Sacred Sight 2012 - What is Your Flower of Life?

As the piercing light of mid-summer 2012 approaches, I ponder the magical and miraculous...

"Sun Salutations" - Rebecca Christenson (Riviera Nayarit, 2012)

The Flower of Life represents endless; beauty, symmetry and balance.

The Flower of Life - Jennifer Christenson - 2' by 4', oil on canvas (2010)

Featuring the Aquarian characters: Baiados and Josephine VanDeKirk

work in progress

All things that were previously magic...are now working science.  

These are exciting times as we are out of the calm -- the storm of awakening is occurring full-on.  We are in a state of emergence.  Super hero abilities increase and are available to all individuals, as ruling collectives crumble...

Golden Jaedunn - Jennifer Christenson - Oil on Canvas (2010)

work in progress

The many miracles of awareness and discovery...

How do we handle being unsettled?  What happens when our root chakra is up-rooted?

1st Mandala - Root Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Breath.  Stay calm.  Gather facts.  Sift through disinformation.

Simplify.

Trust yourself to make conscious decisions in the moment.

Based on that moment.  

If you are a slave to stuff and your outer identity...  

Let go.  

It is not you.  

It is stuff.

You are an eternally renewable resource.

You are a creator -- In case you didn't already know...

2nd Mandala - Sacral Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Dark nights of the soul require strength, longevity, stamina, and love.

Endings are beginnings.  Change is the constant.

Free will is our right.

3rd Mandala - Solar Plexus Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Hearts are opening all over the world.  Relief occurs with a shift in reactions.

Love is the answer.  

"The Universe is always in balance.  We are the ones out of balance...And to establish this balance, this harmony, within yourself, you have to be in love.

And when you are in love, you can offer yourself that love as well." -  Elder Makua (The Bowl of Light - Hank Wesselman)

4th Mandala - Heart Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

As women develop appropriate voices...universal balance increases.  Courage to speak with truth and integrity -- creates the shift.

"It's the women who are going to change the world now, and so the men have to protect them."

"The job of women is to teach the men how to be gentle.  So it's time for the men to sit down and listen, and it's time for the women to stand up and speak."

- Elder Makua (The Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman, PhD.)

5th Mandala - Throat Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Intuition and dreaming are gateways, ours to remember...

"The greatest discovery that you will ever make, is the discovery of yourself, and particularly the discovery of your relationship with your Higher Self, your Aumakua."


"Each one of us carries the potential to be a messiah.  We carry this energy within us, but we have to choose it.  It will always and forever be about choice.  

If we wish to create a better world, we must dream a new world into being...and then we must act on our dreams to bring them into manifestation through ourselves."

- Elder Makua (The Bowl of Light, Hank Wesselman Ph D.)

  

6th Mandala - Third Eye Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Wisdom is the result of life, lived.  Not merely aging.

"The young soul is the one who says do it my way."

"The mature soul says, do what you want, 

just don't do it here."

"And the old soul says, you do what you want, 

I'll do what I want."

- Elder Makua (The Bowl of Light, by Hank Wesselman Ph D)

7th Mandala - Crown Chakra

Jennifer Christenson - 11 by 14, Acrylic on Canvas (2007)

Becoming your own Super Hero...

I recently watched Captain America, despite misgivings...

War is not the "way" to peace...even if it is just fictionalized metaphor.

However --- because of my keen aversion --- and a discussion last summer with Damon Vitale (Co-Screenwriter and Co-Producer of Blackstone) --- I gave the film a chance.   I was surprised by lack of polarity in the main character.

Alternatively, in Hugo Weaving's portrayal of Red Skull, the old paradigm --- power for power's sake ---is unable to comprehend why he wasn't the best...

Why would a literal no-body (Skinny Steve), be bestowed with the gifts of strength, agility, rejeneration and immortality?

Seems like storytelling evolution.  We are all our own super-hero -- receiving a unique "call to action".  

Bec and Jen in the Garden - Photo: Haley Christenson (2008)

Body Art: Jennifer Christenson

Stories shift, as paradigms do.  

Or do paradigms shift as storytellers do?

Chicken...egg?

Actress Ashley Barlow (Rt) and TAD Rebecca Christenson (Left) on the set of Blackstone

Photo: Dean Buscher, copyright Prairie Dog Film + TV (2011)

To illustrate the speed of the current shift, consider Michio Kaku's opening in, "Physics of the Future":

- A greeting card that sings "Happy Birthday to You", has more power than all the WW II Allied forces of 1945.

- Your cell phone has more computer power than all of NASA back in the 1969, when it placed two astromauts on the moon.

Cusping a Golden Age...

A few weeks ago, my kids began their Sunday watching "The Last Mimzy".  They wished to go to a school like the kids in the opening of the film --- flying to class, learning through ESP, working with geometric technologies...  I agreed.  I would have loved that too, but I also reminded them -- 

If this is what you really want, we are responsible for co-creating a more "magical" reality.

The Cosmic Symphony...

According to my daughter (when she was 2 years old...), the stars eat songs.

Comparing that idea to theoretical physics and quantum science, string theory points to harmonics as building blocks of the universe.  On the strings, there are notes.  Sound creates shape.  

Similarly, DNA is the building block of physical life.  I have to wonder, is DNA music?  Our understanding of DNA is still very limited.  One string of DNA carries more information than our very best supercomputers -- right now (not the ones from WWII).

