Sunday, September 12, 2010

Amy Swagman

SEA LIFE
Thinking about my little fish swimming in the sea. With the vast, calming, rolling presence of the sea there are so many analogies to birth.

BUDDHIST "PRECIOUS HUMAN BIRTH" STORY

In Buddhism they have a story for their perception of “precious human birth.” Because being born a human being gives you the ability to do so much for your karma (both good and bad) it is seen as a precious opportunity to help your fellow man and possibly even attain enlightenment.

The story goes, imagine there is a turtle adrift at sea that only surfaces every 100 years. Now imagine there is a small ring in this vast sea. It is more likely for the turtle to accidentally poke its head through that ring than to be born a human being. I also incorporated vajras along the outside to signify wisdom and compassion (all important things to learn in this life) and lotus’. The lotus represents your Buddha nature. It rises from the mucky water and blooms pristine, reminding you that no matter what you inner nature, inner good, is always untarnished and that even people you have difficulty with have this good at their core.

Treasure the good work you can do with your life!


TREE OF LIFE

Many midwives think that the placenta looks like a tree of life. It’s interesting to think that every person on the face of the earth has been inside a mother, shared a placenta. I’ve been worried about my anemia lately and there’s something about how strong and vigorous the placenta is that appeals to me. The fact that a woman’s body is capable of growing an entire organ from scratch that nourishes another life and consists of so many nutrients, especially iron, is amazing to me!


You can find Amy's bio here: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.1&thid=12b04424da76bc1b&mt=application/pdf&url=https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui%3D2%26ik%3D118ea3b94a%26view%3Datt%26th%3D12b04424da76bc1b%26attid%3D0.1%26disp%3Dattd%26realattid%3Df_gdzf0j3z0%26zw&sig=AHIEtbQvViBJeFSkpNbjp8zwC846Xfd_jA&pli=1

As well as more of her art here: http://themandalajourney.com/

You can also find her on facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/mandalajourney

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