 2009

e x p a n s i o n



art is not to do with the practical side of making a living. it's to live a fuller human life.
--- (henry moore)


i believe in the power of creating art. our own art.
spiritual expression.
energetic release.
understanding ourselves as much as the work that is being created
alas, it is ourselves we are creating. discovering. understanding.





















copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

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02 August 2009

be willing to look at what you don't want to see

it is only when we are ruthlessly, and compassionately, honest with ourselves that we can begin to see ourselves for exactly who we are.
we must sludge though the mud to find the lotus.
alchemical.
magical.
sometimes painful, but if we walk through the fire, we become the phoenix that finds its true calling, taking soaring flight through the blue blanket sky. freedom at its finest.


copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

01 August 2009

illumination

find fulfillment by just being who you are.


* compliments of J. mead













copyright 2009 Alisa Barry