SALON 27: A Gatekeeper~A Sorcerer's Apprentice~A Solemn Oath

I remember as a child being confused at the concepts that we lived "on the earth" and "in the world". Trying to sort out adult jargon. Ultimately of course I came to understand it's both, in and on. That the earth was one thing and the world another. And yet the same.

Everything in me is resisting introducing to you, in any linear fashion, these two reality spinners who reside with us ON the earth and are doing magic IN the world - Joseph Rosado and ShaRi Brooks. Instead, please just take a look at the images they decided to share with us in this Salon, and then if you are even the least bit tweaked or curious...ask a question...and consider joining us all at The Chalice Well in March 2009. (More to follow later on the exact itinerary, dates, etc.)

JOSEPH ROSADO and SHARI BROOKS each currently reside IN Albuquerque, New Mexico USA ON Planet Earth. They were both gifted into my life by Rick Allen after he left us all to become a spiritual warrior. And he's been VERY active, by the way!
Joseph, you have spoken to me before about the way you ask for your "mission" or assignment" each day. How does this connect with your renewed energy to share your photography?

JOSEPH: - It's been quite a number of years since I've exhibited my photography for anything other than a workshop. In this case my assignment was to make a connection with ShaRi and bring her on board to Water/Wind/Stone, the main company used for all my retreats and journeys. The purpose was to give her a strong vehicle and tools by which she can teach others, through the power of her Mandalas, to liberate themselves. At the same time, more than meet her financial needs. After all, we did not take vows of poverty. ShaRi at some point will become a facilitator of her own workshops with my help and contacts. So you might say that my assignment was to use my photography to develop a series of ten day workshops at the Chalice Well and Gardens in Glastonbury, as a way to introduce ShaRi and her work to the participants, but more importantly become one with the energy of the Chalice Well and its mystical surroundings.
MICHELLE: Obviously there are experiential elements common to all who take part in the kind of retreat as you are planning at Glastonbury. What does the experience of being a spiritual guide or shaman for such a retreat do for your own art and spirit?

JOSEPH: This is a very good question. First, I don't consider myself a shaman or a spiritual guide. What I am is a Gatekeeper, and by doing what I do, I am doing my life's work, which is to help "liberate people, to set them free." So every time I do a new journey, I am the same person working on another level. Every workshop, every journey, every soul that walks past my gate brings me to another level. I learn so much from those that participate in my retreats. This is why ShaRi and her work and the Chalice Well as a venue is a perfect alchemy for achieving the goal.

MICHELLE: I love that term "Gatekeeper". I'm rather fond of threshholds myself! So...what is your personal connection to the Chalice Well, Glastonbury?

JOSEPH: My personal connection to Chalice Well is that I was Co-Guardian there with my then partner, from late 1995 to the end of 1998. Together we made positive changes, and left a lasting legacy.

MICHELLE: I've watched you make positive changes in more than one place in the short time I have known you...if you had unlimited resources, funding, support, etc. do you have a dream project you would do in the artistic and/or spiritual realms?

JOSEPH: Yes, A World Centre - A Centre for Healing and Understanding. This was my assignment while I was Guardian of the Chalice Well. So I wrote the Document of Intention to be built on 30 acres. I have this document to this day, which was received with great enthusiasm by the city planners and Counselors, but fell short of funding. It was so radical of a project that it made sense! It created over 450 jobs, 220 accommodations, 2 restaurants, shops, multi level theater with workshop space and lecture rooms, library, 7 sanctuaries - one for each chakra. Oh please don't let me get started! A revised document is available, I can attach via email...Yes, let's teach others how to build these centres and have them all over the world! And while we're at it , let's lay a few crystals underneath for good measure.

MICHELLE: Maybe someone out there will read this and contact you on that! Meanwhile, what would you advise to someone who wanted to do a vision quest but did not know where to begin?

JOSEPH: I have a workshop just for that purpose. Or a private consultation via phone or email. Jot down my contact information for a free initial consultation. Joseph Rosado, nativesoil@aol.com Office - 505-404-0838 Cell - 505-414-5171

MICHELLE: What feeds your muse, your soul?

JOSEPH: Soul Buzz! Intense Happy People!

MICHELLE: I would like to point out to our Salon visitors that the first photographs you see here were taken by Joseph of the Chalice Well, stunning pieces. And the other photos of Glastonbury here are by him also, to give you a sense of the peace of the place and the well itself. I met Joseph a few years ago at a New Age event in Colorado and we became soul siblings at first sight! I can only tell you that in his presence is a feeling of almost childlike happiness yet a very practical, adult groundedness. He inspires one not just to dream, but to take action on the dream...just by being himself. There is a lot of lot of lot of light coming from this man.

