As Barb considered the question of how “we” could create unity (within self, between others, globally), she was inspired to “play on the table” and created a couple of mixed media pieces. The first she called “The Way”, her intuitive response to the question of how to rebuild a sense of unity. Inspired by John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Bob Marley’s “One Love” and Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow.”
Seems simple right? Come up with a vision, commit to love all beings and give it your all. Simple that is, until you delve into the complexity around the core ideas.
When we encounter the messiness of radically different points of view, feelings of blame and/or shame, the frenetic energy that can accompany exchanges of differing points of view. Think of the battles that can ensue if folk are interpreting things from the lenses of completely different perspectives and different angles. Yikes!
Barb quickly did what comes naturally to her in times of crisis – she “gave it over” to the universe. So, she created a visual representation of her “Prayer for Unity,” where Barb asked the universe for inspiration on ways to overcome polarities and bridge the great divide. Always drawn to symbolism, in this case she called upon a little unicorn magic.
However, something niggled at her – she was feeling like she wasn’t “steppin’ up” by just calling on the universe to solve these complex problems. So, Barb felt compelled to act in support of positive change.
Her Unicorn morphed into the Butterfly – to convey that miraculous change was in the works – fueled by the power of positive thinking. Recognizing that to make miracles manifest, thought needs to be supported by action; she wondered – what it would be like if artists collaborated as they considered how to work towards achieving unity. So, she reached out to her mentor/teacher LorriMarie Jenkins, who agreed to collaborate with Barb on her journey of discovery.
Together, Barb and LorriMarie developed a vision of unity that encompasses three angles, which they labelled intrapersonal (aligned within self), interpersonal (aligned behaviours with others) and global (aligned with worldwide needs).
As LorriMarie and Barb sorted their orientations and commitments to working through this process of discovery, Barb realized she had self-work to undertake, to “ready” herself to engage with others on what could be a quagmire of complex, layered issues. To date, she has invested nine months into focused self-development relating to mind, body, and spirit and sourced multiple experts in related fields. Fuelled by a desire to share what she was learning with others, and realizing she would never be an expert in all these necessary and relevant areas, she let go of her need to appear as if she had it “all figured out” and created Calm Unity Practices. And the rest, as they say, is history.