Gordon Parks

Robert Hale--international photographer and journalist--exhibit "Intimate Encounters: The African-Americans" is featured by Portfolio Gallery and Education Center as part of the American Art Experience: St. Louis. The exhibit runs through November 30th. Hale's "Intimate Encounters: The African-Americans” presents portraits of people who have contributed to culture in their community at large. More information about "Intimate Encounters" follows our conversation.

I met Robert Hale at the opening of his photographic exhibit "Intimate Encounters: The African-Americans" at the Portfolio Gallery and Education Center. Afterwards Robert and Carol Powell hosted a salon honoring him at their home.

I'm so happy that you'll learn more about Robert, his work, and the creative process in our conversation today. He has such a wealth of information that relates to Riehlife's mission of creating connections through the arts and across cultures. Robert Hale's website is a gorgeous portfolio of his elegant photos of a wide range of subjects around the world.

This conversation with Robert Hale is one in an on-going series of posts about artists and writers on Riehlife.

--Janet
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Riehlife: Robert, you're known as one of the West Coast’s leading photographers. Your work both as a photographer and as a journalist, has taken you on assignment throughout the world. That sounds like a dream come true. The portrait of your father at the Portfolio Gallery is one of the most moving in your show. He was both a photographer and jazz pianist. How did your childhood in Roanoke, Virginia set you on your course as a photographer?

Robert Hale: I come from a family where music and art were highly valued, encouraged, and played a large role in my early years. My father was not only a jazz pianist. He and his two brothers were strongly involved in photography. My uncle, Sonny 'Bay' Hale, a portrait photographer, let me observe him work in his home studio. Another uncle, James, though not as involved in the craft as his brothers, nevertheless was a fine amateur photographer. My father was more of a editorial photographer. I supposed through osmosis I l absorbed the lessons.

My mother, a nurse, gave me patience and empathy, played the piano, and made sure we children were exposed to more than pop culture. Both my parents supported my early experiences such as belonging to Junior Achievement, being the school newspaper photographer, and taking my first job at 16 as photographer for our local summer theater. I even worked in the creative department of a large department store as a window display decorator. These experiences informed my craft in later years.

Riehlife: The bio for your exhibit describes how after graduating from high school and serving in Vietnam, you studied photography under Adrian Wagner and Hal Jordan at Los Angeles City College. You moved to Sweden where you worked as a photographer in Stockholm. When you got back to the United States in the mid 1970’s, you felt the need for greater security in your life and turned from photography to a 20 year career in advertising as an account executive.

Many of my friends in the arts are constantly figuring out how to continue doing what they love. The Day Job is a classic strategy for artists to gain the financial stability to pursue their art. You mentioned some of the lessons from that time in sales--that you learned to talk and listen at the same time. Could you give us some tips on how to do that? What other skills did you develop that help you in the business of photography?

Robert Hale: Although I originally didn't intend to spend 20 years in the "corporate" world, it did however allow me to provide a more stable and comfortable life for my son and myself. During this time I continued to shoot and acquire skills necessary to grow as an artist. Coincidentally these "day jobs" paid for seminars that gave me skills that would serve me well. Chief among these was learning how to promote myself. Two of the most important skills I learned were how to listen, and nurture the business relationship. I had to discern exactly what the client wanted and needed, and to always ensure that the relationship worked both ways.

Riehlife: You've described your time an account executive as “years in which I had lost my courage.” How did you manage to regain that courage in 1996?

Robert Hale: I had been showing my work in a few smaller exhibitions in and around Los Angeles. When my work appeared in a group show in Ojai, California, I got the opportunity to photograph the legendary "Mama of Dada, "Beatrice Wood. After making my first of many portraits of her, we became friends. Through her gentle mentorship I felt I could make the transition from the business world to the ART world. After one of my images of Beato was accepted into the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery's Permanent Collection, I felt I ready to make the move back into the world of ART.

Riehlife: Your images have been printed in prominent publications such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, The LA Weekly, and Black Enterprise. Do you make a distinction between your work as an artist and your work as a journalist? How has one informed the other?

Robert Hale: I consider myself primarily a environmental portrait photographer; but I have always prided myself on being able to shoot anything--to be a general practitioner of photography if you will. Whether using images or words I want to tell a story with beauty, humanity, and profound calmness.

Riehlife:Your photos at The Portfolio Gallery include such well-known figures as Louis Farrakan, Gordon Parks, Rosa Parks, Betye Saar, Ozzie Davis, and Carrie Mae Weems. Your network of contacts in America and Europe is extensive. How were you able to set up your photo sessions? Did you need to persuade those who sat for their portraits, or were most immediately willing because you came recommended by friends?

Robert Hale: My portrait sessions have come about in different ways; assignments from publications and commissions. Most though have come through recommendations by friends or chance or planned encounters. Once contact is made the first meeting is setup to establish a rapport, and show my portfolio. After that initial meeting, I decide where the portrait will be made--either in the subject's environment, or at a location that I choose to complement the subject. By the time we get together for the actual shoot, I usually have everything in place. The final step is to put the subject at ease. I want the people I'm photographing to be active participants in the process. The easiest part is the actually shoot.

