As we begin to prepare ourselves for 2018, I am making goals to create art as well as continue with writing. Online classes are perfect and can be done at your own pace.
Her hands reach out for intangible dreams as dust motes dance in the spectrum of light across one corner of the room.
Flash fiction is an umbrella term used to describe any fictional work of extreme brevity, including the Six-Word Story, 140-character stories, also known as twitterature, the dribble (50 words), the drabble (100 words), and sudden fiction (750 words).
This is a most entrancing and captivating story. Bea, as the central character, weathers every emotional storm you can imagine, and as we get to know her, we feel for her plight, and one is torn on her behalf as she herself is torn, between two men, two identities, two realms of reality.
Bea is living a fairly ordinary life, running a small, somewhat esoteric, bookshop in London, left to her by her much-missed uncle. Into her somewhat muted existence burst beings from another realm, and why they are so interested in her gradually becomes apparent.
Tracey-anne McCartney introduces us to a richly-detailed and dramatic cosmology drawn from Irish folktales, mythology, and magic, and it is by virtue of this age-old relationship between the world of the Sidhe and that of humans that we find ourselves drawn in most strongly. It is the skilful, often humorous, blend of supernatural and spiritual elements with that of ordinary life; the hopes and disappointments of the ordinary person, as experienced by Bea, which makes this novel so charming, and makes us experience Bea’s emotional maelstrom as our own. We want the best for her, even if deciding what that may be seems near impossible.
The final scene in Coldfall Woods is magnificently achieved, and the writing overall has the right balance of lyricism and restraint and is peppered with moments of levity when appropriate. The narration allows one not only to viscerally experience the events described but also to be privy to the internal life of the principal characters, sensing their doubts, their confusion, their pain and joy – Bea's in particular.
The finale does not give up all the secrets hinted at during the novel. Who exactly is Jonathan? What does Bea’s future hold? And other questions, which I will not pose here for fear of spoiling the many surprises and revelations this artfully-plotted novel offers us en route.
A Carpet of Purple Flowers is an original, entertaining, and sophisticated blend of romance, the paranormal, and the spiritual.
~ By Mark Mayes
Mark has a new book release set for 2017 ~ More HERE The Gift Maker Mark has published numerous stories and poems in magazines and anthologies in the UK, Eire, and Italy, and in particular, has had several stories published in (or accepted for) the celebrated Unthology series (Unthank Books). His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. He has been shortlisted for literary prizes, including the prestigious Bridport Prize. In 2009, Mark graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in English (Creative Writing and Critical Practice) from Ruskin College, Oxford. Currently living in South Wales, Mark is also a musician and songwriter, and some of his songs may be found here:HTTPS://SOUNDCLOUD.COM/PUMPSTREETSONGS
'Skyjacked' novel by Shirley Golden, a debut author with Urbane Publications. I can't wait to get stuck in. :o)
Blurb:
Separated from his son, only a galaxy stands between him and home... The year is 2154, and Corvus Ranger, a space pilot and captain of the Soliton, embarks on a penal run to Jupiter's prison moon, Europa. It should be another routine drop, but a motley band of escaped convicts have other ideas. When Soliton is hijacked, Corvus is forced to set a new destination, one which is far from Earth and his son. Unable to fight (or smooth talk) his way to freedom, Corvus finds himself tied to the plans of the escapees, including their leader Isidore and a gifted young boy who seems to possess strange abilities. Desperate to return to Earth and the son he left behind, Corvus is thrown into the ultimate adventure, a star-strewn odyssey where the greatest enemy in the universe may very well be himself.
When I opened this book and read my name in the acknowledgements, I was blown away. Honestly, I just sat back on the sofa speechless. What a beautiful thing to do for someone. It really touched my heart. I only know Shirley through cyber chatting, where we supported each other in the early part of the debut author journey. So I wanted to say thank you and make this blog post for her. This book will be treasured for eternity. <3 nbsp="" p="">
If you can, please show Shirley some support on this journey. It takes an extreme amount of hard work and guts to get a book 'out there'. Thank you so much.
