It comes from nowhere, but is everywhere.
It comes from nowhere
but is everywhere.
It seeps and creeps in silence with stillness,
and flows and whirls with resonance and force.
Its’ invisible presence is felt on sand and skin.
When I am engulfed in it
I feel empty -
yet full;
I feel isolated –
yet connected.
Its’ lips touch my neck and it whispers in my ears
in a language which cannot transcribed or written using characters or symbols,
but I hear it and I understand.
In the desert darkness its’ breath gently closes my eyelids
and comforts me to sleep
and continues to waft and blow through my dreams.
Julie Stephenson
Dusty Sunset
This is an image I took with my iphone standing on the running board of the car on our way home from Dales Gorge one afternoon. I know the sky is very ordinary and majorly blown out…. but the image protrayed exactly the feel of how the dust is in the evenings travelling home – so I thought it worthy to share. 
Not alone
Exposed -
on hardened layered blocks of rocks -
in the limelight.
At first glance
alone and in solitude with roots reaching and swaying
yet when a pause is taken to see more closely
a companion -
strong
uplifting,
yet insignificant
value overlooked
misjudged
often ignored-
sitting patiently alongside.
Julie Stephenson
Self awareness through running.
Running is like a moving meditation for me…although some would say not a meditation in its purest sense….but it allows me the opportunity to connect with my silence and develop self awareness when I am immersed in focussing on my breathing and having total awareness of my body so that I do not injure myself on the rather large rocks and bumps in the road.
I am practicing witnessing my thoughts pass through my mind, and then consciously draw my attention to my breathing (puffing ), and to awareness of my body and surroundings – where I need to place my feet. I am actually becoming more adept and being able to know where to place my foot without even looking at the ground. I seem to be developing a sense and awareness of where the rocks are – even when I am not consciously looking at the dirt road.
I witness my thoughts as they come into my mind. “Lift your spine out of your hips”…”strong spine”…..” focus on your breathing”……. “should I turn around now, or otherwise Max may have to come and find me “…. “what will I have for brekky?”. Thoughts pass through my mind all the time, and the key for me it to just be aware of them – witness them – take notice and act on the ones which support my self-awareness; and do not continue the conversation in my mind with others.
How amazing that a simple thing like running can teach me so much! Perhaps there is an activity that you may find you enjoy which brings you to a place of connection, silence and self-awareness.
Trying something new – my FIRST tree portraits!
I set myself an intention at Karijini workshop with Christian Fletcher, Peter Eastway and Tiny Hewitt to try new approaches and new ways of photographing.
I tried for the first time to take a portrait of a tree. And those who know me well know that I don’t usually “DO” trees. Here are my first 2 attempts.
During the workshop my computer had a hissy fit – and all of the images I am posting here from my trip over the past few weeks are processed only in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) at the minimum default size, and then resized to 800 pixels wide and then saved. I am unable to work using any layers…because the “insufficient RAM ” message pops up to remind me of the limitations of my current computer.
At least I can open some files and share them with everyone along our journey, and I am excited about playing with some of the images when I return to my studio.
So all my photographs from our trip are all my very simple edited offerings..which in themselves have an authenticity and rawness which I still find quite beautiful….. and show my exploration of trying new things.
Force which goes unnoticed.
Water
holds and carries the life from above
in its reflection
and slides through chasms which it creates
and flows and moulds and sculpts the stone
with fragile softness
and yet a force which goes unnoticed
until well after its caress passes.
Julie Stephenson
Courage into the unknown
In gritty times
when perspective is uncertain
and answers which touch fingertips are rough and hard,
sometimes the widest path
requires courage and faith
into the mysterious chasm of the unknown.
Julie Stephenson
Jubura
Jubura is a sacred women’s area in Karijini National Park. The traditional owners have requested that all who visit, greet the water in a particular way and let the water Serpents know that you mean them no harm. It is also requested that you speak quietly, slide into the wter carefully and no jumping or climbing from the falls.
This place is very beautiful and has an extremely powerful and sacred feel.
When the scars run so deep
When the scars run so deep
and loss cannot be repaired;
when courage alone
cannot heal
and embrace the dark cracks
which empty life;
it is time to allow new life to grow
alongside that which is damaged
even amongst the rocky uncertainty of the unknown.
Julie Stephenson
Sincere thank-you.
I would like to sincerely thank everyone from all around the world, who has written to me privately in response to my posts of images and words. It has been quite overwhelming actually.
The time and effort you have chosen to take to share your own stories with me has enriched my life, and also made me acknowledge more deeply the impact my images and words can have on others. I decided yesterday to publish a book of my images and words from Karijini…and the working title at the moment is “Karijini Speaking”. I will keep you all updated on its progress.
I have endeavoured to respond to all of your emails, so if I have missed you I sincerely apologise but I will ensure I go carefully through them and reply to every one.
So thank you everyone for opening your heart to me.
Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton and an unknown 70’s band….
