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Ripples

Ripples

Rick writes:

Something caught my eye as I glanced toward the open window in my office.

It appeared as rain drops on a calm pond – just like the example we use to describe aura in the Zentangle Method.  ("Aura" refers to lines which follow an existing shape at a small distance like in our tangle crescent moon.)

I got out my phone and took this picture from my desk:

What was going on? I got up from my desk and walked over.

This is what I saw when I looked down: 

It was a series of Bijou step-out tiles for crescent moon I had organized in a plastic sleeve for a project Maria and I are working on.

Once I had the pictures, I knew they would be great for a blog post. However, I got stuck writing the ending part of the blog. So last night when I went to bed, I imagined that the words to finish it would come to me in my sleep. 

This morning, as Maria and I shared our morning coffee on our porch, I picked up The Nature of Personal Reality by Jane Roberts. I opened to a paragraph describing the states of individual personalities as comparable to "the strong patterns of energy that always represent motion, life and variety."

Well, there you go . . . those words crystalized what i had in mind (and in heart) when I sat down to share this experience!

Those ripples that somehow became embossed on that plastic sleeve appeared to me as if the ink-drawn patterns within were radiating their own pattern, rippling ever outward.

Seeing those ripples reminded me that as I create my art, whether on a small paper tile, or on life's larger canvas, each stroke resonates with its own energy. The resonance of each stroke extends outward, rippling far wider than I can ever imagine.

At least this is as I choose to imagine it.

All of which is a delightful reminder to approach everything I do with a reverent deliberateness and with gratitude and appreciation. 

- Rick

P.S.

Bijou just proofread the blog for me. He pointed out that those ripples are just like his own snail shell spirals. Nice catch, Bijou!

 

Rick Roberts

22 comments

  • Hello. As a Zentangler for some years now…..I am so grateful for all I have learned and applied in my life. My one regret is, as a musician and performer, that I cannot apply all the benefits and rewards of this art form to all?

    Yes, I can concentrate and appreciate and share my tangles to those who can see, but the ability to see is vital. I put it to you….how can Zentangle be available to the blind and visually
    handicapped? Is a Braille technique possible???

    Naomi Frenkel on

  • Maravillosa perspectiva, gracias Rick por compartirlo. Igualmente siento como ha cambiado mi mirada, después de transitar por el mundo Zentangle, y es de agradecer el despertar de los sentidos, de la creatividad, de la mente, de la vida… Me encanta leeros y llenarme de esa buena energía. Eternamente agradecida, y siento que algún día tengo que conocerlos en persona. Hasta pronto!

    Egleé Torres on

  • Maravillosa perspectiva, gracias Rick por compartirlo. Igualmente siento como ha cambiado mi mirada, después de transitar por el mundo Zentangle, y es de agradecer el despertar de los sentidos, de la creatividad, de la mente, de la vida… Me encanta leeros y llenarme de esa buena energía. Eternamente agradecida, y siento que algún día tengo que conocerlos en persona. Hasta pronto!

    Egleé Torres on

  • “the ripple caused by that first throwing of the pebble! Love this & thank you Kim Kohler for giving us all such a beautiful way of expressing our Zentangled artwork to newbies. My heart is rippling with love & appreciation, thank you Rick & Maria & Co.

    Lorraine O'Brien on

  • Magic in the small room has a lot to do with magic in the universal perspective! Love to think about it this way.

    Anita Aspfors Westin on

  • Gratitude and Appreciation. . . The two most commonly missed steps when discussing Zentangle. Thank you, Rick, for pointing out those two essential building blocks to all Great Art, to quote from project pack #14, I believe. Appreciation and Gratitude for what we can do individually and as a group ties us with a very special bond. Thank you for sharing!

    LLS on

  • Gratitude and Appreciation. . . The two most commonly missed steps when discussing Zentangle. Thank you, Rick, for pointing out those two essential building blocks to all Great Art, to quote from project pack #14, I believe. Appreciation and Gratitude for what we can do individually and as a group ties us with a very special bond. Thank you for sharing!

    LLS on

  • Just a quick translation from Anna Pelczynska, she is in absolute awe with the talents she has seen. Rick’s energy will. be with her for life.

    I too enjoy everything and anything to do with Rick and Maria Thank you.

    Jeanne Chrzanowski on

  • Jestem tu pierwszy raz. Zachwycają mnie wasze posty. Wrażliwość z jaką odbieracie świat , jego energię porusza mnie do głębi. Pozdrawiam

    Anna Pełczyńska-Kuntze on

  • BIG MAGIC!!!! Photons & enTANGLEment! :D <3

    Jules Mack on

  • That energy is very real!!!

    Clara A Brunk on

  • Zentangle itself has created a beautiful ripple that has inspired so many of us. Thanks R&M for throwing the first pebble!

    Kim Kohler on

  • I experience a similar situation sometimes when I’m reading on my Kindle. All of a sudden I will not be processing the words but enjoying the patterns that the spaces between the words have created. Thank you for sharing this loving image

    Lisa Hoesing on

  • That sort of thing always makes me feel grateful for my surrounds, no matter where I may be. We live in a tropical area and one thing I really love to do, is walk in the deep rainforest and then take the time to stop and look UP. The sunlight shining through the huge fronds of the fan palms turn them into emerald glowing disks of Green and everything around them is turned into a kaleidoscope of greens and gold……. very, very special !

    Sue Zanker on

  • Reading the blog is wonderful as are the comments. I read it all!

    Sonia Munson on

  • Lots to comment on in this blog by Rick. First of all, his pictures of spirals and ripples over Crescent Moon remind me of the technique of Transzending introduced by Rick and Maria about 5 years ago. Secondly, Jane Roberts sure wrote some interesting books, especially her Seth material, which I read just about every word of. This was in the 1970’s.

    Paula Schneider on

  • Patterns & Ripples; a metaphor for life.

    Rimona Gale on

  • Enjoyed your comments, Rick. I am a retired nurse and Healing Touch Certified Practitioner and Instructor and have come to understand the significanse of the energy of everything. Zentangle is definitely a strong source of positive energy for those who practice the techniique and those who enjoy the results. My plan is to use Zentangle as part of the homework assignments that encourage relaxation, inner exploration, and self care for my clients.

    Rosalie Shultz on

  • Our actions are just like that, pebbles dropped in to a pond, with ever-increasing ripples of auras bouncing away, affecting others [and ourselves, ultimately] by repetition. Sometimes we see that same thing so many times, and slight change of perspective makes it new again! My Zentangle practice is like that; each time pen to paper is a brand new combination with heart and mind.

    Ginger White CZT34 on

  • Yes! …and so necessary, the time you took, to sit with the experience so that indeed it is as you say, “a delightful reminder to approach everything I do with a reverent deliberateness and with gratitude and appreciation”. A beautiful post. Thank you.

    Molly Siddoway King, CZT36 on

  • Nice post, Rick! I encourage you to seek out the work of Paul Wesselmann, ‘The Ripple Guy’. His work on positivity and how how our small positive thoughts and actions ripple out into the world exponentially. I see this everyday in Zentangle as well! Truly inspiring!
    https://theripplesguy.com/

    Melinda Butcher on

  • Thank you Rick for this wonderful share. ❤️ I had a similar experience in my living room last week. While what I saw has been right there for years, it wasn’t until last week that the sunlight creating patterns on my window, blinds and sheers was visible to me. I’m still processing how it struck my heart. For now I am simply enjoying how it makes me feel to look at it!

    Diane Lachance on

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