From another friend in California I got the link to a website called Architects of a New Dawn. It is a new social networking site by the musician Carlos Santana that is devoted to positive and transformative music and media.

On the site it says:

“Architects of A New Dawn is a project, born from the dream and vision of Carlos Santana, to create a new global network, driven by extraordinary music and powerful media content. It is designed to engage people of all walks of life to work together to create positive change in the global community where love can replace fear and where peace can replace conflict.”

Carlos Santana writes: “One of the things that has become very clear to me in recent months is that after carrying an idea in my mind and soul for decades that the time had come to bring my vision of Architects Of A New Dawn into reality. The world today is as deeply challenged as it is inspired. Never has there been a more profound time to harness the possibilities for positive change, especially in this era of mass communication. This is my invitation to you to join us in this transformational work.”

On the site you find a number of beautiful videos, and music videos, like “Sacred” (with scenes of Buddhist monks in the old Ankor Wat temple, Cambodia)

The site “is an invitation to join and connect with other Architects literally from every part of the globe to find ways to effect change and transform our world together.”

A friend from California sent me as a New Year’s greetings a link to a very inspiring video posted on the NASA-website (astronomy picture of the day). However, this one wasn’t about spacecrafts or galaxies, but of a man by name Matt Harding traveling around the planet and dancing. And animating people everywhere to dance with him.

The video is also on YouTube, and elsewhere. He has a website: Where the Hell is Matt?, where you can read more about him.

Matt got his journey around the world financed by a chewing gum producer, on the site of which you can also download the video in hi-res and different formats. Through his dances he is spreading joy and inspiration.

My friend sent the link with the words: “The video reminds us of the Tibetan’s quote ‘May the Love of the divine Self be shed abroad in our hearts, through our Group and throughout the World. And may the power of the spirit of Man triumph.’ And so it is…”

Last week I read an interview with the Swiss professor of art history, Johannes Stückelberger, about the relation between art and religion. He is teaching at two universities in Switzerland and will start teaching at the National Taiwan University in Taipeh (see link). In the interview he remarked that in the last years famous artists have started decorating churches with glass windows or art expositions are being held in churches in a way which was impossible some decades ago: Artists would have ruined their reputation: Religion was considered to be something private, and the churches were turned more to the inside. Now they go out again into visibility and understand their buildings as public places.

This thought is very fascinating: In other cultures religion or spirituality are much more part of public life. When traveling through India you see signs of the religious attitude of the people everywhere along the roads or in cars, at home or elsewhere in public. I have seen offices with pictures of gods and gurus in a way you would never show here in the west. Though at my office several collegues have little pictures of either a spiritual teacher or a representation of the Divine –  a little statue, a flower – it is quite uncommon at other places. The Christmas displays are more of a decoration value then of a declaration of one’s beliefs. The head-scarf, however, has here quite clearly a religious connotation, coming from a cultural background which didn’t go through the process of secularization.

I myself feel it is more natural today to speak about spiritual activities than it  it was some years or a decade ago. There seems to be a change towards a greater openness, and artists seem to experience this opening towards subtler spheres of perception, in their search for new ways of interpreting the reality. A sign for the growth of the Aquarian age?

An angel in front of a café / bar in Engelberg.

This morning while doing some shoppings in the city of Berne I discovered some nice shop window scenes. I love these “kitsch as kitsch can”-sceneries. The Indian Gods on tour in Swiss shop window decorations – what a colourful meeting.

Reflections of reflections – passers-by and display dummies

Non-attachment in the shop display: The Buddha meditating

The child Krishna playing, accompanied with some Sarasvathis, and Durga listening in the back, on a tiger

Hanuman between some vases – ready to serve

Shiva and Parvathi with Ganesha between the storage racks

Shiva sitting on a lotus, with his drum and kamandulu (bowl), surrounded by serpents (symbols of time), blessing the photographer.

Krishna playing flute, with Nandi at his feet.

Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman in a boat, surrounded by white horses

Sarasvathi, the Goddess of the Word and of Wisdom, sitting on the white swan (symbol of respiration), playing veena (instrument with 7 strings, symbolising the 7 planes, the music of creation).

Another statue of Hanuman, in deep devotion

Enchanting Krishna, playing the music of the soul

Riding through the ocean of shopping illusions

Melancholic angel: When shall I be redeemed from this boring shop existence?

Harlekin pondering on the mysteries of commercialism

Last Saturday the sun was shining from a brilliant blue sky and reflecting in the fresh snow. I went to the nearby Villa Mettlen to take some winter shots. In the villa there is the music school of our town, it is surrounded by a beautiful park.

