Loftiness (Ala) 2015

Santa Barbara, USA

“O affectionate seeker! Shouldst thou soar in the holy realm of the spirit, thou wouldst recognize God manifest and exalted above all things, in such wise that thine eyes would behold none else but Him. ‘God was alone; there was none else besides Him.’ So lofty is this station that no testimony can bear it witness, neither evidence do justice to its truth.”
-Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan
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Adelaide, Australia

The two exposures that are combined in this double exposure can in no way be separated from one another. They are forever intertwined in the film on which the final image is recorded.

“…God and His Manifestation can, under no circumstances, be dissociated from the loftiness and sublimity which They inherently possess. Nay, loftiness and sublimity are themselves the creations of His Word, if ye choose to see with My sight not with yours.”
-Baha’u’llah, Gleanings From the Writings of Baha’u’llah, XXIX
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Long Island Sound, USA

“Chaos and confusion are daily increasing in the world. They will attain such intensity as to render the frame of mankind unable to bear them. Then will men be awakened and become aware that religion is the impregnable stronghold and the manifest light of the world, and its laws, exhortations and teachings the source of life on earth.”
-‘Abdu’l-Baha, Compilation on Peace
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Fataga, Gran Canaria

“O SON OF MAN! Wert thou to speed through the immensity of space and traverse the expanse of heaven, yet thou wouldst find no rest save in submission to Our command and humbleness before Our Face.”
-Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words
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Bryce Canyon, USA

“O God! Be Thou their supporter and their helper, and in the wilderness, the mountain, the valley, the forests, the prairies and the seas, be Thou their confidant—so that they may cry out through the power of the Kingdom and the breath of the Holy Spirit.”
-‘Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Prayers
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Vancouver, Canada

“O SON of Being! Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This is that which hath been destined for thee in Our kingdom above and Our exalted dominion.”
-Baha’u’llah
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Miami, USA

“Abandon the concerns of mankind and be naturalized with the attributes of the angels of the Supreme Concourse, because these angels humble themselves to the lowest thing of the things despite their honor, glory, the loftiness of station and the greatness of their might.”
-Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha
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Coromandel, New Zealand

“God hath purposed to bind hearts together”
-Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas
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New Orleans, USA

“Know thou that the Divine Essence, which is called the Invisible of the Invisibles, never to be described, beyond the reach of mind—is sanctified above any mention, any definition or hint or allusion, any acclamation or praise. In the sense that It is that It is, the intellect can never grasp It, and the soul seeking knowledge of It is but a wanderer in the desert, and far astray…And whensoever thou dost gaze upon creation all entire, and dost observe the very atoms thereof, thou wilt note that the rays of the Sun of Truth are shed upon all things and shining within them, and telling of that Day-Star’s splendours, Its mysteries, and the spreading of Its lights. Look thou upon the trees, upon the blossoms and fruits, even upon the stones. Here too wilt thou behold the Sun’s rays shed upon them, clearly visible within them, and manifested by them.”
-‘Abdu’l-Baha, Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

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Tully, Australia

With the image I wanted to show someone journeying to self knowledge (path) to find loftiness (represented by the sun) and the skill of farming / or spiritual wealth (represented by the sugar cane). This picture was taken when we still lived in Far North Queensland.

“The first Taráz and the first effulgence which hath dawned from the horizon of the Mother Book is that man should know his own self and recognize that which leadeth unto loftiness or lowliness, glory or abasement, wealth or poverty. Having attained the stage of fulfilment and reached his maturity, man standeth in need of wealth, and such wealth as he acquireth through crafts or professions is commendable and praiseworthy in the estimation of men of wisdom, and especially in the eyes of servants who dedicate themselves to the education of the world and to the edification of its peoples.”
-Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas