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 […]

The Typewriter And Authenticity

Every Page a Lasting Fingerprint Browsing at an antique fair, I was attracted to this typewriter with crooked letters, yellowed keys and options no longer used on computer keyboards (ribbon, margin release, fractions, cent-sign). In 1575 an Italian printmaker named Francesco Rampazetto built a machine that impressed letters on paper. Centuries later, variations on his […]

The Aesthetic Dimensions in Art and Society

Chapter 2: Atmosphere Atmos is a Greek word meaning “vapor.” Sphaira means “sphere.” Combined, scientists use the word “atmosphere” to describe the layer of gases surrounding a planet, held in place by gravity. Artists have long understood that atmospheric effects contribute to the emotional tone of a painting or photograph. Misty variations in light and […]

Symmetry

An indication of balance and agreement According to Nobel laureate Phil Anderson, “It is only slightly overstating the case to say that physics is the study of symmetry.” The word “symmetry” comes from the Greek, synnetria, meaning “Agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement.” I’ve chosen this theme for contemplation because, somewhere along the line, I’d […]

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The value, precautions and prospects of machine-made images Inspired by Jerry Uelsmann‘s photomontages in 1975, I spent the better part of a day searching through my proofs to find images that might work together to make an intriguing composite.  On another day, I did the actual printing in the darkroom with a variety of masks, […]

Mythic Dancing

A form of expression that unites persons, community, culture and cosmos Maya “Long Nose” dance. Dressed as the long-nosed Ek Chuah, God of merchants and patron of cacao, the dancer acts out the impregnation of Lady Xquic, daughter of a Xibalba (underworld) lord. The man on the left beats a drum. Ek Chuah has a […]

Kenōsis: Recipe For Inner Abundance

In 2018, when His Holiness The Dalai Lama requested the Mind and Life Institute to organize a weeklong dialogue with top scientists and scholars to discuss the ecological situation and offer ways to move forward constructively, one of the participants was Sallie McFague, a Distinguished Theologian at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, […]

Kenōsis: Recipe For Inner Abundance

In 2018, when His Holiness The Dalai Lama requested the Mind and Life Institute to organize a weeklong dialogue with top scientists and scholars to discuss our ecological situation and offer ways to move forward constructively, one of the participants was Sallie McFague, a Distinguished Theologian at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia, […]

Water Lily: Symbol of Constancy

Water lilies are freshwater plants in the Nymphaeaceae family. The name derives from Greek legends where “nymphs” protected springs and streams. There are about 70 different species of water lilies, divided into eight different genre commonly found in garden ponds and landscape features. The roots dig deep into the ground underwater, while the leaves or […]

The Poppy Flower: Symbol Of Abundance And Sharing

There are more than 70 species of poppy (Papaver) in the family Papaveraceae. Found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Circle and in southern Africa they’re mostly cultivated as garden ornamentals. Notably, the Papaver somniferum species is the source of opium, a narcotic that contains alkaloids used in the production of morphine, heroin and codeine. […]