Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Sacred Patterns: Light Creates Shadow



When we take the time to really LOOK at things, age-old patterns are revealed to us. These are the patterns that transcend time and particulars of age, place and species. I see, in the late afternoon light molding these leaf portraits, hints of cosmic power that I cannot understand, but that I know has endured through the ages. I don't believe the diversity and order of the universe are just coincidences, borne of chance and random combinations of circumstance. I believe they are orchestrated by a higher intelligence beyond our comprehension. It disturbs me that humans have a need to provide distinct and rigid definitions of this power and to try to assert the truth of their particular conception. From our need to label things in order to provide ourselves a coherent and comfortable self-definition, comes war, misery, death and destruction.

What matters to me is that there is light and that miracles unfold at every level of the universe. What matters to me is that I believe in God. I sometimes feel the universe is crying at our inability to see the light. It's a paradox that light creates shadow, and people crying out for peace and security, create war. I believe in God, but not in the divisiveness of any dogma that is taken to extreme. Each leaf is different yet the same as all other leaves. Each human is unique and yet part of a larger humanity. When will we see that we are One Humanity?



The above images are"The Enigma of a Leaf," "Curls," and "Sacred Patterns," and will be available plain or framed at my Imagekind site http://lyndalehmann.imagekind.com/ or from me directly at www.lyndalehmann.com/ . All images and text c 2008 Lynda Lehmann. To view more of my work please visit www.lyndalehmann.com , where you can view more than 500 other images, both paintings and photographs.

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33 comments:

  1. love the music :)
    I added you to my blog roll :)

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  2. Thanks much, Jafabrit! :)

    Your blog is SO creative--I'll be over again soon!

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  3. your images are such a wonderful reflection of your thoughts on God and creativity Lynda :)
    I love the way you have used contrast in these images and the colour is so rich...
    such a celebration of nature and it's unique character and beauty..
    I hope you are enjoying the arrival of Spring over your way :)

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  4. Lynda:

    Beautiful shots of beautiful plants. The Queen and I are both plant lovers. As a matter of fact, today we visited a little museum called the Sherman Garden Museum. It's a small place over by the beach. Chucked full of the most beautiful wonders of the plant kingdom.

    Happy trails

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  5. Lynda, not just your pictures but the commentary clearly reveals that which you have experienced beyond the limited understanding of the mind.
    Objects may be just ordinary, but reflections reveal the extra-ordinary..
    Great!!!

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  6. Hey Lynda,

    I loved the photos, but impressed me the most was the text, so I will focus on it this week:
    "I don't believe the diversity and order of the Universe are just coincidences, borne of chance and random combinations of circumstance." I don't believe in it either...I don't believe in coincidences at all. Everything has a purpose, a reason to be...God (yes, I too believe in Him) designed things to be exactly the way they are, and it is a pity that not many accept this (surely because they are blinded, or limited, by religious dogma, although religion is not an excuse to be blind, au contraire, we should be able to pick the basics religion gives us and see beyond it, see beyond the apparent reality so that we can reach God).

    God ordered wars many times. He was the first One to tell His chosen people to fight for the land that He had promised their forefathers to give. Death and uncertainty are the only certain things on earth. If we look beyond this life, then I would say that death, re-birth and uncertainty are the only certain things in existence.
    Destruction is inevitable; for if there is construction there must be destruction, so that balance can be installed. I believe God is the Ultimate Balance, and as such He created the opposites so that there could balance on earth.

    People are unable to see the light because they focused on darkness...if balance is to be restored we must accept that to have peace there must be war, that to be light there must be shadow; that to be happy we must be sad sometimes; that to know good and must come across evil; etc...life is made of opposites, but we must learn how to balance things (Nietzsche spoke of Apollonian measure, balance, no extremes). Extremes lead to chaos only.

    We are on Humanity with many differences and when we start accepting and respecting those differences the world will become a better place (yet never perfect).

    Great article, my friend *bowing*!

    Have a blessed weekend :D!

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  7. Lynda what can I say, you have a way with words and how I feel when I look to the heavens, this just didn't happen, but humans in our arrogance like you said have to fit everything in understandable little definitions to feel we are in control which we aren't, your beautiful pictures prove your point perfectly.

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  8. Jafabrit,

    PS-Thanks for the link. Come back and listen to the music anytime, lol... :)

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  9. Hello Kim and thank you for your kind words. I enjoy every season for its beauties, but spring and fall are my favorites, as they are not only milder than the other two but are more dynamic in terms of nature's changes. I do love the summer for the chance to spend more time out of doors, and to open the windows to fresh air (or for what we HOPE will be fresh air.)

    I hope you are feeling well and wish you a wonderful weekend!

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  10. Ah, Swubird, you are lucky to have a Garden Museum near you. We have an arboretum or two to go to, but they're a bit of a ride to get to. But near enough to go on short notice, for an afternoon.

