Susan Lewis Storey - Intentional Arts

Video Clip

2012-01-28T10:04:00.004-06:00

I wanted to share a video of one of my favorite spiritual teachers. In this clip Adyashanti shares several concepts with regard to the dormant nature of inspired awareness and how we attempt to grab hold of it in a type of ownership rather than recognizing it for the continually awakening movement within us that it is. We can't make this 'spiritual awareness' happen, but we can witness its movement through us. Intentional Art is about the use of creativity to focus the mind so that the mind gets out of the way of the witnessing self.

Creative Communion

2012-01-18T10:47:00.002-06:00

This year I began a private blog for my daily writing. Perhaps one day I will make it public, perhaps not. For me it currently exists as a practice in presence; a daily creative meditation ritual. I wanted to share today's poem because it speaks to creative intention from the perspective of present moment engagement. Below is the poem, followed by the daily commentary.

Communion

I sit before the page
waiting on the words.
They fall into my fingertips and I watch in splendor
as my hands dance across the keyboard.
This is how I know God.

I sit before the canvas
waiting on the imagery.
It flows into my brush and I watch in awe
the colors chosen, the shapes formed.
This is my religion.

I sit with those I love
listening with my heart
until it chooses to speak.
This is my confession.

What results is but a whisper,
a feeble reflection of presence entertained.
What remains is an enduring awareness
that I am not alone.

This is my communion.

Commentary:

This piece was both a practice in presence and a reflection of the communion I feel when I bring myself to the moment at hand. When I mindfully enter my creative space, be that a studio, workshop, kitchen table or quiet corner it is much like approaching an alter. If I breathe deeply and then let myself relax into the moment without expectation, I will notice an expansion..... an awareness that I am no longer alone. As I empty myself I am filled, as a vessel is filled. It is palpable and I have come to know it well. Soon the vessel that I have become will overflow and I will respond to this overflowing by way of the media before me. Notice in the poem that what enters me does not move through my mind, but through my body...my fingertips, my hands, my heart. Keeping 'thinking' out of the way is what most allows me to stay present.....retain this 'communion'. If I am writing the pen will move across the page or my fingers will fly across the keyboard. If I am in my studio my brush will begin mixing colors on the pallet and the canvas will begin to fill up. If I am cooking I am inspired through ingredients. In all of this I am engaged in a type of sacred communion....one that is responsive. Sacred, because when I get out of the way I am moved by something larger than myself. Responsive, because I am responding to something palpable moving through me. I am acutely aware of the witness and that which is being witnessed. Knowing this, having experienced and cultivated this relationship through my creative pursuits, truly helps me bring this kind of present moment awareness into the everyday. This is what it means to be in the 'now', in the one everlasting 'moment'...presence. Through writing this piece I embraced my desire to slow down to the sacredness available in every moment, my desire to make every moment a sacred movement toward the alter of the moment. To live in constant communion.

Joy; Unwrapped

2011-12-28T15:49:00.001-06:00

Joy; Unwrapped

I posted this Christmas day drawing on my art blog with a little bit of explanation, but wanted to go into more detail here with regard to the 'intentional art' aspect. Unlike just getting lost in creative energy for the joy of it, Intentional Art is about CONSCIOUSLY losing ones 'little self' in creative energy. It's about dropping the egoic self by paying attention to the unfolding creative process for the expansion of ones individual consciousness, (which, with practice, consciously connects us with direct knowledge). It's about nurturing the relationship between our focusing mind and 'the voice' of our higher mind. Consciously using creativity for this purpose expands the energy of creativity beyond 'product', assisting in personal growth, self understanding, and eventually enlightenment.

Being one who unplugged from traditional celebration decades ago, my idea of any great holiday is spent curled up on the sofa with a pencil, drawing pad, and uninterrupted hours on end. This is when I intentionally move into a detached state of introspection; of just letting what wants to emerge, emerge. Allowance. This state is the hallmark of Intentional Art.

