A collection of 11 24″ x 48″ paintings created following a Spirit Call.

Reconnect Lesson 11: It’s Birthing Time

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Dedication

It’s very moving when a layer of the big picture reveals itself.

As I sat beside my father on Ash Wednesday at the Notre Dame Basilica in Ottawa after we created this video for the last Reconnect To Your True Self Lesson, it dawned on me…

The first time I sat with Papa alone in the very same pew after Maman had to be placed in long term care, I received the inspiration to create the Re-Connecting Collection – 11 intuitive visionary paintings answering an inner call to examine my roots and spiritual evolution.

9 months later, the collection was complete.

6 more months, so are the lessons.

What had initially appeared like procrastination on this last lesson turned out to be divine timing. My mother’s passing helped me understand the lesson this painting was to offer you as she entered the Gateway back Home to God.

As I sat beside my father again in the same pew during a mass dedicated to my mother’s memory, I realized we’d come full circle.

11:11 – 11 paintings, 11 lessons: a deeply personal and spiritual journey which can now serve others …

I dedicate this blessed project to both my parents, Jerry & Rita Hurley, who helped make my being a possibility in this lifetime. Rest in peace, Maman. Continue walking in love, Papa.

Reconnect To Your True Self Lesson 11 – Birthing Time

Welcome to the last of the Reconnect to your True Self lessons. It’s now time to birth what your Spirit has been calling for – be it a new way of being, doing, or co-creating.

Say yes to this year being the gateway into a new chapter of the life you are meant to live.

How is your Spirit moving you?  What will the next chapter of your life look like?

Every day is a gateway, a choice.

When you align those choices with your True Self, you’ll naturally feel happier and healthier. You’ll be living life on purpose.

In the past 20 weeks, the Reconnect to Your True Self lessons have given you the chance to get to know your Self better.

  • Lesson 1: creating space to listen within and to connect through prayer
  • Lesson 2: recognizing how your Light shines for yourself & others
  • Lesson 3: surrounding yourself with those who see, accept & love you – finding your tribe
  • Lesson 4: uncovering your superpowers through your unique hero’s journey
  • Lesson 5: getting rid of the accumulated dirt to see the truth & beauty of who you truly are
  • Lesson 6: reconnecting to your creativity
  • Lesson 7: consciously choosing your roles in community for a perfect fit
  • Lesson 8: nurturing mindfulness, gratitude & intuition in nature
  • Lesson 9: raising your vibration
  • Lesson 10: re-examining your identity building journey

And now, with Lesson 11, it’s time say yes to emerging more fully into your Self through the birthing of what’s next.

No matter if you’re clear on the big picture or simply need to take the next inspired step on the journey – enter the gateway.

My Gateway

When I started the Re-Connecting painting series in late 2018, I only knew I was being called to paint 11 2’x4’ paintings. Each piece was created intuitively over a period of 9 months, guided by my Team of Divine Helpers.

It was while creating the first painting that I understood I was being called to travel to Glastonbury near the end of the series, before creating the last piece.

I accepted that call, knowing the journey through the co-creative process for the series would prepare me for what was to come.

My trip to the UK to spend time in the sacred Chalice Well garden and participate in the Sun Lover Goddess Conference led to this final piece “The Gateway”.

It celebrates Divine Procreative Energy and the bridge between Heaven & Earth, the Etheric Field, the Akashic Field. That’s the sacred geometry of the Vesica Pisces that so fuels my creative quest.

Still, I wasn’t clear on what that gateway was inviting me to.

Birthing is not an immediate process. Just as I learned when being guided through the creation of the Law of Gender mandala, there are 2 aspects to consider.

First, there’s a need for both the feminine & masculine – the intuitive, receptive, open aspects of ourselves and the action-oriented implementer.

There’s also a gestation period – 9 months for humans and for my Re-Connecting Collection and various other time periods for various projects, transformations, etc.

I knew that my gestation period included the time to create these 11 video lessons for you. This is part of what I dedicated myself to after completing the collection. It also involved a 5-month hiatus in painting.

I thought I’d been procrastinating in the preparation of this last lesson. Known for being goal-oriented, organized, and efficient, I uncharacteristically delayed it.

Then, on February 3rd, my mother passed away, transitioning from her earthly body back to her Spirit Self. I knew she was ready to go, although I only understood the messages I’d intuitively received after she’d died.

At the age of 88, Maman chose to enter her gateway back Home to God. I was at peace with her passing and have been blessed to spend this month at my father’s side.

So, as this painting celebrates the Sun Goddess giving birth to the Earth and the birthing process itself, I said goodbye to the one who gave birth to me in this lifetime. Exactly one month later, I offer you this final post of the project.

Had I been procrastinating, or was the delay in designing this last lesson perfectly timed to understand what I was meant to share with you?

Divine Patience During Your Gestation Period

In our modern rushed times, when most have gotten used to running on the hamster wheel, we’re not always patient with the gestation time.

But as you wouldn’t want to rush a mother’s 9-month pregnancy, so too do you need to nurture your birthing or re-birthing process.

First, the seeds are planted through listening to your soul and implementing the inspired actions that will eventually bring your dreams and soul callings to fruition.

Then, divine patience is needed, focusing your attention on nurturing those dreams. Where attention goes, energy flows.

Going on Maternity Leave

What’s next for me now that the birthing of this Re-Connecting Collection project is over? I’m not sure.

The full picture of my next chapter is a mystery. I’ve only been shown the next Gateway and my heart is saying YES! to it. What I’ll birth at the end of it is unclear.

I know changes are required as the status quo of my career in the arts doesn’t seem financially viable.

Something has to change, but I’m not sure what or how. 

What I do know is that my soul has called me to travel to Ireland to spend time soaking up the energy of the land in solo contemplation at various hermitages, retreat centres and pilgrim walks.

It’s time to go deeper within – to pray, write, sketch, photograph, listen, and open to the next inspired action.

I’m ready to disconnect from the Internet and from the distractions of my everyday life. That’s the gateway I’m saying yes to at this time.

Excited & scared (the kind of fear that comes from a call to grow by healthily stretching our comfort zones), I bought my ticket. I’ll be there from April 27 – June 22.

The seed was planted a few years back on my intuitive vision boards.

When I applied to an art residency in Ireland in late in 2019, my excitement was a sure clue. One artist from Newfoundland would be chosen to spend a month, paid, in County Donegal.

Reading historic fiction novels, stories and researching spiritual travel on the land of some of my ancestors has fuelled that dream.

Residency applicants were told we’d know if we won by the end of February, so I guess that route wasn’t meant to be.

As I awaited the announcement of the residency winner, I became clear of my need to prioritize investing the time and financial resources into this project no matter what. Interestingly, submissions for other projects were also ‘unsuccessful’, leaving 2 blank months in my calendar.

Do I know what creation might come out of this? What I’m birthing next? No. I don’t need to know. I trust in the journey. Life has taught me that.

This spiritual maternity leave after the birthing of an intensive 15-month project will become the gestation period for the next birthing.

What about you?

Your Birthing Time

Is your status quo fulfilling? Or is your soul calling you to birth the next chapter of your life?

Is it a new project? A relationship renewal? A career change? A course of study? A soul-nourishing trip? The start of a family? A move? A letting go? An adoption?

Your gateway can take many shapes and open to many new possibilities.

The question is which gateway will you consciously say yes to, embracing the mystery of what lies beyond it while taking each inspired step necessary to make it happen.

Listen in, act, trust and be patient – knowing that each inspired step leads to the resources you need to take the next step. That’s the Law of Action.

If you’re feeling discontent, depressed, disconnected – these are all signs that your soul is calling for change.

If your whole being comes alive around a particular focus, that’s the direction you’re being called to.

Changes can take so many forms – within yourself and the details of your life.

The more you know who you truly are, which I hope this series has helped you with, the clearer you’ll be to knowing which gateways to say yes or no to.

Once you’ve said yes, put your trust in it and allow the Universe to reveal the “how” to make it all happen. Be patient as this can take time.

Birthing is a miracle, be it of a new life or a new chapter in your life. Here’s wishing you a life of miracles!

Discerning

Make sure to discern if your calls feel like you’re moving towards something and not running away from something. Let your intuition & love guide you, not your fear.

For more on how to access your intuition, I offer a free online tutorial here.

Revelation UPDATE

Sometimes, the meaning of an intuitive process only becomes clear years later. The pandemic hit before my trip to Ireland, canceling most of my plans and delaying the 2-week bus tour (for which I couldn’t get a refund) until 2022.

