Create February Fabulous! - Retrospect

February has finally come to a close and the rest of the year beckons enticingly as I look back on a month of creativity. I started a project with just myself in mind. To create and share a piece of art every day in February. I ended up creating a page and sharing my idea with a few friends and the group has gently grown over the last month.

Colour Square Sphere - Olafur Eliasson

I chose February because there I was at the start of the month looking for something to do. February seemed to fit. It doesn’t have that ominous, quick to end, New Year’s Resolution disappointment. It is a short month and this year has that magical extra day. An extra opportunity to start new things.

I must confess, I did not manage to create and post a piece of art, writing, or music every day. I am what I would call, an awakening artist. Whilst I am not new to creativity, I am certainly new to treating my art as a daily practice. I am new to telling myself that I am a precious human soul that is allowed to create, dream and imagine. I have always been in that place of wanting, but some voices have often held me back from stepping fully into this artistic life.

Even though I didn’t create something every day, I can count numerous victories. I started my blog again which has been the primary commentator of this project. I have written some great poems this month. I finally broke through an immense barrier within me and busked on the street where before, there was enormous fear. I have started selling my photos online and have taken some great shots recently. I have baked some new things and improved my kitchen skills. In the last two weeks, I started practicing my guitar again, played a local open mic twice and got a gig off the back of it and have had the best time ever singing! Last but not least was the creation of a small idea which is slowly growing. Within that idea, I have met, seen and been inspired by a whole bunch of talented artists and their work.

Part of the reason I wanted to create a group was the benefit I could see from isolated artists and creators connecting in a safe, judgement free environment. I feel that creativity is the life-blood of humanity. It is our reason for being and we need to nurture, respect and cultivate those urges within us in order to connect. I wanted to create a group that welcomes artists of all levels, from beginners to experts, and maybe provide a future forum and support network for anyone that wants to begin exploring their own creativity. There are future plans indeed.

I have seen countless people hold themselves back from creating, art, music and dance. I have heard even more people tell me they are not creative, cannot sing or do not have an artistic bone in their body yet simply living is an art in itself. Creativity takes countless forms and we are so much more creative than we tend to notice.

We often tell ourselves we are no good much to the detriment of our own minds, bodies and souls. Most of the time we are comparing ourselves to others, whether it is their success, talent or material wealth we envy. Yet at other times, we celebrate art, music and dance with a fever only matched by the energy that created it in the first place.

"A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years." - Byron Katie 

I believe we can all create. I believe we can all aspire to whatever we dream of and be able to experience that desire in this lifetime. I think other people’s art and creative processes are a source of inspiration, unity and wealth. Even though I still struggle with that inner critic that tells me I will never be that good, brilliant, rich, healthy, successful… I feel that my heart speaks a grander truth.

Creativity is our birth right. Creativity is what makes life happen. Creativity happens on a far grander scale than we can imagine. We are creating all the time. We create within our day to day lives. With our words, our actions. Even our thoughts are creative. If we can encourage good thoughts, and a good environment in which to create, then I think there is room for us all to realise our hopes and dreams in a healthy and sustainable way that does not harm another or the planet. Creativity unites us. Creativity is versatile enough to accommodate everyone. Creativity is a sacred, life-affirming bond between us and the world around us.

So as I sit on the threshold of March, I can honestly say that it has been a joy to partake in this idea. I shall now change the name of the group to simply “Create Fabulous”. Over the course of this year I am sure myself and others will come up with some new ideas, collaborations and even workshops that encourage and support finding our creative selves. I shall be blogging more, writing more and singing more. The Facebook group itself will remain open to artists to join and share their work over the course of the year and next February, we will once again focus on every day creation and maybe we can make it a thing! Follow the link below to join the group.

Wishing you always, a very creative day,

Love, love, love…

Matt Rivers

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Create February Fabulous! - Leaps of Faith

I have been undertaking a small challenge for myself. It is to create something every day in February. The reason for doing this is to create a new habit within me that is supportive of my dreams and desires. I have always been creative and have always had creative urges but like many of us, have lived with a number of fears that held me back.

