From the category archives:

Nature Photography

Listening Attentively – Boy, Wood Knots and Blue-Winged Teals – Picture to Ponder – v6 – Issue 11

by Sheila Finkelstein on March 16, 2010

If you are ever feeling stuck or in a funk and you’ve been around me for a while, you might hear my voice say, “Grab your camera. Pay attention to what catches your eye and take some pictures.” I’ve written about this in articles and you’ve most likely read my RX in the PDF file you received as a new, or renewing, subscriber. You can claim it by subscribing to Picture to Ponder.

Oftentimes I do I forget my own advice. Though I almost always have my camera with me, I may not use it. Last night, in a funk, I went for a walk at Green Cay Wetlands. When I finally pulled my camera out, I remembered, “Oh yes. Why didn’t I think of this in the first place, as immediate access for shifting my mood?”

Today’s Photos -
As I started walking and taking photographs of wood knots, I got into conversation with a young boy, Grady, and his mother. I stopped and showed them the Green Cay Wood Knot Lion, still in my camera. We then discovered another possible lion, or other critter, right under our feet. Grady did not agree with his mother and me on what it was. So the next time I made a discovery, he went close down to inspect it.

boy studying woodknot on the boardwalk at Green Cay WetlandsClick on the photo to see Wood Knot the Boy is studying

We continued our walk, made some other “finds”, and then stopped at one point. My young friend climbed on the railing to watch the blue-winged teals. As I photographed, Grady continued talking about a story that was evidently on his mind from earlier conversation. His chattering along with the movement of the bird, is in the 32-second, fun video below.

Grady and his mother proceeded to move on as I stopped to record the two blue-winged teals below. This is a 34-second video in which you can experience the busy-ness of the teals and the peace of the scene.


Click on photo to see the video online.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Obviously, from my story above, you can see that once again, I had accessed shifting my own “funky” mood.

Do you have a regular practice that will do this for you? If so, do you have a reminder system in place that will have you use the practice whenever needed?

And now, in a totally different conversation, let’s look at “paying attention.” If you’ve watched, and listened to, the first video with the boy chattering, you’ll have heard me break in with the suggestion to look at the water coming out of the duck’s beak.

I invite you, for the next day, or more, to pay attention to your own listening. Are you always full present to what the other person is saying or are your thoughts going elsewhere?

When you notice you’re not, are you planning on what you are going to say next, concentrating on something else, or is your mind simply wandering?

If/when you catch yourself, I invite you to stop, apologize to the person who is speaking, if appropriate, and ask for a recap. Then fully enjoy being in the moment with that person

As always, have fun with this, and please share your experiences in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this post.

Awakened Wisdom -
I have been invited to participate, offering a bonus, in the launch on April 20th of a new book, “Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance”, by Patrick Ryan.

Over the past three decades, Patrick, an executive coach and a former Buddhist monk, has been on a spiritual quest that eventually led him to devise a system of teachings he calls “Awakened Wisdom Experiences” (AWE). For years he taught this system worldwide at his workshops of the same name.

Now, at long last, he has consolidated the teachings of Awakened Wisdom Experiences into a book, appropriately entitled, “Awakened Wisdom – A Guide to Reclaiming Your Brilliance.” This means his unique spiritual teachings can now reach a much wider audience around the globe. You can read more about the book here: AWAKENED WISDOM.

The book Awakened Wisdom is written in two sections. The first is a deeply spiritual exploration on what it means to be human. The second section explores what Patrick calls “Eight States of an Awakened Life”. These eight states help you tap into your divine wisdom to create more of the life you want. Here are the eight states from Patrick’s book:

1) A Good State of Understanding
2) A Good State of Intention
3) A Good State of Words
4) A Good State of Being
5) A Good State of Purpose
6) A Good State of Effort
7) A Good State of Practice
8) A Good State of Doing

In addition to bonuses from 40 other people, Patrick is giving away an EXTRA special gift of his own: An Awakened Wisdom VIRTUAL Experience!

When you buy the book, you will be given free admission to this special 2-day live “virtual” event, taking place on May 5th and 6th, 2010. On that event, Patrick will personally guide you through the Eight States of an Awakened Life. If you cannot make the live event, it will be recorded, but it will be available only to those who buy the book on April 20th.

To find out how you can buy this book on April 20th and claim Patrick’s gift, and the others, just go to Awakened Wisdom Launch When you go to that page, be sure you enter your email address in the form, and Patrick will send you a “launch reminder” to make sure you don’t miss the April 20th date.

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

by Sheila Finkelstein on February 4, 2010

Today’s Photo -

pink cactus flower
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 a follow up, there is a choice of two other photos with which to do this exercise between sessions.

When looking at the photo page the other day, before sending participants the Photos for Exploration link, the shiny light within the above cactus flower popped out at me. It called out to, once again, be a featured photo in Picture to Ponder.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Although the “spiny” needles surrounding the flower may be prickly, in the photo they appear to be soft and gentle. The light feels strong and bright, yet there is an overall sense of softness, conveyed in part by the pinks.

