the Artist’s Quotes

“It takes time to know the Light, the Consciousness behind the Light, and to know we too are that Light and Consciousness. It is not something you learn in art school, but every true artist is finding their way along this path of expanding awareness from a relationship with outer Light to the Light within all Nature and the self.” -Deborah Goudreault

“Look deep enough into Nature and you will find the self. Look deep enough into the Self and you will find the nature of all existence.” -Deborah Goudreault

"I do not paint the Light. I do not photograph the Light. I enter the Light, across a bridge waiting to be accessed through Nature and its mirror in the self. A bridge between the material and the immaterial, where the known attributes of familiar surface forms and events dissolve and the distinction between objects and subject blur. A bridge where every false fear and expectation reflected and reinforced in endless impressions of the familiar world of phenomena must be sacrificed to pass into the unknown, unconditioned experience and unlimited energy and potential of a greater, universally networked reality.” -Deborah Goudreault.

“The less you focus on the dense material, the closer you come to the Light. My work is to deliver the Light in as pure and unbound a translation as possible, not in images of how things look to the limited physical senses, but how they are beyond the conditioned illusions of surface forms and events, where Nature and humanity exist as unlimited multidimensional expressions of the Energy and Intelligence of a universally networked totality. ” -Deborah Goudreault

“A creative mind does not try to imitate what is known or attach one to the familiar world of forms we have defined as physical, separate and finite. If a creative mind is used only as a mirror of the emotions, it will never know its true capacity. A creative mind is not satisfied with conjuring entertaining distractions or temporary escapes from our conditioned limits. A creative mind does not judge what is possible or impossible, or see reality as a repetition of past experience and physical sensory conditioned perception. It leaves Nature unbound to express more of the totality of its Energy and Intelligence; free to transcend our imposed limits of time and space, and to reveal the subtly networked and more empowered dimensions of its infinite potentiality. There are many with artistic ability, but a creative mind understands that to access and project a more unlimited experience of Nature, it is the nature of the self which must be evolved. The more we open the flow of subtle energy and perception within the self, the more that Nature of which we are an inseparable part will reveal its subtle truths and the properties and dimensions operating beyond the physical. Expand your experience of the totality of the Self and your experience of Nature and humanity will also expand. Then rather than familiar forms or imagined abstracts, this becomes the essential subject of creative vision and what we translate in art; a more wholly convergent, boundary breaking realism; a seamless union between the self and Nature; an infinite sea of potentiality and universally networked Energy and Intelligence resonating in humanity and all life, waiting to be engaged.” -Deborah Goudreault

“The more we bring to Light what has been left to the ineffable, the greater will be our canvas of human potentiality.” - Deborah Goudreault

“Nature does not discriminate by race, gender, or belief. Anyone who comes to the river to drink will be given water. Anyone who comes to smell the rose will be embraced by its fragrance. We are the ones who have limited, distorted and polluted our conception and experience of Nature and humanity with lines of separateness, and we are the only ones who can restore the Light and unlimited potential of our individual and collective wholeness. All of my work in image and word is dedicated to creating an experience that challenges and expands our human identity from one that exists solely within the limits of our flesh bodies and physical senses to one that is connected to all humanity, Nature and the cosmos as part of a universally networked totality of infinite Energy and Intelligence waiting to be accessed within.” -Deborah Goudreault

“To serve the complex needs of evolving humanity, Artists today cannot rely on artistic skill, imagination, technology, monolithic size, or an ability to recognize and feed the desires or fears of a mass audience. They must develop the integrated mind of a devoted mystic, philosopher and scientist, and cultivate a capacity not only to create, but to create works that tangibly translate the unknown, lift the mind from its perceived limits, and nurture an experience where the dimensions of what we have labelled a separate, finite nature and human identity expand into a greater, universally networked totality. This is where art may serve its true purpose as the foundation for human advancement; freeing mind from its conditioned patterns and opening the inner bridges that connect us to the quantum potential we theorize is possible. Artists today must develop a practice that refines their inner perception, a non-dual, multi-dimensional focus, and power to discern and manifest work that illuminates a more cosmically integrated reality, unobscured by destruction and chaos, and unlimited by the known boundaries of surface forms and events.” -Deborah Goudreault

“Some messages are better received and communicated in solitude, through the subtle network of the mind rather than the crowded roar of social media. Sacred truths, sounded only in silence, the songs of humanity and Earth’s evolving radiance, kindling sparks preparing us for a greater Light. It is the vibrations of these messages that become my words; my images of Nature and the Consciousness which connects us to each other and all existence.” -Deborah Goudreault