Amongst other things I am a musician but have long been crippled by my own limiting beliefs. Voices from childhood, fear of others opinions, fear of judgement, of looking a fool and the big one, of not being worthy or good enough. This led me to completely stifle my musical urges because it was easier than face the voices, the risks and the edge of my comfort zone. I generally did okay at gigs but it took me a long time to build up my courage and play one. Not motivated is what you would call me.

The absolute worst thing I could do was busk. To me that was the pinnacle of vulnerability and risk. That was to lay myself bare to everything, to completely expose myself to the public without a reason. With this in mind, over the last few months, I have been working gently but consistently on loving myself, listening to the emotions that flow through me and just opening to my senses without getting lost in my mind. Sitting, being, allowing.

Lately I faced some big fears on a snowy mountain and made an effort to listen and relax. I let go of the tension in my body, I allowed myself to be in this moment and looked for things going right, right now.

On Sunday I finally played an open mic event even though I was scared, tired, and unpractised. I took a step forward with faith. At 3.30 in the morning, a local promoter who was also at the open mic (things start late in Spain), offered me a gig the next Sunday in a big Irish pub.

Today I decided to venture into town to practice my set. I found a nice spot in the park on the mountain above the Alcazaba. I had to practice anyway so I told myself I was just practicing outside. I happened to have my guitar case open and I offered my songs to the sea, the sun, the trees and the people who passed by.

Occasional moments of fear passed through me but I kept telling myself I was safe and loved. I sat for 90 minutes busking, out in the open. I didn't die. I focused on the task at hand, practicing my set. No one told me off. No one judged me. My music was a gift to nature. What I had held in complete fear and terror melted into total illusion under the beautiful spring sun. My fears seemed to pass like clouds on a windy day. I even made enough spare change for a few beers.

What I want to say is this... Those fears that you thought were big are probably not as big as you think they are. We are wonderful imagineers us humans. We are very good at giving substance to things which don't exist.

Love yourself. Nurture yourself. Listen to yourself. Take it bit by bit but step you must. However small the step. The step will give you confidence. You do not need to leap. Just step. Fears can be dissolved and put to good use. You can thrive and shine.

I wish you much love and courage and baby steps.

Love, love, love...

Matt 

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Create February Fabulous! - The Music Inside

Day 9

There is something fundamental within a human to want to create. As children we are forever in our imagination, creating at will and we are often coerced out of these habits as we grow up – whether by ourselves or the influence of parents, society or religion. But what happens if that creative urge never left us? What happens if we are all meant to be creators from the moment we are born until the moment we die but somehow we just left it by the wayside. Perhaps it is time to reignite the fires within and let out the creative genius that you are.

“Don’t die with your music still inside you. Listen to your intuitive inner voice and find what passion stirs your soul. Listen to that inner voice, and don’t get to the end of your life and say, ‘What if my whole life has been wrong?”

– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Create February Fabulous! was born of an idea I had to produce something creative every day in February. It is my idea of showing up to the page because I have often stuggled with wanting to create and not being able to. It is a way to be accountable and to challenge myself a bit. It is turning into something more than that. An exploration of creativity and a sharing of art with other beautiful creators around the world.

Procrastination, contrary to popular belief, is not laziness. It is fear. It is the ego fearing to let go as we dive deep into something transcendental like drawing or meditation or music. A favourite teacher of mine Jamie Catto helped me to see this. Perhaps many of us let go of arts and creativity because at some point we ‘grew’ up and got side-tracked. Now when we think of art, we either do not have the time, disregard the urge or intuition or suffer in silence, knowing not what ails us.

So how do we free the artist inside? How do we even know if we want to create something? Well, noticing any attraction to colour, music, dance, movement and words is a pretty good sign that there is something resonating inside that would love to create, make or take part in something. Think of how good it feels when you join in a rousing chorus at a celebration with friends, a concert or down the pub. That is pure creative human spirit! If you have the urge to sing, to write a book, to take dance classes, act, or make something, then that is your heart and soul speaking to you. You will feel much better for listening and taking action.

“Every child is an artist until he's told he's not an artist.”

John Lennon

I have heard many people utter the words ‘I wish I could do that but…’ The truth is, you can! The key to it is to just start and to embrace and dissolve those demons and voices that hold you back. And by embrace, I mean give those lost and cranky parts of you some love.

