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Tunnel View Spring Dramatic Skies & Storm Clouds! Yosemite National Park El Capitan Half Dome Storm Clouds Spring Showers Thunderstorm Sunset Dr. Elliot McGucken Fuji GFX100 Fine Art Landscape Nature Photography! Fujifilm GFX 100 & Fujifilm FUJINON Lens!
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Zion National Park Winter Snow Fuji GFX100s Fine Art Landscape Photography Dramatic Stormy Skies! Utah Red Rock White Snow! Elliot McGucken Master Medium Format Nature Photography Fujifilm GFX 100s & Fujinon Lens!
Enjoy some epic drone footage and more on my newish Youtube channel, where I fly the DJI Mavic 2 Pro & DJI Mavic 2 Zoom!
Epic Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:
Support epic, stoic fine art: Hero's Odyssey Gear!
Follow me on Instagram!
Facebook:
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
Epic Art & 45EPIC Gear exalting golden ratio designs for your Hero's Odyssey:
Support epic fine art! 45surf ! Bitcoin: 1FMBZJeeHVMu35uegrYUfEkHfPj5pe9WNz
Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Best wishes on your Epic Odyssey!
Homer: Tell me, O muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home. . . --Homer's Odyssey, Book I
New book! Epic Landscape Photography: The Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
facebook.com/mcgucken
Working on a couple photography books! 45EPIC GODDESS PHOTOGRAPHY: A classic guide to exalting the archetypal woman. And 45EPIC Fine Art Landscape Photography!
More on my golden ratio musings: facebook.com/goldennumberratio
instagram.com/goldennumberratio
Greetings all! I have been busy finishing a few books on photography, while traveling all over--to Zion and the Sierras--shooting fall colors. Please see some here: facebook.com/mcgucken
Let me know in the comments if you would like a free review copy of one of my photography books! :)
Titles include:
The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
And I am also working on a book on photographing the goddesses! :) More goddesses soon!
Best wishes on your epic hero's odyssey!:)
I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
www.facebook.com/Epic-Poetry-for-Epic-Landscape-Photograp...
Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/
Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
Follow me on instagram!
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
New book! Epic Landscape Photography: The Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
facebook.com/mcgucken
Working on a couple photography books! 45EPIC GODDESS PHOTOGRAPHY: A classic guide to exalting the archetypal woman. And 45EPIC Fine Art Landscape Photography!
More on my golden ratio musings: facebook.com/goldennumberratio
instagram.com/goldennumberratio
Greetings all! I have been busy finishing a few books on photography, while traveling all over--to Zion and the Sierras--shooting fall colors. Please see some here: facebook.com/mcgucken
Let me know in the comments if you would like a free review copy of one of my photography books! :)
Titles include:
The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
And I am also working on a book on photographing the goddesses! :) More goddesses soon!
Best wishes on your epic hero's odyssey!:)
I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
www.facebook.com/Epic-Poetry-for-Epic-Landscape-Photograp...
Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/
Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
Follow me on instagram!
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
Compost Toilets @ Boom
*
Boom 2014
Photo-Reports by Wolfgang Sterneck
A Reality called Boom - Rhythms @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646523564525
A Reality called Boom - Visions @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646103367017
A Reality called Boom - Spiral Dance @ Boom 2014 *
www.flickr.com/photos/sterneck/sets/72157646505988761
Wolfgang Sterneck:
In the Cracks of the World
Photo-Reports : www.flickr.com/sterneck/sets
Articles (german / english) : www.sterneck.net
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Boom-Festival
04.08.-11.08.2014
Boom-Festival
Idanha-a-Nova Lake - Portugal
--- * ---
BOOM VISION
Boom is not only a festival, it is a state of mind. Inspired by the principles of Oneness, Peace, Creativity, Sustainability, Transcendence, Alternative Culture, Active Participation, Evolution and Love, it is a space where people from all over the world can converge to experience an alternative reality.
Boom is a festival dedicated to the Free Spirits from all over the world. It is the gathering of the global psychedelic tribe and of whoever feels the call to join in the celebrations!! Boom is a weeklong unpredictable and unforgettable adventure. It takes place, every two years, during August Full Moon, on the shores of a magnificent lake in the sunny Portuguese inland and every one is invited!
BOOM IS A MODEL OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
An environmentally conscious event is a way to offer a concrete example that it is possible to live on this Planet in respect of Mother Earth and of one another. This is possible through a deep understanding of the cycles of life and humanity’s place within these cycles. Permaculture is a brilliant example of how such understanding can be turned into practice.
Boom’s pioneering Environmental Program applies the principles of Permaculture to every single aspect of the Festival production. Moreover Boom widely promotes knowledge and practices of sustainability through lectures, workshops and… practical example!
100% compost toilets (still to this day the only large event in the world to reach this result!); 100% on-site water treatment facilities, off-the-grid energy solutions, bio-construction, permaculture gardens, vegetable oil for the generators… these are just a few of the ground breaking projects that have granted Boom the most prestigious international prizes in environmental efficiency.
For further details please visit the environmental program page.
BOOM BELIEVES IN A BORDERLESS WORLD
Since its beginning in 1997, Boom is the home of the global nomadic tribe. Since then, it has grown organically by word of mouth into an incredibly culturally diverse festival, attracting people from 116 nationalities (2012). Boom is the celebration of the Earth’s multicolored Oneness. EVERY ONE is invited and EVERY ONE is called to consciously co-create a positive reality of Love and Peace, for us and for the next generations. We Are One!
BOOM BELIEVES IN TRANSCENDENCE THROUGH MUSIC
At Boom music is sacred. The dancefloors are temples where to transcend ordinary states of perception and the limitations of our egos. Through dance and music, we can reconnect to our own individual divine essence, while in synch with the beating heart of the whole tribe. All in One!
Scattered across four stages, music at Boom is as diverse as it gets: electronic, acoustic, classic, any style is welcome and represented in a different area, live concerts, djs sets, solo artists, bands… Boom started as a psytrance festival and has developed into an inclusive gathering, unveiling the surprising diversity of quality underground soundscapes.
Psytrance culture remains one of the inspiring sources of Boom's vision and intention. And Boom remains as a testimony of the evolutionary potentials of such a culture.
Check the pages of the single areas for details on the different visions.
BOOM ACTIVATES TRANSFORMATION
Boom’s ultimate aim is to facilitate individual and collective transformation. The Boom experience has been conceived to activate the vital force directing every being towards the fulfillment of its highest potential. To reach this ambitious goal, Boom relies on the continuous exchange of radically innovative knowledge and practices by countless Boomers, musicians, artists, teachers, visionaries, healers, farmers, ecologists, wisdom keepers, researchers, scientists, activists
Besides the music stages and the countless art installations scattered all over the site, the other areas where Boom channels transformation are the Liminal Village, the Healing Area and the Visionary Art Museum. Here our hearts, bodies and minds can receive a full download of information through workshops, presentations, rituals and meditations Check the single areas’ pages for more details.
NO TO CORPORATE SPONSORS, CORPORATE LOGOS AND VIPs, YES TO INDEPENDENCE, SOLIDARITY AND CREATIVITY!!!
Boom is an autonomous zone of cognitive liberty and therefore is and will always be free from corporate sponsorship and logos. Boom is funded by the financial support of the thousands of people that buy the tickets and come to the festival.
Boom does not believe in VIP areas and special treatments, since every Boomer is a VIP! Boom adheres to the principle of ’thinking outside the box’, for the co-creation of novel ways of viewing reality and acting for its evolutionary unfolding.
www.boomfestival.org/boom2014/news/boom-vision
--- * ---
BOOM-VISION
Die Boom ist nicht nur ein Festival – Sie ist ein Lebensstil
Es sind kleine Momente, in denen das Lernen stattfindet. Jene Momente in denen du versteht wie wichtig es ist, Fünfe einfach mal gerade sein zu lassen. Und jene Momente in denen dir klar wird, dass du es an anderen Stellen genauer nehmen musst. Diese kleinen Momente prägen dich, deine Einstellung und dein Handeln – und mit dir die Grundlage für große Veränderungen. Genau hier setzt die Idee der Boom an: Als schillernder Kristallisationspunkt einer Neo-Stammeskultur möchte sie inspirieren. Und zwar durch jene magische Erfahrung, die zwischen zeitgenössischer Musik, visionärer Kunst und intellektuell-spirituellem Input entsteht.
Veränderung fängt bei dir an, bei deiner Weltanschauung. Du bist der Flügelschlag des Schmetterlings, der am anderen Ende der Welt einen Wetterumschwung bewirkt. Lerne, deine Flügel zu gebrauchen!
Zu diesem Zweck kippen wir das Schubladensystem, das unseren Alltag bestimmt, einfach mal komplett aus. Und zwar mitten hinein in die sonnige, unverdorbene, nuklearfreie Natur Portugals. Dann nehmen wir uns 7 Tage lang Zeit, um spielerisch neue Denkwege und Handlungsweisen, um eine neue Ordnung zu erkunden. Das ist unsere Vision von psychedelischer Kultur und sie wollen wir aktiv vortreiben.
Auf unserer Webseite findet ihr ausführliche Informationen zu den freien Künsten, den multidimensionalen Installationen und den kreativen Liebensbomben, die auf unsere temporäre autonome Zone regnen werden.
Boom ist eine Lebenseinstellung – und sie lebt in euch, liebe Boomer!
INTERKULTURELL
Andere Länder, andere Lebensstile. Auf der Boom kannst du erleben wie inspirativ diese einfache Tatsache ist. Und zwar in konzentrierter Form: Im Jahr 2012 reisten Stammesangehörige aus 116 verschiedenen Ländern an, um in ihrer multikulturellen Mischung eine durchweg positive Vision für die Zukunft zu manifestieren: We Are One – Wir sind eins!
NATUR
Die Kulisse für unser Stammestreffen gestaltet die wohl besten Dekorateurin überhaupt: Mutter Natur. Jene jahrhundertealte iberische Baumlandschaft der umliegenden Hügel, versonnene Gärten und der weitläufige See, in dem sich die Magie des August-Vollmonds spiegelt, schaffen ein einzigartiges Panorama.
STRAND
Nachdem du dich in schwitzende Trance getanzt hast oder wenn dir die Wärme des portugiesischen Sommers zuviel werden sollte: Die nötige Erfrischung ist maximal ein paar hundert Meter entfernt - egal wo du gerade bist. Der große See bestimmt nicht nur das Bild der Boom, sondern auch ihre Stimmung. Wie beim Strandurlaub kannst du jene fließende Ruhe des Wassers aufsaugen, die dich sanft umspült.
DESIGN FÜR DEN GEIST
Das Liminal Village bietet Gelegenheit, dir dein Oberstübchen neu einzurichten: Mit Lebensphilosophie und praktischem Wissen. Im intellektuellen Brennpunkt der Boom finden Vorträge und Diskussionen zu Themen wie Aktivismus, Psychedelik, Freie Kultur, Rituale der Ahnen, Mythologie, Ökologie, Traumlandschaften, Permakultur, Trance, Heilige Pflanzen oder Alternative Medizin und Wissenschaft statt. Dazu waren in den letzten Jahren Referenten wie Vandana Shiva, Alex Grey, Daniel Pinchbeck, Graham Hancock, Robert Venosa, Erik Davis und Shipibo Don Guillermo Arevalo zu Gast. Ein Filmprogramm zur neuen, planetarischen Kultur bietet noch mehr Stimulation auf intellektueller Ebene.
PSYCHEDELISCHES KUNSTMUSEUM
Was ist psychedelische Kunst, was visionäre? Will sie die Eindrücke einer psychedelischen Erfahrung wiedergeben? Will sie ähnliche Emotions- und Assoziationsstrukturen auslösen wie eine Vision? Mach dir selbst ein Bild! In atemberaubender Vielfalt präsentieren einige der talentiertesten Maler von allen Kontinenten des Planeten ihre bewusstseinserweiternden Werke.
INSTALLATIONEN
Bildende Kunst stößt die Pforten unserer Wahrnehmung weit auf und eröffnet uns so die Sicht auf Aspekte unserer Realität, welche normalerweise hinter dem Grauschleier des Alltags verborgen liegen. Um dich mitten hinein in dieses ästhetisch-surreale Paralleluniversum zu katapultieren, kommen überall auf dem Gelände Medien wie Malerei, Bildhauerei, Land Art oder Video zum Einsatz. Sie lassen deine Reise über die Boom zu einer Reise in eine außerirdische Welt von fremdartiger Schönheit werden.
MUSIK
Über verschiedene Tanzplätze verteilt verwirklicht die Boom ihre psychedelische Vision im Spektrum der hörbaren Frequenzen. Dabei entstehen viele verschiedene Rhythmus- und Harmonie-Texturen die alle darauf abzielen, deine Synapsen zu kitzeln, deine Fantasie zu stimulieren und dich zu beflügeln. Die Klanglandschaften der Boom erstrecken sich auf Genres wie Psytrance, Progressive, Dub, Bass Music, Dubstep, World Music, Glitch, Nu Funk, IDM, Cosmic oder Psy Brakes. In ihrer Gesamtheit schwingen sie sich zum kosmischen Groove der universellen Liebe auf!
TANZTEMPEL
Mit jedem Herzschlag der Boom bebt das portugiesische Hinterland. Im monumentalen Tanztempel verschmelzen utopische Zukunftsvisionen und das archaische Ritual des Stammenstanz zu einer einzigartigen Trance-Erfahrung. Um euer Bewusstsein dorthin zu schicken, wo Worte zu Hülsen und Bedeutungen zu Variablen werden, haben wir einige der besten DJs, Liveacts und Tribal Bands eingeladen, uns mit extralangen Sets zu verzaubern. Denn Qualität ist wichtiger ist als Masse. Mit viel Liebe zum Detail planen wir eine Reise durch jene multidimensionale Welt namens Psy, wobei wir in Regionen wie Dark, Twilight, Forest, Tribal, Prog, Full-On, Groovy Full-On, Goa und Nu-Goa vorstoßen.
Die Grundidee der Boom unterscheidet sich ganz erheblich von der einer kommerziellen Massenproduktion. Wir möchten raus aus dem Schattenreich des Egoismus, hinein in eine kollektive Erfahrung. Mithilfe von DJs, VJs, Dekorateuren, Designern und -am allerwichtigsten- mithilfe von euch, den Boomern. Auf dass wir unsere multikulturelle kreative Energie zu einer wahrhaft großen Erfahrung vereinen: Wir sind eins!
UMWELT
Auf der Boom werden die Erkenntnisse und Prinzipien der Permakultur in ein Festival umgesetzt. So wird ganz konkret erfahrbar: Auch große, internationale Menschenansammlungen lassen sich mit maximalem Respekt vor unserer heiligen Mutter Natur vereinbaren. Dieser Ansatz wurde in den Jahren 2008 und 2010 mit dem Greener Festival Award ausgezeichnet, 2010 und 2012 außerdem mit dem European Festival Award.
