~ ~ ~ LOVE IS ~ ~ ~ by ORANDON c)2010

Time to Love Yourself
Love Who You Are
Love All That Is

If It Says "Love", Be IT

Keep the Intention of Loving Alive in You

Practice Loving-Kindness
Towards Yourself At All Times

Let the Universe Only Hear
the Intention of Love From You
(spoken and unspoken)

Love It, Good, Bad, & Ugly
Keep Silent in Love
Love Your Secrets into Life

When It Hurts Understand It Wants Love

Accept Nothing Less Than Love
Anything Less than Love is Not for You,
It's Something Else

Love Is Grace
Love is Allowing
Love is Spiritual Awareness
Love Has Potential
Love Is All
Love is Light
Love is Knowledge
Love is Real
Love Speaks Without Words
Love Chooses Peace
Love Chooses Joy

Love Yourself Through the Pain
Love Others Through Their Pain
Love Your Neighbor
Love is the Highest Power
Love Never Dies

Love Knows No Bounds

Humanity, by Hildegard of Bingen

"Humanity finds itself in the midst of the world. In the midst of all other creatures, humanity is the most significant, and yet the most dependent upon the others. Humanity is small in stature, but powerful in strength of soul. With head directed upward, with feet firm on the ground, humanity can set all things in motion; things above as well as things below."
- Hildegard of Bingen

Unfinished Business

UNFINISHED BUSINESS Quietly, she got in her limo and rode to the morgue. She was going to visit her dead son's body. She went every day for a month. Sitting beside him, she prayed, asking all right the questions she never bothered to question before... The main one being "why?" She sat in silence, weeping and waiting. Then, when it was time, the coroner, the funeral directors and the state took all his paperwork. They stamped it "EXPIRED".

Loving Is the First Potential

My vow of silence lasted 14 days. Thankfully, I had plenty of friends to support me in the process, while I was able to review my needs.

The time was useful for everyone involved. We all realized we were not wanting to be judged. In this instance, it's really better for people to start asking questions. If you love someone and are feeling hurt? It's by far better to inquire into the situation. I was not being given this chance. So, I felt it was better for me to sustain silence, especially as there were several people involved.

Everyone had a chance to review their priorities. A period of silence will do this. It has the power to make or break friendships, depending on how it's handled. The point is to deepen our connection to one another, or let go.



Relationships are not static things; our boundaries, needs and desires change constantly. Fine-tuning these issues has everything to do with reaching for qualities in our spirits, like more trust, more honesty, deeper loving. Most people are not finding this in their lives. They are only encountering potentials. They don't know how to go about sharing their light. It becomes an attitude - my way or the highway. And all of us on this planet right now, are undergoing changes to our light-bodies (spirits).

Love and trust sustain themselves as spiritual qualities for the duration that we work on ourselves, keep our hearts open and aim to be as honest and as real as possible. Then perhaps there's an opportunity to establish more than a bond with someone. Bonding happens emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. All these rays of light meet in the heart. They are not going to get into a heart that's been hardened.

Different people have different ways of going about creating bonds. Men and women are different; we have to keep our minds and hearts open. We have to be willing to understand that each person and each situation is going to be unique.

Personal boundaries are important; but it's also important, to be mindful that, if one is too rigid, it will put a relationship in limbo. This is always dangerous. Because this is where the judgment and bigotry happen (usually behind someone's back). Limbos keep people locked-up in the past, or in the dark.

Seeing and knowing this, I hope to deepen my love with you. I appreciate you as you are; but I also want you to be honest with me. If you can't be yourself, or if I am holding back on you in some way, where you can't see me as I am? Our love will remain a spiritual ideal. It will not be grounded here, in this reality... Which is what I want. And which is what I hope for you as well!

The love I hold for you will never change.

Why Take a Vow of Silence?

I am taking a vow of silence today, for the second time in my life. For me it is all about trust, establishing the heart connections I need in my life to keep my integrity intact. If someone cannot meet me here, then we will simply have to meet in spirit, however that works.

The first time I ever took a vow of silence many years ago (1993) on the job. There was a lot of tyranny going on in the workplace that was dividing and oppressing people. Since I was in a central position (the receptionist for the institution!) I informed everyone I’d be taking a vow of silence. I let them know I would be mirroring their oppression right back at them… Until we got some procedures in place to give people a voice.

It took about 3 days to let everyone know (with notes) I was taking this vow. Of course they all laughed. As I was working the front phones and the desk, I still had to do my job, but only spoke as it was necessary. People stopped by my desk, trying to provoke me into conversation. Each person presumed they were an exception. I would just look at them. After 14 days (which was a strain, and extremely difficult for everyone) people were irate. It was difficult, because it seemed somehow I was adding to their suffering.

