2022 Year Review and Looking Forward to 2023 - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

In Numerology, 2023 is a 7 Universal Year in the 9-year cycle. According to "The Secrets of Numbers" by Vera Scott Johnson and Thomas Wommack, this means it is a "time for assimilation, analysis, and introspection, a time for perfecting the results of past efforts, and not a time for expansion and change." They suggest 2023 will be good for savings, banking, and insurance, which is great for me since I'm all about feeding my bank accounts at the moment. What is bringing me joy may also be right on target.

Last year, in 2022, my intentions were to deepen my relationship with my daughter, find new friends I resonate with, simplify my home while visualizing something even better in the future, continue establishing my legacy in art, and to enjoy nature in this beautiful place where I live. Below is a picture of my 2022 vision board. The adorable painting of a fox in the center of my collage is by local pet portraiture artist, April Johnson. I'll be creating a new vision board for 2023 in the coming weeks as the new year comes into focus.

Opportunity was my keyword for 2022, although I hadn't remembered that until I read last year's review. Nevertheless, with my mindful focus on listening to my Inner Guidance, I took inspired action enough times to feel I was vibrationally tuned into opportunity whether or not I consciously remembered to claim it. I met or surpassed most of my goals and, overall, I'm pleased with my progress over the twelve months of this past year.

I'm super excited about the coming year. I'm not sure I've ever felt so realistically hopeful. It's a great feeling. 

I haven't defined my intentions and goals yet for 2023 so I'll say this: As I move forward into the coming years, and look back over my entire life, I'll be pleased that I sought to continually take the next step, time and time again, toward being in greater and truer alignment with my highest purpose and with living a joyful life.

I wish you all the very best holiday season as 2022 comes to an end, and the most prosperous, joyful year in 2023. Blessings of Light and Love to you.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

Meditation is Life - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

I was asked today to share how I built my meditation practice.
Here's my answer:
     Currently, my life is a meditation. I meditate off and on throughout every day, while walking in nature, waiting in a checkout line etc. It started in 1975 with a 6-week enlightenment experience I had while traveling from Minneapolis to Niagara Falls, across upstate New York in the most glorious autumn ever, to Boston, and back to Minneapolis. The intention I declared to the Universe was, among other things (like a closer relationship with my daughter and making new friends) to have greater spiritual inner awareness. A longer story than this, but the final message from the Universe to me at the end of the six weeks was, “Contact Anja. Her teacher will be the one to get you off of the planet.” (Exact words.) I knew Anja was a patient of mine at the dental office I worked at so I went to work, found her file, called her on the phone and asked, “What are you into. I have to know.” She invited me to an MSIA seminar she was hosting that night. I didn’t have a car at that time but I took 3 buses and walked several blocks to get there. I was cautious about the seminar but it seemed straightforward to me so at the end of the evening I asked, “What’s next?” Someone suggested a little poetry book called, The Spiritual Promise, which I bought. I journeyed home and when I got there, not wanting to disturb the people whose home I was staying at, I sat on the floor under a tiny lamp to read. While I read the book my heart opened. So magical. I knew I was home. As Spirit would have it, MSIA is an acronym for Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (note the almost exact words I declared to the Universe). My conscious journey in multi-dimensional consciousness began that night, on November 15, 1975. Three months later I moved into an ashram in Minneapolis with 17 other MSIA students, including Anja who has been my best friend since then. She and I traveled the country singing our original spiritual folk music, thinking we were the very ones to bring in the New Age.
     I take my studies seriously, as you may know. The meditation I learned how to do was active, not trying to empty the mind but rather to chant tones and/or focus on breathing. The tones I started with were HU (God) or Ani-Hu (empathy with all creation). Two years later I received my 1st initiation, was given my own tone, and from that point through this day, I used/use my personal tones from that and future initiations. Living in a spiritual ashram made it easy to be consistent with meditation because we were all committed to spiritual enlightenment and were meditating at odd hours all the time. It was glorious. There was a period a few years later when I no longer lived in an ashram, and instead was married (to another MSIA student) when, after I claimed the meaning of devotion as “living out my vows” in the world, I made a commitment to meditate for 2 hours a day, which I did for 3 years.
     At a time when, a few years later still, after having moved to LA and deciding to leave my marriage, I found a lump in my breast that was cancer. The doctor gave me 10 years. I thought, wait! I don’t want to leave yet. In meditation I had strived to be one with God. Instead, I course corrected, changed everything about my life, continued my spiritual studies but in a more balanced way, and I started living my life for me, expressing who I am (rather than taking care of everyone else). My entire company was created after that point. I have been supporting myself with my art for over 25 years. Meditation now is like breathing. I pause and consciously sit to breathe my tones, but I also feel them always around me as I drift to sleep, wake up, be in nature, share with others, even while I’m working at the gallery. Meditation is life.

