Hi ,

Last week's Gerber Daisies and Letting Go of Attachments issue of Picture to Ponder generated a greater than usual response on the blog with some very poignant and creative statements, including two poems. I encourage you check them out at DAISY COMMENTS.

Note that if you are interested in replying or initiating your own comments, I have added a "Notify me of follow up comments via e-mail". Simply check the box and you will get an email whenever anyone, including me, comments on the particular post you've left a comment.

Also, if you are one who enjoyed the daisies, I have a "smashing" photo of a yellow Gerber Daisy on several products in my gift shop. See the section after today's Queries for that image and the Cafe Press Marketplace sale.

Finally, I am excited about participating in CREATE THE IMPOSSIBLE, starting tomorrow, October 1. Since I'm likely to be mentioning this 30-day program during the next month, I thought I'd mention it here should you, too, be interested. It's offered by Michael Neill, author of YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT, a book I'm thoroughly enjoying. If the thought of "Creating the Impossible" does intrigue you, check out the above link. When on the page, click on Upcoming Events in the black horizontal menu bar near the top of that page for details.

Today's Featured Photos -

Top photo is a fat candle in a ceramic dish in a tall pot. I love the colors and feeling of it. The lower photo is of an originally small, square candle in a ceramic dish on a brass table.

Today's Photos Story -
Last week in one of the smaller groups set up in Adela Rubio's Conscious Business Tribe program of which I am a member, Dianne led a visualization around a "sacred fire" for honoring the Autumn Equinox.

The exercise included imagining writing on a piece of paper one thing we would like we'd like to let go of in this next quarter and on another, one thing we would like to magnetize to ourselves in the next. This was to be tossed into the visualized fire in the middle of a circle of people, then watched as it burned, each with a different result; the first as it was it was "cleansed" and moved up "into the ethers."

(Note - Dianne has a wonderful voice and may soon be having audio meditations on her website, Stone Haven Wellness. In the meantime if you contact her from site, she might be able to provide you with the transcript for the meditation. She can definitely send you more details on it.)

After the exercise several of the group members were talking about ceremonial fires they'd done, including creating a small fire within a deep pot in the home. I was yearning to participate and I suddenly remembered a pot in my garage that hadn't made it to the recycling center. "Deep pot, all well and good," thought I before the fear of a possible fire set in for me.

I then recalled a fat candle, given to me as a gift years ago, that I'd occasionally lit. It was in a ceramic dish I had made and obviously wasn't going to get too hot or burn anything other than itself. I decided since the pot was quite deep and the paper pieces small they were not likely to result in a flame that would go beyond the containers. I thus "went for it."

After simply "being" with the candle and the experience for a while, I became absorbed with what was happening with the papers, not disintegrating (obviously the melting wax was holding them), and the changes in the candle, which had been completely round when I started. Not surprisingly, I went for my camera and started videoing the flame as well as taking still shots. (You can see more photos, next day included, and the video on the blog.)

Intrigued with candles now, the next day I decided to light a different candle, planning to sit quietly with it and meditate. I picked up, smaller candle, as seen in the lower photo, thinking I would not be distracted. It, too, was in a different ceramic dish which I placed on a small brass patio table near me.

This candle had already been burned a few times and was melted down in the center leaving the four peaks that we see. As I sat with it, I became intrigued with the repetition of the shapes in both the candle and the flame. Thus I went for the camera again, this time planning to share the imagery with you.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Part of today's story relates to distractions, fears and adjusting. The candles' story above demonstrates how easily I become distracted with things I suddenly see, tintilated by the awareness of them. Thus I'm often jumping into reactive mode, many times shifting and moving into new, oftentimes creative activities.

I invite you to look at yourself and your patterns. Can you stay focused? Is it natural, or have you set sytems in place to keep you on track?

And, if you jump, as I do, can you claim the benefits that are there for you?

In the story, I also mentioned fear and my way of coming up with an alternative solution. When you feel a fear, how do you handle it?

I'm still looking for solutions for simply "being". I started adding the word "patiently" to that and realized that adding anything would not be "simply being." How about you?

As always, you are welcome to share your responses in the COMMENTS section on the BLOG. Or, send your thoughts directly to me. Note the new "Notify me.... " option so you can get emails when others comment. Looking forward to our connecting there. Thank you so much.

Other Business Queries -
Videos for meditation - Although today's video does not have any music, I am curious, "Might you find helpful, a benefit to your life, videos that I might put together with music and photography" or perhaps videos of nature and/or people in motion.

If so, please email me and simply say "yes" in the the message box that pops in your mail program. Comments are welcome also.

Yellow Gerber Daisy in the Shop -

This yellow gerber daisy is on tiles, pillows and in a wonderful lacquered gift box with inset tile. Cafe Press is having a special sale through October 3 with savings up to 30%. This sale is only through orders that come through their marketplace so there is not a direct link I can give you. If interested simply go to Cafe Press and do a search on there for Yellow Gerber Daisy.
(Note - My commission in much less when people come in through the "Marketplace" and I wanted you to have this sale opportunity should it interest you.)

Reader's Comments are welcome -
To post them on the Photography and Transformation blog click on the small word "Comment" at the end of the post. A window will open, asking for your name, email address that will NOT be published, a URL if you have - Your name will be linked to that - and a box with space for you to "Leave a Reply" will be there to type in your response. Then remember to click on "Submit."

If posting on a blog is not your style, please continue to send your comments directly to me. Learning what you are experiencing means a lot. It is part of the reward, for me, of publishing Picture to Ponder.

Guests - If this issue has been passed on to you by a friend, we invite you also to take advantage of a no-cost subscription. Simply click on SUBSCRIBE. You can learn more about Picture to Ponder on our INTRO page.

Inspirationally,


Sheila
sheila[a]picturetoponder.com
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