Carl Jung said, “The world hangs by a thin thread and this is the psyche of the human being.”

We are working to transform a world that hangs by a thin thread—and we cannot accomplish it without doing the inner work of exploring our own individual psyches. Thomas Aquinas said it another way, “The outer work will never be great if the inner work is small.”

One of the greatest tools for our inner work is our imagination. Mara Freeman, former faculty member of University of Creation Spirituality offers additional insights. “The imagination is the language of the soul. It is the equivalent of our most important sensory organ—sight—only turned inwards, rather than outwards. Everything that exists which is not physical expresses itself as energy, or force. The imagination is a creative mechanism that enables us to give form to the forces of the invisible planes.” [1]

We can use imagination to give form to our visions of a new world – transformed into a place that embodies compassion and justice.

We can use imagination to delve into the depths of our own souls, giving form to our inner dragons, so we might dance with them, and bring them into alignment with our highest selves.

Soon we will be coming together with the intention of awakening our individual and collective imaginations for transformation. Imagine the power in that!

Yes, imagine it!

~~ Di Wolverton

President, Creation Spirituality Communities

• East is an Asian water dragon representing awe and wonder (Via Positiva).
• South is the American feathered serpent, the wounded Earth (Via Negativa).
• West is the fiery wyvern of old Celtic mythology (Via Creativa).
• North is airy Draco, constellation of an interconnected cosmology (Via Transformativa).

Synchronicity certainly continues, remember that this is the Chinese astrological year of the water dragon and we are honoring a famous earth dragon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968). There will also be a very alive metal dragon present at our convergence; Rev. Matthew Fox, PhD (b. December 21^st, 1940).

The fourth CS principle is another reason we have chosen to entice these intriguing icons as our companions for the weekend. “Through the arts of meditation and silence we cultivate a clarity of mind and move beyond fear into compassion and community.”

In a very tangible sense each of us has an inner dragon in the serpentine shape of our central nervous system. Our brain is comprised of parts attributed to various animals (reptile, monkey, human). Contemplation is credited with fanning the flame of gut instinct to travel up our spine and activate all those corners of our expanding consciousness and more. As evolving humans, working with our hands can be the moving meditation that similarly connects our heart and head. In doing so, we unfold our glorious potential and release our unique creativity to shine as a fully aware, integral part of this amazing Universe.

Our overarching theme for the Gathering is the eighth CS principle: “Our prophetic work is to interfere with all forms of injustice and that which interrupts authentic life (Via Transformativa).” I am of the opinion that art transforms our species’ view of the world—and there is urgent need of balanced vision in these auspicious times.

For the last decade my medium of choice is to repurpose cast-off materials for use in very public statements—some folks just call these larger-than-life papier-mâché puppets—which effectively incorporate justice issues for social protests. Like many puppetistas, I create both alone, and in groups comprised of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. As co-creators we rub elbows and occasionally clash egos in true authentic community. Our passionate natures struggle together to discover and defend what it is we all hold most dear in this wild ride of the 21^st century. I’ll be sharing an entertaining slideshow to illustrate the power of these visuals-in-action from my comrades in courageous demonstrations across the country.

In my afternoon playshop will be some of my paper and fabric beings to animate and also art supplies for everyone to indulge, ranging from face paint to embellishments for masks and totems. We will not be at all concerned with making art-as-precious-product but the process of igniting our hearts with fierce compassion—through the emergence of personal symbolism of dragons. Our illuminating results can be immediately utilized at Dancing with Dragons, the Cosmic Celebration Saturday evening, and our visit to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s memorial on Sunday morning, as well as the concluding ceremony at Evolve Chesapeake in Annapolis.

 Finally, the twelfth principle of CS,  “Ecological justice is essential for the sustainability of life on Earth. Ecology is the local expression of cosmology and so we commit to live in light of this value: to pass on the beauty and health of Creation to future generations.”

What I love most about the Creation Spirituality (CS) movement is that everyone is not only encouraged but also expected to reclaim their own embodiment of the mystic, artist and prophet. The four-path spiral journey and what I have dubbed Sacred Art Activism bestow upon us a responsibility to wake up to and fully partake of the wonder and terror of Creation and then to participate with our utmost imagination and caring towards its healing and transformation- for the sake of all her children.

If this deeply holistic approach inspires you, please join us with your absolute fullest self at Awakening Imagination for Transformation the weekend of July 27^th-29^th. We invite you to play with a plethora of dragon imagery and meaning, to rekindle that fire in your belly, become metamorphosed and go forth to help change the-world-as-we-know-it!

I am honored to be facilitating Becoming Dragons, the creative activity Friday and Saturday afternoons. I anticipate befriending and dancing with many more kindred spiritual and artistic warriors!

 ~~  Mary Plaster, DMin, MA
www.maryplaster.com
Gathering Artist and Art Facilitator for Sacred Art Activism: Becoming Dragons

It has been said that one of the most insidiously tragic sins humans can perpetrate is to conduct worship that’s boring! Indeed, where did we get the idea that communing with the infinite always has to be tamed, contained and restrained? If the divine universe-maker got all this going with a Big Bang, still fuels it all with billions of explosive suns and also created us in all our crazy fullness, is it really always necessary to come to the house of God in our “Sunday best”? What would it be like to come to the altar with a more complete version of who we are complete with our warts, willies and wilderness?

I see sacred ritual, whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic or Buddhist, Native American, African or Wiccan, as a way of reminding (re-minding) us to connect to the holy, wherein we experience a communing, a “coming into” (or becoming consciously aware of) our union with the whole and our essential place within it.

