December 5, 2013

December 5, 2013

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   I have been posting photos of NYC for three weeks now and will bring more in the future as I have found a new interest in people as subjects, along with all the background and foreground that comes with that territory. However I was reminded that images of Maine and nature have a more spiritual aspect to them, that photos of New York were in themselves vibrant and alive with energy, but, and I agree, it is difficult to find the spiritual in the busyness and rush of everyday life in large cities. 

   So I send an second post this week of photos shot last Friday in Acadia National Park which is a sort of return to the roots of this blog. It is easier to see God and the Spirit of Creation and Creativity in Nature than anywhere else for me. When in natural surroundings I am usually unaware of time constraints and the need to be somewhere, or to do something. This is one of the great benefits of living in the State of Maine, I can practice "Standing Meditation" whenever I am in the presence of "She Who Is Nature."

   It is Winter now in Maine, the land is covered in the Season's clothes .....

    Here is a short meditation for those times that can be a centering on what is really important in wild places.   (Semi-wild?) 

                   A Short Meditation for Standing In Nature

   We simply stand straight and we watch what is in front of us. We are not concerned with distractions, with all the thoughts that occupy our mind. We just stand—alone, by ourselves, our only reference is our sight, what is in front of us. Our breathing, our concentration, and what we see. That’s all we have.

                                     -----------------------------------

                        - What Was, What Is  –

Look at me ….

Once I was beautiful and handsome.

All who saw me said so.

Now, lying in the bed of my Winter,

Leaves detached from branches bondage –

My glory, green, red and yellow, has faded to brown.

I now see my truth;

The One who loved me all along in my lifespan,

Sees my heart uncovered –

And tells me of my real worth.

                                                    Bill Lagerstrom, 2005

At days end, it is still not time to go home ...

This last view of Natures Splendor is Home,

a reminder to stop often in the rush of life

and "See" with the eyes of the heart.

-------------------------------

A Seasonal Cartoon - What to do in the dark days of Winter -

Peace and Serenity,

         Bill Lagerstrom

December 2, 2013

December 2, 2013

   Click on any photo to view full screen. All pictures are mine unless noted otherwise.

    My recent trip to NYC has left me with a lot of images and a different viewpoint on the city I lived in for so many years. I felt as if I was a strange kind of tourist, one who knew the city almost completely, and yet saw some things through different eyes - during my visit and in hindsight. I think establishing myself once again with photography after a hiatus of thirty years has brought a creative insight to the conscious surface in a much different way. No longer rushing in the intensity of New York after eight years now in Maine has given me a calmer and more insightful look into what was and is in front of me at any given moment. This week's images reflect some of the difference in my inner creative eyes to a degree. It is truly a subjective sightline and I don't have the words to express those things of the heart that are not at all about words. Perhaps something can be conveyed through the photographs.

Photos are from November 8, 2013 - 

    Creativity rising is for me part of the Sacred Presence that lives in my core and unless acknowleged can easily be covered up by busyness and a constant "doing" rather than learning how to be with the moment. Here is a quote from Gai Eaton:

   "When the Sacred is banished from sight, so is the human; so too is all that is 

natural and God given. We are left finally with only a shell."

   There are still pockets of the Sacred in NYC as the photo of St. Patrick's Cathedral against a major hotel shows. Developers would have a building in place of the cathedral if they could get the land. 

    The Central Park Zoo recently let the public see their two newest additions, two snow leopard cubs. Here is mom and one cub. 

    From the web:

"There are approximately 600 snow leopards living in accredited zoos worldwide including approximately 250 in American zoos. Suitable mates are selected under the guidance of the Species Survival Plan for snow leopards.

The American Zoo and Aquarium Association’s Species Survival Plan program was initiated in 1981, and includes a plan for snow leopards. Under this program, zoos cooperate to manage individual animals as a single population. While this program will ensure that snow leopards do not become extinct, reintroducing snow leopards into their natural habitat is not a viable option at this time. We need more information about their status in the wild. Their habitat must be preserved. We must work on the problems of conflicts between people and wildlife."

