ICONS Recall A Familiar Face
I would almost say I am an “Icon Painter,” in an age that would deem that label almost ridiculous. We live in a divisive age. Religious underpinnings are forming a basis for justifying much cruelty. Terrorism is what we call these acts of cruelty. They are instigated from the minds of those willing to kill innocent, regular people, for the reason of ideological, or merely perceived ideological differences.
I have painted the faces of the Spiritual Masters for ten years now. The reason I do this is threefold: 1) Painting the Master helps me to connect with His or Her Energy in myself. 2) Painting the Master gives others a chance to connect through the painting to this Energy. 3) Icons of the Masters can uplift our attention as a human race into an intention of Loving each other, not “hating each other.”
Jesus of Belo Horizonte
Recently we were in Brazil. People are very spiritually inclined in Brazil, making contact with Beings that are beyond the normal constraints of space and time. Perhaps it is their connection to the land, to the indigenous cultures, to the yearning to know a truth that defies the “sciences” of human “logic.” I was productive down there. I painted two paintings of the Christ in Belo Horizonte—and sold both of them to ladies in the training we were teaching.
People see the paintings unfold. I paint right out in the open during the seminar. Sondra is teaching in front of the room and I am off to the side focused on my painting. In Belo Horizonte, Jesus came to mind. Also, the colors of yellow, blue and green that are present in the Brazilian flag came into the paintings.
Jesus of Brazil
A Visual Remembrance
An Icon is a visual remembrance. It provides an object of focus to put ourselves in the vibration of the Master depicted. There is a point in which our managing and our mental gerrymandering do not work. We have managed and struggled as much as we can, and we are ready to let go. And this is the point in which the Spiritual Master can step in. The Icon is a representative of this “power of intervention.” To have an Icon in your home is to have the power of the Master at your immediate disposal for invocation. Of course you can invoke the Master without an Icon to help you, but the Icon helps the Presence “come in.”
Babaji of Curitiba
“Babaji of Curitiba” was painted from one of my favorite photos of Babaji. He is in a trance. His eyes are looking beyond these dimensions. He is totally focused on the Divine, and in His “suspension” of normal, mundane concerns, He assists us in overcoming these “concerns.”
This painting is roughly 80 CM X 100 CM. Acrylic on canvas. He is living in the home of one of our students in Curitiba currently, awaiting a more permanent home to anyone interested in purchase. Most paintings this size are selling between to $2500-$3000 USD range (plus Shipping and Handling). “Babaji of Curitiba” is available. Send inquiries to immortalrayproductions@gmail.com
Divine Connection—The Master Is Beautiful
We are all Divine Beings in a worldly setting. Our awareness of that fact is too often waxing and waning. Our Divine Connection is not something we may think about in much of our day. What impact would that awareness have upon all of our worldly actions? The reason we recognize Spiritual Masters in the first place is that Their awareness is focused more on this Divine Connection than most of us, and ensuing from Them are miracles and actions of the heart that affect the course of human affairs. They are in contact with unconditional Love, and they extend this Love throughout their lives.
My most recent book, just out on Amazon now, The Master Is Beautiful, discusses nine Spiritual Masters Who have affected my life. People who are consistent with their Divine Connection, aware of it all of the time, are considered Masters. The ones in this book are in no ways exhaustive, yet they are the ones with whom I have made direct contact. Getting to know them can enhance your own Divine Connection. You can acquire this book here: Order Your Copy.
The Master Is Beautiful
I came back from Brazil in late February and launched the new book, and had a commission to paint a Jesus of Leamington Spa for a client in the United Kingdom. I worked on the painting for about a week, and then sent it off to my client across the sea. There was a color scheme that she wanted, so the palette was one that stretched me out of my usual brighter range of primary colors. It was an exercise in good practices, and I was grateful for my acquired skills to match colors.
Jesus of Leamington Spa
Why have an Icon in your life?
An Icon is a simple Altar. It is a remembrance of a Holy Being. You could say it is a remembrance of your own Holy Being. We have Altars spread around our house, and we have pictures of Holy Beings, or “Icons,” hanging on our walls. Some might say these are mere “idols,” but I see them more as direct invocations of an actual Divine Presence. These invocations keep our home in an aura of sacredness.
The reasons I am drawn to Icons are personal to me, yet I would imagine others would reap the same benefits. Can we transcend the “idol aspect” of the Icons and get to their Presence? An Icon helps one do this. This is “beyond belief.” This is beyond the realm of the “known,” and entering into the realm of the invisible. An Icon connects us to the Master of Spiritual Wisdom, and in this connection we enter into our own Divine Reality. This, for me, is reason enough to have them around.
LOVE,
