Picture to Ponder

Respite and Relaxation from a Banana Plant and DVD – Picture to Ponder – v5 – Issue 29

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 11, 2009

I laughed when today’s top photograph opened up. It was a spontaneous response to the humor I saw in the little “critters”. Perhaps they are applauding, or nodding congratulations to me and healing music composer and flutist, piano player, Jeannie Fitzsimmons.

Today marks the re-launch of our BANANA SKY DVD. I am hugely excited with the completion of this project that actually started three years ago, by accident, out of my passion for discovery, when I began observing, in my head and with the camera, the amazing growth of a single banana tree which has multiplied many times.

I will go into more details of the “story”, the journey after today’s SRQ’s. One of the things that most excites me right now with the publication is the design work I did for the packaging. This was a first for me and I feel like a kid in a candy store.

The photographs featured today are actually a partial embodiment of the experience of Banana Sky DVD.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
The first photograph are the bottom ends of a bunch of growing bananas on the tree. By the time you and I get the ripened, or almost ripened, bananas we purchase, these happy “critters” have shriveled and dried up.

Though I continue to refer to it as a tree, the banana plant, I discovered, is actually an herb.

I especially love the middle image, photographed after a rainstorm. It is one of the “petals” of the banana pod holding a pool of rain water. When ready, the petals gradually unfurl one-by-one, to reveal a row of infant bananas that each has been protecting.

I so love this photograph that it became the symbol for BANANA SKY DVD and I created it as the cover for the case.

The bottom photograph is a view from underneath the “tree”, as I looked up through the leaves toward the sky. The shadows are reflections of Arica palms behind the banana plant. I’ve kept this particular photo as my desktop background and used it for the disk label. It represents the peace and serenity I got from viewing the photographs.

You can see how the bottom two photos are used in the packaging by clicking on “Rotate Case” on the ORDER page or see a video preview and testimonials on the BANANA SKY DVD OVERVIEW page.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
BANANA SKY DVD holds many stories. The short one is that it started out with my taking hundreds, then probably thousands, of photographs of a banana tree that was continually amazing me in its growth and the many directions it was taking. I was particularly fascinated with large leaves and the play of lights and shadows on them.

This whole growth and documentation was happening during the time when I was experiencing a lot of upset and anger around the impact Parkinson’s disease was having on my beloved Sam and on our relationship and role reversals. The act of photographing was and is one balancing mechanism for me. Then I found a whole new dimension. When viewing the photographs as a slide show on my MacIntosh, I found a shift in my state of being and an ease of tension.

In relation to you and today’s Self-Reflecting Queries, I invite you to look into your life.

1 – Are there specific places where you are experiencing regular and, almost, automatic tension and responses? Have you found satisfying methods for creating shifts for yourself? If so, are you sharing them with others?

This is sometimes one of the most empowering methods of reinforcement for ourselves. Others will remind us of our power. For a variety of reasons, including having lost interest, I probably would have let Banana Sky drop, except for the support of my friends for whom the DVD has also made a difference. I am very grateful to them, especially for my renewed energy and excitement – that which we get to feel when we’ve gotten past hurdles.

2 – Very often in Picture to Ponder, I speak of how so many times we live in the “story” of something, rather than in the actual “being in what is.”

Today, I am inviting you to look into your life to see what the “stories” are that empower you. Are there “made-up” ones and also ones that are “real” in terms of a series of “factual” occurrences, beginning, middle, end? If you find the latter, are you using them to move you forward or can you?

As always, remember to have fun with this.

Brief Continuation of BANANA SKY DVD Story –
One of the things I’m learning about my work is that without planning, or intention, my photographs often tell a story. It may be so because I’ve always loved stories (starting as early as elementary school and radio soap opera days when I was sick and home from school).

I don’t remember the particular stories that were in the background as I was out photographing the banana tree, sometimes two to three times a day in different lighting. I do know that after the full life cycle of the first plant, I started arranging the photographs for my slide show to be representing life cycles, the plants and ours, as humans.

Once I realized the full effect of my “show”, I decided it might empower other caregivers and individuals who also needed stress relief. I contacted Jeannie Fitzsimmons whose beautiful, healing music I was familiar with. She suggested “Bamboo Ballet” as the perfect background. A variety of challenges and other distractions had Banana Sky in limbo for almost two years and we are now both very excited to have found the best way to get the DVD out to you.

