"Dream Weaver" by Bodhi Smith

Mar 25, 2022

"dream weaver" is my brand new impression and blog...
 
​"​this place is part of me, as i'm part of it. ​​i belong here. i belong under the stars​. ​forever looking up into the heavens, ​a simple dream weaver​ connecting the celestial​​​ to the terrestrial​​,​ with my feet on the ground and my head in the ​stars"​ ​― bodhinku, ​dream weaver​
 
"we, the people, 
gifted with dreams from above, 
everyday, we weave them into 
existence. dreams of 
love more concrete than 
any illusion out there. 
we, the people, 
the dream weavers, 
can learn how to 
weave beautiful lives of 
dreams. the warp and weft of 
life, canvass of love's painting"
 
"i don't know much of anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream" ― vincent van gogh
 
"fly me high through the starry skies maybe to an astral plane. cross the highways of fantasy, help me to forget today's pain. ooh, dream weaver, i believe you can get me through the night" ― gary wright, dream weaver
 
"we're the people responsible for weaving dreams from the heavens above into our lives down here on earth...no one else will do it if we don't do it for ourselves. i believe it's a skill. we need to learn how to weave dreams into reality...let's keep on weaving!" ― bo syrotiak, dream weavers
 
"illusions may fade, but the sublime remains" ― vincent van gogh  
 
this song is a sentimental favorite of mine, a classic folk tune by don maclean (who was best know for his famous tune "american pie") from the mid 1970's...the song is about van gogh and how his paintings moved don, touching him deeply to his soul (enough so to write a song about vincent!)...all these emotions making don feel the travesty that people just never understood vincent in his lifetime or even now...there could not be a better or more perfect song to accompany this blog and help you to connect music with the deeper meaning of my impression today: "vincent (starry, starry night)" by don maclean ... (just click on any of the words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection)....

"starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and grey. look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul. shadows on the hills sketch the trees and the daffodils, catch the breeze and the winter chills in colors on the snowy linen land...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...starry, starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze. swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in vincent's eyes of china blue. colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain, weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...for they could not love you, but still your love was true. and when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night, you took your life, as lovers often do. but i could have told you, vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you...starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls. frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget, like the strangers that you've met. the ragged men in the ragged clothes, the silver thorn, a bloody rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow...now i think i know what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they're not listening still, perhaps they never will" ― don maclean, vincent (starry, starry night)

"in the case of my song 'vincent', i thought of van gogh's picture 'starry night.' it was a beautiful road-map for a song. i used a lot of imagery from that painting" ― don maclean, vincent (starry, starry night)
 
"his eyes like stars in the sky
lit my world
his lips like clouds 
brought respite on a hot day
our innocence in the air 
joined two hearts into one." ― bo syrotiak
 
"oh, my life is changing everyday in every possible way. and oh, my dreams it's never quite as it seems, never quite as it seems. i know i felt like this before but now i'm feeling it even more because it came from you. then i open up and see the person falling here is me, a different way to be...i want more, impossible to ignore, impossible to ignore. and they'll come true, impossible not to do, impossible not to do. and now i tell you openly: you have my heart so don't hurt me. you're what i couldn't find, a totally amazing mind so understanding and so kind, you're everything to me. oh, my life is changing everyday, in every possible way. and oh, my dreams, it's never quite as it seems, because you're a dream to me, dream to me..." ― the cranberries, dreams 
 
"born to dream 
of truth
born to dream 
of you and i
together." 
 
"​my dreams embody my hopes and my aspirations mixed in with my experiences and memories. these dreams are really a bridge teleporting my past into my future, fusing me with ​my​ present, weaving me into t​he love of here and now​" ― bodhinku, dream weaver​
 
"i'm a dream weaver of my passions. putting the things i love most into one dream. looking past the impossibilities and limits of reality, looking into my visions and fantasies. wrapping magical realism into a photograph " ― bodhinku, dream weaver 
----------------------
 
MEANING
"there was a boy, that boy with the real love letters written in his name...he was meant to be loved. so, there was this girl...she was meant to be loved. that girl who travelled from afar in the world to find that boy with the love letters written in his name. she knew she would give him the love that no one else knew how to give. she would love him for all the people who've withdrawn that love from him. inside, he was that little boy just wanting to be loved for who he truly was. she saw him. the real him...the real little boy with sparkling blue eyes filled with excitement and love, she recognized him immediately. he was the one who wrote the love letters in his name. he was the one who wrote those letters upon the stars of her soul before she was born. they were reunited across his universe. across her universe, their souls are filled with love, together they are love. that boy and this girl, their names now together. they are nirvana together in their glowing dreams in reality" ― bodhinku, dream weaver​
 
"dream" is defined by merriam-webster as:
1. a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep
2. experiences of waking life having characteristics of deep imagination or releases from reality
3. something notable for its beauty, excellence, or enjoyable quality
4. a strongly desired goal or purpose; something that fully satisfies a wish
 
"weaver" is defined by merriam-webster as:​
​1. something that ​make​s​ a complex story​,​ pattern​, or cloth​ from a number of interconnected elements
 
​i dream allot, both at night in my sleep, but also during the day with my imaginations and visions..i'm lucky to remember my dreams​...my dreams embody my hopes and my aspirations mixed in with my experiences and memories. these dreams are really a bridge teleporting my past into my future, fusing me with ​my​ present, weaving me into t​he love of here and now​...my mind becomes the dream weaver, creating the complex story of me, woven from all the interconnected elements in my life--my memories, thoughts, and my emotions...
 
