When I look at what’s happening my life, there are so many things that would make great inquiry topics this month. "Gratitude" comes to mind since I was home to Canada for the Canadian Thanksgiving and the American Thanksgiving will be celebrated in November. "Impermanence" comes to mind, sick hard drive in one of our servers. "Uncertainty" arises. What’s been backed up? What might be lost? What’s the economy going to do next? What will tomorrow bring, if I get another day to experience this thing called Life?
If any of these sound like great inquiries, take them into your next month and work with them. Also, note that you can create your own inquiry by looking at what’s arising in your life experience and choosing one thing to explore more deeply through the next month.
This Month’s Inquiry
This month, I would like to offer "journaling" and the space it provides through awareness as an inquiry. What happens when you keep a journal and daily make note of what’s happening in your experience?
Stephen Levine wrote in A Year to Live on page 98,
"As a means of increasing awareness of, and thus healing the subtler states noticed in the life review, it is recommended you keep a journal.
…
Recording states of mind in a journal is a written form of noting. For most of our lives we have given so little attention to our mental states that we hardly know anything about our inner process. Investigating in writing the origination and interdependence of states of mind can be quite illuminating. When we observe a state of mind and appreciate that anger or fear are not single states but processes that include such other states as pride, doubt, helplessness, and self-protection, it is possible to start relating to these states instead of just from them.
Art-Making Inquiry
This month take on a daily practice of writing in a journal each day. Write something about what you experienced through the day. Remember it’s a practice and process over time so maybe you won’t get to it each day in the beginning. Or maybe you will write daily for awhile and then it will fall away. We will each have a unique experience of the practice.
Here’s an example from my journal today, "Yesterday at the Diamond Approach practice day in the last partner inquiry, I told Nick that there weren’t many people that were "real" out there. There was sadness and tears when saying that. This morning sitting in meditation, I got the insight that I’m not real with my interactions with others. There aren’t many people in the world I’m willing to be real with so I’m avoiding interactions with many people. I’d rather not be fake and going through the motions of social niceities. What would it take to be real, fully present, open and vulnerable with more people in more situations?
Once a week, reread what you wrote in your journal. Create a collage response and write about the image and process. What did you put together on the page – forms, colors, textures? How was the process of creating the image like for you – thoughts, feelings, body sensations, states of being?
Warm up Exercise
1) Seeing and Writing – 15 minutes – needed: paper, pencil, timer
Write for 5 minutes (set the timer) about something you see in front of you in your environment.
With a pencil, sketch for 5 minutes. What do you see? Get a sense of it on paper, lines, form, light and shadows.
Take another 5 minutes and write about the process of writing and sketching. What was your experience? What thoughts, feelings, body sensations, stated of being came up for you?
2) Stream of Consciousness Writing – 15 minutes – needed: paper, pen, timer
Set the timer for 10 minutes and start writing whatever comes into your experience. For example, my neck is tight, I can hear the hum of the computers in the room, I have one foot on the floor, I’m worried about being tired later since it’s 6 AM and I’m still on Eastern time, glanced at computer clock, really said 5:55.
You get the idea. You keep writing the whole time, no reading what you wrote, no changes. If you hit nothing, write it "nothing to write, empty, confused, why am I doing this?" whatever comes into your experience put it down on paper.
When the 10 minutes is complete, read what you wrote and underline anything that stands out for you. Write about the process. How was it for you to do this exercise? What did you notice?
3) Collage – 15 minutes – needed: paper, pen, glue, magazines, timer
Take something you wrote in one of the above exercises, a word, phrase, collection of words and create an image in response to it.
Write about the image and process. What did you put together on the page? How was the process of creating the image for you?
My Art Work as Inspiration for Your Art Work
I share my artwork here with you to inspire you to create your artwork. It is through your art-making that you will discover more about who you are.
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| 92708-1.jpeg, magazine images & paper, 2008, 12" x 12", |
92608.jpeg, magazine images & paper, 2008, 12" x 12" |
92408.jpeg, |
You can click on an image or its title to see a larger version within the online
gallery.
I always welcome a connection with you. If you would like to share about
the inquiry, art-making or other things happening in life, please feel
free to contact
me.
Previous inquiries are online at www.artasaccess.com/resources/inquiries
Have
a great week and live in the remembrance that in all of time, there will only be one you. Your greatest gift to yourself and the world is the expression of your authentic self. By using art-making to connect deeply with yourself, may you find the courage and strength to share your beautiful, joyous self with the world.
-Ryl
Who do you know that would benefit from reading this?
Please share it with them.