| THE UNIVERSE AM I. (Art by Hallelujah Truth) |
How do you nourish your soul? What activities are essential nutrients for your soul’s well-being? (Carolyn Rubenstein’s blog, A Beautiful Ripple Effect)
It is early morning--6:00 am on Saturday, December 10--and I am feasting on my SOUL FOOD. Surrounded by my watercolor paints and paper, micron-pens, a light wave of patchouli incense flows over me, as Donovan croons his sutras on the Bose. The red Christmas lights warm this cold winter morning as Donovan repeats the words NIRVANA, NIRVANA, NIRVANA. He sings, “with no obstacles and no fear liberates herself from illusion, now to realize perfect NIRVANA. This is a typical “awakening” for me at the table of my SOUL FOOD. I am comforted by the fact that Chiboogamoo is up in bed drinking his Gingko tea and reading the latest New Yorker.
At the table of my SOUL FOOD, I am fed by the GREAT MYSTERY! I invite the UNKNOWN to visit me through my creativity. Recently, I began developing a mission statement for this SOUL BLOG of mine. In my JOURNEY, I look for ways to “clarify” my intentions around my creativity. Why do I have a presence in the blogging community? What is the purpose of Coffee With Hallelujah? This is what I have come up with so far:
My mission is to be a joyful pilgrim in awe of the great spirit as I go deeper and wider in my journey. I connect and share with souls across generations who seek well-being and wisdom through playful artistic and scientific expression.
| COSMOS EYES. I am fed by CREATIVITY. I believe we SEE the TRUTH through our understanding of the COSMOS. ART EQUALS SOUL. (Art by Hallelujah Truth) |
Like any food, SOUL FOOD can be shared. Sharing ways to go deeper into one’s own creativity FEEDS me (I have been called a creativity evangelical)! As soon as I had cultivated this mission statement for my creativity blog, I brought the same activity to my creative writing class at the Georgia Tech Language Institute. What a glorious way to enact my mission statement of “sharing with souls across generations”! How thrilling it was to see my students write on the top of a blank sheet of paper: WHAT IS MY TRUE PURPOSE OF LIFE? (activity adapted from Steve Pavlina). I felt their energy consolidate. They hunkered down and became committed to penning their visions of self. Here are two results from this class activity:A Venezuelan student, Vanessa, on her blog, Embracing My Inner Jackson Pollock, developed this mission statement:
No space is left unpainted in the unstoppable and dramatic representation of the subconscious. An 18-year-old naturally seeking the creation of a complete atmosphere through strong and rapid brush movements with no frame limiting the canvas of life. Innovation, depth, passion…Experiencing chaos within order.
Another student from Saudi Arabia, Fahad, wrote on his blog, Hope in the Dark Desert: I am the hope in the dark desert. I never give up. I always believe in God. I always believe in myself. I always know I WILL DO IT, but I just don’t know when. His mission statement:
I am here to expose myself. I am here to learn. I am here to think. I am here to thank. I am here to make mistakes. I am here to learn from my mistakes.
| Universe Am I. (Art by Hallelujah Truth) |
Shine ye spinning orbs of light
Shine ye crystal starts so bright
All ye harmonized by love
Set in motion, moved by love
Homo sapien am I no more
Beyond Beyond I soar the universe am I
From Donovan Sutras, Universe Am I
That's Coffee with Hallelujah! I will continue to share my SOUL FOOD with you and I ask that you share your SOUL FOOD with me. Let's feast together at the table of LIFE!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thank you Gwen Bell for the 3-month course, Align Your Website, and for being true to yourself and calling. I am so glad to have met you online last year during #REVERB10. Great appreciation to Donovan for his beautiful album, Donovan Sutras, which I have been in love with since the late 1990’s when I discovered it. Your lyrical voice and words have melted into my life. Creativity Writing Students thank you for your willingness to explore the mystery of yourselves and to "try on" something new. As always, thanks Chiboogamoo!
| SOUL FOOD. Coffee with Hallelujah (photo by Chiboogamoo) |
