Glowing Prayer by Bodhi Smith

Feb 14, 2020

"glowing prayer" a new impression from bodhi smith...
 
with this being valentines day 2020, i truly hope you enjoy this blog about this new impression of mine, and enjoy all the quotes, and the musical tunes found with in here...
 
"those gray clouds were always blocking out all his horizons...but in the midst of all the gloominess, even as the storm was raging, her sun rays all of a sudden broke through to him, her hopeful light glowed, she shined on his face, and as he turned towards her, arms raised up to absorb her directly, he sighed and smiled, she warmed his skin and soaked deep into his core, his heart pulsing her throughout his body, touching her light to his soul in a glowing prayer"  ― bodhinku, glowing 
 
"as a photographer, hope of luminous light is always my glowing prayer...and when beautiful light shines down upon me, and my eyes tingle with its love, my prayers are answered, i am in heaven..."  ― bodhinku, prayers answered 
 
"like light...in light, lit through by light, transformed into light. like the lens which disappears in the glowing light, it focuses. like light" ― dag hammarskjold, markings   
 
“embrace your shadow self...shadows give depth and dimension to life. believe in embracing your duality, in learning to let darkness and light, peacefully co-exist, as glowing illumination” ― jaeda dewalt, shades of the soul
 
“you must find your own glow, just like the light does" ― bodhinku, your own glow  
 
btw, here is the perfect tune to listen to as you read my new blog, this is such a beautiful song in its message and feeling, and so wonderfully upbeat...with lyrics that parallel the meaning of my impression here, "like a prayer" by madonna (just click on the song title, it is a link to the lyric video) 
 
life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone. i hear you call my name, and it feels like home....when you call my name, it's like a little prayer. i'm down on my knees, i wanna take you there. in the midnight hour, i can feel your power. just like a prayer you know i'll take you there...i hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing. i have no choice, i hear your voice, feels like flying. i close my eyes, oh god i think i'm falling out of the sky, i close my eyes, heaven help me...when you call my name it's like a little prayer. i'm down on my knees, i wanna take you there. in the midnight hour i can feel your power, just like a prayer you know i'll take you there...like a child you whisper softly to me. you're in control just like a child. now i'm dancing, it's like a dream, no end and no beginning, you're here with me, it's like a dream, let the choir sing...when you call my name it's like a little prayer, i'm down on my knees, i wanna take you there, in the midnight hour i can feel your power, just like a prayer you know i'll take you there...i hear you call my name...and it feels like home... it's like a dream to me" ― madonna, like a prayer
 
and along with the above song, here is some more music to listen to as you read my blog...it's buddhist in nature, and not for everyone...very tranquil, relaxing, and meditative:  

"tibetan healing sounds" 

"like a glowing prayer
uplifting love everywhere
appearing as my dream
angel's eyes in heaven's theme
filling me with glowing gleam
my sweetest apparition
bringing peaceful fruition
singing let it be, so softly
floating in colors, so freely" ― bodhinku, glowing prayer 

"my arrow of love
has arrived at the target
i am in the glowing
light of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer" ― jalaluddin rumi, the essential rumi
-------------------

MEANING AND THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE
"after years and years of nonsense dreams, he finally dreamed of reality, and she was the glowing light that woke him up"   ― bodhinku, her glowing light  
 
the meaning behind the title of the image, "glowing prayer" is easy to see if you first understand the circumstances (the story behind the image) that i luckily found myself embracing on the day after christmas in 2019...truly a late christmas gift, and one so unexpected...
 
this impression you see here before you was taken after a massive snow storm coated the higher elevations of joshua tree national park on december 26, 2019, leaving the joshua trees all covered in a rare blanket of deep new snow...they had closed off the park hours before i arrived from the main north entrance gates, but i managed to come in through the back south gate and was never told to turn around...literally, the park was empty and quiet, and just gleaming with sparkling white snow everywhere, on everything...
 
one ranger did stop finally and tell me the park was closed, and i told him who i was and my intentions to capture and document this rare scene with my camera. he also could see the excitement and enthusiasm on my face to witness such a beautiful event, and i could see the same thing on his face too! so instead of teling me to leave immediately, he told me that it was alright if i stayed and photographed the park, all would be fine just as long as i agreed to slowly make my way to a park exit after sunset, and of course i assured him i would...he even called it in on the radio to the other rangers so they knew he gave me the go ahead and okay to be there...
 
