Poetry & Photography: Sunset Walk Today

Sunset Walk Today

Hand them over to me
Let them all go

I am the healer
Who is ever here

Open the door
Step into my embrace.

The unlovely
The uncomfortable

Bring it to me
And we shall
Breathe with
It in togetherness.

To further the
Opening of the heart.

It will bring sadness
It will bring discomfort

Yet as we breathe
Through it
Walk through it
With love

On the other side
It shall be known,
A heart opening
Experience this was.

Releasing what
Does not serve
While gathering
Compassion, empathy
And non-judgment to
Take its place.

I am here for you always,
Mother Nature
©️2019 Camilla Downs

I only intended to post these photos on instagram. Yet a poem wanted to be birthed.

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 17 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” was published January 2018. Learn more and order here.

Wonderfully exciting news! My 13 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

Go here to see latest soul writings. xoxo

The Path of the Heart Will Emerge – The Urban Howl

June 2 2018:

Much gratitude to The Urban Howl for publishing another of my writings …

“Know this.
When riddled with questions,
plagued by confusion,
and held hostage by anxiety,
this is not of the heart.

Distractions, these are,
to cover the message
of the heart,
to prevent one
following the
path of the heart.”

Let Go — The Path Of The Heart Will Emerge

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is published. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 12 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

And my book published in 2012, D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance; which reached #2 in the Self-Help Category and #1 in Special Needs Parenting on Amazon.

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Poetry and Photography: One Breath at a Time

One Breath at a Time Poem 2017

One breath at a time, dear one

You find yourself in a vast ocean of your own creation.
An ocean full of the humanness of life.

Joy, love, peace,
laughter, happiness, abundance,
beauty, compassion, kindness.
Fear, sadness, greed,
competition, judgements, shame,
guilt, jealousy, loneliness.

At times you feel as if you
are on the verge of drowning.

One’s arms and legs have become
heavy with the struggle of this
ocean swirling with humanness.

What is one to do?
There is no place to return.

You jumped in knowing
there was only One Way to survive
in this vast ocean of humanness.
One breath at a time.

For as you breathe each breath
it is another opportunity
to feel the humanness of life.

Feel all of it,
the comforting and
the unlovely,
and then release it into
the vast ocean to be
cleansed by Mother Earth.

For one day you will feel
the heavy burden begin to
lift from your arms and legs.

You will know only the
unconditional love of this
ocean of humanness.

All the rest is still there.
Yes, it is.
Still swim in it, you do.

Yet, it just brushes by you
as you are drenched in the
unconditional love of all that is.

Rather than struggle
You move in harmony
with the humanness.

One breath at a time,
See, there it is ..
You just took another breath and another
and another …

Keep breathing, Keep swimming
in this vast ocean and know
you are not alone.

You are surrounded and uplifted
by the One Love and breathe
it in with each breath.

You cannot escape the One Love.
It is always with you.

One breath at a time.
2017 Lessons from Nature, Camilla Downs

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 12 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Poetry and Photography: Love Floats

Love Floats Heart Shaped Leaf November 2017

Love floats
On the wind.
Love brushes
By when one
Least expects it.

Divine love
Surrounds all.
Divine love
Is within all.
All is Divine Love.

At times it
May feel as
If love landed
With thorns that
Penetrate deep
And painfully.

Bring oneself
Into the stillness
One must.
So as to separate
From the pain.

The stillness.
The silence.
Is the doorway
To knowing the
Pain as the portal.

The portal to
freedom of
experiencing
And knowing the
One love.

Love,
The Leaf
xoxoxo
– 2017 Lessons from Nature

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 12 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Poetry and Photography: Whisperings of the Heart

Pink Flowers Whisperings of the Heart October 2017

The heart whispers secrets
Try not to hear it you do.

Continuing to be in this life’s game
Following the rules, filling out the papers,
conforming to the this-is-the-way-it’s-done norms.
Too busy for interruption
to hear the gentle whisperings of the heart.

Yet, the whisperings never quiet fully.
They are there.
The whisperings are ever delivered
with love and gentleness.

The whisperings of the heart judge not.
The whisperings of the heart
are patient and steady.

Ever so gently the whisperings continue
to impart the truth of one’s soul.

At times the whisperings grow louder
At times they are heard with deeper clarity.

In youth the whisperings were strong
and vibrant with a deep knowing.

As the years passed the whisperings
were quieted by the outside world.

As the seconds pass
as the minutes pass
as the hours pass
as the days pass
as the months pass
as the years pass
as the decades pass

Ever faithful and resilient
the whisperings settle into the
unconditional love of ones heart.

