Swan – Taking Action after Searching Within – Picture to Ponder – v6 – Issue 10

by Sheila Finkelstein on March 10, 2010

Today’s swan photos were taken on the hotel grounds between sessions of Suzanne Evans “Be the Change Event” in which I was a participant last month. Before I describe the pictures and how they fit in with our lives, I want to update you on some exciting news.

If you are a new subscriber to Picture to Ponder, you may be unfamiliar with my Banana Sky DVD (more below). The exciting news is that it is going onto the retail market, being offered by a large company that does programs for caregivers. This means that our price, to match theirs, will be increasing by a minimum of four dollars at midnight on Sunday, March 14th.

To bring the restorative benefits of nature into your home any time, day or night, on your TV or your computer, at the still-low price of $7.97 you can go directly to the ORDER PAGE, or for Ellen Britt’s Video Testimonial and others, plus a one-minute preview, go to BANANA SKY DVD.

Today’s Photos -

swan in pond
Considering what’s next

swan searching deep within
Searching deep within

swan still searching
Still searching for the last pieces rippling out into the world

Swan with top of head missing from photo
Confident in the reminder that it’s not all in the head -
Trust the whole body

Though these photographs were not taken with any of the above captions in mind they are reflective of my current journey into self-discovery. I suspect you, too, may relate to some of what’s expressed in the captions.

And, MORE IMPORTANTLY, I invite you to BE with each of the images without my words. Enjoy each for what it is and, if any “send” a message to you, play with that.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
For today’s queries, I invite you to make a query for yourself from each of the photo captions above, IF this FITS for you.

In this week’s Writers Camp with Julie Jordan Scott, mentioned in Picture to Ponder last week, I have been grappling with the role of writing in my life. Some people are “driven” to write. That’s not the case with me.

Aside from my daily Morning Pages (Julia Cameron’s THE ARTIST’S WAY), where writing frees me up for the day, writing often feels like a “burden” and I do it because I made a commitment to do so, such as for this weekly Picture to Ponder.

One of the recurring themes in Picture to Ponder has been the freeing power of taking action, one step at a time, “getting out of our heads” (Swan photo #4). I invite you to look into your life to see if there is a current place where you are “burrowing” your head (Swan photo #2). If so, what single action can you take to start yourself in motion?

Is there an intention or commitment behind it? If not, setting that could be your first action step.

As always, have fun with this, and please share your experiences in the COMMENTS below.

Banana Sky DVD -
Banana Sky DVD documents the life of a banana plant from pre-fruiting the the end of the life of the one plant. As importantly it reflects the beauty of the experiencing nature, particularly that of sunlight.

I discovered that watching a slide show of a selection of the photos would always relax me, especially during the moments I was experiencing hard-to-control anger, as a caregiver, at the effects of Parkinson’s Disease on my beloved Sam and, consequently, on both of us.

Sensing the possibility and power of the Banana Sky DVD video, I contacted Jeannie Fitzsimmons to use her healing music as an integral part of the experience.

The resulting DVD was set up as an endless loop that will play continuously on a DVD player connected to your TV, reaching those who are not on computers, and on any computer DVD player.

Though initially targeted toward caregivers, Banana Sky DVD has become popular with anyone looking to have immediate, 24/7, access to the healing powers of nature anytime.

As mentioned above, the price will be increasing to $12 at midnight on Sunday, March 14th. Save four plus dollars by going to ORDER now, or PREVIEW for more information and to read testimonials first if you wish.

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Dried Roses and New Growth on Stems – Winter into Spring

by Sheila Finkelstein on March 9, 2010

 

 

 

Three plus weeks ago, these six roses were part of a dozen that were an integral part of a large mixture of flowers my son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren gave me on Valentine’s Day.  They were acknowledging the sadness I felt, missing my husband who has been gone for more than two years.  I wrote about the experience on Writing for Healing. 

Then two days later published the first of the rose photos and wrote about the experience here on Photography and Transformation. A week after that, impressed with the longevity and beauty of six of the roses, eight days after my original writing, I once again photographed and posted a photo of Beauty in an Aged Rose.

