Angels Among Us

A five year old boy in our community needs our help. He has Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer.   A local group has been formed to help with the financial cost associated with his illness.  There will be a concert and a cabaret auction held on Sunday, February 13 at the Membertou Trade and Convention Center Main Ballroom at 4:00 pm.   Tickets can be purchased at one of three places... Jimmy Dans Convenience on Cottage Rd, Stephen's Building Supplies Townsend St, or Home Hardware on Prince St

When I was asked if I would be willing to donate a painting to help raise money for this little boy, I asked what kind of painting would be best?  A floral?  Landscape?  The response I got back was Angels...yes, perfect! I said, why hadn't I even thought of that?

I went up to my studio where all my paintings were stored and looked for my angel paintings.  There were three left that I just didn't feel would suit such and important occasion.  I prepped some paper, and began to paint.

Friday I kept busy by working on these paintings.  That day I also helped a friend by doing a Reiki healing so I feel these paintings have also been infused with healing energy.  Here are two of the angels I painted:

Watching over

Always With Us

 

I am wondering which of these angel paintings do you feel should I donate to the auction?  I put a poll up to see what your opinion is, I appreciate your input.  Leave a comment, too!  I will keep you posted.

I will be framing one of these angels on Sunday, hopefully, to be ready for pickup.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

How to remember summer in January...

Yin Yang Mussels

On New Years Day, I knew I had to do something about about the mounds of turkey and chocolate that were gaining coverage on my waist and hips.  The kids needed exercise, heck, we all did!  They had been stuck going from house to house visiting family and friends for days now.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  But it does get a bit tired after a while So, we packed up the truck and off we went to the fresh air and wide open fields of Petersfield Park.

 The kids moaned and whined as they flopped out of the truck and were dragged onto the nearest trails.   It was a gorgeous day, the glorious sunshine made up for the biting cold wind.  The woods sheltered us as we wound through the trails and over bridges.   We passed the Coast Guard College as the trail continued to wind around the shore.

My six year old found "the  tree"  That big old gnarly tree that just begs to be climbed.  He had a little help from his big brother.

We hunted for treasure on the beach.  My youngest found some cool rocks for his new rock tumbler and some really nice shells.  I got to play photographer with my new camera!  Everywhere I looked I saw more that I wanted to capture.  Sea shells washed up on the shore.  Left over fall leaves littering the ground.  Even sea weed!  The sun made everything feel great, and I just kept shooting.  Poor hubby did his best to stay out of the wind.

We found tons of treasures that day on the beach.  The best being the memories we created as a family, running and chasing and having a blast.  Okay, so the boys tormented each other but even that was fun!

We had  an amazing day though I am still working off the extra holiday calories!

Big Mussel, Little Mussel

Here are some paintings of the shells I discovered that day.  You can click on the images to go to my Etsy shop.

Yin Yang Mussels

Reiki Art ACEO original mixed media paintings

Cho Ku Ray

As I am doing a series of blog post about Reiki, I thought it only fit to add some of Reiki artwork!   These paintings are based on the symbols learned in Level 2 Reiki.

 

 

 

 

These paintings are original mixed media works.  The symbol itself is raised, which is a cool effect which I was really happy with.  It is painted with watercolor and Unryu rice paper is collaged over the top.

The Cho Ku Ray symbol is known as the power symbol.  By drawing or visualizing this symbol Reiki's healing energies can  be increased.  It can also be used for protection.  It is like a light switch that can boost your ability to channel Reiki energy by intention.  Here is another Choku Ray in green, the color of healing.

Another symbol is  the Sei He Ki, which has the general meaning "God and man become one".  It is known as the Mental/Emotional symbol and helps people release mental and emotional causes of problems.

Sei He Ki

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the third symbol.  It is used to send healing Reiki energies over a distance or even to a time in the past or future.  It actually means "No past, no present, no future" or it can have the meaning "the Buddha in me contacts the Buddha in you".

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They are miniature works of art, 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches that can be matted and framed to hang on the wall.  They are small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets if you choose.

ACEOs can even be put into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas.

These Reiki ACEO cards would make a great gift for somebody who needs healing.  They can help if you are just starting to learn Level 2 Reiki.  These paintings are available in my Etsy shop, just click on the images above to go there.

I'll be posting more artwork and more information about Reiki soon!  Follow me!

Thanks for stopping by, and Please leave a comment!

Jo-Ann
www.jdmstudios.com

Reiki Part 2...Relaaaxxxx and Enjoy

Human touch is used constantly as a form of healing, and most times we do not even realize we are doing it.  What do we do when we have a headache?  We touch our head.  If a child gets hurt?  A mother will touch, hug or kiss it better, right?  Dogs and cats will lick a wound for the same reason.  Instinctively we know that touch will help it to feel better!

So what is it like to receive a Reiki healing?

Receiving Reiki is a peaceful, beautiful, relaxing experience.  You receive the treatment while lying down, usually on a massage table.  A massage table allows the healer room for moving around to work on different areas of the body.  If for some reason it is not possible to lie down, a Reiki healing can also be done while sitting, as well. 

You remain fully clothed at all times.  There is no reason ever to remove clothing during a Reiki session.  It is preferable to remove your shoes, however and some healers prefer if you remove jewelry, or at least large pieces that might get in the way.

I like to begin a Reiki session by have the person being treated lie on their belly.   I personally find this to be a very relaxing position and tends to put people at ease right away.  Others may start with their client lying on their back.  I keep the room somewhat darkish (subdued lighting) and have some relaxing music playing.  Most practitioners keep conversation to a minimum.

So...there you are...laying on your belly,  in a darkened room with soft music...what next?

