Artist as Translator

 

"The Translator" 

My latest painting inspired by this poem "Walking the Borders" from William Stafford. (See below) The painting became a sort of self-portrait for me as my work centers around creating a new, visual language through sacred art that illustrates our interconnectedness in the web of creation. You can see her holding in one hand a skull and paint brushes in the other. 

Walking the Borders
Sometimes in the evenings a translator walks out
and listens by streams that wander back and forth
across borders. The translator holds a mint
on the tongue, turns it over to try
a new side, then tastes a wild new flavor,
a flavor that enlivens those fading languages
of cursing and calling each other those names
that destroyed millions by swinging a cross
like an ax, or a crescent curved like a knife,
or a star so red it burned its way over the ground.

The wild new flavor fades away too,
but lingers awhile along borders for a translator to savor
secretly, borrowing from both sides, holding
for a moment the smooth round world
in that cool instant of evening before the sun goes down.

The background shows the Ten Commandments, a moral doctrine that for me is the fading language that has separated us from each other and from the Creation. The new language is one of interdependence in the web of life and the coming ecozoic era where we come back into balance as foretold in the ancient prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor, shown flying here wing-to-wing in the sky. In the center, the Hebrew word Ah-ha-VAH translates as Love. (Note: I chose Hebrew as it is the first of the Abrahamic traditions followed by Christianity and Islam.) 

Stafford was a pacifist and conscientious objector during WWII. In his poem, he is referencing the Abrahamic traditions: “those fading languages of cursing and calling each other those names that destroyed millions by swinging a cross (Christianity) like an ax, or a crescent (Islam) curved like a knife, or a star (Judaism) so red it burned its way over the ground.” If we look at history, human beings have been killing each other over religious differences for thousands of years. Consider the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust. And more recently, the white supremacist who killed three people outside a Jewish community center. So, in going back to the Ten Commandments which inform the Abrahamic faiths and culture on some level even if one is secularist/atheist. I was contemplating the sixth commandment (it’s also in a different color in the painting, though hard to see that at this size) that says “Thou Shalt Not Murder.” So my painting, and the poem, is questioning what it means to live by a doctrine that hasn’t worked to ensure peace among us. I honor all paths to God, the Divine, but the question for me is how do we create a new “language” that recognizes our interconnectedness in the web of creation that puts aside our differences in order to ensure a liveable, peaceful, and sustainable future for life on earth?

 

Intention and The Great Work

New Connexions Magazine. Ganesha ©Amy Livingstone, 2014

Show at the Doll Gardner Gallery. West Hills UU Portland

Opening at the Doll Gardner Gallery. West Hills UU Portland

The Journey

One day you finally knew  

what you had to do, and began,  

though the voices around you  

kept shouting  

their bad advice- 

though the whole house  

began to tremble  

and you felt the old tug  

at your ankles.  

"Mend my life!"  

each voice cried.  

But you didn't stop.  

You knew what you had to do,  

though the wind pried  

with its stiff fingers  

at the very foundations,  

though their melancholy  

was terrible.  

It was already late  

enough, and a wild night,  

and the road full of fallen  

branches and stones.  

But little by little,  

as you left their voices behind,  

the stars began to burn  

through the sheets of clouds,  

and there was a new voice  

which you slowly  

recognized as your own,  

that kept you company  

as you strode deeper and deeper  

into the world  

determined to do  

the only thing you could do- 

determined to save 

the only life you could save.

-Mary Oliver 

  

My intention around expansion for the new year seems to be manifesting these days. (See previous post). I am having a show of my artwork at the Doll Gardner Gallery inside the West Hills Unitarian during the month of March, my 'Ganesha' is the featured artwork on the cover of New Connexions magazine, and I also had a wonderful interview recently with Robyn Purchia at EdenKeeper.org. You can read her article here. We share a similar passion and mission around the connection between religion and the environment. 

We all know the power of intention and holding a vision even when it's not quite clear where it will lead. This is the path of radical trust and faith. I appreciated revisiting this poem from Mary Oliver that speaks to that calling we each have inside us to follow our heart in spite of the voices, or culture, shouting their bad advice. I believe deeply that we each have a gift to bring forward in service to what the late eco-theologian Thomas Berry called the Great Work of our time. We need all hands on deck if we want to ensure a liveable planet for future generations. When I spoke aloud my vows at the end of a ten-day training with environmentalist Joanna Macy in 2002, I committed my life to serving the healing of the earth and the welfare of all beings--human and non-human. That has seemed overwhelming at times but it remains the underlying intention for my life and work in whatever form that takes. Will you join me? 

