The Dance of Life and Living

Nude Art - Female Torso Reimagined
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

The fates grant you music from which you choose the dance that will be your life. The music is not our choice - the dance is. You can dance the dances already made and be rewarded for your imitation or you can honour the dances of the past by mixing some of those steps with your own chereography. In this we have a choice.

The Peaceful Wisdom of Nature

Pluck your wisdom and sacred moments from the universal shores of divine blessing.

Judge not the shape of your experience by its pain but instead by its quality and ability to move you and reveal you.

A Prayer for Mankind

And our spirit will arise and fly to the height of the soul,

all within the mind and the consciousness unknown.

Great, wise and bold spirits your lives are now our inspiration.

In silent prayers of meditation and action we acknowledge and celebrate you.

Om...

Angel of Fire and Desire

Art & Photography - Angel of Fire
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

One person's angel is another person's demon. Fire can destroy equally as it creates. It is all that you make it. The spirits are all that we make them out to be.

Be powerful in your conviction.
Be bold in your desire.
Be spectacular in your presence.
Be loving in your choices.
Be simple in your joys.

Brothers in Arms - He Ain't Heavy...

Brothers in Arms - He Ain't Heavy...
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

In destiny's hands their potential is boundless, their hope limitless, their beauty manifest and their fear non-existant.

They are a gift that will ignite and inspire our hopes, expectations, fears and joys.

Such is the destined journey of boys to men.

Men of Might - Father & Son

Men of Might - Father & Son
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

Men of might.
Men with such brilliance, men with such light.
Father and son.
Tree and fruit.
Role and model.
Boy to man.
Hope to dream.

Just As I Am...All By Myself

All that we experience must be filtered through the 'solitary' self.
In this way, self-care takes its authentic place as part of the daily ritual of awakening the self.
The path of our destiny is the path of our soul expressed through daily thought and action.
Resist not the heart.

Om...

Sexy Abstract Yoga Nude
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

The heart and spirit reaches out through the body to the divine in prayer, meditation and worship. Om.....

Before I am, I was.
Before I know, I knew.
Before me, there was I.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_(John_Coltrane_album)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieifnB3c2zU

The Tools of Our Labour and Life - "Reading of Creativity"

The Tools of Our Labour and Life - "Reading of Creativity"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

The possibility and potentiality of all things are, in part, manifest in the actions of the hand. What begins in the spirit and finds its way to the mind, inevitably is given life through the hands.

Originality

"What already was does not need to be again.
It should be remembered as inspiration, motivation and celebration, but never duplicated.


Be genuine, you are already and original".

~ Friday, August 7, 2009 10:41 pm

Mystic(al) Tribal Spirit

Mystic(al) Tribal - Nude Art
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

From the great mystic grew wisdom and sage words of advice:

"move your own energy"
"by any means necessary, be moved"
"i am an accumulation of authentic things"
"I master me with each passing moment and experience"
"dance! dance! dance!"

Lovers In A Dangerous Time...

What I want to know is...

Can you tell me you love me, not with words but with care?

Can you tell me you love me with a spirit divine and rare?

Can you tell me of your joys?
Can you tell me of your pains?
Can you tell me of your longings?
Can you tell me of your strains?

If any of this you cannot say
Lay your head upon my shoulder and tell me in your own way...
Tell me about your love, that of a royal kind
Tell me about our love, with your body, spirit and mind.

This is for the love of you.

Prayer For My Angels...

© Pollard

Angels are not perfect, they are loving.

They work hard for our dreams, our fears and our humanity.

They take the shape of our most brilliant intentions and our most brutal failures.

Angels hold no vision of their own.

They accumulate and disperse the light of our hope and aspirations.

Angels have walked everywhere we have and cannot go where we have not, whether in our minds, bodies or souls.

My angels I honour your caring hands, your silent patience, your invisible worship, your whispered encouragement and your eternal commitment of serve and non-judgment.
You make my light worth living.

If Today Was Your Last Day...Apologies

This being my last day I just wanted to say...I love you in the following way:

I am sorry I could not be everything you wanted
I am sorry I could not be everything you needed
I am sorry I could not give you everything you wanted
I am sorry I could not give you everything you needed

I am sorry for not always listening to you
I am sorry for not always hearing you
I am sorry I did not always give you my best
I am sorry I did not always try my best for you

I am sorry I took you for granted
I am sorry that I was not enough

I am sorry that I hurt you
I am sorry for ever wanting to hurt you
I am sorry that I caused you pain

I am sorry that I loved another
I am sorry that I sought another

I am sorry that I could not help you achieve your dream

I am sorry for my silence when you needed sound
I am sorry for my fears when you needed courage
I am sorry for being a boy when you needed a man
I am sorry for the many times I've said "No", when I knew you needed a "Yes"

I am sorry for not doing all the things I said I would
I am sorry for not always doing the things that I knew I could do

I am sorry I lied
I am sorry I made you cry
I am sorry I disappointed you
I am sorry I embarrassed you
I am sorry I ever judged you
I am sorry that I kept many of my secrets from you
I am sorry that I was not all that I promised I would be
I am sorry that I did not "let you in"

I am sorry I did not hug you more
I am sorry I did not love you more
I am sorry I did not say all of this to you before
Thank you for sharing in my life.

