Category: SARK

Mojo Monday ~ Big Dreams

Michelle Fairchild
We wish all the Cosmic Cowgirls could have been present for the Big Dreamin’ that was happening in San Francisco this weekend. The fantabulous Cosmic Cowgirl Big Dream Cafe took place on Saturday in the elegant setting of Yoshi’s Jazz club. For those who could not attend I wanted to share an overview of the days inspirational happenings.

The event featured the inspiring and visionary presentations of Shiloh McCloud, Mary MacDonald, Christine Arylo, Shakti Gawain, SARK, and Elizabeth Gibbons.

Shiloh led the group through an exploration of the What, Who, Where, When, Why and the WOW of their dreams and goals. 
Christine Arylo explored the Silent Epidemics of Women, the Antidotes and the Dares in order to create more Self Love. Christine’s book called Choosing ME before WE : Every Woman’s Guide to Life and Love explores more on this topic. 
Shakti Gawain spoke of Creative Visualization, of which she has written a book by the same title, and led the group through a self discovery exercise regarding Main Characteristics and the Disowned Selves which led to exploring the various aspects of ourselves and how to work towards accepting and integrating our polarities. 
SARK, always funny and inspirational, shared about her new book called Glad No Matter What: Transforming Loss and Change Into Gift and Opportunity. 
Mary MacDonald (aka Stella Mac), the Big Dream Cafe Host, punctuated each presentation with her wise and thoughtful sharing, as well as encouragement to journal and share in small groups the many personal discoveries that were taking place. 
Elizabeth Gibbons brought the event to a glittery finale with her sharing about the importance of bringing glitter and light into our lives and asked us all to support spreading “glitteracy” throughout the world.
The Big Dream Cafe was followed by an inspiring evening performance by Alice Walker as she read from her newest book called Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, as well as dancing in the aisles that was inspired by the music of the band Hedzoleh Soundz. You can experience Alice reading some of her poetry on her very own youtube channel by clicking here. If you would also like to experience some of Hedzoleh Soundz music click here. We must also note that the foreward and illustrations for Alice Walker’s new book were written and created by our very own Chief Laughing Cloud, Shiloh McCloud.

Alice Walker on stage at Yoshi’s presenting her inspiring poetry.

Hedzoleh Soundz jamming away.

Some other highlights from the days events:
Upon entering Yoshi’s the attendees had the supreme pleasure of seeing in person Elizabeth Gibbons’ artistic masterpiece called The Door of Possibilities which you can read more about here.

We also all had the joy of experiencing the Glitter Bar which is another incredible creation of Elizabeth Gibbons.

If you attended the Big Dream Cafe please share a little (or a lot) about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts about the event, as well as a little bit about a Big Dream you hold dear to your heart.
If you were not able to attend please share with us one of your Big Dreams. (I have personally found that sharing and speaking aloud about Dreams is one of the first BIG steps in moving forward to making it a reality!)
Lastly for a little extra inspiration. Click on the link below to watch a touching video of the song Dream Big by the very fun band Ryan Shupe and The Rubberband. I’ve include some of the lyrics in writing for you too.

Lyrics:
When you cry, be sure to dry your eyes,
‘Cause better days are sure to come.
And when you smile, be sure to smile wide,
And don’t let them know that they have won.
And when you walk, walk with pride,
And don’t show the hurt inside,
Because the pain will soon be gone.
(Chorus)
And when you dream, dream big,
As big as the ocean, blue.
‘Cause when you dream it might come true.
But when you dream, dream big.
And when you laugh, be sure to laugh out loud,
‘Cause it will carry all your cares away.
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself,
And it will help you feel okay.
And when you pray, pray for strength to help to carry on,
But when the troubles come your way.
Dream big….

Mojo Monday: Manifesto

Michelle Fairchild

Manifesto ~ a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.

At the Cosmic Cowgirl Bountiful Conference in October 2008 Sark presented a writing workshop on the second day. One of the activities she facilitated was to create our own Writer’s Manifesto. Sark shared with us one she had created and that appeared in her book Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper: Gifting the World with Your Words and Stories, and Creating the Time and Energy to Actually Do It.

Here is the Writer’s Manifesto I created that day at the conference.

Several months later I created a second manifesto for myself called my Artist Manifesto while I was facilitating a playshop for some women friends and family. I suggested that each woman create a manifesto that spoke to her specific vision or dream which might be a Therapist manifesto, an Entrepreneur Manifesto or a Mama Manifesto.

The possibilities are endless as to what you want to declare and what intention you wish to focus on at this time in your life. What type of Manifesto would you create? Share with me the topic and if you feel inspired please write it all out and share it in a comment. If you decide to get colorful and add paint and perhaps even some glitter, take a photo and post it on your blog or web site and then share a link in the comment section.