Here are some voices I have had in my head over the years. ‘I am not good enough’, ‘I am not talented enough’, ‘I will never be that good’, ‘I don’t have enough time’, ‘I have other commitments’, ‘I should be doing something else’, ‘I am not rich enough’, ‘there is no money in art’ and ‘what is the point!’. They all seem like valid arguments but the reality of squashing that creative urge or tingle down is not pleasant. It feels horrible. It feels like I am missing out on something. Here’s some suggestions for what to do if you have a hard time starting out.

• Try out something when you have the urge, however small and humble your beginnings. It may be one line of verse, a haiku, a doodle or a dance step. Just try it for five minutes. No more. 
• It is better to try something every day for five minutes in order to build up a habit than not at all. You will begin to create an energy of wanting to do more. 
• Everything you enjoy has been created by someone or something! Creativity is the base code of the entire Universe.
• Keep it simple at first. Simple ideas, simple tools. Just enjoy the moment.
• Look at life in front of you. Use your senses. See the colours and textures. Hear the sounds. Feel the wind and smell the smells. That is where inspiration comes from. 
• Get silly, get inventive. I once worked at a creative retreat where a woman was fascinated by a crack in the concrete. She followed her artistic urge and painted that crack loads of times. She loved it! 
• Try to let go of judgement and your inner critic. Be kind to that voice. Say ‘thank you dear crazy voice but even though you think this is rubbish or stupid, I am going to do it anyway just to see what happens. Don’t worry, all will be well.’ 
• Don’t compare yourself! You are UNIQUE! There is nothing compared to you or to what you will create! 
• Love the process but don’t worry about the result. The more you do, the more the work will develop. 
• Get risky and juicy. Be daring. Write, paint, dance whatever you feel, whatever you want to say, however crazy, dark, edgy or risqué.
• Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to move you, it tends to flow once you get started. 
• Great art doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in small increments, step by step. Day by day. 
• You are allowed to create and dream and imagine. 
• You are allowed to be an artist and create whatever you want to create! 
• If you just got the best idea then go with the flow! That feeling that comes with a great idea is your heart and soul saying yes, yes, yes!
• If you really want to dive deep with any art, have a look at 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron.
• If you really want to learn to draw have a look at 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' by Betty Edwards.
• If you really want to write have a look at 'Writing Down the Bones' by Natalie Goldberg. 

If you have any other great tips for getting into the creative flow, please leave them in the comments below.

Good luck and good creating. Let the music out dear friends!

Love, love, love...

Matt Rivers

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

Create February Fabulous! - The Darkness: Side One

Day 3

Create February Fabulous! is developing very nicely. Today has been a mix of writing and photography. It is not without its challenges as today's poem will attest to but that is the journey I was hoping to walk.

The little community of creative people around this project is slowly growing and people are contributing to the creativity in beautiful ways. Sewing, felting, poetry, photography, illustrations, baking, growing babies and growing ourselves! We are inherently creative beings and some great conversations are starting to blossom.

The Darkness

When darkness falls and comes for you,

He knocks on doors, it’s creepy true,

He slides through cracks and drips down pipes

And floods the cellar in the dead of night.

The darkness grows inside your mind

You search in vain but nothing find…

You start to tremble, moan and jerk,

The creeping doom is such hard work.

The moon has gone, the sun no more.

Shadows spread across the floor.

He fills your bones with a sense of dread.

You clench your jaw and bang your head.

He’s closer now, you feel his breath,

Cold and fog, it smells like death.

It’s all too much, you start to run,

This life has been too short of fun!

But wait, what’s this? A chink of light?

There’s hope still yet in the dead of night.

Tip-toe you step toward a flame,

A mirror dark reflects your name.

You stand and gaze upon yourself,

Dawn glimmers like an inside wealth.

The night you brought is clear to see

Waiting for you patiently…

Matt Rivers

3^rd February 2016

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Create February Fabulous! is an idea or challenge to try and show up with your own creativity every day for the month of February. It is a simple idea. The creativity can take any form, and take any amount of time. Any media, any discipline, the only condition is to have fun. No critics, no judgement, just a celebration of our own unique human quality of creativity. You are encouraged to share your projects anywhere you like (only if you want) using the hashtag #createfebruary. Join the Facebook group, share on Instagram, blog about it, invite friends to some daily creativity. Let's see what we can create together. 

