The Artist as Child

Throughout the inhabited world, in all times and under every circumstance, myths of man have flourished; and they have been the living inspiration of whatever else may have appeared out of the activities of the human body and mind. It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into the human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.
—Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces

This last post of 2008 is to serve as an epilogue to The Artist as…, a blog micro-series that addresses the fundamental relationship between myth, art, and the future of our species. I will continue to post, focused primarily on the worldwide need that exists for creatives to return a spirit of sacred service to the arts during this time of global cultural transformation. I’ll also be interacting with several teachers uniquely qualified to address certain topics and will consequently share my experiences on this blog. Interspersed here and there may be random musings.

There are two broad categories under which future posts will fall: Establishing Context and Techniques of Creation. In Establishing Context, progressive sciences, mythology, art history, shamanism, mysticism, and other such topics will be investigated.

Techniques of Creation breaks out further:

• Receive—proactively accessing inspiration
• Realize—effective project manifestation
• Render—articulating through specific media; e.g. film, music, writing, etc.

Interwoven throughout is the notion of developing a Refined Holistic Perspective—the general pursuit of developing one’s mind, body, spirit, and psychology, essentially developing our human instrument to be of service to Creativity itself.

About technique…

Fundamental to arts education is receiving training in a complete technical skill set. In addition to the obvious requirements related to mastery over a given medium, it serves the artist to learn the technical skills in which a mystic or a shaman would be trained. This kind of training fosters mastery of passage into the mysterious world of the "inspired mind" or what Joseph Campbell called the mythic dimension.

Receive…

Meditation is a tool by which deep, rich sources of inspiration are made readily accessible to artists. Buddhist, shamanic journeying, and many others …each meets a fundamental set of needs; but they also each bring something different. Find the best one(s) for you to receive inspiration and engage with full intention in the seeking process until you’ve found what works for you.

Realize…

Alignment with principles of manifestation (Law of Attraction, et al.) exponentially increases the odds of the fulfillment of creative projects (including the BIG project: your life!). This is way beyond simple goal setting/achieving—"chance" becomes a slippery term to define! In order to be most effective, adhere to a meditation/contemplative practice and possess a moderate level awareness of the multiple and oftentimes conflicting impulses within the psyche.

I think Joseph Campbell articulated the spirit of the subject of manifestation as well as I’ve ever heard it when he advised his students to “Follow your bliss.  If you follow your bliss, doors will open where there weren’t doors before and where there wouldn’t be doors for anyone else.”  Manifestation is ultimately about finding and settling into the flow of the life that you were intended to live.  When you realize that life, you’ve realized your bliss.

Closing note: The Artist as Child…

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
—Kahlil Gibran

In sitting down to write this, I reflected back on my first post to Intent.com in mid-August. The day after that post, my life was transformed in a proverbial "instant." Just about every major aspect of my life has been substantially altered since. I am starting over, almost a child once again. It has been a brilliant experience of suffering and bliss: in the midst of joy, there is grief. Fresh wounds open up older wounds …there will probably never be an end to the learning a wound has to offer. (a bit of silver lining there for the eternal optimist). But experience is also there for all who answer the call. Experience breeds opportunities for new creations …more diversity …transformation …rebirth.

That is the energy that I am bringing into 2009. To be reborn with childlike wonder …to embrace wild love …to catalyze radical transformation …to connect with soul and the Source of my most sacred intentions …to be of service to the highest good of life everywhere

…and to joyfully create!

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!! I’m grateful for the insights this series has already sparked many of you to share in your comments. I look forward to continued interactions in ’09.

Be well,

Manny