Stones that Shout

 The rock appeared drab and gray, indistinquisable from a thousand others. But then my teacher turned on an ultraviolet light. Immediately, that boring rock burst into vivid technicolor.Blues, greens yellows, and oranges shone forth. It contained a class of minerals that become luminous under UV lighting. Without the aid of those special rays however, you'd walk by this rock without a second thought. 

    This morning, the whole world gazes upon a gray chunk of rock. Under normal lighting, it's just a rough cavity in the ground--a sheer vacancy- -with a stone lid rolled to the side. There's not much to see, and UV rays won't help here. But some who ponder this rugged cavity leave fundamentally changed, as if this rocky tomb burned with the light of heaven.

     And indeed it does. Sometime. in the darkness of Easter night, Jesus Christ flipped the switch from death to life and changed this cavern of despair into the only source of real hope. John, seeing the scene lit by the vivid light of faith saw, and believed, and it was as if color shone forth in a gray world.

     Now, even when we disciples of Jesus falter in our proclamation of the Gospel God has enlisted the roughest matter to proclaim his glory. As Jesus propheseised, I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out ! ( Lk 19:40) On Easter morning, we hear that cry of joy.

Reflectionn base on Johnb 20:1-9 

Father Philip Nolan O.P.

Painting Rocks and Making sense of it all

    The immediate thought is that we find a rock and then we take it home and paint it, to make it look like art.This has been the intent from the beginning of my journey fifteen years ago.Discovering their supposed spiritual component is quite another matter. From the beginning,rocks have been an element or item that comes to mind when thinking about matter versus things that don't have matter. 

    Caring about things do matter, but only to the degree that we say they do. Betrand Russell made the claim that "No-thing is a thing". He was a mathematician, philosopher, politician and essayist. He was also an autobiographer, who wrote three volumes about himself.My guess is that he cared a lot about himself. Did he care about matter? Perhaps.

    I learned in high school from a favorite teacher that you can't love a car. It was argued by a fellow student that they did love their car, because some of them had a car by that age.I listened intently as it was explained that a car can't love you back, it can only react to the input that is delivered to it's components.Step on the gas pedal and it moves forward...You gotta love it.

 Our teacher also explained that a connection had to be made where your input would be equally understood and reciprocated...but wait, can't a computer already do that? Yes, but it's mostly "GIGO" (garbage in, garbage out). Like the main-frame computer which were the only computers around at that time.They were good at providing data that solved complex mathematical problems back then, but human problems,not as good.

    Today's computers can't always correctly interpret a human's silence or pauses any more than we can. Some may argue that they can espeically those so called. "Impregnated Silences" Presently, they can be programmed to finish sentences that may or may not produce an accurate result. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the data can be startingly creative, concise and seemingly human in it's disclosure.Now,what can be done with that? Your guess is a good as mine.

    Now, back to caring and loving that which cannot love you back.I was just thinking about an add I saw awhile ago about a company that actually takes a person's remains after cremation and makes memorial rocks out of said remains. Will these items communicate something to those who remember the deceased? You bet they do, sensing the rock visually, silently and tactilely.

    It has been said that communication is the intentional re-creation of another's experience of ourselves. So, it seems that within the realm of our own experience,we are the only one's out there! 

    My belief and experience coincide when I can align inner dialog with what may be percieved as a higher power. That could be God, nature or even the void. Believing that there is a presence is not the issue, experience is. So, if I am in communication with a car, and the car reciprocates in a fashion that fills my spirit, so be it.The car has had something to communicate.

    I don't know about you, but I will talk to; and about things all the time. I am in communication with my computer as i write this blog. Imagining that someone is actually reading this, is actually fulfilling ...spiritually, for lack of a better word.

Below are some beauties from the past...

Carrying On

 Talking to a friend today, we discussed shaving our faces.He informed me that he was too lazy to shave and preferred a beard.Along those lines he mentioned that he doesn't want to go on hikes either, because he gets short of breath.The argument for rest and relaxation is important in our culture. Laziness is not.How does one balance these two components in our daily lives? Medical doctors recommend diet and exercise. Pretty broad categories, to be sure. Nowadays, specificity is the watch word.

What kind of diet? What specific exercise, etc.

    Too often the justification of our excessive behaviors require discipline.Training our children to follow our lead in adopting contructive behavior is a tricky.Yet learing something new is essential to personal growth.