If singing birthday cards carry more power than elite supercomputers from 50 years ago, one molecule of DNA, must be the equivalent of a cosmic symphony...?

All of this magic/science, call it what you will, creates life... creating (or feeding) the stars.

We each have a part to play in this, as we tap into our own creative purposes.

I'll leave you now, with a quote from Linda Schurman (C2C AM - December 28th broadcast):

"We are becoming a spiritually and psychologically elevated species, 

that can work in concert with the earth and all peoples."

"Flared Faerie"

 Photo: Rebecca Christenson, Costume & Body Art: Jennifer Christenson (2008)

Vive la Mexico! - Celebrating Rebirth and Sacred Dance

This year, Jen and I traveled to Riviera Nayarit, via Puerto Vallarta, to celebrate another tour around the sun.  All we knew about our destination, was that we were determined to find sun...in whatever all-inclusive fit our budget, and travel dates.

Magic and miracles greeted us at the Royal Decameron (Riviera Nayarit, Bucerias) ---

Beginning with our view...

Guardian angels even came out to protect us when suffering an amateur's infliction ---

"Ripe to be picked, so naive..."

Mucho tequila/la piscina... Ay Caramba!!!

Despite losing a day, we remained determined to give our favorite dancing dresses,
a bonafide latin night!

"Beauty urges, just believe..."

To our relief -- and delight -- we found a place on earth where men really move! And -- wait-for-it --- Their hips!  Even better, some men seemed to like dancing as much -- or more --- than us. 

 

The joie-de-vivre was contagious. We toured the resort as happy "Hola!"'s filled the air...

I am a bit surprised to realize Mexico may have trumped Hawaii on my preference list...Wha??? 

Yup...after years of dreaming of a life in Maui, I find myself reconsidering.  People are the heart of any location.  I also seek spiritual gateways, where the connection to source is tangible.  Mexico has an ancient feminine energy, Mary is featured in recent spiritual practices.

I am committed to being open enough on my life path...to notice shared foot steps...and alignment.  I'm not sure why I landed here, but everything conspired to get my toes in the sand of Bucerias.

It will take time to process, retrospectively, the affects of this trip.  What I do know is, I am more alive  than I've ever been.  Each morning at breakfast, I looked to "stand up paddle guy" (and his dog) for Nayarit lifestyle tips.

Food, enthusiasm, culture, and the cosmopolitan feeling of Puerto Vallarta area intrigue me.  It felt old like Europe, yet warmer than the UK.  With the quick flight, right-sided driving, little time change and welcoming atmosphere, this is an easy trip for people close to the western coast of the Americas.

Caliente 

people, food, music and colors --

offer counter-point to

 the cool,

rhythmic, 

rolling waves 

and 

solitude 

offered by the 

Pacific.

Mexico offers all a large country can.  It is what Canadians are familiar with --- the vastness of peoples, landforms, dialects and lifestyle to explore and experience.  In my life, I would never see it all.  Canada is the same.

I recommend this trip and resort to anyone looking for everything --- in one place.  

Aside from dance, I look forward to more self-discovery with; art, food, photography, language studies, marine biology, architecture and aquatic sports.  

Could this be my home away from home?  Mermaids need to make port once in a while...  

Before signing off, I want to mention the stand-out feature of our Mexican experience -- helpful locals. 

On and...

...Off resort!

So...as the sun set on another annual cycle, 

Jen and I are rejuvenated and uplifted, 

oxygenated and sun-kissed!

A great big 

"GRACIAS" 

goes out to everyone who served us last week, while we took a break from our service roles.

 From making our reservations, to: entertaining pool-side, evening shows in the amphi-theatre, directing resort "newbies", carrying bags, cleaning rooms, providing water, repeated cups of coffee, driving us around, a dance night where we "partied like rock-stars", amazing food and drink...thanks again.

We also appreciated sharing brilliant smiles and resonant laughter...

Work is love in action.  

We invite all our new Amigas/Amigos to experience our work as well...

Salut and Hugs!  

 Bec and Jen...Jen and Becca...

This video is shared in honour of the dissolving borders and universal love!

"Love is Earth and all are Kin."

Italicized excerpts from "The Aquarian Philosophy" by Bec and Jen.

New Photos will be added to www.rebecca-christenson.artistwebsites.com.

AQ Behind the Scenes - Lord of the County Photo Shoot

Thanks goes out to our Dad (Chris Christenson) for modeling in our latest photo shoot!

When asked if Dad would don Jen's period suit for stills capture, 

Dad responded, "Sure, I can be Lord of the County."

And thus, a character was embodied...

On his first international trip (to Cuba), Dad was given the nick name "Gandalf" by the locals.   We agree, there is definitely a wizard persona in him.  There also appears to be a Mark Darcy, ship's captain, and more!

What the Cubans didn't know, is Jen modeled The Holly King's features after Dad (oil on canvas/2007).

What we didn't know, was that Dad would do some of his own performance work.

Chris Christenson with "The Oonahnahmae Universe" book

Our purpose for this shoot, was to capture quality images of Jen's work.  This costume was designed and constructed for Jen's post-grad diploma studies, at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The materials used in the construction of this suit are: linen, silk, and wool.

And after we captured the formalities, it was time to capture the laughs...

Chris Christenson (Model) Jennifer Christenson (Costume Design & Construction)

Chris Christenson (Model) with Rebecca Chrisenson (Photographer)

Great work Dad, you're a natural!