When the pandemic hit, I realized that this painting’s messages were not personal but global. Oops…

My message to isolate for 2 months for a re-birthing of my world turned out to be a glimpse of the Gateway our entire planet would experience through 2 years of isolation. 

It is time for a re-birth of the planet, for a harmonizing of the Divine Feminine & Masculine for the Good of All.

When we started hearing reports of pollution lifting and wildlife thriving, I kept coming back to this painting and its messages.

Focus on your inner peace, the marriage of your Feminine and Masculine to birth the world you would like to see. We’re entering this Gateway together – this is a message of hope!

How has that manifested for you? Feel free to write a comment below.

 

P.S. You can read the original post on the co-creative process for the painting “The Gateway” on my blog here. 

P.P.S. You can order prints  in your choice of size and medium or purchase the original. Thank you for supporting my art!

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Reconnect Lesson 10: Who Are You?

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Some of us spend our whole lives seeking the truth of who we are. That’s why we’re called seekers.

Both sides of the nature vs. nurture argument influences our self-concepts.

Our identity is shaped by our growing understanding during this journey of self-discovery. It’s part of the fun of being human.

The question remains – who are you? Or better yet, who do you understand yourself to be? 

When I was offered this question by my Team of Divine Helpers in the opening session of painting #10 of my Re-Connecting Collection, all sorts of symbolism and memories surfaced in my consciousness.

Today’s 2 exercises offer you the same opportunity – the first a creative project and the second, an opportunity to share your most influential books with others.

Exercise 1: Your Journey of Self-Discovery Artwork

What would your “Journey of Self-Discovery” artwork look like?

Whether you like to sketch, paint, or cut & paste magazine images and photographs into a collage, find a way to visually represent who you believe yourself to be.

In the case of my painting, I included

  • my ancestry,
  • the religion I was raised in,
  • the Akashic Record library holding information from all my past and future lives,
  • a representative from my Team of Divine Helpers,
  • my nationality,
  • my western & Chinese astrological signs,
  • spirals that I’ve been drawing since childhood
  • other spiritual symbolism that drives me (Vesica Pisces)
  • my eye with birthmark through which I see the beauty in the world,
  • my lifelong mission to harmoniously marry my Left masculine side with my Right feminine side (intuition into action)
  • my relationships that helped shape me
  • many of the books that helped me understand my human journey from my teenage years onward (the focus of Exercise 2).

So I ask again. What would your “Journey of Self-Discovery” piece look like?

Take the time to brainstorm, reflect and put it all together in your unique way.

Only include what matters to you. It all depends what you feel has shaped your belief in who you are. 

You may or may not identify strongly with your career, roles in your family & community, causes, your leading values, etc.

As you spend time seeing, accepting and loving yourself for who you are, you’re better able to see, accept, and love others for their unique make-up. It’s all part of being individualized expressions of the Divine.

Who knows?! This exercise on your self-discovery journey may help you make the life-changing decisions you need to get back on track with your True Self.

Exercise 2: Book Share

I’m not known for my memory, so when I was inspired to include a stack of important self-understanding books on my painting, it sent me digging both in my mental files and on Google.

I’m sure there were many others before and in between, but I started with some of the books I read in high school, including a life-changing gift from one of my teachers.

Since I give my books away as soon as I read them, I had fun looking for the titles, authors and cover designs to make up this stack of books from scratch using Photoshop.

That is not your task in this exercise.

Your mission if you so choose, is to put together a list of your most influential self-discovery books and share them  – on social media or however you choose.

When I posted this photo during my creative process, many responded that their list was similar. They added a few of mine to their reading list and shared a few of their own.

What has helped you in life can help others. So why not share? That’s the spirit of this exercise.

To start off, please share a few of yours in the comments below, I’d love that!

 

P.S. You can read the original post on the co-creative process for the painting “Journey to Self-Discovery” on my blog here. 

P.P.S. You can order prints in your choice of size and medium or purchase the original. Thank you for supporting my art!

 

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Reconnect Lesson 9: Rise Up Rise Up!

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Have you heard? We’re in a time of ascension! It may be hard to believe with all that’s happening in the world, but I believe it’s true. Of course there will be resistance. But together we can help raise the vibration of the planet and all those on it. How? By raising our own consciousness, our own vibration.

What you do for yourself, you do for others. It affects everyone else in this Divine Oneness.

So rise up, rise up dear one! It’s time to live in alignment with the divine essence you truly are.

Don’t let yourself spiral down in a funk from the many distractions, details and dramas that bombard our senses from every direction.

Remember that you are an individualized expression of the Divine. Yes, you’re human, and being in a funk is part of being human. But you’re also Spirit. 

Often, unhappiness, loneliness, despair, depression and other unpleasant realities of being human happen when we believe we are separate from God (or whatever term you resonate with) and from others.

So part of your job as a spirit in a human body is to recognize when you need to take the time to recognize, allow and process what’s triggering a funk and to then raise your vibration.

As the Law of Vibration taught us, our job as vibration managers is to raise our consciousness, our vibration so that we can attract more of the people, places, and events that resonate at that frequency. This is closely related to the Law of Attraction.

So don’t deny your sadness or frustration. Listen to it, love it, and then let it go. You’re often being shown things that are ready to be released as they’re leaving. Acknowledge them, and then let them leave.

Don’t hang on to the stories or feelings or allow them to drag you further down. That’s wallowing and yes, it’s also part of being human.

Instead, reconnect to your True Self, remembering who you truly are. Asking your Higher Consciousness to make wise choices to bring you back into alignment with the love, peace, and happiness at your very core.

Exercise: Create & Post your “Raise My Vibration” List

When the mind and heart are clouded by lower vibrations, it can be hard to motivate yourself to change gears. You may not even know you need to if that black cloud over your head is so thick you can’t see what’s happening.

That’s why having a very visible “Raise My Vibration List” can be such a blessing.

Whether you’re in a funk or simply busy, it’ll be a daily reminder to prioritize time to raise your vibration.

What does that for you?

I know that listening to one of my own meditations (available on YouTube) or an energy transmission from Steve Nobel- The Soul Matrix (which inspired this painting) helps me start my days on the right foot.

And if I’m going to have to deal with technical issues, lighting a candle, smudging, or saying a little prayer first can help me stay higher on the emotional guidance scale longer.

I also know that there’s no way I can get stuck in a bad mood if I sing & dance a few Sanskrit chants on my mini-trampoline.

And if at all possible, I make it outdoors to breathe the fresh air, take a few photos, and bask in beauty.

What raises your vibration? Make a list. Post it where you’ll see it every day. On the mirror where you brush your teeth is a good place.

After a while, you won’t need that reminder. As soon as you feel yourself dipping, you’ll recognize your desire for a higher vibration and make Higher Consciousness choices faster.

Do you need inspiration? Here are a few ideas.

10 Ways to Raise Your Vibration” List

* Meditation

* Stretching & exercise – even standing up tall in a power pose for a minute.

* Healthy eating

* Music

* Gratitude list

* Time with pets, children, loved ones

* Affirmations, mantras

* Time outdoors – lying on the ground, hugging a tree, etc.

* Smudging, prayer, or other sacred rituals

* Service to others, random acts of kindness

Leave room on your list so you can add to it.

The idea is to have a variety so that when you are heading down the emotional guidance scale, you can easily access what you already know will help you change directions.

Once you’re grooving in the higher vibes, you’re bound to feel more connected to Source & humanity as a whole.

What you do for your Highest Good, you’re doing for the Good of All.

You have an important role to play in the ascension of the planet. Thank you!

P.S. Click here to go to the blog post that describes the creative process for the painting “Time of Ascension”.

P.P.S. You can order prints in your choice of size and medium or purchase the original. Thank you for supporting my art!

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Reconnect Lesson 7: Your Piece of the Puzzle

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Imagine you’re a piece of a puzzle, connected on all sides to others in various ways.

Looking at the big picture, you can see that all the pieces are interconnected. If one piece of the puzzle is missing, there’s a hole. The picture is incomplete.

Can you see how you’re a necessary part of the big picture, an essential piece of the Divine Oneness that is our human community?

What your piece looks like and where it fits within the puzzle will depend on your personality type and preferences.

Which communities you choose to be a part of will be different than for others. What’s important is that you find a good fit for you.

