Amazing skies

sky with bare trees

Yesterday morn K. and I left early for Leuven. We got up in the dark, packed our stuff in the car and just before we drove away I looked up in the sky and saw the morning glory at the breaking of the day.

sky with bare tree

layered sky with moon

morning sky with clouds and chemtrails

morning sky with clouds and chemtrails

morning sky with bare trees and a bird

morning sky with sheep clouds

Amazing skies

amazing sky with wind mills on horizon

Last Sunday I went for a walk on the beach with my ex boyfriend. Maybe not one of my great ideas emotionally wise, but visually wise it was a fantastic idea. I mean, these skies were just awesome!

amazing sky

Lots of turmoil in the sky, lots of turmoil within myself. Trying to befriend my ex after a painful break-up is not an easy thing to do even after almost a year. Looking into this unlimited space though gave me space within, it gave room for feeling these emotions, venting them and feeling lighter afterwards. I am sure you have experienced this too at one occasion or another.

cloudy sky and kite flyer

And then there were these guys flying in the sky, riding on the wind that rolled over the dunes. They represented the ultimate experience of freedom.

sea gulls and an amazing sky

sand dunes, amazing sky and two kite flyers

Who knows, I might try it out one day.

Day II Space Awareness: space in sand and sky

curved fence on the beach

On the second day of the workshop we talked more about our awareness in general. Hèlen is convinced we are aware all day long, but sometimes there are clouds of thoughts which make us a little less clear or awake than at other moments. 

curved sand and water

"Now is the only moment, you cannot be more in the present than you already are." That was kind of an eye opener as in most Buddhist teachings we hear that we are not aware all the time and that when we are thinking of the past for example we are in the past. Today we heard that even when we are thinking of an occasion in the past we are still thinking it in the present. That actually makes sense, doesn't it?

edge of sand and water

Meditation is a practice or method to be with the intrinsic qualities of ourselves like courage, fearlessness, abundance, contentment, clarity and so forth. Every meditation helps to have a better experience of the present. And everything we do is an expression of ourselves. Thoughts are a confirmation that we are present.

circles in pavement

On this second day of the workshop we explored the spaces of sand and beach, again without any reference frameworks like people, animals or other objects.

space on the beach and in the sky

It was a glorious day and the skies and beach could not have been more splendid as you can see by these photographs.

splash of sand on a concrete surface

space between two sets of black dumpsters on the beach

Hèlen also explained the Heaven - Earth - Man principle to us. Heaven represents the space in which something takes place, it is the base, the foundation. Heaven is the second dominant aspect and it supports the Heaven aspect. Man brings Heaven and Earth together, it is the most elegant aspect. This principle is used in contemplative arts, like Kado (flower arrangements) and Haiku.

tyre tracks going into space

This day also felt awesome like yesterday. According to Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche "Spaciousness brings inspiration." I experienced more room in myself and I felt more relaxed, my vision is broadening and it feels a bit like unlimited boundaries. The sky is the limit!

shadows of posts and a blue sky

See also day I from this workshop.

Day I Space Awareness: space in sky and street

This weekend I am participating in the Miksang Contemplative workshop level IV which is about space awareness. Space as form and form as space. Visual space can be wide open (sky) and it can be solid (street or wall).

"Form and space have an intimate relationship: space intensifies the clarity of form and form creates boundaries that bring out visual space."

Our human eye is trained to go from one object to another, but in this workshop our intention was on the space between the objects, around them or on space itself. As we are not used to do this, is requires some grounding and practice.

Visual space can sometimes feel very two-dimensional like fields or levels and at other times it can feel three-dimensional with depth and openness. Sometimes it feels flat, full and tight and at other times it feels startling, because we are so used to looking at things that to see the absence of things can through us off balance.