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Forty Pilgrims Project - The Rift: Part 2

Day 26 to 40

We are living on the edge. We are poised at the forefront of consciousness, soul adventurers awakening to our true nature yet something feels wrong. Within us we feel a discord. We feel like we are incomplete and disconnected from something we cannot explain. The disconnection we feel is like a tide. It ebbs and flows, coming in waves as we satisfy our hunger through material, emotional and spiritual desires then battle the emptiness from not having our needs met.

There is a rift within us all. A rift born of our own minds. One that must eventually be crossed if we are to feel connected and whole again. A rift born of looking out into our reality searching for answers that can only be found within. All of us will get there. All of us will stand upon the edge at some point, looking into our darkest chasms, wondering how to cross the void.

No master or teacher can make us cross. No one but our selves can make the journey through that cavern of loneliness within. We are always searching for answers and confirmation of who we are. We always seek to fill the void. The mind, in its illusion of separation, seeks to fill its reality with evidence of who it is and what life is about. We justify our emotional storms through what we see, blaming our experience on others as ‘reality’ happens to us – a random chance in a random Universe.

Yet, as with all of nature, there is another way. We can begin to cross the void and understand that in fact, we happen to reality and our experiences can be chosen. We can begin to understand our emotions and make peace with the seemingly endless torrent of painful images, reactions and dramas that beset our lives.

It is entirely possible to rise up and stand tall, deeply rooted in life, accepting all that has gone before whilst riding the winds and seas of time, surfing upon waves of magnificence, welcoming change and challenge and ultimately, feeling connected, joyful and worthy.

Before we can see the possibility of this, we have to deal with where we are and that is where the rift lies. We are often trapped by our minds illusions. We can experience painful emotion, whether from something we observe, someone we encounter, a song on the radio that brings back a memory, or the empty mist of our current existence slowly pulling us down. Most of the time we do one of two things - we blame our outer circumstances, at whatever point in time they occurred thus continuing the pattern or we blame ourselves and try and ‘fix’, ‘heal’, or ‘detox’ the discord within us, searching for that elusive panacea.

Yet in each moment of our lives, whether elevated or depressed, there is a gift. There is an opportunity to move forward, to grow, to shift and become more illumined than we were before. If our experience is a reflection of our consciousness, then each painful moment is giving us an opportunity to embrace lost parts of ourselves. Instead of battling with the outer circumstance, and opening the rift wider, we have a chance to cross it instead.

The answer is not where you think it lies. We do not need to ‘heal’ ourselves. We are already whole. We do not need to blame others because our experience is a part of our own perceptions. Those ‘others’ are in fact helping us to see what bits of us we need to embrace.

The practice is far simpler than we could imagine and is available to everyone all the time. It takes time to perfect because we will keep coming back to ourselves. We will keep surfing waves of experience. We will keep falling off. Just like the ocean, the waves never stop. We can learn to ride them and have fun while we do it. We can feel exhilarated.

Here are some ideas for crossing the void… Begin to notice. Develop your attention and notice when your mind is running away. Begin to notice when you are stuck in an emotional bubble. See if you can stop before you react. Take a breath. Don’t act. Take your attention into your whole body. Take your attention into every cell. Listen to your feet. Listen to your fingers. Watch yourself. Feel the feelings you’re feeling without thinking you have to do anything with them. Try not to fire them out of you into someone else. Try not to 'fix' them or analyse them. Try not to justify them. Just let them flow through you. Listen and breathe. Slow down - this next step can be hard - embrace yourself. Whether in your mind or physically. Embrace that feeling - however tough it is. Thank it for being part of you and your experience. Feel where the feeling is in your body. See if it moves but don’t allow your mind to wander back into familiar territory. Just breathe and relax and be. See what happens. Just see. Just be.

Over the last few months I have experienced a whole lot of rifts. No doubt I will experience a whole lot more. My journey has taken me through countless hours of meditation, yoga and healing and yet I still find myself amid clouds of crazy emotions because we always sit on the peak of duality. I still seek answers that ultimately lie within me.

