by David Pott
As a result of Richard Rohr’s teaching I suspect that many people around the
world are now using Yahweh as a breath prayer, breathing in on Yah and out
on weh. However I have found it helpful as I come into God’s presence to add
two more Hebrew words as breath prayers. They are the Hebrew name for
Jesus, Yeshua and the Hebrew word Ruach which is translated in the Bible as
wind and spirit and, appropriately in this context, also as breath. The
references to spirit apply to the human spirit but also to the Spirit of God.
So then we have these three Hebrew names for God – Yahweh (יהוה),
Yeshua (ַשועֵי) and Ruacḥ (רוח) that can all be used as breath prayers in this
way: Yah-weh, Ye-shua, Ru-ach. It is interesting that all three names have no
hard consonants and they are not very different from the sounds of breathing.
Sometimes I breathe each name three times and at other times I say the three
consecutively, again quite often three times. At other times I might focus for a
while on just one of the three. I use the names as breath prayers when I am
walking and they can go well with various exercises that assume a worshipful
posture, such as this one:
Kneel in front of a chair and place your hands on top of the front of the seat,
keeping your arms straight. Breathe in as you begin in an upright position,
then on the out breath, slide your arms forward to the back of the seat and
bend your knees to crouch so your head will be down near the front of the
seat.
I find that I sometimes use these breath prayers where previously I may have
said “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” I find
using the Hebrew names feels like a closer connection to the roots of our faith
and especially when I think Jesus would understand all these words. In
referring to Father God, Jesus used both Abba and Yahweh and he would be
familiar with Isaiah 64:8, “O Lord (Yahweh), you are our Father.” With regard
to his own name, he would not have turned round if someone had called out
“Jesus” to him as he walked through Jerusalem or Galilee, but Yeshua he
certainly knew!
One of my favourite scriptures is John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep
My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our
home with him.” I find that utterly astonishing, and for me using these breath
prayers of their names is an act of welcome and intimacy helping to increase
the wonder of this indwelling.
David Pott worked for ten years in drug rehabilitation centres and
detached youth work and then moved into teaching for 19 years. He was
head teacher of two independent schools. David is a keen naturalist and a
long distance walker. In 1997, he completed a 680 mile solo pilgrimage
from Iona to Canterbury called Peregrinatio 97 commemorating the
1400th anniversary of St Columba and St Augustine. He has led several
pilgrimages and walks with a reconciliation theme, such as the Offa’s Dyke
Torch March along the ancient boundary between England and Wales.
Between 2000 and 2007 David led the Lifeline Expedition and the March of
the Abolitionists – a series of reconciliation journeys in connection with the
legacy of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade which has received widespread
media attention. See www.lifelineexpedition.co.uk/mota and
David was involved in setting up the Two Saints Way, a pilgrimage route
between the cathedral cities of Chester and Lichfield which opened in
2012. See www.twosaintsway.co.uk He published the full colour guide
book in November 2015. David is also the founder of Flag Up Scotland
Jamaica – see www.flagupscotjam.uk
Since moving to Bishop Auckland in January 2016, David has been
involved in assisting with initiatives in connection with the regeneration of
the area and he has also been developing pilgrimage routes to the shrine
of St Cuthbert at Durham Cathedral. See www.northernsaints.com
David has been married to Pam since 1970 and their three children are all
married and they rejoice in nine grandchildren. Their son Joel was the lead
singer of the indie band Athlete and his song “Wires” won the Ivor Novello
award for the best contemporary song of 2006.
Whether you are praying the stations of the day, in need of resources for rest, hoping to spark joy and find wonder, or simply want to enjoy beautiful prayers, poetry, and art – our digital downloads section has many options! Christine Sine’s book Rest in the Moment is designed to help you find those pauses throughout the day. Praying through the hours or watches, you may find inspiration in our prayer cards set Prayers for the Day or Pause for the Day. You may find your curiosity piqued in the free poetry and art download Haiku Book of Hours. All this and more can be found in our shop!
Welcome to September and to autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern. It’s a grey day in Seattle with some much needed rain. It is not just the weather that makes me aware of the changing seasons however. The huge maple tree outside my office window, what I call my sentinel tree, now has its red streak right down the centre. It is my red flame that heralds the arrival of a new season. I love it, even though I hate to say goodbye to summer and the wonderful parade of flowers that have blessed my life over the last few months.