Allowance is truly about detachment from results, listening and responding to the ideas that seemingly fall into my mind. I always begin with my own idea for the subject matter...I enter a kind of 'hmmmm, what do I want to draw' state. Then I just begin. Still life, people, imaginary surrealism, it doesn't really matter. I just choose something I have fun drawing, and begin. I am not working to produce something beautiful, or even presentable as a work of art. I am just seeking to consciously get lost in focused, creative energy. After a while it is as if someone has been quietly watching over my shoulder for a long time, then whispers into my mind "hey, why don't ya add...(this or that)." And so I do. Now, anyone that spends any time in the creative process is well acquainted with this type of 'inspiration'. The difference lies only in the intention behind this focused creative process. In Intentional Art the intention is always self revelation, introspection and spiritual self-understanding. The goal is always the movement toward enlightenment.

Often the clarity of the message that the drawing came to bring me is only fully revealed after I have completed the piece. This isn't always a huge a-ha, lightening bolt revelation. Often, as in this piece, it is simply a quiet validation of something I already believe about myself. But even in that, I am invited to re-visit this belief and, as with all beliefs, see how it ties me to the reality I see reflected around me. This is a valuable aspect of Intentional Art. Any belief I hold onto defines the world I experience. If I want to change my world, I look at how it is reflected around me, in order to see what I truly believe about it. Then I let my creativity take me deeper into those beliefs so I can un-do them and move toward a higher state of consciousness; of awakened living.

Here is the interpretation of this piece:

Entitled, Joy; Unwrapped, she presented herself to validate the part of me that stands back from the world (whirl-d) this time of year. Being one that prefers peace and quiet over hustle and bustle, her stoic posture reflects my conscious withdrawal from traditional celebration. Her silly hat and untied ribbons represent the part of me that believes we are each the gift we must unwrap in order to find true joy. Her crossed arms reflect her firm stance in the determination to know herself beyond all distraction.

I hope this post encourages those of you who want to add an aspect of introspection to your creative process. Like interpreting a dream, I always get a kick out of exploring this creative inroad to my unconscious.

Creativity and Fear

2011-10-20T12:34:00.002-05:00

From my Meditation Painting series

In practicing intentional art, we are the blank canvas we sit before each time we engage our creativity. This is actually true for anyone engaging creative energy, but the intentional art practitioner enters this understanding consciously.....intentionally. No matter the vehicle or media one prefers, each time we approach a new project we open a portal for discovery. Our creative project offers us a safe arena to 'pro-ject' what desires to surface. This can be exciting, frightening, or a blend of both. When we allow any skill set or preconceived ideas that we may have to take a back seat, then approach the project before us as a vehicle for seeing deeply into ourselves, we can't help but confront a type of anxious curiosity. This is either a welcomed feeling or one that we find ourselves avoiding or abandoning altogether. If we continually abandon the creative urges that call us, it is quite possible that on some level we are afraid of what we will find. This is true for anyone that avoids their creativity... consciously or unconsciously. Buying into the excuses we find simply keeps us at arms lengths from the discoveries that await to free us.

Intentional art practitioners are determined to look deeply within in order to discover the hidden treasures and limitless nature available to them. Once we excavate the 'all too human' fears and pains that each of us have carried in one form or another at one time or another, we discover a way of being previously unavailable. A self-acceptance and ego-less self-love permeates our being giving rise to a freedom of expression that we no longer measure or evaluate by the opinions of those around them. This complete self-appreciation frees our creative energy in a way that is available to transform the whole of life. We become a conduit for a type of expression that expands our consciousness so perfectly that we find ourselves continuously awakening. Revelation becomes a way of being and answers to life's most profound questions are no longer a mystery. Peace permeates our being and a type of understanding that only a cleared heart can know, is found everywhere. We see the paradoxical nature of the world around us and for the first time we 'get it'. We are awakening!

So, sit in front of you canvases, your projects, and let what wants to surface, surface. Don't judge it or try to shape it according to any preconceived ideas. Simply let it move through you...talk to you. Care less about what it will look like upon completion and more about its ability to peer deep within you and complete you. You will be amazed at what you discover. Then, if you want, go make something. Use your skills and your ideas and have fun. Intentional art does not demand all of your attention. But if you practice it enough, eventually it will inform all of your work.