Riehlife: Your sensitive handling of light and shadow brings out the essence of whatever you photograph. How do you set about revealing this elusive quality so that it will live in your prints?

Robert Hale: Light is very important for me. Probably more important than the background. I prefer soft flat lighting. Illuminating my subjects evenly with shadows in the background adds a sense of depth and mystery.

Riehlife: You've generously volunteered your photographic service to organizations such as the Los Angeles Children’s Museum, Aids Project Los Angeles, L. A. Shanti, Aids service Center in Pasadena, California. You serve on the board of Directors for The Black Gallery Group, Los Angeles, California. This is in keeping with your focus on contributing to the culture of your community. Did you choose these causes, or did they choose you?

Robert Hale: With the gifts I have been given, and my responsibility as a human being, it's important for me to use these gifts in service of others. Sort of making like deposits into my karmic bank account. I'm most comfortable offering my services where they are most appreciated and will do the most good.

Riehlife: You're now spending much of your time in France, following the path of expatriate black intellectuals and artists. I'm thinking of artists and writers such as Josephine Baker, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Nina Simone, and Romare Bearden. What's that been like for you? Does it offer more freedom? Inspiration? Is there racism in France? How does your time there shape you as an artist these days?

Robert Hale: As you have said, I am following a long line of African-Americans who have ventured to France. While racism certainly exists in France, it doesn't have the same bite as it does here in the US. To be acknowledged as a photographer, and not as a black photographer, is a very liberating. In a country that has a deep appreciation of the arts, you are given more creative freedom to work and exhibit your work, allowing you to explore other avenues of expression that would normally not exist in the States.

Besides you cannot help but be inspired spending time in the land of Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Picasso, and that inspiration finds a way into your work. I have been very fortunate, and while it's hasn't always been easy, it's more than worth the effort to remain here. The rewards for me has been forming a wide circle of friends, a beautiful environment in which to live, a healthier lifestyle, and continued growth as an artist.

Riehlife:You mentioned that you'd approached Gordon Parks to find out how to stay human and approachable as one's reputation and celebrity grows. Gordon and others of his generation didn't set themselves apart. They were even listed in the phone book. What did you find out when you talked to him?

Robert Hale:Meeting Mr. Parks was one of those high points in my life. Sharing a couple bottles of good wine only made it better.

To spend time with a man who valued his humanity and creative skills above all else was just the lesson I needed to learn in order to help understand the proper balance between one's celebrity status and one's humanity.

Riehlife: It's been a pleasure learning more about you and your work. Any last thoughts?

Robert Hale: Thank you allowing me to talk about myself. I'm more comfortable behind the camera and allowing my images to speak for me, but I appreciate for this opportunity. I hope to continue to travel the road that began in my childhood, and to grow both as a person and as an artist.

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WHERE:
Portfolio Gallery in Grand Center
3514 Delmar Boulevard, 63103.

CONTACT:
314-533-3323
www.portfoliogallery@att.net

LIST OF PORTRAITS

Robert Hale: Intimate Encounters – “The African-Americans”

1. Herbert Gentry
2. Louis Farrakan
3. Gordon Parks
4. Rosa Parks
5. Emma Amos
6. Vincent Smith
7. Esther Rolle
8. Albert Murray
9. Kehinde Wiley
10. Herbert Gentry
11. Samella Lewis
12. John Outterbridge
13. Artis Lane
14. Laura Mae Gross
15. Charles Searles
16. Robert M. Hale (Father)
17.Betye Saar
18. Ozzie Davis
19. Earl Ofori Hutchinson
20.Carrie Mae Weems

All Photographs $400.00 each

PORTFOLIO GALLERY AND EDUCATION CENTER PRESENTS:
Robert Hale, photographer/journalist, as part of the American Arts Experience: St. Louis

WHERE:
Portfolio Gallery in Grand Center
3514 Delmar Boulevard, 63103.

WHEN:
Exhibit runs through November 30, 2011.

CONTACT:
314-533-3323
www.portfoliogallery@att.net

WHAT?

International photographer and journalist, Robert Hale's "Intimate Encounters: The African-Americans” presents portraits of people who have contributed to culture in their community at large.

WHO?

Robert Hale is one of the West Coast’s leading photographers. His work both as a photographer and as a journalist, has taken him on assignment throughout the world. His images are characterized by clarity and simplicity, with an extraordinary eye for light and shadows. Whether animate or inanimate, Robert feels his subjects have an inner essence, and, if handled with patience and sensitivity, this essence will reveal itself. His goal is to allow it to live in prints.

Robert, whose father is both a photographer and jazz pianist, developed his interest while still a boy growing up in Roanoke, Virginia. After graduating from high school and serving in Vietnam, he studied photography under Adrian Wagner and Hal Jordan at Los Angeles City College. He then moved to Sweden where he worked as a photographer in Stockholm. Upon his return to the United States in the mid 1970’s, he felt the need for greater security in his life and turned from photography to a career in advertising.

Although he spent the next 20 years building a successful career as an account executive, he describes this time as “years in which I had lost my courage.” It wasn’t until he reached his middle years that he determined to devote himself fully to passion of his youth. Since making that decision in 1996, his progress in the world of photography has been phenomenal.

