9/27 marks 25 years in Japan. I feel extremely sentimental and appreciative. Taking out my photo albums and pouring over 25 years of pictures I came across this one taken on August 25th, 1996, my 36th birthday. I was at Pam Honda’s ‘Dragon Center’ near Lake Kawaguchi having given myself the ultimate birthday present, a painting session to learn intuitive art with poster colors from Pam. I was thrilled to be doing this. I had been so reticent to paint since high school that I never touched art medium until this day. Here you see the turning point. I came back from Pam’s like an egg cracked open and inside was all this creativity pouring out. Pam had initiated me to the wonderful secret of painting, which is to be in nature, let go of expectations, meditate before beginning or do some deep breathing, and from here let the art come forward as it will. Over the years I added another step, which is to use the Genesis Cards to help ‘hear’ what intuition is saying, what art is encouraging us to do and be in our lives, when we paint and draw without any expectations for particular results. 