SPIRITUALITY, ART, NITHYANANDA

Even before one realizes that everything is Art, one can still look at art as an incredible tool that is  there for you throughout your whole life. The features and the benefits are different but the tool is still the same,  Amazing. 0 -7 y.o.- art is a way of exploring and enjoying everything.  Incredible brain development tool! 7 - 14 y.o. - still is an incredible tool for brain development but now a child creates his or her own tool box or skills that will be useful for the rest of their lives (learning resourcefulness  creating an open-minded personalities, ability to see a big picture, etc). 14 and up - self-therapy, breakthroughs, exploration of yourself, self realizations....

By Virgil With love my song begins Of love all things are Father makes the earth fruitful He cares for my verses I hope I remembered this correctly.   Imagine if every artist feels just that.

I now fully realize what my step father and uncle were talking about when saying  that you have to travel if you an artist.  It is an expansion from the work in the studio. Of course you continue working on your skills when you paint in plain air but this is not my point. I noticed that when I come to a different place I have absolutely different ideas on what to pain, what media to use.  I think the inspiration comes from the place itself.  That new place asks you  to express itself through you. So bottom line - My lesson is: Travel, and travel a lot.  Do not get settled in one place and work from there.  Pictures, however beautiful , are still already a second hand look at the creation.  Get the first hand.  Express YOUR experience.

"Time is a painting done on a canvas of life."

A lot of things about us can be revealed when you see how we paint. To give a personal example I often look at things from right/wrong stand point.  I also often paint with colors that I either mix straight on the canvas or  layer them next to each other. Two practices can be done here for artists like myself if we wish to expand:  One is practicing patience and working slowly with no rush, enjoying small and subtle changes.  Another one is seeing the  transformation of colors on the palette and enjoying that transformation noticing the process .   Soon the realization of how one thing giv es birth to another, or this new color or shade of the color comes to life.  How the old colors or things are still a part of this new one!  How everything transforms!  Maybe eventually less right/wrong attitude too...

It is a great exercise in awareness for beginner arttists. Place an object above the eye level, at the eye level and below the eye level.   Ask yourself how you feel about the object, what angle is the most comfortable?  You have to be fully present to do this exercise if you are new in drawing because your mental files/pictures about things will not help you.  You need to see... Deliberately  confuse your mind with the placement of the object.  Tell your mind that at this point you need to see as much as possible, tell it not to give you ideas or common knowledge like that table legs are straight, etc.    Tell over and over: "I want to see."  Eventually your mind will cooperate. Art has a lot of training opportunities in mindfulness.

Last final touches are the ones  that make great paintings.  Finishing things that you started with grace and responsibility will bring joy and satisfaction in life. Starting something but then dropping it before it is truly finished will lead to disappointment and regrets later in life.  Unfinished paintings remind me of unfinished promises. Figure out what does not work right before you drop the painting.  Take another look at the moment when you decided it was not good.  Figure out what exactly was not working and before you move on  either fix it or drop it or better fix it and then drop it!

White or Light is the absence of  black/dark. Only after you bring light into a room you can paint.  Only after you bring light or spirituality into your life you can live... Inside the intense light you need a different pair of eyes,  j ust like when you look at the solar eclipse you need a dark tinted glass to be able to see. Enlightenment vision is different from ours.  Maybe it does not require a tinted dark glass to see?

- What happening on the planet would impress you the most in 50 years?, I asked my students. - All countries united under one flag!, said one of the high school students.

I love Osho's Tarot readings.  They speak a lot to me. I went on the site and got the reading.  The card read Exhaustion!  Then there was this:  " Some of the Commentary: This is the portrait of one who...... has been so busy "keeping it all together" and "making sure everything runs smoothly", that he has forgotten to really rest. No doubt he can't allow himself to be playful. To abandon his duty for a trip to the beach could mean the whole structure might come tumbling down. The message of this card is not just about being a workaholic, though. It is about all the ways in which we set up safe but unnatural routines for ourselves and, by doing so, keep the chaotic and spontaneous away from our doors. Life isn't a business to be managed, it's a mystery to be lived. It's time to tear up the time-card, break out of the factory, and take a little trip into the uncharted. Your work can flow more smoothly from a relaxed state of mind. W...

The experiment that I wanted to do for some  time is to be painting, writing non-stop for 48 hours: no food, no sleep, basically nothing else.  I wanted to do longer but decided to start with just a little bit. I am so busy all year teaching. learning, family, etc that I do not have that much time to relax and just paint and go deeper with the Art.  It is always in  between other things.  Not that I am complaining but now I have that opportunity to do that, go deeper. Anyway, t he food part is easy due  to Samyama so I am debating if I should  go to yoga or not.   Probably I will still do yoga.  No sleep though.  If completely tired then maybe a nap. Maybe Saraswati will come to visit?

I was thinking for the longest time that  I wanted to describe my art experiences and I kept postponing writing about them because I thought I need a separate place and a good plan (I am a planner !) for these thoughts.  Today I realized I really do not need a separate place because a lot of them can in fact qualify as deep spiritual experiences and if I ever need  to compile all art post I would just copy and paste from here.  So there, no more dilemma. It is amazing how procrastination and trying to make  this "best possible decision" takes away from the actual doing.  I could have started this at least a year ago but I was figuring out the right way. The Universe probably was laughing hard and saying "the right way?  Start already, enough. When was that last time when you actually figured out a perfect plan or started the "right away.  Yup.  No one remembers." Funny.  The thought of doing something right pr...

Part 1  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-GQNM8rLbA Part 2  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBp5JAz5-7Q&feature=related Part 3  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDOPA59ykM&feature=related