At summer solstice time the new website for my paintings goes online. It contains all the images and, in German, the poems I have published so far. It is a great moment and a threshold for me for which I have been waiting for a long time. The realisation of the site is a gift of my friend Murat Cevik, for which I’m very grateful. May the impulse it carries bring inspiration to the visitors.

Cancer is the sign of the return of the soul into a physical body and thus it is related to the process of reincarnation. The Moon is also the symbol of the generative life which gives birth to forms. I tried to give expression to this idea.

In the upper part of the image you see the Moon and behind it the glow of the Sun. Two angelic figures, solar angels, observe the descent of a soul into the embryo in the womb of the mother. You see the embryo head downwards behind the descending soul. Another name for the soul, the I AM, is the Solar Angel. It is the eternal part in man which in the cycle of evolution goes through series of incarnations. The body is also called the Lunar Angel; it serves as a vehicle for the incarnation of the Solar Angel. For the left angel I chose an extract from a painting of Franz Dvorak, and for the one on the right side an extract from a painting of Edward Robert Hughes; a drawing of William Hunter for the embryo in the uterus. For the illustration of the descending solar angel, I took an image of Ilmatar, the virgin spirit of the air, by Robert Wilhelm Ekman.

At a seminar in January 2012 Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar spoke about the symbolism of the descent of the soul:
“The monad is the soli-lunar angel. There is the baby descending into the womb. The lunar angel develops all the aspects of the form and the solar angel descends. In solar there is lunar. Our sun is the lunar aspect of the cosmic sun, our sun is male-female. That is why it prepares the body in the womb for seven months. When it is preparing the body it prepares the form through the lunar aspect, and then the solar angel enters into the lunar aspect of the solar angel. It is by itself male-female. The cosmic sun even is male-female. That is how the work is. Preparation of the form and joining. We prepare the house and when it is ready we enter into the building.”

You can find this painting, also with a print version, on the Good-Will website. Or on the new website ludgerphilips.org.

28 February 2013, A 5, pencils, crayons and photo work

Last week I was in Baerenthal, the Vosges for the May Call Day celebration. Baerenthal (“bear valley”) is a little village in north-eastern France, situated in the natural park of the northern Vosges. And the May Call Day is a festival of group initiation started by Master CVV in 1910 and now celebrated in many parts of the world. It is for receiving and expressing the energies of synthesis.
The last 25 years the May Call Day had been celebrated in the West. This year Sri Kumar celebrated it in Bangalore, India, and many group members, who couldn’t join, came together for local or regional celebrations, or joined the online transmissions.

We met already on Sunday in the house of Martine for the final preparations. From Monday afternoon till Thursday there was the group living in the Youth Centre for French-German friendship. The weeks before, Doris, Günter, Martine and me had prepared the program and discussed the organisation. Now, 20-26 group members from France, Germany and Switzerland were coming for this seminar. After some rainy days, even the sun was coming out to give a warm welcome.

I was inspired for this pic of the violet rhododendron flower in front of the house of Martine by some lines Sri Kumar spoke about Master CVV at last year’s May Call celebration in Flüeli-Ranft, Switzerland:

“CVV stands for Cosmic Violet Vibration, it is the way of the cosmic system. The 7th ray on the planet is violet, represented by the most sublime and noblest Master, Master Count Saint Germain. From cosmic vibration of violet to planetary vibration of violet a channel has been established by the great initiate coming from Master Jupiter’s ashram. Master Jupiter is known in the oriental scriptures as the great sage Agastya. The advent of the cosmic violet vibration was as per the plan to lift up humanity. The lift up is something when humanity can experience within him and around him the beauty of the kingdom of God. From the Avatar of Synthesis who is around, may the energy pour down in all kingdoms of nature.”

The house in Baerenthal

Buddha meditating in front of the house

Writing e-mails at the breakfast table

Martine had organised the seminar in the Youth Centre for French-German friendship. It was founded in the 60s and is dedicated to the furtherance of mutual understanding. We shared the centre with 2 school classes and a group of future midwives – a good surrounding: the ones preparing the entrance of souls into the body, the others, growing up, and our group, for the growth of awareness. It was a very friendly get-together.

In the dining-hall of the centre

The group living started with a reception in the garden of Martine’s house. It already set the tone of the meeting: joyful sharing.

