Page 16 - An Awakening Journey Sampler

I have gained many insights from meeting people who have collected,

cherished, and been inspired by my books over the years. Hopefully the

background I share in this book will give a better understanding of what
was happening in the studio, how that reflected on the art produced,

and who Courtney was and is.

This journey has often taken me on a very rough passage, including and

perhaps especially living with incessant back pain throughout my life. Yet

I have learned not to take these obstacles and challenges hurdle was

something that I needed to work with and not work against. There have

been many lessons that I needed to learn. Sometimes I skirted around

them to avoid confronting the learning and clearing that was called for.

But in stepping back from dealing with these situations and cycles I have
recognized that they always return to me. Slightly different perhaps each

time, but always with essentially the same challenging lesson.

When I decided to create this book I did not want it to be a warts-and-

all biography. I have purposely left out some of the darker dramas that
happened along the way, incidents involving individuals who are greedy,

jealous, and, having no creative skills of their own, willing to steal from

others. Yes, there were times when I looked for some kind of Karmic ret-

ribution. But my view of life is now very different, their dealings hold no

sting. It was what it was. It is what it is.

People often imagine that I have always worked in a wonderful idyllic

space. Most of the time that was far from the reality of it. My work and

my books were often created in makeshift 'studios' set up in people's at-

tics and freezing cold barns. Beyond the challenges of my creative spaces,

the energies themselves were often far from idyllic. The Merlin Energy

was extremely challenging. There was a great deal of shaking my fist in
the air in desperation at the trials I was going through. Yet these trials

Page 16