​but like all my other impressions, the meaning of this image goes deeper, much deeper in the case here, because this location mixed with the stars is something very personal for me...​
 
i chose this spot for this photographic creation because it's home. ​this place is part of me, as i'm part of it. ​​i belong here. i belong under the stars​. ​forever looking up into the heavens, ​a simple dream weaver​ connecting the celestial​​​ to the terrestrial,​ with my feet on the ground and my head in the ​stars...
 
unfortunately the reality of the problem is that you cannot ever see the stars and milky way over the o'side pier like this. there's too much man-made light, a.k.a. "light pollution" on the pacific coast of southern california. the bright lights create glare in the atmosphere which blocks out our ability to see the beautiful dark night sky like this. mankind and his drive to create civilization beside the majestic sea has seen to that impossibility. there would need to be a massive power outage and blackout at the right time to be able to see anything remotely like this in oceanside, ca...
 
so this image is a fantasy of mine. all those times spent fruitlessly wishing i could see the stars and milky way out over the pier, i've instead created my vision in a photograph..."i dream my photograph, and i photograph my dream"...
 
it's be no means any coincidence that i chose this spot for my dreamy composition here...
 
i'm emotionally and spiritually connected to the pier in oceanside, california, which is also the city of my birth. i've so many fond memories of this beach and this pier throughout my life. pretty sure this spot is where i took my first steps in the pacific ocean, and just to the right of the pier is where i learned to surf. i've spent many a night here contemplating life, the universe, and everything. sharing time with girls, or friends, or just hanging out all alone by myself. it holds a special place in my heart, always. it's home, pure and simple, always was, always will be...
 
and oh how i love the stars! i fell in love with the stars while spending time in a car on trips across the desert, staring out the back window as i was laying and riding in the cubby hole of my parent's volkswagen beetle. i loved how no matter where we went and travelled, the stars were always there for me, all i needed to do was just look up to them to feel loved and at peace...
 
i would weave the stars into my dreams, visioning travels to distant places, but always being comforted in those same dreams with coming home to oceanside, ca...and my life now as an adult does not change much...i still dream of the stars, and i travel the world to places i've dreamed of visiting. and i always love coming back home to the unique smell of sage brush and salt in the air, coming back to the simple comforts of my home in southern california...
 
i'm a dream weaver of my passions. putting the things i love most into one dream. looking past the impossibilities and limits of reality, looking into my visions and fantasies. wrapping magical realism into a photograph...all i can do is smile, and love, and exist, and create art, and keep dreaming my inspirations...hope you love my image today as much as i do, because it's truly a huge part of me, a huge part of who i am...
 
"​i'm love. ​​i dream of love. i write of love. i listen to love. i see love. i feel love. i photograph love. i weave love into everything. i love, love. i live love. i'm in love all day and all night, especially when i dream. love is everywhere​" ― bodhinku, dream weaver
 
this tune is by far the most perfect accompaniment for my impression and blog today, for multiple reasons, plus the song also has the exact same tile as my photo here..."dream weaver" by gary wright ... (just click on any of words in the powder blue links to listen to the song)...
 
"i've just closed my eyes again, climbed aboard the dream weaver train. driver take away my worries of today, and leave tomorrow behind. ooh, dream weaver, i believe you can get me through the night. ooh, dream weaver, i believe we can reach the morning light...fly me high through the starry skies maybe to an astral plane. cross the highways of fantasy, help me to forget today's pain. ooh, dream weaver, i believe you can get me through the night. ooh, dream weaver, i believe we can reach the morning light...though the dawn may be coming soon, there still may be some time. fly me away to the bright side of the moon, meet me on the other side. ooh, dream weaver, i believe you can get me through the night. ooh, dream weaver, i believe we can reach the morning light...dream weaver, dream weaver" ― gary wright, dream weaver
 
"i dream, to
breathe, to
sigh, to
float, above
clouds, over
raindrops, through
sunrise and sunset, across
the starry sky, beyond
the milky way, into
my every atom, throughout" 
 
"i dream my photograph, and i photograph my dream..." ― bodhinku, my dream
----------------------
 
​VINCENT AND ​STORY BEHIND THIS IMPRESSION​​
"no single other artist has had a deeper, more of a profound affect on my photography than vincent van gogh...not only his paintings, but also who vincent was as a man, a loving yet troubled and misunderstood man, lost in a tragic world he was trying to express in his artwork..." ― bodhinku, vincent
 
vincent van gogh is easily the one artist with the greatest influence on me and my artistic expressions. the impact of his artwork can be clearly seen and discovered within all my photo impressions...
 
this image of mine, “dream weaver” was inspired by one of vincent’s most popular paintings, a work of art that is also one of my own personal favorites of his, named "starry night over the rhone." which he painted almost two years before painting his masterpiece, "the starry night"...and i created ​my impression today ​in a way that reflects the deeply profound influence vincent has on this photograph as well as my style of photography...
 
"starry night over the rhone" by vincent van gogh (september 1888)
 
and, what you see here is another one of my dreams, a magical realism from the depths of my mind that is heavily inspired by the idea of what i think maybe vincent van gogh dreamed about at night: the stars...so this is my fourth humble attempt to do just that, put together a composition representing both his dreams and mine, and a scene that would be difficult at best to see in “real life“…
 
"i don't know much of anything with certainty, but seeing the stars makes me dream" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i experience a period of frightening clarity in those moments when nature is so beautiful. i am no longer sure of myself, and the paintings appear as in a dream" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters

many times, people ask that silly question "if you could meet one person in the world and have a conversation with them, who would you chose?" i truly wish that i could have met vincent in person, and talked all night with him about life, art, nature, the stars, and sunflowers...

this impression of mine is totally inspired by vincent, not just his paintings of stars, but also the artist behind the work as well, his story, so inspiring even though it is both joyful and sad at times, i can relate to his thoughts, writings, his expressions in his paintings, and how he felt and lived...i can relate to all of it and truly know how he felt, i can empathize as there are so many similarities to my life and his...​so as such, ​i​'​ve always felt such a deep empathy for vincent...i​'​m very much able to relate to everything i​'​ve come to understand about him, and his work will always be a huge influence on ​each an every single artistic  impression i capture and create​...
 