Now onto ShaRi...as this Salon celebrates the joining of two powerful forces and world spinners through their work. To contrast what I feel in Joseph's presence, in ShaRi's presence I feel connected to the essential. A sense of not dealing at all in superficialities, yet a very light feeling.

ShaRi is sharing with us here some of her recent work, her "wOMandalas". I will provide a link to her blog so you can see more of these. I will leave it to her to tell you more about them as we get into our discussion. But first some questions...
MICHELLE: ShaRi, How does doing the mandalas relate to your spirituality and/or sense of your purpose on the planet?

SHARI: I first discovered the mandala thru Jungian psychology in my post graduate studies in art therapy. We were to portray an emotion that we had had that day. Mine had to do with anger. The image that came out of that exercise was a somewhat chaotic, broken~glass~shards type of image in reds and orange. It did seem to have a kind of motion to it though. The image moved into my subconscious, and quickly morphed into a succession of dream mandalas, and the emotion morphed along with them. The anger was transformed into a sense of peace and calm.

Thus began my path of discovery of the magical and primordial energy of the mandala. This quote from Peter de Jong (http://members.home.nl/imskaar/Website/index.html) sums up pretty explicitly how the making of mandalas affects me personally; I experience mandala making as a way of centering oneself. The concentration which is needed is like a training of the mind, learning how to focus one's attention on the here and now. I experience this as a form of meditation, a way of reaching inner peace and balance.'

As for my sense of purpose on the planet, it was thru these same art therapy classes and Jungian psychology that I also discovered the archetype, or universally shared imagery, of which the mandala is the most primordial and universal. It is a unifying force, of which we are in desperate need of here in this point in space and time. The mandala is also a force of centering and balance, something that is also much needed, both personally and globally, on our planet today. My statement, 'We may take different paths, but we all end up at and emanate from the same center', has long been at the core of my sense of being and coming into being.

MICHELLE: There is a lot of digital magic in your process with the mandalas. When you do "non-digital" artwork and then when you do digital artwork, is there a difference in terms of where the work takes you?

SHARI: Having recently done a collage, my first non-digital creation in quite some time, I am actually able to answer this question! I would say no. The act of creation has the same affect, no matter what media is used. The computer is just another paintbrush that we use to bring into fruition visions from the ethers. Making real the ethereal :)

MICHELLE: So how much of an element of surprise is there, for you as the artist, in doing the mandalas? Do you have a "pre-vision" of how each piece will turn out or is it something like raku where you put elements from around you together and see what comes out of the kiln?

SHARI: It is very much like Raku. (my favorite form of pottery~making, BTW, and the name of one of my kitties) There is always surprise and delight as the faeries, spirits and creatures reveal themselves as the whole starts to come together. It is also fascinating to see what kind of pattern comes into being at the center. There is no pre-vision, other than an inquiry of the Source photo as to what kind of 'pie' it wants to be. Most of the wOMandalas are made by inserting a piece of a photo into a slice o' pie template, then rotating them into place next to one another. It is at the seam where the slices come together that the patterns and totems reveal themselves, or come out of the kiln as it were.

MICHELLE: So it's an interface where the interest is created...and what about that interface between daily reality and creative time? Do you have rituals before you begin your work? What kind of space do you work in, do you require solitude, etc. We love to hear the details!

SHARI: No rituals here, just the ever present urge to create. Solitude is, and has always been, an inherent part of my life, so whether I require it or not, is a question I can't answer. Solitude is, however, the way I have apparently been given to experience this lifetime, and it would appear that my creativity is most likely a product of that solitude.

MICHELLE: Solitude is indeed a blessing...so, as an artist, if you had unlimited resources, funding, support, etc. what would you do?

SHARI: I would travel the world over, holding free and/or fund~raising mandala workshops, in hopes of bringing the healing and unifying power of this Wheel of Medicine to as many different venues on the planet as possible. I would also gift anyone that wanted one, one of my wOMandalas, or perhaps ask for payment in the form of a solemn oath to in some way or another make a contribution to peace on the planet. And, of course, advance the cause of the GreenMan & wOMan as well. After all, there can be no peace without a peaceful environment, without the trees and animals, without plentiful clean air and water, and without freedom 2Bee.
MICHELLE: ShaRi, can you tell me a bit about the convergence of your work and Joseph Rosado's, especially regarding the upcoming retreats at Glastonbury in March 2009?

SHARI: I am the Sorcerer's Apprentice, right now, hoping that all those broomsticks don't get out of hand!

See more of ShaRi's work at: http://womandalas.blogspot.com/

Thank you both...

Blessings...

DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO!!!

Michelle Miller Allen

http://www.greenphoenixproductions.com