On the one hand, as an introvert who thrives in my time alone, I connect deeply with community through prayerful painting, creating and sharing inspiration online or for exhibitions, and serving clients at a distance. On the other hand , I also enjoy occasional roles as an in-person leader and teacher.  And although I prefer to see friends one at a time for a deeper connection, I also enjoy group retreats, my French improv theatre group ,and my kirtan chanting group. Those last two resulted from a conscious effort to get out more now that I’m not in the classroom every day.

Communing with community can take many forms.

Exercise 1: Conscious Community

Take a look at the shape and size of your puzzle piece and how it touches all sorts of communities on every side.

The knobs represent the communities in which you’re giving. The sockets represent the communities in which you’re receiving. The flush edges are those in which the flow of giving and receiving are equal.

Sometimes, you’ll be more of a giver in one community and more of a receiver in another.

A puzzle piece that fits comfortably in the big picture is one in which there is a balance of knobs, sockets and flush edges.

In this exercise, take inventory of all the communities you’re a part of – family, work, social groups, volunteer positions, leadership roles, audience roles, etc.  Also look at the balance of online and in person communities.

Are you feeling a sense of support and nourishment from some communities?

Are you feeling a sense of purpose and contribution in others?

Does the energy flow feel balanced in your life overall? This doesn’t always mean from the same community. You might be a big giver in one group, a big receiver in another and more of a passive presence in yet another. And sometime you receive so much by the very act of giving.

What often happens, however, is that we get involved in various communities out of obligation or inability to say “no”. We might overcommit ourselves to the detriment of our need for solo time.

Or perhaps we retreat from community for a variety of reasons and end up feeling lonely, separate, or useless.

Here’s your invitation to look at and reshape your puzzle piece if needed.

Is it time to drop some communities that deplete you? Is it time to find new communities that nourish you?

Are all your communities work related? Do you need to join new groups for fun or spiritual sharing?

What works  for you? Consciously create your way of communing with community in a way that’s aligned with your True Self.

Your puzzle piece may change shapes many times in your lifetime, depending on circumstances, location, etc. That’s OK!

Exercise 2: Follow the Community Spirit

Have you ever felt moved to be somewhere or do something but you had no idea why? Did you act on that inspiration or did your logical mind talk you out of it because it was out of the ordinary or a stretch of your comfort zones?

Better yet, have you ever acted on an inspiration to go somewhere or do something to later have it revealed how you ended up being an important piece of the puzzle in a bigger picture you couldn’t have foreseen?

Exercise 2 is all about following those Spirit Calls and trusting that you’re acting on behalf of something greater even if you can’t see the big picture.

It’s not that we’re the Universe’s puppets. But the Universe will act through those open to its messages to answer prayers, manifest dreams, and more.

Trust that if you’re called to do something, even if it’s outside your comfort zone, you could be helping someone in need or placing yourself in a situation to receive the help you need.

When I took inspired action to be artist in residence at Ocean View Gallery for a week last April during my exhibition, I had no clue how my intention to be in community would be so interconnected to what was happening there and in the world.

I was painting “Communing With Community” and was guided to include the Rose Window from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. I’d been moved to study its design for a few weeks already but wasn’t sure which painting it would be included in.

After deciding this was it, we heard about the devastating fire in Paris. The next day, after I’d started painting it, I learned that one of the gallery owners’ son, Liam, was supposed to sing there in 2 weeks. Instead, once my painting was finished, his Mother found him in the studio singing his solo in front of my painting.

Was I guided to paint this window to help process the waves of feeling sweeping the planet? Was I guided to be in Carbonear to support Liam in a time of disappointment? Was I guided there so he could support me in my time of shock? One thing for sure is that we were both guided there to share in the creation of a beautiful song-infused painting that connected us to a world-wide community of builders and grievers.

I’m not privy to the full extent of it, but this was a wonderful example of how acting on several inspirations led to a very touching community experience that was a highlight in my year.

For this exercise, start your mornings with your version of Saint Francis’s prayer – “Make me an instrument of Thy peace”. Then stay open to how you might be moved to act in the service of community. 

It may be through:

  • a random act of kindness
  • reaching out to someone who crosses your mind
  • being directed to be in a certain place at a certain time
  • etc.

You may never know how big a difference you’re making in your community. A simple smile can save a life.

P.S.   “Communing With Community”  – Original SOLD –  prints in your desired medium & size are available for purchase.Thank you for supporting my art!

P. P.S. You can read the original post on the co-creative process for the painting “The Perfect Unfolding” on my blog here. 

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Re-Connecting #11- The Gateway

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“The Gateway” – #11 in the Re-Connecting Collection. (24″ x 48″) – $3,700 CAD. The original as well as prints are available for purchase.

Warning: I had to leave my childhood nickname ‘Goody Two Shoes’ aside for this post. Painting “The Gateway” was nowhere near the stretch of my comfort zones as writing about it. If you’re not comfortable reading about female genitalia, you may want to skip this one.

But why? As Becky Johansson wrote in the Goddess Conference program for her workshop “Honouring the Sacred Temple; Yonic Wounding, Forgiveness and Honouring”,

“The yoni has been reviled as a source of shame by most of the world, and we as women judged as dirty and unclean for simply having one. This sacred part of our body, the source of life itself, needs to be reclaimed and connected with so that healing can happen for our body as well for the wider world; in healing ourselves we also heal Gaia.”

So here it is – the final piece in my Re-Connecting Collection. Welcome to #11, “The Gateway”. That’s what my Team of Divine Helpers told me my trip to the UK would be and it’s now the name for this creation that was birthed through me.

It wasn’t until a few layers in and the design of the overlapping  Vesica Pisces shape that I realized I was being asked to paint a giant representation of the vulvar anatomy.

But following my time at the Sun Lover Goddess Conference in Glastonbury, it didn’t surprise me.  This sacred geometry represents, among other things, the Yoni, a Sanskrit word literally meaning the womb, the source, and especially the vulva as a symbol of divine procreative energy.  

I confess, I had to Google diagrams to get a better idea of element placement. As a heterosexual woman working in unrelated fields, I don’t have close up exposure to real ones. And high school sex-ed class was a long time ago. As you’ll read in the symbology sections, this led to some powerful and humorous moments.

“The Gateway” has become an important part of how I’m integrating the work I did in body, mind & spirit during my sacred pilgrimage to the UK. Now, it’s your turn to enjoy a visual and energetic discovery of all it has to offer.

Layer by Layer – The Evolution of The Gateway

I started my weeks of painting by massaging the holy waters from Glastonbury’s Red & White Springs into the canvas and smudging my self, the canvas, and my space with the sacred smoke of the palo santo tree. I’d invited my Team of Divine Helpers to join me, set my intentions, and remained open to receiving what wanted to emerge.

As per usual in the intuitive painting process, I started without knowing where it was going. After the first fiery layer, I received inspiration of some of the basic shapes but none of the content. This evolved one layer at a time, one day at a time.

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The Symbolism in The Gateway

The Chalice Well Cover

Visiting the Chalice Well was the main reason I felt called to Glastonbury this summer after using its waters and energy in my art for years.

I always knew that the cover of the well would make its way somewhere in this painting. I was drawn to this symbol for years before I knew what it was. I then embraced it as a visual representation of the marriage of Heaven & Earth and of the Divine Feminine & Masculine. It’s all about Oneness!

” (The cover) was “designed in the nineteenth century by archaeologist Bligh Bond. Crafted of wrought iron and wood, it depicts the Vesica Pisces, a symbol of the divine feminine, and Excalibur, the sword of the legendary King Arthur, who is believed by some to be buried at Glastonbury.

The wellspring at Glastonbury is considered to be one of England’s most Holy sites. The well itself dates back over two thousand years, and was sacred to both early Pagans and the Christians who later built an abbey on the site. Today, the well is a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Pagans alike, many of whom believe the red, iron rich water has healing and miraculous properties. …

An old legend holds that after the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea traveled to England and hid the Holy Grail on the premises, accounting for the water’s red hue. Modern Neopagans who use the site equate the waters with the menstruum of the Goddess.”  (source)

Here, I had to choose between the inside or outside cover of the Chalice Well. They’re slightly different. I opted for the inside to symbolize the open well – access to the flowing sacred waters and deep inner wisdom of the well.

If you look at the cover design, the shape between the two interlocking circles is the same as the two vertical elliptical shapes on my painting. That’s the Vesica Pisces.

Not coincidentally, I just found in my web research that The Chalice Well is thought of as a “gateway to the spirit world”.

