Lauren Rule- Male v. Female Beauty (Outside Reading #2)

"Beauty is evolutionary. It is an adaptive effect that we extend and intensify in works of art and entertainment. Pleasure is evolutionary - it gets us doing things which are good for survival.
Beauty is nature's way of acting at a distance. It is first about the pleasure of looking, which then leads to evolutionary advantage."
In this very interesting article I found, the physical attributes of men and women are examined to define beauty (article can be found at the end with link labeled "article"). The article isn't too long and too detailed oriented, but it is fascinating. I think generally what today's society find attractive in a woman is obvious. The article lists a number of things: young (for fertility), large breasts, thin body (health), wide hips (easy birthing **which let's be serious, even with wide hips NOT EASY), clear skin and straight teeth (no diseases), etc. I'm fairly certain a student in our class is writing a paper on today's beauty standards. Even though our society has influenced beauty, there are some evolutionary features of the female body that won't change. Youth, large breasts, wide hips, and clear skin has been and will always be attractive features in a female. The thinner more fit and healthy body type is influenced by today's society; back when Twiggy was THE model, thin beyond thin was the attractive shape for women. In other societies a larger body set is considered attractive because it represents nutrition in a society with low food supplies. The article goes on to measure the distance between features and such. Women have a lot of 'helpers' when it comes to beauty. Victoria Secret is infamous for their bombshell bras which add two cup sizes to your breasts. Makeup is also used by women to make themselves more beautiful; color to lips and cheeks, cover up to smooth out lines and blemishes, and eye liner and mascara to make the eyes look bigger. Clothes can also enhance beauty; tight pants, low cut tops, short skirts, midriff/back exposing tops, etc. A lot of men would see some of these enhancements as cheating. Male beauty is different from female beauty in some ways. According to the article, there is less need for male physical attractiveness because the ability to support the family is more important. Clear skin, tall, and masculine facial features are important for males. There are of course other features for beauty; the article notes cultural variations and personality. The attractiveness of a female can also depend on her hormones. During ovulation, a female is more attractive to a man; females have increased sexual desire, smell, temperature, body language, etc. The quote from above is from the section of 'natural beauty'. Our basic idea of beauty remains the same with some variations through the years. Every person has a beautiful quality or aspect about him or her; it's like survival of the fittest, attractive features are continued in breeding while unattractive features are bred out.
Article

Telvin Harrell: Highest From of Art

Is music the highest form of Art?

Music is indeed a form of Art. Apart from being an art form itself it also brings together a number of other aspects from various Art forms. Music brings together imagery, poetry and all of its aspects, while also encorporating and communicating emotions, messages, and thoughts. Music can also spark memories and bring simple pleasure for whoever listens. But not only is music special in the uses and what it can do to people but also how music is heard.

Hearing is a very unique sense. Hearing is a modified and highly hightened sense of touch. When someone is hearing a sound and more importantly hearing a song they enjoy, the music is touching them physically and internally. This hearing or "feeling" of art, along with all the other unique qualities of music, is why I can agree when some philosophers say that Music is the Highest Form of Art.

Lauren Rule- What is a Poem? (Class Topic #3)

What is a Poem? by Charles Ghigna
A whisper,
a shout,
thoughts turned inside out.
A laugh,
a sigh,
an echo passing by.
A rhythm,
a rhyme,
a moment caught in time.
A moon,
a star,
a glimpse of who you are.

