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Featured
Artist: Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Most everyone is familiar
with the beauty of Monet’s
Impressionistic Waterlilies,
yet many are unaware of the
Japanese influences that shaped
his work. Unlike most artists
of his day, Monet reached beyond
the traditions of the Paris
establishment to find his place
in the natural world. My visit
in 1998 to Giverny, France,
his final home and resting
place, transported me from
the noise and busyness of everyday
life into still waters
of contemplation.
Awe
struck, I gazed deeply into
the tranquil pool of
Monet’s Water Garden– the
colors of his palette reflecting
off jade and teal waters
dappled with pink and white
lotus blossoms. My thoughts
melted into silence, as
I grew acutely aware of the
mystical peace enshrining
me. It was obvious why
Monet
had spent the last twenty-seven
years of his life painting
these images over and over
again.
It
is written that he visited
the pond daily,
at dawn and
at dusk, when the lily
blossoms opened and closed
to the
natural rhythm of light.
Supposedly, Monet had learned
the art of contemplation
from the Japanese masters
of woodblock prints, artisans
who had for centuries devoted
themselves to single motifs.
His exhaustive study of
the lotus, the “flower of
openheartedness”
in the Buddhist tradition,
became much more than just
a famed subject of his
work.
The
floating beauty and still
waters he constructed
in his back yard, in time,
traveled to the farthest
reaches of the globe. His
flower of the pond became
an object for our meditations
– an artful devotion to
an image that instills peace.
Peace
is the goal of contemplation,
along with a deepened awareness
of All that is.
When we lose our selves
to the mystery
of a great work of art,
the
spirit of tranquil waters,
or the touch of a single
rosary bead, we give up
the noise and busyness of
life
to discover the wisdom
of soul. The images blur,
one
stroke at a time, like
the colors of an Impressionist
painting. But in time,
through
our devotional practice,
we see more clearly than
we’ve ever seen before.
 It was
obvious to me as I started
work on this month’s newsletter
that I was craving time to
just reflect. My year had started
off with a rash of activity,
a series of endless deadlines
that kept we hopping week to
week. But suddenly the deadlines
ended; all except those self-imposed.
I wanted to stop, but my busy
mind kept racing, pushing me
to accomplish a never-ending
list of to do’s. If
you can relate to what I’m
saying,
why not stop for just a moment
to contemplate a well-deserved
retreat.
There are
many possibilities you can
play with. You might
consider a group activity
or an outing all your own.
A retreat can be as simple
as a walk in the woods
or a visit to a quiet gallery,
where you can stare at
lilies
painted by Monet. Or, it
could be a well-orchestrated
group pilgrimage to sacred
shrines in Ireland or an
ashram in the Sri Lanka.
Wherever you go, use the
following questions to
guide you in your contemplative
study: What was my experience
like? What did I learn
about
my subject of contemplation?
What did I learn about
myself?
I’ve
brainstormed several ideas
for retreat – and I’m
happy to discuss them more
at length with you. But,
I’m sorry. I won’t be available
at the end of this month.
I’ll be contemplating nature
at a convent in rural Tennessee.
I’ve got to practice what
I preach, don’t you think?
Now it’s your turn to…
- Visit a botanical or
water garden in a nearby
city, or grow your own.
- Hike into the
mountains, pitch a tent,
or rent a cabin in the
woods.
- Sign up for
a women’s or men’s weekend
retreat, or create a pilgrimage
all your own. If you need
some suggestions, I’m happy
to oblige.
- Walk a labyrinth.
Many churches have created
these spiritual gateways.
- Invest in bonsai
plants requiring devotional
attention.
- Attend a Taize
service. Learn more at
www.taize.org.
- Escape to the
beach without a trashy
novel.
- Buy a rosary
and recite it every night.
- Hang a piece
of art or place a sacred
object in your home that
instills peace in your
soul. Study it as often
as you can.
- Create an altar
of beautiful items and
sit with them everyday.
- Go to an art
gallery in the middle of
the day. Choose a piece
to reflect on, and then
sit quietly with it for
an hour.
- Build a studio,
sanctuary or workshop that’s
yours alone. Visit it often.
- Start painting,
drawing, sculpting, knitting,
or quilting – all by yourself.
- Create a weekly
mandala ritual (visit HumanArts
archives: issue 14)
- Visit a chapel
when no one is there. Sit
in silence.
- Kneel each evening
in a sacred place for
a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Turn off the
radio, the TV, and the
computer. Then sit and
just “be.”