Behind The Creative Impetus

2011-10-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

This is a digital rendering from one of my first art-quilts.

Intentional art practitioners, like most creative types, move from a dense, grounded, form-based dimension into and through less and less density and form as they engage the creative process. As we create, we gradually become one with the work at hand, rather than a separate identity creating a separate expression. This is true for all who engage focused creativity, be it in art or problem solving, as we move more and more easily into the limitless and timeless nature of our being. This is why "time fly's" when absorbed in our work.

The difference between Intentional art practitioners and those that are focused on production however is huge. I.A.'s move to the next level of possibility, beyond what is 'created' or 'solved'. We learn that the desire to create or to express oneself creatively was built into the design of humanity for a purpose beyond what is 'formed'/created. We understand creative energy, working as a sort of homing device, provides an avenue for seeking the nature of our existence beyond the limits of physicality. Therefore, I.A.'s understand the ability inherent within creative energy itself. This is why 'what is created' pales in comparison to what is available during the creative process. When one consciously embraces this understanding, the work at hand becomes a vehicle, not for what is produced in form, but for the expansion of consciousness.

Within this realm of conscious engagement a type of healing that is beyond all form is available; a type of healing, transcendent communication between higher and lower mind is engaged. As long as one uses their creativity for the sole purpose of 'making stuff', or 'problem solving', they are not taking full advantage of the inherent properties within the vital energy they are engaging. To utilize the impetus for creative expression for the purpose it was intended, to seek the nature of existence, is to consciously access answers to the questions about life that we have learned to avoid with busyness. Once we begin to consciously plug into the desire for creative expression for its intended purpose we are linked, not only with one another, but to All That Is. Competition falls away in favor of cooperation. Greed is replaced with generosity. Love is understood not as an emotion but as the seat of transformation. And a type of personal self-understanding is embraced with such acceptance and non-egoistic love that it is beyond imagination. I.A.'s embrace this work to first heal themselves. In doing this they are transformed and can then begin the process of assisting others in the healing they seek.

Tarot Imagery, A Favorite Among Artists

2011-10-08T13:50:00.002-05:00

This art-quilt is a textile version of the Magician Card from my own digital art tarot series featuring the major arcana.

All you have to do is search Tarot Imagery online to see how many artists are fascinated with depicting this 'journey of the soul' imagery. So, lets explore this imagery a bit. I live in the south....the bible belt is alive and well here, so The Tarot is not exactly embraced by the mainstream. That is largely because it is misunderstood. Associated with occult, which literally translates to "secret or hidden knowledge", the Tarot is steeped in mystery and misinformation. If the intrinsic meaning within the tarot were a modern day movie it would be Forrest Gump. And who doesn't like Forrest Gump?! In fact, there are many movies that are inspired by this journey of awakening.

A few years ago I created my own set of tarot cards in a one of a kind art-book complete with prose, entitled Windows On Illusion. To best share the tarot journey with you, throughout this blog I will post one of my cards now and then along with the accompanying prose. The focus of my prose explores 'form as illusion'; awakening from the dream-state of this thing we call 'reality'. I find the Tarot a great springboard for journaling and exploring our own connection between psyche and spirit. It is a great Intentional Art exercise.

I encourage you to embrace the tarot as a creative challenge to artistically explore your own journey. It is easiest to begin with the 22 cards of the major arcana. These point directly at the pivotal points along life's journey. The minor arcana is more about the details within these pivotal periods. Start with The Fool card. Research everything you can about the meaning of this card. Consider all sources, then sit back and allow your own imagery around these varying interpretations to emerge in your imagination. The important thing is to get in touch with what this card represents in YOUR life today. Then move into expressing that in your favorite media. That can be anything from paint to music. The Fools journey is a joyful, fearless, adventuresome exploration of life....free from the thoughts and criticisms of others. Stepping into expressing the archetypal imagery of The Fools journey is a great way to engage the journey ourselves. In fact assisting others in embarking on this wonderful journey was the inspiration behind developing The Creative Tarot workshop that I teach. I'll post tips and exercises from that workshop as I explore each card in these blog posts from time to time. Follow along and try out the exercises, or just strike out on your own. It is an adventure in creative exploration of psyche and soul that you won't regret.

