A reciprocal relationship is at the heart of what I have come to know as “looking through the spiritual eye.” It is born out of silence, a place not easy to come to—the mind chatters—a distraction seems too delicious to deny. Doubt sneaks in. I must quiet myself enough to be caught off guard by Nature’s beauty, not as I envision it to be, but just as it is. Nature asks me to listen for the whisper of something much greater than just me. Then, once again, in the stillness Nature heals me with her beauty. For it is Nature’s beauty resonating within that speaks to the soul’s longing for things divine.

Humility calls me to emptiness. Humility is the acceptance of things just as they are. Surrender to the moment. See images in a new way. I am drawn to an unexpected experience through the lens. It’s almost as though Nature’s beauty takes over the photographic process, and I manage to step out of the way just in time. Open to her beauty and grace, I am grateful.

Letting go of thoughts and distractions means cultivating compassion for myself and for life all around me. In this way I open my heart and allow myself to become intimately connected with the object of my lens, whether a sweeping landscape or a single flower. As that happens I am moved to a deeper place within and then as an image offers itself, I find myself willing to receive and accept what I am given.

In this approach, the image is discovered. The guide is no longer the scene I gaze upon rather it is the stirring of the heart. Indeed it is Nature who allows herself to be seen as the spiritual eye within me becomes the lens.