Seeds of Wisdom Calligraphy

Select from among any of the elegantly framed Zen calligraphy art prints which bring a quiet of beauty to your home or office. Each calligraphy features outstanding motivational sayings taken from Japanese and various sources including the I-Ching, the ancient Chinese Book of Wisdom. APPRECIATION: The Art of Gratefulness "To Be truly appreciative is to receive with grace that which has been given. In return, thanks and warmth are given back creating a full circle of friendship and goodwill."

CHAOS: Where Great Dreams Begin Before a great vision can become reality there may be difficulty. Before a person begins a great endeavor, they may encounter chaos. As a new plant breaks the ground with difficulty, foreshadowing the huge tree, so must we sometimes push against difficulty in bringing forth our dreams.

CHI: Breath of Life "The Fundamental life energy that permeates all living things." The movement of Chi harmonizes and invigorates, bringing greater health and vitality. To nurture Chi is the path of abundant aliveness".

Crisis and Opportunity Every crisis carries two elements, danger and opportunity. No matter the difficulty of the circumstances, no matter how dangerous the situation.... At the hear of each crisis lies a tremendous opportunity. Great Blessings lie ahead for the one who knows the secret of finding the opportunity within each crisis.

Love: Music of the Heart "An open heart sings a wondrous melody, bringing great blessings to whomever may hear it." Display this calligraphy piece to encourage the blessings of love in your life.

Courage to Change: To Seek Unknown Potential It takes great courage and inner strength to change from what is know and comfortable to something which is new and fresh. That which is unknown often contains our greatest potential. To seek our unknown potential by risking change is the path of true greatness. Such action brings much favour and untold blessing.

Supporting Friends: Cure Helpful People Feng Shui states that by placing the colors black, white, and gray in the Helpful People corner of your home or office one can increase the flow of "Chi" or life force into this aspects of one's life. When combined with the image of a Buddha, a Feng Shui symbol for a good friend, and the calligraphy image for "Helpful People", this art print represents a powerful cure for creating and nourishing rewarding friendships

Attaining Wisdom: Cure Knowledge Feng Shui states that by placing the color deep blue in the Knowledge corner of your home or office, one can increase the flow of "Chi" or life force into this aspect of one's life. When combined with an image of a book, a Feng Shui symbol for wisdom, and the calligraphy for "Knowledge" this art print represents a powerful cure for clearer understanding of situations, better learning experiences, and attaining greater wisdom in all areas of life.

Nourishing Partnership: Cure Relationship Feng Shui states that by placing the color red in the Relationship corner of your home or office, and combining it with a pair of equal objects, one can increase the flow of "Chi" or life force into this aspect of one's life. This art print combines the color red with a pair of cranes representing harmony, with the calligraphy for "Love" to create a powerful cure for stronger, more fulfilling relationships. This can be relationship to oneself, to a beloved, or to the world.

Success The clarity of vision that enables us to move with strength and grace a the right time and in the right direction.... Thus achieving our goals. Right seeing is the ability to perceive situations correctly, allowing us to act at the most auspicious and powerful time. Such deliberate actions will bring great blessings and abundant success.

Tao The rich and varied journey of life, encompassing all opposites, connecting all things. The Great Journey is full of blessings for the person who has the eyes to see.

Teamwork: The Power of Shared Vision The Art of Gathering Together. Our powers as individuals is multiplied when we gather together focused on common goals, and shared visions. The collective strength far outdistances the reach of the individual. As individuals we lose nothing, we are only enhanced.

Increasing Prosperity: Wealth Cure Feng Shui states that by placing the blue colour of water in the Wealth corner of your home or office, one can increase the flow of "Chi" or life force into this aspect of one's life. When combined with an image of a fish, the Feng Shui symbol for abundance, and the calligraphy image for "Success", this art print represents a powerful cure for bringing forth greater wealth and increased prosperity.

Enso: Zen Mystery Expressing "The Circle of Life." In Zen art the Enso or brushstroke circle is a symbol of mystery whose contemplation was rumored to bring about a quieter, more relaxed state of mind. This image was painted by a Zen monk in the 18th century and is thought to be an especially beautiful interpretation of this ancient symbol.

Enso: Zen Mystery "Circle of Infinity, Circle of Simplicity, Circle of Beginnings, Circle of Endings. Emptiness with Fullness, All things visible, All things unseen. To End and To Begin-The Circle of Life."

Tranquillity Tray
In Zen philosophy, the individual must first clear his mind in order to develop and grow. Nature provides a means of such cleansing, and Zen gardens combine water, rocks, and earth for easing the tensions of life, discovering the quality of ones inner being, and allowing an individual to become his own master. Many of us who are urban dwellers have no gardens, yet have more noise, tension, and distractions than ever. Zen masters have learned to take a small space in any location and turn it into a source of peace and tranquillity. The tranquillity tray is made of matte slate filled with polished amethyst. Place this beautiful piece in any room and enjoy the healing effects of the stones. Amethysts are one of the most effective stones to use for meditation because their calming attributes relax the mind. Regarded as a spiritual stone, the amethyst is said to bring serenity in times of grief, help with any addictions or stress, soothe and calm the mind, and raises the spirit. Other ideas for your tranquillity tray include adding a votive candle in the centre or a small incense burner with a soothing incense. These make beautiful gifts for either pagans or non-pagans.

