The Art of Aaron Moth

Aaron Moth is the artistic alter ego of Mateusz Tomczyk, born 1991, polish photographer, collage and stage designer. As an artist he is fascinated by American photography of the 1960s and 1970s, by nudity, eroticism and queer art.

Each of his collages is created on the original page, so that each work is exceptional and unique. In Moth's work you can find fragments of photographs from different years, but the artist himself admits that he values erotica and pornography the most in the 1960s and 1970s. This is due to its plasticity and its characteristic style, both in terms of the way it is photographed and the selection of the models, the latter heroes of his collage.

Aaron Moth is aware that his work may be controversial, especially in Poland, the country where he now lives and works. But, as he admits, he has been a rebel since childhood; he likes risks and walks his own paths: "Poland is not so open and tolerant country like most of Western Europe. Recently, it intensified in our reality that if you are 'different,' then better do not show it. Unfortunately, Poland is still a very conservative and Catholic country full of homophobia, xenophobia and racism."

Although in his work Aaron Moth uses mostly erotic and pornographic pictures, thanks to the technique of collage, he creates a new, more sensual quality that, he says, "allows me to show my nature, what I am, what I dream, what I want and who I desire. I think that without these emotions and desires I would not be able to create satisfactory works."

– Source

Related Off-site Link: Aaron Moth's Official Website

See also: The Art of Travis Chantar | Douglas Simonson | Guglielmo Plüschow | Vilela Valentin | Dante Cirquero | Nebojsa Zdravkovic | Brenden Sanborn | Wilhelm von Gloeden | Richard Haines | John MacConnell | Leo Rydell Jost | Jim Ferringer | Juliusz Lewandowski | Felix d'Eon | Herbert List | Joe Ziolkowski

Sacred Glade

Art: "The Sacred Glade" by Hannah Willow.

See also the previous posts:
• Sacred
• Ancient and Enigmatic
• Symbol of Enlightenment
• An Extraordinary and Ancient Archetype
• Totem of Mystery and Misunderstanding
• Creature of Mystery, Creature of Magic
• An Ancient Religion

The Divine Masculine Principle

By Kushite Prince

NOTE: The following is written by Kushite Prince and was first published January 23, 2015 on his blog, Kushite Kingdom.

________________________

The Divine Masculine represents an archetypal ideal, the best and most inspiring, elevating, and restorative aspects of masculine expression and manifestation in the universe.

For those seeking an expanded understanding of the Self, the Divine Masculine is not a distant, detached, jealous and vengeful male deity. The Divine Masculine acts as a shining mirror of the Self, revealing aspects that need compassionate attention and support to become one’s highest potential.

As multifaceted, spiritually-embodied beings, we each have a complex psychological and emotional constitution that produces one’s inner health and outer reality. One of the two most fundamental aspects of being is the Divine Masculine archetype.

Each one of us, male and female, carries within our psyche both Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine archetype energies. From these archetypal energies come all our conscious thoughts, plans, desires, goals and agendas. These energies intertwine and cooperate to produce a uniquely personal expression and experience of life. Sexuality is just one expression in which this confluence of energies distinctly manifests. A male gendered body does not mean that only masculine energy is present. Gender (genitals, body) and the archetypal composition of the psyche are independent of each other.

For a man reading this, you may wish to expand your understanding of masculine archetypes and see how these are showing up currently in your life and then consider evoking a more fuller, or “higher” expression into one’s psyche. Men who consciously assimilate Divine Masculine archetype energy express higher levels of awareness and spiritual states of being along with greater satisfaction in life experience. Women reading this are equally served by contemplating Divine Masculine qualities while seeking to integrate these into their inner male expression.

The Sage archetype is a very important aspect of the Divine Masculine expression for our species. The Sage is closely aligned with the Priest archetype, however the Sage emanates an additional aspect of advocating “right action,” dharma. The Sage is the Ego in service to, and “right-relationship” with, the higher Self’s power.

The Sage observes, tracks, scans, monitors data from all sources (within and without) and channels wisdom leading to “right action.” The Sage is detached from ordinary life flow, watching and engaging energies with wisdom and toned action as needed for synchronistic harmony of life.

Being with a man in the fullness of the Sage archetype feels like this: Unheralded, he quietly and deftly shares with others wise counsel and channeled direction that shifts the receiver into new possibilities and pathways that reflect “right action” for their life path. He quietly supports the wisdom of others, not seeking acclaim or notice for his contribution. He is thoughtful and reflective and rests in his felt connection with spirit and grounded connection with the earth, Gaia, the source of his wisdom and insight.

The Sage’s importance comes to the fore during crisis and intense need. Through the uniquely formed conduit that the Sage embodies, wisdom and “right action” become clear. With the Sage’s contribution we feel confident and assured that our path is the right one for us, we respond to life with a calm easefulness that transitions crisis and change with grace and wisdom.

Where the Priest archetype has a primary focus on the “inward” realm, the Sage archetype has an “outward” focus of service – to manifest channeled wisdom into being.

