Update

Update
I have completed the final illustration of the White Baby Elephant dream.
ISSSEEM which is the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine, suggested I be a guest blogger on their website. I thought it could be a good place to publish the five paintings and story from beginning to end and then at a later date publish the final illustration on my site.
I will see what they think and keep you posted.
Recently I purchased William Bengston's book and CD training course on Hands - On Healing, which was obviously a whole lot cheaper than going to New York for a face to face workshop, although an overseas trip would have been nice. I will also keep you posted on my healing potential and if I can work out any ways of incorporating Hands - on Healing with my art.

White Baby Elephant

                      Illustration 4,   White Baby Elephant 4, gouache on paper, 30x21cm, 2011.                    

White Baby Elephant Dream continued

I put the White Baby Elephant in the car where there were already two grey dogs, one large and one small. The large dog looked like an elk-hound or an Irish wolfhound cross. The smaller dog looked like a poodle cross. Also in the car were two plastic garbage bags filled with second hand clothes destined for a charity bin.  I realised that I was on my way to the country to visit my mother in a small country town to celebrate  the annual fair where farm animals and fruit and vegetables were on display.

Footnote:

In my physical waking life, I have a large grey twelve year old standard poodle called Lou lou, who was neither of the dogs in my dream. When I bought Lou lou as a puppy I was living in an old house in Sydney with my family. While in this house and before Lou lou arrived, I would occasionally see from of the corner of my eye a large skinny grey dog with wiry fur. It looked like an Irish wolfhound cross with a sad persona. At the time I disregarded the sightings of the dog as some kind of confusion. When Lou lou arrived into our lives I stopped seeing the grey, skinny dog. 

The small grey dog in my dream is not a physical dog but I had also seen it before I had the dream.

I have attended the last two Sydney teachings from His Holiness the Dalai Lama and at times found my mind shutting  down as I found absorbing large chunks of Buddhist philosophy overwhelming. My eyes would be open but I wasn't processing sights or sounds. I could see my surroundings clearly but my brain isn't focused on what I see. 


In this state with my mind and body relaxed I saw the stadium where the teaching was taking place gradually fill up with a beautiful transparent white mist. I looked down to my leg and there was a small grey dog, standing on it’s hind legs, with it’s front paws resting on my left knee, asking or looking at me as if it wanted a pat. I tried to touch the dog but it disappeared. 


The following year during the second teaching I received from the Dalai Lama I had a very similar experience to the year before. I saw the same small dog, this time just standing by my feet looking up at me. When I focused my attention on the dog again it disappeared.

What I find particularly interesting about the grey dogs is that both were originally seen with my eyes open but did not exist in my physical world. Contemplating on the particular state my mind was in when I saw the small dog I recognise that my mind was functioning in a slow alpha or theta state, which is similar to a dreaming state while asleep. 


Both dogs were also seen while I was dreaming with my eyes closed in the White Baby Elephant dream.  I also found it interesting that I saw the little grey dog twice and both these sightings were most likely triggered by a particular conscious state, which was triggered by the Dalai Lamas teachings, which stems from words and their meaning and their emotional impact. 


Particular emotions have specific vibrations. You could go so far as to say that all people and physical objects have a specific vibration. For example a calm person can make someone else feel calm, not only from his or her body language but also from the vibration they have. I sense the Dalai Lama has a powerful vibration and I imagine and feel (imagination and feelings are the basis for creating our conscious reality) that his vibrational influence ignited what I would describe as a momentary expanding of consciousness.

Amit Goswami, a theoretical quantum scientist, describes all phenomena or our reality as being created or manifested from our consciousness. If this is the case, dreaming states of consciousness are as much a justified reality as waking consciousness. Perhaps meditation and other vibrational influences are merely tools to lift a veil to reveal other possibilities of conscious realities or dimensions. Whatever world you find yourself in it arises from your consciousness.  

Writing on paintings in invisible ink.

             Some of the ideas behind the invisible ink writing on my painting.

                                       Close up of invisible ink writing on Sequin’s and Gold tipped Horns

On some of my paintings that I have written on in invisible ink, I write about the ideas behind the subject of the painting. The invisible ink can only be read or seen with ultra violet light.

With my self-portrait Sequin’s and Gold tipped Horns, I decided to write on the face and arms in invisible ink, a bit like an invisible tattoo. I also thought I would reveal what I have written on this painting in this posting of my blog. Without the knowledge of what the painting is about, the self-portrait comes across as a painful exploration in vanity.

The invisible ink writing on my self-portrait Sequins and Gold Tipped Horns says something along the lines of what I have written below.

I had the good fortune to be invited to a number of meetings with a group of five women, who were focusing on the exploration of mystical and esoteric pursuits.

