The Movement of Trees
I had the bounty of visiting old growth Redwood forests in California many times. Once when my boys were ages six and eight respectively we drove down to the Bay Area from Oregon along the Old Redwood Highway. We took detours into some stands of ancient trees including the tallest one that is still standing. It was about as tall as a 35-story building.
On the drive through Northern California we passed a logging operation where hundreds of old growth trees had been logged. My 8-year-old son turned to me and said, “Daddy, someone murdered those trees” and I said “Yes, that’s exactly what they did.”
How can an artist portray a tree in such a way as to make it appear to move? Vincent Van Gogh achieved movement in every painting he ever made of nature as did Marc Chagall. Note how the living Sun occupies the entire sky.
When I am finishing a picture, I hold some God-made object up to it – a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree or my hand – as a final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. If there’s a clash between the two, it’s bad art. – Marc Chagall
Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. — Warren Buffet
“Flowers swung upon her branches in clusters of yellow flame, formed each to a glowing horn that spilled a golden rain upon the ground; and from the blossom of that tree there came forth warmth and a great light.” — So Tolkien writes of Laurelin, the Golden Tree
The Bahá’í Writings include countless references to trees in symbolic and powerful metaphors.
Bahá’u'lláh, The Persian Hidden Words
The Ridván is a beautiful garden, which the Master had planted in a plot of land which He had acquired. It is on the bank of a brook. There is a large mulberry tree with seats round its trunk. Many beautiful blossoming trees are now flourishing there, also flowers innumerable, and sweet-smelling herbs; it is a blaze of glorious colour and wonderful beauty. The scent of attar roses, of rosemary, bergamot, mint and thyme and balm, lemon-scented verbena, and musk makes the air sweet with their wealth of various fragrances. Scented white and scarlet and rose-coloured geraniums are there in wild luxuriance, and trees of pomegranate with their large, brilliant scarlet blossoms, also other lovely blooming shrubs. Each a symbol of devoted, loving service. — Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway, p. 96
After driving for about half an hour we reached the garden where Bahá’u'lláh spent much of His time during His long years of exile in ‘Akká. Although this garden is small it is one of the loveliest spots we had ever seen. Bahá’u'lláh frequently said to His gardener, Abu’l-Qasim, ‘This is the most beautiful garden in the world.’ With its tall trees, its wealth of flowers, and its fountains, it lies like a peerless gem surrounded by two limpid streams of water just as it is described in the Qur’án; and the atmosphere which pervades it is so fraught with sacred memories, with divine significance, with heavenly-peace and calm that one no longer marvels to hear of the traveller who, passing one day before its gates, paused and gazing in saw Bahá’u'lláh seated beneath the shade of the mulberry tree, ‘that canopy not made with hands,’ and remembering the prophecy in the Qur’án, he recognized his Lord and hastened to prostrate himself at His feet. — Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u'lláh v 4, p. 29
The zeal and devotion of the gardeners who tended the plants and laboured day and night to make the Garden of Ridván a place of beauty for Bahá’u'lláh to enjoy, was no less striking. The Garden of Ridván was situated on a very small island. The little river, which emptied into the sea, divided itself into two streams surrounding that small area of land. In the time of Bahá’u'lláh the garden was laid out in flower-beds and there were many ornamental shrubs and fruit trees. There was a splashing fountain from which water was fed to all parts of the garden. As it flowed, it came rippling down in a broad stream over a stone platform under two large mulberry trees. The stream which flowed by the island was about fourteen to fifteen feet wide and three feet deep; fish were darting about it in abundance. It was fringed with weeping willows, and the fragrance of jasmine and orange blossoms filled the air. Most of these features are preserved today, except that there is no water circling the garden, for the streams have been diverted in recent times.