“Like Tagore’s poem, I dive down into the depths of the ocean of forms, beyond their familiar finite surfaces and conditioned relationships, hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless; a timeless glimpse of the universally networked Energy and Intelligence of which we are all an infinite expression”. -Deborah Goudreault

“Now is a time of great transformation, and where people can work together to uplift that process and serve the needs of an evolving humanity and culture, I believe we have a responsibility to try. When much of what we knew and took for granted is now suddenly lost, what is left in the void? Art must respond to this, and it is uniquely positioned to respond, for true Artists have long surrendered to the void, lived in the space beyond the surface material and journeyed through its portals and infinite potentialities. The present demands new authenticity, new forms, new energy, and new consciousness that project a reality beyond suffering and chaos. Humanity seeks to be reborn, and we have a great opportunity to deliver art of a quality that gives breath to new life and helps loosen our attachments to ideas and patterns that no longer serve us. There will always be a few creative voices whose life has been a practice of evolving and expanding their perception and inner experience of who we are and as a result can see a little further; not just physically or intellectually, but intuitively through the sensory conditioned veils of matter. It is through these inter-dimensional eyes and hands that Art can continue to grow as a path for evolving humanity.” -Deborah Goudreault

“That we continue to perceive material forms or objects, including the self, as separate, finite points in time and space is the illusion of the physical senses. If we withdraw the attention of the senses from their ordinary external focus; something which seems counterintuitive for those working in a visual medium, what was a familiar material object appears more like a shadow. With increasing sensitivity, we begin to see the superficial part of the whole we have accepted as reality is where the least light and potential exists, and that its life continues beyond its surface form as part of a wave of universal Presence and unfathomed Energy and Intelligence infinitely unfolding and re-folding, involuting and evoluting, through overlapping dimensions and varying densities of Light into an increasingly pure, refined, luminous, potentiated and whole expression of its Source. In my practice as an Artist, I relate to external forms, both natural and human-made, in the same way I have learned as a yogi and meditator relate to the self, perceiving them not as a point of focus, but as the entry point on an infinite wave of existence. I follow the wave where its dense material form unfolds into the subtle unknown dimensions of its networked being. I follow it to a more unlimited perception of reality, endeavoring to translate in images an experience of both a cosmic Consciousness and the Self in all that exists.” -Deborah Goudreault

“To create impressions which illuminate the mind to its essential nature and evoke a stillness and openness of perception, one must first embody that Light, stillness, and perception within.  By devotion, practice and grace, at some point it reaches an intensity and magnitude of energy that is so great it can no longer exist in the container of the self, and overflows into a form which can be exchanged as Art for the benefit of others and the Earth.” —Deborah Goudreault 

“One must of course have an outer tool; a responsive camera, in my case, which moves freely and stably through space, but to break through the conditioned limits of the camera and the historic perspective of photography, one must first break through the conditioned limits of the self, and this is a never-ending process which technology cannot circumvent for us.” -Deborah Goudreault

“If we want to create a practice that translates an authentic experience beyond surface forms and events, it is essential that we learn to practice without expectation or intent as an unconditioned observer. The more we try to grasp the subtle dimension of Nature, armed with preconceptions and patterned ways of seeing, the more inaccessible it becomes. The more we surrender all attachment to familiar forms and what is known through our physical senses, the more the infinite potentiality and undiscovered dimensions of life will emerge.” -Deborah Goudreault

“I make images where I feel a concentration of convergent energies; some Presence and calling to translate an experience of subtle being and Intelligence, to nurture an understanding of a greater totality.  If you try to grab at it, it won’t happen, you must learn to hold a clear and neutral meditative mind, and trust it is there and will speak when it needs to. For this practice, it is not enough to study photography. What is required is a continuous refinement not only of one’s technical skill but the inner perception of a yogi, the soul and spacial sensitivity of a sculptor, the mind of a theoretical physicist, and the heart of a healer. To surrender our conditioned preconceptions, academic tricks and concepts may be an uncomfortable emptiness, but it is that initial bewilderment that makes room for a more unbiased absolute mind, and the only true canvas for pure and genuinely felt expression. Gradually it will become a state of mind one can access consciously; our focus on camera technique, the entertaining stimulus of the outer senses, our imaginative and intellectual mind, and any intention but a free and wakeful openness must eventually fall away, until you are stripped down and transparent. You are what the Light must flow through, not just the camera. You are the essential offering which opens and carries forth the flow of creative fire. Even when you think it rejects you, or the Light is not perfect, where the surface forms seem mundane, you resist aggression and go on with discipline and devotion to the sacredness of all that is Light, until your heart, inner sight and sensitivity to the frequency of a space draws you increasingly into subtle connection and communication with Nature and the true nature and purpose of the self. That is where the art of the image takes its breath.” -Deborah Goudreault

