PILGRIMAGE: What is it we want to know during the course of our lives?

MY GOOD SHIP PILGRIM.  Yes to the journey! My good ship PILGRIM arrived at my door this morning. It asked me to draw and then to paint to see what I might discover about the NOW of my situation. So here is my story for the NOW. Mother Mystery, on the bottom right of this image, appears to be waving me good-bye, or is she reaching for me? Why is the Bogey Man, representing the scarey side of the unknown stepping on her? My animus-- symbolized by the Wandjina at the center bottom--is either resting or recovering.  Wallaby in the upper right corner is watching me instead of providing comfort as she usually does. My two kitties want to come along on the adventure. Leaving my job of almost 2 decades has given me the opportunity to climb aboard the PILGRIM. What do I want to learn from this journey. What is it I want to know? (art by Hallelujah Truth)

What is it we want to know? What is it we want to learn during the course of our lives? I don't know. Do you?
For now, I am practicing saying, "Yes." I will climb aboard the PILGRIM enjoy the ride. For NOW, I am declaring that CURIOSITY is my state of BEING and course of ACTION. How perfect to bring along two curious cats!

That's Coffee with Hallelujah. SOUL BLOG with me. Tell me what it is you want to discover and learn on your life's journey.

BALLOONING ACROSS MENTAL LANDSCAPES: Novelty of travel in Cappadocia provides different terrains

BALLOONING ACROSS CAPPADOCIAN LANDSCAPE. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for perspective and for viewing our lives in a myriad of ways! Hallelujah for the foreign terrain that we confront both willingly and unwillingly as we venture forth courageously in what is ours to claim and proclaim!

BALLOONS ARISING AT DAWN IN CAPPADOCIA. (photo by Tony Martin)

CAPPADOCIAN ALIEN (photo by Tony Martin)

In June 2013 during our visit to Turkey, my darling Chiboogamoo (aka Tony Martin) and I were awakened every morning around 4:00 AM by the Muslim call to prayer. It was no different in Goreme. The plaintive voice echoing over the tips of Cappadocian hills made of sand-colored tuff caused Chiboogamoo to climb out of bed, grab his camera, and capture the hot air balloon adventurers rising along with the sun over the transfixing landscape that has been so terrifically altered by nature and humans over the centuries (see my previous blog on Cappadocia).

ALTERED PERSPECTIVES. Seeing is a way of BEING. For me, traveling is such a wonderful privilege. To have the opportunity to see such a foreign or "alien" terrain as the one that Cappadocia offers is life altering. Perhaps the change is not in the dramatic fashion that one witnesses in Hollywood movies, but the alteration is subtle and profound. Alien-scapes are ALTARS for celebrating the SOUL! I now "own" this Cappadocian terrain in my mind, heart, and body, thus making it available for SYMBOLIC use to understand the intangible!  (art by Hallelujah Truth)

DRIFTING THOUGHT (photo by Tony Martin)

What is the function of BEING AN ALIEN--or a stranger in a strange land? We access new thoughts, and like these Cappadocian hot air balloons, they float through our consciousness into a memory, a thought, a new symbol. Symbols embody meaning that is difficult to access if you have limited worldly experience. Therefore flying in high above or trekking through rocky Turkish landscapes in searing heat under blue skies anchors our perceptions to the concrete experiential senses.


SEEING old symbols in new contexts also enlivens! I have long been an admirer of the "evil eye," an amulet that protects its owner from misfortune.  Yet to the Cappadocian landscape through a tree draped in evil eye amulets thrilled me! I started seeing multiple hot air balloons drifting in a mini-Cappadocian landscape. I envisioned my thoughts drifting away like hot air balloons with the evil eye on each one!

