Qigong Final

This is my car, Kermit. In the back is a Kermit the Frog in the "Assurance and Protection" mudra from 1,000 Hands Buddha. I believe that Kermit the Frog protects me and my car while the rest of the world believes he is just waving "hello."

 

This is the painting I did for my qigong final. I wanted to depict all the ways I've used movement in my life to reach the divine. You may not believe that a child ballerina/former stripper/current bellydancer/yogini/qigong practitioner has used all these forms to connect to divinity. I can assure you, movement meditation is prayer, whether you're doing it in a temple or a club of ill repute.

Painting for me is a really tough thing. My father is an artist--a pretty talented painter in his own right. But maybe because of the divorce, or other reasons I'll never know, he never taught my brothers and I how to paint.

So every time I paint something, a series of things happen:

1. I'm afraid of screwing up.
2. I'm a bit surprised that I know what to do.
3. I feel deeply blocked emotions rise to the surface, but because painting takes me to a meditative place, it's all good.
4. I'm usually quite surprised that the painting turns out much as I'd imagined it.
5. I thank my father for my artistic genes.

As I was painting this, my hands heated up and I knew that Reiki was on and healing was happening. There was no intention for the healing, only focus on the colors and images.

Losing myself in painting is just one more thing to be thankful for in my qigong practice...