Day Two: My Soul Inside

I am not the color of my eyes
I am not the skin on the outside
I am not my age, I am not my race, my soul inside is all light.
I am light.   - India Arie

We begin by presenting the morning gift.  Today's gift came from the amazing Dr. Sarah Seidelmann.  Sarah is a physician turned shamanic healer and life coach.  Sarah sent this message to the girls:





Dear Mighty Girls,

I want to invite you to CREATE every single day! If you do that in you will most certainly change the world by leaving your beautiful mark on it. Journal! Scribble! Braid! Bake! Dance! And remember to hunt for beauty because it's everywhere:). You were born to FREAK. You were born to express yourself in 1 million different ways. In ways that the earth has never seen before. So go forth and be art!
P.S. With the Beasties by your side there is nothing you cannot do, be or create:).

In peace and pachyderms,
Sarah 

The girls were intrigued to learn that there is also a Beasties App!

After the girls explored their morning gift, we got back to work on our art journals, adding painted backgrounds and textures.  We will be adding more layers with the use of prompts in the days to come.

The journals were placed in the sun to dry, then we began our second project...Mala beads!

Mala beads, or prayer beads are used by many different religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Sikhism and Bahai Faith.  They are used to mark repetitions of prayers, mantras, chants, devotions and can also be used to count one’s blessings.

  The number of beads in the strand are symbolic.  A 27 bead mala is common in China.  In Tibetan Buddhism, they use 108 beads because a mantra is recited 100 times and the extra 8 beads are dedicated to all sentient beings.



Beads are made from many different sources, wood, seeds, bone, and precious stones.  Sandalwood malas are common as are beads made from rudraksha seed.  Rudraksha are the seed from a sacred tree which is a species of Ficus religiosa, or the Bodhi tree which is believed to be the tree that Buddha sat under when he attained enlightenment.

In June I went to New York to see "Count Your Blessings", an exhibition of prayer beads at the Rubin Museum.  I took photos for inspiration and jotted down some notes to share with the girls.

Dear Girls,

Try to spend some time alone with your Moms tonight.  If you can, go for a walk and see if you can find any feathers or flowers to press into your journal.  Listen carefully to what your mom has to say...listen for wisdom.

See you tomorrow!