Flower Pressing

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Bringing nature inside is a true delight, and pressing fresh flowers is just one of the ways I do it. I love using these delicate treasures on handmade cards and notes, slipping them inside books that I give as gifts, or donate to our community mini book library. The possibilities with dried flowers are endless!Oh, and let’s not forget these …

Conscious Start Book Shelf

Conscious Start Book Shelf

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I have been buying a lot of books lately for my brand new granddaughter, Frankie and I felt inspired to create a GRANDMA approved list for anyone else that is wanting to build a meaningful home library for their little ones with books that will show them the world, other families, different traditions, and beliefs, showing the next generation that …

sea scallop

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I suppose sometime I will grow old, with happiness. Holding my breath, as I do in burning cold water, I dive to the bottom, sometimes stopping, sometimes swimming, sometimes treading water, or simply moving my hands back and forth, only to keep still, forever curious about something swimming by a sea scallop, an angelfish, a broken shell caught by the …

Send me a little LOVE.

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We all need a little love.Make a donation, and we will mail you or someone you love a hand-painted, one of a kind, watercolour heart. Each heart is hand painted by Mary Ann Burrows, , then mounted on a white 3 1/2 ” square acid-free art card, and signed on the back. Bonus-PLUS, while they last, you will receive a …

Yearning

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Store-bought tomatoes don’t compare to a freshly picked tomato taste -especially when the tomato is from your garden.I anxiously wait for the first bite of a toasted tomato sandwich all winter. I make it into a celebratory event. I buy the best sourdough bread, toast it perfectly in a vintage flip-side electric toaster, generously smother it with Real mayonnaise. I …

sunflowers

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Sunflowers Delightful flowersof the sun. full of wondrousstorm stories wide brimmedhappy, round faces, Sun Goddessesstuffed with seeds; the new life,for next year. Celebrating,dancing, Snickering stalks,Oh, how I love my waving friends,always thrilled to see me.

And Then, Nothing

Poems of Hope

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During the pandemic, I came across an organization connecting women on the outside with women inside prison. I began writing poems to incarcerated women.  I felt afraid, but throughout my life, I have found the most beautiful gifts when I’ve leaned into fear or pushed myself to do something that felt uncomfortable. I’m not going to lie; I was hesitant. I …

Short-Listed at Ebracce !!

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I was honored to be considered among 15K entries and short-listed in the Ebracce UK Poetry contest. I was one of two Canadians on the list. The poem I entered was about Persephone called The Hope of Reemergence. This was the very first poetry contest I have ever entered. Rolling up my sleeves now… lol Check out the contest here. …

The Great Book of Journaling

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How Journal Writing Can Support a Life of Wellness, Creativity, Meaning, and Purpose. This is the third book I have co-authored with a group of coaches and experts Dr. Eric Maisel and Lynda Monk I feel so honored to be part of this project.   The first book was The Creativity Workbook for Coaches and Creatives: 50+ Inspiring Exercises from Creativity …

Water

Mary Ann Poetry 2 Comments

Oh, Evocative Water. Oh, evocative water. Still and sweet, Sour and salty, Rough and calm, never asking permission. Only flowing, back and forth. I say, be like water. Say what you say. See what you see. Feel what you feel. Hear what you hear. Release and unleash all of everything that’s inside of you, out into the world, nourishing whatever …

Pieces of Light.

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A Sunday Poem – Please feel free to share with this link and the following citation. Mary Ann Burrows, “Pieces of Light”

These Are Soul-Making Times

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Have you seen your soul this past year? I have. She arrived at the pandemic with a great heart, despite a few detours. She now lives in a place unmade by humans, with a cup of the best coffee in her hands and her two dogs at her feet. She learned how to come out and play in places she …

The Sun

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Dearest light,  star and love  on the other side of dark. calling to me  spreading your warmth like a blanket across the morning fields. You are why  I wade through  endless cool shadows of flickering fingers,  that tease me out of an unlit life and into your waiting arms.  Finally, I can stop.  and meet myself,  right where I am, …

Come and Find Me World

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Come and find me  world, in your  beautiful way.  You will find me  in a place unmade  by humans.  I will be waiting at  the seashore,  in the forest  along the  weathered path.   You will recognize me, looking up at the sky, witnessing the slightest  wind shift in the clouds birth a new painting.  You will see me  inside …

How to Invoke Your Muse

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“Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire “. (1.6-7) John Milton, Paradise Lost. This is a quote from the 1600’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, by John Milton. In these first lines, Milton is not only stating the theme for his very long poem, but he is also asking for heavenly guidance and inspiration. …

When Grace Comes

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I’ve been reading John Milton’s Epic poem Paradise Lost for my English Lit class.  Not sure if you remember this piece of literature from the 1600s but at first, I found it super hard to understand; in fact, I could not understand a single word of it. The final exam was based on this poem and was worth 30% of …

