Adventures in the sleepy town of Sandusky, Ohio. A small town on the southern edge of Lake Erie, a former bustling industrial and fishing port that is re-inventing itself as a resort town. It has come a long way and will soon be the tourist magnet they hope to become with industrial spaces being converted into lakefront condos and shops, eateries etc galore. And they seem to be making a fine effort at restoring/preserving some of the old historic buildings downtown. But for now enjoy some of the remaining grunge of spaces in transition. As a soundtrack click “play” on this wonderful instrumental song, SANDUSKY, by Uncle Tupelo
The dance of life…loss… and the life that remains.
…the dance goes on….
A beautiful song and video.
Enjoy by “ABOVE THE CLOUDS OF POMPEII” BY BEARS DEN
I’ve never heard this singer before. I love her voice and the video is amazing. It is shot in an abandoned structure which is in my opinion the perfect backdrop for fado and it’s sense of Saudade (beautiful sadness) it’s the feeling I get when I photograph in these places. Enjoy This video by Katia Guerreiro – “Ate ao fim” (Until the end)
…of course… what did you expect?…It seems that whenever I start making lists…I can’t help but incorporating the items on the list into images. So far in this series I have about thirty items on the list (only twenty which I’ve posted on this blog). So it seemed natural to start creating backgrounds for these “sayings”.
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I am planning on publishing these in book form late 2016 after I get the images completed.
I even have a tentative book cover for the new book. The color for this cover was deliberately kept in the gray tones. It is inspired by a quote from a Greek artist;
“GREY IS THE COLOR OF OUR TIME”
~ JANNIS KOUNELLIS
…and now the continuing list of…TRUISMS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM.
Common sense is now uncommon.
Theft is merely another form of financial management
and economic opportunity.
Weakness is celebrated more than strength
Conscience is optional
In a world of competing priorities
Everything is URGENT!
You must TAKE rest,
Rest will not be given to you
Emancipate the silence!
More sight, less thought
Nature WILL BE the last terrorist
[and nature ALWAYS wins!]
Values
stated, re-stated,
and re-stated yet again;
need not be
practiced.
Options are valued
more than wise choices
******************************************
This is from an ongoing list of trends in behavior and values observed in the new millennium.
The first part of this list was posted on this blog March 5,2015 and like the previous list…
…to be continued….
This blog includes a lot of light and dark spots. Life is full of light and dark. While yesterdays post may have seemed darker. Today’s post is much lighter and inspirational. Enjoy.
After viewing the video. I couldn’t help but think that this example in the video is what the true mission of Jesus Christ was all about. I believe this because of What he said (when he was quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah,
The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the lords favor.
~ Isaiah 61:1,2 & Luke 4:18,19
This video provides an example that fulfills all those things mentioned. Think about it.
It’s not about religion. It’s about life changes outside religion.
“And those who were seen dancing
were thought to be insane
by those who could not hear the music.”
~ Nietzsche
“We might say that both the artist and theneurotic bite off more than they can chew,
but the artist spews it back out again and chews it over in an objectified way, as an external, active, work project…”
~ Ernest Becker
Stendhal Syndrome: “A dominant impulse on encountering beauty is to wish to hold on to it, to possess it and give weight in one’s life…There is an urge to say, ‘I was here, I saw this, and it mattered to me.” ~ Alain de Botton
“The artist takes in the world, but instead of being oppressed by it,
he reworks it in his own personality and recreates it in the work of art.”
~ Ernest Becker
“Man cannot endure his own littleness
unless he can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level” ~ Ernest Becker
And if you haven’t seen the film, OVER YOUR CITIES, GRASS WILL GROW – then I strongly encourage you to do so. Find it wherever you can. It is a stunning experience and a look into the mind and process of Anselm Kiefer. Here’s the trailer:
So I have been a fan of so-called performance art for quite a long time. It is part theater, music, writing, dance and philosophy.
I first got interested in performance art when I first saw Laurie Anderson on her “Home Of The Brave” tour. My life was forever changed. So I am pleased to announce this new artist, Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen, who I’ve never heard of before. For fans of aforementioned Laurie Anderson, Exene Cervenka, Meredith Monk, Robert Wilson, Grace Jones, etc.
I don’t know why but this morning I wrote in my journal some thoughts about dying. Thinking about how we as survivors sometimes make dying so difficult for those who ARE dying. And I wonder if technology is not causing more suffering in our ability to hold on to the dying for longer periods of time – in essence, not allowing them to be free.
When we die:
It’s not important what we believe when we die. It is important that we are at peace with what we believe.
