Month: July 2012

Quote of the Day – July 25 2012

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”
― Paulo Coelho, Alchemist

Poetry in art
art in poetry
Beings and patterns request expression
and I do my best
rhymes, rhythms, colour form
They all spin through me
a poor man’s Rumplestilskin
if not spinning gold
than pretty dross
and floss

 

If sometime beauty is formed
or an idea that you take home
then it is not i
but the one who spins me
on the universal loom
in love with love and through love
part of the eternal tapestry
–G A R

Blessings, G

 

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Spirit of Memory and Change by G A Rosenberg

 

Another Great Compassion Quote w/ Art

“In the face of selfishness, wonder what it might be like to walk the world with a feeling of lack, of depletion.

In the face of insults, consider where this person first learned that it’s okay to abuse others.

In the face of disconnection, think about what causes it, and ask if your response will widen the river between the two of you.

In the face of laziness, recognize the fear of living big dreams.

In the face of extremism or fundamentalism, see the clinging, as well as the terror-filled silence that would arise for that person if they risked letting go.

In the face of controlling behavior, understand the chaos that must have bred it.

In the face of ‘always needing to be right,’ see how often this person was once made wrong.

In the face of arrogance or bravado, hold gently that still, small piece that says “I’m not enough.”

In the face of drama or attention-seeking, see the person who wishes so much to be seen.

In the face of accusation, imagine what it might be like to live life with suspicion.

In the face of judgement or comparisons, step into the opportunity the world has just provided you for practicing love and acceptance.

In the face of passive-aggressiveness, recognize the child that wasn’t taught a safe way to express their truth.

In the face of anger, see the pain of isolation from others.

MOST IMPORTANTLY; In the face of ferocious hatred, believe in the possibility that there exists the potential for equally as big, intense, lovely and fiery ferocious love.”

– Kate Swoboda.

Sometimes its important to realize that at our core, we share a common humanity and a common heart. It is those who forget this, who insist that they are different, better, chosen, more deserving that tend to cause the problems. How many of them believe that because it is what they were conditioned to believe? It does not make evil selfish actions condonable but it does make them easier to understand. Many of us know how difficult it is to break early negative conditioning.
Blessings, G

 

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Nested by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 24 2012

“for there is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels with someone, for someone, a pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.” ― Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

If we only focus on the positive do we ignore the voices that cry out in pain? Do we say to a child dying of starvation, “You just need to change your attitude and imagine yourself well fed and the Law of Attraction will make it happen”? Can we ignore evil going on in front of us because we aspire to something better? “How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?” Are all these questions ‘blowing in the wind’?
I believe compassion and love to be two of the most important qualities that we need to develop in ourselves in order to grow and evolve. I believe compassion to be developed by feeling and when possible healing the pain of others, definitely understanding it and that cannot happen by only focusing on the positive. There is so much suffering going on in the world today and so much healing needed. Understanding the causes of this pain and suffering is necessary otherwise we are just treating symptoms.
Life on this physical plane tends to be a balancing act. One of the tougher balancing points for me is between perceiving the world from the lens presented above  and the lens presented last night. It may be one of the tougher balances but any way I look at it one of the most necessary ones.
Blessings, G

 

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Ghost in the Machine by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 23 2012

“The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pendants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

 

I’m blue-skying it tonight again, talking randomly around a topic with the hopes of fitting it together with something later tho I’m not really attached to it so much.  It seems like a lot of us are attached to evil. We try to look at who or what is behind the evil on our planet. We point it out so everyone can properly disapprove and be aware of it. I have many friends and acquaintances who consider themselves ‘truthers’ and who put a lot of work into making people aware of everything from ‘What really happened in NY on 9/11/01 and who was behind it’ to ‘Who is running and ruining the show today?’ to so much else.

These questions do have import and I am assuredly NOT advocating sticking out heads in the ground but it seems to me that it is becoming more and more of a tar baby situation in that the more we strike out at these truths and identifying these evils, the more attached we become to them. I find the prospect that the more we focus on these evils, the more power we give them in people’s minds if nothing else. Also, the more we focus on the negative, the more we lose sight of the good things, the things that keep us going and growing like love, joy and compassion.  They seem so simple compared to  descriptions of what greed, fear, bigotry and exceptionality are doing to this planet on a daily basis. Look at our social media for example. How many postings, blog entries and tweets do you read a day talking about either negative things happening politically or socially? How many do you read each day that illustrates something beautiful happening or showing how to give someone an amazing back rub or talking about a random act of kindness that someone did for a total stranger? Which would you rather find more interesting? Which would you rather attract in your life?
Blessings, G

 

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Guardians by G A Rosenberg

 

Wheeled Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 22 2012

““I will follow my instincts, and be myself for good or ill.”
― John Muir

 