Robert’s images have been printed in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice, The LA Weekly, Black Enterprise, and a variety of national and international publications. He is currently the Directors Guild of America’s photographer.

Mr. Hale has been proud to volunteer his photographic services to the Los Angeles Children’s Museum, Aids Project Los Angeles, LA Shanti, Aids service Center in Pasadena, California, as well as serving on the board of Directors for The Black Gallery Group, Los Angeles, California.

Portfolio Gallery Presents:
Robert Hale: Intimate Encounters – “The African-Americans”

1. Herbert Gentry
2. Louis Farrakan
3. Gordon Parks
4. Rosa Parks
5. Emma Amos
6. Vincent Smith
7. Esther Rolle
8. Albert Murray
9. Kehinde Wiley
10. Herbert Gentry
11. Samella Lewis
12. John Outterbridge
13. Artis Lane
14. Laura Mae Gross
15. Charles Searles
16. Robert M. Hale (Father)
17.Betye Saar
18. Ozzie Davis
19. Earl Ofori Hutchinson
20.Carrie Mae Weems

All Photographs $400.00 each

All art practice is based on repetition as we attain mastery. It's practice, right? Music, dance, theater, visual art, and writing. These are called "disciplines" of course, because they require discipline. Repetition is how we get there.

As musicians we practice scales. As artists and writers we show up in the studio each day. As performers in theater and dance we attend rehearsal after rehearsal until opening night.

Repetition also brings release into spirit.

The structure and composition of arts involve rhythm and recurrence: repetitive chants in poetry and prose, motifs that repeat in dance and music and so forth.

Repetition in art often is the goal itself, and makes a statement. Many modern artists (especially women) have incorporated this element into their work.

Quilting is an example of repetition of stitching and piecing that is highly labor intensive. My friend Lucy Arai who incorporates Sashiko (a traditional Japanese quilting form) into her art pieces has to guard against carpel tunnel syndrome. Lucy also has told me that she uses the repetition in the techniques she uses as spiritual practice.

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A writer who rides horses shares:

Yes, definitely riding. I remember the first time I rode my mare, the dear departed Cherie, who was schooled in dressage up to third level, I realize halfway round the ring, trotting, her pace was steady as a metronome. Very reassuring.

When I was teaching, I somehow got involved in a writing-across-the-curriculum project with architecture students. Their assignment was to design a building for a women’s studies center and to come up with trope to hang their design ideas on. The professor gave them a visual to begin from, the Greek statue of the Three Graces.

_____________

A poet and dancer says:

I use dance as my primarily form of renewal--especially when life is too demanding to write. I carry myself with more grace and poise through whatever the daily demands are.

I think the sheer repetitiveness of a form like belly dance nurtures me in some way, rather like the rocking a baby needs. Also when I can’t unwind from my night teaching, if I put on a belly dance DVD and the repetitive movements and music will have me off to sleep in about 20 minutes. I feel a bit weird about this, as I feel I should be meditating instead, but whatever works: go for it.
____________

My work in art school was filled with labor intensive work. Building in clay is labor and time intensive by definition. The larger the scale of the work the more magnified this becomes. I made a 5-foot boat made of hand-pulled sheets of paper that took weeks. We all have our stories.

Meditation explicitly relies on repetition. You need to do nothing more than dance or ride horses as your spiritual discipline if that works for you. Release the idea of "meditation" as a separate activity.

Many daily tasks such as peeling potatoes, walking, rocking the baby, petting the cat involve rhythm and recurrence and can lead to comfort and even spiritual growth and transcendence. Our view of creativity as a society tends to be far too narrow.

Damaria is a writer based in Johannesburg. She recently co-wrote an e-book with Christelle du Toit "How to get quoted in the media".Download this useful e-book--even a free sample--at her online store. Learn more about Damaria and the process of publishing an ebook at Storypot.

Riehlife: Damaria, like many creative people you do work that earns you the main portion of your living and other work that is your heart work. Tell our readers how you have found that balance.

Damaria: Found it? I’m still working on it, Janet. But I am taking steps to get to a place where I do more projects I love.

To start with, I decided to be self-employed so my time could be my own. Most days I spend all day working on clients projects. Some of the best-paying assignments can be very tedious, but as a self-employed person in a tough economy, I’m grateful for the work.

I also make time to spend a day or two a week working on projects I love. That can be a short story, a chapter in a novel I’ve been writing for what seems like a 100 years, a children’s story or a poem. I’m under no pressure to submit these works to anyone, though eventually I do look for homes for them or put them in my self-publishing plan.

I also look for paying work that supports causes I believe in. These allow me to contribute positively to society.

Riehlife: What websites and social media campaigns have you done?

Damaria: On Love South Africa, Kwanda, and Shukumisa are three recent organizations I've worked with.

OneLove--an HIV-prevention campaign spanning 9 countries in Southern Africa.

Kwanda --a TV program that saw tracked 250 volunteers working in their community across South Africa.

Shukumisa--a national anti-rape campaign in South Africa.

Riehlife: How did you get interested in the topic of getting quoted in the media?

Damaria: Getting the attention of the media means being the person whose attention businesses and organizations want to attract. This is familiar territory for me.

