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Art has, for as long as I can think, played a defining role in my life, although not always consciously. And I certainly hadn’t drawn the connection between spirituality and art back in the day.
By back in the day, I mean the time when I had spent quite a bit of time on hard wooden benches inside, usually, impressive buildings. Although, as a rebellious child, I wasn’t really a fan of my Christian upbringing, especially the Sunday commitment of going to church, there was something I liked.
Of course, as you can guess from the title of this essay, it was the artwork. Impressive paintings on ceilings, realistic sculptures, and colored glass that turns sunlight into eye candy.
This might be the romantic point of the story where I say that I fell in love with art right there and then and decided I want to be an artist. But no, that’s not what happened.
What happened first was my delineation of Religion. When I realized how much the religious ideas in my mind were damaging my mental health and well-being, I cut the ties. Only later, after having jumped into science and being delineated by that as well, I returned to spirituality with somewhat fresh eyes.
And only after I was deep into adventures in consciousness, was my desire to create art really triggered. I liked art before and did some drawing here and there. But spirituality, or consciousness exploration, was the catalyst to make art one of the big aspects of my life.
Spirituality and Art
Now, after having spent many years in the spirituality playground and the art playground, something became apparent. Spirituality and art are inseparable.
I know this sounds almost like a naive insight considering the fact that virtually all spiritual, esoteric, and wisdom traditions have utilized art as a tool for communicating the noncommunicable for millennia. But reading about something and realizing something through experience are two different ballparks.
Arguably, creating an image that emerges from within has a more mystical character than simply copying something. But for the individual creating the artwork, both is an inner journey.
Even artists who say they have nothing to do with spirituality, have everything to do with it. Here, I define spirituality as 1. going beyond the person, and 2. embracing some kind of inner process. And I think most artists would agree that the act of creating art is transformative.
So, it’s not even about what kind of art you create. Art is not spiritual only because you’ve painted Jesus. And art is not not spiritual only because you’ve painted the central bank.
Spirituality and art meet in the act of creating. It’s when the creator and created disappear and all is seen as the non-dual function — creating.
But even before and after creating, the noumenous (=a thing as it is in itself) is shining through. The creation can not only serve the audience but the artist as well. In fact, there is a potential for inner transformation at all stages of creating artwork.
Art as Spiritual Practice
I’ve been thinking about art, specifically painting, as a spiritual practice and an approach to inner work for a while. Not only because art is one of the most fascinating human expressions but because it had such a profound influence on my life.
There are a couple of different ways art can externalize or represent your inner journey. Here is what I’ve noticed on my art/inner journey.
The Process
The painting process itself can be a way to process and make sense of your current state and whatever you’re grappling with. This can be represented by the way you paint (e.g. slow concentrated, fast erratic, little movement, much movement, etc.) or it can be used to lower the ego’s defenses to allow thoughts and emotions to emerge that are otherwise suppressed and hidden.
Many artists can probably confirm that the mental space in the process of creating an artwork is an interesting one. At times, thoughts and emotions arise that otherwise wouldn’t arise.
When you’re engaged in creating, the mind seems to want to offer some fuel for your creation. This, interestingly, can come in the form of mental content that’s being “destroyed” while you’re creating. What I mean by that is that the material which arises in your mind only arises to be digested and released. And this happens regardless if you use the material for your creation or not.
So, the whole process is a highly intimate one. To some degree, it’s therapy, to some other degree, it’s child-like expression, and to whatever degree, it’s self-transcendence.
The Image
The image you’re painting can represent a vision, a feeling complex, or an internal process.
Whatever image you choose to paint (or any other medium) most likely represents some aspect of yourself that benefits from being expressed. Whether this is a realistic naturalist landscape or an abstract mash-up of colors and forms doesn’t matter.
The more you are aware of this happening, the more you’ll be aware of the implications of your chosen image before you begin painting.
When I started painting I was completely unaware of this. I’d just pick an image and throw some colors onto a canvas. But with the refinement of artistic preferences, skills, and the taste for inner work, for lack of a better expression, most images carried some kind of spiritual purpose before I even painted them.
This doesn’t mean you should overanalyze the image you’re about to paint, but that closeness to your chosen image is a natural development.
The Reflection
After you’ve finished your painting, you can use it as a basis for self-reflection. Often, I found that I didn’t know why I was painting what I was painting while I was painting it. But when I was done, it became very clear.
Finishing a painting is like putting down a weight. This is not to say that creating art is a burden. But non-expressed creative energy can be. When something remains unexpressed it can way heavily on your spirit, which you might be unaware of.
Similarly, creating is usually a journey in and of itself you can look back on. Sometimes creating a piece of art can be spiritual warfare as you and the artwork seem to desire different directions of development.
That’s why finishing an artwork can feel like the end of a fight, or to use another analogy, like reaching the peak of a mountain. The view is nice, the air is fresh, and you’re elated, but lo’ there’s another mountain with yet another peak coming up — your next creation.
But before you dive into your next creation, it can be useful to look intently at your piece of art and use it as a basis for introspection.
How have you felt creating the piece?
What is its significance?
What is coming up when you’re looking at it?
This approach to art has often helped me come to insights and reach closure on a variety of topics.
Beyond Spirituality and Art
In my experience, it’s usually a combination of all three above.
Spirituality and art played and still play fundamental roles in my life although different from what they used to be.
Some time ago, spirituality has been a way to scratch my metaphysical and esoteric itch. It was, I thought, a way to a happier and more fulfilled life (which, of course, it can be). But then it had turned into an obsessive search for truth where nothing was divine and everything was up for scrutiny.
Now it’s just life living itself doing its thing. Spirituality is no longer something I need to pursue or study. Spirit, as the Latin root indicates, is the breath, the animating force.
Some time ago, art was a way to scratch my creative itch, gain approval, and potentially stumble into a creative career. But then it had turned into something that was more about impressing than about expressing. The desire to create something good had hijacked the pure joy of creating.
Now I no longer force myself to create. Instead, the force to create does the creating, and yet, is one and the same.
If there would be any meaning to the human experience then I think it would be creating. And creating doesn’t need to be visual arts but can be virtually anything.
To create something authentic — something that emerges from non-you — the spiritual/inner work is highly pragmatic. When you no longer live primarily through beliefs and your life is no longer filled with expectations and assumptions about how life should be, then you’re free to unapologetically do whatever the hell you want to do.
Then you have the possibility to create something unique and visionary, something that has never been done before. And I think that’s available to all of us.
If you want to look at some of my artworks you can click here: Artworks by Luka
Luka
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