Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Knowing the Great Beyond Through the Supereminent Image of Alpenglow



The three ways of knowing and finding union with the sacred Great Beyond can be exquisitely applied to light.

According to the kataphatic way (WITH image, the via positiva), our Beloved Source is a loving light that shines on all things, illuminating them with an awareness of their own innate divinity.
But according to the apophatic way (WITHOUT image, the via negativa), the essence of this divine light is far too vast and transcendent ever to be encountered and experienced. Therefore, our Source is more like nighttime darkness to the mind and to our human experience.

However, according to the supereminent way (the mythopoetic way of the via creativia) God is like alpenglow. Accordingly, the hidden sacredness of all things lights up in the ruddy light of divine love, yet the Source of that loving light is nowhere to be found!

But unlike the sunrise or sunset daystar, which CAN indeed be found if one travels far enough toward the eastern or western horizon, the essence of the Great Beyond - the Beloved Source, God - CANNOT be found no matter how far along the horizon of Being one travels! For "he" is somehow emptied out in loving bliss into the wide open spaces of mind and heart, hidden from view like a trickster. And yet - surprise! - all things somehow light up ANYWAY!




Photos: (Top and Middle) Sunset alpenglow in the Never Summer Range, near Cameron Pass, CO, September 21, 2015; (Bottom) Sunrise alpenglow on Long's Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, September 20, 2015. No, these images are NOT photoshopped. This is how the alpenglow really appeared on these occasions :)



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I am available for one-on-one spiritual direction / mentoring via phone or Skype. You can contact me at canyonechoes@gmail.com if you are interested. The rate is $65 per hour-long session. You might also want to check out my Spiritual Direction with Stephen Hatch Facebook page

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