namaste

namaste from india!

i am sitting in agra, at a tiny cyber cafe across the road from some water buffaloes at night.

i just wanted to give a quick update - we are all safe and well. there have been bomb blasts and earthquakes in india, but we are here, and we are having an amazing adventure.

may you and your love ones be blessed,

namaste,
Leonie

Wild Fairie Adventure Picnic

While I was in Brisbane a few weeks ago, I wanted to connect with some of the goddesses in my life that I have met from so many parts of my journey: high school dearhearts, internet un-met lovelies, womens circle sisters. Instead of meeting each of them for different cups of tea, I decided to Create an Event. Something a little bit wild, a little bit delicious, gentle but surprising. I considered having a Turkish banquet: too boring. A midnight rendezvous on a mountain: adventurous, but I'm more awake during the sunshine hours. A wild fairie adventure picnic: just perfect.



Now, I only needed to find a place for it!
I woke on the day of the picnic just as the sun was rising, my two sisters still slumbering. I slung on a long green skirt emblazoned with elephants, and a black singlet, and out into the morning I walked. I journeyed north, and found a park: it was bare, with small trees and traffic on all four sides. I journeyed on. I wanted to find the river, but didn't know where it was. I followed no map but the gentle pulling of my innards over sloping hills made of crumbling concrete and tropical jungle.



Down past a large white house, I found the river: wide and rumbling with skiers, hedged with mangroves. I clambered into the mangroves, and cried for a while. The distance of weeks since has blurred my memory of what pushed the tears forth. It could have been tears of joy at finding the river, and gratitude of being guided there. It could have been tears of gentle sadness at feeling all the emotions of a human with a fractured, precious heart. It could have been all of these. I only know is I cried with gratitude and honouring of the tears. And then I looked up, and the mangrove leaves were shaped like hearts. I smeared mangrove mud on my legs. I walked on.



I spoke to the fairies as I walked:

Dear Fairies,
I would like to find a pretty-ish bit of wildnerness* to co-create a magical event with. I would so love to create a space for goddesses to connect with mama earth and each other. If you could please help me find this place, I would be so grateful.
(P&P reference, for those of you playing at home)





As I gave my request, I decided that in return, I would do something for the fairies to thank them, and to make it a true energy exchange. After reading Doreen Virtue's "Healing with the Fairies", I know that fairies are custodians of the natural world, and need help in nourishing and protecting the earth.





A few minutes later, I looked down into the mangroves and saw an abandoned shopping trolley stuck halfway in the mud of the river. I looked back up the steep rocky incline to the road. Not an easy hike. I decided that a wild adventure fairie picnic is worth fighting for, so I hitched my skirt up and made my way down to the mangroves and mud. I hauled that shopping trolley inch by inch up the rocks, giggling away to myself, reminding myself all the way "I'm doing this for the fairies... doing it for the fairies..." Once up on the road again, I fixed the shopping trolley to a handrail, and high-fived myself.



I walked on. And on. And on.
Past pandanas trees and kayakers and large green leaves piled in gutters. Past huge sporting ovals and cute cottages. And then, just over a tiny creek, I found a little green space between the houses. I couldn't see where it ended, so I walked in. Past purple jacaranda trees and green jungles. Golden flowers sang and butterflies danced. I swore I saw fairies.



Past a well loved basketball hoop and a handmade pizza oven. Past voluptuous trees, into a clearing that was hemmed by a river and jungle. There were lizards and blue kingfisher birds and brown wild turkeys. It was a piece of wilderness in the suburbs, a well-loved but unowned slice of magic. Someone had mowed the clearing in a circle, forming a beautiful spiral in the grass. I had found it. The place. The one I trusted existed, even if I didn't know its name. Even though it wasn't on the maps. I had found it using my heart, and it was just what I wanted it to be.





So I sent out the call, giving wild and elaborate directions for a place that didn't exist. I wonder even if it would be there if I went to look again, or if it existed only for that short space of time, like the secret garden, or the place behind the grandfather clock.





That afternoon, we gathered there. Women and children and a tiny puppy named Bella. Goddesses of all different flavours, all stunningly beautiful in their own ways. Friends of friends meeting friends. Women finding each other and sharing. Eating and laughing and speaking. Soaking in the fairie magic. Painting wildly. Throwing the canvas as far as we could across the spiral oval. Getting hands and feet and noses and faces glistening with rainbow paint. Wearing paper tiaras. Being just as we are.





