Last weekend I was in Northern Germany for the annual CVV Sharing meeting. It was the 4th meeting, but for me it was the first. We were 36 WTT members – from Scandinavia, Germany, and me from Switzerland, meeting at a spiritual seminar centre on the countryside. It was a thrilling and very fulfilling experience in group integration. The meditative work opened a space to subtle spheres, and the meeting was an exchange in the spirit of synthesis. There was a team of organisers, but the group was the guide of the meetings. And though we all were different personalities, you could feel the profound and unifying potential of the group. There was a beautiful spiritual presence, which expressed through the group. And I enjoyed that for the first time I could present the new format of my paintings to a little public.

Morning light at the entrance of the seminar centre MaRah

Arrival / the entrance – cold and stormy wheather

The seminar hall and the inner yard

The candle and flowers in the centre of the hall

Early morning group meditation

Sharing – group experience

Master CVV – the inspirator of the meetings in the spirit of synthesis

In a little side-room I arranged a presentation of my images

Early morning light over a frozen pond

Though it was the beginning of spring, the temperature was – 8 ° C.

The group

Today at spring equinox I publish a book of poems (in German) called  “Schattierungen von Dus” (Shades of Yous). I wrote the 90 + 2 poems in June-October 2009. Now, 3.5  years later, they come out as a digital work. Each of the poems is illustrated by a photo illustrating the tonality of the content and some of the motives. To give you a vague idea of the poems, here is a PDF with an effort to translate some of the poems. And here you can download the German book as a powerpoint (9 MB) or as a PDF (10.6 MB, with Acrobat Reader bookmarks to each of the poems) to see at least the numerous photos (please download the PDF, in my PDF online-viewer the colours of the photos are bad). Most of them I shot myself, many were given by friends.

It was quite some work to edit the volume and I’m very happy that it is now ready. The poems speak about the reverberation of encounters, of wounds and their healing, of the dangers of the path and the surprises everyday life brings. To my surprise I noted that the “Schattierungen von Dus” appeared exactly 33 years after my first volume of poems, the “Gesang der Stille” (or as PDF) (Song of Silence), which I wrote in Aries 1980 and published end of that year, together with illustrations I did for the poems. Some of the motives of the new poems already were there in the old ones.

Enjoy reading / viewing.

For this month I did two paintings. The first one was done already in November, for the Guru Poojas, but I decided to publish it only for the beginning of the new solar year with spring equinox.

Lifting-up the Earth to the Kings of Beauty

11 November 2012, A 5, pencils, crayons and photo work

This painting arose inwardly after a meditation, while I was thinking about the Guru Pooja, an annual celebration in India in honour of the great Masters of Wisdom in the month of Capricorn.
Capricorn is the dawn of the year, where in the Northern hemisphere the days start to get longer again and the movement of the spirit is rising up from matter.
In the greater cycles the earth is on the way to rise from the dense physical planes to subtler realms, and the energies of the New Age are helping to “lift up the earth to the Kings of Beauty”, as it says in the 5th stanza of the Great Invocation.
For the picture I took a photo of an eagle, symbol of the rising spirit. I transformed it to this etheric blue eagle rising above the earth. Its wings are integrated into the lower part of the symbol of the Holiest of the Holy, the circle with the square and the cross. On the upper part I integrated the picture of Lord Maitreya, the head of Spiritual Hierarchy. The top of the square is at the Ajna centre of Lord Maitreya, the bottom at the heart centre of the eagle. The left and right wings touch the left and right points of the square.
In the background I placed a photo of a gorgeous sunrise over the Mediterranean Sea which I took this summer in Spain at Tossa de Mar after morning meditation, seen from the meditation room of the house of a friend. I enlarged the sun – the colours were so splendid. I placed several layers of the centre of the sun into the centre of the symbol, the greater sun forming thus the body of Lord Maitreya and the smaller sun his heart centre, from where he pours out his energy of Love all over the planet – depicted in the rose colours all over the blue of the planet.
You see three circles of the sun – at the very centre, of the size of the physical sun, as seen from our planet; then the larger sun filling the square of the symbol, representing the heart of the sun; and finally, the ring at the circumference and beyond the circle, symbolising the spiritual sun.