 Explore a fascinating
online exhibit from the National
Gallery of Australia www.nga.gov.au/MonetJapan/Results.cfm?ThemeID=4
that parallels Monet’s art
with Japanese woodblock prints.
Or if you’d rather lose yourself
to pure Monet, visit the best
place on the web -- www.intermonet.com/oeuvre/nymphea1.htm.
To
learn more about water lilies
or how to construct
a garden of your own, visit
The International
Waterlily and Water Gardening
Society at www.iwgs.org and check
out The Water Garden at
www.watergarden.com or the
Atlanta Water Gardens online at www.atlantawatergardens.com.
If you live in my city,
a visit to this garden on
Cheshire
Bridge Road will surely
help you float into peace.
Deepen
your insight of contemplative
study at www.amazon.com
from two world-renowned masters,
Trappist monk Thomas Merton,
in New Seeds of
Contemplation and Contemplative
Prayer,
and from best selling Buddhist
author, Lama Surya Das
in
Awakening the Buddha
Within.
Read
~ A Journey of My Choosing
~
for FREE! Then “pay it forward.” I’ve
stumbled onto a wonderful concept
that invites people
to read a book, and then release
it to the world. The goal is
to see where in the world my
story will travel. I need 19
people to represent the 19
countries I visited on my sojourn,
to participate in this fun
experiment. If you’re game,
send me your email, phone number,
and snail mail address, and
I’ll send you a book with instructions.
Visit www.bookcrossing.com
if you’re interested in releasing
other titles to the world.
 A
“Sip-osium” to Nurture your
Mind, Body & Spirit ~ A
High Tea at the Ritz Carlton
Downtown, Sun, Mar 28,
1:00 – 3:00, benefiting Chayil,
Inc., a non-profit organization
that supports battered women
post shelter. Visit with some
of Atlanta’s most influential
ladies, including Brenda Wood
of Channel 11, Jenny Pruitt
of Jenny Pruitt Realty, and
Cynthia Good, Editor, Atlanta
Woman. Visit www.sippingteaonline.com
and register online by Mar
17 for a reduced fee of $85.
Cost is $100 after the 17th.
7th
Annual Possible Woman Leadership
Conference, "Unleashing
Leadership Power", Fri,
Apr 2, Georgia
World Conference Center, Atlanta,
GA, featuring
keynote speaker Geraldine Ferraro
and book signing by Phyllis
Carrera! Visit www.possiblewoman.com
or register NOW at a reduced
rate at <http://www.possiblewoman.com/conferencejan04/strat_part.htm>,
scroll to the bottom of the
page, and key in our customized
code (hac1).
American Business
Women’s Association ~
Phyllis speaks on Leading
With Integrity, Tues, Apr
13, 6:30 p.m.,
Fayetteville. For
details, contact Dianne Leimbach
at 770-599-3738.
Women in
Networking ~
Phyllis speaks on A
Journey of My Choosing,
Mon, May 10,
6:30 p.m., Cumming.
For details, visit www.womeninnetworking.com.
Voice
Dialogue Level I Training,
Aug 27-30, Atlanta,
GA. If
you are a therapist,
coach, spiritual counselor,
executive
or organization change
agent desiring to help
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thinking into balanced
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Visit www.delos-inc.com
or email pcarrera@humanarts.biz
for additional information.
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Click here to explore “A
Journey…”
“It took time to understand my waterlilies.
I had planted them for the pleasure of
it; I grew them without ever thinking
of painting them. A landscape doesn’t
permeate one’s being in one day.”
Claude Monet
“Contemplation is life itself, fully
awake, fully active, fully aware that
it is alive.”
Thomas Merton
“Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure
of the mind which searches into nature
and which there divines the spirit of
which Nature herself is animated.”
François Auguste
René Rodin
“The motif’s essential is the mirror
of water whose aspect is constantly being
modified by the changing sky reflected
in it, and which imbues it with life
and movement.”
Claude Monet
“The contemplation of truth and beauty
is the proper object for which we were
created, which calls forth the most intense
desires of the soul, and of which it
never tires.”
William Hazlitt
“With an eye made quiet by the power
of harmony, and the deep power of joy,
we see into the life of things.”
William Wordsworth
Contemplation…” is awareness absorbed
and amazed.”
Teresa of Avila
“…the
world becoming luminous
from within as one
plunges breathlessly
into human activity.”
Pierre Teilhard
de Chardin |
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