    Like anything else, it is easy to reach a saturation point when trying to introduce new habits and behaviors.Balance continues to be the key here. "All work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy" was what Jack Nicholson's character had repeatedly typed with this message in the movie "The Shining". Is this going to be our own truth as we enter the age of A.I. and social media? Geez, we need some breaks in the malstrom of monotony!

    Breaks not withstanding, the pursuit of higher learning and relevant activity begs to question our motives. Don't we all just want to be a wee bit more informed,or able to espouse facts like the guy at the next table? Perhaps not.

    It is now April 1st ( no fooling ) and I am going to finish publishing this particular blog because it's time.

This morning, our Monday morning painter's group now has their work showing at the Calistoga Roastery for the public to view.Strange things occur here on a fairly frequent basis. It seems that a great number of locals gather at this particular coffee shop to meet.The prices are reasonable, and the menu is vast.The strangeness is that it is difficult for anyone to remain anonymous in this town. Ackward silences makes the practice of congeniality with groups or particlular individuals, questionable. Acknowledging the presence of people whose personalities don't jive with our own is challenging to to say the least. 

Having no excuses except for the sporadic cloud bursts of rain,their is no reason not to go outside. After all, spring has officially sprung. Staying inside and painting a rock is only one of many things there are to do today.

Just ask Snowball...

Below is this week's 'Rock of the month"

Expanding outward

 Ever since shaving my beard and moustache off, I've been feeling a bit vulnerable.This is a good thing. Change is a good thing.People tell me that I look much younger. Thanks!

Today, painting rocks hasn't quite taken a back seat yet.My artwork is expanding to include other pursuits. Namely, mobiles, small sculptures, minature paintings etc. Still looking for that thing that continues to inspire, yet continue doing what puts my mind at peace.Below is a sample of what I've been up to...

Kali

ear ring stand

Iphone user

Shifting Gears

 Welcome Back! Most of you are aware of the joy I get from painting rocks. It's been over fifteen years ( you can scroll down through the episodes of this blog if you don't believe me.)Well, having supported myself for many years in the hospitality industry, it was a relief to finally get to do my own thing. Even though I don't sell my rocks online, I have done commissions for people who know me, and know how to contact me. If you don't, come visit me at the Farmer's Market on Saturdays in Calistoga.

So, I am beginning to focus more on my drawing and painting skills by producing works that I will be showing for the whole month at the St. Helena Library. They will feature a retrospective of my work from the 90's to the present day. This is a how I get inspired to further my career as a working artist.

The subject matter of these paintings will vary. Some are representational, some are abstract using a variety of mediums. Everything from water-colour, acrylic, graphite and colored pencils. I don't paint in oils, although I have been schooled in such.I'm more inclined to worked in a very spontaneous fashion and when I am in the "Zone", I don't always know what will emerge when I come out of it. If you are in the area, come down Adams street off the main road where the Chevron station is, and travel eastward for about a third of a mile then make a left. The St. Helena Library is right there. A little reception will take. place between four and five p.m. on Tuesday, March 4th. Hope to see you there! 

Below is a sample of the work I will be showing..

Expectations

     Yesterday was fabulous. Not just because I was able to sell many of my showcase items at the Sebastopol Market, but because it was a wonderfully energetic and lovely a day as would never have been expected. In fact, I seriously did not want to get out of bed. Dreading the thought of driving over the hill in freezing cold weather ( the roads were very icy and dangerous ) was not at all appealing. Then the thought of standing around and having no one stopping to view my glow-in-the-dark gift rocks was beginning to haunt me.   Ugh.

 It was time to "Let go, and let God". I did just that. My prayer for the day was to have the Higher power "Surprise me". I left it at that. Prayers of petition or begging are becoming things of the past. Prayers of gratitude are taking their place...Thankfully.

Even the writing of this blog is becoming a prayerful exercise, that helps me to release negative expectations. Besides, those expectations are merely feelings about experiences that have happened in the past.

Today, I have hope that becomes an abiding faith that things are happening in accordance with the Divine will. Also, one's day can start over at any time. Many aspire to an idea that a change in attitude is not beyond their power of choice.

This choice has consequences that can go either way.

Is your attitude beyond your power of choice? 

Chocolate or Vanilla?

