Nothing
is more powerful then the experience of oneness. Western culture has instilled us with a sense
of being separate, fragmented even at times disconnected. However, when we become united or the sum of
the parts we may feel at one. At times we can find ourselves in this transcendent
state of being, in our recreation or other special settings. This feeling of awe can manifest as we are watching
ocean waves reflecting the light of a full moon or the wonder of watching the
sun rise, creating a unified feeling by beauty of nature.
Art
is a fantastic medium to portray our non dual nature. Here we can see how we are all interconnected-
body, mind and spirit. Years ago Abraham
Maslow stated that the transcendent experience is a healing force.
In
the chapter of Eye of the Artist- Ken Wilbur writes in “Sacred Mirrors : Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions 1990
the following writes about the third perspective of contemplation of the
spiritual, transcendental and transpersonal world. Ken calls this the “Eye of contemplation”
which discloses a transpersonal, transverbal, trans-egoic world, of luminous
soul and spirit. He calls this realm as transcendelia,
where objects perceived by the soul and spirit.
Mr.
Wilbur writes of the three overall realms from matter/body to ego/mind to
soul/spirit that is referred in various contemplative traditions as the Great
Chain of Being.
He
describes this in more detail on page 14[1]
below;
The
secret of all genuinely spiritual works of art is that they issue from nondual
or unity consciousness, no matter what “objects” they portray. A painting does not have to depict crosses
and Buddha’s to be spiritual. This is
way for example Zen landscapes are so profoundly sacred in their texture, even
if they are just “landscapes.” The issue
from nondual awareness or unity consciousness, which is itself Spirit. At the height of transcendence, Spirit is
also purely immanent of all-pervading, present equally and totally in each and
every object, whether of matter, body, mind or soul. The artwork, of no matter
what the object, becomes transparent to the Divine, and is a direct expression
of Spirit.
The
viewer momentarily becomes the art and is for that moment release from the
alienation that is ego. Great spiritual
art dissolves the ego into nondual consciousness and is to that extent
experienced as an epiphany: a revelation, release or liberation from the
tyranny of the separate self-sense. To
the extent that a work can usher one into the nondual, then it is the spiritual
or universal, no matter whether it depicts bugs or Buddhas.
A
critical theory of art based on the perennial philosophy would demand at least
two scales. On the horizontal scale
would be included all the elements on a given level that influence a work of
art. These elements include everything
from the artist’s talent and background, socioeconomic facts and psychological
factors, to cultural influences. The
vertical scale, according to the perennial philosophy, cuts at right angles to
all these earthy facts and deal with the ontological dimension of Being
itself. The vertical would have several components
summarized by the question, How high up on the Chain of Being is the work
itself situated?
The great
artists of the modern era kept alive the quest for the sacred and the search
for Spirit, while all about them the cultural world was succumbing to
scientific materialism. For this we are
forever in their debt. The next great
movement in Western art is waiting to be born.
It will not be of the body, or the mind but of the soul and spirit. Thus we await with much anticipation the
great artistic symbols “that belongs on the altars of some future spiritual
religion.”
Today
we need to shift from our paradigm of being divided to one of being united. Artistic expression provides countless
creative acts how that both unify our collective situation and offers invaluable
insight. The need to heal and become
whole is paramount. May artists of all
walks celebrate the unification of our great chain of being. Connecting our body/mind/spirit to new
frontiers of oneness and unity will heighten all things to greater collective experiences.
