Creative Freedom and Art

Totalitarian regimes fear freedom of expression in works of art and attempt to control and censor them because the visions embedded in art have the capacity to transform culture.  In a society that tries to standardize thinking, individuality is not highly prized.  Yet it is typical of artists to creatively individuate and stand out.  True creativity depends on fostering independent thought, and the ability to peek beyond the current cultural horizons.  To see beauty demands that we see freshly, that our perceptual sensitivity be attuned to discovery. 

After a life of accumulating theories and techniques, the artist has to toss it all and return to an empty mind and a blank canvas.  For the Zen practitioner, this state is called “beginner’s mind,” a surrender to not knowing what comes next, and an attunement to the flow of the creative core.  In the Taoist and Zen arts, artists are self-reflective creators reliant on intuition for guidance.  By questioning what has gone before and inwardly seeking the new, artists bring the vital force of creative transformation into our lives.  The personal yet universal artwork both catalyzes the artist’s inner spiritual progress and serves the community.  The creative arts are redemptive when they deepen us, reminding us of our unity with spirit and the sublime beauty of nature and the cosmos.

Just as each of us benefits from physical exercise and meditation, even though we may not become professional athletes or enlightened yogis, making art is intensely cathartic and healing, and should be enjoyed by everyone, even those who don’t think they will become the next Picasso or T. S. Eliot.  The act of drawing or painting, writing poetry, dancing, or making music brings us into personal contact with the creative spirit, and that has inestimable value for enjoyment and self-discovery.  The health of the soul depends on whether we can express our creative energy freely or feel we must keep it hidden and suppressed.

The Tibetan Buddhists use the word “bodhichitta” to describe the awakening mind of enlightenment.  They say the proper motivation is to seek your own liberation for the benefit of all beings.  The idea is to develop a kind and empathic heart, dedicated to acting on behalf of the common good.  Never have the effects of ignorance, greed, and hatred been more capable of destroying the fabric of nature and the foundations of life than today.  The need for healing actions that foster collective awakening and demonstrate personal responsibility for global conditions has never been greater.

The correct motivation is also critical for the artist.  The type of energy artists put into their work has an effect on the artist, the viewers, and the collective psyche.  Artists need to consider what type of energy they want to put into the  world, says visionary artist, Alex Grey.  Each of us as artists are poised between society and the responsibility to be completely truthful to ourselves.  “The question of the artist’s mission,” according to Grey, “is only answerable within the crucible of their own soul.”

Create a space in your home for a blank canvas or paper and a medium of art (water colors, gouache, or colored pencils, for example), where you daily pause to ask the questions, “What color?” and “Where?”  Let the deeper dialogue begin.