The Meaning of Photography (and any other art-form)
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The Meaning of Photography (and any other art-form)
Perception is a form of awareness that gives the observer insight into the internal (the psyche) and external (everyday reality) world of experience. The external reflects, tells something about, the internal and the internal the external, but we have to make the connection. The tools that the photographer uses are both technical-cognitive as well as creative-intuitive. We generally focus initially on technical skills during our creative process, but our product is a metaphor for personal development when we access our intuitive side to be a creative co-producer of art.
The photographer is an artist and creator of images from a personal point of view shaped by their own consciousness and personal development. Consciousness of the symbolism of our observations and manifestations leads to self-exploration and psychological development. A photo tells an eternal story of light, insight, beauty, contemplation, interaction, reaction, positive and negative emotion and creativity. It explains the “what, who and where” we find about ourselves in the evolutionary processes of our personal and collective human psyche. Photos is a form of journaling our journey through life. Photos are the impressions life made on us and how we impress our perceptions and observations back on life though our consciousness. Photos are a way of sharing our stories and inspire each other to grow, change and develop through awareness.
A photo then becomes an eternal story captured in a single moment that serves the purpose of keeping record of life and experience, as perceived through the eyes of the photographer. Not only is a photo a form of personal and universal recordkeeping and storytelling but a form of monitoring the self-development of the producer as well as a culture. The individual is a microcosm of the collective. The photo is universal and collective when it is intuitively inspired by a technically informed artist. The photo is eternal because it captures everyone’s story in your own.
Conscious art is a practice where we constantly weigh up the weaknesses and strengths of our technical and intuitive skills, to work on what challenges us in order to adjust our ways as we continue to develop.
Be technically sharp, creative and inspired. Live intuitively and live consciously.
Blessings to you all,
Jayni Bloch.
The Riddle in the Mirror
Self-contemplation is the ability to reflect on experience in ones mind and the mirror or any shiny reflective object like the moon or a pool of water, symbolizes this ability. The formal reality of the visible world reflects, through the mirror, a new, truer and mystical dimension of a bigger universal reality. A mirror is the symbol of imagination and consciousness, according to “A Dictionary of Symbols” by J.E. Cirlot, translated form the Spanish by Jack Sage. The British publisher, Routledge in London published the second edition in 1971 and reprinted in 1995. Dreams, symbols and synchronicities resemble similar reflective qualities as a mirror and put us in touch with memories, the unconscious and the universal. Contemplating on the symbolism of dreams, symbol systems or synchronicities, opens our awareness to a collective reality that extends our rational thought.
When we reflect, our inner spiritual certainty, that lies latent in our unconscious, awakes. Before this awakening, our lives are completely involved with material ambitions where our past conditioning by family and society, dictates. It is amazing how much we occupy ourselves with cognitive thoughts and ideas that shut our access to the unconscious and its illumination abilities. Therefore, the process of self-reflection is a vital one for finding our true Self, purpose and destiny. In general the favourable times for our self-reflective ability, seem to occur as an awakening around the age of 28 to 35 and again around the age of 55 to 56, but any extreme personal circumstance can trigger this process. Once we know how to reflect on our lives, self-reflection becomes a healing tool. We find spiritual direction in this self-reflective dimension.
Today, I experienced the astonishing reality of the power of symbolic reflection when a client felt blocked by his rationalizations. We circled his dilemma from all the possible cognitive angles. Although we discussed some great theories and came to understandings, which lead to possible solutions, he did not feel that “click” that announces truth in his soul. As long as there is no click that announces one’s internal truth, one feels unresolved. The astrological chart, dreams and symbolism serves as my mirror to accesses the reflective universe for truth beyond the visible and cognitive world. My ego mind tunes out as I look into the arrangement of symbols and wait for some configuration to speak to me in the light of the questions of the client’s dilemma. I hold all the logical information and conversations we ever had, in mind, as a question to the collective unconscious. This is a process where I use my knowledge and experience with symbols in collaboration with my client’s unconscious processes. I assist him to discover his truth. As the “click” happens, I announce it and it immediately happens for him at the same time. The illuminating insight strikes him with a tremendous relief despite its painful truth. Everything makes sense and the true therapy can begin because the ego has no defence against the truth in the reflection. We dug through the defence mechanisms to his soul’s truth and the meaning of the challenge that he is facing right now. To find his true Self, purpose and destiny, my client if facing a challenge that was a riddle to his rational self. Looking into the mirror of universal symbolism, he suddenly saw the true meaning of his struggle that had nothing to do with practical solutions. His struggle prompted him to find the deepest wound he did not even know he carried until he recognized it with a bolt of insight that emerged not from logic that he could defend against, but form a place so deep and unexpected that it clicks with its truth. Some of the rational analysis and practical problem solving still applies, but now he knows why he has to do what he has to do. The challenge directly relates to his conscious participation of his spiritual development. Before the insight, the challenge was remote as if outside circumstances were responsible or he just made a rational mistake in his choices. However, there is no mistake as far as the unconscious goes. He needs the challenging experience to bring awareness of his hidden wounds, otherwise never detected.
