Culmination

OK, so after much experimentation and deliberation, I have decided that my creative endeavors are best served using my new space rather than in the previous three separate spaces I was writing and posting to. Going forward, it will be my home on the web. It will allow me the most creative flexibility and will NOT be just about my Yoga Journey or just about my photography or just about my spiritual search. It will now be all encompassing as I have found that all these endeavors are related anyway so I might as well bring them together in a more cohesive space.

Namaste.

A Creative Vacation

I am taking a short break from this space to focus on a few other creative outlets (and to make sure my professional life stays sane). For example, I just finished building Marcia's new website (BETA, not real content as of 2/23 but will be very soon). I also started a new blog.

I will be back!

In the mean time, check out my other endeavors:

• A Yoga Journey



• Seeking Spirit

I Met a Man Once

"I met a man once who had been travelling with a violent lunatic, held down in the carriage by two keepers. The poor fellow had lately come into a large fortune. It was too much for him. He was unable to sleep for days and days, and went raving mad. Only the very day that my friend made his remark, some curious circumstances came under my notice which certainly had a colouring of romance or something worse about them."

- London Society, An Illustrated Magazine of Light and Amusing Literature for the Hours of Relaxation

 

Green Eyes

"Because I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter
Since I met you
And honey you should know
That I could never go on without you
Green eyes"

- Coldplay

 

Angels and Sailors

Angels and sailors
rich girls
backyard fences
tents
dreams watching each other narrowly
soft luxuriant cars
girls in garages, stripped
out to get liquor and clothes
half gallons of wine and six-packs of beer
jumped, humped, born to suffer
made to undress in the wilderness.

- Jim Morrison, An American Prayer

 

I am on a non-creative binge right now. I need time to recover but my creative juices will be flowing again soon.

Following My Heart's Footsteps

"It is, I now understand, a story that has no clear beginning or end, but, like the blood itself, keeps coming back around, full circle.

In each heart, at one time, two motions, the spent blood returning even as the renewed rushes out.

At one time, in each heart - yours, mine, at this very instant - two leanings, two dispositions, two emotions: the urge to go to the very edges of our existence followed by that dire sensation of having gone too far, of being way out on a limb and needing, at all costs, to get back home.

In each heart, at one time, both thrust and thrust's acceptance, an ongoing, self-contained act of inner coition that at once mimes and moves the outward one to its perfectly mindless redundancy. More and more now I know the outer world to be a recapitulation of our own inner biology.

Outside, the city slumbers along with my brain. I've just doubled back on it, followed my heart's footsteps back around to what I'd taken such pains to escape, found myself standing before some late-night, domino-lit office tower, dead migratory birds strewn at its base.

Where, then, to begin? At what point in the heart's motion to intercede without disrupting that ongoing simultaneity? It has a mind of its own, the heart, for which our minds have yet to find the words."

- From "A Man After His Own Heart" by Charles Siebert

 

Translucence of Life

"Seeing clearly, with no judgement, with affection, causes a certain transformation - or perhaps not exactly a transformation, but a unified and selfless focus on the translucence of life. A certain luminosity shines through even the darkest moments, and this makes us think that there is beauty in tragedy. Why is this luminosity more evident in sadness than in joy? It isn't, or at least it isn't necessarily so. Maybe the vulnerability of the self, the erosion of the ego, which is usually experienced when fully facing into sadness, is a factor. Often, in joyful moments, we attach ourselves to the object of joy, thus impeding translucence and luminosity. More often still, in communal experiences of 'joy', we merely expand, or project ourselves into a larger psychic arena."

- First published in ‘Miroslaw Balka: dig dug dug’, Exhibition catalogue, The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, 2003

 

Breaking Through

This is nice. It has no title. How can you truly label the feeling a piece of artwork gives you anyway? It's too personal. Although sometimes appropriate I guess. Not in this case.

 

Hiatus

OK, so I am feeling a bit of a creative block right now. Partly because of time but also because of something I can't explain - a feeling. Stay tuned.

Love

It was just a matter of time before I returned to my muse.

 

The White Rabbit

Eccentricity is important because it is one of the ways an individual is quietly subversive, undermining whatever is conventional, unquestioned, passively assumed. It is the quintessential expression of personal style since eccentricity is not so much what one does as the way one does it. Being slightly off center or out of center (ex centric) also challenges our comfortable ideas about sanity and rationality and the value of logical thinking.

