Urban Contemplation: 06 – Dreams that Never Breach the Walls of Sleep
The city series….
Dreams that never breach the walls of sleep….
Urban decay a place of broken dreams
The dreams that search for the freedom from sleep….
Weekly Photo Challenge: Possibility 01
This is a very interesting challenge. The idea of conveying a possibility of something ultimately means it must change in one way or another. To find a representation of this theme, in a visual sense—is a challenge within itself, and presents many “possibilities” as well. As a visual artist, my first instinct is to explore how either my process as an artist creates various possibilities or how a “finished” piece often comes with many choices as to which one will be the final piece.
First up, the possibilities found in “A Work In Progress”.
When producing a “work in progress”, the objective is to explore various effects and allow the intuitive process to govern my decision-making. Within the parameters of this intuitive process is form, color, design and progression. In the slideshow below are only a few samples of the various “possibilities.”
Stop by my previous post: “It Only Takes a Moment to See the Things You Left Behind” to see the final result of this work in progress.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Possibility 02
The Weekly Photo Challenge: Possibility is again, a fascinating question from an artist’s point of view. In my previous post I reflected on the various possibilities innate to the “work in progress” as the image moves towards a final piece. In this post I am examining the different choices or possibilities one has to consider when deciding which piece conveys as an end result, the best concept and design.
To Illustrate this I have chosen a post created earlier in the year entitled: “The Narrow Way: Choosing a Path”.
Below are four examples of the final piece. Each image explores a different visual sensibility. In coming to a conclusion of which image I would use for the post, I took in consideration the design, what part of the image I wanted to emphasize, and what image intuitively drew me to it.
To find out what image became the final piece for the post, click on the link below and enjoy “The Narrow Way: Choosing a Path”.
The narrow way: choosing a path
The narrow way: choosing a path
The narrow way: choosing a path
The narrow way: choosing a path
What do you think? What image resonates best with you? How do you finalize the possibility found in a diverse choice?
It Only Takes a Moment to See the Things You Left Behind
Leave things to find happiness….
“Whatever you are feeling, leave it with the senses. Move from the senses to the mind. Then leave the mind. Go backward, not forward, go inward, not outward”. – Swami Parmanandji Maharaj
Leave the world with awareness
It Only Takes a Moment to Leave this Place
Contemplating the very thing that exist outside the corner of my eye….
There is no need to become free, for we are free already
It Only Takes a Moment to Find the Center
It only takes a moment to know that you always Exist….
Find the center of Awareness….
"Seeing nothing" is also an experience in which we can know we are present
It Only Takes a Moment
It only takes a moment to go beyond the noise…
Your experiences happen in you ... not in the world
Urban Contemplation 05
The city series….
The Door (Recovery Remix 2011)
Transformation: finding new places to find oneself
The door that leads from the city
Urban Contemplation 04
The city series….
Across the River the City that Sleeps with Dreams….
The city that sleeps with dreams
Urban Contemplation 03
The city series….
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility (Recovery Remix 2011)
8 a.m.
tell me the lies
say that you love me
come back to haunt me
for days without end
and nights without rest
the bittersweet siren call
the addict’s sad song
3 a.m.
This post is dedicated to a dear friend, may he rest in peace. It was his kind, centered, and wise words that showed me the way to a better tomorrow.
Urban Contemplation 02
The city series….
The Playground (Recovery Remix 2011)….
Take me away from the place where all this started…this desire.
The playground
You Can’t Undo What You have Never Done
How Can I Undo the Things I’ve Never Done….
Sometimes we see ourselves as a reflection of our past,
present and future. The lenses in which we view our lives in all its complexity
are often distorted by the noise of our thoughts and the subsequent choices we’ve
made.
At times I ask myself, how I can undo the things I’ve never
done. Because in my mind, through those very lenses, I will with visceral
uncertainty see things not as they really are.
So in conclusion—living within the sphere of ambiguity—I’ve
come to realize that you have to bring something—something significant to the
table, and if you don’t, you may discover that your invitation and acceptance
speech has been rescinded.
But then that’s life—trying to undo the things, you’ve never
done.
How can you undo what you have never done
Weekly Photo Challenge: Faces 02
The second image in this series has four elements composed as one. The primary effect used for this piece is the displacement map. It takes a little effort but on a closer look you will find a host of faces.
Family faces via the displacement map effect
Weekly Photo Challenge: Faces
Here is one of a multiple collection of family portraits for this series. I wanted to use a variety of color elements and effects to express uniqueness in their faces.