Boxwood balls with snow-caps

The Villa – snow magic

A natural Christmas tree in the park

Old hut in the little forest

Another enchanted hut in the cold sun rays

The sculpture of the Black Sun

The boxwood dance around the winter fountain

Angel’s Spring

Sunrise over the boxwood globe

View through the old terrace window

Dwarfs’ greetings

Ducks in the river light

An old hermitage chapel

Christmas bells in front of the town hall

Yesterday late evening I went into the city of Berne to shoot some Christmas mood photos, here is a part of the series – to give you a feeling of Christmas and shopping romance.

The Christmas tree in front of the office of our village authorities

A Christmas tree at a nearby old people’s home

5-pointed stars over a street in the old town of Berne

A star at the cathedral

The Nutcracker Parade in the window of a shop with traditional arts and crafts from the Erzgebirge, Germany.

The Angel’s reception

Shop-sledging

Warm snow

Winter scenes from wood work

An angels’ choir

Santa Claus and singing angels

Hark, the herald angels sing…

Oh when the Saints go marching in…

Church-goers in the shop-snow

Riding a carrousel

Buddha’s Christmas

The Food Angels

Teddy Bears driving through the shop

The “Zytglogge” (Time-Clock) Tower with feistive decoration

Only the beautifully decorated huge Christmas tree in front of the Government building, which I wanted to shoot first, was no longer there, just the pedestal and a short rest of a broken trunk: The night before a storm had swept over the country and probably knocked it over…

Today I came across the blog of “Don Croner’s World Wide Wanders“, with impressions from Mongolia and Buddhist monks and monasteries, Thangkas and people (scroll through the blog…). He has published a book on Zanabazar, (1635-1723) the son of one of the rulers of seventeenth-century Mongolia, and a distant descendant of Chingis Khan, whose spiritual propensities were apparent almost from birth and in 1639, while still a small boy.

Wikipedia says about him: “In 1640, Zanabazar, was recognized by the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama as being a “Living Buddha”…. Miraculous occurrences allegedly took place during his youth... Zanabazar has been called the “Michelangelo of Asia” for bringing to the region a renaissance in matters related to spirituality, including theology, language, art, medicine and astronomy. He composed sacred music, mastered the sacred arts of bronze casting and painting, created a new design for monastic robes, and invented the Soyombo script in 1686….

“He is probably best known for his incomparable sculptures, which rank among the greatest works of Buddhist art ever created.” These are really very beautiful sculptures of Buddhas and stupas. There is a short online biography of Zanabazar. and more information about him.

In his blog Don Croner wrote today from Mongolia about the beautiful Venus-Jupiter constellation which can be seen in the sky. Also here I saw it yesterday evening as a beautiful, clear picture over a nearby mountain. Don Croner is also running an interesting website on “The Legend of Shambhala“, with photos of stupas in the Taklamakan desert.

Zanabazar, from Wikipedia commons

A friend sent me a beautiful powerpoint presentation about “Foodscapes” (see also as PDF). In the text it says:

“The British photgrapher Carl Warner created a series of landscape images utilizing basic food ingredients found in a typical kitchen. The images “Foodscapes” (made up of the words Food and Landscapes) show scenes including, caverns, submarines, forests, beaches etc. using fruits, legumes, cheeses, pastas, breads among others.

The photographer is known in his neighborhood of Kent in England, as he spends hours in stores looking for the best pieces of broccoli, peppers, fruits etc. to compose the landscape scenes. To achieve depth, to give a realistic three-dimensional feel to the photographs, each still life is composed on a table measuring 8ft by 4ft. The foreground is only about 2ft across.  In addition, they are taken in stages so the fresh foods do not get wilted or stale before the photo is finished.

“I like to the way small aspects of nature look a lot like the larger counterparts. “, says  Carl Warner. He also confesses that up to now, he has not been able to convince his four kids to eat their vegetables.  “At least I cannot say that they enjoy eating fruits and vegetables as much as I do”, says Carl.

The photographs will be used for a and advertisement campaign for supermarket chain in England. Warner also plans to put these together in a coffee table book to promote healthy eating for children.”

Carl’s Website , go to: >website>fotographics. Or to the site print sales.

Not a foodscape, but a landscape-photo of Montserrat, Spain, by a friend.

An Indian friend living in the States just sent me the following text:

Absolutely amazing!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn’t it? And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this…

101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.
How about ACHIEVING 101%?
What equals 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help
answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E- O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It’s the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Precision and divine beauty also in other fields of nature

A friend from Canada sent me today a link to a page of The Boston Globe with 38 beautiful photos of an exposition called Earth from Above, by the photographer Yann Arhus-Bertrand. With his pictures he wants to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living. Next year May 1 to June 28 there will be an outdoor exposition of 150 large photographs in New York City and 2010 in California. Awe-inspiring impressions of Mother Earth!

The Earth seen from above – but not from the exposition. Photo of the Mont Blanc in the setting sun, Sept. 2007.