Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Advertising, Art, Connections, Mind

Let’s talk about text color CONTRAST on images

I love an art challenge

Let’s talk about CONTRAST, in particular when it comes to adding text to a digital photograph or image.

A blogger friend of mine (and no doubt soulie sister too) tried something new, for which I applaud her! She was drawn to take some photos and add a note to each of what they meant to her, how her soul resonated with what she was photographing. And that’s huge! To be the observer, and to do something different with your art! What expression! What JOY! 

And her actions sparked an observation within ME! I realized I had not written specifically about the contrast of text on photos, and how this correlates to the CONTRAST of, or within Life! 

So, here we go. I’ll show what I mean by the best way to contrast text on your photos (and yes, I have a degree in Visual Communications and specialize in 508 compliance during my day job). 

Adding text on photos and images can be tricky

Here’s one of her photos that I couldn’t see the text of very well, in fact, I missed it the first time I read her post: https://herladypinkrose.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/the-journey-2/

And here’s how I color corrected the text so I could see it. You could also just add a white glow or outline to the text as well (but I took the easy way out):

Now, just so you know I’m not picking on AmyRose, I noticed this white text on a website I viewed and how it sort of “gets lost” within the lighter areas of the Yew tree branches, making it difficult to read: 

Example 1Example 2

And this is how I fixed it: On AmyRose’s blog image, I attempted to match the font and size in a lighter color and place it over her text. If I had Photoshop on my laptop, I’d have cloned out her text and then added mine, but alas when you pay Adobe for the Creative Suite (as we do for our iMac) they don’t allow you to use it on another device. (Not so good of you, Adobe Products.) 

Anyway, similarly, on the Yew page, I matched their Times font and white color, but because of the kerning involved I couldn’t match it exactly. I wanted to simply type their “The yew tree baffles…” paragraph in a black font and lay it under the white so I could overlay their verbiage and be able to see a couple of the words better. In particular, the “is” which happens to lay on a lighter part of the yew tree image making it very difficult to see. I ended up adding a black font “is” over the white font paragraph I’d placed there, to call a bit more attention to it, though in a perfect world, and again, if I had Photoshop on my laptop, I could do an A+ pro job on this. We have to work with the tools we’re given though! LOL

Tip: Rule of contrast 

Remember this rule, light on dark or dark on light works best for text on pictures. And stay away from the red or pink tone colors as these are difficult to read for anyone who may be visually challenged (color blind).

As for my day job, I don’t have any graphic tools on the PC laptop. So, I do all my changes in Paint. I yearn for a day when I don’t have to work so hard in order to make changes to application screens. I also used to use Snag-It which was very helpful, but currently only have access to the Microsoft Snipping Tool that comes standard. 

One former place of employment used a fuchsia color for all of their image callouts. I challenged that decision based on contrast ratios but I didn’t win the argument. Sometimes, you have to follow what the company’s design guide dictates. If you have a choice however, always opt for the highest contrast you can work into your design.

If all else fails, you can reach out to me. I’m available a few hours a week for freelance side gigs and do proofreading, editing, color corrections, etc. 

Giving and receiving artsy advice

I’m so glad AmyRose understood what I was talking about when I commented on her post that I was having difficulty seeing the text on some of her photo images. Yes, initially, I’d viewed her post here: X on my phone, but even when I opened it from my laptop, full screen, I still had an issue seeing the text. And the point of her post was that she was trying something new, both by adding her comments ON her photographs, as well as sharing this part of her on her blog (the thoughts she’d had while observing nature and taking the pictures). 
 
I knew with some of our first exchanges we were “birds of a feather” mentally and emotionally, so I was sure hoping she’d take my “help” or advice with the love and intention I’d had in mind and she did. She didn’t let her ego get in the way, and that’s sooo important when one’s goal is to help and to build a bridge of communication. Many artists, unfortunately, allow their ego get in the way. 
 
You don’t always have to add a contrasting fog behind the text, outline the text, or go with an outrageous color, sometimes a highlight, double layer of the same word in a contrasting color, shadow, or such is all you need to make the text a bit easier on the eye.
 
Remember, black or darker color text font color on white / light backgrounds, and white or light text font color on darker backgrounds. It can be that easy.

Tip: Here’s a helpful color contrast ratio chart: https://contrast-grid.eightshapes.com/

A bit about us:

My husband is an award-winning illustrator, plus he is a seasoned guitarist, bass player, and songwriter (of over 400 original songs). You can view some of his artwork and listen to all of his songs at: http://listen4music.com

A bit about me:

An Amazon bestselling author of two co-authored books: “Transform Your Life Book 2 Inspirational Stories and Expert Advice” and “Energy of Receiving”, available on Amazon.

