By Jacqueline Ripstein ©

A rare given gift was given to me when during times of health challenges and loaded by life’s tests, I realized that sickness could be turned into an enlightening opportunity. For 3 years I was forced to «listen only,» not being able to talk clearly, I learned that the constant chat, stress and noise of life kept me away from my true self….

I understood the transformational process of the caterpillar, A caterpillar spends most of its life crawling on — and devouring — its food source, living his daily life surviving, craving to grasp more from life;  learning to protect his » territory» as we humans learn from birth to attach to » our material belongings». The caterpillar is following a Divine Plan without knowing it, he is flowing, nurturing a body that will help him convert into a flying butterfly.

In the dictionary meta·mor·pho·sis noun ˌme-tə-ˈmȯr-fə-səs:

1. A major change in the appearance or character of someone or something (Merriam- Webster)Moving through an attractive world of illussion. I was caught in the everyday life, taking many things for granted…

«Taking for granted my health, one day…Out of the blue I couldn’t talk well, my energy dropped, my life changed…My dad had died, I still had so much to tell him, I was still dealing with old emotional wounds, my unresolved pains started taking over my life and my body…

Not an easy situation to accept when all my life I had been so energetic. Sometimes life forces one to take paths that stray off the main roadway. These stray paths that are often unexpected and difficult. But these challenging times are the ones that help «awaken us» to our True Essence.

2.   A striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances. (Merriam- Webster)

One day, the caterpillar stops eating…One day, any day, sickness can strike us…

So without knowing, destiny was acting upon its goal…there had to be a way for me to fulfill what I came to do as part of my Life’s Mission, a METAMORPHOSIS was needed in my life and the only way to create a changeover, a conversion, in my life was to be forced into a transformational process. After wandering for a while, as the caterpillar makes a silk pad on the underside of a branch or twig, i prepared my space to be in isolation as much as I could.

I still tried to fight sickness, my ego started crumbling, to deny that I was not perfect, and could not solve it all, it was not an easy process t accept, i had to deal with my concern about what people would say, combating my fear where people would «judge» me when they heard me talk. Added more weight to my » sickness.» Some people were afraid to see me thinking it could be «contagious,» some thought «I was drunk, (when I barely drink alcohol), others were more compassionate towards my inability to communicate.
At that point I understood that the main communication had to be between God and me.

My ability to talk declined day by day…A shift, a transition; happened as the caterpillar is being guided to create its own process when they pupate. Slowly, I started being comfortable with change, turning over my energy and focus from sickness…to wire my creative forces…

I basically secluded myself…Sickness was leading me away from the noise of life, it took me a while to realize its embedded positive potential, for the first time in my life, I could find inner freedom!

I realized for the first time in my life by not being able to talk fluently, that I had a choice, I could learn to listen within the silence…

I started to write the book…The Art of HealingArt

In those moments of vast silence…suddenly…I started listening within the sacredness of silence…a voice…I heard a voice in my head which I knew it was not me, it was dictating me this book, I was in awe, sometimes I would ask this voice…»not so quickly…» But I’m sure I lost a lot of the dictation…I learned to be Present, I became the observer of that voice, and my Soul was listening to it, the state of awareness began for me.

As the caterpillar in a Cocoon, the completion of the chrysalis stage was done, starts out soft and skin-like, but gradually hardens to form a protective shell. Now I felt protected, for the first time my resistance gave in and I found myself flowing…

Silence and isolation made me go within that Invisible World that I had painted where within Silence I found the Life transmutation opportunity, I needed.

It’s easy to think of a chrysalis as something a caterpillar makes, like a cocoon, but this isn’t the case, the same body of the caterpillar transforms into the chrysalis. He creates the bond between him and the chosen leaf, attaching his body through the silk he makes, this shell is what protects the caterpillar while it transforms.

The transformation itself is amazing….
As I stopped focusing my energy on sickness, turning this same energy into a Creative mode, connected me to my Eternal Spirit.

In those moments of vast silence…suddenly…I started listening within the sacredness of silence…a voice…I heard a voice in my head which i knew it was not me, it was dictating me this book, I was in awe, sometimes I would ask this voice…»not so quickly…» But I’m sure I lost a lot of the dictation…I learned to be present, I became the observer of that voice, and my Soul was listening to it, the awareness began for me.
The Miracle happens …a metamorphosis takes place… Within that sacred silent space..Our Freedom emerges, and with it sparkles the truth of Life Existence.

The possibility that learned information can survive the metamorphosis of a living form…proves that there is a Life-Code hidden within our Invisible World! Not only the body changes, but when we let go, and are willing to flow through life, a healing process can easily be compared to the metamorphosis of the butterfly.  Our struggle must be endured as our pain and fears are exposed. Metamorphosis, is an empowering process that takes us from a crawling caterpillar to a Regal winged free butterfly. A transformation that affects us …emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Without realizing it, my book The Art of HealingArt..was actually healing me…Each Art image guided me to a different healing vibration, and I was taken to a healing journey with this book. Even though we might not realize at the times of painful trials that there is an embedded opportunity, testing can be very challenging, the wonder of discovery and success in the end makes it worth it. It is from challenges that strength emerges.

As in the wondrous process by which a caterpillar morphs into a butterfly….Sickness can represent an opportunity for reconstruction, a way to revamp our lives, to re-emerge.

Though adversity may place heavy strains on us, it is definitively a fundamental obstacle that we must overcome on the path to true self-discovery.»

«IT IS VALUABLE TO FEEL PAIN. Pain nourishes your courage. It can weaken the ego, strengthen humility, and increase compassion. Pain is a human process that we should not fight against. It’s a lesson to let go of all attachment we may have. By living the experience of pain we mature and move forward…» Quote in Book «The Art of HealingArt:The Keys to Power & Awareness.«

Humbly yours,
Jacqueline Ripstein