Category: Filters

Once upon a time, in 2017, I signed up for a pilgrimage and it opened the door to a whole new world!

The name of the adventure was The Black Madonna Pilgrimage and it was my introduction to Intentional Creativity®. It was also my introduction to the bizarre notion that I, who learned at Mom’s knee that I was the smart kid and my sister was the artistic one, could – maybe, just maybe – be both!

It was a rough time. My best friend, from the first day of 7th grade, was in the hospital in Florida with a brain aneurism.

There were hurricanes and tornadoes going on and I couldn’t get to Florida to be with her so I made dots. Prayer dots for healing. A process I was only just learning on my Pilgrimage with history and paint.

I made a whole lot of dots!!! Meet The Fiercely Compassionate Grandmother, who became visible in those days, and taught me my name…

My friend healed. And, I kept painting.

Just between us, my paintings rarely look like the class demo versions. Partially because mine are opinionated and have major notions about what goes on the canvas.

Recently, you may have seen a work-in-progress glimpse of the canvas at the top.

Officially, she is Tree of Consciousness. And she is, perhaps, the most opinionated one so far!

You see, she was born during the context of the place where all the recent news met a related project about creating a Land Acknowledgement statement, deep inside me.

As we painted along, the eclipse appeared and offered to help. Probably a time-marking kind of thing.

About then, I handed my pen to the painting. (Really!)

I am Elu, which means beautiful in the language of the Cherokee people. I am a Bald Cypress tree, at home near the Chattahootchee River which runs south from this land and into the place called Florida. I am ancient, and powerful. I help filter water and am home to many species of birds and animals. My trunks and limbs and unusual knees are strong and beautiful wood. An air plant named Spanish Moss forms my hair.

I am a keeper of stories. Many of those stories are not happy. People have long been forced from their homes in my land, and there are those in power who would do this still. The orange clay ground is said to be colored with the blood of many battles.

I thought we were finished, Elu and the pen and I, when the Great Blue Heron appeared. She makes environmental sense. According to a bit of online research, she also came with a bigger message to share…

Blue Heron asks you to look inside and nurture all aspects of yourself. Embrace your “flaws,” uniqueness, and feelings of shame with self-love. Once you love your whole self and find your inner peace, you’ll be able to bring peace to others, spreading healing throughout the world.

This probably explains all the dot making, including the ones in her moss hair! It works like this… say a word. A prayer or intention. Silently or aloud. Move your hand to make the paint dot. See the dot. All three primary neuro-processing patterns working together to make it so. And making space for you to feel more peaceful! Here’s my dot-word in these days…

hesed

Or, chesed, if you prefer, pronounced with a fair bit of throat clearing at the beginning.

It’s a Hebrew word for loving kindness. For tenderness and consideration towards others.

And, it’s the best thing I’ve got in this moment, with thanks to my Red Madonna sister, Dr. Havi Brysk Mandell, for helping me make the connection!

So, dots. Lots and lots of dots. And, like the Heron said, the ability to share the journey.

The actual canvas is propped across from my chair, up against a bookcase. We are, indeed, running out of walls. And I’m keeping her close.

Oh! Our friend the Heron is thinking of Peace for the future, too. She insisted on the nest and eggs.

ps… inspired? Ready to be Ready? I can help! Just click here!

pps… questions? The calendar elves will gladly hook you up. 45 min. My gift. Bring some red thread if it’s handy!

Okay… I needed to squint a bit to find it. The tragic stuff feels like it’s demanding a whole lot of attention!

Today, though, I washed (most of) the paint off and put on actual shoes and went out into the big world.

In some ways, my destination was along the lines of a big church in downtown Atlanta.

In other ways, it was time travel.

The kind where you push the button for the way-back machine. And wind up – rather unexpectedly – in the place where the future is being born.

My calendar read CTS Alum Luncheon.

Translation… a whole bunch of “new” folks from the Seminary Bill and I call home serving lunch and offering those present a chance to invest in the future.

