Note: If you can't read this page properly, click here. Dear %$firstname$%, After a trip I always find it hard to enter the studio because I've been out of it - sort of off my groove. It's like going into a sacred space a little dirty. Or like patching up a relationship after a tiff. (I had to look that one up to be sure it was a word.) Speaking of tiffs, my husband came up with a great way to resolve one today on the subject of who did more kid-pickups. He said, with a half-smile, "I think one of us is delusional." I completely agreed, and that was the end of that. But yes, thanks to you, I got back in the groove and finished a couple of paintings! Whew! This one, called "The World Is Not Broken" (24"Hx30"W) has been waiting a long time for the "magic moment" of completion. Some readers will recognize it as the painting created during my demonstration for the Pittsburgh Society of Artists in April. So promising, but I didn't want to hurry it. I just let it sit in my studio, drank in the good parts and let the areas that needed work come forward into my consciousness. Finally, I went into it with oils, darkening quite a few spots along the central channel. And then I had to deal with the upper right-hand corner. It needed an open, but strong area to contrast with the rest of the painting, which was almost like a broken puzzle. Going back in time, here is how it looked all wet after the demo. The colors are always juicier when wet, plus they have a nice sculptural dimension that shrinks when dry. (Photo thanks to Carol Skinger.) Today's I Listen to Spirit Blog is titled, "Easy" vs. Hard Problems. Something funny that you would never guess, is how long it takes Minda and me to formulate these questions. Even when they come from someone else! If I recall, it took over an hour to get this one into place. Talk about making "easy" problems hard - it's almost embarrassing! Except that we feel that one of the greatest gifts we have to offer is the clarity of our questions. And we simply enjoy the process, so who needs more justification than that? Remember, you can submit a question of your own. Click on the Dear Guides Journal button below. Heh-heh, not that we won't doctor it up a bit! Dear Guides, To me, my life feels hard. But compared to others experiencing war, sickness and starvation, it seems easy. Are my struggles as significant spiritually as theirs? Excerpt from Minda Bernstein's channeling on 7.13.2010: "Dear Ones, . . . It is less a matter of which challenges you face than it is of how you choose to face them. That is where the "significance" comes in. If you can learn to choose peace in your heart when faced with whatever seems challenging that appears in your life, then you are taking the steps you have programmed as challenges for yourself. The circumstances of the challenges can range from war to internal disruption. There is a vast difference between these in your world to the outer eye, and you can enjoy your gratitude that you are not struggling with the former; but at the same time, you do not need to feel guilty or under-challenged or like you are getting off the hook in this lifetime. Each soul has certain tasks that you have laid out for yourselves. If you did not require of yourself to face the great worldly outer life-and-death struggles, it does not mean that you have not chosen other equally important inner struggles. . . . Let yourself be open to learning from whatever you present yourself with in this lifetime. With the intention to move forward on the path you have set out for yourself, you will be given the opportunity to choose how you do it. Set your sights on destinations before you, and how you want to feel once you arrive. This is a wonderful practice, leaving much room for variety. It is you, yourself, who will bring the evaluation of your work or accomplishments to the tasks in front of you. None other. This answer continues in Minda's "Dear Guides" Journal. Join "Dear Guides" by clicking the button at right. To order today's full "Dear Guides" Journal channeling (approx. 4 pages) on this subject for $3, go to the Beauty & Spirit Welcome page and enter "42. Easy vs hard problems" in the Paypal box. One last thing. If you would enjoy five minutes of healing yourself and healing the Earth, go see this amazing, beautiful video with music by award-winning neo-classical composer (and my dear friend) Bruce Mitchell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u3Y3y7STXE It is written and produced in the divine healing frequency of 528 hz., and wow, does my mind ever get clear and spacious, and my dreams delicious when I listen. I find it very easy to visualize my goals. Try it! First, see the beautiful video, because that is just not to be missed. But then play it again with your eyes closed and visualize your life the way you want it to be. Mmm! Let me know how this works for you. Next week is the fifth Thursday - our Wildcard day! Who knows what you'll see on this page! See you then. With love, Julie Julie Bernstein Engelmann Email: julie@julieengelmann.com P.S. We hope you will post your comments on the blog. Or just email me! P.P.S. You are welcome to share this Beauty & Spirit Note with friends! P.P.P.S. Friends, you can sign up yourself at any of the sites below. Welcome to the Beauty & Spirit Note! Sign up & click to past issues. Julie's artist site: www.JulieEngelmann.com Minda Bernstein's channeling site: I Listen to Spirit Frank Butterfield co-produced with Julie: A Communion of Light: Creating Money The Beauty & Spirit email list is housed securely on the email server of my husband Chip Engelmann's site, www.ChipEFT.com, using his autoresponder program. © 2010 Julie Bernstein Engelmann and Minda Bernstein