Though I started seminary with the intention of becoming a hospice chaplain, I’ve gradually come to see myself more as a Minister of Arts. My talents are those of a creative pole jumper.  I teach others to leap far higher than they ever suspected their wings could carry them over the bar of their doubts and limitations. It is in the unmediated sensing of their own internal power that they are convinced that they are spiritual beings, not subject to the laws of ego-gravity.

The art that I have developed is the art of listening on paper.  By letting the pen float across the surface, feeling every line and shape, truth emerges.  This can also be done with words, which come together in equally improbable ways.  The painting here captures an example of just such discovery.  As is my practice, I drew without looking at the paper before coloring in areas with watercolor pencil.  I was amazed when I added water at how deep indigo filled her hand and ear.  It seemed to me as if she was holding a foreign object, like a seashell.  What ancient rhythms did she hear echoed in the surf of her own pulse?  What messages from the universe came to her in the guise of her own heartbeat?  These are questions that move me.  I want to teach people methods of blindfolding their left brains so they remember what they knew when they were born.   I’ve opened an art and writing studio where I work with both individuals and groups who seek Self-awareness and healing.  I’ve never seen another chaplain who took up a painting smock, but I know this to be a perfect expression of my interfaith ministry.