Macy speaks to three areas of engagement during this era of transformation, or the Great Turning. Perhaps one of them will speak to you. Holding actions (boycotts, civil disobedience); creating new (sustainable) structures and institutions; and shifting consciousness around the reality of our collective interconnectedness in the web of life which has been my primary focus though I have also participated in numerous events and demonstrations around social/ecological justice over the years including the current campaign to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. This year, I plan to share more about ways you might be inspired to get involved though I know so many of you are already doing such great work on behalf of our world.   

Always, it is my love of the earth, beauty, and the intersection where art, spirit, and earth healing meet that feeds my soul. What feeds yours?

World Environment Day Portland Oregon

The UN chose our beautiful city, Portland, Oregon to be the host city for World Environment Day on June 5th. World Environment Day is an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. We gathered around the world to celebrate, educate, and inspire and to share our contribution(s) around sustainability and ways to serve the healing the earth. I had a booth at the Waterfront, RoZone area and brought part of my "Return to the Garden" installation. Native American drumming and dance opened the festivities. The children enjoyed co-creating the nature mandala which was later offered to the Willamette River, sending our prayers of healing for the earth in all directions. (See more photos at my Facebook page.) The poem that I shared in closing was one I found on the web from Sara R., gr. 4, Red Wing, MN. I dedicate this work to our children, for it is their future we are all working for...and for future generations.  

Earth Dancer

Earth, if you are the land,
then I am the dancer dancing with you,
my toes tickling your nose.

I am the dancer 
I dance all around

I am the salmon
You are the water
I am the salmon who fly in the air,
I am the salmon who dance up the waters

I am the dancer 
I dance all around

I am the bird who dances in sky,
Oh, look at me fly!

I am the dancer 
I dance all around

I am the turtle who goes oh so slow,
But if you look closely you’ll know
that when I do move I’m doing a dance.

I am the dancer 
I dance all around

I am the frog that hops on a log,
Oh, look at me! I’m dancing along.

I am the dancer 
I dance round and round

I am the stars that dance in the night,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
I wish I might dance all this night.

I am the dancer 
I dance round the round

Nurturing the Divine Feminine into Being

"Eve" from "Lovers of Creation" Triptych, ©2013 Amy Livingstone

I bow to all mothers on this day. . . past present and future and for all of those (women and men) who are nurturing the Divine Feminine into being. Here is the talk I gave last year on Mother's Day:

 

Nurturing the Divine Feminine into Being

Abundant Life Center,

Mother’s Day. May 13, 2012

Happy Mother’s Day. It’s fitting that that the talk today is on the Divine Feminine. A day when we honor, celebrate, and remember mothers. What better symbol of the divine feminine than that of the mother. She who nurtures a new life into being. Who BIRTHS…FEEDS from her own body, LOVES, and NURTURES the soul of a child into adulthood.

From the late Irish philosopher and poet, John O’Donohue

Mother,

Your voice learning to soothe

Your new child

Was the first home-sound

We heard before we could see.

Your young eyes

Gazing on us

Was the first mirror

Where we glimpsed

What to be seen

Could mean.

Mother,

Your nearness tilled the air,

An umbilical garden for all the seeds

Of thought that stirred in our infant hearts.

You nurtured and fostered this space

To root all our quietly gathering intensity

That could grow nowhere else.

Mother,

Formed from the depths beneath your heart,

You know us from the inside out.

No deeds or seas or others

Could ever erase that.

Mother…. Symbol of LOVE. For me, this is the heart of the Divine Feminine. Remembering and nurturing the Divine Feminine into being is a journey from head-to-heart. From hatred to love. From power over to power with. From meaningless consumption to a renewed sense of reverence for life and beauty. This will require a radical shift in consciousness to a new way of being in relationship to each other and our world….to the Earth.