I love you.

Law of Attraction & Radiance...

"Energy Portrait"
© Lloyd Pollard
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in FLICKr.
Not previously exhibited.

The universal energy of all things move through and around all of us.
It does so with no intention or purpose, until such is granted by our conscious and unconscious thoughts and actions.

Be aware of what you are creating, attracting, keeping and radiating via the energies of thoughts and actions.

The use of the energies to consciously and unconsciously design your life is a great gift and a great responsibility.

It is the gift of creation, healing, destruction, joy or whatever our need of the moment is.

Don't just 'be' but 'be' with awareness.

10 Quotes That Have Influenced Me, Lately...

"Those who fit in now won't stand out later."
(From "The Big Moo" (Book on business theory/motivation))
[Be authentic and celebrate that you are not like everything else or everyone else]

"Living is hard and birthing is mean, so get yourself a little loving in between."
(Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize Poet)
[Stay with it, keep breathing and enjoy what brings you joy without judgment.]

"...all the gods, all the heavens, all the hells are within you."
(Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth)
[I am a part of all things and all things are a part of me, consciously or unconsciously.]

"You've had the power all along, you just had to learn how to use it."
(Heroes, TV Series)
[What you be is what you will see.]

"...man's capacities have never been measured; nor are we to judge of what he can do by any precedents, so little has been tried."
(Henry David Thoreau, Walden)
[We have yet to scratch the surface of our ability to be original.]

"...everyone has the capacity for grandeur."
(Carlos Santana, Musician)
[Greatness is within our every pore, breath and dared dream]

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream..."
(The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho)
[We are so powerful that not even the universe can deny you your heart's desire.]

"If you don't hear you'll feel."
("Cysley". My Mom)
[One way or another you will get the message that the universe is sending you. You have no choice.]

"No bird soars too high, if it soars with its own wings."
(William Blake)
[Your capacity for greatness is limited only by the desires of your heart and imagination.]

"...you cannot alter your fate, but you can rise to meet it, if you choose..." (Princess Monoke, Classic Anime Film)
[Courage, more courage for everyone please.]

Abstract Portrait - "Fearless Shaman"

Abstract Portrait - "Shaman as Fear"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

There is nothing to fear but our unmeasurable capacity and limitless power to express, create, destroy and heal the self.

I am more than can ever be seen, felt or experienced. I am a sum of all things past and present and yet to be; this is the secret of the gods.

Tattoo Girl [A Portrait of Life]

Tattoo Girl (Painted Portrait)
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

The essence of our beauty is within the story and poetry written upon our faces.

Every experience adorns us with its intricate hope, pain and meaning.

Are we not beautiful with life?

Zap - "My Book of Inspiration"

Zap - "My Book of Inspiration"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

"Painting/Drawing/Photography/Writing" is a skill. Art is what you do with it. (reinterpretation of an anonymous quote")

The art of creative sight is born from the gifts of perspective(s) and awareness.

The use of imagination, expression and perception are the gifts that define extraordinary, memorable and creative lives. These are our fingerprints that will never be duplicated.

Artists are not just creators of objects, they are creators of their life. Their art is the manifestation of this life.

Expression is the greatest gift you have to influence the world and to let it know that you exist. If not creative, at least be 'expressive'. Live.

Prayer @ the Waters Edge...

Prayer @ the Waters Edge...
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

There is only one place you can truly grow from and that is from within.

When I embrace myself, I embrace the world.

The universe does not love me or hate me, it embraces me as I am. Can you do the same?

God is in the details and he cares not to be seen.

Divine are the moments when I become aware that the universe worships me in return.

As I am I have never not been.

amen.

Abstract Nude Torso - "What do you see?" [Remixx Series]

Abstract Nude Torso (1) [Remixx Series]
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

Arise and find your nature within the nature of all things.
What do you see?

Body Talk...

"Body and Souls"
© Lloyd Pollard 2009
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in this blog.
Previously not exhibited.

The body is sacred.
It carries many things:

our joys,
our pains,
our ancestors,
our hopes,
our fears,
our silences,
our failures,
our children,
our gods,
our culture,
our lovers,
our loves,
our dreams,
our destiny,
our divinity,
our creativity,
our humility,
and our humanity.