All perceptions appear in space: color, texture, light, moments, contact and simplicity. Seeing forms and objects as anchors for space is a different way of looking. Space is everywhere, all around us, everywhere.

three layers of a building

three orange balls and a grey sky

The assignment of this first day was to set our intention on space, to walk the streets of Zandvoort leisurely and to look at space on the streets and sidewalks as well as looking up and seeing space in the sky with or without anchor points. To feel the assignment right we looked only at space, not at the people or little things in it and we examined whether we experienced space at forms or not.

white street markings

wooden staircase

"Seeing space creates a greater field in which flashes of perception can occur. By reducing fixation on objects, you can open your eyes more, or mind more and go out farther and farther, feeling the spacious quality of the world."

triangles in the sky

Since the beginning of the workshop we've all felt more open or spacious not only in ourselves, but also in the world around us. We feel more relaxed, cared less about the time during the day and felt lighter and happier. And this was only day 1 where we explored the spaces of street and sky.

Quotes are from the book: The Practice of Contemplative Photography. Seeing the World with Fresh Eyes. By Andy Karr and Michael Wood.

Morning glory

I got up this Sunday morning pretty early (I'd like to sleep in on the weekend) and rode by bicycle to meditation class which takes place in the centre of Amsterdam. The hardest bit is to actually get up in the dark and to walk to the shower in the cold corridor of my house. After feeling the warm water on my body and having some food inside my stomach I am ready for the day.

yellow and blue sky

The advantage of this season is that I am able witness the spectacular colours of the sunrise. To me there are just a wonderful gift of Mother Nature. And the reflection in the canal is even more awesome.

reflection of a pink sunrise in a canal

Pink sunrise

This week has been a really busy week work wise as well as personally. At work I had two major meetings to prepare & take minutes of and there was a speech of an old professor for which I had organized all the logistics and which I hosted. I also took photographs of the event. On top of that I just came back from a week off, so there were lots of emails in my inbox waiting for a response. There was hardly time for breaks and no time to go out for a walk at work.
In the evenings I taught my own yoga class, had a meeting with all my housemates, went to a lecture about Shambhala buddhism and took a yoga class.  As I leave the house when it starts to get light and I cycle back home in the dark, there wasn't much opportunity to pick up my camera and have a look around me.
The picture above I shot Wednesday morning just before going to work, I looked out of the window and saw this incredible sky. It made my week!

Evening sky

Last weekend daylight saving time was finished and Wintertime was back on, meaning the end of Summer and signifying that Autumn has seriously started.

Which means to people with office jobs like me that in the morning it is still light, but dusk is already falling when we travel back home. 

When I got out of the university today I looked up and saw this incredible colourful sky. 

These little moments make my day and I simply couldn't wait to post the pictures. Did you notice the skies this week?

Purple sky

I saw this beautiful sky last Saturday when I was waiting on the platform for the train to Amsterdam. I had a few minutes to spare, looked around me and could not escape the beautiful colours of the evening sky.

Our teacher is teaching us all the time to be available so we can see the beauty of everyday life. How about you? Are you available during the day, while you are waiting for the bus, train or simply sitting on our couch having a moment to yourself?

Motiv

The past few days I started working on another motiv and I wonder now why I haven't seen it before. Everyday at work I look out of the window and see a piece of sky between the concrete buildings of our university. Everyday that sky the light, clouds and colours are different. Below are some first examples, probably many more are to come.

I posted my last motiv in the Summer of 2013: the pictures were taken in downtown Amsterdam.

Early blossoms

As we all know by now Spring has started early this year. The trees are bursting and the blossoms are already coming out. Their stages go by so fast.

The first picture is taken on the 9th of March. A very different day than the pictures below as the sky is of a very intense kind of blue.

The other two pictures are taken earlier this week. We have three trees in front of our house and the middle one is blooming right now, that is the one you see in the images. The color of the sky is more lavender.

Standing underneath them feels exotic. As I was taken these two photos a passerby commented: "It's like being in Japan." And that felt right. I' ve never been to Japan, but I can imagine the feeling.