Where is the Hope?

Havel said, “Hope is not a conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.”  We through the word hope around but for me it doesn’t have enough tooth. It’s a little too ethereal for me.  It’s an aspiration, but how far do aspirations go?

What if hope took a diversion, even just for a moment.  What if hope were a prayer.  When we say, “I hope you get home safely”, “I hope I get a raise”, “I hope the war ends soon.”  These aren’t simple phrases; they are powerful statements.  If you believe in a Divine power, it’s part of a conversation we’re having with the Divine.  Is it possible we’re praying without telling anyone? This is something I believe, but I often don’t share this with many people because if I tell them they’re praying, I get enormous pushback.

This is how I reinforce my own belief that “hope” is vague and undefinable.  I know my cynical side is showing through, but believe it or not, it’s not cynical, it gives “hope” some emotional and spiritual weight.  When I reframe “hope” in this way, it provides a foundation for what’s possible. It is alignment with what Havel had in mind instead of how we through the word around in everyday speech.

What do you hope for?  How will you express your “hope” or prayer today?  What would happen if you shifted your language from “I hope for” to “I pray for”.  Try it on and let me know how it feels.

For more art and prompts, I’ve posted over 1,000 collages, follow me on

Instagram/Threads: @drfiber

The Holy Trinity

Famed singer/songwriter India Arie wrote a song called “Strength, Courage, and Wisdom.”  In these troubling times can you think of anything more appropriate to think about and cultivate in our daily lives.  Disruption is unnerving.  It leaves us bewildered and disoriented.  It may even challenge our reality.

These three qualities are not inherent in our nature.  They need to be cultivated, nurtured, and allowed to flourish with the proper nourishment.  How do you nourish these qualities in your life?  Which of these is the most difficult for you to work on as a daily practice, or the one holding you back from expanding to your full potential?

As I watch the news, hear stories of the trials and triumphs of those around me, and ponder my own sense of meaning and purpose, I’m struck by how fluid these three qualities can be when it comes to priority.  I believe that’s good; it means I’m teachable and malleable enough to allow myself the freedom it takes to grow.  One might even say one builds upon the other creating a triangle of possibility making it a strong inner structure.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have felt a strong need to pray for wisdom.  Not necessarily for myself, but for those making decisions on behalf of others.  I’m grounded in what I need, but then again, I’ve been doing “the work”, the inner work for the past thirty years.  Those making decisions for others first need to listen, abandon their own judgments and prejudices, and think about the greater good.  Perhaps I’m asking a lot, but it’s the only way we can move forward together for the betterment of society.

How does this holy trinity serve to make meaning in your life?  What is this holy trinity asking of you and are you ready to heed the call?

For more art/prompts go to Instagram: @drfiber

Seen and Heard

There is nothing we crave more than to be seen and heard.  We want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, but we must start with ourselves.  All too often we forfeit our own uniqueness, gifts, and talents to be “accepted” by others.  It’s like in high school when we wanted to hang out with the “cool kids” as the gateway to acceptance.

I’ve learned the hard way, over the years, sacrificing my true self only leads to pain and heartache.  What if instead of taking the easy way and putting on a mask or disguise to be accepted, we put in a little more legwork to find our true fellow pilgrims in the enormously chaotic world.

I was talking to the facilitator of a “religious trauma healing circle” yesterday, and the most common experience was being “othered” by their religion.  So, what is your perfect religion?  What are the tenets you want to live by and who in your community or society feels the same way?  

Wanting to be noticed when we feel invisible often leads us to up the ante, making a lot of noise (figuratively and literally) to be seen.  It’s like when you’re not paying attention to a child and they, in all their wisdom, has a temper tantrum.  I can tell you my righteous indignation has gotten me seen many times, but not in the way I wanted to be seen.  Often the behavior cheated me out of some type of joy.  I’m learning to release myself from this behavior to better my physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

What lengths have you gone to, to be seen and heard?  Has it worked?  Did it feel good?  How might you do something different?

For more journal prompts and artwork go to Instagram: @drfiber

Hear Me

When we think of voice we immediately think of sound or for those hearing impaired their hands.  What if voice were more than a sound but a mission?  Is it possible for us to focus on voice as something with purpose, a mission, or a means to an end?

We are bombarded with media “voicing their opinions” in hopes of converting us or persuading us to a particular point-of-view.  What if voice is about belief, the expression of our experience?  Having the capability and desire to share one’s experience is how we become more connected to one another.  Our voice is our contribution to the collective consciousness we call humanity.

I’ve sat in too many rooms where the voice of many has been drowned out.  We have established a caste system for whose voice we deem worthy in school board meetings, political arenas, even social justice movements.  It seems equality is something we must fight for, like pushing to the front of a crowd at a concert.  

