Second Versions, or Re-Visions

On September 8th I engaged in creating a gemstone necklace for the 10th Lunation that began at the New Moon in Virgo. I completed it, but the design wasn't quite right and the thread also broke part-way through, which I repaired but wasn't thrilled about. So, I took it all apart (this was a knotted piece so I had to cut at each knotted section to remove the beads) and began again with a slightly altered design. After the second version was complete I was very pleased with how it looked and felt.

When writing in my 13 New Moons lunar journal for this day, I noted "...really like the second version. That seems to be the flavor of the day for quite a number of my creative projects lately - the mandala calendar, other lunation necklaces, the book of poetry I created on LuLu today. Hmm... second versions (re-visions)... Does that apply to my life in general in the space/time of transitions and transformations? Like the caterpillar to butterfly? In all the above cases the first version ultimately served a purpose for me to be able to fine-tune and know better what I want and like. Hmm..."

So, I've really been thinking about this concept of second versions, re-visions, on a personal level first, but on a collective/global level as well. Adding to this line of thought is the message I received in a dream from 8/20 - a dream that I've not stopped pondering since it came to me:

9 Illustrations

Sitting at a picnic table outside on a green lawn at the old Mtn. Ranch house (where I grew up from age 11), a man, who appears to be a teacher and I am his student as I have paper and pen in hand, is telling me that I need to finish the 9 illustrations for my project. I’ve completely forgotten about this part and wonder, as I think of all the other tasks I already have on my calendar, how I’m going to get them done in time. He also tells me that what I’m doing for a living now (I know this to mean my waking reality of graphic design, bodywork, bookkeeping) is something a lot of people are doing, is old news, and that I need to engage in something new and different. He suggests that the project he is orchestrating, and which I need to create the 9 illustrations to go with my writing for, IS the something new. I thank him for his advice. EOD

Well, this dream certainly seems to point toward the whole second version, re-vision theme. And in the emptiness that I have been and am still feeling quite deeply, perhaps this is all in Divine Order - I am empty and therefore can begin fresh, creating a second version of myself, a re-vision of myself, having learned now from the first version what I want and like. Hmm... do you think this might be possible not only for myself but for our communities, our countries, our world? Yes, I realize that the whole idea of second versions and re-visions isn't new, and we are all constantly in a state of remaking ourselves, conscious or unconscious, seen or unseen. However, what I'm feeling and speaking to is BIG. We are standing on the edge of a huge shift in consciousness and ways of being, of perhaps changing from always "doing" to simply "engaging" (establishing a meaningful contact or connection)—with ourselves, our families and friends, our communities, our world.

With these thoughts forefront in my heart and mind, I put together my altar yesterday for the 10th Lunation and the theme of it is "emptiness in the center". I have as one of the altar pieces—actually, it is what started the whole altar theme idea when I was "told" to use it—the wild woman doll I created right after returning home from my mom's transition in late 2008, the doll that is "Nameless, Faceless, Empty." Many other pieces I used on the altar also reflect "emptiness in the center" in some way. And, when one is empty there is room to be filled.

So, I know without a doubt that the "second version, re-vision" theme will be with me, and perhaps all of us, for awhile longer. The wonderful and hopeful element of this for me, and perhaps for you too, is that I most often LOVE creating the second versions!!!

Farewell for now, and may you find many blessings in every moment and every breath of your being.