This is the poem that I brought to class to discuss. I found it to be short and sweet. It lacks the imagery that Professor Redick shared with us, but it still has the metaphors to make it a good poem. The main reason I was drawn to this poem is because it answers the question of what poetry is! The very question we ourselves are trying to determine. I have always found poetry to be the most diverse form of written expression. A poem does not require rhyming, even though this poem does a nice job of it. Each verse of the poem reveals something about poetry. The entire poem also has a feel of tension about it. "A whisper, a shout, thoughts turned inside out" is describing, at least in my mind, how a poem can be presented. Verbal communication was after all where poetry and all stories got their start. A poem can be private, shared between lovers as a whisper. A poem can be shared with a large group; a poem posted online, after all, will find many listeners/readers. A poem can be a collection of words, thoughts, or feelings that a person decided to put into words; once a thought and now a creation. The second verse, "a laugh, a sigh, an echo passing by" represents the reaction that either brought about the poem or that is evoked by the poem. Humor in poetry is not uncommon; a funny event could have inspired the poem and a laugh becomes the reaction of the audience. A sigh can be both verbal and nonverbal. A sigh can be from exasperation or a feeling of longing or sadness. The moment that brought on the inspiration for the poem is fleeting. The poem can be used to preserve that moment since time will not stop. The rhythm and rhyme are used to give soul to the words of a poem. The moon and the stars are infinite objects that will forever be identified. You, who you are, is less definite. A poem can be dedicated to the infinite objects as tribute. It can also help define who you are. I used to write poetry. I thought they were pretty good, until I read them later and realized I sound very whiny. Most of my poetry was about love. The joy and sorrow that always accompany love. True, when I wrote those poems I was in middle school, but honestly, not much has changed. I'm still in love with love. And even though I no longer write poems about love, I am always interested in reading them!

Telvin Harrell : Poetry

I'm not a very poetic person. I have never been a person to enjoy poetry. I have studied poetry in Literature classes, how poetry is filled with imagery, and metaphors, but have never taken an interest in it.

However, today in class, professor stated that poetry can open up to another world to us. It took me a while to understand what he said but after a couple of poems had been read in class, I began to understand. Poetry, now that I look at it from another perspective, is more than just what I had originally studied; fancy words and sentences. One of the poems that were read in class was on what exactly a poem is, and it can be anything portraying a number of diffrent things; such as feelings or emotions.

Professor's poem, that he read in class, provided a lot of imagery of the tranquility of the environment around him; this was well communicated in the poem. But, when I actually thought and listened to the words, that he chose, it opened up another world for me allowing me to feel the tranquility, calmness, and pulse that he tried to portray through his work.

Lauren Rule- David Hume (Class Reading #2)

I liked Hume's perspective of art because he does not look to define art.  The definition of art is, in my opinion, subjective and really can't be defined.  Instead, Hume attempts to find a standard of art, which still I find to be subjective.  Hume's theory introduces an antinomy (as we discussed in class: two ideas that seem to contradict each other while both claiming to be true).  The antinomy that Hume introduces is standard of taste.  Standard implies the ability to judge art or that art has a basis for which it can be considered art or not.  Taste implies sentiment.  Sentiment is personal; it is impossible for someone to tell you that your sentiment is wrong.  The universal 'rule' of art allows every piece of art to be judged appropriately.  Unfortunately, not everyone has the ability to judge art based on the universal rule.  The combination of standard and taste in judging art allows every person to judge art.  I have no training or expertise in judging art, so I really don't know the universal rule.  However, I see or read or hear or taste things that I deem to be art.  Since Hume adds the idea of sentiments to judging art, a creation can be deemed art by anyone.  At least this is how I interpret Hume's theory.  Hume, on the other hand, would deem that only those with the ability to judge art actually matter.  He thinks that those people are the only ones that can beat prejudice.  "Thus, unable to locate objectivity in artworks themselves, Hume judges that only certain people are so well qualified that their responses really count."

Beauty in Architecture

Walking into CNU's new chapel is a new experience for each that has been on campus. As I walked in through the front doors for the first time, My eyes immediately soared upwards and I looked at the sky, which shown brightly through the cupola. I couldn't help but to begin to think of how small I was in comparison to this great structure. Yet, I was not only captured by the structure itself, but rather by what it represented or pointed to. The structure of course is a representation of some sort of reverence for God, which is so clearly seen in its design.

