THE ELEGANCE EQUATION OF OUR LIVES: What is it for you--addition, subtraction, division, etc...?

WHAT IS ELEGANCE? When I was playing tennis regularly with graduate students and faculty in the Auburn University Math Department back in the 80's, I learned about the word "elegance." An idea or concept becomes elegant when it is explained in such a concise way that it illustrates a beautiful sublimeness. I like to think that my images of THE GREAT MYSTERY are elegant, embodying my experience with real women in hijabs and burkas from the Middle East and demonstrating all that I don't know about their lives and LIFE at LARGE. (art by Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter)

Hallelujah for the MYRIAD WAYS of viewing our lives! At the grand old age of 54, almost 55, I am just beginning to understand that there are multiple perspectives with which to view my life and to direct its course. 

Forget the limitations of that two-sided life equation that your perspective is either negatively DARK or optimistically BRIGHT! That equation is decidedly inelegant. Instead, I think we should all DO THE MATH and see what EQUATIONS we can formulate for our OWN LIVES....

THE PINK EQUATION. Why have I photoshopped all of these images into PINK? Because I can! And it was fun. I choose to be the ultimate controller of my work--even if you dear Pilgrim, tell me you don't like what I have done with my art. And...PINK...well it represents FREEDOM to me. Let me explain.

Coming of age in the 70's was challenging for those of us who were trying to comprehend what feminism was and how to live our lives accordingly. We had been raised by traditional parents who unknowingly perpetuated a stifling patriarchy for their daughters. We dated men who diminished "girlie" things--among them--the color pink. 

I had one friend, who when she divorced her macho, sexist, inconsiderate husband, painted the walls of her home pink and dressed in that same color until healing occurred at a later date. 

Today, pink still represents a decidedly bold statement--I AM ALL GIRL! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

WHAT IS THE ELEGANCE EQUATION FOR YOUR LIFE?

Right now, for me, Hallelujah Truth, I am in my prime like The Prime of Miss Jean Brody! Did you ever see that movie with Maggie Smith? Her character, Miss Jean Brody, an aging school teacher, keeps repeating, "I'm in the prime of my life," at least that's what I remember (I just discovered that the movie was based on the novel of the same name by Scottish author Muriel Sparks. She makes some decisions that don't work in her favor, but she was BRAVE, living her LIFE EQUATION as elegantly as she knew how, nonetheless. 

Now, I am there, the PRIME of MY LIFE, and I, like you (and Jean Brody), can determine my LIFE'S EQUATION and how to live ELEGANTLY in the process of choosing, executing, and being in that EQUATION. I have the following questions:

Do I SUBTRACT? Leave my current job teaching English as a Second Language (ESL)at Georgia Tech?

Do I ADD? Take courses with The Coaches Training Institute and learn how to be a life/creativity coach? In addition to teaching ESL?

Do I DIVIDE? Reduce my teaching load at GT even more and slowly acquire the training I need to begin a profession in Life Coaching?

What EQUATION configures my LIFE AS AN ART MAKER? BLOGGER? WIFE OF A SCIENTIST AND COLLABORATOR? SCIENCE ADVOCATE? CHILDREN'S BOOK MAKER? EXPLORER OF THE SOUL?

THE ELEGANT PINK EQUATION.  I am happy to post these images of THE GREAT MYSTERY here today. It thrills me to see the images transported from their original colors to PINK. I shed judgment. I play in pink. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

I don't know the NEW EQUATION that I need to create to joyously BE in my life, right now. But I am asking the BIG QUESTIONS: 

What is meaningful to me? 
What makes me happy? 
What works well with the life I share with my Chiboogamoo? 
What stretches me and ensures I keep growing? 
And, yes, how can I make money to contribute to my loving household?

For now, I will bid you adieu. It is a Sunday morning here in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and time to venture out in the overcast day to see what ARTMAKING I can drum up. I ask this of you dear PILGRIMS, FELLOW SOJOURNERS--What is the equation of your life? 

THE NOW OF THE PINK ELEGANCE EQUATION. In each of these images, there is a star or object to the right of THE GREAT MYSTERY. That star symbolizes the NOW. NOW is the place I want to BE. There I am not GOOD, not BAD, just IS. IS-NESS! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

SOUL BLOG with me here at Coffee with Hallelujah! 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks to Lesly Fredman, my steadfast creativity coach, who asked me the question about the "elegance equation." 

#REVERB12 (Day 23): What excuses are holding you back? LOVE OF POWER!

