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THE COLORS OF PRAYER
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THE COLORS OF PRAYER
by HEART
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''I grew up in a family that respected the numinous mysteries of life and taught that there was a Greater Power that created and pervaded this world. This Greater Power was God, the Source of all good. My family also believed that we as humans were cared for by God and that God spoke with us in subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways. One quiet way God reached us was in dreams. “What did you dream last night?” was a common question asked at the breakfast table and the messages derived from those dreams were considered seriously. Throughout childhood and adulthood, my dreams have been a Source of knowledge, guiding and sustaining me. When I turned 21, I also began to meditate and this has provided me with another level of knowing and connection to the Source. It was almost thirty years ago that I knew one day I would “do color studies,” although I had no idea what that meant or even what a “color study” was. In 1995, I saw a flame on water during one of my meditations. The image so impressed itself upon my awareness that the impulse to create the vision in a material form became an overwhelming need I could no longer ignore. Finally, though I had not done artwork since high school, I painted the colors of the vision. This was the first of the color studies. The creation of the color studies in this little book are the result of a process that has deepened over the last ten years. The connection to the Source in this process, has sustained me through physical and emotional challenges; given me courage to face overwhelming odds in my daily personal and professional life; and continues to lead me ever closer to the purpose for my life. It is a process that I invite you to try. After sitting quietly in meditation and prayer, I let the Infinite Source Within lead me to paint whatever colors and forms I feel. Even if I have a specific vision, as I did of a flame on water, I do not “try” to paint it but let it flow through me until the colors and general form appear on the paper. I continue to paint until the flow of energy subsides. The painting then is propped on a chair or table where I can look at it over the next few days or weeks. I turn it on all sides. There is never any top or bottom in the beginning. Everything is possible. Gradually forms within the colors take shape. Only later do I draw in the forms with a pencil or other watercolors. The color study is then given a title. Later I meditate again on the completed painting. Depending on my current state of being, physically and/or emotionally, I may be drawn to one or another color study on a particular day. As I meditate on the colors and forms, an understanding develops that leads to words. The words become prayers from the deepest parts of my soul. But these prayer poems and color studies are not merely abstract representations. They have provided sustenance and courage that have helped me live through innumerable challenges. They have illuminated solutions, derived from a Greater Power, to solve the dark problems of my life. I invite you to use this book as a beginning for meditations and prayers on your journey. It is my intent to share this process, and some of my results, with you in the hope that the color studies and prayer poems may help to connect you to Source and what sustains your life.''
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ISBN 1-931948-66-6
2008