Van der Leeuw writes on the topic of architecture. Though it is one of his smaller sections, his remarks are profound. He states, "A house is an enclosure of power" (196).  This is true in the chapel as well as in many other faith-based buildings. We did that there is a level of energy, of the presence of God that dwells in the midst of the house. And though God cannot simply be contained in an architectural structure, the structure ultimately points upwards and draws out eyes above us, causing us to reach beyond ourselves and into the beautiful, divine nature of God.

Telvin Harrell: David Hume: Art as Object of Taste

From the Nature of Art by Thomas E. Wartenberg

It is stated that David Hume presents two ideas about Art as Object of Taste
1) "... most people believe it is possible to make critical judgements about the quality of works of art."
2) "it can be nothing but taste, that is, whether a work of art actually affects the "sentiments," to use his [David Hume's] terminology"

I believe there are no standards for what determines one artwork is better than another, other than the means of personal taste; and personal taste is not a standard but merely an opinion.

People from all over can judge based on their own taste and how much they enjoy or like a certain art work. There are famous artworks around the world that sell for very hefty prices. But, what truly makes an art work priceless? The term priceless comes into play when a lot of wealthy people want a peice of art and are willing to pay to have it. There are no concreate standards to judge the quality of art work. How can concrete standards exist to judge artwork when a concrete definition of Art does not exist. Every judgement of a work of art is simply out of personal taste no matter what someone's "qualifications" may be.

Lauren Rule- Beauty in Nature (Class Topic #2)

So I am that person that finds so much beauty in nature.  The sunset, the sunrise, snow falling delicately from the sky, a bird building her nest, and so on and so forth.  I love it all.  But then again, I'm also that sentimental fool that would love to hold hands with my lover and watch the sunset while sipping wine and eating delicious chocolate cake.  I stumbled upon (literally because I absolutely love stumbleupon) a photo blog that I am using as my inspiration for this blog.  [The link is at the bottom of the page.]  Photography, in my opinion, is the purest form of art, even if Aristotle doesn't agree.  A painting, sculpture, dance, piece of music, etc are all creations.  Photographs are like visual documentations.  The beauty that is found in nature is captured without any deviation.  Of course photo shop has introduced a method of editing photos; a models imperfections can be erased with a push of a button.  Aside from the wonders of photo shop, photography captures a moment, exactly as it happened.  We keep photographs to remind us of moments, without any delusions.  Photograph are cable of reminding us of beautiful moments in nature and our lives (as well as less attractive moments in our lives we would rather not remember).  My point is, an artists uses his or her imagination when creating a painting, while a photographer captures the reality.  A yellow sky and purple trees are only plausible in a painting.  In a less extreme example, the subject of a portrait can request to the artist to downsize a large nose, fix a crooked smile, etc.  A photograph enhances to beauty of imperfections.
Photo Blog

Samantha Scalsky - Art as Symptom

Sigmund Freud talks a lot about daydreams in his section in the Nature of Art book. I find most of his theories interesting, while I don't necessarily agree with them. He looks at art as a daydream and questions why people find others' works of art beautiful, when it is their unconscious wants and needs that are coming through in the painting. He also says that "works of art satisfy a specific type of wish on the part of the artist". I don't think I agree with his statement about how we should find others' works of art disgusting or appalling because I don't think it is their unconscious coming through. I believe that some of it may be coming from their unconscious, but I don't think that it is their "wishes or desires" that are being left alone in the unconscious. 

Lauren Rule- Baking as Art (Class Topic #1)

