NOT SO SECRET :: facing the NOW ::

Brooklyn, NY 11216
This year New Years Eve falls on the full moon, which on top of that is also going to be a blue moon. "Some pagan beliefs hold the second full moon in a calendar month holds the knowledge of the Goddess and contains very powerful three-fold the energy of a regular full moon"[source]. Great timing for AVATAR changing people's vibration. Many of us among my friends are really excited to move forward to the new year, which is going to be very different from 2009.

What I know is that a lot of amazing creative projects are coming out next year and the journey toward a future on a next level will be unfolding even more rapidly. People are tuning into the cosmic vibration that is allowing us to wake up to what is really important in this life and to experience the interconnected of all beings in this planet and beyond. What if string theory is a scientific language for an experience mystics have been recounting throughout history... hopefully one day the two can be brought to equilibrium so science can stop being built on a de facto exploitation of our earth (and beyond) both in spirit and action, and religions won't be used as a means of world domination and social control. It's time for the old story to go.

Leopard Lux :: light bringer warrior

For me this year was the ultimate shedding-of-old-skin cycle... learning to let go (on all levels) and to allow myself to transcend old wounds and outdated patterns in order to experience myself in the moment without fear of the future (which is rooted in being attached to past experiences). It actually sounds easier being said than done, and it required a lot of self-reflection and conscious efforts. What ultimately keeps us in fear underneath is our subconscious fear of losing thee connection=love, which is a form of death-anxiety. All fear goes back to the root of death-anxiety, a deep fear of being "cut-off" from the source.

Pollution :: Separatio
Leopard Lux manifested as Nature Spirit being dismembered by machines during which she has a vision of war :: sulphur :: separation :: leo :: >> see integration & blossom in part 2. Blossom :: Coagulatio

So when you give up the fear, you can experience your pure freedom and allow yourself to be connected with your own source of love energy (=source energy). My recurring dreams with big cats made me face those deep fears, which is why felines have taken over much of my creative imagination this year. Of course, it is the journey that has no real end, because the journey is the goal itself.
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Not everything went my way, but I learned from those-there are certain things you have control over and there are others that are out of your hands and the best you can do with those is to take the lesson and move on. Regrets are a leak on one's chi and so are bad feelings...and there is no time to waste with wasting. I definitely feel that I've made a big step toward experiencing life in the absolute moment this year, perhaps because of all the tests I was getting. It was the Stage of the Fool stepping into the unknown after giving up the past...which, if you see it for what it is, is allowing yourself to plunge into the realm of infinite possibilities. Most of the real progress I made was internal, and I am completely ready to leave the Year of the Ox to reap the fruits of all the invested hard work and to manifest all that is already alive and growing in my mental womb. Beginning next spring, the Year of the Tiger is going to be fun...lots of feline fantasy birthing, traveling, love & work on the next level...and abundance!

new piece ::: Turquoise Freedom : The First Messenger
(first of the new series, more to come...)

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I'm still digesting AVATAR. I feel like I've been painting characters from the same reality in the past two years and even some of my visions and visualizations have overlapped with the magic world of Pandora. My tribal cats are definitely related to the Na'vi in spirit. I mean, what if artists are tapping into a reality that is out there, and that reality is just as real as ours. The limitations we place on our mind prevent us from experiencing a more complex reality; the key is to recognize them as limitations. I always welcome my characters as messengers. I don't "make them up", I rather feel like I'm manifesting or outlining them.

[The Healer Ibrahim Yaqut x Lichiban collabo Brooklyn, 2008]

I just found an old drawing of an vision I had back when I was 17, and I realized that it was the same character in a different shape that I worked on exactly a year ago, and which became one of my main characters, LOTUSHEART. It is for me the manifestation of heart energy, love as it bursts out of the earth into the universe like a supersonic lightrocket (in the form of a feline samurai). This vibration is coming from the soil, mother earth, and it is our responsibility to protect it for us to be able to receive the love that is emanating from it. It requires a shift in a way we relate and feel toward the natural world to experience our underlying oneness. But the reward is what is called the experience of bliss. I had a life-transforming experience this summer when I had a chance to go back to my childhood and experience the woods through my 5 year-old self's eyes and heart...with complete connectedness and a sense of innocence. I actually saw the plants as they were in the movie, glowing having lit up from within. So after seeing AVATAR, I was immediately teleported back into that memory. It takes you to the purest form of happiness that makes you want to laugh out loud and shed tears at the same time...something kids know how to do best.

World religions institutionalized spirituality and they forgot about our host, which allowed people to justify a complete exploitation of the planet's natural resources. Tribal communities are connected to their environment in a more organic way that maintains a sacred bond between humans & nature, so I oriented myself toward those spiritual traditions that cultivate this sacred interconnectedness. My murals were all inspired by this desire to connect with the magic of nature through my imagination while I've been grinding in the city, and perhaps to positively influence my future through visualization techniques that projected me into the natural environment that I'd like to eventually take inspiration from and call it my new home when time is ripe. Part of me is all ready to be around orchids, birds, waterfalls and fish markets and the painted temple in the woods I've been already visualizing. But another part of me still sees a role for me in the city, so I promised myself that I'd enjoy it as much as I can while I am being hosted in this amazing metropolis. By living in the now and doing my best to be connected with positive energy and positive people. My life right now is completely magical, I feel like my pieces are telling me a story I understand only months or sometimes years after I've finished them.

I'm ready to open up infinitely more doors of possibilities... and am very thankful for all the people in my life right now and closing a year with a big smile on my face. You are a constant source of inspiration (one of the greatest things about being an artists is that your friends are also your favorite artists). Thanks to everyone who keeps on keeping me in his or her heart--- I love you.

HAPPY 2010 to everyone!
<3,>L.ove Is the CHI
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