as a prayer

January 08, 2013 • Leave a Comment

"With this sacred pipe you will walk upon the Earth; for the Earth is your Grandmother and Mother, and She is sacred. Every step that is taken upon Her should be as a prayer."

~ Black Elk, Lakota Sioux holy man and spiritual teacher telling of the White Buffalo Cow Woman's Teachings to the Sioux

as a prayer

I am reading The Sacred Pipe now and the above quote is taken from this book on the spiritual rites of the Oglala Sioux. The Sioux are a Native American tribe of the Dakotas and Tetons. Famous Sioux are Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Black Elk. Famous places of the Sioux are the Black Hills, Little Big Horn, and Pine Ridge Reservation.

The Sacred Pipe is at once a book of profound spiritual teachings and an oral history of a way that is certainly better than the current one. The first teaching of the book is that of the Earth as Grandmother and Mother, as protecter and one that should be protected.

It tells us that the Earth, as Grandmother and Mother, is both fecund and vulnerable and that she should be loved.

The teaching is simple in it's logic and breadth-- that each step should be as a prayer, that each step should be a word of gratitude for the nourishment and gift of life. That each step upon the Earth should be made with care and awareness.

It is a beautiful teaching of gracious words for the Earth and for our soul.

✴✴✴

Up until yesterday, the picture above was called Walking on Mars after the trippy skies and reddish landscape of Haleakala. But now, after reading Black Elk's teachings, I have chosen to rename it as a reminder that the steps that we take upon the Earth should be as sacred As a Prayer.

Thank you, Black Elk, for the inspiration and for the teaching. I will now try to live by your example.

Aloha,

lee

✴the photograph As a Prayer may be viewed in the gallery Travels

✴✴For those interested in reading more about Black Elk and the Lakaota Sioux way of life and spiritual teachings I encourage you to read the highly poetic history Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt.

day one

January 07, 2013 • 2 Comments

Aloha. I am writing on day two about day one of being a full time photographer. On Saturday, I resigned my position as a Butler at the St. Regis Princeville to concentrate on my photography and my yoga full time. And to celebrate, I went out to shoot Sunday morning and evening. Now that I am a pro I'm free to work, and I better work.

Unfortunatley, the morning shoot wasn't that great. I went out to Haena Beach Park and walked along the beach, heading north to Ke'e. Although I encountered rainbows for days, I didn't come back with anything that spectacular. With the exception of the photo below-- Haena Rainbow-- I just didn't find anything, or perhaps, create anything that, at the moment, really stands out to me. But a conversation that I had did.

While I was taking a series of shots of beach and rainbow (one of them became Haena Rainbow) a stranger, who was walking with his wife, daughter and granddaughter, stopped to chat. He asked me, "Is this better than photographing polar bears and penguins in the arctic?" I laughed and said, "Yes. It's probably easier on my fingers, too!" We shared a laugh together and talked story for a bit longer, and when we parted he told me to "enjoy the rest of your life." Wonderful advice for Day One.

That evening's session was more productive-- on the shooting end of things. I was able to get a couple of shots that I really liked. I even have that luxurious problem of choosing the "best one." You know when you have a couple of shots of a similar subject and you just can't decide which one you like best. Well, here are the two that I am currently considering. The first one is called, Maha Deva.

maha deva

The second one is Tiger Stripes and Phoenix Wings.

tiger stripes and phoenix wings

I'm not sure which one I prefer. I like the suspended movement in Tiger Stripes, but the sun in Maha Deva reminds me strongly of Shiva and my upcoming trip to India.

Sometimes I think a picture, through light and color, should remind you of a place, a person, a belief and then impress upon you the many feelings that they bring to the heart; the thoughts they bring to the mind; and the little shifts of movement they cause on the soul.

And for those reasons, this one is my favorite one of the day-- The Time of Change.

Aloha,

lee

✴the photographs Haena Rainbow and The Time of Change may be viewed in the gallery Full Time

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as a prayer

day one