”Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~ Willie Nelson

Truth. the trick is shifting your thoughts without too much self consciousness.. the shift is hard to notice moment by moment.. but after a few years, the change becomes obvious. at least in my own experience….. hint: a meditative practice is infinitely helpful ;)

Rock balancing is a perfect way to take the mind off of the mind.  through realizing seemingly impossible arrangements, conceptions shift from “impossible” to POSSIBLE…!!  at least this is my feeling of the changes i’ve seen in myself over the past few years.. but i guess everything is my teacher, although balancing has sped up the learning, as they are great teachers.. :)

This balance was realized around sunset today before the Full Moon.  The atmosphere and scene were exquisite to witness.. not to mention the arrangement of rocks hanging in the balance.. The top rock in particular here excites my spirit more than most… the brilliant earthy orange is hard to dismiss..not to mention the abstract shape.  the color and shape perfectly accented by the darker, smaller “bean” rock below… a good way to conceptualize this balance is by viewing the orange rock and bean rock as ONE single system.  both balanced simultaneously as the stronger contact is between these two rocks, while the most precarious point is under the bean rock.

One other interesting occurrence of today was the sudden rise in creek water levels at sunset.  based on my images and camera info, the water rose at least 15 cm in about 4 minutes… I was slightly scared that i was standing close to a flashflood, which can be dangerous in the creek. but weather conditions were cloudy and no rain… so my only theory is that some kind of smaller waterway or runoff was opened into the creek higher up into the valley…

Either way…the experience was a surprise and slightly discomforting… but as friend once said… “seek joy, not comfort” :)

For the full moon this morning I found myself at a friend’s house about 5 miles up a winding mountain road from Boulder. The view from up here is always a gift. City lights of Boulder in the distance… Louisville beyond that, and eventually Denver.  More often than not when I’m up here, the sun rises in brilliant silence. This night was especially calm for hilltop areas like this… I brought my camera gear up in anticipation of a sweet sunrise. Rocks came into the picture when I realized how still the air rested…It feels especially quiet to observe the city lights from an elevated distance.

My first idea was to get the city lights behind a moonlight balance. Check. Then I began to play around upon realizing several interesting angles of the small outcrop of rock. Especially with the Full Moon glow. To get a decent exposure with low ISO, my shutter speed required 20 seconds to collect sufficient light. The challenge was staying still in the pose for a continuous 20 seconds, while noticing a steep drop just below my feet. Even with balancing myself there was a still point, in which balance felt natural and undisturbed. It was much harder to maintain the still point with a dynamic and “wiggly” system like my body.

This is the kind of of colorful sunrise I was hoping for when I initially brought my camera with me into the mountains.. The sunrise built up for nearly half an hour before it EXPLODED with color!!  Absolutely breathtaking!  I think this was captured at around 7:17 am that morning according to my camera.. As evidenced by the balance, which is slightly different from the night photo, the morning carried an intense calm.  Even the slightest breeze would have toppled this balance, but the cool mountain air rested as if in awe of the rising sun.

Moments like these always make me think of a special poem by William Blake..

“He who binds to himself a joy,
Does the winged life destroy.
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s Sunrise.”

There was a group of people at the same house sitting in a hot tub close by… Through making this balance in silence, I acquired the label “Wizard” by the hot-tubbers.. ha… :D

“Honor the past as your teacher, honor the present as your creation, and honor the future as your inspiration.”

“Medicine Cards: 24 – Crow (Contrary)”

It’s been an interesting week of learning to say the least. The media attention to my site felt both exhilarating and overwhelming. Such an amazing feeling to have so many people interested in my creations!

Since the most recent Full Moon I seem to be more easily excitable.. I’m noticing myself smiling more often, even laughing with a playful appreciation.  Could also be that I’m just noticing it more than before too..

This is one of the more difficult systems of balance I’ve created so far.  I find it slightly confounding to contemplate and explain the method of making this.  The horizontal base slab was the length of my arm (~2.5 feet) and way too heavy to lift with one arm.  Another case where the creation of this structure was only possible with the consciousness of all previous balance experience…

This arrangement (in the Black and White photo) is the 3rd of three structures I built today. Each one evolving slightly from the last.

Here is the FIRST one of the day…

here is the SECOND one..

I started the day with a desire for silence from excessive mind-chatter and anxiety.

Finished the day with a sense of stillness. :)

“You must unlearn what you have been programmed to believe since birth. That software no longer serves you if you want to live in a world where all things are possible.”

~Jacqueline E. Purcell

It’s funny that just yesterday I thought I had made something really amazing in my own evolution of stone balancing. Trying something for my first time that was rumored to be quite a challenge. That was then.  This photo is the product of going out the following day and building a NEW orb and hone the process.  This time slowing down, carefully placing EVERY SINGLE STONE. This one turned out quite a bit bigger, rounder, more symmetrical, and all on a much smaller contact point. :)

All of the elements lined up perfectly once again to produce this picture… possibly my favorite to date, given those colorado sunset colors, shapes of stones, negative space, proportions, and the addition of a new element.. that **orb thingy.  I was trying to decide what kind of shape to make and decided on the ball to contrast the angular shapes of stones.. I really like the contrast between the 3-dimensional space of the orb, and the relatively 2-dimenisonal rock silhouettes.

**To see some more funky shapes with stone, some can be found in the work of Andy Goldsworthy and other land artists… Someone did actually accuse me of copyright infringement for making a circular structure with stone.. but this particular person has zero understanding of copyright law… and therefore null.

“He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi

I always have special experiences when I hike up to Woods Quarry, which is a short hike out of Boulder, CO. I knew there would be a full moon tonight but had no idea when it would rise. Being able to shoot the real thing with its inspired creation turned out to be a pleasing alignment of elements.  It is usually best to have no expectations when I head out on a creative venture.  I started a bit late in the day so I didn’t assume to have any substantial time for a to complete a project…

I had never attempted the ball arrangement before. Got completely experimental… All I knew was that I’d seen pictures of them before. And I thought it fitting to create one in light of the Full Moon.  I had many balls of various sizes constructed, but many kept blowing over in the wind.  This one was the only one large and heavy enough to resist the gusty wind.  The timing and placement of everything was perfect as soon as I saw the moon rise. A moment I like to call “divine alignment” :)

This photo was taken earlier this evening. The lighting was achieved using a remote and remote flash.