Journal Entry from Searching for Hildegard
·
Searching for Hildegard
Hildegard was a mystery to me first — then became a divine inspiration when I made a film about this Germanic Christian mystic. As a videographer, I had spent time capturing lectures from several theologians, including Matthew Fox, who spoke of her frequently during his Christ Path Retreat series with Andrew Harvey.
Questions About Hildegard
These were the questions I woke with in the early morning hours — before the earth gets delighted by a new day. From my journal, October 19, 2012 — the first time Hildegard appears in my writing:
- Was she someone real?
- Why do some people know her and others draw a blank stare?
- Why am I attracted to this woman who lived 1000 years in the past?
- What do people think about her now?
- What would it be like to walk in her footsteps and find the source of her inspiration?
- How has she influenced the thinking of today’s mystics, healers, and artists?
- Why does she continue to speak to us today?
The Beginning of the Journey
Many of those questions eventually got answered when I began making The Unruly Mystic: Saint Hildegard six months later, in 2013, when I traveled to Germany as a participant on a retreat there. But in truth my first real exposure to Hildegard had come much earlier — in 1996, when I encountered Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party.
This is my journey.
Michael M. Conti, October 19, 2012