Internal Dialogue

 
“Tonight I add another blue sky piece to fit into the puzzle. ”
“What puzzle?”
“The puzzle of my understanding”
“Understanding of what?”
“Y’know life. the universe. everything”
“Ah that puzzle. OK what is it”
“The will to exceptionality
When each one of us (each being) is exceptional and has a purpose why do so many of us need to feel that we are ‘more special’ than anyone else?”
This goes beyond the personal to me (tho you wouldn’t believe how many people i have met who felt that they personally above all others were touched by God over the years)
it goes to the tribal, the ‘chosen’ people, Jehovah’s witnesses etc
all exceptional and all exclusive…
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this meme of late.
i get that we all need to feel recognized, valued like we have something unique to offer but why so often does that mean ‘I am special but all of you are not?’ It seems to be a symptom so i want to look at what the healthy model would be
it seems to look a lot like “we each have gifts unique to us that we share with each other’
This works on almost every level, individual, group, tribal, cultural, species, universal and yet why do so many people (and tribes) seem to feel that their gifts are diminished if they acknowledge those of others.
Aside from practicing it ourselves, how do we get to that healthy point?”
“I dunno, man”

 

To be continued (or should I say fit into place)….
Blessings, G

 

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Cave by G A Rosenberg

 

Indiglow by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 21 2012

“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.”
―Hannah Arendt

 

At times I worry that my art becomes too formulaic and then I realize that a lot more goes into even the Mandalas than I let myself believe at times. I was just describing to a friend who’s interested in possibly collaborating on a piece and I found myself surprised at how much I tend to tweak and move things around.

“The way I begin many of my pictures (not all but most of the mandala style ones and energy resonated ones) is to start with a photo or group of photos I like and start treating them to different filters, solarizing, HDR, droste, oil paint, daubs etc until I have hit on something that feels right, i then tend to mirror it horizontally and vertically, usually playing with filters and colours and then concentric-izing it into a mandala form (where i may do more playing around until it feels right)… i may also start or combine with fractal patterns etc… Brush work, erasure and cloning comes in at different points. It basically is finished when it feels finished.”

Just a bit of insight into at least how I approach at least one style of my art.
Blessings, G

 

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Yoga by G A Rosenberg

 

Heart’s Glow by G A Rosenberg

 

The Tower (Redux)

Expectations smashed
and hopes demolished
Cast down because I didn’t read the small print
I built my house of cards on shaky ground
Amazing how you can convince yourself
you know what’s real
I surrounded myself with illusion
ignoring the warning signs
Now that little kid truth has knocked it all down
Maybe next time i’ll look before I build again

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The Tower by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 20 2012

“I think the thing to do is enjoy the ride while you’re on it”
— Johnny Depp

 

I’m going to leave the question that I finished with last night “Who do you speak for?” open for a bit longer. I’ve received some really good responses and wish to hear from not only more of you but a bit more from myself because the answer to this question internally is one of the things I’ve been building up to for awhile. I will clarify in that the questions intent is for each of us to ask ourselves (well you all by invitation I’ve been asking myself) who do I represent? The answer seems paradoxically bigger and smaller at the same time than I first believed.

I have friends both online and off who tend to be hardcore fighters for justice. A few of them believe that it is wrong to show any enjoyment of our lives when so many are suffering. I can understand their point and I get it. I believe in helping as many people as possible as constructively as possible. However I feel I can do this just as well if not better by actively enjoying as many moments as I can. I find good humour to be contagious and nothing I can give to another seems quite as powerful as a genuine smile and good humour. I can and have walked around sullen and full of outrage and people go out of their way to avoid me. I can’t quite see the benefit in that. I can be more productive and do more good when I feel joy.
Blessings, G

 

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Invitation by G A Rosenberg

 

Spider Weaving Cosmic Web by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 19 2012

“I offer you peace. I offer you love. I offer you friendship. I see your beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in you. Let us work together for unity and love.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

 

Coming together
Enjoying harmony now
We create our space

 

We’ve found our way here
United in calm centre
eternity bubble

 

intense attraction
holds our joint attention here
happiness ensues

 

OK, when not sure how to say what I mean, writing in haiku helps loosen the stuck brain if nothing else and entertains the monkey mind. In this case I completed another tarot card and as has been happening more and more often the force of the card touched my life today. Harmony and ground work for the future kept coming up in my interactions with my family and friends and yet internally while drawn towards harmony my thoughts have felt disquieted. But then as far as cards go the four of wands and I have rarely been that close. That may sound a bit odd that I have different types of relationships with different cards and yet other readers and folks who work with the cards have told me its also true for them.

Perhaps this feeling of disquiet means that I need to get to know this force better. Perhaps some team building exercises might help or more involvement with group activities. I tend to live in my own head quite a bit so perhaps it may be time to do more with others.

 

On a different subject tho connections can be drawn, I leave those who read this with a question that has been on my mind quite a bit in the past few days. Who do you speak for?
Blessings, G

 

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Cycle-delic by G A Rosenberg

Four of Wands by G A Rosenberg