eXperiencing, by Diana

Below a review by Diana, who won a Tarot Reading during my time as a MoonScout (published with permission)

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eXperiencing

If you shared what “experiencing” meant to you, you could win one of three gifts:

1) a Silk-meditation, for which Cheta uses soft silk from India;

2) a Tarot reading, focussed on your own problem solving capacities, and

3) an emMatrix session, in which where you eXperience your own balance.

Well, she knew which of those she wanted, that Silk meditation, that sounded delicious, even if she had no idea what a Silk meditation would actually incorporate.

Definitely no Tarot reading

What she did know, was that she preferred to see any Tarot Reading stay as far away from her as possible! No, her latest interactions with Tarot didn’t bring back any fond memories. However, fate stepped in, and on her 50th birthday she received the “good” news from Cheta, I can congratulate you twice Diana, first on your birthday and you have won a free Tarot Reading!

Trusting and Letting Go

She had about two weeks time to get used to the idea, and to let-go of her previous eXperiences with Tarot. Meanwhile, she felt more and more at ease around Cheta – who moves through Tilburg in a intriguing way – a way trusted Tilburg inhabitants could easily envy (which is unnecessary) – and in the end she could surrender herself completely to whatever was to come!

The day has come

After a spontaneous and warm welcome Cheta almost imperceptibly and very subtly shuffles the small deck of Tarot cards. Whether there is a question alive in her? Well no, not specifically, years ago she was full of questions, now it has almost become silent! What has been occupying her mind was this idea whether in future she could provide some extra income for herself through organising walks to the nearby Abbey, de Koningshoeve, walks she enjoyed herself tremendously time and time again.

The first card that Cheta turns is as surprising as the rest of them; they shed light on her life story now and the possibilities in the foreseeable future.

Surprised, amazed and light-hearted about all that is revealed, she listens intensively, the clock strikes twelve as the last card is displayed, she listens, her eyes glued to the cards, she understands and embraces Life, hér life!

The usual path, yet different

Joyfully and full of energy she says goodbye to Cheta with a heartfelt hug, on arriving home she grabs her backpack, puts on her walking shoes and sets off to discover the world, it is just her “usual path”, but it feels different.

Today she notices doors…. So very many different and beautiful doors. Her camera is working overtime, a girl jumps out in front of her, they both startle, but not for long, what a beautiful door this is, the girl looks, walks next to her and agrees, gosh, yes, we actually really have beautiful doors!

At the end of the street a feisty lady of around eighty is just as surprised, and again she is not, they talk about the doors, and about life, they soon will cycle over to the Abbey together she promises, yes, that would be nice ….

And so it is and this is what will happen.

Thanks Cheta, for this very special Tarot Life Experience.

All the Love, all the best. Diana

Light, Sound, Camera, Action!

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My windows can’t read the Mac DVD.. It’ll have to be a picture of the label for now then!

Cast Mirror of the Moon Goddess. Above: Fanny Embregts as Amanda, Liseth Horsten (music) and Cheta Urmila, below: Charles Waagenaar as Male Reflection and Pauline van Hoek as his female counterpart. Photo: Mariska Chardet, Amsterdam

This is it

The doors open. The room looks mysterious with the blue light on the mirror and a veiled moon in the background. The audience slowly take their seats. A late visitor leads to a small delay. As soon as he arrives, I give the sign to start. The lights go down… Liseth appears in the spotlight and embarks on the opening song.

Sudden uncertainty

In the moments after I have taken my place in the control room next to soundman Bas, a sudden shiver of uncertainty hits me: Did I structure it right? Will the public get the message? Will the storyline be clear enough? I take a deep breath and let go: it’s going to be exactly what it should be tonight!

It works!

Fanny steps on stage and the story of Amanda unfolds. At the first sound of laughter from the audience I feel my shoulders relax: it works! The eruption of emotions in scene four comes as a complete surprise and the audience roars with laughter. Charles, for whom this is his first ever performance, convinces as the male reflection, and entices during his monologue. Pauline is funny, seductive and radiant and Fanny elevates the play to a higher plane with extraordinary facial expressions and theatrical poses. There is a real spark in her interaction with Pauline, it’s a joy to watch. Liseth’s spotlight fades up for each song and she appears and disappears each time like a fairy. Her presence is powerful en feminine, her voice melodic and dynamic.

It’s the end scene already

The end scene – newly thrown in the day before – is worth studying, the audience applauds and I am running it over again in my mind. It takes a few seconds before I realize that the actors will invite me on stage in a minute – oops! – I grab my gift bag and run to the entrance-doors. In my rush I can’t get the bag to open, so I throw it on the floor somewhere. Fanny is already making her way over – gee it’s dark on these stairs ….