Today, following my retreat on Seasons and Rhythms, I am more aware than ever of the changing seasons around us the many facets of our lives that dictate our rhythms and seasons. It was also a good reminder of our need to breathe deeply throughout the day something that surprisingly does not come naturally to us. In yesterday’s Meditation Monday: Rituals that Give Us Rhythm, I spelled out the two types of rituals or practices that are vital for a balanced life – rituals of restoration and of transformation. Practices like retreats provide important transformative anchors that help us adjust to the changes we anticipate, even to those that take us by surprise. Interestingly one of the aspects of the retreat that participants enjoyed most was the feeling of community we experienced as we talked together across the distances of thousands of miles. That sense of togetherness is, in itself, a restorative practice and space that we all desperately need.
On Saturday, following the retreat I engaged in one of my restorative practices during this season – harvesting and preserving the garden produce. First I picked tomatoes with community member Andrew, admiring the incredible variety of size, shape and colour of the fruit. Then I dried apples and tomato skins (wonderful for salad dressing and for winter soups) and today I am getting ready to make chocolate, pear bread, my new seasonal favourite which I will store in the freezer. So good to have supplies like this when unexpected guests drop in.
This week we have had some outstanding posts on Godspacelight. Kellie Brown inspired us with part 2 of her series What is Theopoetics, Elaine Breckenridge awed us with her fascinating look at the art of Susan Cohen Thompson, I love her compelling question “What might happen if more of us had our own awakening and began to view life with the eyes of nature? “ She also wrote a second post of a poem she wrote Madrone Chapel – not about a building but a tree that is her “threshold into transfiguration”. On Friday we were enriched by two posts – an update from Lilly Lewin who is currently leading a pilgrimage on Iona, and a beautiful reflection and poem by June Friesen The Risks of Living In This World. I love her poem, part of which I want to end with this week as it is a wonderful reminder that all of us need to let go as the seasons change and we prepare for a new season ahead.
Open your hands and let go –
Open your hands and spread your fingers –
Open your hands and shake them a bit –
Open your hands and blow over with your breath.
Let go of the struggles you are fighting –
Let go of the bondage that attempts to bind you –
Let go of the nagging thoughts that want to hold your mind captive –
Let go – release – and breathe – and think.
Let go of the could of, should of and would have….
Let go of the feelings of regret, sadness and anger…..
Let go of the negative feelings and attitude…..
Let go – – – – release – – – – breathe.
Release your being from the screaming of the world –
Release your mind from the control of the world –
Release your body members from the bondage of the enemy –
Release yourself to God’s Spirit – breathe deeply of Him and begin to live.
Breathe deeply of the Spirit’s Presence –
Allow Him to inhabit the depths of your soul –
Begin to embrace His life-giving Presence –
Now is when God-given life can really begin.
May you receive the wisdom and the guidance of God’s spirit in all you do this week
Join Christine Sine on October 14 or watch the recording later. October and November, the season between Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving, is gratitude season on Godspacelight. Christine Sine will encourage you to enter into the practice of gratitude in this interactive retreat that will help us enter this season of gratitude with joy and delight in our hearts.
by Christine Sine
On Saturday I held my Rhythms and Seasons webinar, a fun time of creativity, reflection and discussion which I will share more about at a later date. In preparation for this time I reread my book Godspace: Time For Peace in the Rhythms of Life. In fact my original intention was to work straight from this book at the retreat. However God had other more exciting plans that stretched both me and the participants to consider Rhythms and Seasons in other ways. However, one place that I relied heavily on Godspace: Time for Peace in the Rhythms of Life, was in talking about rituals and celebrations. All seasons need rituals and celebrations to mark and anchor them. and I still find this understanding helpful.
According to Christian anthropologist Paul Hiebert there are two types of rituals, habits or practices we need in our lives, what he calls rituals of restoration and rituals of transformation.
Rituals of restoration are the most common. These are the practices that restore our faith in the beliefs that order our lives. They also connect us to and anchor us in the religious communities in which these beliefs are expressed. Restorative practices are highly structured & do not change from day to day though they may be adapted to the seasons either of earth or of church as these change. They reaffirm our sense of order & meaning in the universe, our community & our own lives. Most importantly, they intentionally connect our daily activities to the life, death & resurrection of Christ and also to the world in which we live.
Possibilities include a rhythm of prayer that reaffirms what we believe, sabbath practices, weekly church gathering, taking communion, following the liturgical calendar and the use of liturgical symbols like the sign of the cross, candles, and incense. I even find that writing prayers for Facebook each morning and preparing my blog posts is a stabilizing and restorative ritual.
