San Xavier Mission – Sacred Space, Sacred Art

San Xavier Mission

San Xavier Mission © 2014 Bo Mackison

The calm within the storm is where peace lives and breathes. It is not within perfect circumstances or a charmed life… it is not conditional. Peace is a sacred space within, it is the temple of our internal landscape. We are free to visit it, whenever we seek sanctuary. Underneath the chaos of everyday living, peace is patiently awaiting our discovery… go within. ~ Jaeda De Walt

The mission church at San Xavier del Bac is a special place. Built in the late 1700s, the church is still run by the Franciscan order that originally built it, and continues to serve and minister to the Tohono O’odham people.

The church is an amazing space, filled with statuary and murals, and dramatic elements such a painted theatrical curtains, painted walls to resemble colorful marble, and faux doors and decorative panels. Though I typically go to the desert in search of sacred spaces, I return to this unusual church again and again to sit in its space, touched by the culture, the art, and the sacred.

Failed Relationships – How to Survive and Then Thrive

Cactus Border

The Cactus Boundary © 2014 Bo Mackison

Knowledge is learning something new every day.  Wisdom is letting go of something every day. ~ Zen Saying

I sometimes rehash the rupture of a treasured relationship.

I still see this person on occasion. And the conversations on these occasions often include barely concealed criticisms – and I choose to take those wounding words to heart.  I accept them. I own them as truths. With pain and shame and thoughts of “what could have been, if only I had . . .”.

These infrequent contacts lead to intense shame — it’s all my fault, I should have ____ (fill in the blank). Why am I so crazy, intense, sensitive, blind to my own faults? I engage in obsessive thinking, sleepless nights. I indulge in over-reaction.

I know this is not the preferred reaction, the healthy reaction, the reaction based on self-love. I know it is not about me, and yet I once again swallow the hook, line and sinker. And the worm, too. Don’t forget the wriggling worm.

This morning I read a blog post on Susan Piver’s website entitled Buddhism and Heartbreak: How to Heal and Live in Love. Every word struck a chord. In fact there were so many striking chords, it sounded like a symphony chiming in my head.

Susan wrote of three ways of addressing failed relationships, all reasonable and doable, and although they require persistence and awareness, they also offer a way to refocus and return to full life living. I read Susan’s blog post carefully, took notes on how I could adapt her wisdom into my routine, and then I decided they were worth sharing. Surely I am not the only one who gets embroiled in haunting, failed relationships. So here is my take on Susan Piver’s thoughts on relationships.

1. Assert control over monkey mind.

Instead of trying to devise ways to change what has already happened, or embarking on a “program of change so I will magically become acceptable,” I can choose to practice feeling what I feel. Not only during my timed meditation practice, but throughout the day. And at night, too, when dreams and thoughts of failure awaken me from my sleep.

As Susan Piver explains, sitting with the feelings, as in the Buddhist tradition, is a “more expeditious way of metabolizing sorrow”. The pain does not disappear, but at least there is the offer of healing and moving on.

Along with meditation, I find it helpful to journal and create art dealing with the experience of “feeling the feelings”.

2. See the pain of the lost relationship as a lesson in attaining wisdom.

Even Susan admits this can seem ludicrous. There are constant reminders of what used to be; there are glimpses of what might have been. There is magical thinking; there are comparisons. There is loss.

A visit to a special garden, a place of shared memories, evokes feelings. A favorite book evokes feelings. A restaurant, a work of art, a song on the radio – these all evoke feelings. Long after the ending of the relationship.

I can allow these feelings to evolve into feelings of unworthiness, sadness, longing. Or . . . I can steer these feelings into a practice of openness and the opportunity to offer loving kindness to others.

That is the key — not how do I replace love lost, but how do I send love out into the world.

Susan promises — yes, she uses the word promise — that when one gives to others, the effects of loving kindness rebound and heal the self, too. She also reminds us not to take her word for it, but to try it out, and see the results. Yes, indeed!

3. Accept that all is impermanent and that life is change.

This is the hard part. All relationships are in flux. Living a full life is living with constant change. Susan advises “letting heartbreak transform one into a warrior god/goddess”. Know that every relationship is impermanent, but is also precious and worthy, a life-sustaining source of learning and connection.

Here is the important part. Be willing to love anyway, accepting the possibility of loss, taking the chance to love and connect. Risking all, because of the preciousness of love. As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote in his poem In Memoriam, composed in 1850:

I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

 

 

The Ordination of Christine

Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean in the Storm © 2014 Judy Tsai

My family and I traveled to California for a special occasion this weekend.

We attended the ordination of my sister-in-law, Christine Fahrenbach, into the Roman Catholic WomanPriesthood.

It was a great weekend — perfect weather for a California-stricken drought, a meaningful ceremony, indescribable conversations.

It was about as perfect as anyone could hope for.

I was in charge of the collaborative poem.

A quick explanation — I asked everyone at the rehearsal dinner to fill out an index card on which I had written a few prompting words. These words morphed into the celebration poem.