One of the prime features of this DVD is that it works in any DVD player, including those for TVs. Thus those people without computer access, including those who might be bedridden or not computer literate can have benefit of the relaxing photography and music. And you, who may have “normal” tension, can have it playing in the background on your computer as you work.

Another major feature and benefit is that BANANA Sky DVD is set to run as an endless, repeating loop, offering ongoing respite for those who wish it. One person recuperating from surgery remarked, in a thank you note, that he loved sitting with his eyes closed listening to the music, seeing the imagery in front of his closed yes.

Through the end of August, Jeannie and I are offering a $4.00 savings for purchases through the end of August. Again, as I mentioned earlier, you can see a one-minute preview by going to BANANA SKY DVD or go right to the ORDER PAGE.

To peace and beauty!

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Orchids for Beauty -Pause, Meditate, Reflect – Picture to Ponder – vol 5-issue 28

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 6, 2009

These orchids from the American Orchid Society Gardens stood out for me as I was selecting photos to feature in the last issue of Picture to Ponder. For whatever reason, the rooster photographs, along with the mystery of the feathers, won out. Today, though I had not yet saved it in the ezine files, it was easy for me to find it.

When I first started PICTURE TO PONDER, four plus years ago, only one photograph was featured in each issue. Somewhere along the line, as I reduced the number of issues per week, it grew to two or three images per issue.

Today I started looking for others, wondering especially if yesterday’s full moon photos would fit. Then I stopped and remembered the value of sometimes staying present to one thing for a moment or two, or more, in our hectic lives.

So, I present today’s photo to you with the invitation to merge yourself in its beauty. Then take a few moments to reflect on the beauty in your life.

TODAY’S PHOTO –
As stated above, orchids from the American Orchid Society Greenhouse. I could research to identify this particular genus and for today I’m striving for simplicity, so I will leave it unnamed.

For those wanting more of my photographs, you’ll see here that  I have done two additional posts, with photographs, on this blog since the last Picture to Ponder post. Scroll down for the previous two subsequent.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
Above, I invited you to immerse yourself into the photograph above. The orchids might have resonated with you, the colors, perhaps an imagined fragrance. There might be something in the background that has meaning for you. And, perhaps you accepted my invitation and simply allowed yourself a meditative moment or two.

I could ask you to explore, for yourself what it was, and from there you could possibly create a bunch of Self-Reflecting Queries. On the other hand, since I’m suggesting you use today’s orchids photograph to be simply present.

I do, though, invite you to creating some form of trigger, a way to remind yourself of the experience. Perhaps touch one of your fingers to your thumb, visualizing the orchids, or whatever other peaceful image might have surfaced for you. Then use that “trigger” as reminders to pause during chaotic moments.

Remember also to be open to all the different forms of beauty in your own life – in both your visual and interactive environments.

For today, I wish you a gentle, restful kind of fun.

PROGRAMS in which you might have an interest –

For those who might be, or planning on, building a successful Internet Marketing Business:

I am excitedly looking forward to going to Atlanta next weekend for the Niche Affiliate Marketing System program.

One of the bonuses I am looking forward to after the conference is over is receiving a 2 GB flash drive, loaded with all the recordings and PDFs from both workshops 1 & 2. There will be more than 6 days of instruction, 200 pages of PDF text manuals, multiple special reports from more than 20 instructors.

Now you, too, can have this. Though it’s not the same as being there in person, I was delighted to learn of a pre-conference special where non-attendees can get the same flash drive for only $97! You can get one by going to NAMS4U2 FLASH DRIVE

ATTENTION – WRITERS, or WANNA-BE WRITERS – If you are interested in doing more exploration in writing for yourself, my friend and mentor Julie Jordan Scott has the second Summer Writing Intensive Creativity Camp (at Home or wherever you happen to be) starting on Monday, August 10th. See SUMMER WRITING CAMP for details.

ATTENTION for those of you who might be interested in ENERGY SHIFTING –

1 – My friend Amethyst Wyldfyre has a call on Thursday, August 13th – Shift Your Energy, Ramp Up Your Business . She will be sharing information and experiences for her upcoming “Energize to Monetize” program.

2 – My friend Adela Rubio has introduced an Energy Shift Program that has already sold out twice.

Adela asks:
“Are you ready to Master Your Highly Sensitive Nature?

Do you consider yourself to be ‘highly sensitive?’
Does it feel like a burden or a blessing?

What if your hypersensitivity were actually your super power, a gift that provides access to deep connection and intuitive knowledge, a tool that could empower you and your clients?