I worked as a journalist and I received press releases, story pitches and invitations to events every day. That have me a perspective of how easy it is for someone seeking publicity to be rejected and most of the time the journalist doesn’t even say “no” or explain the rejection. They wouldn’t get their jobs done if they responded all the pitches they receive!

I also worked as a communications manager for several non-profit organizations and helped some small business owners, artists and craftspeople generate publicity for their causes and products. So I know how good organizations doing excellent work can struggle to generate publicity for their causes.

Riehlife: Why did you decide to do this as an e-book rather than a printed book?

Damaria:

The e-book version is the first step. We’re also planning to release a print version soon. An e-book also gives me as a new publisher, a chance to test the appetite for the topic in our market before making a big investment in printing costs.

Riehlife: Why share the info as an e-book and not a course or podcasts or by doing consulting work?

Sometimes people come to me asking me to help them get publicity. For example, my friend Alison McKay, has a major exhibition in April next year and has asked me to help her generate some publicity on her series.

A colleague in the non-profit sector also recently emailed me to remind me that David Barnard, who is the CEO of the South African NGO Network (SANGONeT), is running a 250 km through the Sahara Desert in support of SANGONeT, Endangered Wildlife Trust, SCORE, Starfish Foundation and CANSA. Could I help them get some publicity on the race?

I would really love to help these friends, and others who have asked me for assistance, but my career and business plans do not center on doing PR for clients. I prefer to work as a writer.
And some of the people who have asked me for media relations assistance don’t have the resources to hire a dedicated professional to do it.

So the e-book allows me to share what I know with people who need the information without my having to change my career plans or do work I cannot afford.

Riehlife: What's the business end of this like?

Damaria: I began the project knowing that it was not going to make me rich. It’s a starting point for me to build a strong backlist of e-books and if I do it right, then it helps me build my credibility as a writer and publisher.

Managing the business end of a publishing project is rough though! I had to learn to pay more attention to details and to do administrative tasks such as:

--developing a production budget,
--making decisions about whether to POD or not,
--hiring a graphic designer,
--developing a launch plan,
--building an online store.

These are things I’m not naturally inclined to do, but I've learned so much!

Riehlife: How has it been for your personally?

Damaria: Completing the project boosted my confidence as a writer and publisher. I now know that I can take a book project:

--from concept to draft,
--through the edits and reviews and rewrites
--to the editorial launch and promotion stages.

People have also been receptive to the book and to me. Friends emailed and phoned to congratulate me on the book. It’s been wonderful.

Three of my merry band of creative friends (Hal Manogue, Eden Maxwell, and Hal Zina Bennett) wrote extensive comments to make for a lively dialogue. Here's what Hal says. I invite you to read the Creative Catalyst post, and the comments it generated. Hal's extensive bio is below his article.--Janet

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Creative Process: Getting Inside the Inside

by Hal Zina Bennett

The bugaboo of “it’s inside you” is locating where that is. I remember reading "The Alchemist," by Paolo Coelho years ago. It's an entire book about discovering the heart (the inside) with many adventures and lots of discussion between the boy and the Alchemist about what that meant.

Similarly, when I taught workshops I had people do an exercise called Writing in The Present. For some, it was instant connection with the inside, for others it was a frustrating puzzle. But what always amazed me was that even when writers had done it–connected with the inside, and almost instantly–they didn’t recognize it or didn’t know where to go with it.

Why? Partly because inside is scary. We expend a huge amount of energy in our lives trying to stay away from it because “there be the demons, the shame, and crawly things.” But it’s not really that simple, either. Sometimes the inside just seems too banal to us. It’s too familiar. We live with it everyday. Why would anyone else be interested? Where’s the poetry? Indeed.

But when you get into that place, or your pen or computer takes you inside, it’s electric for the reader and for you. I reread Hemingway a couple months ago, The Sun Also Rises: he’s banal, in one sense. He’s just telling how his days are going with his bunch of drunkard friends wandering aimlessly around Europe trying to figure out what their generation’s war was about and what the hell bullfights are about, and who Brett is screwing now and why Jake Barnes is such a pain in the butt. Not much goes on but what goes on is close to Ernest’s heart.

We miss the point of what he’s about if we think he is reporting what’s really happening in his life; rather, he is doing a crackup job of shaping the memories of his with words. He’s touching that place that Yeats talked about, when you cannot tell the dancer from the dance. And he was an awful good wordsmith.

Between the lines the book is about the words, his love of the words, a certain simplicity that takes him and the reader not so much into what Brett or Jake or any of the rest of them are doing but into the ecstatic place of a man writing a book, the love of the craft that Ernest had and that mattered to him more than anything else.That’s where his heart was.

And, incidentally, if you look very closely, and you also read your Bible–King James and his band of scurvy scribes–you’ll discover where bold, brash Ernest got his rhythms of language, the simplicity for telling a story, and a good part of his existential angst, in the process.

Look at a passage like this (from Oxford Bible: Mark 5:35): “That day, in the evening, he said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.’ So they left the crowd and took him with them in the boat where he had been sitting, and there were other boats accompanying him.” Finding the inside isn’t about bleeding onto the page or about flowery language or clever metaphors. It’s more about being present with what you’re doing right now, especially how it feels as you’re putting words on the page–or rewriting for the 17th time. That’s where the beauty of the writer in the act of writing and touching that inside place.