As so often happens, though, imagining the future involved a trip down memory lane.

Specifically to the late 1980’s in Columbia’s Village.

Translation – the part of campus with apartments, rather than dorm rooms, generally inhabited by families. Many of them families of International students.

I vividly remember the day, that first summer of Greek School, looking around my kitchen and realizing I was passing cookies out to my 7-year old and a handful of his new friends… in 5 different languages!

With a nod to L. Frank Baum, that was the moment I realized we were “not in Kansas anymore”! It was a good – and sometimes difficult – thing then, and it’s a huge part of who I have become.

And a very conscious filter through which I took in the rest of today’s event.

Dr. Victor Aloyo, the “new” president at Columbia, spoke of the challenges of doing new things in this world. And he looked intentionally (!) around the room and claimed his commitment to supporting the mental health and wellness of all the Columbia Community.

I’m fairly certain that many of Victor’s predecessors would have made that same statement, had they been living in the same context we are… and it was really good to hear it said out loud.

Then, some students spoke.

I laughed in recognition as one young woman told of realizing that life gets different when we live in a land of Yes… and!

What I think she meant by this was realizing that she was able to learn new things – perhaps from new people – without feeling the need to throw out the old things which are still working.

This reminded me of a phase my young teenager went through which Bill & I dubbed Yah-but! Now he’s the parent of two teenagers and knows more!

Then, another student spoke… of a round-about path through careers and nations. Of finding her way to Columbia with deep knowing that it was where she belonged, and a whole lot of questions about how to pull it all off with major funding and immigration issues.

There were parts of her story which felt very familiar to me. And now comes the plot twist…

It is highly likely that, sometime in 2024, she will become the first Jordanian Palestinian woman ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

So… what’s the punchline?

Walk the Way of Love.

ps… the photo at the top is from my recent trip to the Occitan region of France. We were in an ancient, tiny chapel near Alet-les-Bains when I noticed the note an unknown traveler had left in the rock wall. Reaching out matters. So does being there.

pps… may we all keep noticing and wondering and learning!

ppps… beat the holiday rush There are new, easy payment options at FierceArtWithHeart! There are also great coffee mugs and posters and other small gifts. And original artwork! Be sure to check the leggings! Choose 2 pair, any size range, and save with the magic code… Buy 2 – Save $8!

So, I’ve always hated multiple-choice tests! One answer is right. All the rest are wrong. 

Now is not like that! 

(No time is ever really like that!)

There are, however, thousands of years worth of things which could be a whole lot better!

First, a bit of context… Some of you were there, on Monday!

We were having a meeting! We, in this case, being the flock of Intentional Creativity® sisters engaged in the journey known as Origins.

We are a diverse, global group gathered to learn even more about teaching deep, deep tools for humanity in this world, now. And, yes, paint is involved!

One of the threads which runs through this complex journey is conscious acknowledgement that most, if not all, of us live on lands which once were home to Indigenous peoples who were killed or forcibly re-located by the over-culture.

One of our Sisters spoke of her experiences as a person living in Canada, with extensive Indigenous roots. As she shared her story, she mentioned her decision to wear an orange shirt to the gathering because the day we are beginning to think of as Indigenous Peoples’ Day used to be known as Orange Shirt Day… a reference to the tragedy of residential schools.

Part of our homework is to learn, intentionally, about the people on whose land each of us now lives and to do some writing about what we learn. And I will.

First, though, memories… of the inner Little’s scrap bag – collage sort!

I was born in Minnesota. We spent a lot of time there, despite our many moves. There were grandparents there. And really good fishing!

Somewhere in the family archives – and in my head – there is a photo of me the summer I was 3 years old. We were up in the Northern Minnesota lake country in some parking lot, someplace.

Native Peoples – probably Ojibwe – were having a celebration. There was drumming and circle dancing. At one point, all the children in the crowd were invited to join the dance.

