Zen Ox Herding

Seeking the Ox

Finding the Tracks

First Glimpse of the Ox

Catching the Ox

Taming the Ox

Riding the Ox Home

Ox Forgotten, Self Alone

Both Ox and Self Forgotten

Returning to the Source

Returning to Help Sentient Beings

Creating Without Expecting

"The Tao gives birth to all beings...
nourishes them,
maintains them,
cares for them,
comforts them,
protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering."
- Lao-tzu (Tao Te Ching, 51)

The Sacred Tetrad

The Sacred Tetrad

"Meditate upon my counsels;

love them; follow them;

To the divine virtues

will they know how to lead thee.

I swear it by the One who in our hearts

engraved the sacred Tetrad,

symbol immense and pure,

Source of Nature and

model of the Divine."
- Pythagoras (The Golden Verses)

The Primordial Poet

"Meditate on the Guide,
the Giver of all,
the Primordial Poet,
smaller than an atom,
unthinkable,
brilliant as the sun."
- Bhagavad-Gita 8:9 (Mitchell)

The Eye of the Heart

"I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen." - Wallace Black Elk

Knocking on Heaven's Door

"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and he who seeks, finds;
and to him who knocks,

the door will be opened."
- Jesus

Seeking Water

"Not only the thirsty seek the water,
but the water seeks the thirsty as well."
- Rumi

The Kabbalist

The Kabbalist at Work

This image reminds me that...

To receive wisdom and express creativity
we must act as the Kabbalist
moving between and opening to
the forces that flow through
the Four Worlds (Domains) of Existence:

EMANATION

CREATION

FORMATION

MANIFESTATION

Integrative

"Integrative" simply means that this approach attempts to include as many important truths from as many disciplines as possible--from East as well as the West, from premodern and modern and postmodern, from the hard sciences of physics to the tender sciences of spirituality." - Ken Wilber

Transfigurations

Transfigurations by Alex Grey

Alex Grey's work so beautifully re-minds me of the multi-domain nature of inner and outer reality.

Multi-Domain Reality

"…All our different ways of thinking are to be considered as different ways of looking at the one reality, each with some domain in which it is clear and adequate. One may indeed compare a theory to a particular view of some object. Each view gives only an appearance of the object in some aspect. The whole object is not perceived in any one view but, rather, it is grasped only implicitly as that single reality which is shown in all these views." - David Bohm

The Seeker

Artist and Title Unknown?

This image reminds me that...

The true seeking of knowledge and wisdom

requires whole person, or embodied learning,

as well as a deep commitment to

a life of lived inquiry,

in which every experience

is taken as a lesson to learn.

Lived Inquiry

"By lived inquiry, I mean simply
the active, innovative and examined life,
which seeks to both transform
and understand more deeply
the human condition... "
- John Heron

GUN

 

GUN was created as an experiment in the application of cinematic design to capture and represent the inherent power of guns and the effects their mere presence can have on individuals. GUN is a film by Mark Allan Kaplan and was student produced at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. GUN premiered at the Los Angeles Film Exposition in 1980.

Voice in Exile - Cafeteria Scene

 

The Cafeteria Scene from "Voice in Exile," a cinematic vision-quest into the mind and heart of a stutterer. Written and Directed by Mark Allan Kaplan

Voice in Exile - Classroom Scene

The Classroom Scene from "Voice in Exile," a cinematic vision-quest into the mind and heart of a stutterer. Written and Directed by Mark Allan Kaplan.

Voice in Exile - Opening Dream Sequence

 

The opening dream sequence of "Voice in Exile," a cinematic vision-quest into the mind and heart of a stutterer. Written and Directed by Mark Allan Kaplan

Alley of the Unseen Forces

My earliest childhood memory is of a haunting mystical experience I had when I was in first grade. One morning, as I was getting ready to go to school, I experienced a deep sense of panic at the thought of returning to the ridicule and laughter I was receiving from my fellow classmates because of my stutter. Walking down the block with the other kids, the dread became unbearable. I turned the corner and slipped behind some tall bushes. As I watched the other kids going to school, I started to calm down. After a while, the street was empty. I slowly got up, turned down our back alley, and walked back to my house. I snuck into the garage, took my bicycle, and rode off, feeling the urgency of escape. After riding through the neighborhood for a while, I turned down an alley and suddenly stopped.

Autumn leaves swirled around the cracked pavement of the alley, being blown in spiraling waves by the strong Midwestern winds. White billowing clouds swiftly rolled across the bright blue sky above, and the electric power lines gently hummed around me. In an instant all my pains and fears vanished and I was filled with a sense of awe and wonder. Somehow I felt the power and beauty of the unseen forces at play all around me, and I sensed a presence of something vast and deep and unknown around me and within me. A feeling of safety and peace filled me, and I stood there for what seemed like hours.

Over the years, I have returned to this memory over and over; bathing in the gravity of that experience; and remembering to open to the unseen forces at play in every moment, both within me and all around me.

*Excerpt from Original Gravity: A Personal Narrative Theology Inquiry into the Experience of Seeking, Receiving, and Following Divine Guidance by Mark Allan Kaplan, Ph.D.

Transpersonal Movie Leader

 

The transpersonal movie leader was created as an experiment in the application of cinematic rhythm and image juxtaposition to mediate an abstract conceptualization, representing the notion of transpersonal cinema.

Public domain images were edited and digitally enhanced in Adobe Photoshop, then assembled in Microsoft Movie Maker. Finished product was then converted to Macromedia Flash, Windows Media, and QuickTime file formats.

Various transpersonal practices were employed during the creation process to establish an optimum creative environment.

Featured Clips Include:
Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel, 1929)
A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, 1971)
Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1987)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1969)

An AudioVisual Meditation by Mark Allan Kaplan