the snow was really deep around jumbo rocks, a couple feet of powder. besos was pretty much just tunneling through the snow if he was our in front of me, and then at other times to rest he would fall back and walk behind me in the wake of my footsteps where it was easier...he was a digging and tunneling, then hopping and jumping fool with a huge smile on his face as i was taking my pictures....other than the occasional ranger vehicle driving by off in the distance, my doggie and i had the place all to ourselves, so cool (literally)...
 
it continued to snow pretty heavy, big old giant and wet snowflakes, making it a struggle to take longer exposures because the snowflakes would land and then melt on my filter glass, but of course i managed...
 
still, i hoped and prayed the sun would peek out and shine on this new winter wonderland covering the high desert, a scene rarely, if ever seen....still, regardless if i would even take any pictures, my pup and i would continue to enjoy this magical treat of snow in the desert, as we hiked and played in it...but somehow i knew with certainty the sun would come out and glow on me. i had faith in my glowing prayer being answered as the snow continued to fall...
 
"there is no blindness where there is certainty” ― victor hugo, les misérables  
 
and the sun came out briefly through an occasional less dense spot in the cloud deck, peering through at about half intensity (i could actually look directly at the entire sun without it burning my eyes through the thinner clouds)...a total glowing prayer, literally, and just so beautiful in the deep snow lighting up behind a joshua tree...
 
and as a photographer, the hope of seeing luminous light is always my glowing prayer...and when beautiful light shines down upon me, and my eyes tingle with its love, my prayers are answered, i am in heaven...
 
and just like my last image release (towards awakening), if you look closely, you can see a faint halo around the sun in this image, giving a more spiritual meaning to word "glowing"...as an angelic characteristic is added to the light...
 
"my truest photographic prayer is answered when beautiful glowing light finds me when i least expect it" ― bodhinku, photography prayer  
 
“i am on the highest branch.
we are written in paint.
i believe in signs.
the glow of ultraviolet.
a lake.
a prayer.
it's so lovely to be loved in private.” ― jennifer niven, all the bright places 
 
“the gifts of lovers to one another are, in respect to love, nothing but forms of prayer;
and, they testify to invisible love” ― jalaluddin rumi, poems of ecstasy and longing 
-------------------  

HISTORY OF THE JOSHUA TREE
"love is my religion...all my faith lives glowing in love...and in my religion of love, you are the answer to all my prayers" ― bodhinku, the glowing answer 
 
"the silence of the thick clouds gave the darkness and the shadows such power, and simultaneously created meaning for the breaking light to glow and be free" ― bodhinku, light's sanctum 

yucca brevifolia, a.k.a joshua tree, is a species of plants belonging to the much larger yucca family...this monocotyledonous tree is native to the arid southwestern united states, specifically california, arizona, utah, and nevada, where it is confined mostly to the mojave desert thriving in and around elevations of 4000 feet above sea level.

the joshua tree is also called izote de desierto (spanish, "desert dagger"). it was first formally described in the botanical literature as yucca brevifolia by george engelmann in 1871 as part of the geological exploration of the 100th meridian (or "wheeler survey").

the name "joshua tree" is commonly said to have been given by a group of mormon settlers crossing the mojave desert in the mid-19th century: the tree's role in guiding them through the desert combined with its unique shape reminded them of a biblical story in which joshua keeps his hands reached out for an extended period of time to guide the israelites in their conquest of canaan (joshua 8:18–26)...further, the shaggy leaves may have provided the appearance of a beard. however, no direct or contemporary attestation of this origin exists, and the name joshua tree is not recorded until after mormon contact; moreover, the physical appearance of the joshua tree more closely resembles a similar story told of moses....ranchers and miners who were contemporary with the mormon immigrants used the trunks and branches as fencing and for fuel for ore-processing steam engines. they referred to these fallen or collapsed Joshua trees as tevis stumps.

joshua trees are fast growers for the desert; new seedlings may grow at an average rate of 7.6 cm (3.0 in) per year in their first 10 years, then only about 3.8 cm (1.5 in) per year. the trunk consists of thousands of small fibers and lacks annual growth rings, making determining the tree's age difficult. this tree has a top-heavy branch system, but also what has been described as a "deep and extensive" root system, with roots reaching down to 11 m (36 ft). if it survives the rigors of the desert, it can live for hundreds of years; some specimens survive a thousand years. the tallest trees reach about 15 m (49 ft) new plants can grow from seed, but in some populations, new stems grow from underground rhizomes that spread out around the parent tree.