The long and not so short of it is that touching the inside is the most elusive part of our craft. After publishing more than 30 books, there are maybe a few pages I love in each of them when the inside drives the writing. I like to believe that every writer knows it when they touch that place. It lifts you, literally, and is as difficult to explain as orgasm.

Chaucer said, “The life so short, the craft so long to learn.” That’s pretty much the story, isn’t it?

_________________

Hal Zina Bennett has been my unofficial writing mentor. He offers writing classes, individual coaching and publishing expertise.

Hal's writings, workshops and lectures have reached millions of readers and writers the world over. With more than 30 successful books of his own, he also coaches upcoming writers, helping them with everything from initial conceptualization to finding agents and publishers.

His gifts as a teacher and writing coach have proved invaluable for the more than 200 authors he has helped toward successful publication. Several of his clients have become national best-sellers and Oprah guests. His client list has included: Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil), Judith Orloff, Shakti Gawain, Jerry G. Jampolksy, Dharma Singh Khalsa, Stanislaf Grof, Michael Samuels, MD, and many others.

Hal's own list of published works includes novels, poetry, magazine articles and non-fiction-writings that open hearts and minds to the expanding range of the human experience. You have a great treat in store, whether reading one of Hal's books or taking one of his workshops.

His new book"Living Behind the Beauty Shop" has been embraced by the Down syndrome community and homeless advocate groups. I'm happy to be part of getting the word out about Hal's latest wise and probing book.

In "Living Behind the Beauty Shop" a Middle Tennessee boy understands that the psyche is able to communicate with the self experiencing other dimensions. The boy, Mase Russell, is living with Down syndrome. He is considered disabled in our normal reality, but he is far more enabled and connected than we are to that stream of consciousness that flows through all of us.

Read on to discover how Mase is able to communicate with other aspects of the self while dreaming, and he accepts his dream experiences as real. He is even able to remember those experiences and express them in his own way.

And then, of course, buy Hal's book!

Janet

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What The Hell Are You Trying To Say In That Book?
by Hal Manogue

Beliefs and perceptions play an important role in what we experience in this physical reality, but we're not taught to recognize these energy forms as creative expressions. They are capable of creating the reality we find ourselves experiencing, but we give credit to outside forces and situations.

I'm not here to change anyone's beliefs. I am here to share some of mine. They may be strange to some of you and others may feel a vibration in your psyche that resonates with my thoughts. The psyche of course is hard to define using our physical terms, but let's say it is that aspect of the self that experiences the whole picture of who we are.

The self is multidimensional. In some innate way we all believe that fact. Religions teach that, and science is confirming our multidimensionality using transformational psychology, quantum physics, and other new age metaphysical technologies. We are finally recognizing that we are more than what we have been told we are, and we are much more connected to each other than we realize. That connection is not only defined by the physical aspects of the human species; it is defined by the non-physical aspects of the self that communicate through vibrations and interactive consciousness units.

All physical things are qualities of consciousness, and they all experience a reality regardless of how foreign those realities appear to us.

Our consciousness senses its physical connection on several levels, but we tend to discount those levels because they don't conform to the limited beliefs that are formed by external as well as internal means. Different elements of consciousness become physical in order to expand the awareness of the stream of consciousness that connects all of us to all that is.

So, we all are a quality of consciousness that creates a physical reality in order to expand other aspects of the self and psyche. We are not aware of it, but the self is functioning in several dimensions simultaneously.

We divide our physical life into at least two realities each day: the wakeful state and the dream state. Each night or in some cases each day we fall asleep, and have experiences. Many other dimensions appear clearly when we dream. Those dimensions are not limited, but we try to compact them in our world of limited beliefs and perceptions so we usually get a distorted view of the dream. We forget that we not only participate in dreams we are actually the audience in dreams as well.

When we sleep we use psyche images and languages in pure form. When we wake up we try to squeeze our psyche's language into our physical language, but it usually doesn't work. The psyche uses the true language of our consciousness, but we don't consciously translate it into our physical language even though we have that ability.

The dreaming psyche is as awake as we are when we are wide awake. It is organizing and sending impulses. But the impulses that are received from these other aspects of the self are usually discounted and overlooked in some way, especially if they conflict with our core beliefs. Our focus is on other physical things, but at times we capture this aspect of the psyche in daydreams, hypnotic trances and, psyche flashes--which we call déjà vu.

Dream activity contains perspective alterations, different viewpoints, and chaotic events that feel real and are, but we discount them because our belief system tells us they are not real. In other words, in the waking state we deal with what we call normal reality. We only operate on one level when awake, even though there are many other levels of the psyche that have experiences we can appreciate when we are aware of them.

When we dream, we enter some of these other levels of reality. These are quite native to the psyche. At times we try to view them through our normal reality, and they may become the dreams we remember. Those dreams are then interpreted using the brain frequency that is familiar. We use just one frequency while we are awake, and we believe there is no other reality that the one we recognize. Only our beliefs about the psyche and the self limit our experiences in the waking reality.