For me it has been the establishment of rhythms rather than the actual practices that are important. The practices may change but I love to have a regular rhythm to the day, week and year. In fact the breaking of this rhythm is one thing I find destabilizing. Praying each day is an essential part of my faith practice but what those prayers look like changes from day to day, from week to week and from season to season. In the past I have enjoyed The New Zealand Prayer Book and David Adam’s The Rhythm of Life, but recently acquired a copy of Women’s Uncommon Prayers: Our Lives Revealed, Nurtured, Celebrated which I plan to start using as well as Margaret Silf’s Sacred SpacesL Stations on a Celtic Way. reading prayers and reflections each morning is one of the important anchors of my life.
Rituals of transformation are characterized by a high degree of creativity & have little repetitive structure. Their goal is to cut through the established way of doing things and restore a measure of flexibility and personal intimacy. In other words they stop our restorative practices becoming boring and stagnant. They enable our faith to grow and change, enabling us to adapt to the passages of life and changes in our culture. In the liturgical calendar, Advent & Lent were specifically designed with this intention. Prayer retreats, conferences and workshops can also accomplish this though these days it seems that such events are more geared towards reinforcing the status quo than changing it. Pilgrimage, Biblically based celebrations like Stations of the Cross can also accomplish this. Prayer walks, mission trips, even walking the labyrinth are all practices that maintain this type of flexibility.
When I was on the Mercy Ship Anastasis, when the ship was ready to sail to a new port, we held what was called a Moving of the Ark ceremony, harkening back to the fact that the Israelites would only break camp and move when the cloud over the ark of the covenant moved. We celebrated with a special worship service, sharing the good things that had happened in the port we were leaving, sharing communion and then learning a little about the new port we were heading towards as a time of preparation. I don’t live on a ship that moves every few weeks any more but I have learned the importance of marking milestones in my life journey in similar ways.
Celebrating the seasons in our world and in our life is a wonderful way to mark time and recognize the transitions that prepare us for change. I find an increasing number of people are looking for celebrations like Chalking the Door and the Celtic festivals of Imbolc to help them mark the seasons and the rhythm of their lives. Acknowledging transitions, looking back with gratitude and forward with anticipation is a wonderful, faith building exercise that all of us should practice on a regular basis.
What are the practices that provide both stability and flexibility in your spiritual life? What are your restorative and transformative habits that shape your faith?
I pause within this sacred grove
guarded and buttressed by Madrone.
A tree of knowledge, it finds the sun
twisting, turning, dropping a branch
letting light in and balancing darkness
forming a cross to hold the others.
It is my chapel
a threshold into transfiguration
who beckons me to bend
and balance light and dark within
so that I too become a sacred grove
and like Madrone hold the Cross as an icon
into the beauty and mystery of this world.
Christine Sine is offering three seasonal, virtual retreats to explore living in balance and in line with the natural and liturgical rhythms of the year. Join her for one or all of them September 2, October 14 and December 9. These retreats will encourage us to center ourselves and our lives as we move through the seasons beginning in Fall and moving through Advent. They will be times of reflection, creativity and fun.
by June Friesen
Recently when we were on one of our hiking adventures this sign caught my eye. While this sign was for those who would be kayaking and boating, I was immediately drawn to the words. Why? I thought of how it is in our lives at times – we are moving along quite easily and maybe even quickly and ‘boom’ there seems to be a collision of sorts. As I have pondered this sign, and this thought, I began to realize that this is something one can relate to in life. While it may not necessarily be a rock in our path, we still find a difficulty or problem that we have to face and navigate.
It was interesting as I thought about different people in the Scriptures and especially those who we often refer to as godly people or people who followed God. There is Noah who chose to build a boat at God’s command when the people up to that time had never even seen rain or at least not a rain that caused flooding. There was Abraham who followed God for miles and miles and even backtracked at times until God finally told him he could stop and settle. There was Ruth, David, Samuel, and many others in the Old Testament and it continues on in the New Testament especially with Jesus and on into the times after His Ascension with Peter, Paul, Stephen and others. So when it comes to you and I, I would say that this sign is also one that can give us some thoughts to ponder as well. For Scripture today I am going to refer to a passage where Jesus is quoted as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Matthew 26: 36-46
Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39 Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41 When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
42 He then left them a second time. Again he prayed, “My Father, if there is no other way than this, drinking this cup to the dregs, I’m ready. Do it your way.”
