About Ryan J. Bush, Ph.D.
I’m a fine-art photographer based in Aptos, California, and author of From Wandering to Illumination, A Singing Wire, and The Music of Trees, as well as a linguist, a meditation teacher, and a Reiki master/teacher. I have been photographing seriously since 1996, using techniques like abstraction, multiple exposure, 3-D photography, and video art to explore themes of consciousness, oneness, our connection with nature, and the sacred hidden in the mundane.
In my 29 years as an artist, I’ve photographed the beauty hidden in many kinds of ordinary subjects, like trees, plants, overhead wires, the sky, and handwriting, but my art isn’t just about beauty for its own sake. Based in Aptos, California, I use techniques such as abstraction, multiple exposures, 3-D photography, and video art to celebrate something transcendent that shines through absolutely everything, if we pay close enough attention.
In our challenging world, we need as much soul and inspiration as possible, and art can be a life-changing path of personal transformation, as powerful as any religion, philosophy, or spiritual practice. I offer a wide range of museum-quality, limited edition prints, along with my three books, and a variety of greeting cards.
My art is inspired and informed by my other practices, such as meditation and spirituality, my Ph.D. in linguistics and speaking eight languages, and my deep love for music, as well as having worked in Silicon Valley for 17 years. I’m passionate about teaching on many topics, like art, creativity, consciousness, working with the mind, body, and energy, going beyond the ordinary perspective, and thriving in difficult times. So, feel free to check out my YouTube videos, books, articles, and social media.
Please let me know if there’s anything I can help you with, or if you have any questions!
About Me
I’m a fine-art photographer based in Aptos, California, and author of From Wandering to Illumination, A Singing Wire, and The Music of Trees, as well as a linguist, a meditation teacher, and a Reiki master/teacher. I have been photographing seriously since 1996, using techniques like abstraction, multiple exposure, 3-D photography, and video art to explore themes of consciousness, oneness, our connection with nature, and the sacred hidden in the mundane.
In my 29 years as an artist, I’ve photographed the beauty hidden in many kinds of ordinary subjects, like trees, plants, overhead wires, the sky, and handwriting, but my art isn’t just about beauty for its own sake. Based in Aptos, California, I use techniques such as abstraction, multiple exposures, 3-D photography, and video art to celebrate something transcendent that shines through absolutely everything, if we pay close enough attention.
In our challenging world, we need as much soul and inspiration as possible, and art can be a life-changing path of personal transformation, as powerful as any religion, philosophy, or spiritual practice. I offer a wide range of museum-quality, limited edition prints, along with my three books, and a variety of greeting cards.
My art is inspired and informed by my other practices, such as meditation and spirituality, my Ph.D. in linguistics and speaking eight languages, and my deep love for music, as well as having worked in Silicon Valley for 17 years. I’m passionate about teaching on many topics, like art, creativity, consciousness, working with the mind, body, and energy, going beyond the ordinary perspective, and thriving in difficult times. So, feel free to check out my YouTube videos, books, articles, and social media.
Please let me know if there’s anything I can help you with, or if you have any questions!
YouTube Videos
One of my main focuses in the past years has involved working on videos for YouTube on a wide range of things, like talking about various series of photographs, talking about the various processes I use, and the deeper meaning behind my work, as well as many other topics like working deeply with creativity, meditation, energy, and soul, and how crucial of a role art played in my own journey of consciousness and awakening. Take a look, and let me know if there’s a particular topic you’d like me to cover!”
Workshops & Conferences
With the extensive range of presentations and publications I’ve done over the years, both nationally and internationally, I’m available to give a wide variety of conference presentations, keynote talks, and workshops, and contribute articles and book chapters, on topics related to art, creativity, mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, personal growth, and more.
However, I don’t just talk about art and soul, or share intellectual concepts. My signature style helps to evoke soulful and inspirational experiences that take us beyond the ordinary perspective, pointing to the perennial wisdom that has been largely overlooked and misunderstood in our modern world.
Since words aren’t enough to evoke these transformational experiences, whenever possible, my presentations feature immersive media, including art, music, and inspirational words that anyone can understand, delivered with passion and narration or text to help .
Some examples of topics I am passionate about include:
- “From Wandering to Illumination”, using my mandala-like 3-D multiple exposure photographs of trees to lead us on a journey to reconnect with soul and transformation.
- “How to Truly See”, using the three series of photographs in The Music of Trees to illustrate three ways of seeing, from our usual way of barely noticing the world, to deeply seeing details, then the world of imagination, dreams, and inspiration, and visionary consciousness, as in awakening, visions, and Oneness.
- “Photography as a Form of Meditation and Active Imagination”, exploring how photography and other artistic media can be used as forms of meditation and active imagination, similar to the traditional Jungian technique of engaging in dialog with the psyche and imaginal figures, though using visual art as the medium of dialog.
- “Gateways to the Numinous”, exploring the countless ways to go connect deeply with soul and the sacred, including working with the mind, body, and energy, tuning ourselves, and radical openness.
- “Visualizing the Mundus Imaginalis”, exploring various philosophical, artistic, and meditative approaches to exploring the world that some call the mundus imaginalis, aka the imaginal world, non-physical world, the Beyond, or other dimensions of reality.
- “Visionary Consciousness: Dreams, Visions, Inner Sight, and Reality”, exploring various kinds of visionary experiences, what they say about the deepest parts of our being, how they can transform our lives, and what may lie beyond our usual understanding of existence.
- “The Three Levels of Being: Lower, Ordinary, and Higher Selves”, why we aren’t as simple and unified as most of us think, how to work with the various parts of ourselves, and how this understanding can be so transformative in our lives
- How to thrive in our modern, extremely stressful and challenging world.
- How to find our voice as an artist
- “Science and Spirituality”, exploring how they support and reinforce each other, through the connections that fields like Quantum Mechanics, String Theory, and Cosmology have with inner experiences during deep meditation, awakening experiences, and near-death experiences.
- Many other topics related to connecting with our creativity, intuition, inspiration, and our whole self, integrating mind, body, and energy, making progress on the path of awakening.
Collaborations
I have a strong interest in collaborating with creative people of all kind, for example:
- Like-minded artists for group shows, whether based on subject matter, style, meaning, or anything else
- Musicians, dancers, and other kinds of content creators
- Poets, playwrights, and other authors
- Interior designers and decorators
- Set designers who need art for TV shows, movies, and live performances
- People who make large-scale museum installations
- Scientists interested in collaborating on the connections that fields like string theory, cosmology, and quantum mechanics have with spiritual experiences
- And, much more, because there are countless ways that our work can amplify each other
If you’re interested in collaborating, please get in touch!
