Epilogue
The WATER Project
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"The Light and Shadows of Siva Reflected in Water" Symmetrical Photograph, 2019
Once you experience the inner silence
you never feel empty, because in the inner silence
you can hear the stars speak, you can hear the voice of the water,
you can hear the voice of the great Self. You can hear and you understand.
Swami Chidvilasananda, from Resonate with Stillness (a Siddha Yoga Publication)
Epilogue
The name of my photography blog, The Departing Landscape, was a phrase coined by composer Morton Feldman. It related to his music, especially in the way sounds become suspended in space for a time and then decay, dissolve, leave us as we are listening. Since the early years of 2000 I have been witnessing with great concern the gradual and yet steady decay of our Planet. And more recently the process has been rapidly increasing. Indeed it is has become quite clear that the decline of the Earth's health is directly related to human causes, such as greed, neglect, forgetfulness, mismanagement and ignorance. The mining and use of fossil fuels; the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, the proliferation of plastics . . . all this and more is making Our Planet--and Ourselves--sick. The oceans, lakes and rivers are rapidly warming, causing the break-down of Local and Global Ecosystems. Melting ice caps, extreme storms and flooding, out of control fires and droughts . . . all this and more is the Earth's way of calling out to us for help. There is no question: we are living in a "Departing Landscape."
Our Planet needs our care and protection; our respect, remembrance and love. It needs us to hear Her voice within the Land, the Waters and the Air. We need to acknowledge that we belong to the Land, and that the Land, the Waters and the Air are sacred. We need to remember to say Thank You.
Our mindless waste and toxic contamination of drinkable water and other natural resources must STOP. Life sustaining water is becoming ever-increasingly scarce in many parts of the world resulting in growing tensions, legal actions, war-mongering and actual fighting conflicts amongst individuals, regions and nations.
It's essential that we begin NOW to see the planet as our Source of life, the Ground of Our Being, rather than merely a resource to be exploited. The Earth gives us everything we need and yet we are relentlessly damaging that which we are dependent upon for Our Lives. As a Global Community we must change our lives; we must change our vision; we must listen and understand what our Planet Truly is. When we forget or abuse the Planet, we hurt our selves, our children and our children's children.
One of the most inspiring books I have ever read about "listening" to the things of the Earth--listening with respect and gratitude--is Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. I encourage you to read it.
In my 8 part WATER project I have taken a poetic-philosophical-sacred view of Water. However I could not ignore the human aspects of the Earth's suffering, the Earth which has served me in so many ways as a nurturing Source of life, and as a Source of Creative Inspiration. However I also wanted to offer words overflowing with grace, words that would serve as a Benediction--for the WATER project as a whole, for the Waters of the world, for the Planet, for each and every One of its inhabitants--including each and everyone of US.
Under the Photograph, above, I have quoted the words of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, living head of the Siddha Yoga Path. And below, to conclude this Epilogue, I have quoted the words of Swami Muktanana, Gurumayi's teacher. Their words are alive with the radiant blessings and inner silence of their extraordinary state of Being, their unbroken Union with God. They see the entire Universe with a transcendent vision known as Siva Drishti, the vision of Siva, the vision of divine Consciousness. May one day our vision, and our understanding of the Truth be One with theirs.
Thank you for your participating in my WATER project. Now, here are the words of Swami Muktananda:
Our Planet needs our care and protection; our respect, remembrance and love. It needs us to hear Her voice within the Land, the Waters and the Air. We need to acknowledge that we belong to the Land, and that the Land, the Waters and the Air are sacred. We need to remember to say Thank You.
Our mindless waste and toxic contamination of drinkable water and other natural resources must STOP. Life sustaining water is becoming ever-increasingly scarce in many parts of the world resulting in growing tensions, legal actions, war-mongering and actual fighting conflicts amongst individuals, regions and nations.
It's essential that we begin NOW to see the planet as our Source of life, the Ground of Our Being, rather than merely a resource to be exploited. The Earth gives us everything we need and yet we are relentlessly damaging that which we are dependent upon for Our Lives. As a Global Community we must change our lives; we must change our vision; we must listen and understand what our Planet Truly is. When we forget or abuse the Planet, we hurt our selves, our children and our children's children.
One of the most inspiring books I have ever read about "listening" to the things of the Earth--listening with respect and gratitude--is Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass : Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants. I encourage you to read it.
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In my 8 part WATER project I have taken a poetic-philosophical-sacred view of Water. However I could not ignore the human aspects of the Earth's suffering, the Earth which has served me in so many ways as a nurturing Source of life, and as a Source of Creative Inspiration. However I also wanted to offer words overflowing with grace, words that would serve as a Benediction--for the WATER project as a whole, for the Waters of the world, for the Planet, for each and every One of its inhabitants--including each and everyone of US.
Under the Photograph, above, I have quoted the words of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, living head of the Siddha Yoga Path. And below, to conclude this Epilogue, I have quoted the words of Swami Muktanana, Gurumayi's teacher. Their words are alive with the radiant blessings and inner silence of their extraordinary state of Being, their unbroken Union with God. They see the entire Universe with a transcendent vision known as Siva Drishti, the vision of Siva, the vision of divine Consciousness. May one day our vision, and our understanding of the Truth be One with theirs.
Thank you for your participating in my WATER project. Now, here are the words of Swami Muktananda:
Supreme Siva is everlasting. All Gods and all creatures originate in [Siva] and merge into [Siva] when they dissolve. The universe arises as a throb and abides in it. It emanates its rays of shakti in total freedom. . . The universe, in undifferentiated unity, lives in its very being, though appearing to be different from it.
Siva is eternal, pervasive, formless. It activates everything. It is the soul of the universe--supremely pure, completely full, the conscious Self. It does not change, though it manifests as space, time, and form. It is the Consciousness within the spirit within the heart, and it is the same as the Consciousness without. Right knowledge is the direct awareness of the pervasiveness of Consciousness within and without. Such an undifferentiated understanding brings worldly fulfillment and spiritual liberation, perfection, realization, and peace. It lacks only bondage and suffering.
The truth is that to realize the Self is to get what we already have. There is nothing apart from Siva. There is nothing other than Siva. Whatever there is, is Siva. To be aware of [Siva] is to be fearless and free in the Self. There is nothing that is not Siva; there is no place that is not Siva; there is no time that is not Siva; there is no state that is no Siva. Not a single thought-wave can arise separate from Siva. To be aware of this is to be aware of Siva. Here, there, wherever you look, whatever you think--it is all Siva. Swami Muktananda, from his "Introduction" to Nothing Exists That Is Not SIVA, a Siddha Yoga publication
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This project was posted on my blog's Welcome Page
on April 2, 2019
WATER Photographs : The Complete Project Titles
To Learn More about the World's Water Crisis, visit the following online links:
(and you can sign up for email updates from each of these organizations)
Welcome Page to my The Departing Landscape website/blog which includes the complete listing of my online photography projects dating back to the 1960's, my resume, contact information, and more.
