Elgar – Nimrod (from “Enigma Variations”)

Beuatiful beyond words.

22 Train Stations from Across the Globe / Kathika travel blog

You can find a collection of information and pictures on 22 train stations around the world at Kathika travel blog. Take the time to visit this collection, it is a wonderful goldmine for any train enthusiast and also for travellors in general or anyone interested in architecture.

A sample from the blog:

Berlin Central Station http://www.flickr.com/photos/wecand/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Berlin Central Station, otherwise known as Berlin Hauptbahnhof, is Berlin’s main railway station and the largest crossing station in Europe. Opened on May 26, 2006, Berlin Central Station is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof. About 350,000 passengers travel through the Berlin Central Station each day in more than 1,800 trains daily.

Architect was Menhard von Gerkan. Read more about Berlin Central Station at Wikipedia.

Lynx darlings

Who can imagine that those lovely animals are beasts of prey. Darlings nevertheless  :)

From nationalgeographic.com. Please click on the picture.

I believe by Dave Koz

I have listened through this piece of music several times now. It grows each time, it makes me think this song means or meant a great deal to him (Dave Koz). Amazing I think.

Sean O’Shea

Wonderful art and music. On yourtube it says about this production: A selection of contemporary works by Australian artist, Sean O’Shea. Flute music by Leandra Gurbiel-Milan.  You can find more af Sean O’Shea’s art at seanoshea.com.au.

Brooks Anderson – landscape painter

A landscape painter I like very much is Brooks Anderson. This painting is from 2007. It is called Heaven and Earth and you can find it at Brooks Andersons homepage. Of course you can also find some information on himself  and his work there.

The law of love

‘As you keep the holy Law of Love, which I have given unto you, so shall the Truth be revealed more and more unto you, and the Spirit of Truth which comes from above shall guide you, albeit through many wanderings, into all Truth, even as the fiery cloud guided the children of Israel through the wilderness. Be faithful to the light you have, till a higher light is given to you. Seek more light, and you shall have abundantly; rest not, till you find.

God gives you all Truth, as a ladder with many steps, for the salvation and perfectoin of the soul. and the truth which seems to day, you will abandon for the higher truth of the morrow.

Press you unto Perfection.

Whoso keeps the holy Law which I have given, the same shall save their souls, however differently they may see the truths which I have given.

Many shall say unto me: Lord, Lord, we have been zealous for your Truth. But I shall say unto them, Nay, but, that others may see as you see, and none other truth beside.

Faith without charity is dead. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. How shall faith in what they receive profit them that hold it unrighteousness?

They who have love have all things, and without love there is nothing worth. Let each hold what they see to be the truth in love, knowing that where love is not, thruth is a dead letter and profits nothing.

There abide Goodness, and Truth, and Beauty, but the greatest of these is Goodness. If any have hatred to their fellows, and harden their hearts to the creatures of God’s hands, how can they see Truth unto salvation, seeing their eyes are blinded and their hearts are hardened to God’s creation?

As I have received the Truth, so have I given it to you. Let each receive it according to their light and ability to understand, and persecute not those who receive it after a different interpretation. For Truth is the Might of God, and it shall prevail in the end over all errors.

But the holy Law which I have given is plain for all, and just and good. Let all observe it for the salvation of their souls.’

From The Gospel of the Holy Twelve, chapter 90 (found in the periodical Pentagram nr 1, 2008)

Michael Jackson – Earth song

Rest in peace …

Enya – The River Sings

I hope you like it too.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

Have you heard of the Ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt. It is (was) very old and is very famous. You can read more about it on here. The library was burnt down long ago. Nevertheless, in 2002 the new Bilbliotheca Alexandrina was inaugurated. The library and also the very building is very special. Architect/planner was Hamza Associates and Snohetta.  You can read about the new library here. If you don’t have time to read the article in full, here comes a quote:

The dimensions of the project are vast: the library has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 70,000 m² on eleven cascading levels. The complex also houses a conference center ; specialized libraries for the blind, for young people, and for children; three museums ; four art galleries ; a planetarium ; and a manuscript  restoration laboratory . The library’s architecture is equally striking. The main reading room stands beneath a 32-meter-highglass-panelled roof , tilted out toward the sea like a sundial , and measuring some 160 m in diameter. The walls are of gray Aswan granite , carved with characters  from 120 different human scripts .

