"The world is a beautiful and terrible place"

These are the often repeated words of the Blue Lama, Rudyard Kipling's sagacious Tibetan monk from the novel Kim. The Blue Lama has left his cloistered Himalayan lamasery questing on foot far down the Ganges plain in search of a mythical river said to have sprung at the spot of an arrow shot by the Buddha himself. His wisdom prepared him for what to expect in chaotic nineteenth century Indian cities, but before his journey from Tibet began, he had no idea of the severity of the terribleness that the world actually is. The Tibetan, however, never lost his equanimity, thoughtfulness and focus even in the face of swindlers, urban inhumanity, armed warfare and self-imposed poverty.

For those of us who live in modern cities or lead a modern life, the terribleness of the world is broadcast to us 24x7x365x700 channels of media. For many of us, we are the complete foil to the Blue Lama. We can smell a city hustler approaching us on a subway platform from 300 yards, but a sunrise registers as little more than an unset alarm clock. We can learn news of the world through dozens of mediums, but how much do we know life and ourselves?

This web site is intended to be a chance not only to take a break from all that is crowding in around you, but all that is crowded around in your head. We'll give you a chance not only to be aware of you moment here now in the present, but a chance to be aware that in this moment you are aware. We'll try and pull your consciousness to the present and encourage you to keep it there. Problems and bills and fears will always be there, but the presence of mind to notice yourself and the world around you may not. And one day the opportunity will be gone forever.

The site itself will be in constant evolution. It will evolve with the months, just as the galleries themselves will change. This is purely a non-profit minded endeavor. All site work and gallery presentation is without compensation

Just because we live in the Storm, doesn't mean we should just give up on the beauty. As the Blue Lama says, "The world is a beautiful and terrible place"

~Ted Rheingold
   me@MindfulInTheStorm.org