the evergreen leaves are dark green, linear, bayonet-shaped, 15–35 cm long and 7–15 mm broad at the base, tapering to a sharp point; they are borne in a dense spiral arrangement at the apex of the stems. the leaf margins are white and serrated.

flowers typically appear from february to late april, in panicles 30–55 cm tall and 30–38 cm broad, the individual flowers erect, 4–7 cm tall, with six creamy white to green tepals. the tepals are lanceolate and are fused to the middle. the fused pistils are 3 cm tall and the stigma cavity is surrounded by lobes. the semi-fleshy fruit that is produced is green-brown, elliptical, and contains many flat seeds. joshua trees usually do not branch until after they bloom (though branching may also occur if the growing tip is destroyed by the yucca-boring weevil), and they do not bloom every year. like most desert plants, their blooming depends on rainfall at the proper time. they also need a winter freeze before they bloom. once they bloom, the flowers are pollinated by the yucca moth (tegeticula synthetica), which spreads pollen while laying eggs inside the flower. the larvae feed on the seeds, but enough seeds remain to reproduce. the joshua tree is also able to actively abort ovaries in which too many eggs have been laid.

joshua trees are one of the species predicted to have their range reduced and shifted by climate change. concern remains that they will be eliminated from joshua tree national park, with ecological research suggesting a high probability that their populations will be reduced by 90% of their current range by the end of the 21st century, thus fundamentally transforming the ecosystem of the park. also, concern exists about the ability of the species to migrate to favorable climates due to the extinction of the giant shasta ground sloth (nothrotheriops shastensis) 13,000 years ago; ground sloth dung has been found to contain joshua tree leaves, fruits, and seeds, suggesting that the sloths might have been key to the trees' dispersal.

cahuilla native americans, who have lived in the southwestern united states for generations, identify this plant as a valuable resource and call it humwichawa. their ancestors used the leaves of yucca brevifolia to weave sandals and baskets, in addition to harvesting the seeds and flower buds for meals. native americans also used the reddish roots to make dye. yucca tree roots have saponin glycosides.

one of the largest clusters of these tree has been set aside as joshua tree national park by the united states government in order to preserve and protect this unique "tree" in its natural surroundings for all generations to come.

joshua tree national park is a national park in southeastern california, east of los angeles and san bernardino, near palm springs. the park is named for the joshua trees (yucca brevifolia) native to the mojave desert. on August 10, 1936, after minerva hoyt and others persuaded the state and federal governments to protect the area, president franklin D. roosevelt used the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act to establish joshua tree national monument, protecting about 825,000 acres (1,289.1 sq mi; 3,338.7 km2). in 1950, the size of the park was reduced by about 290,000 acres (453.1 sq mi; 1,173.6 km2) to open the land to more mining. the monument was redesignated as a national park on october 31, 1994, by the desert protection act, which also added 234,000 acres (365.6 sq mi; 947.0 km2). in 2019, the park expanded by 4,518 acres (7.1 sq mi; 18.3 km2) under a bill included in the john d. dingell, jr. conservation, management, and recreation act... encompassing a total of 790,636 acres (1,235.4 sq mi; 3,199.6 km2)—an area slightly larger than the state of rhode island—the park includes 429,690 acres (671.4 sq mi; 1,738.9 km2) of designated wilderness. straddling the border between san bernardino county and riverside county, the park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation: the higher mojave desert and the lower colorado desert. the little san bernardino mountains traverse the southwest edge of the park

the earliest known residents of the land in and around what later became joshua tree national park were the people of the pinto culture, who lived and hunted here between 8000 and 4000 bc. their stone tools and spear points, discovered in the pinto basin in the 1930s, suggest that they hunted game and gathered seasonal plants, but little else is known about them. later residents included the serrano, the cahuilla, and the chemehuevi peoples. all three lived at times in small villages in or near water, particularly the oasis of mara in what non-aboriginals later called twentynine palms. they were hunter-gatherers who subsisted largely on plant foods supplemented by small game, amphibians, and reptiles while using other plants for making medicines, bows and arrows, baskets, and other articles of daily life. a fourth group, the mojaves, used the local resources as they traveled along trails between the colorado river and the pacific coast. in the 21st century, small numbers of all four peoples live in the region near the park; the twentynine palms band of mission indians, descendants of the chemehuevi, own a reservation in twentynine Palms.

