Artist: Thom Kofoed
Project: The Inside Thoughts of Now
Website: thomatronics.com
Thom says:
Last week my Brother and Sister-in-Law had a baby. His name is Elijah and he’s pretty much the best thing ever. I read Eat, Pray, Love (again) a few months ago and was reminded of the Four brothers Meditation that Ketut tells Elizabeth about one day in Bali (extract below). I loved the idea of it all and painted the brothers for Elijah, a gift to celebrate his birth. The print (along with the extract from the book) is available in my shop- https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/
“Ketut went on to explain that the Balinese believe we are each accompanied at birth by four invisible brothers, who come into the world with us to protect us throughout our lives. When the child is in the womb, her four siblings are even there with her-they are represented by the placenta, the amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord and the yellow waxy substance that protects an unborn baby’s skin. When the baby is born, the parents collect as much of these extraneous birthing materials as possible, placing them in a coconut shell and burying it by the front door of the family’s house. According to the Balinese, this buried coconut is the holy resting place of the four unborn brothers, and that spot is tended to forever, like a shrine.
The child is taught from earliest consciousness that she has these four brothers with her in the world wherever she goes, and that they will always look after her. The brothers inhabit the four virtues a person needs in order to be safe and happy in life: intelligence, friendship, strength and (I love this one) poetry. The brothers can be called upon in any critical situation for rescue and assistance. When you die, your four spirit brothers collect your soul and bring you to heaven.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert
Eat, Pray, Love
Originally posted 2013-07-23 09:47:28. Republished by Blog Post Promoter