Necessary Conditions For A New Humanity

Qualities of Love and Consciousness Are Shaping Our Evolutionary Future My common practice for this blog is to select a photograph that will prompt a contemplation. In this instance, due to a period of focused readings in theology and philosophy relative to the future of humanity, there came a moment when I had the distinct […]

Utility Poles

The Intersection of Nature and Technology Through the many decades that I’ve been photographing landscapes, utility poles of all kinds, sizes and wires have been a nuisance. Their placement often interfered with rural settings, and in cities the lines tended to be a mess. I don’t like being critical, but when I see these, the […]

What Makes A True Leader

Why the “Domination” Paradigm Fails and the “Communion” Paradigm Endures Through decades of studying the rise and fall of the ancient Maya civilization of Central America, one of my areas of interest has been the formation and decline of “kingship,” how power was gained and wielded and how it failed. Universally, and from a whole-systems […]

How We See Others Matters Greatly

Are They “Individuals” or “Persons?” In the early 1960s I was photographing quite a lot in Cincinnati’s Findley Market downtown. This woman turned and saw that was pointing my camera at her, so she turned and posed. I took the shot, thanked her and we moved on. After writing my post, “The Typewriter and Authenticity,” […]

Clouds and Beyond

Science, Ecology, Art; Spiritual Insight I’ve always appreciated clouds. Often, they evoke an out loud “Wow!” If Linda’s nearby I can’t help commenting on them. In the early years of elementary school, the nuns always seated me in the back of the room, probably because I was paying more attention to what was going on […]

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

Chapter 13: Line Harrold, South Dakota Lines serve to define length, distance and shape, indicating boundaries and separate forms, textures and colors that move the eye and create the illusion of depth—like railroad tracks to the horizon. Physically, they can be many or few, take many shapes, have thickness and depth, length and texture with […]

The Soul of Photography

Chapter 9: Connecting to Spirit by Rewinding Time In the Introduction to this series, I observed that, because the spiritualization of matter occurs in consciousness, photography is an ideal medium for personal growth and spiritual development. In my experience, the most powerful and effective practice for expanding perception, illuminating the spirit within a photographic subject […]

The Soul of Photography

Chapter 7: The Transcendent Approach   I asked ChatGPT (AI) to introduce this subject with a short poetic reflection on photography as an ideal medium for seeing beyond the senses. A Photographic Invocation Light is the oldest language. Before words, before memory—there was light falling on form. The camera does not invent beauty; it recognizes […]

The Soul of Photography

The Aesthetic Experience Philosophers since Plato have sought to define and describe the aesthetic experience. Among them there’s agreement that it’s a capacity unique to human beings, a contributor to well-being and different for each individual, but there’s no consensus on what it is in essence. This is understandable because the word “aesthetic” is an […]

The Soul’s Journey Through Mistakes and Failures

Considering Reincarnation, Karma and Compassion “I think I was ten different people in this lifetime.” I hear words to that effect quite often and share that sentiment. Looking back on some of my beliefs, things I’d said and done, it’s hard to believe it was me. Who was that guy? How was that possible? I’m […]