"i often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
 
"one of the most beautiful things to do is to paint darkness, paint the void which nevertheless has light in it, just like the starry night" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
 
"be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. then life seems almost enchanted after all" ― vincent van gogh

"when i have a terrible need of - shall i say the word - religion, then i go out and paint the stars" ― vincent van gogh
 
"you can feel the stars and the infinity of the sky...since life, in spite of everything, is like a fairytale.” ― vincent van gogh
 
"oh, how the earth from afar, shines like a star" ― vincent van gogh
 
van gogh was far from being viewed as normal, he walked his own path of eccentricity. vincent was often lost, lonely, and up and down with his emotions and moods. often questioning his artworks and his meaning in the art world, as well as in the world of life (similar to myself)...a person could look into his ​bright ​blue eyes and never fully understand what exactly was going on behind those blue eyes (just like me)...but always he had his love of nature around him & his desire to paint that beauty as he saw it with those blue eyes. his passion for his artwork was there for him to turn to, to give him meaning, purpose, and raise his spirits (like me too)...

"normality is a paved road: it’s comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it " ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters
 
"art is to console those who are broken by life" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i thought i would be understood without words" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo     

he had no children (like me), he was seen as a loner (like me as well)...usually misunderstood, and all too often off the beaten path doing his own thing (very much like me as well), regardless of what anyone else said, but he did care about what others thought of him, even though he often wrote that he didn’t (same as me). he was a deeply sensitive being, and so often got his hopes up, only to have them dashed, and he then turned to drinking absinthe all too often in excess to help him cope with his doubts and worries (just like i did for many years with beer). he seemed tormented all too often, but then extremely happy at other times...but even in his deepest melancholy states, he always held his hopes and dreams, and positivity (once again, i can relate!)
 
"i take great care of myself by carefully shutting myself away " ― vincent van gogh, dear theo    
  
"it's so easy to love. the only hard thing is to be loved" ― vincent van gogh
 
"what am i in the eyes of most people? i'm a nonentity, an eccentric, or seen as an unpleasant person...somebody who has no position in society and will never have; in short, the lowest of the low. all right, then...even if that were absolutely true, then i should one day like to show by my work what such an eccentric, such a nobody, has in his heart. that is my ambition, based less on resentment than on love in spite of everything, based more on a feeling of serenity than on passion. though i am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. i see paintings or drawings in the poorest cottages, in the dirtiest corners. and my mind is driven towards these things with an irresistible momentum" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters    
 
"how difficult it is to be simple!" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"i try more and more to be myself, caring relatively little whether people approve or disapprove" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters
 
"the only time i really feel alive is when i'm painting" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo   

vincent van gogh was not trying to make an exact copy of reality in his paintings. he did not use his choices of colors merely to imitate nature, but to express emotion...and through his inspirational guidance, this is something that i​'​ve also always done in all of my photographic impressions…
 
“exaggerate the essential, leave the obvious vague" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"what color is to a picture, enthusiasm is in life" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"i exaggerate, i sometimes make changes to the subject, but still i don’t invent the whole of the painting; on the contrary, i find it ready-made, but to be untangled, in the real world" ― vincent van gogh 
   
"i must continue to follow the path i take now. if i do nothing, if i study nothing, if i cease searching, then, woe is me, i am lost. that is how i look at it...keep going, follow the stars, keep going, come what may, keep going" ― vincent van gogh
     
it's a shame he lived only 37yrs, just an epic tragedy...no single other artist has had a deeper, more of a profound affect on my photography than vincent van gogh...not only his paintings, but also who vincent was as a man, a loving yet troubled and misunderstood man, lost in a tragic world he was trying to express in his artwork... 
 
"i hope to depart in no other way than looking back with love and wistfulness and thinking, oh the paintings that i would have made..." ― vincent van gogh, dear theo 
 
“vincent van gogh used to eat yellow paint because he thought it would get the happiness inside him. many people thought he was mad and stupid for doing so because the paint was toxic, never mind that it was obvious that eating paint couldn't possibly have any direct correlation to one's happiness, but i never saw that....because, if you were so unhappy that even the maddest ideas could possibly work, like painting the walls of your internal organs yellow, then you are going to do it. it's really no different than falling in love or taking drugs. there is a greater risk of getting your heart broken or overdosing, but people still do it everyday because there was always that chance it could make things better. everyone has their own yellow paint" ― alexandra timmer
 
and if you get the chance to go and experience the "beyond van gogh" exhibit when it comes to a venue close to your town, i highly recommend it! (i got to go to the one here in san diego a couple times: beyond van gogh san diego LINK)
 
this is a short video of me standing in the van gogh masterpiece, "starry night over the rhone (1888)": bodhi van gogh experience 
 
the above video and portrait of me below were both captured by bo syrotiak and here are some of her words describing her experience..."i accompanied bodhi on a magical journey through the universe filled with van gogh masterpieces. i saw bodhi light up like one of the swirly stars that van gogh so beautifully captured. bodhi carried that light with grace and compassion as we meandered through the beyond van gogh exhibition. together, we got lost in the mystery of van gogh's life. it was a special treat to partake in the synchronous merger of bodhi with the spirit of vincent. we and many others, in absolute awe, became one of the stars in van gogh's starry night..."
 
