Celebrating the Earth and Synchronistic Patterns

Chance Illuminated and Defined ©Lynne Buchanan

Watermarked by Digimarc, All Rights Reserved

The earth is continually revealing itself to me, in its miraculous, random manifestations at each unique moment, just waiting to be discovered and celebrated.  I love that I can't plan exactly what will happen when I go out to photograph.  I have to be open to what might happen when the light and weather conditions intersect as I let myself wander towards what calls to me.  Some days seem more miraculous than others, because they are lit up so brilliantly it takes my breath away.  This image was made in Death Valley last fall.  We were walking among the sand dunes when golden light hit the sand and cast a warm glow over everything, making the earth shimmer.  This energetic pulsation was accentuated by the shadows the ridges of the sand cast, which made the scene vibrate even more.  I was amazed how these designs, caused by random gusts of wind, made such coherent and interesting patterns.  Lately, I have been reflecting that my life is like this.  On the surface, chance seems to determine so much of what happens to me, and yet when I see how one ripple leads to the next there is so much synchronicity that it seems like what I thought were unrelated occurrences are part of some plan that my conscious mind is too limited to see.  Every now and again, I catch a glimpse of the unfolding order, a small snapshot of the macrocosm reflected in the microcosm.

Circle of Fire

Circle of Fire ©Lynne Buchanan

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Sometimes in life things happen that do not go according to plan and which are beyond our control.  This week has made that very clear to me, both in society and in my personal life.  Given my new vow to pay attention and observe what is fascinating about even unpleasant situations, thanks to Dewitt Jones, I have noticed that my natural tendency is to shut down and protect my heart. The problem is that when I do that, I feel cut off and isolated and I don't notice what is right with the world or experience the joy that is always there waiting to be experienced and expressed.  I recognize that pain is a given and suffering is optional, so I forced myself to go to my great teacher Jaye Martin's advanced yoga class today.  He said we were doing a circle of fire practice and that we had to open our hearts completely to the energy and passion inside that motivates us to give up safety and explore unknown possibilities as we discover our authentic path in life.  

The pinnacle pose was to be backbend drop backs with minimal or no assistance.  I almost got up off my mat and walked out the door.  For the past week, I have lugged two camera bodies and lenses all over Molokai and my left shoulder feels unstable.  Although regular back bends are no problem for me, I didn't know if I would be able to support myself when my hands hit the ground and opening my heart was the last thing I wanted to do due to recent events.  Then I realized I was there and despite my apprehension this was probably exactly what I should do.  As Jaye talked about the circle of fire in our hearts and the divine energy inside us all, I recognized I still have this–we all do as long as we are alive–it's just sometimes it gets buried so deeply that I forget and lose confidence in myself and my ability to find my way.  The unknown becomes a huge burden instead of an exciting threshold to cross over into a brighter future.  Sometimes it just takes a leap of faith, and the leap will be a whole lot more successful if I start jumping believing I am powerful and anticipating that my feet (or in this case, hands) will find the ground where ever that might be, instead of feeling like I will miss and crash and burn or get swallowed up by nothingness. 

When it was my turn to drop back, I looked into Jaye's eyes and realized I had complete trust in him to intercede if it looked like my shoulder would give out and I was going to crash on my head.  I didn't even need to tell him anything was wrong.  I knew he would sense exactly how I would land as he watched the process and help me if necessary and only as much as I needed to be helped.  He is that good.  Yet, he wanted us all to start doing it on our own because we are all more capable than we believe .  His confidence in me motivated me to go for it.  All he did was touch my heart with one finger to remind me where it was, so I would lift it higher and not collapse.  It felt so good to fire up my muscles and charge my heart with the belief that I could do this, and I was well aware that the lesson I was learning went way beyond the mat.  

I realized that as a photographer I do the same thing–I look into the heart of a flower and see the positive life force that makes it blossom and convey the fullness and beauty of what I see.  As I open to that energy, I discover it exists within me too and the clouds of self-doubt and unworthiness dissipate.  When we tap into this interconnectedness and lift each other higher, anything seems possible.

