10/10/10 World Raw Food Day Talk in Madison

I’ve been asked to speak at the World Raw Food Day potluck celebration on 10/10/10 in Madison, WI. The topic of discussion might surprise you 😉 : “Love, Om, Cacao.”

Come join us if you’re in the area. I would love to meet you. There are only 30 spots available, though, so please find out more information and/or RSVP here.

Over the Rainbow

While unearthing an external harddrive, I stumbled upon my fifth grade journal. The bubbly cursive encouraged me to toss it aside, but after several synchronous openings — like pow between the eyes synchronicities — I decided to give it further perusal.

As part of “Simple Abundance,” Sarah Ban Breathnach encourages women to find a picture of themselves at age 10, because she feels this is the age at which women tend to begin losing themselves. I was a tomboy at 10, complete with Laura Ingalls Wilder braids, brown, sun-kissed skin and mildly buck teeth. I wore knees socks. (OK, I still do, but at 10 I even wore them with shorts!) When I went through Simple Abundance in 1997, I found a perfect photo of myself walking on stilts while wearing pink shorts, white kneesocks and very long braids. My face looks down in joyful concentration. I think my dad took the photo right before I started laughing so hard I fell of the stilts. Yep, some things haven’t changed!

Or rather, they have. But they’ve cycled back as I’ve allowed more joy and play into my life. I was startled to find some things I thought I had recently rediscovered from high school, except apparently in high school I had been rediscovering my fifth grade self. In addition to an orobourus of LOVE and a frog king (those of you who’ve read Schizandra and the Gates of Mu will know the significance of this), I also found evidence of studying codes and symbols and portals. There are short stories, including one about a “Backwards Dog” who has brain injuries, and another called, “Over the Rainbow.” Um, If I Only Had a Brain Injury? Sometimes I feel like my life is the orobourus of LOVE!

In any case, I thought I’d share Over the Rainbow:

The day had been a sunny one, until all of a sudden the rain had come pouring down. The odd thing about it was not that the rain had come on so suddenly, but that the sun had not stopped shining.

Martha, a child considered odd by her many brothers and sisters, was outside during this strange occurence. The girl looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow. She had heard of there being gold at the end of rainbows but its beauty satisfied her.

The rainbow lasted for days. Martha sat entranced by its glowing colors.

One day Oscar, Martha’s eldest brother looked up from his video game and saw the rainbow. He too had heard of gold being at the end of a rainbow. He packed up his knapsack and got a large bag. Unfortunately, the other children wanted to know what their brother was up to. At first, Oscar was reluctant to tell him where he was going, but soon the children forced him to tell them.

All the children wanted to go with him. That is almost all. Martha didn’t hold with her brother’s greedy ideas. She wanted to sit and watch as birds flew across the rainbow. Then she thought of Leprechauns. How nice it would be to have one as a friend! She packed up her knapsacks and said good-bye to her bewildered parents. Then, she set off.

Now I’ll bet you are wondering what happened to her brothers and sisters. The brothers and sisters set off with flying imaginations of gold and the beautiful things they could buy with it. The children traveled for months without success. Martha, however, found a Leprechaun right away. They two became great friends. The Leprechaun introduced Martha to the other Leprechauns. They liked her so much that they asked her to stay and live with them. Martha gratefully accepted.

She stayed with the Leprechauns for the rest of her long life.

As for her brothers and sisters, as far as we know, they are still searching for their gold. Their greed has taken them no place but over the rainbow and into the clouds.

Shazzie’s VIP Room Launches Today

I am honored to be one of Shazzie’s lovingly selected “Visionaries in Paradise” for Shazzie’s VIP Room, which launches today!

Sign up now to be eligible to enjoy Shazzie’s special, once only, lifetime
membership offer, potentially saving you $1000s. Please note. This offer
will NEVER be repeated. She can only do it once as she has invested so much in this project yet at the same time wants to say thank you to you for supporting her work. She is not interested in passing on costs to you. She only wants to pass on gratitude and great content. Get ready to be inspired, motivated, educated and moved toward your dream life.

As some of you may know, Shazzie is a dear friend of mine and inspirational powerhouse. This VIP Room has been a twice-long normal gestation process, and I am very excited to be part of it. Wishing you all blissings and blessings in Paradise.

“Fall Away” Special

It’s that time of year again: cleaning closets, dropping leaves, new beginnings…. Shed what you need to “leave” behind as Nature sheds hers. In honor of the Autumnal Equinox, for a short time only: $111 Combined Past Life and Medical Intuitive Readings. ($64 savings off my usual rate for either, and in this one you get both; must be purchased on or before September 20)

Symbols and the Subconscious

I had planned to write a post called, “Practical Magic,” featuring sure and easy ways to bring more magic into everyday life. I promise I will write that post soon; however, I had a little Facebook rant this morning that seemed valuable. People say they appreciate my “emails turned blog post” so here’s a mini-rant turned blog post.

