Prayers on the Wind- Prayer Flags and Sacred Spaces
I seem to be bumping into Prayer Flags over and over lately.
So, I am inspired to finally do my own prayer flags post.
All of the flags I've seen online are unique and I've enjoyed seeing them.
Mine have been important to me these last years because of their story.
Years ago I heard of a prayer flag project that involved
painting on
muslin 'flags'.
It explained the 5 traditional colors and how they represent the 5
basic elements:
yellow(earth), green(water), red(fire), white(air), blue(space).
I was
intrigued, so I went online and did a bit of research.
I learned that the Tibetan word for a horizontal prayer flag is
Lung ta, which translates literally as "wind horse." The prayers flags
whip in the wind, evoking the sound of hooves. They are left in place,
while new ones are added over time, right alongside the old ones. The
images fade from the sun and wind, threads work loose and their prayers become a permanent part of the universe.
This
idea really spoke to me. So, I enlisted the participation of my guy
and we painted some pre-stitched flags. I gathered everything together,
using the muslin as the white (air) element. We used natural and other
materials to apply the paint. After they dried, we added the words we
wanted to send out into the universe. Now, my guy makes music but
paint, fabric etc. are not really his thing. However, he agreed to have
a go with me. He painted in his way, his style. When it came time to
add words that we each deemed important messages, he did that in his
style too! Let's just say that I am the one who reflects or
participates in matters of spirituality. He learns about history and
science and facts.
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Prayer Flags |
Our prayer flags hang
from the porch over the front door. The ones above are the latest ones
made in 2010. We made them for about 5 years in row, usually around
Thanksgiving. I liked making them then, in a season of gratitude. It
felt good.
My
favorite story related to our prayer flags came up after the very first
group had hung out in the elements for about one year. One day as I
stood looking at them I noticed something odd. All of his words
(messages) were so faded that they were barely visible. My words were
there in black Sharpie marker, as if I had just written them that day.
The flags hung side by side in an every other one pattern. His - mine -
his - mine...
I looked even closer.
Oddly enough, it was true: his words were gone and mine were still there!
None of the reasons we could think of explained
what we were looking at with our own eyes.
We had used the same exact materials ... they had equal time in the sunlight ...
There was not a reasonable explanation.
Even if I pressed harder while writing, therefore leaving more ink behind...
well, my writing did not fade to the same lightness for another couple of years.
Let me tell you we've had many a good laugh over the mysterious,
yet selective disappearing words!
We missed making the prayer flags in 2011.
Maybe we'll make some this year. and see what happens to our messages.
If you'd like to explore more prayer flags, just follow the links:
Jenclair at Bayou Quilts blogs about her
prayer flags and she shared
Peggy of Woman With Wings posts about her
green craft: prayer flags
Karen of
Art Therapy has made prayer flags with groups.
Elizabeth (rhythm of the home) writes a thoughtful post on creating
prayer flags with friends.
I have to include Valerie over at Sew On and On and her installation:
thankfulness project
While not typical-adapted-art prayer flags, I loved following her gratitude project last year.
where you can find more informative and inspirational videos.
Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2012