WOW!
Sometimes you do not know what it is until it hits you.
It started out as a stressful night with little sleep and a tiring day. On top of things the last thing I really wanted to do was another conference call even with my artist friends across the US, Canada and UK.
I got home turned on the television and it froze digitally - for some unknown reason - I grabbed my camera and took this shot. lots of information, digital bytes of color, an abstract, beauty, and more...
I did not think much of it.
During this time Oprah was on talking about her Book Club - and the first ever - Internet Class that was free tonight and for the next 10 weeks over the internet across the world. Still not much registering...just listening.
I ate some dinner. I got ready for my call. I listened. We do a meditation at the beginning of the call, we breathe, we try to be present.
The call continues on... I start to randomly draw doodles and take notes. During the call we talk about many things.... one thing that hit me... was "focus on returning to the work". So the call ends I have this page of doodles, and I go to my computer and the screen is up for the Oprah Class room... it's ticking off the seconds until you can join... I sit.. I watch... I click and now I am watching an intro until the real class starts in 30 minutes.
I remember that I have this book. My friend, Cheryl, suggested I read it... I was even at the bookstore with her when she encouraged me to buy it and read it. It still had it's sale reciept in it June 11, 2006. Almost 2 years ago - why have I never bothered to read it? Why until now did it just sit on my shelf - pristine and new?
I listen to the intro, I page through the beginning of the book... I become hooked. Some of the very things that we talked about in the early class are being revealed. An ah ha moment. Some of the words that come through are:
"Discover the power within you", "Be more than do", "Get rid of the repeatitive thoughts in your head. Find the stillness. Find the space in the stillness. Out of the stillness, something wants to come, a strong impluse will come, a knowing and you will have no doubt about it." - "Honor this space" "Take time every day to seek this space and be inspired by something deeper" - the writer, Eckhart Tolle was speaking about his space everyday to write... I translated that as the space everyday to create...if you find this space, this energy field that you know is right, you will be inspired to create and the art will be born. It can be as simple as focusing on something of nature and seeing the beauty and wonder in it. This past weekend - I had two such instances where my focus was on a wasp and a grasshopper that has somehow managed to make it into the house - I was able to view them up close get them on a sheet of paper and then release them to the outside - those moments took me away from the stress that was occuring elsewhere this weekend.
At the same moment that I see how this related to my art... it also related to me for my corporate job... and me as a person. For my corporate job - it was the wonder that I was part of this event, this moment in time, sharing thoughts and ideas digitally, over the internet, with 750,000 others - a collective consciencousness...the same that I had just shared with 12 individuals regarding our art and goals for our art.
I could use this knowledge to see the world of communication. That thoughts can transend borders and technology makes that happen.... and so does art. The last shot is where my computer screen froze as Oprah talked about the little gems that are contained in the book. The small but powerful thoughts. Messages from another realm - digital thoughts, digital images, voices over the phone, television and computer, doodles, a grasshopper, a wasp, and a book.
Are you aware of the aweness around you? WOW! It hit me, NOW!
Thanks Cheryl there was a reason you made me buy that book on June 11, 2006.
What I wrote on that date...
http://whimblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/sacred-heart.html , thank you Robert.
Copyright 2008 William H Miller All Rights Reserved
This is how the commission piece is progressing. When I walked into the studio today this is the way I last left it, three weeks ago.
piece is called "Celebration", while it still needs to be varnished, I think it is finished. 