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Perspective Shifts from Behind Bars in Wakodahatchee Wetlands- Picture to Ponder – V5-issue 27

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 31, 2009

I was going through thousands of my photos taken over the past few years, choosing a wide range to present to a client for selection to be used as part of an upcoming DVD, when the first photo above caught my attention. I found myself pausing for a moment or so.

I was attracted to the colors, textures and design and even more by the “mystery.” “What is it?” I wondered.

Before I took the time to patiently puzzle it through, I moved on to other photos in the folder for the answer. When I saw the rooster, shown in the lower photo, I realized that the top image was that of feathers of the bird photographed between the railing slats on the boardwalk at Wakodahatchee Wetlands.

A few years ago, after a bout of challenging weather, this rooster had wandered from his normal farm environment into the Wetlands.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
A close-up view of the visible portion of a rooster through a railing and the rooster himself, full body.

I found many photos of the rooster selected the second one to feature here because I like the erect head and proud posture. Then once it was set up, I noticed the HEART shape in the whole! That certainly was a delightful and pleasing surprise! I hope you find it so also.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
Once again we see, as in the last issue, that altering positions, “points of view”, in this case moving from “behind bars”, we get a different feeling or communication.

In this case, I moved from the unknown to the known and was excited with my discovery. Then, interestingly, once I knew what the fluffy colors were I started thinking “feather duster” and this put a different “spin” on that whole soft and appealing imagery that first attracted me. The new association put some “negativity” into what had been a joyful experience.

Reinforcing this reversal of my initial excitement was the concern that the rooster might seem not “fitting” to be a subject at this time for Picture to Ponder. It might not be appealing to you.

And, then I saw the heart, got a “warm, fuzzy feeling” and I thought, “Who would reject a heart?”

I’ve actually gone into a little more length on the “story” here because I wanted to point out what we all do to ourselves.

Now, I invite you to look at situations in your life where you may have extensive and changing stories that may be pulling you in different directions.

Are there any where you can simply choose the most powerful and empowering one? Or, might there be a situation where the most fruitful action would be to simply let all the stories and interpretations go and move on? Remember you are the one who gets to choose.

Perhaps you’ll find an Energy Shift might be called for. If so, see the information below on my friend Adela Rubio’s programs.

As always, put fun into this. Where will you find faces and smiles today?

ATTENTION for those of you who might be interested in ENERGY SHIFTING –

My friend Adela Rubio has introduced a Program that has already sold out twice. The course is limited to 11 participants in each series. The next one is starting in September.

Adela asks:
“Are you ready to Master Your Highly Sensitive Nature?

Do you consider yourself to be ‘highly sensitive?’
Does it feel like a burden or a blessing?

What if your hypersensitivity were actually your super power, a gift that provides access to deep connection and intuitive knowledge, a tool that could empower you and your clients?

The Energy Shifts program is designed to:

*increase body connection and awareness
*expand your bandwidth of intuitive sensing
*shift your perspective from problem to potential
*increase your available energy and energy mastery
*activate your connective, expanded nature

If you’re interested in experiencing any of the above, check out ENERGY SHIFT for September before it, too, gets sold out and while Adela is still offering a rate with a $30 savings.

FOR ANY WANNA-BE BLOGGERS –
I don’t know if the following fits for you, and I thought I would pass it on in the event that you are one who has been wanting to set up your own blog, but have gotten frustrated with the technical stuff. My friend Traci Knoppe has put together a very easy to understand and use 4-week ecourse, with simple step-by-step procedures. You can learn more at BEGINNER TO BLOGGER.

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New Perspectives Inspired by a Red Onion and Garlic – Picture to Ponder – Vol. 5 – Issue 26

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 23, 2009

You may be wondering, “Why onion photos again?” I had intended to go back to birds, or other nature photos, for this issue, and then these photographs kept popping out whenever I opened my photo files. A few weeks ago, for the last session of the June Through and From the Lens course, I purchased a new red onion. While at the supermarket the red garlic caught my eye, along with the white garlic which I needed for cooking; so I bought all three.

After photographing them separately and together from many angles and holding them in my hands, I became so attached to the “personalities” and “feel” of the three above that I bought new ones with which to work during the teleclass.

I’m following my instincts in continuing sharing them here, recognizing that there is something “calling” to me with these particular vegetables and hope they will thus resonate in some way with you. One thing I know for sure, is I’m delighted with how long they last in the original state, with no change or deterioration, from the time I purchase them.

