Remembering Julie Magers Soulen

We are very sad to have learned that photographer Julie Magers Soulen, who was such a vibrant and active supporter of the Mind Body Spirit Marketplace, has passed from this lifetime. 

Her vibrant, positive spirit and beautiful Colorado photography was a very important and active part of our blog and Facebook page, and will be missed very much. 

I feel very fortunate to have (cyber) connected with Julie during this lifetime.  She was a regular contributor with us since our days at 1000 Markets. 

I was also very happy to have interviewed her for our Artist Series. 

Julie's energy will continue to live on through her stunning nature photography, and I'm sure her bright light will stay with us all - shinning strong, and illuminating our paths forward.

We love you Julie! {{big hug and kisses}}
diane

   "Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park" courtesy of Julie Magers Soulen

The photograph, one of my favorites, originally was used in our
article on Earth Day in 2011.

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Mind Body Spirit Artist Series: Julie Magers Soulen

If the name Julie Magers Soulen and her gorgeous Colorado Photography seem familiar to you, it may be because her wonderful nature based photos have served both as an inspiration and as illustration for some of the articles we have published on our blog.  Her captivating sunsets, succulent flowers images, magnificent mountain shots not only help bring us closer to the wonders that nature has to hold, but also allows us a brief glimpse into the divine order of life.  Thank you Julie!
                                                                
                                                                                                            ~ diane fergurson

Colorado Mountain Goat Photo

MBS: Can you tell us a little bit about your background. How you got started in photography?

Julie:  I have always had an interest in "taking pictures."  My first experiences were through the viewfinder of my dad’s Kodak Brownie when I was around eight.  My aunt soon picked up on my interest and bought me a little Kodak Hawkeye Flashfun camera of my own.  Oh, was I proud!  I started my very own family photo albums which I still have.  It remained a hobby until 1999 when I began publishing regularly online at denverpost.com with my husband, Ric Soulen.  His down to earth writing and my nature photography was an ongoing chronicle to our life living off grid in the Colorado Rockies.  It was featured for seven years, in our groundbreaking "blog style" column, A Colorado Journal.

MBS: Wow!  That "is" pretty groundbreaking if you stop and think about it.
Living off of the grid must have provided you with all kinds of interesting photographic
opportunities.  What are some of the shots that you remember the most?

Julie:  My home was perched on the side of a mountain with a view of the eastern horizon.  This gave me a unique opportunity to capture sunrises and foggy mornings.  I loved shooting both of these natural events.  On the high plains of Colorado it is common during certain times of the year for the plains to be blanketed with fog.  Our home was higher than the fog giving us a unique view of an "ocean" of fog below us.  (example below)

Sunrise Sunset Photo

MBS:  When you photograph something, such as a natural fog event like you described, what is it that
you want your photograph to convey to the viewer?  The event itself or is there something more?

Julie:  When I "see" a photo of nature in all her beautiful colors and forms it has the ability to put me in the present moment where time does not exist.  At times it is hard to take the shot because I just want to gape at whatever I'm looking at in that beautiful moment.  But then the urge to share overcomes my stasis.  It is the desire to share that beautiful moment with my viewer that invigorates me.


MBS:  What kind of photographic equipment do you like to use?

Julie:  I shoot with a Nikon D80 for my landscapes and most other shots.  My lens is a Sigma 28-300mm.  I also have a small Canon Powershot pocket camera that I carry around everywhere.  It has become somewhat obsolete because of my mobile phone camera.  They are pretty amazing.   However I believe that it is not the camera, but the photographer's eye that is the most important piece of equipment.

Blue Jay Photo

MBS:  "However I believe that it is not the camera, but the photographer's eye that is the most important piece of equipment."  How so?

Julie:  That is hard to explain in a couple sentences.  An analogy might help to make my point though.  A driver is not going to improve his driving skills by buying a more expensive car.  Or a cook is not going to be a better cook with a fancy set of cookware.  Both need to develop their skills to be better at what they do and the equipment is really just a tool to help them accomplish their goal.  Now I'm not saying that nice tools are not nice, just not mandatory.  I would love to buy the new Nikon D800!  Haha!

MBS:  Is there anyone or anything in particular that has has a big impact or influence on you and
on your work?

Julie:  Living off grid for twelve years has probably impacted my photography the most.  It allowed me to immerse myself in nature.  We lived in a remote mountain home powered by solar energy and surrounded by acres of pine forest.  Living so close to nature's rhythms becomes a way of life.  If it is cloudy I might postpone doing the laundry.   When it is cold and snowy we stayed inside by the woodstove burning wood that we harvested from our forest.  

I have always felt at home with nature, poking around being curious about the natural world.   As a child I was outside more than inside, exploring the leafy deciduous woods of Ohio near my home.  It was much the same living in the Colorado mountains.  There were miles of surrounding pine forest to explore.  I had mountain lion and bear encounters and learned they are not as afraid of us as we like to think.  I learned to read animal tracks that told stories of what happened the night before.   Every day was an adventure of discovery.  Nature has a way of teaching you if you simply pay attention to the details.   I suppose that is why I enjoy landscape and nature photography so much.