In class it was mentioned that a person was doing their research paper on the culinary arts.  My passion is baking and I am always checking out blogs about people who turn their baked goods into ascetic creations.  Art is a beautiful thing.  Food, in my opinion is also a beautiful thing.  I wish I could make my baked goods into works of art like so many people do.  Even the most basic changes can make a huge difference in the way food looks.  Take for instance the way a cup cake is frosted.  It will taste just as fantastic no matter how it is frosted, but a cupcake with a design is much more ascetically pleasing.
  Using a special frosting tip over a knife or icing spreader makes a big difference.  The sprinkles also add a cute touch.  Cupcakes are my favorite to make.  I love experimenting with flavors and flavor combinations.  My favorite icing is variations of cream cheese icings, but they are hard to pipe through icing tips to make beautiful designs.  My second favorite kind of goods to make is cookies.  You might be asking yourself how a cookie can or cannot be ascetically pleasing.  But if you think about it, a cookie requires a certain shape and color as well as decorating beauty.  Now unless a cookie is burnt, none of those will affect its taste, but it will affect its ascetic components.
  SHAPE
COLOR
  ICING/DECORATIONS
Now compare all of these cookies and tell me one doesn't appeal more to you than the other.  With the exception of the burnt cookies (and maybe those iced cookies on the left), the ascetics don't affect the taste.  But if you have the option of chowing down on a delicious and beautiful baked good, why not?!  There is definitely an art to baking; some of us, however, are not artistically capable of achieving baking ascetics.  I suppose it is like any art, practice makes perfect (or at least a little better)!

Beauty: Head, Heart or Spirit?

Reflecting on some essays and in-class dialogue, I'm not sure if Hume or Kant or some of the others can simply experience beauty ... as opposed to using their heads to analyze or rationalize it.

Some simply experience beauty - whether in nature or in human-created art forms - and find the experience of beauty to be expansive and enriching.  Some seem to want to analyze something to death, and then use their powers of logic and reasoning to become the "taste experts" of the day.  They're essentially elitists.

If a chef works for years to create fine dining, and experiments with different methods for cooking or seasoning the foods, the chef may become a master of the technology.  Others, tasting the meal so prepared, may (or may not) sense the unique flavors, and may (or may not) appreciate the subtle skills expressed by the chef.  But does that make the dining experience exquisite?

I happen to have three woodblock prints created by Goyo, a Japanese artist who took woodblock printing to new levels of accomplishment.  In one print, you can see falling rain, with rain colors that adjust to the color of the background at that point in the scene.  Done about 100 years ago, having to register some 25 woodblocks to produce such images required true mastery in the medium.  But would the product - the resulting work of art - necessarily be "beautiful"?  My knowledge of the medium may enhance my appreciation of his skills - more than, perhaps, someone who didn't know how the image was created.  But the "experience of beauty" has nothing whatever to do with being knowledgeable about technical skill.

Referring to Kant, on page 63 ...

"So far as beauty is concerned, so be fertile and original in ideas is not such an imperative requirement as it is that the imagination and its freedom should be in accordance with the understandings conformity to law.  For in lawless freedom imagination, with all its wealth, produces nothing but nonsense;  the power of judgement, on the other hand, is the faculty that makes it consonant with understanding."

I disagree.  Here's a different perspective ...

Freedom to express, in whatever context is felt by the artist, is the basis of creativity.  To constrain and conform limits freedom and therefore limits creativity.  It may make whatever is created more comfortable for others to review or critique, but artists - of all people on the planet - need their freedom in order to express.  Without freedom, nothing changes.

The creativity that was not allowed in China has made their paintings the same for a thousand years.  If the critics of the time were followed, then the Impressionists  would never have existed.

Judgment must come from the artist.  Others will judge art, but the artist must be comfortable with what is presented.

When we witness art - and experience it - part of our discernment, and therefore our judgment, determines whether or not it's beautiful ... for us, as an individual.
                                                                                                                              Stu Rose

John Tyler -- Enjoying Beauty (3-15-13)

Enjoying Beauty -- Outside reading

While on spring break I began reading a book by Steve DeWitt, Eyes Wide Open, which has provided helpful insight into the class content and discussions.  DeWitt wrote the book in hopes to help the reader understand God's purposes for our joy and wonder.  He shows how it is possible to enrich common experiences such as sports, sunsets, and painting by turning them to their created purpose. In chapter one he writes:

"Every created beauty was created by God to lead our affections to Him. That's why He made the pleasures of earthly beauty so fleeting - so that on the other side of the pleasure we might experience either wonder and worship and ultimate satisfaction in God or the pursuit of the pleasure that beauty provides for its own sake. If we choose the latter, we will only be disappointed again" (Steve DeWitt, 7).

