The Beginning

So the question is: What is art good for?

Many good people have asked this question since the beginning of known history. Many philosophers, scientists and everyone else. 

Now what would make me such an expert that my word is the one that they all have to hear? Instead of giving you an answer to this I’ll get down to my size. I am one of many. I am one of the multitude appearances of the power that is. I am one of you all. Every one of us has a voice that has to be heard. We, the all, cannot be complete without every one of our voices. I am speaking as this part of us all. And I have my story. Your true voice is needed too. 

Some years ago I sat in meditation. It was a retreat with the late Chinese Chan master Sheng-yen. I used to meditate with effort and it made me sick. I had to change my method, so I could go on meditating. Meditation has brought me so much good. My method has become: Including Everything. You can read about this method in Osho’s book “Meditation” on page 168.   Yes, you too were included. When I saw Master Sheng-yen in an interview he told me: Everything is in you. That’s all. With his hands he showed widening and further widening of awareness. I asked: You too? He said Yes, I am too in you. He still is. 

It was the session before breakfast and before I knew it I was in a different energy. That’s all I can tell you. There was no sense of time and effort. I did not see anything special. I just knew without thinking. This was not the first time.

When the bell rang at the end of this session I decided to stand up. I don’t know why. A sentence came into my mind: Now that you have seen this, it does not make any sense whatsoever to do anything in this world that is not the most beautiful that you can do. 

So I had my reason to do only what is the most beautiful that I could, from then on. I didn’t always. Is beauty and art the same thing? 

Now I know that blogs are not a place to put long and complicated texts. So I am going to break my words into small portions. And don’t worry, I’ll accompany everything with pictures. It will be one of these things that you can’t complain about: I wish he had some pictures, so I could read it. 

It may be hard to connect the dots at first, but slowly it will all make sense. This is my favorite way of speaking.

An Angel’s Secret

Made of driftwood, an old woodcut, just wood and plenty of glue.