You can find Shirley on Twitter @shirl1001
Website HERE
Urbane Publications HERE
The soul in many religions, philosophical and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal and immortal essence of a living being. According to Abrahamic religions, only human beings have immortal souls. For example, the Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas attributed "soul" (anima) to all organisms but argued that only human souls are immortal. Other religions (most notably Hinduism and Jainism) teach that all biological organisms have souls while some teach that even non-biological entities (such as rivers and mountains) possess souls. This latter belief is called animism.
Personally, I believe the soul can be simply termed as the 'magic' that lives within us all. :o)
Anima mundi is the concept of a "world soul" connecting all living organisms on the planet.
Freydoon Rassouli
Eugenia Loli
Twin Flame ~
Throughout the course of your life, you may have had unusual or powerful dreams, visions, or fantasies of a mysterious person. You get a particular feeling and the energy of the individual feels familiar as if it is someone you have already met in the past or someone you will meet in some unknown future. You have a vague feeling that this person is real even if you can not see a face or invent their physical appearance in your mind. You have a feeling as if this person is 'out there somewhere' and may even know who you are on the same level.
There may be an unusual synchronicity or event that surround the initial meeting between first flames. Often you have a feeling or 'knowing' of something that you just can't quite put into words. Twinflames often encounter each other for the first time in an unexpected way out of the blue and usually there are synchronicities and strange occurrences or major shifts in energy the same week of the initial meeting.
Most twin flame couples are physically at a distance or live in different countries. Often there is something that prevents the twin flames from being physically together in the beginning. This is usually because there is much energetic work to be done on the mental and emotional levels before the physical meeting can occur. If the physical meeting were to occur too soon the energy can often be too intense.
The relationship is immediate, as though no time had been lost since you were last together. You feel comfortable with them and you feel you can truly be yourself with them. Sometimes conversations can seem to last forever and there is not much that twin flames are not willing to talk about. It's as if you could share your entire life with this person and there is a level of openness and understanding between you that brings a comfortable yet intriguing sense of familiarity.
You feel an overwhelming sense of love and attraction. This love is genuine and heartfelt and you feel magnetically drawn to their energy. This is not to be confused with lust or an obsessive love. Twin flame love is unconditional and transcends the ego.
Twin flames, also called twin souls, are literally the other half of our soul. We each have only one twin, and generally after being split the two went their separate ways, incarnating over and over to gather human experience before coming back together. Ideally, this happens in both of their last lifetimes on the planet so they can ascend together. So you probably haven't had many lifetimes with your twin.
Each twin is a complete soul, not half a soul. It is their task to become more whole, balancing their female and male sides, and ideally become enlightened, before reuniting with their twin. This reunion is of two complete and whole beings. All other relationships through all our lives could be said to be "practice" for the twin, the ultimate relationship.
Meeting, you feel a sense of completion that goes beyond words. Wholeness on a soul level that is beyond the physical. Each twin flame is still an individual and is not 'the other half of your soul' as if you are complete now that you have found them. It is a meeting an energetic mirror of your own soul. You share a vibration and resonate with them. ~ I call this the 'soul song' in book two. ;o)
Soul Mate ~
Soulmates are our soul family, the ones we do have many lifetimes and experiences with, who help us grow and evolve, create and dissipate karma. According to ancient wisdom, when the soul is "born" or descended from Source, it is created in a group. The souls in this group are our soulmates, ones who are very like us in frequency makeup. Then each of these souls is split into two, creating the twins.
A soulmate is someone you are close to at a soul level, and with whom you have had many shared experiences in different lifetimes, in various kinds of relationships -- siblings, parent-child, best friend, as well as romantic relationships. There is a deep love for each other, and a spiritual bond that sets them apart from the superficiality of most other people in your life. Conversations are generally deep, about personal growth and service to make the world a better place. We can have many soulmates in our lives, and they come to us to help us grow spiritually. More Here
Naked of Form
The Modern English word "soul", derived from Old English sáwol, sáwel, was first attested in the 8th-century poem Beowulf v. 2820 and in the Vespasian Psalter 77.50. It is cognate with other German and Baltic terms for the same idea, including Gothic saiwala, Old High German sêula, sêla, Old Saxon sêola, Old Low Franconian sêla, sîla, Old Norse sála and Lithuanian siela. Further etymology of the Germanic word is uncertain. The original concept is meant to be 'coming from or belonging to the sea/lake', because of the German belief in souls being born out of and returning to sacred lakes, Old Saxon sêola (soul) compared to Old Saxon sêo (sea).