 
on a side note...​four and a half​ years ago in october of 2017, dorota kobiela created a motion picture animated magically using vincent's oil paintings entitled "loving vincent"...the film took 10 years to create the director/writer's vision, and is beyond genius in my humble opinion. it's about vincent's emotions and thoughts at the end of his life, and the controversy surrounding van gogh's mysterious death...it's absolutely a resoundingly beautiful movie, if you ever get the chance to watch it, i would high recommend and encourage it...click on vincent's self portrait here, or on the link below the image and it  will take you on a magical journey through the movie's trailer:
 
 
...and if you like to read behind the scenes stuff from "loving vincent", especially ones related directly to works painted by vincent, this blog is nothing less than exceptional: http://lovingvincent.com/blogs,203,pl.html   

"if you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"at present i absolutely want to paint a starry sky. it often seems to me that night is still more richly coloured than the day; having hues of the most intense violets, blues and greens. if only you pay attention to it, you will see that certain stars are lemon-yellow, others pink or a green, blue and forget-me-not brilliance. and without my expatiating on this theme, it is obvious that putting little white dots on the blue-black is not enough to paint a starry sky" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo   
 
"how rich art is, if one can only remember what one has seen, one is never empty of thoughts or truly lonely, never alone" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo  
 
and here is a cover of don maclean's beautiful song, "vincent (starry, starry night)", this was a highlighted song in the movie "loving vincent": "vincent" by ellie goulding ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...  

"starry, starry night, paint your palette blue and grey. look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul. shadows on the hills sketch the trees and the daffodils, catch the breeze and the winter chills in colors on the snowy linen land...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...starry, starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze. swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in vincent's eyes of china blue. colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain, weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand...now i understand what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now...for they could not love you, but still your love was true. and when no hope was left in sight on that starry, starry night, you took your life, as lovers often do. but i could have told you, vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you...starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls. frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget, like the strangers that you've met. the ragged men in the ragged clothes, the silver thorn, a bloody rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow...now i think i know what you tried to say to me. and how you suffered for your sanity, and how you tried to set them free. they would not listen, they're not listening still, perhaps they never will" ― ellie goulding, vincent (don maclean cover)
 
"i have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i want to touch people with my art. i want them to say 'he feels deeply, he feels tenderly'." ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters
 
"everyone said to vincent van gogh, "you can't be a great painter, you only have one ear." and you know what he said? "i can't hear you" ― steve carell, comic 
 
"the night cafe and the starry night still emit such pathos, density, and intensity that they send shivers down the spine. whether vincent [van gogh] thought in color or felt with his intellect, the radical color, dynamic distortion, heart, soul, and part-by-part structure in these paintings make him a bridge to a new vision and the vision itself" ― jerry saltz   
 
"when van gogh painted the starry night as a swirling mass of cosmic energy, he may have been painting what he saw with neurotic eyes, but he was also painting what he saw with transcendent eyes. the first gave his painting mere form, the second gave it formless, universal emotion that connects directly to the viewer" ― amit goswami, quantum creativity
 
 "when you see a paul gauguin [painting], you think: this man is living in a dream world. but when you see a vincent van gogh [painting], you think: this dream world is living in a man" ― adam gopnik
 
​"​this place is part of me, as 
i'm part of it. ​​i belong here. 
i belong under the stars​. ​forever 
looking up into the heavens, ​a simple 
dream weaver​ connecting the 
celestial​​​ to the terrestrial​​,​ with 
my feet on the ground and 
my head in the ​stars"​ ​― bodhinku, ​dream weaver​
---------------------
 
MORE BODHIKU QUOTES
and now here are a few more quotes from bodhinku from past blogs to help add to the deeper meaning of this blog today...
 
"when dreaming or being fully awake, run towards yourself, do not run away. love is the destination. pain is just the middleman, suffering is optional" ― bodhinku, love and pain
 
"realistically, i'm an endlessly flawed person...i'm the stubborn creek with many rocks that doesn't flow easily, a clear blue sky filled chatty blackbirds. i have way too many shortcomings to count. i'm the rainbow that’s not long enough, a starry night cluttered with clouds, a sunrise in the dense fog...but alas, i'm grateful for the lady in my life who accepts me just this way. and i can only deeply appreciate all the people in my life who look past my stubborn rocks, love the blue sky with too many chatty blackbirds, remain patient with a rainbow that isn’t long enough, knowing with certainty the stars will come out from behind the clouds and the dense fog will burn off...and because of this, i am taught love. because of this, i love my lady, my family, my friends. i love these people with all my heart" ― bodhinku, a starry night with clouds 
   
"in sweet silence of the star light, i see her radiance glowing bright above, i feel her angelic innocence, i play in her magical wilderness...i know my focus is always up to her" ― bodhinku, bright above 
 
"i could be having the worst day, week, month...i found a beautiful night sky split down the middle by the milky way can cure almost any wound, cleansing me of almost every single meaningless thought occupying my time" ― bodhinku, immersion 
 
"realize, the single most important juncture between heaven and earth is, you" ― bodhinku, juncture  
 
"to find real peace is simple, all you need do is immerse yourself in the silence between breaths" ― bodhinku, immersion 
 
"if your love for me was a star in the sky, my love for you would be the milky way, glowing alive with billions of you inside of me" ― bodhinku, signs from somewhere over the milky way 
 
"in my dreams, 
there you are each night. 
in my dreams, 
i've always known you. 
in my dreams, 
we talk without talking. 
in my dreams, 
we're lovers all-night-long under the milky way. 
in my dreams, 
we're entwined & connected in passion's embrace. 
in my dreams, 
we glow as one in erupting rapture. 
in my dreams, 
we sleep in peace spooning together... 
there you are, but it seems only 
in my dreams." ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"eternally each night, she glows down freely from the heavens. however, without somebody to see her, she has no meaning...his eye is what interprets her impression. his eye sees and understands her for who she is...his eye creates the art of her light for all to see, and captures her beauty forever...he becomes the eye of her light, he becomes her meaning...and she becomes his purpose" ― bodhinku, his eye-her light
 
"magic is real....it's made up of all the things we cannot hold in our hands, things we know exist without a doubt in our mind. things like time, water, light, dreams, music, memories, and love....magic is real" ― bodhinku, magic
 
"dream of one day. but just be sure to live today. be awake and make every moment count" ― bodhinku, dream awake
 
"i know i can't search for happiness. happiness will never come to me. happiness can only come from within me, even if all my dreams of her come true" ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"in my dreams, there you are each night. in my dreams, i've always known you. in my dreams, we talk without talking. in my dreams, we're lovers all-night-long under the milky way. in my dreams, we're entwined and connected in passion's embrace. in my dreams, we glow as one in erupting rapture. in my dreams, we sleep in peace spooning together...there you are, but it seems only, in my dreams" ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"close your eyes, see me smile. take a deep breath...and as you read this, at this very second, across all time and space, i'm kissing you, my loving hug is floating around you as a soft sigh when you exhale that next breath" ― bodhinku, dreams
  
"the girl of my dreams
all night you glow in starlight
so real it all seems" 
 
"somebody
to lay with,
nothing in between.
lost in a breath
existing in a dream.
to be naked
to our souls
and give everything unseen." 
 
"until the day you are in my arms, you are the warmth in my heart flowing through all of my veins. you stay deep in my spirit as the light in the darkness. you're transcending my subconsciousness as the sweet guardian angel watching over me, right there always in each lucid dream about our love and faith in each other" ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"i've known from my dreams that i've always known you. there you are each night, forever present, a beautiful light. my lucid glowing emanation, the girl of my dreams" ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"she's my dream girl, and i'm warmed in a blanket of her smiles each night as i sleep" ― bodhinku, dream girl
 
"she's my dream, something i can't photograph. she's my dream girl and i long for the day she walks out of my dreams and becomes my dream come true" ― bodhinku, in my dreams
 
"time does not exist. there's no element of time in love or a dream. they are both always right here waiting for you to experience them when you need them" ― bodhinku, love and time
 
"in trying to understand myself, and things that really make me glow with happiness, i created something special here...one fusion joined together from my dreams, visions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and illuminations from the inner workings of my combined mind, heart, and soul" ― bodhinku, from my dreams
----------------------
 
MANY MORE VINCENT VAN GOGH QUOTES
"if you don’t have a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters 
 
"i am a traveler going somewhere and to some destination...only the somewhere and the destination do not exist" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"the heart of man is very much like the sea. it has its storms, it has its tides. and in its depths, it has its pearls too" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters 
 
"it is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done" ― vincent van gogh      
 
"there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people...i will not live without love" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"i put my heart and soul into my work, and i have lost my mind in the process" ― vincent van gogh   
 
"if you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced" ― vincent van gogh
   
"what would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" ― vincent van gogh
   
"i am seeking, i am striving, i am in it with all my heart" ― vincent van gogh    
   
"looking at the stars always makes me dream, as simply as i dream over the black dots representing towns and villages on a map...why, i ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of france? just as we take a train to get to paris or calais, we take death to reach a star. we cannot get to a star while we are alive, any more than we can take the train when we are dead. so to me it seems possible that fevers, tuberculosis and cancer are the celestial means of locomotion. just as steamboats, buses and railways are the terrestrial means. to die quietly of old age would be to go there on foot" ― vincent van gogh, letters to theo
 
"i am always doing what i cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"there is peace even in the storm" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"there may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passerbys see only a wisp of smoke" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i can't change the fact that my paintings don't sell. but the time will come when people will recognize that they are worth more than the value of the paints used in the picture" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters    
 
"whoever loves much, performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters    
 
"it is a pity that, as one gradually gains experience, one loses one's youth" ― vincent van gogh
 
"i feel such a creative force in me:...i am longing so much to make beautiful things. but beautiful things mean painstaking work, disappointment, and perseverance" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
 
"happy is he who has loved much, and although he may have wavered and doubted, he has kept that divine spark alive and returned to what was in the beginning and ever shall be...if only one keeps loving faithfully what is truly worth loving and does not squander one's love on trivial and insignificant and meaningless things then one will gradually obtain more light and grow stronger" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"as we advance in life, it becomes more and more difficult...but in fighting the difficulties, the innermost strength of the heart is developed" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"what is your final goal, you may ask? that goal will become clearer, will emerge slowly but surely, much as the rough draught turns into a sketch, and the sketch into a painting through the serious work done on it, through the elaboration of the original vague idea and through the consolidation of the first fleeting and passing thought" ― vincent van gogh
 
"in my view, i am immensely rich, not in money, but rich because i have found my metier, something i can devote myself to heart and soul and that gives inspiration and meaning to my life" ― vincent van gogh
 
"to do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one's fling from time to time, smoke one's pipe, and drink one's coffee in peace" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"to understand blue you must first understand yellow and orange" ― vincent van gogh
 