The primary effect used in this portrait is colored edges.
Family faces via colored edges
Waking to Nothing Ever Being Perfect
a passing moment
child on a bike
a contemplative thought
fleeing the hopelessness
to the touch it is
like glass strewn urban decay
and dreams
that are shattered by the morning light
waking to nothing
ever being perfect…
Waking to nothing ever being perfect
Until You, I Didn’t Feel Quite Finished
the days fade into each other
waking
drifting
dreaming
sleeping
and…
until you, I didn’t feel quite finished
the nights fade into each other
thoughtless
senseless
emotionless
passionless
and….
until you, I didn’t feel quite finished
love haunts
love beckons
love promises
love fades
and…
until you, I didn’t feel quite finished…
until now….
Until you, I didn't feel quite finished
How Can I know If You Believe In Me (a short reprise)
on a sea of glass
a reflection of what you believe
is it me
or my imagination
that is dreaming
believing in
the beautiful times gone by
and forgotten moments
now and forever
— for us
Now and forever believe in me
How Can I know If You Believe In Me
if there was a moment
in a dream
and you believed in me
does it change everything
now and forever
…. for us
Believe in me as we dream together
Are You There … Outside My Window
How can I know if I am dreaming, if when I wake I am still asleep….
Are you there outside my window
Post Canvas and Paint 04: Structures, Verse and Abstracts
Sleeping by a distant sunset I touched the forming world.
9.1.2011.2:35.a.m.
Walking by a waking night I saw the dreams of things to come.
8.30.2011.1:45.a.m.
Standing by the quiet lake I thought of nothing else.
9.1.2011.3:50.a.m.
Sitting by my window I heard a purple flower bloom.
8.30.2011.4:17.a.m.
The Silence in Consciousness 02: a short reprise
Consciousness 10
Towards the Within, Consciousness has No Center
“Consciousness is everywhere, without a center. What appears to be a center is only a reflection in the mind”. … Swami Parmanandji Maharaj
Pure Consciousness, like sunlight is everywhere; however,
unlike sunlight it has no center.
As individuals, the I that we come to indentify ourselves
with comes into existence when Consciousness, manifesting itself as the
continuum of space, time and causations, mistakes
itself for its own reflection in the mind, identifies,
believes in, itself with its own reflection and limits itself to its own reflection.
Pure Consciousness has no center, it only just is.
Consciousness 11
The Silence in Consciousness
Towards the Consciousness within….
Consciousness
Consciousness 02
“We accept that we are, but we are not ready to accept that we are without anything—without
words, mind or body”. … Swami Parmanandji Maharaj
Consciousness 03
Consciousness 04
When attempting to understanding the concept or belief of our existence, we know the states of being awake, dreaming and deep sleep, but we may not be aware that our true Existence is independent of them. This is to say that our concept of existence and our actual Existence are two distinct things. At the base of all three states i.e. awake, dreaming and deep sleep is
the core foundation that alone makes their sense of being “real” possible. That foundation or substratum in which they originate from is Consciousness. At first glance, this may be difficult to understand, but we can transcend the three
states and realize the limited self as pure Consciousness.
Consciousness 05
Consciousness 06
Being without (the three states) means nothing but “I” exists. In truth, Consciousness Exist independently but we are not aware.
There is an interesting dichotomy that is at work here—how to understand that the three states are because of Me, but “I” am not because of the three states. At the core of this realization is the knowledge that my own Existence is free and not dependent on anything. The three states, our very existence, are transitory, only Consciousness is permanent.
Consciousness 07
Consciousness 08
By the very construct (the power to direct consciousness) in which our life is governed—being awake producing action, going from thought to thought, dreaming, and falling into sleep, we live life—we have the sensation of being “alive”. By this very same construct or shall we say capacity, we can return to pure Consciousness.
Consciousness 09
“If you remain continuously conscious, after some time the world will disappear and only pure Consciousness will remain”. … Swami Parmanandji Maharaj
What do you think? Do you question the knowledge of your existence (where does it come from), your purpose in life, what lies beyond what you see and feel? Does the awareness of your Consciousness play a role in knowing who you are and how you live your life? Please share.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Flowers 04
My final installment for the weekly photo challenge: flowers, is not a flower at all. I usually take a photograph first of the subject I wish to render digitally. However, this image of a “flower” is purely computer designed. With a little help from the kaleidoscope effect, I was able to create this artificial flower.
Flowers an artificial view
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 