
"faith" is my brand new impression and blog...
"love surrounds me, permeates into every fiber of me and my world inside and out. love is the religion of my girlfriend. love is the religion of my doggie. love is the religion of my close friends. love is the religion of my mom and dad, love is my religion, love is my faith. love is the higher power in this universe" ― bodhinku, faith
"with their hearts full of faith, grateful and trusting hearts are faithful hearts" ― bo syrotiak
"always have faith in yourself and the universe, for one will not get you anywhere without the other. both must be equally strong to reach your desires, for they are the wings that will lift you to your dreams" ― suzy kassem, rise up and salute the sun
"foolish people only believe. a soul of understanding has faith not belief. faith is different. faith means trusting life, trusting it so absolutely that one is ready to go with it anywhere" ― osho, the secret of secrets
"faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark" ― rabindranath tagore
"found out what this life is worth. not in the books that i find, but by searching my mind. i don't condemn, i don't convert. this is the calling, have you heard? love is my religion, hey you can take it or leave it, and you don't have to believe it" ― ziggy marley, love is my religion
"faith is the belief in something intangible, something you believe as an undeniable fact, something that can never proven, something that can only be known and felt. religion is an example, but so is love. like religion, love not tangible. love is undefinable. love has no boundaries if you believe in it. love is pure and love can save you from the darkness. love knows no bounds, i have faith in love. love is my religion" ― bodhinku, love is my faith
"faith is to walk through it all good and bad while singing praises, thanking, and trusting in the order of love.
faith is to love the unlovable and give thanks during misfortunes for opportunities to grow and hone character.
faith is to believe in the unbelievable.
faith is to see the unseen.
faith is to hear when there is no audible sound.
faith is to trust the ocean during a tsunami.
faith is to flow with the current of water knowing the waterfall is just around the corner.
faith is to love relentlessly in the world that is far from being real.
faith is a lifestyle when a single sunset is all that one needs to find bliss forever. " ― bo syrotiak
and if you are one of the lucky ones to have discovered romantic love, undeniable romantic love, then this song from over 40 years ago will resonate with you as it does with me...i can sing every word in its correct key with this song, it's one of my all time favourite tunes, and one that i hold true to my heart...such beautiful meaning in its story..."faithfully" by journey ... (just click on any of words in the powder blue links to listen to the song)...
"highway run into the midnight sun. wheels go round and round, you're on my mind. restless hearts sleep alone tonight. sending all my love along the wire...they say that the road ain't no place to start a family. right down the line it's been you and me. and loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be. oh girl, you stand by me, i'm forever yours, faithfully...circus life under the big top world. we all need the clowns to make us smile. through space and time always another show. wondering where i am lost without you. and being apart ain't easy on this love affair. two strangers learn to fall in love again. i get the joy of rediscovering you. oh girl, you stand by me, i'm forever yours, faithfully...faithfully, i'm still yours. i'm forever yours, faithfully" ― journey, faithfully
"once you finally discover true love, being faithful isn't even an afterthought...because you've everything you always wanted, you don't want anything or anyone else. the missing piece is in place, they've completed you. so being unfaithful is inconceivable" ― bodhinku, faithful
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MEANING
"faith is when you deeply believe in something for which there is no proof, but you know undeniably it is the truth" ― bodhinku, faith
"faith" is defined by merriam-webster as:
1. strong belief in god or in some other higher power, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof
2. a strongly held belief or theory; something believed in with deep conviction
3. complete trust or confidence in someone or something
4. fidelity to one's promises; trust; sincerity of intentions
as i write this blog today, it's a very religious day for so many, it's good friday...but i've never been religious, and i'm not a christian by denomination. really, not sure what i am other than simply "spiritual." some consider me a buddhist, but i consider my buddhism as more of a philosophy, a way to live my life in love. still, on this christian holiday today, i've never been happier in my life. things right now are about as blessed as they could be for me. as if god or the universe wrote the script for me. but my joy is not because of a religion, or maybe it is?
seems the missing piece in my life has been filled by my faith in love...remember, if you want something badly enough, the universe conspires to help you find it. have faith in this. keep love in your heart. love for every one, everything...love for that special someone, love for your mom and dad, love for your brothers and sisters, love for your faithful doggie, love for nature and the universe, love for other people, even people you do not know, or people who do not like you, but always remember especially to carry that deep love for yourself...
faith is the belief in something intangible, something you believe as an undeniable fact, something that can never proven, something that can only be known and felt. religion is an example, but so is love. like religion, love not tangible. love is undefinable. love has no boundaries if you believe in it. love is pure and love can save you from the darkness. love knows no bounds, i have faith in love. love is my religion...
