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More Corona Chronicles

Crossroads

What is asked of us during this time? To ‘stay home’. What does that mean really? What this term pre-empts is that you are home to begin with. Are you truly at home? What does that even mean?Our true homes are not confined to any walls, however large or small, comfortable or intolerable. Our true homes are always within us. We’ve been given this incredible gift, this pause, to find that home, to re-discover our true home and to stay THERE! Once we’re in that home (and it may take some time to find it, be very patient and gentle with yourself) no one can take that away from you. Your true home is already within you though, exactly as you are, no need to change, and it is unique to you, no other like yours! It’s just a question of finding our way back to that real, true home. Some of us are very lost and have been for some time; distracted in some or other way, through being busy, through alcohol, or whatever other means. We’ve been given this pause, this grace, to face our pain individually and collectively, to heal our wounds from within, each of us.
Whatever may happen, let us, together, heal this beautiful land of ours, this magical rainbow nation. Let us show our true colours to the world. Let us co-create a world we want to live in, a world of peace, kindness, generosity, wisdom and love. Our true home.To surrender to the vastness of our true selves, your eternal, loving awareness, returning home to that and living from there. 

Check out all my art in the gallery section under Corona Chronicles

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Corona Chronicles

Once again I’m finding myself in this familiar predicament, wanting so much to share, with the intention of assisting in some small way, and not knowing which is the most appropriate or effective way of doing so; which platform to use.  (though i also find that word, ‘platform’ a little strange, it has connotations of performing on a stage, on the one hand and of leaving the station on the other, neither of which I’m intending to do 🙂 
Such strange times we’re facing at the moment. Reflecting on it this morning, I became so aware of the irony of it all. We’re ‘self isolating’ at the moment, which is a good thing, given the circumstances we find ourselves in, but at the same time this very thing is one of the causes of our current crises. Allow me to explain what I mean.  
We have become more and more insular as people, and this has caused tremendous suffering. There is such a strong sense of disconnection and such loneliness in the world. So many of us live in ‘self units’ entirely cut-off from our neighbours.
The current pandemic can exacerbate this tendency if we allow it. 
I feel compelled to encourage all of us to use this time we’ve been given to do some deep inner reflection. It is so unusual for all of us NOT to be in fight or flight mode;  the all too familiar ancient mode of chasing or being chased. Our parasympathetic nervous system is finally being given a chance to rest and digest. Are you doing that? Are you slowing down enough for your being to truly rest? Are you aware of what’s going on inside? It is so easy to fall back into established habits, for example, the accumulation of information, the compulsive need to know. Of course a certain amount is necessary, we do need to be make informed decisions, but an over-emphasis of this aspect triggers the nervous system, which leads to anxiety, fear and even paralysis at times and so the cycle continues.
The age of information has its obvious advantages, but the down sides are often overlooked in the compulsion to know.  But how much do we really know? Is it possible for you to accept and be with the unknown?
What if, instead of surfing the net and being glued to our phones for the latest statistic, we reached out to someone via phone, to see how they’re doing. What if, instead of downloading yet another series to watch, we adopt a dog and take it for a walk, or find out how we can assist local clinics and hospitals with basic needs.What is asked of us at the moment?  
This pandemic and the ‘lockdown’ that was implemented provided us with such an incredible opportunity to go inwards. It allows us the chance to slow down, to reflect and to discover what we are holding in our inner worlds. It takes courage and patience to look within and to stay with that process; to take it as deep as it needs to go, to peel off the layers to discover what lies beneath. It is often quite surprising what is revealed and it can sometimes be quite scary, but the rewards are so numerous and the ultimate liberation is so profound that I would regard it as an essential practice.
The macrocosm (mother earth in this case) is just a reflection of the micro- and unless each of us takes responsibility for our inner lives and change from within, the outer chaos will continue and, if anything, worsen. If we can find the calm and stable energy within ourselves, each of us, and cultivate compassion and kindness towards ourselves, this will ripple out and will effect those around us and beyond. We need to become spiritual beings again, we have lost our sense of connection, not only to ourselves and each other, but also to a greater force.  
So what we need, in my humble opinion, is true connections, with real people.What the current situation is revealing, if anything at all,  is our interconnectedness and our collective vulnerability We do not need more information, we need more kindness, more love in our hearts, in order to re-discover that as the Chinese proverb goes, ‘we can not lift a finger without moving a star’, that we are all very connected and that everything we do has an impact. That we are all responsible to create the world we want to live in, a new world, based on care, kindness, generosity, compassion and wisdom. The world needs to become ONE as the Dalai Lama expressed. Let the winds of change blow! May all beings find healing, may all beings have peace, may all beings be free from suffering and the roots of suffering.

