Kansas Horizons and the Windy Ocean Ride

      Living in Kansas, one thing there is a lot of is wide open sky and flat land. Below is a picture from one of my long bike rides in northeastern Kanas. By bike I mean bicycle, a mountain bike really but I use it on the road a lot. Being between earth and sky, feeling the wind push and pull you, which is a constant daily moving force in the Kaw River Valley; gives one a feeling of connection with the earth. A peace found in the spirit and body, a kind of calm as you look over the horizon and see nothing but endless earth and endless sky. I have felt this same feeling being in the ocean and looking at the horizon, and feeling the waves push and pull. Here it is the wind that pushes and pulls, and the ocean in any direction is at least 12 hours away.
      I used to fight the wind when I started taking long bike rides, foolishly cursing and shaking my fist at it as if it would respond or correlate to such a small meaningless being like myself. The wind does not listen to me or anyone else, it is a great equalizer. It's ever shifting invisible energy pouring over every animal in the same degree, more or less, depending on where you stand on the earth in any given moment. In Ken Burns' film about The Dust Bowl (which ravaged farmland with endless tidal waves of dust and wind in the 1930's) they speak of this same kind of - bending one's self to the will of the wind, the wind will of course never bend it's will to yours, thus the wind is the great equalizer.

"For what is it to die, But to stand in the sun and melt into the wind,"

-Kahil Gibran 

Photo: Ed Tajchman 2015, © all rights resrved.

"Lost" Finale: Short Synopsis and Thoughts

Recently the television show 'LOST' wrapped up it's amazing six season run with a fantastic series finale episode. I don't want to sound too smug or something; but for me, the way they wrapped everything up made almost total sense. (It didn't answer every detail obviously, which is good maybe, and they answered enough questions at least). (There are spoilers below for those of you who haven't watched it yet or are waiting for the DVD or something.)

The second storyline we had been following this whole sixth season of the characters after the 'reset'/bomb explosion attempt to nullify the drill breach that ended season five; - was the Losties as ghosts of a kind. They were in the immediate afterlife before moving on (into the light). It was 'a place they created to remember and reconnect' as Christian Shepard put it (talking to Jack). Which means the whole storyline that ended with Jack's (real death) and Hurley in charge of the island with Ben as number two was all real and that's how it ended. (Now that would be a cool series, seeing Hurley in charge with Ben tagging along, - and totally possible - why not?).

Why was the part after the reset attempt/explosion real? - Because Hurley said to Ben (in the 'purgatory' they made), "you made a great number two." Ben said back "and you were a great number one". Also in the scene where Jack enters the church and sees his father, Christian says to Jack about his friends "...some died before you, some died long after." Which implies that whole storyline post-explosion was all real. The scene where Jack falls down after exiting the creek outside the cave was his real life death.

I have to admit those scenes of the Losties remembering their lives, when they touched each other 'as ghosts' (before entering the light) were pretty moving. Juliette and Sawyer (after Juliette slipping from his hands at the end of season five), Sun and Jin (especially after them dying together on the boat). The scene with Locke and Ben outside the church where Ben apologizes to Locke for killing him is quite poignant. I mean it's simple on one hand, but so brutal on another level, - as ghosts before moving on, Ben apologizes to Locke for having killed him in the life that they just left. That's heavy. "Hey I know we are both dead now and I killed you back there. Sorry about that" I mean not to make fun, it's truly a great and intriguing scene, among many from the last episode.

Which leaves the question (in my probably way off-base and confusing assessment) - what did the reset/explosion do exactly? If that second 'happy in LA' storyline was them waiting to 'move on' to 'purgatory' or whatever, then what did the explosion do? Did it just nullify the breach that the Dharma drilling caused; - and the two just canceled each other out? Did it somehow merge the 70's time-line characters into the current time? Because earlier in the sixth season Juliette's 'ghost' or whatever says to Sawyer (through Miles) 'it worked' (meaning the bomb). And at the beginning of this season that huge temple with the Asian 'candidate' in charge of 'the others', wasn't there pre-reset/explosion, - right?

Well I could continue for quite a bit more about Lost because the questions go on forover and the more you think you know the more you think you know nothing, which is the magic of Lost. So Anyways, that's my short nonsensical-maybe synopsis of the amazing finale of the historic TV event that was LOST. Comments and discussion are welcome as always.