Auf der Boom kommen ausschließlich Komposttoiletten zum Einsatz. Das Nutzwasser wird mithilfe von Pflanzen zu 100% wiederaufbereitet. Es gibt kostenlose Taschenaschenbecher. Für die Generatoren wird gebrauchtes Pflanzenöl verwendet. Außerdem nutzen wir Technologien wie Solarenergie, Windräder, Biobau und ökologische Abwasserentsorgung, die jedes Jahr weiterentwickelt werden. Auch hier gilt: Die Boom seid ihr, die Boomer. Tragt bitte dazu bei, dass sie ein nachhaltiges Festival ist. Respektiert Mutter Natur und hinterlasst keinen Müll!
SPIRITUALITÄT
Anreize für spirituell-sozialen Aktivismus, die sich in Form von Yoga, Ayurveda, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Watsu, Therapien, alternativen Heilmethoden und ganzheitlichen Lehren manifestieren. Auch das ist ein zentraler Aspekt unserer Vision. Denn die Harmonie zwischen Geist und Körper ist ein erster Schritt in Richtung globale Harmonie.
INFRASTRUKTUR
Freies Wasser. Freies Camping. Freier Wohnmobil-Park. Babyboom für die jüngsten Boomer (bring deine Familie mit zur Boom!) Freie medizinische Versorgung. Freies WIFI. Schließfächer. Boom-Busshuttle von den Flughäfen Lissabon und Madrid. 100% Komposttoiletten. 100% Aufbereitung des Duschabwassers mithilfe von Pflanzen. Ayurvedische Apotheke. Spezielle Einrichtungen für Behinderte. Lebensmittelgeschäft. Gemeinschaftsküchen. Und vieles, vieles mehr!
LOGO-FREIE ZONE
Die Boom finanziert sich einzig und allein über den Ticketverkauf, sie ist frei von jeglichem Firmen-Sponsoring und wird es immer sein. Auch in dieser Hinsicht möchten wir einen Freiraum schaffen, in dem sich der menschliche Geist unbefangen ausbreiten und entfalten kann.
Obwohl das Boom Team den Rahmen schafft – das eigentliche Erlebnis, die eigentliche Inspiration und der eigentliche Geist lebt in euch. Denn ihr seid die Energie, ausgehend von euch kann sich diese Welt ändern.
BESONDERE BEDÜRFNISSE
Wir möchten die Einrichtungen und Angebote für Behinderte weiterentwickeln. Wenn du oder jemand deiner Freunde behindert ist, sendet uns bitte bis Juni 2014 eine Email um optimale Bedingungen zu garantieren: specialneeds@boomfestival.org
FLEXIBLE EINTRITTSPREISE
Unser globaler Stamm ist in vielen verschiedenen Ländern zuhause, in denen ganz unterschiedliche Einkommensverhältnisse herrschen. Außerdem leben wir in Zeiten des finanziellen Abschwungs. Wir waren sehr betroffen als wir nach der Boom 2012 hörten, dass einige Menschen schlichtweg nicht genug Geld aufbringen konnten um Teil der kollektiven Erfahrung zu sein. Deshalb haben wir uns entschieden, auf diese Tatsache mit einem flexiblen Eintrittsmodell zu reagieren. Es gibt spezielle Ticketpreise für Länder außerhalb der Europäischen Union, der USA, Kanada, Australien, Neuseeland und Japan. Außerdem für jene Länder, die aktuell die ökonomischen Spekulationen der Rating-Agenturen und der IMF durchlaufen: Portugal, Irland, Griechenland und Spanien. Diese Tickets sind nur bei den Boom Botschaftern des jeweiligen Landes erhältlich, nicht über die Webseite der Boom.
www.boomfestival.org/boom2014/multilingual/deutsch
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Big ideas “go beyond discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles, or processes.”
-Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design (1998), p. 10
Norton Commando 928cc Norcil Mk III - 1975
Norton Commando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Norton Commando was the last twin piston-engined motorcycle produced by the Norton Motorcycle company. Their last production bikes used a twin-rotor Wankel engine.
During the ten years it was in production it was popular all over the world. In the United Kingdom it won the MCN "Machine of the Year" competition for five successive years from 1968-1972.[1]
Some regard it as the British Motorcycle Industry's swansong, selling well from its introduction in 1967 through the end of the British bike industry as a commercial concern in the mid 1970s.[2]
[edit] Background
The origins of the Norton Commando can be traced back to the late 1940s when the 497 cc Norton Model 7 Twin, designed by Bert Hopwood and initially an export only model. The twin cylinder design evolved into the 650 cc Norton Dominator and 750 cc Norton Atlas before being launched as the 750 cc Commando in 1967.[3]
[edit] Isolastic system
The revolutionary part of the Commando, compared to earlier Norton models, was the frame developed by former Rolls Royce engineer Dr. Stefan Bauer. He believed the classic Norton Featherbed frame design went against all engineering principles, so Bauer designed his frame around a single 2.25-inch (57 mm) top tube. He tried to free the Commando from classic twin vibration problems, which had severely increased as the volume of the basic engine design expanded from the 500 cc of Edward Turner's 1938 Triumph Speed Twin. Bauer, with Norton Villiers Chief Engineer Bernard Hooper and assistant Bob Trigg, decided that the engine, gearbox and swing-arm assembly were to be bolted together and isolated from the frame by special rubber mountings.[4] This eliminated the extreme vibration problems that were apparent in other models in the range, as it effectively separated the driver from the engine. Named the Isolastic anti-vibration system, the system's patent document listed Hooper as the lead inventor.[2] Although the Isolastic system did reduce vibration, maintaining the required free play in the engine mountings at the correct level was crucial to its success. Too little play brought the vibration back; too much, and the result was "interesting" handling.
[edit] Models
[edit] Mk1 750 cc
The Norton Commando was introduced in 1967 at the Earls Court Show. The first production machines completed in April 1968 had bending frame problems, removed with the introduction of a new frame in January 1969. The original model, called the 'Fastback' was joined by the production racer 'S Type' which had a high level left-side exhaust and a 2.5 gallon petrol tank.
Production of the machine was initially complex and located across different parts of England, with the engines produced in Wolverhampton, frames in Manchester, while components and final assembly was at Burrage Grove, Plumstead. In late 1968 Plumstead works was subject to a Greater London Council compulsory purchase order, and closed in July 1969. With assistance of a Government subsidy, the assembly line was moved to North Way, Andover; with the Test Department in an aircraft hangar on Thruxton Airfield. Frame manufacturing was transferred to Wolverhampton, where a second production line produced about 80 complete machines each week. Components and complete engines and gearboxes were also shipped overnight, from Wolverhampton to the Andover assembly line.
The production racer, featuring an OHV tuned engine, front disk brake and was finished in bright yellow - known as the 'Yellow Peril'. In March to June 1970 the updated S called the 'Roadster' had the 750 cc OHV engine, low-level exhaust, upward angled silencers with reverse cones. September 1970 saw the introduction of the classic 'Fastback Mk2', which had alloy levers with modified stands and chain guards. The ‘Street Scrambler’ and the ‘Hi Rider’ were launched in May 1971, with the ‘Fastback Long Range’ with increased petrol tank capacity from July 1971.
The ‘Combat’ engine was introduced in January 1972 saw the appearance of the ‘Mk4 Fastback’, updated ‘Roadster’ and the ‘750 Interstate’. The ‘Combat’ delivered 65 brake horsepower (48 kW) at 6500 rpm with a 10:1 compression ratio, but the stressed 750 cc twin proved extremely unreliable, with main bearing failures and broken pistons common.
The 'Combat' engine combined with quality control problems gave the company a bad reputation, which was highly covered in the press. By the middle of 1972 BSA Triumph group were in serious financial trouble. The UK Government decided to bail the company out with a financial rescue package, providing it would agree to merge with Norton Villiers. Norton Villiers Triumph was duly formed and the new company got off to a shaky start.
The last of the 750 series, the MkV was produced from November 1972 to mid-1973 as a 1973 model and featured improved crank bearings and the standard grind camshaft. Compression was reduced to 9.4:1.
[edit] Police
The police were showing a lot of interest in the Commando and so Neale Shilton was recruited from Triumph to produce a Commando to police specifications. The end result was the 'Interpol' machine, which sold well to police forces, both at home and abroad. The machine was powered by a 750 cc. O.H.V. engine and included panniers, top box, fairing, and had fittings for a radio and auxiliary equipment.
[edit] Mk2 850 cc
In January 1973 the ‘Mk.5 Fastback’ was launched and the ‘Long Range’ was discontinued, foreshadowing the first 850 cc machines launched in April 1973. The ‘Roadster’, ‘Hi Rider’ and the ‘Interstate’ all began to use a new 828 cc. engine, which had similar power to the 750 cc models but were less stressed.
1973 also saw the start of development on a new machine with a monocoque pressed steel frame, that also included a 500 cc twin, stepped piston engine called the 'Wulf'. However, as the Norton Villiers Triumph company was again in serious financial problems, development of the 'Wulf' was dropped in favour of the rotary Wankel type engine inherited from BSA.
In late 1973 redundancy notices were issued at Andover, followed by a sit-in at the works. The Conservative Government withdrew the subsidy in early 1974, restored by the Labour party post the general election. NVT resultantly decided to concentrate production of the Commando at Wolverhampton and Small Heath, causing unrest at Meriden which resulted in a workers’ sit in and stopping production at Small Heath. By the end of 1974 NVT had lost over £3 million.
However, the company still managed to produce new Commando models, with 1974 seeing the release of the Roadster based ‘JPN Replica’ and the ‘Mk.2a Interstate’.
[edit] Mk3 850 cc
The 850 cc MK3 Commando was launched in March 1975 and for the first time was fitted with an "electric starter" - better described as electric "assister", as it would soon drain the battery.[5] The range of models was reduced to just two machines, the ‘Mk.3 Interstate’ and the ‘Roadster’, both with a left side gear change, right foot brake and rear disk brake to comply with United States vehicle regulations. The specification remained unchanged until October 1977 when the last machines were made, although few 'Roadster's were made in the end due to the higher cash sales value of the Interstate.
In 1975 the Industry Minister recalled a loan for £4 million and refused to renew the company’s export credits. The company then went into receivership and redundancies were announced for all of the staff at the various sites. At Wolverhampton an action committee was formed in an effort to continue production and develop the ‘Wulf’ engine - but the works was closed anyway.
NVT was saved when the Small Heath/Meriden part of the company was subsidised by Industry Secretary Tony Benn as Industry Secretary, but this did not include Commando production. Ironically, the new company bought the gates from the now demolished Wolverhampton Tong Castle works, and erected them at the works entrance in Marston Road, Small Heath.[6]
[edit] Racing
Right from the beginning the Commando took part in racing events.
After successes in 1969 by dealer entered machines like Paul Smart's second and Mick Andrew's 4th places in the Isle of Man TT Production class and a win in the Hutchinson 100 Production Class by Mick Andrew on the Gus Kuhn entered Commando and 4th by Peter Williams' Arter Bros machine, the company decided to produce a racing model - hence the developed S and "Yellow Peril" models.
In partnership with John Player Special cigarettes from the early 1970s, Norton went factory racing.[7] Early entries were based on the Commando, and in 1973 Peter Williams won the 1973 Formula 750 Isle of Man TT, with Mick Grant second.
Racing continued until the collapse of Norton Villiers into BSA Triumph in 1973, and did not return until the Rotary engine Nortons of the 1980s.
[edit] Commando revival
In light of its "last of the classic British twins" tag, and the fact that many of the trade marks were disputed and patents expired, a number of new Norton companies began to emerge. These were based on production of new parts sourced from various manufacturers, and the legal battle over the Norton name between Germany (whose Norton was based on the Rotax 650 cc engine that powers the smaller BMW motorcycles), Canada and North America. Many used the Commando name for their lead model, or included the prospect of a Commando twin at a later date.
However, the most interesting development for original Commando fans was the development of re-manufactured original motorcycles. These mainly came from Norvil in the UK and two companies in the United States, Colorado Norton Works and Kenny Dreer's Vintage Rebuilds based in Portland, Oregon. From 1995 onwards Vintage Rebuilds began restoring vintage British and Italian motorcycles, with Dreer showing a "new" Commando based Norton VR880 Sprint Special in 1999 with newly cast and manufactured parts, but using a bored out 880 cc twin engine with some modern developments. Kenny Dreer progressed from restoring and upgrading Norton Commandos to producing whole machines. He modernised the design and in the early 2000s went into series production of the Commando 961 SS, which combined traditional Norton cafe racer styling with new technology including carbon fibre wheels to reduce weight and a chro-moly tubular steel frame.[8] Dreer was forced to suspend production in April 2006 following funding problems.[9]
[edit] New Commando in production
On 19th March 2010 Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd shipped the first new Norton Commando for over 30 years. As of mid April 2010 the Company was shipping 5 - 10 new machines per week. [10]
The ownership of the Norton brand passed into the hands of UK businessman and owner of Norton Racing Ltd. Stuart Garner who has formed Norton Motorcycles (UK) Ltd.. The Company has three models in the new range, a limited edition (200 unit) Commando 961 SE which has sold out, a Cafe Racer and a Sport model, all of which commenced shipping during April 2010. The new Norton has appeared in road tests in the British Motor Cycle News with favourable comments.
Contrary to what we are lead to believe by the popular media, science is not the enemy of Christianity.
Genuine science is completely compatible with the belief in the creator God of Christianity.
Most of the world's greatest scientists, who were the pioneers and founders of modern science recognised this.
It is only fairly recently with the rise of militant atheism that science has been portrayed, through propaganda, as being in conflict with Christianity.
So why were so many great scientists convinced that the principles of science were in perfect harmony with belief in the Christian God?
Consider this ....
A creator God (or supernatural first cause) has been made redundant and the final gap (pertaining to the so-called God of the gaps) has now been filled ... who says so?
Atheists, along with the secularist pundits in the popular media.
Why do they say that?
Because they believe that the greatest brain in atheism - Stephen Hawking, has finally discovered the secret of the origin of the universe and a naturalistic replacement for God.
The atheist replacement for God is summed up in a single sentence written by Hawking:
"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing"
That is it .... problem solved - apparently!
The secularists in the popular media loved it, as far as they were concerned the problem certainly was solved. Hawking had finally dealt the fatal blow to all religion, especially Christianity. No need to question it, if a revered scientist of his calibre, is so sure of how the universe came into being, it must be correct.
The new atheists loved it, they wasted no time in proclaiming the ultimate triumph of 'science' over religious mythology and superstition.
So just how credible is the atheist claim that God has been made redundant?