Hear no, See no, Speak no Evil

2011-10-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

Last fall, while traveling home from a family visit, I happened upon one of the largest outdoor market/antique fairs in the U.S. It was a beautiful, crisp day and I couldn't resist pulling in for a couple of hours. As I wondered around, my camera always at the ready, I found all sorts of unique bits and bobs. The cherubs depicted above were sitting atop three cyclone fence finials and I couldn't resist snapping a picture. Cherubs were a new twist on the 'Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.' advice I had always seen depicted with monkeys. Having this same adage delivered by these angelic darlings shifted my perspective from the practical application of this wise message, to more spiritual connotations.

One thing that has greatly influenced my life and my artwork has been awakening to the understanding that everything...and I mean everything...is neutral. There is no intrinsic meaning in anything. Our individual response to anything is all the meaning that 'thing' has. Be it a person, place, situation, or whatever, our perception is what shapes our individual and collective 'realities'. As I began to understand the concept of non-attachment, I realized that viewing the world around me with neutrality actually empowered me to embrace everything and everyone out of love rather than judgement. This greatly shifted my whole life. My artwork began to reflect this understanding as well, and I began incorporating my writing into whatever media I was using at the time. Seeing everything simply as a choice being reflected back to me, to choose from or not, brought with it a new awareness. I learned I could share my preferences, my choices, without condemning or moving actively against another. Pushing against something didn't do nearly as much for me as moving toward something I believed in. Letting my voice be reflected in my artwork contributed to the choices 'out there' while it freed me to move, with intention, to a love for all, understanding that we are each at different places on the path of expanding consciousness. How can where someone is in their journey be a bad thing....it is simply where they are. It may not be what I choose today for myself, but it may well be reflective of something similar I chose once upon a time. If any one of us looks back at our lives, hopefully we can see the unfolding path of our own enlightenment. Hopefully we are more today than we were ten or twenty years ago. Hopefully we can love more, accept more and encourage more. Hopefully we are more generous of spirit and have more presence of mind. We birth the new by dying to the old. This is the journey of life. Judging any journey is simply a projection of that which we have not truly moved past ourselves. Acting with love, and accepting the differences around me, allows me to creatively get in touch with the messages I want to bring. Words and images are powerful things. I try to move into mine deliberately, with presence and intention. Understanding that everything is neutral, but for the meaning I give it, I view the evolution of my work as a road map of my own journey. I am just where I am on the path...as is everyone....of an ever expanding consciousness. Holding this in mind moves me more smoothly along my way.

Plugging In

2011-09-28T15:07:00.006-05:00

original digital art-print

Have you ever wondered about the nature of "channeled" or esoteric information and dismissed it out of hand...or at least doubted it's authenticity? We are conditioned to be skeptical partially because we are taught that knowing is the result of 'figuring things out'; investigate, research, add things up....use our brain to connect the dots and find the answers. (And that can work, but it is the least avenue of discovery and the most limited.) For the most part, when we are exposed to modern teachings beyond our experience or beyond our ability to 'figure it out' we are doubtful of the information being shared. We often dismiss this information out of hand, relegate it to the woo-woo camp and let the weirdos have their beliefs... as long as it doesn't get on the rest of us....you know, the sane ones, the practical, grounded, rational citizens of society....those of us who prefer our esoteric teachings come from ancient texts or Sunday services.....if at all. Well, I know that once upon a time I wondered about "channeling". then I wondered how 'they' knew that what they were 'channeling' was true. But instead of embracing the messages they were sharing I became fascinated to know how they plugged into this unseen source that they claimed was imparting this wisdom. If it was available to them I figured it was available to me. I wanted direct communication, not second hand reports about the nature of existence....and the nature of my existence! The who am I/where did I come from/what am I doing here quest has always been at the core of my being. And I was determined to get the answers first hand.

