The Beauty and Science of Patterning Spirals: An Illustrated "Science of Floral Spiraling" and Two Meditations

by Christopher Keane

Participate in natural design. Meditate on beauty. Learn how nature generates marvelous spiral patterns. Learn to see the golden ratio in nature’s spirals. We can enjoy the beauty of a flower, unaware of processes that created the patterns. But if these underlying processes interest you, then read this book and discover the mathematical elegance underlying the dynamic patterning of spirals in flowers and plants. I created the images in this book with a computer model of floral spiraling. As I discuss in the book, you can experiment with this model , if you are so inclined. The model shows how various spiral patterns emerge over time, and how very small changes in the turn angle can drastically change the final patterns. If you are a parent or teacher, you will appreciate that this book combines science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM). Thus the material addresses STEM and STEAM educational objectives, while increasing appreciation of the elegance of a natural process. With new understanding of floral spirals, you might better appreciate their sheer beauty. Next time you look at a sunflower or other flowers and plants, look beyond the bright, vibrant colors. Look for spirals and count the numbers. Look deeply and discover these hidden treasures. I present in this book a flower walk meditation to bring awareness of the beauty of flowers into other activities. You also can bring greater awareness to the very process of coloring, if you have the Patterning Spirals coloring book, available on amazon, or a free coloring page download from my webpage. I offer a meditation that you can use to bring mindfulness into your coloring activity. Coloring in the complex and elegant images is a way to become more mindful of the subtle structural beauty of floral and plant patterns and how they change. I based these meditations on mindfulness approaches that have brought me joy for many years.

36 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2017

About the author

Christopher Keane is the author of more than a dozen novels and screenplays. The author of the teleplay for "The Huntress," the basis for the hit series on the USA network, Keane also served as writer and co-producer of the series. He teaches screenwriting all over the United States and in Europe and leads several workshops yearly.