- From "Tracking the White Rabbit: A Subversive View of Modern Culture" by Lyn Cowan

 

Infinite Stars

As I was surveying the moon walking in her brightness, and taking her progress among the constellations, a thought arose in me, which I believe very often perplexes and disturbs men of serious and contemplative natures. David himself fell into it in that reflection; "When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou regardest him!" In the same manner, when I considered that infinite host of stars, or, to speak more philosophically, of suns, which were then shining upon me; with those innumerable sets of planets or worlds, which were moving round their respective suns; when I still enlarged the idea, and supposed another heaven of suns and worlds, rising still above this which we discovered; and these still enlightened by a superior firmament of luminaries, which are planted at so great a distance, that they may appear to the inhabitants of the former, as the stars do to us: in short, while I pursued this thought, I could not but reflect on that little insignificant figure which I myself bore amidst the immensity of God's works.

-- From "The English Reader; Or Pieces in Prose and Poetry Selected from the Best" By Lindley Murray

 

Clouds

Melissa said this to me today:

"Daddy, when people die, do they turn into clouds?"

 

 

One With The Way

Who accepts nature's flow becomes all-cherishing;

Being all-cherishing he becomes impartial;

Being impartial he becomes magnanimous;

Being magnanimous he becomes natural;

Being natural he becomes one with the Way;

Being one with the Way he becomes immortal:

Though his body will decay, the Way will not.

-- From the "Tao Te Ching"

 

Solitary Flower

And it is clear that indications of this mysterious infinitude can be given more easily and adequately in a poem on a small theme, than in a poem on a large theme. A solitary flower may be made the means of expressing the infinite awe of the universe far more effectively than the most crowded drama. The fuller a picture or a poem is of positive life action and feeling, the less room is there left in our infinite minds for the strange, unconceived immensity beyond.

-- From "The North British Review," February - May 1858

 

The Eye of the Beholder

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead ... his eyes are closed.

-- Albert Einstein

 

The Beautiful LIfe

When you go out in the morning
To begin the work of the day,
Don't neglect the little chances
You find along your way;
For in lifting another's burden,
And speaking a word of cheer;
You will find your own cares lighter,
And easier for you to bear.

-- From "Betty's Poems" by Betty M. Grant

 

In the Heart of a Flower

I should be only a vibration, - a motion invisible as of ether or of magnetism; though able sometimes to shape me a shadow-body, in the likeness of my former visible self, when I should wish to make apparition.

As air to the bird, as water to the fish, so would all substance be permeable to the essence of me. I should pass at will through the walls of my dwelling to swim in the long gold bath of a sunbeam, to thrill in the heart of a flower, to ride on the neck of a dragon-fly.

-- From "Gleanings in Buddha Fields, Studies of Hands and Soul in the Far East" by Lafcadio Hearn

 

The Patterns of Nature

I have always been intrigued by the patterns that nature creates. If you pay attention, they are everywhere. I especially enjoy the patterns I find at the beach. Waves are the ultimate expression of nature and the impact that have on the sand is always a photographic cornucopia for me. I take more pictures when I go to the beach than I do any other times.

What is it about waves? To me, they are romantic, soothing, powerful, intimidating and tempting all at the same time. I think one day I need to live near the ocean.

 

 

 

 

Heaven

I've read many descriptions of what it's like when you die from people who have come back from the Other Side. It seems to always involve Light. I hope that when I die, it looks and feels something like these photographs.

I love the sky. To me it represents and reminds me of the infinite possibility of this life. I also love the sun. It's no wonder to me that it was the original God for so many past societies. The combination is one I have and will always enjoy photographing.

 

 

Pictured Rocks

I've been on a bit of a creative drought. Anyway, this picture is one of my "oldest" and was really one of the early successes I had that prompted me to continue to explore my expression through photography. I took this at Pictured Rocks which is in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. I was there camping with a friend. I took it with my original camera which was the one I went to college with and was all I could afford at the time. It was a 35mm point-and-shoot with auto focus and auto flash and exposure. I covered the flash with my finger to get the shadowy foreground. I remember we were sitting right on the rocks and the water was lapping up against them at my feet.

 

Beauty in the Details

I enjoy macro photography. There are so many details that we skim over and miss every day of our lives. I like to try to find those things and capture them close up. Especially flowers and plants. In beautiful details are the Tao - the beautiful and harmonious complexity of the universe.

