I know this may seem like an easy or light beginning. It may seem like it is silly. Yet, I believe we have to build a foundation of attention before we can invite craft into our lives. We have to suspend our previous judgements on its value as art and as such its place within an art school. This takes time and it takes a new way of looking. To literally begin to see with your heart, to find your sense of detail, to accept your memory of kindness and most importantly to allow yourself joy within process.
For this week read "The Art of Stillness". Sit with it for a while. Share what you think about it. Be honest, there are no wrong responses. I am curious to see what you think not what you think I might want to hear.
I'm so glad that you assigned us this book. I was so excited when I saw the title. For me personally, this is something I have truly been trying to incorporate into my life and I have a real yearning for it. I started reading the book as soon as it hit my PO Box! I'm not finished and will post more later.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot to learn about craft and it'/ place with fine art. These two subjects just didn't coincide in my formal training. So I am trying to suspend biases. I will post more later after finishing this book. But I just had to thank you for assigning it!
You are welcomed.
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ReplyDeleteI read this book twice and really felt as though I understood a majority of what Iyer was saying. I'd like to post reactions to some memorable quotes I highlighted in my copy and see how everyone else feels about it:
ReplyDelete"Movement makes Richest sense when it is framed in stillness." Pg. 15
This quote makes a lot of sense to me when working with time. If I'm composing or editing video/sound then the rests and moments of being static usually help me create an illusion of being off time.
I also begin to appreciate the smaller details in my process when I work by working for 15 minutes and use the next minute or two just staring or listening to what I just created. The breaks in the work cycle help create moments in which i can enjoy what I'm doing. After all, I'm making this work as an extension of myself.
It's a nice thing to do in the classroom as well because it get's the kids to SLOW DOWN while they are creating.
"You don't get over the shadows inside you by simply walking away." pg. 37
I could feel these words as I read because this ties into art making and life in general. I'm the type of person who thinks that they can replace coping strategies with more work. Recently (last semester) I learned that my artistic and work performance suffers when I have to purposefully think creatively, rather than clearing my mind and allowing thoughts to flow in and out of focus naturally.
"...it takes the average 25 minutes to recover from a phone call. Yet, such interruptions occur every 11 minutes." pg. 41
This quote is definitely relevant to all of us, because we are constantly bombarded by administrators, parents, students, other teachers, etc. Going back to the first quote taking the time to j u s t s l o w d o w n can help refocus when these interruptions happen.
I really like the quotes that you chose Andrew, and your responses. One of the issues I have with students that are not as into art, is just rushing through so that they can get the assignment done. And also administrators that may not understand the need to sit and stare into space in order to let the creative juices flow.
DeleteYour comments inspire me though to try this more with my students. And get them to slow down the processs a bit. It is a balancing act between needing to keep them engaged, and yet give the time needed for creativity.
I taught high school art for ten years and substituted for a year, the day of a teacher can be brutal. I loved it when my 9th grade campus went to block schedule. I felt so horrible for middle school teachers though because they only had thirty minutes to eat lunch is what other art teachers in my district would say. That is impossible. Block schedule was a pace that I could handle, you had 4 period blocks a day, and one of those 90 minute blocks was your planning or conference. As soon as it was time for me to break, I felt so relieved. I loved my job, but I sure do not miss the hustle and bustle M-F.
DeleteBlock schedule is so much nicer for art. I experienced that once in my career. It was very helpful! Right now I have 7 classes at 45 minutes. A 45 minute conference and a thirty minute lunch. I have large classes too. One MS class has 24 6th, 7th and 8th grade mixed. And I also teach HS AP. I feel stretched so very thin. And I stay exhausted. It is a very difficult way to work, and difficult to get quality work from students. We are now a STEM HS, and I think that STEM needs to change to STEAM, to raise the level of the importance of the arts.
DeleteDiana, I think that workload and rush is inhumane. I have to say that I don't like the idea of STEAM. The reason for this is that STEM has a vested interest in churning out a workforce as they are backed by corporations. I think students dreaming to go into one of those industries should be able to have a path to success, don't get me wrong. I am vested in the humanities. Culture, literature, history, foreign languages, and the arts. The thinkers, the dreamers, the artists, the poets.... they are the innovators. Without philosophy or rhetoric, how would we shape young minds to be independent thinkers. That is my take on the idea of STEAM. I cringe every time.