And just how 'scientific' is Hawking's replacement for God?
Shall we analyse it?
"Because there is a law of gravity ....
So,
1) If the law of gravity existed, how is that nothing?
AND -
2) Where did the law of gravity come from?
AND -
3) How can a law of gravity exist before that which gravity relates to ... i.e. matter?
"the universe can and will create itself from nothing"
4) How can something create itself, without pre-existing its own creation?
(A) could possibly create (B), but how could (A) create (A)? Of course it can't.
5) What about the 'nothing' that is not really nothing, as most people understand 'nothing', but a bizarre 'nothing' in which a law of gravity exists. A nothing which is actually a 'something' where a law of gravity is presumably some sort of eternally, existent entity?
AND -
6) Is Hawking implying that the self-creation of the universe is made possible by the pre-existence of the law of gravity?
Of course, natural laws are not creative agents, they simply describe basic properties and operation of material things. They can't create anything, or cause the creation of anything. Something which is a property of something, cannot create that which it is a property of.
So, even if we ignore the law of cause and effect which definitively rules out a natural, first cause of the universe, the atheist notion of the universe arising of its own volition from nothing is still impossible, and can be regarded as illogical and unscientific nonsense. Hawking's naturalistic replacement for God, presented in his single sentence, and so loved by the new, atheist cabal, is obviously just contradictory and confused nonsense.
The truth, which atheists don't want to hear, is that atheism is intellectually and scientifically indefensible. That is why they always duck out of explaining how the concept of an uncaused, inadequate, natural first cause is possible.
The best they ever come up with, is something like "we don't really know what laws existed at the start of the universe".
However, the atheist claim that - we don't really know... is completely spurious.
We certainly do know that the Law of Cause and Effect is universal, there is no way round it.
The only reason atheists don't want to accept it, is ideological.
And ... isn't it strange, that the only laws atheists dispute are precisely those that interfere with their beliefs. For example, atheists seem pretty sure that one law existed .... the law of gravity (even prior to that which gravity is a property of … matter).
Why are they so sure that the law of gravity existed?
Because their naturalistic substitute for God, summed up in the sentence by Stephen Hawking, apparently requires that the law of gravity existed before anything else …..
Here it is again ...
‘Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing’ Stephen Hawking.
So atheists DO KNOW for sure that the law of gravity existed, but they don’t really know what other laws existed at the start of the universe. They especially doubt that the Law of Cause and Effect existed.
AMAZING!
Well, how about this for a refutation of Hawking’s replacement for God, also summed up in a single sentence?
Because there is a Law of Cause and Effect, the universe can’t and won’t create itself from nothing!
That is something Stephen Hawking conveniently forgot.
Apparently, he accepts that the law of gravity existed, because he thinks it suits his argument, but he ignores the existence of other laws that positively destroy his argument.
So now you know the truth about the best substitute for God that atheists have ever come up with.
IMPRESSED? I think not!
Why is it ATHEISTS that try to dispute the universality of natural laws?
According to their claims, atheists are supposed to be the champions of science. Yet we find in practice that it is actually theists who end up defending natural laws and the scientific method against those atheists who try to refute any laws and scientific principles that interfere with their naturalistic beliefs.
Whatever happened to the alleged conflict between science and religion?
That is revealed as purely, atheist propaganda. There is obviously much more conflict between atheism and science.
Why is the law of cause and effect so important?
Because it tells us that all natural entities, events and processes are contingent.
They are all subject to preceding causes. It tells us that natural entities and events are not autonomous, they cannot operate independently of causes.
That is such an important principle, it is actually the basis of the scientific method. Science is about looking for adequate causes of ALL natural events. According to science, a natural event without a cause, is a scientific impossibility.
Once you suggest such a notion, you are abandoning science and you violate the basic principle of the scientific method.
What about the first cause of the universe and everything?
How does that fit in?
Well, the first cause was obviously a unique thing, not only unique, but radically different to all NATURAL entities and occurrences. The first cause HAD to be an autonomous entity, it HAD to be eternally self-existent, self-reliant, NON-CONTINGENT ... i.e. it was completely independent of causes and the limitations that causes impose.
The first cause, by virtue of being the very first, could not have had any preceding cause, and obviously didn't require any cause for its existence. When we talk about the first cause, we mean the very first cause, i.e. FIRST means FIRST, not second or third.
The first cause also had to be capable of creating everything that followed it. It is responsible for every subsequent cause and effect that is, or has ever been. That means that nothing, nor the sum total of everything that followed the first cause, can ever be greater, in any respect, than the first cause.
So the idea that the first cause could be a natural entity or event is just ludicrous.
We know that the first cause is radically different to any natural entity, it is NOT contingent and that is why it is called a SUPERNATURAL entity, the Supernatural, First Cause (or Creator God). All natural events and entities ARE contingent without exception, so the first cause simply CANNOT be a natural thing.
That is the verdict of science, logic and reason. Atheists dispute the verdict of science and insist that the first cause was a 'natural' event which was somehow able to defy natural laws that govern all natural events.
Consequently, atheism can be regarded as anti-science. Which means .... the real enemy of atheism is science, not religion. And the real enemy of science is atheism, not religion.
An idea which seems to be popular with atheists at present, is a continuously, reciprocating universe, one which ends by running out of energy potential and then rewinds itself in an never ending cycle ..... this is an attempt to evade the fact that an uncaused, natural, first cause is impossible. They claim that, in this way a first cause, is not necessary. And that matter/energy is some sort of eternally existent entity.
So is it a valid solution?
Firstly .....
Matter/energy cannot be eternally existent in a cycle with no beginning).
Why?
Because all natural things are contingent, they have to comply with the law of cause and effect, so they cannot exist independently of causes. The nearest you could get to eternally existent matter/energy would be a very, long chain of causes and effects, but a long chain is not eternally existent, it has to have a beginning at some point. At the beginning there would still have to be a non-contingent first cause. So a long chain of causes and effects simply pushes the first cause further back in time, it can't eliminate it.
Secondly ....
It is pretty obvious that the idea of the universe simply rewinding itself in a never ending cycle, which had no beginning, is complete, unscientific nonsense. How such a proposal can be presented as serious science, beggars belief.
It seems atheists will try anything to justify their naturalist ideology. They apparently have no compunction about completely disregarding natural laws.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules out such atheist, pie-in-the-sky, origins mythology.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, the idea of a rewinding universe is tantamount to applying the discredited notion of perpetual motion - on a grand scale, to the universe.
Contingent things don't just rewind of their own accord.
The Second Law (not to mention common sense) rules it out.
Where does the renewed power or renewed energy potential come from?
If you wind up a clock, it doesn't rewind itself after it has stopped.
The universe had a beginning and it will have an end. That is what science tells us, it cannot rewind itself.
Such ridiculous, atheist musings are just a desperate attempt to wriggle out of the inevitable conclusion of logic, and the Law of Cause and Effect which are the real enemies of atheist ideology.
Once again atheism is hoisted on its own petard by natural law and science, not by religion.
A variation of the cyclical universe is the argument proposed by some that the universe just is?
Presumably they mean that the universe is some sort of eternally-existent entity with no beginning - and therefore not in need of a cause? Once again an eternally self-existent universe is not possible for the same reason outlined above.
In addition ....
The Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us the universe certainly had a beginning and will have an end. The energy potential of the universe is decreasing from an original peak at the beginning of the universe. Even the most rabid atheists seem to accept that. Which is why most of them believe in a beginning event, such as a big bang explosion.
So the question is how did it (the universe) begin to exist, not whether it began to exist?
Which takes us back to the question of the nature of the very first cause.
It can only be one of two options,
an uncaused, natural first cause
OR
an uncaused, supernatural first cause.
An uncaused, NATURAL first cause is impossible.
Thus the only possible option is a supernatural first cause, i.e. God.
Atheists can’t refute the Law of Cause and Effect which is so devastating to their naturalist agenda, so they regularly invent bizarre scenarios which ignore natural laws, and hope people won’t notice. If anyone does they just brush it off with remarks like “we just don’t know ” what laws existed prior to the beginning of the universe.
Sorry, the atheist apologists may not know …. but all sensible people do know, we certainly know what is impossible ….
And we certainly know that you cannot blithely step outside the constraints of natural laws and scientific principles, as atheists do, and remain credible.
We know that natural laws describe the inherent properties of matter/energy. Which means wherever matter/energy exist, the inherent properties of matter/energy also exist - and so do the natural laws that describe those properties. if the universe began, as some propose, with a cosmic egg. or a previous universe, those things are still natural entities with natural properties, and as such would be subject to natural laws. So the idea that there were natural events leading up to the origin of the universe that were not subject to natural laws is ridiculous.
The atheist claim; that we just don't know, is not valid, and should be treated as the silliness it really is.
The existence of the law of cause and effect is essential to the scientific method, but fatal to the atheist ideology.
SO ....
Is the law of cause and effect really universal?
Causation is necessary for the existence of the universe, but ALSO for the existence of any natural entities or events that may have preceded the creation of the universe.
In other words, causation is necessary for all matter/energy and all natural entities and occurrences, whether within the universe or elsewhere.
ALL natural entities are contingent wherever they may be, whether in some sort of cosmic egg, a big bang, a previous universe or whatever.
Contingency is an inherent character of all natural entities, so it is impossible for any natural entity to be non-contingent.
Which means you simply CANNOT have a natural entity which is UNCAUSED, anywhere.
If, for example, matter/energy was not contingent at the start of the universe, or before the universe began, how and why would it be contingent now?
Why would nature have changed its basic character to an inferior one?
If matter/energy once had such awesome, autonomous power - if it was, at some time, self-sufficient, not reliant on causes for its operation and existence, and not restricted by the limitations causes impose, it would effectively mean it was once an infinite, necessary, self-existent entity, similar to God.
Now if matter once had the autonomous, non-contingent powers of a god, why would it change itself to a subordinate character and role, when it became part of the universe?
Why would it change to a role where it is limited by the strictures of natural laws. And where it cannot operate without a preceding, adequate cause?
To claim matter/energy was, at one time, not contingent, not subject to causes (which is what atheists have to claim) – is to actually imbue it with the autonomous power of a god.
That is why atheism is really just a revamped version of pagan naturalism.
By denying the basic, contingent character of matter/nature, atheism effectively deifies nature, and credits it with godlike powers, which science clearly tells us it doesn’t possess.
Thus, if anyone dismisses causality, they effectively deify matter/nature.
Which means they have chosen the first of the 2 following choices …
1. Atheism ... the unscientific, illogical belief in a natural, uncaused god (of matter or nature) which violates natural laws - which science recognises restrict its autonomy?
2. Theism ... the logical belief in an uncaused, supernatural God, which created matter and the laws that govern matter. And therefore does not violate any laws, is not contingent, and thus has completely unrestricted autonomy and infinite powers?
Which one would you choose?
Which one do scientists who respect natural laws and the scientific method choose?
The great, scientific luminaries and founders of modern science, such as Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Louis Pasteur etc., in fact, nearly all of the really great scientists and founders of modern science, had no doubts or problem understanding that choice, and they readily chose the second (theism), as the only logical option.
So, by choosing the second - a supernatural first cause – rather than meaning you are anti-science or anti-reason or some sort of uneducated, superstitious, religious nut (as atheists frequently claim) actually puts you in the greatest of scientific company.
To put it another way, who would you rather trust in science, such scientific giants as: Newton, Pasteur, Faraday, Von Braun, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Mendel, Marconi, Kelvin, Babbage, Pascal, Herschel, Peacock etc. who believed in a supernatural first cause?
OR,
the likes of: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Lawrence Krauss, Stephen Hawking, Andrew Denton etc. who believe in an uncaused, natural first cause?
No contest!
We can see that atheists are anti-science, because they treat natural law and the whole principle of the scientific method with utter contempt, and all the while, they masquerade as the champions of science to the public.
The question of purpose ....
A further nail in the coffin of bogus, atheist science is the existence of order.
Atheists assume that the universe is purposeless, but they cannot explain the existence of order.
The development of order requires an organizational element.
To do useful work, or to counter the effects of entropy, energy needs to be directed or guided.
Raw energy alone actually tends to increase the effects of entropy, it doesn't increase order.
The organizational principle in living systems is provided by the informational element encoded in DNA.
Atheists have yet to explain how that first, genetic information arose of its own volition in the so-called Primordial Soup?
Natural laws pertinent to all natural entities, they guide the behaviour of energy and matter, but also serve to limit it, because natural laws are based only on the inherent properties of matter and energy.
So ... natural laws describe inherent properties of matter/energy, and natural processes operate only within the confines of natural laws which are based on their own properties. They can never exceed the parameters of those laws.
The much acclaimed, Dawkinsian principle that randomness can develop into order by means of a sieving process, such as shaken pebbles being sorted by falling through a hole of a particular size is erroneous, because it completely ignores the regulatory influence of natural laws on the outcome, which are not at all random.
If we can predict the outcome in advance, as we can with Dawkins' example, it cannot be called random. We CAN predict the outcome because we know that the pebbles will behave according to the regulatory influence of natural laws, such as the law of gravity. If there was no law of gravity, then Dawkins' pebbles, when shaken, would not fall through the hole, they would not be sorted, they would act completely unpredictably, possibly floating about in the air in all directions. In that case, the randomness would not result in any order. That is true randomness.
Dawkins' randomness, allegedly developing into order, is not random at all, the outcome is predictable and controlled by natural laws and the inherent properties of matter. He is starting with 2 organizational principles, natural laws and the inherent, ordered structure and properties of matter, and he calls that randomness!
Bogus science indeed!
This tells us that order is already there at the beginning of the universe, in the form of natural laws and the ordered composition and structure of matter .... it doesn't just develop from random events.
A major problem for atheists is to explain where natural laws came from?
In a purposeless universe there should be no regulatory principles at all.
Firstly, we would not expect anything to exist, we would expect eternal nothingness.
Secondly, even if we overlook that impossible hurdle, and assume by some amazing fluke and contrary to logic, something was able to create itself from nothing ….. we would expect the ‘something’ would have no ordered structure, and no laws based on that ordered structure. We would expect it to behave randomly and chaotically.
This is an absolutely fundamental question to which atheists have no answer. The basic properties of matter/energy, and the universe, scream …. ‘purpose’.
Atheists say the exact opposite.
Furthermore, if we consider the accepted, atheist belief; that matter is inherently predisposed to produce life and the genetic information for life, whenever environmental conditions are conducive (so-called abiogenesis), where does that predisposition for life come from? Once again, atheists are hoisted on their own petard, and the atheist idea of a random, purposeless, universe is left completely in tatters.
It is the atheist ideology that is anti-science, not necessarily individual scientists.
There may be sincere, atheist scientists who respect the scientific method and natural laws, but they are wedded to an ideology that - when push comes to shove, does not respect natural laws.