We need the voices of the many instead of the few because it’s what provides us with alternatives and choices.  It’s how we devise innovative strategies to solve problems.  Multiple voices provide us the stage to weave together possibility and growth.  Let’s hear your voice, the world is waiting.  

For more art and prompts go to Instagram: @drfiber

Never Alone

A few years ago, I completed a graduate certificate in Health Humanities and Ethics.  The last class I took was “Film and Advocacy”.  The class consisted of second- and third-year pharmacy students and a handful of us, certificate students.  The pharmacy students had to create a short film for their final project and the certificate students got away with writing a paper.

Midway through the course, I decided simply writing a paper wasn’t enough.  As a visual artist I knew I’d have to use my creativity to convey my message.  This was the impetus for creating my collages.  I wanted to be able to explore emotional, spiritual, and social issues through within a visual context.  

The first year creating the collages I incorporated both pictures and words.  At the end of the first year Kwanzaa came, and I decided to eliminate the words and go simply for visual images.  Getting rid of the words gave me a newfound freedom.  It allowed me to listen to my inner voice.  The lack of words allowed my heart to lead the design and execution of the collage.

Today I hit collage number seven hundred.  Along the way I feel these creative works have sparked interesting conversation.  They have given some the ability to dig deep within and explore within what they may have never thought or said out loud.  

Most important has been those who have accompanied me along the journey.  Those who have responded to the work have kept me tethered to the process.  The collages have allowed me to focus on issues that matter to me the most, mental health, connecting with the divine, and social justice.  They have allowed me to dig deep and extract the essence of my beliefs and how it relates to my personal ministry/mission.

I hope you’ll join me on the process or allow it to be a catalyst for your own creative journey.

For more prompts and art follow me on Instagram: @drfiber

The Irony of it All

When I started “Man of the Cloth” I was using it as a play on words.  I’ve been a quilter and textile artist since 1992.  Over the past fifteen years I’ve exhibited work in art galleries, art centers, and museums.  I’ve been President or on the board of various arts organizations.  I’m always surrounded by cloth/textiles and it makes me happy.

Then the anniversary of my mother’s death happened and the whisper in my ear, that nagging itch you can’t reach made its presence known in a big way.  Every search on Google was for Master of Divinity or Ministerial ordination programs.  Lo and behold, I enrolled in seminary in October.  

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

It has been something I’ve contemplated since I was a young child.  I remember at one point; I was going to be a rabbi.   A reform rabbi, but a rabbi.  Over the years I’ve been encouraged and teased by discussions and books on spirituality.  My focus as a psychotherapist for the past thirty years has been working with individuals and families facing chronic and life-threatening illness.  Grief has been at the center of my work for decades. 

I have turned my artwork toward a focus on mental health and advocacy.  As I post my collages on Instagram (@drfiber) I’ve been amazed at the feedback and appreciation for the messages.  It’s as if the art itself has become a ministry.  I hope to continue this path because it’s a universal language, one I’m thrilled to use as a means of creative self-expression.

Join me as I move forward on this path.  I appreciate your support and prayers.  

Let’s Soar

There are so many things in life holding us down.  We feel held back from being more creative and innovative at work.  Voices are being stifled because they offend some people.  The pandemic has punctuated the mental health challenges in our culture.  It can feel like we’re salmon swimming upstream.

If we put a little effort into it, there’s plenty to set us free so we can soar.  What are your interests?  I’d even go so far as to ask, “What are you passionate about?”  When we devote our time and energy these activities and practices, we feel free.  

What are you curious about?  In Michael Gelb’s book How to think Like Leonardo DaVinci, he outlines seven steps, and curiosity is number one.  When we’re curious we explore.  When we’re curious we ask questions.  We aren’t so fixed in a thought process with no alternatives or options.  When we’re curious we’re mindful as well follow the clues of our curious nature.

Where do you find beauty?  I’ve engaged in guided visualization for years. I know the meadow I’ve been directed to intimately.  I’ve can describe the river or the ocean I’ve sat aside listening to the waves or the babble of the water as I visualize the experience.  The botanic gardens give me pause because it reinforces how beautiful nature is and the impact it has on our souls.  Listening to Yo-Yo Ma play the cello is a transcendent experience.  It’s not only the piece, but his mastery of the instrument and his interpretation of the work.  

There’s a lot out in the world giving us the opportunity to soar.  We have to want it, go after it, and experience it!  What allows you to soar?

