This blog is updated weekly with a Thought for the Week, an Inspirational Quote and News about Ed P and his pictures. To make sure you don’t miss anything, type in your email address in the Subscribe panel on the right.
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Picture
Here’s another detail from Family Tapestry. This ‘family’ is titled ‘Nuns’ for obvious reasons.
While chatting about being open to the guidance from Spirit, the Life force or your Higher Power, someone suggested it is like being a mobile phone. If we are not switched on we can't pick up the signals. We may not even be aware there are signals and information which we can receive from our physical world.
The first signals we notice are the waking dreams. Something like a piece of text or headline hits us as significant or where someone says something that has special meaning for us. The message is significant for some reason but you can't put your finger on it.
The next development of this is when you ask a question and look for an answer. The way this works is to ask a question of Spirit, your inner guide or Higher Power. It's a good idea to specify how you'd like the answer. See the Waking Dreams post for ideas.
So how do you switch on this inner guidance? A method I've found useful is singing the word HU during my contemplation. HU is an ancient name for God, it is also the core sound of the universe. By singing HU you connect with this life force and come into tune with life. Practice this for about twenty minutes a day for at least four weeks. This will give you time to adjust to this new element in your life.
During your contemplation you can ask questions and indicate how you'd like them answered. This takes a bit of practice which is why the four week trial period is suggested.
Another method of switching to our inner guidance on is by being aware of our dreams but we’ll discuss that next week.
Photo from the Peak of Hong Kong island looking towards Kowloon.
In Hong Kong
I’m currently travelling to see our daughter in Australia. At the moment my wife and I are in Hong Kong for a few days to break the journey. I haven’t had much painting time but there’s a lot of culture to absorb and learn from.
“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness ... the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.” Dalai Lama
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Family Tapestry is an attempt to illustrate how we are linked to our ancestors and past lives. The ‘ribbons’ are the links from one life to another. In these lives we play different roles and have a variety of experiences. All the things we have learned throughout our past lives go to make up the person we are today.
See News below for more info.
Thought for the Week -
A very good friend, Jim, was telling me about an incident he experienced when he was buying his car. When he arrived to pick up the car the sales man asked him “Do you have the bank draft”. This was the first he heard that they required a draft and he explained that. “I wasn’t aware that you needed a draft, which is why I brought this cheque.”
Suddenly it seemed that his money wasn’t good enough and that his character was in doubt. Jim felt a little indignation begin to rise within him and along with that came some anger. He felt his ego begin to fume so he said to himself “Let’s just listen and see how it this thing plays out”.
The sales man went off to his boss and explained Jim’s situation but his boss wasn’t going to change the rules for Jim. The sales man explained that not long ago someone bought a car from them with a cheque which bounced and they couldn’t find the buyer or the car since. For that reason they have to insist on taking bank drafts only.
Jim accepted the explanation calmly. He kept his ego and anger in check. They didn’t boil over and scald him or the sales man. As he was leaving to go and get the bank draft the sales man said “You are taking this very calmly.” Jim replied “Anger will only shorten my life”.
Closing Party at the Expose Yourself Gallery
It was a fun evening with a tinge of sadness, last Friday at the closing party for the Expose Yourself Gallery in the Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre. Everyone was in good spirits with wine and good company. Karen Harper, the owner/curator added a lot of laughs with her award ceremony. All awards had humorous and almost appropriate titles. I had the honour of receiving the ‘Wonder Bra’ Award- In recognition of valuable contributions and support to the gallery and for making things look pretty.
Photo shows Ed with Karen Harper, owner/curator of the Expose Yourself Gallery. Karen holds Life’s Paths which Ed presented to her and Ed holds the Wonder Bra award which Karen had presented to him. What a pair!
CGSociety Competition
During the week was the deadline for entry into the CG Society’s NVArt - Design Fusion competition. I had to work in a lot of extra time to get the piece finished. It’s still not finished, I have yet to add another 6 families to complete the piece as I had originally planned it. The competition entry has 15 families. I’ve spent 90 hours on this piece so far, probably the most time I’ve invested in any picture to date. Click here to see the entry.
St Stephen’s Green
Next weekend sees the first of the three People’s Art shows, for 2008, on the railings of St. Stephens Green in Dublin. There will be up to 200 artists exhibiting and a great place to pick up some nice work. There will be full time professional artists, emerging artists and armature artists showing their work. It is well worth a visit. Unfortunatly I won’t be there as I’m heading to Australia to visit my daughter and brother.
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
Buddha
Picture: This is another detail from Family Tapestry. Thanks to Mark, a friend who knows all about the Napoleonic armies, I believe I’ve got the right uniforms on the soldiers. The rider is French and the infantry are English. The deadline for the competition I’m entering this into is Thursday next. As it is taking a lot longer than I anticipated I’ll be entering a piece with just 15 ‘families’ as opposed to 21 which will be in the final version.
Thought for the Week -
While cycling home from work this evening I went through the campus of UCD, as usual. It’s a nice cycle through trees and paths built for cycles and pedestrians. As I came to a large open paved area I saw a Dad on his bike leading his two sons who travelled a few yards behind him on a large trike which pulled a little trailer. One boy peddled the trike while the other sat in the trailer behind. The boys were about 8 or 9 years old.
As I passed the boy in the trailer produced a toy handgun and shot at me. I immediately returned fire with my right hand gun shooting from its index finger muzzle. I shot twice. The boy’s face was shocked for an instant and then became a shy smile. I was smiling too.
It was a joy to be brought back to the days of my youth when I played ‘Cowboys and Indians’ in the woods near our house.
What a nice unexpected gift I received from this boy. Our exchange of shots and smiles lasted no more than 5 seconds but the joy I received lasted 5 minutes and more. His joy may have lasted a minute or so entertained by the idea of a adult joining in his game.
It is interesting how the innocent little things we do can affect the people around us. I hope all the shots I fire as I go through the day bring benefit or a smile to those who are affected by them. Somehow I don’t think all my shooting is as playful as the shots above and they are adding to my cycle of karma.
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