If we doubt our belief, death can be a time of great suffering. And survivors are often keen on making sure the dying person believes the same as they believe – so the survivors may be at peace. But that is incredibly selfish and foolish. At time of death, it is the survivors responsibility to make sure he dying person is peace with their own beliefs – their own mind. It needs to be ALL ABOUT the dying person – not the survivor.
How do we, as survivors, smooth the way for those who are dying? How do we smooth the way to pass from this life to the next – or from one state of being to the next? Do we make it easier to slip out of this mortal coil – to free the spirit? Or, does our own suffering take precedence over the person who is dying?
Do we use technology to hold on those who are dying? If we tell doctors to do, “everything within their power” to ease the physical suffering of the individual does that just provide an illusion for the survivor that the dying person is at peace? Is medicine and technology always the best answer? Who ultimately benefits from medicine and technology – the survivor or the dying?
Death is about letting go for those who are dying and for the survivors. Here are some great thoughts on letting go and learning to let go.
One of my favorite artists. Enjoy The Divine Comedy’s LEAVING TODAY. A very poignant song considering the subject of today’s post. Listen to the lyrics as if it is a dying person saying goodbye.
and after the goodbyes have been said….TONIGHT WE FLY….the spirit of the dead survives and can be celebrated by the living in new appreciation of the life that was and the life that remains.
An Octet of B&W nature abstracts. Images are simply titled RIVER AND ICE I-VIII. Enjoy these Winter abstracts. And here is a soundtrack for these images.
A great lecture. I’ve been a fan of Naomi Klein ever since her books NO LOGO and SHOCK DOCTRINE. This lecture, based on her new book, soon to be a feature documentary film, called THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING. I have to admit that when she talks about fossil fuel companies that I actually work for one of those companies. But our company is exploring wind, biomass, water and solar energy and recently purchased a large Utah – based solar energy generation facility and is adding solar-powered projects. Is the change happening fast enough? Probably not because here in the US there is still little political will and even outright denial that the environment is a concern of the “fringe elements”(i.e. minority) of the population. So without further a-doo I hope you enjoy this lecture by Naomi Klein.
(feel free to skip past the first 5 minutes of introductions).
Has anyone stopped to think that this is exactly what Terrorists want?
Polarization
Solidification
Determination
Reactionary rigidity
A fight
Terrorism CANNOT be prevented
Terrorism CANNOT be fought
Terrorism CANNOT win
Terrorism CAN BE overcome!
Sure people who commit criminal acts should be prosecuted.
But to increase military, police, surveillance is counter-productive.
Profiling an entire group of people under suspicion for the acts of a few is very Hitlerian.
A totalitarian state is what the Terrorists want. Don’t give in to totalitarianism in the name of security.
There is no security in life.
Our politicians, political, military and law enforcement leaders need to completely rethink their
approaches to so-called terrorism.
We need to also ask ourselves about media reporting of these events? Is there bias? How does the media use language that generalizes and therefore seems to implicate a larger group which then seems to make the problem larger than it is?
The biggest problem is that people try to understand (and fight) terrorism as if it were some sort of war between states. But terrorism (as it has come to be known) is nothing more than the criminal acts of a few individuals.
Terrorism by its nature cannot be predicted.
If you try to predict terrorism you end up with a society where people are convicted of crimes before a crime is created. We are getting closer and closer as a society to what sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick called “thought crime” in his excellent story, MINORITY REPORT (also a good movie).
How is terrorism overcome?
I think the best advice (which should be used by politicians, military, law enforcement and prison officials) comes from someone who lived a couple thousand years ago.
“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two! When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him.
“You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor — and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? ~ Jesus, The Christ (Matthew 5:38-46)
That will be the way terrorism is overcome. Again, terrorism will happen – it cannot be prevented but it can be overcome.
MESSAGES FROM THE FUTURE #42
I’M YOUR HOPE
WHAT YOU’VE BECOME
Sure, everyone is praying for the “victims” which is good. But what about the boys who committed these crimes? Are you praying for them to or do you just think they “should get what’s coming to them”.
I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you pray FOR the boys who committed these crimes.
Don’t pray about them, pray FOR them.
THE ENOCH CODEX
I have long been interested in language. The written and spoken word are abstractions of ideas. Spoken it is a “performance” but when “written” becomes “law”…. To get back to the original idea we must often deconstruct language. Irreverence is the highest form of art. Even language has a life cycle 🙂
Enjoy this…the music of Philip Glass from SYMPHONY NO. 5.
Track#3 – “The Creation Of Sentient Beings”
The image above is another work using my “visual glossolalia” approach to creating digital art. It is comprised of the text from seven different photos of signs etc. Added a couple of texture layers for effect.
About the Title. A codex is simply a book that was written on wood or papyrus etc – in a world before paper. Often a codex is affiliated with ancient and “dead” languages from which a code/law is documented. Who is Enoch? The first disappearing act in history?