Check out all my art in the gallery section under Corona Chronicles

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upcoming retreat

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past retreats

Starting the retreats again. Feeling stronger now and able to hold the space for others again.
I’ve decided to do these in Cape Town as well now, to make it more accessible and affordable..
(see ad on my website)
Hope you’re able to join! Treat yourself to a retreat, you deserve it!

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Blog entry

March 2018

New intentions, to blog more frequently; trying to overcome my resistance to working on a computer, it’s actually not so bad, one has to just find the right place to sit, look up at the green, immerse yourself in a tree every now and then, listen to the birdsong, feel the fresh breeze, then the screen is tolerable. So much I want to share and I never know where to do this from, this seems a good way for now.

Tyna and Taro, my mom and our son, one taken by the sea, the other by the mountain, what extraordinary deaths. No trace, no mess, just pure openness, open-endedness, total re-absorption, full circle completion. Your individual and combined present absence is working from a plane unbeknown to us, unknown and unknowable, more vast and powerful than we can comprehend.
I feel your healing presence though, always, with me. Formless.
You are both coming into your full power now, the earth was too limiting for you both. I often sense the work you do, quietly,that perhaps we are able to do more, or have more of an impact, after we die. The world we live in is often so alienating because it is so dis-eased. Taro in particular found it difficult to live in this world, to adjust to what the requirements for ‘making it’ are in this world, as so many of us do.Taro was such an incredible example to me in this regard, he was so disinterested in the material aspects of life, needed so little. Materialism is such a powerful and seductive force and is robbing us of our spiritual nature. We need to be strong, collectively against its insidiousness. I’m reminded of Martin Luther King’s saying

‘there are some things in our society, some things in our world, to which we should never be adjusted’

and Krishnamurti:
‘It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society’

So, what to do? I still feel, with total certainty and with the assistance of those special beings from other realms, that pure consciousness, loving-kindness, compassion are the most contagious of all. That these qualities or energies spread fastest and with greatest ease, unstoppable and beyond all rational understanding, most pure when the intentions are pure. That one’s mere presence (just showing up) is all that’s required, that those absent ones are able to work through you when you are open and allowing and are fully present in the now. And that this is what the world needs most right now, it needs each of our individual conscious presence. We all need to focus on our spiritual development as a matter of urgency, whatever your particular belief system or spiritual practice may be. Can you imagine the capacity and immensity of our collective consciousness? It is endless, limitless!!
We are, each one of us, totally responsible for the state the planet is in. We are, each one of us the self destructive force that got us into this mess in the first place, but we are at he sane time the only solution.

So here’s the challenge to each of us, to connect within in order to truly connect with one another. Tyna and Taro are offering us a huge opportunity here; to journey inwards, get to know our true nature, which is constant and ever-present, untouched by external events, however devastating they may be. Taro’s mysterious disappearance assists me in constantly reflecting on the unknown and on impermanence. Emotions come and go, thoughts arise and disappear. The recognition that all things are impermanent is where liberation starts. It is so easy to become over-identified with our thoughts and feelings. Letting go is such a fundamental teaching. I am grateful for the intense lessons of letting go we’ve received and are continuing to receive.

We need to become still, be with the silence where we can access this peaceful place. it is so reassuring to rest here, in our divine nature; it is our true home.

‘`Remember these teachings, remember the clear light of your own nature. It is deathless’. Buddha

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…and so let us all, collectively, visualize this magnificent Mother of all pearls in her total splendour, glowing with health, already healed, whole, radiating pure light energy.
Let us manifest Her into being through our collective pure intent.
Let us polish her back to her true nature, removing the layers of dead skin and delusion which obscure Her vision, so that She shines bright and true. Let our yearning for wholeness inspire us and keep us alert,
Let the momentum of our collective consciousness keep us focused, and keep our intentions clear. Let this clarity spread like liquid light.
Let us learn to honour and respect the Mother energy in all of us, learn to recognize the nurturing sustenance She provides with such abundance and grace. Let us remember the taste of Her nourishing nectar. Let us reinstate Her quintessential qualities as fierce protector of Her young, instinctive caregiver, loving provider, comfort giver, creative reviver. Let us learn to honour and respect Her.

