claim...

I think it is so important for us to take back our bodies,
our lives, to call out our true names, to live in our skin in a way that suits *US*.

~ Maitri.
Goddess, writer & dear friend,
on my eyebrow piercing.

::: the piercing light :::

.


I take deep breaths this morning
and step into a destiny.

I have wanted this for so long. In my teens, I used to hold my eyebrow when I felt in need of strength.

I decided a couple of weeks ago.
It's now... or it won't happen.

I don't want to live my life with an unpierced eyebrow.

So I book my appointment.
I listen to all the nay~saying,
but I consult with my heart, and she knows what she wants.
I speak with my spirit. It tells me all will be well.

So I select the blue barbell.
I lie softly, peacefully on the white vinyl.
I meditate on a candle flame.

The forceps holding the skin tight. The lightning pierce. And then it is over. I scarcely believe it. My eyebrow is pierced... finally.

It is my wedding ring to myself.
Leonie, I promise to treasure your dreams. I will chase them with you and for you. I will hold to your truth, and I believe intensely in your intuition. I love you, and commit to you.

I walk the length of the yard, up and down,
and I feel like I have stepped into the body I've been waiting for.
I feel more normal in my incarnation as Leonie than ever.

The truth, the love, the dreams come pouring out.

A pierced Leonie.

love,
me.

but fancily... is the only way to do it...

.


"You have no conception of the limits
you have placed on your perception,
and no idea of all the loveliness that you could see.
Perception can make whatever picture the mind desires to see.
Remember this.
In this lies either Heaven or hell, as you elect."
~ The Course in Miracles

Who told you that life was meant to be hard,
that challenges couldn't be overcome,
that you weren't supposed to be happy and joyfilled?

Who told you that you weren't a god/goddess,
that your dreams were too fanciful to be reality,
that you should settle for less than that BIG LOVE,
that you were unloved or unattractive or ungroovy or just plain un?

And when the hell did you choose to believe them?