I invite you to do the exercise mentioned above, putting yourself into the photo, exploring the flower, the setting within which it resides, covering it from all angles.

Observe – “What size are you?” “How does it feel?” “Would you want to be a permanent resident in this space?” Check your responses. “Why ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” Do they point to similarities in any aspects of your life?

I also invite you to look further into your own life. Are there areas where you are feeling “prickly” places, perhaps ones you wish to avoid? If so, can you look beyond and find a bright light beckoning you? What could you be saying to “soften” them up?

You may also want to use your camera to photograph images that catch your eye and then do the same exercise with one or more photos of your own.

As always, have fun with this.

Programs I recommend for:
Authors – Published or Inspired to be ones -

My friend, author of GARDEN OF THE SOUL, is launching a new program with an exciting FR*EE Grand Opening Event coming Feb 22-26. She is hosting 5 days of webcasts with 17 other leading names in the exciting world of mind-body-spirit writing and publishing.

Lynn is presenting an exciting NEW concept on the Internet, combining coaching, learning, community and business-building in a creative, spirit-based environment.

If you’re an experienced author, a brand new author, or someone who is dreaming of writing an inspirational book some day, you’ll want to register for this fr*ee event.

Using Social Media – Developing an Internet Business:
This weekend I was in Atlanta for the Niche Affiliate Marketing System (NAMS 3) program. It was a full, information-rich, people-connecting, inspiring weekend.

On Saturday, a recording, STRATEGIES 4 SOCIAL MARKETING, was made with a panel of 5 top Internet Marketing Experts sharing information and tips on effectively using social media for connecting AND building business. That hour session is now available in a downloadable MP3, with several bonuses, for only $17.

My friend Tomar Levine, not at the conference, wrote: “Thanks, Sheila. I bought it, listened to it, and took four pages of notes. Just what I needed to re-invigorate my social media, which I’ve backed away from of late. I got at least one brand-new piece of info which I will start using immediately.”

It is also possible, until Monday when the price increases, to purchase the recordings from the past three NAMS conferences, including this past weekend, for only $97 total. The above-mentioned Social Marketing recording is part of the weekend recordings, so you wouldn’t need both.

See NAMS for details and to purchase the full series, should it fit for you.

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

by Sheila Finkelstein on 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, excited group of participants. The call was on How to Use Flickr for communicating and sharing photographs. It was recorded and will be made available for participants. There is still time to join us. See COURSE for information and your subscriber’s savings.

Today’s Photos -

azalea at the Morikami Gardens

Today’s photos are from a recent walk through the Morikami Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida, with visiting friends from New Jersey. I had several choices for photos to select for today. Then concern set in on the photo I originally thought I might use. I decided some might find it “disturbing.” I will include a separate link below for the latter.

Because my friend loves azaleas, my attention was brought to one above on our walk through Morikami Gardens

Posts and ferns in Morikami Gardens

Most appealing to me was this close-up of ferns and the posts from a dam-like “wall”. (See broader view.) For some unidentified reason, I get a peaceful feeling from the above picture, a sense of “aliveness’, perhaps from the bright lights and contrast.

The most dramatic photograph from the outing was a yellow (golden) iguana – beautiful colors and patterns. This is the one I hesitated to feature here in Picture to Ponder.

Firstly, some of you could possibly find it repulsive-looking, despite what I see; and, secondly, in South Florida iguanas are becoming a serious nuisance, invading residential areas, eating prized plants and more. So “honoring” it might be offensive to some. You can see the photo by clicking on iguana.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
My “story” today is a demonstration of how we often allow our actions to be governed by our expectations of what others may think and feel. And, it’s not always even the reality of the situation.

I invite you to look into your own life.

Are there places now where you are stifling your own thoughts and feelings because you don’t think they will be accepted by others?

If so, do you take the time, sometimes the courage, to actually check in with the ones upon whose presumed thoughts you are taking, or not, action?

As you ponder these queries, I invite you also to look to see, “Can you identify some areas in your life where you do allow yourself to be truly open/authentic and others where your don’t?”

What would it take to be totally free and open? Is that even something you want for yourself? from others?

Last Call -
Although none of the above was meant to lead into one last reminder of the upcoming Through and from the Lens Point and Shoot Photo Course, 4 weeks, starting Tuesday evening, January 26th at 8:30 PM, I would be remiss in not making one more mention here.

The course does provide a fun, experiential platform where, with your camera, you can start more freely, playfully, identifying the most meaningful areas of your life.

For specifics and registration see Through and From the Lens Course.

More Upcoming Important Events in which I am participating. You can too.

1 – My friend, amazing Adela Rubio is continuing her teleclass series: Conscious Business Summit: Mastering the Inner Game a global network of Conscious Business Experts(TM) ready to power up your potential in just 11 days.

Adela states: “Launch a Powerful and Profitable 2010 by Mastering Your Inner Game. Tap Into Your Creative Genius and Unleash Your Built In Greatness to Create an Abundant, Authentic and Conscious Business powered by YOU. . .”

