Hi friends! Today I would like to share with you a model that outlines seven steps for taking a glimmer of an idea and developing it in a way that can be seen and make a difference at national and even international levels.  I learned about this process at a workshop called The Thread Project: One World, One Cloth, that I attended during the WomenSpeak conference that was held in San Antonio in 2007.  This conference to “gather the women” was coordinated and led  by Paula D’arcy.  Paula, the founder and director of the Red Bird Foundation, is a holy woman and a fabulously inspirational speaker.  The women she gathered around her to speak at keynote addresses and to host workshops were absolutely phenomenal also.

The workshop that touched my heart that I would like to share with you, was given by a woman named Terry Helwig.  Twenty years ago this year (can you believe it is 20 years already?)  she took her post 9-11 idea and image of the “world barely hanging on by a thread” and turned it into a textile exhibition of forty-nine tapestries to encourage “tolerance and compassionate community.”  She invited people worldwide to send her a single thread that represented their hope – however slim that thread of hope might be.  Over the course of five years, the tapestries were woven by more than forty weavers on six continents in more than 70 countries, using tens of thousands of threads that were contributed globally from all seven continents, including Antarctica.

The woven panels were displayed at the United Nations and then again at St. Paul’s Cathedral in New York.  Also, seven of the panels (one for each of the colors of the rainbow) were displayed at WomenSpeak in 2007, at the back of the stage.  These gorgeous pieces of fabric artwork give us cause to believe that the world is constructed, woven of threads from every country and people from every continent of this world.  Terry writes:

Ideas can be annunciations of the spirit, light waiting to be woven into the world.  The Seven Threads of Becoming is a process of taking an idea and materializing it for the benefit of yourself and others.  Trust that you have within you a thread that can mend a tear in the world.  Work and live as if this is so – your thread helps weave the world’s hope.

Terry Helwig (2007)

These few words outlining the process really don’t do justice to Terry Helwig’s multi-year journey, so I would like to share with you more of what she presented and what I see as her very well thought out process.  Being the engineer that I am, a clearly defined process (engineers love flow diagrams!) is everything, is it not?

Here are the seven threads of Terry’s process:

I. Thread of Awareness – This thread is the most subtle because the seed of an idea is so new and embryonic you may fail to recognize that you have stumbled upon a worthy idea or vision.  What idea has come to mind more than once?  What thread of possiblity do you hold?

II. Thread of Inquiry – Inquiry is an exploration of an idea to discover its universal appeal.  By connecting your particular idea to the universal, your idea will speak to the deepest levels of human expression.  How is your idea symbolic?  How is it Universal?

III. Thread of Commitment – Commitment is about choice and voice.  It’s about saying yes to your idea and then voicing it.  How can you ritually say “yes” to your idea?  Where can you safely voice your vision?

IV. Thread of Heartfulness – Heartfulness is about listening to what your heart wants to contribute to your vision.  Engaging your heart calls forth the passion and energy necessary to see your idea through to completion.  What does your heart want?  How does your idea add “heart” to your life or the world?

V. Thread of Trust – Ideas come to the willing – not necessarily the qualified. It is important that your inner resources will lead and guide you to the necessary outer resources.  Do you trust you will be guided to the resources you need?  If you could not fail, what would you do?

VI. Thread of Ingenuity – Ingenuity is about being resourceful, inventive and creative.  Ingenuity can help you re-frame problems into catalysts for creative ways to move your idea forward.  What problem needs solving?  How can it become a catalyst to move your idea forward?

VII. Thread of Perseverance – Ideas are often lofty, intoxicating, and exciting.  Turning your idea into a final product or outcome may require hard work.  Perseverance is about showing up, day after day.  What is your plan of action?  What one thing can you do today to begin?

I offer this teaching from Terry Helwig because I truly believe this model can help us to find ways to bring new ideas into an embodied existence.  May her words inspire us all to think globally, act locally, and find the passion and power we need to re-orient our world.  I see this process of idea-following as crucial, since this world seems to continue to be barely hanging on by a thread in this pandemic and politically polarizing moment in time.  I am convinced that the world is in need of some immediate attention and the wisdom women bring!

 

Reference 1: The Thread Project: One World One Cloth, Power Studio, https://hkpowerstudio.com/one-world-one-cloth, 2011.

Reference 2: 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Artists Registry, www.911memorial.org/profile/1696616?fbclid=IwAR0kahyCrc1Gc7MhS3TSfC7ebmP7cu9frrXHkY_sbYlIP2nturdR1Cyq3nQ.

Reference 3: The Thread Project Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/The-Thread-Project-182147555143338

Photo Credit 1: Portrait of Paula D’Arcy, http://www.redbirdfoundation.com/.

Photo Credit 2: Portrait of Terry Helwig, www.terryhelwig.com.

Photo Credit 3: The Thread Project, displayed at St. Paul’s Cathedral in New York at 5 year anniversary of 9-11,  www.terryhelwig.com, used with permission.

Photo Credit 4: https://hkpowerstudio.com/one-world-one-cloth/.

Photo Credit 5: Dawn Looming, courtesy of Terry Helwig.

Photo Credit 6: One of 49 weavers, Suri wove a panel on a hillside in Israel, courtesy of Terry Helwig.