Perhaps we need to start with our own beloved country, South Africa. Let us visualize Her as already whole. Let us manifest a true leader at Her helm, guding Her with wisdom, humility and generosity.
May Zuma be free from suffering and the root of suffering, thus ending the suffering he causes so many others.
May all beings be free from suffering and the root of suffering.

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Musings

blog entry

This is a recent post I did on Facebook. My husband, Tom, much to my surprise, posted a photo of me busy painting a large forest,  yes, another one 🙂 which resulted in some comments to which I responded, just to give you the context.

Thank you all for your kind words about the forest painting I did. It is finished now, added a frog which was the last touch
Not sure if this here is the right platform; I have this ambivalent relationship with Facebook, but here goes anyway, not sure where else to put this.

Thanks should actually go to Taro. I felt his presence so strongly whilst painting this one.
Your radiance guided me my darling boy, couldn’t do it without you! Perhaps the two of us can ask Tyna if she would join us too, so that together we can contribute somewhat to the healing of this exquisitely beautiful and delicate blue pearl, iridescently radiant and pure, in whatever small way.
So radiant and glowing in health is she that she effects everything around her in the total cosmos, that she becomes both the first crystal drop in the galactic ripple of ever-expanding consciousness and at the same time the mercurial drop of rain on a nasturtium leaf.. You have become that, Taro, my angel boy, and your radiance is so powerful and so contagious that i’m noticing it rippling out before my very eyes. It can’t be contained, this light, it is bigger than this life and it’s working from a different plane, unbeknown in its direct, focused, limitless energy.
It is highly contagious too; all it takes is purity of heart, good intentions and kindness, it spreads easily, it is limitless and grows in strength and stature through communal effort. The sooner we all understand this, trust it, touch in on our true Selves, our natural state,.ie. to be kind, loving, compassionate, LIVE it’s ancient wisdom, the sooner we can communally change the face of this earth; Heal her aching heart, let her Soul Sing and her Spirit soar again, she knows exactly how to do that; we know it too. Let us all, together, remove the obstacles that stand in her way, in our way (we know which these are, ignorance to this, your natural state, is the prime one), to ensure she flows powerfully, gracefully, peacefully, naturally and that her healing flowing energy permeates swiftly, lightly, like fog stroking the cheek of an overhang. It gathers momentum like that as well, bravely, quietly, persistently, cumulonimbus, riding forth with pure intent, accumulating resilience and presence, unstoppable, authentic, adaptable, cleansing, fresh, sensual, essential, like a woman, like water.

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Retreats

Springtime Renewal Retreat

What a beautiful time we had together! It was such a lovely group; creative, enthusiastic, original and brave. We painted, played with clay, wrote some poetry, did some drawing, made a magical forest circle with found objects (including a live snail that insisted on exploring all the textures we’d gathered), did yoga every morning and had dinner round a fire every night. The food was superb, all vegetarian fare but tasty, wholesome and abundant.

Here is some feedback from participants. I was delighted with the response from everyone:

Thank you Isabelle, you are truly a remarkable teacher and presence.

This was a richly rewarding experience at every level.

I would say my only criticism would be in the run up — more information! You offered us SO much and were beautifully organised and grounded, however in the communications prior you could have ‘sold’ it a bit more (I’m talking now from a marketing persective so that more people can have this glorious experience).Thanks again. I enjoyed everyone and the processes so very much.

I feel like I’ve been on a real journey and am still on it.

Charisse
Dear Isabelle,

I am writing to let you know how wonderfully fulfilling I experienced our weekend!

I have come away with an inner peace and acceptance ( as you often also encouraged ) to be who I am and to see my short-comings and for this to be ok.

However not to stop there, but to observe what I see and to “ cradle it like a little baby”; to include all of myself in my world; to love the ugly and to reject it less.

I also am finding joy again in a kind of acceptance and also in realizing I need to paint and draw and find myself again.