DeleteCorina,
DeleteWhat an interesting take on STEAM.. I actually have to agree with you. I always believed adding the A to STEM was another way to validate how the arts can be incorporated into everything we do. It was a way for others to value the arts just as much as science, technology, and math. As an art teacher I feel I am always advocating for the arts and have cheered on the STEAM program. But I find some truth to your comment here.. It will be interesting to keep an eye on trends with STEAM and see how it affects our humanities.
Corina, my schedule and workload is inhumane. For me and for my students. Add in the fact that I have had family with health issues and I am the main caretaker, and let's just say it has been a super rough year for me!
DeleteI actually resent the whole STEM/STEAM approach. Probably due to some extent the new principal of two years that began to implement it last year. I have never felt less respected or appreciated as a fine arts person in my entire career. It almost makes you feel sub human. If I could successfully retire or transition in to something else. I am more than ready. I am 56 and have taught art privately and publically, all ages and grade levels for 28 years. And for 10 at this current position. But the longer I stay, the thinner I am stretched, the heavier the workload seems to be, and the less I feel valued. I'm not sure what my future holds. I do enjoy my students and have a passion for art. But it has been a discouraging year. This grad school program has been a beacon in the darkness for me.
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DeleteTake two with less venting: Thank you, Diana. I am almost 67 and have taught art since 1981. After turning in 2 tenured professors for unethical behavior in 1987, I retreated to secondary education and self-employment for 8 years before re-entering university teaching. First I had to confront the people who retaliated against me. Let's just say that that all ended that day.
DeleteEducation is under an assault that has been planned for over 65 years. The arts are devalued because they are the biggest threat to that assault. Try to remember that you are saving lives and minds. And if anyone claims you are only working 170 days a year, tell them that you've raised thousands of young souls that were abandoned by people like them, including THEIR own children, and it's the full-time job they skipped out on because of their self-centered-ness. I get livid with these people, and have told them exactly these words. They never said that crap again.
Nice...it is a book filled with sentences that speak volumes.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time in my life when I was searching for a stillness of mind, spirit and endeavor. I tore through various sources of poetry, science writings and finally books on the philosophy of Buddhism and meditation. I really found a great deal of clarity in books about microbiology and insight in the basics of traditional Buddhist thought. Although, I never found any one key, I think what my “travels” led me to was an understanding that I was the stillness and peace that my life needed. It is not always easy to remember this wisdom, but I have been able to grasp it in times of need and it has helped me accept other people and life's situations in a more wholesome manner than I was able to before. My stillness is seldom physically still. My solace mostly comes when I create art, run, lift weights and walk in nature. Generally, these are alone activities and I only am able to not feel guilty for taking the time because I know how important they are to my being a better person for others.
ReplyDeleteHow to compare your story to the book?
DeleteYeah, I was able to relate to quite a few sentiments from the book. Reading how the author took initiative to alter his life's focus and path was one aspect that I found interesting. Overall though, there wasn't anything too revolutionary for me. The ideas he is discussing are very ancient and I don't think they have every really been lost or forgotten by humanity. It does seem true that many people today have not kept, or rediscovered, many of the benefits of seeking focus, enlightenment, introspection, stillness or whatever you choose to call it.
DeleteNice. I too believe that the concept of focus is forgotten from time to time.
DeleteI think you are right James, that we ourselves are the stillness that is needed. I have also reached meditative states in walking, running, or swimming. But I still am finding that I do prefer at times to just sit still. To be. And to allow myself that luxury. I get too wrapped up in my iPhone, and have to break away from that too. In the demanding world we live in, it is something that we have to give ourselves. Maybe I give it to myself too often, but as i get older, I seem to need it more.
DeleteI think you're right about not having to be still to become still. Running, lifting weights, etc. allows us to have stillness of the mind and experience clarity in our thoughts without having to just sit.
