Remembering Paolo Soleri

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBGDXxvn1k4&w=560&h=315]
Soleri’s basic idea was that architecture and ecology are inseparable in their effect on people. In his view, technology always moves toward miniaturization, just as nature tends toward complexity and compactness. Human habitation, he believed, must also move toward more compact, multilayered and multidimensional spaces instead of scattering or spreading across the landscape. For me, Soleri meant many things, one of them being reggae concerts at the amphitheater he designed in the high desert of New Mexico.

On meditation

BlacSeaOzuluce
I've been meditating in the morning with the hope that a renewed commitment and some amount of repetition will finally get me closer to what, I'm not exactly sure. But I know I need to get there. Yes, I'm focusing on the breath. Yes, I am projecting a loving awareness. And sometimes I even envision a place of quiet relaxation in my mind. Perhaps a place similar to the ocean captured in this beautiful image by Hiroshi Sugimoto. But every time I picture one of these places, my mind invariably imagines Adolph Hitler there with me. Oh, it's a really long story that I won't go into but suffice it to say that Hitler always makes an appearance. I guess I'm pretty fucked up but that's why I'm meditating to begin with. I can usually send him on his way but as you can imagine, his constant presence can be a problem. Like the guy that shows up to the party without beer. The mind is so strange and so complex. I'm doing better at meditating without any imagery. Focused entirely on the breath and body. Do you think Hiroshi Sugimoto ever expected his photo to somehow be connected to Adolph Hitler?