Digital Streaming of Consciousness

“Digital Streaming of Consciousness” is a series of images produced on an iPadPro with ProCreate and Photoshop as the drawing/painting tools.

One of my ongoing life learnings is to Be in the Moment and be Still enough to reach an Authentic Self…a Self that rises from a deep depth, to the surface, and brings forth an expression that is more aligned with the vast Cosmos and the Collective Consciousness of our Planet.

The images in this series come from suspending conscious control and following the adjacent possibilities as they present themselves. The result is an image that is as close as possible to bringing a dream state back into the waking world.

Back Story:

Gifts come in many forms. When I (temporarily) lost my ability to physically move because of pain, I opened the “package” before me. For five weeks I had no choice but to be still. In that physical and mental stillness, I found a depth and a connection that I had experienced only once before.

In 1976, having left college, my focused task was to develop myself as an Artist. Knowing that I would not have much of an income, I knew I needed to create a lifestyle that was simple and cost little money.

I bought 5 acres of wooded land on the side of a hill in West Hebron, New York. I learned the basics of construction while building a 20' x 20' wood-framed cabin. I chose to not put electricity in. I cleared an acre of the land for a garden. I grew, fished, and foraged for most of my food. The wood from the land provided fuel for heating and cooking. I dedicated several hours a day to the daily chores, allowing the rest of the time for drawing, painting, and developing a freelance commercial art business to pay for the things that I could not produce my self or could not barter for.

It was because of this simplicity that I found a life that connected me to Nature. I truly knew where the source for food and heat came from. I followed the seasons and timed planting to moon cycles. I knew when and where the Wild Leeks and Morel Mushrooms would be found. Long walks through the woods expanded my knowledge and appreciation of the surrounding environment and connected me to like-minded people. There was the quiet that nurtured my soul and gave space for me to expand into an inner awareness. The clear and star-filled night sky furthered my journey into an infinite reality. I was connected to something greater than myself.

After eight years in this little cabin in the woods, (shared for the first several years with a dear friend who was/is a nature photographer) I left the comfort of this Home. People would ask, “if it was so wonderful, why did you leave?”. My answer was always, “Emerson said something to the effect, ‘You can find peace in solitude, but can you find it when you are in the hustle and bustle of the world’’. (His actual quote is: "It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own, but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance)

I could not totally find that peace…until this past year when I was forced to sit, to quiet my mind, meditate, to do nothing because I could not do much of anything. What I could do, and did, was connect with that same infinite and inclusive energy that I knew from the cabin days. The above images are a visual representation of what I experienced and continue to touch into. Hopefully this time, I will be able to maintain the connection as I heal and move back in the active world.