For those who missed it, earlier this month I wrote on Onion #4, which you can see on the BLOG – Looking at the Old Newly

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
I am not what it is in the top photo of the garlic bulb in my hand that “grabs” me each time I look at it. The image is seemingly making a strong statement.

As you can see I grouped the three together, on my white kitchen counter, and then on the underside of a black styrofoam tray to get the contrast. I was only going to include one of these two photos here since they are so similar. Then when I looked again, I saw the feel was different, beyond the lighting contrasts.

In the third photograph the onion seems to be looking at the red garlic very protectively, as the latter nestles up to it. And, I’m wondering, in addition to the focus being slightly closer, if the fact that the white garlic’s position is altered, ever so slightly, is what makes the difference. Perhaps it’s that the latter is extra bright here and the other “needs” protection (in the imaginary sense).

I’ve included the fourth photo of the red garlic alone, slightly altered in color by Photoshop Elements, because now it looks like a piece of art. In addition to the colors, I love the rhythm and swirl in the whole shape.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
By altering positions, “points of view”, in the onion and garlic bulbs above, we get a different feeling or communication.

Relating this now to you and going to one of my favorite Self-Reflecting Queries, I invite you to look into your own life. Are there places where you are facing challenges, places where a slight alteration of perspective might give you a whole new take on the matter? If a particular challenge surfaces for you, I invite you to “hold” it in your hand, if not literally, then figuratively. See if and how you can become friends with it. What opens up for you now?

Furthering my own Self-Reflections – For me, right now, I am looking at what it is in the red onion and, now, the added garlic that has me so intrigued and moved.

I’m realizing there is a passion in here for the “stories” I see in them. Last night, I wrote in Facebook, that I am open to finding a collaborator (a children’s writer, educator or idea person) who would enjoy co-creating with me products that would make an empowering difference in how children (and adults) see their worlds. This is a new opening and stepping out for me.

Lastly, if you have gotten this far in viewing and reading, and you have any strong emotional reaction one way or another to my featuring onions and garlic, I invite you to look at what’s coming up for you in terms of your own life in relation to your response.

As always, put fun into it. Where will you find faces and smiles today?

ATTENTION – WRITERS, or WANNA-BE WRITERS – If you are interested in doing more exploration in writing for yourself, my friend and mentor Julie Jordan Scott is Introducing the Summer Writing Intensive Creativity Camp (at Home or wherever you happen to be) See SUMMER WRITING CAMP for details.

MORE OF MY WRITING – If you appreciate my writing, you might find interesting what I’ve been posting on my WRITING FOR HEALING blog.

FOR ANY WANNA-BE BLOGGERS –
I don’t know if the following fits for you, and I thought I would pass it on in the event that you are one who has been wanting to set up your own blog, but have gotten frustrated with the technical stuff. My friend Traci Knoppe has put together a very easy to understand and use 4-week ecourse, with simple step-by-step procedures. You can learn more at BEGINNER TO BLOGGER.

Start-Up Business Owners –
If you are a start-up business, or know of one, I also have a website, listing and describing other helpful businesses I know, use and recommend. See SOURCES FOR BUSINESS SUPPORT.

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Seeing What’s In Front of You – Headlight Reflections – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5 – Issue 25

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 16, 2009

Last week, in the Through and From the Lens course, one of the participants commented that I was fortunate to live in an area where there is so much beauty and, therefore, I can take great photographs.

I agree that I am blessed to live where I do with access to so much restorative beauty. On the other hand, my contention is that we can find beauty anywhere, in anything. It’s simply a matter of opening our eyes and, sometimes, our minds and hearts. The day after the call, in my supermarket parking lot, I suddenly was caught by reflections in my car headlamps and hood. I started taking photos and ended up blogging on it with photos other than those above. See “Beauty is Every Where, in All Places.”

An affirmation of this belief came in an email last year. I was moved and honored, to receive the following from subscriber Ewa Nartowska who lives in Poland:

“Actually as I said your photos inspired me to take these photographs focusing on details and avoiding ugly buildings, fences etc. I live in a beautiful medieval city but the district my flat is situated is not so beautiful, so I decided to cut out the beauty of urban ugliness. Instead of envying you that you live in that beautiful place in Florida 🙂 I decided to transform the reality I see into something beautiful.” {I bolded the last part.}

You can see some of Ewa’s exquisite photography on FlickR and in her Picasa Albums.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
As indicated above, today’s Picture to Ponder featured photographs are reflections from different views in the headlamps of my silver-colored car. Some of the pinks are coming from an artist’s neck pouch which I was wearing.