Context was a debate about some petition going around to bring Jesus back into the public school system. Responses ranged from outrage to complete support to suggestions for non-denominational moments of silence. I am actually a big fan of Jesus and find his words and divinity both wise and liberating. I am not a fan of how his words and teachings have been manipulated over the centuries.

Well, I’m not a fan of any manipulation. I value freedom. Not just “freedom of religion” but freedom in the sense of “liberation.” You could say I’m a “live free or die” kind of gal. Karmic ties, familial or societal “expectations” or deliberate, calculated mind control: if I see it happening, I like to provide people the means of releasing themselves. We live on a free will planet, so no one needs to unlock the shackles, but I feel an obligation at least to point out the existence of handcuffs (self-defeating restrictions or external controls) and to remind people that they themselves have the power to release. We really do hold the universe within ourselves and we have access to so many guides, such love, and so much power wanting to flow through us!

So … without further preamble, the rant:

“Very interesting line of discussion. As for founding father’s intent, historical research shows that they were VERY into their spirituality, and this country was founded with the intent of becoming a “new world.” I would NOT call them Christians, though. Deists, yes: “Deism is knowledge of God based on the application of our reason on the designs/laws found throughout Nature. The designs presuppose a Designer. Deism is therefore a natural religion and is not a “revealed” religion.” [They were also mystics who felt this design and order could come to them in a variety of ways — that we each have the potential to become Divine.]

As far as religions being imposed, though, this country has never actually had a separation of religion and state. It’s just been done very surrepticiously with lots of symbols coded to program the subconscious mind — for those who know the symbols, a path of “enlightenment and power” and for those who don’t know them, a path of following w/o questioning. These symbols are embedded all over the capitol as sacred geometry, numerology, references to the goddess minerva, etc.

I’m not taking sides on this issue, btw. I just happen to study symbols, sacred geometry, Runes and other codes. They’re all over the place, especially in the financial system and other sources of power! The people in power in this country know these codes and are working them to get what they want, both in and out of the public school system.

Dan Brown’s book “The Lost Symbol” shares a lot of research along these lines, although I came upon that book after many years of study myself. What’s odd is that the Catholic Church has been using many of these same symbols for millenia, with very similar effect.

IMHO, one of the biggest ways to ensure freedom of religion and I would actually add freedom of thought … would be to educate the populace about symbols and how they affect consciousness. My late step-grandfather was in advertising and used to tell me just how easy it is to manipulate people. Turns out he was right.

The more I’ve studied these symbols and their effects, the more I see how they’re being used. The symbols themselves are just tools. As my friend Tim Glenn says, “A hammer can build a house or bash someone’s head.” It’s all in the intent of the one using the tools. Enough rope to free or hang oneself. The problem is that w/o education most people don’t realize they can free themselves or even that they aren’t free.

So … we can fight about whether or not to have Jesus in schools or prayer or a moment of silence in schools, but until people wake up to how they’re being programmed on a daily basis everywhere they look, there is only minimal freedom of thought or freedom of religion.

LOL, sorry for the rant. It just upsets me when I see how easy it is and that a bit of education would shift the symbols from a position of power over into one of power to. Then people could truly make up their own hearts and minds about what to follow, worship or how to live.”

Thus ends the rant. As many of you know, I have a series of portal doors flowing through me, and I employ Runes, Sacred Geometry, tarot and other ancient symbols into the doors. I’ve painted them for myself and others have commissioned them. The process has evolved, and I recognize a universal aspect even in the doors coded for private intentions, hopes and dreams.

Some people have wondered why I include “occult” symbols in my work if I am not trying to control others. Occult simply means “hidden,” and in my opinion, these tools have remained hidden long enough. We live in a rapidly disintegrating world. We need builders. And we need builders who hold visions of a better world. If visionaries cannot access the necessary, helpful and powerful tools the world will take much longer to rebuild.

I love this planet! I see the beauty around me, and I personally believe it’s worth not only saving, but reclaiming and enhancing. I would like Earth not only to survive but to thrive. My work puts me in touch with some amazing souls with huge hearts. I see people wanting to make a difference and some of them already are in big ways. Others feel a bit lost or would like to make an even bigger, more positive difference. They just don’t know where to start.