I rushed to find a place in that circle. Much to the amazement/dismay of my family! (Rumor has it that I was the only “white” child who joined in.)

I, the tragically uncoordinated kid in the family, with absolutely no sense of rhythm.

That photo, wherever it actually is these days, showed a huge grin on my face. (And a little puff-legged sun suit which tied at my shoulders. Remember???)

Vivid, kinesthetic memories of that day, along with my family’s fondness for wild rice – which I totally share – all bubbled up for me during our meeting. Along with my growing genealogical knowledge of how diversely and deeply my heritage runs.

Clear back, in fact, to a couple of Jewish Great-grandfathers named Hezekiah from the time just before Yeshua. And the Great-grandmothers who were their partners, whose names I have not yet been able to discover.

Meanwhile… Israel, in this moment.

And gallons of tears.

And orange paint.

Drippy finger-print prayer dots. Lots and lots of them.

And hand prints. Witness. Power. Promise. Mine.

Because none of this is a multiple choice test! Unless, of course, choices a through d are peace, respect, support, and consequences, and the final choice – the right choice – is all of the above!

Which is pretty much what President Biden said yesterday!

And, under all of this, my intention to grow my world until I remember, all the time, that it must be our world.

ps… this is my Intentional view from the magic chair in this moment. If you squint, you can see a Hebrew word in the painting on the easel. It’s one of the words for Hope! (And how I go on hoping.)

pps… curious??? Great! That’s our best state for learning new things!!! So, 45 min. My gift. You bring your notion of the place where you are called. Of your mission, if you will, in this moment. And a bit of red thread if it’s handy. Just click and the calendar elves will hook you up!

Well, a whole lot of things! And, frankly, a bunch of them are bumping into each other in my head just now.

Blame it on the news… or perhaps my over-consumption of the news… if you like. And the memories bubbling up inside me in the context of the news!

Back in the mid-80’s, when I was a young single mom, I began my second job as an RN.

Surgery! And, as you may recall, I got really tired of being told I didn’t get paid to think! So, I got busy thinking about what I was going to learn next.

Mind you… having a 4 year-old and student loans and a rather socially limited perspective of the world meant that the options felt limited.

The first hurdle was accepting my sense that my childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian didn’t seem likely to happen for me just then. It was hard. I’d fought for that dream for years.

And, I let it go because my world had gotten more complex.

Feel free to laugh at this next bit!

Two of the paths I considered were becoming an accountant or an attorney! Blessedly, I paid attention to the very vivid nightmares I was having and decided my first intention needed to be a Bachelors Degree.

Six years later, I was graduating from Seminary!

The world – and my living in it – have changed a good bit since then!!!

It is, however, Sunday morning, and I do have things to say! Bits and pieces of what’s bringing me comfort and hope in this moment…

Mental quilting, if you will.

Mostly with paint!

You see, what I discovered this weekend, as three paintings clamored for attention and energy and space, was that I am claiming my truth in liquid acrylics!

Yes, there are external plans and intentions. Fabulous guidance from all my chosen art-mamas. Like more context!

And there’s also my growing awareness that my heart – my dreams – my history and my hopes – are guiding my brush. (And my fingers!)

I’m experimenting!

And comforted by the deep knowing that I can learn new things. I can change my mind. I can be me.

Not simply on canvas, but in my being!!!

And, it’s still Sunday morning. So, conscious of the context of the news, garbed in my favorite red thread paint shirt, and barefoot (Gasp!), a message which feels helpful and empowering and eternal from my heart (and one of Kathleen McGowan’s books) to yours…

…this is all so simple. It’s about love and faith and community. And that’s it… The only piece of spiritual wisdom that really matters… It’s this: you can throw away the entire Bible if you just keep what Jesus tells us in Matthew 22: 37 – 40. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets. Done. Finito. That’s all you need to know… we can make Bible study courses three minutes long, because that’s the entire teaching right there. Everything else just gets in the way and obscures the message.