This series of writings was born of a project that my friend Simon started. He was walking a walk, taking people’s prayers and wishes with him. I looked to him for an answer I had yet to find within myself. I experienced a major rift with the project when I couldn’t find what I was looking for. A few weeks afterwards, I was due to attend an ayahuasca ceremony for the same reasons. I pulled out after an intuition that I was searching for answers outside of myself, praying for something or someone to come and fix me and my life.

Only in the last week, as I walked through the gateway of my own birthday did I realise that all I had to do was breath in and embrace myself. All I had to do was listen to myself without judgement or blame. A lifetime of study, exploring countless facets of consciousness and the pathway was simply there in front of me.

I am learning to listen to my heart. It is the voice that speaks the grandest truth in each of our lives. When we can tune into our own internal voice and listen to the murmurings of our own wisdom, then we begin to make peace with where we are and move toward our dreams.

It has been almost four weeks since Simon completed his pilgrimage across northern Spain. It has been longer since I experienced the rift which disconnected me from the project, yet the project was a resounding success. Simon has plans to go bigger and bolder, walking further, longer and involving more people and more prayers. It is inspirational to watch such grand plans manifest.

 

The answers will come and well-being will flow when we become open and receptive.

Let go of your mind. Let go of 'doing'. Expand the field of your attention. Listen to your body and all your senses.

Just listen. Just breathe. Just be.

And then...

Just see.

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'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer was walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he headed for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carried with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that was energetically walking with him. He was supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Forty Pilgrims Project - The Rift: Part 1

Day 13 to 25

We exist in a seemingly infinite Universe. We live in a constant evolving now that continually creates the very next moment. Each moment is unwritten and reveals untold potential. Anything can happen, nothing is written in stone and surprises and adventure abound. We are at a juncture in time and space where we are beginning to piece together the puzzle of consciousness, quantum physics and material reality.

Daring adventurers are cutting through the mainstream flow of thought to the very edge of human understanding. Scientists, meditators, creators, musicians, inventors, yogis, writers and explorers… people from all walks of life are beginning to wake up to their true nature. People around the world are pushing the boundaries of human understanding further and further. We are walking into the dream. We are beginning to realise that reality is an extension of our thoughts, that we are all connected, that consciousness is not limited to humans alone. We are beginning to see that we are magical beings, extensions of an unlimited universal field of energy that abounds in love, experience and expansion.

Quantum physicists are concluding that matter is mostly space and that reality exists where we focus. There is a leap to be made from observing the behaviour of atoms in a laboratory and observing the grand tapestry of life dancing in front of our eyes. If we can reduce the infinite potential of a wave of possibility down to a seemingly solid particle once we observe it, how then can we make the connection between the thoughts we think and the life we are currently experiencing?

The thoughts we think, the state of our mind and the thrum of our emotional levels are the tools we have in the grand experiment of life. Our thoughts and beliefs create our perceptions and our emotions are a bodily response to all that we think. We feel those emotions in our gut, our heart and all over our bodies. They are indicators of where we are right now. Think different thoughts, get different emotional responses. It goes deeper...

What if our body does not stop at our skin? What if we have an electro-magnetic field that extends outwards into ‘reality’ that interacts with everything we see? What if each living organism has a field and we are all living within the fields of each other, extending from the Sun to the Earth to the Moon and back again. What if everything we see is responding to us based on the thoughts and focus we choose? Just like the scientists in the lab observing electrons, when we are not focused on something, it is not there - existing as all possibilities. When we are focused on it, whether in reality, briefly, or in our imagination, up it pops! A song heard for the first time suddenly plays all day. A person in a crowd keeps popping up all over town. A friend we were just thinking of rings out of the blue.

Let us dive even deeper still. Thoughts create perceptions and vibrations to which all of reality is responding to. Matter is becoming stuff because of how and where we focus. This is complex and wonderful. Reality is literally forming around our beliefs and thoughts and our emotions are letting us know how we feel about these things. They are letting us know if we are in tune with our heart and soul. They are our inner guru - our personal guide to ourselves. We are all beautiful and amazing wonders of the Universe and when we think anything less of ourselves it hurts. Our emotions can tell us when the thoughts we have about ourselves are not true to our hearts knowledge.