Science Fiction Notes and Thought Creates Reality

One thing I readily admit is that I am a bit of a science fiction nerd. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I am an avid science fiction fan, but the general concepts of the genre do fascinate me. One thing I like about it is the way some sci-fi authors (or writers in general) really nail what could (and does) happen in the near future. Or the way a good writer can express ideas about our current and possible cultures, using a fictional story to give us unique perspective.

It's books like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, which can paint an almost too real future, that really gets me thinking. The society depicted in it can easily be linked with elements of modern societies; - the government influenced homogeneous conformism, bio-engineering technology, the synthetically created 'soma' drug that depresses free-thinking, all issues today in one way or another. Take for example biotechnology and cloned animals; the other day I read about scientists cloning a Pyrenean ibex, a mountain goat that was deemed extinct in 2000. Using saved samples of the animal scientists successfully cloned one, (that died shortly after birth from a defect which raises some ethical issues obviously). As the technology progresses daily so do the questions on multiple levels (morally, ethically, philosophically, etc.) surrounding things like stem cell's, genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, government controlled media etc.

Another one of my favorite sci-fi books is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and one thing from it that struck me is the way author Orson Scott Card alludes to the oncoming power of the internet. There's that story arc in the novel where Ender's brother and sister use what they call 'the nets' (a kind of computer network for intellectuals) to insert and assert their political opinion into the mainstream media; using 'the nets' anonymity so as not be revealed as kids. The following passage from the book is between Ender's brother Peter and sister Val (all of whom are genius-children), "Peter, you're twelve."
"Not on the nets I'm not, On the nets I can name myself anything I want, and so can you."

Keep in mind this was written in 1985 (in the acknowledgments Card mentions elements of the story were first published in August 1977, the month and year I was born incidentally, also the month and year when Elvis died). But that's totally what the internet has become in a sense, an instantaeous worlwide information center, with the power to manipulate it in the hands of anyone with a keyboard.

A short synopsis of what good science fiction is, can be taken from the introduction to Ender's Game. Card explains that his inspiration for the book had partly come from reading Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, which set him to thinking (as all good science fiction should do), "What would the future be like? How would things change? What would remain the same?" And then he goes on to say, "In science fiction, however, the whole point is that the ideas are fresh and startling and intriguing; you imitate the great ones, not by rewriting their stories, but rather by creating stories that are just as startling and new. "

(sample from Atmospheric Dust by Ed T. )

"Physical concepts are free creations of the human mind, and are not, however it may seem, uniquely determined by the external world." -Albert Einstein

Anyways, the thing that started the idea for this post happened when I caught one of my favorite episodes of Star Trek the Next Generation on TV the other day. (I refuse to enter a debate on which Star Trek show was the best, because it's clearly STNG.) It's the episode - "Where No One Has Gone Before" from 1987, in which the Enterprise crew encounters the mysterious "traveler" who accidentally teleports them and their ship millions of lightyears away. When Captain Picard is questioning the traveler as to how the ship got millions of lightyears from where it was, he asks him "What got us here?", the traveller replies "Thought" and then goes on to say, "Thought is the basis of all reality, the energy of thought, to put it in your terms, is very powerful."

I think this idea is true not only in an abstract sense, (positive thinking and visualizing can help one achieve goals, heal the body, you are what you think about, etc.) but in a very physical direct way also; thoughts are real and determine our reality in a myriad of different ways. From defining our universe in a metaphysical math equation or exploring the 'realness' of some sensations or events in dreams, thoughts play a vital role in understanding ourselves and the universe.

Thoughts on Dreaming and "The Dreamweaver"

I want to write about something that is a fascinating subject to me - the world of dreams. Dreaming is an immense and infinite subject, but I want to touch on a few key points at least. Dreams (the actual sleeping kind of dreams, not goals) can be many different things to many different people, the important thing to remember is that they are very subjective of course. Although some have tried to devise a 'standard' to understanding dreams, it is always a very unique and personal process.

Dreams can be your fantasies, your plans, your worries, simply a reaction to eating junk food, your wants and needs, a carry-over from your daily life, a form of telepathic communication, a way to gain insight into your mind, a portal to spiritual dimensions and many other things. Some people claim that they don't dream, but this is not true - everybody dreams, you may just not remember them. Keeping a notepad by the side of the bed is one way to start helping you to remember them, and the more you write day after day, the more of your dreams you will remember.

