I have just come back from a haircut the local hairdresser's. My hairdresser said, when being asked about how she celebrates Christmas, that she doesn't celebrate Christmas. For her it is too overwhelming with too many expectations. She said she'd rather go skiing in Austria, than celebrate Christmas.

I think a lot of us feel overwhelmed at Christmas. The amount of things that we need to process; things need to be done and need to be taken care of. What to buy, get, bring, take! What to wear, what to eat, where to go and whom with?!
I think things would be a lot easier if we would stop measuring ourselves by the standard and start measuring ourselves by our own Truth. Is this really how I want Christmas to be!? If we don't listen, Christmas can be a whirlwind, that leaves us longing for a peaceful holiday when it is finally over!

That's why I like solstice so much. Solstice is upon us now. This year the actual solstice, the longest night and the shortest day falls in Europe on the night between Sunday 21st and Monday 22nd.

I am celebrating it tonight with friends. Even just saying that out loud makes me joyful, happy, free. This is my first year you see, being a facilitator; a keeper of solstice council. I feel honoured and grateful.

At solstice there are no must do's or don't's. All you have to do is show up. Show up for yourself. And the Universe. (And that is pretty strong and enough!). With your presence you say "I am here".
It's like showing up for a meeting in class, in school, at work - anywhere. You show up. You tell your story. You listen to the others. You decide what to do from now on and what didn't work this year! This is exactly what solstice is all about! Showing up, and telling your story.

Sometimes we can't show up. For many reasons we forget or put it last. Especially if we feel a lack of energy and feel overwhelmed. Sometimes we feel we don't have the power to show up.

A few years back I was on a shamanic workshop in Ireland, called Peace and Power. And I was ill the whole time I was there! Between classes and when we were not eating, I was asleep. The whole of the 6 days. I never met anyone or connected with anyone outside the circle. But I showed up for every class. I listened. I did the work. I came home and it was a very powerful experience for me, with some very deep teachings about peace and power in my life. I wouldn't have missed it for the world and it helped me see things clearer.




When we ask for help the Universe, the Spirits are there to help us. When we ask for guidance, when we chose to let go -- the Spirits are there, witnessing and seeing us. Always. Even when there are no one else around, Spirit sees us, Spirit walks with us through our life, witnessing our journey, our story.

There are times when I feel disconnected from Spirit, I feel alone. I feel like I am not doing what I should be doing, I am not telling my truth. But Spirit is there behind the veil anyway. They have not abandoned us, they are still listening. When I stand up, speak up, show up, I see that the Spirits were there all the time. Guiding me, though I wasn't listening and paying attention.

And so showing up for Winter Solstice -- at this the darkest of times -- is so brave and honest and true for me. Showing that I am here! I am listening, I am available and open; it's sooo valuable. So valuable.

And all we have to do is show up.

So when we feel stressful and too busy around Christmas, and try to fit in the box and do what we think everybody else wants us to do, it is time to PAUSE. Stop! And show up for yourself. Show up for your truth. Connect with a deeper truth, a more valuable truth, A PERSONAL TRUTH. The frame that we stretch ourselves around can be too big, wrong size or just uncomfortable. Let's throw that frame away, and see what we really need this Christmas! 

What is ONE thing that YOU can change RIGHT NOW, that will give you a little more space, a little more peace, and more of YOU this holiday season? 

Remember, this is the HOLY days season. So what IS holy? Is it gifts or presents, food or family - and what ever it is; HOW can I treat it as sacred and holy? How can I allow sacredness into my Christmas and make it MY Christmas and my kind of holy?

For me, sacred and holy means visiting the most beautiful and cozy Christmas market I know - with the one I love! It's celebrating my mother's absolute wonderful and heartfelt cooked food. It's about seeing my family - listening to their stories, and really being present! All these things are holy for me. Because being present and showing up for life IS holy. Is sacred. Life is sacred - just as it is. And listening, paying attention, participating.
But it is also about napping. Making sure I get enough rest. To calm myself down by listening to the darkness in my sleep, wrapping myself with her warm winter cloak of Darkness, that will allow me to sink even deeper into the mystery and the mystery of my own heartbeat, my own truth.

And YES! There are a number of things that I am saying NO to this Christmas. NO because it isn't giving me peace, joy and caring for the sacred.
Some of these things are very close to my heart; family, friends that I cannot see all though I would looove to (if only the Christmas season lasted 100 days!). Places I would love to see - if! - I had the money, the time, the presence! When the calendar is too booked, the heart is easily overwhelmed and struggles to take in all the planning and arranging. And so it is better for me to have good things AND time to really enjoy them.

Who I am - is who I am - and it is Beautiful! I do not need to be more than who I am. Say more than what I can. I don't have to allow myself to become angry, stressful, empty and powerless over Christmas. I can change the world. By changing my own backyard.
So again I will ask you; What is ONE thing that YOU can change RIGHT NOW, that will give you a little more space, a little more peace, and more of YOU this holiday season? And if you don't know: Pray! And if you don't know how to pray: show up for yourself!

All you have to do, is show up.

I wish you a merry, merry Christmas. And a beautiful, caring and loving 2015.

