I am spiritually repressed. My intellect raises its sword to the monk and the priest. It refuses to acknowledge the existence of spirituality even in the face of incredible inner experiences. However, my intellect does lower its sword to the artist. It has fewer reservations about the creative spirit. Art is a form of spirituality that does not threaten reason. Art does not presume to represent the Ultimate Truth or Absolute Reality and it does not require any belief.
Therefore, I invest my pent up and unacknowledged spirituality into contemplation of works of art. I practice a form of meditation called "visualization meditation" or "imaginative meditation". In this form of meditation, you invest something with ever increasing amounts of mystery and significance until it is glorified in the imagination. One of my favorite visions is a streetlight within a tree which creates a nimbus of radiant green leaves. I can easily glorify this vision until it becomes a miracle occurring in the mind, a mystical revelation.
It is important to realize that the object of such intense contemplation has no inherent glory. It is devoid of spiritual qualities and all of its splendor is but a projection of something within that goes unexpressed, a hidden (i.e. esoteric) spiritual genius. William Blake's "divine imagination" was most likely a form of spiritual genius.
I allow myself to be mystified by art. I do not attempt a conceptual understanding of works of art. Instead I achieve an intuitive comprehension of art. I look at art with naked awareness and accept it for what it is and thereby achieve a state of pure consciousness. I enjoy an intimacy with the Sublime.
posted by Robert Robbins @ 4:01 PM
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