The Warrior archetype is the most represented and exploited archetype in our culture — being elevated and revered by the dominant patriarchal society as: disciplined leader and protector. While these are two of the Warrior’s sterling qualities, it is what comprises his fullness that makes this archetype truly a divine expression.

Warrior qualities include: decisiveness and clarity of thought, selfless service, genuine humility, strength of experiential “knowing,” courage to do what serves the highest good even when it is a personal challenge to do so. He serves to maintain and support established systems and forms consciously, without blind rigidity, being exemplary in loyalty to a greater good beyond personal gain.

He remains calm and centered while under challenge. He is inwardly aligned and integrated – in touch with his feelings, being warm and compassionate, appreciative and generous at every opportunity. He fights “the good fight” in favor of benefiting the greater good and making life more fulfilling for everyone.

Being in the presence of a man in the fullness of the Warrior archetype feels like this: His strength of stature is evident and unheralded – not needing accolades or compliments. He contributes without fanfare or needing to direct or “lord” himself over others. He eagerly responds to requests of service showing respect to all – especially to those “elder” to him, as well as other men, women, children, animals and the earth.

He “knows himself” and finds his place in collaborative projects, being fulfilled and contented with the collaboration and not by ambition or competition. The man in the fullness of the Warrior makes you feel safe while not being oppressed by his stature or protection.

– Kushite Prince
"The Divine Masculine Principle"
Kushite Kingdom
January 23, 2015

See also the previous posts:
• I Call to Cernunnos . . .
• "Hail to the Seasonal Prince"
• Animal Energies
• "We Are Still Mythical"
• In American Gods, An Otherworldly Depiction of Queer Attraction and Connection
• Beauty and the Beard
• Luminous and Safe in Vulnerability
• Handsome in Pink
• For the New Year . . .

And on The Leveret's brother site, The Wild Reed, see:
• Meeting and Embodying the Lover God
• Reclaiming the Power of Male Touch
• Beloved and Antlered
• Integrating Cernunnos, "Archetype of Sensuality and the Instinctual World"
• The Archetype of the Double and Male Eros, Friendships, and Mentoring
• A Fresh Take on Masculinity
• Vessels of the Holy
• The Body: As Sacred and Knowing as a Temple Oracle
• No Altar More Sacred
• To Be Held and to Hold
• An Erotic Encounter with the Divine
• Spirituality and the Gay Experience
• The Holy Pleasure of Intimacy
• The Many Manifestations of God's Loving Embrace

First and last images: Subject and photographer unknown.
Image 2: Paulo Pascoal. (Photographer: Francisco Martins.)
Image 3: Subject and photographer unknown.
Image 4: Subject and photographer unknown.
Image 5: Urtreen by Sergei.
Image 6: A depiction of Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. (Artist unknown.)
Image 7: Subject and photographer unknown.

Running Hare

Art: Araminta Fogden.

The Beauty of Nature

When the mind is festering with trouble or the heart torn, we can find healing among the silence of mountains or fields, or listen to the simple, steadying rhythm of waves. The slowness and stillness gradually takes us over. Our breathing deepens and our hearts calm and our hungers relent. When serenity is restored, new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to new growth.

This invitation to friendship with nature does of course entail a willingness to be alone out there. Yet this aloneness is anything but lonely. Solitude gradually clarifies the heart until a true tranquility is reached. The irony is that at the heart of that aloneness you feel intimately connected with the world. Indeed, the beauty of nature is often the wisest balm for it gently relieves and releases the caged mind.

– John O'Donohue
Excerpted from Beauty: The Invisible Embrace

Images 1-4: Subjects and photographers unknown.
Image 5: Paulo Pascoal. (Photographer: Francisco Martins.)
Image 6: Saulo Sarmiento. (Photographer unknown.)

See also the previous posts:
• Thomas Moore on the Circling of Nature as the Best Way to Find Our Substance
• Beauty
• Bel Homme – May 12, 2018
• Bel Homme – June 12, 2017
• Bel Homme – August 22, 2015
• Bel Homme – April 22, 2013
• Bel Homme – September 5, 2012
• Bel Homme – July 5, 2012
• Bel Homme – June 7, 2012
• Bel Homme – June 2, 2011
• Sleep

Morning Light

Image: Subject and photographer unknown.

Among the Wheat

Image: Photographer unknown.

See also the previous posts:
• Hare in Field of Gold
• Hare in Summer Field
• Cutting the Hare

Boys of Summer

See also the previous posts:
• Boys of Summer (2017)
• Boys of Summer (2016)
• Boys of Summer (2015)
• Summer Boy
• Tan Lines

LeBron

LeBron Raymone James Sr. (born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Often considered the best basketball player in the world and regarded by some as the greatest player of all time, James' NBA accomplishments are extensive and include four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, three All-Star Game MVP Awards, and an NBA scoring title. He is the all-time NBA playoffs scoring leader and has amassed fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, twelve All-NBA First Team designations, and five All-Defensive First Team honors.

