Fall Fearless & Fly Challenge 6 and Giveaway!

Welcome to Challenge #6, with an amazing contribution by guest artist Dina Wakley at Artists in Blogland.  Here are the prompts:

Headline Prompt:  Divided by God:  What does "God" mean to you?  How do you access"God" or the divine or the sacred in your life?
Color Prompt: Metallics - gold, silver, copper, bronze, or all of them!
Quote Prompt: "This is my simple religion.  There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy.  Our own brain, our own heart, is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."  The Dalai Lama 

I used all three of the prompts and worked on a canvas I had started in Flora Bowley's Bloom True class.  Here's what it looked like as of Friday morning!

 

Here's what it became, after many more layers!

I access the divine through my meditation practice. 

The lotus is a metaphor for the internal journey we take in meditation.  I painted three of them, to honor the three major world religions, and added gold accents throughout the canvas.

I used the Hebrew Calligraphy stencil to stencil the word "Shalom" in the dove (a symbol of peace) and above one of the lotus flowers (the last 4 characters from the bottom left of the stencil form the word "Shalom").  Shalom means complete peace: a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.  It is said to be another name for God.  Its true translation is comparable to the concepts of Nirvana and Shunyata or emptiness in Tibetan Buddhisim, Salaam in Islam, Namaste in Sanskrit, and the Holy Spirit in Christianity (I’m leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid (John 14:27)).

The way you get there, no matter what religious path you follow, is through kindness, compassion, and taking care of others.

In various places on the canvas, I hand lettered portions of the Dalai Lama's beautiful quote, which I try to live up to every day.

Check out what Carolyn Dube, my co-host, did with this challenge!  It's awesome!

Linking also to Mandarin Orange Monday, Inspiration Avenue (Peace), and Creative Everyday. 

Giveaway!  Comment below by Wednesday, December 12 for a chance to win  my apples & pomegranate stencil! 
 
Thank you for visiting! I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.