The body is our prayer to all things and our instrument of worship to the fates.
Live in it wisely.
Express yourself with it authentically.
Love with it attentively.

Womancraft - Witchcraft

Womancraft - Witchcraft
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

A celebration of the feminine would not be complete without an acknowledgment of her infinite ability to:

Create life as a Mother
Heal as a Lover
Protect as a Shaman
Advise as a Sage
Judge as Justice
Inspire as an Icon
Destroy as a Warrior
Lead as a Queen
Love as a Goddess.

The infinity of history cannot contain the presence and magic of the feminine and so it has fought to control her and restrict her story to that of the 'creator', lover and conniver. Yet time worships her and we do not exist without the spell of her divine permission.

"...and the Hand of God shall be the source from which all things come."

...never fear

© lloyd pollard

Behind The Scenes - Wall in Work Room

Behind The Scenes - Wall in Work Room
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

Where work gets made, evaluated and remade before publicly shared. A mini glance behind the act of making/creating with photographs.

"Sage Meditation"

"Sage Meditation"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

Our mystery is what ensure our greatness and places us within the connective universe of all things. What is not known about us makes us limitless. What is known about us makes us finite and less than all that is yet to be.The manifestation we call life is a sliver of our possibility placed into a context called time for others to comprehend. This is the wisdom of the unknowing...

25 Writers Who Have Influenced Me...

© lloyd pollard 2005

I've been tagged by Signifyin' Guyana. The goal is to share a list of 25 writers who have influenced and inspired me (I've added their key works that I personally enjoy). Read and share! These authors are in no particular order:

1. Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light. Inspirational insight into what it takes to be great and a warrior. Excerpt: "He knows that his words are stored in the memory of the Universe, like a testimony of what he thinks."
2. Osho, Creativity. Credible and incredible insight into living and being divine. Great wisdom in everyday words and thoughts.
3. Frank Herbert, Dune Trilogy. A visionary with the ability to articulate our future now with philosophy and practicality.
4. Friedrich Nietzsche, Man Alone with Himself. The amazing ability to bring large thoughts into insight that are way ahead of their time. A willingness to be outside of the status quo.
5. Alice Walker, Temple of my Familiar. Grace and articulation of an intuitive connections to the all things human and cultural.
6. Toni Morrison, Beloved. A complex and always surprising perspective in the way the human and cultural stories of spirit are told.
7. Bill Russell, Second Wind. A brilliant mind and observer of life's consistent themes as demonstrated even in the arena of sports.
8. Audrie Lorde, Sister Outsider. Intelligent observations of difference and how to navigate them and survive.
9. J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings. The ability to create a parallel world that is complex, nuanced and epic, while teaching us about our most hidden nature.
10. August Wilson, Fences. Human stories about real people that showed the everday life as being meaningful and poetic.
11. Terry McMillan, Disappearing Acts. Simple language and stories that people could relate to. Unliterature but literate stories.
12. John Edgar Wideman, Homewood. Serious and intelligent rendering of everyday life and its stories.
13. Ntozake Shange, Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo. Daring and fearless storytelling with colour and intuition.
14. Bell Hooks, Sisters of the Yam. A thinkers view of the spirit and meaning of the black experience. Credible observation and academic articulation.
15. Cornel West, Race Matters. Difficult, challenging and complex look at race and the black experience. I found out that I can think hard and long.
16. Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now. Composed and daring mix of language and imagery that inspired the expression of dignity.
17. Henry David Thoreau, Walden. Speak of what you see, sense and live. Observe and share what your living.
18. J. Krishnamurti, Think On These Things. A open, insistent and clear philosophical articulation.
19. Gwendolyn Brooks, Selected Poems. An unexpected voice that is original and grounded in real life.
20. Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress. A new perspective on a familiar genre. Made reading fun again.
21. Alex Haley, Autobiography of Malcolm X. Important subjects covered in a simple, natural and undramatic storytelling style.
    
22. Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics. A scientific and philosophical voice that speaks in layman's terms about the truths inherent in both fields.
23. Neale Donald Walsh, Conversations with God. God's voice never sounded more human and authentic. A story can be all about the perspective.
24. Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching. Wisdom and observation served with purity and simplicity. A s deep as you see it and feel it, you must write it.
    
25. Don Miguel Ruiz, The Voice of Knowledge. Exploration of the self in a liquid voice of clarity and knowing.
    
    

Tagged: Delphy, I Love Art, Authentic Art Visions, Art of Living Out Loud, Zemotion, Toporek, Artdeb,

Share. Share. Share.

Tattoo Couple - "embrace"

Tattoo Couple "embrace"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

Ritual love.
Ceremonial love.
Spiritual love.
Physical love.

Words are not needed to say what the bodies can say in symphony.
Mark my love divine, strong, silent and endless.