EVIL EYE CAPPADOCIAN LANDSCAPE.  (photo by Tony Martin)

TRANSPORTING THOUGHT. I, Hallelujah Truth, always start with the familiar, wherever I am, no matter what environment I inhabit. I begin with what I know in order to bridge the "difference" and what is "alien." Here is the SYMBOL I use to represent the masculine energy in my psyche. I love it that he wanted to ride in the carriage of the hot air balloon decorated with the visage of Hallelujah Truth! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

THE ORDINARY BECOMING THE PROFOUND. As each hot air balloon rose over the Cappadocian landscape, I felt a thrill run up and down my spine! Thought rising, another thought rising, releasing, moving, hovering over for me to view. These hot air balloons were just like meditation.Yet, it was alsofun to imagine the perspectives that the balloon riders were having as they rode in their individual balloons. Did they perceive me and Chiboogamoo photographing them? (photo by Tony Martin)

CAVE CHURCH ART.  I cannot help but make the connection of the hot air balloons in the Cappadocian sky to the heads of these saints as portrayed on the walls of the Cappadocian caves. Do you? (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

WHITE HAIRED JESUS. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

MORE DRIFTING THOUGHT (photo by Tony Martin)

SOUL PILGRIMS BALLOONING ACROSS ALIEN LANDSCAPE (art by Hallelujah Truth)

 

 

 

HALLELUJAH TRUTH wearing evil eyes! (photo by Tom Meyers)

Dear readers! Dear fellow SOUL PILGRIMS! That is Coffee with Hallelujah! Soul blog with me and tell me what your experiences are of journeying in alien-scapes, watching your thoughts with new perspectives, and wondering about other people's perspectives. My Chiboogamoo and I did not ride in a hot air balloon, primarily because of the expense, but we also felt we didn't need the actual experience of riding in a hot air balloon. Our imaginations are that rich! How about yours? Would you ride in the balloon?

ENSOULED LANDSCAPE: Cappadocia, Turkey invites IMAGINATION and engagement of the SPIRIT

LANDSCAPE ALTERED BY HUMANS (art by Hallelujah Truth 2013)

Hallelujah for this beautiful fascinating EARTH! Hallelujah for the country of Turkey and all of its WONDERS--especially CAPPADOCIA!

CAPPADOCIA CAVE HOUSES. (photo by Tony Martin 2013)

In my previous blog entries about Turkey, I sang praises of the Blue Mosque, Gallata Bridge, and Aya Sofya, which are all magnificent human made architectural structures. In this blog entry, I am celebrating the magical geological structures altered by the denizens of Cappadocia over centuries of inhabiting this fantastical landscape.

INHABITING THE CAPPADOCIAN LANDSCAPE. Here I am! Hallelujah Truth inhabiting the Cappadocian landscape! For those readers familiar with my art, Hallelujah Truth (pictured at the bottom of this image) represents multiple ideas. Her skirt represents geological strata, which in turn symbolizes to me deep geological time and my participation in that deep time. The red dots on Hallelujah Truth's blouse stand for ephemeral "energy" of being human and our life's blood. The crown of flowers is a "diadem," a holy crown representative of that intangible "spirit" which is difficult to comprehend. The black and white figure sprouting from my shoulder is my depiction of Wandjina, an Aboriginal creation god. I allow Wandjina to represent my "animus," or masculine part of my psyche. The animal stretched out in my lap is a wallaby and is present to hold my vulnerability in all of its manifestations. So! Drawing Hallelujah Truth at the foot of the Cappadocian mystical cave structures was a must! These light colored hills and towers with their dark openings seemed to resonate with the philosophy of Hallelujah Truth...human spirit engaged with deep geologic time!  (art by Hallelujah Truth 2013)

INVITING MYSTERY.  Who among us would not want to wander down this path and peer into the doorway? What is there? (photo by Tony Martin 2013)

In Cappadocia, natural landscape and human imagination intersect. Many small towns make up the region of Cappadocia, and my Chiboogamoo and I stayed in the town of Goreme in the Sultan Cave Hotel, and yes our room was carved out of one these wonderful rock formations!