THE POWER OF LOVE! I am a SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIM in search of MYSELF, the NOW, and PEACE. My dear friend, Lisa Graye, lovingly insisted that I visit The Sacred Space, during a visit with her in Santa Barbara, California. This photo was taken there by me.

#REVERB12 (Day 23)PROMPT: Name three excuses -- stories you tell yourself that are holding you back -- that you are going to let go of in 2013.

Hallelujah for an opportunity to revel in EXCUSES! As a spiritual art pilgrim journeying joyfully, I primarily focus on the practice of positive imaginative thinking. Yet there is an important place in our lives for acknowledging and naming the EXCUSES that anchor us to OLD WAYS OF BEING.

In this vast universe, I am searching for ME, the NOW of EXISTENCE, and PEACE. What are my stories or excuses that keep me from achieving this SACRED SPACE? Let's look at three of them...

FLOWER POWER MOUTH: JOURNEYING INTO AUTHENTICALLY SAYING WHAT I WANT !

FLOWER POWER MOUTH (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah FELLOW PILGRIMS! Hallelujah for our INDIVIDUALITY and SAYING what we BELIEVE! Is that an easy process--SPEAKING HEART? HA-HA-HO-HO-HO (see more about Laughter Yoga)! I belly laugh, not mockingly, but with an appreciation for the challenge of speaking authentically. I am especially interested in what occurs in the JOURNEY of SPOKEN HEART--how one step leads to another step, and all of those steps accumulate into a distance deeper into SELF and an outward communication of that SELF to the WORLD!

COMMUNICATING SELF. Speaking from my belly--MIND and SOUL united!

In order to CREATE a pathway for my FLOWER POWER MOUTH JOURNEY, I have created a goal with the aide of my dear friend and creativity coach, Lesly Fredman. My chosen goal for myself right now is SOFTENING. In my quest to establish my own unique voice, I have long been curious about how to cultivate a deeper voice, a belly voice, one that resonates with ALL MY BEING! Years of recording my voice as an interviewer and then language instructor has made me very well aware of my high pitch strained voice. 


Along with Lesly's guidance I am having fun SOFTENING my shoulders, letting them fall down gracefully, departing from the heights where they are well acquainted with my ears! Breathing from the belly challenges all manner of my BEING! I want to lift my shoulders--instead, I am coached to hold my stomach and to let the gentler rise and fall of my abdomen BE the LIFE FORCE that informs my voice. Simultaneously, I am lengthening my body horizontally, with my shoulders expanding. It is there at my CENTER, that I have succeeded in creating a WELCOMING SPACE from which my deeper more AUTHENTIC voice can be generated!

IN MY BELLY. As I soften, relaxing into my being, I find a CREATIVE SPIRIT, both familiar and unknown.

So dear SOJOURNER, I am reorganizing my body and becoming more aware how my body communicates. I love that my SOUL "work" is to relax, soften, and stretch! I am expecting a SOUL SHIFT and then other exciting events and exchanges to occur! One step, leads to another, and the JOURNEY of the SOUL is so exciting! 


SOUL BLOG with me Hallelujah Truth, and tell me about your VOICE! Where are you on your journey of speaking authentically and from your belly? 

REVERB10: ELIMINATING 11 FALLEN ANGELS INTENT ON KILLING THE SPIRIT

In response to the Reverb10 prompt for today, Hallelujah is evaluating how to eliminate 11 unneeded and uninvited SABOTEURS of her CREATIVE SPIRIT for 2011.Since these saboteurs, which I call my “fallen angels,” are close acquaintances of mine, I know them by name. Let me introduce you to a few salient features of their killing natures and tell you my plan for ridding my life of them:

#1 DOUBTING THOMASINA—I would like to eliminate the sweet voice of DOUBTING THOMASINA, who dresses in a red-hot tutu and pirouettes while whispering in an embarrassing manner questions like, “Is this really good enough?” and “Don’t you think you need more experience to do this?” ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Duck tape her mouth closed.

#2 FAILURE PREDICTOR—Who invited “Mr. Judicious” to my home and heart anyway? Clothed in long black robes with a devil tail sticking out of it and sporting a long white wig, he attempts to warn of the negative consequences of ANY action I might take—“It will not succeed,” he utters, lowering his head and nodding from side to side with great concern. ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Disrobe him and reveal his chicken legs. Cook him for dinner.

#3 DREAM ASSASINATOR—This fallen angel, an expert archer, is swathed with 2 or 3 quivers filled with poison arrows. I am the bulls-eye of his target practice. He pierces each dream as if it were an apple sitting atop my head! ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Snip the string on his bow.

