by Orly | May 13, 2016 | Blog
I feel like I am caught in a dumper at the moment.
Interestingly, that feeling was the inspiration for Vortex.
I think the biggest gift in ’embracing the thrash’ is the necessary letting go. The surrender.
Things feel pretty amazing at the moment. I’m stepping into Life in a big way and have been building momentum so there is no turning back.
Cloudscape has been accepted for Sculpture by the Sea Bondi 2016 .. so October 20 is the opening date.
It feels like the stars are aligned. I’m creating a ‘Cloudscape Manifesto’ today to help spread the word and gather supporters. And as I dream it into existence it starts to become real.
The thing I have to keep remembering is .. Breathe.
In Gratitude.
by Orly | May 3, 2016 | Blog
I’ve loved spirals for a long time. My doodling used to be an endless series of spirals. My philosophy on life relates to spirals. So many of my designs proposals have been spirals. Vortex was many spirals within a spiral. i feel a strong connection between life and the spiral.
I’ll continue to explore this ..
The spiral in a snail’s shell is the same mathematically as the spiral in the Milky Way galaxy, and it’s also the same mathematically as the spirals in our DNA. It’s the same ratio that you’ll find in very basic music that transcends cultures all over the world.
– Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.
– Julia Margaret Cameron
by Orly | Apr 18, 2016 | Blog
This blog post really represents a big part of the journey I’ve been on to transform my life. Exploring is how I like to learn and my massive challenge has been ‘exploring’ in the public eye.
I have spent my life trying to hide. Even now I tend to wear mostly black, and I have a desire to slip into the shadows and go exploring. It’s how I’ve lived my life. And it has been fun. I’ve imagined I’d have made a great spy. I love to ferret information, to develop theories, to examine, the cross examine, to twist things around in every possible angle and interpretation. But of course all that takes time and energy .. so I’ve had to be very particular about what I’m studying at any one time. And yet it feels like there are multiple studies happening in the background at any one time .. a process of discernment, observation, appreciation, cataloguing .. and I think in recent years my system started to overflow and was in meltdown for a while. So the meltdown was my ‘soul soup’ period of really getting clear on what I was going to do with my life. I’m still very connected to that soul soup – it was like the culmination of a lifetime of searching and letting go and trying to find the gem in amongst it all. I feel like I’ve been swimming underwater for a long time. I feel a bit like an amphibian, crawling onto land, taking breaths of air, feeling the ground beneath my feet, feeling exposed, feeling brave, letting go, opening up, transforming.
In a chance conversation today I got the message that I need to speak up, for people like me who feel like they are alone in how they feel .. in feeling weird or like there’s noone else like you .. in feeling bad about wanting time to yourself, in feeling like you don’t have a purpose on earth and what’s the point, in wondering what contribution you are making and why does it have to be so hard. I could keep on going .. but the point is .. we are never alone. There is ALWAYS someone out there who thinks like you, or feels like you, and as much as you may feel like an alien who has been placed here from another planet, trying to make sense of this crazy civilisation, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
So that is my message. I can promise you with certainty.
And if you feel alone, send me a message, and I will respond and be your witness.
So in full circle fashion which is the flavour of my life at the moment, I will conclude this post with what message I’m getting from what I have written above ..
We all need to be seen, to be acknowledged, to feel like we exist other than in our own minds. But being seen is really scary. It means being open to attack. It means needing to have a strategy for responding to whatever comes at you. Yet coming out of hiding opens up the whole world, opens up opportunities for connection, and opens up the possibility of moving forward to something different.
So, in short, this blog allows me to open up my life to connection (or attack), it forces me to stand open (and exposed) to the world, and it helps me to take action which then begets more action .. and slowly, but with increasing momentum, a path of action is taken and the world starts to expand, and more things start to happen .. and well, I’ve got a way to go yet .. but I’ve been feeling like I’m on the right track, and that’s the main thing.
Onwards.
by Orly | Apr 17, 2016 | Blog
Since getting lost has formed the background to my life, and led me into so many adventures and experiences, it is something I am exploring.
Getting lost can be a time of discovery, of letting go, of surrendering to a higher power.
One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
– Andre Gide
by Orly | Apr 16, 2016 | Blog
Artistry in Play
presents
Cloudscape
a journey
into the rabbit hole
An awakening
A world to explore
A place to discover
Sacred
Spaces
Dare
to
Dream ..
Big.
Connect
Be inspired
Transform.
Take a chance.
Enter at own risk.
It’s all relative
All the world’s a stage
This is your life.
Come on a journey.
