Every morning, I and other collectors of my The Art of Life Inspiration Deck , pick a card at random and allow the words or images to inspire our day.
Today, for example, I drew a card which was inspired by my landscape and efforts by my local community to stop numerous abuses of power.
Rangitane
Acrylic on canvas
600 mm x 760 mm
Haven’t we seen this so powerfully shown in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle in the New Zealand ‘summer’ of 2023?
Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Water is the driving force of all nature.” We can become fluid and strong like water and come together to agitate for change.
The quote was inspired by the speeches at the October 30th, Freedom Day rally in Auckland, New Zealand which occurred in 2021 to protest mandates imposed during the pandemic.
The painting is inspired by the view near where I live in Rangitane, The Bay of Islands. The text also speaks to the great effort locals made to keep their community safe for their children and families and not bow to the pressure of a minority who wanted to develop the area.
The artwork was inspired by all my loves in my neighbourhood and the view from the studio. I tuned into blue skies and shimmering oceans both near and far, a luxe vibe for seekers of new horizons.
Some moons ago, I had a reading with a renowned medium. This is part of her message to me, ‘At the end of a reading I like to draw an Angel card for you. Your message is from Archangel Gabrielle and its says, ‘ you have an important life purpose involving
communication and the arts. Please don’t allow insecurities to hold you back. I will help you’. I feel this is a perfect message from the Angels as it reinforces much of what I have said in the reading. You are on this earth as a communicator and you must continue to find ways of reaching people and teaching them from the wisdom you have acquired.”
I feel compelled at this time to continue to stand against fear, control and tyranny—I do this by being The Joyful Artist. This takes amazing courage and strength of purpose. Very often, as Viktor Frankl once said, “What is to give light must endure burning.” Sometimes we have to literally put our life on the line for our country and for our loved one’s safety, freedom, and liberty. Like a lighthouse, we must shine light in the darkness and remain strong during setbacks and attacks.
Sadly, and in my view, wrongly, while my former home town Wellington celebrates a weekend of art and creativity, the Bay of Islands remains in a strange State of Emergency and people due to attend my art retreat opted to cancel coming today, The sun is shining, and the past few days been the best days we’ve had all summer…what to do? Flow like the water and go around the obstacles. So I will open my studio today and show up for joy anyway.
My heart goes out to those truly impacted by the devasting floods, especially in Hawkes Bay. I hope creative solutions are found to fuel, food and housing crises. Napier is a port city, the roads may be damaged, but the sea is open for supplies.
I am currently changing the planned retreat dates and will donate a percentage to help those impacted by the Cyclone. DM if you would love to come to my 3-day art retreat and let me know a day that may suit:)
While I take no glee in others suffering, there are people around the world infinitely worse off than many of us in New Zealand. As I write the death toll in Syria stands at a horrifying 35,000. And then are the hundreds of thousands of people killed in the purposeless war between Russia and Ukraine. Whenever I feel sorry for myself, I remind myself of what I do have, not what I may perceive I lack. My training in psychology and counselling continues to bear fruit.
This is an edited excerpt from, The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos: Insights and Inspiration to Spark and Sustain Your Creative Life
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2RRFXVH
You may also enjoy my latest blog:
CYCLONES AND ALL THINGS CANCELLED
One of the ways I keep all my mindset pointed to joy during times of chaos and my vibrant memories close is by recording them in my passion journal and then doing an end-of-year gratitude review. How about you? Is this something you could do? You may enjoy my blog post with my 2021 review:
https://www.thejoyfulartist.co.nz/i-look-back-and-it-seems-surreal-2021-in-review/
The deck is available to purchase from my online store: https://shop.cassandragaisford.com/product/the-art-of-life-inspiration-deck/
The small sound-bites of wisdom are expanded upon in my book, The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos (Insights and Inspiration to Spark and Sustain Your Creative Life).
Now available through Amazon in paperback and ebook—https://www.amazon.com/dp/1990020747. I love ebooks but there’s nothing quite like the magic of holding a book and turning the pages in your hands. Plus, I know you’ll love the full colour images of my paintings that inspire everything!
Here’s a bit more about this book (in case you missed my earlier email)
Connect With Inspiration Every Day
Are you an established artist, a hobbyist, or someone fascinated by artists, their creative process and their lives? Whatever your motivation there’s something for everyone in my new release, The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos (Insights and Inspiration to Spark and Sustain Your Creative Life).
In this book, I share insights into my creative process and the exact strategies I use to stay sane (arguably!) in a world gone mad.
Can you create your way to happiness? My answer is a resounding, ‘yes!’ Isabel Allende once said, “Write what should not be forgotten.” The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos is part memoir, part reflections on living and creating during a pandemic and part sharing the inspiration and process behind my ‘happy’ paintings.
I began to write The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos in 2020 to uplift myself during the tsunami of stress, fear, and division energy created during the pandemic. As with all my self-empowerment books, I write to inspire, heal, encourage and cheerlead myself and others to keep being rebels with a cause—to show up for love in a world enamoured by war.
The Art of Life expands upon the themes introduced in my oracle-inspired guidance cards which I produced while the world was in the throes of the global Covid response, The Art of Life Inspiration Deck. Each chapter features a work of art created by me, which I have paired with an insightful quotation and an expanded interpretation.
My hope for you, dear friend, is that in reading this book you will be encouraged, emboldened, and energised to start collecting art or begin creating too.
Sometimes all it takes to radically transform your life is one word, one sentence, one painting or one powerful but simple strategy to ignite inspiration and reawaken a sense of possibility.
Like Cynthia who wrote to me after receiving my newsletter, “I’m just sitting here trying to reply through blurry eyes full of tears after having a good cry & wondering where I lost myself & thinking how much I miss my happy bubbly self…That was just beautiful. Thanks for sharing that with me.”
Sometimes uplifting words, received at the right time, can reawaken our hearts and set us forth on a path of inspired change. I feel the same about uplifting art. This is why I’ve also included images and links to my paintings in case one of my available works sparks happiness and you would love a piece of my joy in your home—or would just love to enjoy on the pages of this book.
This isn’t another self-help book; it’s a self-love book. It offers ways to increase your resilience and stay in the high vibrational energies Dr David Hawkins spoke of— love, peace and joy. From these energies comes the power to live fearlessly and create a life worth living.
The Art of Life: Thriving Through Chaos will help you:
• Discover why showing up for love is an antidote to stress
• Feel inspired and uplifted
• Boost your happiness and sense of wellbeing
• Super-charge the confidence needed to make an inspired change
• Inspire and sustain your creativity
• Rediscover joy and love life again
EXCLUSIVE TO AMAZON
Nurture your happy bubbly self. Purchase this book today!
Universal Link
mybook.to/TheArtofLife
audio coming soon!
Please share with your artist, author, photographer…creator friends. 
Posted in: Blog
ABOUT CASSANDRA
I am an artist, storyteller, intuitive guide, mentor and Reiki master. All my creations are infused with positive energy , inspiration, and light. I believe in magic and the power of beauty, joy, love, purpose, and creativity to transform your life. My greatest joy is helping your realize your dreams. That makes my soul sing!
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