This is the moment

Out of the corner of my eye I can see that some people are standing. Wow, they do have their standing ovation, great! As soon as I step into onto the stage, the applause intensifies and the rest of the audience rises up as one. The penny drops … they were waiting for me! I fill exhilarated, make a bow, goose bumps run from head to toe …

I point towards the actors, towards the control room, the applause continues. I congratulate Liseth, Pauline, Charles and Fanny with their success. The audience continues to applaud. After another bow, Fanny and Pauline turn to leave the stage. Those girls – they are such a support, have been from the start!

Whirlwind

After that, the events roll on in quick succession: my best friend congratulates me; Zeus-with-camera demands an initial reaction; I suddenly tremble all over; left and right people stop to tell me what it has meant for them; Liseth is praised for her voice, Fanny for her great achievement; my parents and sister congratulate me and hand over a bottle of pink champagne; amidst all that a radio interview – I am enjoying myself tremendously.

Part of a bigger plan

An animated conversation springs up with Marian Smolders & assistants, like Zeus ambassadors for the arts for the town of Middelbeers. I leave them to go and find Zeus to make the formal introductions. Zeus then proudly calls his assistants: all MoonScouts present line up next to him. It feels like such an honour to stand with them and be part of this!

End of a special project

The doors close at 23:00. A final drink in the local cafe, then it’s over. A clear and bright crescent moon, high in the sky, guides us home. Deeply grateful I drift into sleep ..

My Silent Walk

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Cor Stehouwer, our guide, uses clear non-verbal communication to point out certain things to us: how wide the landscape is – listen to that woodpecker – smell the delicious air – try and taste this… Although I often walk in nature, his way of looking at it adds a different dimension. I am enjoying myself very much, feel happy and grateful.

The variety of landscape in this area called Kampina is huge; there are natural lakes, sand dunes, as well as a dark forest, a very old stream, and so on.

Trust and Surrender

Just how much my sensory perception has increased becomes clear when a distant humming sound appears. Agonizingly slowly is comes closer, yet the direction is untraceable. Anger rages through me. I let it be there. After a few moments is just disappears again. I follow the tiny plane above me with a smile. I do not have to get distracted, I can always choose how I react to something. Cor signals to take off my shoes and follow him. I hesitate. With my bare feet on the coarse grass, that takes some courage  hmmm… trust … surrender …

It turns out to be the best part of the hike.  Silently I stand up to my ankles in water. Here. NOW. We perform some Tai Chi movements, the energy rings in the air. Emotions come and go. In the distance a deer jumps out of the bushes. Wow ..

The world distorts

Deeply touched I walk on, slowly. It feels like my reality gets more and more distorted. I let myself fall behind to experience what is going on.

Slower, I want to move even slower…

When at the end of the walk Cor breaks the silence, it feels far too early. This evening could have lasted at least another three hours.

Nature’s Paint box

After saying our goodbyes we drive back to Tilburg. Mother Nature adds her comment to the eXperience by colouring the sky in the most beautiful shade of orange.

CLICK HERE FOR THE STORY IN IMAGES

Kick-off Month of eXperience

Last Friday, May 28th, the MoonScouts gathered in Kunstpodium T in Tilburg, NL, for a short ceremony under the full moon. Officially I am now the May MaanScout.

It inspired a poem and a song, both performed that evening.

Moonlight is still Sunlight
But reflected
A contrast with the Sun
But also a balance
Moonlight mirrors the essence
One side of the moon is in darkness
Hidden, out of sight
I dare you to search what’s there
And allow yourself surrender
Because between Magic and Mystery
Lay many things of splendour

Beauty and Women – Elpidha Efstratiades

Kunstpodium T in Tilburg recently featured the work of young Dutch artist Elpidha Efstratiades. I loved all it, yet was especially touched by this drawing. Just look at it for a moment.

Confusion

For me, this drawing symbolises THE moment of confusion for a young girl: something or someone ‘from outside’ decides that it is time to grow up. You are expected to behave differently, adapt to adult life, attend to your school assignments more serious, perform (more) household duties, etc. The emphasis of life shifts to the importance of good grades. Dressing up boxes are moved to the attic… no more time to play…

About Elpidha Efstratiades

The shift from childhood to womanhood is a returning theme for Elpidha.

“Elphida Efstratiades depicts in her work the ambivalence between beauty and women. The clichés about aesthetics and gender are inextricably part of the child women which she captures so extraordinarily. Her drawings hover between looking like a cartoon and being realistic, and show more detailed pieces next to simple clear lining. Pencil and plain carriers as paper and wood are chosen to concentrate on the images.” Elphida has been nominated for the Dutch Allianz Grafiekprijs 2010.

Elpidha’s website shows a collection of her work.

Thanks for your permission, Elpidha, I can’t wait to see more art like this from you in future!