I don't know how to express just how much sacred and sublime gatherings fill me up now. Just how much I have learned that when you take the path less travelled, adventure and magic flow in as easily as breath. I see the glistening, shimmering beauty in every soul I meet. I feel blessed beyond belief. And onwards I walk, knowing there is more work to be done, more life to be lived, more joyous celebrating to be had.






Onwards I walk, to a new place, and to a new self.
I journey onwards now, to India, to dreams come true, to lotus flowers and Kali Ma.
I kiss the palm of all I meet, and hold my own.



I am off on a journey ~~~
I return in a month.





Until then, may your journey be blessed with light.
May you have magical, sublime, sweet times.



May your eyes fill up with goodness.
May you dare to be your own wild adventure fairie.

Namaste,
Leonie

P.S. Remember: Magic can happen anywhere at any time. Ya just gotta give it the space to enter.

portrait party wilderness

i would have loved to meet some of my fave cutie-patooties this past weekend at a blessingway... but, i'm kinda half way around the world from the US, and in a few days i am flying around the world in the other direction for a whole other amazing adventure.

so, instead, i met one of said fave cutie-patooties in portrait party land.
it was kinda wild, like a sherbert-infused soul-rave party in the forest somewhere.
and a little bit tame, like afternoon tea at the neighbours, if you happen to think your neighbour is the most precious mama-goddess around.
and mostly honouring, in a very sweet kinda way, like puppy dog kisses.

or as lovely as this:
when you wake in the morning and manage to pretend to sleep through your partner's insistent nudgings to go to the gym with him, and pop open your eyes once he's gone, invite cutest puppy dog in the world onto the bed with you for pyjama party, where you tickle each other, and you read out stories to him. and by the time sweaty hunk has gotten home from pumping iron, you've managed to take your pyjama party out into the garden for enthusiastic salutations to the sun for managing to rise this morning. and when you mean salutations to the sun, you don't mean the prescribed precision of yoga moves, you mean like crazy pyjama dancing and wild uldulations. moments so precious that you don't even care if you spelled uldulations correctly or even if there is such a word. only that it is.

so, yeah, a portrait party as sweet and refreshing and life-living as that.

nina, you smell good.

love,
leonie

~ this is just some of the delicious craftiliscious and loving explosions of goodness from her package...




portrait by my favourite miniature fairy-godmother grae




p.s. damn freakin' straight.
i'm pretty sure it's going to rock me too.

A quarter of a century ago...

I was swimming, swirling, dancing, turning,
in my mama's womb,
the night before I came to be.

Thank you mum, for holding me inside you, and for loving me with all you have.
Thank you dad, for co-creating me, and for loving me with all you have.
Thank you my ancestors.

And thank you life, for breathing through me. For all the lessons, for all the love, for all the finding, discovering and crazy beautiful days.

I want to honour and recognise also the parts that feel less beautiful and more just plain crazy: the fears, the pain, the gnawing worries. Today a dear friend said to me as we dropped jewelled tears on a rock: "You always look to the light, Leonie, even when there is a deep darkness inside you."

So I acknowledge that darkness, and I acknowledge that light.
I acknowledge all the journeying, all the moments lost in translation, the not-knowing and the sharp, clear moments of knowing.

All of the rough tango, the glory, the loss, the mastery. And Goddess, the moments Earth feels like heaven:
when the sunlight glances through the clouds and casts embers through your hair;
when the wind roars through the trees on the mountain rim;
when a white bird skirts through white eucalypts;
when the air smells so sweet and mossy I want to bathe in it and smell like it always;
when the kookaburras laugh and make you want to draw your head back and join them;
when the rocks are damp from the rain and are kissable.
I wonder what this all felt like the first time I experienced these miracles.
Today, I feel them as though they are the first time.

I have a vision of who you might be, Leonie, and I strive to find my way to you, to honour who you are, and become you.