Colorado Winter Landscape

MBS:  Do you have a particular season you like to photograph more then others?  If so, what is
it and why?

Julie:  I do not have a favorite season for shooting.  I love all of them!  They all have so much to offer a photographer; minimalist snowscapes, spring flowers, mountain summers, and autumn trees.  The only difference for me is that it is slightly easier during warmer months when you don't have to wear gloves.  If it's really cold in the middle of winter it's a bit harder on me and the equipment.

MBS:  What is a typical work day like for you?

Julie:  My typical work day follows a bit of a routine.  I try to do all of my online work early when I'm fresh.  Some of it can be a bit technical.  So while still in my pajamas with a cup of coffee in hand, I go through my email, do Etsy shop maintenance, answer Facebook comments, and other online tasks.   And there seems to be a lot of them with online selling!  Then I take a late morning break with my dogs and we go for a long walk.  That helps me to clear my mind and shift gears to a more creative mode.   Afternoons are for creative work mostly.  I'll either go out on a shoot or work in the studio on photography.  I pretty much work all day, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, depending on life's demands.

Flower Note Card Set

MBS:  What are you currently working on?

Julie:  I am always working on several different things at once.  It really has to do with what moves me on a particular day.  My work table is currently hosting four nature photos in various states of progress.  I also recently shot some dog photography that I'm planning on posting on my blog in a light hearted story telling mode.  Then there is always my creative "to do list" where I keep ideas I'd like to do.

MBS:  Is your work available other then online?  Do you do shows?

Julie:  Besides my online Etsy shop, my work is also currently being offered at The Fine Art and Frame Company in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I do not currently have any future plans for any shows.

Home on the Range

MBS: What advice do you have to anyone who wishes to (seriously) pursue an 
artistic path?

Julie:  The best advice I can give anyone is to follow your heart.  If you do not have a passion for your artistic path, then do something else.  That passion will focus your direction and buoy you up when stagnation threatens.  We all have so much to offer the world; be it art or science or anything else.  Nothing is ever accomplished if your heart isn't in it. 


Thanks Julie!

You can find out more about Julie and where to purchase her wonderful work at:

http://juliemagerssoulen.etsy.com
http://www.facebook.com/JulieMagersSoulen
http://www.juliemagerssoulen.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/juliemsoulen
http://about.me/JulieMagersSoulen

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  You can read additional interviews from our artist series here.

The Paradox Of Our Age

                                                   We have bigger houses but smaller families;

                                                         more conveniences, but less time;

                                                      We have more degrees, but less sense;

                                                        more knowledge but less judgment;

                                                         more experts, but more problems;

                                                      more medicines, but less healthiness;

                                                 We've been all the way to the moon and back,

                                                   but have trouble crossing the street to meet

                                                                      the new neighbor.

                                                       We built more computers to hold more

                                                information to produce more copies than ever,

                                                             but have less communication;

                                                          We have become long on quantity,

                                                                    but shot on quality.

                                                            These are times of fast foods

                                                                    but slow digestion;

                                                            Tall man but short character;

                                                     Steep profits but shallow relationships.

                                               It's a time when there is much in the window,

                                                                but nothing in the room.

                                             ...take from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

                                 Colorado Prairie Windmill by photographer Julie Magers Soulen

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A Step Away From Peace

We are accustomed to thinking of progress as a step forward. But taking a conscious step back can lead to an abiding sense of peace.                                                                   
                                                                                                                            by John Ptacek

Imagine that you are standing under a waterfall. The water pounds down on your head and shoulders and pins your feet to the ground. The steady rush of water feels good. At times, it feels ecstatic.

But often the force of the water is too much. It hurts. You want it to stop. You tilt your body slightly, hoping to find a gap in the sheets of water cascading down on you. You do, and for a moment the pain lessens. But then the full force of the water finds you again. The pain is intense. You feel trapped.

Now imagine that one day, for no reason you can think of, you step back from the waterfall. You had no idea there was a space behind you the whole time, a cavern cut into the rock that easily accommodates your frame. The relief you feel is immense. Your body feels light. You witness the water pouring down inches from your nose. The inches seem like miles. Now the water begins to flow from you. Tears of joy are streaming down your cheeks. You have stepped away from the steady rush of water, from the endless cycle of pleasure and pain you’d been experiencing for as long as you can remember.

We spend our lives immersed in a flood of thoughts, unaware that another dimension of consciousness is available to us. It is a dimension in which we come to know ourselves as something other than thinkers. By taking a step back, we become the witness of our thoughts. Of the millions of steps we’ve taken in our lives, this subtle but radical step may be the most important because it leads to a profound sense of peace.