The prompts included:

  • a word or a phrase to describe the ocean (It was a Pacific Coast setting.)
  •  a word or phrase to describe Chris as a person
  •  a word or phrase to describe Chris as a priest

Everyone was really great and creatively participated. I then spent  a few minutes compiling everyone’s words – plus a few extra – into an ordination poem.

(The words printed in color are words taken directly from the cards.)

A COLLABORATIVE POEM OF CELEBRATION

The ocean crashes in the distance
alive and breathing,
waves rush the shore.

Mysterious. Tempestuous. Energetic. Beautiful.
Unpredictable.
Miraculous. Wild. A gift.
Unceasing.

Spectrum of greens and blues, color changing,
filled with swirling life.

Chris in Waiting

Chris in Waiting © 2014 Judy Tsai

We gather here to celebrate Christine.

A woman prophet, passionate and compassionate,
a risk taker,
strong, loving and wise.

Open-minded, open-hearted,
with open arms she embraces all.

photo(9)

Chris, Vested © 2014 Judy Tsai

Womanpriest, radiant channel of God’s grace.
Her listening heart opens to her people.
She reaches out to others with love and compassion.

Rebelliously creative,
she works to mend the brokenness of our human condition.
Embracing people with love,
attending not only to their words
but connecting with their hearts and spirit.

Ocean and Tree

Ocean and Tree © 2014 Judy Tsai

The ocean crashes in the distance,
alive and breathing.

Waves break upon the shore.
The sun sets, red sky. Twilight.
Starshine.

Beginning to Blossom – A Lesson from the Desert

Barely Blooming - Ocotillo in the Sonoran Desert

Barely Blooming – Ocotillo in the Sonoran Desert © 2014 Bo Mackison

Usually, when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Time to dream, time to contemplate what’s working and what’s not, so that we can make changes for the better. ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

I go to the desert. Walking in the canyon, deeper into the wilderness, away from the few others who are also roaming the desert. I sit on a rock outcropping, settle into the earth. Before I take photographs, I take the time to contemplate my surroundings. It is winter in the desert, there is little color in the desert. Only a few blossoms, the earliest flowers, add a touch of color to a world of muted greens and grays. The time of first awakenings. It is during this time of contemplation that I discover not only the essence of place, but also my place.

The Essence of Place – Defined

Palo Dura Canyon

Palo Dura Canyon Abstract © 2014 Bo Mackison

The Essence of Place, Defined

Essence of Place: A limited selection of photographs that, when combined, offer a unique glimpse into a place. The mood or emotion portrayed in the place is emphasized, and included are elements that are unique to the area. People also can be included to illustrate culture or connection.

Abstract. An abstract uses form, texture and color. Emphasis is more on the composition and less on the subject.

Landscape:  The term landscape represents a segment of nature from a single point of view. It encompasses land, and can also include animals, buildings, and people.

Intimate Landscape: Photographs typically do not include a horizon line, or when the horizon is present, conveys only a hint of where the image is photographed. The grandeur of nature is captured in a smaller space. Less is more.

Still Life: A photo which depicts inanimate subjects. Includes common objects in nature, such as rocks, sticks, leaves. Simplicity is key.

Macro-Photography: A close-up image of a subject. Technically, the image is at a 1:1 ratio (life-size) or larger, magnified up to 5 times the life-size image.

Wabi-Sabi:A Japanese aesthetic of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete…” ~ Leonard Koren. Includes objects connected to the earth: rustic materials, rich in raw texture; effects of weathering and aging by sun, wind, heat, cold; rusty, tarnished, warped, cracked or peeling surfaces; faded colors, muddy tones, or grays/blacks; simple, yet poetic. (source: Leonard Koren)

Combinations are also possible, such as:

Intimate landscape + portrait: A portrait of a person or animal which includes landscape to provide a context for the subject, or defines a landscape by contrasting the human perspective in a natural setting.

To capture the essence of place, I did some basic research and pulled key words and concepts for which the region is particularly noted.

Here are my notes:

Palo Duro means “hard wood”. Southern high plains. Rim of canyon is shortgrass prairie, canyon floor has more trees, shrubs, tall grasses. Canyon is 800 feet deep, formed by erosion from Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River. Rock layers of gypsum (white) and claystone (red) and is called “Spanish skirts”. “Grand Canyon of Texas” – second largest canyon in US. Erosion shaped lands, caps of erosion resistant sandstone creating mesas, pinnacles, buttes.

Landscapes:

P4141510

Palo Duro Canyon © 2014 Bo Mackison

Palo Duro Canyon

“Spanish Skirts” © 2010 Bo Mackison

P4141433

Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River  © 2014 Bo Mackison

Intimate Landscape:

Palo Dura Canyon

Juniper Tree in Red Canyon © 2014 Bo Mackison

Intimate Landscape + Portrait:

Palo Dura Canyon

Karate Chop © 2014 Bo Mackison

Macro.

P4141459

Yucca Seed Heads © 2014 Bo Mackison

Still life.

Palo Dura Canyon

Red Earth © 2014 Bo Mackison

Wabi sabi.

P4141389

Twisted Wood © 2014 Bo Mackison