All this being said, the farmer's market turned out to be a fabulously abundant sales day. What a surprise! Was this my expectation? perhaps,but the real surprise was when my attitude shifted upon asking my higher power for a surprise.

The Higher Power has NEVER failed. The answers are always... Yes, No or...

LATER 😉

Below is this week's "Rock of the Week". 

Surprise! 

Nope,it's not a rock but an abalone shell shaped like a heart. Being that St.Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching, nothing could be a better reminder to follow your heart.

Breathe

     In a word, yes... breathe. What a winter it has been. We don't need to reiterate what has gone on in the world in the past few months. It is no surprise that this blog has been delayed for awhile, and I apologize for that.

    This is a pivotal time we are living in, and we are all in this together.Everything from the enviroment to politics worldwide is calling us to global reckoning in my opinion.

    Although I am on the internet quite a bit, I haven't watched the T.V. in over a year now ( mostly because don't want to pay for the full Xfinity package ).It is not a necessity. If I really want to watch the news I can find it online Besides, with all the ways we can access information, we might as well consider ourselves really to be a global village.

    We are glued to our communication devices which in a way makes it easy to edit ourselves while texting and to present ourselves in a pleasant manner through Facebook. Now, talking to Siri, Alexa or the house cat quickly replaces the need for human interaction.People still find Facetime video a little foreboding.

    As for quick information, Their's YouTube and Google for our educational purposes and/or "How to's ". Then we have Netflix, Prime, Hulu etc. for entertainment. We really don't need anyone anymore it seems.Why get groceries or food when there is Door Dash! Heaven's to Betsy. The list goes on... and rest assured there is an app for that.

    Boredom or loneliness has become epidemics in their own form.The quickening as it were, is pointing even closer to the Singularity.There is no going back. This is the time to go within, and make the time to be creative.We still can have the world of our dreams if we can all admit that we are truly in this together.

Below are some "Rocks of the Week" which aren't one rock but several which I glued to a canvass! These rocks are made to look like they were washed ashore.Enjoy the days ahead...

Repitition and resolutions

 What starts out as a groove, can turn into a rut in short order. Admittedly, it's hard to break out of old habits. Painting gift rocks is no exception. Artistic designs, like the neuropathways that get formed in our minds, grow together. Like attracts like. Quite naturally, when we find something we enjoy doing, we like to repeat the process. It is pleasing when we obtain a desired result. Patterns form, results are weighed, and a cycle completes itself... until something upsets this seemingly predictable, however pleasing result. Hmmm...

    Without getting too deep into the psychology, suffice to say that everything is like everything else, (except sometimes not always).Boredom and/or frustration may ensue. Lethargy can follow close behind. Predictability can be a double edged sword. Are we rushing to judgement about a certain outcome, or are we staying in observation mode?

Granted,in order to obtain a signature stye it will usually involve repeating it.There is no other way around it.Just as in making all the mistakes there are to make, it will mean that one has to go through the process of making countless vain attempts until  refinement and a particular beauty has been revealed. Also, there is not guarantee that this process or result can be repeated.

Philospher and Psychologist Herbert Spencer was quoted as saying that there is one principle that will leave us in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation.Stay with the process. More will be revealled!

Below is this week's Rock of the Week

The First day of 2025

 Hiking around in Bothe State Park at 2pm on the first day of the new year is such a treat. Families out for a little stroll on the muddy paths, navigating their way past slimey rocks can be a bit of a challenge but all fun. (Just as I am composing this blog, a mild earthquake just struck. It's 6:34pm on Weds. January 1st.) One never knows what is coming down the pike.

    Anyway, i am promising to myself to make a few "projections". about how to proceed throughout the new year. Resolutions are out of the question.One is to keep this blog updated. The other is to continue to develop my artistic ability, and to share it with others...subscribing to the belief that I must give away what I wish to keep. 

    This has been a tough lesson. Fears of being a sucker is difficult to shake, because of who is usually first to step into the trap of mindless gulibility. No one with a kind mind likes to witness the gaming or manipulating of others to get what they may think they want. Especially if it's the laughter at the expense of another.

 Already, a reluctance to publish this is cultivating a bit of dread and it is only the first blog post of 2025.Another projection is the quest for integrity and genuine humility as a bi-product of being truthful. Wish me luck with that.

May this coming year be fulfilling in all your greatest and truest desires, and may joy fill all of our hearts.

Your Spirit Rocks !