The Seven Valleys is a book written by Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith. It describes the soul's journey through seven stages of inner transformation, from the abode of self to the realms of nearness to God. The metaphors within the text point beyond themselves towards a realm that can only be described "heart to heart". In parallel with this process my paintings harmonise outer representational forms with abstract qualities of light, colour and pattern that draw the viewer into an inner space of contemplation.
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Search
"At every step, aid from the Invisible Realm will attend him and the heat of his search will grow."
Baha'u'llah
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Love
"In this city the heaven of ecstasy is upraised and the world-illuming sun of yearning shineth, and the fire of love is ablaze; and when the fire of love is ablaze, it burneth to ashes the harvest of reason."
Baha'u'llah
Sun Dance
At every moment he offereth a hundred lives in the path of the Loved One.
Baha'u'llah
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Knowledge
"They have passed beyond the worlds of attributes and made their dwelling-place in the shadow of the Essence."
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"Split the atom's heart, and lo! Within it thou wilt find a sun."
Qur'an
Qur'an
Sun Atoms
"And there he beheld his beloved with a lamp in her hand,searching for a ring she had lost."
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Unity
"He looketh on all things with the eye of oneness, and seeth the brilliant rays of the divine sun shining from the dawning-point of Essence on all created things, and the lights of singleness reflected over all creation."
Eternal Dawn
Surging Ocean
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"Your souls are as waves on the sea of the spirit; although each individual is a distinct wave, the ocean is one, all are united."
Sea of the Spirit
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Contentment
"From sorrow he turneth to bliss, from anguish to joy.
His grief and mourning yeild to delight and rapture."
"Although to outward view,the wayfarers in this Valley may dwell upon the dust,
yet inwardly they are throned in the heights of mystic meaning."
"He looketh on all things with the eye of oneness, and seeth the brilliant rays of the divine sun shining from the dawning-point of Essence on all created things, and the lights of singleness reflected over all creation."
Eternal DawnSurging Ocean------------------
"Your souls are as waves on the sea of the spirit; although each individual is a distinct wave, the ocean is one, all are united."
Sea of the Spirit-------------------------------------------
Contentment
"From sorrow he turneth to bliss, from anguish to joy.
His grief and mourning yeild to delight and rapture."
"Although to outward view,the wayfarers in this Valley may dwell upon the dust,
yet inwardly they are throned in the heights of mystic meaning."
Valley of Contentment
O Source of my being.
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Wonderment
"How many a mystic tree hath this whirlwind of wonderment snatched by the roots."
Woodland of Wonderment
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"The bird of her soul escaped! Free of the body and the grieving, Flying in a vast region that was itself, Where it could sing its truth!"
RUMI
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| Spirit Released |
Spirit Released
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" To the court of holiness I summon thee; abide therein that thou mayest live in peace for evermore."
Court of Infinity
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Nothingness
"When the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the presence of the Beloved, the sparking beauty of the Loved One and the fire of the lover's heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings. Yea all he hath , from heart to skin, will be set aflamre, so that nothing will remain save the friend."
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Nothingness
"When the true lover and devoted friend reacheth to the presence of the Beloved, the sparking beauty of the Loved One and the fire of the lover's heart will kindle a blaze and burn away all veils and wrappings. Yea all he hath , from heart to skin, will be set aflamre, so that nothing will remain save the friend."
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