“This oval space between the circles, this Gateway between the worlds, is called the Akashic or Etheric Field. It is the “bridge between heaven and earth”. The Etheric Field carries vibrational frequencies, sound, color, Light. When we meditate and search the Spiritual Realms we approach the Gate. When we work with Healing Energies, Psychic energies, Mysticism and Magick we enter the Etheric Field and begin to co-create.

If we but trust, and be still we can connect with the Spiritual Realms by entering the Gateway. Whether we seek healing and changes, peace and comfort or guidance and belonging, attuning to the energies of the Chalice Well will help us.”

The Vesica Pisces is also a symbol of:

* Joining of God and Goddess to create an offspring
* Symbol for Jesus Christ
* Halo in medieval art
* Vagina of the feminine- Yoni
* Flower of Life Mandala
* Sacred Geometry of harmonic proportions

At first, I thought I’d be placing the Chalice Well cover design in the smaller orange Vesica Pisces shape (the vaginal entrance), but was redirected to painting it at the site of the clitoris. Divine marriage, gateway to the etheric world, source of ecstasy …. I can understand why it was meant to be placed in this most sensitive spot.

The Sun

When I told a friend that I’d finally been guided to travel to Glastonbury, she told me that my dates coincided with the Sun Lover Goddess Conference. I immediately bought a ticket, figuring it was part of my discovery process of why I was inspired to be there at that time.

For over a week, hundreds of women & men dressed in sun colours delved deep into the realm of the Goddess. What an intense experience I’m so glad I said “yes!” to.

Every day, sometimes more than once, we sang and danced the “Blessing Song” written for the conference by one of its ceremonialists, Sally Pullinger.  As we got to the lyrics “bless you”, we’d extend our hands sideways to meet with our neighbours’. Then, with “bless me”, we’d turn with hands in prayer position. As a few turns were involved, we got to join hands with the neighbours beside us as well as in front & behind.

“Goddess of Sun, Fire, Passion and Love
Heat from below and Light from above
Bless you, Bless me, Bless you, Bless me
Bless you, Bless me, Bless you, Bless me
Goddess, Goddess, Sun Lover Goddess
Shine your Love into the World
Goddess, Goddess, Sun Lover Goddess
Shine your Love into the World.”

I spent a lot of time singing that song while painting the Sun Lover Goddess. It was only once the painting was finished that I noticed how the white dotted arched shapes mimic that of the hands extended and the higher rays of the hands in prayer. Love it!

That’s how it often happens. It was also after I’d intuitively cut the stencil for the basic sun shape (much like we cut paper snowflakes) that I realized that the magenta shapes in between the shooting rays looked like an embrace from the Goddess Herself. It’s a top view of the breasts and two arms around a big gold dot, representing the light within me & you.

Birthing the Earth

In the Goddess tradition, the sun is Mother to the Earth.

Here, she is giving birth to our beloved planet, surrounded by ivy, symbol of loyalty, fertility and eternal life.

You’ll notice that this time, I placed the island of Newfoundland in the centre. That’s where I live. This view of our planet also shows the UK.

One day, while reading the book “Anna – Voices of the Magdalenes” (sequel to “Anna- Grandmother of Jesus”- two books I brought back from the Chalice Well Garden), my brain waves were somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.  That’s when I saw in my mind’s eye a crimson ring with the healing energy symbols of the Karuna Reiki training I received in Glastonbury before the conference.

At first, I painted these around the smaller Vesica Pisces, part of the labia minora. But then, after following up on a hunch about the appropriateness of revealing these sacred symbols, I decided to cover them up with another coat of crimson red, the colour of our moon blood and of the iron-rich Red Spring water at the Chalice Well. The energy is still there even if the symbols aren’t as visible anymore.

The Lion

Ha ha! I got a belly laugh from this one. My Team of Divine Helpers have a sense of humour!

When I first reviewed diagrams of the vulvar anatomy online, I thought to myself ” I won’t be including the urethra.”

Was I wrong! About 5 minutes after receiving the vision for the lion spout from the Chalice Well Garden, it hit me that I’d be painting gushing waters out of the urethra.  I may have been slow to make the link, but I still get a giggle from it.

Upon further reflection, including the lion’s head was also perfect for 2 other reasons.

First, I’d spent a week admiringly gazing at the 2 giant lion heads on stage at the Sun Lover Goddess Conference. Second, I spent all of August 8th (Lionsgate) cloistered at the Chalice Well Gardens.

Here’s what Donna Virgilio, my tour guide to Tintagel-Cornwall the day before, wrote about the Lionsgate Portal, when the sun in Leo aligned with Sirius.

” This is a time of healing, awakening, and opening of the heart.

The Lionsgate Portal is open from July 26th to August 12th, sending beams of high vibrational energy to planet Earth. The zenith energies are at their peak on August 8th.

In numerology, the 8th day of the 8th month is a highly spiritual and charged time. The number 8 represents infinity, the infinite soul that we are and the infinite journey that we take. It represents the “forever conscious” part of our soul; the soul that has lived and will continue to live long after and long before this incarnation.

We will also see the sacred alignment of Venus and Jupiter. This is luscious!

Venus is the planet of love and Jupiter is the planet of abundance, and together on 8/8, they make magic! This is truly special energy and such a gift from the Universe!

These two celestial God & Goddess are aligning in what astrologers call a trine, and this is a harmonious, wonderful aspect that will really help to strengthen the loving, heart-centered energy of the 2019 Lionsgate Portal.

Under this energy, it is going to be easier for us to open and expand to love, beauty, sensuality, compassion, abundance, and all the feel-good emotions that come along with it!”

I must have spent over 4 hours layering and glazing the water, eventually adding sparkly 3-D paint. As you’ll see, this sacred water pools at the bottom of the vaginal orifice before going underground and emerging again in the lake & stream that pass between the dancing flames.

The Dancers

At first, I envisaged the dancing crowds of the conference adorned in sun coloured clothing, celebrating the Goddess in nature.

As I painted them, I understood that we, humanity, dance our days as the sacred flames of creativity, love, purpose & passion. Not only are we witnessing and celebrating the birthing represented in “The Gateway”, but are part of the ongoing process, generation after generation.

Sparkles of mica (the energy of love & compassion) were added to the figures amidst the stained-glass-window look of the scenery around them.

We Are The Creative Flames! Let us join together to co-create the world we dream of living in.

The Marriage of the Divine Feminine & Masculine

I knew that my Team of Divine Helpers wanted me to paint a figurative representation of the marriage of the God & Goddess, Divine Feminine & Masculine (within us & the world) at the top of the labia majora, near the mons pubis.

I procrastinated for days because of my lingering limited thinking about my ability to paint human forms. The ideas gestated until I got myself out of the way enough to receive a vision of how to encircle them around the Chalice Well cover. The initial inspiration happened while sitting on the bus thinking about totally unrelated things. It was like an instant download that had me take a deep audible breath!

That last part of the design is so far from what I’d envisaged and drawn on paper first. I had to remind myself several times that there are no accidents in intuitive painting. I had to be gentle on myself and my painting, loving its awkward teenage stage as we figured out what it wanted to become. In the end, I’m loving what is because I let go of attachment of what I thought it would be.

Entering The Gateway – The Mystery Continues


Although my post-UK painting is finished, Glastonbury isn’t finished with me yet.

First, there are many references to it in the fascinating Anna books I’m reading.

Next, while the varnish was curing, I was at my friend Leslie’s house for our weekly business mastermind meeting. During a dancing break (yes, we know how to have meetings!), I felt called to open the glass door to one of her many display cases to pick a card from a deck I hadn’t noticed before. What was it? The cover of the Chalice Well! On it was written, “Follow your heart and be true to yourself. There are no limits”. Leslie had no idea she had this card!

A few days later, I was watching “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” on Netflix. It’s like a James Bond meets Get Smart movie. One of the controversial scenes involved inserting a tracking device inside a woman’s genetalia at the famous Glastonbury Festival. It happened inside a luxurious sleeping tent, one of the many topics of conversation between myself and a man wearing a kilt on the bus from Glastonbury to London. He lived in Glastonbury, but grew up about 3 blocks from me in Ottawa, Canada. We’d started chatting while waiting for the bus and then he asked to sit with me for the ride. When the bus started getting busy, I’d suggested he look at the seat number he’d been assigned when he purchased his ticket online so we could give it to the person who’d say he was in his/her seat. We were both surprised to find out he was already in it! It’s all very very interesting.