It is evident that whenever natural laws interfere with atheist naturalist beliefs, the beliefs take precedence over the rigorous, scientific method. It is then that natural laws are disregarded by atheists in favour of unscientific fantasies which are conducive to their ideology.
Of course, in much day-to-day practical science and technology, the question of violating laws doesn't even arise, and we cannot deny that in the course of such work, atheists will respect the scientific method of experiment and observation within the framework of the Law of Cause and Effect and other established laws of science.
Bizarrely, It is a different matter entirely, when it comes to hypotheses about origins. It then becomes an 'anything goes' situation. The main criteria then seems to be that it doesn’t matter whether your hypothesis violates natural laws (all sorts of excuses can be made as to why natural laws need not apply), all that matters is that it is entirely naturalistic, and can be made to sound plausible to the public.
However, the same atheist scientists would not entertain anything in general, day-to-day science, that is not completely in accordance with the scientific method, they make an exception ONLY with anything to do with origins, whether it be the origin of the universe, or the origin of life, or the origin of species.
Atheism is not simply passive non-belief, you can only be a ‘genuine’ atheist if you proactively believe in the following illogical and unscientific propositions:
1. A natural, first cause of the universe that was ‘uncaused’.
2. A natural, first cause of the universe that was patently not adequate for the effect, (a cause which was able to produce an effect far greater than itself and superior to its own abilities).
3. That the universe created ITSELF from nothing.
4. That natural laws simply arose of their own accord, without any reason, purpose or cause.
5. That energy potential at the start of everything material was able to wind itself up from absolute zero, of its own accord, without any reason, purpose or cause.
6. That the effect of entropy (Second Law of Thermodynamics) was somehow suspended or didn’t operate to permit the development of order in the universe.
7. That life spontaneously generated itself, of its own volition, from sterile matter, contrary to: the Law of Biogenesis, the laws of probability, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Information Theory and common sense.
8. That the complete human genome was created by means of a long chain of copying mistakes of the original, genetic information in the first living cell, (mutations of mutations of mutations, etc. etc.).
9. That the complex DNA code was produced by chemical processes.
10. That the very first, genetic information, encoded in the DNA of the first living cell, created itself by some unknown means.
11. That matter is somehow inherently predisposed to develop into living cells, whenever conditions are conducive to life. But such a predisposition for life just arose of its own accord, with no purpose and with no apparent cause.
12. That an ordered structure of atoms, guiding laws of physics, order in the cosmos, order in the living cell and complex information, are what we would expect to occur naturally in a purposeless universe.
The claim of atheists to be the champions of science and reason is clearly bogus.
They think they can get away with it by pretending to have no beliefs.
However, when seriously challenged to justify their dogmatic rejection of a Supernatural First Cause, they indirectly espouse the unscientific beliefs outlined above, in their futile attempts to refute the evidence for a supernatural first cause.
Of course, whenever possible, they avoid declaring those beliefs explicitly, but you don’t need to be very astute to realize that relying on those beliefs is the unavoidable conclusion of their arguments.
That is why atheism is intellectually bankrupt and is doomed to the dustbin of history. And that is why we are seeing such a rise in militant, evangelizing, atheist zealots, such as Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens.
Their crusading, bravado masks their desperation that the public is so hard to convince. What Dawkins et al need to face is that they are in no position to attack what they consider are the bizarre beliefs of others, when their own beliefs (which they fail to publicly acknowledge) are much more bizarre.
What about Christianity and pagan gods?
Atheists frequently try to dismiss and ridicule the idea of a Creator by comparing it to the numerous, pagan gods that people have worshipped throughout history.
Do they have a good point?
Certainly not, this is just a red herring ….
Other gods, cannot be the first cause or Creator.
Idols of wood or stone, or the Sun, Moon, planets, Mother Nature, Mother Earth etc. are all material, contingent things, they cannot be the first cause.
They are rejected as false gods by the Bible and by logic and natural laws.
They are considered gods by people who worship things which are 'created' rather than the Creator, which the Bible condemns.
In fact, they are much more similar to the atheist belief in the powers of a naturalistic entity to create the universe, than they are to the one, Creator God of Christianity.
For example, the pagan belief in the creative powers of Ra (the Sun god) is similar to the atheist belief that raw energy from the Sun acting on sterile chemicals was able to create life.
So atheist mythology credits the Sun (Ra) with the godlike power of creating life on Earth. And thus, atheism is just a revamped version of paganism.
Just like paganism, atheism rejects worship of a Supernatural, First Cause, and rather chooses to worship created, natural entities, imbuing them with the same godlike powers, that theists attribute to the Creator.
There is nothing new under the Sun ... We can see that atheism is just the age old deception of ancient paganism, revisited.
The Creator is a Supernatural, First Cause, which is not a contingent entity, nothing like the pagan gods, but rather a self-existent, necessary entity. As the very first cause of everything in the universe, it cannot be contingent (it cannot rely on anything outside itself for its existence, i.e. it is self-existent) and therefore it cannot be a material entity.
The first cause is necessary because, not being contingent, it necessarily exists.
If anything exists that is not contingent, it has to have within itself everything necessary for its own existence. If it is also responsible for the existence of anything outside itself (which as the first cause of the universe, we know it is) it is also necessary for the existence of those things, and has to be entirely adequate for the purpose of bringing them into being and maintaining their continued existence. It is not subject to natural laws, which only apply to natural events and effects, because, as the first cause, it is the initiator and creator of everything material, including the laws which govern material events, and of time itself.
The atheist view of a natural first cause is not even rational, to propose that all the qualities I have mentioned above could apply to a material entity is clearly ridiculous. But apparently, atheism has no regard for natural laws or logic. Atheists get round it by simply dressing up their irrational beliefs to make them appear ‘scientific’.
This combined with rants and erroneous and derisory slogans about religious myths and superstition makes it all seem perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately, those with little knowledge, or who can’t be bothered to think for themselves are taken in by it.
Atheists repeatedly claim that they have refuted the law of cause and effect by asking : So what caused God then?
How true is that?
The ... what caused God? argument is a rather silly argument which atheists regularly trot out. All it demonstrates is that they don't understand basic logic.
The question to always ask them is; what part of FIRST don't you understand?
If something is the very FIRST, it means there is nothing that precedes it. First means first, not second or third.
That means that the first cause cannot be a contingent entity, because a contingent entity depends on something preceding it for its existence. In which case, if something precedes it, it couldn't be FIRST.
All natural entities, events and effects are contingent ... that is why the Law of Cause and Effect states that ... every NATURAL effect requires an adequate cause.
That means that the first cause cannot be a natural entity. An UNCAUSED, NATURAL event or entity is ruled out as not possible by the Law of Cause and Effect.
Therefore the very FIRST CAUSE of the universe, which we know cannot be caused, by virtue of it being FIRST (not second or third) CANNOT be a natural entity or event.
Thus we deduce that the first cause ... cannot be contingent, cannot be a natural entity, and cannot be subject to the Law of Cause and Effect.
So the first cause has to be non-material, i.e. supernatural.
The first cause also has to have the creative potential to create every other cause and effect that follows it.
In other words, the first cause cannot be inferior in any respect to the properties, powers or qualities of anything that exists...
The effect cannot be greater than the cause....
So we can thus deduce that the first cause is: UNCAUSED, SUPERNATURAL, self-existent, and capable of creating everything we see in the existing universe.
If there is life in the universe, the first cause must have the ability to create life,
If there is intelligence in the universe, the first cause must have the ability to create intelligence.
If there is information in the universe, the first cause must have the ability to create information.
If there is consciousness in the universe, the first cause must have the ability to create consciousness. And so on and on. If it exists, the first cause is responsible for it, and must have the ability to create it.
That is the Creator God … and His existence is supported by impeccable logic and adherence to the demands of natural law.
Essential characteristics of the first cause.
Consider this short chain of causes and effects:
A causes B, - B causes C, - C causes D, - D causes E.
'A, B, C & D' are all causes and may all look similar, but they are not, there is an enormous and crucial difference between them.
Causes B, C & D are fundamentally different from cause A.
Why?
Because A is the very first cause and thus had no previous cause. It exists without a cause. It doesn’t rely on anything else for its existence, it is completely independent of causes - while B, C & D would not exist without A. They are entirely dependent on A.
Causes; B, C & D are also effects, whereas A is not an effect, only a cause.
So we can say that the first cause ‘A’ is both self-existent and necessary. It is necessary because the rest of the chain of causes and effects could not exist without it. We also have to say that the subsequent causes and effects B, C, D and E are all contingent. That is; they are not self-existent they all depend entirely on other causes to exist.
We can also say that A is eternally self-existent, i.e. it has always existed, it had no beginning. Why? Because if A came into being at some point, there must have been something other than itself that brought it into being … which would mean A was not the first cause (A could not create A) … the something that brought A into being would be the first cause. In which case, A would be contingent and no different from B, C, D & E.
We can also say that A is adequate to produce all the properties of B, C, D & E.
Why?
Well in the case of E we can see that it relies entirely on D for its existence, E can in no way be superior to D because D had to contain within it everything necessary to produce E. The same applies to D it cannot be superior to C, but furthermore neither E or D can be superior to C, because both rely on C for their existence, and C had to contain everything necessary to produce D & E.
Likewise with B, which is responsible for the existence of C, D & E.
As they all depend on A for their existence and all their properties, abilities and potentials, none can be superior to A whether singly or combined. A had to contain everything necessary to produce B, C, D & E including all their properties, abilities and potentials.
Thus we deduce that; nothing in the universe can be superior in any way to the very first cause of the universe, because the whole universe, and all material things that exist, depend entirely on the abilities and properties of the first cause to produce them.
So to sum up … a first cause must be uncaused, must have always existed and cannot be in any way inferior to all subsequent causes and effects. In other words, the first cause of the universe must be eternally, self-existent and omnipotent (greater than everything that exists). No natural entity can have those attributes, that is why a Supernatural, Creator God MUST exist
Atheists often say: you can’t fill gaps in knowledge with a supernatural first cause.
But we are not talking about filling gaps, we are talking about a fundamental issue ... the origin of everything in the material realm.
The first cause is not a gap, it is the beginning - and many of the greatest scientists in the history of science had no problem whatsoever with the logic that - a natural, first cause was impossible, and the only possible option was a supernatural creator.
Why do atheists have such a problem with it?
Atheists also seem to think that to explain the origin of the universe without a God, simply involves explaining what triggered it, as though its formation from that point on, just happens automatically.
This has been compared by some as similar to lighting the blue touch paper of a firework. They think that if they can propose such a naturalistic trigger, then God is made redundant.
That may sound plausible to some members of the public, who take such pronouncements at face value, and are somewhat in awe of anything that is claimed to be 'scientific'.
But it is obvious to anyone who thinks seriously about it, that a mere trigger is not necessarily an adequate cause.
A trigger presupposes that there is some sort of a mechanism/blueprint/plan already existing which is ready to spring into action if it is provided with an appropriate trigger. So a trigger is not a sole cause, or a first cause, it is merely one contributing cause.
Natural things do only what they are programmed to do, i.e. they obey natural laws and the demands of their own pre-ordered composition and structure. Lighting blue touch paper would do absolutely nothing, unless there is a carefully designed and manufactured firework already attached to it.
What about the idea proposed by some atheists that space must have always existed, and therefore the first cause was not the only eternally, uncaused self-existent power?
This implies that the first cause was limited by a self-existent rival (space,) which was also uncaused, and therefore the first cause could not be infinite and could not even be a proper first cause, because there was something it didn’t cause i.e. ‘space’.
There seems to be some confusion here about what ‘space’ actually is.
Space is part of the created universe, it is what lies between and around material objects in the cosmos, if there were no material objects in the cosmos, there would be no space. The confusion lies in the failure to distinguish between empty space and nothing. Nothing is the absence of everything, whereas space is a medium in which cosmic bodies exist. ‘Empty’ space is just the space between objects. So space is not an uncaused, eternally self-existent entity, it is dependent on material objects existing within it, for its own existence.
What about nothing? Is that an uncaused eternally self-existent thing? Firstly, it is not a thing, it is the absence of all things. So has nothing always existed? Well, yes it essentially would have always existed, but only if the first cause didn’t exist. If there is a first cause is that is eternally self-existent, then there is no such thing as absolute nothing, because nothing is the absence of everything. If a first cause exists (which it had to), then any proposed eternal ‘nothing’ has always contained something, and therefore can never have been ‘nothing’.
What about the idea that the first cause created everything material from nothing? Obviously, the ‘nothing’ that is meant here is … nothing material, i.e. the absence of any material entities.
The uncaused, first cause cannot be material, because all material things are contingent, so the first cause brought material things into being, when nothing material had previously existed. That is what is meant by creation from nothing.
So what existed outside of the eternally existent first cause? Obviously no other thing existed outside of the first cause, the first cause was the only thing that existed. So did the first cause exist in a sea of eternally existent nothingness?
No! the first cause was not nothing, it was ‘something’. So to ask what surrounded the something that is the first cause is not a valid question, because if something exists that is not ‘nothing’. This means that such a notion of ‘nothing’ didn’t exist, only something – i.e. the eternally existent first cause. If you have a box with something in it, you wouldn’t say there is both something and nothing in the box. You would say there is something in the box, regardless of whether there was some empty space around the thing in the box.
Atheists invent all sorts of bizarre myths to explain the origin of the universe and matter/energy.
Such as the utterly, ludicrous notion of the universe creating itself from nothing. Obviously for something to create itself, it would need to pre-exist its own creation, in order to do the creating!
They are clutching at straws and anyone with any common sense understands that.
So to sum up .....
The atheist ideology is illogical, unscientific nonsense. Even worse, it has no compunction in treating natural laws and the basic principle of the scientific method with utter distain and contempt whenever they interfere with atheist beliefs.
Science, not religion, is the real enemy of atheism, and atheism, not religion, is the real enemy of science.
The garden path of lies
New book! Epic Landscape Photography: The Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography!
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The Epic Seascape! Malibu Sea Caves!
Landscape photography is not only about traveling through space, but it is also about traveling through time. One may return to the same beach time and again throughout the seasons to find a million different universes, changing in an infinitude of manners with each passing wave.
Not only do we voyage outwardly to get the shot, but we travel even further inwardly. While I spend my year trekking along the John Muir Trail, and on through Zion, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and the Colorado Plateau, my heart always finds its home in these Malibu sea caves, where I have stood in awe during all hours of the day and night.
Included within are a few shots that only I have so far captured, including a miraculous winter solstice sunrise.
Best wishes throughout the coming year!
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Working on a couple photography books! 45EPIC GODDESS PHOTOGRAPHY: A classic guide to exalting the archetypal woman. And 45EPIC Fine Art Landscape Photography!