May your power shine through as the brightest, clearest light through-out the whole of 2015. May Peace be within you and outside you. May your journey be full of hopes, dreams, adventures and beautiful starry skies and wonderful caring beings.

May love shine on your path.

With Love and surrender, 

Lone

Morning tide. And the thoughts awaken. So much to do, things to get ready. I start to feel my head buzzing. My body is alert. Too much to do.

Yesterday I watched a video about nutrition. I really don't get that the guy says "start off with fruit first thing in the morning". For me that's like pushing sugar straight into my veins from the early beginning of the day. I enjoy my eggs. And a carrot. I like carrots. They keep me healthy.

I made illustrations for Marie's blog. She is a dietitian so she knows a lot about food and how we react to it. She helps women, especially women with PCO, to find a balance in their diet. To lose weight and to be more aware of what we are eating.

I like that. Especially with Christmas coming up.

I use to give my self much more carte blanche to whatever I wanted to eat for Christmas. And it's not like I am holding back now. But things have changed. I no longer enjoy food the same way I did. Or let me say I enjoy the richness of the food much more than the quantity.

The thing is, lately I've been going really deep into the pattern about things. Feeling them through. There is so much suffering. So much imbalance in our world. We have to be the balance. We must do that for ourselves; find a lifestyle that is in balance.

What IS balance? We have heard the word before, but what does it mean to be in balance?

To me, being in balance means waking in the morning and be full of energy. Not worry to much about the past or the future. Being in balance means to respond with kindness, with openness and with a clear intention. Being in balance means respecting the world; people, nature, around me AND be exactly who I am. To speak my truth. To step forward if I need to. To stand back when I need it. Being in balance means being healthy and carrying healthy thoughts and agendas. To be that kindness. To be that love that can embrace. But also to be that person to say no. Who knows her resources and is not some kind of saint but a real person. Someone to say enough.
Or no.
Or not right now.
Or not at all.

To really honour that soul that I am - so I can get much more joy, kindness and sacredness into my life.
Each person is different. And we all need different things to make our life feel rich. What does being in balance mean to you?, if I may ask. :-)

When I look outside, nature is in balance.  Her change is constant AND in balance. I am much more worried about people! Do we really know what ignites us? Do we understand who we are? Do we know what we need, I mean, are we aware of it?!

Everything starts with awareness. There is a natural balance inside us, a natural way of life, so powerful and present that we were born with it, and we will die in it. This knowledge, this knowing of Everything's Flow. We know it. It lives inside us. It is us!

But can we silence the voices and hear it, and grasp a little of it's sunshine?

Blessed day, lovely. Blessed day.

Just feel like connecting with you through this video about what I feel to be some life changing thoughts here at the studio. More to come, as this is a passionate subject! ;-)

Also, have you seen the updates on my website? I decided to show my True Colours ;) Enjoy fully!

PS; Did you also notice the wonderful, colourful and beautifully FUN flags behind me in the video?! They are personally crocheted (hæklet!) by Gitte at Rav og Krat for me! Thank You, GITTE!!! I LOVE THEM and you are a STAR! THANKS! (Look how well they look on camera ;) ! Ha ha.

Yes! Let's be creative!

Making an illustration is in many ways similar to going on a shamanic journey; I have an idea about where I'm going but what happens when I draw, only time will tell. Magic unfolds; characters appear, they want to be in the picture. I am excited because I don't know what happens next! What will appear suddenly in a minute!? I laugh! A cat! Hah! It is so funny and whimsical.

With this years' Christmas card I wanted to show a certain madness of cozy "hygge" time. The scene is set in a cozy cottage with the two main figures going beserk over creating christmas decorations! Magic happens when we just let go and let ourselves be creative. I find that the winter and especially Christmas time is perfect for that.

A Scandinavian childhood

I have friends who live in south and in north of Sweden and when I made the scenery for outside the window, I thought about these warm homes and the view from their windows. I like round carpets like the one under the table. I also had a round carpet under the Christmas tree. I recall this tradition from my Christmases in Denmark.
I know the feeling I want to create with my card. It comes from childhood books and illustrations of Nordic landscapes and indoor life. I think people from all over Scandinavia recognize this feeling. That part of me is familiar, where I grew up and had my Christmases as a child. It is this familiarity that I try to explain in this year's Christmas artwork. The windows are familiar, the chairs, the people. That's what I want to give with my art: a familiar cozy welcome-ness.

How did I make the illustration? 

First I draw what's in the centre of the picture where all the action happens from. In this case it was a round table. Everything else is added on from there.
I have 2 main sketches of the scene; one in my head and one on paper, and together they create the final image. But I don't know everything. I often ask the picture itself what it wants to do next when I am stuck.
It takes two full days to create a detailed illustration such as this one. I don't worry too much about being correct in my lines, but I want the viewer to be able to understand what is happening in the picture even though it's busy.
I like to draw things that are a little impossible. That gets the imagination going. When you draw you can make up solutions that wouldn't work in reality. And it makes it even more fun!


I hope you enjoy the cards! I wish you a joyous wonder-full Christmas!

With love,

MOON AND ME

Taking the time
To Calm Down
To Watch The Moon
Behind her veil

Dangling from a World Beyond
Watching the World
Go by


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I am being asked by the Universe to Sing the Song of me.