"it must be good to die in the knowledge that one has done some truthful work...and to know that, as a result, one will live on in the memory of at least a few and leave a good example for those who come after" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"sometimes, dear brother, i know so well what i want. i am quite able to do without god, both in my life and in my painting, but what i cannot do without, unwell as i am, is something greater than myself, which is my life, the power to create" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo 
 
"my great longing is to learn to make those very incorrectnesses, those deviations, remodellings, changes of reality, so that they may become, yes, untruth if you like...but more true than the literal truth" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo
    
"my house here is painted the yellow color of fresh butter on the outside, with glaringly green shutters; it stands in full sunlight in a square that has a green garden with plane trees, oleanders and acacias. it is completely whitewashed inside, with a floor made of red bricks. and over it there is the intensely blue sky. in this house i can love and breathe, meditate and paint" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo   
 
"if one feels the need of something grand, something infinite, something that makes one feel aware of god, one need not go far to find it" ― vincent van gogh    
 
"a woman does not grow old as long as she loves and is loved" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"someday death will take us all to another star" ― vincent van gogh   
 
"love is something eternal... the aspect may change but not the essence" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"there is safety in the very heart of danger" ― vincent van gogh   
 
"if only we try to live righteously, we shall fare well, even though we are bound to encounter genuine sadness and real disappointments and shall probably commit real mistakes and do things that are wrong...but it is certainly better to be ardent in spirit, eventhough one makes more mistakes, than narrow-minded and overly-cautious" ― vincent van gogh 
 
"there is nothing more beautiful than nature early in the morning" ― vincent van gogh  
 
"do you know what frees one from this captivity? it is every deep serious affection. being friends, being brothers, love, these open the prison by supreme power, by some magic force. where sympathy is renewed, life is restored" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo     
 
"it's not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures"― vincent van gogh, the letters of vincent   
 
“to express the love of two lovers by the marriage of two complementary colours, their blending and their contrast, the mysterious vibrations of related tones. to express the thought of a brow by the radiance of a light tone against a dark background. to express hope by some star. someone's passion by the radiance of the setting sun. that's certainly no realistic trompe l'oeil, but something that really exists, isn't it?" ― vincent van gogh, the letters of vincent 
 
"you may know that the peony is jeannin's, the hollyhock belongs to quost, but the sunflower is mine in a way" ― vincent van gogh, dear theo   
 
"love is eternal. the aspect may change, but not the essence. there is the same difference in a person before and after he is in love as there is in an unlighted lamp and one that is burning. the lamp was there and was a good lamp, but now it is shedding light too, and that is its real function, its brighter value. and love makes one calmer about many things, and that way, one is more fit for one's work" ― vincent van gogh, vincent's letters 
 
"i dream my painting, and i paint my dream" ― vincent van gogh
----------------------
 
MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
this is a song from the 1996 tom hanks motion picture​,​ ​"​that thing you do​"​​,​ about the super fast rise and subsequent fall of a pop rock band named the wonders... "all my only dreams" by the wonders ... (just click on any of words in the powder blue links to listen to the song)...  

"every night i pray i'll have you here someday. i'll count the stars tonight and hope with all my might. and when i close my eyes, you'll be right by my side. if i could only have one wish, you'd be the girl whose lips i'd kiss, all my only dreams. and when i close my eyes, you'll be right by my side. if i could have just one request, stay with me, girl, i confess all my only dreams. any waking hour, it seems i only have you in my dreams. so every night i'll pray i'll have you here one day. i'll count the stars tonight and hope with all my might that when i close my eyes, you'll be right by my side. if i could have just one request, stay with me, girl, i confess all my only dreams" ― the wonders, all my only dreams
 
"he's a tree, grounded to the earth, yet reaching for the sky. but he loses hope at times. his faith has been shaken to his roots. he tries to believe in something more and sometimes it’s hard. but he's sifting through the fallen leaves, working through the lessons and crafting new beliefs with his own fingers. he has been struck by lightning and burned to his core. he has been split in two by love and suffered the aftershocks....he's a dancer. and even without a partner, he'll continue to dance and thrive, but it can take time. he needs someone who can meet him equally in the bedroom. he’s not looking to dampen down his desires and swallow his fantasies. he wants someone to dance with him in the fires of ecstasy. he’s looking for a passionate, soul deep sacred union, not just a disconnected quick-fix one-and-done dance...he’s deep, dark and layered. within him beats a kind heart of gold, glowing with love and hope. but with feelings just as deep, he can spend a lot of time dancing with his shadows and moving through the darkness. there are lessons for him here, between the light and the abyss...he does want to be deeply loved, cherished, and adored, but he may have given up on that dream a long time ago. this doesn’t mean he wants to be solitary forever, but it means that the bar is raised higher on who he'll let dance with his sacred soul and be embraced by the powerful beauty of his love. for his heart is worth it. his love is a once-in-a-lifetime, out of this world, rare and mystical dance to behold and be enfolded by. his heart and his love is one of the most courageous, beautiful, passionate and powerful things you will ever encounter on this planet. true, his dance is not for the faint of heart, but this dance is worth it. he will make every single step and movement count, every moment, every heartbeat, always, this i promise you" ― c. ara campbell (with modifications by bodhinku)
 
"dreams have to be made real, not reality changed into dreams." ― osho, book of wisdom
 
"dream of the impossible: dream of surpassing yourself, dream of your soulmate, dream of nirvana, dream of moksha, dream of the kingdom of god. only then will you start working and moving towards it, and only then with that dream, will your feet have the quality of dance" ― osho, the secret of secrets
 
