Thinking about Stillness_ and Noticing

"Beauty Arises In The Stillness Of Your Presence

What you have just described is something that I have occasionally experienced for brief moments when I am alone and surrounded by nature.

Yes, Zen masters use the word satori to describe a flash of insight, a moment of no-mind and total presence. Although satori is not a lasting transformation, be grateful when it comes, for it gives you a taste of enlightenment. You may, indeed, have experienced it many times without knowing what it is and realizing its importance. Presence is needed to become aware of the beauty, the majesty, the sacredness of nature. Have you ever gazed up into the infinity of space on a clear night, awestruck by the absolute stillness and inconceivable vastness of it? Have you listened, truly listened to the sound of a mountain stream in the forest? Or to the song of a blackbird at dusk on a quiet summer evening? To become aware of such things, the mind needs to be still. You have to put down for a moment your personal baggage of problems, of past and future, as well as all of your knowledge; otherwise, you will see but not see, hear but not hear. Your total presence is required.
Beyond the beauty of the external forms, there is more here: something that cannot be named, something ineffable. some deep, inner, holy essence. Whenever and wherever there is beauty, this inner essence shines through somehow. It only reveals itself to you when you are present. Could it be that this nameless essence and your presence are one and the same? Would it be there without your presence? Go deeply into it. Find out for yourself.

When you experience these moments of presence, you likely didn’t realize that you were briefly in a state of no-mind. This is because the gap between that state and the influx of thought was too narrow. Your satori may have only lasted a few seconds before the mind came in, but it was there; otherwise, you would not have experienced the beauty. Mind can neither recognize nor create beauty. Only for a few seconds, while you were completely present, was that beauty or that sacredness there. Because the narrowness of that gap and a lack of vigilance and alertness on your part, you were probably unable to see the fundamental difference between perception, the thoughtless awareness of beauty, and the naming and interpreting of it as thought: the time gap was so small that it seemed to be a single process. The truth is, however, that the moment thought came in, all you had was a memory of it.

The wider the time gap between perception and thought, the more depth there is to you as a human being, which is to say the more conscious you are.

Many people are so imprisoned in their minds that the beauty of nature does not really exist for them. They might say, “What a pretty flower,” but that’s just a mechanical mental labeling. Because they are not still, not present, they don’t truly see the flower, don’t feel its essence, its holiness_ just as they don’t know themselves, don’t feel their own essence, their own holiness.

Because we live in such a mind-dominated culture, most modern art, architecture, music and literature are devoid of beauty, of inner essence, with very few exceptions. the reason is that the people who created those things cannot_ even for a moment_ free themselves from their mind. So they are never in touch with that place within where true creativity and beauty arise. The mind left to itself creates monstrosities, and not only in art galleries. Look at our urban landscapes and industrial wastelands. No civilization has ever produced so much ugliness." _Eckhart Tolle, The Power of NOW, pgs. 96-98

A Work-In-Progress

I am the artist, and I am writing today to say that I am leaving the blogging world for awhile to return to my studio(s), at the same time that I am building a business.
Whether funders to support my dreams out in the world, show up when those resources are needed, one moves forward with one's own life-vision regardless.
Human consciousness is still in its infancy... people of all stripes must be convinced first that something or someone is a sure thing, or a safe bet. Here is where you have been invited to get acquainted with my soul, and yet_ on that level of universality, the habit of clinging to surety first, reveals so much about the lack of conscious development around true personal power. This habit pattern is rampant in the world. Here in living one's own life, is where one truly finds heaven. Here is paradise_ as I am saying, that reality is about conscious awareness in THIS life, not the next. Not a one is here to remain stuck in fear or ignorance.

I am a creative builder of my own life. It is a story or a living example of hope and inspiration, for my tools built over fifty-two years, come out of my own belief in self. There has been no other adult, and no money in twenty years, yet I did come from means before choosing the long road of social and (thus) material consequences. Consequences that have contributed to, and compounded financial and social poverty. Is this blame? Even experiencing the social version of that, there is no blame from me... Accountability, yes.
I am an honestly spoken, and direct person. Want more historical context for this development? Imagine the urgent immediacy of poverty with a child, and a beloved and devoted dog. Now, include consciousness from before birth, that has always been oriented to a deeply internal yearning for truth in the center of these conditions, and marry them to an instinctive search for the clarity of healthy love out in the world. Stir in isolation with said child, and dog, create art, go to therapy groups, passionately cook organic food from scratch for pleasure, and nutritional health. Add bouts of homelessness while maintaining the same personal standards with child, and dog in shelter systems... dog sometimes in the car, keep up a car, vigilantly deal with exposure to lice, three different times.
Well, you can begin to get the picture. Over-whelming? You bet. Ever give up? Not an option. Low moments? Like Bonnie Raitt in essence said, "even the strong get sad, lonely, and in need of a friend."
What I have described is just a momentary flashback of some instances in the early years_ 'cause there was also home schooling, earning my own four-year degree... but those are details for paintings, and another round of true life-stories on other journaling occasions.
Today, I am putting into context here in my journal, that I am taking some time for myself, to focus as I said on building a business centered in my art making and in the health modalities needed to live well. This building process will involve finding a day job, (keep all shame, insecurity, defense about the nature, and definition of work to yourself. Consciously WORK on that, then we can talk.), as I was saying_ covering the day-to-day, reestablishing home base in the very near future, producing creative and healing work again in two different sorts of studio environments, establishing a new community rapport from each of those studio disciplines, for volunteerism and remuneration, when I figure out where that new socio-economic/ geographic setting is going to be. Finding other similarly-disciplined artists, and cultivating a social circle. Here's my ideal social circle: a group of about twelve people who do all kinds of things with healthy passion_ who share one of them as a close-knit group_ the passion of healthy, organic cooking! Yeah, I know, don't limit yourself. Healthy and organic is the focus.
So, a circle of twelve people bound by their similar passions for cooking well_ who regularly cook together. Sharing food! Love, not necessarily sexually, with each other, just love, family, life, and all the grey areas in between, where those lives intersect always over the preparation of good food, together. Is this a description for friends? Is that a real question here? Trust yourself.

So, in the middle of dreaming, envisioning, writing it all out_ the point (for the third time) is that I am leaving the blog/post maintenance for perhaps the summer while I establish, and situate myself in the next chapter of my adult life. This summer, is my passage to a more adult-centered life-experience for a change... and never separate from my familial ties and responsibilities.
You drop me a line now, for a change. Tell us all what you have liked about my blog. Explore it's linked resources in depth. I invite you to write here, what you think, what you each feel? How you have responded to this blog in particular? To my art work? In essence, journal here yourself while I am gone_ that will be exciting to return to.

Only two ground rules in this space: (1)_ clear and vigilant self-respect, while always speaking your truth on any subject important to you, and (2)_ DO so (self-respectfully), without attachment or aversion. Am I repeating myself?!

Namasté

Sensuous Calla Lily, acrylic on paperboard