There’s a lot being written about the Divine Feminine these days. One of the many voices contributing to this conversation, is spiritual teacher Andrew Harvey. He writes: “The Divine Feminine is initiating a crucial new phase in our evolution: urging us to discover a new ethic of responsibility toward the planet; bringing us a new vision of the sacredness and unity of life.” I believe that without THIS vision...this evolution…our planet remains in peril, and our very survival is at risk. Most of us know that we are facing ecological, economic and social crises around the world. Climate change, species extinction, threats of nuclear war, toxic food sources, and the list goes on. Social thinker David Korten, calls this the ‘great unraveling.’

What we are experiencing is the result of a dominant masculine paradigm, that emerged alongside the rise of monotheistic religions that placed one male God in a position of authority over all humanity and creation. Attempting to extinguish the Goddess in all her incarnations, the Abrahamic traditions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam suppressed the feminine and subjected women to an inferior position beginning with our first archetypal Mother, Eve. However, what I have discovered through my own spiritual explorations and graduate studies in religion is the way in which these original sacred texts have been subjectively interpreted over the millennia to serve those in power.

For example, the Creation story is believed to have been written during and after the Israelite’s exile in Babylon (what is Iraq today). The ancient creation myths—Enuma Elish and Gilgamesh—were part of the oral tradition in that region. Theologians believe that in an attempt to understand the source of their own suffering and place in the cosmos, the early writers of the Torah borrowed from these ancient myths to write their own story of origin. Therefore, the notion that we are born into original sin, as we have been indoctrinated to believe in Christianity, was not the intention behind the Garden of Eden story. Those of the Jewish faith don’t believe they are born into original sin but original goodness. But without the notion of the Fall and original sin, what is the role of Christ as redeemer? What is the role of the Catholic Church? For me, Christ’s message of love, service, compassion, inclusivity, and a willingness to challenge the military authority of his time, is a beautiful example of the Divine Feminine in practice. Love. Compassion. Inclusiveness. Unity…all lie at the heart of the Divine Feminine. What has excited me in researching these sacred texts, is that we also have the opportunity to rethink, and reinterpret, scriptures in a way that is reflective of our own time…and in support of a more progressive spirituality that IS inclusive.  

Although most of our religious traditions have worshipped male deities over the millennia—Yahweh, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Krishna, etc., the feminine face of god has existed alongside them all along and are now becoming more recognized and gaining in popularity…certainly in the West where the Judeo-Christian tradition has been dominant in our culture. Women and men are seeking out alternatives to traditional religions that are more inclusive and less dogmatic.

• In Judaism, and the mystical teachings of Kabbalah, Shekinah is the feminine divine presence.

• In Christianity, Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and also Eve as first Mother, are all now being honored as representatives of the divine feminine 

• In Islam and Sufism, Fatima, wife to the Prophet Mohammed, and the Beloved

• In Buddhism, Kuan Yin, Goddess of Compassion, is worshipped all over world including the United States.

• In Hinduism, there are 330 million gods and goddesses. Although Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu are the three primary male deities, in the pantheon of goddesses, Shakti, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kali, Durga to name a few all represents aspects of the divine feminine.

• Of course, there is also a whole pantheon of Greek and Roman goddesses, so we are not lacking for images that represent the feminine face of god but we are now at a point in history where the recognition of their own Divinity can support us in bringing back into balance the masculine and feminine energies. We need the masculine as much as the feminine but as we have experienced the scale has been tipped too far towards the masculine--causing wars and ecological degradation around the world. This is why it is so important to nurture the divine feminine into being.

Outside of these religious traditions there has also been, since the feminist movement of the 70s, the revival of the most ancient goddess of all…that of Gaia. Mother Earth. What our indigenous brothers and sisters have always known, is that the Earth is our first Mother. The embodiment of the divine feminine, she is the giver of life. Sustainer of life and worthy of our reverence and devotion. Unfortunately, this hasn’t always been the case given the first commandment to have no other gods than the one god of the Abrahamic traditions. And there are those who strongly hold to their beliefs that those who honor the Earth are pagan, devil-worshippers, and will go to some version of hell. It’s part of the conversation, too, but I feel hopefully that many of our religious leaders are now embracing and encouraging good stewardship of the Creation among their followers. Through a number of mystical experiences, I have come to a deep awareness that no matter who or what we worship (be it a god, goddess, or science)—we are all interconnected and we are all of the Earth.