The proprietor of our hotel suggested that our first act of tourism in Cappadocia be visiting the Open-Air Museum, which functioned as a Byzantine monastery and then became a destination for pilgrims in the 17th Century (thank you Lonely Planet). After walking down the hill from our hotel for 15 minutes and then up another hill for 15 minutes under a penetrating desert sun, passing a hotel with a swimming pool, a colorful souvenir market at the car park, and a proprietor offering camel rides, we arrived at this Turkish World heritage site.

TRIBUTE TO MARY.  Religious art graced many of the caves and ranged from extremely sophisticated to primitive. Much of the art had been defaced over time as religions changed in the region. In many of the caves, tourists were asked not to take photographs. In my art, I included Mary, mother of Jesus, in the the landscape to honor the feminine spirit of creation. In addition, having seen numerous women in hijabs and burkas, I was envisioning women every where in the Cappadocian landscape! (art by Hallelujah Truth 2013)

CONTRASTS. What is so inviting about stark contrasts? Why is it that we long to climb through holes, either entering from light in to darkness or the reverse? (photo by Tony Martin 2013)

The acts of scurrying up and down these hills and climbing into the caves, stooping to peer into other caves, standing at the nave of churches and studying faces of saints and Jesus looking down at us submerged both my Chiboogamoo and I deep into history, geology, and the quest of expressing the spirit. 

Tiring from the blazing sun, I rested outside of one of the caves as my husband ascended yet another long stairway to access it. As I lounged on a rock under an apricot tree, the breeze gently shook the branches overhead and ripe fruit gently landed in my lap and around my feet. I was struck by the stark contrast of experiencing NOW in relation to DEEP TIME as I dusted off an apricot and bit into it, juice running over my fingers and down my chin.

These geologic formations that have been so altered by human history were formed more than 30 million years ago by volcanic eruptions. The volcanic ash that hardened over time and became what is called "tuff" by geolgists was soft enough to be carved out by rivers gushing through the valleys and rain. Then humans (the Hittites) began to alter this tuff as early as 1800 BC. 

The Cappadocian landscape is continuing to be altered today by humans as tourism is on the rise and adventurers seek the novelty that this central region of Turkey provides. That is Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what you think of these fantastical geological structures and my creative response to them. Will your travels bring you to Goreme?

CONTEMPLATION OF CAPPADOCIA #1. (photo by Tony Martin 2013)

CONTEMPLATION OF CAPPADOCIA #2. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

PANORAMA OF GOREME. You can view the fantastical landscape from where we stayed at the Sultan Cave Hotel in Goreme. It was a magical place to be. Everyone in this region was friendly and helpful. (photo by Tony Martin)

ENSOULED LANDSCAPE! Hallelujah for travel and experiencing the energy of foreign geology and people! For me, Cappadocia is an "ensouled" landscape. (art by Hallelujah Truth 2013)

ART MAKING: THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CREATING, WE LEARN TO KNOW OURSELVES

SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH. Dear Pilgrims! Where do we begin if we want to find the TRUTH that resides in our selves? In this image, I am holding the book of TRUTH (Yes, I AM the rabbit in the polka-dotted swimsuit!). As an artist, I have made the intangible, tangible in this drawing. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Part of THE DAILY CREATIVE PRACTICE for me is to begin something. To get started by putting pen to paper. All that follows is up for grabs--revision, completion, celebration, elaboration, interpretation.... But I can't do any of those acts without BEGINNING!

IN THE BEGINNING IS THE DRAWING. Repetitive in theme, size of paper, and micron pen. Discovery? Holding the book of TRUTH! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Last summer (2012) , AUSTIN KLEON's book, Steal Like an Artist, was published, and he enlightened us about "10 things nobody told you about being creative." Here  is how chapter 2 (Don’t Wait Until You Know Who You Are To Get Started) begins:

“If I’d waited to know who I was or what I was about before I started ‘being creative,’ well I’d be sitting around trying to figure myself out instead of making things. In my experience, it’s in the act of making things an doing our work that we figure out who we are.”

“You’re ready. Start making stuff.”