Oh, and this may be too much information – but why stop now. After reflection, I’ve  been assured that this last tid bit will be helpful for someone. They say that where attention goes, energy flows.  Well, after weeks of intense focus on the vulvar anatomy and energy work in and out of the studio, that’s not the only thing flowing. It truly is meno-pause, not meno-stop. After at least 21 months since my last period, I’m experiencing my menstrual flow again. It happened on the day I brought my painting to NL Canvas for scanning so it could be made available for prints – the last step in the creative process. Have I reversed the effects of aging like in the book “Anna”? Maybe not, but despite the Internet’s advisement to get this checked out, I feel strangely happy about this not-coincidence. I certainly don’t want to get pregnant like the 73-year old that my housesister told me just had twins, but I know there’s meaning here. There’s a sense of rejuvenation to it…

“The Gateway” may be the end of my Re-Connecting series, but it’s definitely not the end of the mystery.

Layer by layer, our lives also evolve as we listen to and act upon Guidance. I’m sure glad I did!

What’s calling you?

Title: The Gateway
Year: © 2019
Size:  48“ x 24“ ( 122 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics, mica & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
Price: $3,700 CAD
 You can order prints of “The Gateway” in your choice of size and medium in my print-on-demand shop. If you’re moved to bring the original into your life, it’s also looking for a home 
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Re-Connecting #10- Journey of Self-Discovery

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Journey of Self-Discovery painting

“Journey of Self-Discovery” 24″ x 48″ – Original and Prints for sale

Who am I? This is an ageless question asked by countless seekers on their journey of self-discovery.

Do you attribute your temperament to your ancestral make-up or zodiac sign?

How strongly do you identify with your gender, country, religious upbringing?

What books have helped you understand who you are and why you’re here?

What tools have helped you know & accept your personality type?

What has shaped your way of perceiving the world?

From the moment we’re born, we embark on a journey of self-discovery, trying to find our place in relation to our parents, families, communities, social & professional circles, world and beyond.

Who am I? How do I fit in? Where do I fit in? Do I need to fit in?

This journey of self-understanding and identity building is as unique as you are.

“Journey of Self-Discovery”, painting #10 in my Re-Connecting Collection, visually represents what’s helped me understand who and what I am in this lifetime. 

As you keep reading, reflect on what your painting would include.

Journal or sketch it out as part of your re-connecting to your True Self on your path of purpose.

My Ancestry

I’ll admit that when I painted the coloured background at the top of this painting, I hadn’t intended for it to look like the female reproductive system.

That’s often how it works in intuitive painting. It was the shape of this birthing canal that inspired my decision to include my genetic makeup.

I was born in a French Canadian Catholic family in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. My ancestry is 1/8 German, 1/8 Irish, and 3/4 French.

That’s from the earthly perspective.

From a spiritual perspective, however, I believe that I’m an individualized expression of the Divine. I sense it as Truth that we’re all part of that Divine Oneness. That’s why I included a big 3-D drop of gold paint at the very top, representing that drop of the pure divine essence some call God.

Being born into this world from the Spirit World, I chose to paint an angel as the representation of my team of Divine Helpers and other souls who agreed ahead of time to support me in various ways on my earthly journey.

This angel looks very much like the ones in the stained-glass windows at the Notre Dame Basilica in Ottawa – where I received the intuitive message to create this collection.

Journey of Self-Discovery

It was only after I’d painted the top that I realized I’d forgotten to include something that identified me as Canadian. Oops. Yet, it’s a strong part of my identity.

My background living & working in the nation’s capital for many years gave me a good background on what it meant to be Canadian.

But it was when I was teaching about Canada during my 5 years in the Czech Republic and South Korea that I realized how little I truly knew. That’s when I set the intention to discover who I was in relation to this huge land I called home.

Since then, I’ve lived & worked in 5 provinces and have visited the other 5. I’ve yet to explore the 3 territories though.

Until my next intuitive call, I’m happy to continue living on the island of Newfoundland, which I’ve called home since 2011.

So – that’s where that big red maple leaf comes in – added once I’d already painted the other central elements.

First were the 2 triangles pointing in different directions – up for the masculine and down for the feminine. These help shape the overlapping circles and the sacred geometry of the Vesica Pisces. If you’re familiar with my art, you know I use this symbol of two becoming one a lot.

In the sweet spot – the shape at the middle of the two circles – is the third eye. Intuition. My life has been shaped by connecting to my True Self and following my inner guidance around the world. It’s helped me see myself and others through a different perspective – one of increasing love & beauty.

After all, my life purpose is to travel the world exploring and expressing my love of beauty and the beauty of love. It took 6 months of working with the book “What Matters Most” by Hyrum Smith to figure that out.

The centre of my painting is the journey of becoming whole – first as a spiritual being having a human experience.

It’s also about harmonizing  my sacred feminine and masculine. For many years, they were at war inside my head.

I’m not sure if I was born a stronger Right or Left brained child, but I certainly was very well trained in the Left Brain world. So much so that my Right, feminine, intuitive self shrunk with the years until a healer cautioned me to do something about it quick.

That’s when I got back into the arts, which led to strengthening my intuition …. and the rest is history.

The textured couple represent both that balance of the feminine and masculine within me as well as my identity-building within  the context of relationships – with family, friends, co-workers, and soul-mates.

I may be a highly sensitive introvert who enjoys a lot of solo time, but I also cherish my connections with like-minded souls.

I grew up in an insular military family. It was really only after my 10-year marriage and 2 more provinces that I discovered a sense of belonging and community. Before that, I had one or two close friends wherever I lived, but never had a sense of tribe. Saskatoon changed that.

Who we are within society and in relationship with others is a balancing act – one I chose to represent here through the yoga tree pose – grounded & connected in dynamic stillness and mutual support.

The Tools

I’ve been a spiritual seeker from as far as I can remember. I spent many introspective hours alone in nature as a young child. I also remember reading booklets about Saints and the Children’s Bible in my pre-teens.

My grade 9 religious studies teacher, Lysette Brochu, was moved to give me a copy of Og Mandino’s The Greatest Miracle in the World. For decades after that, I mostly read personal and spiritual growth books.

Here, I chose to honour a few of the most significant books from my past.  I let go of books as soon as I read them, so I had to recreate them in Photoshop from scratch. Then, made a gel image transfer so that the books would be semi-transparent, letting the texture and colour of the gold background infuse the titles.

The knowledge and wisdom from these books run through my essence just as my ancestor’s blood run through my veins.

So does what I’ve learned about myself as a Scorpio (in western astrology) and a Fire Horse (in Chinese astrology). The latter are dreaded, I’ve read, by Chinese parents. But I quite like who I am.

Other tools that influenced my self-understanding & self-acceptance were the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the one included in the book Now, Discover Your Strengths.

An Ever Evolving Journey

Emerging more fully into ourselves is a journey that spans many lifetimes, or so I believe.

The clockwise and counter-clockwise spiral vines on the background represent this constant journey of allowing Spirit to guide us inward and then back out again into the world through our various ways of being & doing.

Framing the painting are the two Towers of Truth & Knowledge standing in the etheric plane. These are where I imagine the Akashic Records  (Book of Life) to be stored. They’re like a super computer that can access all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth in the past, present & future – thoughts, words, deeds, intentions, etc.

Exploring these on my own and with trained practitioners has been a fun part of this road trip called life.

The Painting – Journey of Self-Discovery

Emerging as my True Self with the help of this entire frame of reference has been a work in progress – a journey of self-discovery and identity-building that I’ve found important in allowing myself to be all I was meant to be. 

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Title:Journey of Self-Discovery
Year: © 2019
Size: 48 “ x 24 “ (122 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
Price: $3,700 CAD  – Purchase online here.
Order prints (in your choice of size & medium)

Who Are You?

This painting is a bit of who I am.  Who are you?  Please share in the comments below 1 thing you would keep the same from my painting and 2 elements that you would add. Books, symbols, etc.

Thanks – I look forward to reading that.

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Re-Connecting #9 – Time of Ascension

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“Time of Ascension” (24″ x 48″) – Original & Prints available.

As you contemplate “Time of Ascension”, #9 in the Re-Connecting painting collection, consciously breathe light into your physical, etheric, emotional and mental bodies.

Recharge with every in-breath.  

Release any toxic energy that can be released with every out breath.

Invite your whole Team of Divine Helpers and your Higher Self to be here with you now as you soak in the energy from this new painting.