May it be so! Preferably, NOW!!! And, as another of my teachers – Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes – would say… A-men, a-men, a-men… and a little woman!

ps… the quote is from The Book of Love. The character speaking is Fr. Peter Healy. Thanks, Kathleen!

pps… just in case you suspect you hear Filters at work here… You’re right! Want to know more??? Check it out! (The elves are, indeed, at work!)

ppps… looking for an amazing paint adventure??? Have I got an invitation for you! It’s the next part of the journey we Intentional Creativity® folks refer to as Red Madonna. Specifically, a call to explore the Divine Mother and the Tree of Life through Painting, Community, and Sisterhood!!! Just CLICK HERE (Soon!!!) for all the details… The charming glimpse of a hopeful being, above, is a peek from our current exploration…

I’ve spent a whole lot of time flinging red ink around the world.

It’s often called editing and, back in the dark ages, when I began doing that sort of thing, we really did use red ink.

It all began with yearbook staff when I was in high school. I got named head of the grammar police!

I don’t know why I’m good at it. I just am. And that may be helped along by the fact that my brain hears what my eyes read!

So, I’ve needed a good bit of virtual red ink this week. Here’s what happened…

A week or so ago I had a conversation with a paint sister. One thing led to another, as things often do, and I ended up agreeing to shake an idea out of my head and into a form that could be shared. With more people.

Gulp!!!

That meant fluffing some not-quite-current things here on the website. Which meant adding a recent book title and replacing a couple of photos, and the kinds of really tech-y things for which I need – and am blessed to have – serious help.

And, while all that was going on, I was wrestling with a painting. Flow Nouveau!

I spent much of my weekend flow-ing. And it was fun. Except for the part where the next right thing totally didn’t work for me! A couple of times!!!

All of which made it kind of a miracle that I got any sleep at all.

Then, Grandmother Moon showed up early this morning, to help. (And, yes… I was getting nervous!)

Along with the usual whispering in my ear, she left a story under my pillow. And, oddly for me, a glimpse of an image in my head. A glimpse of the next right thing for my painting.

Story first!

My son is mostly colorblind, which I didn’t know until he was about eight!

The new eye doc with the fancy kiddie-cartoon tools figured it out and a whole lot of things made more sense.

One of those things has kind of taken up residence in my head. It has to do with Dave’s first grade teacher. You see, Dave made lots of marks in the way the world refers to as backwards.

Math was a struggle. I asked for a meeting with his teacher.

I tried really hard to explain that when he made numbers backwards it didn’t mean his answer to the math problem was wrong!

I begged her to use a color other than red to re-draw the number in the more usual left-to-right fashion.

And, yes… it was about two years later before I learned he was colorblind. Which gave both of us more information for learning!

I even tried editing my work in other colors for a while, but my brain understands “fix stuff in red” so I mark my paper stuff up that way. Still! Also, some of the professional projects I help with. Book drafts and such.

I did a bunch of red ink stuff this morning and things are way better. So much so that I pushed the button and sent the thing and set up a meeting. (I’ll keep you posted!!!)

Then, I took advantage of that rare inner glimpse of an image

And I spent a bunch of my day helping my painting make its way back much closer to where it was when I fell in love with it. It wasn’t that I did it wrong. I just didn’t know where I was headed!

There’s more to do… fixing the fixing, if you will. And then a few finishing steps I didn’t quite make it through, before. Kind of like the undo button!

It FEELS so much better, already…

If you squint a bit, you may notice that the paint – much of it red – is still wet.

And I have huge hope!

ps… these days I think of red ink – and red paint – as symbols for the red yarn which connects us with all those who will be important in our lives, if we’re willing!

pps… there’s one more thing I’m done editing! It’s the first thing you’ll find when you click here and it’s really, really cool!!! Go for it…………………… (The other stuff is really cool, too!)