t h e / a u r o r a l / h o u r

writer, photo-snapper, contemplator. jazz, geography, spiritualism & cartography from near and far. other music too, i can't help it. easily my least professional, digitized self. thanks for stopping by.

[metrodorus]

[cosmicvalley]

Some morning view.

[bahaifaithquotes]

Prejudices of any kind are the destroyers of human happiness & welfare.

Abdu’l-Baha (via bahaifaithquotes)

[cosmicvalley]

(Photo courtesy of Plum Village)

We had the pleasure of hearing Thich Nhat Hanh speak in Toronto last weekend. At some point I'll try to put into words the surreal emotions that swirled around his talk/meditation but right now I'm unable.

When a zen-master imparts knowledge, it understandably warrants a moment's pause. And I've been on pause all week.

[goldpersonified]

“Our notions about happiness entrap us. We forget that they are just ideas. Our idea of happiness can prevent us from actually being happy. We fail to see the opportunity for joy that is right in front of us when we are caught in a belief that happiness should take a particular form.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (via light-essence)

[miaetasekreta-deactivated201506]

Any religious belief which is not conformable with scientific proof and investigation is superstition, for true science is reason and reality, and religion is essentially reality and pure reason; therefore, the two must correspond. Religious teaching which is at variance with science and reason is human invention and imagination unworthy of acceptance, for the antithesis and opposite of knowledge is superstition born of the ignorance of man. If we say religion is opposed to science, we lack knowledge of either true science or true religion, for both are founded upon the premises and conclusions of reason, and both must bear its test.

 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (via miaetasekreta)

[artmastered]

L. S. Lowry, Industrial Landscape: The Canal, 1945

[cosmicvalley]

How we stay in the middle between indulging and repressing is by acknowledging whatever arises without judgment, letting the thoughts simply dissolve, and then going back to the openness of this very moment. That’s what we’re actually doing in meditation. Up come all these thoughts, but rather than squelch them or obsess with them, we acknowledge them and let them go. Then we come back to just being here. After a while, that’s how we relate with hope and fear in our daily lives. Out of nowhere, we stop struggling and relax. We see our story line, drop it, and come back to the freshness of the present moment.

Pema Chödrön

[cosmicvalley]

Saint Catharines, Ontario; July 19th 2013.

Some photos anticipating the massive, four-hour storm that broke a lengthy heat-wave for millions of us. I'd just arrived home from work when I spotted a blue wall of dense cloud coming over the lake (photo #1). The others were snapped from my balcony and parking lot. 

[cosmicvalley]

There are people who see religion as an unmovable set of principles, a crutch by which some walk blindly instead of shaping their own moral compass. They see religion as a scheme to unravel, a hypocrisy that basks in its own sins behind closed doors. It’s true: over time some religions have been sculpted to behave like ancient kingdoms, demanding adherence and scaremongering in order to keep their herds intact. But there are also religions that look upon the world and reflect our existential wonder in nature, in science and in the beauty of the unobtainable. There are religions that don’t demand money and don’t believe in preaching. There are religions that promise nothing but a doorway into appreciating the mysteries of life.

  The message of every Prophet is, and always has been, love, which renders all religions fundamentally in agreement. Declaring a religion for oneself does not mean accepting the myriad interpretations and politics of modern religious thought. If belief in God should be tabled as a cause for disunity or bigotry, the blame belongs in the hearts of men and women. As surely as we all occupy this pale blue dot called earth, we are equal and free to believe. Ancient teachings and the seeker’s own views together determine the ideal virtues by which one chooses to live his or her life. It does not mean turning a blind eye to rotten apples but embracing the whole orchard as a creation of scientific perfection and spiritual potential.

  There are people who purport that religion offers nothing more than fables and superstitions from the naïve millennia of yore. They see the big questions of existence as labor for computers to decode. But it’s beautiful to believe in something that cannot be proven or disproven, to embrace and sometimes struggle with a spiritual reality instead of lounging in agnosticism. It’s humbling to cast off an ego that desires to forget thousands of years of budding intellectual thought on the basis that we know better ourselves, having studied none of it. As someone who once saw religion as a singular, oppressive force against individualism, I now understand it as an alignment of distinctive and explorative teachings that have, throughout every age, guided humanity to seek and reason as individuals. People will wield it however they see fit and history is forever fraught with the consequences. But as long as our beliefs don’t infringe on others, we all practice some form of love, tolerance and faith. 

  “Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth; it should give birth to spirituality, and bring light and life to every soul. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it would be better to be without it… Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion.”           ~ Abdu’l-Baha

[houseofriddum]

The ‘Cathedral of Christ Church’ in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. I took shots a few times a year and ended up with a nice set of fall - winter - spring - summer shots in sequence.

[cosmicvalley]

I've always admired this Hamilton landmark. Well done.

[gmgmiao]

Gatineau Park, Pink lake

[cosmicvalley]

Beautiful photo set. I proposed at this lake!

[cosmicvalley]

Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire; June 2009.

These photos were taken from an approximate half-way point to the peak. It felt like a slow ascent into space but Wikipedia says it best: 

"Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the New England state of New Hampshire, known for its presence in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. It is the most prominent mountain peak between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Massachusetts Berkshires, and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire. It has long been known as one of the most frequently climbed mountains in the world."

[iwantcupcakes]

[cosmicvalley]

      Washington DC studio apartment, 312 sq ft. (x)

My old apartment in Hamilton was probably the same size but I didn't put a tenth of the effort (seen here) into organizing that space. The book-shelf as room-separator is pretty ingenious. 

[likeafieldmouse-deactivated2015]

Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you.

Carl Jung (via arpeggia)

[carveaname]

MacNab Street Tunnel, Hamilton Ontario

[worldaccordingtomoi]

[cosmicvalley]

Yes, I know Tumblr's already too adorable. I know I'm not helping the situation by reblogging a meditating cat. However this teaching is one I need to remember on a daily basis AND IT'S A CAT MEDITATING AMIRIGHT?!

[cosmicvalley]

Ottawa, Ontario; July 1st 2011.

Happy Canada Day everyone!