Be brave and look into the mirror of self-reflection to find your true Self, purpose and destiny.
Jayni Bloch
Spring is Blooming
Relationships in blended families
Blended families are common today because of a high divorce rate. This is a relatively new phenomenon that leaves parents, children and new partners with their children in the dark about how to handle the complex roles and relationships. How do we relate to our new partners children? Who should be involved with the discipline of the children? How do we as children relate to our parent’s new partners and their children? The confusion in the minds of parents, partners as well as children is unconcealed. Children feel that they are not allowed to bond with the parent’s new partner, because if they had to love or bond with this person, they might feel disloyal to the parent who has replaced their biological parent. This feeling is exaggerated by unresolved conflict between the split biological parents. Children love both their parents despite their split. The back and forth movement from one home to the other between there, now two, families is another issue that makes life less settled for these children. How do we handle all of this?
When blended families became more common, a lot of confusion surfaced in the minds of professionals who had to advise parents and children about practical problems related to these circumstances. The most common advice that surfaced was that each biological parent take responsibility for the discipline and relationship of their own biological children and that the new partner take a passive role by staying in the background. Yet, because of their ongoing physiological and psychological development and maturation process, children need the influence of parents as they relate as a couple in the family they are a part of. In the case of blended families this means that they belong to two sets of parents and two families.
In my practice I have found that most people in a blended family situation feel even more split than ever with the attitude of only biological parents being involved with relationships and discipline of their own children. Instead of feeling a sense of belonging to two families, the children experience two broken families. They feel the original split keeps on splitting then further and they start to resent either their biological parents or the partners of their parents or both. This resentment turns into depression or anger and misbehavior. The children frustration is about never having any opportunity to experience the completeness of a whole family. Not only is their original family split but the new families that came from this split, continues to split because of the impossibility of forming new emotional relationships that is common to a family unit. The unease of new partners to be part of the biological family because of the idea of not being allowed to participate with family relationships causes a lot of disturbance in the new adult bond as well as in the emotional and social development of the children. When there are no meaningful attachments or influence from the people who matter most to the children in terms of what they need from a family unit, their emotional development suffers.
This brings us to the question of how serious the nature is of a parent’s choice of a new life partner. They absolutely have to keep in mind that this new partner will have an influence on their children whether they thought so or not. This new person is a role model to their children by mere fact that this person is their partner, whether they know this or not.
Children need to experience parents as role models in the development of their personal sexual identity as well as their future relationships in partnerships. They cannot be cut off from the bond between whoever serve as their parents. When the parents split, the new couple serves as that role-model in the psyche of the child. In the case of blended families, the children have two sets of role-models, both equally important. The two sets of role-models, according to my view, are good for children to experience, as long as they allow each other to exist for the sake of the children. Children sense that their split parent allows their attachments in the new families and this makes them feel more whole and united. There is little harm is connecting with more role-models as long as the sets of role-models do not interfere with each others ideas even when they differ or are at odds. The children learn through their experiences with these sets of role-models. The more role-models and the more people they can love and are allowed to love them, the more children learn about life, others and themselves.
Children grow through experiencing the unavoidable challenges in life. Adults cannot protect their children form the challenges of our time. Our children have to cope with our ex-partners personalities and worldviews. Just because you did not get on with your ex, does not mean that you are allowed to remove your children from their company. Just because you judge your ex, does not mean that you have the right to impose your judgment of them on your children. It is natural for a divorced couple to be at odds with their previous spouse about their worldviews and attitudes, but they have no right to impose their own ideas as the only right ideas, on the children. If they do, it tears the children apart even more because children love both their parents no matter what. Children have the right to love their separated parents with their new partners. This love should never be interfered with, unless the child or children are in danger. When these children are physically and emotionally in danger, parents need to make sure their children are not exposed to this danger.
