A Collaboration Begins by Mary Jane Di Piero

 A few months ago, Barbara Thomas asked me if I would help her write a blog about the gnomes she has been communicating with for many years on her property in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I have been visiting her redwood amphitheater, studio and home for quite some time and have been fascinated by her stories and continually inspired by the place.

This blog idea is not the first offering Barbara has made to tell the story of the connection she has formed through the years with nature spirits. In 2001 she published The Burned Woman, which came to her slowly, first through paintings and much later through the narrative of a woman who was burned at the stake. In 2011 she produced Healing Burned Woman, a DVD that holds the Burned Woman book, Barbara’s own story, the requests the nature spirits are making of humans, and a healing and awareness circle to help people establish rituals of involvement and response.

My ears perked up at Barbara’s request. Since retiring from Waldorf school teaching and administering two years ago, I have been listening for hints and watching for the thread that will lead me to my next body of work. When Barbara told me that Mano, the gnome entity she converses with each day, had recommended me for the job, I was charmed. I have never been recommended by a gnome before! Plus I have never succeeded in establishing my own direct communication with the elemental world, and I was pleased to consider this as an acknowledgement that my sincerity, at least, is on track.

Barbara and I agreed that in this introductory blog we would include a little about her, a little about me and a sampling from the gnomes. This overview of their message is the text from a small, illustrated paper fold-out brochure Barbara frequently gives away.

A REQUEST FROM NATURE

The gnomes tell me that they want humans to trust their own inner visions and feelings of the subtle world we all live within. When you see a face in the bark or leaves of a tree, open your heart and say hello.

My wake-up call came when I first started painting. Gnomes and angels started appearing within the shapes that made up a mountain, a bowl of fruit and finally within the shapes of my abstract paintings. For more than 40 years I have intentionally opened to the spirit world to paint the energies and stories that want to come forth.

Science is beginning to recognize that the earth is a conscious living being. Human consciousness is an integral part of the earth, just as plants, animals and nature spirits are an integral part of the planet.

THE GNOMES SAY:  We can no longer go on alone. We are in deep need of the nourishment we receive from interacting with the human kingdom, and you are in deep need of us to sustain your lives by interacting with nature.

We need conscious cooperation with humans. Many elemental beings of the earth are sick and in the slumber of a healing crisis. They sleep because they cannot take in any more of the poisons released by human unconscious actions.

Our simplest request is for humans to recognize that the life force within soil, water and the green growing things is a living being. Speak to us, relate and, if you have use of us, give thanks for that gift.

The only way to “hear” spirit is through your heart. We want to urge you to center your awareness in your heart. As you deepen this habit, you will find yourself feeling more nourished in nature and more attuned to the plants and people around you.