Plus, the brand new book that’s been in the making for 13 years, Take It Upon Yourself to Live a Wholly Vibrant Life, is now available for online sale and distribution (PDF format). Buy it here.

Be the best version of who you want to be.

Information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe.

Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Body, Connections, Consciousness, Education, Mind

A way to shift into Gratitude

We all get down or low at times. Feel discouraged. Irritated. Anxious. So, here’s a way we can shift our thoughts and emotions to feel better and improve our mental outlook. I love learning new tips and tricks like this!

During my Reiki training I learned of this beautiful exercise:

  • Get a few sheets of lined paper and a pen/pencil
  • Number the rows on lined paper from 1 to 100
  • Begin on line 1 and write down everything you can think of that you’re grateful for without stopping
  • If you stop for more than 10 seconds, start over.

The following are the four sheets of paper from my first attempt. I did not stop in between and my hand was tired at the end so my writing may not be all that legible. After completing, I immediately noticed a shift in my mental outlook to the positive. I felt I could have written more. I wrote this the night before Thanksgiving 2022:

The following are the four sheets of paper from my second attempt on November 26, 2022. I did not stop in between and my hand was tired at the end. However, I immediately felt very accomplished and with an eagerness to try again in a few days, making a mental note to do this exercise when I felt irritated or anxious so I could note any change in those feelings.

Have you tried this exercise yet? Let me know in the comments below. Stay tuned for my next attempt!

Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Art, Consciousness, Mind, Soul

Why I love Kaleidoscopes

I love (and learn from) other people’s perspectives

I love the fractal nature of us ALL. I love that each of us experience life through different lenses. It allows us to live, grow, understand, and contrast each other and GROW!
 
Kaleidoscopes reveal our intricate connections and with a very slight movement, allow us to experience another view or perspective! Yes, turn, turn, turn so applies in this instance!
 

Allowing the other perspective can be tricky

Of course, when disagreeing with another’s perspective, it can be tricky to “let it go,” and simply listen. It’s even more challenging sometimes to learn from what the other is talking about. So, why not just allow the other person to have his or her understanding of their experience? After all, questioning someone else’s experience is usually the first way to raise ours and others emotions.
 
And what difference does any of it make anyway?
 
We don’t always have to be right after all? And if we do, then that’s our ego.
 
Think about a conversation where someone says something you believe to be untrue. You get frustrated or mad. This is because you’re fighting their perspective. The irritation or triggering of emotions within you are all about how another persons perspective differs from your own.
 
 

Kaleidoscope Views

Check out these two images from the same kaleidoscope, that was simply turned a bit:
fuschia teal dark blue kaleidoscope
Fuschia teal dark blue kaleidoscope view

 

gold teal kaleidoscope
Gold teal kaleidoscope view
 
Pick up a kaleidoscope and peer into it, notice the myriad perspectives available to you. The fractals involved in the patterns created. And when, because you will, you cannot help to do so, move it the slightest bit the light will hit the items within it, and you’ll see different colors and patterns. For this is the way of the kaleidoscope. This is also the way of the interconnectedness of the universe.
 
I hope this helps to lighten you today, and step a bit lighter on the earth.

Be the person your Soul knows you are!

I love you.
 
You are enough.
 
You are worthy of love.
 

There is a line in George Michael’s song, Freedom, that asks of us: “all we have to do now, is to take these lies and make them true somehow.” And the answer I received about its meaning was:

When you can (though you may never be adept enough in every circumstance) take a lie, or what you perceive as a lie, and can find a truth (as opposed to THE truth) in it, then that is real Freedom. Freedom in one’s mind.

Namaste. OM
 
Note refer to an older post: https://sheilamurrey.net/2018/07/15/what-is-a-lie/
This post is NOT about condoning lies or compulsive liars (certainly no one needs to stay with people who habitually act like that), it’s about feeling better, coming to terms, or forgiving someone when it occurs. Learn and move on. It’s all YOUR choice. Turn, turn, turn. Let them go. Leave. You are powerful beyond measure.
 
 

A bit about us:

My husband is an award-winning illustrator, plus he is a seasoned guitarist, bass player, and songwriter (of over 400 original songs). You can view some of his artwork and listen to all of his songs at: http://listen4music.com

A bit about me:

An Amazon bestselling author of two co-authored books: “Transform Your Life Book 2 Inspirational Stories and Expert Advice” and “Energy of Receiving”, available on Amazon.

Plus, the brand new book that’s been in the making for 13 years, Take It Upon Yourself to Live a Wholly Vibrant Life, is now available for online sale and distribution (PDF format). Buy it here.

Be the best version of who you want to be.

Information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe.

Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Art, Body, Connections, Mind

Launching a new song after the hurricane

Two days after hurricane Ian ripped through Florida, making landfall about 35 miles south of where we live, my husband, Richard, suffered a stroke.

