Edward Steichen 'Lotus' and Spirits search for itself

Edward Steichen 'Lotus' 1915

words from Parabola Magazine

“The struggle to know who I am, in truth and in spirit, is the spiritual quest. The movement in myself from the mask to the face, from the personality to the person, from the performing actor to the ruler of the inner chamber, is the spiritual journey,” wrote Ravi Ravindra in our Fall 2004 issue: The Seeker. "

These words remind me of the daily practice of unlayering what we put on the day before to be in the world, and then need to 'deconstruct' on a regular basis to find that deeper inner self again. And even though there is so much resistance, and one has to discipline oneself to do this it, it is the most 

nourishing and deeply restorative practice available, no matter what form it takes (eg Yoga, meditation,

prayer, journal writing etc etc).

elegance in the thick of it ~ South Sudan: The World's Newest Nation

(Steve Evans, photographer, click on image for link to Life Force Magazine, where I found this image)

How elegant is this beautiful woman from South Sudan?! Even though she's standing in front of a war machine, she holds her own in her beautiful subtle coloured drapery. The combination of prints, which

look like indigenous traditional patterns (but I don't know that for sure), the way she is standing, so feminine and graceful..

And there she is standing in front of the brutish looking tank, on dusty dry ground, probably barefoot (but I don't know that for sure either). Inspiring...

Edward Steichen's photograph of Marion Morehouse (Mrs e.e. Cummings)

This is surely an amazing moment in time! The photograph by Edward Steichen, the model is Mrs ee Cummings: Marion Morehouse; and the dress is by Louis Boulanger, and taken in 1926. I so wish I could take a time machine back to the twenties and thirties, the fashion, photography, art, design and architecture was extraordinary, especially when you compare it to the late nineteenth century, and Edwardian times, which were pretty interesting. Even the beginning of the awakening in Art Nouveau, however magnificent and iconoclastic at times, doesn't compare in my opinion.

BTW:Thanks to Gatochy on flickr for the shot...

Patrick Demarchelier invigorates and inspires

I was just browsing around some of the sites I've collected lately, 

just quietly in the late afternoon, suffering a little from what I call 

'late-afternoon-lag' (not unlike jet lag, only there's no excuse), 

when I came across these beautiful pictures of Patrick Demarchelier's, 

from his site. I felt like I'd drunk a strong espresso laced with theta frequencies

 and the delights of an image which just gets everything right in the fashion

 and photography stakes. And that's not even talking about the movement/dance 

Spiritual and physical expression!

sunset at North Pole, a rare and beautiful sight

This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point earlier this year.

A scene we will probably never get to see in person.

The sun is also below the moon, an amazing photo and not one easily duplicated.

I find this photograph quite hypnotic in its silvery beauty. It reminds me of a mystical

or sacred vision of some kind. It evokes quiet and profound thoughts and feels dreamy and

mysterious.

The surprise flowerings from my wandering jew cutting

"THOSE WHO WANDER ARE NOT NECESSARILY LOST" -- JRR Tolkien

I stole a little cutting of purple wandering jew from a garden in Brisbane, and brought it down to cold old Melbourne. I thought if I just put it in a sunny spot for a week or two in a glass of water, and let it acclimatize to the cold down here, that everything would just work out fine. Well, not only did it work out fine! It sprouted these tiny little beautiful flowers one after another for weeks. They'd only last a few hours, and then another one would come up two days later. I felt like I was being being showered with wandering jew blooms. A friend told me about how when plant is threatened with death it just throws out

as many of its flowers/seeds as it can. 

Happy 85th birthday Marilyn! ♡

She still brings tears to my eyes! When I was a child I thought she was a kind

of Goddess, and ofcourse she was. I was so inspired by her, and cried when

she was found dead in her Hollywood home. I realised all of a sudden that the

world I was living in couldn't accomodate someone as luminous, intelligent, funny

radiant and ofcourse vulnerable as Marilyn. This photo was taken by Cecil Beaton,

in my opinion, the master portrait photographer, amongst other things.