PLAYING WITH PHOTOSHOP. I am convinced that it is through the process of creating or doing that we get to know ourselves. Now, a part of my process is seeing what happens when I "wash" my image in photoshop. I can invert the color, posterize the image, and a whole lot more. The process of playing with my image in photoshop helps me think about new ways to draw and use color for the original image. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

How about you fellow pilgrim? How do you find the TRUTH of yourself? What action will you take today to discover who you are? What creative process can you engage in and SOUL BLOG with me about!

That's Coffee with Hallelujah!

#REVERB12 (DAY 9): What was the best book you read in 2012 and why?

JOURNEY OF THE ARTIST.
(art by Teju Behan, photos by Hallelujah Truth)

#REVERB12 (Day 9) PROMPT: 
What was the best book you read in 2012, and why? (And by "Why?" I mean: Why did you read it? And why was it your favourite? Although these answers could be one and the same...!)

For 2012, I have chosen Teju Behan’s book, Drawing from the City.  This mesmerizing silk-screen printed, hand bound book printed on handmade paper contains rich black-and-white drawings of Teju Behan’s JOURNEY from her impoverished childhood to her enriched life as an ARTIST.

DRAWING FROM THE CITY, by Teju Behan. 

BLOGTOBERFEST12 (DAY #26): HOW CAN YOU INFUSE YOUR BLOG WITH MORE OF YOUR MAGNIFICENT SELF?

MY MAGNIFICENT SELF!

Hallelujah for the CHALLENGE of DAILY BLOGGING! Thanks to Kat McNally for PLAYFULNESS and hosting the Blogtoberfest12! Today's prompt is this:

How can you infuse your blog with more your magnificent self?

MORE MAGNIFICENT SELF? As an artist, I feel that when I post an image of mine, that I have delivered to the Internet world as much of my magnificent self as I know how to do. However, readers of my blog have asked me to write more about my images. They want to know how I get an image down on a piece of paper--and before that, they want to know where my ideas for the image come from! Therefore, it is possible that in response to Kat's prompt for today, "How can I infuse my blog with more of my magnificent self?" that is a possible direction! I can write more specifically about how I make ART! (All Art by Hallelujah Truth, altered in photoshop!)

Pilgrims! This is an important question!: How can you infuse your blog with more of your magnificent self? I have just finished the first three days of an eight-week course, "Blogging for a World Audience," at the Georgia Tech Language Institute, and I am encouraging and supporting my 15 students (13 Chinese, 1 Taiwanese, and 1 Japanese) to create blogs that they will want to sustain for weeks, months, and years to come. 

THIS IS THE ESL BLOGGING-TEACHER SPEAKING TO HER STUDENTS: 
In order to love and care for your blog as you build its foundation, develop its theme, write its content, and respond to your readers, you must look inside yourselves, find what is UNIQUELY YOURS, and use that understanding to write about any content you are going to blog about. The topic may be food, basketball, technology music, or mathematics. Whatever the topic is, your perspective on that topic is what is VITAL and what makes your blog ALIVE and INTERESTING!

THIS IS THE ESL BLOGGING-TEACHER SPEAKING TO HERSELF: 

LOOKING DEEPER

I do the above, and...I continue looking deeper, writing when I am without answers. I write inventively because I know that what I write has "seeds" of new ideas. 

SEEDS OF IDEAS. In the beginning, I drew Wandjina because he stayed in my memory from the time I spent in west Australia. Then he became something more, something meaningful to me. As I continued to draw him, he started to represent my animus, the masculine energy in my psyche. 

I draw because it makes me happy. I draw because I discover things about myself I didn't know before the image appeared on the page in front of me!

That's Coffee with Hallelujah for today's Blogtoberfest12! I'm finishing late in the day, but I have succeeded in completion! 

