Montressa once again has gracefully allowed me to blog some thoughts about a recent trip I had. I have noticed if you are looking the divine manifests everywhere around you. Sometimes, even with warning, it can catch you by surprise. What happened to me is such a case.
I was in Barcelona in Catalonia Spain. We were having a tour of the city. We were scheduled to see Guell Park. A place that started out in failure. The real estate developer was going to sell approximately 65 lots on the side of a hill. The famous architect, Gaudi, would develop it. Short story, he sold one!! Fast forward, viola, Guell Park. A fascinatingly designed park. This became my introduction to this amazingly talented Spanish Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi.
By the way the English word gaudy comes from his designs! With that, in the words of the tour guide, I go on. So, our tour guide, and by the way, tour guide is an actual profession in Europe, says, "Okay, now we go to the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I have been to the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, La Cathedral Notre Dame etc.. And, this is more magnificent than any of them!"
When superlatives like that are doled out, I get a little suspicious. Yet, this tour guide knew tons and had seen tons. Still, I remained skeptical.
So, we walk up to Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. It was designed by Gaudi. The outside for sure has his touches as we had just seen earlier at Guell Park. Still, there was something magnificent about it. Imposing of course, but not for the purpose of being imposing. Imposing as a representation of limitlessness. That vibe surely got my attention. Way more than I was expecting. Overall, the exterior depicts the life of Christ and tells the Christ story of betrayal and crucifixion with modern art forms. Chiseled faces etc.
Then, our guide tells us that Gaudi got all of his inspirations from nature. This was how God manifested to him, she says. As you go in you will see a forest. Look at it. Then she says, "Okay, now we go inside, yes? Before we go please put down your cameras. As we go in, I want you to FEEL. Please, just for 20 or 30 seconds... please just feel. Take your pictures after you feel this." So, in a very real way this tour guide was transformed into our priestess. Preparing our souls, our deepest selves, for what we were about to see.
By this point I was expecting some sort of physical forest with bark on trees and plants. As we went in, I was first struck by its immensity. Huge columns everywhere. Graceful arches. Ornamentation everywhere, then suddenly the unmistakable presence of God, of the Divine, of the all that is, of the total eternal. Every time I tried to absorb and frame in my mind what I was seeing... tears welled up inside. As I tried to explain this to myself in my head I had to stop because tears would well up. As I write this description of my experience, tears well up! It was and still IS THAT powerful. It was as if Gaudi connected to God directly. Gaudi then said, "I will show you to people in a way that they will get you. They will see the God I know. They will see the God that has appeared everywhere to me. They will feel your magnificence, and I will use all the tools you have given me to do this."
As far as I know this kind of architecture has never been executed. It is so elegant. The dome of the Basilica is supported by bi-furcating tree branches from the columns that transform into cancatenary arches. Multiple cancatenary arches connect with each other. The columns taper and twist to support the load of all the exterior spires. They are cobalt at the center (look up its energetic aspects), the hardest stone to support the main, tallest and as yet unconstructed spire. The further towers are a softer stone where less weight support is needed.
It was started in 1882 and Gaudi was signed on in 1883. It is expected to be completed in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi's death.
A few notes as to why this impacted me so much. I was responsible for many safety designs in automotive. The stylists had a vision and the engineering needed to support that vision. In my case I always took a no compromise perspective in regard to safety. I didn't care how beautiful it looked it needed to protect my people, my customers. Still, the challenge was, style is important. It was absolutely necessary to support our stylists. I didn't know it at the time, as I related to my spiritual side differently. Yet this firm grasp on what were the priorities was always supported by God. I turned to the quietness of all that is, God, in my meditations at the time.
I stunned Mary Walton, author of the book "Car", when she asked me about safety as she was writing her book. "Safety is about forgiveness. My job is to reduce the consequences of a bad judgment. People should not have to pay heavily for their mistakes." So, in a sense my approach to safety revealed God and a benevolent universe.
So, as I looked at this design by Gaudi, I saw God....
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
Feed Your Passion....
Feed your passion? Exactly. I wanted a short title that said it all. Some questions may come up. What is my passion? What feeds my passion? Am I feeding my passion?
How this blog came about. It was just after midnight. I had a new set of blue tooth headphones and I was listening to Pandora just to see how they sounded. A Sequence of songs came along on our "Mumford & Sons" station. I listened with rapt attention. I could hear every nuance of the music in the noise cancelling headphones . I could hear and appreciate clearly the artistry of arrangements. The use of subtle percussion to drive rhythms. The musical passion of the musicians was mesmerizing. At the same time it was more than that.
As I laid back, I heard a directive: "Feed Your Passion" and I knew EXACTLY what was being asked at a very deep level. I always listen to these messages. They are so clear and definite.
It was about feeding my passion, but much more than that. It was about feeding the passion of as many others that will listen. Certainly, I will feed my passion. At the same time it is my desire that we each individually feed our own passions. No one can feed your passion for you.
