Each of us stands at the gate of tomorrow, facing the future. At times, we have walked in wonder and awe; at other times, we have moved along in the flood of fear. Looking back, we may recognize that amid the joys and struggles of this journey, we have been companioned by a grace-full Presence that has held us together and led us on. This is not simply a journey through a string of days and years. Rather, This is a Sacred Journey, one that is held in and surrounded by Mystery. Although we long for someone to translate the risks of this journey into logical explanations, we often find ourselves in the foreign land of faith. We stand on the edge of our hopes and dreams and ask in trust to be led and supported by a Love and Energy much larger than we can imagine. We ask to walk here in courage and integrity, as we attempt to discern the voice of God amid the cacophony of our doubt and fear.

To risk the journey and face the future is simply to walk in faith, for there are no linear words that capture the massive Mystery of God. We stand as the figure in this painting, clothed in grace and showered with blessing. At times we see the flecks of light; at other times we see only the shadow of the silhouette. But always, both in our knowing and in our unknowing, we are escorted into tomorrow by Love, who gives us everything we need.

Original Painting: 23" x 27" Framed
$2,200
Card: Design #2001
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We are each given the gift of our journey. Some days we walk with delight and a lightness that is filled with clarity and focus, confidently proceeding with the knowledge that we are companioned and supported as our life unfolds. Walking with a sense of purpose, we embrace the challenges that lure us ahead. We enjoy the company of those who walk beside us, and are energized by their support. Our awareness of the Divine Presence is amazingly vivid. The map seems clear, the obstacles seem manageable, and our provisions, substantial. We walk with the assurance of knowing that there is nothing that can keep us from Love!

Then gradually, or sometimes suddenly, the terrain changes. The light dims and the clarity fades. The path appears muddy, and the options seem to be multiple and confusing. Our confidence wanes as we wonder if we have enough to sustain us. We notice that the companions around us seem to have disappeared, and we feel incredibly alone. While our energies and desires drain, the obstacles that confront us grow to appear insurmountable, and we wonder where God is - the One we were once so sure walked with us. Seemingly alone, often exhausted, we wonder why we have been led into this wilderness and if we will ever emerge from it. We begin to question if this journey really is gift. Yet, somehow, we are led by God's grace to breathe, to trust, to move into a deeper knowing. Layer by layer, our illusions fall aside as we come to know more clearly that we have been and always are loved. Once more, what we have learned in the light is carried with us into the dark and, little by little, the geography feels less confusing as we journey closer home to our truth. This soul-journey is the process of spiraling into the Heart of the Holy where, in reality we always are. We simply learn to see more clearly.

The Original Has Been Sold
Card: Design #2006
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We often link the struggles of our soul-journey with a serious assent to sanctity, seldom counting among our sins the failure to laugh and simply delight in the gifts of life. Our work ethic is often applied to our spiritual life, as our prayer becomes a task to be completed rather than an enjoyment to be savored. At times, even the obligations of religion have become life-sapping rather than life-giving as we get stuck in the demands of duty and detail. We must continually call ourselves and our faith communities to authentic worship that touches the integrity of the God of light and joy.

Our restless hearts long to rest in the delight and pure pleasure of the Divine. By no means is this an invitation to construct false fronts of denial or patterns of pretending but, rather, to develop a discipline of balance. We are invited to lighten our spirits as we relax into the Arms of Light, knowing that even amid our struggle we are given a heart that was created to dance with joy.

The Original Has Been Sold
Card: Design #2005
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Invariably, along our soul-journey, we will struggle to know that sense of integrity, longing to be faithful to our deepest self. During these times we seek the voice of our spirit that speaks with inner authority.

True integrity grows from an awareness that we can stand in the honest light of God's unconditional love and be seen in our truth. Knowing that, dare we be honest with ourselves and release the lies that inhabit our heart? Integrity, like a muscle, needs to be worked and stretched. Daily we must practice truth-telling in the sacred space of our heart as we name without judgment what we see and feel and know. It is a discipline of faithfulness that calls us to come home to our authentic self.