Explore
Breathe.
Release.
It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting
– Paul Coelho, The Alchemist
There is only one way to learn,” the alchemist answered. “It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.
– Paul Coelho, The Alchemist
The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure
– Joseph Campbell
by Orly | Apr 16, 2016 | Blog
Someone made a comment the other day, about a difference between males and females, in a general sense of course, but it holds true for my experience. I wonder whether it is a feminine versus masculine principle. The comment was that women are more interested in the journey, and men in the destination.
In the context of travels between Fernmount and Sydney for many years, I can definitely say that I was much more about enjoying the journey and not worrying so much about timing than my male partner, whose aim was to get to the destination in record time and then relax.
Without raising the issue of gender differences, I think I can say that the experience of Cloudscape is a very feminine, flowing, journeying experience. It is an opportunity to explore organic forms, light and movement within a balanced container.
by Orly | Apr 16, 2016 | Blog
My latest idea, and I’m having a few at the moment, is that Cloudscapes could be built across political boundaries as a place of peace and play and spirit to spirit connection.
I have a special connection to the Berlin wall, which came down on my 19th birthday as I flew from Athens into Cairo as a birthday treat. Just a month or so before I had been to East Berlin and had sat with medical students in West Berlin who all doubted that the wall would ever come down.
The border between Israel and Egypt would be another meaningful location for me.
I’m feeling pretty determined about making the piece in Bondi happen this year. Ideas for planning and funding are continuing to develop. My mind is jumping ahead of me.
Here is my current list of places I would like to build Cloudscape :
Australia (Bondi)
Germany (Berlin)
Israel
Iceland
Australia (Bellingen)
North America (New Orleans?)
Russia
northern Africa
South America
by Orly | Apr 16, 2016 | Blog
This is a lesson I’ve been learning recently. And it is one that is entirely within our control. Speaking it releases it .. allows it to come out into the open to be examined and let go of with compassion and love.
But of course, that starts with a need to trust. And that can be a huge journey in itself .. reaching a level of certainty or of desperation to surrender, knowing that within is the strength to survive and thrive.
I’ve loved to see my life as a closed book .. and it exists on countless journals that were my companion the past 27 or more years. I want to start opening them up. Perhaps I will release some secrets. I wonder myself what I will discover. I will look for lessons I can pass on from where I now stand.
I also want to create a video of each of the aikido techniques, with my training buddy Monica, to see myself from an outsider’s perspective, and achieve clarity in the process. I think that would help me and also be helpful for others who would like to have an introduction to the art.
I used to love to go and watch the soap box orators in Hyde Park in London and I’ve always been fascinated and in admiration of people who can express themselves with confidence and clarity. I know I just need to keep practicing and I can start to develop that confidence in baby steps. It feels like the beginning of a new journey.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt
by Orly | Apr 16, 2016 | Blog
I’ve just created a new page on my website, announcing a new idea that meshes in with everything else, as things seem prone to do at the moment.
I am calling it ‘Walking for Connection’. It is another journey of exploration. What I’m envisioning at this moment is an app or website booking system.
Who:
This is for people who want to get fitter, to see the world, to connect to others, to open up to new perspectives, and to expand their world.
How:
A way to connect with fellow adventurers via your phone or computer. A booking system shows walks available, and allows people to commit to doing a walk – either on their own or meeting up with other. Factors such as fitness capabilities, interests, requirements etc could be built in. And even if we just want to walk by ourself, accountability can make all the difference.
Martial responsibility
I also want to build an accountability system for my aikido dojo so that people can commit to classes in advance and classes can be cancelled in advance if there is lack of interest or teachers are unavailable.
So there you go. Two new products.
Ever onwards.
by Orly | Apr 13, 2016 | Blog
I’ve been exploring my life in lots of different ways lately .. through music, conversation, writing, connection and creation. And I’ve had lots of insights as I look back on my life and see the impact of early decisions. One of those was around the need to protect myself, and this has been something that has driven so much of my life. But now, after 45 years, I feel like I’ve been a keeper of the flame of childhood and innocence and that I have tended that delicate flame so that it has been able to grow stronger, and waiting for me to be strong enough to share it
And the message is ..
We need to let go and play.
Peace.
Amen.
by Orly | Apr 12, 2016 | Blog
This blog post has been on my ‘to do’ list for way way way too long. I feel like my thoughts on this topic are a tight bundle ideas that I have been having trouble teasing out into a coherent story .. or even knowing where to start.
