This photo of Bowen Island is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I awoke here this morning on my beautiful island…for one of the last times. I am feeling the letting go in me and it is painful today. I want to fully embrace the gifts that this island has given me and know how to leave with grace. Change is so quickly upon me now. I must remember that there is goodness waiting beyond here too.. and yet, this island has provided me the healthiest place I could imagine to heal, to rejoice, to dream, to grieve, to create, to hear myself think, to sing and dance out loud and to breathe myself Home again….’

I guess I have come full circle…just as the hippies of the 60’s & 70’s in our idealistic and heart-centred spirit of brotherhood, peace and love welcomed me to this fair land, each of you have done the same 30 years later.

And so it is not only the trees and the earth and the deer and the ocean and the mountains and unprecedented beauty of this island for which I give thanks. And for the ritual weekly walks with Carolyn on the sacred paths of Cape Roger Curtis or the hike to the top of Mt. Gardner with both Paul and Carolyn last week where each of us felt lifted between heaven and earth… It is also the so many, acts of kindness I have received since arriving here.

Last month after the snow fall, Alan de la Plante showed up, upon a moments notice, shovel in hand to dig my guests car out of the snow bank…and when offered genuine thanks, his only comment was, “Hey, no worries – just pay it forward…” These shall be among the memories I shall savor and revere for all my life and only hope that I too can pay it forward.

My experience has been the same at Toastmasters. I have felt welcomed from my very first day even with my sporadic visits. I can now boast to know the true meaning of the word that was chosen by last week’s grammarian… Community. I know what it’s like to be embraced by a place and the people in it.

How DOES one say goodbye to paradise?

Will you be my Valentine?

Come Celebrate Your Heart, Your Spirit and Your Love

on Sunday, February 10th from 2:30 – 5:30

By Feb. 14^th, You Will Be A

Valentine Love-Magnet 

$39.00 – Must Register because Space is Limited!

Call 250 – 385-2205

How do YOU feel about Valentine’s Day?

Do you celebrate it?

Do you detest it, hoping the day will soon be over?

Are you indifferent?

Well, indifferent, in favor or not, it’s here and Hallmark and consumerism have made Valentine’s Day into a Billion Dollar Day with cards, chocolates, flowers and jewelry for lovers across the world.

Yes, Valentine’s Day, no matter how it’s celebrated – isn’t lost for those in love.

But what if you’re single, or widowed or divorced? Do you feel left out? Or what if you’re in a relationship but it’s not feeling particularly loving these days? Do you just wish this day would hurry up and pass?

And where did this tradition come from in the first place?

Well, the history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. However, one legend that I like, goes like this – That sometime in the 3rd Century in Rome was a fierce and brutal emperor named Claudius the II. Claudius wanted to grow his army and he was having trouble getting married men to enlist. They were opposed to leaving their homes and going to war. Claudius, believed there was no room for sentimentally – he knew what it cost him in his personal life and on the battlefield. So he decided that single men would make better soldiers. So in keeping with his objective to have a prolific army of unattached, healthy young men, it only stands to reason that abolishing marriage would be the logical solution. So, he did.

He made a decree across the land forbidding men and women to enter into a marriage contract. Now smug and delighted with his seemingly brilliant solution, he went about building a large, fierce and obedient army.

Now, somewhere in the land, lived this kind and loving priest whose name of course, was, Valentine. Valentine believed in love, marriage, romance and holy blessed relationships. He saw Claudius’s law as preposterous and hideous and continued to marry couples in secret.

It’s not mentioned how long he managed to stay underground and do this, but one dark day, he was caught and thrown into prison and sentenced to death.

He seemed to take his fate fairly well, summoning up the love inside of him – knowing who he was – and pleased that he was able to use his life for what he truly believed in – and even helped to smuggle his newlyweds out of the country, where they’d be safe. And now, while in prison, waiting for the date of his execution, he received untold numbers of letters daily from people far and wide thanking him for believing in love and expressing their deep sorrow for his fate. Even one of the prison guards, obviously one with a gentle heart, allowed his daughter to come and visit with him regularly. Then it was told that on the day he was to die, which happened to be February 14th, of course, Valentine wrote a card thanking this young woman for her belief in love and for helping him to keep his own spirits up and then he signed it, “Love, from Your Valentine.”

Now, it’s understandable why we celebrate – over 2,000 years later, Valentine’s Day. It’s a tribute to continue to celebrate and honour the man who became a martyr and later a Saint – for his life and his message, which was to keep love alive. They may have killed the man, but they didn’t kill his spirit. And they never will, not just because the card and flower industries that support it won’t let it die – that may be one reason – on the surface — but I choose to believe it’s because of the deepening meaning from whence it came — and that is – that love can never die.

