The Universe Has a Sense of Humor: Part II
Weren’t the Grammy’s cool? That rocked. Even the ads deserved an Oscar I thought. After the piano man did his thing I was left thinking of my mother. Sheila. She was a piano woman. Got on the piano at the age of three and played by ear. Anything she heard she could just play like a master. No lessons. She was a party girl. Loved everybody. Loved having the house full of flowers. Big heart. Loved to travel. Called everyone Babes. I popped out of her in February 1962 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Kingston Jamaica on a Friday at the time when a bunch of planets were in Aquarius. You know the song: This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. That’s me. That’s us. I know a bunch of us. We’re the Aquastells. A bunch of planets in a sign is called a stellium. Here’s a great digitized photo made by Ivette Roman Rivero of us around a big birthday cake. I’m third in the back from the left. That’s Sheryl Crow singing in the back row. She’s one of us. She may not know it. She’s born 5 days before me.
The Grammys put out a tweet afterwards with a picture of two stars, one in a white dress and one in a black dress and said caption this. I tweeted “Unity Consciousness.”
Seriously. What we can do when we come together in Unity like that celebrating each other? There’s no match. No match for that. Can’t wait to see the movie about my fellow countryman Bob Marley coming out next week. Tuesday was his birthday. Happy birthday in heaven Bob. Everything irie Bredda. No woman no cry yasso.
And while this big awards ceremony was going on out there in the collective on tv, I was having my own little private awards ceremony reading something somebody wrote about me and my art. It was cool. Very cool. And as if that wasn’t enough, another email arrived at the same time. Some guy saying he saw his wife looking at my art on his laptop and wanted to surprise her by buying one of my pieces for her to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Wanted to keep it a surprise. How sweet.
I started to think if I had to accept some kind of award or honorary title or something, who would I have to think about thanking. The list would be legion. A very long list. I would start with Leslie Temple-Thurston, spiritual teacher and artist extraordinare. Taught me everything about things like unity consciousness, reconciliation of opposites, working with earth energies. Told me to go do process art. So I did.
The next person would be Dr. Michael Irving. Artist, healer, counselor. Decades of work. Got me through the ‘war of childhood survival’ as Bill Plotkin calls it.
Then the brilliant women I studied with doing my masters in women’s spirituality. Judy Grahn. What can you say? Judy is an icon. Dianne Jennett. D’vorah Grenn, Vicky Noble. Luisah Teish. Kris Brandenburger. Marguerite Rigoglioso. Where would I be without the work they’ve done and guided me through reclaiming the sacred feminine. It would not be possible without them.
I would thank the community of CIIS where I am privileged to work. People who are changing the world for a better place. Each one of them.
And I would thank my writing group led by Maia Danziger who’ve listened to my every rant and rave for 5 or 6 years now. You need to have confidants. These are my confidants. I’m held, nourished by the brilliance of these writers.
I would thank people whose work has influenced and inspired me doing the work of ecopsychology. People like Joanna Macy, Charlene Spretnak, Shierry Weber Nicholsen, Geneen Marie Haugen, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gregory Cajete, Tyson Yunkaporta, Craig Chalquist, Thomas Doherty, Bill Plotkin, Thomas Berry. And so many more…
And then the artists, some of whom I had the privilege to study with: Shiloh Sophia. Flora Aube. Ree Altavilla. All the women you see in that brilliant We’Moon calendar? This art is profoundly healing, expansionary, grounding for reclaiming the Goddess within. Autumn Skye Morrison. Legendary work. My brother gave me one of her paintings as a gift. Pura Vida. It lives in my dining room. It’s incredible.
And then there are the ones I’ve paid homage to in pilgrimages. Georgia O’Keeffe. Joan Mitchell. Wow.
But see, now I’m getting ahead of myself here. Because on deeper reflection I’ve no doubt left out many who deserve to be thanked and acknowledged for inspiring and helping me on my path. I’m left wondering after receiving these accolades… but is it real?
You see we are at a perilous moment on planet Earth. AI can do all sorts of things. Generate all sorts of things. And there are multiple scams out there targeting artists. How do we know if it’s real? On further research I discovered the email offer to buy a piece of art for a wedding anniversary is most definitely a scam.
For the moment I’m going to stick with my tried and true lessons from Leslie Temple-Thurston so eloquently described in her book Returning to Oneness: The Seven Keys of Ascension: Don’t believe in loss or gain. Trust in the support of the invisible realms. Accept your Divinity.
I’m going to walk up on Council Crest and talk to the mountains. I like talking to the mountains. They help me to think and to relax.
And now I’m going to go and buy some flowers, celebrate the New Moon in Aquarius and the Lunar New Year of the Dragon.