It is time for divorced parents to be clear with their children about their right to be loved and to love. It is time for divorced parents to stop projecting their unresolved resentment and conflict onto their children by dividing their children’s sense of belonging. You divorced you partners, not your children. You have no right to stop them form experiencing their other parent. You have no right to prevent your children to attach to your new partner as a valid parental figure in their life. Children need to connect with your new spouse or partner as the father- of mother-figure by mere fact that this partner is part of their new formed family. Children need to connect with your ex’s new spouse or partner as a father or mother figure without your interference. Without this relationship, children are deprived of a sense of family. The new partners have a responsibility towards the family as a whole and need to cultivate an active participation in all relationships with a delicate and sensitive awareness of their significance as the second parent. This is a huge responsibility and should not be ignored or denied. Children notice with intense sensitivity how this new partnership operates and this is what influences them profoundly in their ability to unfold in healthy adults who can form healthy relationships in the future.
Focus on your own relationship with your children and do the very best you can. What your ex partner do or do not do is none of your business and is his or her responsibility.
Rethink your life, don’t do what is easy, do what is best.
Blessings 
Jayni
Striving for Balance
It’s difficult to keep the balance. I am learning, after a knee injury to live in balance again, by starting to walk instead of running. Yoga helped me to get my perspective back by not overdoing anything, to slow down and breathe and balance effort with relaxation, allowing my healing to unfold.
The awareness of maintaining the position of not to fast and not too slow, not aggressive and not submissive, not anxious and not passive, but just in the still point in between these opposite tensions.
I ran too fast and tried to do too much too quickly with too much effort. Slowing down is like holding myself in regard, attending to all the ways life itself nurtures as I grow and allow soul to connect with spirit.
One of these days I will dance again.
Blessings to Everyone
Jayni
When sheep and wolves negotiate peace
I sometimes feel like a sheep, prey for those who are ruthlessly striving for self-interest, when I get myself in the middle of conflict and innocently trying to help! What happens when the person or people you want to discuss the conflict with, have no interest in solutions, except to force their own agenda on others. Our internal anger and fear close our minds to negotiation. Unaware of doing so, we are not open to hearing any other opinion but the assumptions of our own inner story when we have not dealt with those.
What is the lesson for me I wonder? If the principle of life teaches that the obstacles I experience in my circumstances live in my own mind, then why am I confronted with an awareness of a need to solve the conflict between others and myself and even between unknown other parties?
Maybe this is exactly the point…I cannot solve conflict on my own. Everyone involved in the particular conflict need to want to solve it. I can only participate in solving conflict with those who are willing to communicate openly, vulnerably and honestly. When we all show a willingness to move past conditioned ideas or assumptions, born from fear and self-centered desires, we can grow together in understanding and cooperate. If not, I will have to remove myself from the conflict to peruse constructive and creative activities.
Here is what I have learned and try to apply to myself when it comes to conflict:
- Stop putting your energy into the ones who drain your emotional vitality. It does not go anywhere.
- Be firm, focused and breathe positive and objective ideas into your life.
- Avoid a false reality of assumptions that live in your head about a situation; they feed old patterns that hold you prisoner and poison relationships.
- Learn what you can from conflict by keep an objective stance. See how the circumstances guide you in changing yourself and your internal attitude.
- It in unnecessary to tell others what to do, even though you can clearly see what will help. They need to discover the answers themselves. Let them do their own work and stay neutral.
- Do not listen to people who fume the conflict. Choose wise counsel in people who supports empathy, resolution and who help forge understanding. Sometimes, you will have to move away form those who want to pull you into conflict without the slightest ability or desire to converse. Move out of the range of fire until they are ready to do their own work.
- Exercise courage to stay calm and keep on breathing new life and clarity by keeping out of conflict.
- Only open up when everyone involved is willing to be humble, vulnerable and honest in discussions.
- Resign your own fear, responsibility to be a peace keeper, good person or the need to be accepted through compromising yourself.
What do you think?
Jayni Bloch
Discover the archetypal map of life
We go through cycles of life that expose us to emotional experiences that challenge us to grow awareness. These are archetypal time periods with specific themes you become aware of when you know how to recognize the archetypes. Besides psychology I studied many different esoteric schools in my search for understanding the meaning of life, over 30 years. I came upon a method that indicates, like clockwork, a pattern that helps us determine our place on the map of life. This method is constantly verified, observed and practiced as I continue to investigate and check it constantly.
If you feel attracted and curious about your own personal growth and healing and need to know more about how to participate consciousness in your healing journey, you might be ready to do this course with me now.
This course teaches you how to use symbolism and symbol systems as well as your unconscious to tap direction, guidance and consciousness in your personal healing journey. You will find that a life event that was previously a mystery to you reveals its reason and meaning. You will discover the beauty of the Archetypes as principles that orchestrate all life’s processes in the universe. We evolve according to these principles. Our conscious participation moves the process of development forward, and our unconsciousness of this process get us stuck in repeating historical patterns where the movement of learning happens very slowly.