“The true artist does not have anything in mind when he practices. The more empty and unconditioned the mind is; the freer it is of expectation, goals, judgment or self-driven intent, the more open it is to connect with the universally networked Energy and Intelligence that is beyond the boundaries of the conditioned self and the field of physical sensory data. Despite the fact that it is predominantly what is presented as art, Art is not the expression or reflection of the thoughts and feelings of the conditioned self.  It is a practice of maximizing the space of the mind for the flow of creative energy and cultivating the innate capacity to receive and transmit an experience beyond preconceived thought and past the limits of patterned physical sensory observation.” -Deborah Goudreault

“We are given an individual physical sensory experience so we can recognize our distinctly unique qualities and navigate our purpose in a world of matter, but it is not meant to imprison us in separate, finite bodies, or blind us to the unlimited power and of potential of the self that realizes its nature as part of a greater Totality.” Deborah Goudreault

“Transcendental time makes room for universal space, space makes room for the element of akaasha or ether, akasha makes room for atmosphere, air makes room for fire, fire makes room for water and water makes room for earth…and all that we sense as physical manifestation. I am not engaged with forms as they are physically sensed, but the network of energy and intelligence that connects the finite to the infinite in the realm of akaasha.”  -Deborah Goudreault

“Do we want Artist’s who are committed to serving the flow of creative energy in forms that liberate and elevate the minds of humanity, or Artists who spend their time building a marketing network and conversations that feed our conditioned perception, further our attachment to past patterns, and rekindle the fire of old emotional conflicts? Who understands what it takes to create an art which builds the mind anew and removes the chains that keep us from an experience of a greater human totality, and wants to be a part of that process? Who can see the value in a work and inner vision so unlike anything in the past or present, few know how to represent it or protect it, but has the sensitivity, courage, integrity and awareness to successfully navigate its influence. Who understands art as necessarily more than entertainment or repetitions of surface forms and events and wants to be a gateway to a new experience and perception of Nature and the self. Who relates to art’s value in evolving humanity as well as its worth as a financial asset. Whose devotion to art is not only as an object of beauty to be owned and possessed, but a beauty you give yourself to, that challenges your preconceptions and becomes a unique and unconditioned source of infinitely expanding awareness. Art is only art when it becomes the experience of others; but what experience will serve us now amid such suffering and transformation? Who has the luminous discernment to seek an art where the Light and Consciousness the Artist projects nurtures an expanded conception of Nature and sets the ground for continued evolution and infinitely unfolding awareness and potential? I am only the receiver. I give the Light a pure place to resonate. Who will come now, feeling those rays, with the will to stand up and help clear their path?” -Deborah Goudreault

“I have always found that if you want to expand your awareness, go to the places within which feel dark and empty and find Light. Look into fields of idealized objects and long pre-conceived outcomes and try to feel only the space which contains them and what causal forces breathe and bring form to the experience. If you are going to look outside yourself for answers, let the purest experiences of Nature reveal the network of its Totality.  And if you hope to perceive anything of its lesser known subtleties, you must endeavor to make yourself more subtle, more sensitive, more “inner-sightful”. You must be as disciplined in developing an unlimited mind as your sharply analytical intellect, and move always along paths which lead you beyond your well worn areas of expertise and the conditioned limits of matter.  In this way, we will all continue to play a significant role in humanity’s transformation and advancement.” -Deborah Goudreault

“I do not take up my camera in search of outer beauty in Nature, I hike to what are the most uninhabited and undisturbed areas I can find, usually in the company of glacial boulders, rivers and dense, heavily bear travelled woods. Far less often I will find the Light remains pure in some human touched environment, and will make an image to acknowledge, honor and help magnify its presence. In either case, if someone accompanied me in my practice, they would probably not see anything remarkable with their physical eyes, but I don’t perceive with my outer eyes.  One can dominate the lens of the camera with the sensory data of our outer eyes or establish a connection between the lens of the camera and an eye of intuitive inner perception. The camera is only an extension of our own awareness and the more we expand the boundaries of our perception the more we unbind its capacity.” -Deborah Goudreault