In dreams we find ourselves communicating with the dead or we visit old houses that have been torn down or destroyed. We sense true freedom where time and space are at our disposal, and we can do what we want with them. We feel infinity with the connected portions of the self that are crafty, creative, and knowledgeable. We could easily put science and religion out of business when we begin to understand the greater reality of the psyche.

"Living Behind the Beauty Shop" tells the story of a Middle Tennessee boy who understands that greater reality where the psyche is able to communicate with the self that is experiencing other dimensions. The boy, Mase Russell, is living with Down Syndrome. He is considered disabled in our normal reality, but he is far more enabled and connected than we are to that stream of consciousness that flows through all of us.

He is able to communicate with other aspects of the self while dreaming, and he accepts his dream experiences as real. He is even able to remember those experiences and express them in his own way. His family begins to sense that his disability is a challenging gift not a sentence of suffering.

His family is like any other family. They experience the typical dramas that we all create in our waking reality. His grandfather, Warren Russell is a wealthy business man that lives on his family's 1000 acre farm in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. The farm was a land grant given to his triple great-grandfather after the American Revolution.

Warren and his wife Claire considered the farm their right of passage until they both experienced a near-death experience on a trip to Florida in their Cessna. After the accident Warren decides to donate 500 acres to a non-profit foundation he formed called Perception Farms. Perception Farms is a self-sufficient community off the grid that gives the homeless a fresh start.

His daughter Cindy realizes that she's gay after she marries her college sweetheart. She returns home from California and finds an ex-nun, who is now called Margie, at one of Perception Farm's fundraisers. Margie discovered her true sexuality when she was in the convent. They become partners and decide to have a child using the sperm of their friend Alan Sutton, a well-educated and athletic individual who works in the shoe business. Baby Mase is born with Down's Syndrome. "Living Behind the Beauty Shop," follows his life and the experiences of the family as he becomes an accomplished poet and artist.

Years later, Mase finds Mischa Eddington who is another Down Syndrome artist, in a local college art class, and they develop a close relationship. Together they watch members of the family experience the pains of getting older. They offer the family another perspective about that aging process. The family realizes that Mase and Mischa chose to be born with Down syndrome in order to help others see that there are no boundaries or limits in physical life unless we put them there through our beliefs and perceptions. They show us that other realities are just as real as our waking reality.

When we consider that consciousness does not have a beginning or an end in the non-physical world we can better understand that the people we call disabled are actually teachers who choose to experience life in extraordinary ways. They teach us that putting limits, judgments, and sterilized beliefs in action is the art of separating one aspect of the self from other elements of the psyche.

When that happens, we find ourselves living in the beauty shop of life, which is filled with exterior self serving nothingness. Mase and Mischa live behind the beauty shop of life and they try to share and explain that aspect of life through their thoughts and deeds. They appreciate life as they know it and the life that all of us believe is only available through death. They show us that all there is, in this physical world, is the now and eternal love surrounds it.

Shelly Raber wrote to ask if I could connect her to Maryanne Rafael. She had a book titled "Linotte: The Early Diary Diary of Anais Nin 1914-1920". There was an inscription written in red marker that read: "For Maryanne, The First Diary." Anais said "I can't believe I didn't write it in English. With Love, Rupert. Sept, 1980".

Shelly picked this book up years ago at the Goodwill and later noticed the inscription. Was it indeed a signed copy by Rupert Pole? It did turn out to be Maryanne's book and Shelly returned it to her.

Shelly wrote to me saying, "Thank you so much for your help in getting into contact with her. Without your help, I'm not sure I would have found her. Best of life to you!"

I enjoy how she allows her humor to roam. Laughter is a wonderful teacher. My world travels showed me how Midwestern I am--not just how American I am. So, I'm fascinated by how she found her Japanese roots abroad. --Janet

FINDING MY JAPANESE ROOTS ABROAD

My peers at college had every reason to think I was an international student up until the point they engaged me in conversation. “Wow, your English is amazing!” they’d say, swishing their beer onto my shoes as they jumped back.

“Yeah, that’s because I’m an American.”

“No way. I see you walking to the store all the time. Why don’t you drive?”

“Because I can walk.”

“But that takes, like, thirty minutes.”

That’s usually the point I say one of three things: “Japan is a walking country,” “If only your country believed in trains,” or “Maybe if you guys walked a little more…” But I usually stop myself. It’s usually the right choice.

Although English is my first language, I was born and raised in Hiroshima, Japan to a Japanese mother and former United States Marine. I never realized until I left Japan to attend college in the States how Japanese my behavior was. I’d always figured that, because my mother was always rolling her eyes at me for my outspoken opinions and picky eating habits, I was American through and through.

(Apparently, you have to have a car first.)

Being Kind of American in America

Because many people understand America to be a melting pot of sorts, I find myself feeling self-conscious when out and about here as opposed to feeling rather confident in Japan. To this day, I wind up tighter than a tangled slinky at the mere thought of going to the bank. The first day I deposited a check—stumbling over every other word and getting the stink-eye from the lady behind the desk—still plagues my dreams.

