artwork

#TheShapeOfThings

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

i fell in love with black & white photography during my recent dive into the 7 day b&w photo challenge.

it became an extension of my medita…tion practice, my Buddhist – more specifically Zen aesthetic and art.

sitting. observing. listening – above all, listening.

so much around us is speaking to us, reaching out to connect, simply with its inherent presence if we are open to it.

the light. the dark. the shape of things.

i want to document this new journey. what has been made and what can be found. hashtagging these b&w photographs with #TheShapeOfThings.

i look forward to seeing anew and hope it brings something valuable to the journey.

~j
11.19.17

#JMWphotography #JMWart #BWphotography #Zen #Buddhism #Meditation #Life

 

washing machine

gun violence…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

gun violence ENSO

of course there is a complexity to these mass killings.

motivation is a component that varies from shooter to shooter. mental health struggles may be a component. and another component – the elephant in the room – is our society’s tremendous inability to process and transform pain and suffering in a healthy way along with our delusion that we are somehow independent of each other rather than the reality that we are interdependent. but surely guns as weapons of choice are also a component. it takes minimal intelligence and awareness to recognize this.

yet, some people say this is not a gun issue. however, these men are choosing guns as their weapon for a reason – quick mass casualties. this makes these mass killings a gun issue.

it is horribly, tragically ironic that a culture identifying as pro life loves the right to own guns and their ability to kill, more than life.

if you want to offer prayer, please offer prayers for a change of heart and mindset, for a clarity of vision and then more importantly work for that change. put prayers for an end to this mass violence into some beneficial action.

~j

#GunViolence #ProLife #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #interdependence #enso #JMWart

 

enlightenment is found here…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

we search outward and inward, seeking enlightenment, wanting to wake up, to find meaning, to find peace. there are no guarantees in this swift life. like a lightning strike, it flashes hot and bright, then gone.what if all we needed to wake up was available right here, right now? all of it grist for the mill, to open our hearts and minds?

we only have this moment. if we are to find enlightening, meaning, and peace, it is found here and now.

~j

“For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes.”

~Yoda

“If there’s any possibility for enlightenment, it’s right now, not some future time. Now is the time.” ~ Pema Chödrön

“I have arrived. I am home.”

~ Thích Nhất Hạnh

#inktober #inktober2017 #inktoberdaythirty #inktoberfound #found #enlightenment #wakeup #here #now #life #openheart #openmind #Yoda #TheForce #StarWars #LucasFilm #Disney #JMWart 

climb…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”~ Najwa Zebian

#inktober #inktober2017 #inktoberdaytwentyseven #inktoberclimb #mountain #burden #brushpainting #inkbrush #zen #JMWart #artistsoninstagram 

love wins…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

#repost from last year of my art and some thoughts that still seem appropriate today, in honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday anniversary:
The law of love governs the world. Life persists in the face of death. The universe continues in spite of destruction going on. Truth triumphs over untruth. Love conquers hate.

~ Mahatma Gandhi
I believe this to be true. 

But I also believe love and life itself call on us to engage and perhaps even depend on our participation.

Nothing, No Thing, can be taken for granted. 

There are times when silence just isn’t an option. 

Speak and act in solidarity. With nonaggression, with nonviolence, yes. But also with inexhaustible, fierce, formidable compassion and commitment to justice and equality.

Can we hear the cries of the world?

Are we willing to answer?

~j
#WakeUp #OpenEyes #Bodhisattvas #BodhisattvaVow #Service #FierceCompassion #Compassion #Kindness #Courage #Love #OpenHeart #TheLongArc #JMWart