The Nature of the Struggle

 

“Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.”
― G.I. Gurdjieff

 

We strike at our own shadows and then imagine they strike back. Oh we give these shadows names. We name them after people we believe slighted us or events that we could not control. Of course what drew those people to us in the first place. They came to express that part of ourselves we keep hidden away, that part that we need desperately to face and yet will avoid at almost any cost. Funny how often we consider them foe or nemesis when in reality they are perhaps kinder than any lover could ever be. For who else can show us so clearly what we most need to work on?
Blessings, G

 

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Daliesque Snake DanceDaliesque Snake Dance by G A Rosenberg

 

Red Detail Daliesque Snake DanceRed Daliesque Snake Dance Detail by G A Rosenberg

Abundance, Appreciation & Gratitude

 

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
― Anthony Robbins

 

In the past when I’ve heard the word abundance, I thought of it as being an embarrassment of riches. As much money as I might want to have, as much great tasting healthy food as I might want to eat and all my needs taken care of. In that I was at least half right. It does mean having as much as is needed or wanted yet its amazing how much the scale slides down. If I can learn to appreciate and savour a walk in the evenings with my dogs or a conversation with either an old friend or someone new and interesting than the definition of an abundant amount of entertainment changes quite quickly. If I stay active and put effort into enjoying my life (even the less than fun parts) then I am less likely to look to food to fill my time or elevate my mood and so the amount of food needed to have abundance changes. If I am grateful for everything that comes my way in life then the chances of me slowing down long enough to experience it increases and I realize that with relatively little, I can be abundantly satisfied
Blessings, G

 

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Rising of the ForceRising of the Force by G A Rosenberg

 

Moving ForwardMoving Forward by G A Rosenberg

Accepting What’s Offered (Handscape Redux)

 

Life’s road has brought me
often through rough terrain
Accept gratitude

 

A slight reworking of my first attempt at digital art. I feel so grateful and appreciative for where this road has taken me and for the support and encouragement of everyone here. Blessings, G

 

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Handscape (r)

“Sometimes I think I must have a Guardian Idiot. A little invisible spirit just behind my shoulder, looking out for me…only he’s an imbecile”
— Spider Robinson

 

Most of us can relate. We have so many near misses in our lives. Times when it feels like life has taken a wrong turn only to find out that that wrong turn saved us from a far worse one if we had zigged instead of zagged. I remember fights with my parents that resulted in me moving out first from my mother’s to my father’s then from my father’s to staying with friends. Stupid fights yet looking back they happened at just the right time to stop conflicts from getting worst. Hitting my head that time and almost knocking myself out. It kept me home that night that one friend got killed and another arrested. Perhaps I needed that hit in the head. Still I have to say that sitting here in my office writing this with loved ones upstairs, I have to say my guardian idiot has done more than a bit ok. I am truly grateful.
Blessings, G

 

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Synaptic CircuitSynaptic Circuit by G A Rosenberg

 

THresholdDweller by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 21 2013

“The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

I love being alive at this time on this planet!!! I am so thankful for it. In this moment I feel joy and a sense of satisfaction. That doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the million of injustices that go on at any given time nor that I don’t feel the pain of others. Pain and joy are not exclusive of each other and allowing myself to celebrate each moment does not negate compassion. Indeed it gives me the strength to help others and the drive to find opportunities to do so. Compassion feeds compassion and it spreads like a virus… So does joy.
Blessings, G

 

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Cool Inversion Mandala smCrown Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Sometimes the Path ObscuredSometimes the Path Obscured, and Then the Road is Cleared by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – January 28 2013

“Just as anyone who listens to the muse will hear, you can write out of your own intention or out of inspiration. There is such a thing. It comes up and talks. And those who have heard deeply the rhythms and hymns of the gods, can recite those hymns in such a way that the gods will be attracted.”
― Joseph Campbell

 