I want to mindful of not painting an idealized portrait of the Divine Feminine. Love may be the heart of the divine feminine. And yes, a mother’s love is tender and nurturing but it is also a fierce love. This is the marriage of light and shadow. The Goddess, as Gaia, is a giver and sustainer of life, but she is also the destroyer of life as we have been witness to in the large-scale natural disasters that have become more prevalent. And all of you who are mothers know you would protect your young at all costs. When Marianne Williamson speaks she often uses the story of the hyena mother who guards against the rest of the den of hyenas until all her young are fed. In her analysis, females are anthropologically wired to protect their young. For me, the emergent Divine Feminine is likewise asking that we harness both the tender love and fierce love to awaken, heal, and transform our world from one that is unsustainable to one that is life-sustaining—where our children are fed and bombs are no longer necessary.

We now know that the Divine Feminine has been present throughout history but how do we nurture it fully into being? Through us? How do we mid-wife this new era into consciousness? As I stated in the opening, this is a journey from the head to the heart for all of us—men and women. What I’ve learned is that it requires us to break open our hearts to each other and our world. To compassion. To love. To Oneness. Again. Those attributes of the Divine Feminine. I know what it feels like to have my heart broken wide open from my own experience through loss and grief when I was 30. Today is Mother’s Day and I’m thinking about my mother, Jane. She died unexpectedly 22 years ago. Nine months after my brother died from AIDS. It was a very dark time in my life but through my suffering, the dark night of the soul to quote St John of the Cross, I was able to open my heart to compassion for others, for all life. There were many gifts that came out of this period in my life for which am now grateful, though it was hell on earth for a time. 

Breaking open our hearts doesn’t have to happen to so tragically, though it often does happen that way, doesn’t it? But let us not wait for a catastrophe to open or hearts to our world. In my workshops, the first step I offer on this journey of the heart is to slow down, take time for silence and stillness. Contemplation. Coming into awareness of the revelatory miracle of Creation. Mother Earth. There is so much beauty around us at any given moment, if we would we allow ourselves the time to simply BE. Beauty breaks open our heart. Think of a time when you became aware of this. …… pause.  In “Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World,” author and Jungian Jean Shinoda Bolen writes: “Seeing beauty, loving what is beautiful, and nurturing and sustaining it all go together. It is also the ability to sense or intuit potential beauty and, through love, encourage it into existence.” Sounds like the Divine Feminine to me.   Beauty is available to us everywhere even when we’re stuck in traffic. Last Saturday morning, I was crossing the Vancouver bridge to lead a workshop at the Unitarian. It was the first time in 19 years of living in Portland, that I got the bridge lift. Though concerned for a moment at being late, I just turned off  my engine and sat, watching the birds play  in the rafters above me. Listening to their bird song, I breathed deeply into the present moment. I had no control over the situation, so I just allowed everything to be as it was. Allowing ourselves to be more present to life—being with both with the joy and the grief that may emerge when we finally step off the speeding train that is contemporary life—is key to breaking open our hearts and inviting in the Divine Feminine. I believe the most radical thing we can do is to slow down. In this way, we are better able to be present to beauty, to our feelings, to the people in our lives, to God, to bear witness to what is happening in our world and then take action from a place of LOVE.

As an artist, of course, one of the primary expressions for me to nurture the divine feminine into being is through my artwork. First, in the creation of clay sculptures, primarily of the feminine form, much like our ancestors who sculpted the goddess during the Neolithic period. For example, I’m currently completing a series of ceremonial sculptures that represent three seasons of a woman’s life—the Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Painting has been my primary medium since my teens and although at one time my work emerged out of the darkness and disappointment in my life,  I now create sacred art that draws from the holy well of all spiritual traditions. Today it is beauty that is my gateway to the Divine. Over the past year, I completed a large-scale, three-panel painting that re-visions the Garden of Eden narrative through an indigenous lens. The overarching theme for the piece became “the Garden is right here, right now.” Paradise is not in some unknowable future, but right here on this glorious planet…we need only remember the holiness of this place we call home. Bringing together symbolism from both the Genesis narrative and those of our earth-honoring ancestors, the painting is a visual scripture that reveals our innate interconnectedness in the web of Creation. Here, Adam and Eve representing the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine, reclaim their roles as stewards of Creation.    