The picture illustrates the lift-up, about which K. Parvathi Kumar spoke at a seminar on Scorpio in 2005. The directions are points in the outside as well as in our inner:

“In Raja Yoga, the grand Masters sitting in the North-East pull us up. That is the lift-up. ‘May He lift up the Earth!’ They lift up the Earth from North-East. North-East is the junction point between Absolute God and God as Light. It is that point where darkness is transformed into light. In the Raja Yoga practice, you visualise the Masters at the North-East, at the top of your forehead, and seek their help, so that you are pulled up to that state of awareness. In Hatha Yoga practice, the help of these grand Teachers is sought for a push up. They can push you up or they can pull you up.”

30 November 2012, A 5, pencils, crayons and photo work

This image grew inside with the impulse of illustrating the enormous pressure of today’s society and its influence in the transformation process. There was immediately the visualisation of a volcano, symbol of throwing out matter from the inside through a fiery process of high pressure. And a diamond, as nature’s most brilliant result of a transformation process through pressure. It is meant as an allegoric illustration and not a presentation of a scientific process.
For the glowing magma chamber I first took pictures at my former place of work during the last days of my stay, but they were too static and not well suited to illustrate everyday pressure.
I then thought of the underground corridors and shopping passages at the central station of Berne. I went there, stood in the stream of people and took pictures. Some people looked at me a bit irritated. A shot with a running businessman and a traveller phoning and rushing by with his suitcase were the ideal pics. I fused them together, mounted a collage constructed by three volcanos and in the gorge of the volcano a fire-flow of the shape of a flying serpent or an angel and topped it by two diamonds, one enlarged in different layers. Since the diamond structure looked too mineral in its composition, I added in the background a picture of a rose flower of an echinopsis cactus.
Working on the picture with coloured pencils I created the glow of the “magma chamber”, the lava flows and the diamond on the top. Then, back to the computer, I intensified the colours to their right luminosity.
The idea illustrated in the picture is well described in the following extract from “Esoteric Psychology I” by Alice A. Bailey:
“The mineral kingdom marks the point of unique condensation. This is produced under the action of fire and by the pressure of the “divine idea.” Esoterically speaking, we have, in the mineral world, the divine Plan hidden in the geometry of a crystal, and God’s radiant beauty stored in the colour of a precious stone. The goal of the universal concept is seen when the jewel rays forth its beauty. If you could study the hidden processes which go on under the influence of fire, you would enter into the secret of initiation. When the day comes when the history of the mineral kingdom can be grasped by the illumined seer, he will then see the long road that the diamond has travelled, and – by analogy – the long road that all sons of God traverse, governed by the same laws and unfolding the same consciousness.”

10 days ago I found 11 pictures of my “Early Paintings” which weren’t published hitherto – and this blogpost is the first time they are shown in public after 32 years. They were among a collection of slides done from the original paintings in the early 1980ie. I found them because I’m preparing all my images and poems for a new website just dedicated to them. I took photographs of the slides and thus reconstructed the original pictures.

Though the quality isn’t superb (I didn’t want to buy a slide scanner just for these slides) I was very happy that I could rescue them this way and bring them back to manifestation. I give them here with the titles they now have in the order for the new website; partly there were titles and dates written on the border of the slides. I wrote explanatory comments and added quotations from Vol. III of the Secret Doctrine, by H. P. Blavatsky.

I wouldn’t have dared to show the pictures to a larger public 30 year ago, but now it seems to be the right time. This presentation is just a preview – the right place will be the website which will be launched in a few months.

Photographing the slides in the hazy light of morning fog

Sons of Light 7 – Fiery Metamorphosis
24 October 1981, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

At this time I was discovering the existence of the Cosmic Christ in relation to the individuality of Jesus Christ. This painting expresses the release of energy which happened through the transformation Jesus Christ underwent through the crucifixion manifesting most sublime energies onto the physical. The cross, symbol of his initiation, is in connection with the fiery world, and through his body there is an inpour of light. The elements are in a state of turmoil and the forms, the imprisoned souls, are waiting for their release.