Speaking of dreaming practices, let me tell you about one of the most fascinating books I have honestly ever read - Carlos Castaneda's The Art of Dreaming. Back in the day, Dr. Castaneda was just an anthropological student searching for an authentic old-school teacher when he found Don Juan. Don Juan taught Carlos many things and he wrote it all down in a series of books. Among these teachings is one set aimed at understanding the lucid dreaming process more fully, which Carlos gives us in this book.

Lucid dreaming is the state of mind you reach when, in your dreams you know absolutely that it is a dream, remaining asleep but attaining a kind of half-conscious state in the dream. The more skill you have in your lucid dreaming the more conscious you are and the more control you have. As I said, the book is a set of practices for improving one's lucid dreaming skills, set inside of a narrative. Some people debate the existence of Castaneda's Don Juan, but whether it exactly happened the way he wrote it or not, the information he provides in this book and all of his books is simply mind-blowing.

"Judged by the subjective standards of orderly thoughts, orderly visual and auditory sensory input, orderly responses on my part, my experiences, for as long as they lasted, were as real as any situation in our daily world."

- Carlos Castaneda, The Art of Dreaming.

One way that Don Juan describes the dreamworld to Carlos is that he says it is like the skins of an onion. The more you peel the more you discover, and every layer is entirely different than the last. In the background of my sketch below you can see a kind of layered-gate or portal with a figure standing in front of it; he is The Dreamweaver. I did this around the time I was reading the book for the first time several years ago.

The Dreamweaver by Ed T. © 2008

One of the things that Don Juan prescribes to Carlos to help him enter the lucid dreaming state, is that he tells him to try and remember to look at his hands. Simply focus on this idea over and over as you fall asleep and in the dream if you remember to do that it can trigger lucid dreaming. Seeing your hand in the dream not only bridges the gap to your conscious mind (which you employed for this exact purpose) it forces you to focus and look at detail in the dream. So that's why The Dreamweaver's hand in my drawing is so big.

But what about dreams as an analytical tool? Not only are dreams a tool for understanding your self and your mind, they can be tools for understanding information in an entirely new way. For example, some mathematicians claim dreams can help them gain perspective and answers even to unsolvable equations. Dreams provide inspiration not only to problem-solvers but to artists, inventors, philosophers, writers, and anyone that has ever gained insight from a dream. The key being the unconscious mind's ability to process information in a much more abstract method than the conscious can ever hope to do. Take this quote from Carl Jung on the subject:

"The unconscious seems to be able to examine and to draw conclusions from facts, much as consciousness does. It can even use certain facts, and anticipate their possible results, just because we are not conscious of them."

- Carl Jung, Man and his symbols.

I once had a dream where there was this absurdly large cowboy, almost like in those Zippy cartoons where those large store icons come to life and talk to him. This giant cowboy went to shake my hand and proceeded to crush it. It didn't hurt but I woke up and remembered feeling shocked that it was happening. At the time, a fellow employee that I was working with at my job was studying dreams and psychology in college. He immediately aked if there was a situation I was feeling overwhelmed by. And in fact there was, I was planning on moving out of state for the first time soon, and was definitely concerned about leaving my home city.

I was amazed that the key to understanding the dream was so simple and that he got it so fast, and that it was very true. More true than I realized at the time even. Then I was feeling mostly just excitement and readiness. But months later, without going into too much detail, I did experience that realization of being overwhelmed by being in a completely new place with new people, I guess that's what you call culture shock?

So I hope you enjoyed my short journey into the world of dreams. Feel free to share your own dreams in the comments, or any insights you want to share about dreaming. If you have a longer entry, feel free to email it to me and I will post it here at Modern Art Quotes, make sure and include a link to your homepage if you want.

Chi, Energy, and Painting

Have you ever felt drawn to a particular painting, sculpture, or handmade thing but you weren't quite sure why? It could be that the item was made by an artist who infused his or her chi into the work. The spirit energy per say of the artist; focused emotional energy implanted in the piece while it was being made. The artist puts an impression of his spirit and mental energy into the work.

Even with all the best technique in the world, a painting that lacks chi also lacks a certain vitality, that kind of ephemeral underlying energy that draws me to some work. This idea makes me think of this quote from painter Francis Bacon:

"I would like my pictures to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail leaving its trail of the human presence... as a snail leaves its slime." - Francis Bacon

In Hindu culture this idea of energy is called prana, which translates literally to life-force and is involved with the practice of yoga. This energy also plays a vital role in Asian medicine, and in Chinese calligraphy painting. They believe that chi, also sometimes referred to as ki, qi, or gi, is in every living thing. It is like an energy flow or simply life energy.

