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| Royal Couple in Chief |
There seems to be a lot of people talking about change of paradigms
these days, and I have to admit that I am one of the loudest. When I was
teaching in the art department at a local preparatory high school I had a box
called New Paradigms, into which we all dropped ideas that were beyond the
current models. As I endeavored to create context for my students, I believed
that artists would be among the first to embrace innovate concepts. I mostly
got eye rolls from these Ivy League bound students. This was more than a
decade ago and the main thing I realized working with young people was that before
new concepts can be considered, first one must fully recognize and understand
the prevailing paradigm. For me, as our social structures reflect the more
pervasive entropy, the gap between unsustainable and sustainable becomes ever
more apparent. So how do we get from dysfunctional paradigms to optimum
paradigms?
For me, there is pretty much only
one way to get from here to there, and that is through the creative process. I
have never been able or willing to keep it solely within the studio. And when I
am doing a lot of creative work it persistently seeps into to every aspect of
my life. I have found myself coming home from the grocery store with all my
vegetables bought by color, regardless of season or whether I like to eat them.
I even found myself thinking that if a
last minute dinner party that I put together doesn’t work, I’ll just paint over
it. In the past, incidents like that unnerved me. I thought that I might be losing my grip, but as I study the
science of the new cosmology, the more that I am beginning to think that not
only is creative process one of the best models for moving into a new world
view, but it is an attitude that does not take your own life overly personal. As Joel
Primak infers, we are each at the center of the Universe, one which continues moving away
from our point of perception. We are the point where change begins with the
corresponding change of consciousness. The following five steps are not my
invention, but I will give credit at the end.
The first step, absolutely essential for any kind of creativity, is to
be able to know when to turn off the brain’s automatic pilot. The first
discipline of all traditional Japanese cultural arts, whether sword work or tea
ceremony, is to quiet the mind. It
is not possible to stand authentically before the paintings like we do in
painting circle if you do not have some way of calming the mind. You need to be
able to step aside from the on-going commentary, especially of the critic. It
is a muscle that can be developed, unless it is there is no hope of playing in
the way that creativity demands; with curiosity, no attachment and simple
delight in process.
The second step is – trust in the process. That is
specifically the creative process, but in general is a belief that the process
of life works. From my experience of the evolution of the universe, something
beyond all impossible odds, is working. The Universe Spirit people call this
aspect a Learning Universe. Every single aspect is positive, even when it
doesn’t work and is recycled. Can you imagine how that attitude would change
your life? There are no failures, no regrets, even bad days or decades are
perfectly acceptable. In art work it is often those disasters that create the
new series. Do your trust the greater process of life? A great place to
practice is in the studio.
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| Fox Spirit with Dream Drum |
The third step is to be in gratitude. I remember late one night in the print
studio, during a period when I thought that I had to work for 8-12 hours in a
row to do anything interesting, I was working on a large monoprint with layers
of ink, different viscosities and textures. I was exhausted and the large plate still needed
to be printed. I took a break and swept the floor, which was strewn with fiber,
clippings and dirt. And in spite of all the lengthy and meticulous set up, as I
stood there with the full dustpan, I found myself sprinkling it across the
layers of ink. All I could do was laugh in appreciation that it could possible be a choice.
When I printed it, all the stuff from the floor blocked the ink and was white
on the print, which ended up giving me an idea for a series that went very
well. Creative process, as with ALL processes of life, can turn on a dime, if
you are willing to hold the reins loosely and appreciate the process.
These three steps prepare the
way in for the fourth step, which is
to connect to inner knowing. It is asking for guidance, and recognizing it as
such, then following the guidance.
In the creative process this is the point when you make the leap to the next
step, even if you do not understand it. It cannot be planned or figured out in
advance, it is an intuitive knowing that we all are capable of it and use it more
than we realize. It is often the leap in art that may take time to get used to, and which we gradually learn to rely on.
Often in an artist studio there are a couple of new pieces with their face to the wall, which may be a whole new series or way of painting that just emerged which the artist has not quite caught up to. That happens to me quite often. When you start making decisions from this place it can be very uncomfortable. Usually you cannot see from one step to the next and do not know where it is going. The brain is helpful and necessary in much of this three dimensional reality, but it has limited application in the new metaparadigm that science is revealing. As Einstein so famously said, problems cannot be solved with the same consciousness that created them. We need to move to another level which these step can provide.
Often in an artist studio there are a couple of new pieces with their face to the wall, which may be a whole new series or way of painting that just emerged which the artist has not quite caught up to. That happens to me quite often. When you start making decisions from this place it can be very uncomfortable. Usually you cannot see from one step to the next and do not know where it is going. The brain is helpful and necessary in much of this three dimensional reality, but it has limited application in the new metaparadigm that science is revealing. As Einstein so famously said, problems cannot be solved with the same consciousness that created them. We need to move to another level which these step can provide.
The last step is to take the
next step, make a move. All the creative process in the world is for nothing
if it is not realized. You have to try that swatch of yellow, you have to
Occupy Wall Street if you are called to do so, or the step after that has no
chance of manifesting. That I believe is the way that we make it into the new
cosmological paradigm – step by step, being the evolutional impulse rather than
being in it through creative process.
Jo Dunning was the
inspiration for this article from her Five Steps to Enlightenment: http://www.jodunning.com