How to Grow Creativity

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ALLOW PATHWAYS: We can’t grow flowers in the dead of winter. The same goes for our creativity. We need to create an environment inside of our minds that is lush, fertile and nourished so that new pathways can form and our brilliant new ideas have a place to grow roots and flourish. But first we need to empty out the …

Plant Energy

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“Look at a tree, a flower, a plant. Let your awareness rest upon it. How still they are, how deeply rooted in Being. Allow nature to teach you stillness.” Eckhart Tolle Jade plants are one of my favorite plants. THIS jade plant is special, most likely because it was a gift from my son on Mother’s day one year. Jade …

Finding Our Voice Among the Trees

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“We all need to find the time and place to exhale.” Have you checked out my story on Elephant Journal yet? It’s a 5 minute read. If you like it, please give me a heart on the story and share – here’s the link ELEPHANT JOURNAL

Little Sacred Plant Practice

Little Sacred Plant Practice

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Little Sacred Plant Practice  Use this exercise as a way to discover presence.  If you can’t go out in nature, bring a plant into your house.  If you give attention to a plant, it will thrive. A plant is energy. A plant heals. Water it. Feed it. Talk to it.  Become still in its presence  and sense its aliveness. A plant …

Writing Tip

Mary Ann Blog, Poetry Leave a Comment

I gather words to use in my writing. I began a list in a book, that I like to call my ‘poem cupboard’. It is full of my favorite words I find along the way. When I am searching for a word to use in a poem -I open up my book and voila. Magic!!

Forest Writing Exercise

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Finding Your Stillness  Before we write in our forest journal, we need to be still.  What is stillness and why is it so important to find it before we write in our journal?  Our stillness guides us into nothingness and brings us closer to our hearts. This is the place where our soul speaks to us. When we are still, we hear. The …

Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists and Clients

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rated #1 NEW RELEASE ON AMAZON for PSYCHOTHERAPY Discount code: Save 20% on book pre-orders with this discount code – SME04  I was invited to write a chapter in the book Transformational Journaling for Coaches, Therapists and Clients; A Complete Guide to the Benefits of Personal Writing. There are so many benefits to sharing in a group atmosphere and also in …

Women I Have Loved

Mary Ann Blog 2 Comments

I have had a few muses in my life, but one woman that sits close to my heart is Irene. I love this woman. Unfortunately, she no longer walks the earth. We met when she was in the final decade of her life. She was born on April 18, 1920. The first day I met her, I felt like I …

Instagram

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Check me out on Instagram. I’m having so much fun making reels – The latest one was from today. Mayor George Harvie popped by this morning and presented me with my award for the Banner contest 2020. I created the design for this year’s community banner in honour of the farm land and the farmers. I live on 72 acres …

A Story of Becoming

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I wrote this story for Sparkling Silvers – a website that celebrates women, sharing the inspirational stories of their journey to gray hair. Click the link below to read my Sparkling Silvers story. “My story is so much more than about going gray. It is about allowing nature to grab hold of me and show me the real meaning of …

Puddle

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This is where I  live.  Right here, inside the vibrancy  of the sky’s reflection in a puddle of  Westcoast rainwater surrounded by weathered  winter grass off the  beaten pathway.  -Mary Ann Burrows 2021-

Fleeting Stars

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If we live in a world where almost everything is ephemeral, then what matters? The answer is simple: now. This matters. This moment, now. matters. Being a good person and doing the right thing, small or large, matters now. Living your life with full integrity. matters. Living slowly not fast, so you have time to think creatively and make the …

Everything

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I am here forEVERYTHING.The carnivals.The masquerades.The rainy days.The blue parades.The Beef Bourgogne.The ocean waves.The scent of Hugo aftershave.The winter sun.The sands of gold.The lambs. The lions.The days of old.The thunderheads.The lightning rods.The sunny days. The firing squads.The births.The deaths.The falls. The cries.A lovely smilefrom someone’s eyes.The big bass drum.The violin.The times we lose. The times we win.The riverbank.The butterflies. when I hear a baby cry. The …

Broccoli Sprouts

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Want to grow something delicious and nutritious in your kitchen? Seriously, anyone can grow Broccoli Sprouts. It’s so easy. Broccoli sprouts are loaded with fiber and protein and contain very few calories. They also contain anywhere from 10 to 100 times as much glucoraphanin — the nutrient becomes sulforaphane — as the mature vegetable. Their biggest benefit is that they reduce INFLAMMATION. These tiny sprouts are bursting …

The Unveiling

Mary Ann Blog 2 Comments

Lay  your sweet body at the horizon,  in the light below  the dark clouds.  Naked, nameless,  broken, bare, chest to the heavens,  arms stretched wide open.  Stripped  of titles,  accomplishments, failures. Lay against the world,  unafraid  of your emptiness,   released of who you think you are  and  who others believe you to be. Without  your things, beliefs, meaning, stories.  With …

Pure Joy

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“I write for myself,  and for the pleasure of  feeling pure joy. “ A part of me is alone, crying,  and feels separated in life  but if I don’t bring  thoughts that are  calling to me forward  from the tender space  where my heart stirs  from their release,  then I am not alive.  I write for myself,  and for the pleasure of  …

We Grow Food

Mary Ann Blog 3 Comments

The Banner for the Community Banner contest – I won ! I’m so excited. Congrats to all of the winners. Thank you to the corporation of Delta.

