Monthly Archives: September 2013

Sep29

The Swan

Posted on September 29, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

Connection 2003 by Drea Jensen
The two dancing figures in the surf and sand celebrate sisterhood. The elements: water, sky and earth, compose tranquility with the beloved.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/connection-2003-drea-jensen.html

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

~ Mary Oliver

Sep26

Tongue of Flame

Posted on September 26, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Autumn 2012 by Drea Jensen
Everything around us is ever changing, sometimes for the best, and sometimes for the worst. Because of the change, we must slow down and find what it is we want to stay the same.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/autumn-2012-drea-jensen.html

Autumn

BY GRACE PALEY

What is sometimes called a

tongue of flame

or an arm extended burning

is only the long

red and orange branch of

a green maple

in early September reaching

into the greenest field

out of the green woods at the

edge of which the birch trees

appear a little tattered tired

of sustaining delicacy

all through the hot summer re-

minding everyone (in

our family) of a Russian

song a story

by Chekhov or my father

What is sometimes called a

tongue of flame

or an arm extended burning

is only the long

red and orange branch of

a green maple

in early September reaching

into the greenest field

out of the green woods at the

edge of which the birch trees

appear a little tattered tired

of sustaining delicacy

all through the hot summer re-

minding everyone (in

our family) of a Russian

song a story by

Chekhov or my father on

his own lawn standing

beside his own wood in

the United States of

America saying (in Russian)

this birch is a lovely

tree but among the others

somehow superficial

Sep21

Healing Fields

Posted on September 21, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Four Sacred Directions 2002 by Drea Jensen
Life is an ever changing thing, be it seasons, direction, or age. Embracing these changes is the most important thing we can do.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/four-sacred-directions-2002-drea-jensen.html

the healing fields – equinox psalm

how does healing happen?

is it…forgetting a little at a time that which hurts

and waking up one morning just feeling a little bit lighter

is it…finally forgiving yourself and the world

by understanding, somehow, we are all wounded with you

is it…realizing that the world is whole after all or accepting
that the world is broken open and has need of your love

is it…noticing a whole day, week or month has gone by

without beating yourself up in the old ways that have held you back

is it…being struck by a compassion so tender that you know it must

belong to the Beloved since you don’t recognize this kindness in you

is it…realizing that this is just how it is right now and somehow that

it is oddly, unreasonably, not personal, or about you at all

this is our human story that we are creating together

can we get ‘free enough’ to create in it, with true personal intention?

is it… not letting your wounded songs hold you back

from that which sings to you from your deepest soul cave

is it…allowing shadow-work and light-work to co-exist without

striving for either one to be greater or better or good or bad

is it…being willing to lean into your resistances until
the edge of your hardened places creates tender spaces

is it…being willing to surrender your cynicism and complacency even

when you know the ridiculousness of the harming going on

is it…opening your heart, yes again and wider still, to a new face

a new heart, yes, a new chance even in the same old life

is it…letting go of making the hard things into stories of meaning

about why it went down this way or that, what if there is no real reason

is it…surrendering enough to allow old patterns to dissolve, even

when they have served you so very well, or so you thought

what if nothing is as you thought it would be or have believed?

it might be something even better, I don’t know, but maybe…

each one of these stories we have talked about here

are ‘fields’ of energy that live within us, we all know this to be so

will you approach the edge of your cave and just wave as I walk by

beckoning you, or will you join us in the healing fields of wild flowers

lay down the burden of what you thought you knew and just come
and open with us to your part in the unfolding mystery

when you are too laden with all the stories of yesterday
it is too crowded to gather your harvest into your arms

don’t worry, everything has become compost and is useful to you

these old stories become legend in no time, if we let them

everything happens in cycles, this may have been a longer one

than you felt your could survive, but you did! yes, you did.

I have come for you, take my hand now and rise up

the others are waiting for us to take our place in the circle

I have no idea what will happen
but I imagine it will be better than you think

your harvest is happening now, even if you don’t see it

just come. we have been calling your name. you’ll see

this kind of healing looks different than we thought

we had hoped for a total recovery and peace on earth

instead we have been sent to learn each other’s stories whole

the healed story begins with this dance, yes, this one.

we will start this dance with giving thanks for the bounty

and raising our hands in Praise for the life-giving Beloved

We have arrived in the healing fields

and we will nourish and be nourished here

Shiloh Sophia

Many thanks to the divine teachings of Shiloh Sophia!

http://www.shilohsophiastudios.com/

Sep19

The Whole Dream

Posted on September 19, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Truth of Creativity 2013 by Drea Jensen
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
– Martin Luther King
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/truth-of-creativity-2013-drea-jensen.html

The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee

BY N. SCOTT MOMADAY

I am a feather on the bright sky

I am the blue horse that runs in the plain

I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water

I am the shadow that follows a child

I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows

I am an eagle playing with the wind

I am a cluster of bright beads

I am the farthest star

I am the cold of dawn

I am the roaring of the rain

I am the glitter on the crust of the snow

I am the long track of the moon in a lake

I am a flame of four colors

I am a deer standing away in the dusk

I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche

I am an angle of geese in the winter sky

I am the hunger of a young wolf

I am the whole dream of these things

You see, I am alive, I am alive

I stand in good relation to the earth

I stand in good relation to the gods

I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful

I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte

You see, I am alive, I am alive

Sep15

Breeze at Dawn

Posted on September 15, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Lotus 2012 by Drea Jensen
Perspective can change anything. Take one step to the left, and you will see things differently than if you took a step to the right.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/lotus-2012-drea-jensen.html

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep
You must ask for what you really want
Don’t go back to sleep
People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch
The door is round and open
Don’t go back to sleep

~Rumi

Sep13

Swallowed Whole

Posted on September 13, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Money Honey 2011 by Drea Jensen
Good fortune is all around us. All we have to do is embrace it.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/money-honey-2011-drea-jensen.html

Swamp Walk – Swallowed Whole

Threshing out old fears

Thread bare costumed old illusions

Shedding these clothes

My nakedness makes me giddy

Feeling the hands of like minded red thread souls

Past and future

While I hold the center of the present

At the edge of my heart.

