I took a yoga class on January 2nd with a new teacher. Soraya teaches Kundalini yoga, using a gong and card decks to add dimension to the class. She mentioned that 2018, in numerology, is a year of Mastery.

Mastery sounds extremely important on the surface.

Mastery is fluid. It’s not easily pinned down, nor is it an endpoint.

Still, a year of mastery sounds exciting and I quickly thought, "This could be MY Year”! Whatever that means.

As Soraya guided us in a meditation, I felt blue butterflies encircling my head. Could this be a sign of Mastery? After all, butterflies have transformed from caterpillars into an entirely new state of being.

Did you know that while in the cocoon, caterpillars turn into a messy goo that resembles neither a caterpillar nor a butterfly? If the process is interrupted, the butterfly never forms.

Similarly, if the cocoon or chrysalis is tampered with while the butterfly is emerging, the wings are deprived of nutrients and never fully form. The struggle to emerge is essential to the proper growth of strong wings.

All this is a preamble to my latest Tree Diva: Mastery and Mystery. She was first imagined in that January yoga class.

I began painting her January 10th, a day that was filled with frustration. I knew I wanted to begin this painting and I was afraid to start — how could I possibly live up to her potential?

I felt frustrated and frenzied. My time was tugged in different directions by tasks that “had to be done” that day.

I finally shoved paperwork out of my way and just began to draw her — with my eyes closed (that’s a first). I started with her left arm; I wanted her energy to enliven the painting right from the start.

Of course, I erased and redrew parts of her before I was ready to paint, but for the most part, she came together smoothly.

I was excited to see her healthy root structure! This is the first time a tree diva’s roots are showing.

Having a strong foundation is essential for life.

I recently started to work with a personal trainer at the gym. I’ve been experiencing some problems with my right hip and decided this is the next step in my healing process.

My first goal at the gym is to strengthen my legs (my roots). I’ll continue to take yoga classes as well to maintain and enhance my flexibility. Both are necessary for continued vitality.

Reaching a goal once is not Mastery!

Replicating our achievements more than once, and then moving our target out just a little further, keeps us moving toward mastery.

I’m not ready to claim mastery, and will continue to work with the mysteries of life.

I love the magic!

I broke a tooth last week — no pain, just a broken tooth; so I went to the dentist.

When I arrived, I was asked to sign a warranty. I haven’t had major dental work done in years so this was new to me.

The warranty included stipulations about the patient holding up their end of the bargain — like having check-ups twice a year.

This got me thinking about having my own personal warranty.

How do I ensure that my outlook stays “sunny” or that my body functions optimally? What good habits do I have in place and what habits might need updating?

My morning ritual is to read something uplifting and then to write in my journal. I've recently added writing to my Inner Wise Self as well.

After that my days are a bit scattered. No two days are alike. Some days I teach in the morning, some days I teach in the afternoons. Some days I sell art at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Some days I run errands, or have a coaching call, or do paperwork, or marketing.

How would it feel to create a tighter schedule for myself? "Scary, icky, no thank you", are my initial reactions.

I have lots of excuses for NOT creating a tight schedule: I like my freedom; I prefer to “go with the flow”; I don’t like being hemmed in; I’m a “Horse” (Chinese Astrology) and a quadruple Aquarian (Western Astrology).

I believe in small changes, so I’ll start small. I'll begin by setting my timer so that I don’t spend more than 20 minutes at a time on email or Facebook.

WIN! I can do that easily!

Another change I can make is to consciously set intentions for myself, both for the entire day and for short segments of time throughout the day.

For example, I intend to paint with abandon and joy in my heart. OR I intend to feel joyful as I do x, y, and z (those tasks less fun than painting).

Setting intentions creates a roadmap for the day.

By consciously setting our intentions, we have increased awareness of the processes in which we engage.

Set your intentions in the present tense. Start with the way you intend to feel today, or the way you’ll feel when a task in front of you is completed. Focus on whichever of those feelings feels best.

Intentions can be a bit of a reach, but only a bit. You want them to be believable!

Now that the Art of Aloha Cruise: Discovering Paradise Inside and Out is open for sign-up, we're beginning to set our intentions for the cruise — private, personal, and group intentions.

The energy is building to make this an exciting journey for all of us.

There's room and time for you to join us. Click HERE to download the pdf file of information. Fill out the last two pages and follow the directions to enroll. Please email me if you have any questions. Please note: To fill in the registration form on a computer you will need to use Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) or Adobe Acrobat.

