#REVERB11: ORDINARY SPARKLING MOMENTS--HOW EXTRAORDINARY!

#REVERB11 (December 18) PROMPT: ORDINARY SPARKLING MOMENTS. Reflect on the ordinary moments that bring you joy. What moments would you like to relish in the coming year?

SOLITUDE IN THE WEE HOURS OF MORNING. Creeping out of bed to grind French roasted coffee beans, the release of their fragrance as boiling water seeps through the filter, lighting first a candle then nag champa or patchouli incense and having the soft candlight and fragrance create a haven around me as I draw from my subconscious seeing what surprise occurs before me on my paper, waiting for Chiboogamoo’s waking footsteps as he joins me. Repeat each day.

ACTIVITY ON TWO WHEELS. Mounting my bike, slipping my foot into the first pedal strap and feeling the force of my bike heave forward as I venture into the ride like an exuberant child. In and around my neighborhood, along the Silver Comet Trail or Mount Arabia bike trail, and the Georgia coast at Jekyll Island. Chiboogamoo is at my side!

BICYCLING WITH MY BABY! Jekyll Island, Georgia, November 2011

NEO-ICHNOLOGY. Observing animal behavior in soft earth surfaces and imagining what occurred without my presence. Feeling hardwired to interpret these animal tracks in my courtyard, along the route of my neighborhood jaunts, at Lullwater park on Emory’s campus or Sweetwater Creek, or the Georgia coast. Feeling a part of NATURE whilst in the company of my Chiboogamoo.

CREATIVITY OF OTHERS. Witnessing students and peers become exuberant as they experience a “burst” of discovery through creative acts of movement, laughter, writing, and visual art making. Being expanded by the power of EVERYONE’S imagination!

SO MANY ORDINARY SPARKLING MOMENTS:

Communicating successfully

Giving and receiving compliments

Walking, stretching—being in my body

Breathing deeply

Sipping good wine in the presence of good friends

Understanding something for the first time

Listening in a transformative way

Checking out movies and audio books from the local library

Meeting others for “coffee”

Suspending judgment

Being in awe of the GREAT MYSTERY

SOLITUDE IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING.  I draw every day. My preference is to begin a new drawing every morning. To start a new drawing often means leaving unfinished ones behind--like this image from more than a year ago in September 2010.  I allow myself to continue a painting to completion if that is what my heart is telling me. However, I also believe I will revisit images as the desire arises. During #REVERB11, I am experimenting with unfinished images and photoshop. How exquisitely fun! 

For 2012, I want to observe and collect “ordinary sparkling moments” in a more conscious and thankful way!

DEDICATION. This blog entry celebrates my 7^th Anniversary of being married to my loving companion Chiboogamoo, best husband ever! We met 10 years ago via Match.com and I will be forever grateful that technology brought me this charming, fun, and intelligent friend and lover! He makes every ordinary moment—yes—extraordinary! Thank you honey!

CHIBOOGAMOO AND HALLELUJAH TRUTH 2011.  Happy 7th Anniversary! This photograph was taken at the Douglas County art exhibit, where we both showed one of our respective artworks.

SPEAKING THE TRUTH CAN BE SUCH AN ORDINARY SPARKLING MOMENT! I encourage you to speak your own TRUTH now and in the coming days! You will experience unspeakable joy!

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REVERB11: THE SOUL FOOD OF A CREATIVITY EVANGELICAL—GOING DEEPER AND WIDER AND SHARING THE PROCESS

THE UNIVERSE AM I. Soul Food is BEING here with YOU. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

REVERB#11 PROMPT(December 10): SOUL FOOD. 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)

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REVERB11:FROM HUMILITY TO DANCE--THE DIFFERENCE A YEAR CAN MAKE

SELF PORTRAIT OF HALLELUJAH TRUTH

#REVERB11: December 2, Catch UP, Day 1 Prompt: Encapsulate the year 2011 in one word. Explain why you are choosing that one word. Now imagine it is one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2012 for you?


Hallelujah PILGRIMS for times of TRANSFORMATION when we can be retrospective and claim what is ours before venturing on again in our precious JOURNEYS! 


HUMILITY is the word that encapsulates the year 2011 for me! I submitted myself again and again to TRYING. I jumped through hoops of new experiences willingly, ferociously at times. The result? Falling, stumbling, laughing, and trying again. 


Oh I was ambitious! I would write fantastic blogs, teach inspirational ESL classes, and reach new exalted heights of artistic accomplishments in my media of water color pencils and micron pens! Hungry for the fullness of life's flavors as if it were one big banana split with extra strawberries and chocolate sauce,  I wanted to eat the MAGIC of CREATIVITY!


I longed for my CREATIVE LIFE to be like the Douglas County Cultural Arts Center exhibit buffet--sausage sizzling in sweet sauce, dates stuffed with cream cheese, bacon, pineapple, macaroons, and an abundance of wine!


Yet, instead of eating comfortably, I found myself being stared at while I held my overloaded plate from the feast! Suddenly everyone is staring at me and judging my CONSUMPTION and the WEIGHT GAIN resulting from my indulgence! Oh! I have felt UGLY in 2011!

FIERCELY SUPPORTING MY CREATIVE ENDEAVORS. When I asked the juror of the Douglas County Culture Arts Center exhibit why she had selected my work, "The Mystery of the Burka and Hijab," she answered, "It was timely." No words of praise--secretly something I longed for. (photo by Chiboogamoo, November 2011)

Each step of my PILGRIMAGE, each endeavor, and every one I met on my PATH in 2011 became my TEACHER. I felt mortified because of my expectations. In 2012, I am surrendering these expectations. 