Whenever Bahá’u'lláh visited the Garden of Ridván it was a joyous occasion not only for Himself but for the Master and all the friends. The atmosphere in this oasis of beauty brought some relaxation to Bahá’u'lláh as He sat on a rectangular bench placed in the shade of the two large mulberry trees. Many believers attained His presence there, and they too sat on similar benches. Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u'lláh v 4, p. 12
I visited the Ridván Garden outside of `Akká, Israel back in 1973. This is a preliminary sketch of one tree in the garden whose movement and beauty captivated me.
This is one of the variations that I developed from the preliminary version.
I collected a few passages from the Bahá’í Writings that mention Trees
Tags: Adib Taherzadeh, Artist, California, Garden of Ridván, gardener, Israel, Marc Chagall, Old Redwood Highway, Oregon, Redwood forests, Ridván Garden, Vincent Van GoghRelated posts
Blessed Is The Spot
Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified. — Baha’u'llah
Bahá’u'lláh has portrayed a fascinating spectacle in the spiritual worlds of God where the holy souls and the Concourse on High are circling around any spot on this earth where the believers are engaged in praise and glorification of God. — Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u'llah
"Blessed is the spot" (words from a prayer revealed by Baha'u'llah
My second video, Land and Seascapes has been uploaded to YouTube. It celebrates a beautiful metaphor written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. I used photographs that I made in Northern California when I lived there. Scenes include Golden Gate Park, Crystal Springs Lake in San Mateo County, Big Sur, and Carmel. Here are some of the images contained in the video. The background music is Sheep May Safely Graze by J.S. Bach. I found a page on Wikipedia where you can download public domain performances.
Tags: Adib Taherzadeh, Baha'i, Crystal Springs Lake, Golden Gate Park, Photography, ReligionRelated posts
Mirror Neurons and the Exemplar
I’m in the process of writing a long article on mirroring which includes the function of mirror neurons, their relation to religious teachings and the Bahá’í concepts of the Covenant and Exemplar. These are my preliminary notes and a few sources.
Of Mirrors and Exemplars, a Brief Compilation
Abstract
One of the most fundamental human social attributes is the ability to interact. Through interaction humans learn by imitation and share collective centers of attentions that lead to common knowledge. Social organization is based on the way we interact with one another. Previous sociological studies were focused on the development of those social processes but they did not concern those proximal aspects. The discovery that was made in the last decade of the twentieth century revealed the neurobiological mechanism that seems to enable social interactions. Mirror neurons are the motor neurons that function not only when we perform an action but also when we observe it. Moreover, mirror neurons allow us to understand intentions and emotions hidden behind actions. The ability to understand intentions of others is considered as a fundamental mechanism that determines social relations and, thus, influences social organization. Mirror neurons are the main factor that coordinates imitation and, hence, they are responsible for social conditioning. Mirror neurons provide explanation for social processes that are based on interactions such as common knowledge and social norms. Furthermore, mirror neurons are considered as a biological mechanism that makes social relations possible.
Original document in PDF format: http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/staff/jproos/ESABulinska.pdf
From Mirror Neurons to the Mona Lisa, Relating Art and Science
Artists have long looked to science for inspiration. Leonardo da Vinci studied anatomy and engineering and applied his knowledge to the creation of lifelike visual art. Today, artists use scientific iconography and concepts not only to produce realistic images but also to produce abstract and poetic images. The scientific lexicon can lend itself to visual experiences that have little in common with the methodical march of scientific inquiry. “Art is about uniqueness while scientific experimentation depends on repeatability,” said Suzanne Anker, a visual artist and department chair at the School of Visual Arts in New York. “What joins art and science together is the visual image.”
Unfortunately this article is no longer available on their website.
Mirror neurons play a role in cultural diversity, imitation, understanding intentions, empathy, language, and gender differences. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_cells. Also see “theory of mind.”
An overview of the work of neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran on mirror neurons including their possible role in human evolution is here. The essayist is clearly a materialist who puts forward a non-theistic theory of the function of mirror neurons. What, we may ask, is a religious view of mirror neurons? The medieval Christian view was brilliantly put forth by Thomas á Kempis in his book “The Imitation of Christ,” one of the most widely read theological works in history.
