This is a creation story that I still remember from my holistic studies at Langara College in Vancouver http://langara.ca/continuing-studies, which started with this question: “WHO ARE YOU? THE POTTER OR THE CLAY?” In this story, God is the Master Potter and the Clay is the human being. God has a plan for each of us and loves to use his clay to create masterpieces: either to become a practical kitchen dish or an artful vase in a gallery.
“WHO ARE YOU? THE POTTER OR THE CLAY?”
Whatever our use or purpose, we are all destined to go through this pottery process, which includes molding, tossing, swirling, being mixed with water, decorated and hardened by fire in a furnace and protected with a glaze at the end. Let me take you deeper into this story to tell you the process that I love so much. In your mind, choose a vessel/dish you like. Then, picture yourself at the potter’s wheel, ready to be molded into a new upgraded version of who you might become….
“Remember that thou hast made me of clay; and wilt thou turn me to dust again?” (Job 10:9)
To activate this process ask yourself this question:
- What role are you animating in your life?
- Are you a Potter or are you the Clay?
A CREATION STORY…
Whether pottery is destined to be a utilitarian or an object d’art, it all needs both a Potter and Clay. They both play significant parts in the creative process. In the course of spiritual growth, you become clay, ready to be molded through your inner work, or not, hoping that you can take refuge in a quiet place until chaos strikes your life as a divine organic power.
PRACTITIONER REFLECTION:
When I first began working with clients, people would ask me “What am I going to be in the end?” My answer was: “I don’t know. I am not a Master Potter or the Clay. I am only the one who willingly and consciously worked the potter’s wheel (a few times in my life), allowing tossing and remodeling, again and again…with no guarantee of outcome whatsoever. It is just between the two of you. I can assist you, once you are brave enough to stand there with your naked soul, with my wisdom and knowledge and skills to get through it all and enjoy the new upgrade at the end.
BACK TO OUR CREATION STORY NOW…
Just remember that Clay has choice and free will but God has time on his hands. Meaning: change always comes in God’s timing, not according to your schedule or your needs.
Clink on this link to enjoy the pottery process…
LET US BE CLAY FIRST….
Clay (the human being) becomes acutely aware of this evolution through the process of transformation, all in soul time. After some preparation time, clay prays before being thrown on the wheel. (Setting the intention for your journey.)
DEAR GOD: I know that you are listening to me as I create the new design for what I want to become. I have tried to change myself many times but have not succeeded; sorry, I should have come to you first. But now, I am finally ready, I am placing myself into your capable hands. Mold me; create me as you wish, fashion a new vessel for my soul. Please, handle me with care. I know that the time is now. I am taking my shoes off and standing on your wheel willingly to be transformed. I am not allowing my fear to take over again, not this time. At present, I am ready, and fully conscious of the process ahead. Amen.”
…..and then, God’s hands touch the clay and the wheel spun around for the first time.
THE KNEADING PROCESS STARTS….
Once you have mixed the right amounts of both earth and water the clay must be kneaded or worked with the hands in order to incorporate the ingredients or mix them together.
The reason for the kneading process is two-fold:
- You must get all the air bubbles out. Any air pockets left in the clay will cause the piece to explode when it is being fired in the kiln.
- Any grit or foreign particles left in the clay will create imperfections and cause the clay to weaken and to fall apart when it is being thrown on the wheel. The potter can feel these in the clay as he/she works it with his/her hands.
Example: How many of you have ever kneaded dough to make a pie or bread? It is the same principle. You have to knead the dough until it is easy enough to work with.
PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS:
In order to be used for God’s work, all of the junk, the imperfections, all sins, all of self, must be taken out/detoxifying your life.
God cannot use YOU if there is still some of YOU left in YOU.
During the kneading process the potter handles the clay roughly as he/she works out the impurities. At first, the clay itself is abrasive and unresponsive but the more time the potter spends kneading it the more elastic and pliable it becomes.
4 INGREDIENTS FOR THE CREATION STORY:
POTTER in a creation story…
It is the potter who does the molding and shaping of the clay. They know what they want the finished product to be and to look like. The clay is totally under their control. It has to be 100% yielded to him, not 50%, not even 99%. The clay MUST YIELD to the potter’s hand if it is to become something useful. We yield to God by surrendering our will.
Yet God allows the clay to cooperate with him as he molds and shapes fallen men and women. While the clay is still pliable and wet, the Great Potter’s desire is to make a work of beauty and utility out of that which is otherwise marred, flawed, and unsuited for His use.
THE POTTER HAS SEVERAL CHOICES TO MAKE…
While they work with a piece of clay, potters can finish the piece they started if they think that it is responding to kneading or they can reshape the piece they are working on as they go if they feel it would be better as something else. They can throw away an unresponsive piece of clay if they feel that it is not going to come out as planned.
THE FINAL TOUCHES …
It is the potter who decorates each piece and gives it its beauty. It must also be glazed for protection so that it doesn’t become marred or damaged.
Spiritual/healing/application:
Our decoration is the talents that God gives each of us. He gives these to us to be used not for selfish gain but for him. He lends them to us. It has been said that if we don’t use the talents God gives us then he will take them away from us.
CLAY…
It is not easy to be clay, to be molded by the hands of someone else. How to be good molding clay? The potter (God) has an end product in his mind, a vessel that will be useful to its final owner and a credit to the potter’s craftsmanship and experience. The potter labours over the clay, forming and shaping it until the final product is realized. The pot then can be fired and decorated – but if it cracks or turns out misshapen, it is no big deal to discard it altogether. Can we imagine a mere clay pot complaining to the potter? Does the pot have “rights” of it’s own? No, it exists, and finds useful service as an ordinary kitchen pot or a beautiful vase, solely because the potter intended it for such an end.
WATER / AIR:
What elements are necessary to add into the kneading process? (Water) Once both the air bubbles and the foreign particles are worked out of the clay it must be kept moist until it is ready to be used. It has to be kept covered to retain moisture so that it doesn’t dry out. It must be kept in the proper environment in order to survive until it is ready to be shaped. What elements are necessary to add to the kneading process? (Water)
FIRE
Fire is the last element in process, as in “going through the fire.” The last step is the firing process in a furnace. The piece cannot be finished or used until it survives this final phase. The fire is needed to make the piece strong so it will last a long time. If there are still some tiny impurities in it that the potter couldn’t get out then the piece will crack or explode and be useless.
At the end, I guarantee that there will always be a test. God almost always tests us with something that is very special to us or important in our lives to make sure that his new gifts for us are placed in the right hands of ours.
This is the end of my story today, therefore let me repeat my creation story question.
“Are you the Potter or the Clay?”
Do you still want control over your life or are you willing to submit to His/Her authority? Are you willing to let God be God? Will you allow Him/Her to “knead” you and help you work out the problems in your life? Will you let divine power decorate you with talents and then use them for divine service? Will you let God put you through the fire to harden and glaze your porcelain, the beauty in you?
Journey well, my friends!
Written by Veronika Prielozna, MA who offers Healing Arts Services https://livingharmonyondemand.com/ to help you in remodeling/recreating your life story in the never-ending process of your soul.
Written by Veronika Prielozna, MA who offers Healing Arts Services https://livingharmonyondemand.com/ to help you in remodeling/ recreating your life story in your never-ending process of your soul.
Image creadit: Original source unknown, image found on http://www.spiritofclay.net
YOGA and TRAVEL 