Ask Archangel Metatron to bathe you in the golden light of the Christ Grid, that energy that comes from the Central Sun through our sun.

Then ask Archangel Sandalphon to energize you with silver light from the crystalline grid from the core of our sacred planet.

This light energy from above and below are clearly represented in this piece.

Less evident but still present is the energy available to us from the horizontal plane.

Invite Archangel Raphael in the east, the healer / magician angel of air to bathe you in green light.

Then ask Archangel Micheal, the warrior/ protector angel of fire in the south to bathe you in electric blue light.

Next, invite Archangel Gabriel, messenger angel of water from the west to hold space for you in diamond white light.

And finally ask for support from Archangel Uriel, angel of earth and physical structures to bathe you in ruby red fire.

Don’t rush the contemplative process.

You take the time to recharge your phone. Don’t forget to recharge yourself.

Allow the energy infused into this painting and the support from the Archangels to nourish your transformational journey.

Each individual that does the inner work to raise his or her consciousness, helps in the ascension of the planet.

Our Teams of Divine Helpers and Universal energy are happy to help – we just need to remember to ask for that support and to connect to the resources available to do so.

Meditation / Contemplation to Recharge the Batteries

It’s too easy to get caught up in the details of our dramas or the busy-ness in our every day lives.

If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in the mud or running on a hamster wheel, you know what I mean.

I find contemplating beauty and meditation break me out of those patterns.

They reconnect me to that  Divine Energy that is available to us all.

There are so many kinds of meditation and contemplation.

The guided visioning meditations I gift you with regularly are but one style. These are intended to help you raise your vibration and connect to your intuitive guidance.

When I’m not listening to the ones I channeled, I’m on YouTube listening to the energy transmissions, meditations, and affirmations by Steve Nobel of The Soul Matrix.

I resonate with his work, which definitely influenced the visuals in this painting.

As part of the retrospective on my life, “Time of Ascension” honours all of the conscious work I’ve done to live a life that’s aligned with my core values and emerge more fully into my Higher Self. I’m still a work in progress.

Watch It Evolve

While I was varnishing “Nature Bound“, I received a vision of what I needed to do for the base layer of the next painting in this collection.  No breaks! The painting marathon continued.

I spent a whole day creating layers of multicoloured stripes. It had the same meditative effect as dot-making, but in a new way. After layers of warm and cool stripes, I dove in with 2 shades of gold.

Then came hours of mathematical and geometrical calculations before painting the light rays. 

Several more hours were spent drawing and cutting the stencil for desired effect on the crystals.

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In Detail

Looking at the crystals close-up, the facets are white from some angles yet various iridescent colours from other angles.

The Lapis Lazuli stone at the top in its deep celestial blue has been a symbol of  honor, gods, power, spirit and vision throughout the ages. It is still a universal symbol of wisdom and truth. Here it’s embedded in mica chips, with the added energy of love & compassion.

Title: Time of Ascension
Year: © 2019
Size: 48 “ x  24“ (122 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics, lapis lazuli & mica & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
Price: $3,700 CAD – purchase original.

Prints available in your choice of size & medium here….

 

 

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Re-Connecting # 8 – Nature Bound

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Original (24″ x 48″) – $3,700 CAD ; Prints available.

A painted retrospective of my spiritual journey in this lifetime would be incomplete without honouring the role of Mother Nature.

The forest definitely had a hand in raising me, especially between the age of 5-10 when we lived in the Black Forest, Germany.

My solo time in nature kept me connected to my Self, the Elementals, and God. Growing up in a time when children could roam free was perfect for an introverted child like me.

I’ve never been known for my memory and couldn’t tell you what I spent my days doing alone in the forest, but I do remember learning at a young age not to talk about it at school because my classmates would laugh at me.

So I kept my stories of my relationship with animals, fairies, angels and whatever else to myself.

I do remember biking to the next village (or what seemed like) at the age of 5 to spend time with the ducks and swan at the pond.

When we moved to Baden-Baden, my parents had to regularly send out search parties in the forest between the base and PMQs at dinner time. I’d have spent hours in there on my own or with a neighbour’s borrowed dog.

I just asked my Papa, and he said he’d find me with butterflies or frogs. I was happy, unaware of time.

In Lahr, we lived close to the Stadpark, an 11-acre garden filled with roaming peacocks and cranes. I regularly wandered there on my own at the age of 8-10 to speak to the unhappy horse in his stall or to admire the flowers.

Throughout our 5 years in Germany, we were blessed to travel far and wide. I remember the cities (especially the pizzerias) but I cherished our time in nature –  skiing in the Swiss Alps to swimming in the Mediterranean Ocean. I wasn’t very athletic and complained during our family hebertism trail hikes, but today I’m so grateful for them.

I got to experience so many of Mother Nature’s beauty as a young one and I continued to seek out contemplation spots as I grew up.

Back in Ottawa, I’d bike to Hogs Back Falls to sit amongst the rocks and sing or contemplate. That was before they fenced them off. Or I’d take the bike trail to a set of swings by the river to feel the freedom of being me. That’s another way to say I was escaping the pressures to become someone different.

My love of beauty fuelled my desire to travel and to seek out nature. It also re-connected me to my intuition when the stresses of the left-brain world had me spinning in the hamster wheel.

Water nourished my soul – I loved nothing better than to cross a lake at a slow breast stroke or spend sunset canoeing with a friend.

Snowshoeing in the Gatineau Hills brought me out in winter. And I loved hiking in the deep snow with my long skirts (with snowpants underneath). Yup, I’m a romantic!

As I said, I’m not the most athletic, but leisurely activity at a slow pace to admire my surroundings has always been pure bliss.

Hiking in groups never worked well as I’d be far behind feeling pressured when I wanted to get on my knees to admire the progress of a snail.

Nature Bound – the Name

So there you have it – # 8 in my Re-Connecting Collection is called “Nature Bound”.

Yes, “bound” is an expression meaning destined or heading towards something, as in going out into nature. But it’s more than that.

This painting’s name also plays with other meanings of “bound”:

  • As a noun, it’s a leaping movement upward – that boost my spirit gets from being in nature.
  • As the past tense of the verb ‘bind’ it means to be united or joined with – as in becoming one with Nature,
  • It also means to be committed to or apprenticed to – alluding to that teacher/student relationship.
  • As an adjective, it talks about the likelihood of something happening – the promise of re-connection that happens when I spend time among the Elements.

Watch it Evolve

I started the bottom layer before heading out to Carbonear for my Artist in Residence week. I used Golden Open paints – professional acrylic paints that stay wet a long time, just like oil paints. So that week away gave it time to dry after the very colourful textured layers.

Part of me regrets covering all that up.But that coursing energy is still under there – the energy flow and Ley lines around the world.

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The Pinecones

See how the tree branches hug each pinecone, embracing each perfectly evolving miracle of nature and nourishing it as it emerges more fully into its Self?

Well, that’s what I was going for anyway…

Did you know this about the pinecone?

“Our “Pineal Gland, shaped like (and named after) the Pinecone, is at the geometric center of our brain and is intimately linked to our body’s perception of light. … It is considered by many to be our biological Third Eye, the “Seat of the Soul,” the “Epicenter of Enlightenment” — and its sacred symbol throughout history, in cultures around the world, has been the Pinecone.”

(source)

I learned that in 2015 after it came to me in a vision for one of my Universal Law mandalas.

This time, I was inspired to include 3 with white dots highlighting the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio. (watch this cool video to learn more).

My initial feeling was that they represented nature’s role in my life as a child, teen, and adult. As I grew, so did my relationship with Nature and with my Self.

What else does this trinity represent for you?

 

The 5 Elements

The frame to this stained-glass window inspired piece is filled with symbols of the 5 Elements: air, water, fire, earth, and aether.

Some of the symbols are universal and others chosen for their personal significance in my life.

 

Thank God for the Creatures

These childlike drawings of a squirrel, bird, and deer came last when I realized that a painting about nature would be incomplete without honouring the four-legged and winged ones.

Nature’s creatures have been my friends, messengers, teachers, and so much more over the years.

May they too continue to find peace and nourishment in nature’s great outdoors.

 

Original & Prints

Title: Nature Bound
Year: © 2019
Size: 48 “ x  24“ (122 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
Price: $3,700 CAD  – purchase now

Inquire about payment plans.

Prints available- order here.

