Underlying Silence

Underlying Silence, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Even people who dislike snow can feel its magic. But for most people, fresh snowfall also offers something akin to spiritual experience. Muting noise, snowflakes carry quiet messages from above. They remind us to forget our imperfections. That mystery abounds. That we can slow down and embrace the underlying silence.

Taken: On a cold January afternoon in Shogran, Kaghan Valley

After You Left

After You Left, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Now I have my space but the space is so large that I can’t fill it up. I find myself alone, a lot. This leaves room to think, guess, and fantasize. I start to wonder what is going on. The days are gone when no one would disturb my peace of mind and I would just sail away with a clear conception of the reasons behind a confrontation.

I have deep feelings of loneliness. Part of it may be that this time of year.

There are some words that are really really hard to say. I feel lost.

Taken: While Snowing at Murree Hills, Pakistan

Interwoven Tapestry of Love

Interwoven Tapestry of Love, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

It’s hard to imagine most of the time. We’ve got a lot of problems here on earth. A lot of pain and confusion and hurt. A lot of fear. A lot of anger and frustration. But through it all, we have a blanket of love that keeps things going.

When you look at a thread – from a distance it looks like one solid mass of material. But when you get real close, you can tell it’s made up of many interwoven fibers.

This thread of love surrounding our earth is composed of an infinite number of fibers connecting everything together. That’s why we’re all connected. That’s why, on a more real level, we’re all one. Because everything is connected together by threads of love.

When I get really close – and look very carefully – I see those threads more as channels. Sort of like blood vessels. But instead of blood, these vessels carry love. All connected together. Everything and everybody connects together through this interwoven tapestry of love.

Nothing is separate.

The more we deny this, the more we make up stories, the less connected – and thus the less love – we feel.

Taken: Phantom of Opera, PNCA Islamabad (Thanks to Yasir & Umar)

Seventh Heaven

Seventh Heaven, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

It was believed by many cultures, and still is by some today, that when people die, their souls float into the sky, visiting each of the Seven Heavenly Objects as they travel to the outermost layer of heaven. When they reach that outermost layer, they are believed to actually meet God, supposed to exist just above the last layer of heaven

In ancient astronomy, before the telescope was invented, people referred to the Sun, Moon, and the five planets visible with the naked eye as the seven heavenly objects. Each had its own layer of heaven or sky assigned to it, and each was considered to be farther and farther away from Earth.

In simple English, it expresses bliss or happiness. A view of Borit Lake toward Central Hunza has the same magic of being in heaven. It was the seventh lake I visited, so I call it a Seventh Heaven.

Taken: Borit Lake, Gojal Area, Upper Hunza, Northern Areas of Pakistan.

Footprints over Snow

Footprints over Snow, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Let me start with the notion here:

Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

Leaving the footprints over the snow is always a uplifting experience. Caught, trapped, wrapped and woolen bound in a complete whiteout, a winter wonderland of sorts, with my fingers little more than a faded. I can almost believe that nothing else exists – that nothing else ever existed – beyond my horizons.

Footprints in snow, crunching in their crystal clarity, I would hear every gasp of air and every frozen intake of breath. With the wide view of Kaghan Valley stretch before my eyes with alps and alpine trees covered with the layer of white, it was a nice and silent experience.

Shogran, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan.

Snow Crunching in Shogran

Snow Crunching in Shogran, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Winter, I am not much found of it, but love the cold weather because of its perfect stillness. That cold and snowy time of year when people change their lifestyle to suit the environment and wonder about times past and future. We welcome the sight of pure white snow piled in amazing configurations over ground and trees. And most delightful sounds of snow crunching under boots.

Some of us break the season with a dreamed of trip to warmer climates. Others haul out equipment not used at other times of year. This is the most difficult season to capture in photographs. The brightness of the snow can fool the cameras meter.

Last weekend we packed up for the popular summer destination in Kaghan Valley to get some shots in snow. It was a wonderful experience to have some peaceful time in Shogran as we were the only visitors.

A meet up with Asif Minhas at Shogran was a nice experience.

Resonance

Resonance, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Where vibrations are, resonance can happen.

Up till now I have thought a resonance as some sound phenomenon, but the question that came into my mind was “What are vibrations”, in my opinion its deviation from norm.

At the finest level of your spirit, each one of you emanates an energy that has a harmonic resonance, and that harmonic resonance is love. So when you meet another person, a situation, another form of evolution such as an animal, a fish, a snake, a flower, a tree – for all God’s creations have a harmonic resonance – and the harmonic resonance of this other being blends with your own resonance, there is a hidden factor of togetherness involved.

Now in a similar way, as the planet evolves and you have all kinds of happenings going on. And that in particular Resonance created some of the ultimate landmarks one cannot even imagine.

Ultar Hidden in Mist and Lady Finger from somewhere up in Duikar Valley is where I felt in total harmonic resonance with the nature…

Talismanic

Talismanic, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Meaning, to accomplish, or bring into effect. The Talismans are objects marked with magic signs and is believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.

Here Talisman is Hunza, that mostly remains covered under the sacred gown of snow in winter, when unwraps, its sensuous hilly contour and the luxurious vegetation become a magnet. The lands of fairy tales, where the snowcapped hills stood high to higher limits. Gigantic mountains that have stretched over an area of 110 kilometers surround the valley. The terrain is full of variety with diversity in the heights of the peaks of 1500 meters to 8000 meters.

As one travels up on the Karakorum Highway, the beautiful sceneries keep on revealing themselves. On the way one can witness the 65 km long ‘Batura’ glacier, the second longest in Pakistan, surround by Shishper, Batura and Kumpirdior peaks. As much as the valley is famous for its beauty, the people of Hunza are noted for their friendliness and hospitality.

So whether you are a culture shark, an adrenaline junkie, or simply in need of a stress-free time. Whatever you may be, you just can’t get out of the Talismanic effect of Hunza

Taken: Between Chakarin and Darandas over looking the Nagar.

Jhelum

Jhelum, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

A surprise to discover history carrying on and on about famous horse that dies at Jhelum and gave the town its name. The horse of Alexander The Great.

Jhelum district lies on the route that was taken by all conquerors and invaders coming from the north. Journeying back and forth through history, there are interesting tales the District has to tell from Alexander era, to Mughal period and British Raj. There is a history woven around Fort Rohtas and Till Balanath (Tilla Jogi) and how important was Jehlum on the Railway Map.

The River Jhelum in its path takes the form of a stream and act as lovely camping sites for campers and trekkers. You must visit these places to feel the real essence of the areas.

Taken: Near Famous Mosque Afghanan at the edge of River Jehlum.

Elixir of Life

Elixir of Life, originally uploaded by !ShT!aQ aHmEd.

Alchemy: A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity.

An art of ancient origins, can be interpreted as an enquiry into man’s relationship with the cosmos and the will of the Creator, manifested as either a devotional philosophy transforming sinful man into perfect being, or attempted transmutation of base metals into gold or silver. The catalyst required was the elixir of life, tincture, or philosophers’ stone (Elixir of Life), the search for which long obsessed men of all ranks.

Alchemy posits an original unitary energy which separated in space-time into distinct physical elements, “falling apart” and differentiating in the four directions. Perceived as transmutable through shared qualities or correspondences, these elements could one day be reunited in a reconstituted wholeness.

What to see some that kind of transformation, forget turning the pages of ancient books, Take a tour to Hunza and you will see how Quintessence is powering the process of Alchemy.

Taken: Gojal Area, Upper Hunza Valley, Northern Areas of Pakistan.