Water IS on My Radar Midweek

1. 

   Rice Paddy in China
   
   

   Ever notice when you pay attention to something, it shows up everywhere?  This has been my experience with Water since visiting Edward Burtynsky's exhibit of the same name last weekend.

   
   

   Attacked by Poison Ivy, a book seemingly having nothing to do with water, made its way to the top of my stack of have-to read books. My eyes got big when the author Ann Belford Ulanov, wrote, "descending into the bath brings rich archetypal meanings to poison ivy sufferers."

   
   

   Followed by: "The bath symbolizes a redemption motif. Eleusynian mysteries, Christian baptism, North American Indian sweat lodges -- all involve rituals of healing through water. The bathtub represents a human-made vessel, a container that holds the renewing process." 

   
   

   Have you taken a healing bath recently? One night this week I found myself, despite the heat, finding comfort by reading in the bathtub. Have you stayed hydrated by drinking lots of alkaline water? Have you taken time to appreciate how easy it is for us to access pure water?
   
   How has water shown up for you in the past couple of weeks? Let me know in the comments section or by replying to this message.

   
   

   Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall
   
   Edward Burtynsky's photo of rice paddies in China, one of my favorites from the exhibition, seemed a fitting photo to continue our theme of water. Used with permission.

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

Water In Cultural and Religious Rituals - #121

When was the last time you were awed by an art gallery exhibition? 

The answer for me: Edward Burtynsky's WATER exhibit at the Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College.* His 50 stunning large-scale photographs explore roles that water plays in modern life.

The above photo is one Burtynsky included to show how water plays a key element in cultural and religious rituals. The colorful crowd is undoubtedly Hindu and touches a deep place in my heart. I have never been to Varanasi (also known as Benares), site of this picture, but I have been in India three times and can feel the chaos and excitement of this crowd.  

There were no pictures in this exhibit (that I remember) to show how water is a key element for Christians. Water in the traditional baptism ritual comes to my mind as well as tears of both sorrow and joy.

Water plays a part in this Buddhist story:

A monk said to Chao-chou, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me."

Chao-chou said, "Have you eaten your rice gruel?"

The monk said, "Yes, I have."

Chao-chou said, "Wash your bowl."

The monk understood.**

Pay attention to the part water plays in your life this week. Burtynsky suggests that the life-cycle of water is increasingly fragmented. What does this mean to you? Let me know how your awareness of water has changed in the last few year.

Thanks for exploring the mystery of water - Nicky Mendenhall

*Water by Edward Burtyinsky will be at Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College, until September 28, 2014. I'm plotting for a return visit. 

** Ordinary Mind(2002 & 2005) by Barry Magid.

Who Pulls Your strings?

There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that someone else pulls. 

                   

                       –Howard Thurman

Thurman quote from Companioning the Dying - July 18, 2014.

Selected photograph by Edward Burtynsky,  exhibit: WATER.  Taken with permission, Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College, July 20, 2014. You can see this fabulous exhibit until September 28, 2014, and there is No Charge!

Messages From The Dead - #120

When Real Estate agents ask for the most important feature in a new home, my answer is trees. Seven years ago, a picture similar to the one you see above, was part of a real estate ad for the house where we now live.

As you can imagine, the brown drooping dead leaves weren't front and center in the photo that sold us the house.  The last several days I have been aware of these brown drooping dead leaves. Today I could no longer avoid them.

Seven years ago, this less than perfect view would have engendered feelings of distaste. These ugly dead things would have ruined my perfect view.

Now, these less than conventionally beautiful leaves, present to me evidence that life and death are always with us.  

There are many messages from the dead leaves that exploring the mystery will explore. Tell me what you have become aware of by looking at the above picture. 

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

Mid-Week Reassurance

Attention Readers: Please change wander to wonder. 

Post #119 led us to the unconscious. I am aware that for some of my readers, the unconscious is as controversial as alkaline water! Controversy fosters questions; exploring the mystery fosters questions. 

Rainer Maria Rilke, (1875-1926), in Letters to a Young Poet, gives me ideas for pondering questions:  

"Love the questions themselves as if they were locked

rooms or books written in a very foreign language.

The point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.

Perhaps....someday....you will gradually,

without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

How do you feel about questions? Do they excite you or annoy you?

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

LIVING (with) WATER - #119

In the past few weeks, exploring the mystery has instructed you to DO LESS and JUST BREATHE. Can you think of one time you chose to do less or slowed yourself down by deep breathing?

Did you note that there wasn't a midweek post for two weeks? I chose to DO LESS. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to do less, but when I did, there was a feeling of liberation.

Instruction #3 is pretty straightforward: DRINK WATER.

True confession: Almost never in my life have I been thirsty for water.

But now I am! My body loves the taste of alkaline water as shown in the bottle above. If you Google alkaline water you will find it is quite controversial. I don't care about any of that - I'm just happy to be drinking water!

Water cleans out your system. Water has no calories. Water has many benefits. And to add another layer of complexity, in Jungian theory, water often represents the unconscious. 

The unconscious contains all the parts of ourselves that we don't know about. So if you want to DO LESS, JUST BREATHE, & DRINK WATER, and you can't accomplish these relatively simple goals, you can guess that something in your unconscious is blocking your success.

The unconscious is one of the mysteries we are exploring so if you are feeling confused......... 

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall

 

Instruction Two - #118

This week, another person on my wellness team formulated instruction number two: JUST BREATHE!

The above picture of terraced rice patties in Bali causes me to breathe deeply; this deep breath honors nature and beauty. Taking a second look, I notice my hands clutching the platform rails which reminds me how I used deep breathing to stave off fear when dismounting the tour bus and dashing across the truck-filled highway.  

Holiday weekends are times to practice all types of breathing.  

Put together instruction number one DO LESS with JUST BREATHE and you have a recipe for a great holiday weekend.

Have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday.

Thanks for exploring the mystery - Nicky Mendenhall