A year of the unexpected

A year of the unexpected

2013 has been a great year for reaching out and making the steps towards living a life that closely resembles a dream or a few dreams normally sleeping in the back of my awareness, as if only accessible in the realm of ideas and imagination.  It is easy to think those are not possible to manifest, either because of the limitations we feel in this dimension, like time and space for example, or because of other limitations like money and accessibility.

These limitations only exist because of our own pre conceived ideas of how we think we are supposed to achieve our dreams or when we think we have figured out the steps to take in order to reach them.

Our inability to simply let the unknown draw the map for us and surrendering to the step to face right in front of us, even if it seems to be going in the opposite direction, is often what keeps us on one side of the veil between the present reality and a dream. Dreams are not bound by the same laws of physics, therefore can manifest themselves in surprising ways.

This year I got my own perception of limitations tested. Nothing I was trying to create would spark into manifestation. I would be so focused on what I wanted to achieve that I would try and make it happen the way I thought was supposed to happen, even if it didn’t feel like the right time, as if trying to grow seeds in winter.

Only when we hit a wall, we come to realize that in order to create something, there must be a certain harmony with the rest of creation that surrounds us … only then can we see an underlying truth, that we are not living in a world where things exist independently from the rest.  We can make our way in the illusion that we control our life, our direction, our goals and our lifestyle, only to a certain extent.

Money helps to fortify that illusion, that we can survive independently of the whole, or that we can force a process upon a natural flow. Our present day society has plenty of examples where we can witness this – food processing for example, or over extracting natural resources inevitably at the expense of something else.

Indigenous cultures were aware of these dynamics.  Not only in their connection to nature but in their understanding of the journey of human life, knowing that each of us has come here to manifest a unique journey and live it as an unfolding dream. Although for most of us the word ‘dream’ is usually associated with sleep state, for the ancient, it was a conscious process to create and manifest a particular reality following the laws of nature.

Reality is unfolding constantly like a quantum fountain.  The conscious part of our brain identifies and maps only what it can process and creates the belief that it’s the only reality available, that there are no other possibilities. Only when we let go, when we surrender to the underlying dynamics of nature, will it actually surprise us.

This age of information can be tricky, leaving less and less room for the unknown.

We really have no idea of where we are heading, only some brief desires or inspiration that spontaneously drives our next moves, directions or experiences. An illusion of a meaning to our collective direction and adding ourselves to a timeline of events as if we are building something or going somewhere.

On a collective level, we keep on patching, improving and fixing what doesn’t work as if we know how things are supposed to be, yet not really knowing why it is like that. I was asking myself, do we know where we are going ? Do we go this direction because of a choice or we continue to build upon a direction that has been chosen a very long time ago, based on different values and a different state of consciousness.

On an individual level, the same questions was surfacing, whether my present actions reflects a vision I have for my future.

It is easy to imagine our future based on what we already know about life or a model we wish to replicate. But what if the answer resides in the unknown? What if we need to let go of theses models or ideas we have about how things should be in order for another possibility to emerge.

This year I was experiencing this for myself.  All plans and linear directions I imagined I was going to undertake had turned out into dead ends.  Only then I was forced to step one, just be, letting go, and, like the indigenous cultures, let nature take over.

I was then pushed into experiences that made me see that the answers I sought were not based on any information I previously had.  None of my previous experiences could have prepared me to imagine what I was about to experience.  It forced me to think differently – choosing ‘unknown’ area of life to step into – rather than choosing what I think are the available options.  It is far more challenging but somehow rewarding.

This curiosity I have for life has been renewed, just in a time when I was caught thinking that perhaps I’ve experienced everything there is to experience. Quite obviously, I was wrong.

And like that, I embarked on a 5 months journey to Singapore, Turkey, Sweden and Japan, with no idea of what would come about, solely on a vision emerging from a dream … a dream I have about going where I feel inspired, trusting that there will be a network of people to share of myself and learn from others. That who we are is the currency of trade, and the wisdom gained from our path is useful for others. Our next direction being revealed in it’s own time.

When we stop to consciously make our way in the world, as if knowing where we are going, life takes over, and moves us where we are supposed to be, naturally finding ourselves into the very dream we originally had.

The future is all about possibilities and the only thing there is to do is creating space for the unknown.

With love,
Jean-Manuel

Happy New Year 2013

Looking back, before moving forward

For some years now, I have been quiet with regards to email, news and photography updates. After many years traveling across the Americas and Asia, I settled in Bali in early 2007 and almost disappeared off the map for nearly six years. Disconnecting from the fast rhythm of time has been rewarding and as a result, a deep immersion into the realms of the body-mind complex have led me to some surprising discoveries about the nature of existence and the art of healing.

About a year ago, in the early days of 2012, I found that photography entered my awareness again and re-captured my attention in a new way. A desire to renew my website and bring a fresh look to this fascinating art manifested itself.

I have never stopped taking pictures and it is time to start sharing those with you once again.

Instead of sending emails to everyone, I have gathered all of you, friends, family, fellow travellers, clients, beautiful encounters and mysterious strangers onto this mailing list. If you wish not to receive theses messages you can unsubscribe very easily at the bottom of this email.

These newsletters are intended to share images of my travels that speak to our universal soul. We are all living on a different corner of this planet and yet images of our world speak to us  as if we’ve been there before or we’ve met with those with whom we exchange a look. I hope  these moments touch you as deeply as I felt when each of these images were taken.

2012 has been full of surprising opportunities. From Bali to Alaska, Singapore, Canada, New York, Paris, Venice and the French Alps, I have been blessed by friends, clients and new connections and with the chance to witness absolutely gorgeous scenery and capture some beautiful images to share with all of you.

The world of photography is changing rapidly nowadays, not only does everyone now have a camera on them, but the quality of equipment, previously reserved for professionals, is now in everyone’s pocket. Photography is an art that is now quickly becoming a form of communication for all. Thanks to iPhone, instagram and social media, the way we see photography has completely changed. These images, excessively modified by filters, previously disregarded or ignored by the masses, and considered an altered form of  reality, are  now a popular artform followed by millions and accessible to all. As a photographer, whether we like it or not, we can choose to resist or adapt to these changes.

In 2012, I decided to explore this art of ‘iPhotography’, inspired and intrigued by many friends’ artistic touch and vision unveiled by the unique nature of these squared images. I discovered that iPhone photography is very different from professional photography. Obviously there is a clear difference in skills and technical functionality, but the artistic essence unveiled by instagram shots is a new, redefined artistic category compared to other forms of photography. What is beautiful through an iPhone lens is not necessary going to be appealing viewed from a professional lens and the same is true in reverse. iPhone photography will never extinguish other forms of photography, it is an emergent art, creating and inspiring new forms of artistic expressions. Some photographers won’t have the eye for both, and some will discover a new side of their inner artist and have a camera in one hand and an iPhone in the other !

I have just got back to Bali, my home, where I will be preparing new galleries and another series of updates to my website. In the meantime, below is a glimpse of what I have seen through the iPhone lens and a teaser of the galleries that will become available as we move further into 2013.

Stay tuned for my next newsletter!

Blessings
Jean-Manuel