As we sit in this center of integrity, our heart and God's heart beat as one. The transparent light of truth filters through, embracing every cell of our being, and we are able to see and speak more clearly. Then, little by little, as the layers of lies and pretending are stripped aside, a genuine simplicity remains. Freed of grandiosity and illusion, we stand radiant and unemcumbered in truth as we claim our own voice with which we dare to speak our truth and live with integrity.

The Original Has Been Sold
Card: Design #2004
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We often resist using the word surrender because we associate it with the shame and fear of "giving up," "quitting," "failing," and "being defeated." Unfortunately, these negative nuances often distort the richer significance of letting go into love. Surrender actually carries a much richer reality: as we let go, we move into a fullness much greater than we can imagine, a fullness where we receive exactly what we need.

The Grace of surrender invites us to relax into the Mystery, to acknowledge that we cannot walk alone in this place. Rather than assuming a stance of defeat, we ask to be embraced by a Love that is much greater than the confusion, pain or frustration we are experiencing. We ask for a profound gift when, in the midst of paradox and pain, we pray to stand in surrender. The process of letting go of our challenging and resistance is slow but, little by little, we learn to trust this gift supports us in our unknowing. Once we accept in our heart the truth of being loved, we loosen our grip on control and are surprisingly free to act in integrity and light.

Rather than submissive defeat, the paradox of letting go into love frees us to walk with renewed life. With our arms raised in naked surrender, we are given an energy that exceeds our greatest hopes and a freedom to walk in joy.

The Original Has Been Sold
Card: Design #2008
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We often are convinced that if we are to be truly happy, we need certain possessions, power, relationships or roles. Invariably, we find these things hollow, unable to provide us with the results we are looking for. Thus, it serves us well to pause in our society of accumulation so that we can unearth that which genuinely supports a pure place of inner delight and fullness.

It is not uncommon to lose track of what is really essential and miss the simple pleasures we were meant to enjoy. We are challenged to begin the process of sorting through the clutter that is literally in our closets or figuratively in our hearts, clearing paths to truth, beauty and genuine treasures. As we examine and name our sins of accumulation and greed, we come face to face with our fears and the many ways we have learned to deceive ourselves.

Indeed, it is a risk - letting go of all the clutter we use to provide ourselves with a false sense of security and worth. Yet, we were made to be happy, to delight in the beauty and wonder of ourselves, one another, and our earth. As we attempt to walk more simply, we are challenged to assume a stance of gracefully shattering all that we have, to be attentive to what is essential, to unclutter our lives and open our hearts to create an emptiness where fullness becomes possible.

The Original Has Been Sold
Card: Design #2002
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We were not made to walk in isolation but, in fact, long for companions who can share with us this journey of the soul. We find or create a community of companions who will join us as we explore and expand our experience of the Sacred. We each long for a container that will receive us in our truth We have experienced the power of community when we have shared resources and gifts in various groups, some perhaps quite structured, others loosely woven. As we seek a faith-community, we long for others who will embrace the deep soul-space within, joining us on the spiritual path. We gather together in our churches, synagogues, mosques and homes so that we might explore and implore the Mystery we so long to mirror. We hunger for a communal expression of joy and celebration, pain and loss, believing and knowing, that gathered together we are given the gifts of strength, courage and compassion to live and act in love.

Original Painting: 26" x 34" Framed
$2,200
Card: Design #2003
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There are times when no words or images can adequately describe those fluid places within where we are at one with our deepest knowing; places where we can connect to the Divine Womb of Wisdom; places where, even in the darkness, we are held in love. Yet, the rich imagery of water does touch our deepest and earliest memory of being, reminding us of our wordless beginnings of life. This fluid metaphor reflects the expansiveness of our intuitive way of knowing that we often hesitate to trust.

Our soul, where we are most deeply connected with God, is often a wordless place of simply knowing what we know. It holds waves of insight, feeling and wisdom, beckoning us to dive into the mystery of the intuitive. We often enter these waters through the mirrors given us by the poets, musicians, artists and mystic within ourselves.

The Beloved invites us to enter these soul-waters and surrender to the unconditional Love that supports and sustains us. There the voices of our deep, intuitive knowing will provide us with all we need to continue our journey.

Original Painting: 26" x 34" Framed
$2,200
Card: Design #2007
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