I’m really not all that sure what else was being reflected. It’s simply sufficient for me to enjoy the shapes and patterns.

If you are enjoying the reflections photographs from last week and this, I have posted a few pages of more Philadelphia reflections, and different shadows and reflections series on my FlickR account.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
Ironically, I so take my car and what’s around me for granted, that unless I’m consciously looking I don’t see things. Thus, when I studied today’s middle photo, I wasn’t even sure from what part of the car the orange section was. Imagine my embarrassment when I went to my garage to check and saw the orange was the color of the lenses of the outer sections of the headlights on the front of my car!

I blushingly admit this here because I venture to say there are many things in your visual world to which you, too, are oblivious. I therefore invite you to look around you and find at least two things that are in front of you most of the time that you could not describe if someone asked you to, because you rarely, if ever, pay attention to it/them.

What did you discover? Is there anything about what popped out for you that informs you about anything else in your life?

Lastly, are there people or situations in your life whom or which are receiving the same inattention from you, where if you “looked” you might find something that could make an empowering difference?

If you wish, I invite you to photograph what you saw, draw it, write about the experience, or simply let it go.

As always, have fun with this.

FOR ANY WANNA-BE BLOGGERS –
I don’t know if the following fits for you, and I thought I would pass it on in the event that you are one who has been wanting to set up your own blog, but have gotten frustrated with the technical stuff. My friend Traci Knoppe has put together a very easy to understand and use 4-week ecourse, with simple step-by-step procedures. You can learn more at BEGINNER TO BLOGGER.

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Philadelphia Reflections – City Hall and Avenue of the Arts – Picture to Ponder : Vol 5-issue 24

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 9, 2009

This past weekend I was in my birth city of Philadelphia, home for my first twenty years. Given I stayed in a hotel in Center City, I certainly experienced it differently, especially in terms of easy accessibility to so many locations. It was a family weekend since I was there to celebrate the wedding of one of my great nieces. At the same time, it was Independence Day celebration, in the “City of Brotherly Love” where the Declaration of Independence from England was signed.

Among the highlights of the weekend for me was using my camera to capture so much of what I saw in terms of reflections in buildings and the variety of colors, lines and textures in their structures. I took a few hundred photographs which, of course, makes it quite challenging, deciding on which to share with you here in Picture to Ponder.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
I finally selected today’s three photos for no particular reason other than I like the composition, the lines and contrasts, especially in the top and bottom photographs. I particularly like the distorted lines in the middle photograph.

In the upper two photographs we see reflections of City Hall. The bottom photograph is taken through a large window in a building on Broad Street, south of Market Street, now known as “The Avenue of the Arts.” In this picture I really like what seem to be reflections within reflections, as well as the repetition of shapes and colors.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
There is so much going on in the above photographs that it’s hard to know where to start in terms of queries.

Despite all that is happening in each of the scenes, based on my intuitive sense of design, they each hold together compositionally. Acknowledging this leads me to invite you to look at your multi-faceted life, especially where you have a lot of diverse activity.

I suspect that there is some “glue” holding it all together, some common bond to all of the elements. Can you identify that/those thread(s)? If so, I invite you to mentally “bookmark” whatever they are to assist you in getting grounded in tthe future whenever you may feel particularly scattered.

And, since today’s photographs are following the theme of reflections, I invite you to also look in to your life. Is there a particular area upon which you would like to reflect today? If so, I invite you to treat yourself to that in meditation, writing, whatever form works for you.

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Looking at the Old Newly as Inspired by a Red Onion – Picture to Ponder- v5 -issue 23

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 2, 2009

In July I became enthralled with the beauty of a red onion and the process I went through in photographing and peeling away the layers over a period of approximately two weeks.

Last week I became attracted to another red onion that had been sitting in my refrigerator for so long it had started “growing”. I decided to take a few pictures of it while holding it in my hand, views both inside and outside of the house, and then put it aside on a counter. The green continued to grow and earlier this week I decided to photograph the onion again. Given it was night, I set up the black background board to block the scene behind it in my home and placed it on the under side of one of my Cafe Press pillows which I had placed on the table.