Would you like to learn more about how to heal and grow in synch with what you are ready to do – use your particular archetypal theme during the specific time given for that period?
Through the years when people have done this course they always say “Why did we not know about this before. It should be general knowledge because it is so helpful and make so much sense”
Everyone has a lot of fun as they discover these archetypes and the light just goes on as you begin to understand how the symbolism in your life assists in your growth.
Are you ready to receive this teaching?
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Jayni
Very sensitive people
Very sensitive people respond in two possible ways to subtle or not so subtle emotional deprivation. They either lash out on others with unconscious anger and frustration or are fearful to please others rather than themselves. This response can again be obvious or concealed.
Maren shared a heart-wrenching story of a left-handed lady’s childhood experience. Her story explains how the essence of a deep-seated despair develops when one is not accepted, acknowledged or supported for a quality; in this case it is left-handedness. It turns her true self and her potential into an excruciating anxiety that falters life. Her confidence is shattered and she is unable to manifest and develop or share her talents with the world. The emotional anguish continues as she perceives the same theme of subtle emotional abuse continues in her adult life as in her childhood, but in unexpected ways. The circumstances are different but the theme is the same.
It is soul-destroying for a left-handed child to experience such brutal force into right-handedness. Her spirit is suppressed. Even today as an adult in different circumstances she still feels that there is something wrong with her and that she will always fail, no matter how hard she tries. She is functional without the anxiety but the moment her mentor’s forceful attitude about doing things a specific way triggers her anxiety, she freezes. Then she doubts herself. The child part in her still perceives others as holding power over her. In her mind, others decide if she is good enough or not, because of the original relentless emotional treatment she experienced.
The emotional pain she suffers indicates where to start with the healing process. Remember the pain or the symptom leads us to, and is the indicator for what needs to be healed. Every time she feels this anxiety in her body and then the self-doubt in her mind, she can tell herself that she loves and accept herself anyway, no matter what happens between her and others or how they force her to be not who she is. She takes charge of nurturing herself with self-talk and self-care. She tells herself that even though her manager pushes her to know and do, and even though she feels anxious about knowing and doing, she takes a deep breath and allows herself to know and do in her own time and her own way. She supports herself to do this like she would a child of her own.
Practice this unconditional self-nurturing and see how it helps to change the brain pathways to respond in new ways to life.
Thank you for sharing a touching story, Maren.
Please feel free to share you stories and ideas about this subject too.
Jayni.
The results and symptoms of neglect of emotional nurturing
It often occurs to me that where some of us suffer severe trauma because of overt emotional or sexual abuse as children, there are others of us that suffer equally because of more subtle emotional neglect. The same symptoms of trauma occur with subtle neglect as with severe trauma but is unfortunately not readily acknowledged or recognized. Symptoms of general anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsion, are common amongst us who have never learned the gentleness of loving care towards ourselves because of a harsh emotional environment for whatever reason. We already notice the harshness of struggling with obsessive compulsive behavior patterns, severe anxiety and the physical obesity, anorexia or injuries and other medical problems we suffer as a result of not knowing how to take care of ourselves. Obsessive compulsive disorder as well as depression and anxiety issues underlie suppressed anger. The neglected child part in us that never had a voice becomes anxious and depressed because they are unaware of their own anger about not being emotionally acknowledged. I see so many people accept subtle emotional abusive behavior from their spouses or friends because they feel unworthy of consideration because of the suppressed anger and inability to acknowledge them self. It is important to start by giving yourself a voice by hearing yourself first and attending to your own inner self.
A general lack about emotional nurturing that also extends to physical, intellectual and spiritual nurturing is widespread in our society, resulting in a lack of an intuitive ability to eat the right food, exercise in the right way and take care of ourselves emotionally. Our parents could have been preoccupied with surviving life or struggling with their own neglect and not be capable of attending to our emotional nurturing, or could have been part of an uninformed cultural attitude about emotional and general nurturing. We treat our symptoms even harsher by only relying on medication and surgery without attending to the underlying neglect of tenderness and regard for the appropriate origin of the symptom. To recover the lack of proper nurturing we need to nurture and attend to our inner voice for the emotional reasons of out symptoms as well.
Relationship problems follow early emotional neglect too because we now project the need for nurturing onto our partners and friends. We might even overcompensate for our unconscious neglect by over protecting our children and create a self-centered next generation. I truly hope that is not the case, but I do believe that we need to be aware of our ability to nurture our self and others appropriately in a collective healing process.
©Jayni Bloch
