Form

Five Oaks 2013-7, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Form is the shape of content. 

Ben Shahn

Ready

RCC_1899, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

When we are ready,

God is more than ready.

N. Gordon Cosby

Connections

RIC_0968-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     Could a greater miracle take place than for us 
     to look through each other's eyes for an instant?

        Henry David Thoreau

The Mystery

Ghost Ranch 2 (2013, 7.23), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

All of us live in relation to mystery, and becoming conscious of that relationship 

can be a beginning point for a spiritual practice — whether we experience mystery in nature, 

in ecstatic love, in the eyes of our children, our friends, the animals we love, 

or in more strange experiences of intuition, synchronicity, or prescience.

Pat Schneider, How the Light Gets In

Touch

RIC_0506-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

To be touched, we must, in turn, touch.

Phil Cousineau, 

The Art of Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

Santa Fe 22 (2013, 7.17), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Pilgrimage is a transformative journey to a sacred Centre. 

Phil Cousineau, 

The Art of Pilgrimage

Blessings

Sunrise 5 (2013, 8.13), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Great spirit, father of us all,
Dear mother earth,
Combine your might
And use our love
To make this body whole,
For now and forever.

Judith Billings

Contemplation

RIC_0767-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Contemplation is a long loving look at the real. 

William McNamara

Discovery

Shadow on Brick Wall (9.16, '12), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     If we truly want to know the secret of soulful travel, 
     we need to believe that there is something sacred waiting 
     to be discovered in virtually every journey.

        Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage

Perspective

RC1_9577, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The particular, concrete image is the lens through which we see the world. 

Pat Schneider, How the Light Gets In

Meaning

Holy Spirit, Malawi, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Meaning transfigures all. 

Laurens van der Post

Seeing

RIC_7952-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

How do I know what I think until I see what I say? 

E. M. Foster

Art

RIC_6904-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Art does not reproduce what we see.
It makes us see.

Paul Klee

Reconciliation

Toronto 6 (2013, 9.4), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Making friends with our own demons
and their accompanying insecurity 
leads to a very simple, understated relaxation and joy. 

Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart

The Heart

RCC_7072, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

God wants the heart. 

The Talmud

Seeing

Arbor Award Ceremony 3, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Seeing comes from within ourselves, 
not from the vague "out there" of the outer world. 

David Ulrich, 
The Widening Stream: the Seven Stages of Creativity

Becoming

RIC_0486-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The self you leave behind 
is only a skin you have outgrown. 
Don't grieve for it.
Look to the wet, raw, unfinished
self, the one you are becoming.

Pat Schneider, 

Instructions for the Journey

Intensity of Intention

RIC_0051-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


What unites the different forms of pilgrimage 
is intensity of intention, 
the soul's desire to return to the center, 
whether it portends ecstasy or agony. 

Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage

War & Labour

Untitled, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The essential act of war is destruction, 

not necessarily of human lives, 

but of the products of human labour.

George Orwell

You

RIC_4987-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

You are made in the image of what you desire. 

Thomas Merton

Beauty

RIC_0584-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Beauty is a by-product of ordinary things.

Joseph Brodsky

God's Love

RIC_8150-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

God's love is God's attention. 

Hugh Vernon White

Art

Mississauga Chinatown 1 (2013, 6.4), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

I believe involvement with art should be in partnership
with the quest for spiritual understanding. 
I must create, share, and hopefully insure
that myself and others will continue to unlock our potential 
for perceiving, experiencing, and expressing beauty.

Pomona Hallenbeck

Who am I?

RIC_0738-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Who am I being with my life?

Kathleen Taylor

Being Here

RIC_7336-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


The closer we get to our own dying, 
the more amazed we may be at being here at all.

Mary Grace Orr

True Vocation

To Dallas, Texas 4 (2013, 7.16), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The true vocation of man is to find his way to himself. 

Hermann Hesse

Art

Ghost Ranch 21 (2013, 7.30), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Art is here taken to mean
knowledge realized in action.

René Daumal

Longing

Ladder, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     We are impoverished in our longing and devoid of imagination
     when it comes to our reaching out to others. ... 
     We need to be introduced to our longings, because they guard
     our mystery. 

        Alan Jones

Movements

RC1_9260, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Movements have narratives. They tell stories, because they are not just about rearranging economics and politics. They also rearrange meaning. And they’re not just about redistributing the goods. 
They’re about figuring out what is good.

Marshall Ganz

Self

RIC_0018-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     You are always yourself, moment to moment, 
     in nonstop flow. Your way is not a becoming 
     but a being, not a matter of now and then, 
     but always: you are the time of your life. 

        Robert Meikyo Rosenbaum, 
        Walking the Way: 81 Zen Encounters with the Tao Te Ching

Prayer

Ghost Ranch (2013, 7.), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Prayer is, for me, an intentional openness to 
the presence of mystery in my life.
Sometimes it is labor, sometimes ecstatic surprise. 
Sometimes both.

Pat Schneider, How the Light Gets In

Dawn

Sunrise 2 (2013, 8.13), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     I arise in the morning torn between a desire 
     to save the world and a desire to savour the world.
     This makes it hard to plan the day. 

        E. B. White

Letting Go

RIC_0335-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Living now is nakedness of heart;
Dying – just another letting go.

Pat Schneider, Letting Go

Who Am I?

RIC_0475-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Now that I am free to be myself, who am I? 

Mary Oliver, Blue Iris

Passion

RIC_6902-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

There can be no truly great creation without passion. 

Gertrude Stein

Blessing

Ghost Ranch 8 (2013, 7.24), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

May the stars light your way

and may you find the interior road.

Forward!

Traditional Irish Farewell

Intensity

RIC_6456-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Genuine creativity is characterized by an intensity of awareness, 
a heightened consciousness. 

Rollo May

Primary Medium

Ghost Ranch 16 (2013, 7.30), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


     We are the primary medium of the creative act – 
     not film or clay, paints or words. Learning to see, 
     learning to be, and learning to come into
     accord with the deeper sources within and 
     without – these are, undoubtedly the greatest 
     challenges given us, the most potent test of our 
     creative aspirations and capabilities. 

        David Ulrich, The Widening Stream

Mindfulness

Uyede Home 1 (2013, 8.5), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Mindfulness is a practice of being present 
with the truth of this moment.

Mary Grace Orr

Advice

Ghost Ranch 10 (2013, 7.24), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Stranger, 

Pass by what you do not love.

Advice to medieval travelers, René Daumal

Pilgrimage

Ghost Ranch 6 (2013, 7.29), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Making a pilgrimage is a way to prove your faith 
and find answers to your deepest questions. 

Ahmet, Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage

No Way

RIC_5889-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

The beauty of the Way is that there is no "Way." 

Loy Ching-Yuen, 

The Book of the Heart

Unknown

Ghost Ranch 1 (2013, 7.24), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, 
there is no such thing. 
Making your unknown known is the important thing. 

Georgia O'Keeffe

Live!

Sunrise, Ghost Ranch 8 (2013, 7.21), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Go confidently in the direction of dreams - 

live the life you've imagined. 

Henry David Thoreau

Courage

RIC_2691-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

e. e. cummings

Creativity

Ghost Ranch 1 (2013, 7.30), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

     
     One of the many paradoxes of creativity is that 
     we cannot know it fully, yet we can deeply experience it 
     within ourselves. 

        David Ulrich, The Widening Stream: the Seven Stages of Creativity

To Love

Tiger Lily 1 (2013, 7.7), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


To love. To be loved. 
To never forget your own insignificance. 
To never get used to the unspeakable violence 
and the vulgar disparity of life around you. 
To seek joy in the saddest places. 
To pursue beauty to its lair. 
To never simplify what is complicated 
or complicate what is simple. 
To respect strength, never power. 
Above all, to watch. 
To try and understand. 
To never look away. 
And never, never, to forget. 

Arundhati Roy

Light

Ghost Ranch (2013, 7.), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Is it true that our destiny

Is to turn into Light 

Itself?

Hafiz

Perception

RIC_5430-1, a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.


If you perceive the universe as being 
a universe of abundance, then it will be. 
If you think of the universe 
as one of scarcity, then it will be. 

Milton Glaser

Silence

Santa Fe 26 (2013, 7.17), a photo by rchoephoto on Flickr.

Let silence take you to the core of life.

Rumi