As we grow up we gather a whole bunch of thoughts and ideas, beliefs and patterns. We know that some of these ideas and thoughts are great and make us happy. We follow our hearts and discover our passions. We fall in love, play and learn to focus on what makes us sing. We eat the food we like and avoid the food that tastes yucky.

The flip-side is that we also gather thoughts and ideas that do not serve us. Often we gather illusions of thought when we are young. These illusions hurt. They don’t feel good. We have emotional responses to the illusions. Remember, our emotions are trying to heal us and show us the way back to our heart so when we feel ugly or unworthy or useless, our emotions are trying to tell us to move away from these thoughts. They are asking us to listen to ourselves, to allow the flow of the emotion to move through our body and then move on to a better thought pattern.

We get stuck in these patterns but because life moves on. We push them down, glide over them, ignore them and keep a stiff upper lip. We live with a lump in our throat as we swallow our emotions. The patterns of thought that do not serve us get stuck in our bodies. Thoughts have weight. They are electrical impulses and we are electro-magnetic, organic beings made of atoms of Earth that came from stars! These stuck thoughts and related emotions wear us down and get stuck in our sub-conscious, forgotten by our forward focused mind. They get stuck in our muscles and organs and we become slow and stiff from the weight of unprocessed junk. We age and become cranky, thinking we are less than we are as some people excel to greatness, floating on the jasmine of life’s summer breeze.

We try new things or dream of other worlds of experience but can be held back by the limiting beliefs hidden within us. We tell ourselves we are not good enough, that we are unlucky, that life is disappointing or that we are blocked and guess what – life exists where you focus. The underlying belief manifests instead of the forward focused eagerness of our waking mind. When this happens enough, we become dejected, depressed, and tired of life. We think we are helpless. It seems ridiculous to hear that our thoughts create things. Life seems random and unfair. Don’t worry, things can change. Life is awesome and predisposed to wholeness. It is working to heal you even as we speak. There is a way forward and a way to let go of the thoughts that no longer serve you. There is a way to recognise the old patterns and move into a new paradigm of excitement, creativity and joy.

Over the last two weeks I have been stuck in patterns that have been desperate to be healed; patterns that have been underlying most of my thoughts and actions for most of my life. Patterns that are only now being revealed through the Forty Pilgrims Project, in which 53 people have begun to focus on new beginnings, new ideas, new wholeness and new experiences. Imagine all of that power of focus!

We are free to change how we think and where we focus. We can leave the jungles of our mind if we so choose and graze in the pastures of our dreams

Join me in ‘The Rift: Part 2’ as I explore limiting beliefs and how we can make the journey back to our hearts.

Love, love, love...


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'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer is walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he is heading for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carries with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that is energetically walking with him. He is supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!

The Forty Pilgrims Project - The First Rays of Sun

Day 6, 7 and 8

There is a fresh feeling in the air after the storm. The atmosphere feels clear and full of promise. Things that once seemed dark are again illumined as sunlight glistens on drops of water nestled in leaves and puddles.

Storms always seem to echo human drama in such a wonderful way. Flashes of anger and vast rumbling clouds roll over our mostly sunny existence, obscuring the light, making it seem as if it has always been like that. Yet the clouds last only as long as we look at them and sometimes even less. Would that we could look past them, into the ever-lasting sun bath of space. Yet we would miss the life-giving force of the storm and that would be a shame.

It seems that shake-ups are necessary on a journey of the heart and soul. We have to face our tempests and walk bravely through them. Simon spent a day in the energy of the phoenix, the mythical bird of fire that heralds the transmuting force of death and rebirth. A storm bringer to be sure but death, whether metaphorical or actual, is an ending that marks a new beginning.

The storm can be full of scary stuff but it contains gifts. Once it passes, our lives can seem simpler. That first ray of sunshine striking the distant hills gives us pause… perhaps a new start is possible. Perhaps we can begin again. Perhaps we can change everything. Of course we can.

My last few days have been deliciously mellow after my own storm of a few days ago. I have begun to see the world in a different light. I feel more in control of myself. I feel like every day of this co-creative quest, every step Simon takes, I am taking with him. Stepping into my power, becoming more confident in my life, with myself, my choices, and my thoughts.

