Our first home was in the body of another. Mother Herself.

I love pondering that we are here on earth because women made space for us in their own bodies.

Becoming human in the alchemy of the womb, we abide in a magnificent abode, growing into our time to be born. Mothers make us all possible, with the awesome power of creation.

The Hebrew word for womb, rechem also means ‘compassion’; the German word for ‘hope’, hoffnung also relates to pregnancy. We are born from blessed space.

For Mother’s Day, I’m celebrating First Home of Mothers’ Splendid Space.
More than one day, it’s a lifetime celebration.
Let’s Celebrate Together!

Photographs from Brought to Earth by Birth

Women, whose passionate, epic efforts of opening fully, to birth their babies, are to me, women in perfect progress. Not perfect, as an absolute. Rather as “proficient, completely suited for a particular purpose or situation,”  The American Heritage Dictionary.

Woman’s profound and perfect progress of nurturing life within her womb for nine months, and then releasing this life into the world,…isn’t this magnificent reality?

? Share your thoughts ?

The poem is published in at our core:women writing about power

Photographs are from Brought to Earth by Birth

Brought to Earth by Birth has been gestating,
laboring and birthing within me for many years.
I’m in postpartum awe, gratitude and delight that
this book is now born!

I began photographing pregnancy, labor and birth
in 1973, because women asked. I have continued
because I want everyone to see this magnificent reality.

I invite you to hold the photographs and poetry in
your hands. Gaze and ponder the splendid nature of birth.
See the beauty. Feel the power.
Open to the mystery. Accept its grace.

Moment by moment birth resonates on our planet.
Do you feel this alive in your own being?

“Birth is the experience of a lifetime.
Giving birth and being born brings us
into the essence of creation where the
human spirit is courageous and bold and
the body, a miracle of wisdom.”

Birth blessings~~~Harriette

]]> http://harriettehartigan.com/brought-to-earth-by-birth/feed/ 1 http://harriettehartigan.com/mona-lisa-moments/ http://harriettehartigan.com/mona-lisa-moments/#comments Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:23:41 +0000 Harriette Hartigan http://harriettehartigan.com/site/mona-lisa-moments/ Mona Lisa holds our gaze.

The mystery of her private smile compels us to wonder. We are drawn to an essence older by far than Leonardo da Vinci’s sixteenth century painting.

As I photographed Linda in 1977, early in my work with women and birth, I asked Linda to look into the lens with who she knew to be.

Linda looks out from herself with the beauty and wisdom of her pregnancy.

Sometime later I was doing a slide presentation (remember slides and film) for a childbirth class. Looking at this photograph projected on the screen, I suddenly saw Mona Lisa!

Mona Lisa was pregnant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I proclaimed to the audience, excited and deeply certain of this new insight that also felt very old.

Linda and Mona Lisa share an exquisite expression, reflecting women’s ancient power and grace of holding life in their wombs. Women pregnant with the mystery of creation. Their graceful hands rest lightly on this mystery.

I continued speaking about Mona Lisa being pregnant in classes and presentations. My sons grew up patiently listening to me talk this talk. In 1987 I published an article, “Mona Lisa Was Pregnant.”

Recently my oldest son John who is an anthropologist, sent me an article with a note, “You were right.” High grade scans taken at the Louvre in 2004 reveal that details of the veil or shawl Mona Lisa wore in the portrait indicate it was “a garment women of the Italian Renaissance wore when they were expecting, a leading French museum researcher, Michael Menu said.” These scans are in the book “Mona Lisa: Inside the Painting” published in 2006.

I love seeing the Mona Lisa expression on faces of pregnant women.
Do you see Mona Lisa moments too?
Let me know!