• Interfaith

  • Sacred art is a uniquely effective vehicle for discovering commonalities and resonances among global spiritual traditions.  We believe the diverse fruits of religious culture grow out of the soil of our common humanity.  Our programs offer multifaith explorations with the purpose of providing a portal to interfaith understanding.

  • Gestures of Compassion: Visualizing Guanyin and the Virgin Mary

  • This slide presentation explores various representations of the Virgin Mary and Guanyin (the Buddhist "Goddess" of Mercy, aka Kwan Yin) as they appear in sacred art traditions.  We will examine resonances between these two figures and explore how they are portrayed in sacred art.  What is the visual language of open heartedness?  What gestures and postures communicate compassion? Discover how these two feminine archetypes of love and compassion can be reclaimed energetically and drawn upon for as sources of healing energy.  Learn an embodied prayer practice that utilizes their gestures and postures, and in so doing help overcome the ego and unlock the heart.

  • Sacred Art as a Portal to Interfaith Understanding

  • An exploration of the relationships between sacred art, interfaith dialogue, and individual spiritual transformation. Using many specific examples from painting, sculpture, architecture, and music, we look at the opportunities that sacred art from around the world offers us to open our selves in humility and move toward respectful listening, appreciation, and dialogue.  We consider the life-affirming power of beauty and how it opens our hearts; how the study of the meaning and symbols in sacred art can open our minds and help us understand other religions and spiritual paths; and how the infinite creativity of humanity is the source of cultural diversity. By creating and experiencing sacred art we can become grounded in a joyful embodied spirituality that affirms our common humanity.