The Reiki practitioner is going to place their hands on specific areas of your body.  He or she will rest his or her hands in the same position for about 5 minutes before moving on to the next position.  A Reiki practitioner will NOT touch the breasts or genital area!  And will carefully accommodate should you feel at all uncomfortable with any hand position..  Reiki can also be done with no touching at all, and the hand simply hovers above the area that is being treated.

The area where the healer lays his or her hands is usually a chakra(or energy center) but it can also be an area that simply needs some healing energy.  Healing work tends to be very intuitive by nature and Reiki works beautifully with this.  Here is a great website if you would like more information on the chakras and where they are located on the body.  
http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/introduction.php

Before I begin Reiki, I like to do a "scan"  I float my hand about 4-6 inches above the body, and I am going along, I note where my hand dips or rises.  This give my and idea where there may be energy highs or lows in the body.  I sometimes also may sense heat, cold, tingling or buzzing sensations, sometimes even an ache and I will give these areas a little extra Reiki love.

There are several positions on the head that may get worked on.  These include over the eyes/sinus area, over the ears, the top of the head and the back of the head. 

Occasionally, some people may find an emotional issue that had been troubling them, such a grief or anger may float to the surface.  This is good!  If you can, stay with the emotion and allow it to release.  This is part of the healing process for you.  If you do not feel comfortable dealing with it at the time, that is okay, too.  We will talk more about physical dis-ease and their emotional root cause another time!

Some people will notice nothing at all in the area that is being worked on but most seem to notice something, whether it is heat, coolness or tingling.  Some people fall asleep.  Each Reiki experience and treatment is unique and almost all will feel a profound sense of well-being and relaxation at the end of a Reiki session.

Any questions about Reiki?  Please feel free to email me or make a comment below.  I will be talking about Reiki attunements next...the various levels and what one might experience.  Follow my blog to stay tuned!

Reiki...what is it?

I had heard of Reiki many years ago but never really knew what exactly is was or how it worked.  I was always curious about it and wanted to learn more.  So I  did a bit of  research on the internet.   I learned that it was a healing energy, a laying on of hands, so to speak and that it started in Japan.  I was able to learn the history of Reiki beginning with Mikao Usui and how it was brought to America by Mrs. Takata in the 1930s.  This was all interesting, but I still was not able to experience this amazing healing energy over the internet! Living in a relatively small community, I wasn't aware of anybody who knew how to do Reiki, let alone anybody who had ever heard about it!

Well, the Universe has a way of responding to these things.  And, several months after my curiousity had been piqued by Reiki, our local paper had an ad offering Level I Reiki.  Here was my opportunity!

Traditional Reiki consists of three levels: 
Level I, Level II and Level III. 
Level III is also known as the Master Level or for some, the Master/Teacher Level.  

I felt a profound connection with Reiki and it truly did change my life and my way of thinking.  In June 2010, I received my Master/Teacher level of Reiki.

By the way, you do not need to have any of these levels to experience a Reiki healing treatment.

So, what is Reiki, exactly?  Where does this healing energy come from?

At all times we are surrounded by countless differenty forms of energy. Some of these energy types we are aware of, like heat energy, light energy or electricity. There are also other energy forms that are not quite part of our awareness like xrays and  radiation, for example.


Picture a giant harp, the size of the entire universe. Every string on that harp vibrates at at different frequency when plucked. Picture again every one of these strings being representative of a different form of energy, all vibrating at different rates and frequencies.  Picture light and color having their little section of strings, sound being another section.  Some sounds can be heard as low and some high.  Some the pitch too high for human ears.  Further along these strings are emotions.  Love, joy, happiness, fear, anger and hate all resonating their own frequency.  Did you ever walk into a room and you could feel the love?  Feel you could cut the tension with a knife?  Hope has its own frequency and perhap even prayer does, too.

Reiki is its own form of energy.  It is percieved as a very loving, gentle flowing energy that is believed to be intuitive and goes where it is needed for healing.  It is always surrounding us and available to us.  Once attuned to Reiki, you are more able to tap into this energy.  It flows through your crown and out through your palms where it can be directed to different areas of the body.  It is believed that Reiki goes where it is needed. 

When giving a Reiki treatment, you can feel the energy as it is moving into the body.  Sometimes it is felt as a tingling sensation or heat and sometimes even cold thought not as often.  Sometimes I might even feel an ache in my hands if I am working over a painful area.  This sensation is called byosen.  The sensation will usually peak and then dissipate.  When it disspipates I move my hands to another area for healing.
I will be posting more about Reiki in the next several posts.  I am also in the process of creating Reiki art with watecolor and mixed media.  If you are interested in learning more, follow my blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

Thank you for stopping by!
Jo-Ann
http://www.jdmstudios.com/

Latest Painting, Mixed Media Abstract

Yesterday, I said to my oldest son, "watch this..."  I brought my newly completed painting to my yountest son, who is 6 and a half.  "What do you think of this, Ethan?" I asked, expecting for certain that he would make a screwed up face and say something like, "weird" or just simply shake his head at me.

What I got was the complete opposite...His eyes popped, his arms flew up in the air with the exclamation, "I LOVE IT!!!!  That is soooooo beautiful, Mom!  I can't believe you made that, WOW!!!!"   Kids never cease to amaze me, and as I learned for myself, you just never know what reaction you are going to get!

You can click on the image to see more views of this painting on my Artfire site.

My Sweet Kitten, Jingles

Yesterday morning I spent working on a watercolor of my kitten, Jingles.  I did it on an 1/8 sheet of 140 lb watercolor paper.  What do you think?