“Resurrection”

In May 2001, I journeyed and backpacked twenty-six miles on the Navaho Reservation to Rainbow Bridge. Preparation for this rugged backcountry trip was minimal. My lower back was inflamed and giving me much pain. Doubts and fears were mounting that I would not be able to complete this journey. Our Navaho guide drove us on a 4-wheel drive road to the trailhead and gave us a crude map. Despite the pain in my back and realizing that I had left half of my food supply behind, my friend and I felt compelled to proceed with this journey.

We felt welcomed by the land when we saw an inviting authentic hogan for shelter. As we hiked into the sunset, I received an energy lesson regarding my back pain. I heard from my spirit guides to release the pain down to the earth. Within minutes the pain that had been there for days subsided. All thoughts about rushing to get to the bridge ceased, as we decided that this journey wasn’t about reaching a goal. The experience compelled us to notice & appreciate each moment. We hiked with flashlights in the dark until the trail was barely visible. We slept beneath the stars. In the middle of the night the moonlight lit up rocks and hobbit-like creatures appeared. As we slept without the protection of a tent, wind and unexpected snow placed us into a survival mode. When we awoke in the morning cold and hungry, we voted to keep going to Rainbow Bridge hoping that the drop in elevation would create warmer temperatures. As we descended, snow, then rain, lightning and thunder warned us of the possibility of a flashflood. Some of the side canyons revealed an eerie premonition of evil. The landscape was breathtaking and otherworldly. As we viewed huge rock sentinels shaped like male phallic symbols that appeared to be guarding the feminine counterparts, we suddenly realized we were in a sacred place where past Native Americans performed their creation rituals regarding birth and death. This information was later confirmed by the Navaho guide.

After a long day we finally arrived at the bridge at dusk. We tried to sleep under the massive rock arch, but the creative energies intensified and we experienced a restless night. The next morning we headed out onto the north trail. We suddenly realized that our guide had not given us the remaining contour quadrant map. We arrived at an old horse camp and tracked all of the trails hoping that one would be the main trail leading out. To our dismay, every trail seemed to vanish. In desperation, we decided to head to a canyon off in the distance. I said to my friend that we were lost in the middle of a remote region and needed to call in our spirit guides for assistance. At that very moment, we heard what seemed to be a birdcall. We looked up on the ridge and saw our Navaho friend coming down to rescue us. What a synchronicity! He had hiked over ten miles to find us. It was late in the day and he was concerned because we had missed our appointed meeting time. Knowing about our shortage of food, he provided us with much appreciated candy and fruit. The three of us decided not to camp another night. We hiked the balance of the exhausting but magnificent journey. Our guide claimed that we were the first hikers to complete the north trail in only one day.

September 10,2001, I started this painting. I felt nauseous and uneasy. An evil skull in the rock emerged. That night I dreamt I was in a foreign Middle-Eastern land visiting a wealthy leader. I drove around the strange town and got lost. I asked some natives how to return to the mosque-like mansion on the hill, where the turbaned leader lived. They responded back to me in an angry foreign language and then walked away. I wondered if I had offended them by referring to the leader’s headpiece or if they hated him and associated me with him. When I awoke, my daughter called and told me that the twin towers had collapsed in New York City.

This painting originally was to be named “Creation”, but the eerie landscape on this journey provided a setting for this premonition of the war on terrorism. This painting depicts an anti-Christ skull spewing destruction down to the earth. Note the evil figures descending into the earth and the positive light beings ascending. The embryonic figures represent the resurrection of the belief in ultimate good symbolized by the light of the angel. This terrorist war represents a polarization between evil and light forces. The tiny owl in distance represents wisdom.