“From the beginning of Humanity the Cross, or Man, with his arms stretched out horizontally, typifying his kosmic origin, was connected with his psychic nature and with the struggles which lead to Initiation.” Secret Doctrine III

Sons of Light 6 – Apparition
24 October 1981, a 4, liquid glazing paint and white covering colour on paper

In this painting I tried to express an inner vision or feeling of the existence of sublime beings which at times give us their presence. This was the only painting where I used white covering colour. The luminosity wasn’t satisfactory and I saw that representing details of shades of white weren’t as I felt they should be expressed on paper. Nearly 32 years later, when restoring the painting from a slide, I enjoyed the subtlety of the colour nuances which are vaguely expressed on the print-out.
This painting is kindred with the picture “Manifestation”.

Divine Mother 6
28 October 1981, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

This picture shows the return of the souls into the arms of the Great Mother.

Sons of Light 7 – Triumph
08 November 1981, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

This painting shows the final victory of Jesus Christ over the death of the physical body creating a tremendous release of light.

“The words “My God, my Sun, thou hast poured thy radiance upon me,” were the final words that concluded the thanksgiving prayer of the Initiate, “the Son and the glorified Elect of the Sun.” They were pronounced after the terrible trials of Initiation, and were still fresh in the memory of some of the “Fathers” when the Gospel of Matthew was edited into the Greek language.” Secret Doctrine III

Divine Mother 7 – The Family
12 December 1981, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

The painting shows Jesus together with Mary and Joseph, as the representants of the Holy Family in fiery flames

Spiritual Hierarchy 7 – Towers of Light
31 December 1981, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

This picture is a symbolic representation of the Spiritual Hierarchy as towers of light for humanity.

“White is the absence of all colours, and therefore no colour; black is simply the absence of light, and therefore the negative aspect of white. The seven prismatic colours are direct emanations from the Seven Hierarchies of Being, each of which has a direct bearing upon and relation to one of the human principles, since each of these Hierarchies is, in fact, the creator and source of the corresponding human principle. Each prismatic colour is called in Occultism the “Father of Sound” which corresponds to it; Sound being the Word, or the Logos, of its Father-Thought.” Secret Doctrine III

Transition
16 January 1982, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

I was fascinated by the etheric structure of the pyramid and the double pyramid manifesting in space. For me it was like a portal into another dimension, and at the same time a basic brick of the manifestation of the cosmos. In India the double pyramid is considered as a form of the Lingam of Lord Shiva, and, when visualised around oneself, as a structure of protection.

“The Infinite Unity, or Ain-Suph, is ever placed outside human thought and appreciation; and in Sepher Jetzirah we see the Spirit of God – the Logos, not the Deity itself – One is the Spirit of the Living God . . Who liveth forever. Voice, Spirit, [of the spirit], and Word: this is the Holy Spirit, [ Mishna, i. 9.] Three-in-one and Four and the Quaternary. From this Cube emanates the whole Kosmos. Says the Secret Doctrine: «It is called to life. The mystic Cube in which rests the Creative Idea, the manifesting Mantra [or articulate speech – Vâch] and the holy Pûrusha [both radiations of prima material] exist in the Eternity in the Divine Substance in their latent state» – during Pralaya.” Secret Doctrine III

Emanation
18 January 1982, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

This painting tries to illustrate how from the Eternal One, which opens like an eye from the beyond, the creation manifest. The down-pouring flames emanate the forms, the quaterary, the pyramid. At the time of painting I hadn’t yet studied the Secret Doctrine, but much later found the parallels.

“It is in the quaternary that the first solid figure is found, the universal symbol of immortality, the Pyramid, ‘whose first syllable means fire.’ “ Secret Doctrine III

Divine Eye 4
July 1982, A 4, liquid glazing paint and fast glue on paper

This painting visualises the Divine Eye as a portal to enter into the subtle spheres and the path which leads into the light. It is surrounded by three eyes representing the three aspects of the Divine – Will, Love and Light. The sperm-like forms in the periphery of the circle represent the souls which have taken through the portal and now are in the Light.

“The Pineal Gland is that which the Eastern Occultist calls Devâksha, the “Divine Eye.” To this day, it is the chief organ of spirituality in the human brain, the seat of genius, the magical Sesame uttered by the purified will of the Mystic, which opens all the avenues of truth for him who knows how to use it.” Secret Doctrine III

Worlds of Light 13 – Flames of Light
July 1982, A 4, liquid glazing paint and fast glue on paper

The image visualises the divine spark, the divine ego, surrounded by the flames from the One Flame.