in 1772, a group of Spaniards led by pedro fages, made the first European sightings of joshua trees while pursuing native converts to christianity who had run away from a mission in san diego. by 1823, the year mexico achieved independence from spain, a mexican expedition from los angeles, in what was then alta california, is thought to have explored as far east as the eagle mountains in what later became the park. three years later, jedediah smith led a group of american fur trappers and explorers along the nearby mojave trail, and others soon followed. two decades after that, the united states defeated mexico in the mexican–american war (1846–48) and took over about half of Mexico's original territory, including California and the future parkland

in 1870, white settlers began grazing cattle on the tall grasses that grew in the park. in 1888, a gang of cattle rustlers moved into the region near the oasis of mara. led by brothers james and william mchaney, they hid stolen cattle in a box canyon at cow camp. throughout the region, ranchers dug wells and built rainwater catchments called "tanks", such as white tank and barker dam. in 1900, c.o. barker, a miner and cattleman, built the original barker dam, later improved by william "bill" keys, a rancher. grazing continued in the park through 1945. barker dam was added to the national register of historic places in 1975.

between the 1860s and the 1940s, miners worked about 300 pit mines, mostly small, in what later became the park. the most successful, the lost horse mine, produced gold and silver worth about $5 million in today's currency. johnny lang and others, the original owners of the lost horse mine, installed a two-stamp mill to process ore at the site, and the next owner, j.d. ryan, replaced it with a 10-stamp steam-powered mill. ryan pumped water from his ranch to the mill and cut timber from the nearby hills to heat water to make steam. most of the structures associated with the mine fell apart, and for safety reasons the national park service plugged the mine, which had collapsed. some of the other  mines in the park yielded copper, zinc, and iron...

“be a maker of light unto the world, and hurt it not. seek to build not destroy. lead as a shining example you know you are. seek only rightfulness. speak only in truthfulness. act only in love. live the law of love now and forever more. give everything, require nothing.avoid the mundane. do not accept the unacceptable. teach all who seek to learn of the light. make every moment of your life an outpouring of love, of light. use every moment to think the highest thought, say the highest word, do the highest deed. bring peace into the darkness by bringing peace to all those whose lives you touch. be peace. feel and express in every moment your divine connection with the light, and with every person, place, and thing. embrace every circumstance, own every fault, share every joy, contemplate every mystery, walk in every man’s shoes, forgive every offense, including your own, and heal your heart in the glowing of the light." ― neale donald walsch, conversations: an uncommon dialogue 
 

"always remember, no matter how stormy or gloomy gray that life seems to be, there's always a light somewhere behind the clouds, waiting and ready to show itself" ― bodhinku, light waiting  

"love can sometimes achieve the impossible, just like sunlight can sometimes start glowing through a snow storm of clouds" ― bodhinku, love and light
--------------------

MORE MEANINGFUL QUOTES
here is another song: glowing embers is a beautiful song to listen to as you read through all these extra quotes i have added to this blog...this is an instrumental piece by audiomachine...
 
“music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering" ― haruki murakami, hard-boiled wonder
 
“in the heartfelt mercy of our god, the dawn from on high will visit us, to glow on those sitting in darkness, in the shadow of the light, to guide our feet to the way of peace” ― anonymous, king james bible 
 

“be a light unto yourself; betake yourself to no external refuge. hold fast to the truth. look not for refuge to anyone besides yourself" ― siddhartha gautama buddha, the dhammapada  

“the world is on fire!
and are you laughing?
you are deep in the dark.
will you not ask for light?" ― siddhartha gautama buddha, hakyamuni  
 
“following the middle way is like entering a dark room with a light in the hand; the darkness will all be cleared away, and the room will be filled with light” ― siddhartha gautama buddha, the dhammapada
 
“prayer is not asking. it is loving. it is a longing of the soul. it is daily admission of one's weakness. it is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart” ― mahatma gandhi

 

"the more you know, the less you understand...for, the enlightened arrives without leaving, sees the light without looking, and achieves without doing a thing” ― lao tzu, tao te ching

 
“he who tries to shine, dims his own light. he who defines himself, can't know who he really is” ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"the enlightened doesn't display himself, people can see his light...because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words...because he doesn't know who he is, people recognize themselves in him...because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds” ― lao tzu, tao te ching
 
"seeing into darkness is clarity. use your own light and return to the source of light. this is called practicing eternity" ― 

 