In form ~ Odilon Redon
The Koine Greek word ψυχή psychē, "life, spirit, consciousness", is derived from a verb meaning "to cool, to blow", and hence refers to the breath, as opposed to σῶμα ("soma"), meaning "body". Psychē occurs juxtaposed to σῶμα.
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body."
The Ancient Greeks used the word "alive" for the concept of being "ensouled", indicating that the earliest surviving western philosophical view believed that the soul was that which gave the body life. The soul was considered the incorporeal or spiritual "breath" that animates (from the Latin, anima, cf. "animal") the living organism.
Francis M. Cornford quotes Pindar in saying that the soul sleeps while the limbs are active, but when one is sleeping, the soul is active and reveals "an award of joy or sorrow drawing near" in dreams.
Freydoon Rassouli
Words...
Drawing on the words of his teacher Socrates, Plato considered the psyche to be the essence of a person, being that which decides how we behave. He considered this essence to be an incorporeal, eternal occupant of our being. Socrates says that even after death, the soul exists and is able to think. He believed that as bodies die, the soul is continually reborn in subsequent bodies and Plato believed this as well, however, he thought that only one part of the soul was immortal (logos). Aristotle's discussion of the soul is in his work, De Anima (On the Soul).
Cathrine Langwagen.
Augustine, one of western Christianity's most influential early Christian thinkers, described the soul as "a special substance, endowed with reason, adapted to rule the body".
The 'origin of the soul' has provided a vexing question in Christianity. the major theories put forward include soul creationism, traducianism, and pre-existence. According to creationism, each individual soul is created directly by God, either at the moment of conception or some later time. According to traducianism, the soul comes from the parents by natural generation. According to the preexistence theory, the soul exists before the moment of conception. There have been differing thoughts.
David Joaquin.
In Hinduism, the Sanskrit words most closely corresponding to soul are jiva, Ātman and "Purusha", meaning the individual self. The term "soul" is misleading as it implies an object possessed, whereas self-signifies the subject which perceives all objects. This self is held to be distinct from the various mental faculties such as desires, thinking, understanding, reasoning and self-image (ego), all of which are considered to be part of Prakriti (nature).
The atman becomes involved in the process of becoming and transmigrating through cycles of birth and death because of ignorance of its own true nature. The spiritual path consists of self-realization Рa process in which one acquires the knowledge of the self (brahma-j̱anam) and through this knowledge applied through meditation and realization one then returns to the Source which is Brahman.
"For the atman, there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever – existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain". [Translation by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada).
When the Atma becomes embodied it is called birth when the Aatma leaves a body it is called death. The Aatma transmigrates from one body to another body based on karmic [performed deeds] reactions.
In Hinduism, the Sanskrit word most closely corresponding to the soul is Atma, which can mean soul or even God. It is seen as the portion of Brahman within us.
Freydoon Rassouli.
Daisy Lee
The flower itself unfolds worlds of deeper meaning. From stem, petal, leaves, color, stamen and pistol, there is so much to consider in the deeper realms of flower meanings. Take the time to contemplate the various nuances of "flower-power" in a symbolic perspective. You'll be delighted at every turn.
Since antiquity, flower symbolism has been a significant part of cultures around the world. Flowers accompany us in every major event in life--birth, marriage, holidays, graduations, illness, and finally death. Flowers have been grown in decorative gardens and used as an adornment for centuries on virtually every continent on earth.
Over the ages, humans have devised symbolic languages of flowers, which became popularized in the Victorian era. In the 1600's, Lady Mary Wortley was pivotal in bringing flowers and meanings to the public attention. Prior to her research and observations, the symbolism of flowers was quite esoteric. In Victorian times, certain flowers had specific meanings because the flower selection was limited and people used more symbols and gestures to communicate than words.
Floral symbolism varies according to the type of flower, how it is arranged, how many flowers in the arrangements, and combinations of flowers. Effectually, a floral bouquet as a gift could have endless symbolic meanings. Only someone savvy in the language of flowers and meanings would be able to crack the secret code.