At my first meeting a very nice lady who was in her sixties and for a short time while in her early twenties became a catholic nun. I will call this lady Mary; she asked me if she could do a reading for me using oracle cards ( this is a prediction or a physic observation into a persons life) . Oracle cards are like tarot cards, but the images on oracle cards are usually a lot less confronting than tarot cards. The images on these cards were quite badly executed miniature prints of semi naked women representing different aspects and qualities of the Goddess. For example one cards image was of a naked blond woman holding a broken red heart, this image was representing a troubled or failed romantic relationship. 


These images made me feel uneasy. I realised much later after reflecting on the whole experience why I felt so uncomfortable. The images to me portrayed the idea of wishful thinking. I believe wishful thinking can at times be beneficial and at other times can be quite negative. These cards seemed to embody the idea of a wish or a kind of clinging on to a hopefully better future, which to my view leads to the connotation of an individuals fate being out of ones control and a lack of being in the present and taking responsibility for your thoughts and actions and in-turn your future.


I will also point out that the other women in the group thought the cards had great artistic merit and felt some kind of spiritual connection with them. I by no means think that my views are superior to the other women who attended these meetings. My observations of the pictures that made me feel uncomfortable eventually revealed a connection I had with these kinds of corny symbolism. Investigating a difference often gives rise to finding a similarity. 

Having spent many years studying Tibetan Buddhism I thought it would be beneficial for myself to look at aspects of wishful thinking in my wishy washy practice of Buddhism. This is how the self-portrait Sequin’s and Gold tipped Horns came about. It is my giant wish fulfilling oracle card. It is me set in the future, in another life time, returning from the top of a mountain as an enlightened being.  The closed lotus flower is a gift I offer to show the path or knowledge for others to become enlightened.

The cow represents my world and steering the horns is having absolute control over the direction my life takes. The sequins on the dress represent the many life times it has taken to achieve enlightenment.

I experience a similar uncomfortable response to my painting as I did to the oracle cards, which was my intention in executing the painting. The painting only reveals the final enlightened state and not the intricate and uncountable actions taken to achieve enlightenment. I think this could be where the unease in the image lies. The actions in achieving this state have been compiled into symbolism, which can be difficult to decipher and when romanticized, can for me be annoying. My painting and the Goddess oracle cards have a similar wish fulfilling component, my painting is a little easier on the eye for me than the cards but this is just because the subject I have painted about is more familiar to me than the cards of naked Goddesses holding broken red hearts and the like.

Going back to the oracle reading with Mary.  The information Mary relayed to me was insightful for that particular time of my life and for someone who didn’t know me at all.  What fascinated me was the deepening of focus Mary became submerged in while doing the reading. A combination of concentration, a closing off of all external stimulation and the images of Goddess cards triggered a subtle but visible change to her conscious state. I spoke to Mary after the reading about some of the things she had told me; to my surprise she had very little recollection in anything she had said. This was the beginning of my fascination with the mind and its potential for different states of consciousness and a subject I am continually happy to explore.

  

                               Sequins and Gold Tipped Horns, 2006, 160x120cm, mixed media on canvas.

Tears of Compassion

Tears of Compassion

In 2008 I sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth the II requesting that I collect a tear of the Queen to aid in the future happiness of people.

This artwork was initiated around the time, the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized to the Aboriginal community. My eight-year-old daughter asked why the Queen of Australia hadn't already apologized to the Aboriginals of Australia.

Realising a connection had been created between my daughter and the Queen; I decided to initiate an art project focusing on the concept of collective similarities in thought, creating a collective consciousness.

The art project mimics homeopathy, which the royal family have embraced as remedies for ailments over the years, with the treatments basic theory being a little can make a great difference and like cures like.

My intention was to combine the tears of the Queen with my daughters and anyone else who would like to participate in the project and finally empty them into the ocean. With the same analogy as homeopathy, a small action can make a great difference.

The Queen politely refused to give me one of her tears.

I would like to continue the tear project without the Queen’s tears. The logistics of collecting tears is difficult. My way forward is to collect virtual tears from around the world. This would entail creating a website and compiling information to keep count of the virtual tears.

The participant giving a tear would be encouraged to do the action with the emotion of compassion in mind.

By December 21st 2012 the virtual tears would be counted and these calculations would be converted to the weight of water, the water would then be emptied into the ocean, continually keeping in mind the emotive intention behind the tears, is compassion. The date chosen to release the tears is the controversial date that has been described as a shift in human consciousness. The weight and accuracy of this date is subject to debate but I feel it is a fitting time to complete the project.