“The essence of the Divine Ego is ‘pure flame,’ an entity to which nothing can be added and from which nothing can be taken: it cannot, therefore, be diminished, even by countless numbers of lower minds, detached from it like flames from a flame.” Secret Doctrine III

Sons of Light 9 – Self-Giving
10 December 1982, A 4, liquid glazing paint on paper

The painting shows the self-giving of the lower to the higher self, of the personality to the Divine.

“The ‘harvest of life’ consists of the finest spiritual thoughts, of the memory or the noblest and most unselfish deeds of the personality, and the constant presence during its bliss after death of all those it loved with divine, spiritual devotion. Remember the teaching: The Human Soul, lower Manas, is the only and direct mediator between the personality and the Divine Ego.” Secret Doctrine III

This morning a Canadian friend sent me the link to a site from “Positive News“, “The Man who Planted a Forest“. At first I thought it was about “The Man who Planted Trees” from Jean Giono, but it was a fascinating article about Jadav Payeng, an environmental activist and forestry worker in India’s Assam region, who by planting seeds along a barren sandbar of the river Brahmaputra near his birthplace created a huge forest. There is also a good article about him in Wikipedia. Now, there are thousands of trees and five tigers, three rhinos, reptiles, birds and other animals.

By the way, there is an UNEP programme to plant billions trees about which I blogged 6 years ago when it was a plan to plant a billion trees – now they are heading for many billions – and it is needed on the planet! And there is a good story about planting seeds and honesty.

,
Jadav Payeng, from Wikipedia

I today received the PDF of the Astrological Diary of WTT-Global (English version) for the solar year Aries 2013 – Pisces 2014, which just has been completed. If you are working with the subtle rhythms of nature which reflect in the movements of the planets it is a good aid for your spiritual discipline. Working with the key of time  is a major instrument for exploring inner dimension and there is a booklet on “Time”. In the course of the years Sri Kumar has given a lot of information about this kind of inner work – which has virtually nothing to do with what you might have heard about astrology. It is a method of alignment to the planetary energies in a meditative work of focussing and visualisation. I’m regularly working with it for over 12 years; it creates an awareness of subtle inner pulsating movements and the ever changing qualities of time. There exists also a German version of the calendar.

May you profit from the calendar for your spiritual discipline.

This year it seems that the winter doesn’t want to end. Luckily I had a break for a month in India in January… Every Sunday we go out for a walk. Last weekend it was snowing and grey, two weeks before the Sun was radiant and reflecting in the snow. Both series of photos are from an area about 15 km away, which I like very much – when the weather is fine you have a great panoramic view of the Alps, and the soul can expand and take a deep breath. And even when the air was grey the snow created many subtle colour shades. Now the snow is slowly receding in the valleys, but in the mountains it will continue for some more time. Enjoy

Winter is hard for the animals outside

A herd of horses at their stable; the roof is full of icicles

Icicles at a barn roof

A Bernese farmhouse with the typical deep-drawn roofs

Biglen, village in the sun

A “Christmas Tree”

A majestic icicle

Fanstastic view of the Bernese Alps with Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau

Icicles and snow

This week when I did a Google search for image elements I wanted to use for a new painting I also searched for pictures of embryos and the growth in the womb. And then I came across all kinds of pictures of inner organs and the like.

Though these weren’t new for me at all, I suddenly became very vividly conscious how under the surface of our skin there is a totally different world than what we normally have in our awareness: When I meet other people I don’t see them in terms of muscles, heart, lungs, intestines and the like. I perceive a personality and, if clear enough, the soul working through the body. I see a being expressing through the body. We speak, exchange, express love, sympathy or any other emotions. We communicate, build up concepts, and live in the worlds of our family, profession or society. And some millimetres below our skin there is this world of pulsating organs, like another planet. A wonder how we blank out these dimension and live in our own worlds, created by our perception. Of course it is illusionary and transient, but that is the dimension where we are mostly living in. And in the underground there are forces and laws at work which shape our destinies… And just like we are not aware of what is just below the skin, we are normally not aware what is just below our conscious awareness.

