In July of 2024, I began a 232 day mantra practice with my husband in honor of the Hindu god Lord Ganesh.  Ganesh is considered to be the remover of obstacles.  He brings blessings of positivity and removes heaviness.  Though there are many mantras in honor of Ganesh, we were given the following mantra by a teacher we follow by the name of Vinita Rashinkar:

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Om Śrīm Hrīm Klīm Glaum Gam Ganapatayei Varavarada Sarvajanam Me Vaśamānaya Svāhā! 

 

The meaning of the mantra is: I pray to Sri Ganesh to help all people of this world to be good and to have a blessed life.  This mantra is said to bestow peace and good fortune as well as removes obstacles for a harmonious and prosperous life.  My experience of chanting this mantra was an immediate experience of joy and lightness.  

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​When I meditate and practice mantra I was taught to offer those prayers to the Earth out of gratitude for her many blessings. While in meditation, I felt very connected to the waterways of the Historic Reynolda neighborhood in Winston-Salem, NC where I live and work: the inlets of Silas Creeks, a nearby pond, and the 18 natural springs that run along Reynolda Road.

I wanted to learn more about these springs as I was creating this painting. I reached out to Phil Archer, the Betsy Main Babcock Deputy Director at Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. He generously compelled articles about and provided a historical map that showed where the springs are located. He told me that in the 19th Century, these mineral springs were a destination spot for people wanting to “take the waters.” They were named, the New Marienbad Springs, after the Marienbad spa in Germany (now part of the Czech Republic).

If you are inclined to believe the the Earth has healing energy, you will find it to be no coincidence that many churches, artists, and healers have been drawn to this neighborhood and have made it their home or located their business here. (Interestingly, one major springs runs right under the chicken coop where my art and healing studio is currently located.)

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