How can it when it’s inherently who we are! When we strip down beyond the layers of doubt, suspicion and beyond the layers of sadness, depression or lack of this or lack of that – all names for F.E.A.R. –under it all, we have our true divine nature– our spiritual nature – and that, unquestionably is LOVE.

Valentine’s Day helped me move beyond those fear words and beliefs that my mind sometimes loves to play with – the part that judges how I’ve handled certain relationships and their outcomes and move instead into the gentler places of myself – to feel and express those ones inwardly and out loud. The loving part of me! The loving Junie.

I have to say, there have been many years I’ve spent Valentine’s Day with a loving partner. In some cases, my partner would poo-poo V-Day because he took the stand that love is to be expressed every day – not when Hallmark says so. Me – being the unrelenting romantic that I am, would derive much joy filling his cup with home-made cards and bought ones and flowers and dinners and tons of affection – which of course, heightened our love even more. I’ve also had boyfriends who were as romantic as me and it was an equal loving exchange. And I have also been alone and miserable on V-Day or alone and feeling fabulous. I’ve experienced all of it.

My invitation to you is to make Valentine’s Day 2013 – no matter what your stand – with or without a partner – an opportunity to turn up your love!

Want to know a great way to begin? Write the most loving Valentine you can imagine. The kind that YOU would love to RECEIVE.

And here’s the catch…Write it to YOURSELF!

Kind of like this: Dearest Junie (substitute your own name – unless you want to write me one too:And keep going.

Write a love letter to yourself whereYOU are your own best friend, your own best lover.

At the same time, think of people in your life who put a smile on your face and send write them a card or note too.  

When you’re done, put them in an addressed envelope, including your own, put the stamps on, walk to the mailbox, look at every card, think of the person you are sending it to, blow them a kiss and send them on their way!  Trust me, it will make you feel like a million bucks.

And from me to you, my friend, may I be the first to say,

Will You Be My Valentine?

Love and only Love,

Junie

DEAR FRIENDS! 

EXCITING NEWS!  I am offering Summer Drop-In Writing Circles 

My new repertoire includes an array of creative modalities such as music, movement, collage, field trips and theatre games which will bring you deeper into your writing experience.  

You will bring your insights and new awareness from these creative experiences into your writing.  The writing – in any form – prose, poetry, memoir, etc. can be enjoyed independently or applied to works already in progress. 

On Tuesdays, visual artist and facilitator, Susanne Dannenberg will be joining us. She will be bringing some of her inspiring collage materials to take us deeper on our creative journey. 

More info on Susanne, her art and workshops can be found at:  www.artaccess.ca

Fees $20 per session or $95.00 for a series of 10.  

We offer a sliding scale discount from there down to $12 per session as needed.  Plus please bring a toonie on Tuesdays for art supplies.

Come on any of these days below, but space is limited to eight people so please call or email me to secure your spot.

Sessions will begin the week of July 23th, on the following days and times:

Give yourself the gift of this creative writing smorgasbord where you will

be encouraged to colour outside the lines. Crayons Provided!  J

We are looking forward to having you join us.

Junie

250-385-2205   junieswadron@gmail.com

Summer Soul-stice Weekend Writing Retreat
June 21st – 25th 2012

Thursday, June 21st 7 p.m.

Junie reading from my book  RE-WRITE YOUR LIFE A Transformational Guide to Writing and Healing the Stories of Our Lives

Location: Pioneer Room at Manson’s Hall

Cost: FREE

Workshop Location: Diane and Andrew’s Place 1051 Seaford Road in Manson’s

Workshop

Re-Write Your Life

For full details Click Here

Friday June 22nd – 6:30 – 9:30

Saturday, June 23rd – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sliding Scale – $90.00 – $200.00

Workshop

Author Support Group

with Special Guest Speaker Julie Salisbury of Influence Publishing

Sunday, June 24th – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Full details Click Here

Julie Salisbury will be speaking about how to get your book published and
answering all your questions about the next step.www.influencepublishing.com

Sliding Scale $75.00 – $150.00

Special Package Price for Friday, Saturday & Sunday $150.00- $325.00

Private Coaching & Divination Readings

Monday, June 25th by appointment only

For More Information about All Courses, Coaching and Divination Readings

OR Call Diane on Cortez 250-935-6647

http://www.cortesisland.com/tideline/

Oh what a feeling! A new blog space. As a writer, having a Blog is quite a thing of joy. A digital blank canvas so to speak, and now I get to fill it with articles, ideas, matters of a serious nature, and some not so serious. A place to share thoughts and ideas… and then some. Continue Reading