Having previously provided a brief description on keeping a drawing journal, I want to go back to develop a broader look at what is going on at that time. I ask Wisdom's guidance and help in understanding what emerges when drawing and what that imagery is telling me. When I am drawing, I truly become immersed in Sacred's way of working with me. Together we create images that guide me in a healing process that I myself would not have ever drawn. The process engages my whole being. It creates in me a vulnerability, an openness. It can be scary or delightful. Both ways are Spirit's way of helping me understand what at a deeper level my soul is hungering.

In the meditation after the drawing is finished, the image often leads me to:

• Looking into the places where disharmony lives within my being.
• Revealing (not hiding) the hurt, the things that are keeping me from harmony.
• Getting in touch with the deeper issues that are creating the imbalance in my daily life.
• An invitation to live out what the drawing is inviting me to do.
• Learn what I am lacking in my own personal/spiritual development.

An example of the scary comes from a journaling experience I had drawing a tree. As the tree was emerging, I consciously had some ideas on how the trunk and branches needed to be drawn to make the tree realistic. As I began to implement these ideas, my hand froze, I dropped the pencil and Spirit reminded me that I needed to be open to exploring new pathways towards healing and not to be controlled by old familiar ways of being.

Over and over again that lesson emerged and reemerged. I had a hard time letting go. For me, it was truly scary not being in control. It could also be scary seeing what emerges. Looking at a finished drawing often took time measured not in minutes or hours but days and weeks.

Fortunately the delightful also flows. An example of this is when a pixy like blue figure filled the page with a joyful presence. She emerged so quickly, she (the drawing) was finished before I had time to think about how I wanted her to be. Spirit took control right at the beginning as a laughing presence. As the blue colored pencils moved almost on their own, I felt the joyful presence of letting go and being one with all of creation. I wish I had that experience more often. Sacred Mystery truly is "mystery."

The health challenges that were part of my life are too many to share. I chose pieces from three stories. The first centers on my experience with neurological pain. The second focuses on Lupus and the third on dealing with Common Variable Immune Disease also called Deficiency (CVID). I refer to the drawings as if there was an issue I had to deal with and consciously drew an image to express that need. It did not happen like that. The drawings were an invitation to explore and gain insight into the way I was giving shape to healing in my life. I often sat with an image for days trying to understand its message. Healing imagery is powerful mystery that transformed and healed me over time in ways I would not have thought or realized possible.

The presentation of my stories evolves through four movements: Life is Good, Change Hurts, Healing Happens and Compassion Flows. I invite you to read my stories, sit with these images and see how they resonate with you. Your meditating on or being with one of these images, or creating your own image, is a step into Love’s embrace on a journey that together Sacred Mystery and you create bringing healing fullness into your life.

Viewing the Images

• Select the thumbnail image to view a large version.
• Select the large image to show/hide the controls.
• Touch device: swipe left or right to scroll through the pages gallery.
• Computer: use the arrows to scroll through the pages gallery.
• To exit the images and return to the web page, select in the transparent black area or select the “Close” text or press the Esc key.