...
I want you to know I believe in you.
Even when I can't find the words or the self love or the gntleness.

~~~

i sit watching rockstar idol
i am intoxicated... by them... and fermented grape...
i am intoxicated because i see how each are so different.
some have the stronger voices... but they each do what they can do best...
BE THEMSELVES.
i love butterfly girl heather. daphna with bangs. serial killer marty. intensely jd. cheerleader with the grunty voice. the blonde janis japlin. mohawked chocolate daylight. barefooted bearded shagadelic one. miggy wiggy.

and i love them...
because they have perfected the art of being themselves.

Google Earth rocks my world...

.

Gua Musang, Malaysia

I've been having a GRAND time exploring the world with google earth.
I kept saying:
it's just all so beautiful. what a huge, beautiful globe we're on.

Tonight I've found the village of Gua Musang, that I spent a few weeks in a few years ago...
(above). I even stalked one of my penpals and found her house. It'll come in handy next time I stop by America for a picnic by the pond with her.

I found my parents cattle property in the green lushness of the Whitsundays...



I even saw a sugar cane fire from space!



Then I journeyed down the crevasses of the Grand Canyon and found Turquoise Canyon...



And virtually fulfilled item #74 of my Things to do this Life list by taking a "photo" of the red of Grand Canyon against a blue sky...



ahhh, sweet dream catching and world exploring...

creative goddess girls...

.

part of my dreamboard... an evolving collage...

somedays i just get so excited by the delicious deliverings of creative goddess girls,
that i just want to run away from the spreadsheets and get paint under my fingernails.

get inspired by

:: karissa :: tine :: keri :: jen :: andrea :: violette :: penelope ::


the feather (from yesterday) now lives on my dreamboard...

delicacy...

.


I received the most beautiful snail mail today, from my sweet earth gem sista, Sezolas. She found this exoskeleton of a leaf on one of her walks...
She said it divinely reminded her of the preciousness of life, and the wisdom of the Crone.
It is so delicate, you can see right through it. it is now a part of my dreamboard collage, and a thread of my heart.



I've been spending so much time in my studio...
meeting those artist fears of what to do, and how to be. I am learning to give myself the same advice as I give to others:

Be yourself.
You are the greatest thing you've got.



"And no one could ever bring me down
Maybe I never understood
And nobody needs to save me now
As if they ever really could

I never felt so free
And never been so alone
Everything's how it ought to be
Here in the great unknown"

In The Great Unknown lyrics ~ by Mary Fahl


~

am loving...

:: google earth
:: tine, wild woman artist of the elephants
:: the frasier episode "Out with Dad"

purple goddess...

.

commissions for purple goddess...



"You have no conception of the limits
you have placed on your perception,
and no idea of all the loveliness that you could see.

Perception can make whatever picture
the mind desires to see.

Remember this.
In this lies either Heaven or hell,
as you elect."

~ The Course in Miracles




"I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart."
~ Alice Walker

Pics from around town...

.


Telstra Tower on Black Mountain in the early morning, with rising sun.



Unconditional love cat street art in the city. (I know who does these!)



Tree against a building across the street from where I work. Late afternoon.


Things are delicious and big and busy at the moment.
No writing for me tonight ~ things will be unveiled gradually,
in a striptease of the spirit.

Just one thing though:
The best thing on a Sunday afternoon is hot chocolate in Deb's kitchen, just yakking, while she bakes caramel fudge walnut brownies... then proceeds to dish up hot brownies with ice-cream just for afternoon tea.

sigh. sunday arvos shouldn't be without.

love,
leonie

Tranquility

.


This week's Illustration Friday topic is TRANQUILITY.

"Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ‘Embraceable You’ in spats."

~Woody Allen~

Today I grew like a Wildflower

.
Here's a preview of my book ~ for all those who haven't been able to download it.

















Reviews:

"It's F A B U L O U S. Pure delight. You are such a STAR. I love to watch you G L O W."
~ SARK, author of "Succulent Wild Woman"

"A fabulous glimpse into Leonie's World.
This a wonder-filled book by Leonie. I settled down in my garden to read - what a pure delight! The words bounced off the page with colour, life and sparkle. I treasured every morsel, every word, picture, thought and feeling.
Thank you Leonie - for such a precious gift."
~ Penny a Tudor Rose


"Incandescent, Luminous, A Kaleidoscope of Color and Feeling...

This STUNNING work by Leonie Allan has simply taken my breath away. I absolutely love the colors, the artwork, the photographs, but it is her words, her heart, her soul that radiate warmth and love and joy on every page, even the ones that express her sorrows and hard times, because in the end, Leonie's heart is ever triumphant and you SOAR with her. I have carried this book around with me like a talisman since the day it arrived. When I needed it most, through the hardest of times, I've only to open a page and Leonie floats me on her words. I've read it at stoplights while driving. I take it with me everywhere. It has become a touchstone for me. A touchstone full of grace. Thank you Leonie, for the gift of your beautiful heart."
~ Maitri Libellule, author, fiber artist


"The world has found a new precious voice...

Leonie Allan's "Today I Grew Like a Wildflower" is a sweet-scented manifesto of a "life well-lived." Allan shares with us her enthusiasm and curiosity for the world and takes us into a spiral, a labyrinth of self-discovery. Captivated by glorious artwork and welcomed wimsy coupled with intense reflection, we come away feeling like we are better human beings - because we are exactly who we are: splendidly flawed, beautiful human beings.
