The Cycle of Life – Dancing Poetry to Images

Eva+Mandir+collage

When my son was born in 2008, I left the Theatre for a while and finally had time for what I always felt didn’t get enough attention: the visuals in the multi-media performances I created before. It was easy to fit that around a baby’s needs. Now I explored digital photo montages in and of themselves. What I didn’t realize was that what emerged over the years was the expression of the cycle of life especially when I began to write a poem for every image. The cycle of life is a process of witnessing within the totality of experience rather than a exploration of a separate point of view. I am not really moving through a story of growing up and becoming somebody… The focus is on the one primary life lesson that I feel we are here for… the lesson of Love as an inexplainable, mysterious purpose of existence. Not very surprisingly really I came up with the idea that I could dance the poems to an exhibit of these images. Exhibiting was hence so much more interesting! The first opportunity offered came from the lovely Chapel Walk Gallery in Sheffield, where I was able to exhibit and perform the relevant poetry in a spontaneous and joyful collaboration with the incredibly talented musician Aidan Pinsent.

Cycle of Life

Finally  “The Cycle of Life” turned into a live performance and collaboration with the singer and musician Lindsay Treen. It was performed at the Stroud Site Festival and the Isbourne Foundation in Cheltenham in 2015. Below you can join me on this journey beyond time and space in visuals and poetry:

The Cycle of Life

or

the light shines ceaselessly

newborn_baby_mystery_of_birth

newborn

from the subtle realms of light

washed ashore

into the temporary arms

of human experience

the light shines ceaselessly

woman_and_baby_breastfeeding

all one

all one form

all one force of life

no separation

zero

none

child_in_awe_mystery_of_nature

such beauty

the fullness of the circle speaks your name

touch the heart to eternity

magical_image_of_child_and_ moon

ball

in the mystery of being

there is the moon to touch

and feel

and breathe

it is not far away

child_and_butterfly_beauty_of_childhood

deep

in the softness of the heart

I meet you there

with great delight

The_perfect_moment

if

there was such things as an I in time

I would call this the perfect moment

adult_skipping_seaside_contemplative

no walls

are real

who is there?

skipping a rope in infinite beauty is your name

infinity_eyes

to my beloved

it is not in the two

of I and other where we truly meet

the love that is

has only one heart-broken form of infinite beauty

I meet you there

alone

magical_image_of_woman

thank you

with you my love

I can melt into the earth

 with you my love

I can melt into the trees

with you my love

 I can melt into the skies

with the love that is you and me

I can be gone from here

whilst smiling love into your eyes

Love

when there is love

there is love alone

no thing at all

when there is love

there is love all one

as is

as all

magical_image_of_woman_dissolved_in_nature

dissolve

the death by light

kisses the forehead gently

gently

washes away the whoever

who has never been

transformation_dragonfly

self portrait

an image of the mystery of light

self portrait

the paradox of transformation

in no space timeless oneness of all there is

can you draw my face?

woman_and_nature_meditative

come and go

with clear eyes

just the seeing

of

how the world of things

are changing

forever changing

the rising and falling worlds are the body

of the only one who is

in love of my father

to my beloved father

the window of your face

blew wide open

to meet eternity

father

beloved

we are only light

and the light shines ceaselessly…

 

excerpts from the Stroud performance of the “Cycle of Life”