"both my grandmothers were women of faith. they were devout and deep believers of some unseen power, tapped into this great mystery that i could barely comprehend in my youth and inexperience. both walked a different path and prayed in a contrasting way, alternate sides of a similar coin. these two possible versions of such a powerful belief made me aware of options and choices in faith at an early age...i’ve always been fascinated by old churches, by rosaries and by hundred year old paintings on walls inside country churches like the one i was baptized in at the foothills of a mountain near where my mother was raised. my awe stemmed from the faith and belief poured into them, the pure knowing that was etched into their every crevice, the complete trust in this unseen power. i envied the believers. i could never imagine that much belief in anything...as i aged, i developed a fascination for this soul deep belief they held, this unshakable knowing in something you can’t see but believe without a doubt of its existence...faith without proof. belief in the face of shaky reality. unwavering hope. knowing that there was something more in the unseen. how i wished i could have that level of conviction, not for religion necessarily as i held my own earth based beliefs by this time, but for everything else that i faced; my work, my relationships, my future...as humans, we put faith in things we can’t control all the time. we believe the sun will rise tomorrow and when the day is over it will set, whether we can see it through the clouds or not. we know that gravity will do its job and keep us from floating off into the sky. we trust our bodies to wake up and start the day, though sometimes with an ache or pain. we believe the cold of winter will end and spring will once again warm the ground for planting. so why do we find it so hard to trust in our own unfolding lives?..all the old adages they say like, keep the faith. the answer to your prayers, hope springs eternal. things always have a way of working out. there’s a reason for everything. what’s meant to be will always find a way...i’m part pisces sun and leo moon, and a whole lot of fire and impatience in between. i want proof and i want action. i want to see the reality and gnaw on the bones of truth. being in absolute trust is still something of a mystery to me and a lifelong challenge i strive to open fully to on my path towards greater self discovery and understanding...what we believe in, shapes our future. so how do we put faith in something we can’t see?...it is simple, what we think and believe will be, will be. we have the power to create the future based on our beliefs in the present. the tricky part is not being overwhelmed or trapped by the reality that we are surrounded by. everything that we see is the manifestation of the past. what we create in the future we are in the process of bringing into being with every thought, story and belief we hold...and in the absence of proof, one must cultivate deep faith. there are some things in this world we have very little control over such as when our bodies are finished with this chapter we call life and our essence goes back to spirit to get ready for the next round. but for everything else, we have to trust that our choices and decisions shape our future even if we can’t see it forming in the unseen and that there is a purpose to it all...so, know that the sun will rise tomorrow and the birds will find a song to sing. gravity will continue to hold you securely on terra firma. the warmth of spring will melt away the cold grey of winters last breath. your future is not written in stone and we have the power to manifest great things even if we can’t see them yet. in the meanwhile, have faith. hold prayer of love, things always have a way of working out in the end" ― c. ara campbell

 
"she was at once a mystical journey into the heart of the earth and the calm found in the fading light of sunset. She was like a moonless sky; dark, deep and eternal. upon her skin a blanket of stars was scattered to be traced by knowing fingers..." ― c. ara campbell
 
"it’s always you. my faith. my daily prayer. you are the constant. the one thing my past, present and future will always share in common" 
 
“she inspires such wild creativity in me. amongst the kindling of her company i feel it rise in me like a flame and i begin to see poetry on every street corner, and in the blinding light of every star, as though the whole world has become a blank page begging for the language of her heart."  ― beau taplin 
 
“green was the silence, wet was the light, the time trembled like a butterfly” ― pablo neruda, 100 love sonnets
”
“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...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, letters to theo  
 
“she walks in beauty, like the night
of cloudless climes and starry skies;
and all that’s best of dark and bright
meet in her aspect and her eyes:
thus mellow’d to that tender light
which heaven to gaudy day denies"  ― lord gordon byron, she walks in beauty  
 
“when you have come to the edge of all the light, and step into the darkness of the unknown, believe that one of the two will happen to you: either you'll find something solid to stand on or you'll be taught how to fly” ― richard bach, jonathan livingston seagull  
 
“light, my light, the world-filling light, the eye-kissing light, heart-sweetening light! ah, the light dances, my darling, at the centre of my life; the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love; the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth...the butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light. Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light...the light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling, and it scatters gems in profusion...mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling, and gladness without measure. the heaven's river has drowned its banks and the flood of joyous light is abroad.” ― rabindranath tagore, gitanjali: song offerings   