#4 LAZY BONES—Miss LAZY BONES, if she has any skeletal structure at all, never leaves the red velvet couch in front of the Lake of Contemplation. “You can exercise tomorrow,” she sighs. ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Set her couch on fire.

#5 LOVE TREPIDATOR—Multiple broken bones mending in various casts cause the LOVE TREPIDATOR to be immobile. “Loving others causes REAL damage,” he explains. “Best not to LOVE. No one can be trusted.” ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Clip off the casts to show healed bones ready for tennis or horseback riding lessons.

#6 CREATIVITY BRAKES—Yelling “STOP,” this tan fallen angel, clad in a moo-moo and flip-flops, comes equipped with a hula hoop! Seductively, she me pulls into the circle of her hula and attempts to engage me in a repetitive circular dance, from which there is no release! Over and over again, we DO the SAME thing! ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Exclaim that her “hula hoop” is really just a beautiful hologram—an illusion, that’s all. Step away!

#7 QUIBBLER—Looking like anyone’s little sister, Quibbler wants to discuss the appropriate use of acrylics, and then move on to debate the absence of perspective and light in my painting. She delights in evading the important issues of MY HEART and VISION by focusing on trivial matters such as technique! ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Take that old cardboard refrigerator box and put it over her. Turn her into a robot which loves to clean paintbrushes and clean up my work space.

#8 WELL-MEANING REPAIRMAN—I really want to give up this stumbling, bumbling well-intending fallen angel! The REPAIRMEN, insists on “fixing” things that can’t and won’t EVER be whole again. Hasn’t he heard of Humpty-Dumpty? “Keep trying,” he pleads. “It will eventually work again….” ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Find him a girlfriend, who loves him as he is. He will put up a sign, “NO REPAIRS NECESSARY—GONE ON VACATION, PERMANENTLY.”

#9 UNINITIATED NOVICE—Of course the lack of BEING initiated into the “secrets” of being a SUCCESSFUL CREATIVE makes this fallen angel completely GREEN in appearance. “I’m just a beginner,” she says humbly. “Who me?” she queries. “I’m not THERE yet.” Wherever there is! ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Hold a secret ceremony to welcome the NOVICE into the REALM OF EXPERIENCE. It will involve black licorice and gardenias.

#10 UNILATERALIST—This political fallen angel advocates one-sided creative action. Running around like Henny Penny warning everyone that disaster is imminent because the sky is falling, the UNILATERALIST sees only ONE WAY to DO things. ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Throw an elaborate party with the theme song, “The SKY is FALLING” and have all the party goers dance together jubilantly catching the sky repeatedly—each time differently.

#11 MANIFESTATION DISBELIEVER—A wolf disguised in Red Riding Hood’s cape, this fallen angel leads you into the dark enchanted forest and EATS YOU ALIVE. His message is the opposite of dream fulfillment--he proclaims that the unknown is frightening and ultimately fatal. ELIMINATION TECHNIQUE: Have him get audited. He’ll never leave his den again.

RESULTS: How will my life be different because of the elimination of these 11 killing saboteurs? First, I must engage in outright war. I suspect I will learn a lot, gain momentum in my creativity and make new friends along the way! This PURSUIT gives my life meaning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: I would like to thank REVERB10 for giving me the chance to think about my saboteurs. I wouldn’t have been able to name them without the help of Lesly Fredman, CREATIVITY COACH extraordinaire, who has been asking me to name my saboteurs. Thanks go to my Chiboogamoo who listened to my ideas this morning as I composed December 11’s response (Check out his blog entry on Australian paleontology that he has been writing this morning.)

REQUEST: Gentle Reader, can you share your SABOTEURS with me? How will you manage them? Hallelujah wants to learn about you!

JOYFULLY CREATING WITH THE EASE OF A CAT NAPPING: THE RESULT OF CREATIVITY COACHING

What is creativity coaching? Imagine the Dementers in Harry Potter. Dark cloaked figures arrive flying from the sky’s horizon, materializing out of another dimension, something like the Wicked Witch of the West but without a broomstick.  The atmosphere becomes embroiled with a sad heaviness as they hover over their human targets. Then ALL THAT IS PRECIOUS in LIFE is SUCKED OUT of the frail mortals who are left empty human shells incapable of experiencing joy or thought evermore.

