Tag Archives: ocean

Beauty in the photographs details: Hollyhock Chair Boat

There is so much in this photograph that I love.

The place itself I love. It is the Hollyhock Retreat center on Cortes Island in British Columbia, a beautiful, remote, and Magical, Transformative place, especially in the summertime. I first went there in 1978 And attended a 13 week long Resident fellow program with a different workshop each week. I attended a dream workshop where I learned that I was Dan, Dan, The rainbow man, a healer and a teacher. And for the last 45 years, I’ve lived being a Healer and a teacher. I learned about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin),The bodhisattva of compassion. I learned it from John Blofeld, that Very British China convert, Who wrote so beautifully about Quan Yen (or Kuan Yin), and also  translated the I Ching. John Blofeld so enjoyed his afternoon tea :). I learned about the I Ching, and Tarot cards. And I learned from the wind, the trees, low and high tides, I learned from the lapping of the water, BJ, Whiskey and orange juice, early morning sunshine, the wonderful gardens, and even more wonderful vegetarian meals. I learned by working with Bill Glackman, now a lifetime friend, doing handyman work around the then COld Mountain Institute.

But what do I love about this picture! I love the early morning light, with the side-light and long shadows. I love the empty chair and the empty boat, both waiting for us/me/you.

I can feel myself sitting in that chair, with my eyes closed, warm, with the sunshine on my face and arms in the cool morning, and ever so gently, I feel a slight breeze. With each breath, I breathe in the light, salty smells of the sea. I hear the gentle lapping of water on the beach. I hear the bird calls of morning,  welcoming the new day. That chair is a place to simply be, mindfully and appreciatively.

The empty boat, red and white and waiting, Is not about mindfulness. The empty boat is about adventure awaiting! Come,Let us row away to adventure! Morning is the time for both contemplation and beginning of adventures! I love that in this photograph.

I love the colors, the greens of the grass and the tree. I love the shades of blues in the sea, and in the mountains across the sea.  I love the bands of lighter color blue on the water.

I love how small I am in that early morning light, And how big that quiet sea is,  and how the shrouded mountains are at the top the photograph.

I love the lines of the small waves, lapping towards the shore.

I love the juxtaposition of the living Green tree, the stump, and the wooden chair. Three stages of existence?

I love the variations between the rocky shore, The tidal zone with it’s small rocks and mud , and the two big rocks In the nearby shallow water.

When I look at this picture, I feel gratitude, the hopes of a new morning, The beckoning of mindfulness and adventure, and the sheer beauty of it all: colors, bands of blue and green, and waves, sea, trees, shore, chair, boat, and distant mountains… and ME!

Photos of the Sea from our Christmas 2016 South America Cruise

I love the Sea, I always have. Since I was a child looking at the Pacific ocean and wondering about Japan so far, far, away. 

I loved the sea as a naval officer on the USS Independence watching with awe as the airplane elevator rose and fell during quiet times and  major storms. I loved the Sea as a PACE professor on US Navy ships in the Pacific Ocean as I worked on my doctoral dissertation for 3 years. And, in recent years, I’ve loved the sea as a passenger on cruise ships (a bit better accommodations than US navy warships)!

I love the waves as far as you can see, the curve of the earth in the distance. I love  feeling so small against vastness of it all, and yet I am comforted, knowing that I am also an important part of it all (perhaps because I, too, am the eyes of God observing his beautiful works with Joy and peace and appreciation and gratitude). I love the changing colors of Sea and Sky at sunset and sunrise.

I love the light bursts on water through the clouds that sparkle that move across the ocean with brightness and contrast.

I love the power of the storm, the quiet rains, the sunsets over water, the smallness of all the ships that pass in the night.

I love it all.

These are some gorgeous art from my camera and lightroom from our Christmas cruise to South America during Christmas break 2016.

My Favorite Posters: Sunset at Elde Inlet, Washington

Sunset at Eld Inlet, Washington

This is a 12X18 poster I made.
For 6 years Susan and I taught a weekend workshop for SMU students on “Beauty and the Soul” at the Monks Lodge on Eld Inlet. The place was beauty itself!
I love this sunset picture with its reflections on the slightly rippled waters, as we all reflect on the year that is ending and the year that is to come.
Happy New Year Soon!
Dan

Favorite Photos: Kaikoura New Zealand Sunrise

 Kaikoura New Zealand Sunrise

 

Magical moments pass so quickly. It is wonderful to see them again and again in a photograph!

A seagull floats against sunrise pink and blue skies, mountains in the distance, waves rolling to shore, the sound of surf, the smell of the sea. A new day.

Photos of Beauty from my Esalen Institute visit in March 2014.

Photos of Beauty from my Esalen Institute visit in March 2014.