For more art and prompts visit me on Instagram: @drfiber

The Shadow is Illuminating

What happens when we “don’t know what we don’t know?”  We interpret parts of ourselves based on what we can see, feel, and touch.  We often lack emotional/spiritual object constancy, if we don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.  If that were true life would be easy, but it’s a falsehood. What we can’t see, or experience can definitely hurt us.

Today’s work of art was about shadows (not the shadow).  We know I always look at things through a psychological/spiritual lens.  We were prompted to create something from a shadow we cast on the surface.  It surprised me what emerged when I engaged in this activity.  I didn’t see it when I started to outline the image, but as I started to color it in, I saw what I had projected onto the paper.

The gift of shedding light on our lives can have enormous benefits.  Limiting or eliminating our blind spots helps us lead healthier lives.  Knowing ourselves at new depths moves us toward wholeness.  Having the ability to incorporate the good, the bad, and the ugly allows us to mitigate the negative and punctuate the positive.  Isn’t that something worth working toward?

What would you like to shine light upon?  What’s been lurking you’d like to bring out the shadows?

Winter Feast for the Soul: Day 2 Breath

I prepared my meditation space with the material and a pair of scissors. I started the music, set the timer so I didn’t have to keep looking at a clock, and I sat at the table and got myself centered. The first cut into the fabric is always the most fun because it’s a beginning. It tells me that the process has begun and there’s no turning back.

As I began cutting I started around the shapes on the fabric I began to feel a bit uneasy. I wasn’t uncomfortable in the chair; it was a feeling in my chest. I’ve asthmatic and recognize the tightening in the chest, but this was different. It was an acute experience because it would come and go and I was puzzled. I proceeded on my meditation paying close attention to my breath.

It wasn’t long before I had this realization that as I was cutting the fabric, if I was cutting around a tight space I was holding my breath. I used to go bowling on a regular basis as a kid and this resembled when I would throw the ball, hold my breath, and wave my arms hoping that the ball heading for the gutter would be a strike. I guess we can always hope for the best.

Proceeding to cut the fabric and being aware of my breath allowed me to be more open to other sensory stimulation. I’m playing a CD of Asian Meditation music and I came to a track that sounded like water running and in that moment thoughts from my past came in like a wave.

I began thinking about friends and family from years ago and I noticed that a smile came across my face. I noticed it because I felt the muscles in my face shift and it relaxed me. It also invited me to continue with these memories as a means of trying to be with the good times and the bad in my past. It was an open space to explore the impact of those who have crossed my path and the experiences we shared. Breathing just allowed me to expand the exploration of my memories in a nonthreatening way so my soul felt safe.

It’s obvious how important breathing is, but it’s the breath that can alter your consciousness. It’s the breath that lets you know if you’re in the present. It’s the breath that creates a rhythm as you march along the meditation trail.

Connecting the Dots

I’m back to the cloth for my meditation. I picked up the piece I’m working on measuring 18”x21”. I’ve been hand stitching the piece thus far, but tonight decided to engage in some fabric painting. Last week on my day off I bought some metallic burnt orange paint to use on my granny smith apple colored piece of cloth. There is a pattern printed on the fabric, a batik that is tone on tone.

Since I’m on the road I don’t have all my regular tools so to make dots on the fabric I’m using an old trick I learned from a fellow quilter, use the eraser from a standard pencil as the stamp. It’s a great alternative to an actual stamp. The eraser is the right size; it cleans up quickly, and makes perfect little dots when dipped in paint.

I began making my dots thinking that I would create a random pattern with the dots. I started marking the fabric making each dot I placed on the fabric intentional.   I was determined not to have any stray, unwanted dots on my work of art. I dotted my way across the fabric feeling rather playful making paint dots all over the fabric.

I finished my dots, believing they were random, and stood back to look at the piece. I decided that I needed some more dots because it was looking incomplete. Silly me, the fact that it felt incomplete wasn’t a bad thing; in fact feeling a bit uncomfortable often makes me think outside the box. Instead, I decided to add dots and what I found is I had a need to connect the dots. Leaving intentional empty space wasn’t going to work this evening. I didn’t put dots all over the fabric, but I felt a pull to have a dot-covered piece of cloth. Fortunately I have some level of restraint, no matter how miniscule that may be, and left plenty of open space for further embellishment.

Do we have a natural desire, need, program that makes us want things to be whole? Are we driven to have completion? Why did I feel a pull to connect the dots? I know we yearn for wholeness, but isn’t it possible that the sense of incompleteness makes us continue on our journey? Are you more likely to set out on a new quest every time you complete something or are you better off continuing beyond the point of what you believe is the end of the road and journey into unchartered territory?

This is why I love utilizing art for meditation, because it gets me thinking about how my art represents my life and that of the collective consciousness. Try it and let me know what questions art as meditation answers or raises for you.