So it seems I won’t be talking about heroes tonight as much as what it means to state your intention in such a way that it can be heard by both our internal gods and the universe. Magicians write their intentions out as sigils and burn them thus planting a seed that will be watered by the force of their passion and how close it is in harmony with their inner beings. Others just put it forth in meditation.
I wanted to understand as many viewpoints as possible and wrote it. I built the intention and they came and shared with me their views. I listened and asked questions and came to understand with my heart their mythos and how it connected us. I opened myself and sometimes I saw with a clarity that I never believed I possessed.
I wanted to write and make art where I had very rarely drawn a straight line. I wrote poetry and wanted to illustrate what I wrote. Now three years and a couple of thousand pictures later, I find my art in demand..
Now I set forth an intention for self-honesty and inner harmony. Well, the universe has always been better to me than I ever would have asked. I am grateful.
Blessings, G

 

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Boat Race
Boat Race by G A Rosenberg

 

Alien Ink Blot
Alien Ink Blot by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – December 25 2012

“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin

Dear Spirit of the Season (commonly known as Santa),
What an amazing year it’s been since we’ve last talked. Thank you so much for the magic that I found in my stocking last Christmas morning. It was a small thing but watered with Dreams and Intent grew into a wonderful fire of the imagination.
It allowed me to imagine myself inside the heads and hearts of others and taught me further lessons on the difference between sympathy and compassion and how to truly help others.
It taught me to see the world in different ways than I was raised to see it and how to break free of my conditioned upbringing and understand the world that much better..
It allowed me to stretch my mind to accept that many more views of how the world work and look at each of them critically
It gifted me with the ability to convey my visions in art and writing….
So for this and many gifts that came from that one seed of imagination
Thanks…
I can’t wait to see what comes this year…
Some requests:
Greater understanding felt by all. Sometimes feeling understood is all that’s needed to be able to give it to others.
That everyone at some time feel hugged and loved at least once a day.
That the world leaders smarten up and step down and the world’s followers realize that they don’t need leaders.
Most of all that we realize we’re all in this together
Sincerely,
G
Blessings, G

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Solstice with the triple goddessSolstice Campfire With The Triple Goddess by G A Rosenberg
Journey Mandala
Journey Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – December 24 2012

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
― Carl Jung

 

Interpersonal alchemy is quite possibly my favourite kind. Meeting someone with a whole new set of values and intricacies, who has learned to deal with their lives in totally different ways than I have. Someone with whom in both qualities I enjoy and qualities I don’t will show me a fun house mirror of myself that we will both have to accept for things to continue. Of course I will be showing them the same. But in the relationship, a new kingdom waits to be explored..
Blessings, G

 

On a somewhat heavier personal note, my mother-in-law tonight faced some medical complications bravely. She was operated on and it looks like she will pull through just fine. I am grateful to the universe. As cliched as it sounds, hold your loved ones tight, you never know when your mutual exploration of each other’s country will come to an end…..
 

 

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Crystal Blue Persuasion

Generator by G A Rosenberg

 

Amonite Persian RugAmmonite Persian Rug by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – November 6 2012

“You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability–to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.”
— Dan Millman

 

Most of the time when we refer to someone as being lucky in love, we mean that they have had happy and successful relationships. Perhaps and regrettably the phrase is used more often than not in negation, talking about someone’s lack of love.  Yet to me every chance I have to love brings fortune especially if I can enter into it with little or no expectations, especially that of having my love reciprocated.

What an amazing gift of the universe, this ability to feel the essentiality of another person and to truly value them. The more we can love, the more we can appreciate the gift that the other person is and the more people whom we can love the greater the gift.

With deepest gratitude, blessings and love, G

 

Lost in an Opalescent Landscape by G A Rosenberg

 

Braving the Elements by G A Rosenberg

Blooming Deserts Redux

You found my existence empty
dry and meaningless and
with your presence
you made my dessert bloom
so that now its teaming with life
Where before I thought I knew it all
each moment brings new discoveries
Gratitude for the joy you bring

 

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The Desert Blooms While the Moon Shows Her Face by G A Rosenberg