After getting my counseling license to better understand human behavior, and then personally exploring and discovering that the major religions of the world shared all the same core teachings....and still couldn't get along, I was pretty much done with mainstream thought and religion. But not with 'God'. I simply unplugged from religion and plugged into the unknown....an idea of a sort of 'God' of all...of every religion and beyond all religion. This caused me to consciously enter the realm of 'I don't know'. A great place to start! Really, the only place to start. Knowing...or thinking we 'know', is most often what keeps us from this incredible connection. A connection that truly is available to all. Believing what we are told rather than personally seeking one's truth is the biggest stumbling block, no matter the arena. I can tell you that the degree of insight that you have in your life, true, a-ha moments that flash with complete and total understanding, is a great measure of how often you are plugging into this source...your source. Insight is the vehicle of true knowing. And it is most available when we are in the receptive energy of 'I don't know' and (this is important) being okay with not knowing. This is how we stay 'in the moment' and insight flashes most readily when we are 'in the moment'.

Insight is creative energy. Insight creates a new 'you' every time it flashes! Whether you act on it or not, you are changed. Learning to consciously plug into ongoing insight is fascinating work. It moves us from the 'figuring it out' mode of discovery, to aligning with our individual GPS. We tap into and navigate with ongoing insight. Here is a little of the 'How It Works' lesson for those interested in the dynamics behind this incredible process:

Lower mind (our everyday consciousness) is the focusing agent for functioning in our (everyday) three dimensional experience. Higher mind (our non-local consciousness) is the navigational agent sending (insight) directions and explanations about those things we focus on. Consciously embracing this hook-up allows us to direct our focus. Believing we already 'know', or believing 'I have to figure it out' disconnects us from this hook-up. Functioning without consciously engaging this higher-mind / lower-mind hook-up is kinda like going on a trip to somewhere new and leaving the map in the glove compartment. Ya might eventually get where you are going but the detours and bunny paths along the way will make the journey longer....and more difficult. The higher mind is engaged in both circumstances but it is harder to navigate the direct route with the directions tucked away, out of sight, and regarded as unnecessary. I use creative energy as a way of keeping my life map always at the ready. This is what I call Intentional Art.

Life Is A Flipbook Experience

2011-09-07T11:25:00.012-05:00

Remember those little flipbooks we usta doodle as kids? The ones that you can find now in novelty shops? Recently, in a flash of insight, I was 'shown' how life unfolds moment by moment in parallel 'realities' in much the way one of those little flip books operate. Each 'page' in our little book of life is actually a parallel universe experience where we are, quite literally, not the person on the previous page....nor the one on the upcoming page. In other words, the person that looks like me in each moment, is a completely different person, in a completely different parallel experience, that I simply recognize (re-cognize) as me....in a new realm of possibility; my consciousness in another dimension...as someone else (who just happens to remind me of me, only slightly different)! The reason we don't see this 'life leaping' parallel reality thingie is because the continuity between each person/reality is so similar that we experience it as one seamless reality. But it isn't! So, why does knowing this matter?.....because everything we know/believe matters M-A-T-T-E-R-S (becomes matter;materializes in our life experience). This is how our life experience is shaped. By understanding life as a multidimensional parallel structure rather than a step by step process, we can leap into desired experiences simply by focusing on our preferred state of being. Consciously adopting the attitude and thoughts of the‘person’ we want to experience ourselves as allows us to resonate at that level and more completely align with the 'person' in those shoes, walking that path and living the 'reality' experience we prefer. So here's to ripping some of the pages from our flipbooks and leaping past the step by step drudgery toward our 'goals', and instead landing in the realities we most want to experience.

Exploring 'The Meaning of Life' IS the Meaning of Life

2011-08-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Entitled: Blank Paige this original drawing is available as an art-print.

When I move into the energy of creativity for the purpose of establishing a healing connection, I tap into a knowing that is beyond ordinary consciousness. Sometimes it presents itself in the form of active meditation. Other times it fosters revelatory insight. It is this 'hook-up' that first introduced me to the connection between creative energy and intuitive healing more than twenty years ago. I have honed and shared this practice ever since. I am excited about sharing it now through this blog. And while I realize that my way of seeing is not for everyone, taking the time to organize my thoughts and experiences in these posts connects me to those that are kindred spirits. And that's always fun!