Richard had a few new songs in progress at the time his stroke occurred. He had literally just finished the music for this, but hadn’t sang it yet, within hours of having the stroke. Once again proof that the hurricane caused his stroke, or was the straw that broke the camels back at the least. Stress and over exertion is what I will forever blame. And the lack of useable communication from the power company that holds the monopoly over where we live in Florida. Ugh.

When we listened to this song, that we got back from our Nashville, Tennessee studio today, we cried. Literal tears fell on our faces because we turned our upset (about the storm and lack of actionable communication from FPL) into art!

Ready?

Here’s the song! (It’s not me singing; we hire professional singers who do studio work in Nashville, TN):

We are integrating

We’re focused on learning new ways to cook and eat. New ways to save money. New activities to improve our physical bodies, such as moving more, walking, working out with our Yamuna balls and other rehab type gym equipment, and taking more time to sit together and hold hands.

Now, I am Reiki certified for levels I and II. I have an herbal class on my schedule to accomplish in December and then I will be working on reaching the Masters level Reiki in January. I give my husband Reiki every other day now and send distance Reiki to anyone who asks (I have a schedule for this). I have also been contacted to help with communications for Dr. Raymond Moody of Life After Life! And I am feeling the blessings in ALL of this!

Acknowledgments

I thought this would be a short post, but want to thank a few people! ❤️😉

Thank YOU, Victoria Stitzer (and our beautiful Reiki circle practitioners and attendees) for sharing and teaching profound Reiki concepts and practical application. https://transformvegas.com

Thank YOU so much Beaird Studios! https://www.beairdmusicgroup.com

Thank YOU family and friends for gifts, calls, Facebook shares (of our story and music), as well as warm thoughts, prayers, holistic bio healing sessions, and sending loving Reiki Energy.

ABOUT ME

I have a new book coming out SOON! Stay tuned.

I have a passion for WORDS and Connecting people. In particular, I love speaking and writing about spiritual and consciousness raising topics, holistic wellness and simple healthy living. I am empathic, intuitive, compassionate, and kind, with a keen and unified wisdom about life.

I’m an Amazon bestselling author of two co-authored books: “Transform Your Life Book 2 Inspirational Stories and Expert Advice” and “Energy of Receiving”, available on Amazon. Plus, I’ve written a health book (in the making for 13 years), Take It Upon Yourself to Live a Wholly Vibrant Life, that’s available here.

OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Conversations surrounding emotional balance, moral ambiguities, and deep spiritual truths (such as We Are All Connected, and Put Your Hands Together When You Pray), are what Sheila is most passionate about.

Sheila feels a profound empathic Connection with people and what they’re going through by merely sharing her own truth, speaking freely about her personal struggles, and shares authentically about the challenges she continues to overcome. Sheila strives to ease lonelines, strengthen the will of those exiting toxic relationships, remind us all that we are stronger than we think we are, and that eventually, Everything Resolves to Gratitude.

Be who your soul beckons you to be.

Here’s us (and THIS is me singing): https://vimeo.com/416711742?ref=fb-share

Information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe.

Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey Body, Connections, Consciousness, Education, Mind, Omnism, Soul, Spirit

Talk after Reiki II graduation ceremony

Here’s the audio of my talk:

0:00
Hi, I would love to speak with you now about an exercise that we did today at our Reiki graduation ceremony. And I think this exercise within a group in particular, a small group would be really good to do especially to set initial intentions and to ground each participant and to help them connect with each other. You may want to do it at the end of a first session or the beginning of a second or third session especially if you have sensed there to be some disturbance in the group dynamics or the energy of the group. And essentially what it amounts to is each person arranges their body (to point their solar plexus towards the person they are speaking to), and in particular, their eyes to look at each person in the group one at a time and then simply state the other person’s name.

For example, I’ll say XYZ is the name of the other person, so you would say “XYZ, I experience you (or the universe experiences you) as ABCDEFG type of person meaning you can use a couple of words or a couple of sentences, but it shouldn’t be any more than a couple of minutes for you to describe each person. You might say things like, “Carol, I experience you (or the universe experiences you) as a loving, tender hearted, caring, nurturing person. You put yourself out there for everybody around you. You give so much from your heart, and you may even over get to the point of diminishing your own self. But you are wise enough to know you can always refill your empty cup. I love you. Thank you. And that’s that’s really it.

You know, you’re giving people the opportunity to understand you’ve heard them. You’ve seen them. You’ve experienced them. And I love this practice. I love the practice of this exercise because it helps each of us connect better with each other, heal any perceived grievances we may have had or held against each other. It really opens our hearts and lets each other appreciate and tune into each other’s energy and realize that we’re not alone. That others see us even if they’ve only known as for a short time.