James is an active supporter of non-profit organizations, including After-School All-Stars, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Children's Defense Fund. He also has his own charity foundation, the LeBron James Family Foundation, which is based in Akron, Ohio. Since 2005, the foundation has held an annual bike-a-thon to raise money for various causes. In 2015, James announced a partnership with the University of Akron to provide scholarships for as many as 2,300 children beginning in 2021. In 2016, he donated $2.5 million to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to support an exhibit on Muhammad Ali. In 2017, he received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award from the NBA for his "outstanding service and dedication to the community." In November of that same year, the Akron School Board approved the "I Promise School," a public elementary school created in a partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation to help struggling elementary school students stay in school. James later reflected that it was his most important professional accomplishment of his life.

Throughout his career, James has taken stances on controversial issues. On several occasions, he mentioned a feeling of obligation to effect change using his status. Those include the War in Darfur, the Trayvon Martin case, the now-former NBA owner Donald Sterling's racist comments in 2014, the Michael Brown verdict, and the death of Eric Garner. Following a racist incident at his Los Angeles home in 2017, James stated, "being black in America is tough. We got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African Americans until we feel equal in America." Later that same year, in the aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, James questioned President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan by stating, "It's sad what's going on in Charlottesville. Is this the direction our country is heading? 'Make America Great Again,' huh?" and "Our youth deserve better!" James also called Trump a "bum" after the president rescinded a White House invitation to Steph Curry. On the other end of the spectrum, on February 16, 2018, Fox News journalist Laura Ingraham told James to "Shut up and dribble" as a response to his political agendas.

– Source

Last Friday, August 4, U.S. President Donald Trump took to his favorite medium, Twitter, and attacked LeBron James’s intelligence after CNN aired an interview in which the NBA star told anchor Don Lemon that he thought Trump was trying to divide the country by using sports as a wedge. Trump had apparently watched the rebroadcast of the interview, which originally aired Monday. Lemon’s questions mostly focused on James’s time off the court, covering James’s newly completed I Promise School in Akron, a public and nonprofit partnership designed to help underserved kids in his Ohio hometown.

The meme above is just one of many that were created in response to this incident and which criticizes Trump while praising James. An earlier meme (below) highlighted James' exemplary character and family life.

Above: On June 11, 2015 LeBron shared on national TV a bit more of his physique than he no doubt intended when he briefly exposed his penis as he tucked his undershirt into his underwear. (In the process, it should be noted, he validated all the "growers not showers" of the world!)

Notes The Hollywood Reporter about this incident: "The Internet may have been worked up into a frenzy over LeBron James possibly exposing his penis to millions of viewers on live television Thursday night, but the Parents Television Council doesn't think the potentially indecent footage, broadcast during ABC's live coverage of the NBA Finals, is that big of a deal and the watchdog group says it won't be encouraging its members to file complaints. 'After reviewing the video clip at issue, we find nothing that reasonably violates the spirit or the letter of the longstanding law against broadcasting indecent material over the public airwaves between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.,' PTC president Tim Winter said in a statement. 'We will absolutely not be encouraging our members to file complaints, as we feel it is much ado about nothing.'"

Well, not exactly nothing.


Related Off-site Links:
A True American Hero – The Wild Reed (August 5, 2018).
In One More Career-Defining Moment, LeBron James Opens a School for At-Risk Kids – Tania Ganguli (Chicago Tribune, July 30, 2018).
What LeBron James Keeps Doing Is More Impressive Than You Think – Terence Moore (Forbes, August 2, 2018).
Trump Insults LeBron James’s Intelligence in an Echo of “Shut Up and Dribble” – Alex Horton (The Washington Post, August 4, 2018).
Twitter Explodes Over Donald Trump’s “Disgusting” Attack on LeBron James: “LeBron Puts Children Through School. Trump Puts Children in Cages” – Jeff Zillgitt (USA Today, August 4, 2018).
Sports World Reacts to Donald Trump’s Attack on LeBron James – Michelle R. Martinelli (USA Today, August 4, 2018).
Trump’s Tweet About LeBron Is Pathetic, Immature But Not Unexpected – Jeff Zillgitt (USA Today, August 4, 2018).
LeBron James Tweets Positive Message to Kids After Donald Trump Attacks Him – Hilary Hanson (The Huffington Post, August 4, 2018).
When Trump Attacked LeBron James, It Had an Unintended Effect: Other Athletes Speaking Out – Cindy Boren (The Washington Post, August 5, 2018).
Amid LeBron James Flap, Melania Trump Again Charts Her Own Course – Associated Press via MSN.com (August 5, 2018).
LeBron Shows Trump What Winning Really Looks Like – Dave Zirin (The Nation, August 6, 2018).
LeBron James: No, I Don't Regret Calling Trump a "Bum" – Mahita Gajanan (Time, September 25, 2017).
LeBron James' Penis Exposure Draws Hilarious Complaints – Jai Bednall (News.com.au, July 15, 2015).

See also the previous posts: Jayjay | Donald | Geremy | Jerome | Solomon | Colin | Luis | Nyle | Philip | Charlie | Sukdeep | Rafael | Mon Bel Ami

Images: Photographers unknown.