We returned to the centre for evening meditation. And a special surprise was waiting outside: Around sun-set time the children of one of the classes were playing outside with a huge parachute cloth a colourful team game. And they spontaneously invited some of our group members to join them, to lie under the parachute:

The Youth Centre, surrounded by forests

In the evening we gathered again in the hall for a water ritual conducted by Doris:

On Tuesday we had exchanges and group study. In the afternoon Thot, a French astrologer who had come from the Pyrenees, gave a very interesting explanation of the astrological charts of Europe and of France and the relation to Germany. He showed that though Europe is going through tense times, an upliftment is to be expected from the next year on, as evidenced by the progressive chart.

Thot and Martine

Explaining the chart of Europe

Wednesday morning we started the May Call Day celebration with a fire ritual. It had rained all night long, but stopped in the morning. However, it was quite fresh when we started around 6 o’clock.

After breakfast we met for the seminar, starting with a candle-light ceremony.

The candles in front of the hall, with the painting “Lifting up the Earth to the Kings of Beauty”.

A candle was lit at the candle in the centre and the light was shared with all. Then the candle were put on the table at the centre.

Afterwards Doris and Günter conducted a little cake-cutting ceremony. I was reminded of the words of Sri Kumar from last year, that cutting a cake is like the sacrifice of Purusha, the Cosmic Person, representing the Oneness, which is sacrificing itself to form creation.

Different gifts prepared by members were shared afterwards

In the afternoon there was the launch of my new book on “Paintings”. It was a great moment for me. I tried to share the process of inner image building with the group with a little experiment: I read some passages from “Spiritual Astrology” by Master EK, with music of Davide Swarup, which I always hear while painting. Then we spoke about the inner images arising through the text, and I explained with the help of some of my paintings how the creative process developed.

The new books at the altar

In the evening we had another talk by Thot on the energies of the May Call day, 29 May 13. The time flew by fast, and Thursday at noon, after meditations and further exchanges, it was time to return home, filled with the lightful, electric energies of this beautiful celebration.

A rainbow over the valley. On the left at the bottom, the assembly hall

In 1910 Master CVV received a tremendous cosmic energy called the Energy of Synthesis. He anchored it in the ethers of the planet and started distributing it on 29 May. Since then every 29 May is celebrated as the Master May Call Day. And since 1998 I have participated in these celebrations – mostly larger gatherings in the West with Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar. This year the big group meeting with him is in Bangalore. Together with some friends we organised a small meeting in the French Vosges, where I’m at the moment.

For me it is a special occasion, for there will be also the launch of my book “Paintings”. I realised it as a photo book (English an German version, hard-cover, 200 pages), which I can produce as print on demand, if people want to have it. But I also distribute it for free in PDF-version.
The book contains my “Early Paintings” (done in the 80s and nearly completely “dissolved” in 1997, now digitally restored from photos) and the “Images of Synthesis“, done since 2009, together 212 paintings. I added some biographical notes and background explanations.

The “Early Paintings” were the creative output of a tremendous fiery experience I had in 1981. Many of these paintings are related to this inner opening which lasted several days. For me, the paintings are an expression of the Energies of Synthesis, even those created before the time I consciously knew about the energies. You will understand when you see the pictures. The book is available for download in English and German, its content is part of a website to be released soon.

Today we are entering into Gemini, the agile mental sign of the airy triangle of the zodiac. It is related to pulsation, the fundamental principle in creation of expansion and contraction. When I was thinking of visualising the symbolism of Gemini, I saw a huge white swan with outspread wings before my mind’s eye. Hamsa is the Sanskrit word for swan, and it is the symbol of the centripetal and centrifugal movement of our respiration (see the Lunar Messenger on Pulsation). At the centre of its heart you see an open flower which is white inside, the pulsating centre. The ballerina sitting on the beach symbolises the moment of contraction, the one flying high symbolises the climax of expansion. I merged photos of several waves to visualise the pulsating movement of ebb and flow (behind the swan). I used very light colours at the border of reproducibility to give expression to the delicacy of pulsation.

I took the inspiration for this painting from a fascinating seminar of Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar held on Mount Rigi 14 years ago. It later appeared as a book: “Saraswathi – The Word“. It also gave me the inspiration for the Gemini painting I did last year:

“A swan moves in pure waters that are equal to the pure ether. Swan is Hamsa in Sanskrit. Hamsa is the centripetal and centrifugal functioning of pulsation, the double principle of pulsation. The door of pulsation is the heart. The Hamsas (Swans) are the movements in us as pulsation and also as thoughts. The Swans of pulsation have the characteristics of musical notes. They form the bases of musical singing by the beings. The music details into varieties of Ragas (compositions) as per the time of the day and the season. These Swans can muse the mind and the ego onto Pure Consciousness and Existence. This is ‘the path of music’ for the return of the beings to Samadhi. Such is the work of the Swans of pulsation.”