"why is love more important than faith? because faith is merely the road that leads us to the greater love" ― paulo coelho, adultery
"we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. but we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion...this, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. in this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine or dogma. our own heart, our own mind, is the temple" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness
if you have faith in love, love will surround you like a force. accept it and it will flow through you, into you and then emanate from you into others, flowing back into all the world you touch with your heart and soul...so i'm a man of deep faith, i've faith in love, it's my religion, it's the only thing i need to know with undeniable certainty is the real truth...
so listen to me, trust me, i know. don't stop believing, don't ever stop...have faith in something bigger than us all, something richer, like love!
have faith in love. love is all we all need. i have faith that love can fix everything wrong with the world. and everything that's right, love'll make it all even better. remember, love's there, endlessly everywhere, all around. love is timeless infinity. it'll always find you and you'll find it forever, just have faith...
this song, "love is my religion" by ziggy marley is almost a mantra to me, i could not think of a better song to describe my feeling of faith than this song, love is my religion. love is the religion of my girlfriend. love is the religion of my doggie. love is the religion of my closest friends. love is the religion of my mom and dad, love is my religion, love is my faith. love is the higher power in this universe... (just click on any of the words in the powder blue links to listen to the tune and watch the video) ...
love is my religion, love is my religion, love is my religion, i'll take you to the temple tonight...all my days i've been searching to find out what this life is worth. through the books and bibles of time, i've made up my mind. i don't condemn, i don't convert. this is a calling, have you heard? bring all the lovers to the fold, because no one is gonna lose their soul...love is my religion, love is my religion, love is my religion, hey you can take it or leave it, and you don't have to believe it...i don't want to fight, hey let's go fly a kite. there's nothing that we can't cure, and i'll keep you in my arms for sure. so don't let nobody stop us, free spirits have to soar. with you i share the gift, the gift that we now know oh oh oh...love is my religion, love is my religion, love is my religion, hey you can take it or leave it, and you don't have to believe it...well i'm done searching now. i found out what this life is worth. not in the books that i find, but by searching my mind. i don't condemn, i don't convert. this is the calling, have you heard? bring all the lovers to the fold. no one is gonna lose their soul...love is my religion, love is my religion, love is my religion, hey you can take it or leave it, and you don't have to believe it. love is my religion, love is my religion, love is my religion, hey you can take it or leave it, now that you believe" ― ziggy marley, love is my religion
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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...
"awakening to an image of the beautiful sparkling glow of your eyes as you smile and giggle, well, that thought is my morning sunshine" ― bodhinku
"a little bit of
love is the
instrument to
unfold divine secrets.
love is the
constant that
reigns timeless, dimensionless...
my love is profound as
the moon shining among the
stars in the night sky. and
you, my beloved are the
sunshine in the
"when you find yourself in love, nothing else matters, there is only love. in love, life is just better. it's more peaceful, more meaningful, and so much happier" ― bodhinku, there's only love
"being
in her
love glows
in her beauty,
love flows
in her
being" ― bodhinku, in her
"when anything seems negative, just love, and if that does not work, love some more" ― bodhinku, love
"when i see her, truly see her, by exploring deeply down into the depths of those fascinating eyes of hers, my heart pulse rises, my chest swells...i have to hold my breath, hold in the moment and feel all this love pounding through my rib-cage...then i exhale with a smile in a sigh, knowing all i need to know here and now" ― bodhinku, nothing but peace
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MORE QUOTES FOR EXTRA MEANING
here's another truly beautiful tune to accompany my blog today for good friday, it's another absolutely perfect song full of the meaning and message i wish for my impression today to give, especially with us all finding ourselves mired in these crazy stormy times, filled with uncertainty, political, racial, and economic divisions, plus the senseless war in the ukraine...all happening around us as we have our own inner conflicts and divisions, as we are all trying to walk our path through to the other-side...almost everyone has heard this song and probably know it by heart, with this song as the one tune that has really become a symbol of bob marley and the reggae movement he popularized: "one love" by bob marley ...(just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the song)...this song is just absolutely perfect with its germane lyrics so applicable for our times today...
