MOTHER CREATOR, MOTHER MYSTERY, ME: Outward realities coming to symbolize internal being

MOTHER CREATOR, MOTHER MYSTERY, ME. This image comprises four stages in my life (maybe more). The background is Chinese language homework from the 1980's when I was in my twenties. The snake imagery began developing in my late twenties and early thirties because of transformational dreams I was having. These dreams were the impetus that took my creative expression from writing poetry to expressing the metaphors into visual images. Then in my forties when I began my travels in Australia (a total of five months), I imbibed with great thirst the snake imagery in the creation myths of the people indigenous to that continent. And in my fifties, the influx of female students from the Middle East began to attend classes at the Language Institute where I taught English. These women dressed in hijabs became symbols for the mystery I had yet to explore in my life. Today, I am combining all of these symbols together in one image. What does it mean to me? (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for ACTS OF CREATION! Hallelujah for the MOTHERS in our lives and for how they cared and nurtured us to adulthood. Hallelujah for the way in which outward realities become internal symbols...eternally....

MOTHER CREATOR AND ME. I am represented by the four-petalled flower, a mystery in itself. More shall be explored about the four-petalled flower in future blog posts. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

SHE, EARTH SNAKE, uncoiled, stretching, opening her body. Sweet water seeped into the spaces between her long sinewy flesh. SHE brought rain. SHE brought the rhythm of life—stirred the wind, started the tides and currents. SHE holds the climates and seasons in her tail…(see the source of my poetry below).

MOTHER MYSTERY. Open hands receiving the unknown, Mother Mystery is fearless. She says with her eyes, "Trust ME." (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

All events, in their passing leave traces…

Those experiences we have in our lives are there waiting to be reviewed, transformed, released, shared....

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me about your MOTHER and what you internalized about the eternal. What will you transform, release and share?

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: (SOURCES)  Information about the Australian Aboriginal creation story about the Rainbow Serpent was found in the book, Yorro Yorro: Everything Standing Up Alive, by Mowaljarlai and Jutta Malnic.  This quote about "all events" was a part of the 1993 Chris Handran’s essay for Susan Faraday’s “Remember Me,” an installation at the Institute for Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia, 2001-2002)

MOTHER'S STORY: You are not alone! Listen and hear the footsteps in the rain

ACKNOWLEDGING THE MOTHER.  When I am feeling despair, I realize that I need to summon the MOTHER IN ME. Here I have borrowed an image on a pendant that my husband brought me back from New Mexico when we were considering moving there. I love how much my husband understands my relationship with the FEMININE and selected the pewter pendant made by artist Alice Warder Seely. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for the GREAT MOTHER. We are not alone pilgrims! 

The idea of MOTHER is with me at this moment for several reasons. Let me share with you why I have drawn this image today and am writing about the nurturing HER in our lives.

First of all, I am struggling with something I can only call "angst." And when I have these feelings of worry, I have a regimen of behaviors that I enact. One is reaching for "totems" that bring me peace and remind me of universal truths. So, this morning when I knew that I was in need of MOTHERING, I reached for the pendant of the MOTHER, that my sweet husband, Tony Martin, brought me from New Mexico. It is made by Alice Warder Seely, who has a mixed Indian, Spanish and Anglo heritage.
 

MOTHER'S STORY.  Alice Warder Seely writes: "You are not alone! Listen and hear the footsteps in the rain. It is your mother and sisters coming to share your songs, and tell your mother's story." I love it that Tony picked this out for me and find it very comforting to wear as I search for my songs to sing and my sisters to sing with.

Then as I make connections with InterPlay, I am meeting different InterPlay leaders. One InterPlay leader that I have recently friended on Facebook is Sheila Collins. Having done that, I became aware of her newly published book, Warrior Mother, which is a narrative about her journey assisting her two adult children as they died with AIDS and then breast cancer. Here is a video about Warrior Mother.

 
I do not have children. What do I know about MOTHERING? For those of you who know me, you are familiar with my drawings the MOTHER IN ME (here is one blog and drawing). However, I keep circling around this theme of the MOTHER and NURTURANCE developing this immense universal love. I can learn  even  more from Sheila Collins and her "fierce love" and use of ritual. Read her book to see how she cultivated the GREAT MOTHER in herself in community with friends and family.

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and share your MOTHERING stories. What do you do when you need to nurture yourself? Any other book ideas?

DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM ALICE WARDER SEELY.  While reflecting on Alice's work, I did not attempt to copy her image exactly but enjoyed drawing the two connected figures in the expanding universe. We need to connect with this universal love that is a part of our nature. Within ourselves is the universe of the MOTHER. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

 

AUGUST MOON 2013 (Day #4): "Mother" has been my guiding word for 2013 and it has been fruitful!

REACHING MOTHER. My guiding word for 2013 has been MOTHER. I created this "Reaching Mother" image in December for my response to the Reverb 2012 prompt looking forward to 2013. MOTHER...has it been working for me?(art by Hallelujah Truth)

AUGUST MOON 2013 (DAY #4) PROMPT: 

What word did you choose as your traveling companion in 2013? How is it working for you? Where have the surprises been?