10 February 2013, A 5, pencils, crayons and photo work

Over the last years I have repeatedly blogged about the 8th of May, celebrated as the White Lotus Day in remembrance of Helena P. Blavastky (8 May 1891), the great light bearer. As a little commemoration, also in this year, I give here a few extracts on H.P.B., as she was called, and on the meaning of the White Lotus.

HPB – The White Lotus, from: K. Parvathi Kumar: “The Golden Stairs“:
“Madam Helena Petrovna Blavatsky is as tender as a freshly unfolded white lotus. The tenderness of her being cannot be expressed in any language. In her case incompatibles have become compatibles. She is as fiery as she is tender. Her being is essentially and naturally tender and extremely motherly. But at work she is an embodiment of fiery Will. She was the chosen darling of the Hierarchy to inaugurate an era of enlightenment. She did her job ruthlessly, dedicating her life to the noble work of the Hierarchy. She has broken many distorted and crystallized concepts of TRUTH. She synthesized the universal wisdom; she presented afresh Cosmogenesis and Anthropogenesis, which are the world scriptures for posterity. She explained dexterously the story of man on earth. Through the key of Manvantara cycles and races she reintroduced the most ancient wisdom relating to globe chains, the seven rays and their universal application. She skilfully utilised the keys of astrology, etymology and cycles of time to unlock wisdom from the most ancient manuscripts of cave temples that exist in the Himalayas. She was as much in the subtle as she was on the physical and was therefore able to grasp the truth in its variety of dimensions. She was a fully inspired lady who inspired many through looks, through speeches and through mere presence. She was even seen as a reincarnation of Buddha in places like Sri Lanka.
She is regarded as the white lotus that unfolds afresh the beauty and fragrance of new age wisdom. She is respected as Upasika, the one who is in connection with the ruling light of the planet, which is said to be mysteriously posited in the subterranean regions of Gobi desert of Mongolia.
Inspired by her teachings ever since, thousands of groups sprang up in all the four corners of the globe, trying to find the way afresh with the help of knowledge that she unfolded for the forward march of the present humanity. Any praise or appreciation of her work would be inadequate. This teaching is offered at the lotus feet of Madam Blavatsky, who continues to be an inspiration in the heart of numerous beings all over the planet. The Madam stood by the Golden Stairs and her life is a demonstration of the Golden Stairs.
The image on the cover page is an effort to present the most beautiful and fragrant energy of the Madam with the white lotus and her countenance of effulgence. May her looks fix the aspirant forever to the path of truth!”

From the cover of the book “The Golden Stairs” (c)

An extract from the book “A Short History of The Theosophical Society“, by Josephine Ransom (Adyar 1938) about the relation between H.P.B. and her partner H.S. Olcott, after her departure:
“The President (Olcott) admitted that on this tour he missed H. P. B. He remembered how they had been together and had shared their first Indian experiences, and dreamed “dreams the revival of Eastern learning and religion.” They had borne so much together, and had faced and overcome so many trials. Though in his Old Diary Leaves the President says those things of H. P. B. which he hoped would prevent any tendency to set her up as infallible, yet he cherished for her a great friendship. He often disagreed with her, and she with him. Those who knew them both intimately have left on record their admiration for his patient and uncomplaining endurance of her worst and most volcanic outbursts. He knew how much she had done for him, and that he and others had learnt everything from her to begin with. Because she unlocked doors to great knowledge he often called her ” Latchkey ” in the earlier years.”

Text pieces on the symbolism of the White Lotus from “The Lotus Fire“, by George Arundale:
“As you concentrate on this Lotus symbol, growing from the soil of experience, ascending to its flower, imagine yourself as a great White Lotus with petal-powers extending in all directions. Already the seed is in you, the bud is slowly opening, and you are beginning the Flower, the dream that God has wrought….
We are told that the myriad-petalled white Lotus is perhaps the supreme manifestation of perfected Life. It is the Form of all forms, the Fire of all flames, the Infinite Theme containing within itself all themes of all universes and worlds. Hence its overt relation to some of Those who ‘know the Lotus.’…”

H.P.B., together with the Master KH, M and CSG., painted on 26 March 2010

For quite some time the e-card module on the good-will site was closed – I had to do it because spammer abused it for some dirty mailings. Though my son had programmed some security measures, they weren’t enough. Now he included a captcha field, where you have to enter some letters before mailing. I”ll see if it is sealed now.

