The Infinite
Earlier this week, I gave myself an assignment to contemplate the Infinite…the Cosmic Soup…the Universe. All through the week, simply to envision pure, unlimited potential in my life.
Only a few days later, and the shift is amazing. Mostly due to getting circulating thoughts, that form neural grooves in my brain, halted and replaced with something bountiful and immense—the Infinite.
I started by mentally listing possibilities in given circumstances and this helped me realize how limiting my thoughts really were, even the positive ones. In a given situation, I’d conjure up as many possibilities as I could think of and come up with only five or six…out of a Universe filled with possibilities. I’d laugh and then imagine the vast night sky or a massive cauldron of stars and planets and galaxies pouring onto me and filling me with massive potential.
The results have been amazing…unexpected money arriving, me advocating for a raise for myself in a new grant, musical creativity rising. But most important, a sense of openness to life, energy, and clarity has arisen within me. My entire body feels more electric, more alive.
It’s easy to become trapped in the physical manifestation of life; however, most of the ‘physical’ is space…energy vibrating. The form we see is the smallest result of the creative process. Imagine that for a moment. Everything we see with our eyes is just a fraction of what’s really there. Like the neural grooves that form in our brains from repetitive thoughts, our lives become smaller when we limit ourselves to the physical manifestation of the creative process.
To simplify, imagine that you are in outer space in a spaceship. Stars, planets, nebula extend in all directions endlessly, yet you only see the contents of the spaceship and don’t realize how vast the world really is. You limit yourself to a very small existence.
So, how do we change our limiting thoughts? Imagine something more, but without limits. Whatever your process is, begin to contemplate the Infinite, or the Great Cosmic Soup as I call It. All possibilities, unlimited potential. This then is freeing the mind, a powerful tool, especially when combined with the energy of the heart.
It’s not about how the rest of the world sees me…or how the world sees you. It’s how we see ourselves. Are we limiting ourselves, seeing only the small spaceship? Or are we seeing the unlimited Universe? Are we willing to dip our ladle into the Cosmic Cauldron and drink from it? Or pour it over our heads, filling ourselves with boundless potential, unlimited possibilities.
Do I limit my world to inside my home? Or, do I step outside and see the beauty, that is Infinite?
The Vast Expanse
Stargazer: 1) a person who stargazes; 2) a daydreamer; 3) an impractical idealist; 4) any of several marine fishes of the family Uranoscopidae, having the eyes at the top of the head.
As for me, several of those definitions fit, but I’m especially quite taken with the idea of eyes on top of my head when the stars are as lovely as they were last night. After such a cloudy summer, a forecast of clear skies causes glee among stargazers…the dreamers.
It was 70 degrees at my home, at 2085 feet elevation, when I headed for Waterrock Knob, 6292 feet above sea level. After I got on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I watched the temperature start to plummet. It was 55 degrees and breezy when I arrived just before sunset. It quickly dropped to the upper 40’s and the wind started to howl on the surrounding ridge lines.
But the sky! The stars! The Milky Way!
With our country’s many struggles right now, it has never become more important for me to be outside, in Nature, and last night, under the vast expanse of the firmament. The heavens. I need to be reminded that there is an immense Universe and we are simply one tiny dot in it.
While everything socially breaks down, the stars remind me that they still move through the night sky, there is still a point of stillness in Polaris, and the Milky Way…our home galaxy…paints the night sky with its grandeur.
Last night, dressed in a micro fleece shirt, down vest, heavy down jacket, wool hat, wool socks, boots I was still chilly from the strong wind. I placed a towel on the ground and laid down while my Nikon was doing its star trail duty, programmed through the remote, to take 25 second exposures until I stopped it and the little SeeStar telescope was gathering photons from a distant nebula. Feeling the thick grass beneath the towel, I went deeper and felt the Earth, the grounding presence of our home planet. I gazed as stars shared their light. Finally, I felt at home again.
It seemed perfect to be under the cosmic sea last night as my album Cosmic Sea released yesterday. It was a perfect way to celebrate not only beauty and light, but also the work of my heart as it launched into the ether and all streaming platforms.
Elk Photography: Safety First!
I do a lot of wildlife photography and saw some people being really stupid today…approaching sparring elk within 20 feet! The rule is 50 yards! So….I added some hopefully helpful commentary for anyone wishing to photograph or video the elk here in the Smokies.
There’s some pretty cool footage of sparring elk here that I took ‘legally’ following the rules of the park. The still images at the end are taken from inside my car. So get out and enjoy the beauty….but please stay safe and DRIVE SLOW through the park when elk are present and always drive within the speed limits posted. Speeding has become a major issue in the park and already this year 6 elk have been killed. SO…..chill out and enjoy Nature!