QiGong is a systematic method of working with the qi energy of the body, (QiGong translates to breath work or energy work) and is related to the practice of infusing calligraphy with qi energy. Breathing that correlates with the brushstrokes and the flow of energy is what can infuse the calligraphy with the artist's chi. The main principles of calligraphy are: good tools (paper, brush, ink), a good posture, your emotions synergized with the brushstroke, balance, and rhythm.

The concept of chi is not dissimilar to what physics tells us - that everything is comprised of atoms; of energy. Although some physicists probably frown upon QiGong has a science, some believe it is related to the quantum physics concept of zero-point energy. Physicist Charles Seife defines zero-point energy as: "The energy caused by the spontaneous creation and destruction of subatomic particles, even in the deepest vacuum. It is a prime suspect for the cause of the cosmological constant."

Upon various blogs and message boards where I and other artists share their work with each other, there is a somewhat common phrase used sometimes in discussing the work. It usually goes something like - I would love to see the painting IRL (in real life) - or - I am sure IRL it is even better. This is because you cannot feel the true essence of a work without seeing it in person.

The best Giclee print in the world although very nice, is still a lifeless copy of the original painting. Vincent Van Gogh's work is a prime example. I have stared at this one original of his - Olive Grove, at my local museum many different times. Certain times when I am alone with the work and/or focused into it without distraction, I begin to see an underlying radiating energy.

I think that all handmade items have an element of this; the chi of the artist infused with the work. And whether you want to call it prana, chi, qi, zero-point energy or anything else, this life force energy is real, and is a vital and malleable thing. Check out this related post: All Matter is Energy.

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The Role of the Collective Unconscious in Expression

What is that inner voice that tells you if you like or don't like something? I mean the aesthetic quality of things, like when you look at a painting and like it or don't like it; what is that? I know as far as my own work goes I can look at the painting or drawing I am working on and immediately decide what I like and what I want to change. But where does that voice come from? What particular quality of a line, shape, or color hue makes it pleasing to my eye? Maybe words of wisdom from psychologist Carl Jung can shed some light on the subject:

"This re-immersion in the state of participation mystique is the secret of artistic creation and of the effect which great art has upon us, for at that level of experience it is no longer the weal or woe of the individual that counts, but the life of the collective. That is why every great work of art is objective and impersonal, and yet profoundly moving." - Carl Jung

I can identify with this idea in my work. A striving towards the 'collective unconscious'; the collected experience of generations of humankind. In the depths of each of us we are connected, and we are all the same. In creating and sharing my experiences and my art I realize this is true. In my non-representational artwork and style in general, I naturally strive towards expressing universal archetypes, symbols, form, color, meshed with my individual developed style. I purposefully steer away from having too much intention in my work, instead relying on that voice that 'knows' or feels rather what line, what form goes where. Maybe that is what that voice, that way of knowing, that 'style' is; a seeking of that universal understanding and system of processing and recognition, striving for the expression of the collective unconscious.

That is kind of any oxymoron though right? - Intending to express the unconscious in my work. How does one exactly approach that method of creation? How do you get to that release of direct conscious intention, and access that underlying unconscious reality? If you look at the work and methods of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollack I think we find at least some kind of answer. Take his famous 'drip' painting method, or what some call 'action painting' for example. His process of standing over the canvas and moving in it, gesturing with the arms to drip and fling the paint onto the surface below. In the attention paid to the action in the work, there opens up a place for that deeper underlying intention to come through.

"The painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through." - Jackson Pollock

But that is only one method of accessing the unconscious. Luckily for us there is a myriad of experiences waiting to be expressed and shared. More ways of experiencing ourselves subjectively and therefore universally. Each of our experiences on this planet is unique, but great artwork expresses something deeply universal in all of us. It's that pulling towards universal understanding and expression that guides my work. Not to say that my work is great, but i try!

From Buddha to Einstein; All Matter is Energy

Today I want to discuss the concept: matter is energy, and the universality that this idea has. Matter is energy condensed into a slow vibration; energy that is transmutable. Energy particles don't disappear, they transform, everything is a never ending process of energy transformation. There is the same amount of energy on this earth has there was millions of years ago. All reality exists on a sub-atomic level. Take this quote from Einstein as we explore this idea further.

