The A,B,C's of Contemplative Photography - M

M is for Metanoia (and also for meditations, metaphor, meaning, mysterious and...)

   I love finding new words!  I found this one in a book I am reading by Carl McColman, Answering the Contemplative Call: First Steps on the Mystical Path.  Although metanoia has various meanings depending on what tact you are taking, (psychological, philosophical, theological, etc.) I will use the one McColman uses in his book on contemplation...

...a new dimension of awareness,

a new unfolding of consciousness,

a new approach to being in the world.

   This is a very apt description of what happens when you embrace photography as a contemplative practice.  You simply cease to see the world around you in a simplistic, concrete way.  It becomes a palace of metaphor and hidden meaning that you wander through in awe and with joy.

   This has, for me, changed forever my relationship with the landscape.  It has made me much more thoughtful and insightful.  Sometimes it is a bit of a burden as well.  I see so much it is sometimes very difficult to turn it off!

   How has your photographic practice heightened your awareness?  How has your consciousness expanded?  Do you approach the world in a different way now?  You can say that through contemplative photography your metanoia has been triggered...where will it take you?