Rita Crane Photography: Loving Kindness / Vierge Allaitant L'Enfant / Musee Cluny / Paris
A wish for the New Year 2009: Loving Kindness ..... may its radiance continue to permeate our world.....and increase all year as we continue our journey together on planet Earth. Best wishes to all Flickr friends and family! Here is my (um, well....rather LONG) story about this picture, taken with a little Olympus Camedia 3.2 under low light conditions at the Musee de Cluny in Paris. But....no need to read the BOOK I wrote if you don't want to because:
The SHORT description of this image is in the comment box below!!!
SCROLL DOWN!! :-)
In this fascinating site of ancient Roman thermal baths - in the Latin Quarter of Paris - I noticed these small sculptures that emanated such a sweet kindness! they were placed in front of gorgeous Medieval tapestries, in the room next to the exhibit of the world famous French tapestries known by the name of The Lady with the Unicorn. Today Christmas Eve December 24, 2006, I let these little sculptures' sweetness be my messengers of kind thoughts to you and your families for the holidays.
No matter what religion one might believe in there are universal values we all enjoy and share and here we have one of the most cherished: the unconditional tenderness for one another which is what truly makes us human! This sweet sculpture was made by the hands of a person living in the 1400's. Mary the legendary mother of the symbolic bearer of Light is wearing her crown. In the Western esoteric teachings of the energy body, this crown refers to the seventh center of consciousness, at the top of the head. In transpersonal psychology the 'birth of Christ' symbolizes the birth of a new consciousness. One sees many birth stories in the history of human spirituality. For example the Tibetans speak of the immaculate birth of Padmasambhava, born from lotus flower rising out of a lake, the ancient Egyptians spoke of a 'lotus born' as well, the Buddhists have the story of Buddha, born miraculously from the side of his mother.
In acupuncture theory (a very ancient Chinese healing modality) the crown chakra is designated by the acupuncture point GV 20 (the governing vessel 20). The opening of this center of the esoteric nervous system, along with the heart center at CV 17 (conception vessel 17), throat center, and third eye center give human being the capacity to love without attachment. The ancient religions of the Indian subcontinent speak of these centers of the energy body as chakras. Sufism, the esoteric branch of Islam speaks of this body, and the esoteric teachings of Judaism, the Kabalah, describes it. The Hopi Indians of Northern America speak of the four wheels. Many traditions throughout human history have been aware of the energy body and have words and definitions for it.
Mary and her little child are symbolic of this very special high love we are all capable of. It saves us from degenerating into our more primitive brains and gives us the capacity for tolerance and understanding. Wherever and whenever Human Being expresses this high love we have kindness, peace, and creativity! Our human capacity for love is truly a gift from the Great Spirit, one could say, or another way of putting it is that this capacity for unconditional love is our birthright, and part of the Mystery of the wondrous universe we inhabit.
One learns of this High Love in all religions. There are celebrations in all the religions that honor this highest of consciousnesses and celebrates it. The rituals surrounding this deep understanding of human consciousness and Heart ride on the seasons, marking the phases of the moon and the turning of the planet on its axis in the solar system, as human beings gather to remember their highest potential and show gratitude for all good things. In this way our interior psychological and spiritual life is tied to the rhythms of the solar system: inner and outer come together in a beautiful way throughout the seasons of the year.
Now it is the deep winter solstice time, when the nights are the longest in the northern hemisphere and we celebrate the return of the light in reality and symbolically, on many levels. How wondrous this is! All the best to you and our dear planet Earth!
Rita Crane Photography: Loving Kindness / Vierge Allaitant L'Enfant / Musee Cluny / Paris
A wish for the New Year 2009: Loving Kindness ..... may its radiance continue to permeate our world.....and increase all year as we continue our journey together on planet Earth. Best wishes to all Flickr friends and family! Here is my (um, well....rather LONG) story about this picture, taken with a little Olympus Camedia 3.2 under low light conditions at the Musee de Cluny in Paris. But....no need to read the BOOK I wrote if you don't want to because:
The SHORT description of this image is in the comment box below!!!
SCROLL DOWN!! :-)
In this fascinating site of ancient Roman thermal baths - in the Latin Quarter of Paris - I noticed these small sculptures that emanated such a sweet kindness! they were placed in front of gorgeous Medieval tapestries, in the room next to the exhibit of the world famous French tapestries known by the name of The Lady with the Unicorn. Today Christmas Eve December 24, 2006, I let these little sculptures' sweetness be my messengers of kind thoughts to you and your families for the holidays.
No matter what religion one might believe in there are universal values we all enjoy and share and here we have one of the most cherished: the unconditional tenderness for one another which is what truly makes us human! This sweet sculpture was made by the hands of a person living in the 1400's. Mary the legendary mother of the symbolic bearer of Light is wearing her crown. In the Western esoteric teachings of the energy body, this crown refers to the seventh center of consciousness, at the top of the head. In transpersonal psychology the 'birth of Christ' symbolizes the birth of a new consciousness. One sees many birth stories in the history of human spirituality. For example the Tibetans speak of the immaculate birth of Padmasambhava, born from lotus flower rising out of a lake, the ancient Egyptians spoke of a 'lotus born' as well, the Buddhists have the story of Buddha, born miraculously from the side of his mother.
In acupuncture theory (a very ancient Chinese healing modality) the crown chakra is designated by the acupuncture point GV 20 (the governing vessel 20). The opening of this center of the esoteric nervous system, along with the heart center at CV 17 (conception vessel 17), throat center, and third eye center give human being the capacity to love without attachment. The ancient religions of the Indian subcontinent speak of these centers of the energy body as chakras. Sufism, the esoteric branch of Islam speaks of this body, and the esoteric teachings of Judaism, the Kabalah, describes it. The Hopi Indians of Northern America speak of the four wheels. Many traditions throughout human history have been aware of the energy body and have words and definitions for it.
Mary and her little child are symbolic of this very special high love we are all capable of. It saves us from degenerating into our more primitive brains and gives us the capacity for tolerance and understanding. Wherever and whenever Human Being expresses this high love we have kindness, peace, and creativity! Our human capacity for love is truly a gift from the Great Spirit, one could say, or another way of putting it is that this capacity for unconditional love is our birthright, and part of the Mystery of the wondrous universe we inhabit.
One learns of this High Love in all religions. There are celebrations in all the religions that honor this highest of consciousnesses and celebrates it. The rituals surrounding this deep understanding of human consciousness and Heart ride on the seasons, marking the phases of the moon and the turning of the planet on its axis in the solar system, as human beings gather to remember their highest potential and show gratitude for all good things. In this way our interior psychological and spiritual life is tied to the rhythms of the solar system: inner and outer come together in a beautiful way throughout the seasons of the year.
Now it is the deep winter solstice time, when the nights are the longest in the northern hemisphere and we celebrate the return of the light in reality and symbolically, on many levels. How wondrous this is! All the best to you and our dear planet Earth!