On the other hand, I feel perfectly comfortable making a fool of myself in Japan, despite being of the age where I should be able to file my taxes all by my big old self. The difference is that in Japan, I look like a foreigner, even if I speak the language fluently. In America, I look like an American—albeit an Asian-American—and speak fluent English. If I don’t know what “mulch” is or which window to stand at to get prescription medicine at CVS, I get pegged an idiot. Blurting out, “I grew up in Hiroshima!” doesn’t exactly do much to clear the air, I’ve found.

Being Mostly Japanese Everywhere Else: Italy

Having spent the first 19 years of my life trapped on a little island (the culture of which I didn’t appreciate until I left), I became determined in college to travel everywhere I could. In 2007, I studied abroad with my American college peers to northern Italy.
Maybe it’s that I was already bilingual and the idea of learning a new language wasn’t scary or foreign to me—I was the only one to really try my hand at Italian.

I was surprised when our teacher’s son remarked one day, “You speak Italian like a Japanese person.” (Apparently, Americans have a hard time rolling their Rs.) I was more surprised when he said to me later in the semester, “You know how I know you’re Japanese? You get drunk first.”

Being Mostly Japanese Everywhere Else: Vietnam

I loved Italy, but I felt much more in my element when in 2008 I studied abroad in Vietnam. I found the Buddhist culture and many mannerisms emphasizing politeness and harmony familiar. What was also familiar was the sight of many Americans scrunching their noses up at Vietnamese food.

Lest you think I’m on a U.S.-bashing-spree, let me say that I still remember running around the house—up and down stairs, between doors, under tables—with my mother chasing after me with a bowl of some obscure traditional Japanese food.
Still, having been around Marines in Japan, I knew what it felt like to be told that my food was “weird” because it was raw or contained roots instead of ground beef and bread.

I therefore spent most of my meals in Vietnam focusing on every flavor and eating as much of a variety of local foods as I could, to pay for my past sins of a sort and prove that I was, indeed, Asian. (Inevitably, I spent many days worshiping the porcelain god with food poisoning, thinking, “Wow, this tasted a lot better going down than up.”)

I’d recovered by the time our group reached Ha Long Bay. As in Italy, I had a phrasebook in my pocket and my (stereotypical) camera in the other; I visited our tour guide on the deck and asked him for a few tips on how to pronounce certain Vietnamese words.

“Xin lôi?” I tried.

“Yes, perfect!” our guide Quynh said. “Xin lôi. What else do you know?”

“Cám ón.”

“Ah,” he said, grinning. “You’ve learned ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Thank you’ first. You are Japanese.”

Seeing as I’d never appreciated my roots until branching off into the world, there was something strangely gratifying in that remark.

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Lisa Shoreland is a resident blogger at Go College, where recently she’s been researching preparing for college in high school as well as environmental studies grants. In her spare time, she enjoys creative writing, practicing martial arts, and taking weekend trips.

When I took a course in the psychology of women at Los Angeles City College, I wrote about the Anais Nin I knew. My professor Dr. Eve Jones told me, "If you know Anais you must know Ken Murril." When I said I had not met Ken who was a student in another of her classes she introduced the two of us.

We both loved Anais. I had known her in New York and Ken knew her in California which explained why we had never met. I had recently moved from New York to California. Anais was very ill at this time. We all corresponded by mail. Anais and her caregivers would answer all our mail with her lovely purple cards and a personal loving note.

After Anais died Ken made arrangements for us to visit Anais's west coast husband Rupert Pole. Rupert and Ken were very close and the first time Rupert and I met it was as though we had always known each other. Anais had had a tiny meditation hut in front of the beautiful home that Frank Lloyd Wright's grandson had designed for Anais and Rupert. He invited me to go inside. I found three beautiful white feathers inside and asked if I could have one. "Have them all" Rupert said. As I fell to my knees and gathered them up Rupert ran inside and returned handing me a copy of Anais's Little Birds.

Rupert took us inside and gave us a tour of the house. We had tea and I told him how I had interviewed Anais and he showed me he had a copy of the interview. I told him I would like to write a biography of Anais for young adults. He thought that was a great idea and he gave me Gunther Stuhlmann, her agent's address and said he would recommend me, but the agent had the last word.

I told Rupert that Anais had given me a copy of her fifth diary where she wrote, "To Maryanne who lives as many lives as I do." A dear friend had borrowed the book and moved away without ever returning it. Rupert immediately went to the other room, returned with a copy of the fifth diary and wrote in it: "To Maryanne who lives as many lives as I do," and signed it Anais Nin.

Before I left he handed me a copy of every book Anais had published, even the ones I already owned. He autographed each one with a little sentence of what the book meant to him or Anais.

Mother Teresa, Called to Love had been written as a biography for young adults. I sent a copy of the manuscript to Gunther as an example of my work and he gave me permission to write about Anais after Rupert put in a good word for me.

Ken and I spent lots of time together. Ken was an excellent writer but he was insecure about his writing. He told me how he had introduced Anais to the West Coast when she read at his Yellow Rose Gallery so I talked him into writing about it and I published his first essay in my newsletter Writers World. He went on to write about the Yellow Rose Gallery for other publications.

