In 2016 I did a grouping of art works I named the ‘Ascension Series’. It was partially inspired by a photograph from an early 20th century theosophical text – a woman, perfectly horizontal, floating in space, save the back of her neck and ankles on the backs of 2 chairs. An impossibility in the 3-dimensional reality we’ve been conditioned to perceive. She looks very peaceful in her stillness, seemingly in deep meditation. The weightless and other-worldly dimension aligned with my own ongoing experience of inner transformation.
Since my divorce a few years earlier, I’d experienced significant shifts with respect to how much my ego ruled my perceptions & life; meditation and being silent in nature allowed me to heal and embrace a greater truth about my challenging experiences (again). As my former reality was dissolving, I recognized and embraced the quiet, knowing it was essential for the process to unfold. Much like the cocoon stage of a larvae, prior to becoming a winged butterfly, dormancy is essential in order to dissolve the conditioned beliefs and structures that prevent deep healing, choke conscious evolution, and limit future possibilities.
When big shifts / wake-up calls happen, one can easily fall into blame/judgement and/or social distractions. Having the rug pulled out from underneath you is sufficiently discombobulating to propel one into addictions, whether that be excess work, play, entertainment, another relationship, drugs, alcohol, food, sex, shopping…. One doesn’t heal, and is doomed to repeat the same mistakes. We remain in fear-based low-level consciousness, unless we choose otherwise.
Experiencing a greater reality and truth is only possible if one is willing to dissolve old beliefs. This is not a simple or intuitive process. The secret is to give oneself over to it, surrendering all egoic resistance. Allowing old thoughts to repeat themselves to death, creates space for the Eternal You; this is when awareness expands. To relinquish old habits is not for the faint of heart. This liminal space is like someone with claustrophobia going into an MRI machine, with eyes wide open. Intimidating, lonely and frightening…
Coeur is a French word for heart; courage is the essence, and the frequency of energy needed for the dissolution process. Many of the art works in the Ascension Series integrate heart imagery. The detail on the left, from ‘Heart of Transformation’ is a bier of hearts, holding up the ‘Floating Woman’ (from the 1st image above). Where love exists, fear cannot, and so we must be brave to ‘resist the resistance’ and stay true to process that promises nothing to the ego, and evokes only the possibility that we’ll come out the other side, a better version of our self.
Fear can creep in if we get lost in speculating the unknown future from past failures. Our only option is to stay present, observing. If we gaze into the night sky, marvel at all we don’t know, and connect with the vast potential for our post-transformation being, we are more likely to stay the course. In this center panel of the art piece, ‘Multi-dimensional Potentials’ the figure whirls through space, present in various ‘densities’, floating within the vast heavenly sky-scape. It reminds us that we are a spec of heavenly light, a star seeds, with the potential to shine brighter once evolved to a higher frequency, reflecting heavenly wisdo
So, to answer the question… The floating woman is you, I, and anyone who dares to consciously embrace their earthly wounding experiences and to choose to do the hard work of transformation through stillness. I hope these images inspire you to choose the path of conscious evolution. May you make the leap of faith, take flight and soar….
‘Taking Flight’ Size: 18 1/3” x 17” x 3 1/2” Mixed Media: encausticbord, encaustic, wood, sky photo on Japanese paper, encaustic, transfer paper (with images of wings, floating woman), rubber bird skull, wire.