Thursday, April 21, 2011
Day 14 of Hyperbaric Dive
Nigredo III
But first you must tear off
this garment which you wear--
this cloak of darkness,
this web of ignorance,
this prop of evil,
this bond of corruption--
this living death, this conscious corpse,
this tomb you carry about with you.
-CORPUS HERMETICUM
Good Friday, April 22, 2011
Day 15 of Hyperbaric Dive
Rubedo V
She is in all things like the air receiving the sunlight.
In her they prosper. In her they glorify God.
In her they rejoice to reflect Him.
In her they are united with Him.
She is the union between them.
She is the love that unites them.
She is life as communion, life as thanksgiving,
life as praise, life as festival, life as glory.
Because she receives perfectly there is in her no stain.
She is love without blemish,
and gratitude without self-complacency.
All things praise her by being themselves
and by sharing in the Wedding Feast.
She is the Bride, and the Feast, and the Wedding.
Sophia is the mercy of God in us.
She is the tenderness with which the infinitely mysterious power
of pardon turns the darkness of our sins
into the light of grace.
-Thomas Merton
"Hagia Sophia"
Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011
After completing my third week of Hyperbaric treatments, I have spent this Easter weekend resting deeply, and savoring the beauty of our cozy home and garden in Berkeley. My husband and I share a small bungalow, but we are blessed with a sunny deck that deliciously expands our space in the warmer months. During my “bionic blast” a few weeks ago, I planted some burgundy petunias, purple lobelia, and fragrant white alyssum, interspersed with my favorite cooking herbs of marjoram, dill, basil, thyme and oregano. We have a modest garden this spring, as I don’t yet have the energy to take on more, but the abundant rains and the glory of perennials have ushered in a very lush garden – giant callas taller than my mother-in-law, riotously fragrant red roses from the transplanted bush we thought wouldn’t survive the winter, and the delicate tendrils of aromatic jasmine flowers, triumphantly returning after getting an extreme haircut by the landlord’s landscaper last spring. I’m grateful for the inevitability of rebirth, and the grace of the Mother that showers us with such natural beauty. I’m reminded of a poem by Tagore:
On many an idle day I have grieved over lost time.
But it is never lost my lord.
Thou has taken every moment of my life
in thine own hands.
Hidden in the heart of things thou art
nourishing seeds into sprouts,
buds into blossoms,
and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.
I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed
and imagined all work had ceased.
In the morning
I woke up
and found my garden full
with wonders of flowers.
-Rabindranath Tagore
Creating Beauty is enormously healing for me, and one of the reasons I came to the planet. I love creating spaces that are wondrous, exotic, colorful and sensual. Before starting the Hyperbaric treatments, I decided to give my bedroom a rose-colored transformation, using as a focal point the shimmering, lavishly embroidered rose veil I wore in my wedding to Raphael nearly two years ago. I draped antique fabrics, and yards of rose organdy, adorning them with sparkling Indian jewelry and the radiance of a Moroccan lamp, to put together a light and magical healing space. Using the treasures I already owned was so much fun!
Here are some photos I took this Easter weekend from my healing bedchamber, and our little courtyard garden. May you be nourished by the Beauty!
“Nigredo III” and “Rubedo V,” 4x6” collages on paper from The Oracle of Alchemy, ©2006-2011 by Colette de Gagnier. To order prints from this series, please visit Alchemy of the Divine and Colette's Visionary Art Gallery at MysticAlchemyDesign.com
All Photographs of Garden and Bedchamber © 2011 Colette de Gagnier
To learn more about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Advanced Hyperbaric Recovery of Marin, please visit ImproveHealing.com