So I’m starting. And that is a breakthrough in itself. I will keep getting this lesson until I properly take it on board .. thinking about something doesn’t get me to clarity, but gets me swamped in confusion. Action is my path to clarity. And that is how I came to set up a ‘mastermind’ group in the first place .. which is what this article is about. For years I had been on a mission to set myself up as a freelance operator .. and my architecture studies were really aimed at that, except that I didn’t want to be an architect – I didn’t ‘feel like’ an architect. For years I had been playing with the ideas of sculpture, and playgrounds, and landscape, and magic .. but it was so slippery I had trouble pinning it down into a concept. So, it was after many years of exploration and thought that I had finally crystallised a concept that felt meaningful and aligned in many ways.
But the clarity I felt about my concept – sculpture for play in public spaces – threw me into a new cauldron .. this time challenging my desire or tendency to do everything on my own. I was discovering that if I wanted to make this happen, I would have to connect with other people. The crisis this provoked was catalytic, and with perfect lessons at perfect times I have come to shift long held beliefs about myself and the world.
It was a confluence of events that brought me to bravely declare my need and desire to create a mastermind group. Two people put up their hands and we formed a group. This group has been a godsend and has helped me push forward, connect with others, inspire, be inspired, and break through barriers of resistance.
I will stop this for now .. since I have other things to do right now .. but I will post this now so that I can break through THAT barrier.
Halleluyah!
by Orly | Jan 13, 2016 | Blog
Breathe .. Release
These are my words for 2016
Already I am feeling the difference
Holding on to everything
has been my pattern
driven by
a lack
of confidence
in the search
for my path.
Driven by
a need
to hold on
to every idea,
every thought,
every lesson.
keeping
all paths
open
in the search
for clarity.
Because
I like to be on my own.
And
mainstream
never
felt
comfortable.
I like
to
wander
to
explore.
I bristle at
insistance on
one way.
I defy conformity.
I believe we need to find what works for us.
To strive for a win – win.
To choose your own path.
I don’t believe
in rush.
I am in praise
of slow.
I am okay.
I am different.
I might seem weird.
I choose to defy expectations
And to bravely assert myself
So I will now declare
that
I’ve looked enough
I’ve thought enough
I’ve learnt enough
I’ve explored enough
I am enough.
I am ready.
I’m willing.
I’m able.
I’m clear.
I’m grateful.
I’m open.
I surrender.
I’m ready.
And with that in mind
I need to address the
state of anxiety
I currently find
myself in.
An apologetic
guilt-ridden
anxiety.
That sucks my energy,
makes me feel bad,
eeks away the joy of the moment,
takes me out of the present,
and puts my power
in the hands
of other people.
So why do I continue
to worry about
how my actions are
affecting others.
It is like I am
more driven
by the needs
of the people around me.
My feeling conscious of other’s needs
brings guilt
that I am not therefore
meeting those needs.
If I can allow myself to be driven
by something much bigger,
I can let go of the crippling
sense of obligation
by knowing that
I am striving towards
something bigger.
So with that in mind
I tried to state My Why today,
in a lively business conversation,
with a friends and relatives.
And I got a bit stuck.
Simplicity
Clarity
Connection
Inspiring fresh ways to connect.
To help people like me.
To connect.
The fringe dwellers – by choice or circumstance.
The hideaways.
Because,
as a loner,
connecting with others
can be challenging.
And it can feel
easier to stay disconnected
than to face the alternatives.
So I’m offering different ways to connect.
Physically – climbing over and through and organic sculpture,
moving in ways that are unfamiliar.
Spiritually
the journey, the presence,
sacred spaces
changing light.
A fun,
inviting
adventure.
An invitation.
Come!
Explore!
Connect!
Inspiring fresh ways to connect
And as I boldly charge forward
Looking for the paths of least resistance
Finding the next job to be done
Finding ways to make it happen
Finishing the model.
Things are starting to focus.
Next actions are becoming clearer.
Progress is obvious.
I am grateful.
Breathe .. Release.
I release the anxiety that is unnecessary.
I resolve to return to the present moment
and take the action
that then becomes
apparent.
I let go of expectations imposed or imagined.
I surrender and trust that I am on the
right path
doing something
meaningful
worthwhile
needed.
I choose to address a higher need.
The need to connect. In the moment.
Breathe .. Release
Without obligation or expectation.
Of special times
enjoying the moment.
I choose to let go.
I choose to surrender.
I choose life.
I choose action.
I choose connection.
Connection that is life affirming.
Connection that brings peace.
Return to essence.
Return to simplicity.
Return to what is deeply important.
Reconnect.
Breathe ..
Release.
