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Sacred Santa Fe-ith Part 2!
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"If you are a stranger, if you are weary from the struggles in life, whether you have a handicap, whether you have a broken heart, follow the long mountain road, find a home in Chimayó."
A poem on the wall displayed at Chimayó's Santuario
Click here to see my video I made of my trip to Santa Fe! I love it so much!
This week, The Heart Beet reports straight from Part 2 of a sacred journey. Mary Kent goes to Chimayó, revealing why we all should listen to the voice that guides us from within.
 When I go on these little adventures to uncharted destinations, I have learned it's best to allow myself to be guided by the forces of the supernatural, meaning the powers that govern my itty bitty self here on Earth. I suppose it's one of the few times where I actually will listen and allow myself not to be in control, which is something I'm learning to let roll over into everyday life (which is NOT easy I must say). Anyways, it's sort of a thing I hold between God and myself. I kind of speak a silent, heavenly dialogue that says, "OK. Thank you. You got me here safely, so now you get to be in charge of what I need to see and where I need to go. So, get to work, and show me the way." (that's my control stepping in - hee hee) I mean, obviously, I didn't always used to say these sorts of things, but after a few spiritual voyages in my life, I think it's just kind of what starts to happen. You start to know there are reasons beyond your comprehension for why you are 'called' to certain places. And, truly, you just stop asking why. This little, inner dialogue has come with much learning to get my mind out of the way, so I can choose to clear the channel for God to lead me by my small hand a few steps in front of me, pointing the way. What that means is having enough faith to allow for something bigger than myself to guide me in the right direction of what it is I need to see, to learn, and to experience. And, what better way to put that into practice than on an adventure in the City of Holy Faith.
Last week, I shared that it was at Barbara Bowles', gallery that 'called' me inside for a chat on faith, which further lead to her telling me about Chimayó, the Lourdes of America. So, obviously, when I learned it was a healing church filled with Holy Water and divine dirt, I flipped out and knew that we had to make a sacred stop on the way to Taos. The funny thing is that our destination was already pointed in the direction of Taos, but it was Mother Mary's energy that was pulling us a bit out of the way. What I find hilarious is that my friend Jason had traveled the road from Santa Fe to Taos about thirty times, yet he had never ventured to the little, healing church that would soon have a profound impact on us both! I guess we were both in need of a little miracle. The story behind Chimayó, of course, involves a bit of miracle making and the divine seeking to communicate a message to a man by the name of Bernardo de Abeyta to build a church on what sits on some very sacred and very healing soil. Each year, tens of thousands of pilgrims make their way to the Santurio de Chimayó seeking a miracle. People rub what is called healing dirt on their bodies from the well and fill containers with the healing water to take away and be kept at home. Is it miraculous? Well, I suppose that answer is truly up to the believer. As for me, it is what I have seen and felt at these holy destinations that have made a believer out of me.
 What I found so very wonderful about this little church was the odd looking architecture. Made of adobe and odd angles of wood, the church is accessed by a sweet, gated archway that leads into a small courtyard outside of the church. Upon walking into the church, there is a place where one can fill plastic bottles with the Holy Water of Chimayó. Compared with the dirt, I personally felt more energy coming from the water. So, I keep my little container of water at home by my bed and sometimes will place the container on my head when I have a headache. It actually works much better than taking Tylenol. :) Walking inside to the sanctuary, the only word that came to my mind was precious. It was all so absolutely, wonderfully precious! People were sitting, kneeling, praying, wonderfully silent and having their communion with Mother Mary, asking her for divine help. She was everywhere. I could feel the energy of her spirit simply everywhere. Along the walls were something called reredos, brightly painted wooden screens, that held images of various saints on them. Truly, it was all I could do to restrain myself from whipping out my camera to take some photos, as cameras were not allowed. At one point, I had to pray my way out of doing it because I was definitely being tempted. And, thinking about how I was totally worried about not remembering the inside made me think of my dad, who probably once felt the same way, as he never leaves home without a camera. Somehow, I would have to trust that the camera of my mind would snap these images and store their beauty deep into the recesses of my heart. And, yes, I believe they are still there. I just have to call upon them and remember. I walked up to the front of the church and sat before the altar for a while. I was just in such awe of the sweetness that was surrounding me. The altar was breathtaking in its colored paintings of crosses and painted curtain detail. There was bright colored paint everywhere and the style was just so unique. Again, I was having to refrain from photographing. There was a small, black and white image of Jesus that I had seen in Santa Fe and had thought what a strange rendition it was of him, but adorning the top of the altar, it looked absolutely perfect!