"only do not forget, if i wake up crying, it's only because in my dream i'm a lost child hunting through the leaves of the night for your hands" ― pablo neruda

​"​when a person really desires something​ bad enough​,​ ​all the universe conspires to help th​em​ realise ​their​ dream​" ​― ​paulo coelho, t​he ​a​lchemist
 
"dream and love are just words...until you decide to experience them" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"at that moment it seemed to him that time stood still and the soul of the world surged within him. when he looked into her dark eyes, he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke. the language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. it was love. something older than humanity, more ancient than the earth. something that exerted the same force whenever two pairs of eyes met, as had theirs here. she smiled, and that was certainly an omen. the omen he had been awaiting without even knowing he was for all his life...it was the pure language of the world. it required no explanation, just as the universe needs none as it travels through endless time. what the boy felt at that moment was that he was in the presence of the only woman in his life, and that, with no need for words, she recognized the same thing. he was more certain of it than of anything in the world. because, when you know that language, it's easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it's in the middle of the desert or in some great city. and when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. there is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. it is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"never stop dreaming...when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize their dream" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"if i'm really a part of your dream, you'll come back one day" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist
 
"we are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. life is eternal. we have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. this is a precious moment. it is a little parenthesis in eternity" ― paulo coelho, the alchemist   
 
"the image is a dream. the beauty is real" ― richard bach, jonathan livingston seagull 
 
"you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams" ― dr. seuss
 
"one day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened as reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams" ― salvador dali
 
"it would be very interesting to preserve photographically not the stages, but the metamorphoses of a picture. possibly one might then discover the path followed by the brain in materializing a dream" ― pablo picasso
 
"love is a magic ray emitted from the burning core of the soul and illuminating the surrounding earth. it enables us to perceive life as a beautiful dream between one awakening and another" ― khalil gibran, the prophet
 
"i have known you
since the beginning
of time

the one
i have loved always
in spirit.

only just discovered
 
"i dreamt that she sat by my head, tenderly ruffling my hair with her fingers, playing the melody of her touch. i looked at her face and struggled with my tears, till the agony of unspoken words burst my sleep like a bubble. i sat up and saw the glow of the milky way above my window, like a world of silence on fire, and i wondered if at this moment she had a dream that rhymed with mine" ― rabindranath tagore, stray birds
 
"a sky
full
of stars
and he
was staring
at her" ― atticus, love her wild    
 
"when we are born, the soul we are given is split apart and half of it is given to someone else. throughout our lives, we search for the person with the other half of our soul. very few ever succeed...i am blessed that we have met. in a sudden moment, warm within your loving glare, my soul said, "at last! i can rest. i have found my missing half." when this happens, it is said we have found our soul mate. we are happy and at peace. when we shared ourselves, we were engulfed in eternity, dancing in a timeless universe. i am truly blessed because that day, my heart recognized you as a part of its own...thank you for blessing me with you. thank you for dreaming with me, for seeing the same future as i do. for your beautiful eyes, reminding me of the truest bliss in life. i am forever grateful for you...i will spend an eternity loving you, caring for you, respecting you, showing you every day that i hold you as high as the stars. i am only sorry that it’s taken me this long to find you. i shall make it up to you, my flower, as long as we live. i love you!" ― steve maraboli, unapologetically you 
 
"for thousands of nights i dreamed of making love to you. no man on earth has ever hated sunrise as i do" ― lisa kleypas, dreaming of you  
 
"look up; notice how the stars shine. look in; notice how the stars shine" ― laura jaworski 
 
"i trembled to think of a world without stars. no guide for the sailor to trust at see, no jewels to dazzle our sense of beauty...but all around the globe, the air is so dirty and the lights from the cities are so bright that for some people few stars can be seen anymore. a generation of children may grow up seeing a blank sky and asking, "did there used to be stars there?" ― michael jackson, dancing the dream 
 
"like a blazing comet, i've traversed infinite nights, interstellar spaces of the imagination, voluptuousness and fear. i've been a man, a woman, an old person, a little girl, i've been the crowds on the grand boulevards of the capital cities of the west, i've been the serene buddha of the east, whose calm and wisdom we envy. i've known honor and dishonor, enthusiasm and exhaustion...i've been the sun and the moon, and everything, because life is not enough" ― antonio tabucchi, dreams of dreams
 
"spare a little candle, save some light for me. figures up ahead, moving in the trees. white skin in linen perfume on my wrist. and the full moon that hangs over these dreams in the mist...darkness on the edge, shadows where i stand. i search for the time on a watch with no hands. i want to see you clearly, come closer than this. but all i remember are the dreams in the mist...these dreams go on when i close my eyes. every second of the night, i live another life. these dreams that sleep when it's cold outside. every moment i'm awake, the further i'm away...is it cloak 'n' dagger, could it be spring or fall? i walk without a cut through a stained glass wall. weaker in my eyesight, the candle in my grip. and words that have no form, are falling from my lips...these dreams go on when i close my eyes. every second of the night, i live another life. these dreams that sleep when it's cold outside. every moment i'm awake, the further i'm away...there's something out there i can't resist. i need to hide away from the pain. there's something out there, i can't resist...the sweetest song is silence that i've ever heard. funny how your feet in dreams never touch the earth. in a world full of princes, freedom is a kiss. but the prince hides his face from dreams in the mist...these dreams go on when i close my eyes. every second of the night, i live another life. these dreams that sleep when it's cold outside. every moment i'm awake, the further i'm away..." ― heart, these dreams 
 