Enoch walked with GOD; then he was no more, for God took him. ~ Genesis 5:24 (JPS)
It’s interesting that in these early accounts of lineage in the bible all other descendants of Adam are listed as having “died”. Only Enoch is listed as “was no more…for God took him.”
There are other stories of “magical” disappearances like the later story of Elijah(Eliyahu) in 2 Kings 2:11, “Eliyahu went up into heaven in a whirlwind.” and even the ascension of Jesus (Yeshua) in Mark 16:19, “So then, after he had spoken to them, the Lord Yeshua was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.” It may be loosely related to the story in acts of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:39) where “the spirit of the lord snatched Philip away.”
All these disappearances in the Bible. But Enoch was the first. What happens when the meaning of text disappears and all that is left is the text itself? Can it still be understood? Is one meaning replaced with another? And when this happens how can we be sure of the right meaning? This is something that also happens with translation where the meaning of something is changed when the language is changed from one cultural context to another.
What do you think?
“Language is a virus from outer space.” ~ William S Burroughs
That we CAN have a relationship directly with you.
In this way he was the door, the gate,
Through which your spirit that dwells within us
Has been awakened.
We thank you for this awakening that removes all Hindrance
Even if that separation is political, social, religious
And now we thank you for this meal
And time of togetherness between family and friends
We bless this meal in the name of Jesus
That it may give us physical strength and stamina
We bless you that you may give us the mental and spiritual strength and stamina
To be a blessing to others we come in contact with;
Removing all wrong perceptions
In Jesus name, Amen.
I believe the best prayers are not prayers of thanks and requests (or to use consumerism terms – supply and demand). The best prayers are when we pray what we believe – not what we want or hope for. For example when we pray the Lords prayer do we hope these things are true that are mentioned OR do we really believe them? And how do we believe them?
Maybe some day I’ll dissect and expound on the Lords prayer specifically.
But for now – Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy one of my favorite Christmas songs.
I was there when the crows awoke
I’d seen them the night before
Flocking to nearby trees
Under cover of night
A whole murder of crows
Ominous shadows filling up tree branches
As if the trees were in full bloom
Large black blossoms
Shimmering with city light
In the winter’s night air
Now at daybreak
I was there when the crows awoke
Their cawing and chattering so loud
Drowning out the sounds of morning rush hour
…and then…
With excited whispering wings
took flight and were gone
Only the rumble and buzz of morning traffic remains.
***background: I live in the city. And we have a lot of old trees still standing. Of course all the leaves are gone now. I was watching an old silent movie on TV and out of the corner of my eye saw perpetual shadows flickering past my windows. Finally my curiosity got the best of me. I went to the windows and saw the trees filled with hundreds of crows… their arrival continued for at least a couple of hours. Of course I didn’t think to move my car which, although not directly under the trees was close enough for the birds to leave their “mark”. When I went out to my little blue car in the morning it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting with streaks, smears, splats and lines of crow droppings in white, yellow and brown as well as small twigs that had fallen from the trees. What a mess. All-n-all it was a magical experience and worth a trip to the car wash. 🙂
“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” ~ Jesus [Matthew 7:3-5 NASB]
I’ve been trying to get the logs out of my own eyes for years – and will probably keep working on it for the rest of my life. It’s funny how easily our perceptions are blocked [log-jammed] and muddied by emotions. Emotions are a fact of being human – and self-control of those emotions is key. I find it interesting that one of the characteristics of “love” in the Bible is “self-control” but that characteristic is seldom preached – maybe because it’s difficult to look at oneself with the critical eye of awareness. Many people seek to control others and define their happiness in that context.
I’ve read a lot of wisdom literature over the years and have found (even in my own experience) that happiness is fleeting. Happiness is fickle. Happiness is something people constantly strive for only to see it slip through their fingers like sand. So what do we do when we aren’t happy? If we are seldom happy is that a bad thing? How do we cope, or what emotion is happiness replaced with when it skips merrily on its way?
I have found that happiness is the wrong thing to focus on (contrary to what all those self-help gurus say) When we are happy we naturally relax and enjoy the moment. But once it’s gone we immediately try to re-capture, control, and try to manipulate external circumstances to get back to that happiness state. Many people, unfortunately, despair and long for past happiness (“I remember when….”). But this is the mistake.
