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"The historic mission of our time is to reinvent the human, at the species level, with critical reflection within the community of life systems in a time developmental context, by means of story and shared dream experience." ~Thomas Berry

I met Dr. Wally Burnstein, the founder of Food & Water Inc., in 1992 when I, as the president of the Sarasota Macrobiotic Society, invited him to speak to our group. Dr. Burnstein was also one of the founders of Genesis Farm, an ecological learning center located in Blairstown, New Jersey. At that time, Sr. Miriam MacGillis, a Dominican nun from Caldwell, NJ, served as the director of Genesis Farm, where the works of Fr. Thomas Berry, a geologian and author of The Great Work, Our Way Into the Future, and The Dream of the Earth, were being taught to individuals from all over the globe. 

The contributions of these brilliant scholars and activists would profoundly alter the course of my life. So, in 1994, I relocated to Blairstown and resided at Genesis Farm before purchasing a hundred-year-old schoolhouse and establishing StillPoint Schoolhouse. At forty-five years old, I was armed with enough knowledge and experience in the holistic arts and sciences to create a lifestyle I could teach and inspire change in how people live, think, and manage their emotions.

I knew that unless we could understand ourselves and manage the brain's incessant negative chatter, the human species would be doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. I understood how the change happens with the recognition of Ego mentality, the mind poisons that dominate our thoughts, words, and actions. Twenty years and thousands of hours teaching and living the practice, I sold my home and yoga studio, gathered my two small dogs and one yellow-eyed cat, and went to live in a stone house on eight acres of land. 

My life has been relentlessly and passionately devoted to teaching the 8-limb path of Yoga, providing nutritional counseling, teaching vegetarian cooking classes, and writing books. But as many yogis, dancers, and athletes can attest, it is not uncommon for an injury to be the messenger that lets us know we need to slow down. Mine came in the form of a hip replacement, and Spirit brought me to a complete stop as I rested and recovered. 

This gift of time allowed me to reflect on my hectic but productive life and contemplate how I wanted to shape my future. Moving to the Stone House was the magical union of Time and Place. I always knew that someday I would return to my photography full-time, so, in honor of my best friend, who had passed away after a long battle with breast cancer, I created a greeting card company, Small Works of Beauty, which featured my work. I chronicled each day with photographs, poems, and stories. I created a series of mandalas by weaving together my photos that made the invisible in nature, in all her shapes and forms, become colorful images with a frequency high enough to transform a suffering mind. 

Time passed, my life reflecting the seasons in the life-death-life cycle of coming to be and passing away, ushering in new forms. But, primarily, it was creating art that changed me. With a camera and journal in hand, I soaked up the wonder of the natural world. I slowly began to heal and let go of the woman I had created to embrace the woman I was to become. 

Living in nature and creating art is how spirituality works in my life: I am Spirit, and Spirit is me, and making art is at the very core of my being. I am Consciousness at play in the world, and it is through art that I play. The artist holds up a mirror to reflect what is happening in our world and how we interact and evolve. My purpose is to walk this journey with love, integrity, and intention. My intention is that others will benefit as well. I am never alone. Spirit inspires and then tells me, "Yes, Delia, you're ready for this creation to manifest."

In 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I completed and published the Mindful Mandala (MM) cards, first introduced through Zoom forums and masked workshops. I created the cards because life is full of questions; some are simple inquiries, while others are multi-layered concerns whose answers may require more time. My training as a yoga and meditation practitioner taught me the importance of self-inquiry and the power of stillness. I've learned how focusing the mind can clarify any confusing situation. Yet, I wanted something more specific—a way to inquire about an immediate issue and know what action to take toward resolution, to cut through my ego's blocks and get to the heart of the matter quickly. 

I discovered that there will always be an emotional challenge when trying to resolve a difficult situation. In response, I called on my higher emotions to counter these challenges. We have all suffered. We know what it feels like to be angry, jealous, stuck, and attached to possessions, at the mercy of dark emotions, or what Buddhists refer to as "mental afflictions." These emotions—ignorance, attachment, greed, aversion to pain, and fear of death—constantly clash with our qualities of kindness, generosity, peace, and compassion. 

How do we reinvent ourselves at the species level? It begins with you. Self-inquiry and exploration are fundamental to the process, and they begin with becoming aware of the emotions and sub-personalities that run your mind and thoughts. You can begin this process by joining our community of like-minded individuals. Welcome to the tribe.