I changed most of the e-card pictures. You now find new photos from my collection and some of friends of mine. And I have added a number of pictures of my “Images of Synthesis” series. Below I left the paintings of Roerich and Rassouli as well as pictures of Buddhas and of Mount Kailash. So if you like, send a postcard to a friend. And if you find something not functioning, let me know. I have been checking the code on the different language pages, but I’m not sure I found all bugs… Enjoy.

Today the Sun and Mars enter into Taurus, so there is a change of the quality of time. December 12, while reading Spiritual Astrology, the chapter on Taurus, I was attracted by the lines:

“Beauty is the divine aspect of form. This aspect is governed by the sign Taurus in persons who live for art and who try to discover the sacred mission of art in tnis universe. Here lies the hidden significance of locating the ascendant of Lord Krishna in Taurus. Blue is the colour of this sign just as red is the colour of Aries. This truth is concealed in the fact that the colour of the incarnation of the lord as Krishna is blue.”

The impulse for the picture of this month was there but it didn’t show up clearly. There was the inner feeling saying,  just go ahead, and I had a vague idea of a cupola of stars, but nothing more.

So I started searching images with stars and constellations and cosmological motives, but I was not “hit” by a motive. Then I slowly started seeing the picture evolve: I took a photo of a Krishna statue here in my room, chose for the background an image of an extract of the Isenheim Altarpiece, by Matthias Grünewald, which I had in my room during my student years: the Light of creation emerging from God the Father, and angels dancing in the downpour. I extracted the Krishna statue from the photo and put it in front of the emerging light. I put as another background an extract from the stage set for The Magic Flute of Mozart by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, together with the dome of stars and integrated a part of an image of a peacock, Krishna’s bird. Then I started working on the colours.

Back in the computer, I realised that the central figure, Krishna with his magic flute, was too stale. During the next meditation, the idea came to add another layer of the statue in front of the one already in the picture and to choose a low transparency. I added a lot of dark blue and so the image emerged in violet. Wow, I thought, that is the right colour for Krishna with a “magic flute”. After some finishing work, adjusting colours to add brilliancy, the picture was ready. Here is the print version.

I love very much the book Music of the Soul by Master EK (Ekkirala Krishnamacharya), where he describes what is visualised in the painting. There he writes:
“When Krishna played his flute, he expanded into the vicinity in the form of his music: One consciousness thrilled through all the living beings. It started from the flute of Krishna and reached the ocean through the pool of consciousness of the humanity. Krishna began to come out of his body in the form of his exhalation as music. He began to expand into the pervasion of his presence. After a few minutes, music seemed to flow through the flute by itself and come out of the seven holes of the flute until it touched the heart of the humanity and soaked it in bliss. All seemed to be a wave of soul consciousness. No one existed except the one soul in all. The minds of all melted away and it was an ocean of existence.”

Taurus: The Magic Flute of Krishna

An Argentinian friend sent me the link to the video clip for the peace mantra “Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu” recorded by Tina Turner, Regula Curti & Dechen Shak Dagsey on the album ‘Children Beyond’ – in Switzerland. See more on the Tina Turner blog.

The mantra means:
“May well-being, peace, wholeness and tranquility, hapiness and prosperity be achieved by all”. Sing it for peace of all sensitive beings, for calmness and harmony.

The Sanskrit text:

Om Om Om
Sarvesham Svastir Bhavatu
Sarvesham Shantir Bhavatu
Sarvesham Poornam Bhavatu
Sarvesham Mangalam Bhavatu
Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

And there is another website of this project of inter-religious dialogue: Beyondsinging.com – a journey to the heart of spirituality. “BEYOND is a dialogue of religions, driven by a world-embracing language: music. Four women from different traditions united in their commitment for religious tolerance, invite you to accompany them on this journey.” See also the video linked there: “The Beyond Universe: Create your own mandala“.

Scene from the video – children singing the mantram

Cover of the CD: Children Beyond – With Children United in Prayer

Yesterday I got a beautiful time-lapse video about the opening of a rose. And here is a short extract from the book “The Teachings of Sanat Kumara” by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar about a test with a rose a Master of Wisdom used to do with aspirants:

“To see how much harmlessness one carries, a Master of Wisdom used to play a trick. He gave a rose to the one who came to him and conversed with the person who held the rose in the hand. If the rose crippled with the touch of the person, he did not prefer to give wisdom to such a person. If the rose remained intact for long hours and continued to be fresh, he allowed them to get into the occult training. Observe the plants around you, the animals around you and the humans around you. If they blossom at your side, you are in a good way of harmlessness. If they shrink with your presence, observe that there is a lot to be desired in terms of harmlessness.”

Here are three other beautiful time-lapse videos.

A Rose for you: