13 quotes
Holistic does not mean doing all things, but bringing all of yourself to all of the sufferer, and him bringing all of himself to you.
Facets of a Diamond: Reflections of a Healer (2002)
We can accept any and all events in our existence if we believe our mothers love us. For, as I say, she was, and still is, all the world to us.
The Veneration of Life: Through the Disease to the Soul (1999)
What matters is not what you paint but what your hand dances. The painting is only a notation of the dance of the hand, of the gesture of love.
Stillpoints: An Introductory Guide to Haiku Painting (2008)
The test of every act of creativity: Does it help you to enthusiastically, passionately, whole-heartedly and gratefully Embrace all your life? This, I believe, is the basic purpose of all the arts—and thus should be the basic Intention of every artist.
A Few Words on Art (Just a Few) (2010)
Although I use many modalities in my practice, only 3 are basic: my hands, my voice, and my intention.
John Diamond (2002)
Photography is not about seeing, but about Knowing. Going so deeply into the subject, whatever, whoever, that you find the spirit within. And then you memorialize it for others to also Know.
Beyond the Obvious: Photography for Healing (2014)
Play with joy, with a smile. If you aren't enjoying it—stop. Never practice—that's just the brain. Always play, even if the audience is afar. That's the heart as well. Don't judge your playing—for then it is not play, but hard work. Just aim to refine your intention.
The Way of the Pulse: Drumming with Spirit (1999)
Taking a photograph is, it seems to me, a momentary revelation of an instance of the universal unity. The subject and I are one.
Beyond the Obvious: Photography for Healing (2014)
Our first appreciation of music comes through the sounds of the mother, especially her voice and her lullaby. Our earliest musical expression, of which speech is a part, is in a sense a duet with her. And later in life we should still be able to discern the voice of love in the music.
The Life Energy in Music, Vol. 1 (1981)
My deepest intention is that some day a sufferer, no matter how afflicted, will be able to look at a painting, at a photograph, and be instantly healed. That is my ultimate hope. Not to be realized in this life, maybe, but that is what I believe art can do.
Art for Healing: Guided Painting Then and Now (2011)
The healer must love the sufferer as his [surrogate] mother and be loved in return by the sufferer as his [surrogate] mother. For the ultimate healing is knowing the Love of one's own mother... However, only when the surrogate role is kept firmly in mind can the Love be true, be altruistic.
Facets of a Diamond: Reflections of a Healer (2002)
The basic purpose of music is to be therapeutic, to raise the life energy of the listener. This simple yet profound truth seems to have been forgotten in this era which acclaims technical virtuosity and sophisticated musicology. The function of music since its beginning has been the spiritual uplifting of the listener so that his life energy is enhanced by the experience.
The Life Energy in Music, Vol. 1 (1981)
Through my mother's disease I came to know her as Spirit. The name of her disease hardly matters—no more than the name of the disease of your loved one. What matters is seeing through the disease to the sufferer's very essence, to their Soul.
The Veneration of Life: Through the Disease to the Soul (1999)