DANCE is the word that I am selecting to "capture" my experience of 2012 one year from now. Oh PILGRIMS! I will not abandon my struggles and adventures into the unknown! Yet, I see myself being JOYFUL as I twirl with my paintings, tango with my students, and twist with my writing. I envision myself being a large, long-legged bird dancing on the ice! I will slip, slide, fall, and get up to dance again, perhaps--even changing the music!


The art group (Artist Conference Network) that I belong to has a saying: A BREAKDOWN is an opportunity for a BREAKTHROUGH! 2012 offers me the opportunity to be my JOYFUL AUTHENTIC SELF! Hallelujah! Hooray!


Thanks to my wonderful creative writing students at the Georgia Tech Language Institute who did this writing exercise with me in class yesterday. I hope your 2012 will become the word that you envisioned in this #REVERB11 day one writing exercise!


That's Coffee with Hallelujah! Soul Blog with me! Tell me what you envision for 2012 and how you sum up 2011!

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THANKSGIVING: GETTING CREATIVE IN THINKING ABOUT THE GREAT SPIRIT

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO THE GREAT SPIRIT IN ALL OF US.  These  outlines of turkeys were derived from my 2010 volunteer work with Bhutanese seniors at the Clarkston Community Center and then used with my creative writing class at the Georgia Tech Language Institute preceding the Thanksgiving holidays. (drawings by Hallelujah Truth)

Happy Thanksgiving Pilgrims! Hallelujah for the JOURNEY! I am so happy to be here with you all, seeing what we can declare about our OWN TRUTH! I believe in the power of each individual's creativity. I believe the ART each one of us  makes PULLS us FORWARD. Our own ART HEALS and CREATES MAGIC in our lives! Peter London, author of No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within, declares, "The prime work of art is to join heaven and earth!"

JOINING HEAVEN AND EARTH IN CREATIVE WRITING CLASS.  This photo captures the magic moment as students move from the teacher given assignment into the "mystery" of themselves. (photos by Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter, Instructor of English as a Second Language at GT)

Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to jump into artmaking with my creative writing class. I wanted BIG THINGS to happen. Using construction and origami paper, pens, scissors, and glue, each student was asked to construct their own artistically rendered Thanksgiving turkey. To prevent complete and utter shutdowns (which occur when people who don't draw are asked to produce something from nothing), I provided some simple and fun drawings (above) as possible starting places.

After receiving the assignment and art making materials, the students paused. There were moments of inaction resulting in my worry that they might not move forward. Creative acts have their own timing and energy. Patience must be practiced to give each ARTIST the opportunity to determine his or her own direction.


After the moments of uncertainty passed, there was a flurry of activity. Pens and pencils were moving and paper began flying. I watched in awe as the students ascended into a whir of creativity!


After fifteen minutes had passed and the students were fully engaged in their creation of a Thanksgiving turkey, I talked to them about the writing part of this holiday assignment. I wanted them to practice writing from a different perspective and gave them three writing options:


OPTION 1: You are the GREAT TURKEY SPIRIT of THANKSGIVING. You are filled with beneficence and a sense of well-being! You want to express gratitude to all of humanity for the GOOD that people bring to this EARTH and one another.


OPTION 2: You are the TURKEY to be slaughtered for everyone's Thanksgiving dinner.  You want to express your feelings about being the food that feeds everyone on this day in the United States that we give THANKS. What are your last words before you die and your body nourishes the people who are giving THANKS?


OPTION 3: Your own idea written from the perspective of a TURKEY.


I have not seen the final results of this assignment yet. I asked students to post their artfully crafted turkey images and writing on the unique blog each one has developed for this creative writing class. I invite you to visit their blogs and see for yourself where this Thanksgiving holiday assignment has taken them on their creative journey!

EMBRACING MY INNER JACKSON POLLOCK

FULL EMPTY HAPPINESS

DREAMING WITH FREEDOM

HOPE IN THE DARK DESERT

SNAKE SLEEPING WITH LAVENDER

THE CHOCOLATE OF HAPPINESS

CREATORS OF THE GREAT TURKEY SPIRIT! In this photo, two other blog writers are represented: A SMILE AFTER THE RAIN and MY MOTHER'S LAP.

THE REWARDS OF TEACHING CREATIVITY ARE MANY! Here I am in the middle of happy students! Thanks to Vanessa for taking this photo!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS (excerpted from Peter London's book, No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within. 

Suppose life is a journey, an endless, surprising odyssey in which we may move from naivete to wisdom, from self-consciousness and awkwardness to grace, and from superficial knowledge to profound wonder. The infinite menu of possibilities that life continuously displays before us may be viewed as an invitation to embark on this adventure through varied and unpredictable terrain. The artistic process is more than a collection of crafted things; it is more than the process of creating those things. It is the chance to encounter dimensions of our inner being and to discover deep, rewarding patterns of meaning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:  Many thanks to my creative writing students for their willingness to embark on a creative adventure with me into the unknown terrains of their own creativity! Your gift of attention, action, and individual journey inspire me! Gracious thanks to fellow SPIRITUAL ART PILGRIM, Karen Phillips, who in recent weeks has reminded me of Peter London's book, No More Secondhand Art!

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