I worked constantly on my biography of Anais and whenever I finished a few chapters Ken would arrange for us to go to Rupert's where we would have tea and I would read the manuscript and Rupert would give me feedback.

I was living in Los Angeles with a very close friend Tom Nakano and Ken would visit often. When Tom learned he had a fatal disease he wanted to be alone so Ken in visited me to move into his place with him and some friends.

I was very depressed because my friend was so ill, but Ken consoled me and kept me writing, moving and laughing even though he himself was ill. A few months after I moved out of Ken's apartment, he was murdered on his way home.

"No matter what I'm doing right now, I would rather be writing."

From blog comments to emails to guest post to telephone conversation, gradually our connection grew stronger. Today we’re sharing our views on how do we find our creative path through following spirit? I coined the term Blog Duet for companion posts on sister blogs. Tune in to our conversation about finding the creative source and nurturing it. Here’s the archive for Riehl Life Blog Duets to read more of these.
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Janet: Although you’re a new blogger, clearly you’ve been jamming! How have your new online relationships influenced you?

Selena: I have learned so much from these new friends. Technique, perspective, and new skills to be sure, but also how diversity and connections are so important to my own view of the world. By sharing with each other our thoughts and feelings on writing, I am able to take one step further toward finding the spirit of writing.

Janet: In our telephone conversation we spoke about our families. How do you feel your upbringing influenced your creativity as an adult? When we look at backgrounds of artists like Carol Burnett, we find that adversity often fosters humor and a creative life as an adult. How’s that been for you?

Selena: I feel that family/childhood adversities tend to force us into choosing what we do with how our lives are shaped. Being a rebel I came out swinging when I felt trapped in a place that didn’t nurture me. But it took years of questioning my own right to do that. Those years taught me that the creative drive is more than just the need to express joy. It is about connecting with my own beauty, which was buried by circumstances and fear.

Janet: Have you felt that the lack of formal studies has been a creative challenge—or, has it affected the way you look at yourself as a writer? I feel that I’m a “recovering English major.” My studies set a foundation for decades of my working life with the beginning of writing craft for instance. I found though that having learned all that, I then had to forget it. Tell us about your experience.

Selena: At one point I thought it was a challenge-not creative a creative challenge, but because I am such a hermit it was a challenge to learn on my own the ways of the writing world. I believe I have an innate skill, but it was untutored and wild. That’s not such a bad thing except when it comes time try to fit in somewhere. As I’ve grown I have come to realize that being untutored and wild has given me an advantage. I have a friend that just earned her MFA is creative writing and is struggling to find her way back to her true voice. That I don’t have to do. My muse is still untouched.

Janet: How do you nurture yourself and your creative spirit?

Selena: By doing what I love the most; being alone in nature, connecting with divinity, stopping to smell the roses. I spent a lot of years working at a job that sapped every bit of my focus and required a lot of my attention. After my children were grown, I came to realize that the art of living was so much more than money. So I began to do the things that allowed me to clear away the distractions. I gave up a well-paying job to work in a greenhouse, and learned to simplify all areas of my life. I began to say no to unnecessary demands on my time, and devoted that time to family, friends, and especially to my own writing.

Janet: Selena, your blog gives a precise statement of spirit and the creative life.

(From Solitary Words)

Webster defines Spirit as “the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.” Any act of creation, whether it is painting, writing or giving birth, opens up a pathway to a deeper connection to spirit, to that active principle of conscious life that brings forth into the light the beauty that is inherently ours.

Although Solitary Words focuses on the process of writing as a gateway to spirit, the principles are the same, no matter what form creativity takes. It is my heartfelt hope that you take away from these words a spark that will inflame you with a passion for your own journey.

Janet: So, let me ask you, how do you “make that connection that allows the creativity to flow?” Is this your muse?

Selena: For me it is about learning to listen. There is a place that everyone has within them that is like a star shining in the velvety night sky. A pinpoint of light that is pure and clear. Most times it is covered by the clouds of mundane life; worries about money, fear of loss, working at a job that you hate. This little gem hums with life and creativity and spirit. It is hope and joy and creativity. If we stop the madness for just a moment and quiet the chattering mind, we can catch that humming that calls to us with the desire to be heard.

I have meditated for years, seeking that source. But even if meditation or prayer is not for you, spending quality alone time with yourself and learning to trust your own instincts goes a long way toward parting those clouds, if only for a short time. Learning to listen to that sweet hum opens the floodgates for me.

Janet: And, once you’ve made that connection, how to you channel the flow?

Selena: By first accepting it. When I said that the concept is universal, what I meant was that listening to the still, small voice within affects every area of my life. By creative and artful living I become the source, the source becomes me.

And then by focusing it. By becoming familiar with what the creative energy feels like, I can use it however I want. But I must stress here that the channel is a two way street. The act of creative endeavors requires an exchange to remain healthy. For me, that exchange is sharing what I know, teaching others to make that connection, and opening my heart to all of nature, and that includes humanity. That’s what Solitary Words is all about. A big lesson for me, the solitary woman in the woods.

Janet, it’s been wonderful dueting with you. Thank you so much for the opportunity!

Selena, thanks so much for our blog duet. Our readers get a two for one deal! Scoot on over to Solitary Words to read more of our conversation.