"A few weeks ago you mentioned that you wee condensing all your altars down into one space. In your Financial Hand posts you threw up two photos from the work table in front of your altar, one of which shows just a sneak peak of the altar itself. That's just not fair. I wanna see the whole thing now...."
Fair enough. Here is a photo of the Altar as it exists this morning:
If you click on it you will get a very large picture where you can actually see everything.
It is still very much a work in progress however. Even after giving away or packing away loads of stuff, it is still too cluttered. I want to re-paint the whole thing dark blue. I am considering removing the shelves so that I can fit one of my large Thankas in there, probably Padmasambhava with Kilaya, Yumkha, Ekadzati, Dorje Lekpa, and Rahula surrounding him as this would enable me to ditch some other items. Alternatively I was thinking of getting three sets of shelves that would span the whole five feet and give myself a little more horizontal space. I also dont have the configuration quite right yet
The process has been good though. When you keep separate altars, not only for different things, but for different traditions, it creates an easy out for blending those forces in your own mind. When I originally had the altar set up, I had a large Cross of San Damiano and Rosary from Medjugorje where the planetary seals are now. It just did'nt seem right to have it there, yet also not right to have it above everything else. I moved out of the altar on the wall, where I will put a shelf underneath it with my Chalice, Paten and other related items. The blending of Christian and Buddhist items did however trigger a cool dream where Penor Rinpoche was tending bar and asked me if I wanted a glass of Zhentong or Rangtong. The Zhentong glass was filled with nectar and the Rangtong glass was empty. In this way Penor, the first Lama to give me refuge and the three vows, helped me put to rest any remaining cognitive dissonance caused by interfacing with the two traditions. I pray for his swift rebirth.
I will post another pic when I decide how to handle the walls and get it re-painted.
7 comments:
pretties! I think my favorite is the arrangement of the seals.
how dark a blue are you thinking? dark as the deep sea,glowing as the night sky, or more of a peacock blue?
I was at an empowerment by Penor and the Christian women next to me told me she was going to take Refuge because "he's doing the work of the Lord".
I got a beautiful clear navy blue paint from Ralph Lauren at Home depot that's been really durable and looks great.
I would agree that the space feels very cluttered and confined. However, I understand the personal desire to have a single omni-altar as well. While I have multiple altars, I also try to keep a central "this is my core faith and energy" altar, often placing individual altars for gods, specific spirits, and my ancestors.
The project was sparked by need not desire. We had twins.
more impressive than the altar is the fact that you can still form a coherant sentence w/twins in the house...truly impressive!
Color me ignorant, but the colored seals behind the hanging censer: what are they and where are they from? I don't recognize them but they are gorgeous.
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