Looking back, I now know I was just mirroring and reflecting their “stuff”. I was no longer participating in the game of searching for approval, or people-pleasing. I saw into their lack of courage to speak up for themselves; to take a stand in who they are. To stop being superficial, self-absorbed, narcissistic. To quit returning to their words like a puppy returns to its own vomit.

It was just a matter of days before they were all complaining. They eventually went to the management to make it stop. There was really nothing management could do. Eventually they called a meeting, and gave everyone a voice.

There are a lot of people out there who are in pain, and who aren’t dealing with it. They just go on to treat situations and other people as being “disposable”. I am sorry for the younger generations… Because I know you all feel this more acutely in your lives. Now it’s just exaggerated to extremes via our technology – the internet, texting, facebook, etc.

Let people clearly know about your vow. (This may take a few days.) You may also invite people to leave messages for you, but inform them you will not be responding until you are able to FEEL the investment on your commitment to keep silence until the energy is balanced. Divest yourself of the technology; boycott it, if necessary. Stop pouring your money and resources into dead-ends.

We all need something more in our lives… Some of the Buddhist values a vow of silence is going to teach you: more patience, more compassion; deeper connections in person, and at the level of the heart. And until I start feeling that, I’m kicking in with a new vow of silence, today. It may be the only way to gain someone’s trust, when they are too busy, you know, acting-out as a human-doing...? And not a human being.

The Muse Who Came to Stay, by Erica Jong

The Muse Who Came to Stay

You were the first muse who came to stay.
The others began and ended with a wish,
or a glance or a kiss between stanzas;
the others strode away in the pointed boots of their fear

or were kicked out by the stiletto heels of mine,
or merely padded away in bare feet
when the ground was too hard or cold
or as hot as white sand baked under the noonday sun.

But you flew in on the wings of your smile,
powered by the engine of your cock,
driven by your lonely pumping heart,
rooted by your arteries to mine.

We became a tree with a double apical point,
reaching equally toward what some call heaven,
singing in the wind with our branches,
sharing sap and syrup,
which makes the tree grow thick.

We are seeding the ground with poems and children.
We are the stuff of books and new-grown forests.
We are renewing the earth with our roots,
the air with our pure oxygen songs,
the nearby seas with leaves we lose
only to grow the greener ones again.

I used to leap from tree to tree,
speaking glibly of Druids,
thinking of myself a latter-day dryad,
or a wood nymph from the stony city,
or some other chimerical creature,
conjured in my cheating poet's heart.

But now I stay, knowing the muse is mine,
knowing no books will banish him
and no off-key songs will drive him away.

I being and begin; I whistle in and out of tune.
If the ending is near, I do not think of it.
If the drought comes, we will make our own rain.
If the muse is grounded, I will make him fly,
and if he falls, I will catch him in my arms
until he flies with me again.

-Erica Jong
Old photo, I believe is by Duffy,
and had to be retouched by me!

Coming Into the Light

I would love to have this standing statue of Ma'at for my altar here at home... It's generally understood, when you find a statue of a god or goddess holding a "form", they are aligning themselves with the cosmos. In regard to images that you find standing, such as this one, the god or goddess (or Buddha) is more or less establishing a final order. With standing Buddha's for example, the view is that the standing position means it is the Buddha's choice to make it his or her last lifetime. The standing position represents the final judgment, and the ability to come into the light.



The kneeling position of Ma'at is very similar, if not the same, to many statues of Isis. This "form" is showing Ma'at going into a contemplative position of giving birth or new life to a situation. The sitting position represents the ability to go inward, to look into a glass darkly and come out the other side, where everything is eventually revealed to the light.

An Order to Chaos? The Egyptian Cosmology

Ma'at, the Divine Order, was an ideal world established at creation, summarized as "right order" and personified by a female goddess.

Ma'at was in control of differences, rather than their elimination.

On a cosmic order, creation itself was seen as order amidst chaos. Pharaohs had the responsibility of maintaining this order and keeping enemies at bay.



Humans were seen as being the primary reason for unrest in the world... "Because their hearts break". For Egyptians, the "need to act in accordance with Ma'at" came out of a practical realization, that any other action would result in disorder. So historians believe this is the main reason ancient Egypt never developed a codified system of either civil law, or religious commandments.

Bowie Sound and Vision Cocoon

No drama here!

It's called "transformation".

David Bowie's 70's Zuit Suit

Personally, I think the red hair on Ziggy makes his freckles stand out.

My Favorite President, Barack Obama

Here he is - my favorite President, Barack Obama.

At first glance, I'm thinking, wow - what a handsome man! But what's with this ugly tie? Very distracting. President Obama would do better to lean more towards silvers than gray. He also looks great in pinks and yellows. I especially like him without a tie. In fact, he's too sexy for his tie.