If you didn’t choose a guiding word, what word sums up your year so far? And why? --from Kat and Meredith

Dear Readers, I chose a word as a traveling companion for 2013. It was

MOTHER!

And here is an excerpt from the blog entry I wrote about my intentionality around this guiding word MOTHER.

THE WORD "MOTHER" AS A TRAVELING COMPANION FOR 2013

"So, for 2013, I am joyfully cultivating the MOTHER in me, and will MOTHER IT UP in the following ways:
First of all, I will MOTHER the NOW, holding present time close like a baby and attending to its ever present burps and gurgles.


I will MOTHER my ART SPIRIT, lovingly tending to its flame, daily feeding it fuel until it bursts into fireworks like the Fourth of July and tenderly putting it to bed each night in a warm bed of ashes for rest.
 
I will MOTHER my BODY listening to its needs, moving when my muscles need to be flexed and lengthened, laughing when my vocal chords need to vibrate, eating healthful foods to ignite the brain and flesh, and maintaining sleep cycles in accordance with the Earth's revolution to experience rebirth each day at Sunrise.


 
I will MOTHER the PLAYFUL GIRL in me that loves to run fast and ride bicycles, lie down under the trees in the park and feel the Earth beneath me,  compete in board games and tennis and have decadent luscious tea parties with friends.
 
I will MOTHER the WOUNDED CHILD in me, listening to her hurts and saying "OUCH" in unison with her as we gently rock together for comfort.
 
...and by BEING MOTHER to MYSELF first, I will heal wounds, nurture strength, foster joy, and deepen in experience in understanding and compassion. Thus making it possible in the future to be PRESENT to MOTHERING."
 
AUGUST MOON 2013--HAVE I BEEN MOTHERING IT UP IN THE PAST 8 MONTHS?
Applause! Joyful Hallelujahs! YES. YES. YES. Dear Reader and Fellow Pilgrim, let me share the success of my intentionality with you! MOTHERING the child in me took me to the following places: 

• Mulberry Fields in Candler Park, Atlanta, to plant my own tomatoes 
• Atlanta Beltline to walk, ride bikes, see art, and talk with friends
• Dance Church, Decatur, to move creatively with my community
• Five Rhythms to dance waves Gabrielle Roth style
• Dancing Flowers for Peace, to share movement with women dancing their convictions
• St. Catherine's Island, Georgia, to track alligators, raccoons, and ghost crabs
• Istanbul, Turkey, to experience the culture many of my international students have told me about

One of the most important issues I addressed concerned my inner child. My inner child ached to move and play, and because of my intentionality (MOTHERING) I discovered InterPlay, a joyful way of being, moving, speaking, and interacting with others. My MOTHER took me on a journey and in the past months, I have found new amazing friends through InterPlay. Hurray for Atlanta's Jennifer Denning and for the co-founders of InterPlay, Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil Porter!

There is so much more to say and share about what MOTHERING myself has done for me, but let it suffice for now to express my surprise.

ATLANTA INTERPLAY. Today (August 24th), we had the Atlanta InterPlay, led by Jennifer Denning, who is moving behind me. In this activity, we had the opportunity to move in threes and be "witnessed." My loving spouse, the brilliant Tony Martin, accompanied me, played, and took this photo. Thank you! (photo by Tony Martin)

WHERE HAVE THE SURPRISES BEEN?
The major surprise has been in the magic of intentionality! I created the intention of MOTHERING myself and focusing on how to develop and apply this nurturing skill to myself.


To develop the intentionality, I wrote about a blog entry about MOTHERING. I also had my paper calendar have the word "MOTHER" printed on its cover as a reminder. Now, I am reviewing the results of my intentionality 8 months later. And I am surprised at the magical quality my life has taken on by being MOTHER and CHILD simultaneously.

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what word has guided you for 2013 and how it has served you! If you haven't had a word to guide you, what would you choose now and why?

I REACHED and now I HOLD!

#REVERB12 (Day 29): What word will you choose to guide you through 2013? MOTHER!

DREAMING MOTHER (art by Hallelujah Truth)

#REVERB12 (Day 29) PROMPT: What word will you choose to guide you through 2013? What do you hope it will bring into your life?

Hallelujah for mile markers, anniversaries, counting the revolutions of the Earth around the Sun, and other various ways of measuring and honoring our time on this glorious planet! 

Hallelujah for acknowledging the emergence of a new year with its promising bundle of hopes, plans, and dreams to be fulfilled in 2013. The guiding word I have selected for my journey this year is MOTHER. 

The cycle of life for we women folk is tri-fold: MAIDEN, MOTHER, and CRONE.  I lingered in maidenhood for more than four decades (marrying at the age of 46), and when I turned 50, without ever having given physical birth, I attempted to jump into being a CRONE....