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Re-Connecting #7- Communing With Community

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The final Communing with Community painting

“Communing with Community” – Original SOLD (oder prints here).

Hours after I decided to include Notre Dame’s Rose Window in this painting, I heard about the devastating fire in Paris. Two weeks before that,  I’d been inspired to study the design of cathedral rose windows.

There are more than just layers of paint in “Communing With Community”. There are layers of connection and re-connection through time, space, and experience as I co-created this piece live in Carbonear, NL.

In the 26-minute video below, you’ll get to share in some of that co-creative energy that brought this painting into being.

It all started when I was writing my grant proposal for the Re-Connecting Art Project.

I knew that the theme for the 7th piece would be community. The idea of creating a painting on community alone in my studio didn’t feel right.

So I reached out to Tammy Wrice Paetkau of Ocean View Gallery in Carbonear to see if she’d be open to my coming to spend a week there during my scheduled “Communion” exhibition.

She was!

Tammy and her business partner Michelle Penney-Rowe opened their businesses and their hearts to what I was moved to offer & create there.

They housed me, fed me, and made me feel right at home. I stayed at Tammy’s house with her beautiful family and borrowed her truck for my early morning trips to the studio.

From April 14-19, I offered 7am Tune-In Meditations followed by an 8am walk in the community. Then, I painted until closing time. On the 20th, I offered an intuitive painting workshop that was as much about painting as the personal spiritual process behind visionary art.

What an amazing week! It took me out of my studio and out of my comfort zone, but once I was there, it was the most natural dance of giving and receiving that resulted in the birthing of this painting.

A month later, what I remember most are my heart to heart interactions with those of all generations who came to be a part of the experience.

  • the timing of two visitors from St. John’s who joined me in infusing the first layer with community words
  • the young boy who asked me so many questions about my art, choice of music, prices, process, etc. for half an hour before settling in to draw quietly in the space
  • the teen who was surprised to find me there and was visibly taken aback by the energy in the room and came back to give me a few names to pray for during the dotting stage
  • those who came in to hug me and thank me after having experienced the exhibition before my arrival
  • the conversations with those touched by the work
  • the fellow artist and her husband who had never experienced anything like this exhibition and called back the next day to purchase a piece
  • the love, tears, and openings that occurred during the channeled meditations
  • my time with Tammy & her family
  • And, of course, the whole story of the Notre Dame fire.

The Video”

Watch this 26-minute video to see the painting evolve and to share in my community experience.

The Symbolism

Part of the intuitive painting process is trusting inspiration.

I’d received guidance to study Rose Window designs two weeks prior to going to Carbonear.

I didn’t know if it was for the background I started in the studio or some other painting in the collection. I just followed the flow.

Then, in Carbonear, when an empty circle appeared at the top of the canvas, I knew it was time. I would include one of Notre Dame’s Rose Window patterns at the top.

Later in the day, as I was posting progress photos to Facebook, I came across a post about the fire.

It hit me like a kick in the solar plexus.

Yes, it was personal. I’d visited the cathedral as a child, adolescent, and adult.

But it was much deeper than that.

I felt like I was connecting to communities all around the world – those in the present who were impacted by the news, and those throughout history who built the cathedral, worshipped there, or simply visited it.

I knew without knowing the details, that my being called to paint this window at this time was somehow helping support something greater. Was it a planetary shift or healing?

I didn’t need to know the details.  I just needed to paint & pray, connecting to community on a grand scale. But it was local too!

Many conversations ensued with visitors – about their time there, the impact of the fire on them, etc.

A day or so after I’d started painting the window, I found out that Michelle’s son, 11-year-old Liam, had been scheduled to sing at the Notre Dame Cathedral in 2 weeks with the Atlantic BoyChoir.

This was no coincidence. It was a moving example of how I may have been inspired to be there that week for him … or him for me.

On Friday night, after closing time, Michelle found Liam in the gallery standing in front of the completed painting singing the solo he had been meant to sing in the cathedral.

I had tears in my eyes when she messaged me to tell me – and still now as I write about it.

Liam’s song is now infused in this painting. And the energy of “Communing with Community” is now part of his journey.

Who knows what other layers of meaning and purpose may reveal themselves in time.

I’m just grateful I turned intuition into action – bringing me to Carbonear in April to paint the Rose Window at the time of the fire.

I’m so grateful for it all.

Community Words

Community WordsA week before going to Carbonear, I asked my Facebook audiences what words described the best of community to them.

A couple of visitors and I used liquid acrylic paint markers to cover the blank canvas with these words and more, infusing that energy into its foundation, You can’t see them anymore, but their energy still emanates from the painting.

The most popular word was “inclusive”.

This was then covered in layers and hours of mark-making, symbolizing the diversity within communities and between them.

Liquid paints in higher chakra colours were then  poured on top of these to add harmony to the apparent chaos through communication, self-expression, and connection to the Oneness of all that is.

The diversity in texture is still there, but so is the flow of unity.

Dotted Puzzle Pieces

Then came 10 hours of dotting puzzle pieces in the outside frame.

Each white dot represents a person, a member of our human communities. Each iridescent violet dot represents a Divine helper standing by our side.

Each piece is then a community within the greater whole of all communities.

I spent many of these hours reflecting on and connecting to the waves of energy that the fire at Notre Dame cathedral stirred around the world.

I also spent a few hours praying for family, friends, and prayer requests that came through Facebook and gallery visitors.

Some were intrigued or surprised about this part of my process. But after I explained how I do energy work as I paint, they gladly offered a few names.

Praying for community while dotting became an integral part of my process when working on # 1 in this series, “Every Dot a Prayer“. It’s one of my ways to commune with community, even when I’m alone.

The Arrow

When I asked my Team of Divine Helpers what might evolve in the centre of this painting, I was given a vision of an arrow with a circle. This was in the early stages of painting.

I had a few layers to go before needing to know more, but the word ‘arrow’ was in my consciousness when my father emailed me to say the windows of Notre Dame may have survived but the arrow had collapsed.

I’d never heard the term ‘arrow’ used for a church before. When I googled it, I found out that Notre Dame’s arrow is more than a steeple. It held 3 sacred relics and acted as “a veritable spiritual lightning rod protecting all those who work for the praise of God”.

My attention was also grabbed when one of my visitors, local yoga teacher Brent Denney took off his coat, revealing a tattoo of an arrow with several circles on his forearm.

It represented the cosmos and earth’s position in it (the little blue dot).

Wow! The meaning of community became much broader when contemplating the design of this tattoo in the context of what I’d been called to co-create.

In my design, I saw the arrow pointing up, aiming community higher, bringing our prayers to the Universe. It represented our planet’s ascension to higher consciousness and Divine Oneness.

As for the circle, I didn’t want to copy another artist’s design. As I tuned in, my initial inspiration of 1 circle became the vesica pisces – my favourite sacred geometry shape.

The Vesica Pisces & Tree of Life

The vesica pisces is a symbol I use a lot in my art.

It’s sacred geometry that’s been used in religion and spirituality for thousands of years to represent a source of immense power and energy.

The Vesica Pisces is the two becoming one.

It’s also

* an opening into the mysteries of higher consciousness
* the seed of the tree of life and basic motif for the flower of life,
* the intersection of spiritual and physical,
* creation/ birthing/ yoni/ Goddess
* a symbol for Jesus Christ (the fish shape in the middle).

At the heart of this vesica pisces I saw planet Earth. I purposefully chose to paint the facade that featured Europe to honour the international attention it was getting due to the fire.  Again, it’s like this fire represented a shift that is so much greater than that of a burning building.

Our sacred planet, however, wasn’t just floating in space.  It turned with the trunk of the Spirit Tree of Life at its core.

 We’re connected here on Earth to both the spiritual and physical.

Roots through time and space nourish our existence.

Branches bearing the fruits of all we are and all we’re doing here connect us to a greater picture, a mystery, our place within the divinity of all that is.

Around these two circles, holding hands, is both our human family & spirit family – of all colours, shapes, and sizes, including a few in wheel chairs.

We’re in this together!

Our pain comes from separation – from ourselves, each other, and God (or whatever term you’re comfortable using).

This painting is to help re-connect us to our True Self and All that Is.

Dragonfly Energy

It’s time to ‘burn’ whatever doesn’t serve us – whatever keeps us separate from ourselves and each other.

The last touch on this painting was adding 4 dragonflies in the corners of the ultraviolet light beam, some heading towards the planet and some away from it.