I love you Leonie.
Happy birthing day, my precious, precious self.

lush link friday

feet love earth. earth love feet.

it amazes me how words from an old post of mine can soothe and balm my heart just when i needed it. just as i needed it.

my heart is touched by the new york girl on subway story... he FOUND her! he FOUND her!

and WOOT! some of my extreme bridal photographs just got featured on Trash The Dress Australia!

maybe some time i will do some delish projects from Learning to Love You More.

i'm loving these goddess headwraps.

phwoar, these flower petals necklaces are delectable!

i'm totally impressed by these creations of this 17 year old goddess.

listen to the birdsong of women from the monkfish abbey.

i love you anyway

today

i was walking along

like a fresh blessing

in the morning.



i love the city in the morning:

the quiet way the breeze places,

through green leaves and blackbirds.

it's like all our mistakes and humanness are wiped clean

and only promise and possibility awaits.



i walk along

with honeysuckle flowers in my curling hair.

mr paris led me and my love to a honeysuckle climber this morning,

saying: "we only live once"

his grief emblazoned on a red rose on his backpack.



he shows us how

to bite off the ends and draw in the honeysuckle nectar,

telling me:

"leonie, i know of no other flower than the honeysuckle that is so similar to your essence."



so i walk

the city morning

with love, friendship, grief and life in my hair.



i walk beside men and women:

a woman dressed like a man, smoking furtively.

instead of screwing my eyes up in judgement,

i whisper to her:

i love you anyway.



a thin man walks quickly, as though harried and fearful

about being late, about being lost, about being wrong,

and i whisper to him:

i love you anyway.



every man and woman i walk beside,

i watch them silently,

taking in all their parts,

and i want to love them with all of myself.

i want to bless them, i want them to know they are not alone,

i want them to have a good day.



and the thought strikes me,

as i walk like a miandering honeysuckled hair angel in the city morning,

following others and showering them with love,

that maybe, just maybe, just definitely,

that there were angels following me whispering:

i love you anyway. you are good. you are loved. i see you.

dear my mad sisters

only you two crazy chickas know exactly what is happening in this photograph.

if anyone else knows, i'm pretty sure they will never, ever shake the memory of THAT wild dream.

this is kinda the best way to live.

i love you both more than i can ever say.
you are a part of me.

see you in india.

best.adventure.ever.awaits.

love,
bony
xoxo

extreme goodness

More extreme bridal photos over at http://leonieallan.blogspot.com

Time to dance a little dance of joy!

** NY Girl Of My Dreams - a tale of love on the subway - pass it ON!

Recommendations

I've come across recently some lovely movie : book : audio resources for the spirit that I wanted to share... Enjoy!


"Click"

Let me tell you, I gave Chris a rather unenthusiastic look when he presented me with this movie at the video store. Even as the opening music played, I groaned. I'm not a big fan of Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler movies that I find distinctly unfunny: 7. Adam Sandler movies I adore: 1. (the Wedding Singer)

I even decided the movie wasn't even worth my undivided attention so edited photos instead.

But then something happened.

I started listening. And getting drawn into the story. And realising that this was one of those gem of a movies that presents as popular light-watching entertainment, but is actually a profound lesson of how to live your life (think Disney's "The Kid").

I really don't want to say anymore than that, just that I heartily recommend it. There are some very Secret-esque concepts played out in the movie. It inspired me to go on an adventure this afternoon and to know that each moment only comes once.



I'm currently engrossed in "Brave Hearts and Rebel Spirits," written by Brooke Shelby Biggs and Anita Roddick.

It profiles a number of spiritual activists who have worked to create positive change in this world and highlight what needs to change. Buddhists, Catholic priests and nuns, Native Americans, Quakers, Muslims - all LIVING their beliefs and instigating social consciousness. And also riveting is how they have been oppressed by their governments - you will giggle when you read about two elderly priests being regarded as terrorists by the FBI. Other stories won't make you giggle at all, but fill you with a deep desire and passion for truth, compassion and clarity.

This book is precious, and I regard it as an important self-education tool. A manual for how we can all live our beliefs more vivaciously in this world.



Hay House Radio is my new audio obsession.

If you haven't been introduced to HHR yet, please let me make the official intros.
"Lush depository of radio wisdom, meet divine hottie goddess.
Divine hottie goddess, meet library of your favourite authors speaking on all topics of goodness."

If you sign up as a member (free) you can download podcasts of all precious previous radio shows as well.