Take A Hike

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WINTER CHALLENGE EVENT – Take a Hike Foundation is a very special organization that I believe makes a huge difference. Take a Hike partners with public school districts in BC to engage vulnerable youth in a full-time mental health and emotional well-being program embedded in an alternate education classroom. They take the youth outside and into the forest, camping and …

My New Baby

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The 1950’s Remington clickety-clacks, whizzzes, zips and dings. Chik-chik-cha-chik-chik-chika-chik-cha-chik-Ding-ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip-Chik-chik-chik. I am in LOVE.

#pins4heros GALLERY

Mary Ann Gratitude 9 Comments

Designed by artist, Mary Ann Burrows The Covid 19-2020 pins have been gifted to hospital staff, community nurses, pharmacists, grocery store clerks and municipal government staff, and the Delta Police. Tag your social media post with #pins4heros and email us your photo to be featured in our #pins4heros gallery MAIL

Black Lives Matter

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Don’t stop after posting the black square. Black Lives Matter. Please stand in solidarity. Also educate yourself and if you have the means, please financially support the organizations that support education, social and racial justice, fight against racial inequality and offer solidarity to the Black community. Take the time do the work and research where to send your support. #blacktuesday

Breaking Wide Open

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My hope is that this all of this suffering in the world right now will break us so wide open that eventually there will be no partition between our own bodies and the body of the world.  This force, this breaking down and breaking apart needs to continue until it can take root inside each one of us and insist …

Peonies

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Do you love this world?Do you cherish your humble and silky life?Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,and softly,and exclaiming of their dearness,fill your arms with the white and pink flowers? Mary Oliver – the poem, ‘Peonies’ – (for the entire poem click on page 2 of this …

Tattoo your Scars

Mary Ann Blog 1 Comment

 We have all suffered loss, sickness, death of someone we love, the break up of a friendship, a lover, loss of a job, loss of integrity? We have all experienced pain. The pain of feeling left out, abandoned, not enough, being pushed out, talked about, blocked, lost, unloved. We have all been on both sides of the fence. These are …

Making Money with Your Art?

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I use square to process my transactions whenever possible. Its so easy. I can send invoices direct to clients they pay me from the comfort of their home using their credit card, the money gets deposited directly into my bank account. (Less a small processing fee) Whenever possible I use it. Its convenient for both me and my client. If …

Picasso vs Matisse

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There are many ways to describe the relationship between Picasso and Matisse.  It could be called a rivalry, a creative dialogue, often referred to as  a chess game. The other night at Phoenix Artworkshops Virtual Paint and SIP night I learned all about the love hate relationship between the two. Matisse himself once compared it to a boxing match, but …

Contributing Author Mind-Body-Heart-Hand

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I was honoured to be invited to contribute to this recently released book. The Creativity workbook for Coaches and Creatives 50 PLUS inspiring exercises from Creativity Coaches World Wide. – (Edited by Dr. Eric Maisel) Chapter 23, ‘Feeling Your Way to Creativity’ by Mary Ann Burrows The chapter’s purpose was to “help connect us to the deep wisdom inside that …

Oh, Monkey ! is HERE !

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Available in every major online bookstore and locally in my community book store Black Bond Books Ladner. Check out my Oh Monkey website for all links. OHMONKEY Written for young adults, this story follows the journey of young girl who grows tired of hearing her monkey chatter in her ear every day, telling her what to do. She sits down …

Peace by M.A. Burrows

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I  met myself without my story, inside of my  beautiful mind. We  made peace, my mind, and I.   In here, I am clear. I am  free.  I am awake. I am only noticing. Simply flowing back and forth, with little effort, my brilliant imagination in perfect sync with the calm, silent melody of knowing. It is quiet, without war. …

Creative Spaces

Mary Ann Blog 2 Comments

WElCOME to my workshop. This is my private, creative, and very sacred, special space. It took a long time to get here and I am so very grateful that I have this place in my life.  Having a sacred space in which you can feel free to create in is valuable but, trust me,  this wasn’t always the case. When …

Write Every Day

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There is something special that transpires through the consistency of writing, every day. Crappy or not, still write. Show up and put pen to paper and the rest will come. Just do it applies here. It doesn’t need to be a best-selling novel. It just needs to be done. It all matters. This keeps your brain in the game.

3 minute Grounding Meditation.

Mary Ann Mantras, Meditations & Music 4 Comments

It takes 3 minutes. Only 3 minutes. About the same length of time that it takes for you to finish reading this to bring more into your life.  The 3 minute grounding & receiving meditation is simple, quick and effective. DIRECTIONS: Sit in a comfortable position. Cup your hands in the shape of a bowl under your breasts with your …

Nevermore

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The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this …