"one love, one heart, let's get together and feel alright (hear the children crying). one love (hear the children crying), one heart (sayin') give thanks and praise to the lord and i will feel alright (sayin'). let's get together and feel alright (whoa whoa whoa whoa). let them all pass, all their dirty remarks (one love). there is one question i'd really love to ask (one heart). is there a place for the hopeless sinners who has hurt all mankind just to save his own (believe)? one love (what about one heart), one heart (what about love). let's get together and feel alright (as it was in the beginning). one love (so shall it be in the end). one heart (alright), give thanks and praise to the lord and i will feel alright. let's get together and feel alright (one more thing). let's get together to fight this holy armageddon (one love), so when the man come, there will be no no doom (one song). have pity on those whose chances grows thinner. there ain't no hiding place from the father of creation (sayin')...one love (what about one heart). one heart (what about love), let's get together and feel alright (i'm pleading to mankind). one love (what about one heart), one heart (oh oh), give thanks and praise to the lord and i will feel alright. let's get together and feel alright (give thanks and praise to the lord and i will feel alright)" ― bob marley, one love
"we can reject everything else: religion, ideology, all received wisdom. but we cannot escape the necessity of love and compassion...this, then, is my true religion, my simple faith. in this sense, there is no need for temple or church, for mosque or synagogue, no need for complicated philosophy, doctrine or dogma. our own heart, our own mind, is the temple" ― dalai lama xiv, the art of happiness
"faith transcends reason. it is when the horizon is the darkest and human reason is beaten down to the ground that faith shines brightest and comes to our rescue" ― mohandas mahatma gandhi
"those who love much, do much and accomplish much, and whatever is done with love is done well...love is the best and noblest thing in the human heart, especially when it is tested by life as gold is tested by fire. 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, dear theo
"measure your success only by what truly matters: your happiness and the happiness you bring to others. if today you laughed, felt inspired, or consoled a friend, smiled to a stranger, stood for a cause, or inched closer to one of your dreams, then today was a resounding success" ― beau taplin
"whole in its splendor, bound together with the synchronicity of ragged breath, pounding heart and unbridled passions. broken open only in longing, shattering every illusion, unwilling to wear the veils or masks of the past. desire crashes like waves upon a shore taking my breath away; a storm that is at once exhilarating in its power as it is nourishing with its life-giving rains upon the parched desert sands in sighs of relief. here is the playground of the soul; the raw, wild expanse of form and feeling balancing on the knifes edge of sanity, rising in the blinding culmination of ecstasy. here is a place of unity; two rivers that merge as one and flow like liquid fire to the sea. here is a journey to the stars; every sound a prayer to the divine, every act of worship upon the altar of the other in deepest reverence and purest love. this is what they must mean by eternity; this sacred space formed by beating hearts, breathless rasps, and open souls joined of one smile. these are the moments of radiant bliss spoken in all ages of the world and breathed into the syllables of all languages." ― c. ara campbell
"foolish people only believe. a soul of understanding has faith not belief. faith is different. faith means trusting life, trusting it so absolutely that one is ready to go with it anywhere" ― osho, the secret of secrets
"none of us knows what might happen even the next minute, yet still we go forward. because we trust. because we have faith" ― paulo coelho, the zahir
"love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it. but in order to do that, we need the other person. the universe only makes sense when we have someone to share our feelings with" ― paulo coelho, eleven minutes
"when a person really desires something bad enough, the whole universe conspires to help them achieve it" ― 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 buddhists were right, the hindus were right, the muslims were right, and so were the jewish. whenever someone follows the path to faith—sincerely follows it—he or she is able to unite with god and to perform miracles...god is the same, even though he has a thousand names; it is up to us to select a name for him" ― paulo coelho, by the river piedra i sat down and wept
"i have faith that god will show you the answer. but you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to recognize what god wants you to do. that's how it often is. god's voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. but other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell" ― nicholas sparks, the last song
"i don’t even know if the sun will rise or whether i’ll wake up in the morning. i don’t know if god will grant me my next breath. so i choose to live on faith rather than knowledge—and accept whatever comes, welcome or not, bitter or sweet—all of it, a gift of life" ― dan millman, way of the peaceful warrior
"faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark" ― rabindranath tagore
"if you’re really spiritual, then you should be totally independent of the good and the bad opinions of the world…you should have faith in yourself" ― deepak chopra, buddha
"everyone’s faith comes from the perceptions of the mind...your faith is your identity" ― deepak chopra, buddha
"love taught me to die with dignity and have faith that i might come forth anew in splendor. born once of flesh, then again of fire, i was reborn a third time to the sound of my name humming haikus in heaven’s mouth" ― aberjhani, river of winged dreams
"may my faith always be
at the end of the day
like a hummingbird...returning
"each time a person passes by you and you say 'hello', imagine that person turning into a candle. the more positivity, love and light you reflect, the more light is mirrored your way. sharing beautiful hellos is the quickest way to earn spiritual brownie points. you should start seeing hellos as small declarations of faith. every time you say hello to a stranger, your heart acknowledges over and over again that we are all family" ― suzy kassem, rise up and salute the sun
"always have faith in yourself and the universe, for one will not get you anywhere without the other. both must be equally strong to reach your desires, for they are the wings that will lift you to your dreams" ― suzy kassem, rise up and salute the sun
"some people say they will not believe in anything they can't see. what a catastrophe to not have any faith at all! you live only less than a half of life, if you will only believe in the things that you can see. life is lived by those who have much faith and believe in many unseen things. if you believe in nothing that you cannot see, think about how much there is that you choose to turn your face away from! you can't see your soul and you cannot prove that it exists, therefore if you call yourself one who believes in nothing unseen, then you will forever deny your soul its existence, for the existence of the soul dwells in love, trust, anger, passion, faith, belief, strength; the soul is forever nourished by things that are unseen!" ― c. joybell c.