Yesterday I was moved to start cutting, then peel away a few of the layers. I got quite excited with what I was discovering and the result is well over 150 photos. I started including here one of the “peeled” ones from a few “shoots” and decided aesthetically it did not fit with the other two. Those who wish can see that one, and several others, on Red Onion 4 or wait until I decide into what direction I am going to take the next round.

If you have not seen “THE RED ONION STORY: Peeling the Layers of an Onion as Analogous to Peeling Away the Layers of Ourselves,” you can request the PDF  on ONION STORY 1.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
As I indicated above, the top two are of a red onion on a pillow. They are lit by a chandelier above and taken without the flash.

I like stateliness and the mysterious shadows in the top photo. The middle has a rhythmic flow of colors and shapes. Given the greens were a large focus in the center photo, as well as the source of the shadows in the top one, I’m also showing the cut pieces that I spontaneously placed in glass candle holder that was closeby. I love the colors here on top, as well as those showing through the translucent glass.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
When I first started what now has become an exciting project, I was not very inspired. I simply started taking a couple of photographs because the onion had been around for so long. I wanted to acknowledge it in some way and be complete with it.

Then when I got into action, my creative juices took hold. I got excited as the different components and patterns were revealed once I cut the onion in half. The skin had interesting shapes and the interior of the peeled layers had lines embedded, probably roots, in great patterns. You can see a few examples on RED ONION 4.

So, how does this all fit into queries? Following my description of where I was before my I started taking these photos, I invite you to look into your life. Are there one or more projects or activities on which you have been stalling? If so, I invite you to take one small action, perhaps even photograph something relevant to it. Then take one more action. Do not be attached to an outcome. Simply be open to noticing where a spark of enthusiasm emerges. Where will you allow that to now take you?

And, for a second set of different queries – Today’s onion was quite “old” – a few months, at least. In the process of spending time with it, dissecting, being willing to play, many things opened up. Again I invite you to look into your life.

Are there people, projects, object or relationships in your life that seem “old and tired?” If so, I invite you to spend time, look at them, see what you can open up, if anything. Do you have new choices now for being with it or them in new ways? Or is it time to release whatever you were looking at and move on? Either choice is perfect.

As always, have fun with these queries. Be sure to “play” with the first.

Another OPPORTUNITY for a creative and empowering activity –
Download a complimentary copy of Artella’s eBook, Peace by Piece: Collage Your Way to Inner Peace and Harmony! This workbook guides you through several collage projects, each one designed to bring you closer to your true self and your powerful ability for manifesting your dreams and desires. Download your copy at PEACE BY PIECE.

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Dried Apple Slice and Turnip – Longevity in Life – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5-Issue 51

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 24, 2009

Exciting News – My book PICTURES TO PONDER: Inspired Journaling is now on sale through Amazon! Open “Customer Images” on the Amazon page to see more.

Humourous Apple Face

Apple face rear

Dried Turnip Pieces

I hope that the top photograph brings the same chuckle, or laugh, to you as it does to me every time I look at it. I’m presenting it here in fun and also for the possible inquiries it generates.

All three of  TODAY’S PHOTOS are the result of explorations I did cutting both an apple and a turnip during the last Expand Your Vision teleclass series. During that time, I actually wrote, on my blog, about the turnip – a “Metaphor for Aging, As Personified By a Turnip.” Curious, I guess, as to how they would “turn out,” I kept these pieces, rather than discard them

The apple slice was lying flat on my kitchen window sill, the turnip pieces in a tiny dish. For the “portrait session”, I placed the face on a little plate stand and reversed it for the second round. It is the same slice presented in two different views.

The texture of the dried apple slice brings back memories of the Apple Dolls that were popular and the one I made during the same time period. If you have never seen an Apple Doll, AppleDolls.org, features them and shows you how to make one.

I was surprised to discover that the turnip pieces turned “rock” hard, reminiscent of the avocado pit cuttings we turned into “beads” years ago when I taught Art in an elementary school.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
The images and experiences in today’s photographs can be viewed as representational of our lives, demonstrating that transformations are multi-dimensional and can be quite long-lasting, often in unexpected ways.

What in your life, in your memory bank, has taken an unexpected turn and left you with something for which you can acknowledge yourself? Perhaps it would forward you to simply make a list of some of the memorable things in your life.

And, to complete the circle on where we started – the humor in the apple face – look around you. What can you find that will put a smile on your face? It may be require something as simple as picking something up, turning it over or “reframing” it… putting it in a different “environment”, in the same way that the apple slice became a “pedestal” piece.

