PILGRIMAGE IN SCOTLAND YIELDS GROWTH INTO FULL PLANETHOOD BY BLENDING THE FAMILIAR WITH THE NEW

LOOKING INTO THE NEW WHILE REMEMBERING THE OLD (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for FULLNESS of BEING. We all deserve to discover what this FULLNESS OF BEING means for the SELF.  I have left the physical familiarity of my home in Decatur, Georgia, USA, and am JOURNEYING about in Scotland. Tonight as I write you, I am on the west side of the River Ness in the town of Inverness, famous for its Loch Ness Monster! 

The River Ness flowing fast and free! (photo by Chiboogamoo)

SUPER MOON, MAY 5, 2012. This resplendent moon that occurred before my journey to Scotland represents an interior spiritual fullness and actualization to me. Although a moon is not a planet moving about on its gravitational path around the sun, it is such a rich symbol for the psyche--isn't it? (photo by Chiboogamoo)

How does the absence of what is physically familiar impact my SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIMAGE? As Hallelujah Truth, I open my EYES so that I might entertain new images that resonate with my SOUL. I wait for some thing to "ping" in my HEART. Here in Scotland, I wait while looking. I feel the impact of the cold spring air blowing down the River Ness. This afternoon, pebbles of ice rained from the dark cloudy sky. They "pinged" my face and my ungloved hands. My Chiboogamoo and I, clothed in gortex rain jackets held hands to keep warm. We had just hopped off the No.3 bus after walking through the rooms of the ancient  Cawdor Castle and pretty green fields home of the famous battle of Culledon.  

CAWDOR CASTLE, INVERNESS, SCOTLAND. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

For Hallelujah, there is no "ping" of the SOUL in the midst of this beautiful Scottish scenery bursting into yellow flower, the land's kind denizens speaking in an unfamiliar trilling rolling English, and the delicious local seafood eaten along with warm bitter ales. No SPIRITUAL resonance! What is a SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIM seeking SOUL-FULL-NESS to do? 




"Go for the familiar, " I tell myself. "Look around and 'blend' the new with the old--the familiar. Be present to what IS and put it together with images you already know." These reassuring instructions guide me as I lead Chiboogamoo back outside to the banks of River Ness after the hail has stopped and the sun has re-emerged (In Scotland, one can experience three seasons in one day.). We cross one of the pedestrian suspension bridges and sit on the river's banks. I draw in micron pens, capturing some of the cities ancient skylines across old pages of my calendar. Chiboogamoo writes in his little red notebook.

TIME STOPS WHEN I OBSERVE INNER AND OUTER SOUL. Sketching the skyline along the River Ness, Iverness, Scotland. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

Time stops with me. I observe. I become part of the infinite. I take what belongs to Inverness and make it mine. I put Hallelujah Truth into the center. I am the focus of my ART. This is my SOUL experiencing NEWNESS. 


When the cold May winds finally succeed in penetrating through our jackets and my hands grow too chilled to continue drawing, my cheerful and boon companion and I head into a local pub, one which has sun drenched seats by the windows. The late afternoon sun glazes over us as we consume our pints of beer. I seep into the relaxation of being far from my physical home but EVER PRESENT to my SPIRITUAL ONE. ART takes me to my CENTER bringing me into my FULL PLANETHOOD!

TRANSFORMING, TRANSITIONING, BEING. A warm beer on a cold day and time to reflect on the PILGRIMAGE. (photo by Chiboogamoo)

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.  This image shows the layers of  my mind.  I incorporate figures from my past. The creature at the bottom remains in my heart from my visit to Australia and represents undefined ambiguity. The creature swimming above the Australian figure is a sea monster. It could be the Loch Ness Monster or it could be a cartoon figure of an ancient marine reptile. Above these figures is yours truly, Hallelujah Truth entwined with the city scape of Inverness.

I SEE.

That's Coffee With Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what brings you HOME to your CENTER. 

SOULING INTO PLANTHOOD: A WAY TO LIVE ONE'S LIFE AND HEAL THE EARTH

SOULING INTO PLANETHOOD.The SOUL is more a process, than a thing, so Jeffrey Kiehl calls this process "SOULING." (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for the SOUL and for all of us SOULS healing the EARTH! But what exactly is a SOUL and what is it in relation to a cure for global warming resulting in droughts, flooding, disease, and famine? Jeffrey Kiehl, a professor of atmospheric science and a Jungian analyst, has answers to both questions!

He believes that first we humans need to do some "SOULING," and in this way we get in touch with the nature or animal in ourselves. By being in touch with our inner animal, we would do everything within our human power to preserve life--ALL OF LIFE!

Listening to Dr. Kiehl lecture last night (April 28, 2012) at the Jung Society of Atlanta on the topic, "Sustaining Earth, Sustaining Soul," I learned a new way of talking about the SOUL. And Dr. Kiehl's words resonated with what I already know:

THE SOUL or SOULING is...

• a way of seeing deeply
• a direct experience of one's interiority
• an embracing of feelings and intuition
• and a recognition of interdependence

SEEING ONE'S OWN PLANETHOOD YET RECOGNIZING INTERDEPENDENCE.  I have been playing with ways to deeply experience my feelings and intuition in that deep place of "interiority." As I celebrate my own independent "planethood," it is an interesting challenge to live my life in respectful relation to ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF LIFE. 

So PILGRIMS, the more we LIVE, truly live, embracing our total selves--not just our material needs, but our immaterial needs, the more we feel connected the EARTH. We resonate with the EARTH when we experience the leaf that touches our arm as we brush by a plant near a sidewalk. We resonate with the EARTH when we listen to the sound of a bird call out our office windows. We resonate with the EARTH when we feel the freshness of the early morning air on our faces as we walk to our cars. It is that mysterious resonance between our SOULS and NATURE, if we allow ourselves to feel it that will HEAL the EARTH. This resonance falls into the realm of what I call SPIRIT. Or we can now call it SOULING. Once we are SOULING with the EARTH, we will surely have to become HER caretaker because in doing so we will be taking care of OURSELVES.


That's Coffee with Hallelujah. What SOULING will you do today PILGRIMS? Soul Blog with me!

SOULING WITH NATURE AT KNOWLEDGE CREEK, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 2009 (photo by Chiboogamoo,  Ichnologist and Husband Extraordinaire)