Weekly Photo Challenge: Simple – A Walk With Nature
I love this challenge. I wanted to somehow continue the theme of my last few posts. They have been centered around self-reflection and nature as a background. As I thought about this post, it really dawned on me how simple life becomes when we take a walk in the woods. The beautiful serenity and calm that evokes reflection; a oneness with All That Is—and a simple joy.
The woods at Lake Greenwood
Two Bikes and A Tree (A Distant Discovery Remix)
I often wonder where the path of discovery will take me….
A tale of two bikes and a tree
before the day begins
it never seems to end
the winding road
the uneasy path
has left what we hold
so dear
so far behind
because the dream we find
is no longer here….
The Complexity of Thought When Speaking
Standing in front of you, the words begin to form….
The ambiguity of discernment
Looking within the box of paradoxical ideas, I found only my thoughts….
But you listened
and heard….
Lake Greenwood and Shore
Another beautiful afternoon at the lake, on a brisk cool day….
Our day at the lake was very memorable
“I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets.” – Hamlin Garland
“Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.” – The Buddha
Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful 03 – Slow Creek and Trees
A lovely hike of leisure along a creek in the low-country of South Carolina….
During my 2005 artist in residency with the South Carolina State Parks, I had some time to hike and reflect. An important source of inspiration was the beautiful landscape at Barnwell State Park. Here I discovered a trail that meandered by a slow-moving creek. Trees over-hanging, and the glimpse of sunlight flickering on the water made for an exciting contemplative view.
Finding peace in nature and solitude
Life offers some very rewarding peaceful moments….
Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful 02 – Mountain and Sky
Just a glimpse of a peaceful moment … fleeting … mountain and sky….
Through the shadows, mountain and sky
A photograph taken while hiking in the mountains of Tennessee….
Maps and Trails (Turning the Page – A Bend In the Curve Remix)
Crossing the bridge of discovery we find ourselves….
Biking to a new place
Some thoughts on ambition and the nature of Self….
How often in life we complete a task that was beyond the capability of the person we were when we started it. – Robert Brault
Ambition is not what man does… but what man would do. – Robert Browning
It is in our nature to discover things and in our will to reach them. – Walter Smith
We Can Say Things That Are Just Shadows Of Ourselves
The city series….
We are at times left behind
A shadow of ourselves
there was a photo of me
here
against the granite wall
falling
to this very day
knowing
not just a shadow now
with little to say
except
time does fly
when saying good-bye….
We Say Good-Bye To Ourselves
For you and I all that is left….
Looking out to what was
we say good-bye to ourselves
before it is too late
when you ask to know why
before the last door is shut
you smell the rose
you see the forest for the trees
lost at sea
we say good-bye to ourselves
before the next day comes
when you know the answer why
the last door can’t be found
no more pie in the sky
no more man in the moon
is it really too soon
to say good-bye
The Silence In Urban Meditation
The silence series….
Towards the inner silence of the city – urban meditation
Urban Meditation 01
Urban Meditation 02
Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day. – Deepak Chopra
In the city the choices that become attachments lead us into the noise of our thoughts….
Urban Meditation 03t
Urban Meditation 04
My meditation is without hesitation, and the marks left behind are indications of a state of oneness with my environment, my people and the universe. – Ian Factor
Somewhere in the city; in its alleys, playgrounds, parks and abandoned buildings, we find the place to know ourselves….
Urban Meditation 05
Urban Meditation 06
At the museum a troubled woman destroys a sand painting meticulously created over days by Tibetan monks. The monks are not disturbed. The work is a meditation. They simply begin again. – Susan Griffin
In the city we find the process of renewal; we simply find the quiet place….
Urban Meditation 07
Urban Meditation 08
Is there a meditation that is not the ego trying to become? Is meditation conscious if every effort implies time? – Jiddu Krishnamurti
The city offers its timeless darkness and beautiful heaven; our meditation frees us from both….
Urban Meditation 09
To meditate is to observe yourself, for you are totally responsible for your body, mind, thought. – Jiddu Krishnamurti
The city has always been a place where I could lose myself. And at times I have….