I had just come back from clambering over a very big hill…. walking over the oldest land on the planet which is exposed. I sat on the hill and watched the sun set and the moon rise over the ‘lollipop ridgeline hills” and listened to the dingoes howling. Guided by the moonlight (my headlamp was presently a ‘pocket lamp’ J ) and my acute night vision… I descended the hill amongst tufts of spiky Spinifex grass and ducked under long, glistening structural ropes made by Golden Orb spiders which spanned expansively from tree to tree. I was feeling inspired… creativity and words were frolicking in my thoughts… and I was excited about coming back to camp and sitting quietly with dinner and writing my inspirations.
Back at camp, I opened the car door into the moonlit darkness and Lou Reed, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton and an unidentified 70’s band all entered my car. I stood beside our camper at the Karijini Eco Resort on a Saturday night and I felt I had been teleported in the Tardis to a mish-mash oldies Splendour in the Park! (Australian Music festival)
As I prepared dinner I noticed the volume increasing…as everyone turned up their own music – just a little bit…and a little bit more…..to be heard more clearly over the other songs.
Bob Dylan entered the mix and wailed in the dust…and Simon and Garfunkel tried unsuccessfully to lighten the mix.
Here we all were…”getting away from it all” in an amazingly beautiful and remote National Park…. with my memory of last night’s sounds of the dingoes howling, the night birds doing their thing – and a mournful screeching which I was hoping to record and identify tonight;, frogs and cicadas clicking like castanet’s; and tonight everyone is turning their own music up louder so ‘theirs” could be heard over everyone else’s.
I sat quietly and made a game in my own mind to see if I could play “Spicks and Specks” (For my international readers this is a very entertaining Australian music quiz show) by myself. It wasn’t as fun as on the telly without any other team members! J ) The ‘chai tent drumming’ monotonously thudded from the other side of the camp ground. Guitars were being strummed in a frenzy three tents down… and beer tinged karaoke added to the cacophony.
I sat and watched the shadows of the trees shift as the moon rose higher in the sky. I’m not sure though whether Pink Floyd’s stairway was headed where it was intended to go….and mournful screeching tonight was not from the feathered variety. I made wishes on shooting stars. The meteor shower helped me laugh at the mayhem.
It was really funny. If it wasn’t so funny it would be tragic. Actually the more I think about it… the more tragic I think it really was.
Struggles in the shadows
Sometimes the greatest struggles are found in the shadows,
where strength grows and grasps on to whatever it can
to support and nourish
what others only see, above
what is hidden.
This image is dedicated to a young woman I know who is struggling at the moment, and to all those who are struggling and gaining strength from deep within themselves; and dealing with things which no-one else has any comprehension of.
To all those who struggle in the shadows; perhaps give some thought to allowing and asking others to help be the soil to support your roots – to allow them to nourish you; nurture you and to support you with what you need.
And for all others who are feeling ok at the moment…. just have awareness that around you; perhaps some of your friends or family… and even those with whom you meet in the car park or in the shops; they too may be struggling in the shadows with something… so perhaps begin to offer something of yourself to others…even a smile….just in case they could do with some gentle support connecting with their own strength.
Living honestly.
I have learned to live showing all my rough bits… ALL of me – including that which is not smooth and pretty and refined.
I am learning to live honestly…exposing all my prickly bits which are not usually referred to as ‘beautiful’…. but in actual fact they really are!
Writing – How it can help transform a muddled mint into clarity
Walking through the gorges of Karijini, I was chatting with someone and they said to me that they were always muddled in their mind and were never decisive about anything and never knew what choices to make and said even when they spoke, their thoughts always seemed jumbled.
After some time this person said to me that they could tell that I was decisive and I had a clarity with my decisions and words which they had never observed before. This person asked me what I did and how I came to have such clarity of thought and expression.
I shared with them that I had spent many years getting to know who I am and made a commitment to certain practices which helped clear my mind so that I could best express clearly what I wanted to say in any particular moment…and also have the space for my intuition and inner voice to speak clearly.
My daily meditation is one of the practices which I find is important (see earlier posts on meditation), and also I have found – and would recommend – writing as a tool for gaining clarity.
When one writes, only one thought or word can be written at a time. Of the hundreds of snippets of thoughts which flash through my head, I choose to draw the words which somehow are attached to the thread of what I need to examine. Writing trains the mind to be focussed on a thread of thoughts, and to discern which thoughts to leave aside. When there is something concrete to read, it is often quite illuminating to see what I have written…and then I can explore my words further. Sometimes my words reveal what is important to me…and sometimes my words reveal that I am skirting around something and I need to wade more deeply into my thoughts and feelings.
I would suggest using writing as a tool to gain clarity. Why not give it a try? If there is something which you are confused or indecisive about…start to write….let the words draw the threads of thoughts and feelings to the surface. Just write whatever comes into your fingers.
In the coming months I will post some other ways writing can assist with clarity, self-awareness, creativity and expression.
Companions
Companions
with weathered skin from
storms
and fire
and dust;
with roots deep -
intertwined;
both stand and reach to each
without ever touching -
waiting
for the wind to whisper
‘It is time now to sleep’.
Julie Stephenson