ONGOING JOURNEY TO THE AUTHENTIC SELF: CLIMBING THE TREE

I'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY.  The journey to authenticity is not always easy. Recently, I thought the route to being my genuine self was to reach for the low hanging fruit--the ripe apples hanging on the branches nearest me. Now, I've discovered, I am being called up into the top of the tree. How do I climb there? What new skills are being summoned? (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for AUTHENTICITY! Is it easy to be YOURSELF, to find YOUR CALLING? Why are you here on this Earth? What is your purpose?

For me to be FULLY ALIVE and LIVING MY VISION, I must answer the CALL of INNER SELF. I hear a voice summoning ME to go deeper for meaning, to live each day in MEANINGFUL ACTION. I am not an apple picker of low hanging fruit. Instead of harvesting the manifestation of my efforts, I need to journey up, out, into, away from and inside of DISCOVERY. 

Is it redundant to say "NEW DISCOVERY"? How can I be a TRUE PILGRIM? One who walks into the UNKNOWN? 

I don't know. I don't have the answer, but I see the TREE BEARING FRUIT and marvel at how high its branches are reaching into the HEAVENS. What lives in those SKY BRANCHES. I think I will be a SKYWALKER!

ONGOING JOURNEY TO THE AUTHENTIC SELF. What happens when one inverses one's life as I have this image? This drawing is the same as the one above. The only difference is that I inverted it in photoshop. Yet it appears to me to be quite different. I think fellow pilgrims, that the apple tree must look similarly different when one journeys from its bottom to its top, from its low fruit bearing branches to its heaven touching limbs! (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

PILGRIMAGE: WADING INTO THE WAITING

WADING INTO THE WAITING. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Greetings SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIMS! The JOURNEY, at times, appears to have stopped! This "stop-ness" is an illusion. Instead, our lives are in constant flux. This image represents my "Wading into the Waiting." 


"Wading into Waiting" was drawn in July 2009 as part of my daily practice of drawing but was not completed until yesterday morning. I discovered it among a group of incomplete images, and it spoke to me! Yes! I have been continuously "wading" into MY LIFE! On the back of this image, the words I had written in 2009 are the following:

SUNBIRD

FINDING
DISCOVERING
PILGRIMAGE
NATURE ONE
WAVE BIRD
SUN BIRD
HEAL BIRD
JOURNEY...
WADING INTO THE WAITING...

WAVEBIRD

#REVERB11: PILGRIM SCHOOL 2011--LOVE AND REVERENCE FOR ALL

LOVE OF REVERENCE FOR ALL (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

#REVERB11 (December 13) PROMPT: Love. What are the things (or people or animals) in this world you love the most? (Carolyn Rubenstein, A Beautiful Ripple Effect)


Hallelujah for LOVE! And Hallelujah for the entire spectrum of feelings that radiate forward and backward in a cyclone around the topic of LOVE. In 2011, I have fallen most in LOVE with REVERENCE. I am in AWE of YOU and YOU and THAT, and ME! I honor the whole shebang!


Sometimes during the past year, I have found it difficult to LOVE the DESPAIR that beckons me from the opposite end of rainbows and fireworks of REVERENCE. But being authentically ME means accepting and honoring the BLAHS with LOVE.

DESPAIR. Being on a pilgrimage in search of joy and love, despair is sometimes confronted. Blah!

When, I feel this way, I LOVE listening to the song, The Way, on my most favorite album Donovan Sutras. Here are the lyrics:


The Way


I stay behind I walk ahead
Apart yet a part of everything
Nothing done and all is well
Never used yet always full


Out of nothing comes the one
Out of one comes the two
Out of two comes three
Out of three comes all things


The more it moves the more it yields
The valley spirit never dies
The root of heaven and earth
Empty now of everything


From above it is not bright
From below it is not dark
You  cannot see when it began
Follow it there is no end


It has no aim it is so small
It has no name it is so great
It is not seen it is not heard
Nothing done or left undone


The weak can overcome the strong
The supple overcomes the stiff
Everyone knows this well
Yet so few can practice it


Out of nothing comes the one
Out of one comes the two
Out of two comes three
Out of three comes all things

OUT OF NOTHING COMES THE ONE