Awaiting the precious time
to once again whisper the
knowings of ones soul.

That time does indeed arrive.
Uninvited, invited,
unexpected, expected.
With struggle, with joy
With peace, with pain.
Yet, it does arrive.

The veil of illusion
begins to lift.
The whisperings of the heart
awaken to the light allowed
to penetrate.

Begin to listen, one does.
Listen with clarity.
Listen with knowing.
Listen with deep understanding.
Begin to take action, one does.

Yet, many times still ignoring
the whisperings of the heart.
The pull of the way life is
supposed to BE lived is strong.

It arrives.
It brings enlightenment.
The day of realizing the
whisperings of heart
bears the key
to one’s freedom to live
and serve as one has always known
one was meant to BE.

Free to sing the song
of one’s soul.
Free to step out of the
board game of conformity
Free to shine the Pure Light
the whisperings of the heart
have always shone from within.

Free to share Divine
Unconditional love
to all beings.
Free to listen and live
the whisperings of the heart.
-©2017 Camilla Downs

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 11 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Poetry and Photography: The Way of Pain

Experience the pain, we must.
Feel the pain, be with the pain,
so as to receive the shining gift
that awaits on the other side
of the pain.

Physical pain, emotional pain,
as long as we push against it,
fight against it, cover it up,
smother it, drown it with
numbing agents, we miss out
on the indescribable beauty
that awaits when we lovingly
embrace it and walk consciously
through it.

Pain is a natural process
of life. We joyfully embrace
its opposite of pleasure.
Pain is simply pleasure going
in the opposite direction.

When we embrace the pain
we embrace the pleasure.
-2017, Lessons from Nature

Be With the Pain Bench at Lake with Sun Beams Poem 2017

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 11 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Poetry and Photography: Unearthing the Hurt

Unearthing the Hurt

She had a dream.
Walking through a
tunnel of books, she saw herself.
Look! Light at the end of the tunnel.

No wait, then … she had a vision.
Walking through a tunnel
of darkness, she saw herself.

She had chosen to
go deep this time.
Chosen to unearth
a hurt buried so
deep, she tricked
herself into believing
it never happened
and was gone forever.

Roots Unearthing Poem 2017

A hurt that caused
her to not trust myself,
to believe she was at fault
for the hurt, and
to not unconditionally
love herself.

A hurt so deep
repetetive patterns
were embedded into this life.

A hurt so deep
a piece of her soul
did eject with the trauma
so as to protect her.

Move beyond this,
that is her truest desire.
Going in, Going Deep, she is.
The unearthing has begun.

What is buried
has tried to surface
in the past, yet,
she was not ready.

Ready, she is.
The piece of soul
retrieved now,
brought along the trauma
for her to process.

Heart pain, sobbing,
choking, suffocating,
bewilderment, why, why, why,
Anger, Anger, Anger.

The pain of unearthing
and feeling this hurt
was incredibly uncomfortable,
yet, short-lived.

The freedom and liberation
in welcoming and embracing it
are immeasurable.
Free, Free, Free!

The part of the soul
ejected, she had longed to
retrieve.

This is the present moment journey.

Retrieving.
Unearthing.
Feeling.
Observing.
Letting Go.

Feeling incomplete
she has always felt.
Now she knows why.

The cycle is nearly complete,

She loves you.
She loves herself.
She loves all of herself.
She loves the darkness.
She loves the shadows.
She loves the light.
She loves all of herself.
She loves herself.
She loves you. -2017 Camilla Downs, The Journal

May we all unearth all that holds us back. Allow it, feel it, and release it …. I mean this was so horrible a piece of my soul ejected and took it with her so that I would not even know it happened or remember it. Yet, it was still encoded and holding me back. It was a soul retrieval that brought the trauma back as I reunited with the piece of my soul that had ejected. I was ready for it …. xoxoxo

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 11 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

Love and Hearts: Love Shows Up in Mysterious Ways

Heart Shaped Rock Love Shows Up 2017

Love shows up in
mysterious ways.
Love shows up in
magical places.
Love is miraculous.
Love is mystical.
Love is.
Be still. And. Know.

Love,
The Rock
xoxo

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Amazing news! My 16 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” is arriving November 2017. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 11 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Poetry: Free to Be You

I was recently led to a wonderful community of poets and am blessed that one of my poems was featured last month. I am deeply grateful to have found a loving community with which to share my nature inspired poetry.

