The Joy of Photography or The Joy of Seeing

“…the force which creates in a human being is he same force that creates the human being” (Albert Low 1). The Joy of Photography or the Joy of Seeing is based on the first-hand experience of people engaged in creative activity. First, I will use photographers’ metaphorical language to lend a voice to their creative …

Seeing is more important than what we see.

“Seeing is more important than what we see” challenges our assumption about photography. Habitually, we ignore the “seeing” and value only “what we see.” Naturally, the seeing and the seen cannot be separated. They are one but not the same. Seeing is primary: There are no pictures without seeing. Similarly, there are no sounds without …

The Greening of Heart, Mind and Body.

In The Greening of Heart, Mind and Body, I like to show how a contemplative meditation practice, like zazen, can lead to a fundamental shift of one’s perspective on the environment. Environmental issues have become a football we kick around endlessly. At the same time, experts warn us of a catastrophe in the making. Self-interest …

Perceiving Directly is Seeing Without Effort

Perceiving directly or seeing without effort happens when we are one with our perception, when we are “all eyes and ears,” and when our sense of self (often referred to as the ego) no longer blocks our view. We refer to it as “the flash of perception.”1 It is a moment of wholeness, the basis …

From Contemplation to Integration

The execution of an action by no means proves that we know, even superficially, what we are doing or how we are doing it. If we attempt to carry out an action with awareness – that is, to follow it in detail – we soon discover that even the simplest and most common of actions, …