I sat quietly for a while, giving thanks to Mother Mary for guiding me to this wonderful haven of preciousness and felt my spirit have a divine moment of peace, love, and gratitude with her. I knew my mind had been on overdrive for the past few months, so this was her showing me that I was in a safe, little spot to let it all go. I needed to surrender a lot of things that I always hold on to - old hurts, a few tears, painful comments, mean people - you know what I'm talking about. I needed to just forgive and love myself and allow my spirit to heal for a bit while feeling this divine, little wonderland. After a while, I walked into the other room and that's really when I was rendered absolutely and totally speechless. All I could do was smile - so big in fact that I got distracted with such artistic inspiration and again wanted to take photos, but again I had to refrain. Adorning the walls of a small room that lead into the tiny room where one could fill up containers of healing dirt, there were collages of Mother Mary everywhere. I seriously could not believe my eyes. It was my vision of her in my collages coming to fruition. There were Mother Marys with auric glitters, some made with shells, some with papers, and more with golden glitter. Her aura was shining so bright. She was saying to me, "See me? Well, you are all meant to shine this bright." There were small collages and large collages. They were all hand-made, capturing images of her in all of her glory and grace. I kneeled down on a small bench and left a little something of myself on a table and prayed, 'Thank you' to her. And this time, instead of saying my typical 'I can't believe it.' I just smiled so big and bright and said 'Actually, I can.'  I will forever feel inspired by this experience at Chimayó and I will always know that somehow Mother Mary's energy called me to that little church in the middle of nowhere perhaps to save me, perhaps to heal me, or perhaps to inspire me. It's really not so important that I know, but more important that I feel. I felt a divine presence there at this little church and I took a piece of that home in the form of Holy Water and dirt. The energy of the Divine Feminine can be held in any of the elements and it seems that her energy is just more immaculate in fewer places on Earth these days. Chimayó is one such place! She is a symbol of the Divine Mother and I believe her message to me will continue to reveal itself to me as the days continue. But, for now, I know she has touched me and she has inspired my art, as well as my writing. I have always felt a lack of a divine, feminine presence in my life, as I was raised in the Presbyterian Church. We prayed to God and I always believed that to be a masculine energy. So, I feel that Mother Mary, a Goddess in her own right, calls some of us who are seeking divine interaction with a feminine deity to guide, to protect, and to heal a part of ourselves that doesn't depend on what religion we are from or a part of. That just simply doesn't matter as her energy transcends it all. I thank the Catholic Church for honoring and keeping that sacred part of the feminine alive. And, Our Lady of Guadalupe is very much alive in the southwest of America. Thank heavens for that!
After leaving the church, we headed outside and went into the most adorable little store called El Potrero Trading Post. I highly recommend checking out their website. It is filled with wonderful art from the southwest. On the way out, I was caught by surprise (which is always how the divine works) when a poster of Our Lady of Guadalupe was hanging on the door and boldly staring at me in the face. I knew and trusted I would find Her to use in my larger Protection Collages, but had let it go and forgotten to obsess over the details of when and where I would find Her. I laughed because I was being shown that the details are always handled by the divine. It's my job only to trust that I really don't need to handle anything at all. I just need to relax and get on with it. At that point, I was so ecstatic that I bought three posters. I have already made two collages and I am planning to donate the third one to the Santurio at Chimayó, as a token of my gratitude for such a wonderful experience. Maybe, then, they will let me take a photograph of Her in my favorite room. :) :) :)
Chimayo ©2010
Written By Mary Kent & Jason Lindsey on the road back from Chimayo
  Hearts and arrows on a road with a bend.
I feel your fear all closed in my hand.
Angel wings reach out to protect you.
Hope you'll come back again.
Truth, love, and Mary make enemies friends.
A gift given by powers beyond our demands.
She's at the door knocking again.
Finally, I feel like I know where I am.
Hope left me longing and dreaming of you.
Painted my world in deep shades of blue.
My canvas won't speak except unto you.
This feeling I'm feeling just can't be true.
Hope, this is a prayer I sing unto you.
Truth ends the battle.
Love heals the soul.
Mary, my world's been different cuz of you.
Thanks fills my heart in a way only you knew.
Hope, this is my call. Answer now. It's through.
Get your spiritual journey on! A sacred trip lasts a lifetime. Don't miss a Beet. Stay tuned for next week.
PS. You can buy a protection collage from me. Click here! They come in all sorts of colors. So, I can easily do customized ones, as well as different sizes. I bless them with a bit of my love because they really are so wonderful to make!
PSS. Check out Medina's Art Place. Fun Art!
PSSS. Geronimo Restaurant in Santa Fe! AMAZING!
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