 

 

 

 

When Everything Clicks

Every once in a while I have days where most pictures I take are good or better than good. I had one of those days the only time I've ever been to Venice beach. It was a seperate trip from the one I spoke of in my last entry but was also related to the opening of my business. Actually, two of the the only three times I've been to the Pacific have been times I've gone for franchise meetings.

In any case, these are few from that series. I am, quite frankly, fascinated by these. They are of people I never met and will most certainly never see again in my life. But they are out there, as evidenced by these photos. What I see in these and the rest of this series always moves me.

 

 

 

 

LA Mountains

These are just a few from a series I took while on a trip to LA a few years ago just prior to opening my business. I was there for two weeks meeting with the franchise corporate team and getting trained. They were taken in the mountains somewhere northeast of LA. Unfortunately, these and just a couple of others are all that survived as I had my laptop stolen while attending training at a hotel. These just happened to be a few that were left on my camera card.

I don't recall exactly where I was when I took these but it doesn't really matter I guess. All I remember is that I was alone and it was a meditation in motion. I walked into the wilderness and stayed there for about 6 hours. I only saw two other people the entire time and that was right before I got back to my car. It was unbelievable. I very much remember the heaviness that I had in my mind but I also remember feeling amazingly free.

 

 

 

 

One of My Favorites

This is one of my favorite photographs. It holds that position for several reasons.

• I found it randomly on a hike while traveling through Europe after college on the top of a small hill above a town I randomly ended up in that was essentially in the middle of nowhere in northern Greece. I don't believe that I could ever find my way back there. I am not sure it even really existed (except for this photographic evidence).


• I took it with a 35mm point-and-show. This was before I was able to invest in good camera equipment. I actually took some pretty amazing photos with that thing. I had it all through college and really got good at using the right film to achieve what I really wanted to (not to mention being pretty skilled at covering and partially covering the flash to achieve cool lighting effects).


• And finally, and most importantly, I just love the composition as a whole. I mean what the hell is that? It's clearly some sort of house of worship but dude, it's tiny. It's difficult to tell from the perspective but it was literally like 6 feet square plus the little atrium at the back. It was locked so I don't know what the inside looked like. Sometimes I wonder if I would want to know. Maybe it was some sacrificial alter or something. But regardless, it is a cool angle, cool scenery, cool lighting (and yes, with a side of cool digital effects).

 

Candids (cont.)

I also very much enjoy capturing the less serious side.

       

Candids

I love good candids, especially when they are of my favorite subjects. There is something about capturing a gorgeous moment in time that is now gone but never really forgotten. I like to try to capture emotion in these types of moments. It's one of the many ways I remind myself of what's important.

       

My Second Favorite Subject(s)

So in the end it is a difficult call to make but I think my girls are my second favorite subjects. They are, as you can see, unbelievably beautiful. These were taken just a few weeks ago on our Charleston vacation.

     

My Favorite Subject

I decided that I would inaugurate this space with my favorite subject. At first I thought I would do so with my favorite photo but could not choose one. Each of my favorites have thier own unique qualities that make them special.

My favorite subject is my wife. I have chosen to walk this Path with her and in so doing have dedicated myself to her. It was an easy choice to make. Everything I have ever done on my Path since our two Pathes joined, she has supported. You cannot ask for more in this life.

She is also my best friend. No one knows me better. No one understands me better (I'm not sure she even does for sure). No one practices patience with me better than she. You cannot ask for more in this life.

I love her.

This photo is not necessarily the best photo I have ever taken. Nor is it necessarily the best photo of Marcia. However, I took it recently on our trip to Charleston and there is something about it that I very much like. There is an emotion there that I cannot quite put my finger on. I also like the way she is holding herself. It is odd yet very natural looking all at the same time.

 

The Beginning

I did not like my first attempt at displaying my photography. I only did it that way because Blogger won't let me post more than 3-4 photos at a time from Picasa (or maybe it's the other way around). Anyway, I've decided to use Blogger simply because it's so easy to do IF you post one photo at a time. I will be re-posting photos over time and of course adding new ones. For a while, they will mainly be the ones that were here initially but now I plan to give some perspective as well as take care of some other details as I do so. Over time I will be adding new photos that I have yet to post here. One primary reason I am doing this is because it will motivate me to practice one of my passions more often than I allow myself at this time. I hope that you enjoy my photography.