The creative process brings us into the present moment and I believe with all my heart, that we each have a creative gift to bring to the world what ever that may look like for you. I’m awed by people who make art in their kitchen. Fruits and vegetables are so gorgeous!  Creativity is our sacred inheritance. As we are born into a creative universe, so we are all co-creators in our evolutionary history. To quote theologian and founder of Creation Spirituality, Matthew Fox:

To allow creativity its appropriate place in our lives and our culture, our education and our family relationships, is to allow healing to happen at a profound level. The intimacy of creativity corresponds to the mystical experience itself. Mysticism bespeaks union, and there is an ongoing union of us and the Divine (Feminine) precisely during the process of giving birth in any form whatsoever.”

Creating life, being a mother… a parent….is one of the most creative acts a human being can undertake. And I bow to you all on this Mother’s Day. Our indigenous teachers say this is the remembering time. A time to remember our relationship to the Earth, our first Mother… that we are all interconnected in the web of life. I also believe it’s a time for remembering your innate creativity in whatever form that may take to serve the healing of our own hearts…our families…our world.

We may be living amidst the great unraveling according to David Korten, but in the words of my teacher, environmentalist Joanna Macy, we are also in the midst of the Great Turning. This is a time of great transformation foretold by many ancient prophecies when the divine feminine and masculine will come into balance again after a period of near extinction and initiate a new phase of evolution ushering in a renewed vision that honors the sacredness of all life on Earth. May it be so.

In closing, a poem that speaks to me of the emerging Divine Feminine:  

Beauty is the Messenger

Beauty is the messenger

Calling love out from forgotten places

Hidden by worry and fear,

And misplaced under the illusion of scarcity.

War, pain and conflict are all too evident

Between border towns, strangers and commuters.

But LOVE grows exponentially faster.

It IS the speed of light.

So, kindness reaches its destination

Infinitely faster than the time it takes

For the heaviness of cruelty

To chafe across toughened skin.

Beauty is the messenger

Waking up the sense of wonder,

Rounding up our wholeness into connection beyond ourselves

And increasing our capacity for limitless love.

Beauty is the messenger

Proving the incompatibility

Of splendor and malice;

Showing simply by example…

What is possible. 

(-Deb Rodney)

May all beings know peace. May all beings be loved.

Offering to the River

 

Offering our nature mandala from the Festival of Faith event last month to the Willamette River. See previous posts for more photos. May we remember that we are interconnected in the web of creation and care for the living earth upon we all dependent. May we have the vision. May it be so.

A Vision

-Wendell Berry

If we will have the wisdom to survive,

to stand like slow-growing trees

on a ruined place, renewing, enriching it,

if we will make our seasons welcome here,

asking not too much of earth or heaven,

then a long time after we are dead

the lives our lives prepare will live here,

their houses strongly placed  upon the valley sides,

fields and gardens rich in the windows.

The river will run clear, as we will never know it,

and over, birdsong like a canopy.

On the levels of the hills will be green meadows,

stock bells in noon shade.

On the steeps where greed and ignorance cut down

the old forest, an old forest will stand,

its rich leaf-fall drifting on its roots.

The veins of forgotten springs will have opened.

Families will be singing in the fields.

In their voices they will hear a music risen out of the ground.

They will take nothing from the ground they will not return,

whatever the grief at parting.

Memory, native to this valley, will spread over it like a grove,

and memory will grow into legend,

legend into song,

song into sacrament.

The abundance of this place,

the songs of its people and its birds,

will be health and wisdom and indwelling light.

This is no paradisal dream.

Its hardship is it possibility.

A Vote for Beauty

From my November newsletter. Sign up at www.sacredartstudio.net
Our elections may be over and no matter where we stand on the issues or the candidates, we are all in this river of life together. I'm an idealist and believe in my heart that no matter the color of our skin, our faith, our political affiliation, or sexual preference we are each called to bridge our differences in order to heal and serve the social and ecological challenges of our time. This is why I feel blessed to have participated in two interfaith art events in October. First with Sts Brendan and Bridgid Catholic Mission (Spiritus Abbey) at St. Francis in Wilsonville. At the show, "Something Beautiful for God," artists from all faith traditions shared work in support of an ecumenical vision around inclusiveness. View photos here.