These calls are F*ree, with a 24-hour window to listen in if you can’t make the live call. Check out Mastering the Inner Game.

Adela is one of the best interviewers I encountered and TOTALLY authentic and open, inspiring her guests to be the same.

2 – Ordered at Amazon, and already delivered, Allison Maslan’s book – Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan to Launch Your Dreams Into Reality is waiting for me to dive into it . There are several bonuses, still available for anyone who orders the book by January 31st. See Blast Off!

I am offering a wonderful REFLECTIONS bonus for this launch, including 30 Reflections Photos in a PDF slide show, plus a separate PDF with thumbnails and Queries for writing prompts. By agreement, you will be given permission to use any of the photos for you web activities. Again, see Blast Off!

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Year-end and New Year’s Reflections from Night Crown Heron and Dancing Children – Picture to Ponder – v5-48

by Sheila Finkelstein on December 29, 2009

I’m taking a quick break from family time to wish you a Joyful, Healthy, Peaceful Prosperous New Year.

night crown heron in Green Cay Wetlands

The Night Crown Heron seems to be pondering? Reflecting? Have you taken the time to reflect and acknowledge your accomplishments in 2010?

night crown heron stepping out

Will you to be stepping lightly into 2010 or taking a leap?
And, in celebration of both the “good” and the “bad” in the year almost over, as we look forward to the upcoming year, I include one of my favorite photos taken a few years ago.

children celebrating sunrise

With the spontaneity and freedom of youth, my grandson and granddaughter, along with their cousins from Indiana, are dancing and singing, celebrating the rising sun. I use it here to acknowledge the past year and welcome the upcoming one.

For me, in addition to the light, the photo also exudes warmth. So, I offer it to you now, wishing you light and warmth, wherever you are, during this season.

And, should it be a challenging time for you, I invite you to pause, close your eyes and do some deep breathing.

Self Reflecting Queries -
I invite you to take a moment or two, or more, to reflect.  Where in your life is there light and warmth? Who are the people past and present who have contributed that to you? Is there a way for you to express your gratitude?

Do remember to acknowledge yourself. In the gratitude there is light.
Personally, Looking Back and Looking Forward -
This past year I spent a lot of time in search of my purpose/my identity.  Not that this was anything new.  What was different  this year was the number of places I went and the “new” people with whom I interacted.  I thank them all for their contribution and continuing support and belief in me. They/you know who they/you are.
The transformational difference for me is that by the end of the year, I finally clearly saw how dependent I’ve been in terms of defining myself as others see me and then attempting to fit into what I think that is. The result for me has been that, in trying to “fit” their image, I was not fully and comfortably “fitting” into myself.
One of the prime examples in this past year has been in the promotion of my Through and From the Lens/Point and Shoot Photo Course.

It is a core course I’ve developed that has made a remarkable difference for participants AND I’ve been relying on others to point me in the direction of the “best” web page, marketing, and more.

My reasons for citing this here is twofold:
1 – You may find yourself in some of what I’ve shared about my experiences, and
2 -I wanted to give you the opportunity for early registration into
the now-referred-to-as the “Through and From the Lens Point and Shoot Photocourses” -
Please check the link out.  I would love to be connecting with you on a more direct level, furthering what we see in Picture to Ponder.
I feel blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for being there. May you have a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010.

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Holiday Warmth and Light from Wakodahatchee Wetlands Reeds in Picture to Ponder – vol 5 – 47

December 22, 2009

With this issue of Picture to Ponder, I wish Happy Holidays to those who still have celebrations up coming.
I would expect you, like I, have a long to-do list and may also be inundated with the wide range of emails offering holiday and year-end specials. I am thus being VERY BRIEF.
Yesterday I was working on [...]

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Stories and Limiting Beliefs – Rain Drops and Wood Knots – Picture to Ponder v5-46.

December 18, 2009

Earlier this week, when I put together the mailing on Nature Art Gifts, I stated that I would follow up with the story on ease and synchronicity. It’s really a simple story. Yet the “weight” of writing “the right thing,” and the other “stories” I’ve been creating during this week, have resulted in a huge [...]

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Flowing Lines – Openings or Confrontations – Picture to Ponder – Vol. 5 – Issue 42

November 18, 2009

Today’s Picture to Ponder writing will really be brief. Each issue seems to take a few hours and then I wonder why. So today I am going to practice brevity and allow most of the pondering and querying up to you.
TODAY’S PHOTOS –
I started searching past issues for “reflections” and then moved on to [...]

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Close-up and Distance Perspectives – Picture to Ponder – Vol. 5 – Issue 41 – Spatterdock

November 12, 2009

Today’s photos turned into a theme of the different perspectives from which we can view our life. I did not realize, as I selected photos, that the spatterdock root was featured two issues ago. Rather than make a time-consuming switch, I am going with the flow.
TODAY’S PHOTOS -
As I was completing a recent walk in [...]

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