"Even the Greeks had already conceived the atomistic nature of matter and the concept was raised to a high degree of probability by the scientists of the nineteenth century. But it was Planck's law of radiation that yielded the first exact determination - independent of other assumptions - of the absolute magnitudes of atoms. More than that, he showed convincingly that in addition to the atomistic structure of matter there is a kind of atomistic structure to energy, governed by the universal constant h, which was introduced by Planck." -Albert Einstein

If you're wondering what Planck's constant h is; h = the fundamental physical constant attribute of the mathematical equations of quantum mechanics. Describing the behavior of particles and waves on the atomic scale, including the particle aspect of light. Radiation, as with light, is emitted, transmitted, and absorbed in energy packets, or quanta, determined by the frequency of the radiation and the value of Planck’s constant. The energy of each quanta equals h times the radiation frequency.

We've split the atom for gosh sakes. What more proof do you need than the massively destructive force that results from splitting an atom, to know that at a deep microscopic level that energy is atoms. The more physics looks inside the atom, the seemingly infinitesimally smaller particles we discover. We are everything literally. We all are energy, everything around us is energy, it's all light particles. But as Einstein states above in reference to the Greeks, this idea did not originate in the realm of physics.

“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.” -Aristotle

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion” -Democritus

In the above quote Greek philosopher Democritus says, "empty space". According to Planck and Einstein this is not empty space but extended space. But the point is that the Greeks had a firm grasp of what Einstein calls the atomistic nature of matter. Buddha also had a firm grasp of this:

"We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything." -Gautama Buddha

Equations of quantum physics of the 20th century tells us the same thing that Buddha and Greek philosophers told us thousands of years ago. So the idea that everything is made up of the same basic form of energy is not decades or centuries old, but at least thousands of years old.

The Buddha, Odilon Redon, 1904.

Let's take a closer look at one specific part of the quote from Buddha, "We are the same as plants, as trees...." On a side-note branching from this idea, let me ask the question, who's to say that some plants don't have a kind of consciousness? The oldest living thing is the box huckleberry, the age of one colony found in Pennsylvania is 13,000 years. The redwoods in California are well over 200 ft tall and more than 2,000 years old. Early this decade in Oregon researchers discovered a single organism of the Armillaria ostoyae, (the honey mushroom) whose underground mycalea spans 2,200 acres (890 hectares) and is least 2,400 years old, possibly older. Mycalea are fibers linking the plant together almost like the fiber network of a brain. But this brain spans 2,200 acres and is 2,400 years old.

A living organism that old and that successful has some kind of cognizance. It's been proven in experiments that plants respond directly to the playing of music for example, take a loot at Plants respond to music. In 1966, Cleve Backster performed a series of experiments on the dracena cane plant hooked into a polygraph machine. His results indicated that it responded in a variety of ways that clearly indicated at least primary perception.

I will conclude by giving you Backster's definition of primary perception: "The vehicle of communication, the invisible, unrecognized field that interconnects all species and life forms, whereby biocommunication can occur." One could define biocommunication as: types of communication within and between species of plants and/or animals.

So anyways, I hope all this has given you something to think about, feel free to expand on any of these ideas with a comment. If you enjoy any of my writings and articles, feel free to digg (icon below) them and/or hit the thumbs up icon or the vote for me icon on the bottom right of the sidebar.

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Thoughts and Ideas on the Spiritual Nature of Experience

What is the nature of spiritual reality? Spirituality is the nature of this experience on earth. It bugs me sometimes when people talk about life after death as the ultimate question in life. This to me is just not true. Spiritual reality is as real, well more real than the chair you're sitting in right now. I trust the physical reality of the existence of my soul over just about anything else in this life. Science tells us that matter is merely energy condensed into a slow vibration. Metaphysics implies that there are at least 11 dimensions. All cultures in the history of mankind acknowledge some kind of spiritual reality. Let us be enlightened by a quote from the French mystic Teilhard de Chardin:

“You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.”

-Teilhard de Chardin, (1881-1955)

A simple and very true thought from a spiritual man, but now let us look at the thoughts of a man from science;

"When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.”

-Albert Einstein

What is always interesting to me is the correlation between science and spirit. Here with these two quotes we have a perfect example of this. Comparing these two ideas we come across a theme - that first comes the basic fact of the spiritual nature of our reality, and then second is the physicality of this existence.

