Indian Wells, Amagansett.

The Art of Resourcing

As this year comes to a close, I am filled with gratitude for all of the new opportunities that I have had, the people that I have met and the natural beauty that I have seen. 

I am especially grateful for the opportunity to study more and deepen my capacity to support the process of healing trauma in my practice and with my patients.
Deepening my understanding of how to physiologically support the mending of trauma has also shown me how important it is to resource and create an internal compass that leans into goodness, wellbeing and safety.
During my own process, studies and practice, I have discovered that the point of resourcing is to create a single or many references towards safety and containment. This exploration aides in the integration of life force and in the building of internal physiological capacity to self regulate.

All of my life, color has been an incredible resource.  It often informs my day, how I widen the work my sessions and my creativity. My mother was a painter, designer and colorist. Seeking just the right color, making something beautiful and complete was a very important facet of her life and our shared connection. 

This past Autumn and Winter, I have been making many beautiful inks and revisiting the potential that various colors have in healing work. Making the images for this post has felt so positive and inspirational. Placing textures and images together, and being curious is opening a new little portal of sweetness.

 I have been drawn to vibrant hand painted wools from Bedouin women, the pink of the orchids that were a recent holiday gift and the remaining flowers from the last growing season.
These small wonders and rich colors make me feel inspired, calm and curious.

All of the knitting, needlepoint, painting and photography has offered a space in which I can land. It is with these resources, that I am able to take a deep breath in the very beauty of things and trust that  the kindness of these moments are regulating and leaning into better versions of the work and life force. 

The image of the juvenile bald eagle that I incorporated in the last image has been one of my favorite magic moments of 2018. It flew directly over my home for several days and I was able to photograph it and receive confirmation from my friend Dr. Carl Safina that it was indeed a bald eagle. It gave me tremendous hope and a feeling of excitement that it lives nearby. A bird once on the verge of extinction, returns to life and the land here in Springs. 

Wishing everyone a sweet new year, much goodness ahead, and as one of my favorite teachers says 'good learning'. 

New Light.

New light arrived this past week.

This morning there were pink sorbet clouds and aqua skies welcoming Winter.

There is a sweetness to this time. 

Diving into the softness of handspun, hand dyed wools, and the presence of amaryllis. Cloves and tangerines.
Custom botanical scents made for gentle beautiful beings, new scent discoveries.
I have been allowing the deep sleeps to draw me in and the restorative creative energy of Yin to fill and enrich my tissues. 

Broths made from smoked turkey, roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, rich dark vanilla and citrus infused teas.
The base notes of cistus and patchouli fill the air with frequent observations of the star filled sky and full moon.
This is the time for integration.
At the moment, one the the greatest gifts from Winter and nature are her botanicals that are being made into inks.

These beautiful colors, and this dreamy watercolor on the right were made from natural pigments of greenbrier berries.

Moving forward, I will share more of these gorgeous creations that have evolved from a curiosity of how to make beautiful inks from the natural world of Springs, East Hampton.

The materials have been foraged from the magical lands here, and I am delighted to explore and play with these magnificent colors in the new year. 

Wishing everyone much goodness and kindness in the days ahead. 

Dear October

Dear October, 

It is so very nice to be with you now and spend golden moments in your gentle afternoons filled with shimmery soft light. 

Thank you for the warm and sunny salty swims in Gardiner's Bay. You have been very generous with your brilliant blue skies and gentle tides. 

Thank you for the beautiful day at the Arboretum in Minnesota where the last roses bloomed in the bright sunshine and the dahlias spoke in the generous language of brilliant colors. 

Thank you for your apples that made a beautiful crisp. Your pumpkins and squash that make spicy soups and for your damp and rainy days that water the greens for the farmers.

Thank you so much for bringing us the gifts of more learning, more compassion and more understanding. I have gained so much this month and I am deeply grateful.

Thank you for the bees, the woodpeckers, the bluebirds, the clematis, the hawk medicine, the walks around a magical lake. And most of all, thank you for offering safe passage for the hummingbirds as Flora, Guapo and friends travel to their Winter destinations.

Thank you for supporting the courage of so many extraordinary practitioners who met to create a deeper level of healing within ourselves and in turn for our practices and our communities.

Thank you for supporting our growth and desire to build strong containers for healing as we are transitioning into a more compassionate world. 

Thank you for the geese in the sky, the beautiful natural reflections and for gracing us with these last days of warmth before we settle into the Winter days and long nights. 

I look forward to seeing you again next year. 

With love, Maria

Autumn Sweetness

The last days of Autumn are upon us in these humid golden days. Miss Flora is drinking her last sips of nectar, the figs are ripe and the Autumn flowers are gracing us with their last bursts of elegant colors. 

It is a bittersweet time. The last refreshing bay swims have been so tender. Dragonflies and monarchs fly next to me as I am crossing the landmarks of the bay jetties. Large osprey dive for healthy prey as they prepare for their journey South. 

These magnificent figs were gifted to me from the North Fork last week and they left an exotic perfume like essence on my taste buds. If only I could capture this curious scent in a liquid perfume. The senses are heightened as the last golden hours grace us before the crisp nights become cold. 

A tower of good reads have been piling up on my tables for dark weather reading. 

Next exploration, building resilience and Qi through the cultivation of Yi, also known as intention. 

Wishing everyone a fragrant and gentle Autumn. 

New Religion

This gorgeous poem was shared with me yesterday and has broken my heart open. It is as though the essence of the ocean spoke her beautiful language through the pen of this extraordinary poet. 

Thank you Bill Holm for this masterpiece and thank you again to the beautiful mermaid who shared this gem with me. 

New Religion

This morning no sound but the loud breathing of the sea. Suppose that under all that salt water lived the god that humans have spent ten thousand years trawling the heavens for. We caught the wrong metaphor.  Real space is wet underneath, the church of shark and whale and cod. The noise of those vast lungs exhaling; the plain chanting of monkfish choirs. Heaven's not up but down, and hell is to evaporate in air. Salvation, is to drown and breath forever with the sea. 

And thank you seahorses for lending me your magic. 

Theses images were taken in Kona, Hawaii.

Transition to Autumn and the Metal Element

This is a bittersweet time. While I love the transition, the colors, the change in temperature and the sweetness of the decay, it is also a very precious and sometimes melancholy time. 

One hummingbird remains, Miss Flora is holding out and claiming her garden by staying true to her last flowers. She has graced so many of us with her presence and I am deeply touched, each and every time. 

Watching the eyes of my patients open wide with joy and admiration during her visits,  makes it all worth while. Thank you Miss Flora, Gaupo, Monica, and Mauricio the hummingbirds for staying with us for this short time and teaching us about your magic. 

In Chinese medicine, this is the time of year that we reflect, let go, become more pensive and attend to the health of our skin, large intestine, and lungs. We begin to eat more cooked foods, poach fruit and make warming soups. We gather the harvest, make our delicious creations and savor the last sunshine of the season through pungent or strong spicy flavors. 

We feel grateful. 

And full. 

This large and shimmery dragonfly appeared recently and offered itself to the camera. It stayed still for only a moment, long enough to capture the intricate and lace designs if its' iridescent transparent wings. Beautiful black shiny eyes of the flying dinosaur watched me closely as I approached with my telephoto lens. 

As the weather chills, more time will spent be re-reading the classical texts and the beautiful translations of the elegant calligraphy. I have the felt sense that the ancients are calling on me again to revisit the characters, the beauty of the hidden meaning,  and the dreamy moments of entering magical constellations of ancient wisdom.