- Raphaella Vaisseau

2021 Year Review and Embracing 2022 - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

In Numerology, 2022 is a 6 Universal Year in the 9-year cycle. According to “The Secrets of Numbers” by Vera Scott Johnson and Thomas Wommack, this means an emphasis on security and reliability. “It is a time for adjustment, for seeking a balance,” they write. “It is a time for reparations on the home front” and “There will be interest in educational and health programs, in food and diet, in ecology, in civic improvement.”

Last year, 2021, my intentions were to focus on Freedom, Accomplishment, Balance, and Expansion. It went well, in spite of the continued presence of pandemic challenges and national and global changes. I traveled a bit, reached a weight loss goal, bought a new car, and enjoyed success at Heartful Art Gallery. I took a few Adobe art classes and learned some things about repeat pattern design and photoshop. And, of course, I continued my studies of Law of Attraction with Abraham-Hicks and Good Vibe University. All and all, when I did my year-end review in December, I was pleased.

I then set about to visualize my focus for 2022. Opportunity is the word that came to mind. Contemplating the word over the last two weeks of December, I ascertained it would allow me to be alert to inspirations of any given moment, and encourage me to shift from an action I am in the process of taking to momentarily explore the possibilities of taking another action. It will be good for me to loosen up a bit in my day to day plans of action.

Thus, in 2022, in alignment with the Universal 6 year and my chosen word, I plan to continue my focus on health and wellness, deepen relationships with family and friends, expand my tribe, simplify my home, continue establishing my legacy in art, and be in nature as often as I can. As much as I love my home with a view of a farm and the Blue Ridge Mountains, I'm awake to the possibility of finding a different home surrounded by nature, with vista and conveniences that provide me with even greater enjoyment of life.

I put all of this in the Light for the Highest Good, and hope, as the year unfolds for all of us, we experience a year of security, health, and well being. Peace be still.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

Lightbulb Moment Number Two Million and One - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

I am a forever student of Life. One of my currently favorite teaching organizations is Good Vibe University (GVU), founded by Jeannette Maw.

During a recent class I had a lightbulb moment that is changing my life (again). I had been caught in discouragement regarding lower than usual sales at the gallery in the first 3 weeks of March. Wanting clarity, I shared my concerns with the group. When Jeannette asked me, “How are you supporting yourself vibrationally?” I instantly felt a huge shift within me. After the call, I attuned myself with my Inner Being in a different way that I had understood prior to that realization. The Universe immediately responded and today, 17 days later, I surpassed the 30-day goal I had set for the 4-week class.

Most conscious creators know the value of self-love and sincerely practice it. For me, this is slightly different. Plus, I often say the very words. I tell people who visit my gallery that I’ve been supporting myself with my art for over twenty-five years. Interesting, right?

I’m learning there is a subtle but important distinction between loving myself, supporting myself financially, and supporting myself on other levels (vibrationally, emotionally, physically, intellectually, etc.). It feels like I am awakening (once again) to a more profound understanding of how to be, and it feels like falling even deeper in love with my Inner Being.

