Contemplative Photography: The Good Eye Opens - Part II
To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things. - Eihei Dogen, 13C
In Part I, I spoke of the influences that shaped how I see the visual world. I also said I began to study with The Miksang Institute of Contemplative Photography and did for more than 10 years. While I learned many things from my teachers, Michael Wood and Julie DuBose about contemplative photography here is a core piece of the learning.
In the Tibetan language the word miksang means good eye. At times, our perceptions of the visual world arrive unbidden—without planning, forethought, or design. They emerge not because one actively seeks them but because they, in a sense, find the one who is seeing. This can occur whenever our conceptual, labling, thinking mind rests — is idling—and is unidentified with beliefs, opinions, and judgements that typically mediate visual perceptions of the world. In these moments unexpected beauty, poignancy, clarity, and uniqueness appear.
Then, mind and body pause, captivated by the suddenness of the seeing something totally new that envelopes our attention. At such moments, perceptions are not “taken” with a camera, as in “I took a photograph”, but rather they are received and expressed photographically. Such moments are universal for people, yet we often fail to appreciate them. Why? This lack of attention basically stems from the prevailing dominance of our visual habits and habitual modes of thinking.
However, as William Blake famously proclaimed, “When the doors of perception are cleansed everything appears as it is…infinite”. Then, the possibility of seeing a world of infinite perceptions becomes a more common and enriching experience. For many years, I have held the intention to see in this manner, with miksang. The photographs that follow express this intention. My hope is you will receive them in the manner they were received - often waiting without expectation in psychological stillness. The following words say nothing about photography but capture the essence of a receptive state of mind in which unconditional perceptions occur and contemplative photography is practiced. I'll end with them.
"...be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting. Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought: So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing." - T.S. Eliot (Four Quartets, East Coaker)
Welcome to Hey World - a home for my writings, much of it autobiographically-inspired. My hope is that they entertain, educate, and inspire. I’m simpatico with Enid Sinclair who told Wednesday Addams, ‘’I write in my voice. It’s my truth!” I hope you enjoy them. And if you subscribe and have comments, I’d love to hear from you.
I received the Doctorate in Psychology (concentration in human cognition and learning) and after 5 years working as a community-based mental health clinician, I worked in medical research with the National Institutes of Health for the remainder of my career.
I served Contemplative Outreach, Ltd. (CO) as a teacher, group facilitator, retreat leader, Chapter Coordinator, Board Member and Trustee and taught with The Miksang Institute for Contemplative Photography.
As of 2020 I retired, hosted the podcast All Things Contemplative, and still volunteer with CO. I also facilitate Charis Circles with the Charis Foundation for the New Monasticism and Interspirituality - and enjoy information technologies, photography, nature, swimming, biking, and kayaking.
