"As above, so below"
Hermes Trismegistus, the Emerald Tablet
In Memoriam
Richard Lee Armstrong, known by many old friends as “Richa” (pronounced “Reesha”), was born in Washington in the Pacific Northwest in 1947, and passed away in Portland, Oregon on November 12, 2023. He grew up in western Washington near Seattle. Richa was a beloved individual who touched the lives of many with his intelligence, curiosity, creativity, and natural healing gifts. He truly was a “Renaissance Man”.
Richa’s gentle and kind-hearted spirit was evident to all who knew him. He approached life with sensitivity and patience - qualities which guided his healing pursuits. He was extensively trained, gifted, and far ahead of his time in many holistic physical and energy healing modalities, including shamanistic practices and radiesthesia. His work prescribing flower essence formulas helped many people to more graciously handle their life stresses.
For nine years, Richa shared a special, magical healing practice with dear friend and chiropractor Dr. John Mayfield in the northern California foothills town of Nevada City. Their combined skills helped hundreds of people achieve healthier lives. In that time, he also performed in plays with the legendary Foothill Theatre Company in the historic Nevada Theatre.
His passion for art and design led him to complete a BA in Industrial Design at the University of Washington in Seattle, and an MA from California State University, with a fine arts focus. He later studied Anthroposophical art & philosophy and taught art and directed theatre at the Sacramento Waldorf High School for a number of years. He produced and acted in a one-man play during that period. He enjoyed acting and directing immensely.
Richa was driven to complete countless creative projects, ever thriving on new challenges. He always endeavored to achieve mastery in everything he undertook. This dedication was at the core of his being.
He was an amazing and very prolific artist, known for many disciplines as an artist and sculptor. Two–dimensionally, he worked with watercolour, oil pastel, acrylic, and charcoal. Sculptural media included clay, stone, wood, antler, leather, and bronze. He was both a public and a studio artist and mounted numerous and varied exhibitions. His work touched people’s hearts and his spirit was always reflected through his art. He had no concept of “artist’s block”. There was never any downtime to his inspiration.
Richa was a writer, a poet, and a musician. He loved playing his acoustic guitar and singing. He enjoyed open mic nights and could make up songs and lyrics on the spot. He trained and became skilled playing highland bagpipes, performing at parties and Scottish gatherings - taking joy in honouring his Scottish heritage.
He was an initiate of the Inayati Sufi Order and believed in the inherent truths that exist within all religious and spiritual paths. He found deep inspiration in his varied spiritual journeys and explorations. Mystical spirituality was a foundation of his identity.
Richa is survived by his wife of 35 years, SuSan, and their daughter, Lily. He had sisters Rosemary and Lori and brothers Zachary, Scott, Kelly, and Douglas.
Richa was special. His memory will be treasured by all who had the privilege of knowing him. He would wish for his loved ones to find solace in the time they shared with him, wanting us to know in our hearts that we will recognize each other when we meet again. Though he may no longer be with us in his physical body, his legacy lives on through his art and in the lives he touched in so many ways.
There will be a private memorial service in the future to share memories, pay tribute, and celebrate Richa's life as we recall the beautiful soul that he was, and still is.
Gallery
Memory wall
It wasn’t until years later that I learned that Richa was so knowledgeable about flower essences when he gave me a remedy to use on myself. Thank you Richa for introducing me to the power and magic of the flowers. I will forever be grateful.
Sending love, blessings and comfort to SuSan and Lily.
I first knew Richa in the early 80s when my partner Patricia Kaminski and I were pioneering our flower essence work. He was an early supporter and practitioner using these new, somewhat controversial flower essences. His natural curiosity and enthusiasm allowed him to enter into a profound relationship with their healing properties.
I remember fondly Richa’s generous offering celebrating my 50th birthday, at a gathering that Patricia so lovingly organized. His own 50th birthday was imminent – we were born just a few days apart – and he composed and performed an original song for the occasion. Then he brought a festive mood to the gathering with his bagpipes. (See images.)
Dear Richa of many talents, may all the shining facets of your jeweled soul continue to inspire the lives of those you touched, and may they illuminate your spiritual journey to your next adventure.
Richa will always remain a beacon of light in my life. It’s taken me some time to sit down and write what has been in my heart. I am fortunate to have seen that familiar twinkle in his eye even as he was preparing to leave. I will love this man with all my heart forever, and help SuSan and Lily keep his legacy alive in ways we haven’t yet imagined.
I feel so fortunate to have known Richa since I was about 20 years old, meeting at a consciousness-raising workshop in the early '70s here in Seattle. I will carry love in my heart always for Richa and my soul family of SuSan and Lily...always and forever. XOXO
I am posting pictures of an Owl Sculpture of Richa’s that I am honored to own. This masterful piece won top honors in several art shows. Its an incredibly deft working of black marble, a medium which is dense, heavy, opaque and nearly impervious to a sculptor’s hand tools. Yet it comes to life in a stunning way, showing the moment when an Owl is ready to consume a fish. What should elicit a rather unsavory picture of death is transformed into its opposite. Death is not the violence and greed of consumption, but rather one feels it is the embrace of one life living into another . There is something profoundly tender in the gesture of the owl’s enfolding wing, and the fish held at the owl’s heart. The medium of black marble now becomes a stunningly meaningful element of the artist’s expression. Death’s seeming darkness and density has been shaped to reveal the inner soul light and meaning of death as part of the alchemy of Creation — how each life form in Nature transforms itself into another in a Circle of Giving and Receiving..
Dear Richa, may the Wings of Great Spirit Beings enfold you now as you transition from bodily form. All that you gave of yourself on earth surely nourishes and informs the new realm into which you now offer yourself. May you continue your creative journey toward ever great heights of revelation.
After the play ended, it took massages and four chiropractic visits to get his stoved up limping posture out of his body.
