Getting to know Virginia – The Light of Truth Universal Shrine (aka LOTUS)

November 12, 2017 by anyonecantakeapicture

I googled “things to do in Virginia” and the LOTUS popped up. It is literally out in the middle of nowhere, through lots of winding rural roads, between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. But once you get there, it is a sight to see! Make sure you have GPS otherwise you’ll get turned around (as I did when the car GPS tried to take me a different way than the phone GPS suggested).

The LOTUS is a temple dedicated to all faiths. Sri Swami Satchidananda opened the shrine in 1986 to honor the Spirit that unifies all the world religions, while celebrating their diversity. He believed that every village should have a temple, and so he built this temple. He says that his religion, “Undoism” is the basic foundation of all religions and faiths. He says “What we practice is found in every faith, every religion. That means we want to be good and do good…We want our lives to be easeful and peaceful so that we can be useful. That is our religion…There is no need to give up your own [religion]. In fact, you should not…but at the same time, love the other fellow’s also.”

In a world so full of hate, this is a sentiment I can stand behind.

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I’m not sure what is up those steps, but I wasn’t in the mood to climb up to find out!

I did walk to the shrine and go in though.

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Color Challenge – (Final) Week Nine – Yellow

September 29, 2013 by anyonecantakeapicture

I made it! I’ve traversed the rainbow, and then some, of colors found in nature, my office, my home and even my car.

I wish I had started this challenge a couple of weeks later because I think the fall foliage would be in full swing and I would have had some amazing yellows out of the leaves. But I’ll have to settle for the first little tiny pop of color of autumn in my front yard.

September is hit or miss for the turning of the leaves, but it definitely marks the start of a new school year.

October usually marks the start of Mums, but they started a tad early this year (much like the pumpkins).

Umbrella I spotted on the patio of a Mexican restaurant.

This is one of those free local Real Estate magazine racks in a shopping strip.

Banana!

Collection of Yellow Gold jewelry

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Yellow box

Compact mirror my mom gave me

Old school #2 pencil

Measuring spoons

And last but definitely not least, my bottle of Limoncello from Sorrento, Italy

There are plenty of other colors out there, so maybe when I’m in a rut again and need some inspiration, I’ll do another string of color challenges. But for now, I want to enjoy any and all colors I come across ;-)

Color Challenge – Week Eight – White

September 22, 2013 by anyonecantakeapicture

Not much to say this week other than everything in the post was taken, at home, today. I was off my game this week. But, still impressed I was able to find a multitude of objects around the house, and the variety of textures too ;-)

Mailbox

Plastic bags

Styrofoam lid

Washer and dryer

Door

Painted brick fireplace

Serving dish

Paper towel roll

Vanilla bean ice cream

Eggs

Ceiling fan and ceiling

Color Challenge – Week Seven – Red

September 15, 2013 by anyonecantakeapicture

This week was a tad lacking in the color challenge due to going on vacation ;-) I managed to snap a few while having fun, but they were more out of desperation than inspiration.

Vacation was in Asheville, North Carolina. I managed to snap this while waiting at a stop light. It’s the cheat of the week.

One of the many red flowers I snapped in the Biltmore Gardens

More red in the Biltmore Gardens

Last of the red foliage in the Biltmore Gardens

These next two were the desperate shots: tail light of the truck in front of us waiting at a stop light

Do Not Walk hand signal

Vintage car while driving through Pigeon Forge (separate story will be told when I post the vacation pictures). I guess technically this is a cheat too.