Now IMAGINE the opposite—and you have CREATIVITY COACHING. My creativity coach, Lesly Fredman, is more like Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell with the ferocious intuition and intellect of Lily Tomlin, a whale and Leonard Cohen. Often appearing around Metro Atlanta as a SUNFLOWER in the “Dancing Flowers for Peace,” my CREATIVITY COACH follows the THRILLING LIFE FORCE, much in the same way that the sunflower moves synchronously with the sun’s position throughout the day.

(Lesly posing with old work of mine at a Christmas "Hot Grog" sale at her house in 2008. Before creativity coaching, I only worked on wood or found materials from the street. I used only acrylic and latex paints--generally gathered from the curb on garbage day. Since then, I have experimented with a variety of other media, finding my intense love for watercolor pencils shown in my work here on this blog.)

Okay, what would a mortal do with a CREATIVITY COACH? Let’s start with a simple act of imagination. CREATE a list of ALL that you HUNGER to DO to BE to EXPERIENCE to REALIZE—This is the list of YOUR ESSENCE (the kind that the Harry Potter Dementers want to suck out of you and that often remains IN you like an unlit fire!). With the assistance of the CREATIVITY COACH, you might do any of the following imaginative acts:

 1) DANCE each item on your DREAM list, experiencing and savoring each DREAM, bringing it into your body’s muscles, bones, and breath.

 2) PRETEND you are someone else interviewing the REALIZED YOU and finding out the ways you BECAME the DREAM YOU.

 3) PAINT (especially if you are a visual artist like me) aspects of what BEING in this NEW REALITY looks like.

 4) WRITE an “Exquisite Corpse” poem, teasing out fluid verbal images of YOUNESS.

(You have read earlier blogs about the death of my friend, artist colleague, and fellow pilgrim Sally Wylde. In the days following her death, I honored her in my daily creative meditations. I allowed her to be present in the unknown with DEATH. I trusted that together we would find a new way of being in DEATH.)

(The days following Sally's death, I drew each morning, holding the thought of her pilgrimage in the unknown terrain of death and without flesh. I was happy when I began envisioning her physical body returning to the earth.)

 Well, you get the idea. The CREATIVE ACTIVITIES are as INFINITE as the IMAGINATION. Live in the PRESENT and the thoughts and actions that you have and do become NEW WAYS of BEING. My Creativity Coach calls her business “PRESENCE.” We start a session by my answering the question, “What is going on with you right now?” Asked calmly, this question elicits a sweet hushness. We both lean into me to listen to my heart beat, my breath, to determine who I am now….

(We are readying for Sally's memorial service here in Decatur. Her death is with me. Mourning takes time. Sally will be a part of me in the many transformations of her PILGRIMAGE. This painting with death hovering around me is unfinished.)

This method of BEING PRESENT heals and rejuvenates. We, the CREATIVITY COACH and I, begin with WHO I AM--now. No past narratives and no whining about past periods of inactivity. We “light” the fire of Hallelujah. Even thoughLesly is sitting across the table from me, our meeting has the heightened feeling of ME being a performer on a theatrical stage. Didn’t Shakespeare write that all the world is a stage and we are all actors upon it? How FUN to get to TRY NEW WAYS OF BEING ON like a character in a play! Lesly gently directs ME with the skill of an experienced theater director. In fact, Lesly seems to me a most unique CREATIVITY COACH, having managed and been the artistic director of Theatre on the Prowl for almost 25 years.

 After working with Lesly for three years, I am here to tell you that our IMAGINATIONS CREATE REALITY. In our creative work together, I have started my own business, RuthTruth Art; created a new persona—Hallelujah; generated a blog, “Coffee with Hallelujah,” which integrates my creative process with my visual art; signed the lease for a studio at Sycamore Gallery to do collaborative work with my husband, Tony Martin, a paleontologist; given birth to the “Art Factory,” with Robey Tapp and Sally Wylde (who envisioned this art collective) and together completed a year’s art program with adolescent teenage refugees at Global Village School in Decatur. Believe me, there is much more that our creativity coaching has given birth to.  That is the subject of future blogs!

My journey has been both light and dark, buoyant and treacherous--I have been willing to open all of these doors because I am dedicated to being present to my AUTHENTIC SELF, and because of Lesly (and my Chigoogamoo)--I have not been alone!

 What is CREATIVITY COACHING? For me, it is doing my LIFE’S WORK with the JOYFUL EASE of a cat napping! I am happily experiencing every inch of my BEING! Thank you Lesly Fredman, CREATIVITY COACH EXTRAORDINAIRE!

 Hallelujah wants to hear from YOU, FELLOW PILGRIMS! Tell her about your AUTHENTIC SELF. Soul blog with Hallelujah!