Religion and Culture Studies by Sylvia
 

Religion is an interest of mine and has been for most of my life. I was raised Catholic, and taught a life of prayer and faith that has never failed me. The Church though has failed me and I, its rules. So I left in search of more. This though, has freed me to study all religions, their customs and practices that: bring the people closer to God, have helped to enrich the individual in growth and maturity and have been instrumental to the community as well. I have discovered that traditions and customs change as society's needs change, languages change and many ideas become obsolete. But the basis of many Religions are the same and are the root to humanity and our connection to God. This series of art work is an attempt to reflect something that may be lost or missing in the complication of what we have made religions today. My goal is to reflect how similar we all are, not how different.
"African Children of the Sun"

Original available

email to

Info@ledouxgallery.com

$2000.00

Must see live to appreciate

 

"African Children of the Sun"

In many African tribes the children were given two names. One for the day of the week that they were born, and one name was that of an ancestor of elder. They were taught early in life to bring honor to that name. Ancestry worship is evident in all societies throughout history. Yet in our society we distance ourselves from the elderly and deceased when they have the power and will of greater love. In Catholicism I was taught that when we die we become part of the Holy Spirit. When we pray to The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit, we call forth those that created us, have abundant love for us and live eternally with the Father. When we embrace the concepts of  eternal life after death we learn to appreciate life more fully. Try connecting to this and feeling the love.
"Dance of Intention"

60" x 48"

SOLD
"American Indian Dance of Intention"

 

The American Indians believed that they could change all things great or small through good will and intention. They Believed Prayer brought results. In other words they had Great Faith. The power of reverence to all of life brought them closer to "The Great One." Religious ceremony was a part of everyday life and all were involved. Their beliefs and ideas of the interconnectedness of all is a powerful concept basic to physics and most religions. Focus your life for the good all and know that your prayers will be answered.

A powerful CD to meditate on is Jeff Ball's "Windtamer" published by Red Feather Music in Boulder Colorado.

Ritual Shaman Bather

Available for sale $1500

24" x 30"

Email to info@ledouxgallery.com

 I just read the book “Native Healer, Initiation into an Ancient Art” by Medicine Grizzleybear Lake.  It talked about the spiritual aspects of healing.  It recounted the training of the healer obtaining a personal transformation to enable him or herself to expand his spiritual self into other consciousness.  This journey begins much like the Hindu practice of fasting and meditation to the point of spiritual expansion outside of the physical body.  Jesus also experiences this during his journey through the desert for forty days.  (Mark 1: 12-13 “At once the spirit sent him out into the desert and he was in the desert 40 days being tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild animals and angels attended him.”) Curiously, “The Lancet” a British medical journal published the results of a study conducted in the Netherlands showing that evidence supports the validity of near death experiences.  In these experiences, there are those that cross over and meet dead relatives and friends.   The Native Healer claims to do this also.  

  All of this is proof of our interconnectedness between our selves, others, the past present and future.  The sum of all of this is the total of what we refer to as God.  You cannot separate yourself from God, anyone or anything.   When we realized this we must know how our own individual actions affect the whole.  When we look for proof of this through synchronistic events, they appear and delight us.  We are reminded of the love of this greater source.  Also, we are given a purpose in life as our intentions expand like a wave throughout our immediate world and into the Universe.

Medicine Man

Living in the Delta I try to garden in a clay soil leading to many frustrations.  Season after season I try to fight weeds that refuse to die out.  I came to the conclusion that somewhere in the essence of life there is a powerful will to survive as a species.  All living organisms have this power and we co-exist in this balance of life.  Look at all of the ingenuous means that plants propagate.     For example the nut grass in my garden refuses to die.  In spring it can appear by two means; the seeds that fell in the fall or through a nut or rhizome that lays dormant in the winter to reemerge with the warmth and water of late spring.  To further frustrate me, the rhizome also sends out runners that create a network of new rhizomes at the same time seeds are being create above the ground.  When you pull the grass up out of the bed the plant is engineered to break free from its rhizome and grow again.

Most species have created incredible means for survival of their species.  This "will to live" exist in both our physical and spiritual worlds.  In the bible God gives wisdom to Moses to deliver his people from slavery and to go forth and multiply.  The gifts of wisdom bestowed upon Moses are those also defined in Native American religion as those given to a healer, medicine man or shaman; to promote the well being of his tribe, a people or person.  Specific visions are given in time of need, sent by God or the spirit.  The specific traditions of food preparation prescribed by Moses ensured survival, health and wealth.  For example in kosher food, meat and milk are not eaten in the same meal.  Research is indicating that too many fatty foods are associated with diseases and cancers.  Also in the Jewish tradition, grains are no longer eaten after a certain date near spring.   The life of a seed is intended to survive winter and breakdown with the aid of molds in spring to provide food for the new plant.  Eating these molds could be toxic.  God bestowed these wisdoms, and his powerful will to regenerate human life.

In a recent science or medical magazine was an article about the mystery of the Hantavirus.  Scientist and Doctors were baffled by these mysterious deaths in New Mexico.  They turned to the wisdom of a Native American medicine man who told them the problem was caused by the fact that the dear mice were living too close to humans and they were not supposed to do that.  Upon investigation, the scientist and doctors found that weather and other circumstance cause the dear mice population to expand into human habitat.  They also discovered the deadly virus on these same mice.  This article is documentation of the abilities of shaman and need for spiritual intervention in medical practice.   In the book “The Native Healer”, the Author has three events of clinical death in his lifetime.  During these events, he is foretold of his calling. 

Stone toolt link to another writing