I’m listening, feeling, aligning, and realigning. Even when I’m sharing with others, it feels that I am sharing more authentically because it’s through a lens of supporting myself. Inside, I’m fine tuning. I’m placing a priority on what I want and need on subtler levels. Like breathing. I’m noticing my thoughts and replacing anything less than fabulous faster with thoughts of things I love and want more of.

It’s curious that no matter how conscious we are, or how much we’ve studied, and how much we know and understand the laws of the universe, there is always more to learn and know. There is always a deeper level of understanding. How great is that?

-Raphaella Vaisseau

Follow Your Dream - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

My Kindergarten teacher at Munger Elementary in Duluth, Minnesota in 1953 told me I was an artist. She asked me to paint the mural that's behind our class in the photo to the right. Every day at my Heartful Art Gallery in Asheville, NC, I share with gallery visitors that it's probably because of this teacher that I feel I am in "perpetual kindergarten" as I create my art and work in my art business. Growing up, my parents acknowledged my artistic talent even though being practical they also said, "You can't make money with art." A college degree was required in my family so as a Senior in High School I picked the fastest degree available and became a dental hygienist. It wasn't until much later in my life that I saw an artist making money and the childhood myth I was taught by my parents was shattered. I was at an art fair in Los Angeles and the artist was Vicki Leon who creates amazing glass sculptures. She had long lines of buyers waiting in line with arms filled with $400 pieces of art. I was shocked. I stood in line as well and when it was my turn I asked her, "What's different about you that you don't seem to have poverty consciousness?" She shared a few things with me, and then I asked if I could volunteer at her art shows over the summer to learn her way of being. She agreed. I did. And at the end of that summer I started my own art business painting flowers and blessings on greeting cards. Six years later, in 1997, I quit my executive secretarial job and moved to Ashland, Oregon to live my dream as an artist. That was 23 years ago.

When I read a quote from Abraham-Hicks in this morning's email, I was inspired to share my story. Actually, a few more stories as well. When I shared my dreams with my ex-husband and said, "I'm going to do this or that," he'd say, "I bet you won't." And, I remember saying to my Mother as a young girl, "I want to sing on the radio." Her response, "You can't, you weren't born in Hollywood." Her saying that to me was like cold water thrown on my face and on my dreams. At the time I didn't know how to process it, but years later, while driving on the LA freeways with my friend Rob Hanson, my song came on the radio and we heard it!!! It was on an NPR station and they were showcasing local singer-songwriters, which I was at the time. To say that experience was a thrill, and a HUGE confirmation from the Universe is an understatement. We screamed and hollered in the car as we listened and I told Rob the story of what my Mother had said to me all those years ago. I sang on the radio after all.

It wasn't always easy for me to break away from the traditions of my parents and their goals for me and forge my own path in life, but I am so glad I did.

-Raphaella Vaisseau

What kind of reality can we create together? - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

As a student of new thought and the law of attraction, I'm called to contemplate the times we're currently living in through the lens of how we can create a future where we all can win. Facing not only the Covid 19 pandemic globally, but the urgency of race relations in my country, I want to use this time wisely and do my part to create a better world. It's not enough to watch it unfold. At least for me it's not. I am a conscious creator who believes in the power of creating my own reality. Millions of other people do as well. We can do this.

Knowing that pushing against anything makes it stronger, the way conscious creators can most effectively execute change is through imagining and believing in what we want, how we want it to look, and see it that way. However, in times like these, as awareness is exploding, I am now embracing a combination of learning, action, and imagination as the best path forward in lifting myself and the people of the world into a reality more aligned with justice and happiness for everyone.

Through inspired action I am committed to creating my own reality which can in turn impact and transform the people whose lives I touch. I've known for decades that we are all at unique points in our awareness and understanding of our own purpose in life and how we are manifesting it. We can't tell by looking at another person what their experience is, what their reality is, so best not to judge. Instead, I strive to give the benefit of the doubt and focus on my own integrity of action and reaction in any situation. Back in 1975 I embraced the notion that Earth is a giant school where we're all taking different courses and learning in our own ways.