Cosmic Cowgirls

Michelle Fairchild

During the summer of 2008 I was spending the weekend on the coast with my sister Wendy. Upon entering the Wisdom House Gallery in Mendocino here in California, which is owned by and features the art of Shiloh Sophia McCloud, all I could say was “WOW! WOW! WOW!”

Here are a couple of images from that visit.

I was incredibly moved by the art and journals that Shiloh had created. I spoke with Mary who was working at the gallery that day and during our conversation she happened to mention SARK, an author I had been reading and admiring for years. My visit to that gallery that day left an impression and I found myself visiting Shiloh’s web site. This is where I began to learn about the Cosmic Cowgirls. I also learned about the Bountiful Conference the Cosmic Cowgirls were presenting in October of 2008. It was a three day event for women that would feature art and writing and even SARK would be present and would lead one day of the conference.

My immediate response was that I must attend. I would end up vacillating on my decision for weeks. I would question affording it. My soul was being drawn to it though like a moth to a flame. Finally I committed and signed up to attend by myself. The conference proved to be an incredible experience for me. It was inspiring and motivational and I met some amazing women. The vision statement of the Cosmic Cowgirls is:

We envision a world where the voices of women and girls are heard and valued. Our mission is to inspire a creativity movement and provide a platform for voices for transformation to be expressed and shared. Our member-owned tribe teaches and produces educational multi-media events, books and tools that are designed to promote a vision of wellness, compassion and empowerment.

This vision spoke to me and I knew I would like to be a part of what they were planning to achieve. Before I left the conference I officially applied to become a Cosmic Cowgirl. My membership would later be approved after a telephone interview. After a couple of days filled with creating, visioning, writing, sharing, witnessing and celebrating, the long drive home was anything but tiring. I felt jazzed and fired up because my spirit had felt at home in the Cosmic Cowgirl world.

In the months following I would find myself procuring a business license for myself and I would call my new endeavor Red Boa Productions. I created business cards, got a resale license and began to plan my first Red Boa playshop for February 2009. Everything fell into place so smoothly and I continually had a sense that I was on a path meant for me.


In January 2009 I attended a class being presented by Shiloh called Painting Your Prayers with a friend and I again so enjoyed the experience of being in a women’s circle where we shared, created and meditated on our life visions together.

The day of my playshop was cold and rainy, and even snowy in nearby areas. In spite of the weather a total of 14 women, composed of family and friends, attended that gathering. Our ambitious agenda for the day included 1) Mandala Meditation 2) Circle Sharing 3) Personal Manifesto 4) Paper Altar 6) Closing Circle. It was an empowering and fulfilling day for me to facilitate such an event. I also felt very present and content. My closing reading was a powerful piece Shiloh wrote called We Are Wild Wonderful Women:

We Are Wild Wonderful Women

We are women of complex deep juicy mystery
We are women learning to love and forgive ourselves
We are builders of dreams and seekers of justice
We are creators of new life and bringers of light
We are lovers and warriors, healers and truth tellers
We are marvelously tender and fiercely compassionate
We are whole even when the past has been too much
We are abundant beings, full of celebration and vitality
We are wild… We are wonderful… We are women!!!

Last Fall the Cosmic Cowgirls started a new on-line project called Sparking for members only. We were invited to commit to working on a particular Focus Desire for one month. Each day we would check in and share our “Sparks” (basically goals or intentions) for that day. There were prompts to get us to think and share. My first session Focus Desire was to have “Balance in Mind, Body and Spirit.” I also participated in the next session that was offered and took on the Focus Desire of “Making Daily Progress on my book and deck of inspirational cards.” Then in March they began a session that was opened up to the public and anyone could sign up for only $30.00. It proved to get a wonderful response and I again joined the Sparking group and this time focused on “Delighting in Fun and Play every day.”
It seemed like forever until I attended another in person Cosmic Cowgirl event which was the Comic Cowgirl member conference in March of this year. The member conference was a small and much more intimate gathering. Here we all are in a group photo.

It made my heart happy to be present for a meeting of the “Inner Corral” and learn more about the exciting new projects that are being unveiled. The Cosmic Cowgirls are launching the Cosmic Cowgirl University and the Cosmic Cowgirl Magazine. There are also numerous in-person and on-line classes and workshops one can attend. I am currently participating in an on-line 30 day course called A Year of Great Promise. My dream is to one day take the Leading A Legendary Life class.

If you are interested in learning more about the Cosmic Cowgirl University and upcoming session of Spark and other classes click here