Above, the text surrounding my drawing reads: "Though her mind filled with images, she remained a blank page upon which no story could be written, for she knew herself the teller rather than the told." Upon completing this piece, these words filled my mind. On a deep intuitive level I understood the message that I was being given. It articulated the next level of consciousness I was stepping into. This was several years ago and since that time my understanding of these words has continually expanded. This is because consciousness is ever-expanding. And the deeper we move into our present awareness, the clearer our messages become. However, the meaning of any message can only be grasped from the level of consciousness through which it was delivered. Having generated this work as an art print for sale I have watched people deeply connect to the message, and seen others twist their expressions in confusion, as if they were reading a foreign language. It simply didn't 'land' on them. This is why we have so much dissension within religion, politics and our world in general. Individuals are interpreting the same things from different levels of consciousness and for the most part don't even realize it.

Today I experience that most people don't even think in terms of levels of consciousness. Engaged in a sort of sleep-walk through life, people assume that for the most part we are all on the same general wavelength so to speak. Mainstream individuals assume that we just have differing perceptions and opinions about the things of life; different levels of education, differing politics or principals, varying beliefs or interests. Those that are seen as overtly different from the mainstream are labeled along a continuum of sanity that ranges from "kook" to truly out of touch with 'reality'. The simple truth is we are each operating from different levels of consciousness so we respond to the world differently. Consciously or unconsciously we are each tapped into a frequency that determines the way in which we interpret the world we see....and our role in it. Once we realize this, we can, with intention, align this frequency to consciously navigate the expansion of our consciousness for the purpose of enlightened living and profound healing. This is what is meant by the title of this post; Exploring the meaning of life IS the meaning of life. This is the work I practice through Intentional Arts.

The message surrounding the artwork above conveys the understanding that we are each the creators of the world we experience. The images/ideas/beliefs we hold are reflected in the world we individually and uniquely experience. Quite literally we are each the world we see/experience. While it may seem that we are all experiencing the same world, in fact each is quite distinct. You are a reflection of me, I am an aspect of you. We are each facets of one another mirroring options for expressing the one Self in a illusion from which we are individually and collectively awakening. (wow, is that a mouthful or what?!) Okay, throw me where you will on the 'kook' continuum, but this is an expression of my current level of consciousness; my understanding of the world I experience. And here is the juicy part of having embraced this level of consciousness.... I now understand that the moment I judge one expression/person/situation/event as 'good' and another as 'bad' I become stuck in my own 'story'. I literally align with the frequency of whatever it is I judge! That's a fancy way of saying I attract more of what I make judgements about. From tiny aggravations to full-blown tantrums I am a magnet for anything I do not experience as neutral; simply a reflection of something for me to align with or not.

Remaining a "blank page upon which no story could be written" is the conscious decision to avoid a fixed identification with any aspect of this reflection....knowing that I am the story teller; the one making it up as I go along. This knowing keeps me from judging anything as 'good' or 'bad'. It keeps me in the evolution of discovery; the exploration of my own evolving consciousness, rather than stuck in something once told and tightly held onto. Instead I see only preference and non-preference. All is neutral until I give it meaning. Keeping my meaning limited to 'I prefer this, I don't prefer that' keeps me out of judgement; out of alignment with a frequency I don't prefer. Simply viewing the world around me, and my experience of it, as a smorgasbord of possibility, I move toward what I prefer without judgement of what I do not. This is a clean and wonderful way to live. The deeper I move into it, the more free I become. But I am a novice. Practice as I might, I still stumble, for this is the path of awakening, and as of yet it is marred with potholes and pitfalls. But fortunately it is also strewn with breadcrumbs of enlightenment. I have decided to share both here as I experience my individual journey into awakening. For those that have intimated I should just expand my creative career path and forget about all this metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, I can only say that I am my art; the greatest thing I could ever create is the reflection of my own expanding consciousness. The pieces of artwork that result from my quest for awakening are but breadcrumbs I add to those already scattered along this incredible path.

Buy the art-print entitled Blank Paige