Introducing MoonScout May 2010

Every month, from full moon to full moon, Tilburg Ambassador of the Arts Zeus Hoenderop invites one of thirteen women to support him. He calls them his Moon Scouts. Together they promote the arts, the city and their respective messages.

Last friday at Kunstpodium T – a local art studio and home of the ambassador – the baton was handed to Cheta Urmila.

Moon Scout May Cheta Urmila, number nine in the series, supports the ambassador from May 28^th till June 26^th. This moon’s theme  is “eXperiencing feminine energy”.

Cheta’s Discovery

Everyone has their own unique balance between masculine and feminine energy. In our western society  It is clearly noticeable that this balance has become disturbed. Many people seem only to be occupied with taking action, with working hard and making money. There is hardly any  time in our tight schedules to really enjoy something. We simply keep on running.

Many years ago, Cheta Urmila life looked like this as well and it destroyed her health. Searching for answers, she sold all her belongings and started out on a journey of discovery. Much to her surprise she stumbled upon a inner strength that allowed her to let go of her exaggerated need of control: the feminine energy. Cheta Urmila gladly invites women to enrich their lives in this manner too.

As soon as you say “feminine energy” though, you often end up in clichés and stereotypes, Cheta has found. ‘That is why femaleXperience is geared towards personal eXperience. We can talk for hours about how things will feel, you’ll only know once you have experienced it for yourself.’

Step in the World that is known as ‘eXperience’

Her own life has taught Cheta Urmila that ‘always taking action’ – a quality of the masculine energy – only goes so far. Cheta Urmila: ‘I hear lots of women complain about something missing from their lives. Usually they”ll say that there is no balance. With constant ‘acting and doing’ there seems to be no room for ‘being’ anymore.

The way back starts with eXperiencing your own core. That may sound like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be: looking at your house or your neighbourhood as if you had just moved there yesterday for instance, already gives a new perspective’.

‘At first I refused to accept it’, Cheta Urmila explains. ‘I was afraid to lose my identity as an independent woman. Hence the control. What is so special about this is that I haven’t lost anything. On the contrary, I have gained so much! Sometimes I even feel like I am more independent than before. Working from my feminine core is more fun and also more fulfilling. I wish this for everyone!’

For men, her message is clear too: eXperience the beauty of a woman who is living from her core.

eXperience it yourself!

Cheta Urmila has decided to give away three “eXperiences” for free during this Moon Scout project:

1) a Silk-meditation, for which she uses soft silk from India;

2) a Tarot-reading, centered around your own problem solving capacity;

3) an eMMatrix-session, eXperience your balance through conversation.

All you have to do to win is answer this question:

What does “eXperience” mean to me?

You can apply till June 9th 2010. The winners will be notified through the email address supplied with the answer and the result will be published on NL.femaleXperience.com.

The Silk meditation will be held in Tilburg, the Netherlands between June 23-26 2010, the other two in Tilburg, the Netherlands, yet these are just as good an eXperience over Skype.

CLICK THIS LINK AND ADD YOUR ANSWER

Learn to eXperience the Moment

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For my contribution to NachtburgemeestersCafe last week, I decided to lead the audience through an eXperience of one of the 6 basic characteristics of the feminine energy; I chose “Experiencing the Moment”. The other characteristics of the feminine are: Trust, Surrender, Freedom, Spontaneity and Caring/Nurturing.

Just for the record: feminine energy doesn’t equal “women only”! Everyone has feminine energy, some of us more than others; and that is also true for the masculine energy. This has nothing to do with gender. One of the main areas of focus of femaleXperience is the balancing of your individual feminine and masculine energy, regardless whether you are a woman or a man.

Anyhow, back to the story. Zeus gave me the microphone right at the start, which was great – now the audience had the opportunity to try it out over the whole evening! Read more »

Preparing for my first appearance in Tilburg, NL

PS: NachtburgemeesterCafe = gathering of artists initiated by Zeus Heunderop, the city’s ambassador for the arts and music scene. Several MoonScouts are usually present as well.

(voor NL klik hier (video = engelstalig))

eXperiencing theatre

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Talking about the Mirror of the Moon Goddess to our friend and actor Alexander Schottky in Los Angeles, he invited us to sit in on his acting class. This class is hosted by well-known actor Graham Beckel. WOW, what a gift. There were several actors performing an arrangement of pieces. They would perform a piece, get direct feedback on it how to make it even better, and then perform the same piece again, while implementing the suggestion. Read more »

Wanted: 3 sparkling actors

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It is getting more real every day, very exciting! The advert for actors embodying the three characters in the play is up on the board at the Academy of Arts in Tilburg, and on the Dutch website. 

In the show, the three characters comment with humor and clarity on the inner struggle they go through. The Reflections give advice, sometimes in a few pointy sentences, sometimes in a happy or sentimental song, until the lead character at last finds the key and discovers the magic inside. Read more »