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Learning about presence

Quote of the day: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ~ Buddha As a long-time meditator, I work on living with presence, and mostly I fail.  I have glimmers of presence but more than anything my meditative practices have shown me how I am not present most of the time. I’ve been doing an early morning class called ai chi for over one and a half years. (Ai chi is a water-based meditative practice created by combining Tai-Chi concepts with Shiatsu and QiGong techniques.  Take a look Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

A Black and White Kind of Day

Quote of the day: “There’s something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery.” ~ Stefan Kanfer Today I met a friend at a coffee shop/cafe and had only my point and shoot Canon Power Shot with me.  There were some interior scenes that screamed black and white to me, so I went ahead and shot them and then converted them to black and white later. Wherever I go, I look with different eyes since I’ve become a photographer. Wherever I go, I find beauty. How can you see with different eyes today? Where is beauty hiding in plain sight?

By Marilyn, ago

Get Inspired Today

Quote of the day: “I have to get inspired by something that touches my soul, or rocks my soul.” ~ Steven Tyler Today I was inspired by a slant of light on a flower, the scent of jasmine blossoms, a fresh, heavy, wet snowfall, and the quilts of a Minneapolis artist who quilts just for the joy of it. Today I got to help hang an amazing quilt show at my church (First Universalist Minneapolis). The artist, who doesn’t really want to sell any of her work because she “doesn’t want to take any of the joy out it” inspired Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Playing with textures

Quote of the day: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”  ~ Plato I’ve been playing with 2 Kim Klassen textures this morning and having so much fun.  The first is called kk_felicity, the second is kk_canvasmagic.  And I can tell you, using these textures in your photos is a little bit like magic. Here are some of the results of my play from today.

By Marilyn, ago

The Art of Seeing – Week 3

Quote of the day:  “In photography, observing is the first and most important skill we have to learn. Learning to observe requires us to set time aside to “see” familiar things.” ~ Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing My photography lesson this week is not what I had planned to work on. But there is an old saying, “If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”  Instead of working on photography last week I spent quite a bit of time with relatives . We had two extended family members have unexpected surgery last week (ovarian cancer Read more…

By Marilyn, ago