DeleteI think I am finally wrapping my mind around stillness. It's actually doing things that center me. Being a travel writer wouldn't do that for me, but gardening would. I had this idea to put together a travel event where participants would see one of every kind of tree in the world. My gardening friends thought it would be a hit. Might have taken a couple of years. Maybe one day.
DeleteSometimes when I am still, I feel I become calibrated. My senses become acute, I hear my breathing, I am aware of my space. The world moves so fast I can't think. Just want to step off the train sometimes and be still. Don't' you feel you see.. I mean really see when you are quiet and so still? I do. I had the privilege as a young child to grow up on a farm for a short time. The farm was northeast of Sherman,Tx and had virgin fields. I use to run and play and lay down in the long grass. Today, I can still feel the breeze in the hot sun, I can hear it too.. I wish my children could stop, be still, feel their heartbeat, and clear the cobwebs.
ReplyDeleteIs this from the book? Or before the book?
DeleteThe flu/strep/stomach bug all decided to hang out at my house this week. Fortunately it wasn’t me.. yet… but rather my 8yr old daughter. Poor thing.. it has been very rough to say the least. I will try to catch up with my thoughts…
DeleteAs I began last week to read each chapter, I have highlighted comments particularly from Cohen such as, “clearing the head and stilling the emotions" that exemplified my need to be quiet and alone. I know who Leonard Cohen is and only know of his mega hit "Hallelujah" but I find his words extraordinarily profound. I ended up highlighting most of the first two chapters. I admire his poetic words, "this seems to me the most luxurious and sumptuous response to the emptiness of my own existence." He really had me thinking. I am an introspective extrovert. Meaning, I crave my alone time and need it more than the average individual but I am stimulated externally. I might be what you call a conundrum. I have not always understood why I am that way. Most people would think differently about me as I am social and usually not shy. I crave introspection it is a balm to me- "the silence was much more tonic than any words could be."
This book has validated who I am as I have not always thought my intense alone time to be logical, I have, quite honestly thought I might be depressed at times. – “making a living and making a life sometimes point in opposite directions".
Interestingly, I have learned something.. 1., my alone time is not only okay but good for me. 2., possibly I need to perfect or rather go deeper into my stillness.
-“stillness is really a way of talking about clarity and sanity and the joys that endure”
I really love this little book so far..
I am glad you are able to look at what is important for your quality of life
DeleteOh! That calibration idea really resonates with me. I do it in really boring meetings and come out much better for it. Thanks! David.
DeleteI find that I do a lot of meaningful thinking in the still times between going to sleep and waking. Even thought these intervals are often very short, I am sometimes able to work out some important art or life issues. This morning, I was thinking of the story, and was reminded of The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy's journey back to her home. The author mentions the joy of finding a place, even somewhere you've never been that feels like home. Dorothy's magical and monumental journey was really to find that she was never really lost and had everything she really needed- “ If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard, because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with. I liked the book's message that much of what causes us strife in life is how we choose to approach situations. There is a great power inside of each person and being aware of it and taking time to consider our inner selves is a good way to unleash that potential and to put our lives in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI did find the monastic bits of the book somewhat bleak. I don't think that sustained isolation and self-denial is healthy for all people. I believe there is great strength in being able to deal with the average world and accept, or work to change one's reality. Reading about Thomas Merton's pining over the young nurse was especially troubling to me.
I do think that it is good that some corporations are realizing that the old “nose to the grindstone” is not necessarily the best policy for promoting creative and productive work. Public education is somewhat victim to a similar conundrum. Many students are so overwhelmed by filler work, checkboxes and standardized testing that they loose the love of learning. It would be interesting to see how schools could foster a “Google” style environment and whether it would have any substantial benefits.
Rich insights! I agree with you, James that I have no desire for a monastic life. But maybe a retreat now and then. Last year, I decided to begin a new tradition for Mother'a Day. Instead of my children giving me a lunch or cards or whatever, I asked for a quiet weekend away. A quiet retreat away from everything. So I found a place near Georgetown out in the country. And I took a bit of food with me. I ended up, not even leaving the premises for any food.
DeleteBut just made do with what I had and the free muffins. I found that I needed quiet even more than I needed a good dinner out.
