40" x 30"  - Acrylic on Canvas
 
This figure has a translucent sharp slice in the form of an irregular pentagon coming through its middle. The blue and red circles align in a syzygy with a symbolic pearl—the resulting gem after a period of trial and toil. A syzygy is when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned, which happens at every full or new moon. On a psychological/spiritual level, when we experience alignment in our lives, it can feel deeply reassuring or like a glimpse of divine order. 
 
The stacked and loosely joined white shapes create a flexible body armor like that of a crustacean. The large lobster claw-like shape at the bottom right signals the power of protection, discovery, transformation and rejuvenation--all gifts of an adaptable sea creature that amazingly can cast off parts of itself and then regenerate. The curves throughout bring a gentleness, softening the purpose of the piece which is to practice self-seeing, an act which may require cutting away the outmoded.
 
The title “See Through Yourself” is from the following passage by Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist Anthony De Mello: “Want to wake up? You want happiness? You want freedom? Here it is: Drop your false ideas. See through people. If you see through yourself, you will see through everyone. Then you will love them. Otherwise you spend the whole time grappling with your wrong notions of them, with your illusions that are constantly crashing against reality.”