C.M. Rivers

"The point of being an artist is that you may live." ~ Sherwood Anderson

Journal

  • Rasa

    (Rasa is a Sanskrit word literally meaning juice, essence, or taste.  It also refers to an ancient concept in Indian arts concerning the aesthetic of a composed piece of visual, literary, or musical work.  More specifically, Rasas are the feelings evoked in the reader or audience by the artistic work.)      Your life, this life, not separate.  Read more

  • Joseph Campbell quoting Heinrich Zimmer

    “My friend Heinrich Zimmer used to say the best things can’t be told, because they transcend thought.  The second best are misunderstood, because those are the thoughts that are supposed to refer to that which can’t be thought about, and one gets stuck in the thoughts.  The third best are what we talk about.”  – Read more

  • The Illusion of Separation

    Ubuntu is an ancient South African term meaning “connectedness to others”.  It points to the human virtues of humanity and compassion. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning “union”, “connection”, or “to join”. Between all the reading I’ve been doing and my recent journey into yoga teacher training, I have noticed an idea that comes up Read more

  • Siddhartha Considers Emotion

    “He pondered this feeling which completely filled him as he slowly made his way.  He pondered deeply, sinking down into the depths of this feeling, as through deep water, until he reached the point where the causes lie.  For to know the causes – so it seemed to him – that is what thinking is.  Read more

  • Weather Report

    To better understand nature you need to spend some time in it alone, observing.  The more you do this, the more quietly aware you’ll become of what is happening there – the order, science, art, survival. The same applies to one’s body and mind, habits, tendencies, perpetual states, thoughts that come and go, emotions that change and pass.  The solid and fluid.  The Read more

  • Tree

    The next time a storm comes, set your eyes upon a tree.  The branches toss and turn, flail and bend – and wisely so, for what happens to things that don’t bend? But then, beneath the boughs and limbs, the trunk.  And beneath that pillar of power and stability, the roots – firmly fixed to the earth.   Read more