But even though we may trust at some levels that all of who we are is loved and accepted by the one that created us, how often has the part of you who loves to “dance like no-one is watching” felt comfortable going to church, synagogue, or temple and wildly rocking your socks off? What about the part of you who has felt deep grief and anguish over the loss of a job or a loved one? How often has it been “acceptable” for you to wail your grief out loud in your house of prayer?

And what is the impact on us when these and other seemingly uncivilized or otherwise “exiled” parts of ourselves seem apparently off-limits in the particular places we think of as sacred? What if we could bring more of ourselves, including the wild side, to the table?

It seems to me that sacred ritual or worship that works well offers an opportunity for us to actively engage in the presence of divine love and forgiveness. It facilitates an experience that conveys to each of us that all of who we are is an intrinsic and valued part of creation and that we are loved completely and unconditionally.

We are pleased to offer a cosmic celebration during this event, Awakening Imagination for Transformation. Inspired by The Cosmic Mass (thecosmicmass.com) this celebration will give us an opportunity to explore all of this more deeply as it invites experience and expression from a broad spectrum of our fullness as human beings.

We will begin by getting our hearts pumping down the path of wonder (Via Positiva) with energetic dancing that will be accompanied by a DJ and live musicians. It will be a lively and joyous welcoming into sacred space together! As we move into the path of emptiness (Via Negativa) there is time and space for the experience and expression of disconnection, loss, grief and letting go. As we experience these feelings more deeply, we can be overcome with emotion and begin to grieve openly. Of course in a roomful of people this can, at times, sound chaotic, loud, wild and pretty awful! But for me, openly expressing my grief in sacred space has given me a deeper sense of grace being bestowed in parts of me that I’d previously thought somehow shameful. This has felt deeply reassuring and imbued with blessing.

The Via Creativa provides an opportunity for us to take our experience and awareness of the Positiva and the Negativa and combine them, making possible new approaches, new ideas and inspiration. This can become the creative burst that carries us forward, renewed and resourced as we claim our gifts and share them with the world around us (Via Transformativa), making our planet a better place.

In a recent Cosmic Celebration planning meeting, we acknowledged the passing of Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are.” As we pondered interpretations of that wonderful children’s book, we delighted in the parallels between the book and our ideas for this cosmic celebration, “Dancing with Dragons.” By acknowledging, facing and dancing with energies, spirits, wild things, dragons, any feelings that may be outside of our comfort zone, our hearts and souls expand and we become more deeply aware of who we are as humans who are loved and created in the very image of God. This can become fuel for our continued role in creation, as we participate ever more fully in its amazing unfolding.

So, in a renewed spirit of sacred communion, let the wild rumpus start!

~~ Daniel Barber – www.danielbmusic.com
Chair, Cosmic Celebration subcommittee
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Victor Hugo

The philosophy behind the TCM is simply this: Worship needs to be enlivened by paying attention in these post-modern times to the emerging post-modern language so that communities can pray together in a deep and effective fashion.

True prayer takes place in the heart and not just in the head.

One language of postmodern times is the celebrative mode of spirit.” (As it is in Hebrew.)

Dance/Breath/Spirit-that is the clue to why the TCM replaces pews with a dance floor and replaces reading with taking in the spirit while dancing and receiving lessons from images of video and slides. A brief “teaching” is usually included. The text orientation of modern worship (the modern age having begun with the invention of the printing press) gives way in the TCM to context….

What does that mean, in practice? This video by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation gives a taste of The Cosmic Mass  experience……..

Why Dance with Dragons?

The oldest (reptilian) part of our brains responds to fear with fight, freeze or flight impulses. In these chaotic times we need to guide our consciousness into more playfully evolved, non-violent ways of reacting to adversity in order to engage the formidable challenges before us with innovative solutions that work for all. We must stretch from the shadow of dualistic either/or thinking to a more complex both/and mentality, which embraces our full diversity and interconnectedness in order to rise to effective healing on a global scale. There will be no more killing of dragons here! What better metaphor than dancing?

Why Become Dragons?
Cultivating a Fierce Compassion for Ourselves and Others

Authentic change on any level begins by finding peace in and enlarging our own hearts through all of the arts of meditation. At this Gathering we recommend and offer practices of body prayer and art in the broadest sense to help tame our inner crocodile but also fan an inner fire for justice making in the world.

Becoming Dragons:
Sacred Art Activism facilitated by Mary Plaster

In preparation for our Cosmic Celebration and call to action there will be a smorgasbord of art materials and potential projects to transition resistance and fear to awakening imagination (and energy) for transformation. In the tradition of conjuring courage by decorating our selves, we suggest make-up/tattoos, small puppets, masks and/or costume pieces for individuals, and larger-than-life dragon puppets for groups. Mary is willing and able to assist you in creating an amazing being of your choice!

The downloadable dragon is awaiting your interpretation and illumination…pastels, paints, pencils, crayons…let your creative vision guide you!

Dragon Trivia

2012 is the celebrated Chinese Year of the Water Dragon and two significant teachers we study in the Creation Spirituality movement were born in dragon years, which happen in twelve-year cycles, the Reverends Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) and Dr. Matthew Fox (b. 1940).

Featuring keynotes by R/Evolutionary Theologian, Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox, along with transformative workshops and the Cosmic Celebration “Dancing with Dragons,” the gathering will conclude with a Sunday morning visit to the Martin Luther King Memorial and an afternoon picnic and Sacred Gathering hosted by Evolve in Annapolis.

Please bookmark the event page – more information coming soon!
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