Infusion of Light

After receiving messages from my guides while hiking solitary in the Grand Canyon in January 2002, “Relax and Stretch” was painted. My guides had informed me that it was time to become more adventuresome in my journeys. February 2002, I responded by journeying to a more remote place in the Grand Canyon. While driving up to the Canyon, my friend and I saw a huge eagle resting in a dead tree. We watched the eagle fly across the road to another tree. This viewing creates the stage for “Infusion of Light”. My friend and I hiked down the New Hance Trail and felt overwhelmed by the vastness of the wilderness that lay before us. Because of icy, steep trails, our progress was slow and we found ourselves hiking into the deep shadows of the late afternoon. We reached a steep overlook which dropped into a deep dark, ominous canyon. We noticed that we had lost track of our location on the topographic map and that our water was almost gone. After assessing the situation, our fears mounted and we decided not to proceed on to the Colorado River. That night, I had a vision of a wolf in the sky. Wolf presents the teacher of ancient wisdom.

The next morning we hiked out of the canyon. As we drove we stopped at the same bald tree where we had seen the eagle. As my friend was retrieving something from the trunk of the car, I felt disappointed that we weren’t able to complete our journey and I began to doubt myself. I said to my friend “Do you think there is an eagle feather by the tree for me?” She had her doubts, but I still felt drawn to the tree. I got out of the car and walked over to the barbed wire fence. As I knelt on the ground, I said to my guides out loud; “If there is an eagle feather there for me, make it clearly apparent.” When I got to the tree there was the feather in the most obvious place right at the base of the tree! It was just the confirmation I needed to reinstate confidence in myself. My guides then stated that there was another gift at the tree across the road. With great anticipation I approached the tree and immediately saw a fluffy white rabbit tail. A visionary friend stated that the rabbit tail represented the fears both of us had experienced in the Canyon.

I began to paint “Infusion of Light”. As I painted my friend, Carol, was in the studio with me while I was describing my journey. My instincts had just painted two subtle rabbits at the bottom of the painting. I stated how fearful we both had been as we looked over the steep ledge. Rabbit represents fear in the Native American tradition. Just then the lights in the studio clicked off and the air pressure changed. Our ears kept popping for thirty minutes. As we looked at each other in amazement, I realized my guides were getting my attention by doing dramatic things! They were confirming that my hiking partner and myself were truly frightened. The shadow of the eagle was painted deep in the canyon.

That night a mountain lion came to me in my dreams. In my past dreams, I would back down from the lion, but this time I stared at him in the face. Mountain lion represents leadership. My guides implied that I was now able to take on the responsibility that I was once trying to avoid! Note the face of the lion in the wing of the eagle.

A later hike to another canyon revealed more about the message of this painting. As I entered this mysterious place before dark, I saw a coyote. His message to me was to see clearly the experience in the Grand Canyon. As I proceeded deeper into the canyon, I noticed a huge owl staring at me who told me to look beneath the surface of my experience and find the inner meaning. Next I saw a rabbit which told me to set aside my fears and move on. As I left the canyon at dusk, a bat signaled me to release old habits and enter a new reality.

Because I was open to explore the mysteries of the New Hance Trail and take unprecedented risks, my guides imparted the message that my spirit was beginning to soar higher. In the painting, the eagle is lifting out of the dark shadows of former realities and using the volcanic surge of creativity to form a new state of being. As I searched for the final message of the painting, I felt another presence developing near the majestic dark bird. Suddenly I was aware that I was experiencing a visitation from a departed loved one. A familiar scent that had always announced her presence filled the studio. In a flash, the spirit eagle was painted in. I was being guided to open the mouth of the eagle in order to consume spirit energy. When we infuse our bodies with this light energy, we are balanced in both realms of Heaven and Earth!