THE DREAM:
On September 29, 2014 I woke up early from a dream I had. I wrote the dream in my journal. I thought I knew what it meant – turns out it has multiple applications (for me). Now for the dream:
In my dream I was fighting a fierce dragon. It was boastful, conniving, cruel and threatening. I only had a sword. The dragon didn’t have to move around a lot. It was so much bigger than me it just seemed to mock me as I searched for its weak point. The dragon started to yawn and I seized the moment to go for the mouth. With one eye open the beast snapped its jaws down on my sword and with iron like strength just held on. I couldn’t move that sword no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t going to let go either because the sword was my only weapon. We were at stalemate. Neither one willing to budge. I decided that instead of pulling the sword out – an impossible task – I would try the opposite and push it further in. I pushed with all my might and with a snicker the dragon opened it’s jaws wide and I went tumbling into its mouth. With one self-satisfied gulp the beast swallowed me. Inside I could hear echoes of its satisfied, mocking laughter. It all happened so fast, and caught me by surprise. I was tumbling down its steamy, moist throat just trying to get my bearings on the long journey despairing of my loss and my situation. I came to an opening which I presumed to be the dragons stomach and expected to be digested and totally consumed. Instead I noticed in this opening, fresh air, a breeze, sunshine the sound of birds and children laughing. It was a whole other universe. Familiar yet different. I saw clear skies and saw people enjoying themselves just like the world I had come from. It was magical and different – somehow better. I just stood in wonder and amazement asking myself who had really won – the dragon or myself and its other victims?
LOST HAPPINESS:
So what do you do when happiness is gone? What is the cause of your unhappiness? What emotions replace happiness? Anger, envy, jealousy, bitterness, fear, hatred or despair? Maybe it’s a combination of these emotions. How do you deal with these darker emotions? I recently (again) have lost my happiness at work. In fact I would say I hate my job. It is not the job I was hired to do. And after some corporate restructuring things seem to have gone “haywire” and all akimbo. I’ve dreaded going to work and have been stressed, frustrated and angry. So I have some decisions to make. Do I look at the situation and blame management, the union, or other people for the loss of my happiness? Or, do I look at myself? Do I look at my blocked perception and try to “fix” myself instead of something I can’t possibly win against?
On November 14, 2014 I wrote in my journal:
All things come to an end. But when one thing ends another begins. Happiness never lasts forever. When happiness is gone, what replaces it? Is the thing that replaces happiness worse than the thing that displaced happiness in the first place? I’ve been fortunate to know happiness in the past. Now that happiness is gone – do I get to choose what replaces it?
Initially I interpreted the dream as: whether I am facing an enemy or adversity I will remember the dragon. Because whether I fight or surrender the outcome is the same. One life is merely changed for another. I live on either way.
And I keep a small note on my computer monitor at work now with the words “remember the dragon.” This has helped in my work situation. I can see that the dragon is my work environment. And since I’m in the belly of the beast It may not be as bad as I thought. This interpretations definitely works on one level but I came to realize some other things.
With my understanding of the dream and recent questions of happiness I started asking questions about the perceived source of my unhappiness. The questions themselves began to evolve.
Do I need to look for another job? Yes. What will I do? At 54 I don’t even know anymore. There’s nothing I “want” to do. Nothing I need to prove anymore. What kind of work can I do? Same as above Can I do the job I have now? Absolutely! Is there benefit to the job I have now? Yes, I can eat and pay bills. What would the consequences be for taking another job with another company? Answer: most likely, based on past experience, starting at lower pay than I’m making now and eventual dis-satisfaction. Do I need to look for another job? No
When I was in my teens, 20’s and even my 30’s I thought I could, would and wanted to change the world. Now that I’m in my mid 50’s I realize I can only change myself. Change my perceptions. It’s been a long difficult road and I’m sorry for any harm I’ve done along the way.
So, back to work. When I realized I didn’t need to look for another job the next task became – how to survive my current work situation. I remembered that happiness is fleeting. Happiness is not a requirement and need not be a benefit of doing a good job. There will always be times I hate my job. And having “processed” all this before I went to work yesterday – it changed my whole day. Work was the same, all haywire and akimbo but I had changed. I was less stressed and when things were “thrown at me” (figurative) I may have been frustrated or even angry but I quickly got over it and moved on. I stopped seeing the company, management, union, co-workers as those who were making my life miserable. And realized they were just doing their job with their own frustrations, stress etc. It was all ‘n all a good day which is about all I can hope for until happiness returns. Just being less stressed made such a HUGE difference. I’m not perfect so I suspect on Monday I’ll have to remind myself again about this lesson.
CONCLUSION:
While happiness seems to have escaped me and things may not be pleasant right now – the good news is, I believe that happiness, being fickle, will return. And I will enjoy it when it does. In the meantime I know that I can be less stressed, less angry, less frustrated, less fearful, less hateful and more tolerant at work. While I may have removed only a “splinter” from my own perceptions – there are plenty of logs (wrong perceptions) left for me to work on. All by the grace of God.
Thanks for reading. I hope it may benefit someone.
... on being and becoming ... 