I have found in my life and in the lives of my close loved ones that there exists in all of our actions a longing for God.  There is this restlessness that plagues my heart if I remove myself from His presence.  DeWitt makes an interesting point when he states that "every created beauty was created by God to lead our affections to Him" because it points everything declared beautiful to the Creator, God.  What if creation was merely a self-portrait of its Creator so that in everything we might acknowledge Him? What if every sunset viewed, every song sung, every favorite food enjoyed isn't ultimately about the pleasure it brings but is instead a reflection of God's character?

Joel Hagstrom: Rhythm and its Power

When talking about words, Gerardus Van Der Leeuw  makes an important mention about how the rhythm of words plays an integral part in their ability to create power and force.  Van Der Leeuw says that every "word...has an effect. But metrically organized words develop a concentrated power."  I think it would be hard to find an individual who has never been moved personally due to a presentation, whether in song or spoken word, that contains a certain energy within the "feel" of the words being used.  Some of the most effective speakers today understand the power behind the underlying rhythm created by words and how that rhythm can be effectively used to hold a greater influence over the listener.   Elegant speakers who masterfully control their rhythm and word choice hold greater influence over those who do not.  I think that while we use words to form our thoughts and present our ideas, many individuals overlook how to effectively control them and utilize the inherently present rhythm.  Musicians and poets are some of the individuals who understand the power of rhythm and can thus captivate millions of people from a wide range of cultures and social situations.  They should be used as examples about how the power of rhythmic speech can reach a much larger area of people and have a greater influence on those listening.  Are there other ways available to manipulate the power of words?  Who else besides musicians and poets masterfully use the power in words?

Joel Hagstrom- Why We Wish: Sigmund Freud

In Sigmund Freud's paper, "The Relation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming", a psychoanalytic approach to art is taken.  One of the most interesting points that Freud makes in this paper is that he thinks works of art are "really the fulfillment of concealed wishes."  He then goes on to point out super heroes as an example.  From Freud's perspective, we derive pleasure from viewing super powers and super heroes because we have an outlet to view the result of what would happen if our inner desires, ie. ability to fly,  accomplish incredible tasks, etc., were able to be achieved.  I fell like this could be the reason why many individuals find pleasure in writing and viewing awesome acts.  We can feel the overwhelmingly positive sense of satisfaction by living vicariously through those "super heroes" we see around us.  I also think we feel this satisfaction because people tend to look up to individuals who excel at what they themselves are not capable of.  Do you agree with Freud on this subject?  Are there any super heroes or super powers you wish you could be/have because you lack them yourself?  

Joel Hagstrom- The Aura of Art: Walter Benjamin

In The Nature of Art, by Thomas Wartenberg, the philosopher Walter Benjamin is examined because of his exploration in the changes of the function of art under capitalism.  He uses the term "aura" to "capture the reverence that people in earlier societies...had for works of art."  Benjamin claims that artworks reproduced through the use of machines, ie. a camera, has diminished the "aura" of works of art.  The value of art within a cult (unique object hidden from view) has decreased due to an increase in desire for a work of art with high exhibition value (object that is accessible to all).  In modern society, with apps such as Instagram and other highly used picture sharing mediums, the value of a work of art, or picture in this example, is gauged by the number of views it has or how far it has traveled away from the original publisher.  Benjamin is spot on with his claim that the "aura" of works of art have diminished because they are so easily reproduced and the original can be lost so easily, in comparison to works of art in earlier societies.  I wonder if it is a good or bad thing that pictures and pieces of artwork can be so easily reproduced and manipulated.  But does it take away from its value?  Or have we all come to the conclusion, against Benjamin, that the more an object can be reproduced increases its value in society today?