43-44 When he came back, he again found them sound asleep. They simply couldn’t keep their eyes open. This time he let them sleep on, and went back a third time to pray, going over the same ground one last time.
45-46 When he came back the next time, he said, “Are you going to sleep on and make a night of it? My time is up, the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the hands of sinners. Get up! Let’s get going! My betrayer is here.”
‘My Father, I do not understand you, But I trust You.’ Have you ever found yourself at the point of using this in your prayer/prayers as you are seeking God for an answer? I have been at this point in my prayers in my own life as well as sometimes when I am praying for others.
I remember one time vividly in my life when I was in deep distress over a situation in my life over which I had absolutely no control. My heart was broken and I could only wonder ‘why me God?’ I had tried to do everything right. I had tried to help this person in so many ways. And I just could not understand why I was now in this present circumstance. In my desperation that day I went to our church sanctuary. There was a big wooden cross hanging at the front. I threw myself on the floor at the foot of that cross, sobbing my heart out, pounding my fists on the floor and cried out to God…..”WHY? WHY? I TRIED TO DO THINGS RIGHT. I DID MY BEST TO FOLLOW YOU. NOW THIS…..GOD, HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN…..I JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND.” I have no recollection of how long I stayed there, how long and hard I cried…..however this one thing I am sure of and that was God’s response to me. To me it seemed audible – whether it was or not I have no idea as I was there alone with God. God said, “June, I can do it ‘your way’ or I can do it ‘my way’. What is your choice?” Talk about being caught off guard – well I sure was. It was then I realized that God was at work in this whole situation and it then became my choice ‘to let go and let God,’ or to ‘demand God do what I wanted.’ (By the way I did let go, I did let God. It took a few more years but I have learned God had a plan quite different than mine. And it is an ‘okay plan).
A Gethsemane moment in my life. Letting go and letting God…..I work with so many people and this is one of the greatest struggles many people have and might I say it is a struggle in the lives of many Christians as well. The struggle is real, and Jesus told His followers that it would not be easy. We see evidence of this in Peter even with Jesus and then in the New Testament after Jesus’ ascension we see the struggles of the followers of Jesus.
LET GO…….LET GOD
Open your hands and let go –
Open your hands and spread your fingers –
Open your hands and shake them a bit –
Open your hands and blow over with your breath.
Let go of the struggles you are fighting –
Let go of the bondage that attempts to bind you –
Let go of the nagging thoughts that want to hold your mind captive –
Let go – release – and breathe – and think.
Let go of the could of, should of and would have….
Let go of the feelings of regret, sadness and anger…..
Let go of the negative feelings and attitude…..
Let go – – – – release – – – – breathe.
Release your being from the screaming of the world –
Release your mind from the control of the world –
Release your body members from the bondage of the enemy –
Release yourself to God’s Spirit – breathe deeply of Him and begin to live.
Breathe deeply of the Spirit’s Presence –
Allow Him to inhabit the depths of your soul –
Begin to embrace His life-giving Presence –
Now is when God-given life can really begin.
Embrace the new gifts you are being given –
Love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience –
Begin to live out the presence of these wonderful gifts
And give unto others of them as you have been given.
The world around you will begin to change for the good –
Love will be shared among many around you and it will grow –
Peace will begin to be acknowledged and embraced and overflow –
Joy will become a bubbling overflow from your presence to the world –
Gentleness shown will calm those around you –
Kindness will be doubled as those receiving will begin to share as well –
Patience will begin to arise slowly and its blessings will begin to multiply.
And so it is my friend that you and I can begin to impact the world with God’s energy –
They may not recognize it as God at first
But when they begin to see the trickling, spreading and growing effects
They will not be able to help themselves from exclaiming –
“Indeed life is all about a God-infused life – and living a God-infused life. No one and not even me may understand it – but oh how we will begin to embrace and live it. And in all that we do and say my it truly be that God’s name will be forever honored and glorified in and through us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Photos by June Friesen. Scripture is from the Message Translation.