The Circumference of Humankind's Knowledge

I was extremely bored just now so I made a little bit of modern art to illustrate this quote from Albert Einstein. That being said, I will let the brilliant diagrams below; do the talking in today's post, (clearly we see our unknown knowledge [if that makes any sense] growing as we learn more about the universe).

"As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it."

-Albert Einstein

Henri Bergson on Change

Like many French philosophers, artists, poets, and writers, Henri Bergson's perspective on life is one that I can appreciate. I've talked here before about how I don't agree with that idea that - everything has already been done. The search and production of fresh original perspective and expression never ends as long as our existence continues.

“To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly"

-Henri Bergson (1859- 1941)

Bergson's quote here back me up on that train of thought. I think most artists and creative people would agree, that one's style of expression changes over the course of time. For it not to change, is the death of that art and artist. Once you do truly learn to let go as an artist, I think is when you create the best art. And a good way to achieve that is to constantly strive towards challenging oneself to grow and change.

Death is Letting Go of Deception

I was drawn to the following Zen saying because it pretty much sums up a dream experience I had once:

"Let go of the cliff, die completely, and then come back to life, after that you cannot ever be deceived."

-Zen saying

That dream (which I don't really want to go into detail about, some dreams are personal to me) and other lucid dreams, and other experiences I have had; help lead me to the conclusion that the soul body exists separate, but attached to obviously - the physical body. A morbid perspective on the matter is the scenario of running electricity through a deceased human body. It will cause the limbs to move, but does that mean the body is alive? Of course not. There is no soul inhabiting the body. Of course though we know in cardiac arrest situations sometimes a strong shock will bring somebody back that has flat-lined for a few minutes even. Interesting.

Carl Jung Quote on Vision

Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud were contemporaries of each other, but the ego-maniacal Freud's ruthless self-promotion won him a seemingly greater place in history. Today most people agree that Jung's theories have far more credence and influence than anything Freud ever wrote.

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams, who looks inside awakes."

-Carl Jung

There's a lot to see in the outside world, but nothing more than what is inside you already. You can look out at what could be, what you want, what you think you need; but also know that everything you truly need is inside you. Realize that truth resides in the self of all people and to seek it will result in understanding and growth. For me this also ties in with that old saying, 'be careful what you wish for you just might get it'. If you spend too much time wishing for something different you have less time to explore what you do have. Trust your inner self, trust your instinct and your intuition.

Aristotle on Jobs

I agree and disagree with this quote from Aristotle. I agree with it completely in the sense that working for someone else for an extended period of time can definitely keep you from accomplishing your own goals of course. Becoming too tired day after day to ever do anything to improve your life, while more idealogical paths seem to get farther away. Giving the best hours of everyday away for a wage can be very dull and monotonous.

"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"

-Aristotle

Of course one can't expect (or shouldn't) to have things come easily for them. That old phrase work smarter not harder comes to mind. So, I disagree with the quote in the sense that learning and thinking can occur while working for someone else. And in the sense that working for oneself, (art, business, music, whatever) and getting paid for it is not only beneficial to the mind but a dream come true.

Free Will and the Artist

I am a big fan of freewill. Fate I think can play a role sometimes, but if you are waiting around for it to drop something in your lap, you'll be waiting a long time. Take this quote from Henry David Thoreau:

"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor."

-Henry David Thoreau

Fervently pursuing your goals and your happiness is the only way to achieve your dreams, even if this means doing it in whatever little spare time you have left of the day. When you open doors for yourself and put forth the effort to reach out and grab what you want, then fate might play a helping hand. It's Vince Lombardi who said, 'luck is when opportunity meets preparation.'

This also ties in with the idea of deciding who you want to be rather than finding yourself. You cannot possibly achieve what you want if you do not have a clear vision of what that is. Once that vision is formed, then the process of it becoming true can begin.

Terence Mckenna Quote on the Other

Terence Mckenna was one of the most important prophets of the last half of the 20th century. His following quote speaks of the inner and external connection we have with not only each other but with other species and entities.

"In probing the Other we shall always come back with images of ourselves. In probing ourselves we shall return with images of the Other."

-Terence Mckenna, (Nov. 16, 1946 - Apr. 3, 2000) True Hallucinations, 1994.

