Since October of 2013 - to March 2014 I have participated in a form of Meditation called Lectio Divina almost every week. This form of meditation uses Sacred Words to listen for what the Divine or your own internal voice is asking you to pay attention too.
In my group we have been using Sacred Writing from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, however this practice does also work with any sacred or meaningful writing, even poetry or Shakespeare or anything that holds meaning to listener.
During this mediation you listen to the sacred words allow a word or phrase to come forward. It's as if a section of the writing is in BOLD or colour. This words or phrase is the focus of silent meditation. You would repeat it over and over, like a mantra. Later in the meditation you ponder what the word or phrase means to you and what's going on for you in your present day life.
I love this practice because it bring ancient and sometimes rather obscure writing new and contemporary meaning.
For these last months I have posted the passages our Lectio Group has used here on this blog. But I have not posted the word or phrase that stood out for me from those readings. Those I've kept person, yet their list creates a sort of poetry that is very beautiful.
Also during this time I have been thinking about Quilts. Back in the fall I commented to a number of people that I felt like my life was all in pieces. I have my family, my husband, my son, my work, my school, my friends, my garden, my hikes, my yoga etc.... and somehow all these pieces of my life didn't quite all fit together; like pieces of a patch work quilt.
All the pieces were there, but I didn't know the design of the quilt; how to fit it all together.
Over this period of time I've given it a lot of thought and in March it all came together.
I was thinking about all of these things the Lectio passages, the patches of my life, the quilt and also my desire to DO SOMETHING CREATIVE!
And cue brain exploding.
I began to design a quilt. A quilt that had different patches with pictures on them. Each picture connects to one of the words or phrases from my Lectio Mediations. I bought some embroidery thread, a couple of embroidery hoops, found some fabric and began to create.
I have some fabric pastels, which work like oil pastels. I drew on the fabric with them, and when ironed it gets sealed in.
This is a work in progress and I am allowing the creativity to direct my work. I have discovered that I love embroidery (never having done it before) as it is meditative in it's own right. It calms me, it relaxes me and I love creating with it.