Your essence is my deliverance.
I worship at the altar of your mystery.

Hold Me Hold On - "Embrace"

Hold Me Hold On - "Embrace"
Originally uploaded by lloyd.pollard

There is little rhythm, there is little time
When you are not a part of my mind.

Your smell, your touch
Are such that I choose trust.

Your embrace, your face
In lust and haste, I desire to taste.

Take this place within me
A place where love will define our mystery.

Hold me, hold on, hold strong.

Lovin' you is still a thrill.

Sacred Fashion: VOGUE

"Vogue Mask"
© Lloyd Pollard 2009
8"x10" black & white photograph

First published in FLICKr and TUMBLr(Feb 10).
Previously not exhibited.

Fashion is sacred.
The energy of the body must be properly attired to ensure that it moves, radiates and attracts according the soulful needs of the moment. Clothing reinforces the divine nature of the rituals we engage in daily. It transforms the spirit, magic and energy of the wearer.

Our choice of clothing reveals the current state of our body, mind and soul.
How you garb your body is as important as what you feed it and how you move it.
Choose wisely and take no aspect of your body's maintenance for granted. Respect the temple from which your divine radiates.

Solitude...

© Lloyd Pollard 2009

I hope my solitude and silence will not harm you...
It is not intended to.

It is my time to heal
My moment to reflect and
An opportunity to gather up the loose pieces of 'me'.

I am still yours...


Nina Simone - Solitude

Stuff Spiritual People Love (#4): Shaman of Fire...

"Faceless Shaman (...on fire red)"
© Lloyd Pollard 2009
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in FLICKr.
Previously not exhibited.

FIRE:

The giver, healer, destroyer and transformer of life.

The giver of light.
The healer of disease and the unchanging.
The destroyer of hopes and dreams.
The transformer of water, earth and air.

A symbol of passion and rebirth.
A gesture of life.

Soul to Soul...

"Intimate Beauty"
© Lloyd Pollard 2002
8"x10" black & white photograph

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

Inner beauty. Intimate grace. Quiet presence. Radiant soul.
Divine essence. Goddess.

Stuff Spiritual People Love (#3): Tattoo Shaman...

"Tattoo Shaman"
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

The power, presence, mystery and wisdom of the Shaman has maintained, protected and healed us in our journey through time.
They are more than what we see, know and can imagine, these messengers of God and the gods.

Bluesman...

"LEGEND in Blue"
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

In our deepest moments of pain and uncertainty, the blues shall purge and heal us via the wisdom and grace of the soul.

Grow forth in the bounty of your experiences, hopes and dreams.

Child Mystic...

"Little Pharaoh Princess"
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" colour photograph

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

And a child shall lead them...
with her grace, non-judgment and acceptance of all things.

Return to the garden
Redesign the divine.

Stuff Spiritual People Love: Shaman & Mask

"Shaman and Mask..."
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" (2) colour photograph
& Digital representation

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

The shaman symbolically is the embodiment of spiritual and mental forces given life in human form. They wield the forces of perception, belief, imagination, hopes and dreams.
Rituals are their tool for education.
Masks their tool for invocation.
Healing, advice and guidance their reason for being.

Rise Up! Rise Up! Arise!

"Chained in the Noon Day Sun..."
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" colour photograph
& Digital representation

First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

In the light of the moment, rise beyond your self-doubt
Rise beyond your achievements
Rise beyond your potential.

Rise to meet your hope
Rise to meet your dream
Rise to meet your destiny
Rise to meet your power
Rise to meet your presence
Rise to meet your uniqueness
Rise to meet your soul.

'face' your star.

Mystic...

"Shaman (Red)"
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" colour photograph
& Digital representation
First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.


"All things prepare you for something else."
~ Monday, December 29, 2008 . 5:29 am

Gabbing on:

"Every thought leads you to something else.
Every action leads you to something else.
Every pain leads you to something else.
Every joy leads you to something else.
Every dream leads you to something else.
Every friend leads you to something else.
Every enemy leads you to something else.
Every kind word leads you to something else.
Every injustice leads you to something else.
Every failure leads you to something else.
Every hope leads you to something else.

Essentially everything about us is connected to something else and so are we connected to all things and one with everything, whether we are aware of it or not.

Celebrate your value and meaning to all things.

Masks & Portraits...

"Mask of Truth (#3)"
© Lloyd Pollard 2006
8"x10" (x3)
colour photograph
First published in this blog.
Previously unpublished and not exhibited.

There is so much more to each of us beyond
the 'face' we wear.
Revealed her are some of the elements beyond
the face of personality and ego:

mystery, anger, pain, presence, power, strength,
fear, dignity?

What do you see???
What do we generally hide behind our daily masks???