His basic message though, is an important one - that we have not a lot of time to change our consciousness to a more unified world vision of ecological balance and understanding. Sadly, despite all of his work, the message is still not as clear to some as it could be. More moderate voices like Al Gore have brought some of the same issues into the media in a strong way. I mean honestly though, how hard is it to understand that the rain forests are like giant carbon & pollution filters for the earth. Without them pollution doesn't get filtered, there's no oxygen and we die. You don't need to watch nature for long to understand that everything is inter-connected. By not realizing our place in that balance and reducing our environmental impact, it creates a domino effect, setting up an irreversible set of events.

But by all means, if it saves a few jobs (jobs that could be easily replaced by green collar jobs) cut down all the giant Redwoods in California and all the rain forests in South America. It just makes me sick the lack of vision and understanding that some people have, and the greed that drives other people with vision and power to exploit the forests anyways. To contribute to a save the rain forest fund: click there. To buy Terence Mckenna books, click there. Thank You.

Gautama Buddha on Creating Your Self

What's interesting is that after I read this a couple of weeks ago, I had a dream where I was holding a small Buddha statue. Anyways, I couldn't agree more with Gautama Buddha and his words of wisdom, expressed in this quote:

"The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery, but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself, but creating yourself anew. Seek therefore, not to find out Who You Are, but seek to determine who you want to be."

- Gautama Buddha

There is that archetypal idea of a young person going wandering or traveling for a while to find themselves. More powerful maybe, is the idea that you can create who you are. There is no true barrier stopping anyone from being anything they want, you just need to find a way - any way, to create it; to invent your self. From what you eat, to how you treat people, to how you dress, are all decisions that shape who you are.

I think it's important that we strive to learn and grow and envision a more clear future, and at the same time embrace who we are today. There's no solid niche for what moves some people the most, but that just means there's more opportunity for you to create that yourself with your vision, goals, and dreams. This quote from George Bernard Shaw, also talks of creating the self.

Friedrich Nietzsche on Existence

I can definitely see the logic in this quote by German Philosopher Nietzsche:

"Existence is only ever justified as an aesthetic phenomenon"

-Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 -1900)

Even Science is a very rudimentary way of understanding the universe and itself often celebrates the aesthetics of the universe. It's like if you imagine an alien watching a nature video of us in our cities and daily lives and whatnot, many of the things we find so important lose meaning quickly when you approach life from that perspective. And take that classic story of the old lonely Scrooge, rich but with nobody to share his life with. If you take out what is sublime and special in our lives they can seem to lose justification.

Joseph Campbell Quote

Joseph Campbell is one of my biggest influences, and one of the greatest mythologists this world will ever know. His collected wisdom is a legacy that will live on for as long as his books do. I was lucky enough to find my bliss, . . . painting, drawing, creating, at a relatively young age.

"To find your own way is to follow your own bliss."

- Joseph Campbell (1904 - 1987)

So many people will tell you what is wrong or right with what you've done or are doing. While their advice might be useful sometimes, the only voice that matters is the one deep in your soul. Bring that voice out and share it with the world. Whatever makes you happy, seize it and somehow find a way to make it part of your everyday life. It's like that Rush song Limelight that goes, "for those who wish to be must put aside the alienation, and get on with the fascination". It's so true, turn off the negativity and create with your positive energy a new reality that embraces who you are, not who you work for, who your family is, or anything else. This is not being selfish, this is being a true artist, and sharing your vision with the world.

An Idea to Meditate On

This quote from German philosopher Rudolph Eucken reinforces the knowledge that this world we call reality is but a train stop if you will, on a much larger map. This is a good quote to meditate on, it brings to my mind so many different things I don't know where to start. Feel free to comment on what comes to your mind when you read it.

"Man is the meeting-point of various stages of Reality."

- Rudolph Eucken (1846 - 1926)

The Eye of the Creative Tiger

What more is there to say about inspiration after the quote below from mystic Evelyn Underhill? Nothing comes to mind, and no words could say it better. I can merely state again that Evelyn Underhill's book Mysticism is a masterpiece.

"This humble receptiveness, this still and steady gazing, in which emotion, will, and thought are lost and fused, is the secret of the great contemplative on fire with love of that which he has been allowed to see."

-Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism, London, 1911.

I really do find this quote irresistibly inspirational. It describes that moment in the creative process when I am lost in the moment fully, no worries, no fears, no distractions, just my will, my emotion, my spiritual eye open and creating, painting, letting the energy roll through me, and knowing I am blessed that it does. Nothing is more sublime than those moments, and no words describe it better than Evelyn Underhill's.