Zen Gardens
He who plants a garden, Plants happiness - Chinese Proverb

Zen gardens were first designed and built by Buddhist Monks in the Eleventh Century. The first full size gardens of this type were built in forest clearings. Even the pathway to the garden was designed to bring about a peaceful and harmonious feeling and conscious awareness that a simple, but structured, design could bring a state of mind that would almost mimic meditation. The rocks, boulders and stone used in the garden create a focal point, and the rock chippings or granules flow around the rocks like water captured in time. Circle shapes in the aggregate mimic the circles formed by dropping a pebble into still water. These ornamental gardens bring together some of nature's basic elements in miniature to create a focal point of harmony and peace in the home or workplace. Landscape and design your own ornamental Zen garden, and discover how peace of mind can easily be obtained and developed. The materials used are of the highest quality and are natural. They have been designed to replicate the original full size gardens in design and nature. http://academic.bowdoin.edu/zen/ http://www.uwec.edu/greider/BMRB/index.htm

Dry gardens or Karesansui came from Japan. The best-known dry garden is Ryoanji in Kyoto Japan its over 650 years old. There you will find raked sand with structured lines drawn into the sand and 15 stones placed perfectly in to the garden. Simplicity and Beauty. Zen Buddhist used the garden for quit contemplation and mediation. People come from all over the world to visit this garden. Not every one can go to Japan so we have created a tiny version of the Zen garden. Our Zen gardens represent the same Zen philosophy. You now can create your own Zen garden with three ZEN-G gardens to choose from. They come in three sizes and colours, and have fine grain sand and a tiny rake for your garden. All you do is remove the stones and draw lines into the sand. There are no limits to what you can achieve and create in your garden. http://www.zen-g.co.uk/zenpictures.htm http://phototravels.net/japan/photo-gallery/japanese-rock-gardens.html http://www.japanesegifts.com/zencreate.htm

Zen garden secrets revealed

They used computer analysis to study one of the most famous Zen gardens in the world, at the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto, to discover why it has a calming effect on the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come every year. The researchers found that the seemingly random collection of rocks and moss on this simple gravel rectangle formed the outline of a tree's branches. Viewed from the right position, this empty space created the image of a tree in the subconscious mind. Using symmetry calculations the researchers have discovered that the objects imply an image of a tree in the empty space between them that we detect, without being aware of doing so. The spacing of the rocks forms the outline of a tree's branches

Enigmatic appeal The Ryoanji Temple garden was created sometime between the 14th and 16th (500-year-old). Centuries by an unknown designer. No explanation was ever provided for the layout of the garden. Instead the rocks were seen as symbols, representing a tigress crossing the sea with her cubs or the Chinese characters for the heart. The team from Kyoto University used image analysis to calculate the symmetry lines of the minimalist garden. They found that the points halfway between the rocks formed the outline of a tree's branches. The researchers experimented with random layouts on their computer model to see if they could get the same result, only to find these destroyed the structure of the tree. "We believe that the unconscious perception of this pattern contributes to the enigmatic appeal of the garden," said the team of Gert Van Tonder, Michael Lyons and Yoshimichi Ejima. "There is a growing realisation that scientific analysis can reveal unexpected structural features hidden in controversial abstract paintings," they wrote in the journal Nature. We believe that the unconscious perception of this pattern contributes to the enigmatic appeal of the garden.

That Japanese garden designers (originally priests) "balanced forces from visual science". That the human brain uses similar symmetry lines, like those of a child's stick figure, to make sense of shapes. In the Zen garden you have even less to go on with just the best points, or rocks, along the symmetry lines. She suggests the brain may recognize the tree during meditation and other Zen states.

Through the years people have come up with various interpretations for the rock clusters themselves: a mother tiger herding her cubs across a river, mountaintops poking through the clouds, and strokes of Chinese characters. These logical descriptions miss the point, says Philip Cave, a London-based Japanese garden designer. He thinks the suggestive symmetry explanation fits the Zen mind better. "It's always been thought that the priest-gardener's layout was something that didn't come from the conscious mind, but from a deeper level," says Cave. "They could have easily intuitively developed that kind of [tree] layout".

Bonsai trees can be used to enhance, bring colour and shift the focal point of the garden if required...but remember, the bonsai trees are real trees and require attention. Relax, move the stress lines from your mind to form shapes in the flowing rock crystals: there are no rules to the shapes and patterns, only those which you have formed and transported there. Landscape and design your own ornamental zen garden, and discover how peace of mind can easily be obtained and developed. The materials used are of the highest quality and are natural. They have been designed to replicate the original full size gardens in design and nature.