In Dizzying Times, Remembering What’s Important Helps
(art above is my own- and will be featured at the show at Siiviis Oct 1-31 in Duluth’s Canal Park
1. In Dizzying Times, It’s Good To Remember What’s Important. I heard a short retelling of the Fisher King Story about the Holy Grail recently that hit deep.
Apparently Perceval, the hero, left his home wearing burlap (his mother told him it was all the rage in fashion…praying that he’d come running back home to her in embarrassment!).
Perceval gets lost in the forest (in his terrible burlap outfit) and in the darkness he perceives a light. He follow it and discovers a tiny fisherman’s shack there. The light is coming from within. He doesn’t realize it—but this run down shack is the grail castle in hidden form.
Inside he meets an old fisherman who gives him a warm smile. In that smile- the grail is revealed…. life’s secret spills forward….the creativity. the light….the everything of the holy grail.
But, Perceval is not wise enough yet to grasp it and has to keep searching. He still needs to go through many more terrifying initiations before he is able to recognize the grail.
That’s one beautiful thing about not being 17 any more. We have now been initiated and hopefully we can SEE the GRAIL when it is lying in plain sight in front of us!
I saw it in my neighbors’ apple trees. I saw it in the forest behind my house in the golden hour. I saw it in the amazing women I cut up 8 cases of peaches with this morning. It is literally everywhere.
This graduation speech from my alma mater, Kenyon College, is another stark reminder of what is precious. It is good to remember.
2, This Quote Blew My Mind This Week.
“Whenever a thought develops, recognize it as being empty. That thought will immediately lose its compelling power and will not generate attachment and hatred – and once attachment and hatred are gone, realization of the perfectly pure Dharma will unfold naturally from within. Indeed, try as you might, there is no way you will ever be rid of your attachment and hatred as long as you keep believing that they arise because of the external objects or circumstances to which they are connected. The more you attempt to reject external phenomena, the more they will spring back at you. Hence, therefore, the importance of recognizing the empty nature of your thoughts and simply allowing them to dissolve. When you know that it is mind that both creates and perceives samsara and nirvana, and also, at the same time, that the nature of mind is emptiness, then mind will be no longer be able to delude you and lead you around by the nose.” ~Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
My thoughts are empty. Your thoughts are empty.
What a RELIEF. WHAT PEACE!
3. A Message from the Mountain Spirits. Last week I endeavored to visit the mountain spirits who, for me, represent the 4 cardinal directions and this is a summary of the wisdom they shared for me for thriving in these tumultuous times:
EAST; (Mount Kailash) Be very still for a short period each day. Just 5 minutes can help.
SOUTH: (Apu Pachatusan) Know where you are going and your desired outcomes. (for ex: To Make great art, to be compassionate, to be an elder)
WEST: (Mount Shasta) Trust
NORTH: (Lake Superior- a powerful spirit non-mountainous) Follow the currents and pause when there is none.
Their advice struck me as simple and yet not easy! I hope you find it helpful.
4. Daily Death Haikus Are Continuing To Give Me SO MUCH LIFE. I am struck by the beauty of the life of a poet, and I intend to be one for the rest of my days. When I repeatedly seek beauty I am infinitely rewarded.
I’ve been so lucky to spend time at our majestic sand dunes along Lake Superior. I’m so glad they are being protected!
“Duluth Summer Dunes” , 16 x 20” oil on canvas
Original is available – hit reply to inqure- prints + more are here.
Is NOW the time to deepen your connection to the sacred? OR maybe you are revisiting something that hurts and could use healing? Learn more and Book a session here.
Much love,
Sarah
P.S.
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SAVE THE DATE!
I’ll be having a SHOW at Siivii’s in Canal Park
in Duluth, Minnesota for the month of October!
The opening reception is Thursday October 2 from 5- 7 pm! Please come and bring a friend so i can show you all that I have created!
“My Favorite Things Matter”
Monoprints
by Sarah Bamford Seidelmann
This special series of monoprints created by Sarah Bamford Seidelmann using a painterly technique on plates with a printing press. Each print is one of a kind and rendered in oil based ink on archival paper. The subject matter she has chosen is reflecting her emotional need, in a world of chaos, to focus and elevate the things that matter most such as: the capacity of the heart, home, wild animal wisdom, kindly dogs, and flowers to name a few.
l’ll have some smaller oils and landscapes too!
Dreams come true!
My art is NOW available at @jewelweed.shop in their NEW Excelsior, MN location! If you see a painting above that you love- feel free to contact them- they ship!
952-476-7631
Plan a visit soon to stroll this quaint + lovely downtown and get all the goodness- flower essences, wonderful books, crystals, and SO MUCH MORE! I’ll be teaching a workshop there July 13-you can contact them to see if spots remain! See a short video tour of my visit here.