Joel Hagstrom- Van Der Leeuw's View of Art and Religion

In Sacred and Profane Beauty, by Gerardus Van Der Leeuw, the ideas of religion and art are explored.  Van Der Leeuw says that, "there is no actual contrast" between religion and art with the primitive man because "the primitive man sees concentric circles" while the modern day man sees "a series of neatly separated planes."  I would have to agree with Van Der Leeuw because in society today everything (art and religion) has its own specific explanation that separates it into different entities.  Compared to the primitive man that would have combined aspects of art and religion into his or her everyday life as part of the norm.  Ancient cave paintings offer evidence into the wholeness experienced by primitive man.  The paintings are an act of ritual that help tie together different parts of primitive culture, instead of compartmentalizing it like that of today's culture.  By keeping religion and art as integral parts in one's everyday life the "concentric circles" are created instead of the "separated planes."  When did the concentric circles begin to be separated?  Was it a gradual progress or was it sudden?  Is there any way to overlap the planes to get back to the ways of the primitive man?

David Blanton- Walking on Water (out of class reading)

This is a poem selected from Sister Maura's book, Walking on Water entitled "Letter from a Peace Corps volunteer"

The muslim women are so beautiful you write

lingering on batik sarongs, coral and melodic shells

Then you say you build sand mosques on the white

beach at Jolo with children whose breath smells

hungry death. I hear you speak to them in slow 

Tagalog with smiles and though-out junctures like

college French. They understand. I know 

you write this letter after tears, the ache

of their need crusting the muscles of your throat

till they seem to dry like rocks as tide moves out.

The poem is obviously referring to a powerful, moving experience someone serving in the Peace Corps must have written Sister Maura about. The poem describes the powerful experience this person had. Evidently he or she encountered extreme poverty in a Muslim nation where he spent time with children that were danger of starvation. This exchange the person had with the children left them in a feeling of anguish as they realized their inability to substantially impact the situation.

What I would like to talk about is the role that beauty plays both as a vehicle for story telling. The poem is divided into three stanzas, that seem to take the reader into three different stages. The first paints a beautiful picture of the setting as the character sees the beautiful dress of the Muslim women and then the reader is introduced to this beautiful scene of a white beach where children are playing. The last two words (breath smells) marks the transition into the next stage where suddenly the reader is made aware of the dire situation the people of this area are actually in. The playfulness remains in the "slow Tagalog" but it is contrasted with the harshness of "hungry death" and "the ache." Finally the third stage lays bare the character's deep longing and concern for these children and people. 

Sister Maura uses vivid and beautiful language in the poem to paint an almost tranquil scene that is juxtaposed with the gravity of the situation. This richness of the beauty in the poem magnifies the sorrow and mourning the character experiences. It is because he or she is enamored with the beauty of the women, the white beach, and the children that the character finds so much pain in their pain. In conclusion, beauty enables people to connect more intimately, even to the point where the pain the beautiful object experiences causes its beholder that same pain.

Luke Jeffery - The Sea in Between

A few weeks ago, I attended a show in Virginia Beach that was put on by one of my favorite artists, Josh Garrels.  I've been following Josh's work for over five years now and have just now been able to go to a show of his.  Recently, Josh's music, which is a unique blend of folk, hip-hop, electronica and singer-songwriter,  has been getting much more popular and he's received nationwide notoriety for his incredible work.  This is mainly due to the fact that he released his last album for free and it went viral across the nation.

After this giveaway album had spread, a man in Canada called Josh, asking him to come up to the island that he lived on to write and record with a group of musicians known as the Mason Jar Collective.  Josh agreed, not knowing what was in store, and set off on a weeklong journey to find out what creativity could produce amongst them.  In the midst of planning, they decided that the best way to document this experience was to make a movie out of it, and thus the documentary, "The Sea in Between" was produced through this experience.

