Clouds, Water, and Being Majestic

 

Folks ask me about my logo, a lot.

It all started in the clouds. At least that is the short story. 

My head is in the "Dharma Clouds." I like cloud talk when it has to do with philosophy, poetry, art, mindfulness, and ritual. The cloud that you see adorning my lifestyle brands started as a simple wood carving I created in a Moku Hanga class at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. As I slivered out each piece of softwood I didn't know at the time that I was carving out pieces of my life that did not belong, pieces that fit more like broken glass than soft cedar. As a printmaker I am one with the medium, I make impressions of any kind. On paper, in relationships - in the shop, in a yoga class... It is not that I want to be noticed - it is only that I have a big heart, an empath who is finding her way as best she can. That's more of the short story, I like to float while being grounded. My practice of yoga and meditation is what keeps my feet on the ground so that I can be of service to the page, my family, my friends, students, and the earth. You are all Majestic beings.

Let me share this excerpt from an article in Tricycle* by John Daido Loori 

"A teacher is free to manifest the dharma in accord with the imperatives of the day, however, those might be interpreted. Once the Buddhamind is realized, its actualization manifests as skillful means arising out of the immediate conditions encountered by the teacher."

Now, I don't claim to be an enlightened monastic teacher but I do look upward, and inward a lot. I do float a lot. I have my matrix of dharma and my Call to Adventure is pure and point-focused. I don't feel free but I feel floaty like a cloud or a wave. I also do spend a lot of time in Monasteries and sacred places, as did my ancestors, so I have a bloodline to breath-line kind of practice. It is solid and unfaltering.

"In traditional Zen writings, the term “monastic” is not used; rather, there is the word unsui. Unsui translates as “clouds and water.” Clouds and water are free. Clouds follow the wind, water takes the shape of the terrain. Nothing holds them back. If you try to stop a stream, it just builds up behind the obstruction and goes over it. The journey to the ocean is unstoppable. The biggest dam in creation can’t hold back the river in its flow. It is persistent, continuous, flexible."

Persistent, continuous, flexible. Yep, that's me. I could be ready for a monastic or spiritual name I've lived that many lives already. My soul comes out when I am an artist, my spirit comes out when I meditate - like the scores of monks before me that took a great pause in the elements. Meditation is most of my actions. My upaya*, or "skillful means" are abundant. 

In the meantime, I am just Majestic. We all are. I ask you to honor yourself, go with the flow, take pause, and float. Be Majestically You like the natural elements that float, and surround our inner and outer spirit.

If I was to tell you anything today it is that you are blessed and that everything will be okay. Carve back a few layers as I did and you will see your true self.

So now you know what my Majestic Cloud is all about. 

I am that transparent. hehe. :)

Namaste + Merci BEAUCOUP

XO Jen

p.s. I just printed my first run of hand-printed/painted Majestic Cloud and Be Majestic shirts. It was thrilling to be printing out in the fall air.

visit www.majestichudson.com online, or my shop in Katonah, NY for all the HV handmade goods, sparkly super charged crystals, rituals on the horizon, and where I'll be teaching next.  

Thank you for all your good vibes. I want to know more - Tell me how you are being majestic below.

#☮️FOLLOW US👉 @majestichudson

proudly hashtag #majestichudson and #bemajestic I'll return the favor.

*Here are some full articles for some interesting monk-like-cloud facts:

https://tricycle.org/magazine/clouds-and-water-the-monastic-imperative/

https://www.learnreligions.com/upaya-skillful-or-expedient-means-450018

Good Morning! I am a poet at heart yet I do not write many blog posts I'm usually too busy printing, beading, meditating, slinging crystals and sage-ing folks. Today I was coffee-ed up - surrounded by fall air, snuggling with my kitty cat, and my bio-mat, and feeling truly thankful for my bounty. 

So here's a blog post. Feel free to comment below and grow the tribe.

and #☮️FOLLOW US👉 @majestichudson