    We're fortunate to have access to such places, that feed our souls!

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  11. merging point, again and again i must thank you for your thoughtful comments. it's very gratifying to me that you read them and respond in the incisive and creative way that you do! :)

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  12. max, it is incredible to me that so many people who profess themselves to be religious, wear their religion more like a cloak or a coat of armor and use it as justification for belligerent deeds. to me it's one of the greatest and saddest ironies of the human condition, that one finds this happening to some degree, in the more extreme sects of the organized religions.

    i agree with you about all the dualities you have mentioned, and I sometimes think that because they are so married, there will always be some degree of chaos. C.S. Lewis in his books, says that God gives us an imperfect world so that infinite potentials (for good and evil) can play out against a backdrop of "free will."

    this does not mean, however, that humans cannot strive to transcend at least the petty, self-serving grudges and prejudices to achieve a higher understanding of the nature of things. conflict may be inherent in the struggle for survival, but we can either exacerbate that trend or mitigate it with our intelligence and discerning judgement.

    a bow to you too, dear, and thanks so much for "talking." have a happy weekend filled with love!

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  13. Bob, thank you! I appreciate your comment so much, and I have often picked up on your passion for the heavens--it comes across in all your posts. So we share this great sense of wonder that is so gratifying and sustaining. And we feel like happy kids when we're doing what we love.

    Not everyone in the world is born into circumstances where they have the security, time, health, or freedom to explore dimensions of that wonder.

    I hope you have a great weekeknd, Bob, filled with the joy of discovery! :)

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  14. Hi Linda, your photos are brilliant as usual.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I too believe in God and that there is a higher purpose in life. Unfortunately I don't think humanity will ever come to terms with itself. Man's inhumanity to man seems to be entrenched in the human psyche. When I open a newspaper or watch the news on TV I wonder what it is that makes some people tick - it is heartbreaking to see all the misery and painn mana inflicts on man. It has been going of since time began.
    I guess good people need to let their lights shine, because they can make a differnce and any difference counts.

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  15. Thanks for sharing, an insightful post indeed. :)

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  16. Lovely photos. I wish MY croton looked that good!
    I remember once meditating along the Niagara Escarpment (beside a small waterfall,) on light. We do not truly see light (unless we look at the sun, which is inadvisable,) but rather the effect light has on things. It's not that light creates shadow--it's that all merely IS shadow w/o light.

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  17. Max-E, I would rather be a grain of sand that tips the pile one iota towards the good, instead of towards evil. Yes, the news is heartbreaking and horrifying on the best of days. I comfort myself by telling myself that MOST people are good. The evil ones stand out because of the atrocity of their deeds and the media attention those deeds garner.

    A little light is better than no light, right? :)

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  18. Thank you, Kriz!!! I appreciate your comment.

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  19. Lana, my title is meant to be metaphoric, not scientific. Indeed, all colors are contained in sunlight and without it there is only blackness. But we cannot see shadows unless they are cast by objects blocking the light. There is no shadow without the light.

    How nice to meditate by a waterfall! I love being by water or in the deep woods for that reason. So soothing to the soul...

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  20. Very nice. Like the images and the story.

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  21. You are amazingly talented! This is an awesome blog!

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  22. Lynda,

    What beautiful things you said in that peice. How does a nation crying out for security and peace create war? I don't know but we have and we do.

    I hope the kind souls who read your post will take to heart that we really are all just unique parts of the whole.

    Peace,
    Lisa

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  23. Oh Lynda you have such a good eye for these things, love the second one. In addition your post is just beautiful, I really enjoyed reading and re-reading. Thanks for sharing, and inspiring me. Anna :)

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  24. 'curls' is wonderful. i've been gazing at it and listening to that fantastically relaxing music. good choice.

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  25. Beautifully stated, Lynda, with beautiful images to go along with your words.

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  26. Glorious Hats,

    I just loved you latest hat! But I already told you that, didn't I? Thanks for stopping by. :)

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  27. Misty Dawn, thank you! Come back and visit again soon! Have a wonderful week.

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  28. Lisa, it's great to see you. How have you been?

    Thanks for reading my post. Let's, all of us good-willed people in the world, unite in unrelenting determination to make healing statements!

    I'll be over to visit.... :)

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  29. Anna, I'm so glad we inspire each other. I know that I take comfort from the decency and kindness and the love of beauty that you and my other blogger friends show! :)

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  30. flowers on a friday, thank you!

    i like your blog, too! :)

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  31. Hello Kathy!

    Thank you. Now I've run into you twice in one day! (your post and mine....lol)

    Have a happy, sunny one!

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  32. Linda, you are so right every difference counts. The old adage that evil flourishes where good people do nothing still holds true.
    I live in a country where crime is endemic - from the highest echelons of government and big business right down to the man in the street.
    We belong to a community forum, where we have seen time and time again that if you take a stand against what is wrong, you will get results.

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