‘Luke, come to the Dark Side.’ ~ (my memory of Darth Vader enticing Luke)

Those words echo in my head each time I face a painting that needs dark colors.

In the beginning, the painting is meant to be mostly light and medium tones

Dark colors provide contrast, interest, intrigue, and excitement to our work.

Adding the darks to our paintings can be SCARY!

It’s scary and it’s exciting and it makes a HUGE difference in our paintings.

If the dark color is “perfect” when we paint it, it’s probably too light. If it looks “too dark”, it might just be perfect!

Scare yourself just a little bit. Add dark colors & the difference is immediate. It’s hard to appreciate the edge of darkness when we’re scared.

Noticing that we’re scared is the first step to shifting into action. Fear lives right next door to Excitement.

Move from fear to excitement by breathing into your fear. Inhale and feel the feeling rise from your belly to your chest (your heart center).

Remember that if the painting isn’t finished, or if you’re not happy with it — if you don’t like it — it isn’t finished. You’ve got nothing to lose by adding darks. 

If you don't like your painting, what's in front of you is just a piece of paper!

Still mostly light and medium tones, with definition added

Remind yourself that no one will die if you add darks to your painting. You'll likely energize your painting by adding dark colors.

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are “plunging into darkness” (on so many levels I’ve lost count — mostly I refer to winter).

Darkness is scary because we don’t know what it holds. 

Winter is a time of rest and of letting the ground lie fallow.

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It’s a time for us to ease up, maybe just a little bit, maybe take a nap, and certainly to reflect on all that we’ve done this past year. 

It’s also a time to plan ahead and to set our intentions for next year.

What is it you most want to see, do, or BE next year? What would light up your life and energize you?

If you want to relax, feel great, enjoy life, see the world through fresh eyes, and spark your creativity, join me on Art of Aloha's 8-day cruise through the Hawaiian Islands August 4–11, 2018. Come Discover Paradise, Inside and Out. Click here to receive first dibs on the great Balcony Cabins!

I attended two SARK retreats in June, one in Portland and another in Carmel. I felt joy and excitement before and during both of these retreats.

During the past nine months, I attended all of the online classes and in-person retreats. I filled two journals with notes and began shifting the ways in which I create my world.

I felt great, focused and excited about the process everyday … until I didn’t.

Anxiety rose up to meet me a week before the final retreat in Portland. I was shocked this was totally unexpected!

I turned to my watercolor paper and painted my anxiety while teaching my Hide-N-Seek painting method at a “Playshop” for the Hawai`i Watercolor Society on September 30th.

The painting began horizontally.

As my left arm circled the brush round and round, my right arm made the infinity symbol with the brush moving from left to right and back again. All the while I verbally and visually explained my inner feelings.

My left hand described my frustration with going over the same learning cycle, again and again, feeling stuck, seeing the same issues rising up over and over in my mind. (Remember the Onion from the last post?)

At the same time, my right hand explained my desire to break free of this cycle.

Step two of this painting process is the removal of texture, revealing the underpainting. It was then that a heart appeared, and I knew this painting would be vertical.

On the second day of the final SARK retreat, I watched in awe as Dr. Scott Mills drew out the exact structure of my fresh underpainting on the flip chart for the class.

Scott explained that it’s easy to get stuck in the seductive loop of learning and that it’s essential to break free from that loop so we do the work we’ve come here to do.

We need to use all of our learning
or we’re wasting everyone’s time.

Learning and Doing are parts of the infinity loop. One side feeds the other. If we get stuck on either side, we’re out of balance.

I’m committed to learn and evolve throughout the whole of my life. Now I have more tools with which to do my internal excavation.

The deeper I dig, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more questions I have and the more potential and possibility I find. And the more I have to give and share with others.

The world appears to be “out there”. Yet the VAST majority of it lies “in here” — within and for all of us.

That’s why I’m inviting you to join me for my first ever 7-Day Creative Cruise through the Hawaiian Islands, August 4–11, 2018.

Together we will Discover Paradise Inside and Out.

The official pre-launch is in December. Find out first by sending an email to me: Patrice@artofaloha.com. Please put cruise in the subject line so I’m sure to respond quickly.

I’ll share with you the processes I know to dig down deeper within and outside our selves, to hunt for and find the clues being left for us by our Inner Wise Selves.

Together we’ll discover new vistas,
both within ourselves and throughout the world.