It's not a one time thing. It is constant. Each day do something that inspires your passion. Something that allows you to sit back and say... ahhh... that feels right. That assists me. That assists who I am deep inside. It can be anything. A call to a distant friend. A Facebook post that reveals a part of you to friends. Giving assistance to someone. Sitting in a yoga posture that engenders a deep sense of who you are. It is important that the act "just" flow from you. It's not about how many points you can get on the feeling scale. Or about intentionally creating something. What is created flows naturally from you and is IN you and you then see that what is inside you is really outside you as well. It becomes as if you are looking at a mirror from both sides.
Places that may seem strange to you ultimately feed your passion. My blue tooth headphones fed my passion! Who knew! Pay attention. Be aware. Look for that spark of satisfaction that reveals you and who you are at the deepest level of this duality. It is one aspect of you, but it is rooted in the quantum space of all that is and your connection to your passion let's the space of all that is rise up in you. That is exciting to me, for it is the space of joy, when the space of "all that is" reveals in you. It is such a powerful place and it is important to know and acknowledge that you have touched that place... you have allowed yourself to enter that sacred space. The sacred space of the joy of being you.
Many people want to "look" for their passion, like it is one thing. I'll be so bold to say that it is everything... everything you are and lives in everything that is. So, your passion has no limits! It is not just one thing... a passion for music, a passion for dance, a passion for leading, a passion for healthcare... yes, it is all of these both collectively and individually.
Here I was, looking at how my noise cancelling headphones sounded and yet, I was immersed deeply in who I am. Deeply in my passion for music. I felt myself at the deepest level. I became the music and expressed myself in myself through what the music awoke in me. Passion. This blog then too arises from my passion. It became really important to me to communicate what this experience awoke in me with the clear intention of awaking a passion in anyone who reads this.
Then, I realized all of my blogs come from this passion. So, from evaluating my headphones, then writing this blog, I had had this realization... it is all passion... just connect with what you do. Too many of us want to objectify it. Passion is this. I "work" at my passion. You may do what you call "work" at your passion, but make no mistake. If it truly is "work"... it's not passion. It is not flowing from the unlimited source that is you.
Feed your passion so that it flows from the unlimited source...
How this blog came about. It was just after midnight. I had a new set of blue tooth headphones and I was listening to Pandora just to see how they sounded. A Sequence of songs came along on our "Mumford & Sons" station. I listened with rapt attention. I could hear every nuance of the music in the noise cancelling headphones . I could hear and appreciate clearly the artistry of arrangements. The use of subtle percussion to drive rhythms. The musical passion of the musicians was mesmerizing. At the same time it was more than that.
As I laid back, I heard a directive: "Feed Your Passion" and I knew EXACTLY what was being asked at a very deep level. I always listen to these messages. They are so clear and definite.
It was about feeding my passion, but much more than that. It was about feeding the passion of as many others that will listen. Certainly, I will feed my passion. At the same time it is my desire that we each individually feed our own passions. No one can feed your passion for you.
It's not a one time thing. It is constant. Each day do something that inspires your passion. Something that allows you to sit back and say... ahhh... that feels right. That assists me. That assists who I am deep inside. It can be anything. A call to a distant friend. A Facebook post that reveals a part of you to friends. Giving assistance to someone. Sitting in a yoga posture that engenders a deep sense of who you are. It is important that the act "just" flow from you. It's not about how many points you can get on the feeling scale. Or about intentionally creating something. What is created flows naturally from you and is IN you and you then see that what is inside you is really outside you as well. It becomes as if you are looking at a mirror from both sides.
Places that may seem strange to you ultimately feed your passion. My blue tooth headphones fed my passion! Who knew! Pay attention. Be aware. Look for that spark of satisfaction that reveals you and who you are at the deepest level of this duality. It is one aspect of you, but it is rooted in the quantum space of all that is and your connection to your passion let's the space of all that is rise up in you. That is exciting to me, for it is the space of joy, when the space of "all that is" reveals in you. It is such a powerful place and it is important to know and acknowledge that you have touched that place... you have allowed yourself to enter that sacred space. The sacred space of the joy of being you.
Many people want to "look" for their passion, like it is one thing. I'll be so bold to say that it is everything... everything you are and lives in everything that is. So, your passion has no limits! It is not just one thing... a passion for music, a passion for dance, a passion for leading, a passion for healthcare... yes, it is all of these both collectively and individually.
Here I was, looking at how my noise cancelling headphones sounded and yet, I was immersed deeply in who I am. Deeply in my passion for music. I felt myself at the deepest level. I became the music and expressed myself in myself through what the music awoke in me. Passion. This blog then too arises from my passion. It became really important to me to communicate what this experience awoke in me with the clear intention of awaking a passion in anyone who reads this.
Then, I realized all of my blogs come from this passion. So, from evaluating my headphones, then writing this blog, I had had this realization... it is all passion... just connect with what you do. Too many of us want to objectify it. Passion is this. I "work" at my passion. You may do what you call "work" at your passion, but make no mistake. If it truly is "work"... it's not passion. It is not flowing from the unlimited source that is you.
Feed your passion so that it flows from the unlimited source...
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