"i keep hoping one day i'll awaken and somehow she'll be lying by my side. and as i wonder if the dawn is really breaking, she touches me and suddenly i'm alive...and we climb and climb, and at the top we fly! let the world go on below us, we are lost in time. and i don't know really what it means, all i know is that you love me, in my dreams" ― reo speedwagon, in my dreams
 
"so here it is, another chance. wide awake you face the day. your dream is over...or has it just begun?" ― christopher degarmo, lead guitarist queensryche
 
"union with your beloved is sweeter than body comforts...we have hands and feet different from these. sometimes in dreams we see them. that is not illusion, it's seeing truly. you do have a spirit body, don't dread leaving the physical one" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"i choose to hold you in my dreams...for in my dreams, you have no end" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
 
"i found my dreams and suspended me there. i saw how my heart had fallen on your path singing a song...between my love and my heart, things were happening which slowly slowly made me recall everything. you amuse me with your touch, although i can’t see your hands. you have kissed me with tenderness, although i haven’t seen your lips. you are hidden from me. but it is you who keeps me alive" ― jalaluddin rumi, the music and silence of the heart
 
"i have spent my life dreaming of your face. now, i have f​ou​nd you." ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing
----------------------
 
ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"all i can do is smile, and love, and exist, and create art, and keep dreaming my inspirations...hope you love my image today as much as i do, because it's truly a huge part of me, a huge part of who i am" ― bodhinku, d​ream weaver
​     .​
this ​impression​ is made up of two distinctly different ​compositions created from multiple exposures​. each composition was taken at ​a ​different time and different place. but​ all the ​images ​used ​in creating the final piece of artwork, the one you now see before you, are real and were captured by me...​so​ this impression as a whole is a beautiful composite​ that would be impossible to see in real life with our own eyes at this location in oceanside, ca​​.​...
 
th​e ​​first ​component exposure of the seascape (pier) for this composite was captured on the wet sands of the beach ​about ​11 mins after the sun ducked down beneath the western horizon of the pacific ocean at ​the beach in oceanside next to the pier on march 19th, 2022 (camera settings: f/​8​@14mm for 1​1​1 secs, iso-64)​...​
 
​the second​ component for this composite, the composition of the stars was taken ​six​ days previously ​on march 13, 2022 ​while i was out in the desert in the little ajo mountains of southern arizona​ (from multiple exposures with same camera settings: f/​1.4​@​2​4mm for ​13​ secs, iso-​16​00)...​
 
in my photography, i always use filters to create longer exposure effects, saturate colors naturally, and balance the light in my composition in-camera...i often use as many as four filters at time, and i always use at least one filter in my completed impressions...
 
to get the effects and balance i was looking for in the exposure of the beach & pier seascape exposure of this composition (f/​8​@14mm for 1​1​1 secs, iso-64), i used two progreyusa titan filters along with the progrey g-150z holder to secure these filters to my nikon d850 with a nikon nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 lens ... 
 
first, a 3.0 nd progrey titan filter to bring the light in the image down 10 stops and permit for the long 1 minute and 51 second exposure which ​in turn permits more time so that the reflections of the pier and its lights in the wet sands turn out deeper and richer, plus ​naturally saturate all the red, green, and blue (rgb) colors in the image...
 
combined with the second filter, a 0.9 gnd progrey titan filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the much brighter light in the sky, the post-​dusk​ light, an extra three stops and help permit details in the shadows ​of the pier and reflections in the wet sand in the foreground to come out better in the exposure... 
 
btw, no progreyusa filters were necessary in the star exposure, so none were used...​
 
for this​ separate ​composition​ of the star​​s​,​ i used my nikon d850 with a nikon nikkor 24mm f/​1​.​4 prime​ lens ​mounted to my induro phq3 series 5-way panhead with the induro (now benro) stealth carbon fiber tripod​...​this ​fast lens and pan-head tripod combination ​permitted me to be able to ​sharply and accurately ​capture ​multiple shots of ​​the stars and milky, a total of 11 images all taken with the same settings (f/​1.4​@​2​4mm for ​13​ secs, iso-​16​00) with my camera on a level plane in portrait orientation, the 11 images were then stitched together using the photomerge function in adobe photoshop cc to create one long 1:3 panoramic composition to be merged together with the 14mm single frame seascape composition above using separate layers in adobe photoshop cc...
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my induro phq3 series 5-way panhead with the induro (now benro) stealth carbon fiber tripod in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you?" ― bodhinku, blessed
 
"if nothing else...if i open my eyes, if i hope, if i cry, if i think, if i sigh, if i giggle, if i dance, if i love, if i breathe, then i have lived a full days worth of life...nothing is wasted, nothing" ― bodhinku, if nothing else
 
"i do not want you to just be into my photography, instead, i'd much rather you take a journey into my pictures, and feel the impression i have created, feel it with all your senses" ― bodhinku, into my photography
 
"my photography is my way of keeping a diary" ― bodhinku, my diary 
 
"contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty, content to be completely incomplete. stop the rush. slow down time. breathe and notice. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this higher moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colours of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken!" ― bodhinku, my world
 
i leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
  
and above all else,
i hope this message and impression find you well.
 
namaste,
bodhi
-------------------------------------------------
 
please visit me at:
#dream #​oceanside #california​ ​#night ​#progreyusa #benro #dolica #nikon #d850 #lowepro #stars #milkyway #reflection ​#pier ​#​beach​ ​#pacific ​#​ocean ​#inspiration #believe #faith #hope #namaste #impressionist #expressionist #surreal #vincent ​#vangogh #rumi #coelho #bodhinku​