Prompt: contemplative photography
“The key to the practice of contemplative photography is to recognize that seeing and thinking are very different. Thinking relates to the world through ideas and mental images. Seeing perceives things directly, just as they are.“
–Andy Karr–
Giving our attention to our surroundings can serve as a meditative practice.
- Redirecting our visual focus is a means of redirecting our thoughts and energies; self-soothing [regulating our nervous systems].
- This is especially useful when we find ourselves feeling swirly, in a state of “feeling all the feelings.”
- The practice of [contemplative photography] can serve as a visual memory and a “tangible pause”—compiling a visual entry while paused and abiding in stillness.
- Our entries allow us redirect our focus and be more aware of our surroundings (being in our bodies, noticing our breath, and redirecting our tendencies to overthink and worry).
- Contemplative photography is a practice of pausing and noticing the details of the spaces we inhabit from a new perspective, as we ground ourselves in the present moment.
- A means of abiding in our surroundings, noticing details and viewing them up close or from a new perspective.
- Examples of Andy Karr’s contemplative photography on Instagram.
PROMPT: For ten days (in sequence, or not) 😉 collect images from your surroundings as a contemplative practice:
• create a private Pinterest board as a visual reference
• print your images and add to your journal or planner
• store your images in a designated folder on your phone or computer
Scroll down for a free 📥 download to guide you in this practice.
Just in case you missed a day, [this link] will take you to all 12 Days of Christmas posts with oracle cards, content + free downloads to offer ideas and resources for self-compassion + expression + attention + reflection.
Contemplative photography (abiding in stillness and devoting attention to your surroundings) can be practiced in minutes.
Today is Day 12 within the tradition of Twelve Days of Christmas, and I invite you to compile a collection of contemplative images … because life often passes unnoticed, and it can feel disorienting. There is no need to automatically get lost in the details of that.
Contemplative photography is a way of holding space when we are uncertain or processing difficult realities. Like when we realize that sometimes love means waiting and accepting silence without defaulting to tainted expectations.
Like when the years seem to zoom by w-a-y too fast; like when we are experiencing repeated loss or rejection, bouts of hopelessness and feeling invisible.
Contemplative photography can serve as both a portal and a refuge as we ponder and reflect on our dreams and desires, values and worth.
Contemplative photography is for quieting our thinking-mind and redirecting our focus to the present moment.
➡️➡️➡️ As a daily prompt I have been posting oracle cards, content + free downloads here for The 12 Days of Christmas to offer ideas and resources for self-compassion + expression + attention + reflection. Thank you kindly for your presence and support, Braveheart! ❤️
P.S. Here is the oracle card I pulled for today. 🍀