“Time is tricky. You have whole months, even years, when nothing changes a speck, when you don’t go anywhere or do anything or think one new thought. And then you can get hit with a day, or an hour, or a half a second when so much happens it’s almost like you got born all over again into some brand-new person you for damn sure never expected to meet.”
--E.R. Frank, Life Is Funny
“You see the beauty inside everything. It doesn’t last long—it’s either gone in a minute, you just caught it, or else maybe it’s something so big that you normally can’t get your head around it. Like the fog in your head clears out. The world stops being a puppet show and you see the real thing. It’s probably like that all the time, but you just can’t see it, except for those little glimpses.”
--Janet Fitch, Paint It Black
“I’m grateful for anything that reminds me of what’s possible in this life. Books can do that. Films can do that. Music can do that. School can do that. It’s so easy to allow one day to simply follow into the next, but every once in a while we encounter something that shows us that anything is possible, that dramatic change is possible, that something new can be made, that laughter can be shared.”
--Jonathan Safran Foer
“When you touch one thing with deep awareness, you touch everything.”
--Lao Tzu
Le Satyre dans le Bois de Boulogne by Felix Vallotton
“The great lesson from the true mystics…that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbors, friends, and family, in one’s backyard, and that travel may be a flight from confronting the sacred—this lesson can be easily lost. To be looking elsewhere for miracles is to me a sure sign of ignorance that everything is miraculous.”
--Abraham Maslow, "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" (1971)
"The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity -- then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective."
--David Suzuki
A short film written and directed by Jordan Findlay.
"Limbic is an experimental short film that examines the quantum physics phenomena of quantum entanglement. Quantum entanglement occurs when particles become linked together in such a way so that a change in the physical state of one particle will be felt in another...regardless of the space between them.
Through exploring this occurrence, Limbic considers how we might share a connection with one another in a way that is fundamental to our being yet still only beginning to be understood. Felt often in moments of striking emotion, shared in reverberations that cascade between our souls before finally delivering a solace. The feeling that we aren’t alone.
Limbic explores the intersection of science and spirituality, finding comfort and meaning as the two intertwine."
"I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organised; nor should any organisation be formed to lead or to coerce people along any particular path. If you first understand that, then you will see how impossible it is to organise a belief. A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organise it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallised; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others."
--Jiddu Krishnamurti
"The constant assertion of belief is an indication of fear."
I am enchanted by and fascinated with Abigail Brown's primitive carved wooden animal figures and talismans, and ceramic canopic jars. They speak to a tribal sense and animistic beliefs who live in harmony with nature and revere animals...
Check out her shop on her site where these gorgeous pieces are for sale!
I am feeling great love and nostalgia today for "Flow, river of my soul," an album released in 1994 by Single Gun Theory, an Australian band formed in 1986 consisting of members Jacqui Hunt on lead vocals, Kath Power on vocal melodies and synthesiser, and Peter Rivett-Carnac on guitar, synthesiser and sampling.
This incredible album was unlike pretty much anything else out there at the time and this still holds true. An electronic album, it was awash with a phenomenal mix of song and spoken word samples as well as influences from world music and spirituality.
But the underlying sense of the entire album is one of paradox. There are references to enlightenment and higher thoughts and beliefs while simultaneously referencing the horrors we perpetrate on each other. It was C.G. Jung who said, "The sad truth is that man’s real life consists of a complex of inexorable opposites—day and night, birth and death, happiness and misery, good and evil. We are not even sure that one will prevail against the other, that good will overcome evil, or joy defeat pain. Life is a battleground. It always has been and always will be; and if it were not so, existence would come to an end."
It speaks to this exact paradox of life with great highs and great lows, that we are spiritual beings having a temporary physical experience. But that realization does not mean that one is exempt from physical reality and whatever suffering that may bring. It is a complicated psychological juxtaposition, one that requires care and attention. And it seems to be particularly timely now which is perhaps why the album flashed through my mind recently. We are certainly living in a paradoxical world with so much attention brought to the inequities and torture so many must endure at the hands of those who are either willfully oblivious or filled with malice. But at the same time, we see so much hope among people who believe in the best of humankind, people who know that things can get better, and are willing to work toward that goal. It is hard to get through a day sometimes, seeing and feeling this overwhelming moment in history.
With that in mind, here are some select tracks from "Flow, river of my soul" by Single Gun Theory.
The opening track, "Transmission" acts as a kind of prologue with the following vocal sample setting up a motif for the reset of the album: "I give you this for your consideration. The most important factor in any metaphysical exercise is the release of belief systems, boundaries, and fears. All limitations are self-imposed."
"Fall" is a gorgeous track that begins with the quote, "Energy never dies, it just changes form." We also hear a sample from Robert Fripp's legendary track "Exposure" which in turn sampled a talk by author and mystic J.G. Bennett saying "It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering," as well as Rod Serling from his television series "The Twilight Zone."
"Energy never dies, it just changes form." "It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering." The sea calls me to the end of the pier The sky is clear So is the ending The termination In this moment of realization I had a vision of a very calming place Where we fall like lovers into embrace We fall like mist on mountains Sensibilities lost Like meteors from heaven A stone in water I had a vision of a very calming place Where we fall like lovers into embrace "Energy never dies, it just changes form." "The time is now." "I'm going to count from 1 to 3 and when I count the number 3, your feet will be lifted off the ground and you will be pulled by that silver white cord. 1, 2, 3." I had a vision of a very calming place Where we fall like lovers into embrace "It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering." "Energy never dies." "The time is now."
This next song "The Sea of Core Experience" begins with another great quote: "I dedicate my life to the mystic law of cause and effect with the vibration in my voice."
"I dedicate my life to the mystic law of cause and effect with the vibration in my voice." Here above the clouds My porous body floats Transcending my thoughts To essence Flow, the river of my soul To the sea of core experience A thousand million hands are joined In embrace here Wind is rushing past my face And streaming through me I am rarefied And abstract I will come to you And kiss you in a dream The still of night Roaring through me
"Decimated" is where things start to take a turn. It contains a recording of Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, recalling what went through his head as he witnessed the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945. Air raid sirens can be heard on this track.
A chemical haze falling around me
It's a bright sunset on this day
So decimated
"I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita: 'Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.'"
"Phenomena" plays like the soundtrack to the film "Poltergeist" with a sample of a paranormal investigator narrating some film footage of an alleged metaphysical incident.
The song "Metaphysical" is another supreme juxtaposition with words of rapture occupying the same space as predictions of war and the words of an American military strategist recalling the conditions on the day of the bombing of Hiroshima.
I can feel the rapture of spiritual love Thank you forces of good Thank you positivity Thank you joy Thank you alive "As a result of my study in markets and economics I applied...I applied my predictive techniques to the subject of war. I formulated a US war clock. The probabilities are 78% that the US will be involved in a major military confrontation between 1988 and 1992." "The day was clear..." Thank you god Metaphysical love "The day was clear when we dropped that bomb..." Thank you god Metaphysical love
"The Point Beyond Which Something Will Happen" contains a reading of the words of a Hiroshima survivor describing his surroundings ten minutes before the blast.
"You are about to experience it in its reality. In this moment, know yourself, and abide in that state." I lie down in a river of love Go to the edge and fall Plunge to the deep and hold my breath Braced against the oncoming I lie down in a river of blood Go to the edge and die a thousand times Look to the viscous barrier I might end, I might heal this night At the point beyond which something will happen At the point beyond which something will occur "The morning was fine. I saw a red dragonfly land on the wall in front of me."
"Thetan" is an elegy, an ode to a departed loved one. Grief is the price we pay for love, another aspect of being here in a body, in this physical reality. The opening sample here comes from the 1991 film "Whore" starring Theresa Russell.
"I must be some use to somebody. I mean, there must be a reason for me, right?"
"1. Consider the probable reality that all time is simultaneous."
Like fallen autumn leaves lying on the ground
I hate to think it's over
It's just that you were so young
And didn't seem to have a chance to make it good
The skies are grey with the loss of you
My heart sighs
It's in the way that I feel
It's in the way that I breathe
It's in the way that I see for you
It's in the way I believe
You are my reprieve
I can't accept
It's over
Like fallen autumn leaves
A morbid wind through barren trees
I hate to think, I hate to think
You were so young
"2. You are the universal consciousness.
3. The pendulum must swim both ways before it is brought to rest in the middle.
4. All limitations are self-imposed.
5. The mind has every potential and all knowledge"
Like fallen autumn leaves lying on the ground
I hate to think it's over
"Consider the probable reality that all time is simultaneous.
You are the universal consciousness, at ease as your consciousness drifts more deeply into the state of all that is."
And if love is a tide
Then it's taking me down to the depths of despair
The album closes with the track "Still Closest to My Heart," the epilogue to the collection's prologue. It is a recording of a translation of the words of Pope John XXIII (1881 – 1963): "My day has ended. My final thought is again for those closest to my heart, multiplied and diffused throughout the world."
Artist Rhonda Wheatly combines spirituality and sculpture into fascinating objects. She explains in her Artist Statement:
"My work is grounded in the speculative, metaphysical, and spiritual, and through it I explore healing, consciousness expansion, and transformation. As an energy healer, I imbue my work with meditative focus and intent. Each sculpture is attuned to the combined energies and symbolism of my materials—vintage found objects and electronics, as well as organic and natural materials, including fossils, cicadas, barnacle clusters, moss, and shed snakeskin. I treat these materials as ingredients that flavor each piece with purpose and power. For instance, barnacles, which attach to objects or other lifeforms for the duration of their lives, are a 'glue' that enhances one’s ability to adhere to intended changes. Fossils bring the energy of millions of years. Clock radios reference time manipulation and frequency—moving through states of consciousness—while antennas and crystals amplify signals. My long-form titles, themselves written works, are integral to each piece, as they indicate the objects’ uses as shamanic tools. While I push the limits of reality as it’s commonly understood, I also explore often-uncomfortable limitations. Caveats such as 'For self-use only' on a power object that transmutes negative energy and 'The future is a moving target,' on a hybrid device that predicts future outcomes of potential decisions highlight these limitations, emphasizing the importance of others’ free will, the inescapability of unknowns and uncertainty, and that there are few guarantees in life. Ultimately, my objects and accompanying texts hint that acknowledging a universe of vast, yet-to-be-understood possibilities while relinquishing the need for total control, is key to attaining radical freedom."
FULL TITLE: Empath Protector. Helps empaths create healthy energetic boundaries so that they may clearly distinguish their own emotions, needs, and desires from those of others.
FULL TITLE: Life Review Device. The Life Review process uplifts users from depression and despair, triggering a life re-boot. Users re-experience their entire lives in a full/extra-sensory consciousness download, infused with the hope and purpose with which they entered this lifetime. The device facilitates the process of releasing blame and grudges, forgiving one’s self and others, and getting back on mission.
MEDIA: Three vintage clock radios, vintage TV antenna, and quartz crystal cluster
FULL TITLE: Energy and Intention Reverberator. Increases strength and resonance of healing energy one receives and.or one’s intention and will.
MEDIA: Vintage mannequin hand, barnacle cluster, ceramic with glass, shed snakeskin, quartz crystals, hand-cut paper, collage, and acrylic paint. Round canvas and moss.
FULL TITLE: Karma Planning Device for Future Lifetime Maximization. Instantly assesses karmic debt accumulated throughout user’s earth incarnations. Knowledge embedded in dormant memory cells, activated by soul at opportune times. Does not override free will. Increases chances of reincarnating at higher levels in subsequent lifetimes. Positive past lifetime impact reverberation highly likely.
MEDIA: Vintage clock radio (metal), vintage TV antenna, and two orange rhomboid calcite crystals
FULL TITLE: Power and Energy Amplifier. Increases power and healing energy one receives and/or sends to others.
FULL TITLE: Subconscious Translator. Navigates unconscious mind. Decodes messages from one’s subconscious self received via dreams, physical ailments, and mysterious behaviors. Gets to root of self-sabotage, projection, haterism, addiction, and more. Provides emotional protection as painful suppressed memories surface. For self-use only.
Late last summer 2019, artist Levi van Veluw created an incredible installation, Sanctum, shown at Tenuta Dello Scompiglio, an Agricola and art/cultural showcase outside of Lucca, Italy.
This intense, transcendent space resonates with me deeply for many reasons and on many levels. I will let the artist explain:
Please do take three minutes to watch this beautiful walk-through of the installation which will give you a clearer picture.
Many years ago, in what seems like another life now, I attended regular Friday night services at a Hindu ashram in Oakland, California. They were wonderful times, but the thing that sticks with me is the magnificent sensory experience of the main Meditation Hall. It was bathed in a low indigo-violet light and the heady smell of incense (delicious Nag Champa and Dhoop). After a video talk by the guru (or sometimes a live talk if the guru was in residence), we would chant or sing in Sanskrit (thankfully it was always projected in phonetic English on a wall), and I regularly had transcendent experiences in which I felt a unique consciousness shift. It was very special and van Veluw's Sanctum seems like it has a similar feeling with its deep, penetrating color and fragrant water, and the sense of a place that is a manifestation/representation, however limited it may be, of a state beyond the physical.
And this profound installation has been resurrected for a site specific presentation at Het HEM, a former ammunition factory, now a home for contemporary culture, in the Dutch city of Zaandam. The artist refers to it as a semi-permanent installation, so it seems to be an open-ended chance to see this marvelous piece.
"Sanctum is a deep blue chapel that appears to float in between two floors. The work invites for contemplation while examining what the architecture of the spiritual consists of. Why do we assign value to objects, to the tangible, within the immaterial realm of faith? What is the basis of our devotion to altars, relics and icons? In the colossal space of Het HEM, Sanctum tests the boundary between an artistic and a spiritual experience."
What the artist is really working with is the idea of symbols and stand-ins for ideas and states of consciousness that are beyond our physical world. These objects become the machinery of the sacred, while ritual is the technology of the sacred. Of course these things can be used in ways that are not so pure or transcendent, which is the basis of a great portion of human suffering. But in a pure form, objects and rituals can be illuminating and serve as a connection to a place in us to which we all, all of us, personally have access.
"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ museum/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”
I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.
Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link. If you are the owner of an image and would prefer it be removed, I am happy to do that as well.
I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain me. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.
All-time Favorite Films
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)
Amelie
American Beauty (Alan Ball)
Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)
Belle et Bete (Cocteau)
Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)
Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)
Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)
Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)
Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)
Easy Rider
Edward II (Derek Jarman)
Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)
Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)
Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)
Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)
Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)
Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)