Below is the letter I wrote to the Queen requesting a tear

30^th of June 2008                                                                              PO Box 196

                                                                                                            Oyster Bay

                                                                                                            Sydney NSW 2225

                                                                                                            Australia
Her Majesty The Queen             

Buckingham Palace                                                      

London SW 1A 1AA

London, United Kingdom

Dear Queen Elizabeth ll

I am writing to you in regards to a work of art I have commenced. The aim of this artwork is to ignite the idea of the power of thought and action and imagined realities.

My eight-year-old daughter questioned your role as the Queen of Australia and as to why you hadn’t said sorry to the indigenous population of Australia, as did our Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

I explained to my daughter that the Royal Families ties to Australia are now less political and that the Queen no longer has much to do with Australia.

It came to my attention that my daughters concern for the correct procedure for apologising to the indigenous population of Australia had created a connection between my daughter and yourself, a connection of concern for people’s happiness.

The artwork consists of collecting a tear from my daughter and a tear from yourself, representing the sorrow and suffering of people. Then combining the tears and empting them into the ocean, harbouring the same principles as homeopathy, a little can make a great difference and like cures like.

The concept with your assistance could cause many people to think about the future happiness of all people. The process of imagining and sympathising the plight of others defines humanity and is an important step to collective thought and change.

The empty plastic cylinder that held the tears will be exhibited, with the intention that the empty container will create discussion as to the value of the empty container and the merit of the idea.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could please send me one or more of your tears in a small plastic cylinder container; a small amount of saline water can be added first so the tears don’t evaporate.

Thank you for your consideration and hopeful involvement.

Sincerely   

Hannah Hall

Below is the Queen's letter of reply

 

                 

White Baby Elephant

Illustration 3, White Baby Elephant 3, gouache on paper, 30x31cm.

White Baby Elephant dream continued.

So I picked up the baby elephant and walked towards the car. Surprisingly enough the elephant was not too heavy.

White Baby Elephant

Illustration 2,  White Baby Elephant 2, gouache on paper, 30x31cm.

My White Baby Elephant Dream continued.

The elephant gradually got closer and closer to me. When we finally reached each other, the baby elephant buried its head into my body, as if it was pleased to see me. I stood on the road patting the baby elephant's head wondering what to do next.

White Baby Elephant

I have started paintings that illustrate a dream I had about a white baby elephant. I will tell the story of the dream gradually as I finish each painting that depicts the dream.

Instead of brush strokes to create the paintings, I am using hundreds of tiny dots. When each dot is applied I say an emotive word and intentionally try to bring about a feeling that relates to the word. 

For the first painting I am using the emotive word love, the idea behind the word is loving-kindness for everyone. This method of using repetitive words is like an affirmation with focussed intention, which then creates a particular feeling and in turn a particular state of mind. This method can also be called mind training or self-hypnosis.

The purpose of this exercise is to create works of art that actively change the state of my mind, with the intention of the exercise having a long term, beneficial effect on my mind.

Illustration 1.   White Baby Elephant, gouache on paper, 30x21cm.

My dream about a White Baby Elephant.

Driving in a white car down a small sloping hill past my children's primary school, I suddenly  had to veer the car to the wrong side of the road to avoid a white baby elephant standing in the middle of the road. I nearly drove on and ignored the elephant; but started to think about how unfortunate it would be if another passing car hit the elephant. I imagined the elephant was very frightened without its mother. 

So I decided to help and pulled the car over to the side of the road, hopped out of the car and cautiously approached the baby elephant, reminding myself it was a wild animal and could be unpredictable. To my surprise the elephant started walking towards me.

Other things I do.

Writing with Invisible Ink

Since 2009 I have been writing on my archived paintings in invisible ink. The writing on the paintings can only be seen by using an ultra violet light. I am exploring this medium because I enjoy the theory that ideas, when they are first created in someone’s mind, are invisible. I feel there is a correlation between the invisible written text on my paintings and invisible thoughts.

I tend to write about subjects that have endless possibilities, for example the mind and its potential with consideration to empathy, compassion and wisdom. Sometimes while writing on my paintings I find myself going into a theta or alpha state, which means there is the potential to forget what I have written. 

This is a bit like forgetting a dream soon after waking. I feel the paintings have an added layer of value when they have writing on them. I'm unsure of the longevity or durability of the invisible ink and the effect the ink may have long term on my paintings.

Things I would like to do.

In the near future I would like to attend one of Dr William Bengston's energy healing courses and if possible apply his meditative healing techniques to my art. Exploring the potential of art and its possibilities for healing.

Dr William Bengston is a professor of sociology at St Josephs College in New York, USA.

His healing research has produced the first successful full cures of transplanted mammary cancer and methylcholanthrene induced sarcomas in experimental mice by laying on of hands technique, while using cyclic imagination that he helped to develop.