Dragonfly energy helps us to let go of illusions and delusions to get to the deeper truth.

They’re here to help us truly commune with community.

May it be so.

Bringing it Home

“Communing with Community”
24″ x 48″
(acrylics on canvas)

Original – SOLD

Prints – order yours here.

You’ can order prints of many of my paintings  in the size and medium you want from the Print-on-Demand link under my Art/Shop tab.

What More?

I’ve only shared some of the insights from my experience here.

There are so many more layers of meaning and energy that I am unaware of.

Are there any that come up for you? Please share in the comments below.

Namaste (the Spirit in me honours the Spirit in you).

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A Winner – Every Dot a Prayer

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“Every Dot A Prayer”  Prints available in my print-on-demand page.

Do you remember last November when I told you about a top secret painting I couldn’t reveal until the spring? This is it!

“Every Dot A Prayer” has just won one of the 2019 Arts & Letters Awards in a prestigious annual competition organized by the Newfoundland & Labrador Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

It was on display along with other category winners & selected entries at The Rooms in St. John’s until May 12, 2019.

This was the very first painting in my “Re-Connecting” body of work that is answering an inner call to examine my spiritual roots from my early Catholic upbringing to a more universal spirituality.

The purpose of this growing collection is to explore and visually express the source, symbolism and narrative that have shaped my path.

If you recall, I received Guidance to create this collection as I sat with my father in Ottawa’s Notre Dame Basilica for the first time since my mother was moved into long-term care.

As soon as I got back to Newfoundland & Labrador, I immersed myself in the creation of this first piece to meet the mid-November deadline for the provincial Arts & Letters Awards.

70 hours of focused meditative studio work resulted “Every Dot a Prayer”.

Building on what I learned at the Vienna Academy of Visionary Art in 2013/14 and my evolving full-time practice since, it pushed me to the edge of my artistic skills and brought me deeper into the energy healing work that is characteristic of my art.

Energetic Community Connection Through Prayer

One unexpected aspect of its creative process was communion with community.

After sharing on Facebook how I was praying & chanting while painting dots for family members and friends, prayer requests came flooding in.

Every dot became a prayer dedicated to those who reached out to me and to those for whom they asked to have dots/prayers dedicated. It was the first time I’d done that on such a scale. 

This intensity of time, energy, and communion fuelled the evolution of the imagery with every new layer of paint. 

I’m used to having art created through me with the assistance of my Team of Divine Helpers as I channel energy.

I’m also used to working with my clients’ Teams when creating their Soul Energy Portrait Experiences.

But this was the first time I was connected to so many individuals during my creative process. Each one is a part of this painting. Each one helped bring this piece to life.

My usual energy work through the art expanded hundredfold, enhancing the studio experience and final painting.

It’s really hard to describe how moved I felt, knowing I was doing God’s work. I have tears in my eyes recalling how powerful an experience that was.

This prayerful dotting for public prayer requests has now become a part of my practice.

The Symbolism


As with many of my intuitive paintings, I didn’t know what it would represent before I started.

I just immersed myself in the creation of the background layers and stained-glass inspired window frame. It grew from there.

Visions received in meditation and inspiration from contemplating each new layer informed its content.

Now, months later, I see how this 1st Re-Connecting piece was an invitation.

In hindsight, it’s clear how its symbolism was sourced in my Spirit Call to Glastonbury for the Goddess Conference this summer.

I don’t think I was consciously aware of that call yet. I certainly hadn’t heard about the conference.

I’d used waters from the Chalice Well in Glastonbury in its creation – as I have in my paintings for years. But it seems to me that my knowing it was time to finally travel there in person didn’t surface until December.

When my shaman-friend Regina told me that the conference was happening at the time I’d felt guided to travel there, it all made sense.

The Upper

The dancing women celebrating the triskele orb (which could be the sun or the moon) confirmed for me my decision to attend the Sun Lover Goddess Conference. These dancers portray the essence of female gatherings and spiritual rituals with a flavour of the ancient Celtic lands.

The triple spiral Celtic design (triskele) is a symbol of both the active and passive,  a reminder to balance your being and doing. It also represents the harmonious union, motion and transformation achieved through

  • life-death-rebirth,
  • spirit-mind-body,
  • mother-father-child,
  • past-present-future,
  • power-intellect-love,
  • and more.

Every dot in this sphere is a prayer, a seed, a portal to the Divine – nourishing us, the dancers with Divine Love & Light as we journey on our path to our Highest Good.

Above this celestial orb are the angels guiding us on that Path.

And above them is a trefoil Celtic knot called the triquetra. It’s created with 3 vesicae pisces, my favourite sacred geometry found in many of my paintings – including at the joining of the 2 larger circles in the lower half of this one.

Also known as a “trinity knot”, it has been adapted by Christians from ancient Pagan Celtic images as a religious symbol of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Between the dancers are 5 inverted triangles with a dot in the middle. I often paint symbols I receive without knowing their meaning. I knew from previous research that the inverted triangle is a representation of the female, of the womb, of the yoni. What I didn’t know is that the 5 with the dot in the centre is part of the Kali Yantra, a symbol of the Hindu Goddess of time, transformation, breath, and Divine Love.

Together, the symbols in the upper half of “Every Dot a Prayer” honour both my Catholic roots and more universal spirituality influenced by every dance step of my journey in this and previous lifetimes.

The Middle

Within the circles joining in a non-delineated vesica pisces is the tree of life, another common symbol in my art.

The chalice behind it evolved as I painted the profile of the man and woman’s faces behind the tree of life. It’s the shape between the couple if you look at the coppers instead of the blue. It takes a while for some to spot the faces. They’re looking at each other.

This isn’t a new symbol. I remembered it from psychology class after I’d painted it. It’s Rubin’s vase – an “intuitive demonstration of the figure–ground distinction the brain makes during visual perception”. It’s a reminder here that what we see changes. Reality isn’t always as we think it to be.

In my painting, this top circle of the vesica pisces represents the sacredness of relationship through lifetimes – the feminine/masculine within each of us as well as the soul mate relationships that move us forward in our growth as we connect to Truth.

The green moss agate stone at the eye level of the couple and at the core of the tree is a stabilizing stone that is strongly connected with Nature. Its metaphysical healing meanings include:

  • helping you to see the beauty in all you behold
  • new beginnings
  • releasing spiritual or emotional blockages
  • attracting abundance
  • improving self-esteem
  • reducing fear and deep-seated stress

It’s embedded in mica for the added energy of love & compassion.

The Lower

The roots of the Tree of Life reach far below to dip into a shallow bowl of sacred water.

Oh how I wish I’d written down more details about the vision I received during meditation while I was creating this piece and the insights that followed. Months later, I only remember reflections in the water, but no details.

I usually share a lot about the creative process on Facebook as I paint, but since we weren’t allowed to share visuals on social media during the Arts & Letters adjudication period, I don’t have notes to go back to.  Live & learn.

I do remember how significant this shallow bowl was. It wasn’t a chalice but a bowl. Was it a scrying bowl to see deeper within the Self? An offering for our Nature Spirits to drink in the lower realms? It’s wide open to interpretation – as is the whole painting.

For now, the bottom circle represents how our roots take their nourishment from our visions, our dreams. We are sourced from the very flow of ancient sacred waters across the borders of time and space. We emerge from the well of being-ness, beyond what the eyes can see.

Your Layers of Meaning

There’s so much more to this painting, I’m sure.

You’re only seeing the final layers but there are many layers of symbolism and energy beneath this final layer. I was totally absorbed in the process and only took photos once it was over.

I knew once it was done, however, that it was one of the most powerful paintings created through me and I’m honoured this was recognized by the jury for the Arts & Letters Awards.

What other meanings or feelings emerge in you as you contemplate it? Please share in the comments below.

For Sale- Original & Prints

Title: Every Dot a Prayer
Year: © 2018
Size: 48 “ x 24 “ (122 cm x 61 cm)
Artist: Dominique Hurley
Materials: Professional acrylics & channeled energy work on gallery-wrapped canvas with painted edges. No framing required. 
Genre: intuitive painting, visionary art, energism art, spiritual art, inspirational art
SOLD
You can order prints of various sizes  & mediums here.

*As soon as this painting was finished, it told me its price. The number I received is more than I usually ask for paintings this size, but I trust my intuition. 

At The Rooms

The exhibition of all winners & selected entries in the youth and senior (adult) categories from poetry to music to visual arts was at The Rooms in St. John’s until May 20th 2019.

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