With Every Breath A New Dream Is Born (Discovery Remix 2012)
We have all the means of vast exploration and creativity inside of us….
The inward view and the outward dream
“You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. This is not an easy struggle. Indeed, it may be the most difficult task in the world, for opening”. – Daisaku Ikeda
Looking Forward to 2012 – An Artist Shares His Thoughts
Looking forward to a year of art, writing, and contemplative journeys in 2012….
Riding the path to a creative tomorrow
Somewhere in the waking, I will paint with more than one color, write with more than one word, express more than one idea….
This will be my last post of 2011. It is Friday morning, December 30th. I am sitting in front of my computer while listening to Fluid Radio on ITunes. As I begin typing, Fluid Radio is playing a track entitled Shooting Blankets from the band called Two People in a Room. It is a quiet morning. The ambience is meditative. The cats are hanging about; grooming themselves, eating and listening to the sounds. I am preparing lunch; whole grain pasta, and tomato basil sauce with scallops and meatballs. I wanted to go to the gym this morning and do some spinning or weight training, however when the urge to write beckons, expression and creativity governs the day.
I have been thinking for some time now what I wanted to work on and accomplish for the New Year. This past year I feel I have been quite successful. I spoke more in depth about my past achievements in my recent post It Has Been a Year of Blogging – Some Thoughts I Wish to Share. Now it is time to look forward.
The very first thing on my agenda is the opening of my online store n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s for selling my art. I have completed the design of the site (Imagekind is my site provider) and I am now in the process of uploading, editing and organizing my art galleries. I am very excited. An online store, I believe, is well suited for my digital art, and should provide a high quality venue for the purchasing of my art. Prints in various sizes, high-end photographic paper, canvas, and assortment of frames are all available. Links to the site will be available on my website and on my blog in January.
I am also looking forward to returning to my love of video art. I just got a HD video camera, and will be upgrading to a semi-professional editing system. I hope to investigate a distinct realm of processing which I call “video as chance”. It is a form of video expression that allows for time, space and subject matter to dictate what come into the lens of the camera. In the meantime, I will continue to create 2-dimensional photographic work. As I hope to continue to find new ways to structure my work in a beautiful yet provocative form.
I will continue to blog as often as I can. In the past year, I have come to appreciate blogging as a great tool for finding a consistency that sustains the creative process. The heavy schedule of creating new art, and marketing my online store may mean less posting. But I always let the mood of the moment carry the day, so we will see.
Another important part of my exploratory nature is my connection with the mind and body through challenging physical adventures. Top of the list is finding new mountains to climb on my mountain bike; long road trips on my road bike; rocking climbing and hopefully sky diving. That last one will take a little courage.
I hope to finish out the year with the publishing of an art book that centers on my blogging experience. Art for Posts is the title.
All in all I am looking forward to expressing ideas and concepts, and continuing the communication I have come to appreciate with so many talented writers, photographers, musicians, and artists.
2012 is a year for us. Let’s do it together.
Art rules.
Ideas conquer….
Talk Amongst the Trees
To meditate in the shadow of mountain, wind and tree….
We reach the summit and find a conversation amongst the trees
If we could hear the trees converse, what would they say to us?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between 02
Between two trees of a different kind….
Where nature and industry collide
Nature and Science….
When thinking about this photo challenge I was drawn to a question, what is the in-between space that can sustain our planet? Where does it exist, and can it be found? And what is the cost of our ignorance; of not knowing how to balance that in-between space with the complexity of our lives on planet Earth? Is the knowledge we seek, in our meditation practice, in the great institutions we build, or in our hopes and dreams? Can it be discovered in our mind’s eye, in the things we believe, or in the progress of science?
In this piece I thought about nature and technology, and how these two sources of energy interact within our lives and with the planet. How these two vital forces; the organic intelligence of nature and the welded composite structure of modern progress collide. Trees are torn down and in their place the monuments of steel rise to the heavens. Our ozone dies, we reach the stars; our rivers run black, the cities grow tall.
Nature dies.
The question is where is the balance that sustains?
