Making the World a Better Place

Meditation is Key

There hasn’t been a lot of focus on the subject of meditation in this web log, up to this point. That’s because it is a subject that has many facets (which makes for long blog entries) including but not limited to your state of mind and health. In my case, meditation also facilitates my artwork.

Art has been used for contemplation, reflection and meditation for millennia. Ancient cave paintings surely evoked reflection after the initial time-passing process of creation. In every museum, heritage site, national park, garage sale and rock shop I’ve visited I have found someone, if not me, reflecting, contemplating and even meditating on what is displayed.

It is marvelous really to allow yourself to be swept inside to your higher self by an object outside yourself. When I paint a portrait of a Master or guide there is not only a connection made between me and Spirit; there is also a connection created between the sitter and Spirit.

That connection is a great tool for meditation. As I pointed out, using an image (any image) as a starting point for meditation is very old and this is simply because it is an easier entry to the ethers and if you are using an image that was created specifically for you there is already a connection.

Any image that speaks to you will do though; a favorite landscape, a Thangka, picture of a loved-one, the list is endless. This is why people have art hanging on their walls (like the ancient cave dwellers); there is an inspiration there. In-Spirit-ation.

It has been mentioned that I meditate alone and with a group. It has also been mentioned that I go into meditation before I co-create a portrait or other subject; which up to now I have called psychic art or spiritual psychic art.

Labels get so sticky, especially in a language that is so plastic and influenced by the whims of cultural cool and the evolution of our knowledge. Some of my work has been called psychic art or meditation drawings or meditation painting – but really it is art.

Some artists and non-artists alike call it intuitive art, spirit art or visionary art and I’m sure there are more labels out there. The problem with labels is people use them to create their own idea of what it means and perhaps to stand out from the crowd. Labels over time make people comfortable or not; that is why some labels are used and others aren’t – like the word psychic, for example.

Without going off on a tangent about labels (and I could!) I would like to assert that meditation is the most important part of this co-creation I experience. I’m going to go out on a limb (how ironic) and say that there may be more people on this planet that do not meditate than there are people who do meditate and that is why the world is the way it is.

Meditation allows connection to the Higher Self.

Meditation has NO rules or requirements other than the desire to actually do it. You don’t have to sit a particular way, you don’t have to be in silence (though it helps, especially at first), you don’t have to be in darkness, you don’t have to dress a particular way, you don’t have to belong to a belief group, religion or sect, you don’t have to follow a particular method even!

Meditation = Do Nothing + Listen

Simple. No expectations please.

I’m not going to give any directions here. There are a bazillion so called methods out there. Shop around and most importantly notice what resonates with you and do that, be persistent. Make it your own.

Meditation is not a religion and doesn’t require any belief; it is simply a method for connecting to the stillness within. I cannot say enough that meditation is Not a belief.

The next most important thing to know after you meditate for a while is that you will have to switch it up and try a new approach. That is good.

It’s an indication that you are progressing in your ability to be still and connect to Oneness. Be gentle with yourself and be open to what resonates. Few people start to meditate and get it right away. Allow.

Meditation doesn’t even require patience but it is a product of it. Every single dogma on the planet encourages meditation. Now that is not much of an endorsement, but it is something.

Buddha is the great example of meditation but every single avatar on this planet used meditation for wholeness and connection with Oneness, including Jesus.

Meditation and mindfulness can be learned at any age, anywhere in any circumstance. There is at this time on this planet, huge meditation events just for children! Isn’t that wonderful?

Public and private schools in America are starting to pay attention and teach mindfulness to children at a very young age and finding that youngsters become more resilient to the challenges of today’s ups and downs. Of course in India, people meditating down by the river or any obscure temple or shrine is commonplace.

There are growing programs for teaching people with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and kids with special needs. So, if meditation is so great why don’t more people meditate?

Fear. I really feel that it is fear.

A lot of people I know and even acquaintances tell me – oh, I don’t have time – I have kids – I don’t know how – I’m not religious – I would rather go for a walk – I tried it and it’s not for me – I’m not a hippy. I’ve heard them all.

The above-mentioned phrases are excuses to avoid the truth. And while walking can be meditation, it usually isn’t without first going through deep lengthy practice.

Three things cannot hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth – Buddha

I know absolutely beautiful souls who will not meditate and continue to be tossed around by life and feeling the pain of it. Carlos Castaneda said, “we can make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”

Fear of the unknown is the key. So if you are sitting in a place all by yourself, silent, listening to your breathe and something comes up that you have been avoiding all your life but up to now have only been doing guesswork; wouldn’t it be valuable to understand that and move on? Wouldn’t that make you happier in the long run?

It sure beats crying alone in the night not knowing what the hell is going on. If you’re going to cry, be scared and desperate wouldn’t it be better to do it with the solution rising up before you because you took the time to listen to the silence?

There is so much more to say about this but I will leave it for another time. Maybe next time I talk more about art, in the meantime, Embrace the Mystery and go meditate.