I thought that both the roses and I were finished with the photo journaling.  And then, lo and behold, the other day I noticed new growth – green leaves –  on the stems of these flowers that have been off the plant for who-knows-how-long.  

In a virtual writing retreat, or “camp”, as Julie Jordan Scott refers to it, Julie has been speaking of relating our experiences to those of coming out of Winter into Spring.  These now dead roses with the new growth seem to be such a metaphor for that I felt the necessity of once again photographing and sharing this “miracle.”  

All kinds of stories come to my mind. Seems I think in stories much of my life.  A friend says that these roses are Sam talking to me. And, putting all of that aside, I am attempting to cut down on my words.  So I leave you today with mainly the photos and the opportunity for you to share your own stories, if you so wish, in the COMMENTS section just below.

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Mushroom Faces Inspired Changes Perspectives – Picture to Ponder – v6 – Issue 9

by Sheila Finkelstein on March 3, 2010

Despite thousands of photos in my external hard drive, I was at a loss for featured photos for today’s issue of Picture to Ponder. Aside from some full moon shots and the roses of the past two issues, nothing much has grabbed my attention in the past week or so.

I then reflected on the fruit and vegetable cutting photo session, and some of the participants’ empowering experiences, in the last class of our Through and From the Lens Point and Shoot photo course and decided to “play” with that subject matter. Thus,

Today’s Photos -

My first action was to cut a mushroom in half. I started smiling immediately as two “faces” instantly showed up. Despite the fact the faces were not particularly happy ones, I couldn’t help laughing at the irony of how quickly, it seems, I see “faces.”

In the top and bottom photos, two different mushroom halves are resting on my stovetop. The half in the middle photo is in a ceramic dish I made on potters wheel years ago. Though more “artistic” in overall feel, the “face” seems to be angry or snarling, more so than in the other photos. It is same image as in the bottom photo. Yet, note the changes when on a different surface and viewed from a slightly different angle.

If you enjoy writing, these photos could be great prompts.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
As mentioned above, I was “stuck” for subject matter for today’s issue of Picture to Ponder, so I went for my camera. The latter, as you more than likely know, is one of my main tools, and “prescriptions”, for quickly shifting moods and perspectives.

What “tools” or methods do you use for creating state changes for yourself? I’d love to read your responses in the COMMENTS section below, including any writing your might have done with the photos as prompts.

In addition to simply cutting into a vegetable and then taking pictures, I went into creative mode by locating, positioning, and repositioning my subject matter. I became attuned to the differences by changing points-of-view. When you are in “stuck” situations, do you remember to look at them from different angles?

Lastly, are you aware of the number of ways in which you shift into creativity to make a difference for yourself?

As always, have fun with this.

Programs I recommend:
for Creavity, Writing and Getting to Expand your Knowledge of Yourself

Although not planned as such, my concluding query on knowing yourself and your creative strengths, interestingly, leads right into my friend, and mentor, Julie Jordan Scott’s one-week March Intensive Writing Camp starting this upcoming Monday, March 8th.

These five days with Julie are only $27, an incredible value! Get all the details at WRITERS CAMP.

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Beauty Continues in Aged Rose – Picture to Ponder – vol 6 – Issue 8

by Sheila Finkelstein on February 23, 2010

As you most likely recall, roses were featured in the last issue of Picture to Ponder – “Perfections, Imperfections, Counting Blessings” (see post below this).

Although I had not intended a continuation of the theme or photos, I am in such awe of the beauty of several of the roses, now eight days older, that I simply had to share one of them here.

Today’s Photo -

pink rose center - 8 days after Valentine's Day

I started adding another photograph and it felt that this one needed to have the total space. I invite you visit the page, Roses – 8 days Later. It has this rose photograph, plus five others taken at the same time.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Comments on the blog and directly to me had me revisit the theme of imperfections.

One reader wrote that she has frequently created rose greeting cards and realized, as she was reading and looking at the featured roses, that she often would pinch off the “imperfect” petals!!. This, during times she was teaching children to accept their “imperfect” pictures and stories.

