Early on in my Intentional Creativity® journey, my Artisan painting – required for Color of Woman teacher training – hung a big left turn. At least that’s what it felt like to me!
She chose a quilt, rather than the suggested veil. Then, she insisted on words in those quilt pieces. Important words. Words I needed to hear myself claiming!
Then she started sending me dreams.
I had no context for such knowing. I only knew that I knew.
Or, rather, I only knew that I was willing to learn… to be changed, as an old Quaker saying goes.
The main character in the most surprising dream was a winged horse! And, as I’ve mentioned before, they didn’t cover astronomy in nursing school or seminary! Research was in order! Research which led me to Pegasus. And that led a puzzled but curious me to a story…
An old story which is both true and might actually have happened.
Once upon a time, two writers were talking together about the books they were working on.
One of them asked the other about his reference to winged horses.
The rather surprising answer went something like this: Jesus didn’t come to make people look nice and behave themselves.
Jesus came to make whole new creatures where once there were broken people.
This, many people believe, was a reference to the imagery in the biblical book, Revelation, of winged horses, like the mythical Pegasus.
Not well-trained regular horses, but whole new creatures!
And the legendary writers???
C.S. Lewis speaking with J.R.R. Tolkien. Really!!!
Which leads us to now. Nearly six years, countless paintings, and a whole lot of learning later. Not to mention some pretty major context shifts in the world many of us know! And a new ah-hah!
What if, maybe just maybe, spirituality is about becoming whole new creatures where once we were broken. Or lost. Or worn out trying to look nice and behave ourselves according to other people’s notions???
We are, after all, the only unique us. The only we that’s ever been. Because of dna, for sure. And also because of context!
Now, this next bit is likely to sound like a bit of a detour on the path… hang with me, please!
I have, indeed, been watching Madam Secretary some more. And, the more I watch, the more I am surprised by new things I notice.
One of them was a conversation about the Protestant Reformation! (Really!!!) Henry explains to Elizabeth that the Protestant Reformation happened, in large part, because of the invention of the printing press putting scripture in the hands of the people.
It was, of course, considerably more complicated than that but, in my opinion, Henry wasn’t wrong. People – even women! – able to read their holy books through their own filters and not just those of the priests and church hierarchy.
It was more complicated even than that, though. And it had a whole lot to do with power and who got to decide who got to decide what was true.
Which just might sound familiar to you in the context of this moment! At the very least, it feels familiar to me as I do some more IC® homework and mentally quilt together a notion of my big work.
For this moment, let’s just say that I’ve learned a whole lot of new things, in a whole new world, since I stacked up a big pile of diplomas in our basement!
It’s not that those things were wrong. Instead, they were, simply, not the only things that would ever be true!
And I can’t wait to tell you more! In fact, there’s a sneak preview coming up this week! Hint… a party will be involved! If you’re already on my mailing list, you’ll get your invitation on Friday. If you’re not on the list, today would be a great day to join! (Just click the regrettably annoying pop-up thingy at the top!)
ps… the party is FREE!
pps… there’s an amazing online art show and you’re invited! (I’m so thrilled to have 2 of my paintings included.) Come and be – as my kid used to say – “wonder-ed”!!! The opening is on Dec. 28th! https://intent2create.betterworld.org/events/cura-futura-museum-exhibit
