The consciousness in you and the consciousness in me, apparently two, really one, seek unity and that is love.
~Nisargadatta
“There is almost a sensual longing for communion with others who have a large vision. The immense fulfillment of the friendship between those engaged in furthering the evolution of consciousness has a quality impossible to describe.”
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
“I am often struck by the dangerous narcissism fostered by spiritual rhetoric that pays so much attention to individual self-improvement and so little to the practice of love within in the context of community.”
~bell hooks
“In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A community. A school. A vow. A moral principle. One peaceful moment.”
~Maxine Hong Kingston
“We are here to witness the creation and abet it. We are here to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed. Together we notice not only each mountain shadow and each stone on the beach but, especially, we notice the beautiful faces and complex natures of each other. We are here to bring to consciousness the beauty and power that are around us and to praise the people who are here with us. We witness our generation and our times. We watch the weather. Otherwise, creation would be playing to an empty house. According to the second law of thermodynamics, things fall apart. Structures disintegrate. Buckminster Fuller hinted at a reason we are here: By creating things, by thinking up new combinations, we counteract this flow of entropy. We make new structures, new wholeness, so the universe comes out even. A shepherd on a hilltop who looks at a mess of stars and thinks, ‘There’s a hunter, a plow, a fish,’ is making mental connections that have as much real force in the universe as the very fires in those stars themselves.”
~Annie Dillard
“Perhaps community is a constellation. Each one of us is a light in the emerging collective brightness. A constellation of light has the greater power of illumination than any single light would have on its own. Together we increase brightness.”
–John O’Donohue
“It is our role as two-leggeds to seek those places we wish blessed and make places of power by praying there. When we remember to make Ceremony, blessing every rock and flower on Earth’s surface assists in reconnecting us to our Mother. The connection process must be done with joy and celebration. When we do ceremony, we have not forgotten to dance our joy of unity and harmony, thus healing ourselves. As we heal, the Earth Mother feels our joy. We are like cells in and on her body. The power of love, the power of healing, the power of compassion, the power of unity, and the power of knowing are our abilities. These are the gifts our Earth Mother seeks to share with us at this time.”
~ Jamie Sams
“Paradise is having a connection — roots in the garden, stem from the branch, current to the light. To be unaware of the connection is to have one’s heart in the wrong place — far out in the fruit instead of within, in the tree.”
~Alan Watts
“Every thought and action sends shivers of energy into the world around us, which affects all creation. Perceiving the world as a web of connectedness helps us to overcome the feelings of separation that hold us back and cloud our vision. This connection with all life increases our sense of responsibility for every move, every attitude, allowing us to see clearly that each soul does indeed make a difference to the whole.”
-Emma Restall Orr
“We must remember the chemical connections between our cells and the stars, between the beginning and now. We must remember and reactivate the primal consciousness of oneness between all living things. We must return to that time, in our genetic memory, in our dreams, when we were one species born to live together on earth as her magic children.”
~Barbara Mor
All images by Mónica Esgueva. Quotes chosen by Braided Way editor Laura Weldon.
Artist’s statement:
“This series of Lightscapes aims for a sense of emotional connection —harmony, serenity, hope—and simultaneously promotes unity, while remaining personally meaningful to each viewer. Each artwork invites you to connect to your real Self and start imagining a new Earth through your heart and intuition. Each artwork encourages you to bask in a warm glow, feeling the inner light that never fades away.
Only art can penetrate the veil of the rational constricted mind and open up a new realm of possibilities, making spirits beam with excitement and anticipation. May my paintings be of benefit to all.”