“My artistic practice mirrors the continued evolution of the self, which requires that we learn to explore and navigate not only the dense material but increasingly subtle planes of being. To enter the ‘inner world’, you have to transcend the frame of the outer senses and surface world. You have to loosen your conditioned attachment to known forms to explore the unknown forms and potential of the more subtle dimensions of existence. In moving from the material toward the immaterial you move from a practice as a physical sensory observer to an intuitive witness. Ordinary mind has to be surrendered, ego has to be refined, and then the Light has room to rise in greater fullness and that inner light then gives you the capacity to unveil more of life’s wholeness. It is an unending process, where no image or form is the “real’ thing, and none of my works is an ultimate reality, but they share a more subtle encounter with the infinite totality of creation; always turning toward more integrative and unlimited awareness and a clear and spontaneous recognition of the cosmic Energy and Intelligence universally networked throughout Nature and the self. On my best days, what results is an opening beyond the conditioned churning of the mind that magnifies a longing for illumination, and propels us toward new knowledge and a human totality of more unlimited potential.” -Deborah Goudreault

“By expanding our experience of what is perceivable, we expand our minds’ openness to what is possible.” -Deborah Goudreault

“Silence is a very useful practice in self-understanding, and it would also be of great benefit to refrain from image making for a period of time. Even a brief retreat, withdrawing from our outer visual sensory focused experience can provide a beneficial opportunity to refine our inner perception, and our capacity to concentrate, witness, and receive from beyond the self rather than just creating images of outer sensory experience or imagination. I do this from time to time as a kind of purification; to unbind myself from the limiting patterns that constantly condition our perception of Nature and our own human nature, and to see further beyond the dense forms of the known world. We are all to some degree intoxicated by the power of the visual experience, so it serves us in many ways to step back and press the pause button instead of the shutter. We may find it also evolves the kind of images we make; images that serve more than ourselves, with the power not just to document what is, but to permanently transform it.” –Deborah Goudreault 

“An Artist must have the intuitive attitude and power to see the vision and project the revelation, but they must also be dedicated and determined enough to hold the vision pure. If they can do this while also striving to harmonize their life and endlessly refine their experience of the self, then their work will shine like a torch leading humanity forward, beyond all preconceived limits. This is the standard I have set for myself.” -Deborah Goudreault

“With or without a camera in hand, it is our practice and discipline in transcending the material field of the outer senses and nurturing an ever widening perception of Nature and the self which opens our capacity in art and all fields of human endeavor to create and project that which harmonizes, illuminates and elevates the mind beyond its perceived limits. It is cultivating a tangible experience of the Self as a multi-dimensional, universally networked and infinitely evolving expression of the Cosmic Energy and Intelligence eternally present in all forms of existence that brings Light to life and allows for impressions which carry forth the frequencies of a more unlimited and convergent reality. With or without a camera in hand, I follow the sound of Consciousness harmonizing and uniting all; the omnipresent Light, spinning along bridges between the material and the immaterial through all of Nature’s most subtle and dense forms.  I follow it into shadows and dark space too, in stages of involution and evolution in that which is visible to the eye and invisible but for intuited sight. With the passion of an astronaut, I navigate the space of both the animate and what on the surface may appear inanimate, traversing realms which resonate beyond the physical senses in the essential void comprising so much of life. With or without a camera in hand, the only thing I seek to reflect, the only form I ultimately perceive in all life is the energetic matrix of our infinite totality, vibrating with the seed of Cosmic Intelligence; the one unfathomable Source that veils itself in our humanity and every particle of matter and non-matter, so that it may evolve without end unto infinity.” -Deborah Goudreault 

“I make images where I feel a concentration of convergent energies; some Presence and calling to translate an experience of subtle being and Intelligence, to nurture an understanding of a greater totality.  If you try to grab at it, it won’t happen, you must learn to hold a clear and neutral meditative mind, and trust it is there and will speak when it needs to. For this practice, it is not enough to study photography. What is required is a continuous refinement not only of one’s technical skill but the inner perception of a yogi, the curious mind of a scientist, the soul and spacial sensitivity of a sculptor, and the heart of a healer. To surrender our conditioned preconceptions, academic tricks and concepts may be an uncomfortable emptiness, but it is that initial bewilderment that makes room for a more unbiased absolute mind, and the only true canvas for pure and genuinely felt expression. Gradually it will become a state of mind one can access consciously; our focus on camera technique, the entertaining stimulus of the outer senses, our imaginative and intellectual mind, and any intention but a free and wakeful openness must eventually fall away, until you are stripped down and transparent. You are what the Light must flow through, not just the camera. You are the essential offering which opens and carries forth the flow of creative fire. Even when you think it rejects you, or the Light is not perfect, where the surface forms seem mundane, you go on with discipline and devotion to the sacredness of all that is Light until your heart, inner sight and sensitivity to the frequency of a space draws you increasingly into subtle connection and communication with Nature and the true nature and purpose of the self. ” -Deborah Goudreault