This is not an accidental combination.
Mystical traditions that aim to make direct contact with a divine reality almost always use the arts, like poetry, whirling or dancing, singing, music, painting, or other form to reach ecstatic states. We human beings have many characteristics that make us unique on this planet, the greatest of which is possibly our creativity. Every major corporation that tried to sell a car or a hamburger has used a finely crafted combination of color, sound, shape, movement, and words to wield this power. Cheetahs have speed, bats have radar, and we have imagination as the power of our species. Art is the expression of that power. Activism and Spirituality without Art has limited power to affect and reach others in a meaningful way.
Activism is another way of saying service. Service can take numerous forms of intention and action, but the basic desire to be helpful is natural in humans raised in a healthy and positive environment. We may not agree about what would be most helpful in a given situation, and some efforts to be helpful can be the most damaging. Nevertheless, activism is the declaration of our membership in a community of life and our commitment to its balance. The degree to which we are each capable of seeing beyond our small circle of affiliation and feel moved into action by the suffering in our environment is a measure of our maturity and value to our community. Activism is our humanity. Art and Spirituality without Activism is unsustainable self-pleasuring with limited significance in the world.
Spirituality gives us our understanding of life. We constantly depend on our knowledge of the human mind and heart, our awareness of the interdependence of all life, and our perception of the Whole. Through our spiritual practices and cosmologies, we can access the wisdom of God and recognize the relationships between events and the patterns of life. Spirituality is the intelligence of the human. Activism and Art without Spirituality is limited to superficial solutions and responses to the world without the benefit of understanding the causes and effects.
I apologize if this seems like theoretical nonsense, but really. With a strong desire to help, combined with the understanding of universal patterns in life, combined with the power of art to create, heal, and transform, anything is possible. This is my recipe for a miracle.
Mystical traditions that aim to make direct contact with a divine reality almost always use the arts, like poetry, whirling or dancing, singing, music, painting, or other form to reach ecstatic states. We human beings have many characteristics that make us unique on this planet, the greatest of which is possibly our creativity. Every major corporation that tried to sell a car or a hamburger has used a finely crafted combination of color, sound, shape, movement, and words to wield this power. Cheetahs have speed, bats have radar, and we have imagination as the power of our species. Art is the expression of that power. Activism and Spirituality without Art has limited power to affect and reach others in a meaningful way.
Activism is another way of saying service. Service can take numerous forms of intention and action, but the basic desire to be helpful is natural in humans raised in a healthy and positive environment. We may not agree about what would be most helpful in a given situation, and some efforts to be helpful can be the most damaging. Nevertheless, activism is the declaration of our membership in a community of life and our commitment to its balance. The degree to which we are each capable of seeing beyond our small circle of affiliation and feel moved into action by the suffering in our environment is a measure of our maturity and value to our community. Activism is our humanity. Art and Spirituality without Activism is unsustainable self-pleasuring with limited significance in the world.
Spirituality gives us our understanding of life. We constantly depend on our knowledge of the human mind and heart, our awareness of the interdependence of all life, and our perception of the Whole. Through our spiritual practices and cosmologies, we can access the wisdom of God and recognize the relationships between events and the patterns of life. Spirituality is the intelligence of the human. Activism and Art without Spirituality is limited to superficial solutions and responses to the world without the benefit of understanding the causes and effects.
I apologize if this seems like theoretical nonsense, but really. With a strong desire to help, combined with the understanding of universal patterns in life, combined with the power of art to create, heal, and transform, anything is possible. This is my recipe for a miracle.
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