Showing posts with label Personal Transformation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal Transformation. Show all posts

Monday, February 2, 2009

Wabi sabi: Simple and Profound







Sustaining the feeling of intimacy and compassion amidst an imperfect, incomplete and impermanent universe has been the aesthetic goal of Wabi sabi objects. They are simple, rustic and often asymmetrical. Their beauty lies in the realization that nothing ever stays the same. A bright bouquet of flowers that was given to a loved one will soon become withered and unappreciated; the old stepping stones near the pond that you used to skip when you were a child are now chipped beyond recognition, dusty and old. Such is the feeling of Wabi sabi. It does not intend to be nostalgic, it is a simple reminder that all shall pass. All shall be transformed by time. For me is an appreciation of the moment. A deep sense of serenity permeates all Wabi sabi objects. It is like meeting an old sage in the woods, in the beach or in a lonely mountain trail.
Humble art suspended in time, slowly aging, slowly living...slowly dying.
It is us we see in these objects.

Note: Dry leaves by imagetaker!, metallic surface by gdnarch both in Flickr.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Days of Hope and Virtue






















It was a truly inspiring day. As I saw the great display of humanity between the Washington Obelisk and the Capitol, I imagined a great house welcoming all to share the same table. I felt very humble for the gifts I have received as a citizen of this great nation. I couldn't help but to shed a tear when in the midst of all the fanfare and protocol a brilliant quartet made of such luminaries as Yo Yo Ma, Itzak Perlman and Gabriela Montero performed the John Williams' evocative piece with the famous Copland refrains. I felt the dignity of freedom. Such are the times.

I have included the last paragraphs of President Obama's Inaugural speech as a reminder that we all posses the courage and commitment to construct a new society. This is a solemn day, full of promises and high hopes.

"...This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."
photos from top to bottom by: set, Miguel Valle Figuereido and il foto grafico.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A funny thing happened on my way to transformation

In the magical little gardens of my mind I found a jewel of a sign that read:

Abracadabra and fiddle-dee-dee,
my ego is outraged to see the new me
Abracadabra and hody-ho-ho,
my former neuroses, where did they go?
from Everyday Grace by Marianne Williamson
Is a magical spell for transformation.

The Pink Cowboy humbly asks:
Were they former new-roses ?

Friday, December 12, 2008

Meditation Insights: Perception












My eyes are not a camera. It will not be fair to present all the snapshots I have taken and pass them as reality. I do not intend to reason on the subject of what is reality. The definition of reality is a conundrum, a social discourse, an explanation. Truth is not a picture. Many times truth seems to be a construction, us being the supreme architects. Truth is to be held in your heart. I mean Truth not the presentation of truth. Not the definition of truth, which is flawed by the limitations of language. Perception is a gateway to understanding the mystery of truth. I perceive as a sentient being. I am limitless in my Higher Being. How could I define or contemplate truth as something stationary, solid....the truth is...... I hold to the mystery of Truth. The mystery of truth is a gift to the human mind. The mystery of Truth is a voyage. Dwelling in truth is dwelling in love. May my perception of life and all other things that are not life be perceived in the beautiful mystery of Truth. I embrace the voyage, I am on my way.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Meditation Insights: Darkness


Darkness is the ultimate generator of dreams and realities. I close my eyes, I dim my sight. I sit quietly in a dark corner of my living room. I am literally blindfolded. I breathe deeply and I go inside, indoors to a dark place full of possibilities. My mind reacts, it becomes restless. Impatient, I would say. The possibilities are endless. I get easily disoriented. I am back at the Mega store of dreams. An infinite numbers of items pass me by. Wishes, hopes, fears, disappointments. All responsible for my reality in the world. But I decide not to put any article in my cosmic shopping car, I am just browsing, window shopping. My meditation has taken me to a place of very little light but a lot of illumination. It is revealing truth in darkness, in a place with no name, with no preconceived notions or forms. I do not need the bright sun, nor do I need the raging fire. They could be distractions. I need silence, visual silence. To love the darkness as well as the light is to walk in balance, well rounded, complete. Funny, there are times where my greatest fears become ridiculous thoughts in the dark. My fear of abandonment becomes insolvent, bankrupt when I sit in universal darkness. I realize my interconnection with all. I could never be abandoned, I am with all. My resentments become senseless fantasies in the dark. Darkness erases away the forms and shapes of past rejections, perceived humiliations, downright indignation. No longer they have power over me for in darkness I have totally dismissed their foolery, their incoherence, their recurrent visitations. That strangest irrational paralyzing fear of not ever finding a significant other is diluted down to a muffled whimper. In darkness I recognize this master delusion, this Gordian knot. I see it clearly for what it is. A denial, a total divorce from my highest self. A misery play fed by my family and cultural upbringing to keep me in line, to clip my large wings, to keep me safe and secluded. I forgive them all. They too were afraid, frightened, scared of an overabundance of an unknown source of oxygen. In darkness I set myself free. I carry my darkness with me. It comes quite handy in glorious sunny days, in breathtaking sunsets, in warm summer nights. My darkness balances me out, it is a proofread, a Grammarian handbook, it corrects incongruity in my life, darkness gives me the full perspective, it sends me to the zenith of the mountain and dutifully shows me the countryside from the city, the trees from the rocks, the burning sensation of ice from the blinding light of the scorching sun. There are bright dark days after all.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Meditation insights: Kindness







Being kind frees your arms, your hands from grasping. I become obsessed with my desires and I become inflexible in achieving them. In my mind, once I have declared a wish, an attainable wish, I grasp ferociously to the idea. I devise endless plans and possibilities to achieve the goal. I create battlegrounds in the mind. I become the proverbial one man army. I defeat myself. A declaration of a wish is but a door to open and see if that is a sincere wish. I have found myself wishing for things, events, circumstances that belong to others, or at least have been suggested by others. It takes time to really recognize your real inner voice. Your inner voice is buried in the dim. Meditation is a beautiful silence. Is a peaceful walk into the forest. You might fight incredible treasures there. You must go in. There are no stop signs in the forest, no traffic lights, no weather stations. In the forest your only guidance is your soul, your universal soul. You walk by it. Kindness is the inner voice. Being kind to all creatures is bliss. Kindness is an integral part of the life force. Kindness is the outer expression of universal peace. Obsession is distrust of the flow of life (I will take care of this thing the universe is not giving me). Obsession is a tantrum, a senseless one at that. Open your arms. Give kindness a chance!