As I mentioned above, today’s rose, and those on the Roses Page, were taken 8 days after I brought them home. Amazed at the remaining full-body-ness of several, I took more photographs in the night light.

I suspect that many of the readers here would have long ago discarded the flowers, seeing them only as shriveled up.

I invite you to look into your life. Can you identify a point in the life cycle when you discard flowers, objects, people – defining “life cycle” as the time period of usefulness?

Are there people’s statements that you automatically disregard, because they feel “old”, not “right”? What if you took another look?

Where can you find beauty today/tonight in something you usually ignore or slough off?

As always, have fun with this.

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Perfections, Imperfections, Counting Blessings as seen in Roses – Picture to Ponder – v6-issue 7

by Sheila Finkelstein on February 17, 2010

Today’s Picture to Ponder message relates to perfections and imperfections and finding the blessings in our lives.

On Sunday, Valentine’s Day, in the United States, I found myself feeling sad, missing Sam more than I usually do. It was interesting for me to observe this since he and I never really celebrated Valentine’s Day. I handled it by taking constructive action, for me writing, making a phone call and posting insights on my Writing for Healing blog. Bottom line I ended up being invited to dinner at my son’s home, which resulted in, among other things, receiving a beautiful bunch of flowers.

Once home I took an abundance of photographs, for some unidentified reason, focusing on the numerous roses that were part of the grouping. I experimented with different backgrounds and lighting with this issue’s roses being a small sampling. You can find more in the Rose Set in my FlickR account.

Before continuing, I do want to remind you of the SPIRIT AUTHORS Grand Opening on Monday Feb. 22.  I consists of  5 FREE webcasts with 18 leading publishing experts. See  SPIRIT AUTHORS.

Today’s Photos -

Orange rose

orange rose close up

close of up dying pink rose

pink rose opening bud at angle

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Today’s photos are, obviously, of roses, none of which are perfect. I was initially caught up in their beauty in color and/or patterns and shapes.

Then I saw the “imperfections”, the first pink one almost at the end of its time. This led me to querying, and inviting you do the same, “When you see something or someone, is your first response to see the imperfections or the beauty and positives?” If you miss, the imperfections at first glance, or two, are you able to accept them and stay with the beauty of that at which you are looking, or is something marred, with negative in the space? If the latter, do you stay with the negative, or are you able to create a shift for yourself? If so, how?

As I conclude, I realize that seeing the roses’ imperfections and choices we make are somewhat analogous to my Valentine’s sadness experience, staying in it or finding a way to see the positives.

For me, if you read the blog post, you’ll see, I ultimately chose to see the blessings in my life and wound up with even more than I expected – the flowers and the riches of that.

How about you? Are you able to see the blessings in your life?

As always, have fun with this.

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Creative DNA as Pointed Out by a Flower Photo Close-Up – Picture to Ponder – v6-issue6

by Sheila Finkelstein on February 11, 2010

In Session 2 of the current Through and from the Lens Point and Shoot Photo Course, I introduced the concept of Creative DNA and referenced my discussion to issues of Picture to Ponder five years ago.

When participant Deb Mallett commented on then-featured photo and imagery she had difficulty finding, I decided the article and photo were worth revisiting.

Thus Today’s Photo – (See below for a description of the imagery which I saw at that time.)

cropped pink bromeliad
An unidentified tropical flower from a local nursery

In 2005, I wrote: As I prepare the curriculum for the upcoming teleclasses, I’ve been reading THE CREATIVE HABIT: LEARN IT AND USE IT FOR LIFE by Twyla Tharp, dancer/choreographer. In it she speaks of “Creative DNA” which we may think of as our “creative hard-wiring or personality.”

She goes on to say, “When I apply a critic’s temperament to myself, to see if I’m being true to my DNA, I often think in terms of focal length, like that of a camera lens.

All of us find comfort in seeing the world either from a great distance, at arm’s length, or in close-up. We don’t consciously make that choice. Our DNA does, and we generally don’t waver from it. Rare is the painter who is equally adept at miniatures and epic series, or the writer who is at home in both historical sagas and finely observed short stories.”

