Fire and Ice

I began making the video with the following picture. From that starting point I applied Paint.net to the original image and came out with something quite a bit different from what I began with.

I began doing this kind of art with an idea drawn from the Taoist tradition.  I thought of the empty bowl.  A discussion of the idea which inspired and informed me can be read at the Personal Tao.

The idea I begin with is that there is virtually unlimited potential in anything. This virtue is present and observed in the operating principles of the natural world. I think of it as an analog of the E= MC2  principle applied to consciousness.

I never cease to surprise myself when I see what I end up with.  In this instance I began with the photograph of a bud encased in ice. It held the potential to produce something completely unexpected.

I added some of my standard "Fire People" characters as I saw how the original was morphing.

Art by David H. Roche

(C) 2014

Book of Dreams: Art from the Month of May

Reflections In The 7th Hour

I chose the title "Reflections In The 7th Hour" based on experiences with LSD.  In the 7th hour of an LSD trip all the chaos resulting from finding your understanding of the world and yourself turned inside out is gone and the world which was taken apart is being put back together again. This time it is put together in a way that corresponds to reality. It is an incredibly peaceful, blissful state of mind.  Perhaps it is like looking in the mirror and seeing the earth, sun and sky instead of your face.

LSD was introduced to the American public by CIA experiments.  "Acid Dreams: The CIA, LSD and the Sixties Rebellion" is a book which reveals the psychedelic history of the U.S.  Written by Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shalin it is an intriguing account of a misunderstood topic and period in social and cultural history.  The entire book is available to be read here courtesy of erowid.org 

LSD was used as a cure for alcoholism and an aid in psychotherapy.  The drug was more effective in reversing alcoholism than any other known substance. Despite this, in 1966 the United States made it illegal for anyone to do research with or prescribe LSD or any other psychedelic substance as a medicine. Hope for alcoholics was taken from the hopeless.  

Today there is renewed interest and talk about the beneficial effects of psychedelic substances. Research at a few major universities on the psychedelic substances has been grudgingly allowed by the U.S. Government.  

One of the most fascinating substances being studied today is DMT.  Dr. Rick Strassman has pioneered this research and produced some startling conclusions.  

I haven't taken LSD for decades, but my experiences with it have been positive and life changing.  I count the experiences I had to be among the most valued experiences of my entire life. It is illegal so it is inappropriate to recommend using it today unless you are fortunate enough to be involved with official approved research.

POST SCRIPT:

I enjoy watching ripples and reflections on the duck pond across the street. On a sunny afternoon I took a few photographs. After working on the photographs I put them together into the video below.

Photographs and video (C) 2014 by David H. Roche

Chemosynthesis: two new videos and some new art.

Chemo-synthesis is analogous to photo-synthesis.  I found an informative discussion of the two processes. It may be read here.

Each process is engaged in the exchange of energy. Some scientists describe the origin of life as resulting from chemo-synthesis . 

I began with a photograph of raindrops on a windshield. Pretty soon it was designing itself.  That's what usually happens.

Traffic Jam Daydream:

The Laughing God says...

Enjoy

art by David H. Roche