I wish I knew the answers to these vital questions. Perhaps you and I, your country and mine, can one day without personal or national agenda sit down at the table and discover the answers.
For the sake our planet, it is the only in-between thing we must do….
Weekly Photo Challenge: Between
Sky and Mountain….
The space in-between sky and mountain
there are so many paths
one can take
looking inward
facing outward
where we discover
the places in-between
…the between-space
magically soothing
nurturing
quiet
…sky and mountain
and on the summit
we breathe deep
searching and finding
a place to rest
in a moment
where our thoughts
are carried off
so gently by the wind….
The Setting Sun and the Years of Our Descent (Recovery Remix 2011)
The city series….
From across the park I see the days end and the last day begin
We remember what we shared—the deep dark place and beautiful heaven.
And to never forget is now the bond that liberates and heals.
It is the recovery we now hold dear
and
the rising sun….
The Ending Memories of a Deep Dark Place and a Beautiful Heaven (Turning the Page – Recovery Remix 2011)
The City series….
A deep dark place a beautiful heaven to lose yourself forever
small towns…
big cities
where hopeless dreams
dance
swim
when the carnival is over
and
we are lost at sea
the magic escapes us
and the years are gone
small towns
big cities…
where the dreams
we shared
in the deep dark place
and
beautiful heaven
are
just moments
now forgotten
The Seamless Memory of Beautiful Places Left Behind
The city series….
Seamless thoughts in various colors
At night we often wonder where the memories have gone….
The Uncertainty Of Where Our Thoughts Are At Any Given Time
The city series….
Looking out beyond my window I am startled by the heavens
Bonus video imagery by ben2thewild, uploaded on Oct 11 2010. Featuring the music of Startle the Heavens – “Lull of the Storm” from the CD “Lull”.
All that I dream is free and alive….
From Across the Park I See the Brownstones Decaying (Recovery Remix 2011)
The city series….
The cyclical life of urban decay
from across the park
i remember
seeing
the place where all this started
the decaying brownstones
and
embracing the thirst that consumes
seeking awareness
in things we knew not of
finding the descent that limits
and subtracts
life
the city was dying…
and we too for years to come
Urban Contemplation: 13 – The French Quarter
The city series….
There is always music in the French Quarter
A journey in the French Quarter through a landscape of sound, imagery, and fine cuisine.
At Every Corner the Noise of Our Thoughts Intersect
The city series….
Sometimes the noise of our thoughts take us places we can no longer go
Illuminating the intersections of our lives….
When you arrive naturally at a state of meditation, inspired by the View, you can remain there for a long time without any distraction or special effort. There is nothing called “meditation” to protect or sustain, for you are in the natural flow of the wisdom of Rigpa. And you realize when you are in it that is how it has always been, and is. When the wisdom of Rigpa shines, not one shadow of doubt can remain, and a deep, complete understanding arises, effortlessly and directly.
This moment is the moment of awakening. A profound sense of humor wells up from within, and you smile in amusement at how inadequate were all your former concepts and ideas about the nature of mind. – Rigpa Glimpse of the Day
Sometimes when we are distracted by the noise of our thoughts, we can look within; to the light that illuminates and frees us. Knowing that at every corner, every self examination is the opportunity to renew our perception of the world around us and the thoughts that govern our relationships. – Walter W Smith
Urban Contemplation: 10 – Music for Entangled Thoughts – Lawrence English & Ai Yamamoto
The city series….
Music for Entangled Thoughts
http://youtu.be/gy1C5Jj6zNQ – Lawrence English & Ai Yamamoto – Plateau 2007
Detail of entangled thoughts and attached emotions
Where the Entanglement of Our Thoughts and Emotions Reside
The city series….
The ambiguity of a certain step
life and stolen moments….
where things are taken away
and given back with bated breath
while we intrepidly
hesitatingly
transcend the mundane
where things are like yesterday
and in every breath
life is given hope
like tomorrow’s dream….
the American dream
in the illusion of timelessness
where things are the same
on either side
of the entangled thought
and attached emotion
where the city sleeps
at the crossing of life and liberation
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 