Believing and Questioning

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AbasedBelieving and questioning seem like opposite practices. However, they can dance together a beautiful ballet. I have been reading the textbook for my next job (which I am not revealing yet). The book A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger is all about questioning. This questioning it discusses is all about asking the right question to achieve change. I am enjoying this book a lot. I will eventually share more about this book and the experiences that will come with it. I am re-learning to question to achieve results and not to try to go in circles with questions with no answer or multiple answers that only depend on faith and ‘proving’ a point philosophically. Those kind of questions are more like excuses to take control and responsibility for life itself. Questioning for the sake of questioning and trying to prove a point is also a way to show a lot of insecurities as arguments take nowhere. A lot of people can’t resist ‘losing it’ when they either get challenged or because they get ignored. Some people is just argumentative and their questions are just a way to get attention instead of chasing questions to promote change.

At the same time I am learning to question, I am learning to believe. The message at church was all about believing.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  

Isaiah 41:10

When I am confronted with a verse like this I have to question myself: “Why do I worry so much?” “Is there a reason for me to be fearful?” Of course, if you don’t believe in God your questions are going to be different and I will probably ask “Why?” not to be annoying or to challenge what you believe but to understand why you believe what you believe. I am not looking to be convinced by you or convince you to believe otherwise. I might be more interested in understanding your reasons and if I get the chance I will be more than glad to present my reasons to believe what I believe.

Faith and questioning can go together if the questions fit the bill to increase faith or to support the lack thereof. The questions that challenge the status quo if directed wisely can change your life. Believing and questioning will support each other, and strengthen each other. When my hope is low and it feels like all is lost, then I question my position by going back to the promise of God. As the week and all the worries that might come with it unfolds before me, I keep the faith. I won’t let Journey down. He is with me and the benefits are awesome.

Teaser Trailer

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Reviewing the book makes me feel like I’m working on making a movie. Years before the movie comes out in theaters they give us hints of what the movie is going to look like. Today I want to share with you something like a teaser trailer of the book. Seems like this concept emerged during several conversations in the past few days and I would like to make you part of the conversation as well. You are more than welcome to leave your comments as always. Like in a teaser trailer, I can’t give away too many details or the context in which the scene develops in order to create interest and expectation.

In the garden that bond between God and man, and between man and nature grew. The woman came along and made the bond stronger, adding not only a companion, the perfect help, and a lover, but also camaraderie. Man and woman shared the human experience. They walked with God in the garden. They talked to Him. They worked together to rule the earth and manifest the authority given by God. Paradise was not just a place. It was a place where people enjoyed the perfect relationships with God, nature, and among themselves.

Things changed drastically when man and woman fell for the oldest lie of all: “You can be like God”. Hiding and covering with leaves of shame, making believe they are covering their nakedness, both man and woman face a new reality. Their nakedness remained. Being naked was not an issue before. Why is it an issue after the fall? Why being scared of that voice they knew so well? That voice comes from the One who walked with you in the garden. In the confrontation all bonds were broken. Humans decided to focus on their own selfish desires rather than preserving the relationship they had with God, which gave them also the opportunity to maintain the perfect relationship between them, and with nature.

I hope you enjoy this teaser. I’m looking forward to your comments. I honestly can’t wait to complete all the details for this book and to present the art collection with it. I am having fun already.

The Creation

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Please, allow me to share with you a portion of the book I’m writing. Technically I finished writing it. It is now going through the first revision. I waited a week from the time I finished writing it to the first revision. That helps me to see it like it was the first time. I don’t consider myself a writer but I am truly having fun with this. I wanted to share this with you:

We all know the story. In the beginning God created heaven and earth, then the creation story continued. God spoke the word and it was created. That is the real deal when it comes to voice recognition, voice-activated systems in action. Creating man was different. God spoke to himself and formed man from the dust of the earth creating a bond between man and nature, and moreover, a bond between God and man as he breathed the breath of life. Man was not only formed in God’s image but also received the essence of God inside. Why is that so fascinating to me? Sculpting!

Sculpting the figure allows me to feel like I’m sharing the moment of creation with God. I’m creating a bond between the figure and the material I am using and providing life, in some sense, to something that had no life. I am sure that a lump of clay on the table is not going to form itself. I form the figure. I decide the shape and thickness of the muscles, the proportions, and each curve means something. It all makes sense. The process of sculpting is physical and it is spiritual. Each sculpture shares my DNA and the RNA of the material, but it also shares part of my essence.

It is going to take almost a year to complete the sculptures that are included in the book. I honestly can’t wait to see it all together with the pictures and be able to read it surrounded by the sculptures. I hope you enjoy this sample.

Working on the Book

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After thinking for a while about it, and as part of the 100 post celebration a few days ago, I decided to take a look back at all the postings and how they can be put together to shape the book I want to publish. That is the main goal of this blog, to write the things that come to mind in order to write a book little by little. Better yet, writing pieces of the book. It is a big puzzle. Interestingly, the current posts were more than enough to put it all together. I am not looking to publish a 300-500 page book; not yet. Let’s build up to that with a smaller goal.

It is so exciting to be working on the book. It is taking form. I finished last night with the core content. The rough first draft is ready for me to read it and clean it up and make several revisions before I can send it to a few people for their revisions. I still have to cast the pieces of the new collection this book presents, and take pictures. The pieces will come together to create the graphic art work and select the pictures that would be included. It is going to be a long process but at least the most difficult part is done. 

Someone told me years ago that I would be writing books. A short 100 page book is a very good start. I am really enjoying the blog and how it keeps my brain working actively every day. I like how it is enhancing an awareness of my thoughts. I am also more aware of my creative process. Nevertheless, the writing exercise is also helping me to listen more and observe more. A lot of inspiration and ideas are accumulating in the process but for now I am going to concentrate on my goal. I truly appreciate that you are reading this. I appreciate the comments as well. It is very encouraging when people make comments here and the messages I receive. Thank you for that.

Empty Page

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empty page

Writing a daily post for this blog is one of the most fun challenges I imposed to myself. When I considered the idea of writing a blog I thought about writing one long post a month. Can you imagine how boring that can be for a hyperactive brain like mine? If I decided to post once a month in a matter of a week I would have written all the posts I need for the year. Once a month is not an option for me. I considered posting once a week. That could be more reasonable. I only need 52 posts to cover the year which means I can write the content of a year in about 2 months. That could possibly turn out boring rather quickly. I prefer the choice of a daily post not for entertaining purposes but maintaining the original goal in mind: to write for a year in preparation to writing a book.

While sculpting and preparing my new collection, I am also writing the concept ideas for the book while maintaining an empty page for what may come along in the process. I think I know what I want and what the book should look like but it is still to early in the process to have a definite concept design. The collection is acquiring a cohesive message. It is fun to sculpt and research at the same time. I found myself these days taking notes of different ideas during the sculpting process and it felt good. I am not only connecting with the piece in progress but adding scenes to the greater story in which each of the pieces already created play an important role. They are all part of a bigger story, our story, the story of mankind. An empty page is important because we know about the past (or so we say), and we know about the present (although that’s also a matter of perspective since the present only lasts long enough to be the past), and the future is somewhere out there.