SACRED LIFE SUNDAY: MAKE ME A HOLLOW REED

Bamboo stalk

Hollow Reed Mandala -(Autumn Circle series) - © Sue O'Kieffe 2008
source image: bamboo stalks and leaves

When the interior of a reed is empty and free from all matter, it will produce beautiful melodies; and as the sound and melodies do not come from the reed, but from the flute player who blows upon it, so the sanctified heart of that blessed Being is free and emptied from all save God, pure and exempt from the attachments of all human conditions, and is the companion of the Divine Spirit. Whatever He utters is not from Himself, but from the real flute player, and it is a divine inspiration ~ Abdu'l Baha

Every day I walk past a patch of bamboo. The color of the leaves and the stalks is now a sort of antiqued bronze. Last week I noticed lady bugs on many leaves, and I wondered what was on the bamboo that the lady bugs were loving. Recently whoever takes care of the bamboo trees trimmed off the branches overhanging the driveway, revealing many hollow reeds. This time of year I am noticing more of the patterns of nature -- stems and leaves -- now that they aren't competing with show-offy flowers for recognition.

While creating this mandala today I thought about the joy I feel when I am able to step aside and make room for the Creator's energy to flow through me. I love it when art seems to make itself...no angst, no struggle, just ease...

Oh, God, make me a hollow reed, from which the pith of self hath been blown so that I may become as a clear channel through which Thy Love may flow to others....




Sue O'Kieffe
Sacred Circle Mandalas

AUTUMN INSPIRATIONALS

Many people have never learned to see the beauty of flowers, especially those that grow unnoticed. For instance, when you walk outside and look down at your feet, you may see tiny flowers nestled in the moss and clover hiding under a curled fern. Most people just step on them. I paint them. ~Erica Just

Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers - and never succeeding. ~ Marc Chagall

I am following Nature without being able to grasp her . . . . I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers. ~ Claude Monet

Sacred Circle Mandala Greeting Cards!

I am excited to announce the launch of my line of greeting cards based on my mandala designs. Each card is 5"x7". An inspirational quote is printed on the front, a definition of what a mandala is is printed on the back along with an indication of the source image for each mandala. Right now, I have seven cards in the line. More will be coming shortly. You can see my other designs by clicking here

Inquiries for purchase of these cards can be directed here
© Sue O'Kieffe 2007