Painting is an effort to listen more closely to the teacher within. I love the paintings as much as a student would love their most kind, wise, loving and compassionate teacher. The inner spirit has much to offer.
Sometimes images are flashing through my mind before painting, and I sit to paint it and something else entirely comes that tells me a deeper story of the image. There is a time of waiting and feeling it all and then a leap into action when painting. Waiting on the exact moment and me to merge together. In that space is where I find messages, healing, learning and loving. All of it happens. All feels known and settled into acceptance of its beauty, every little bit of it, forgiven into oblivion until the next big need and action. I pray often.
The sacred and spiritual practice of living a story within a greater story, connected by concepts, symbols and languages pointing to things unspeakable are enacted continuously and best done with some kind of disciplined effort and grace.
I write too. Like my paintings, it is messy, poetic, honest and willing. It is almost always to get some kind of message through about our lives here together. I become a receiver to powers much greater than I and feel the need of its wisdom to touch down and make itself known. The magnificent nature of being alive and interacting with great efforts and energy beyond our comprehension caring so very much and interested in assisting.
The concept of a level was an interesting one that came forward. To level and plumb your life. A masonic symbol and also the symbol of St. Joseph. This level showed up in a few different paintings regarding my own life, a relationship I was in and also a city.
The golden compass of relegated placements to bring about an anchored vision that brings understanding and peace. They are gargantuan it seems to me. If there is a me left. I work on a team as big as I fantasize or hallucinate, come into contact with. An other working on their own teams, mingling with mine. Ancestors saying hello, what do we have here? The truth of the matter let’s simply get right to it.
Often, I see robed figures traveling together sometimes symbolized by loops joined together.
Great & wise birds appear leading me out of something to somewhere else. Masked beings speak to me while I am painting them. They tell me of great mysteries including that of how peace and understanding will rule the world one day, much more than now. The good news will come of our righteous and holy plight we find ourselves in.
I often paint an orange sun, and in some paintings, many orange suns. I had a meditation teacher that taught of imagining an orange sun in the middle of your head shining out. I use that often in meditation and teach it.
The moon appears too and seems to keep me company with vast oceans of energy pouring through the messages to us all of our relationship to it, the sun and earth. To all the planets and the galaxies. The open sky shows up, and I feel just like that. In the sky is the feeling of God’s presence and it felt really hard won and thrilling to discover that. The earth shows itself too when I need to take in the magnitude of our existence. I feel I am being taught about a passion for the earth and its inhabitants. All these energies working so hard for grand and deeply important reasons.
There are often open windows, stairways, green fields and treasures all teaching of gifts we give each other and of a place beyond this place. Dimensions and steps to take for further development. A pearl shows up too. It could be a symbol of the soul, maybe the moon. It feels as though I have discovered the precious value of it and the still point of a person. Knowing mine, I know yours.
There are Buddhas that teach of hard lessons to learn due to the vast nature of suffering and to simply breathe and feel at peace with our nature. Jesus and Mary are there too, along with teachings of life force energy coursing through the body. The energy of positive caring towards self and others.
I am surprised often while painting. It takes over and I do my best to keep up. It is a true joy to me. We have tremendous abilities. I feel incredible humility and awe learning that a person can go deeply within themselves and connect to the same teachings of humanity that have taught countless others. What we are is something of incredible faculties and we will learn one day how to properly live to reduce suffering for others.
We are alive and here with everyone else. What is of this suffering that so many people experience? What comes of helping each other and discovering once and for all that we can let go of our differences and instead learn of our similar desires for happiness and peace. We come and go and in it is beauty and terror. How can we live on together in peace and togetherness with the bright brilliance of what we all are made of?