Bahá’ís have the concept of the Covenant and the Exemplar. Briefly, the Covenant is God’s promise of a chain of unbroken guidance and our agreement to abide by it. The Exemplar is the perfect human whose traits we are instructed to emulate, a person who in this unique case in known religious history is the son of a Manifestation of God.
[Bahá'u'lláh's] eldest Son was made the perfect Mirror reflecting His light, and the Centre of His mighty Covenant … This peerless Covenant revolves around its Centre, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, extolled by Shoghi Effendi as Bahá’u'lláh’s ‘most exalted handiwork, the stainless Mirror of His light, the perfect Exemplar of His teachings, the unerring Interpreter of His word, the embodiment of every Bahá’í ideal, the incarnation of every Bahá’í virtue, the Most Mighty Branch sprung from the Ancient Root, the Limb of the Law of God, the Being round whom all names revolve, the Mainspring of the Oneness of Humanity, the Ensign of the Most Great Peace, the Moon of the Central Orb of this Most Holy Dispensation’. — Adib Taherzadeh, The Covenant of Bahá’u'lláh
Bahá’í writer, Julie Swan, wrote:
“This tendency of creatures to mirror one another … helps us all learn vital skills. It helps us empathize, adjust our energy and feeling tones…our body language to match another person. This helps them feel understood and not as alone, and it brings forth a feeling of connection to us.
“With Abdu’l-Bahá as our Exemplar, we have a wonderful Example to try to mirror. Of course, we must accept our own nature and limitations. Because He is our worthy example for all time, I think to the extent to which we try to mirror Him, we do increase our capacities.
Mirroring is often an unconscious process, by which we learn many positive (and negative) things by mirroring those around us. When we begin to observe this consciously (which takes great effort, resolve, presence), we can use this to join with others whom we deem healthy, worthy of our emulation. Or we can use it to have empathy with someone in need. By consciously disengaging the process of mirroring (detachment) we protect ourselves from influences where we might be in danger.
When making art or enjoying art forms, we can create or absorb content we want or need to through use of the mirroring principle. [Cary] wrote about going into a painting, joining with it.
This would be more than mirroring I think, and take a real release of our boundaries. We all do this to varying degrees with film, music, and literature as well as other art forms. The physics of it probably has to do with the play of light that emanates from all and affects all.” (Reprinted with the author’s permission).
There may be real physics at work and definitely related to light as Julie Swan mentioned. Some researchers have found that living cells emit photons and theorize that it may be one of many communication mechanisms. I recommend The Field by Lynne McTaggart.
“McTaggart, an investigative journalist (What Doctors Don’t Tell You), describes scientific discoveries that she believes point to a unifying concept of the universe, one that reconciles mind with matter, classic Newtonian science with quantum physics and, most importantly, science with religion.”
The Field focuses on recent experimental work in the area of Quantum Physics. When and if such discoveries are exhaustively verified they will go a long way to explaining how art, poetry, literature, and even sacred scripture really work.
Click for a brief scientific overview of mirror neurons on Science Daily.
Not by the force of numbers, not by the mere exposition of a set of new and noble principles, not by an organized campaign of teaching — no matter how worldwide and elaborate in its character — not even by the staunchness of our faith or the exaltation of our enthusiasm, can we ultimately hope to vindicate in the eyes of a critical and skeptical age the supreme claim of the Abhá Revelation. One thing and only one thing will unfailingly and alone secure the undoubted triumph of this sacred Cause, namely, the extent to which our own inner life and private character mirror forth in their manifold aspects the splendor of those eternal principles proclaimed by Bahá’u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi, Baha’i Administration, p. 66
A compilation from Baha’i sources on mirrors and the exemplar. 86 pages, 9.5 MB (large!)
Tags: Adib Taherzadeh, Baha'i, Baha'i Administration, energy, faith, Lynne McTaggart, Neurology, New York, Religion