"they stay in my mind, these beautiful people,
or anyway beautiful people to me, of which
there are so many. you, and you, and you,
whom i had the fortune to meet, or maybe
missed. love, love, love, it was the
core of my life, from which, of course, comes
the word for the heart. and, oh, have i mentioned
that some of them were men and some were women
and some — now carry my revelation with you —
were trees. or places. or music flying above
the names of their makers. or clouds, or the sun
which was the first, and the best, the most
loyal for certain, who looked so faithfully into
my eyes, every morning. so i imagine
such love of the world — its fervency, its shining, its
innocence and hunger to give of itself — i imagine
"believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it" ― rainer maria rilke, letters to a young poet
"sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. we can't always understand them, but we have to trust in them. i know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith" ― lauren kate, torment
"do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. what we need is to love without getting tired. be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies" ― mother theresa
"empty bodies robbed of souls.
objectified in the name of science.
grateful to the departed souls
for they sacrificed their earthly suits
with their hearts full of faith.
grateful and trusting hearts are faithful hearts.
may they rest in love and peace,
"i am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty, your smile is brighter than the twinkle of a hundred stars, and wish to see you with a hundred eyes. i am in our house of mercy and my heart is a place of your prayer" ― jalaluddin rumi, hush don't say anything to god
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ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"don't stop believing, don't ever stop...have faith in something bigger than us all, something richer, like love. have faith in love. love is all we all need. i have faith that love can fix everything wrong with the world. and everything that's right, love'll make it all even better. remember, love's there, endlessly everywhere, all around. love is timeless infinity. it'll always find you and you'll find it forever, just have faith" ― bodhinku, faith
this impression was captured somewhere in california almost exactly a year ago on april 17, 2021 just after sunset and also later in the wee hours of the morning on april 18, 2021...
this is a complex image composition created from 15 separate exposures, with the stars all shot at 24mm (and each in a portrait orientation), and 4 separate exposures of the church shot at 111mm (also in portrait orientation)...all taken in succession of each other on a uniform horizontal plane, in two separate panoramic rows comprised of 11 photos of the milky way arch (one row of 11 for the milky way arch and one row of 4 for the church)...each separate row of images was combined and stitched together using the photomerge function in adobe photoshop cc...then the two separate rows were merged and stitched together into one cohesive composition using again the photomerge function in adobe photoshop cc, creating a composition of 15 separate exposures
the individual shots in each row of images have the same exact camera settings for that row, but different when compared to each other...for the 11 images of the stars/milky way arch taken in the southeastern sky at 3:33am (f/1.4 @ 24mm for 11 seconds, iso-1600)...and for the 4 images of the church taken almost 10 hours previously and just after the sunset at 7:33pm (f/11 @ 111mm for 11 seconds, iso-64)...
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...
in the 11 exposures of the upper row of images of the stars and milky way arch 11 x (f/1.4 @ 24mm for 15 seconds, iso-1600), no filters were needed and thus none were used...
i used a 3.0 nd progrey antarctica filter to bring the post-sunset light in the image down 10 stops to permit for the 11sec exposure and naturally saturate all the red, green and blue (rgb's) hues in the image...combined with a 0.9 gnd progrey aurora filter to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...in this case, to stop down the brighter post-sunset light in the sky an extra three stops and help permit details in the shadows to come out better in each of the 4 exposures, and thus help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it...
with this being a series of 15 semi-long exposures put together, an excellent panhead and a stable and sturdy tripod are absolute necessities...i used my induro phq3 series 5-way panhead on a stealth carbon fiber tripod by benro...these are necessary in order to keep each of the separately exposed images of each of the two rows in perfect line on the same plane with each other, and in sharp focus in all the places i wanted sharpness...
"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
"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
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http://www.bodhismith.com
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