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Greetings all! I have been busy finishing a few books on photography, while traveling all over--to Zion and the Sierras--shooting fall colors. Please see some here: facebook.com/mcgucken
Let me know in the comments if you would like a free review copy of one of my photography books! :)
Titles include:
The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography
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And I am also working on a book on photographing the goddesses! :) More goddesses soon!
Best wishes on your epic hero's odyssey!:)
I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
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Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
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Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
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Point Imperial Overlook Grand Canyon Sunset Scenery Landscape Photography Medium Format Fuji GFX100! North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Scenic Vista Breaking Thunderstorm Dramatic Clouds Beautiful View Elliot McGucken Fine Art Photography
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Some of my epic books, prints, & more!
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
Exalt your photography with Golden Ratio Compositions!
Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! dx4/dt=ic! Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Physical: geni.us/Fa1Q
Ralph Waldo Emerson. The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca: On entering a temple we assume all signs of reverence. How much more reverent then should we be before the heavenly bodies, the stars, the very nature of God!
John Muir: All the wild world is beautiful, and it matters but little where we go, to highlands or lowlands, woods or plains, on the sea or land or down among the crystals of waves or high in a balloon in the sky; through all the climates, hot or cold, storms and calms, everywhere and always we are in God's eternal beauty and love.
Professor Mohammad Taghi Rohani Rankoohi lecturing on "Principles of Database Design" in his class in Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) in Shahid Beheshti University (National University of Iran) on the day before his 63rd birthday, Wednesday, April 21, 2010. He was my professor more than 20 years ago, and I had the honor to be his colleague when I was a lecturer in Shahid Beheshti University between 2001 and 2005. His birthday is on April 22, and I used to visit him on his birthday every year from 1987 when I was his teaching assistant on the "Machine Structure and Language" course in Faculty of Informatics of Shahid Behesthi University. After graduating from the University on 1989, his birthday was a reason for me to visit him and take a walk around the university. On this occasion in 2010, he let me take photos of him in his Database class while teaching. This was the last semester that he lectured in the old building of the ECE, ex-Informatics, department. The next semester he lectured in the new building and then he quit working in Shahid Beheshti University after almost thirty years. After that he just lectured in Sharif University of Technology.
استاد محمدتقی روحانی رانکوهی در حال تدریس "اصول طراحی پایگاه های داده ها" در دانشکده مهندسی برق و کامپیوتر دانشگاه شهید بهشتی (دانشگاه ملی ایران) یک روز قبل از شصت و سومین سالروز تولدشان در روز چهارشنبه اول اردیبهشت 1389. بیش از بیست سال پیش دانشجوی ایشان بودم. بین سالهای ۱۳۸۰ تا ۱۳۸۳ این افتخار را داشتم که در دانشگاه شهید بهشتی همکار ایشان باشم. سالروز تولدشان دوم اردیبهشت ماه است و از سال ۱۳۶۶ که من کمک استاد ایشان در درس ساختمان و زبان ماشین در دانشکده انفورماتیک دانشگاه شهید بهشتی بودم، کموبیش هر سال سالروز تولدشان را حضوری تبریک گفتهام. بعد از فارغ التحصیلی از دانشگاه شهید بهشتی در سال ۱۳۶۸، سالروز تولد ایشان بهانهای بود که به ایشان و همینطور به محل تحصیل دوران لیسانسم سری بزنم. سال ۱۳۸۹ هم که برای دیدنشان به دانشگاه رفتم، لطف داشتند و به من اجازه دادند که در کلاس از ایشان عکس بگیرم. این آخرین سالی بود که در شهید بهشتی تدریس میکردند. این کلاس هم آخرین کلاس ایشان در محل سابق دانشکده انفورماتیک، دانشکده مهندسی برق و کامپیوتر، بود. یک ترم پس از این کلاس، در پاییز ۱۳۸۹، در محل جدید دانشکده تدریس کردند و بعد از آن هم بخاطر برخی مشکلات، همکاری با دانشگاه شهید بهشتی را پس از حدود سی سال به پایان رساندند. از آن پس تنها در دانشگاه صنعتی شریف تدریس کردند.
تمام حقوق محفوظ است ©
Did you know that you could just walk into your local Starbucks and request a "Green Apron Book", that outlines the principles of Starbucks? I heard about this little booklet from a recent book I had read about the company and went in to my local Starbucks and asked for a copy. I was a tad surprised when the employees were extremely happy to give one to me. There's something to be said about a company that is not afraid to share their core principles with their customers. There's much more to say when they do it so enthusiastically.
My Epic Gear Guide for Epic Landscapes & Portraits!
Everyone is always asking me for this! Here ya go! :)
Epic books, prints, & more!
Epic High Resolution Malibu Sunset! Malibu Sea Cave Sunset California Socal Photography! Fine Art Landscape & Nature Photography: Light Beams & Dr. Elliot McGucken Epic Fine Art! High Res!
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Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's . . . !
My fine art photography graces my physics books!
Regarding the award-winning physicist Dr. Elliot McGucken at Princeton University, the late John Archibald Wheeler stated, "More intellectual curiosity, versatility and yen for physics than Elliot McGucken's I have never seen in any senior or graduate student. . . Originality, powerful motivation, and a can-do spirit make me think that McGucken is a top bet."
Dr. E would go on to heal the blind with his NSF-funded, award-winning Ph.D. dissertation which also laid down the foundations of Light Time Dimension Theory. Over the years, LTD Theory added foundational *physical* postulates, principles, and equations en route to becoming numerous books, with this one forming the simple, illustrated introduction.
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A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
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The great thing about the beach is that it presents an entirely different universe from season to season, from day to day, from hour to hour, from second to second, with the ever changing wind, tides, clouds, and sun. A split second with tumbling surf and a sinking sun can make a vast different, resulting in entirely different photographs.
Photographing Women Models! geni.us/m90Ms
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic...
Zion National Park East Side Winter Snow Autumn Colors Fuji GFX100 Fine Art Utah Landscape Nature Photography! Elliot McGucken Landscape Nature Photography! Master Medium Format Fine Art Photographer! Fujifilm GFX 100 & Fujifilm FUJINON Lens!
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Spacetime Sculpture dx4//dt=ic:
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All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
Lao Tzu--The Tao: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Light Time Dimension Theory: The Foundational Physics Unifying Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: A Simple, Illustrated Introduction to the Unifying Physical Reality of the Fourth Expanding Dimensionsion dx4/dt=ic !: geni.us/Fa1Q
"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
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Exalt the goddess archetype in the fine art of photography! My Epic Book: Photographing Women Models!
Portrait, Swimsuit, Lingerie, Boudoir, Fine Art, & Fashion Photography Exalting the Venus Goddess Archetype: How to Shoot Epic ... Epic! Beautiful Surf Fine Art Portrait Swimsuit Bikini Models!
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Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
Epic Landscape Photography:
A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
Photographs available as epic fine art luxury prints. For prints and licensing information, please send me a flickr mail or contact drelliot@gmail.com with your queries! All the best on your Epic Hero's Odyssey!
Pretty! Beautiful Blonde Hair Blue Eyes Bikini Swimsuit 45SURF Model Surf Girl Beach Girl! Surf's Up in Malibu! Sexy Hot Fitness Model Surfer dx4/dt=ic! 45SURF 45EPIC! The Birth of Venus!
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Golden Ratio Compositions & Secret Sacred Geometry for Photography, Fine Art, & Landscape Photographers: How to Exalt Art with Leonardo da Vinci's, Michelangelo's!
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A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
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Ralph Waldo Emerson. The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca: On entering a temple we assume all signs of reverence. How much more reverent then should we be before the heavenly bodies, the stars, the very nature of God!
John Muir: All the wild world is beautiful, and it matters but little where we go, to highlands or lowlands, woods or plains, on the sea or land or down among the crystals of waves or high in a balloon in the sky; through all the climates, hot or cold, storms and calms, everywhere and always we are in God's eternal beauty and love. So universally true is this, the spot where we chance to be always seems the best.
Simon Levy presents Vector Symbolic Architectures: A New Building Material for Artificial General Intelligence by Simon Levy of Washington and Lee University and Ross Gayler
(I'd like to take a class from Simon Levy, he is a great teacher from what I could see. Sorry that the photo is poor of him here, but this particular slide mad me think and do quite a bit of homework to increased my understanding of this topic.)
The Need for New Representational Principles
(My notes on this, please feel free to add or clarify anything I have said, it is just my [poor] understanding.)
- Ecological Affordance introduced by James J. Gibson (1979), The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception (an interesting sidebar - this was about the last thing that Gibson published before his death in 1979 at age 75.) A number of his writings are on-line, published as the Purple Perils
- Distributed Connectionist Representations (PDP - which is Parallel Distributed Processing was the start of Connectionism I had colleagues who did research in this area in the early 1990s, at the time I was not as curious as I could have been, being wrapped up in some completely different projects. Now - I have begun to tie it together, funny how that works! The classic work was done by James McClelland, David Rumelhart and the PDP Research Group. They wrote a two volume book: Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition in 1986)
Holographic Representations Dennis Gabor 1971 and Plate 2003
I probably went down a related area with Karl Pribram's Holonomic brain theory but I need to do some more research about this.
Fractals Attractors Dynamical Systems Tabor 2000 , Levy and Pollack 2001
For a good introduction see Dynamical & Evolutionary Machine Organization part of Jordan Pollack's research at Brandeis University.
In Technical Session # 7: Neural Network and Brain Modeling
Session Chair: Randal Koene , Laboratory of Computational Neurophysiology, Center for Memory and Brain, Boston University at the The First Conference on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI-08)
This room is The Zone, at the FedEx Institute of Technology, University of Memphis. It was a very good venue for this conference.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research focuses on the original and ultimate goal of AI -- to create intelligence as a whole, by exploring all available paths, including theoretical and experimental computer science, cognitive science, neuroscience, and innovative interdisciplinary methodologies. AGI is also called Strong AI in the AI community.
Another good reference is Artificial General Intelligence : A Gentle Introduction Pei Wang
I030308 045
2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
John Ford Point Monument Valley Winter Snow Utah Fine Art Landscape Nature Fuji GFX100 Photography! Dr. Elliot McGucken dx4/dt=ic Master Fine Art Medium Format Photographer Fuji GFX 100!
All my photography celebrates the physics of light! The McGucken Principle of the fourth expanding dimension: The fourth dimension is expanding at the rate of c relative to the three spatial dimensions: dx4/dt=ic .
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"Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life." --John Muir
Epic Stoicism guides my fine art odyssey and photography: geni.us/epicstoicism
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” --John Muir
Epic Poetry inspires all my photography: geni.us/9K0Ki Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art Nature Photography with the Poetic Wisdom of John Muir, Emerson, Thoreau, Homer's Iliad, Milton's Paradise Lost & Dante's Inferno Odyssey
“The mountains are calling and I must go.” --John Muir
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A Simple Guide to the Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography: Master Composition, Lenses, Camera Settings, Aperture, ISO, ... Hero's Odyssey Mythology Photography)
All art is but imitation of nature.-- Seneca (Letters from a Stoic - Letter LXV: On the First Cause)
The universe itself is God and the universal outpouring of its soul. --Chrysippus (Quoted by Cicero in De Natura Deorum)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells. --To Autumn. by John Keats
St. Hilda’s By The Sea is a small Anglican church in Sechelt. Set among the verdant green trees of the temperate rainforest, it is an eclectic mix of old and new: retired British pensioners polish the altar crystal and set out flowers for Sunday services, presided over by a gay Chinese-Canadian priest. Tai chi mixes with Celtic mysticism in a melange that is somehow stronger than its parts. And isn’t that what community is all about?
From the official website:
Walking the labyrinth is an ancient spiritual act that is being rediscovered during our time.
Usually constructed from circular patterns, labyrinths are based on principles of sacred geometry. Sometimes called “divine imprints”, they are found around the world as sacred patterns that have been passed down through the ages for at least 4,000 years. When a pattern of a certain size is constructed or placed on the ground, it can be used for walking meditations and rituals.
Labyrinths and their geometric cousins (spirals and mandalas) can be found in almost every religious tradition. For example, the Kabbala, or Tree of Life, is found in the Jewish mystical tradition. The Hopi Medicine Wheel, and the Man in the Maze are two forms from the Native American labyrinth traditions. The Cretan labyrinth, the remains of which can be found on the island of Crete, has seven path rings and is the oldest known labyrinth (4,000 or 5.000 years old).
In Europe, the Celts and later the early Christian Celtic Church revered labyrinths and frequently built them in natural settings. Sacred dances would be performed in them to celebrate solar and religious festivals. During the Middle Ages, labyrinths were created in churches and cathedrals throughout France and Northern Italy. These characteristically flat church or pavement labyrinths were inlaid into the floor of the nave of the church.
The Chartres Labyrinth
The labyrinth constructed at St. Hilda’s is an 11-circuit labyrinth. It is a replica of the one embedded in the floor of Chartres Cathedral in France. The design of this labyrinth, and many of the other church labyrinths in Europe, is a reworking of the ancient labyrinth design in which an equal-armed cross is emphasized and surrounded by a web of concentric circles. As with many Christian symbols, this was an adaptation of a symbol; that is known to have predated the Christian faith. This medieval variation is considered a breakthrough in design because it is less linear than the preceding, more formal, Roman design that developed from quadrant to quadrant. The medieval design made one path as long as possible, starting at the outer circumference and leading to the centre. Fraught with twists and turns, the path’s meanderings were considered symbolic representations of the Christian pilgrim’s journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem and of one’s own journey through life. This classical design is sometimes referred to as “the Chartres Labyrinth” due to the location of its best known example. The labyrinth was built at Chartres in the early 13th century (~ 1215 A.D.). No one knows the source of this classical 11-circuit labyrinth design, and much of its spiritual meaning and use has been lost.
The Chartres Labyrinth is located in the west end of the nave, the central body of the cathedral. When you walk in the main doors and look towards the high altar, you see the center of the labyrinth on the floor about 50 feet in front of you. It is approximately 42 feet in diameter and the path is 16 inches wide. At Chartres, the center of the Rose Window mirrors the center of the labyrinth. The cathedral is perfectly proportioned, so that if we put the west wall of the cathedral on hinges and folded it down on the labyrinth, the Rose Window would fit almost perfectly over the labyrinth.
Labyrinth or Maze?
The difference between a labyrinth used for meditation and mazes can be confusing. Mazes often have many entrances, dead-ends and cul-de-sacs that frequently confound the human mind. In contrast, meditation labyrinths offer only one path. By following the one path to the center, the seeker can use the labyrinth to quiet his or her mind and find peace and illumination at the center of his or her being. “As soon as one enters the labyrinth, one realizes that the path of the labyrinth serves as a metaphor for one’s spiritual journey. The walk, and all that happens on it, can be grasped through the intuitive, pattern-discerning faculty of the person walking it. The genius of this tool is that it reflects back to the seeker whatever he or she needs to discover from the perspective of a new level of conscious awareness.”