A scene in Little Italy in Manhattan.

I leave it to your imagination to describe what is happening here.

Diversity is the hallmark of NYC -

this scene is from Roosevelt Avenue in the Bourough of Queens. 

Not all is busyness in NYC.

Bridget and Rocky walking in Forest Hills, Queens.

A print of Rocky's profile in the Novenber 15th. blog post won 

an honorable mention in a local photo club competition a week ago. 

A now very famous dog!

- Love in the air -

Central Park Zoo

   I have several favorite places in NYC, this is Ten Ren Tea, a shop in China Town that has only teas from Taiwan that are among the best available anywhere. They are on line and I reccomend their fourth grade dark Oolong which is also fairly reasonably priced. A pound will make 125-150 cups of tea and the leaves can easily be used for 2-3 infusions without losing quality.

Here is their site:  http://www.tenren.com/

   Also the site for Upton Tea, a mail order business that has over 400 loose teas in their catalog. I occasionally use their paper catalog (available for the asking) as a meditation experience - odd to be sure - but satisfying.

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/home.asp?UTid=1612-20-16766104&?afterCart=/shopcart/home.asp&referral=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2F

   A long adress so just click on the above to go to their site.

                        -------------------------------------------------------

   A little NYC Subway humor:

   Until next week,

                   Peace,  Bill Lagerstrom

November 27, 2013

November 27, 2013

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     A short special post -

    I have had several requests for images of the three sculptures in the Metropolitan Museun of Art in NYC that have special meaning for me. I wake up to the following photographs every morning thanks to the relaxed rules about taking pictures in the Museum. These are mine and to some degree they begin to come close to what I experience when they are directly in front of me in New York. 

   Here is my note from earlier this week on the sculptures that I dearly love:

     "There are several sculptures that have a particular spiritual significence for me, The Madona and Child by Claus deWerve -  c. 1439, one of the great reliefs in my opinion which is The Virgin and Child by Mino daFiesole - c. 1466, and The Bodhisattva Guan Yin from the late 10th. century. These are definate stops where I spend a good amount of time with each sculpture not just to refresh my memory but to stop and receive a sense of renewal from the prayers imbedded in these works as they are from monastaries where they were venerated for many hundreds of years before somehow winding up in this museum. They inspired countless numbers of people over the years and I sense their presence still palpable in these Sacred objects. Essentially I see them not as art objects but as symbols that have the power to evoke a closer relationship with God whose Creative desires have been placed in the hands of those who create for the rest of us something of Real Substance, a tangable connection to God's Very Self."

   I offer the images I have tea with every morning -

The Madona and Child by Claus deWerve -  c. 1439

 The Virgin and Child is by Mino daFiesole - c. 1466

The Bodhisattva Guan Yin from the late 10th. Century, China.

    Guan Yin or Avalokitesvara in Tibet and parts of China is one of the most highly regarded "Saints" in Buddhism. 'Saint' is a rather loose term to define Bodihisattva, as they are "Awakened" individuals, usually dead, who chose to be helpers to those who are still on the Path to Enlightenment by their available presence to those who seek them.

       (Japanese, Kannon, Kanzeon; Chinese –Guan Yin or Kuan Yin or Guanshiyin; Tibetan, Spyan-ras-gzigs; Vietnamese, Quan-am)

   Among the Bodhisattvas, it is Avalokitesvara who has the largest number of forms and is perhaps the most venerated and most popular Buddhist deity. His sex, originally masculine, is sometimes considered feminine in China and Japan, although this discrimination is unsupported by any canonical text. And was often considered in China and Japan as the 'mother of the human race' and, in this respect, worshipped in the form of a woman.

   

Peace until next week,

                    

                            Bill Lagerstrom