This week I was working on the ‘cloud girl’ of the Lighthouse picture. She is the one encouraging and anticipating the safe arrival of person struggling through the sea to reach the lighthouse.
Photo Albums
Recent Posts
Artists & Friends
Categories
- April 2008
- April 2009
- August 2008
- August 2009
- December 07
- December 2008
- December 2009
- February 2008
- February 2009
- February 2010
- Inspirational Quotes
- Jabuary 2010
- January 2008
- January 2009
- January 2010
- July 2008
- July 2009
- June 2008
- June 2009
- March 2008
- March 2009
- May 2008
- May 2009
- News
- November 07
- November 2008
- November 2009
- October 07
- October 2008
- October 2009
- Pictures
- September 07
- September 08
- September 2009
- Thought for the week
- Tips for Artists
July 2009
How to travel from our physical to our inner worlds.
Thought for the Week
Travelling from our physical to our inner worlds, sounds like a really cool experience, doesn't it? It is, but it is also true to say we are doing it all the time. By moving our attention from here, our physical world, to our inner thoughts, we have travelled to our inner world.
When would we to do this?
We do this inner travel whenever we move our attention from our physical to our inner worlds. It could be planning a trip to the shops or to the other side of the planet, finding a solution to a challenge or just daydreaming. There are many situations which suit inner travel such as:
While doing a repetitive task or job, can be an ideal opportunity to explore some topic or subject within ourselves. Our mind and body can manage the task once we get into the rhythm of it. Then we can daydream about anything we wish.
Another opportunity to explore within is while doing something that is almost automatic, like driving on a route we know well. A friend who drives regularly as part of his job uses his driving time not only to travel from place to place but also to travel within and explore subjects within his imagination. He often arrives at his destination without recalling the details of getting there.
Sleeping is obviously a time where we are definitely not in the physical world but in our dream worlds. We spend our time reconnecting with our inner selves as well as living, learning and experiencing our inner worlds.
Daydreaming is one of the things we do where we can obviously see that we have moved from our current physical world to a different location in our imagination.
Finding a solution to a problem, is another situation which calls for us to leave our physical world and explore the inner worlds. As we search for a solution to a challenge we look at various scenarios and options in our mind. Using our imagination we create possible solutions and examine what may happen if we put them into action. We judge the reaction of those actions and make a decision based on what we see within us.
Being creative, trying to come up with a new idea or develop a new solution to a subject, calls for us to use our creative imagination. We explore the subject from different aspects in our imagination to find a new way of dealing with it.
Brainstorming is generally a group effort to explore our inner worlds. We throw out ideas which spark more ideas and when they are combined they can result in a creative solution to the challenge facing us.
Necessity, needing something can spark our imaginations to creatively explore new areas for a solution. The axiom, ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ hints at the fact that we become inventive and use our imagination so that we invent a solution for our need.
Ways to travel
So now we have a variety of ways to travel within ourselves. We have always had these methods available to us, but now that we are a little more aware of what is really happening, we can gain more from the experience and get closer to the happy part of ourselves.
We may notice that while we are in our inner worlds we are little bit more content, our attention has moved away from any negative aspects of our physical world. That’s because we are using a part of ourselves which is closer to Soul, which lives in the Now, constantly. We are close to our true selves, Soul.
Enjoy your travels.
*Ed Parkinson
News
22nd Gerard M Hopkins International Literary Festival 2009
On Saturday last, 25th July 2009, was the official opening of 22nd Gerard M Hopkins International Literary Festival 2009. The festival celebrates Gerard Manley Hopkins, his interests, poetry, painting, music, arts, philosophy, nature and his mentor John Henry Newman.
The programme is centre around Scoil Eimhín Naofa (St. Eimhin's Girls School) Monasterevin , Drogheda Street, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare.
At the opening we had the Moansterevin Gospel Choir sing a number of uplifting and inspirational songs. This was followed by short speeches from a number of distinguished guests including representatives from the EU, the Greek and Us embassies.
We were then introduced to the various artists exhibiting at the festival who are: Michael Kane, Daniel Lipstein, Brian O’Loughlin, Ed Parkinson, Clodagh Thornton, Ed Navone, Eva Kelly and Eleanor Swan.
On Monday morning 27th July, I gave a short talk on the series of pictures depicting The Journey of Soul (PDF). There were a lot of positive comments which was reassuring considering the audience were poets and writers exploring the spiritual side of Hopkins writings.
The festival continues until Friday next and if you are interested in poetry, writing, art and litriture it well worth a visit. See the full programme here.
The Monasterevin Gospel Choir opening the Gerard Manley Hopkins Festival.
Lighthouse
I’ve done some work on the waves of the Lighthouse picture. It still need lots more work but it is progressing slowly. This is how it looks at the moment…
Seeking to live in the Now
Thought for the Week
Our goal in life is to be happy. Some become happy when they are drunk or on drugs. Others need power or money to satisfy them. Some of us want to be loved and cared for. More of us are searching for something more subtle, something to sooth the hunger within. Those of us with that hunger are seekers. We may not know exactly what we are seeking but we have a constant hunger eating at us, making life uncomfortable. We know there is something more to life than work, eat, drink, sleep and a little play.
What we seek is a return to our true home, heaven. One way of getting closer to this heaven, is to live in the present moment, Now. That part of us which fuels this hunger is Soul. It is that true, happy, loving part of ourselves which only lives in the Now. There is no time, space, up, down, black, white, or any opposites in Its heaven. It is living in God’s love, our true home. It is our desire to reconnect with that spiritual part of ourselves, Soul, which makes us seekers. We are seeking to live in the Now
If we can learn to live in this moment, Now, we will then be living in the same timeframe as Soul. This will make it easier for us to reconnect with Soul. There are a few tools we can use to helps get into the Now.