Some of my favourites include:

• Esther and Jerry Hicks
• Denise Linn
• Wayne Dyer
• Steven Farmer
• Doreen Virtue.

May these speak to your spirit ~~~

Spread the gift of wisdom!

Rainy Saturday afternoon joy from me to you,
Leonie

Self Portrait Challenge: What I Wear

I clothe myself in Mama Earth:
dried eucalypt leaves tangling in my hair,
coral in my eyes, stems of nuts and flowering buds dangling from wrists,
seaweed and mulla mulla grass wrapping their tender arms around my body.

I walk barefoot:
letting the air and the light
kiss me and cleanse me
reminding me of my beginnings and endings.

I lose myself in Her, and Her in me.
Every part of me is dust and love,
singing in a body.
I am in the trees. The trees are in me.

What I wear is My Self and My Earth:
medicine bag on my back,
radiant body, limbs, life, breath,
joy in every step.


~ * ~

I had wild photo picnics on the farm on the weekend!
Check out the pictures here!

Freya Love

I'm in the process of catching up on processing all the photos I've taken in the last few weeks...

Here's some of the photographs I took at the first birthing day celebration of my little goddess-sister-niece Freya... You can see more over at my photography blog. Yes... photography blog! I'm experimenting at the moment with having a blog with more of my photography pictures... You can see the rest of the blog at http://leonieallan.blogspot.com ~ add to your bloglines if you like!

Freya's birthday was a precious little celebration of food and friendship and puppets and drumming. I think her favourite birthday present was from her soulmate/surrogate uncle Josh who gave her something that would keep her amused for hours: a box of tissues.


Kaylia dreams in leaves...



Connor and calcite crystals...


Uncy Josh


Connor is sometimes a firefighting dragon..


And then of course, the all important Ukelele-Off





As our little community evolves...
most of us immigrants to this city with kin living away...
I find that our friends are the family we create for ourselves.

What would you do if you knew that All Is Well?

Soak up the stars,
Leonie

Love From The Jungle

There are so many stories tumbling inside me. So many stories to be heard, known, understood. So many stories to make a home inside this soul of mine.

Stories of how the light looks at Brisbane dawn, seeping into you, waking you long before you are ready. Stories of sisterhood and fierce love and unexpected tenderness. Stories of sushi and curry and cupcakes. Stories of hospital beds and meds and a ferociously beautiful octogenarian named Phyllis sharing a hospital room with three mad sisters. Stories of walks in long green and black skirts, patterned with elephants, walks waist-high through the jungle of Brisbane's wildflowers and wilderness, magnificence and mangroves. Stories of taxi drivers who break your heart or set it free with love for humanity. Stories of wildness. And laughter that leaves you breathless and falling into trees, the kind of laughter only sisters know. Stories of hands clutching crystals. Stories of past lives and presentness and priestesses and puppies. Stories of seeing beautiful women and luscious men in my eyes, heart, camera lens.

Stories of walking through the city at daybreak with a thirsty soul, following your feet past ruptured concrete to a tiny breath of Mama Earth, a park carved into the bustle of a hill. Stories of butterflies and birds. Stories of old friends and new friends. Stories of seeing an old friend and telling him: you know who I once dreamed of being? I am that now. Stories of a picnic in an abandoned lot/park/fairy garden, a gathering of rainbow precious women. Stories of pyjama parties and making dreams come true. And the brave pleasure of being yourself, even when that self seems faintly otherworldly. Stories of pain and healing, vulnerability and loveliness. Stories of nestling with my sisters, legs and hands akimbo, revelling in our holy trinity.



So many stories. I do not know yet how to tell them, how to speak them, how to hear them for what they really are. They instead are streams of silk fluttering around inside me, and I clutch at them, threading long fingers through them, grasping them into a ball. And then I let them go, I breathe and I sit. I watch, knowing instead that on their own, with time, the silken threads will weave and warp into a quilt of understanding and wisdom. Maybe I could show you the quilt when it has discovered itself. Maybe I could share it in adorned squares: of photographs, of the little stories, of moments.

But for now, there are breaths to be breathed, and a deeply precious life to be loved.



All is well,
with love,
Leonie

Adventure Time

Off on a WSA (Wild Sister Adventure)!

In the meantime,

Breathe in the beauty
and give it a home inside you.

You have such a cute nose,
Leonie