The Labyrinth is a Universal Meditation Tool
Anyone from any tradition or spiritual path can walk into the labyrinth and, through reflecting in the present moment, can benefit from it. A meditation labyrinth is one of many tools that can be used for spiritual practice. Like any tool, it is best used with a proper, good, intention. A church or temple can be used simply as a refuge from a rainstorm, but it can be so much more with a different intention. The same is true of the labyrinth. The seeker is only asked to put one foot in front of the other. By stepping into the labyrinth, we are choosing once again to walk the contemplative spiritual path. We are agreeing to let ourselves be open to see, to be free to hear, and to becoming real enough to respond. The labyrinth is a prayer path, a crucible of change, a meditation tool, a blueprint where psyche meets soul.
The best way to learn about the labyrinth is to walk a well-constructed one a few times, with an open heart and an open mind. Then allow your experience to guide you as to whether this will be a useful spiritual tool for you.
The Chartres Labyrinth and the Pilgrim’s Journey
Pilgrims are persons in motion – passing through territories not their own – seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.
Richard R. Niebuhr in Pilgrims and Pioneers
“The tradition of pilgrimage is as old as religion itself. Worshippers on pilgrimage traveled to holy festivals whether to solstice celebrations, to Mecca to gather around the Ka’aba for the high holy days of Islam, or to Easter festivals in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Pilgrimages were a mixture of religious duty and holiday relaxation for the peasant, the commoner and rich land owner alike. The journey was often embarked on in groups with designated places to stay at night. The pilgrims were restless to explore the mystical holy places, and many were in search of physical or spiritual healing.
The Christian story, which emphasized the humanity of Christ, fascinated the pilgrims. In the Middle Ages, most people did not read. As a result, they were much more oriented to the senses than we are today. They learned the story by traveling to Jerusalem to walk where Jesus walked, to pray where he prayed, and to experience, in a solemn moment, where he died. Unlike today, Pilgrims encountered the truth of the Christian mystery through an ongoing intimacy with all their senses.
When a person committed his or her life to Christ in the early Middle Ages, they sometimes made a vow to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, by the 12th century when the Crusades swept across Europe and the ownership of Jerusalem was in tumultuous flux, travel became dangerous and expensive. In response to this situation, the Roman Church appointed seven pilgrimage cathedrals to become “Jerusalem” for pilgrims. Consequently, in the pilgrimage tradition, the path within the labyrinth was called the Chemin de Jerusalem and the center of the labyrinth was called “New Jerusalem”.
The walk into the labyrinth marked the end of the physical journey across the countryside and served as a symbolic entry-way into the spiritual realms of the Celestial City. The image of the Celestial City – taken straight out of the Book of Revelation to John – captivated the religious imagination of many during the Middle Ages. The wondrous Gothic cathedrals, with painted walls either in bright, even gaudy colours, or else white-washed, were designed to represent the Celestial City. The stained glass windows – when illuminated by the sun – created the sense of colourful, dancing jewels, allowing the pilgrim to experience the awesome mystery of the City of God.”
The Journey of Life
A fundamental approach to the labyrinth is to see it as a metaphor for life’s journey. The labyrinth reminds us that all of life, with its joys, sorrows, twists and turns, is a journey that comes from God (birth) and goes to God (death). It is a physical metaphor for the journey of healing, spiritual and emotional growth and transformation. Following the path is like any journey. Sometimes you feel you are at or nearing your destination, and at other times you may feel distant or even lost. Only by faithfully keeping to the path will you arrive at the physical center of the labyrinth, which signifies God, the center of our lives and souls.
Applying the Three Fold Mystical Tradition to the Labyrinth
In the Christian mystical tradition, the journey to God was articulated in the three stages. These stages have become recognized as being universal to meditation: to release and quiet; to open and receive; and to take what was gained back out into the world.
The Three Stages
The first part of the Three- Fold Mystical Path is Purgation. This archaic word is from the root word “to purge”, meaning to cleanse, to let go. Shedding is another way of describing the experience. The mystical word is empting or releasing. It is believed that monks journeyed the first part of the labyrinth Purgation on their knees as a penitential act. This was not done for reasons of punishment as we might think, but as a way to humble oneself before God.
The second stage of the Three-Fold Path, Illumination, is found in the center of the labyrinth. Usually it is a surprise to reach the center because the long winding path seems “illogical” and cannot be figured out by the linear mind. After quieting the mind in the first part of the walk, the center presents a new experience: a place of meditation and prayer. Often people at this stage in the walk find insight into their situation in life, or clarity about a certain problem, hence the label “illumination”. As one enters the
center, the instruction is simple: enter with an open heart and mind; receive what there is for you.
The third stage, Union, begins when you leave the center of the labyrinth and continues as you retrace the path that brought you in. In this stage the meditation takes on a grounded, energized feeling. Many people who have had an important experience in the center feel that this third stage of the labyrinth gives them a way of integrating the insights they received. Others feel that this stage stokes the creative fires within. It energizes insight. It empowers, invites, and even pushes us to be more authentic and confident and to take risks with our gifts in the world. Union means communing with God.
The Monastic Orders experienced a union with God through their community life by creating a fulfilling balance between the work that was assigned, sleep and the many hours of worship attended daily. Our times present a similar challenge: we struggle to find balance between work, sleep, family and friends, leisure and spiritual life. The lack of structured communities in which people share work responsibilities and the “every person for himself or herself” mentality (or every family for itself) prevalent in our highly individualistic society makes the task of finding balance even more difficult.
Monastic communities offered a mystical spirituality that spoke to highly intuitive and intensely introverted people and (paradoxically to some) at the same time provided an economic structure throughout Europe. Monasteries during the Middle Ages provided schools and hospitals managed by monks; yet, at the same time, cloistered life helped the monks stay inwardly directed. Today, without any reliable structure directing us, the way of union needs to be re-thought. Our times call for most of us to be outer-directed. We are called to action in every aspect of our society in order to meet the spiritual challenges that confront us in the 21st century. Gratefully, there are still people in religious orders holding the candle for deep contemplation, but the majority of people involved in the spiritual transformation are searching for a path that guides them to service in the world in an active, extroverted, compassionate way. The third stage of the labyrinth empowers the seeker to move back into the world replenished and directed – which makes the labyrinth a particularly powerful tool for transformation.
Walking the Labyrinth: The Process
The purpose of all spiritual disciplines – prayer, fasting, meditation – is to help create an open attentiveness that enables us to receive and renew our awareness of our grounding and wholeness in God.
The Experience of Walking Meditation
Many of us have trouble quieting our minds. The Buddhists call the distracted state of mind the “monkey mind”, which is an apt image of what the mind is frequently like: thoughts swinging like monkeys from branch to branch, chattering away without any rhyme or conscious reason. When the mind is quiet, we feel peaceful and open, aware of a silence that embraces the universe.
Complete quiet in the mind is not a realistic goal for most of us. Instead, the task is to dis-identify with the thoughts going through our minds. Don’t get hooked by the thoughts, let them go. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk who teaches Centering Prayer (meditation) in the Christian tradition, described the mind as a still lake. A thought is like a fish that swims through it. If you get involved with the fish (“Gee what an unusual fish, I wonder what it is called?”), then you are hooked. Many of us have discovered through learning meditation how difficult it is to quiet the mind; yet, the rewards are great.
In the labyrinth, the sheer act of walking a complicated, attention demanding path begins to focus the mind. Thoughts of daily tasks and experiences become less intrusive. A quiet mind does not happen automatically. You must gently guide the mind with the intention of letting go of extraneous thoughts. This is much easier to do when your whole body is moving – when you are walking. Movement takes away the excess charge of psychic energy that disturbs our efforts to quiet our thought processes.
Two Basic Approaches to the Walk
One way to walk the labyrinth is to choose to let all thought go and simply open yourself to your experience with gracious attention. Usually – though not always – quieting happens in the first stage of the walk. After the mind is quiet, you can choose to remain in the quiet. Or use the labyrinth as a prayer path. Simply begin to talk to God. This is an indication that you are ready to receive what is there for you, or you allow a sincere part of your being to find its voice.
A second approach to a labyrinth walk is to consider a question. Concentrate on the question as you walk in. Amplify your thoughts about it; let all else go but your question. When you walk into the center with an open heart and an open mind, you are opening yourself to receiving new information, new insights about yourself.
Guidelines for the Walk
Find your pace. In our chaotic world we are often pushed beyond a comfortable rhythm. In this state we lose the sense of our own needs. To make matters worse, we are often rushed and then forced to wait. Anyone who has hurried to the bank only to stand in line knows the feeling. Ironically, the same thing can happen with the labyrinth, but there is a difference. The labyrinth helps us find what our natural pace would be and draws our attention to it when we are not honouring it.
Along with finding your pace, support your movement through the labyrinth by becoming conscious of your breath. Let your breath flow smoothly in and out of your body. It can be coordinated with each step – as is done in the Buddhist walking meditation – if you choose. Let your experience be your guide.
Each experience in the labyrinth is different, even if you walk it often in a short period of time. The pace usually differs each time as well. It can change dramatically within the different stages of the walk. When the labyrinth has more than a comfortable number of seekers on it, you can “pass” people if you want to continue to honour the intuitive pace your inner process has set. If you are moving at a slower pace, you can allow people to pass you. At first people are uncomfortable with the idea of “passing” someone on the labyrinth. It looks competitive, especially since the walk is a spiritual exercise. Again, these kinds of thoughts and feelings, we hope, are greeted from a spacious place inside that smiles knowingly about the machinations of the human ego. On the spiritual path we meet every and all things. To find our pace, to allow spaciousness within, to be receptive to all experience, and to be aware of the habitual thoughts and issues that hamper our spiritual development is a road to self-knowledge.
Summary of How to Walk the Labyrinth
Pause at the entry way to allow yourself to be fully conscious of the act of stepping into the labyrinth. Allow about a minute, or several turns on the path, to create some space between yourself and the person in front of you. Some ritual act, such as a bow, may feel appropriate during the labyrinth walk. Do what comes naturally.
Follow your pace. Allow your body to determine the pace. If you allow a rapid pace and the person in front of you is moving slower, feel free to move around this person. This is easiest to do at the turns by turning earlier. If you are moving slowly, you can step onto the labyrs (wide spaces at the turns) to allow others to pass.
The narrow path is a two-way street. If you are going in and another person is going out, you will meet on the path. If you want to keep in an inward meditative state, simply do not make eye contact. If you meet someone you know, a touch of the hand or a hug may be an important acknowledgement of being on the path together.
Symbolism and Meanings Found in the Chartres Labyrinth
Circles and Spirals
The circle is the symbol of unity or union and it is the primary shape of all labyrinths. The circle in sacred geometry represents the incessant movement of the universe (uncomprehensible) as opposed to the square which represents comprehensible order. The labyrinth is a close cousin to the spiral and it, too, reflects the cyclical element of nature and is regarded as the symbol of eternal life.
The labyrinth functions like a spiral, creating a vortex in its center. Upon entering, the path winds in a clockwise pattern. Energy is being drawn out. Upon leaving the center the walker goes in a counter clockwise direction. The unwinding path integrates and empowers us on our walk back out. We are literally ushered back out into the world in a strengthened condition.
The Path
The path lies in 11 concentric circles with the 12th being the labyrinth center. The path meanders throughout the whole circle. There are 34 turns on the path going into the center. Six are semi-right turns and 28 are 180° turns. So the 12 rings that form the 11 pathways may symbolically represent, the 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel or 12 months of the year. Twelve is a mystical number in Christianity. In sacred geometry three represents heaven and four represents earth. Twelve is the product of 3 x 4 and, therefore, the path which flows through the whole is then representative of all creation.
The obvious metaphor for the path is the difficult path to salvation, with its many twists and turns. Since we cannot see a straight path to our destination, the labyrinth can be viewed as a metaphor for our lives. We learn to surrender to the path (Christ) and trust that he will lead us on our journey.
The path can also be viewed as grace or the Church guiding us through chaos.
The Cruciform and Labyrs
The labyrinth is divided equally into four quadrants that make an equal-armed cross or cruciform. The four arms represent in symbol what is thought to be the essential
structure of the universe for example, the four spatial directions, the four elements (earth, wind, water and fire), the four seasons and, most important, salvation through the cross. The four arms of the cross emerging from the center seem to give order to the would-be chaos of the meandering path around it.
The Chartres labyrinth cross or cruciform is delineated by the 10 labyrs (labyr means to turn and this is the root of the word labyrinth). The labyrs are double-ax shaped and visible at the turns and between turns. They are traditionally seen as a symbol of women’s power and creativity.
The Centre Rosette
In the Middle Ages, the rose was regarded as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. Because of its association with the myths of Percival and the Holy Grail at that time, it also was seen as a sign of beauty and love. The rose becomes symbolic of both human and divine love, of passionate love, but also love beyond passion. The single rose became a symbol of a simple acceptance of God’s love for the world.
Unlike a normal rose (which has five petals) the rosette has six petals and is steeped in mysticism. Although associated with the Rose of Sharon, which refers to Mary, it may also represent the Holy Spirit (wisdom and enlightenment). The six petals may have corresponded to the story of the six days of creation. In other mystical traditions, the petals can be viewed as the levels of evolution (mineral, plant, animal, humankind, angelic and divine).
The Lunations
The lunations are the outer ring of partial circles that complete the outside circle of the labyrinth. They are unique to the Chartres design.
Celtic Symbols on the St. Hilda’s Labyrinth
The Celtic peoples have given us seven enduring spiritual principles:
1. A deep respect of nature, regarding creation as the fifth Gospel.
2. Quiet care for all living things.
3. The love of learning.
4. A wonder-lust or migratory nature.
5. Love of silence and solitude.
6. Understanding of time as a sacred reality and an appreciation of ordinary life, worshipping God through everyday life, and with great joy.
7. The value of family and clan affiliation, and especially spiritual ties of soul friends.
To show our respect for such wisdom, two Celtic designs adorn the St. Hilda’s labyrinth.
To mark the entrance to the labyrinth is a Celtic zoomorphic design painted in red. Traditionally, Celtic monks used intricate knotwork and zoomorphic designs (odd animals intertwined in uncomfortable ways) as mere filler for their illuminated gospel texts. They had no discernible meaning.
However, because of their unique design components, zoomorphs are now associated with transformations.
Transformation, change, action, and passion are also associated with red, the colour of fire. Therefore, this entrance symbol may well be an appropriate sign for the journey ahead.
