Sunday, March 27, 2016

Fennel Plant- Everlasting Life


The Fennel Plant: LIFE EVERLASTING
 
Fennel plants show all stages of life. www.NatureLovesAppreciation.blogspot.com
 
It was April 20, 2002.
While hiking, I stopped here on this path. I sensed this fennel plant was communicating with me by emitting a smoky purple haze which shimmered and connected to my eyes, mind, and heart. I could clearly interpret this energy as connected to all life in a continuous loop. I noticed the fresh green growth rising from the earth and the old boney branches seemingly dead, and the seeds which formed at the top for renewal and life everlasting.

I stood there in awe and received confirmation as I stood on this path. If you look with soft eyes you will sense the life and love and power within this photograph. ~ Deborah Moon Moen


Have you ever seen the energy of plants and trees? It looks like hazy smoky vibrations coming up and out from the tips of trees and plants. Try it sometime. It was there all along yet you had not noticed it or known to look for it.



Thank you, friends, for joining me here
Nature Loves Appreciation (1815 page views)

Deborah Moon Moen



This is a greeting card with a very special story. I created this for those who want to be inspired. It has my personal testimony to everlasting life. It could be for anyone who has lost a loved one or a pet and this card would be wonderful as an Easter card. The front of the card reads Everlasting on a background of lovely mauve. The inside flap of the card has the above story with photographs. You may customize the inside with your own special message.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Ikebana " way of flowers"

 “Not only beautiful flowers but also buds and withered flowers have life, and each has its own beauty. By arranging flowers with reverence, one refines oneself.” ~ Senno Ikenobo
 It all began a few weeks ago...

Lilac shrubs ready for spring.
 www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com
These two lilac bushes, pictured on the right, are very exposed to the winds and snow. Year after year the blossoms struggles to survive.
I noticed Renee, our neighbor,  caring for her two lilac bushes out front.  She thoughtfully studied the lilacs with an artful and caring eye as she pruned and cleaned out the dead branches and leaves.  She even arranged the rocks in a full circle around each lilac shrub.
Later that day she came by to share some of the cornbread she had just made.  Renee's cornbread was delicious.  I could definitely taste the sweet Jackpot Hybrid corn we grew and dried last September.

Days later she came over to return an empty egg carton and I refilled it for her with fresh eggs from our hens. She mentioned she wanted me to see something over at her place before it bloomed.



I went over to see what this something was and she invited me in and lead me into the kitchen. There on the table were branches taken from the lilac bush out front. Each branch was artfully arranged in a royal looking vase that was painted with full length swath of  gold along the left side of the vase. She told me the vase was given to her by the Headmaster Sen'ei Ikenobo from Japan.


 The lilac branches reached upwards and outward in different heights like they grow in nature. I was taken how the light shined on the branches. Renee began to explain a few principles of her Ikebana arrangement. The way she described the light, shadows, heaven and earth reminded me of my studies in Feng Shui. Her words expressed an appreciation of nature and its elements. There was a reverence in her voice as she spoke. I left excited to see what would develop in the days to come. I left
 very curious about Ikenobo Ikebana.


The following week...

I began to wonder how the beautiful lilac branches were developing. The next day I got a call from Renee. She invited me over to see the changes in her arrangement. She said, "They are all puffed out. "


As I walked across the driveway to the front door, Coco her long haired Chihuahua announced my arrival. I knocked on the screen door and she invited me in. Her home was fragrant with a heavenly scent and I noticed the candle holder I had made her on her entryway table which she sat on some colorful dry autumn leaves.




She lead me into the kitchen and my eyes opened wide with surprise at the fresh green foliage on her lilac branches. Growing at each leafy branch tip were lilac buds waiting to blossom. The light coming in from the window highlighted the new green leaves and cast shadows on the opposite side. 

My eyes explored the arrangement. "It looks like it was born that way!" I told her. "That is the whole idea of this art is to make it look like it does in nature," she said. Then she showed me places where she left some bare twigs to represent the season we are presently in.


See the bare twigs left on the arrangement to depict what happens in nature.
www.naturlovesappreciation.blogspot.com




This is a Ikenobo ikebana shoka arrangement.
www.naturelovesappreciation.blogspot.com
She brought the leafed out arrangement into her living room in a well lighted area.  

This style is Ikebana Shoka. Shoka style uses only one plant material. Shoka  expresses the feeling of life, growing energy and the natural beauty of the materials. To achieve this it is important that the arranger understands how the plants grow in nature: the natural environment, characteristics and habitat.




 The 3 main parts of Ikebana Shoka symbolize the cosmos of heaven earth and human beings.


The front view of the ikebana shoka vase ( left),  the back view (right)



A vase is much more than a container. The vase for Shoka represents the source of life. The spiritual aspect to this art is very important to its practitioners. To take the time to observe and appreciate the beauty in nature is a great mindfulness practice. It can be considered a wonderful way to be in the present moment. Feeling this close to nature is a connection which provides relaxation for the mind, body, and, soul.


Arranging flowers and finding beauty in flowers - these are linked to a heart that values nature and cares for other people. This is the spirit of Ikenobo Ikebana.

Thank you, Renee, for sharing this beautiful  experience with us.


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To read more about this art:
Ikebana International  http://ikebanahq.org/whatis.php
Ikebana.org http://www.ikebana.org/

Thank you for visiting
Nature Loves Appreciation (1,788 page views)

Until next time,
Find ways to appreciate nature. The more you appreciate Nature the more there will be to appreciate.

Deborah Moon Moen

Nature Lover, Wellness Practitioner, Writer, & Photographer