I saw how lost I have allowed myself to become. Seeing this is a shift and has me be happy as I realize I have my source of happiness in me.

I especially enjoyed your undemanding presence as leader allowing us the space to be there with each other in all of who we are.

Your manner is easy and firm; clear and not prescriptive but rather suggestive. And so we had space, I felt, to be there in freedom.

You brought a warmth to the group and to the experience of self in the group if this makes sense?

Thank you also for putting me in touch with the spiritual in me.

Ariadne
This weekend Isabelle Webb held a Spring Renewal retreat at Bodhi Khaya, a very special place between Stanford and Gansbaai. It was a unique, heartfelt, invigorating, oft daring exploration of where and who we are.

Apart from the exquisite surroundings, there was never a dull moment: time was super well-structured. Just as in her expertly guided yoga sessions, she presented the participants with moves and countermoves.

We would meander from focus to relaxation, from delving to revealing, from meditation to banishing the inner critic, from serious creativity to communal fun, from personal responsibility to childlike abandon.

The highlight for me was a morning in the ancient Milkwood forest. Talk about enchantment and primal elements! Singular driven egos soon melted away, morphing into collective makers of a “Snail Vegas”.

We were presented with a wide selection of fine art materials, well thought out and lovingly prepared. All creative projects were interlinked and well-paced. The group became this responsive organism, very fun to be part of !  Had there been more men, they sure would have enjoyed themselves. Something ‘cultural’ is unfairly holding them back. Im thinking aloud here, perhaps the word Retreat makes them think of melting down somehow, of being weak n feeble, who knows, but it sure had us amped and sparking, including one very virile brave heart who dared take part.
The silent serene cloister supper the first evening was followed by a Chatternooga Chew Chew the next!

The food was out of this world delicious vegetarian fare. Recipes flowed. Roosters looked languidly on languidly through the window. Many gems of wisdom were shared along the way, such as  the 5 Kleishas …and more.

Isabelle is a most open hearted, skilled guide who is able to offer steady direction, yet was never aloof or disconnected. Balance is her middle name.

Her carefully designed art projects, which range from writing, to drawing, to clay expression, helped us to ferret out the elusive true-self qualities which we all have, but which often are buried. Each project began with a brief meditation, consistently priming us to tap into our authentic source. The results were evidence enough. Each time we were all amazed at the vast variety coming from the exact same brief.
As a well-spring of Empathy, she has a gentle, yet firm way of cajoling each one of us into facing the less tasty bits of our natures and of life’s challenges. .

We all have different situational details, yet all have one thing in common: the quest to live as generous, conscious, sentient beings…

and going on Isabelle’s retreat had resounding Soul Applause from us all !
PS If you are like I was, hovering on the edge of doubt, towing the line of abstention, just jump in and do it! You’ll be so glad you did.

Genevieve

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Musings

Good morning!

Feel so inspired by the breath-giving-ly beautiful days we’re experiencing in Cape town at the moment. Spring has sprung in all its glory, we’ve had some more rain and there is such a wonderful sense of new birth, freshness and vitality everywhere, one can’t help but adjust accordingly!

So aware of our ability to co-create the life we want, our ability to bridge the gap between inner and outer worlds, our ability to experience nature by engaging on a physical level, allowing re-connection and re-calibration. Nothing like swimming in the sea (and I mean head UNDER, this is essential  ) to  awaken life forces and energize!

There is a tendency in our society to encourage suppression of any feelings of discomfort or dis-ease, by a variety of means, such as anti-depressants, alcohol, drugs, etc. in the false belief that those feelings will disappear.  In my experience they stay, even mutate and escalate, until one develops the courage to face them soberly and with eyes and heart wide open. The only way out is through.

Until one addresses the root cause, issues tend to multiply. It is infinitely more sensible, rewarding, effective to recognize firstly what it is you’re feeling, try to identify what lies beneath, and then just to be with that, just to allow those feelings to be. One needs solitude and silence to access the essence of what it is you’re feeling and one needs nature, in my humble opinion. Nature teaches us the patient listening and deepening required to transform. Just being with feelings of pain or discomfort of any kind in itself brings ultimate alleviation, surprisingly.

Spring is such an opportunity to re-connect  and evolve, such an enticing invitation to mimic nature and let those dormant talents, joys, and colourful characteristics flourish, beam and sing!