Christine Sine is offering three seasonal, virtual retreats to explore living in balance and in line with the natural and liturgical rhythms of the year. Join her for one or all of them September 2, October 14 and December 9. These retreats will encourage us to center ourselves and our lives as we move through the seasons beginning in Fall and moving through Advent. They will be times of reflection, creativity and fun.
by Lilly Lewin
As I write I am looking out the window of the St. Columba Hotel out towards the Isle of Mull. The sun is coming up and the first ferry of the day has just made it’s crossing and is heading back across the grey blue water from Iona to Mull. I was attempting to write this post outside at a picnic table but the midges started biting and I had to retreat. Midges are like No Seeums …small gnats that bite. My friend Anne from Glasgow, who is on pilgrimage with me, said there is a tea towel with the saying ” God made the world, then he made Scotland, and he said, no it’s too good, and sent the midges” or something like that!
I am doing a dream I have had for twenty years, to take people on pilgrimage. A small group of us are on the first “Finding Your Thinplace Pilgrimage” which started in Oban and continues this week on Iona.
I’m going to write more, but I wanted you to know that it’s never too late to do the dreams that God has placed on your heart. To follow the ancient the pathways of God’s love and rediscovery the wonder God’s great love for you!
“Go stand a the crossroad and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried-and -true road. Then take it. Discover the right route for you souls.
Jeremiah 6: 16 THE MESSAGE
Thus says the Lord, “ Stand by the roads and look; ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; then walk in it. And you will find REST for your souls Jeremiah 6: 16- AMP
When you consider the ancient paths, what do you think about?
What things would be Paths or practices that would give you REST?
Why do you think it’s so easy for us to just reject these paths? Especially paths of REST?
Where have you felt God’s love and presence?
Consider the ancient paths and rocks of remembrance in your own life.
What GOOD things, places, people do you want to, need to remember that God has done in your life? Things in the past and things in recent weeks.
TAKE A WALK TODAY…notice the rocks, notice the road, the path. Talk to Jesus about the roads you’ve been walking. And the path you’d like to take as a new month begins, as a new season begins.
Ask Jesus what will help you find REST. and make a plan to REST in September.
iona abbey sept 1
Closing Prayer prayed together:
Explorer God,
You have put within us
A spirit of adventure move beyond the immediate,
And to see
In the ordinary things
You extraordinary presence of love.
Propelled by your Spirit,
May each day become an adventure
Of people, tasks, places and responsibilities.
And when we feel grey and lifeless
May you remind us
That each day holds
It’s own gifts:
New truths,
Restored vision,
Inner healing, and the possibility
To forgive even our enemies. AMEN
Peter Millar (Iona Prayer Book)
In the Name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN
Readers of this blog may know that Camano Island, Washington is the home of the emerging Circlewood Village. It also happens to be home for many artists and their studios. Recently I had the privilege of touring the home and studios of Susan Cohen Thompson who lives only two miles from the Circlewood property.
The home of Susan and Clay Thompson shelters two working studios. Coming into their living space is like entering a display gallery. Paintings and drawings cover the walls and a variety of ceramics and artifacts line shelves and table tops throughout the main floor. Climbing the stairwell to the second floor took time, as I admired all the paintings on the way to the formal upstairs studio.
Walking into that space felt like stepping into a tree house. Large windows revealed a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees in the forestland of the adjacent Camano Island State Park. Through another window was a panoramic view of the Saratoga Passage, part of the Salish Sea with views of Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains. Returning my eyes to the walls in the studio, I gazed upon painting after painting of the natural world. In the tree house studio, the art of nature and the art of a human being merged seamlessly into one another. It is no wonder that Susan describes her art in this way:
To be human
I recognize my relationship with nature.
I see with the eyes of the trees
and feel with the heart of the forest.
—SCT
Dancing with the Setting Sun, by SUSAN COHEN THOMPSON
A favorite theme that can be seen in her art depicts trees not simply swaying in the wind, but dancing! Because Susan understands that trees and forests are sentient beings, she portrays them as dynamic and animated creatures. She believes that trees are the most generous and sacred beings on Earth. They provide countless species with food, shelter, warmth, water and perhaps most importantly—air. Trees breathe. Plants, animals and humans breathe. There is one breath on Earth. Susan has written, “I breathe the trees and the trees breathe me.”
Susan once had a dream when a thousand birds flew out of her hands and traveled around the globe whispering, “Everything is connected. You are a part of a feeling Earth.” Birds have been a favorite theme in all of her art forms since that dream. She loves to embed the general shape of birds into many of her paintings. Sometimes they become visible only after gazing deeply into the art work. Other times they make a vivid statement about interconnectivity.
In my dream of earth,
eye of self merges with eye of bird and
I am forever changed.
My primary self resides in nature.