After reading this I had a “flash.” People have been asking me how I see and take photos the way I do. In attempting to find answers, I’m noticing that the pictures subscribers seem to be most responsive to are those where I’ve zoomed in and on some where I’ve gotten even closer by cropping.

My creative DNA IS that close-up focus. So I became “true to my DNA”, pulled up the picture and cropped it. I’m thinking you get the strongest response to my work when I am being “truest” to myself.

tropical pink flower

The long view of the above photo which I cropped

Puzzling Imagery -

In 2005, I stated wrote: “I see a woman [top photo] with her head at a 3/4 angle toward the right cradled and protected by the petals, one of which caps her head. There is also a bulging-eyed, pink frog on the left protecting her, where her knees would be. I could continue with the some of the other petals and didn’t. I suspect that some of you will now probably start seeing images also.”

In response to this Deb Mallett wrote:
“It took me a long time to see the woman’s face and the bulging-eyed, pink frog in that flower, but I stared and stared and all of a sudden they both were there. And it’s not an abstract woman’s face, it’s actually quite realistic. Now that I’ve seen it, I can’t understand how I didn’t see it before.”

Now, five years later, I immediately see the frog and have yet to see the “realistic woman’s face.” I’ve marked the “frog” in the photo on FlickR (scroll over the PICTURE there and a box will pop up) and may or may not have identified the woman by the time you click on the picture link.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
I invite you to become aware of your creative DNA. As a pattern, are you looking at the world, people, situations, “from a great distance, at arm’s length, or in close-up?”

If you find yourself in challenging situations, are you in the true mode for you? If not, would shifting it make a difference to you and to the people with whom you are interacting?

Does it help to be aware that a person with whom you are attempting communication may have a different creative DNA when viewing projects?

Also, in relation to looking for the “face” and the “frog”, if you “played” the game and could not find one or both of the images, how did you handle your possible frustrations? My first inclination is to attempt to figure it out myself and then walk away if I can’t find the answer. Ultimately, I might ask for help and I am getting better at it. What about you?

Lastly, if you’ve read all of the above, are pondering it and, then, find that what I’ve related has some impact for you, I’d appreciate your sharing that in the comments below. It doesn’t have to be the “what” or the “why.” Simply knowing a difference has been made would be helpful and sufficient for me. Thank you.

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Prickly Situations or Enlightenment from a Cactus Flower – Picture to Ponder – v6-issue 5

February 4, 2010

Today’s Photo -

Cactus flower in the Desert Botanical Garden in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As part of the focus and sensory expansion exercises we do in the Point and Shoot Through and From the Lens photo course, participants “place” themselves into a photo of an alstromeria flower and explore it from within and/or from the outside. As [...]

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Finding the Openings in the Fog – Picture to Ponder- v6-issue4 – Clear Spot in the Window

January 27, 2010

Yesterday morning, in relatively warm Florida, as I was writing my “Morning Pages” – (Julia Cameron, THE ARTIST’S WAY) – I looked out onto my patio and noticed almost complete fog on the upper windows above the sliding ones that comprise my outside “wall.” And then I saw the one bright opening.
Given it was the [...]

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Being Safe and Authenticity – Azaleas, Ferns and Iguana in Morikami – Picture to Ponder – v6-issue 3

January 22, 2010

Before introducing today’s photos, I want to put out a reminder for those of you whom might be looking for a creativity boost, in an “eye-opening” way, you can experience this in the upcoming Point and Shoot Photo Course. The official start date was moved to this upcoming Tuesday, January 26th.
Our pre-class revealed an exciting, [...]

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Getting Past Stuckness – Taking Action – Introducing Red Onion #7 – Picture to Ponder – V6-Issue2

January 15, 2010

Today’s post will be, of necessity, a demonstration of “less is more” – fewer words than usual on my part. So many of them around the “right” words have been running around my head that I allowed myself to stay stalled. I’ve been wanting to ensure that you understand what’s available for you [...]

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