“as the night keeps hidden in its gloom the petition for light, even thus in the depth of my unconsciousness rings the cry: i want thee, only thee...as the storm still seeks its end in peace, when it strikes against peace with all its might, even thus my rebellion strikes against thy love and still its cry is: i want thee, only thee” ― rabindranath tagore, stray birds
 
"each day is born with a sunrise
and ends in a sunset, the same way we
open our eyes to see the light, 
and close them to hear the dark.
you have no control over
how your story begins or ends.
but by now, you should know that
all things have an ending.
every spark returns to darkness.
every sound returns to silence.
and every flower returns to sleep
with the earth.
the journey of the sun
and moon is predictable.
but yours, 
is your ultimate
art”  ― suzy kassem, rise up and salute the sun    
 
“beautify your inner dialogue. beautify your inner sanctum with love light and compassion. life will be beautiful.” ― amit ray, the transforming power  
 
“he whose face gives no light, shall never become a star” ― william blake, the marriage of heaven and hell
 
“every moment of the night
forever changing places
and they put out the star-light
with the breath from their pale faces” ― edgar allan poe, complete stories and poems
 
“for a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face; her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as i listened - then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret, like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk.” ― f. scott fitzgerald, the great gatsby
 
“people will do just about anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious” ― carl jung, psychology and alchemy
 
“the dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic light that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.” ― carl jung, memories, dreams, reflections 
 
“you have to find what sparks a light in you so that you in your own way can illuminate the world” ― oprah winfrey, uncommon wisdom
 
“in love and needs, let these be your desires:
to melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
to know the pain of too much tenderness.
to be wounded by your own understanding of love;
and to bleed willingly and joyfully.
to wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
to rest at noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
to return home at eventide with gratitude;
and then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise on your lips.” ― kahlil gibran, the prophet
 
“you are the sun, i try to say. you are the most important. you are the only light that’s ever truly pierced my armor. you are the happiness and the spark and the one girl who never ran, who never cowered, who saw through my façade. i will never meet another girl like you, i will never want anyone as much as i want you."― sara wolf, brutal precious    
 
“i love holding hands...our fingers interlocked like a beautiful accordion of flesh or a zipper of prayer” ― sarah kay, no matter the wreckage
 

“only the person who has experienced light and darkness, chaos and sanctum, rise and fall, only that person has truly experienced life.” ― stefan zweig, the world of yesterday  

 
“in me there is darkness,
but with you there is light;
i am lonely, but you do not leave me;
i am feeble in heart, but with you there is help;
i am restless, but with you there is peace.
in me there is bitterness, but with you there is patience;
i do not understand your ways,
but i know you are the way for me.”― dietrich bonhoeffer, letters and papers
 
"you stop believing there's a god. until someone comes along, with so much light in her that you can't help but see your own, and when you're together, that light glows even brighter.” ― jodi picoult, keeping faith  
 
“there is no real light, but just small sparks of happiness we should photograph to contain. but if we stop to photograph, we can’t enjoy them, the flash overexposes them and they disappear.” ― cristiane serruya, trust: pandora's box
 
“today is tomorrow, and present is past.
nothing exists and everything will last.
there is no beginning, there was no end.
no depth to fall, no height to ascend.
there is only this moment, this flicker of light
that illuminates nothing, but oh! so bright!
for we are the spark that flutters in space,
consuming an eternity of a moment’s grace.
for today is tomorrow and present and past.
nothing exists and everything will last.” ― jane roberts, the eternal validity of the soul
 
“i talk to you as i talk to my own soul, your face is my heart.” ― diana gabaldon, dragonfly in amber
 
“he saw things in a way that others did not, so that a woman became beautiful with only the light on her face" ― tracy chevalier, girl with a pearl earring
 
“she will fight for light, and he for dark, 
battling through the ages for loves sweet spark. 
wherever two souls adore truly, you will find them, never apart” ― stacey jay, juliet immortal
 
“a great ring of pure and endless light
dazzles the darkness in my heart
and breaks apart the dusky clouds of night.
the end of all is hinted in the start.
when we are born we bear the seeds of blight;
around us life and death are torn apart,
yet a great ring of pure and endless light
dazzles the darkness in my heart.
it lights the world to my delight.
infinity is present in each part.
a loving smile contains all art.
the motes of starlight spark and dart.
a grain of sand holds power and might.
infinity is present in each part,
and a great ring of pure and endless light
dazzles the darkness in my heart.” ― madeleine l'engle, a ring of endless light
 