The second event was the 7th Annual Festival of Faith presented by The Interfaith Council of Greater Portland at Trinity Episcopal. See photos at previous post! From their website:  

Our vision is to be a local organization that is part of a global movement of spiritual enlightenment, social justice, and peaceful coexistence. Each of these objectives is governed by highly ethical behavior - every bit as present in our path to the future as in the future itself. Our diversity will be defined by the recognition of our parallel paths borne out of differing beliefs, ceremonies and symbolism yet in a community bound by a common sense of humanity and appreciation for all life. We will be a learning community capable of suspending our disbelief as we listen with a new found wisdom that is continually evolving. We will be part of the celebration of a new world understanding, and the perpetuators of appreciation and hope while it is coming into being.

This year's Festival of Faith theme was "Voices of Youth," and included a panel discussion with youth around peace, music, dance, interactive art exhibits, and information from all religious traditions. If our youth can envision peace, there is indeed hope. It was a joy not only to show my artwork but to facilitate a community nature mandala as shown here in the photos. I deeply appreciated everyone who shared their stories, their hearts, with me. When words fail us, art is a bridge where we discover our "common sense of humanity." 

Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch
 
a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway
 
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
 
-Mary Oliver

So, at the close of this election season, I vote for art. For beauty. For the earth. For dialogue. I elect to continue serving the healing of our world. Together, we have the power. We have a voice as we witnessed through the act of casting a vote and we each have all the creativity within us to make a difference every day. What does that look like for you? What are you voting for?
 
For love of the EARTH!       

©2006 Machu Picchu Amy Livingstone

Faith

I want to write about faith,
about the way the moon rises
over cold snow, night after night,

faithful even as it fades from fullness,
slowly becoming that last curing and impossible
slither of light before the final darkness.

But I have no faith myself
I refuse it the smallest entry.

Let this then, my small poem,
like a moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith.

-David Whyte

What does it mean to have faith? Faith in god(s)? Faith in science? Faith that our elected officials will indeed make choices that benefit all citizens of this country while passing legislation to protect our ailing planet and all her creatures? Or closer to home: faith that my father will walk without pain and the assistance of a walker? It has been an excruciating few months for us all as both he and my stepmother have been in and out of hospitals, rehab, and seeing countless specialists for one ailment or another. This is a world that most of us, including myself, are ill prepared for and I have ridden every emotional wave one can imagine. Walking a spiritual path is certainly easier when the way is smooth but how do we navigate the physical, emotional, and psychic landscape of our being as we hit the inevitable bumps in the road on this human journey? On a good day, when I'm not exhausted, I know from my history that I am standing in a threshold and that on the other side is, ultimately, transformation. How to keep faith in that?

First. Knowing that we are not alone. That most of us collectively, and globally, are experiencing similar upheavals in our lives and on a much larger scale than my scenario. That we are all standing in a common threshold amidst one of the largest evolutionary periods that has occurred in our human history. According to the Andean prophecy of "The Eagle and the Condor," we are living in a time known as the Fifth Pachacuti, meaning world turned upside down. I first learned of the prophecy when I was preparing to go on pilgrimage to Peru in 2006. Since then, we have been witnessing what social thinker and visionary David Korten has coined the great unraveling in the larger context of the current global economic, political, and ecological crises. As this prophecy plays out on a microcosmic level in our personal lives, how can we find ways to support one another as we go forward? In my workshops and retreats, participants practice compassionate listening and I have seen the power of this seemingly simple act time and again. Listening with an open heart. Out of our own discomfort, we often feel an impulse to give advice or share our experience when the person we love is going through a painful transition. But being silent, listening deeply, is the greatest gift we can give to one another. When we feel heard, we can heal the wounded heart. 

Second. Keeping faith in human creativity which I have written about often here. And a profound belief that art in all its forms contributes to the healing of our hearts and our world. Though my time in the studio has been limited over the past few months, I am excited to share that the short-documentary (10 min) "Journey into the Creation" is complete. "Like" Sacred Art Studio on Facebook to learn more about the symbolism behind the "Lovers of Creation" triptych and watch for opportunities to view the painting and the video.

Sadly, I may not have faith in our political system to change, but like Whyte, I have faith in the moon. Faith in the ability of the earth, Pachamama as she is known in South America, to heal and regenerate herself. Having faith in the wisdom of the earth is a coming home to our place in the web of life and what the prophecy is asking of us now at this time. To remember we are all of the earth and to make those often difficult choices to live mindfully and sustainably on this beloved planet. May it be so.

