Resurrection: Awakening the Spirit Within

In September 2020, while we were still fairly early in the pandemic and there was a lot of fear and unknowns regarding Covid-19 I contracted Covid and ended up isolated in the hospital for 16 days. I was the only lucid patient on the floor and quickly realized I was in a unique position to document the experience from the inside. At the time not much was known about what was going on in hospitals, how patients were being treated, or what they were experiencing so I spent most of my time creating videos and posting on social media to shed light on the situation and to feel connected to my community.

My hospitalization with Covid was quite the roller coaster ride. I was admitted due to Covid and pneumonia but the isolation and medications I was given ended up affecting my physical and mental health. I was under intense stress. My family and I believed there was a very good chance I was going to die but I was worried sick about my husband who was sick with Covid and alone at home. I became manic thanks to the intensity of the situation and to the steroids I was being pumped with to help my lungs heal. I experienced an intense PTSD episode related to my history of sexual assault, but that was mild compared to what I experienced next.

On the seventh day of my hospitalization, I began to experience a series of seemingly supernatural events that included experiencing God, or whatever name you want to give to higher consciousness, speaking to me and through me. I rotated between altered states of consciousness and periods of relative normalcy. I was aware of my changes in state and attempted to problem-solve my experience in order to maintain a grasp on reality. It was an intense and amazing experience that has opened me up to a whole new world of possibility.

The images in Resurrection are part of a larger Covid/Spiritual Awakening project I am currently working on. This series represents my own personal spiritual resurrection/transformation by playing on themes from the resurrection of Christ.

I am still working on unraveling my experiences but one of the things God/Spirit said to me is that we are all Jesus[Christ] (referring to our connection to the divine and each other) and that there’s a little bit of truth in everything. I think it’s up to each of us to discover that truth for ourselves. Here’s wishing you all luck and clarity with your own spiritual journies.

CJ

Many thanks to my friend and fellow artist Jason Wright for helping curate this series of images.

Exhibition and print inquiries: carol@carolrecord.com.