Like I said, you may use this activity at the end of the session when you’ve only had a couple of hours together participating in a group. I would think that it might be fun in the beginning just to keep it very short and tell each other a perception that they have upon meeting because we all know that.

Initially, when we meet people within the first seven to 30 seconds, we form an opinion of them. And then later when we do this exercise again, after the first session or second session we’ve had a few hours together (if somebody’s taking notes of this or you’re writing these these perceptions down), you can look back and see how much your perception has changed of that person or how in tune you were to pick up on who that person really is. Maybe you’re seeing that person’s heart or their higher self and you’re getting in touch and you’re getting in tune and then therefore this is validating your intuitive awareness.

So, try that exercise and let me know what you think of it and how it works for you. We just did it at our Reiki II level graduation ceremony (and I can tell you that even during the Reiki II weekend class participation, we had some energy disturbances between a couple of the participants) and I was so utterly amazed and impressed when each of those people got to express to each other in our group setting, how they experienced the other person because it was totally positive! There was no negativity. When another participant got their opportunity to share actually said, “I’m not gonna pull any punches and I’m gonna be brutally honest…” and I thought, “Oh gosh, here it comes.” And I didn’t think that particular person had an issue with anyone else. So, when that person got a chance to speak to the other, she let it all hang out and of course it was all worded quite eloquently and was very caring. However, when I heard the words ‘brutally honest’ I thought here comes the negativity. How could this be negative because I thought these two folks got along famously. Well, they did but it was just again, bringing back to my consciousness, how the words that we choose, can even kind of set us up for a different expectation. I thought the next words out of her mouth was gonna be something negative after she said, “I want to cut to the chase and be brutally honest,” right? Maybe just the use of the word brutal especially in this loving, nurturing type of environment and the circle we’ve built over several weeks together. I wasn’t expecting THAT word. I think it was kind of jolting to me. Right?

But this is why I love doing WordPlay. This is why I love facilitating especially small groups, four to eight people, because I think you can really build lasting friendships and really bond with one another. You can really find out a lot about yourself too, because I found myself when I was not forced but when I was prodded if you will (by means of this exercise), to give my opinion of my experience of another human being. I found I immediately tuned in to my pure essence my higher being, God, Omniscience, Source. You know, I immediately tuned in. I immediately got the dowsing rods kind of feedback in my body of the Yes answers every time I spoke something to someone (as I was telling the truth of course) through the whole process. Every time I spoke to the person I felt GodBumps! I felt the GodBumps sensation in my thighs, which is my Yes answer. And now after Reiki level II, I know when I feel God bumps above the waist (in my torso and arms) that is my No answer, as it’s a very strong sensation (meaning the answer No is quite firm). A No answer like this is both inside me and coming to me from The Field, with the stronger the sensation.

This is akin to one looking at the different hues and shades of a certain color. When a color is really bright, that’s the equivalent of when I get a really strong sensation. Similarly, when the color is a pastel color that’s equal to when I feel the slight subtle GodBumps sensation. So the stronger sensation is my Yes answer (or agreement from the Universe on whatever is being discussed), and the more less sensation of GodBumps above the waist is for when I get firm No answer from the Universe.

I’ve learned that through Reiki II for myself personally. I’ve also learned I’m a human dowsing rod and that was validated during the instruction of how to properly use the dowsing rods (as I’d never been instructed how to use them properly before). I’d had a cheaper pair before and I knew they worked to show me where the energy was but I never used them for any specific purpose. I didn’t know I could use them to obtain a yes or no answer nor how to hold them properly with my elbows close against my body. So now, I love the dowsing rods.

I mostly focus on tools, techniques, tips we can ALL use that will aid us in our development mentally calming the mind, growing spiritually, and healing physically. I look for things that we don’t involve external tools. If we’re laying in a hospital bed and we’re near coma we can do these things. That’s the kind of medicine I’m looking for and is what holistic health means to me–holistic medicine. Things you can do on your own, within and of yourself. And you’re a creator. You need no other external tools or external medicines, and so on and so forth. Your breath, your energy, the feeling of your own body (acupressure and reflexology for example), the sensing, the tuning in the going within the meditation, the prayer, the mental attitude, the self talk, the self awareness, the awareness of your conscious thoughts, all of that’s holistic medicine to me. And with that, I send you my love and blessings. Many blessings to you in all ways. We are in this journey together at this time. While I’m breathing and I’m this side of the dirt, I’m alive. And even once I transition whenever that shall occur. I want you to know I’m always there for you. Your loving Spiral Sister in Christ Jesus’ name, Amen. Awoman. Namaste. OM

Many blessings to you in ALL ways. Always.
Omniscience IS IN Everything. Go about your day with God knowing Omniscience is always with you. You are never alone. You are never alone.

p.s. Please comment and connect with me if you’d love to receive distance Reiki healing.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai