All art is light… Sure – that sounds nice and concisely poetic.
But is it true?
Of course not (:
But what rings true is:
All art is a form of expression.
Yes. That’s more like it!
That’s what we want to focus on here, in this little blog-story.
Art can be light, art can inspire, uplift and ignite positive emotions inside your chest and belly, and brain and wherever else you see fit… And it can definitely be a beacon of light in the thickened mist of collective madness.
With art, we are able to reconnect to something primordial within us and something transcendental outside of us (that is really part of our essence just as much) — and we are ALL able to do this:
It’s as if art & creativity are meant to shine a light (there, I used the word again!) upon the shades and darkness within ourselves and others, aka the world in human terms…
So, art is a form of self-expression and an expression of subconscious (for a lot of people, unconscious) patterns, energetic signatures, emotional proclivities and mind-cycles. And it’s a constant balance between ego-based mind and soul-based heart.
All the fluctuating yet densified, rigid elements that are part of the collective subconscious can be held into the light and underneath the lens of conscious creation, when embarking on a creative journey.
All of those aforementioned elements are in one shape or another patterns. And these patterns can lead the collective away from their inherent life-affirming nature… or towards it.
There seems to be the tendency that those who express themselves through the means of art and creative endeavors, oftentimes tie their piece (unconsciously or with full awareness and intent) to reoccurring topics, motifs, depictions and patterns that are embedded in the global, or at least group-related/communal sphere.
We could say that a lot of creators reflect the, what I like to call, socio-ecological state of consciousness.
The socio-ecological state of consciousness…
Simply refers to the level of awareness of a group of people regarding any given topic. That awareness or consciousness-level is in large parts dictated and constituted by society at a grand scale, by the closer inner circle of friends, family, acquaintances etc. and the (natural, structural) environment that one lives in.
You could say that the environment (socially, ecologically and energetically) one is embedded in, serves as the director of the actors of a civilatory system. That is — it’s the predominant director until the actors become aware (of the strings they have attached). Then the director becomes more of an assistant, a second assistant-director and so on… until the environmental influences are only correlating with the base-layers of human existence — shaping e.g. how and what you eat, the quality of air you inhale, and other human biology-ecology related factors — but not dictating your thoughts, emotions, convictions, beliefs and such.
Ok, I deviated a little bit from the previous thought chain, so back to the “expressors”/creators that are linked to reflecting on the socio-ecological state of consciousness:
Some aim to point towards dangerous societal and system-related trends, warning with their art about impending crises, hazards, biases, collective fears & aversions, and faulty thinking.
While others simply want to gratify their ego and all its, often very shallow (often dangerous-in-itself) implications that lust for status, money, fame and the usual, boringly-bland clichés that have been depicted in character studies of all sorts throughout the ages — basically since the beginning of humanity’s disconnection with their true intrinsic nature… (I know — this paragraph sounds awfully bleak and critical, but I feel this needs to be addressed repeatedly!)
Then there are of course creators, who try to signal their own virtue but actually only care about money, status and fame — we could say that in this case, there is a lack of principles and open-heartedness.
One further case can be found in the ones, who aim to bring about change in society but are merely fueled by their own hate and spite against someone (or something) else — instead of tapping in and using their love for a certain cause, subject matter, change etc. So, in this scenario, there appears to be a lack of awareness: Without understanding or becoming aware of their negatively fueled actions, they are also not aware of the underlying aversion that bring about rather unproductive actions.
Quick note here: This is not to say, that an aversion against something can not have its benefits — it surely, clearly can! As human beings, we can be fueled by all kinds of feelings and sensations. And we can propel ourselves into all kinds of directions and fields through a plethora of complicated emotions.
In fact, sometimes, anger can be an incomparably great propellant for positive change! If you’re upset, deeply upset, about the way things are in the world (or the way you work/behave/interact/go about life or the way others behave towards you etc.), then we can initiate the conscious decision to bring about change and drive us forward with that “inner fire reignited”; keep that in mind, the next time you get angry about something — a lot of times, you can make use of that anger in a constructive way!
Ok, now back to the previous thought:
So we talked about different intents and different worldviews regarding creators, creatives etc.
Some artists don’t try to purely, exclusively gratify their ego, but they also (or primarily) try to bring awareness to the pain of mother Earth and its inhabitants, without becoming too pretentious while simultaneously not suppressing their own voice, their own feelings, emotive propensities and soulful desires. A difficult balancing act.
We could say, they try to poise their mind-based, egoic tendencies with their heart’s convictions, while pointing towards something larger than life, something more unifying and all-encompassingly truthful — a base-layer, pro-life, pro-human ingenuity, pro-heart philosophy, if you want: An axiomatic truth that can be energetically conveyed and transmitted through playing music, painting, writing, singing, dancing, appreciating and being gentle with nature, touching your heart and finding the comedy in the cosmic ballet of all that is… (Feel free to add any number of activities for the heart that are not mentioned here!)
Now, there are of course many shades in-between — you can be a creator of any kind, of any brand so to speak.
And you don’t even have to be consciously aware of your intentions, your proclivities and desires. But they will definitely, 100%, shape you, your life-path and the processes that you embark upon.
If you feel more drawn to expressing the pain and suffering of humanity through your art by incorporating dark depictions, then do so — don’t be afraid of your own shadows and the dark clouds that come with it. You can embrace it in a healthy way.
But! There needs to be a word of caution: If you want to add to a wholesome world (a new Earth) that is celebrating the creative human spirit, love, compassion and nature with brightly beautiful colors brimming with joy and fantasy, while embodying heart-centeredness (instead of mind-orientation), peace (instead of war) and inner fulfillment (instead of shallow gratification) then it would be advised to express this darkness with awareness and with an acknowledgment of the pumping organ in your chest.
Then creation (individually and collectively) may naturally convert into a more life-affirming territory and endeavors fade into an auric state of wholeness.
Additionally, the things, activities, motifs, ways of working and being in the world that you felt hooked to a decade ago most likely will become elements of an old version of yourself that you do not resonate much with anymore (or at all).
This might, once again, sound bleak and almost like a loss of profound proportions. But it is not: The evolution of your consciousness (and all of consciousness) is dependent upon you as an individual, as much as it is dependent upon the collection of individuals.
The totality of individual souls that are embodying individual and collective traits and propensities are only as powerful as each of the individual parts of this great cosmic soma. Classic! Right?
The whole chain is only as strong as each individual link. Or so the saying goes…
And with this we can start to reflect on the socio-ecological state of consciousness through our own means — by understanding that our actions and reactions influence others (not only ourselves) and that we are one big whole, yet separate in our individualistic soulful desires and fulfillments.
Once again, it comes back to the idea of a difficult balancing act. But it’s a necessary balancing act if we want to inspire others & ourselves and if we want to free ourselves from the shackles of individual and collective dimming of our inner light.
And with this, I’ll leave you to your own thoughts and contemplations again and I’m glad that you read this article. Let me know your thoughts on this subject, I would love to read, how you personally express yourself through creative means and what types of art you connect with the most.
Much love & magical blessings,
Your quirky artist-soul,
Michael