Foxgloves, Explorations in Inner Space

Foxgloves, Explorations in Inner Space

I took many pictures of foxgloves given my fascination with these lovely Flowers that are unique in form and color and present us with the opportunity to explore the interior patterns inside their beautiful tubular shapes. Explorations in inner space would naturally fascinate me given my dedication and exploration of the internal world as a vocation that naturally has influenced my avocation as I develop my own style as a photographer. Looking into the depths of our psyche is a fascinating journey exploring gateways into the unconscious and reconnecting with the richness of our soul. A friend of mine Benjamin Shield edited a fascinating book, Handbook of the Soul that offers us the insights of many of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century. It is a very diverse collection of Americas most celebrated spiritual writers who offer inspiring words on the state of the human soul in todays world. A collection of more than thirty original essays addresses both the importance for caring for and nourishing the soul and the ways these individuals tend to their own souls on a day-to-day basis. Something as simple as looking inside a flower can bring me in touch with my deepest feelings and thoughts. A flower with a complex interior symbolizes the complexity within each individual, a metaphoric journey of exploration that is necessary to facilitate connection with others and ourselves. The challenge of this era is reconnecting with our soul so we can nourish the world to create a new harmony and the essential need as Carl Jung said to find balance that the psyche inexorably is driven to seek. I can think of no other time when it has been more important to consider the needs of the human soul. The ravages that have been wreaked on the planet can be a result of people who dissociate from painful truths and from their essential self. Just as the individual unconscious knows when a person’s survival is threatened, I believe the collective unconscious knows when group survival is in danger. Our world has glorified a rationalistic focus at the expense of the inner life. Without awareness that without our souls, we are without our power, and without our power we cannot survive. Modern consciousness is now seeking its soul, not because its a new trend, but because it’s literally our only survivable alternative. People are searching for ways to heal and nourish their soul. Without nourishing our souls, we can’t nourish the world; we can’t give what we don’t have. As we attend to our inner life, the depths of our soul, we emanate invisibly and involuntarily the light we have received to achieve a rich spiritual potency in our lives. What begins, as individual nurturance can become nourishment for our communities and for our countries and for our world. As the ancient mystical doctrine, the Cabala, says, we receive the light and then we impart it and then we have the possibility of repairing our damaged world.