At the labyrinth’s centre is a Celtic triquetra. This interlocked knotwork design of three stylized fish (whales) is often interpreted as the Trinity knot. It is a perfect representation of the concept of "three in one" in Christian trinity beliefs. Having the design enclosed within the centre circle further emphasizes the unity theme.
The triquetra can also be considered to represent the triplicities of mind, body, and soul, as well as the three domains of earth- earth, sea, and sky.
Final Reflection: The Labyrinth as a “Thinning Place”
In Celtic Christianity, places where people felt most strongly connected with God’s presence were referred to as thin places. It was these places in nature (forest groves, hilltops and deep wells) that the seen and unseen worlds were most closely connected, and the inhabitants of both worlds could momentarily touch the other. Today our churches, temples and sacred sites are the new thin places to meet the Divine. Here, at St Hilda’s, we have opportunities to encounter many thinning places – whether it be during Eucharistic or Taize services, while singing or praying, or through the love of a welcoming inclusive community. The labyrinth is a welcome addition; and with the right intent can also become a new thinning place for the modern pilgrim/spiritual seeker.This outward journey is an archetype with which we can have a direct experience. We can walk it. It can serve to frame the inward journey – a journey of repentance, forgiveness and rebirth, a journey that seeks a deeper faith, and greater holiness, a journey in search of God.
This High Dynamic Range panorama was stitched from 84 bracketed images with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, and touched up in Aperture.
Original size: 18160 × 9080 (164.9 MP; 194 MB).
Location: St. Hilda’s By The Sea Anglican Church, Sechelt, British Columbia, Canada
New book! Epic Landscape Photography: The Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
The Epic Seascape! Malibu Sea Caves!
Landscape photography is not only about traveling through space, but it is also about traveling through time. One may return to the same beach time and again throughout the seasons to find a million different universes, changing in an infinitude of manners with each passing wave.
Not only do we voyage outwardly to get the shot, but we travel even further inwardly. While I spend my year trekking along the John Muir Trail, and on through Zion, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, and the Colorado Plateau, my heart always finds its home in these Malibu sea caves, where I have stood in awe during all hours of the day and night.
Included within are a few shots that only I have so far captured, including a miraculous winter solstice sunrise.
Best wishes throughout the coming year!
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
facebook.com/mcgucken
Working on a couple photography books! 45EPIC GODDESS PHOTOGRAPHY: A classic guide to exalting the archetypal woman. And 45EPIC Fine Art Landscape Photography!
More on my golden ratio musings: facebook.com/goldennumberratio
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Greetings all! I have been busy finishing a few books on photography, while traveling all over--to Zion and the Sierras--shooting fall colors. Please see some here: facebook.com/mcgucken
Let me know in the comments if you would like a free review copy of one of my photography books! :)
Titles include:
The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
And I am also working on a book on photographing the goddesses! :) More goddesses soon!
Best wishes on your epic hero's odyssey!:)
I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
www.facebook.com/Epic-Poetry-for-Epic-Landscape-Photograp...
Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/
Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
Follow me on instagram!
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
New book! Epic Landscape Photography: The Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Join my new 45EPIC fine art landscapes page on facebook!
facebook.com/mcgucken
Working on a couple photography books! 45EPIC GODDESS PHOTOGRAPHY: A classic guide to exalting the archetypal woman. And 45EPIC Fine Art Landscape Photography!
More on my golden ratio musings: facebook.com/goldennumberratio
instagram.com/goldennumberratio
Greetings all! I have been busy finishing a few books on photography, while traveling all over--to Zion and the Sierras--shooting fall colors. Please see some here: facebook.com/mcgucken
Let me know in the comments if you would like a free review copy of one of my photography books! :)
Titles include:
The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Why the Fibonacci Numbers Exalt Beauty and How to Create PHI Compositions in Art, Design, & Photography
facebook.com/goldennumberratio
And I am also working on a book on photographing the goddesses! :) More goddesses soon!
Best wishes on your epic hero's odyssey!:)
I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
www.facebook.com/Epic-Poetry-for-Epic-Landscape-Photograp...
Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/
Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
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Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फ़तेहपुर सीकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 37 km WSW on the Sikri ridge, to honor the Sufi saint Salim Chishti. Here he commenced the construction of a planned walled city which took the next fifteen years in planning and construction of a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. He named the city, Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning "victorious." it was later called Fatehpur Sikri. It is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved collections of Indian Mughal architecture in India.
According to contemporary historians, Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremonial made famous by his ancestor Timur, Akbar planned the complex on Persian principles. But the influences of his adopted land came through in the typically Indian embellishments. The easy availability of sandstone in the neighbouring areas of Fatehpur Sikri, also meant that all the buildings here were made of the red stone. The imperial Palace complex consists of a number of independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own.
The Imperial complex was abandoned in 1585, shortly after its completion, due to paucity of water and its proximity with the Rajputana areas in the North-West, which were increasingly in turmoil. Thus the capital was shifted to Lahore so that Akbar could have a base in the less stable part of the empire, before moving back to Agra in 1598, where he had begun his reign as he shifted his focus to Deccan. In fact, he never returned to the city except for a brief period in 1601. In later Mughal history it was occupied for a short while by Mughal emperor, Muhammad Shah (r. 1719 -1748), and his regent, Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the Syed Brothers, was murdered here in 1720. Today much of the imperial complex which spread over nearly two mile long and one mile wide area is largely intact and resembles a ghost town. It is still surrounded by a five mile long wall built during its original construction, on three sides. However apart from the imperial buildings complex few other buildings stand in the area, which is mostly barren, except of ruins of the bazaars of the old city near the Naubat Khana, the 'drum-house' entrance at Agra Road. The modern town lies at the western end of the complex, which was a municipality from 1865 to 1904, and later made a "notified area", and in 1901 had a population of 7,147. For a long time it was still known for its masons and stone carvers, though in Akbar time it was known and 'fabrics of hair' and 'silk-spinning'. The village of Sikri still exists nearby.
ARCHITECTURE OF FATEHPUR SIKRI
Fatehpur Sikri sits on rocky ridge, 3 kilometres in length and 1 km wide, and palace city is surrounded by a 6 km wall on three side with the fourth being a lake at the time. Its architect was Tuhir Das and Dhruv Chawla and was constructed using Indian principles. The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarat and Bengal. This was because indigenous craftsmen were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jain architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements. The building material used in all the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri, palace-city complex, is the locally quarried red sandstone, known as 'Sikri sandstone'. It is accessed through gates along the five-mile long fort wall, namely, Delhi Gate, the Lal Gate, the Agra Gate, Birbal's Gate, Chandanpal Gate, The Gwalior Gate, the Tehra Gate, the Chor Gate and the Ajmere Gate.
Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular are:
IMPORTANT BUILDINGS
Buland Darwaza: Set into the south wall of congregational mosque, the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, this stupendous piece of architecture is 55 metre high, from the outside, gradually making a transition to a human scale in the inside. The gate was added some five years later after the completion of the mosque ca. 1576-1577 as an 'victory arch', to commemorate the Akbar's successful Gujarat campaign. It carries two inscriptions in the archway, one of which reads: "Isa, Son of Mariam said: The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build no houses on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for eternity. The world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen".
The central portico comprises three arched entrances, with the largest one, in the centre, is known locally as the Horseshoe Gate, after the custom of nailing horseshoes to its large wooden doors for luck. Outside the giant steps of the Buland Darwaza to left is deep well.
Jama Masjid: It is a Jama Mosque meaning the congregational mosque, and was perhaps one of the first buildings to come up in the complex, as its epigraph gives AH 979 (AD 1571-72) as the date of its completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard, the Buland-Darwaza added some five years later. It was built in the manner of Indian mosques, with iwans around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatri over the sanctuary. There are three mihrabs in each of the seven bays, while the large central mihrab is covered by a dome, it is decorated with white marble inlay, in geometric patterns.
Tomb of Salim Chishti: A white marble encased tomb of the Sufi saint, Salim Chisti (1478–1572), within the Jama Masjid's sahn, courtyard. The single-storey structure is built around a central square chamber, within which is the grave of the saint, under an ornate wooden canopy encrusted with mother-of-pearl mosaic. Surrounding it is a covered passageway for circumambulation, with carved Jalis, stone pierced screens all around with intricate geometric design, and an entrance to the south. The tomb is influenced by earlier mausolea of the early 15th century Gujarat Sultanate period. Other striking features of the tomb are white marble serpentine brackets, which support sloping eaves around the parapet.
On the left of the tomb, to the east, stands a red sandstone tomb of Islam Khan I, son of Shaikh Badruddin Chisti and grandson of Shaikh Salim Chishti, who became a general in the Mughal army in the reign of Jahangir. The tomb is topped by a dome and thirty-six small domed chattris, and contains a number of graves, some unnamed, all male descendants of Shaikh Salim Chisti.
Diwan-i-Aam : Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, is a building typology found in many cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case, it is a pavilion-like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space. South west of the Diwan-i-Am and next to the Turkic Sultana's House stand Turkic Baths.
Diwan-i-Khas: the Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. However it is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.
Ibadat Khana: (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where the foundations of a new Syncretistic faith, Din-e-Ilahi were laid by Akbar.
Anup Talao: A ornamental pool with a central platform and four bridges leading up to it. Some of the important buildings of the royal enclave are surround by it including, Khwabgah (House of Dreams) Akbar's residence, Panch Mahal, a five-storey palace, Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Ankh Michauli and the Astrologer's Seat, in the south-west corner of the Pachisi Court.
Hujra-i-Anup Talao: Said to be the residence of Akbar's Muslim wife, although this is disputed due to its small size.
Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace: The building of Akbar's Rajput wives, including Mariam-uz-Zamani, shows Gujarati influence and is built around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy.
Naubat Khana: Also known as Naqqar Khana meaning a drum house, where musician used drums to announce the arrival of the Emperor. It is situated ahead of the Hathi Pol Gate or the Elephant Gate, the south entrance to the complex, suggesting that it was the imperial entrance.
Pachisi Court: A square marked out as a large board game, the precursor to modern day Ludo game where people served as the playing pieces.
Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure, with the tiers gradually diminishing in size, till the final one, which is a single large-domed chhatri. Originally pierced stone screens faced the façade, and probably sub-divided the interior as well, suggesting it was built for the ladies of the court. The floors are supported by intricately carved columns on each level, totalling to 176 columns in all.
Birbal's House: The house of Akbar's favorite minister, who was a Hindu. Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or chajjas and the brackets which support them.
Recent excavation done by ASI in 2000 led to unearthing of an ancient jain city very near to the fort complex.
Other buildings included Taksal (mint), 'Daftar Khana (Records Office), Karkhanas (royal workshop), Khazana (treasury), Turkic styled Baths, Darogha's Quarters, stables, Caravan sarai, Hakim's quarters etc.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Fatehpur Sikri has a population of 28,757. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Fatehpur Sikri has an average literacy rate of 46%, lower than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 57%, and female literacy is 34%. In Fatehpur Sikri, 59% of the population is under 6 years of age.
ADMINISTRATIVE ESTABLISHMENT
Fatehpur Sikri is one of the fifteen Block headquarters in the Agra district it has 52 Gram panchayats (Village Panchayat) under it.
The Fatehpur Sikri, is a constituency of the Lok Sabha, Lower house of the Indian Parliament, and further comprises five Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments:
Agra Rural
Fatehpur Sikri
Kheragarh
Fatehabad
Bah
In all there are 12 villages of Sisodia Rajputs near Fatehpur Sikri fort in Agra district. These are Daultabad, Nayavas, Satha, korai, Behrawati, Byara, Undera, Kachora, Singarpur, Vidyapur, Onera, Arrua.
TRANSPORT
Fatehpur Sikri is about 39 km. from Agra. The nearest Airport is the Agra Airport (also known as Kheria Airport), 40 km from Fatehpur Sikri. The nearest railway station is the Fatehpur Sikri Railway Station, about one km. from the city centre . It is suitably connected to Agra and neighbouring centres by road, where regular bus services of UPSRTC ply, apart from Tourist buses and taxies.
WIKIPEDIA
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LANGLEY, HENRY, architect; b. 26 Nov. 1836 in Toronto, son of William Langley and Esther Anderson; d. there 9 Jan. 1907.
Henry Langley’s father was a shoemaker who had emigrated from Ireland with his wife and three children, settling in York (Toronto) in 1832. Sometime after 1846 Henry entered the Toronto Academy, a non-denominational private school sharing premises with Knox College. The program of study included English, French, the classics, mathematics, commercial subjects, and the principles of linear drawing, taught by Edward Claxton Bull.
About 1854 Langley was indentured for a period of seven years to Scottish-born architect William Hay*, a capable designer of public buildings and churches in the most approved and up-to-date fashions. Under Hay’s tutelage Langley developed a lucid drafting style, based on the bold, neo-medieval delineation advocated by contemporary British architect William Burges. He also acquired an appreciation for Gothic Revival architecture, including the tenets of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, the revival’s great apologist, and the “science of ecclesiology” (building and decoration in keeping with Anglican high churchmanship) developed by the Cambridge Camden (later the Ecclesiological) Society. Hay specialized in a Gothic style nearly comparable in principle to the work of Frank Wills* (who had introduced ecclesiology into British North America) and of leading Toronto architects Frederic William Cumberland* and William George Storm*. This background proved an invaluable asset in Langley’s future practice, which was said to comprise no fewer than 70 church commissions across Ontario and one as far east as Saint John, N.B.
In 1862 Hay returned to Scotland, leaving his practice to Thomas Gundry, an English-trained architect and civil engineer with whom he had entered into partnership earlier that year. Langley’s early promise is demonstrated by the fact that Gundry took him into partnership immediately. Langley assumed the role of design partner; Gundry’s expertise reportedly lay in valuations and estimates. The new firm built upon Hay’s reputation as a church architect, executing commissions for all denominations. By this period the emblematic associations of the Gothic Revival served both those churches that stressed the sacraments and evangelical churches, which emphasized preaching. Variations to suit differing liturgical requirements were especially marked in the interiors, however, and were indicative of Langley’s adaptability. For example, Alexander Street Church (Baptist) in Toronto (built in 1866 but now demolished) was designed as an open hall with a central pulpit surrounded by seating on three sides, whereas St Patrick’s Church (Roman Catholic) on Dummer Street (1869–70) – renamed Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St Patrick Street – has a long nave leading between narrow aisles to an elevated and apsidal sanctuary, in accordance with the requirements of the mass. East of Toronto, three Anglican churches of the same decade illustrate the variety of materials and scale used by Langley to suit the available resources within a consistent, ecclesiological frame of reference: All Saints’, Whitby, a fairly large brick church of 1865–66; St John’s, Port Hope, a stone church of moderate size built in 1867–68; and St Thomas’, Brooklin, a modest but exemplary chapel of 1869–70 in board and batten.