At the show that I attended in Virginia Beach, they showed this documentary.  I couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of this situation.  A group of people had decided to get together and allow their unique creative expressions to coalesce as they recorded on surely one of the most beautiful islands in the world.  I was immediately struck by the beauty that the different artists experienced in their convergence.  At some point in the documentary, each described the unique phenomenon of creativity that they were brought into through this experience.  The trip departed from the normal experience of recording music in that the artists all left the comfort of their recording studios and homes and travelled to an island that none of them had ever been to, in order to record together.  The beauty of the landscape that surrounded them contributed to the creative expression that came forth in their songs, and is also depicted in the documentary. I was struck by how the beauty of the surrounding atmosphere affected the creative process that each of the artist went through.  It is indeed phenomenal how the creative process occurs in so many different ways and how the mixing of environment and different people can affect the creative process.

Charlie Chaplin on Beauty

Here's a quote by Charlie Chaplin that I came across ...

       "I do not have much patience with a thing of beauty
                that must be explained to be appreciated."

Makes me wonder if we go to our head too quickly, to analyze and evaluate and judge ...
and perhaps forget to just let the experience of that beauty permeate our total being.

     Stu Rose

Beauty & Humor

If you read the blog I posted about the “thrones of beauty,” you might wonder if I’m just nuts.  (Maybe so!)  However, there is “method to my madness.”  I see a link between beauty – whether in art or a magnificent sunset or an opening rose – and humor.  Here come two quotes.  The first is from a resource I refer to as “D”, concerning beauty …

“Beauty changes one’s perspective by opening one to possibilities.  It gives one hope.  Without hope, one has no possibility for change.  Beauty connects one to what is important to oneself, as an individual.

“Beauty gives presence to a new or different perspective.  When one sees or experiences something that is beautiful, it feels as though everything slows down.  Every cell of the body relaxes as it opens, and thoughts of new possibilities emerge.  The possibilities are endless and, what’s important, they vary with the individual.  However …

“If one only takes in beauty with one’s head, nothing changes.  One becomes ‘stuck in one’s mind.’  When beauty permeates one’s body, it can change one’s perspective – which opens one to new possibilities.  Beauty can lead one into experiences one might not otherwise have.

“Beauty opens one’s heart and allows it to sing.  When humans sing, it creates a vibration that feeds positive energy to every cell of one’s body.  It’s fuel for the soul.

“When one sees beauty in art, or hears beauty in music, it fills every cell with good feelings that resonate within.

“Beauty evokes emotions that become visceral – one feels it.  And, if one allows it, one can feel it in every cell of one’s body.  And that creates a positive flow of energy that is part of the human experience.

“Many humans carry a mask or armor or mantle or expectations of what others expect of them – or – a pain one feels a need to protect from one’s inner self – or – a fear of being who one really is.  Beauty allows the soul in its purest sense to emerge and speak.  Beauty cracks the armor and gives space for what is truly inside oneself to emerge.”

“Beauty is magnificent at touching a very precious part of oneself in a manner that is disarming and unexpected.

“Beauty can contribute to joy.  And joy allows one to see beauty in more places.  Some sadly perceive that only certain things can be beautiful;  beauty is in all things.  The more we feel joy, the more we experience that beauty;  and the more we experience beauty, the more we feel joy.

The second quote, from a resource known as Kryon, concerns humor – and how essential humor also is to creating joy …

“Humor begets joy.  You cannot have joy in your life without humor connected with it.  Imagine a candle, and the wax of the candle is joy.  The candle stands there inactive.  Nothing happens with the wax (the joy.)  It is suspended in a shaft that is going nowhere, but is poised and ready.

“Then, the light and flame of humor is assigned to the wick (you.)  It will start to melt the joy and activate it.  You can smell it, and the joy then becomes pliable.  It is working.  It gives off light, it is alive – because of the humor that is applied to it.

“Humor is the catalyst for joy.  Joy begets peace and melts the human heart.  Do you understand what we’re saying?  Use this.  Use it in all things.”

As I reflect on beauty and on humor, I sense they share similar impacts on us that are vital to the quality of our lives.

Stu Rose

1 March 13