What or who do you have faith in? As always, I welcome your thoughts. 

For love of the EARTH!      

Communing with the Creation

Summer Greetings from my July Newsletter:  
Summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest. While the rest of the country has been living under crushing heat waves, here in Oregon our rainy season lasted well into June. Given the level of drought not only in the U.S. but around the world, I bow with gratitude for the life-giving rain. But today, on this gorgeous Sunday morning, I'm thrilled to be sitting in my garden, sipping coffee and listening to the birdsong as I write this note to you. Jays, juncos, and spotted towhees make haste to the freshly-filled feeder while others splash about in the bath hanging from a Ponderosa Pine, waiting their turn.

In last months newsletter (see previous post), I shared how "art saves lives," and indeed saved my life twenty years ago. I also believe like many of us that the natural world can also heal our hearts and bring us peace during these challenging times--personally and collectively. All too often though with the advent of technology, demands of family, and the fast pace of our modern world, we don't take enough time to nurture our souls by communing with the earth. There is a common belief that one need be "out in nature," camping or hiking, etc. However, if we can remember that we are always "in the Creation" at any given moment even in the city, we have the opportunity throughout each day to connect to the beauty that is around us. We need only stop what we are doing and be present to that which is before us. To the air we're breathing. The trees we pass on the road. The food we eat. The water we drink. The bird in that tree...right over there.

From naturalist Terry Tempest Williams: "How to create time, how to create buffers around us so that we are doing nothing. I think that may be our biggest disease right now--the disease of busyness. With all these modern conveniences that are supposed to be time-savers, I think we've never had less time. So I think creating open space, time to do nothing, time to love, time to be, time to dream, to think, to walk, is its own act of civil disobedience."

For me, at this time of year, I take my contemplative practices outside. For example, I practice what I call "bird meditation." Here I use the word meditation loosely. Like one of my spiritual teachers, Adyashanti, I consider this practice a form of silent sitting. Most often the notion of meditation is tied to a rigorous practice utilizing breath and body with a desired outcome in mind. Typically "enlightenment" or freedom from some sort of emotional or mental anguish, or suffering, etc. For Adya this is another form of striving much like anything we undertake in our lives which only adds to our suffering. Here, the ego strives for control which ultimately leads to more feelings of failure and self-criticism. Instead, this silent sitting, or bird meditation in my example, allows for simply letting everything be as it is with no striving. You cannot "fail" with this practice. You are simply present to all that is around you, within and without including the Creation, the earth, which is holy and worthy of our reverence.   

In the morning, I spend forty-five minutes to an hour silently sitting which often begins with reading a sacred text such as poetry. In silence and stillness, being with what is in this present moment, grounds me before I begin my work day. You may not have an hour, but even fifteen minutes a day before you turn on your computer or phone, can make a difference and bring some inner peace into your world. Try it and let me know what you discover. 
 
For love of the EARTH!  
 Amy    
  
A Beauty Blessing
-John O'Donohue
 
As stillness in stone to silence is wed
May your heart be somewhere a God might dwell.
 
As a river flows in ideal sequence
May your soul discover time in presence.
 
As the moon absolves the dark of resistance
May thought-light console your mind with brightness.
 
As the breath of light awakens colour
May the dawn anoint your eyes with wonder.
 
As spring rain softens the earth with surprise
May your winter places be kissed by light.
 
As the ocean dreams to the joy of dance
May the grace of change bring you elegance.
 
As clay anchors a tree in light and wind
May your outer life grow from peace within.
 
As twilight fills night with bright horizons
May beauty await you at home beyond.

Let it Be So

©Amy Livingstone, Mother Mary 2010

We had our womens’ seasonal sweat lodge ceremony at People of the Heart on Saturday night that honored both the light and the dark within and around us. Appropriate for the season and with so much change happening in our world and feeling bombarded with information about the economy, climate change, natural disasters, and unemployment, it’s no wonder we all let out primal howls. Wailing, releasing the heaviness. Many of us, especially hypersensitive people like myself take in this darkness and carry it around inside, so it was cathartic to release the energy that had been storing up in my body. Releasing in order to open to the lightness of being. After prayers of gratitude and healing were spoken, Rev. Jayna Gieber led us in The Beatles, “Let it Be.” It had been a long time since I really listened to the words of the song. I was moved to tears and saw before me my painting of “Mother Mary.” The Divine Feminine and her words of wisdom are speaking to me, to us all, during these evolutionary times. The question is are we listening?