A work such as St Peter’s Church (Anglican), Carlton Street, Toronto (1865–66), reflects Gundry and Langley’s attempt to deal with the rural models of ecclesiology in an urban setting. This chapel type – aisleless internally and of simple profile externally, apart from a low porch on the south and west sides and an open belfry on the west gable – was derived from St Michael’s at Longstanton, near Cambridge, England, a 13th-century precedent long approved by Puginians and ecclesiologists alike. St Peter’s red-brick body with white-brick detailing was inspired by the “constructional polychromy” recently favoured for town churches by a leading Camdenian, George Edmund Street. An earlier example of a similar type, in red brick with grey granite, is Thomas Fuller*’s St Stephen-in-the-Fields, Toronto (1858), restored by Gundry and Langley following a fire in 1865.
Langley had the distinction of completing Toronto’s two cathedrals. In 1865, during his partnership with Gundry, he designed a bell-chamber and spire for St Michael’s (Roman Catholic). The ornate profile punctuated by crockets complements the Decorated Gothic structure of 1845–48 by William Thomas*. In 1872 Langley also executed a belfry and spire, though with fewer enrichments, for St James’ (Anglican), finishing its porches at the same time. In this instance, however, he seems to have been guided by designs that W. G. Storm had drafted earlier.
Apart from ecclesiastical projects, one of the most important commissions of Gundry and Langley was Government House in Toronto (1867–69), since demolished. The commission constituted a notable piece of provincial patronage. The rather dour mansion itself was a large and early domestic example of the Second Empire style. Under a characteristic mansard roof that gave the building a distinctive high profile, it was symmetrical about a central tower. Langley described it as “designed in the modern French style of architecture which has been adopted largely in American cities, and is rapidly getting into favour in England,” a statement indicative of the growing reliance upon American sources among Canadian architects.
Significant in terms of the firm’s commercial work was the Toronto dry-goods warehouse (1862–63) of John Macdonald*. Remarkable for its “great system and gigantic scale,” this five-storey stone building of Italian Gothic form towered above its neighbours on Wellington Street and was considered an extravagance when commissioned. It soon became the envy of the mercantile community, however, and established a precedent for the ostentatious and large-scale warehouses and office blocks of the future, many of which would be executed by the Langley firm.
After Gundry’s untimely death in 1869, Langley practised on his own for three years, one of the most productive periods of his career. He was assisted by his nephew Edmund Burke* and by Frank Darling*, who had begun their articles with him in the mid 1860s and would go on to be counted among the country’s foremost architects. Following an unsatisfactory competition in 1868–69, Langley, the runner-up, wrested the commission for Metropolitan Church on McGill Square in Toronto from the first-prize winner, W. G. Stone. Langley proposed a virtual cathedral of Methodism in 14th-century French Gothic style. The exterior, of white brick trimmed in stone, appeared to be a conventional basilican design complete with shallow transepts and semi-polygonal apse. The interior, however, consisted of a rectangular auditorium encircled by a gallery, and the apsidal portion was filled with lecture halls and Sunday-school rooms. Built in 1870–72, it was extensively altered after a fire in 1928 and the tower is the only part that is now recognizable as Langley’s work. His designs for evangelical congregations continued to combine traditional Gothic exteriors with auditorium plans until late in the 1880s, when Edmund Burke, then a junior partner, would adopt a Romanesque revival model influenced by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
The eighth Post Office (1872–74), by Langley, was begun while Metropolitan Church was in progress but was in an enriched version of the Second Empire style. It crowned the vista on Toronto Street at Adelaide, in the heart of the city’s business district. Initially the Canadian government had obtained plans from Alfred B. Mullett, supervising architect for the American Department of Treasury. In 1870 these were turned over to Langley, who was instructed to retain “the dimensions and interior arrangements for postal purposes.” His scheme incorporated key features of the archetype adopted by Mullett for federal buildings throughout the United States, including paired orders at every level of the frontispiece, flanking pavilions of channelled ashlar, and a bulbous dome at the centre. That the government had requested Mullett’s assistance confirms once more the tendency to rely upon American models, a practice increasingly common towards the end of the century. Unfortunately this focal landmark was demolished in 1958.
In 1873, part way through these important projects, Langley formally took his brother Edward, a builder, and Edmund Burke into partnership: Langley, Langley, and Burke. After Edward dropped out of the firm in 1883 and moved to California, it was known as Langley and Burke. The number of employees in its drafting room increased dramatically in response to a growing volume of work, and operational methods began to parallel those of some of the larger architectural practices in the United States. The list of draftsmen includes several, in addition to Burke and Darling, who were to become prominent in the next generation of architects, including Murray Alexander White and John Charles Batstone Horwood.
Throughout the 1870s Langley’s firm handled a prodigious amount of commercial work in Toronto in various styles, ranging from Second Empire for the Bank of British North America (1871–73) and the Imperial Chambers (1874) to High Victorian Gothic for the offices of the Union Loan and Savings Company (1878–80) and the Building and Loan Association (1878), and from commercial palazzi for Stovel and Armstrong, tailors (1873), and Thomas May and Company (1877) to American néo-grec for Canada Life Assurance (1874–75). All but the bank have been demolished, and its symmetrical appearance has been significantly altered by the relocation of its entrance from the Wellington Street face to the Yonge Street front. These works set the tone for the firm’s most innovative schemes, among them the Army and Navy Store of 1887–88 for William A. Thompson (doubled in size about 1890–91), which still stands on King Street East nearly opposite St James’ Cathedral. Iron and terracotta play important structural and decorative roles here. A monumental arch extends the shop windows of the ground floor up through the fully glazed second floor to the top of the third, creating a high ratio of glass to solid wall; a more conventional grouping of windows in the fourth storey terminates the structure.
Much of the later work credited to Langley, including the Army and Navy Store, McMaster Hall on Bloor Street (1880–81), Sherbourne Street Methodist Church (1886–87), and Western (later Trinity) Methodist (1888–89) at Bloor and Major streets, is attributable to Edmund Burke, who acted as Langley’s design partner during this period. This conclusion is supported by Burke’s comments, his long association with the family of William McMaster*, building-committee minutes for the projects in question, and a plan of the firm’s office, published in Canadian Architect and Builder in 1890. This plan shows that Burke’s own office, which had direct access to and overlooked the drafting room, contained a drafting table and a writing-desk, whereas Langley had only a desk, an indication that he must have carried little more than administrative responsibilities by this date. Langley’s management of the office was none the less a driving force behind the firm’s success.
Committed to artistic excellence, Langley was involved in the 1860s as a judge in the fine-art section of the exhibitions sponsored by the Agricultural Association of Upper Canada. In 1873 he became a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, and his partnership began to contribute to its annual exhibitions. Three years later he served on the selection committee for the American centennial exhibition in Philadelphia; a lithograph submitted by the firm earned one of four bronze medals presented by Canada’s commission there. And in 1880 Langley was named a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, depositing as his diploma work a perspective (rendered by Frank Darling) of the design for Metropolitan Church. From 1881 to 1901 he was the academy’s auditor and for several years he sat as a councillor.
Langley’s concern for the status of the architectural profession is clear from his role in the creation of an architects’ association in Toronto in 1876. Within a year this had become the Canadian Institute of Architects, but it folded sometime after February 1878. In the following decade Langley was among the early members of the Architectural Guild of Toronto, founded in 1887. He also worked for the formation of the Ontario Association of Architects in 1889 and the endowment that year of a chair in architecture at the School of Practical Science on the University of Toronto campus. The standards he set in his practice inspired his students to take an equally active interest in the profession.
Langley was an exceptional practitioner by virtue of the unusual size of some of his commissions, the scale of his practice, and the numbers of architects he trained. Through his churches he left his stamp on the skyline of a great many Ontario towns. At the same time his work was representative for he was rarely adventurous. That he was so conservative is not surprising considering that he was among the first generation of architects born and trained in English-speaking Canada. His career serves to link the era of the immigrant British architect and received tradition with the succeeding generation, educated in modern building technology and abreast of North American developments. When Burke left the firm during a building recession in 1892 to purchase the practice of the late W. G. Storm and take over the commissions unfinished at his death, Langley’s son Charles Edward (the first graduate of the department of architecture established at the School of Practical Science in 1890) joined his father’s firm, which continued as Langley and Langley.
Henry Langley’s health began to fail about 1898 and he died in 1907, but his sympathetic nature and his commitment to the profession were not forgotten. His colleagues remembered him as “a man of great kindness of heart, upright in all his dealings . . . , and one who from first to last upheld and practised honourably his chosen profession.” For all the warmth of character he evidently possessed, Langley was a private man. His political allegiances are not known. He was a member of the Toronto Board of Trade. The census records most often identify his religious affiliation as Plymouth Brethren, whereas his parents were Baptist. About 1866 he married Anne Booth from England, and they are reported to have had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. One son, Ernest Felix, became a professor of linguistics at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Another, Frederick William, practised architecture in Chicago. Charles continued his father’s office and in 1907 formed a partnership with one of Langley’s former students, William Ford Howland. Henry Langley was buried in the Necropolis, for which he had designed the chapel, superintendent’s lodge, and entrance gates in 1871–72.
Initially I thought they were trying to tell us that the big thing this Spring, hot off the Paris catwalks, is going to be our birthday suits. Then I saw the notice that said Principles have been passed into the hands of the administrators.
I'm gutted. Where's a 5'2" short person supposed to buy her jeans from now? Ones from other shops just don't fit the same.....
2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
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The Tao of Epic Landscape Photography: Exalt Fine Art with the Yin-Yang Wisdom of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching!
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I love voyaging forth into nature to contemplate poetry, physics, the golden ratio, and the Tao te Ching! What's your favorite epic poetry reflecting epic landscapes? I recently finished a book titled Epic Poetry for Epic Landscape Photographers:
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Did you know that John Muir, Thoreau, and Emerson all loved epic poetry and poets including Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, and Robert Burns?
I recently finished my fourth book on Light Time Dimension Theory, much of which was inspired by an autumn trip to Zion!
www.facebook.com/lightimedimensiontheory/
Via its simple principle of a fourth expanding dimension, LTD Theory provides a unifying, foundational *physical* model underlying relativity, quantum mechanics, time and all its arrows and asymmetries, and the second law of thermodynamics. The detailed diagrams demonstrate that the great mysteries of quantum mechanical nonlocality, entanglement, and probability naturally arise from the very same principle that fosters relativity alongside light's constant velocity, the equivalence of mass and energy, and time dilation.
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2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
2019 Women’s Empowerment Principles Forum: Organized by UN Women, UN Global Compact and UN Office of Partnerships. Annual flagship event on gender equality for the private sector, bringing together 500+ other leaders and innovators from business, government, civil society, academia and the UN. The Forum participants gain exposure to new knowledge on strategies for advancing women's empowerment in the future of work, through gender-lens investing and by addressing sexual harassment in the world of work.
speakers included:
Robert Skinner, Executive Director, UN Office of Partnerships; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women; Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, UN Global Compact; Ambassador Maria Marinaki, Principal Advisor on Gender and the Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, European Union; Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary General, UNCTAD; Patricia Greene, Director, Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labour; Suzanne Biegel, Founder, Catalyst at Large; Carlos André, Executive Director, Banco de Brasil DTVM; Michael Denham, CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada; Sarah Chen, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Billion Dollar Fund for Women; Stephanie Queda Cruz, Head of Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Inter-American Development Bank; Deborah Gibbins, Chief Operating Officer, Mary Kay; Diana Kobas Deskovic, Founder, Mamforce; Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas; Michael Ptasznik, CFO, Nasdaq; Banu Isci Sezen, General Manager, Turkcell Academy, Turkcell; Anne Claire Berg, Diversity and Inclusion Director, Danone; Purna Sen, Executive Coordinator and Spokesperson on Sexual Harassment and Other Forms of Discrimination, UN Women; Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Valeri Chekheria, CEO, Adjara Group; Emmanuel Lulin, Senior Vice President & Chief Ethics Officer, L’Oreal; Lebo Ramafoko, CEO, Soul Institute; Katherine Bell, Editor in Chief, Barron’s
Photo: UN Women/Amanda Voisard
Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape & Nature Photography
New book page!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Epic Landscape Photography: The Mythological Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography
Golden Number Ratio Divine Proportion Compositions Fine Art Photography Dr. Elliot McGucken : Using the Nature's Golden Cut to Exalt Nature Photography!
Join my golden ratio groups!
www.facebook.com/goldennumberratio/
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Dr. Elliot McGucken Fine Art Landscape & Nature Photography
New book page!
www.facebook.com/epiclandscapephotography/
Epic Landscape Photography: The Mythological Principles of Fine Art Nature Photography
Ansel Adams used the golden ratio in his photography too:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlzAaBgsDI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrOUX3ZCl7I
The Fibonacci Numbers are closely related to the golden ratio, and thus they also play a prominent role in exalted natural and artistic compositions!
I'm working on a far deeper book titled The Golden Ratio Number for Photographers. :)
The famous mathematician Jacob Bernoulli wrote:
The (golden spiral) may be used as a symbol, either of fortitude and constancy in adversity, or of the human body, which after all its changes, even after death, will be restored to its exact and perfect self.
Engraved upon Jacob’s tombstone is a spiral alongside the words, "Eadem Mutata Resurgo," meaning "Though changed, I shall rise again." And so it is that within the Golden Ratio Principle, the golden harmonies rise yet again.
The golden ratio is oft known as the divine cut, the golden cut, the divine proportion, the golden number, and PHI for the name of the architect of the Parthenon Phidias. It has exalted classical art on down through the millennia and it can exalt your art too!
Ask me anything about the golden ratio! :) I will do my best to answer!!
Enjoy my Fine Art Ballet instagram too!
Dr. Elliot McGucken's Golden Ratio Principle: The Golden Number Ratio Principle: Dr. E’s Golden Ratio Principle: The golden ratio exalts beauty because the number is a characteristic of the mathematically and physically most efficient manners of growth and distribution, on both evolutionary and purely physical levels. The golden ratio ensures that the proportions and structure of that which came before provide the proportions and structure of that which comes after. Robust, ordered growth is naturally associated with health and beauty, and thus we evolved to perceive the golden ratio harmonies as inherently beautiful, as we saw and felt their presence in all vital growth and life—in the salient features and proportions of humans and nature alike, from the distribution of our facial features and bones to the arrangements of petals, leaves, and sunflowers seeds. As ratios between Fibonacci Numbers offer the closest whole-number approximations to the golden ratio, and as seeds, cells, leaves, bones, and other physical entities appear in whole numbers, the Fibonacci Numbers oft appear in nature’s elements as “growth’s numbers.” From the dawn of time, humanity sought to salute their gods in art and temples exalting the same proportion by which all their vital sustenance and they themselves had been created—the golden ratio. the golden number, rectangle, and spiral!