Further, the Victorian era wasn't the only phase of intense floral discovery. Deeper meanings of flowers were used and interpreted by:
Native American Indians
Ancient Egyptians
Ancient Greeks
Ancient Celts
Japanese
Chinese
...and many more cultures around the world have their own specialized flower-language. HEREHERE
Finding the right flower to give to someone your love is an art.
Luli Sanchez.
Transmigration of a soul - Metempsychosis is a philosophical term in the Greek language referring to transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. Generally, the term is only used within the context of Ancient Greek philosophy but has also been used by modern philosophers. Another term sometimes used synonymously is palingenesia. It is unclear how the doctrine of metempsychosis arose in Greece. The Orphic religion, which held it, first appeared in Thrace.
Orpheus, its legendary founder, is said to have taught that soul and body are united by a compact unequally binding on either; the soul is divine, immortal and aspires to freedom while the body holds it a prisoner (not released until death). More HERE
Stasia Burrington.
In a dream, I saw an ethereal purple flower ~ it was the source of everything. (Moi)
Enna, a character for a book I've yet to write called 'The Butterfly Bridge', traveled through water and white sands, her journey takes her into the universe where a beautiful, translucent, magical flower exists. It was quite a moving experience, and where my idea for the title 'A Carpet of Purple Flowers' and 'Calageata' derived. An ethereal flower/place ~ containing the karma of all life/souls.
I've written a short creation story which includes the Sindria, the first beings of light born from the source.
Lonely in Your Nightmare by Silvia C via DevianArt
Calageata (Swan-gate) ~ An otherworldly place for Sindria (care-keepers of souls).
Flower of Vororbla ~ Flower of karma. (Voror Flower)
Mists of Calageata (from the flowers) represent our forgetting in timelessness. In sleep during soul transition stages.
I love the tempo and lyrics in this song by Mree. It's how I see two souls (twin flames) joining, and it was perfect to listen to as writing a certain visualization in book one. It's not about perfection of the body (material form) but uniting of souls that have been separated for an extremely long time. Words spoken by the eyes are not comparable to the voice. It could be called 'insta love', but in truth, it is ancient love and far from instant, intangible to many, especially when not yet soul ready to meet their twin. ;o)
I'm not a religious person, but I do consider myself spiritual, though not in a heavy way, and by that I mean, my daily life is not filled with incense and meditation, not that there's anything wrong with that. ;o) I live, when able, in my mind, writing, researching, and creating art, that is, to me, a form of meditation - detaching from a systematic world and the surrounding city stresses. I believe that our creative muse connects to 'the source' becoming a form through which we can share experiences, dreams, and knowledge. People rarely show their inner selves, but through creativity, we can easily express/investigate parts that otherwise would remain hidden.
More research behind the spiritual/scientific concepts for the story can be found HERE
It has been quite the challenge to use these areas in a very subtle way so not to overload the story with information or get too deep into the psychology of life and death/soul and matter/form. A love story was the perfect way to explore these ideas. Helps that I'm a hopeless romantic, too. It's the reason that I write using fantasy and reality creating a blend of truth and myth. It is up to the reader to decide what is possible, or not. The layers within the story are concepts that go beyond tangible/literal thinking, so I don't expect everybody to connect to certain elements used in the book, but I've applied them as gently as possible, and I promise all is relevant to the bigger tale. :o)
was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books retelling stories taken from Irish mythology.
There's more learning than is taught in books.