We cannot think our way into this witnessing dimension. It only emerges when thought subsides, appearing suddenly, like a bunny hopping from the bushes when the coast is clear. The thoughts that pleaded for our attention gradually recede in the presence of our steady witnessing gaze. In this transformative moment we have stepped back from the flow of thought into the serene space of our awareness.

This space is not as mystical as it might seem. Haven’t we all experienced moments when we’ve witnessed the thoughts flowing through our minds without getting dragged into their current?

Have you ever quarreled with someone and refrained from expressing a hurtful thought that surfaced in your mind? How were you able to perceive that thought? Was it illuminated by the light of your awareness?

Have you ever been on an airplane, minutes before takeoff, fearing that it was going to crash and that you’d never see your loved ones again? What stopped you from unbuckling your seat belt and bolting for the door? Was it because you were you aware, if only vaguely, that the thoughts parading through your mind were a bit far fetched?

We experience these brief but revealing glimpses of our witnessing capacity without recognizing their value. We move past them inattentively, the way we might a Rembrandt at a yard sale. But to spend one clear-eyed moment in this space is to observe that the territory of thought is limited, that it is easily contained within the greater space of our awareness. This flash of insight will awaken us to a new identity. By observing thought, we are born as its witness.

If we wish to dwell rather than dart in and out of in this vibrant dimension, we must do more than simply change the way we think; we must change our relationship with thought. We must become its ever-present witness to avoid being its ever-suffering accomplice. Helpful one moment and devious the next, thought is like a petulant child requiring our constant attention.

As thought’s witness, we are its master. We can summon it if we wish to bake a cake or split an atom, and dismiss it when it shows up uninvited. But for this cozy relationship with thought to last, we must keep it permanently in our sights. This will take every ounce of energy we have, and at first even that won’t be enough. We have been thought’s servant for so long that we’ll continue to obey it by sheer habit.

But in time our tolerance for suffering at the hands of thought will lessen. The pleasure will no longer seem worth the pain. And those isolated moments when we glimpse the chains and pulleys driving our thought process will begin to connect like stars in a constellation. As we step further and further back from the realm of thought, we will see it in its entirety and know that we exist beyond its borders.


We would like to thank John Ptacek for contributing his beautiful essay to our Blog.  If you would like to read more of his work, it appears on his website On Second Thought.  John's life has been enriched by the wisdom of great spiritual teachers.  His essays help to demystify their sometimes perplexing teachings to a wider audience.

Pacific Northwest Waterfall is by photographer Julie Magers Soulen.  Prints are available through her shop on Etsy.

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Moon-In-The-Water

"Moon-in-the-water is a favorite Zen metaphor for human experience.  It is used to demonstrate how human experience is created not only by external objects, but also, and equally as much, by the nature of the mind and the structure of the senses.

In the metaphor, water may be seen as subject (mind and senses) and moon as object (external objects).  There is no moon-in-the-water if there is no water or if the moon does not rise.  Moon-in-the-water happens only when there is water and when the moon rises. However, neither moon nor water waits for the other:  the water does not wait to catch the moon's image, and the moon does not wait to cast its rays on water.  Moon-in-the-water is created equally by water and the moon.

Thus, experience does not happen to us, but is created by our minds and senses and the external objects perceived by them."

Taken from the book, "Moonscapes" by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Photo credit: "Colorado Water Landscape Night Sky Moon" by Julie Magers Soulen

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Living with Balance- Earth Day

Having an awareness of the earth and environment has gained a much needed, critical boost in popularity lately. To the Taoists however, the celebration of earth (and heaven) has always been as it should be...and will be.

The wonderful excerpt below is from a favorite book of mine,  "Everyday Tao:  Living With Balance and Harmony" by Deng Ming-Dao.

It is under the section, "Earth".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

   "what is bountiful?"  the ancients asked.  True bounty was not the treasury of the emperor, but the generosity of the earth.  The golden hills provided home, country, belonging.  The rich, black, fertile-smelling soil gave grain, vegetables, and fruit.  The blue-shadowed mountains gave shelter from the wind and storm.  And the seemingly endless plains and deserts provided ample room for exploration and adventure.  Why worry about the abstruse, the ancients asked, when everything we require has already been given to us?

If you want to follow the Tao, the ancients said, first understand the perfection of heaven and earth.  Wind, rain, and sun come to us through the sky.  The earth gives us our home, our nourishment, jewels for our adornment, minerals for our use, places to travel.  As the old saying goes, "Why look far away for what is close at hand?"  You, like the students of the ancients, may want to study the Tao.  Doing so may be as simple as bending down to pick up a clump of earth.

 So many of us look and look for the Tao.  The masters, it seems, are still pointing one hand to the sky and the other to the earth. ~



 Enjoy "all" your Earth Days
  ~ diane fergurson



"Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park" courtesy of Julie Magers Soulen


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