Kuan Yin Goddess of Compassion - hand embellished limited edition prints by Dawn Paul.
As I work worldwide as a shamanic healer, it is easy for me to forget the needs of my soul and work too much. Finding that I needed to create some balance and do something creative for myself, I decided to do a collagraph course.
It had been some time since I had done anything creative, and as I lay in bed the night before the course, my thoughts turned to the type of shamanic image I wanted to create. A thousand images ran through my mind, but none of them felt right. I had the sense that I needed to create something in particular. In a flash an image appeared in my mind - that of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion and Mercy, a manifestation of the Divine Mother. To be perfectly honest, this surprised me somewhat, but the next day, I applied myself to creating a shamanic art collage of Kuan Yin, which would be later used as a printing plate.
I was under considerable time pressure to get the shamanic art collage made on time, but it was almost as if the image of Kuan Yin manifested itself and I were merely the observer! In no time at all, “I” had created an image of Kuan Yin, standing in a Lotus Flower, pouring out her waters of compassion upon the world. When the print was finally made and hand embellished in gold, the Goddess truly came alive. I could almost feel her with me.
So, unusually for me, I took the image to be framed and put Kuan Yin in a protective position behind the armchair I use for work, so that she protected and guided me as I worked and also watched over my clients.
Some weeks ago now, I had the pleasure of working with a new client who loved the Lady Goddess Kuan Yin, and, spotting her image behind me, asked if she could have a print of the original image. This lady was psychic and she told me that she felt I must offer these shamanic art images for sale, as they were much needed in the world.
This in turn reminded me of a conversation I had with one of my guides some months previously, who urged me to offer the prints for sale to the public. I told him that I was no great and famous artist – and he agreed with me - but said that it was the energy and the vibration that the image would bring to people’s homes and lives which was important, and therefore I must get over myself and offer them for sale.
I thought about it, but hadn’t done anything about it until my client pushed me into it! And the very interesting thing was that of course, in order to make copies of the original I had to take the picture off the wall in order to remove the original collograph from the frame, but when I returned from the printers much later that day, I entered the house and stopped dead in my tracks. Something was wrong in the house, it didn’t feel as safe as it did before, the energy was wrong. Only then did I realise that the energy of the house had shifted because the picture had been taken down, which proved to me what my guide had said, about the image of Kuan Yin being a powerful force of protection and love. So I quickly put her back in the frame and hung her back up!
Kuan Yin is known by many names, Guanyin, Kannon, Kwannon, Tara, Avalokitesvara…the list goes on. But in many cultures her image is held as that of the beloved personification of mercy and compassion, and she is also said to be the goddess of mothers, children, sailors and fisherman.
Kuan Yin is a being who achieved enlightenment; she is a “bodhisattva.” Some say she is neither male nor female, but assumes whatever form is needed in order to bring comfort to those in need, although in later images, she is depicted in feminine form.
Instead of ascending to the heavenly realms after achieving enlightenment, she instead heard all the cries of suffering in the world, and, full of compassion, she vowed to stay upon the Earth until all suffering has ended and all beings are liberated from their karmic woes. In view of this, I created a faceless image of her, to convey her lack of ego and her selflessness.
She is deemed by some to be the Goddess of Luck and Fortune, and is also associated with the Virgin Mary. I feel blessed to have her in my life, and I feel her presence, protection and guidance strongly when I am working on my clients.
I am now delighted to offer you the opportunity of having her presence in your home, to help and guide you on your journey, to bring you her loving kindness and compassion. The prints are available in either a deep brownish red or a vibrant lapis blue, both with gold embellishment.
If you would like to receive your own shamanic art print of the original, limited to a run of 250, and hand embellished and signed by me, please visit my online store. Your print will be sent to you by “Signed For” delivery as soon as it is ready. May it bring you much comfort, protection and peace on your journey.
The chant playing now is called “Bow to Avalokitesvara” – which is another name for Kuan Yin. It repeats the words “Namo Kuan Shih Yin Pusa” which means “I hail to the Boddhitsava who listens with mercy to the voice of the world.”