That's Funny: The Flower of Life

NOTE:  Holiday Gift Card Flower Slideshow is visible below this post

“The most exciting of phrases to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka! I have found it’ but rather ‘That’s funny…’” - Isaac Asimov

Currently at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland/France, they are running experiments to discover the existence of the Higgs boson, a hypothetical elementary particle that can help theorists understand the building blocks of the Universe.  The popular media has dubbed it “The God Particle” although that tends to be a hyperbole that outrages scientists. However, in looking at a recent photograph of a “decay pattern” from the Collider I was immediately struck with how similar the image was to the ancient and sacred geometrical forms known as the Seed of Life and Flower of Life.

simulated decay pattern model of Higgs boson

Seed of Life

Flower of Life

I think it’s quite “funny”, and love it when modern science “discovers” things that correlate to ancient and sacred knowledge. While the verdict is of course still out on this connection, I have no problem jumping to such fun conclusions - it’s all theoretical anyway!

As a lover of all things flowering and sacred, I’ve been fascinated by the ancient Flower of Life pattern for quite some time, recently incorporating the symbol into the background of the image for my upcoming “Songs & Stories For Our Days: An Unorthodox Spiritual Cabaret” and in some of the HiveWorld icons, exactly because it holds profound meaning. The visual symmetrical pattern is believed to be a visual expression of the inter-connectedness of all life, woven together. The center of each circle lies upon the circumference of six other surrounding circles with similar diameter, creating a hexagonal pattern (another reason I love the symbol).

Forthcoming show last three weekends in January 2012!

Like many sacred geometric forms, it has had various meanings and various forms throughout many cultures across the globe.  The Seed of Life is a smaller version of the Flower, created by interlocking seven circles together, and is used to depict the seven days of creation: if you build one circle up at a time each day.

What is also fascinating to me, is that just as the Flower of Life depicts life’s inter-connectedness and inter-dependence, the process of building the Large Hadron Collider required the collaboration of over 10,000 scientists from some 100 countries! They also claim that by the end of 2012 they will have either discovered the particle or proved it doesn't exist, or perhaps in the experiment to find the building blocks of the Big Bang they will create a black hole that will suck our solar system into it (now wouldn't that be timely on Dec. 21, 2012...)!

Anyway, all these beautiful patterns make me wish I still had access to that most wonderful of childhood art toys, the Spirograph!

May the Flower of Life blossom for you as you search for connection to the God Particle within!

Holiday Flowers

Happy Holidays along Your ReBegin art of life: In-Joy this visual gift!



The above pictures are part of a selection of flower portraits I took in the year 2011 (arranged in chronological order from Jan-Dec). They are part of my "research" and "inventory" of images that I take to keep on hand for various art pieces and collage - and just for my general appreciation of beauty.

As our calendar year comes to a close, I hope we all find the time to reflect upon all the beautiful creative blossoms in our lives; those that have come and gone, and those yet to bloom. Take some time to smell the flowers, so to speak!

I'm planting some interesting seeds at the moment, and look forward to what will sprout and blossom in the year ahead. Please "FOLLOW" the blog at the link in the upper left corner of your window to join the adventures in the art of life.

Best wishes - see you next year - the infamous 2012!

4-H & 4-F’s

This week I share part of the performance I did at Highways Performance Space for November’s Queer Mondays (the last monday of the month) - what follows is the abbreviated written form of the essence of that piece and the slide show that played at the end. The slideshow with music by Jonsi, displayed many photos from the summer at Dirty Face Creek Farm (website coming in 2012) in Iowa as I danced around (it was kind of "corny"). In-joy the video and performance text about the 4-F's:




The Thanksgiving weekend got me thinking about how grateful I am for the experiences of growing up in 4-H and the foundation of experiences and principles it conveys. The 4-H’s pledge reveals what the H’s stand for: “I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger services, and my Health to better living — for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”
It also got me to thinking that I am also a firm believer of and grateful for the experience of 4-F’s as well, which I find also provides an important basis for a life of art.

The first one is FARMING, and I’m not just talking about physical farming, but metaphorical farming. We would do well in our lives and creativity to plant seeds of many varieties. For we need to have a well balanced diet and as a precaution because we should not expect that every crop will always succeed (for there are always unexpected things like weather, bugs, or blight). We need to do our best to nurture and be tender to the fragile sprouts, giving them a chance to develop until they are strong. The soil/Earth needs to be tended with care. Water and minerals must be provided, but not too much! Natural fertilizer is made from compost, which is basically from waste products. It must be noted how the cycle of death and life are intertwined. As the “plants” grow we should enjoy the beauty of their blooms and take time to smell the flowers — and witness/participate in the process of pollination. Spiritual pollination is a process of sharing ideas, inspiration, influence, encouragement, and advice and we have all depended on it to create the society and culture we now have. As our metaphorical crops mature, we harvest the results and have what we need to feed ourselves and others with our sharing. Feeding our souls, minds, and bodies. Farming is an important element we participate in to grow.

The second F is for FISHING. Metaphorically speaking it is partly how one comes up with new ideas, using a mix of imagination, faith, skill, and luck. It is about casting out a line into the waters of the unknown, into the waters of the unconscious and catching something from there and bringing it forth into a tangible form. Sometimes as artists we cast our lines and might only get a nibble, but we must keep at the practice. You never know when the big one may come, or get away. Fishing comes in handy in situations when you are starving or feeling stuck. Putting out a line could produce something that takes you a whole new direction. But remember, to fish, you must put something out on your hook: so start with an intention, a prayer, a hope, or a plea — it helps increase your chances to have a juicy morsel as bait.  See what happens, but patience and faith are required. When the line starts to “vibrate” you must yank on the hook and bring it in - one can’t be casual about it or the fish will get away. It takes work to reel in the prize! Keep at it until the idea of whatever form the fish arrives is tangible.

The third F is really two of them and stands for both FRIENDS & FAMILY. We cannot do without them! We need them for support, for love and guidance, for community, for sharing of harvests and fish, for a variety of elements. But sometimes we get stuck being too dependent or independent from them, and we must learn to be inter-dependent. Families often come with dysfunction, but they provide lessons for us, and if they get to difficult, remember we can create our families. There is freedom from where we are born into if we need it. Family members can be whomever we choose for us that nurtures us when we need it and pushes us gently to grow beyond what we could do without.

The fourth F stands for FUN!  It’s an essential nutrient of the soul in order to stay young at heart. We need to make sure we get enough, but not too much. Just the right balance, giving us the energy to keep going and enjoy life. Sometimes you may have to force it in order to move beyond a challenging situation. Everything has it’s time and place, but fun is the magic that makes life worth living and comes in many forms! That's part of the fun - exploring them and finding out how it makes you feel!


Of course I can imagine many more F’s and many more letters to explore in a life of art!