As always, have fun with these queries.

OPPORTUNITIES for creative activities –
For the writers among you, or wanna-be poets, I suggest downloading the complimentary Artella eBook, Writing the Carousel: Going Full Circle in Colorful Poetry Writing! It includes a progression of exercises that will help you uncover the surprising “turns” of phrases that make poetry effective, and then come full circle by using them in bold, colorful ways.

You can download your complimentary copy at: POETRY WRITING.

I also invite you to check many of the other activities and programs available on Artella Land home page.

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Inspiring Oneself with New Vision – Cacti in Desert Botanical Gardens – Picture to Ponder – Vol 5- Issue 21

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 15, 2009

Cylindrical Cactus in Desert Botanical Gardens

Pink Cactus Flower in Desert Botanical Gardens

The other day, I scrolled through some of my photographs on my FlickR account and I fell in love with the two photos featured above. I actually took them nine months ago in the Desert Botanical Gardens in Scottsdale when I was visiting in Arizona. I recall, at the time, that I thought most of my photos were “ho-hum”, “okay”, nothing “spectacular,” thus never paid much attention to them for using in Picture to Ponder.

The only reason I posted them on FlickR was to test out and demonstrate a new, for me, no-fee uploading and editing software program that I could share with the participants in the last Through and From the Lens telecourse. This, naturally, has me think of the new June/July telecourse which is starting this Wednesday, June 17th.

I am excited by participants who have registered thus far and with the plans for it. We will be spending more time, than in the past, on relating each one’s photos to his or her life. Participants also will be developing their own self-reflecting queries, if they so wish. And, of course, all will excitedly be discovering things they’ve never before noticed.

Marifran Korb who, prior to working with me in the last course, left all the picture taking to her husband and daughter when they went on vacations. Now, after her recent trip to Ireland she proudly shared that her daughter’s photos were all long distance shots and most of hers were at closer range, focusing in on the most interesting part, for her, of each whole scene. She found herself looking at the beauty she states might have been lost without what she now calls her “new way of seeing” – the appealing angles, shapes, textures and colors that she most likely would have totally missed in the past.

Marifran states, “I now see photography as a metaphor for life. When I’m seeing with my camera the hidden beauty in the shapes, forms, colors and nooks and crannies, it has me discover things and examine my own life in greater detail.”

There is space for one or two more participants. It would thrill me if you were one of them wishing to join us on Wednesday to experience inspiring yourself and others with your new photography and theirs.

TODAY’S PHOTOS –
Cacti in, as I stated above, the Desert Botancial Garden in Scottsdale. I think it’s the overall composition, the direction of the angles, the lights and shadows in the top photo that keeps calling me into it and appeals to me most. Although the upcoming Expand Your Vision is not a highly technical course, we do touch on art elements and using your camera to its best advantage.

I love the lower photo for its delicacy and its color, also the unexpectedness of its being in the cactus family. A third photo, I’m including here for fun, is one we will discuss in the first session of the course, where we look at “faces” in my photos and other places where participants discover them.

Cactus Turtle of Fist

Is it a turtle face or a fist? Note the five fingers. How many other faces do you see here?

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
I started this issue of Picture to Ponder stating that my Arizona photographs were mostly ones I pretty much ignored. In reflecting on this now, I’m realizing that probably a lot of the experience and everything associated with it was tinged with sadness for me traveling like this without Sam (my deceased husband, for those of you who are new subscribers) at my side. And, I could dwell on it, look for all kinds of explanations and that furthers nothing in “being in the present.”

Bottom line, today I am excited with the visual and visceral pleasures I am now experiencing when looking at and sharing these photographs.

I invite you to now look into your own life. Have you had any experiences recently or in the past several months, where you were disappointed, where your expectations might not have been met.

If “yes”, I invite you to revisit it or them through photographs, in conversations and/or in writing. Bring “new eyes” to the situation(s). Is anything more exciting now opening up, or available, for you?

As always have fun with this AND, my last invitation….

If anything in today’s issue resonates with you in terms of wanting to expand your own experiences, no matter what your current level is, then come play with us. Join in the fun and register for Wednesday’s Through and From the Lens EXPAND YOUR VISION telecourse.

ANOTHER PROGRAM for creativity –
For those of you who do not have a digital camera or the time does not work and you are “itching” to be creative in hands-on activities, I recommend checking out Marney Makridakas’

Make Change with Your Muse: Mixed Media Art Projects to Attract Prosperity and Change in Your Life This is “Self-paced e-course + Authentic Art Supply Kit sent to you via U.S. mail. Your first lesson can begin whenever you choose.”