Tea stained water takes my feet and the tip of my walking stick

I carry to ward off a possible attack.

Looking down before that first step

I see heaven looking back at me and realize I must be floating.

After the first step the water muddies

Hiding any vision of earth or heaven.

Discarded as a weapon

The stick becomes an extension of my toe as I feel my way

Rain becomes Holy Water

But apprehension still

Grips my breath.

And I begin to cry.

With each step onto the aged limestone pathway

Covered in the detritus of all that ever was

The dark water swallows more of me

Until it reaches my hips.

Pond Cypress create a shaded cathedral of vision, sound and touch

The graceful low pond apple trees echo gravity

And greens of all shades…algae, ferns, and broad leafed water plants

Swallow me whole.

As I attempt to hold my breath

My senses are caught off guard by the song of the Carolina Wren

Searching her out I catch a glimpse of the ghost orchid with 27 blooms!

The rain stops,

The frogs begin to sing

And just as suddenly

Stop.

An Anhinga breaks through the water and lights on a limb

Her wings outstretched

Warming in the dappled light

Before heading back into the dark to feed.

I walk on

Winding my way through the dark

Moving with the constant almost imperceptible

Heartbeat of current

Always with wonder turning

Into gratitude and back again

Swallowing, swallowing, swallowing

Whole!

~Rosemary C. Allen

Sep11

Broken

Posted on September 11, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Intricacy 2006 by Drea Jensen
Every second we see thousands of different images, but only register a few details. It is important to make sure that the few things that we notice bring us well-being.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/intricacy-2006-drea-jensen.html

The late teacher Ajahn Chah once said:

“You see this goblet? For me, this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on a shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ But when I understand that this glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.”

On the surface, Ajahn Chah was making the statement that if he considers the glass to be already broken, then he can open his mind to be more present with it and appreciate the time he has with it. At the same time, if it breaks, he’s not so attached because he understands the natural course of it is to break.

From this we can take a lesson for our lives:

The question isn’t, is your glass half full or half empty. The question is, are you able to see the glass as already broken?

In other words, do you comprehend that our time here is short and eventually will pass?

Are you able to see that the label of half full or half empty – that you may be so identified with – is just a story in the mind that is also already broken and will eventually pass away?

If you understand this, you may sometimes find yourself lying in a field beyond half full or half empty, where your cup is completely empty ready to receive the wonders of life that are all around.

Take this goblet with you, allowing it to reflect awareness into the moments of your day.

Warmly,

Elisha Goldstein, PhD

Sep9

Coming Home

Posted on September 9, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Sanctuary 2012 by Drea Jensen
The natural world holds a temple, a safe place for growth.
A healing shelter for seeds to germinate and take root.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/sanctuary-2012-drea-jensen.html

Coming Home

by Mary Oliver

When we’re driving, in the dark,
on the long road
to Provincetown, which lies empty
for miles, when we’re weary,
when the buildings
and the scrub pines lose
their familiar look,
I imagine us rising
from the speeding car,
I imagine us seeing
everything from another place — the top
of one of the pale dunes
or the deep and nameless
fields of the sea —
and what we see is the world
that cannot cherish us
but which we cherish,
and what we see is our life
moving like that,
along the dark edges
of everything — the headlights
like lanterns
sweeping the blackness —
believing in a thousand
fragile and unprovable things,
looking out for sorrow,
slowing down for happiness,
making all the right turns
right down to the thumping
barriers to the sea,
the swirling waves,
the narrow streets, the houses,
the past, the future,
the doorway that belongs
to you and me.

Sep7

Frida Kahlo

Posted on September 7, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.
Frida Kahlo

Sep5

Bone

Posted on September 5, 2013 by virtualartistaltar

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Spirit 2007 by Drea Jensen
Thinning of the veils between worlds is the feeling invoked in this painting.
The spirit behind the universe comes through.
http://dreajensengallery.artistwebsites.com/featured/spirit-2007-drea-jensen.html

Bone by Mary Oliver
1.
Understand, I am always trying to figure out
what the soul is,
and where hidden,
and what shape –
and so, last week,
when I found on the beach
the ear bone
of a pilot whale that may have died
hundreds of years ago, I thought
maybe I was close
to discovering something –
for the ear bone
2.
is the portion that lasts longest
in any of us, man or whale; shaped
like a squat spoon
with a pink scoop where
once, in the lively swimmer’s head,
it joined its two sisters
in the house of hearing,
it was only
two inches long –
and thought: the soul
might be like this –
so hard, so necessary –
3.
yet almost nothing.
Beside me
the gray sea
was opening and shutting its wave-doors,
unfolding over and over
its time-ridiculing roar;
I looked but I couldn’t see anything
through its dark-knit glare;
yet don’t we all know, the golden sand
is there at the bottom,
though our eyes have never seen it,
nor can our hands ever catch it
4.
lest we would sift it down
into fractions, and facts –
certainties –
and what the soul is, also
I believe I will never quite know.
Though I play at the edges of knowing,
truly I know
our part is not knowing,
but looking, and touching, and loving,
which is the way I walked on,
softly,
through the pale-pink morning light.