Be open to guidance
We should try to be open to guidance which can come in many different forms. Life will help us evolve if we recognise its nudges and hints. The way life helps us and gives insights can be through such things as:
Coincidences. Why do some things happen when they do? What is Life trying to show us?
Accidents, whether tragic or happy. Is there a reason the accident has happened? What do I need to pay attention to? What were my thoughts just before the accident? Did they spark the accident?
Random thoughts. Have we had some random thoughts of people or events? Is there a message trying to get through to us? Is there something we need to watch out for? Be aware that some of us can be quite telepathic, that is, we can pick up peoples thoughts easily or when someone is thinking of us.
All of these ‘events’ happen Now, in the moment. They are there for us to recognise and take note of, so we can gain some wisdom. We need to be aware of them in order not to loose them. It’s not easy to suddenly take a note of all these ‘events’ but if we can begin to notice them, a little at a time, we will build up our awareness slowly. We will increase the insights we receive into our lives.
How to connect with the Now
The only time that really exists is Now. Not the few seconds ago when we read the first sentence of this piece but Now. The Now keeps changing and moving. This Now is different to any of the previous ‘Now’s.
Each of us is unique and we have diverse views of life so our approach to living in the Now will be individual to each of us. There is one technique which has worked for a lot of people and that is singing the ancient name for God, HU. For an easy exercise on how to use HU, click here. As HU is a sound associated with the area where Soul exists, it will help us go there. By connecting with Soul through singing HU we will begin to establish a stronger connection with our true selves. This connection will bring more of the essence of Soul, love and happiness, into our lives. It will also make it easier to live in the moment and enjoy our life, Now.
Let’s make the most of Now. Let’s enjoy the Now and live Now.
Bye for Now.
*Ed Parkinson
Lighthouse
I’m still working on developing this new picture, Lighthouse. It has taken on some interesting characters. Can you spot all five characters in the picture?
Reflections
Reflections is almost complete. I just have to do a print out and see how it looks and make a few final adjustments then and it’s ready to go to the printer who will produce photographic prints of it for me.
Life is change, change is life
Thought for the week
So many of us resist change, yet it comes to us whether we like it or not. Life is change in so many ways.
The seasons change constantly.
The weather changes, sometimes within minutes, sometimes it takes weeks.
Our family and friends change. They grow up and grow old. They grow close and grow away.
Plants and gardens change. They bloom and wither, bear fruit and weeds, bring pleasure and work.
The environment changes. Buildings rise up, communities move in and out of areas, the wilderness takes over, the weather patterns change.
Our world is in constant change.
Change of Attitude
One of the ways we can handle change is through a change of attitude. Our attitude is something we can control. We can change our attitude and thereby we can live a happier life. If we can see life as an exciting adventure which is constantly changing, it becomes an exciting life. We don't know what is going to happen next but if we have an attitude of happy anticipation we can greet each change with the confidence that we can handle it. If we can see change as something to be embraced, not something to be avoided, our lives will become happier and more adventurous.
Is there something consistent, something we can depend on, in this storm of change? There is something which stands like a lighthouse against the constant waves of change. This lighthouse is our true selves, Soul. If we can get to know this inner part of ourselves it can be a place of refuge for us, no matter what storms of life rage around us.
Questions of life
For those of us with a busy and ever changing life, the thought of having a Soul or to put it correctly, being Soul, is often way down on our list of priorities. This is natural and is part of the whole objective of our physical life, to keep us distracted so that we don’t seek our true self, Soul. It works very well. Most people spend their lives busy and working to fulfil some goal of physical worth, only to see it crumble to dust when they die.
After several lives we begin to seek something more than just physical goods and attachments. We begin to seek the truth behind life:
How it works,
Why it works,
What is its purpose?
How do we fit into life?
Why are we where we are?
How did it all start?
When we begin to have these thoughts and questions, we change to become a seeker. A seeker of the truth behind life, its purpose and our place in it. We want to learn more about life and our quest for new knowledge leads us to new things, new insights and new changes. We begin to embrace change as we can see that it teaches us something more about life and the Souls we share our life with.
How to reconnect with Soul
To explore these questions, we can try a simple spiritual exercise. Go to a comfortable quite place where you can be at peace for 15 to 20 minutes. Firstly think of a question, it could be from the list above or something personal. Ask your God, guide, guru, angel or master to give you an answer to this question, if it is appropriate for you and for the general good, at this time. Then sing HUuuu on your outgoing breath. This is an ancient name for God. It is used in many cultures and can be found in the word Alleluia, a corruption of Allah and Hu. It is also in the word Human. Hu meaning God, and man meaning mind, so that a human is a combination of God and mind.
So sing HU for a number of minutes or as long as you like and just observe your thoughts as they float around your consciousness. Some thoughts may be of interest and can be explored. When you finish you may have an answer or you may just have a more comfortable feeling that the issue is under control and does not concern you as much any more. It’s a good idea to write down any insights you get while contemplating.
Life is spiritual
We go through life’s changes so that we can learn not to be attached to the physical things we collect in life. These changes teach us that life is spiritual. We are a spiritual being with a changeable human body, living in a changeable world. We seek the unchanging but it is not of this world, it is of our spiritual world. When we realise that the security and unchanging stability we seek in our lives is that lighthouse within us, Soul, life becomes a more enjoyable and enlightening experience.
Wishing you well on your voyage through life and I hope you find your lighthouse soon.
*Ed Parkinson
P.S. The concept for the lighthouse came to as I wrote this Thought for the Week. It is only a rough unfunished picture but I think it illustrates the point reasonably well.
Recent Comments