And it bloomed …

By 9 commentsBlog, This waking life, , , , , ,

And It Bloomed Jane Teresa Anderson Dreams

I know that as you contemplate Marylou Falstreau’s print, a garden of your own calls to you. Not a physical garden, but something that you’d love to create, become, or do, something that’s completely of your own.

Artist Marylou Falstreau was inspired by a dream to create her Woman and the Hourglass series of prints and cards, and, being totally unique and of her own, they’ve bloomed and found their way into shops, homes, hearts, and minds.

I love the sense of surprise – ‘and it bloomed!’ How often have you planted other people’s ideas, cultivated other people’s expectations, and wondered what might have happened if you had planted your own?

A style that bloomed into what we now recognise as iconic Matisse.

A style that bloomed into what we now recognise as iconic Matisse.

I went to the Matisse Drawing Life exhibition at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) last weekend. Henri Matisse drew from life every morning, before he got down to the work of the day, and there were some 300 drawings on show for us to view. His earlier drawings were heavily influenced by the prominent artists he studied, his style shifting radically from season to season until he found himself drawing in a style completely of his own, a style that bloomed into what we now recognise as iconic Matisse.

We can’t all be Matisse – and his apparently simple style is very hard to emulate, as we discovered when we sat in The Drawing Room, an interactive part of the exhibition, a lush Matisse-like studio dotted with stools, easels, and drawing boards, contemplating the smorgasbord of still life on offer, our pencils poised, and poised, and poised. I drew a few squiggles and lines, and had fun. Fun was a rewarding outcome. I discarded the inept squiggles and kept the Matisse souvenir pencil for inspiration.

No, we can’t all be Matisse, but like Matisse, or like Marylou Falstreau, we can all create, become, or do, something that’s completely of our own. All we have to do is simply decide, one day, to plant a garden of our own … and it will bloom!

Tip 1: If you’re not sure what you want to create, become, or do, pay attention to your dreams as they reveal the limiting beliefs – largely those built around your past and present experiences of other people’s expectations of you – that block your connection to this knowing.

Tip 2: Pick a number from 1-27, and count through Marylou’s Women and the Hourglass prints to add some synchronistic insight.

You might also enjoy

Online learning at your pace

Listen to The Dream Show

9 comments on “And it bloomed …”

  2. gay

    MaryLou is the most wonderful person….she is touching lives and changing hearts and giving hope and making us believe again…I am proud that she is my friend

  3. Gloria

    I looked at this blog because it was mentioned in Podcast #121 and I had, at the time of listening, been out in the garden all day, putting in the last of dozens of plants that I had garnered from all over the place and feeling very pleased with myself.

    I have recently moved into a retirement village where the gardens have been established. Residents aren’t supposed to remove anything the admin have planted unless they die and can only plant their own in pots or in between established plants. I am an Australian native plant enthusiast and had reconciled myself to the fact that I would no longer have my favourite plants around me but there was one thing I couldn’t live with – a pencil pine right outside my bedroom window. Out it came and over the next few months, bit by bit, plants mysteriously died and had to be replaced. I noticed that mine wasn’t the only garden affected.

    When I saw the title of this blog I was inspired to do a dream alchemy exercise with it. I set the alarm for 5 minutes and set about writing furiously. Why confine dream alchemy just to dreams I say. This is the result:

    One Day She Decided To Plant A Garden Of Her Own… And It Bloomed.

    She thought she couldn’t do it, that ‘they’ wouldn’t let her. But she started with just one tree being pulled out and before she knew it, another and another. ‘No imagination, no style – what were they thinking? Pine needles everywhere, no flowers anywhere. Sure they grow, but will they bring the birds, can I bring some flowers inside?

    When she looked around at the other gardens in the village she decided she didn’t want to be among the ones that stuck with what they were given – she wanted to make it her own. Make it a statement of what she loved in life – native plants that would bring the native birds to build nests in the bushes and shrubs.

    Then she would feel really and truly at home in her own little Garden of Eden. Don’t we all want to come home to Paradise?

    ******

    I have since visited Mary Lou’s website and ordered several prints and cards and had correspondence with her and agree with Gay, she is a delightful person.

    • Jane Teresa Anderson

      Hi Gloria,

      This is so beautiful. And I totally agree, there’s plenty of room to apply dream alchemy to waking life situations, as you have wonderfully demonstrated. (I wrote my book, The Compass, to offer alchemy practices to apply to waking life.) May your garden of paradise continue to bloom and to inspire all around.

      Jane Teresa

  4. Gay

    She is indeed! I met her on a trip to California when she still lived ont he central coast. Two meetings and much correspondence later and I consider her a dear friend, shes just that kind of person, draws you in and loves you for who you are. So very wise and a wonderful mentor. I am so glad that through this mysterious circuitous route , you have come to know her and her inspiring work!

  5. Gloria

    There was a flurry of correspondence because MaryLou’s website wasn’t set up for international commerce but that has now been resolved and I am looking forward to being the first person in Australia to have Mary Lou’s prints adorning my walls. Isn’t it just amazing how connections get made? So thank you Gay and Jane.

  7. gay

    Oh, yes we are, for many reasons. Gloria, you will never be the same after taking Marylou’s wsidom and insight in and making it your reality. You will bloom….believe me!!
    Contact me anytime…I would love to have a friend half a world away
    gschneid13@gmail.com

Comments are closed.