Still, as I've matured in my awareness, I find moments where it's important to step up outwardly and do what I can to help in a more direct way. For me, this is one of those moments. Nevertheless, while taking action I am attuned to my own vibration so I can monitor and realign as needed, keeping in mind that what I focus on I bring more of to myself. Also, I keep in mind Abraham saying, "You didn't come here to fix a broken world. It's not broken." OK. So, you might ask, if it's not broken, what's all this I see?

Balance, possibility, awareness. We learn from each other. We learn what to do and what not to do. We learn how to take care of ourselves and how to take care of others at the same time. We learn how our speech and our choices affect others, how our actions impact our daily lives and we learn what we're creating as a living context if we are awake enough to know it. Life is beautiful and magical when we know we each create our own reality. It's all in how you look at it. An example of this is George Floyd's six year old daughter Gianna saying, "Daddy changed the world." This is the truth.

Although there have been many times since Trayvon Martin was killed in 2012 (and, I know, for the past 400 years) that I sadly watched the news of yet another black person senselessly murdered, it was on May 8th after Ahmaud Arbery was killed while jogging that I started waking up about white priviledge. That's the piece that's new for me. In my Instagram and Twitter feeds, white people have been speaking up more and about white supremacy and the responsibility of white people to change the conversation in their own families, workplaces, and within themselves. An avalanche of news and events followed that ignited a mass of white people to join with the Black Lives Matter movement. It's been heartening for me to see the diversity of cultures and colors of the protestors.

As people have been waking up, I've seen people make rules about how to awaken, how to protest, and how to unlearn. I've heard "if you're a white person, don't join in the chant of 'I can't breathe' when you protest" because it's not for you to say. They've said, "if you post a black square, don't use the hashtag #blacklivesmatter because that will distract from the work" or "if you post a black square you have to do all of the other things required of being an activist or you don't get to post a black square" and on and on. This is called taking someone else's inventory, and it hampers the process of awakening. Remember, we are all at different places in our process in life. We all have different lessons to learn. We all have different roles to play. We are all a part of the dance of life. And, conscious creators do things differently.

What I'm choosing to do in this time is threefold: (1) learning how to do it better; (2) writing to my local elected officials, especially the mayor to encourage alignment with the Obama Foundation's My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge (launched in 2014), and enact Campaign Zero's 8 policies of 8cantwait.org that have decreased police violence by 72% in cities that have done so; and, (3) envisioning a world where everyone can win, a world of peace, justice, and love, and a world where we all keep learning how to let life get even better for each and every one of us. What is your vision?
- Raphaella Vaisseau

Empathy in a Time of Uncertainty - Heartful Art by Raphaella Vaisseau

Today is March 31, 2020. Most of us have been staying at home for awhile now as the people of the world come to grips with the pandemic of Covid_19. Anna Galland posted a tweet over two weeks ago on March 16th that I came across today and I feel it's still relevant: "You can safely assume that everyone you talk to today has *something* going haywire personally ..." All of us, around the globe, are finding ways to cope, discovering new ways of being, and for some, enduring the day to day challenges of saving lives. I think we can all agree that gratitude helps. Empathy does too.
     I'm reminded of a quote by Henry David Thoreau: "Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?" Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Merriam-Webster goes further: "Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner."
     A friend in Denmark, Melinda Knudsen, offers empathy counseling through her company, Empathy Catalyst. A student and practioner of nonviolent education, Melinda offers empathic support and communication coaching to groups and individuals around the world. A perfect skill for the challenges we face during this unusual time of our lives.
     As Anna reminds us, "Be kind. We're all figuring this out." If you're struggling, Melinda may be able to help. Find her on Facebook.

-Raphaella Vaisseau