Normally shadow is seen as the absence of light, having a negative connotation. In the fascinating works of the Japanese artist Kumi Yamashita he is sculpturing shadows to create “objects” through a single source of light. The objects just exist through the arrangement of other objects creating the form seen through the interaction with light. On his website you find a number of objects where the form he created is the shadow.

Here you see shadow persons talking:

In a Japanese video of a show you see some of his installations, fascinating:

You find more on YouTube.

In spirituality the shadow is the symbol of the personality and the soul of the inner Light. The self-conscious personality is but a reflection of the universal soul. Sri Kumar says in “The Aquarian Cross“: If we are after our shadow, we cannot reach the light. The shadow is nothing but our own personality. In so far as we continue to fulfil our personality needs, we are only running after our shadow. “When we are running after our own shadow we have no direction”, says Pythagoras.

So shadows is a topic for this time of Cancer, where the Sun starts its seeming southwards journey again and the shadows start getting longer.

Morning light shining on the Krishna statue in my work room

This night at 01:09 CET the sun enters into Cancer and we celebrate Summer Solstice in the northern hemisphere. It is good to attune to the energies of this time. The wisdom teachings say that it is important to be vigilant during the first 20 days of Cancer, otherwise you will get slowly more imprisoned in the outside during the months to come. If we have a good inner alignment we get a reinforcement of the energies to be functioning more inside, not to go into over-actions in the outside.

Here are some thoughts from a lecture of Sri Kumar at Summer Solstice 2010 in Königswinter, Germany:

The first 20 days of Cancer are said to be the great serpent, the dragon called Aslesha. It is the great dragon or great serpent. If you miss to align you fall directly into the mouth of the great serpent and get out only through the tail. At the end of Scorpio and the beginning of Sagittarius there is the eagle, the mula, you are released out of the deadlock of the year. This solstice not only gives a possibility of the purposes of the day, but also the purposes of life. When we have to follow into unknown ways, it is better to follow someone who knows the way. Finding it oneself can be a waste of life, energy. That is why there is the help of the teacher.”

The wisdom teachings say that the solar God of fire comes to the lunar mansion of the Goddess in Cancer. Cancer is the cardinal sign relating to the Mother, where there is the reception of the Father into the Mother’s house. Cancer is also known as the sun sign related to the birth of the souls into the bodies. This I tried to illustrate in the picture on Cancer: The Moon is the reflective principle receiving and transmitting energies from higher circles. The lunar energies help with the descent of the souls and building the layers of the embryo in the mother’s womb. The earth is the mother which nourished us – we must take care not to spoil the basis of our life. You find more pictures on the symbolism of the zodiacal signs in the series Images of Synthesis.

Cancer – The Mother and the Birth of the Soul into the Body

Here is a beautiful Shanti (Peace) Mantram the meaning of which is:

Auspiciousness be unto all; peace be unto all;
fullness be unto all; prosperity be unto all.
May all be happy!
May all be free from disabilities!
May all look to the good of others!
May none suffer from sorrow!

Here are some impressions of 2 walks in the surroundings 3 weeks ago. Nature displays its beauty in full splendour. Enjoy.

Horses at a nearby farm

An iris flower at the wayside

The farmhouse next to our house. Two horses are grazing in front of my study room

A goat waiting to be milked

Meditating on a meadow

A rare view – pigs enjoying open air instead of being imprisoned in stables

Curious cows

A beautiful “way up to heaven”

More black sheep than white ones…

Grazing…

There was a fantastic view of the Alps in the background

A little trail through the meadow

A little farmhouse in the valley

View from under a tree to the village of Biglen.

We meditated and did some inner work on the bench under the oak tree

Enjoying the swing

Sceptical but curious look

Miniature goats jumping on the hut

A cow greeting the visitors

Isn’t it Nessie from Lake Ness in Scotland?

A beautiful video with music of Kitaro and images of National Geographic and BBC:

And here a visual music clip, Homage to the artist and Sufi master Klaus Wiese *1942 – †2009, an excerpt from the 53 minute one-track album el-Hadra, www.AquariusMusic.eu

And here another video with music by Klaus Wiese: Tibetan Singing Bowls

in memoriam Klaus Wiese

I today received the link to the trailer of the film MIDWAY by Chris Jordan. Very impressive and touching pictures – beautiful, but shocking. I already had blogged about the work of Chris before. Here you find more about this work – a short extract:

“Midway Atoll is a collection of three small islands in the North Pacific, and one of the most remote places on earth. In many ways, this film could be shot in many places on the planet where we find tragedy and despair, but here- about halfway between the U.S. and Asia- on an island teeming with life and wonder, it is the proverbial canary in the coal mine.”