A picture I selected for the painting was a drawing of an the embryo in the uterus by the Scottish anatomist William Hunter (1718–1783).  I transformed it into blue and integrated it into the picture I did for Cancer. The embryo is head downwards, like our normal perception. Even if we are living with our heads up, we are mostly oriented “downwards” to matter. Let’s turn around and look upwards. It is just a little change in perspective.

William Hunter, drawing of an embryo, from Wikimedia

Today I got an e-mail from an Indian friend with a link to a scientific study on the effect of fire rituals: “Environmental Impacts of Homam – a Case Study (at Sridevi Veda Vidyalayamu, Srisailam)”, presented by Narayana Rao. M et al. at the “2012 International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology IPCBEE” (vol.30, 2012, © 2012 IACSIT Press, Singapore). Dr. M.NARAYANA RAO (Emeritus Professor,JNT University. Hyderabad A P, Camp Bangalore, India) gave me the kind permission to quote and link it here.

I was particularly interested, since my spiritual teacher, Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar, regularly conducts fire rituals and also has published a book on it – Agni. The Symbolism and the Ritual of Fire. I had previously read about effects of the ritual called Agnihotra or Homa in India, and since 13 years I do a short version once in a week. And in January 2007 I had the good chance of visiting the very sacred place of Srisailam, where the study had been done. Here is an extract of the study:

Experimental studies show that the incidence of physical ailments, sickness and disease are reduced in the houses, where the Yajna (Agnihotra) is regularly performed because it creates a pure, nutritional and medicinal atmosphere. It renews the brain cells, revitalizes the skin, purifies blood and prevents growth of pathogenic organisms. Agnihotra is basically a healing process. ‘Heal the atmosphere and the healed atmosphere will heal you’- is the Modus Operandi. Purification of environment through the constituent electrons of the substances fumigated in the Yajna is an obvious effect of this process. The observation of some distinguished scientists is note worthy in this regard. Sugars present in Havishya have great power to purify the atmosphere. It kills the germs of T.B., measles, smallpox and cow-pox, remarks….

Based on the research of the authors, and the scientific evidences found during experimental field studies conducted at Sri Devi Veda Vidyalamu, Srisailam, during Chandi Homam, the following conclusions can be drawn
• Homa was found to be one of the most economical means of purifying environmental pollution.
• Global effects such as patching up of ozone hole, removal of harmful radiation and radioactivity are proved by scientists round the world.
• The experimental studies conducted at Sridevi Veda Vidyalayamu clearly showed that the emissions during homam are not only non toxic but are beneficial to the environment.
• The ash collected from the bottom showed manorial value and therefore agnihotra farms were developed in some countries.
• The ash has also exhibited medicinal values.
• Zinc Oxide present in the particulate emissions in our experiments has a curative effect on skin diseases. Zinc oxide offers excellent protection against Ultra Violet Radiations (A and B).
• While Lead (Pb) is found to be within permissible limits, Manganese (Mn) is found to be slightly in excess of permissible limits prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). This is good because of the health benefits of Mn.
• Manganese ensures healthy bone structure, bone metabolism, helping in building essential enzymes for building bones. It acts as a coenzyme to assist metabolic progression in the human body. Apart from these, there are other health benefits of manganese actively involved in forming connective tissues, absorption of calcium, proper functioning of thyroid, sex hormones, regulating blood sugar level, and metabolism of fats and carbohydrates. Manganese is very important for normal functioning of the brain and nerve areas of our body.

Fire ritual by Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar at the WTT-Centre Rajahmundry, 24 January 2013

I got the link to a song of Khwaja Mere Khwaja, a Dervishs’ Dance from the beautiful Indian movie Jodhaa Akbar, a scene of mystical rapture. I saw this great film at a seminar with Sri Kumar in India 2009 and later also at home. The film is an Indian epic historical drama film released in 2008. It centers around the romance between the Muslim Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great and the Hindu Rajput Princess Jodhabai who becomes his wife. The video of the song shows the scene where a group of Dervishs is performing a song to the Emperor, who at the end joins their dance and is carried away into a state of ecstasy.

Pictures from the video Jodhaa Akbar (c)