Page 19 - Demo

newspaper articles, and our house was included on the local historic-home tour. To top it off, our once pathetic dwelling was listed on the Indiana Register of Historic Sites.All during our home%u2019s grand and positive transformation, I was exposed to many chemically laden building products and remodeling materials. Because I was indoors so much%u2014sometimes 24 hours a day%u2014there was no break from these exposures. That, along with my sideline business of refinishing furniture using strippers, solvents, stains, and finishes, and exposure to odorous art materials in some graphic design work I did, caused my health to collapse. Like our house, I had undergone a transformation. But, mine sent me downhill into ill health. After a time, we discovered I had Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). As my sensitivities became more and more severe, I had trouble tolerating the everyday odors and chemicals of %u201cmodern life.%u201d I had to stay away from synthetic clothing, most cleaning products, artificial fragrances, and on and on. It was disabling, and required drastic changes in our lifestyles. However, although we didn%u2019t realize it at the time, my illness was a first step in being forcibly propelled on a journey toward living simpler, more independent, and creative lives.Interestingly, while we were working on our house, we drove down to the 2nd Annual Greater Indianapolis Garage Sale & Marketplace just to see what was there. We came home with a treasure that turned out to be of immense importance to us, although we didn%u2019t know it at the time. It was a used paperback copy of Carl Jung%u2019s Man and his Symbols. It cost a quarter. As soon as we each read it, we were captivated by what Jung had to say. Soon, I started studying it%u2019s many fascinating and enlightening concepts in more and more depth. It was a comprehensive progression of the earlier concepts and ideas I had been taught in my Speech class back in college.According to Jung, our lives are journeys toward becoming our true Selves. Each of our unique paths requires us to be fully aware of ourselves, and all the various aspects of our conscious and unconscious minds, because they have the capacity to guide us in positive and helpful ways forward. Ultimately, it is our personal responsibility to become the heroes of our own lives. One of Jung%u2019s basic teachings is to pay attention to, and understand, our dreams. It%u2019s also important to trust any messages we receive through meaningful coincidences. Only after much effort and striving, will we be able to set aside the voices, beliefs, and opinions of others, as well as our own wrong assumptions, and simply be ourselves%u2014like the characters in the pen-and-ink drawings I was doing.It was no fluke that Jung%u2019s book was filled with paintings and drawings from across the world, and from many religions. Each image illustrated, and helped define, universal truths from a myriad of viewpoints. For me, looking closely at each picture, helped me realize that art could be a key to understanding various facets of spirituality%u2014often more so than written explanations. I thought of the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, and knew it was really true. Art, I was learning, could help lead to Self discovery, and John and I both decided this goal was worth pursuing.Sunbather. Oil on canvas board. 1975