Picture of the film Midway by Chris Jordan (c)

The next video has just a tourism message, but is beautiful- a video done by Alberta, Canada: “Remember to breathe” !!

A friend sent me today the following list of 100 benefits of meditation – provided you really work with it for a long time. Transformation is no instant magic. I’m sure there are many more benefits than cited in this list.

Physiological benefits:
1. It lowers oxygen consumption.
2. It decreases respiratory rate.
3. It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4. Increases exercise tolerance.
5. Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6. Good for people with high blood pressure.
7. Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8. Decreases muscle tension
9. Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10. Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
11. Helps in post-operative healing.
12. Enhances the immune system.
13. Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
14. Enhances energy, strength and vigour.
15. Helps with weight loss
16. Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
17. Higher skin resistance
18. Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease.
19. Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
20. Decreases the aging process.
21. Higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
22. Prevented, slowed or controlled pain of chronic diseases
23. Makes you sweat less
24. Cure headaches & migraines
25. Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
26. Reduced Need for Medical Care
27. Less energy wasted
28. More inclined to sports, activities
29. Significant relief from asthma
30. Improved performance in athletic events
31. Normalizes to your ideal weight
32. Harmonizes our endocrine system
33. Relaxes our nervous system
34. Produce lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity
35. Helps cure infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation).

Psychological benefits:
36. Builds self-confidence.
37. Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour.
38. Resolve phobias & fears
39. Helps control own thoughts
40. Helps with focus & concentration
41. Increase creativity
42. Increased brain wave coherence.
43. Improved learning ability and memory.
44. Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
45. Increased emotional stability.
46. Improved relationships
47. Mind ages at slower rate
48. Easier to remove bad habits
49. Develops intuition
50. Increased Productivity
51. Improved relations at home & at work
52. Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
53. Helps ignore petty issues
54. Increased ability to solve complex problems
55. Purifies your character
56. Develop will power
57. Greater communication between the two brain hemispheres
58. Respond more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event.
59. Increases ones perceptual ability and motor performance
60. Higher intelligence growth rate
61. Increased job satisfaction
62. Increase in the capacity for intimate contact with loved ones
63. Decrease in potential mental illness
64. Better, more sociable behaviour
65. Less aggressiveness
66. Helps in quitting smoking, alcohol addiction
67. Reduces need and dependency on drugs, pills & pharmaceuticals
68. Need less sleep to recover from sleep deprivation
69. Require less time to fall asleep, helps cure insomnia
70. Increases sense of responsibility
71. Reduces road rage
72. Decrease in restless thinking
73. Decreased tendency to worry
74. Increases listening skills and empathy
75. Helps make more accurate judgements
76. Greater tolerance
77. Gives composure to act in considered & constructive ways
78. Grows a stable, more balanced personality
79. Develops emotional maturity

Spiritual benefits:
80. Helps keep things in perspective
81. Provides peace of mind, happiness
82. Helps you discover your purpose in life
83. Increased self-actualization.
84. Increased compassion
85. Growing wisdom
86. Deeper understanding of yourself and others
87. Brings body, mind, and spirit in harmony
88. Deeper Level of spiritual relaxation
89. Increased acceptance of one self
90. Helps learn forgiveness
91. Changes attitude toward life
92. Creates a deeper relationship with your God
93. Increases the synchronicity in your life
94. Greater inner-directedness
95. Helps living in the present moment
96. Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love
97. Discovery of the power and consciousness beyond the ego
98. Experience an inner sense of Assurance or Knowingness
99. Experience a sense of Oneness
100. Leads to enlightenment

Head of a Buddha statue in Bali – photo of a friend

A fascinating video about the secret of numbers discovered by Fibonacci (c. 1170 – c. 1250), an Italian mathematician, considered by some “the most talented western mathematician of the Middle Ages.” Fibonacci introduced the sequence of numbers which can be seen in many forms of nature to Western European mathematics in 1202, although the sequence had been described earlier in Indian mathematics.

If you like playing keyboard – here is a virtual one with different modes.

A Montblanc competition with short films of one second – many beautiful short impressions.

A scene from a video