~ Lady Gregory
Irish history having been forbidden in schools, has been, to a great extent, learned from Raftery's poems by the people of Mayo, where he was born, and of Galway, where he spent his later years. ~
Lady Gregory
It is what the poets of Ireland used to be saying, that every brave man, good at fighting, and every man that could do great deeds and not be making much talk about them, was of the Sons of the Gael; and that every skilled man that had music and that did enchantments secretly, was of the Tuatha de Danaan. ~
Lady Gregory
It was on the first day of Beltaine, that is called now May Day, the Tuatha de Danaan came, and it was to the north-west of Connacht they landed. But the Firbolgs, the Men of the Bag, that were in Ireland before them, and that had come from the South, saw nothing but a mist, and it lying on the hills. ~
Lady Gregory
There is many a man without learning will get the better of a college-bred man,
and will have better words, too. ~
Lady Gregory
Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland by Lady Augusta GregoryHERE
In talking to the people I often heard the name of Biddy Early, and I began to gather many stories of her, some calling her a healer and some a witch. Some said she had died a long time ago, and some that she was still living. I was sure after a while that she was dead, but was told that her house was still standing, and was on the other side of Slieve Echtge, between Feakie and Tulla. So one day I set out and drove Shamrock, my pony, to a shooting lodge built by my grandfather in a fold of the mountains, and where I had sometimes, when a young girl, stayed with my brothers when they were shooting the wild deer that came and sheltered in the woods. It had like other places on our estate a border name brought over from Northumberland, but though we called it Chevy Chase the people spoke of its woods and outskirts as Daire-caol, the Narrow Oak Wood, and Daroda, the Two Roads, and Druim-da-Rod, their Ridge. I stayed tile night in the low thatched house, setting out next day for Feakle "eight strong miles over the mountain." It was a wild road, and the pony had to splash his way through two unbridged rivers, swollen with the summer rains. The red mud of the road, the purple heather and foxglove, the brown bogs were a contrast to the grey rocks and walls of Burren and Aidline, and there were many low hills, brown when near, misty blue in the distance; then the Golden Mountain, Slieve nan-Or, "where the last great battle will be fought before the end of the world." Then I was out of Connacht into Clare, the brown turning to green pasture as I drove by Raftery's Lough Greine.
I put up my pony at a little inn. There were portraits of John Dillon and Michael Davitt hanging in the parlour, and the landlady told me Parnell's likeness had been with them, until the priest had told her he didn't think well of her hanging it there. There was also on the wall, in a frame, a warrant for the arrest of one of her sons, signed by, I think, Lord Cowper, in the days of the Land War. "He got half a year in gaol the same year Parnell did. He got sick there, and though he lived for some years the doctor said when he died the illness he got in gaol had to do with his death."
I had been told how to find Biddy Early's house "beyond the little hum py bridge," and I walked on till I came to it, a poor cottage enough, high up on a mass of rock by the roadside. There was only a little girl in the house, but her mother came in afterwards and told me that Biddy Early had died about twenty years before, and that after they had come to live in the house they had been "annoyed for a while" by people coming to look for her. She had sent them away, telling them Biddy Early was dead, though a friendly priest had said to her, "Why didn't you let on you were her and make something out of them?" She told me some of the stories I give below, and showed me the shed where the healer had consulted with her invisible friends. I had already been given by an old patient of hers a "bottle" prepared for the cure, but which she had been afraid to use. It lies still unopened on a shelf in my storeroom. When I got back at nzght fall to the lodge in the woods I found many of the neighbours gathered there, wanting to hear news of "the Tulla Woman" and to know for certain if she was dead. I think as time goes on her fame will grow and some of the myths that always hang in the air will gather round her, for I think the first thing I was told of her was, "There used surely to be enchanters in the old time, magicians and freemasons. Old Biddy Early's power came from the same thing."
The Gregorys travelled in Ceylon, India, Spain, Italy and Egypt. While in Egypt, Lady Gregory had an affair with the English poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, during which she wrote a series of love poems, A Woman's Sonnets.
Tulira Castle, County Galway.
The tower house to the right dates from the 15th century although resting on earlier foundations.
Edward Martyn was a neighbour of Lady Gregory's, and it was during a visit to his home, Tullira Castle, in 1896 that she first met W. B. Yeats. Discussions between the three of them over the following year or so led to the founding of the Irish Literary Theatre in 1899. Lady Gregory undertook fundraising, and the first programme consisted of Martyn's The Heather Field and Yeats's The Countess Cathleen.
The Irish Literary Theatre project lasted until 1901, when it collapsed due to lack of funding. In 1904, Lady Gregory, Martyn, Yeats, John Millington Synge, Æ, Annie Horniman and William and Frank Fay came together to form the Irish National Theatre Society.
Medieval Tulira Castle, in the village of Ardrahan in County Galway, Ireland