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people
Living in the world agree,
There will be an answer, let it be.
or though they may be parted there is
Still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be. Yeah
There will be an answer, let it be.

And when the night is cloudy,
There is still a light that shines on me,
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer, let it be.
Let it be, let it be,
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

I would suggest that we the people are indeed beginning to listen. Where the ecological and political movements of the sixties seemed to emerge largely out of sub-groups within society, the new paradigm movements include all of us and those of every generation--young and old. We can see this in the Occupy movement and the spiritual, evolutionary consciousness that is gaining momentum. The stakes are also higher now. Climate change is real. Some would argue these movements are idealistic in the face of the economic and political forces at work today. Perhaps. According to Webster’s, idealism “is a literary or artistic theory or practice that affirms the preeminent value of imagination.” Again, “the value of our imagination.” I would go so far as to say the Divine Imagination--the very source of our creativity. Yes, The Beatles were idealistic. I’m idealistic. Are you? I believe we are all artists in our own way, tapping the holy well of our imagination, therefore we all have the capacity for being idealistic, right? So “imagine” what we are capable of co-creating if we listen to these words of wisdom from the Divine Feminine? There will be an answer. All of our creativity and idealism is needed now. For the future of this planet and all her creatures. For future generations. “Imagine all the people living life in peace...you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’re join us, and the world will live as one.” (-John Lennon)

Let it be...so.

For love of the EARTH,

Community. Creativity. Play.

From my August newsletter. Sign up at www.sacredartstudio.net

I want to express my gratitude to all of you who responded so compassionately to last month’s newsletter around my emergency room adventure on July 4th. Throughout the month I’ve had more tests and my heart has been given a clean bill of health. Good news indeed. I was also moved deeply by how many of you shared with me your own despair and anxiety around what is occurring in our world these days--socially, politically, and ecologically. No doubt we live in challenging albeit transformative times. Physically I am well but this experience like others before them (about every decade it seems) has given me pause for reflection and discernment. What has come forward most clearly for me is that we can’t journey through the world alone. As the Hopi elders articulate so well in their prophecy, “The time of the lone wolf is over.” (Read the full Hopi message below) Sadly, I didn’t call any of my friends while being whisked away to the hospital assuming that because of the holiday everyone was going to be away or busy having fun! I was wrong. Numerous friends said they were available and would have been happy to be with me during that ordeal. In truth, many were disappointed that I didn’t call. Why is it so difficult to ask for help?

Lesson #1. Community. We need each other. We need community. Letting others help us, also fills a need for them to feel needed. We all know how good that feels, so time to remember and ask for help when we need it.

My teacher, environmentalist Joanna Macy speaks of three threads of consciousness that are occurring simultaneously at this time. 1: Clinging to the way things have been, i.e., the status quo. 2: Doomsayers, end-time theology, and apocalyptic thinking. 3: The emerging paradigm and the necessary creativity required for our times, or the Great Turning. I tend to vacillate between all three of these but am realizing that the first two are based in fear. Three is grounded in hope.

Lesson #2: Focus on the creativity thread and hope.

And finally. Lesson number #3. Play. I have been blessed with love of my work. A calling all my life towards a creative life and service in some form or another but I have been challenged in giving myself permission to play, for the sake of sheer pleasure. I laugh about being a ‘recovering’ over-achiever but sense there is something yet to release around that. This is the hardest lesson for me and am noticing my judgments around the notion of ‘fun.’ So, now I’m making play dates.

Community. Creativity. Play. And I would add that all three are grounded in love. Love of the other, love of beauty, and love for life.

Are you connecting to community, expressing your creativity, and making time to play? If so, how? If not, why? As always, I welcome your thoughts.

For love of the EARTH.
Amy


Message from the Hopi Elders

We have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour
And there are things to be considered.

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in the right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.

It is time to speak your truth
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold onto the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore,
and push off and into the river,
Keep our eyes open, and our head above the water.
See who is in there with you and Celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all ourselves.
For the moment that we do,
Our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over, Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that you do now must be done in a sacred manner
And in celebration.

“We are the ones we have been waiting for...”