—SCT
Lucid Dreamer, by SUSAN COHEN THOMPSON
Besides her dream, Susan’s passion for understanding the significance of the interconnectedness of nature and humanity evolved out of her own lived experience. She has hiked into the temperate forests of the Pacific Northwest and deep into the rainforest of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Susan believes that our lack of appropriate relationships with nature stems from our lack of awareness of the deep connection that we human beings share with the Earth.
For me, this theme of the interconnectivity of life is the most moving and important aspect of Susan’s art.Her art embodies a central teaching of the contemplative monk and Christian mystic, Thomas Merton, who wrote of his “keen awareness of the interdependence of all living things which are all part of one another and involved in one another.”
In order to live as an ecological disciple, I believe that it is vital to understand our interdependence with all of Earth and her creatures. Once we realize that the Earth is indeed sacred, that the Earth does not belong to us, but that we belong to Earth, we begin to cultivate an expanding compassion for all of created life. We make healthier decisions for our own bodies and Earth’s body.
In my own spiritual journey, retirement from full time congregational ministry and relocation to Camano Island has been a life-transformative experience. My eyes were opened to the innate sacredness of the Earth when I began praying and worshipping outdoors. Additionally, experiencing the artwork created by Susan has led me to a deep awareness of the empathy I share with creation.
Showing that human beings are an integral part of nature is a recurring theme in Susan’s art. Her paintings emphasize what human beings might look like when they are fully connected to the Earth, which can be seen in the work below.
Awakening: Facing the Edge of the Forest, by SUSAN COHEN THOMPSON
What do you see and experience happening as you pray with this painting? Obviously, we see immediately an image of a woman who is asleep. Resting, she appears content as her head is cradled in the arms of what appear to be two trees. As our eyes move from left to right in each image, her face becomes more defined. Her eyes are opening and developing in the middle frame and a more apparent smile is forming. At the same time, the image of the woman has also become more “nature-like” as images of water, sky and clouds are forming within her face. However, a naiveté remains in the expression of her eyes.
In the third frame we see a woman who is more fully formed and more obviously awake. I see a compassionate and wise gaze. Also, the woman’s humanity has become more embedded within the structure of what now appears to be a forest. The smaller tree that once cradled her face is now revealed with a more mature and sturdy trunk. A root wisp touches the woman’s mouth. The eyes appear to be more human looking. As for the nose, it too has become more humanlike. Or not. Perhaps the nose has become treelike. Perhaps they have become one. Yes! Human beings and trees share the same breath. While it is clear that the awakening woman is becoming more clearly defined against the backdrop of forest, sky and water; nature has been undergoing its own changes. The forest itself has become more expansive.
We often think and speak of the conflict and competition that exists between creation and humanity. Susan’s art is refreshing in that it clearly depicts how both can enhance one another. Her art gives us images which lead us into a deeper appreciation of both God’s creation and humanity by reminding us that we are dependent upon one another for our mutual individuation and evolution. It invites us to understand the point of view of nature instead of only focusing on our experiences in nature.
And, of course, her art is an invitation to be aware of our impact on the Earth. As creation theologian Matthew Fox has said, “Compassion is born of interconnectivity, the cosmic law of responding to another’s pain and suffering, joy and celebration as one’s own.”
What might happen if more of us had our own awakening and began to view life with the eyes of nature? Might that not enable us to cultivate a more robust mutual relationship with Earth? What might happen if we attuned ourselves to hearing what messages, what feelings, what wisdom is being offered to us by and through creation? Might we become more empathetic and compassionate human beings? I am thankful that Susan’s art invites us into this sacred dance with creation and all of its gifts and treasures.
Radiant Fields, by SUSAN COHEN THOMPSON
More of Susan’s work can be seen on her website.
Visit her Camano Island studio by appointment by emailing her at susan@thompsonartstudio.com, or calling 425-750-4994.
Christine Sine is offering three seasonal, virtual retreats to explore living in balance and in line with the natural and liturgical rhythms of the year. Join her for one or all of them September 2, October 14 and December 9. These retreats will encourage us to center ourselves and our lives as we move through the seasons beginning in Fall and moving through Advent. They will be times of reflection, creativity and fun.
As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small amount for purchases made through appropriate links.
Thank you for supporting Godspace in this way.
When referencing or quoting Godspace Light, please be sure to include the Author (Christine Sine unless otherwise noted), the Title of the article or resource, the Source link where appropriate, and ©Godspacelight.com. Thank you!