Hope in the Midst of Darkness

Hope ©Lynne Buchanan

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Strangest re-entry I have ever had from a spiritual and connected place. At the San Diego airport yesterday, on my way home from a workshop on Molokai, I learned what happened in Boston. It is the first time I did not run that race in many years. I am thankful I did not go, since where the explosions occurred is exactly where my family and friends usually wait for me. Yet, feeling thankful I did not run seems so hollow, when I think about everyone who was injured and the mayhem that ensued. So much horror and pain inflicted upon innocent people. My heart wants to shut down completely. Yet, I realize that it is only some people who do these awful, incomprehensible things. There are still positive, loving, people who want to make the world better and bloom in the midst of so much barrenness. We must keep the light from burning out, as it clearly has in so many people's souls and open our hearts even more to hold even those responsible for this tragedy. Finding something to celebrate, even one small blossom, is the only hope for our planet. When the beauty of life is truly recognized along with our fundamental interconnectedness, it makes harming another impossible.  We must shine a light into the dark places and give each other strength and hope. Please join me in sending love and prayers to all who were harmed today and their families and to all the people in Boston and humanity

The Wave as it Begins to Collapse In on Itself

Wave Collapsing In on Itself ©Lynne Buchanan

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Gathering the energy of Mother Molokai, the group at the Hui, the magic of the elements, staying fluid and bringing it all into the center of my being and allowing the power of water to dissolve stagnant areas and break down boundaries. Exploding into I know not what. Not running from fear of the unknown. Staying present with my fear. Laughing, crying, living with the fullness of what the universe offers me every day-especially in this magical environment. I pray I can keep a small kernel of this experience with me in my heart, not as some perfectly preserved state of balance, but as the impetus of destruction for rebirth every day and in every moment. Never tiring of the miracles that are seemingly much smaller than this, but truly the molecules of water and air that make the glass always 100% full, as Dewitt's T-shirt so wisely proclaims. Blessed to be alive and with such beautiful, creative, real people. THANK YOU from the depths of my soul....

"Midges Ascending" and Ordinary Miracles

                                          Midges Ascending ©Lynne Buchanan
                                          All Rights Reserved, Watermarked by Digimarc
         
The photograph above, Midges Ascending, is one of approximately 50 images currently on view in my solo exhibition “On the River’s of Florida, Lynne Buchanan’s Photographic Meditations."  The exhibition is at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton and has already been extended through May 12th.  The image was made on Thanksgiving Day on the Santa Fe River in North Florida.  We were almost back to the boat launch, on a canoe trip following a delicious picnic, when we saw these midges illuminated by a shaft of light.  They looked like tiny golden orbs rising to the heavens.  The way the last rays of sunlight hit them cast reflections that looked like streaks of gold in the water.  It was truly magical and made me realize how miraculous even mundane things can be when viewed in the right light.  The scene was so surreal that the photograph feels more like a painting to me.  The way the midges transformed everything around them, even the water, made me think about the fabric of the universe and how everything is interrelated and in flux.  When my intuition picks up signals from animals, or I feel the energy of plants and trees, I often sense the energetic interconnectedness of life.  On this special day, however, I was actually able to see this web of life with my eyes and I was so thankful I had my camera with me to capture it visually.  Light is both the doorway to observing vibrations in the universe and the medium photographers work with, which is what makes photography the perfect art form for capturing and sharing everyday miracles.  I remember watching the sun hit the rippling waves in Vieques several years ago and feeling that I was connecting with a perpetual sense of becoming because everything before my eyes was shimmering so intensely.  Yesterday, each time the waves receded and the sunlight illuminated the mica in the wet sand on the beach at Torrey Pines, the shoreline sparkled and seemed to be made of gold.  When the light strikes and reveals the underlying magic of the universe it is hard not to appreciate the gift of life.