Leonie Allan has birthed this book; now the universe has accepted this new voice, a voice we will surely be hearing more from in the future."
~ Lisa Marie Brodsky, poet


"A warm, magical book

This book is an absolute delight to the eye -- full of gorgeous color and inspiring artwork. It is bubbly and joyful and genuine -- an honest love letter from a very open heart.
It's not all fluff and rose-colored glasses -- the author shares her struggles as well as her triumphs.
I would recommend it to anyone looking for innocent wonder, candid expression and wild inspiration."
~ Releaf


"Uplifting and Brilliant!

This book is uplifting and inspirational. I found myself immersed in Leonie's stories. It felt more like a I was having a conversation with a good friend rather than reading a book.
I emerged after finishing it feeling stronger, braver and inspired.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a boost to the heart and soul."
~ Dawn Taylor


"It was everything I expected and more - I couldn't put it down.
While I read it I smiled, nodded, paused, pondered and laughed.
I wanted to give the book a hug when I finished.
I feel uplifted and wiser for reading it!"
~ Lile Koneska, jewellery designer


If you'd like to leave a review, I would most appreciate it!
You can do so here.

"Today I grew like a wildflower" is still available for sale ~ click here to order!


Deepest blessings to your day,
Love
Leonie

one month...

.

my two sisters. maryanne is the younger one, rebekah is the eldest.
photos by my big brother, brett. {gotta be a hotmailer to access his site}

"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."
~ Gail Lumet Buckley

in one month i'll be home with the people that look like me.
on the farm i grew up on.
it's been a year since i've been back.

"mama, mama, i'm coming home."
~ ozzy osbourne

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
~ Desmond Tutu


my beautiful sister, becky.

"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."
~ Johann Schiller

the best ever...

.

a cool bumper sticker today...

Write it on your heart that every
day is the best day of the year.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

the ritual of party hats...

.

full moon tonight... taken from a car in flight too!

me & chris & paris had a philosophical discussion on party hats and why on earth they exist.
reasons proposed that there was a tribal mentality in all looking like a dick together, that the lack of circulation caused by the too tight elastic strap under the chin had an effect of elation on the wearer and that the ritual started back in the dinosaur days where the pointy hat went over the top of the front horn to embellish it.

but then i decided that it was because we were all ritual creatures at heart. that we wanted a special way to celebrate important events in our lives, i.e. BIRTH-days and the like. and that pagan rituals had been wiped out overzealously, so now all that was left were these empty, over-commercialised and mass-produced cardboard pieces of beat-the-joneses to mark special occassions in our life.



creativity and originality are not supported or encouraged. we do not encorporate authentic, meaningful rituals into our lives to honour our journeys.

so i delivered a proclamation:
more & more people will turn to creating their own "party hats" ~ the party hats are metaphors for much more. they are ritual, ceremony, music & dress to acknowledge the sacred days in our years.

the party hats of the future will be covered in glitter, feather, shells.
maybe they won't be hats at all. maybe someday i'll shave my head and stand naked in a stream on my birthday.
anything that makes you feel spectacular, and like a true god/goddess of the earth.


BOO YAH.

The length & breadth of a 2002 scribble journal...

.






"he has defiant cheekbones & a sunburnt chin. he smells of cinnamon & coffee"



"PERIA. she likes to smell flowers. and eat grapes in the supermarket as she is shopping. she blow dries her hair straight but it is really curly."







the last page...

stepping out...

.

biana's shoes

"We do not remember days, we remember moments."
~ Cesare Pavese

i drove home last night from women's circle, with chocolate and love and wisdom whirling in my belly.
as i got to the corner of my street, i looked up and saw a shooting star.
not just a flash in the pan shooting star, but one that streaked halfway across the sky,
streaking with light & insight.
i stopped my car, and just watched it.

chris has been reading deepak chopra's book on syncro destiny, and keeps reading it out to me. on the weekend, he spoke about shooting stars. they are miracles that happen everyday.

seeing that star shone a beam of hope into me. i understood in that moment about miracles, and the miracle of my own life. bianca's words about louie's birthday came flooding back:
"a divine goddess chose to come live on this adventurous world, and part of the pact was that she would forget who she was. but in moments, she would glimpse it..."

me & the beautiful bianca


i had so many dreams last night.
in many, i was circling with my women, just talking... seeing all their faces and voices.
it was so beautiful to dream, and still be there with them.





another dream i had was rather NORTH inspired, me thinks.
I was standing outside a hall in the mountains, and Deepak Chopra was inside giving a seminar.
I kept on telling people: GO INSIDE. This dude will enlighten you!
And everyone did... but I just stayed outside, sad. I didn't even take my own advice.

The lesson for me in that was that it is all well and good for me to assist others in their spiritual path... but I've got to walk my talk, baby. I've got to absorb some of that wisdom and knowledge for myself too. For to be ME in all my grandest majesty is the greatest thing I can do for this Earth.

so many lessons. gifts. blessings.
fire rising in my belly.
moments are heavy with thoughts, self contemplation.
even as i cook kumara & feta frittata in the frypan, i live a thousand lifetimes in insight.
i face anger and insight on every corner.
i have women friends who remind me of the goddess.in.every.single.one.of.us.
my heart stretches, grows, as i let it love strangers.