Recent Posts

• “Whole” by Melanie Erin
  

  Melanie is a songwriter and singer from Toronto who is influenced by the present moment. She takes inspiration from her day or an interaction and symbolically works with what her muse brings to her through dreams, thought and feelings. She enjoys helping others blossom through song and making connections through music-making. How it came about: This song came to me at 4:30am on the morning of my 29th birthday. The day before, my Karma Yoga offering had been drilling screws into logs, putting together a structure for the chicken coop project. The resonating vibrations of the drill, the nails forcibly making their way through the log, creating holes in the log, seemed to have been drilled in my subconscious. We took a break during the day’s work to close our eyes and do a Light invocation – my first one of the season. When I opened my eyes, I remembered where I was – physically, among clear, abundant water and sunshine. But I also remember where I stood symbolically – working my way to being whole. You can hear her wonderful music by clicking the “Play” button below. https://www.yasodhara.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wholes-2021-03-10-6.56-PM.mp3 Back to the Saraswati Muse

• Paintings By Myca Palmer
  

  “I started painting about 3 years ago, drawn to it by a deep yearning to explore myself more deeply. Self put down thoughts such as ‘I can’t draw’ ‘I’m useless’, ‘I’m past it’ became… ‘who says so’? This opened a window of opportunity to explore old habits, beliefs and ideas my mind kept telling me about myself, each and every time I sat down to paint! I sat through waves of anxiety, grumpiness, the perfectionist in me, the comparer. The list was long! I’ve not had lessons, as of yet, to date enjoying the innocent nature of my being shining the way through each step of the process. The more I’ve trusted this process, the more I’m growing as a human being. I refer to my paintings as spiritual art, not just because they are primarily of Hindu Gods/ Goddesses and yantra, but because each painting is an honouring of the whole creative process. Each canvas and piece of art paper can be likened to human life. A spiritual analogy of our lives is sometimes portrayed through use of a movie screen. The movie screen, or in the case of art a blank canvas, is that from which life becomes manifest. It is essential. Light and energy then pass through a projector reel, creating shadows which appear as images on the movie screen. With art the projector is replaced with a pencil or brush! With this analogy in mind, each blank canvas is a human life. It is its own expression wanting to be realised and I feel fortunate to watch each and every one unfold before my very eyes as I paint.” Myca includes some Ashram scenes on her website, and will donate profits from their sale to the Ashram. www.mycapalmer.com Art Back to the Saraswati Muse

• The Lost Things by Daniel Crough
  

  Daniel Crough is a writer, a storyteller, a technology leader, a yogi and a humble traveller on the spiritual path. When he’s not building websites or strategizing for businesses of all sizes, you can find him in nature or writing in his home by the beach in Kitsilano.

• Drawing from Swami Matananda
  

  Two of my favorite things came together in a new and organic way, which is what I think creativity often is for me. I drew the image of Swami Sukhananda’s hands a long time ago. We have been on this path together now for over 30 years.And i noticed how beautiful her hands were and wanted to draw them to include them in some prayer drawings i was doing at the time. (“May all eating and drinking be the offering of oblations unto Thee.” from Swami Radha’s Divine Mother Prayer) Drawing has been a wonderful way to know myself and the world around me. I pulled this drawing out and decided to put something 3 dimensional into her hands. And placed it in the photocopy room for people to see. The mushrooms are dried from a past spring of gathering Morel Mushrooms. I tend to find about ten of them on our land each season. And Andrea brought it to the next step by taking a photo of the combination and she caught what I was wanting to convey. I really like how the two dimensional and 3 dimensional worlds became a 3rd dimension of digital form made of light.   Back to the Saraswati Muse

• Map of Every Series – Paintings by Garry Sly
  

  I started painting when I was 24 years old. I had never been involved with art before but suddenly I began painting. I took a painting course at the Ottawa School of Art and soon after transferred to the University of Victoria and completed a Visual Arts Degree. My work has always emphasized bold colourful patterns that encompass elements of lyrical abstraction. In experimenting with the cadence of various colour/pattern combinations, the paintings are often representative of visual rhythmic chords, like music, that reflect a particular frequency or vibration. A recent series titled, Map of Every, is created using simple patterns that repeat in endless variations, the colour is restricted to a single palette. Three works created with blue, three works with red. The simple repetition of patterns made me think about the everyday rhythms or movements that are made each day by individuals that eventually culminate in an entire existence. The patterns of movements may vary slightly each day but through repetition, beautiful patterns form that illuminate the rhythms of life. I find the patterning process of painting can be an almost meditative process. It is a very focussed task. Although it is a very visual process, I think there are some parallels to the practice of mantra. I think colour can be healing in a similar way that sound can be healing. Art Website : garrysly.ca Instagram: garry.sly Email : garrysly1@gmail.com   Back to the Saraswati Muse