If you feel confused and you know nothing or very little about symbols, I would encourage you to learn. You don’t need to become a master in order to free yourself. Just as in manipulative relationships the manipulative person loses some of their hold once the “victim” recognizes the patterns and mechanisms, we as a planet can do so, too. The more these tools find themselves in the hands of benevolent builders, the better world we can all enjoy.

Namaste.

Door Number 12: The World Card

Door Number 12 is another commissioned piece, located in the same hallway as Door Number 11. I hadn’t planned to paint a second door there, but the patron felt so happy with Door Number 11 and the bathroom door kept “talking” to me, so we agreed it needed “to express itself.” I know it sounds weird, but all three of us discussed the vision for this door — in ordinary conversations and then in dreams. I had not planned to paint a tarot card on this one, but The World Card hijacked my dreams, reminding me of how Freya and Frigga jumped in ahead of The Lovers for Door Number 6.

The World Card, Door Number 12 by Laura Bruno

The homeowner wanted the Runes for Joy and Flow in this door, and I had intended to create something entirely different, but the World Card or “Starry Dancer” appeared every time I closed my eyes. When I began researching this card, I realized why. We had decided to make this a “backwards portal,” with the image inside the bathroom instead of in the hallway. Door Number 11’s faery dominates that space and having another full image just seemed too much with the patterned rug. A small mantra, on the other hand, seemed like a nice accent.

Synchronously, the World Card is number 21 in the tarot deck, a backwards version of 12. It’s also an upside down and opposite image of the Hanged Man Card, number 12 in the tarot deck. The Hanged Man is, in turn, associated with Odin, the “father of the Runes” who hung suspended from a tree for nine days, saw the Runes upside down, understood their meaning and claimed them as his own. The back of the Freya and Frigga portal features Odin’s Rune Song. What does all this “mean”?

Heck if I know, but it seems relevant! These portals arrive in dreams, nudges and synchronicities. The Hanged Man stands for stasis and uncertainty, masculine suspension, whereas the World Card celebrates a union of male and female and a joyful fulfillment and dance. These portals do seem to have their own order and method, so I just follow along as best as I can. 🙂

That said, I think Door Number 12 is my favorite one so far. I loved the opportunity to expand outward onto the molding. To me, the bathroom seems like twice the size with this addition.

Typically, the World Card contains images for the four fixed signs in astrology: Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo and Taurus (clockwise from upper left), which translates into a man, a scorpion, a lion and a bull. The patron really did NOT want these images in the bathroom, but it felt important to include their energy in their door. I opted for the astrological symbols themselves, which you can see surrounding the laurel wreath.

Speaking of laurel wreaths, this door also seems to tie in to Door Number 3, the Daphne Door/Tree of Life, which also features laurel leaves and a woman (in that case with only her feet dancing). In tarot the third card would be the Empress, and Door Number 3 has a Chakana (the navel of the Earth) on Daphne’s belly. These cards and the Chakana also play key roles in Schizandra and the Gates of Mu.

All these 3’s! What do they mean? I don’t know, but I find the patterns and interconnections curious and fun to explore. I don’t consider this portal series “mine.” I custom design them according to patron request and dreams, but they seem to present themselves in interesting and insistent ways.

If you look closely, you can see all the patron’s intended elements encoded into the dancer’s hair and the laurel leaves:

Runes in the hair and leaves

The bottom quote announced itself in the usual “can’t get it out of my head” way and seemed perfect in meaning and feel:

For the back, which is really the front of this door, the Gayatri Mantra wanted to go there. Trouble is, the Gayatri is long, and we had opted for mantra-side out in order to minimize the details in the hallway. I remembered that the Gayatri is preceded by an introduction of sorts: oṃ(ॐ) and the formula bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ (भूर् भुवः स्वः), known as the mahāvyāhṛti (“great utterance”).

We decided to include the great utterance and a red lotus, which also appears on Door Number 7, the Lovers. Interestingly, to me anyway 🙂 , the full Gayatri Mantra covers the other side of Door Number 2, The Alchemy Door.

I find these doors a curiouser and curiouser process. The more I paint, the more interconnected and layered they become. The homeowner from Door Number 10 just asked me to paint Door Number 13 in her home. Fun, but also synchronous, as I have had Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” sitting around on my bookshelf for months. For some reason, I got the sudden urge to start reading it this weekend, right after the patron and I determined which door to paint. Lo and behold, “The Lost Symbol” tells a story about portals and features a very important Door Number 13! I don’t know what to make of all these things, but I do know this: I felt light and free after finishing the World Card. Here’s a spontaneous photo taken the following day:

Laura Bruno on the edge of The World

Blessings and joy to you! Thanks for sharing the journey …