The collections at the Bibliotheca Alexandria were donated from all over the world. The Spanish donated documents that detailed the ruling of the Moors. The French also donated, giving the library documents dealing with the building of the Suez Canal . Bibliotheca Alexandrina maintains the only copy and external backup of the Internet Archive. 

Also visit the official website of Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Amazon – World’s largest tropical rain forest and river basin

The Amazon is a mosaic of landscapes and ecosystems—from lowland tropical forests to flooded savannas dotted with palm trees and bamboo forests. It is the world’s largest river basin and the source of one-fifth of all fresh water on Earth. The Amazon contains one-third of the planet’s remaining rain forests, sustaining millions of species. Today, more than 30 million people live in the region..

So it says on the WWF World Wildlife Fund’s website. It also says: Today, rapid deforestation threatens the Amazon. At current rates, 55 percent of its rain forests could be gone by 2030—a looming disaster not only for the region’s plants and animals, but for the world. What would life on earth be without the forests and especially the big rain forests in the Amazon area. One don’t even dare to think about it.

Also look at this National Geographic video on the work of WWF in the Amazon area.

WWF’s vision: Conserve the Amazon through local and national action in priority landscapes and aquatic systems; region-wide efforts in planning, leadership and coordination; and global influence of market forces. (from the website)

Chinese folk music – Red River – pipa solo by Liu Fang 刘芳

More wonderful music. (Yes, I like folk music.)

Mount Ararat

Photographer: Martin Grey, Mount Ararat

“Mt. Ararat, the traditional resting place of Noah’s Ark, is located in eastern Turkey near the Armenian and Iranian borders.” You can read this and a lot more at the website Places of Peace and Power. The website is an initiative of Martin Gray. On the website it says about him “Martin Gray is an anthropologist and photographer specializing in the study of sacred sites and pilgrimage traditions around the world. Traveling as a pilgrim, Martin spent twenty years, visiting and photographing over 1000 sacred sites in eighty countries.” His pictures are really something.

Violin Sue Aston Cornwall Home Coming Celtic Music Violin

This music makes me wanting to visit Cornwall, England.

Torii of Itsukushima Shinto Shrine

A torii is a traditional Japanese gate commonly found at the entry to a Shinto shrine, although it can be found at Buddhist temples as well, it says on Wikipekia. Read more about torii’s here. The torii below belongs to Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, a holy place that has been listed on UNESCO World Heritage list.  You can also read about the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine here, that is where I found the picture. Beautiful.

Itsukushima Shinto Shrine - torii

Brooks Anderson

This landscape painting from 2007 is called Grand Gallery. Yes, you have guessed right, I like landscape painting. Brooks Anderson is one favorite. He was born in Santa Monica, CA, in 1957. I found this painting on his website where you can find more of his paintings, http://www.brooksandersonart.com/paintings/. You can also read more about the painter in the information section.

Grand Gallery by Brooks Anderson

Backyard-birds

Backyard-bird. Click on the picture and follow the link to the website where I found it.

“Winter’s cold weather and snow cover can make for a very picturesque scene. But it can mean trouble for backyard birds searching for food, especially when seeds and berries are covered in ice. Today, approximately 60 million Americans feed and care for wild birds in their backyards.  And it’s not just in winter. Springtime and summer feeding is on the rise. After all, there’s no better way to assure frequent and close looks at your neighborhood birds.” You can read this and a very lot more about backyard-birds and feeding them here. You can also learn a lot more about backyard birds, e.g. what to give them from a 10 top list for winter bird feeding.

As I live in Sweden, winter bird feeding is common. My sister Eva lives on the countryside outside a town named Växjö in Småland (in the south of Sweden). Outside the kitchen window a fascinating scene develops. Hundreds of birds every day. At the window frame always lies a bird dictionary, very useful. I like to sit there watching the birds when visiting my sister.

Montsegur

Heard of the Cathars? In Wikipedia it says that “Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries”. The Cathars met with heavy opposition from the Catholic church at the time.  In Wikipedia it also says that “ The anti-Cathar Albigensian Crusade and the inquisition which followed it entirely eradicated the Cathars”. Read more here.

