Sacred Life Project

"Kali-Ma" full-size body cast, 2005

Today I was catching up on a blog I enjoy: Lori Lynh's The Dream Life: Making it Up as I Go Along. I noticed some postings entitled Sacred Life that really struck me.  The posts were so sweet and beautiful.  Through reading more, I discovered that the idea birthed from Carla Blazek's Zena Musings blog.  I'll let her describe it:

 Beginning: August 18, every day for at least a month I'm going to post a photo from my daily life capturing something that connects me to Spirit. It might be my altar, a candle I'm burning, my dogs, the garden, a friend, a book I'm reading, nature, something I did, someplace I went, something important to me, or, who knows, maybe just my morning bowl of Cheerios! The idea is to creatively connect with the holiness of my everyday life, plus I also need a gentle little kick in the butt to turn OFF the game of Hearts and other shadow comforts and start writing again.

My Sacred Life isn't really a challenge -- that sounds too strenuous -- it's really more of a softening ... into a moment, a treasured possession, a companion -- people, parts and places of your everyday life that you cherish. Whatever is sacred to you.

Now, the dates for this project have already passed, but time is circular, right? There's no reason for me not to give this inspiring project a try.

It's funny because when I imagine doing this, I feel daunted at the task.  "One more thing to do and keep track of," grumble, grumble... But the idea really resonates with my soul and I think it would be interesting to at least give it a try. I also realized [very sadly] that there are whole days that go by when I do not think about spirit and the effect it has on me and my life and the world.

So, without further ado, here is my first day of my Sacred Life project:

Letting my Kali sculpture decay in the trees.

What happens to sacred art when it has finished its life and served its purpose? This is a question I often ask, as I co-create with Spirit as a spiritual and artistic practice.  After awhile, the art gets old, or it just starts to fall apart.  I don't want to throw it away - not just because I like to conserve and recycle as much as possible - but because these creations are sacred and very meaningful to me.

One of the most powerful pieces I have made to date is a full-body cast of myself as the Hindu Goddess Kali-Ma.  Creating this piece was so powerful and I created it with two powerful, magical friends: Kristena West & Mary McCulloch. 

After several moves and getting banged up and hung too many times, this piece was looking pretty battered and torn.  But what to do with it? 

My husband and I live on 4 acres in Petaluma, CA.  We are surrounded by beautiful trees and incredible wildlife. Looking out the window one day, I realized that putting all my "body parts" in the limbs of the tree outside and watching them decay would be a very powerful "end" to this piece. 

I stacked up all the parts, including the large torso, and there they live.  Every day I look out the window and watch them decay just a little bit more. I think it is the perfect end for a Kali figure - she was created in the passion of creation, and she is now being destroyed by the natural cycles of the seasons.

So this is my spiritual moment today.