A water paint filter gave this photo texture. I worked with contrasts and highlighting to shift out the gray tones, make them more blue, and set the color of the skin tone. Now you find yourself focusing more on his face? Gorgeous, isn't he?

Bridge of Faith - The Beatles

Ever ask, what's going on in this photo?

The details make it stand on its own quite well. John, Paul, George and Ringo are on the threshold of individuation. There's a certain resignation in their expressions; a sense of acceptance in the positioning of their hands. They all look like they just finished doing 9 Lives! "Tired!"



The white-glare is shifted out of the photo, deadening the objects around them. I feel they are standing on a bridge... See how each Beatle is focused on looking somewhere off in the distance? This must be a bridge of faith! Notice the images on the door above their heads? It's as if they have just walked out of the past. In the process of letting go of the past, we need faith. Faith in understanding... Our hearts will remain connected, and our love for one another will stay intact - even with "goodbye". Faith is the threshold between the known and the unknown.

Don't blame it on the Yo-Yo-Yo-Yoko Ono

(This has gotta be one of the crappiest pics, but I still like it!)

Peace means you are able to run your own energy without interference... I think that's important, don't you?






In the later days of the Beatles, George had a confrontation with John. He accused John of hiding behind his glasses...


If more men would allow themselves five years in a love affair with an older, spiritual woman? They would become liberated.

And In the End, It's the Love You Give

These old Beatles photos by Tom Murray are my faves...


This has got to be one of the most delightful photos, from when I was 9... For me, it captures the essence of what it was like to be a child in the '60's. All You Need Is Love.



First and foremost, I think the success of the Beatles rested in their willingness to do the spiritual giveaway. What comes around goes around. A giveaway is an expression of releasing energy through a gift or a spirit offering. They were having so much fun when they were young! (They didn't know they were losing millions... Until it began to effect their abilities to make music together.)

Resilient Ringo Starr

Here the fuzziness of this old photo seems to steal away from the impact of the portrait. Still, it's a good photo!


Again using highlighting, contrasting, and a poster filter, the portrait becomes defined. Resilience is not about bouncing back from painful or negative situations. It's not about generating pain or negativity for others with cynicism, unkindness or hostility. Resilience has more to do with suspending cooperation, in order to focus and move forward. Ringo Starr learned resilience early in his childhood. It seems he only does things when his heart is totally in it. Long Live, Ringo!

George Harrison, Spiritual Seeker

Consciousness is not an easy process. We all need help - teachers, healers, mentors, friends, lovers, angels, guardians. I just wonder where we'd be if George Harrison had not taken those steps. He had a conviction to seek and search and find. He is an exemplar.

Namaste', Beloved.
(Beloved, I honor the Spirit in You.)

Paul McCartney's Soul

Everyone has their favorite Beatle, and I have mine. (Sure, whenever you tell someone who your favorite Beatle is, it creates controversy...!)




I still think Paul McCartney is one of the most gifted musicians walking around on the planet.

Thank You, for touching our lives with your soul,
and filling our hearts with your music!

Indomitable Spirit, Shaun White

Original photo of Shaun White, dragged off the public domain. I like this guy! A young man with a tenacious mom, she kept him active when the family learned Shaun was born with a heart defect. Shaun later came through a bad concussion, from a
competitive skateboard collision... He was 11, I think. Still his mom persisted in keeping him going, and his spirit took to it. His life is an example that love can go a long way.

Here, I just adjusted the contrast and highlighting in photoshop, to bring the central figure more "forward". This gives the photo more of a 3D look.

The Indomitable Spirit, Shaun White. My effort here is to dis-cover the "spirit" in the image... What's interesting is to work the the contrasts in a photo. I began to see in Shaun's face, a certain elevation of body and mind. He is perfectly suspended; emotion is neutral and freed-up. He's got mindset one needs if involved in competitive sports.

Using a "cut-up" filter on the highlighted photo, the filter changes things up. I feel it's possible to capture the "energy" and the "action" flowing off the central figure's body.
Fun!

Bjork "Swan" Photoshop

Yes, I think people can look a little cynical in real life...




Thus, the grace of photoshop! It can enhance a stressful moment captured on camera, and turn it into something romantic. (And screw 'em! Right Bjork?)

John Lennon "Meditation" photoshop

Original photo of John Lennon

John Lennon "Meditation"; watercolor, '70's style, by me.
I like how, in this one, John's glasses almost look like reflections of tears...

David Bowie "Spirit" photoshops

Celebrating post #100 with a few pics of one of my most favorite persons on the planet... These photos of Bowie were taken around 1997 - not sure of the photographer, sorry! I used photoshop to emphasis certain qualities of Bowie's spirit... (Yes, you may bite my neck, anytime!!)