Montsegur

The castle Montsegur has a place in this history. At the end of the Crusade about 200 Cathars had taken refuge to the castle. But they were all (almost all anyway) burned to death on the valley next to the castle. The castle itself was entirely pulled down after its capture in 1244. No trace remains after the original castle. The place holds today the ruin after a later fort building, but it still talkes to us through its dramatic history worth considering.

When hovering the picture you can follow a link to the website where I found it. The website presents the historian Antonin Gadal who restored the spiritual dimension and initiatory aspects of Catharism as it is stated on the website. Your can also find a link to the website in the linkfield (Some links) to the right on this blog.

As a matter of fact I have been there once myself. The picture below shows me sitting on top of the ruin of the later fort. Time passes and it is now more than 18 years since then!!! I still remember it very clearly. I hope to be able to visit it once more.

Me at Montsegur, 18 years ago.

Staffa

Staffa

Recently I read in my local newspaper (Göteborgs-Posten) about the island Staffa with its caracteristic high basalt pillars. The island is located outside the Inner Hebrides on the west coast of Scotland. The philosopher James Hutton (1726-1797) studied the sediment layers at Staffa and other places. As it was already known how long it takes for one sediment layer to establish, Hutton came to realise that the earth has to be very much older than the 6 000 years stated earlier by the church.  His book “Theory of the Earth”, 1795, rendered a monumental opposition. Later follwers, with Charles Darwin in particular, have of course stated without doubt the very old age of earth. Nowdays nobody doubts. Read more about Staffa in Wikipedia (were you also can find the picture).

Don’t be afraid to think new. Even if it contradicts everything you used to believe.

white poems II

     ‘the three keys’

I go.
my path is long, its beginning hidden in the past; and
the end also unknown to me.
how little do I know!
yet this: the past no longer burdens me.
it no longer calls me back, no longer tries to get a hold
on me – and it no longer ties me down.
we have become friends – my past and I, and why not?

it was a clear day, in a space unknown to me.
a silver glow drew my attention.
that was when my hands found a key
to my friend. it was a clear day, when my ears heard the
voice of the past: ‘listen – move on! Go and do not turn
around I give you wisdom, let go of me, do not seek the
things that are past, do not call for them.
I am not your father, nor am I your mother, and you are
not my child, thus my word: go on.
we are friends, and a friend will help his friend.’

I go.
yet what is the meaning of this morning?
these clouds, these trees and people?
why am I here? Is this my world?
do I love her? does she love me?
I want to understand the present, I want to live!

I walk through my house and arrive in one of the
forgotten rooms; a tender golden glow caresses today,
the key of my world – and hear how the present speaks
to me: ‘why do you expect something from me?
I am not your father and not your mother, and you are

not my child.
do not stand still to see something of me; move – lest
you will never understand my being.
I am motion and rhythm, in- and outflowing breath;
heartbeat.
let your heart teach you, that is the meaning of the
present.
when you succeed, we will be friends, and a friend
helps his friend.’

I go.
where am I going? the future is grey, I cannot find an
outline in it.
but there is no fear and I do not worry -
for friends of mine, my past and present, and also my heart,
they are helping me.

my heart has taught me
the rhythmic working of life
the heart beats – and I go on.
its beat tells me clearly: ‘do not place all your hope on the
future, it is an illusion, it does not exist
what you expect from the future, has been already long ago;
everything has been before.

yet you go forwards.
the path is the essence, the meaning of everything.
it is the only point where past, present and future flow
together .
only this whole is relevant, a powerful friendship, pure as a
diamond. that is your key.’

I go.
my footsteps have altered.
they grow less deep, I can hardly see them any more.

the path runs differently now, it rises, with transparent
steps; I do not see them.
the only thing remaining is my heart.
I listen intently, for its rhythm changes.

hear, how its beats grows wider, deeper; and its warmth
increases.
it becomes a strongly vibrating tone, a rainbow, a dazzling
light!

all space is filled; powerfully it breaks all thinking,
dissolves all forms, but in my hands
the power of the diamond key.

and then … I experience what silence is.
louder than each sound, it fulfils everything.
it is in everything.
it is everything.

By an anonymous writer / From the periodical Pentagram 2007:4