I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes the way I “plan” “vision” or “think about” life feels exactly like this picture. A large, complicated, amazing, interesting structure built on sand, with sand, not really liveable, not at all practical, mostly make believe, and only ever real in a “virtual” sense. Not even really “my own”.
The photoshopped image above uses a variety of other images, other ideas, other realities, other experiences – which are then carefully spliced together to create something that “looks” real. The person who created this image did NOT go to that beach, gather all that sand together, and actually MAKE that castle. They didn’t even go outside when they made it. And I’ll be that they made it using photographs that THEY didn’t even take. Someone else probably took the picture of the ocean and the sky, and just as someone else probably created that sand castle, someone else also took the picture of it.
And I’m wondering just how much of what’s in my head is ACTUALLY mine? And why are my hopes and dreams, my goals, wants, and desires, in my head and ONLY in my head? Why am I not out immersed in the actual DOING of it? What’s up with that?
What is it, do you think, that takes a cool idea like that sand castle by the beach… and transforms it into the actual reality of say, for example…. this?
I was rooting around in my saved files, looking for an idea of what I wanted to post about on the website today, and I found a really interesting post about Osho from years ago. Then I went to my old blogger blog and looked up the Osho posts… and there were a lot of them. But because I hadn’t visited the Osho website for a long time, I thought I might go see if it’s still there…. and it is!
I pulled an Osho Zen Tarot Card for today. It said to share, so here I am sharing:
Most of the cards in this suit of the mind are either cartoon-like or troubled, because the influence of the mind in our lives is generally either ridiculous or oppressive. But this card of Consciousness shows a vast Buddha figure. He is so expansive he has gone even beyond the stars, and above his head is pure emptiness. He represents the consciousness that is available to all who become a master of the mind and can use it as the servant it is meant to be.
When you choose this card, it means that there is a crystal clarity available right now, detached, rooted in the deep stillness that lies at the core of your being. There is no desire to understand from the perspective of the mind–the understanding you have now is existential, whole, in harmony with the pulse of life itself. Accept this great gift, and share it.
He goes on to say:
We come from the unknown and we go on moving into the unknown. We will come again; we have been here thousands of times, and we will be here thousands of times. Our essential being is immortal but our body, our embodiment, is mortal.
Our frame in which we are, our houses, the body, the mind, they are made of material things. They will get tired, they will get old, they will die. But your consciousness, for which Bodhidharma uses the word ‘no-mind’–Gautam Buddha has also used the word ‘no-mind’–is something beyond body and mind, something beyond everything; that no-mind is eternal. It comes into expression, and goes again into the unknown.
This movement from the unknown to the known, and from the known to the unknown, continues for eternity, unless somebody becomes enlightened. Then that is his last life; then this flower will not come back again. This flower that has become aware of itself need not come back to life because life is nothing but a school in which to learn. He has learned the lesson, he is now beyond delusions. He will move from the known for the first time not into the unknown, but into the unknowable.
I came across this list quite a while ago. The idea was to create a series of 100 paintings, drawings, or other art projects based on the following key words. I think I’m going to finally do it. My idea is to do some small ZenTangle cards and turn it into a personal divination set. Alternatively, I might start another Middle of the Night Art series based on this list. What do you think? Does it get your creative juices flowing? Any other ideas?
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Love
- 3. Light
- 4. Dark
- 5. Seeking Solace
- 6. Break Away
- 7. Heaven
- 8. Innocence
- 9. Drive
- 10. Breathe Again
- 11. Memory
- 12. Insanity
- 13. Misfortune
- 14. Smile
- 15. Silence
- 16. Questioning
- 17. Blood
- 18. Rainbow
- 19. Gray
- 20. Fortitude
- 21. Vacation
- 22. Mother Nature
- 23. Cat
- 24. No Time
- 25. Trouble Lurking
- 26. Tears
- 27. Foreign
- 28. Sorrow
- 29. Happiness
- 30. Under the Rain
- 31. Flowers
- 32. Night
- 33. Expectations
- 34. Stars
- 35. Hold My Hand
- 36. Precious Treasure
- 37. Eyes
- 38. Abandoned
- 39. Dreams
- 40. Rated
- 41. Teamwork
- 42. Standing Still
- 43. Dying
- 44. Two Roads
- 45. Illusion
- 46. Family
- 47. Creation
- 48. Childhood
- 49. Stripes
- 50. Breaking the Rules
- 51. Sport
- 52. Deep in Thought
- 53. Keeping a Secret
- 54. Tower
- 55. Waiting
- 56. Danger Ahead
- 57. Sacrifice
- 58. Kick in the Head
- 59. No Way Out
- 60. Rejection
- 61. Fairy Tale
- 62. Magic
- 63. Do Not Disturb
- 64. Multitasking
- 65. Horror
- 66. Traps
- 67. Playing the Melody
- 68. Hero
- 69. Annoyance
- 70. 67%
- 71. Obsession
- 72. Mischief Managed
- 73. I Can’t
- 74. Are You Challenging Me?
- 75. Mirror
- 76. Broken Pieces
- 77. Test
- 78. Drink
- 79. Starvation
- 80. Words
- 81. Pen and Paper
- 82. Can You Hear Me?
- 83. Heal
- 84. Out Cold
- 85. Spiral
- 86. Seeing Red
- 87. Food
- 88. Pain
- 89. Through the Fire
- 90. Triangle
- 91. Drowning
- 92. All That I Have
- 93. Give Up
- 94. Last Hope
- 95. Advertisement
- 96. In the Storm
- 97. Safety First
- 98. Puzzle
- 99. Solitude
- 100. Relaxation
So, my grandiose scheme for an awesome website is gradually coming true. Only problem is that it’s not free. Not only that – it just got even more expensive due to bandwidth issues. So, maybe at some point I’ll try a “Go Fund Me” to pay for the web hosting.
Right now, though, I’m working on a new shop at Red Bubble. They pay better than Cafe Press, and if I can just make enough sales, it would really help to pay for this awesome and amazingly ambitious website. I think the stuff I have made so far is pretty freaking cool…
So if you’d like to support my endeavors, just visit my new RedBubble shop: Magick Mama, and even if you don’t buy anything, at least you can like or share the designs that you think are cool. The more visitors I have, and the more likes I have, the easier it is for people to find my designs – and then, theoretically, stuff will sell and money will pile up in my paypal account!
If an image has posted without permission please leave a comment and I will happily remove it, replace it, give credit, link love ~ whatever you prefer.
Christmas
I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!