Thank you to Thomas for taking this picture of me; which I feel exudes freedom …

Damonte Ranch Walk 9.13.16 #5

Although I am including the post in it’s entirety here, please take a moment to visit the original post on “Journey of the Heart – Women’s Spiritual Poetry” by going here …

https://womenspiritualpoetry.blogspot.com/2017/02/free-to-be-you-by-camilla-downs.html

I feel as if the poems I write are from nature and shared through my heart and fingers…

My poems are inspired by nature photographs made by me. I sit with a photograph, ask what I am to share, touch my fingers to the keyboard, close my eyes, and let the message flow. It is as if nothing else exists when I’m in this flow. It is almost always aligned with something I am in the midst of personally, and will usually answer or clarify an issue for me.

This poem was written the morning after I attended a local show by The Alchemist Theatre. The theme of the show was Providence. We all took white stones, were walked through a beautiful prayer/meditation at which time the name or image that appeared for us was our “name”. We then wrote this name on the white stone.

The message shared with me that night is that I am supposed to plant seeds of loving-kindness wherever I go and these poems are part of that. This served more as confirmation as I’ve known for a while I was supposed to do this, yet, was unclear on how.

“LoveSeed” is the name that came to me during meditation. For quite some time I’ve been dancing in and out of my own darkness and shadows. I experienced a shift that night. This is the message I wrote to the members of Alchemist.

“It is when we are in the depths of our own darkness, we can rest assured the light and solutions are simply awaiting our embrace of said darkness, for the light will shine, shine, shine once we patiently dance with the darkness.”

The next day I sat with this picture of trees which I took in the summer of 2016 and thought, “What do you have to share?” This poem is nature’s message to me and anyone else to whom it speaks and one of the many love seeds I am to plant.

Between Trees San Antonio July 2016

Free to Be You
by Camilla Downs

Light and peace
await you dear one.
I know this is
your heart’s desire.

It’s there.
It never leaves you.
It cannot leave you
for it is what you are.

The light is the Source.
And you are the light.

At times you choose
to recede into the darkness,
and disconnect from the Light.

Pass through the darkness,
you must,
if you wish to
emerge into the light.
The darkness can always
be transcended.

And emerge you will.
Emerging into the light.
Merging with the light.

BEing the light.
You will know this.
You will feel it.
As the light embraces you
and becomes you,
all else will lift
and you shall be set free.

Free to be you,
free to come home
to the true you,
free to share divine love
in the way only you can share.

Come,
Be in the glory
of peace and light
for this is your inheritance.

Ever there,
Patiently waiting
for your awakening.

My poems and nature photographs will soon be available as gift post cards and published in a book tentatively titled, Lessons from Nature. If you would like to be notified when these are available, please comment here or send an email to CamillaDowns @ gmail . com …. Thank you for your support!

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Wonderfully exciting news! My 10 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer has arrived. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Ask and Listen and Trust – Walk With Me

Walk With Me themes from a May 2016 walk ….

Walk with Lillian Nature Photo 5.26.17

1) Ask.

When approaching the lake’s edge the ducks come right on over “asking” if you’ve got food for them.

How will the person or people that want your creations or services know about them, if you don’t put them out there and ask.

There may be those that don’t like your creations or services, don’t understand, or judge. Yet, think back to the ducks. They don’t stop and think, “What if they don’t have food? What if they say, “No, Go Away”? … They ask anyway. You have those creation ideas and ideas for service in your heart for a reason. For the benefit of others and for yourself.

2) Listen to and trust yourself.

This one sounds so easy and simple. Yet, fear can be a strong deterrent for listening to the message of our heart. Personally, it has taken me a long time to connect with and physically feel this fear to move beyond it.

And I mean, I really felt it … in my gall bladder area. I was taking what life handed to me and it was not what was in my heart. I didn’t want to let go for fear of not being able to provide for my family (for me it wasn’t just fear, it was the other “f” word too – forgiveness).

It took a long time, much pain in my right side, oceans of tears, yet I was finally able to let it go and allow what was in my heart. The way was provided when I did this.

Not how I expected. It has been completely unexpected. What a wonderful feeling to let go of something, trust oneself, and allow the unfolding of what’s in one’s heart. It’s not just wonderful. It’s magical and miraculous. xoxo

I invite you to allow nature to guide you and if you feel moved … Come, Walk With Me ….. xoxo (Sessions as low as $10)

Blessings,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Wonderfully exciting news! We’ve completed the first book trailer for my 10 year old son’s, Thomas Darnell, upcoming book, Biggest Little Photographer. You can learn more and pre-order here. Arriving mid-October 2016!

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