I have noticed a subtlety to my consciousness that I did not notice before. It lies in the present moment, at the point where we make choices. It is a rather ethereal thing, an awareness of heart and mind, and fear and love, an awareness of empowering or dis-empowering. It is an awareness that links my direct and future experiences with the choices of thought and focus I am making in any given moment. It is very new and yet ancient, something I have been looking for all my life, yet only now is making itself known. It feels like taking action upon the voice of my soul – choosing the higher pathway when presented with myriad options.

Even though ‘choosing the higher pathway’ sounds a bit dogmatic to my ears, it nicely echoes the guides’ prayer that I recite every morning and night. I prefer the idea that we can choose a more ‘empowering’ pathway without the notion of higher and lower. I think all pathways are imbued with purpose and spirit. Seeing the inherent gift in every pathway is a sure way to the freedom and joy we seek.

I want to explore this though because this is where I am and this is what the Forty Pilgrims Project is connecting me to right now. This empowering pathway means that I am choosing to listen to myself first when I feel an emotional reaction arising in me instead of acting out of fear. Instead of the knee-jerk defensive block, angry barking dog protecting his territory, I am feeling where the emotion comes from within me. I am deciding not to react and asking myself what it is I really want. Instead of living by default, getting bored with my job, being pissed off with my boss/lover/pet/friend/parent, focusing on the things that are stuck in my life, I am beginning to consciously look into the next step. What does this situation tell me about me? What is it I don’t want, thus what is it I do want? What future do I want for this planet? What part do I want to play in it? What can I focus upon that feels good?

I have started looking at all the great bits of my experience, all the bits of my life that are working. That has developed into seeing that all of the things I see and experience are in some way, parts of myself. I have been toying with loving them all. Tricky but interesting. I have begun making small physical baby steps toward some of my dreams – writing more often, picking up my guitar more often. I have started making a vision board. A visual reference of the kind of life I want to lead. I am feeling into that life just for a few moments every day. I have even begun overhauling my ideas about money – a subject for another day but interesting nonetheless. Perhaps the hardest bit, I am starting to live ‘now’ moments, fully immersed in them. I don’t know where this ship is going but I do know that I have control of the tiller and I am trimming my sails and starting to move along at a decent clip. Conscious living is an art! These are choices we all face and we always have the option of doing things differently to how we have done previously.

The awareness I have of the circle of 53 is growing. Each day I can feel a little more. Each day I feel more connected to Simon and to some of the other lovely souls on this journey. At the moment it is a purely energetic thing. A clairsentient knowing in my heart. I feel I am being slowly led back to myself and my full potential.

There is a magic woven into every moment but we have to slow down to see it. A magic that allows serendipitous events to occur. A magic that seeds life in every possible nook and cranny. A magic that lifts us from the cold of night into the brilliance of dawn. A magic that lets us know we are not alone, even when we are taking solitary steps along a lonely road. A magic that taps our feet at the beat of a drum. A magic that connects us through hearts and minds, culture and breath.

We are the masters of this magic. We are the ones that allow it in or not. We are the gardeners of our hearts, neglecting our dreams or nurturing them with daily love, positivity and appropriate choices. Here is to your garden and the seeds you plant within yourself. Here is to your dreams and the verdant pastures that are waiting to grow. Here is to you and me.

Love, love, love…

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'The Forty Pilgrims Project' series is a blog inspired by a journey. Simon Welsh, poet, writer and new paradigm adventurer is walking the Camino de Santiago - a simple mission to put one foot in front of the other. Carving out a journey over 1000km of trails, roads and pathways, he is heading for Santiago, and further yet to Finisterre, the ‘End of the World’. He carries with him 40 prayers, one for each day, one for each pilgrim that is energetically walking with him. He is supported by 12 guides, energetically supporting him from afar. 

This is my journal of his 'Forty Pilgrims Project' - an observation from the outside, as one of his guides and friends. An exploration of my own journey by his side, as we connect in the quantum field.

Matt is a singer/songwriter, musician, poet and writer of words. He is exploring the forests of consciousness, time and space, and surfing the waves of thought, love and being. Getting lost and wiping out are adventures in themselves!