I have done many courses with Marney and she is by far one of the MOST creative people I know. You can see more of her programs checking the links on her Artella Land home page.

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Gratitude and Celebration – AOS Botanical Gardens – Picture to Ponder – v5 – issue 19

by Sheila Finkelstein on June 5, 2009

Voodoo Lily

Today’s issue of Picture to Ponder is about Celebration and Gratitude. For me, the first photo, above, expresses sensuous wonder, Wonder also being a part of today’s message.

Several months ago the American Orchid Society in Delray Beach announced that due to lack of funds it would be closing the Gardens to the public at the end of May. The AOS gardens and greenhouse have played a significant role in my life in the past six and a half years, as well as in your lives, given so many of the Picture to Ponder photos have been from there.

Because I was leaving for Macon, GA for the celebration of my grandson’s Bar Mitzvah**, I made it my business to stop in before I left, to pay my respects to the plants and express my gratitude for what they have meant in my life. Although my camera was with me, I did no got specifically with the intention to photograph and then I started discovering plants I had never seen before, despite my fairly regular visits. See “Once or Twice is Not Enough,” an article I wrote over six years ago.

Amongst the “first-time” (for me) plants I saw this time were the Rattle Box tree, an Ice Cream Bean plant, Princess Earrings and the Voodoo Plant. Too many to show here, I’ve created a separate Picture to Ponder Web page to share them with you. See Tropical Plants-509 which includes a video of one of the waterfalls.

I did spend time pausing and expressing my gratitude and then discovered, to my delight when I returned home, that on June 2nd the Board of Directors had unanimously voted to keep the Botanical Gardens open to the public.

**For those who may be unfamiliar with it, a Bar Mitzvah is when a 13-year old Jewish boy becomes an adult in the synagogue. My grandson Will led services in Hebrew both Friday night and Saturday. He did an amazing job and had us all very proud, truly an occasion to celebrate.

TODAY’S PHOTOS – continued

Curly Leae

Back-Lit Philodendren leaves

Although I found several of the photographs exciting that I included on the Tropical Plants Page I was moved, in particular, to feature these three for the lyrical flow of movement and peace I felt as I spent time with each.

Actually, the first, Voodoo plant, photo also takes on an unsettling quality for me, with certain imagery and contrasts that pop out for me as I go back to it. (If you query this on the blog, I will elaborate there.)

I do not know what the second plant is. The third is a back-lit philodendron leaf. I took several close-up, large leaf pictures so I could truly feel a part of the natural experience on what I thought might be my last visit at the Gardens for some time.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES –
I continue to be amazed at so often discovering new images in the “same old places” that I visit so frequently.

Are there visual or other discoveries that you enjoy making in your life in every day places? Do you take time to look newly? To what are you most open? For me it’s color and texture, then I suppose linear movement, as featured today.

Also, do you sense a unexpressed creative core within you that is wanting to burst forth? If so, how does this show up for you? What steps can you take to expand it?

Do you feel constraints? If “yes” or “possibly”, you might consider registering for the upcoming Expand Your Vision, Light Your Soul, Explode Your Creativity Course starting Wednesday afternoon, June 10th.

Within the past two weeks, I experienced joy in family celebrations, including being surrounded by those who came down to Georgia from Philadelphia, in discovering several new plants in the American Orchid Society Gardens and then in their remaining open to the public.

Where have you experienced gratitude and joy in your life during this time? What are you celebrating?

EXCITING PROGRAM for growth and expansion –
Before leaving for Georgia, I registered for the Spiritual Marketing Telesummit, that was held this week, knowing that I would be able to listen to the recordings of the calls. I listened “live” to three of them today.

All three were high energy and, in fact, fit the them of “Energy Shifting.” Geared toward people in business, I started finding more clarity in my soul purpose.

Though the site is scheduled to come down today, calls are over, it may stay up for another week. Later in the year a, perhaps more costly, product package is expected to come out. In the meantime, I strongly recommend your checking Spiritual Marketing to see if you can still register to listen to the MP3s and participate in the Forum.

FINAL REMINDER –
Light Up Your Summer with Photography
You won’t Believe is Yours
Nourish Your Soul
Appreciate, in new ways, the People You Meet
All in the JUNE Expand Your Vision Telecourse

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