“her face was shrouded in shadows, but i knew who it was. i'd never mistake her. the magnetism of our souls was so strong it was practically visible, sparking with light in the space that separated us.” ― kawahara, reki  
 
“when the light returns to its source, it takes nothing of what it has illuminated” ― jalaluddin rumi, a year with rumi  
 
“if light is in your heart, you will find your way home"― jalaluddin rumi, essential rumi
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MORE "GLOWING" BODHINKU QUOTES  
"he knew she was not a goddess, because she was much more. she was the the glow from the way-beyond, and when he saw her light, felts her warmth, and absorbed her energy, he knew with such a certainty, finally what love truly was" ― bodhinku, lhe saw her light 
 
"dreams of you fill the air
just like a glowing prayer
of tender loving care" ― bodhinku, haiku-glowing prayer
 
"i am not a praying man, but if i were to pray, i would be at home on my knees, and you would be my only prayer, my whispers of faith"― bodhinku, my only prayer
 
“he saw her light
and he felt, the warmth of her
break through centuries of longing
lost behind clouds, blocked away from
her far away glow
feeling her on his skin
transcending into his heart
permeating through his soul
here was love true
so close, so close
he saw her light, but he knew
you must find your own light,
 just like the light finds its own light
to give back, love true" ― bodhinku, love light true
 
"he saw her light, seeing his first look of both everything and only one thing, all together at once, all that ever did or ever will matter" ― bodhinku, seeing   
 
"in photography and as in life, it is the strong contrasts between dualities that make things interesting and beautiful...particularly speaking, darkness has to exist and be present in order for light to glow, and have meaning and purpose" ― bodhinku, darkness and the light 
-------------------  

ABOUT THE IMPRESSION
"even as the storm is surrounding you, so beautiful is the light that warms your soul like a glowing prayer"― bodhinku 
  
this is single frame longer exposure composition of a johua tree backlit by the sun through the storm clouds... so a stable and sturdy tripod was an absolute necessity in order to keep the image in sharp focus in the places i wanted sharpness (i use selective focus on most of my images, similar to the way our eyes see things)...for this i used a dolica 70" carbon fiber tripod, because it is sturdy, tall, and perfectly compact for hiking to remote places, or travel to locations where amounts of permitted luggage and equipment you can travel with is limited....for me, this shot would never have been possible without my friends daniel and april at dolica tripods.

in my photography i always use filters to create longer exposure effects and to 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 the case with this image, to get the effects and balance i was looking for, i needed to use two filters...and for this, i chose to use the amazing 3.0nd progrey antarctica magnetic filter (and progrey g-120z holder) to allow for a much longer exposure (10 stops) and help saturate all the green and and earthy tones peaking out of the snowy blanket of white snow everywhere, allot more than would be possible with a short exposure time, plus in combination with the 0.9gnd progrey genesis filter (tilted about -11 degrees) to help balance in-camera overall the image the way i envisioned it, as the sky in the upper portions just slightly left was considerably brighter with the sun shining through the joshua tree "branches" than the rest of the image, about 3 stops brighter than the rest of the darker parts of the image composition...and using this in this manner, also helped to create the "glowing" effect surrounding the joshua tree itself...
 
i wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this semi-long exposure impression would not be possible without the use of my trusty dolica tripods in combination with the progreyusa filters which i use with every photo i take...
 
"like a glowing prayer you came to me in my dreams last night, and settled me, told me you love me, that i am truly loved, never forget it no matter what, and that we will always be okay no matter the tough spots we go through to get to be where we both want to go...you know i am not into religious prayers being a buddhist, but if i did pray, you know what it would be? in my dream, you told me without words, with angel eyes glowing into my soul, so uplifting, that my wishes will be answered soon, just let it be and flow in love, softly and freely...the dream floated and went on what seemed to be all night, no words, just motions and emotions and love and a feeling of being deep in the clouds in and out of sunshine, our essence as one was flowing through colors in sets of bright reds and yellows, into sets of pale violets and soft purples, into sets of blue pastels and pinks endlessly..." ― bodhinku, a glowing prayer
 
""contemplate without thinking. stop the world. slow down everything. shut off the noise. relax. seize this moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colors of light that envelope you. see the melody and harmony that floats 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
 
above all else as always, i hope this message and image find you well.

namaste,
bodhi
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http://www.bodhismith.com
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