How I do wish that more of this could be understood and incorporated into education and our daily lives.
What you talk of, it exactly the heart of this class... to find the time to appreciate the process, to be able to actually be a part of the process.
DeleteThose flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz scared the crap out of me as a boy, sitting in a freezing theater w my grandmother wearing only shorts and flip flops. I agree that the time while I wake up and go to sleep is a great time to process things and get deep insights.
DeleteDavid
I was wearing the shorts and flip flops, not my grandmother! Yikes!
DeleteI like your insights. Merton's fling and Cohan's fish sandwiches are more human than I wanted to believe but then it is that very human aspect is what makes stillness seem possible. There are schools that allow for "times of silence and stretching" meaning yoga and/or meditation. And it does make a difference.
ReplyDeleteWeek 2
ReplyDeleteI am looking at a ceramic jewelry box. The body of it is coiled into a star shape with thin layers and a rolled out bottom. The lid is rolled out and cut out into a star shape, a small knob of a handle crowning the top. The lid is oversized, because it got mismatched in the studio and came from another box at Play with Clay in Guelph, Ontario.
My older daughter, Claudia, made it, well the body of the box anyhow, and another child ended up with her lid. It has plastic ring and star impressions, awkward-looking, but incredibly beautiful at the same time. Greenish, brownish with some ochre overtones. It is about the joys and sorrows of single motherhood, her sensibility and kindness, the pain of separation from her, and the world. She lived with me for eleven years, but moved to live with her father since, and I miss her deeply.
I store one necklace in it and it is broken. A Farvahar, a symbol of Zoroastrian faith, it was given to me by my ex-husband when we were dating. I keep the thing that was given to me by the person who is responsible for the distance between my daughter and I in the box made by my daughter. Just saw the irony of that.
So, you mix clay, wedge it (knead it like dough to take the air out), roll it out, shape it the way you want, possibly with a rolling pin, press objects you wish into it, attach the necessary parts. Then comes the fire, kind of like in life sometimes, bisque first to make it hard, and then glaze and fire it again. Just like magic!
Response to James Brown in the second week.
ReplyDeleteIt is an enticing vivid story, James, thank you for sharing it. Do you have any of her quilts still? How interesting that we associate handwork with family, comfort, warmth, care, food, and love. Interesting that you sound like you wanted to pick the design, but have to accept what is given, you mention it several times. Beautiful.
No, I don't have any others, but my mother has several. Unfortunately, they have been used well used and are showing their age. I probably wasn't very clear when I mentioned the design element. I was very surprised at how well my grandmother seemed to know me, even at a time of transition in my life.
DeleteResponse to David in the second week.
ReplyDeleteIt is very physical, tangible… your description of the home. Thank you for placing me there, I almost felt like I had a hammer in my hand and was working alongside you on your home. Normally I would not associate carpentry or building with craft. More of a trade to me, but it could be, thank you for sharing this.
Response to Corina in the second week.
ReplyDeleteI love the story about your grandmother, and I also had no idea you did not start speaking Spanish until later in life. Could you please share the pic of your grandmother's quilt? The one that she made for you.
"The need for an empty space, a pause, is something we have all felt in out bones..." Page 43. Every once in a while I find that I need to disconnect form the world around me. I know these times when music, reading, movies, tv, and phone noises get to me. It's the moment when everything that I love and enjoy doing, irritates me. I turn everything off and just sit with my thoughts. I feel more refreshed after these times. I can understand the need for Nowhere. In these times I have taken walks, just gone for a drive, worked out, or sat in silence. Also at these times are when negative emotions, hurts and thoughts, and ideas that I have put on the back burner need to be dealt with. I will meditate on them or even just cry it out. At the end, the sense of peace that I have makes me more refreshed and I feel lighter and I am in a better frame of find. Silence is golden.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder that sometimes the quiet can be painful. I have also experienced that as well. That difficult things we have pushed aside do surface in these moments of stillness. And sometimes, I really don't want to deal with myself.
DeleteBut somehow, I do think it helps, even when it hurts.
When I first learned to meditate I cried each time. After a week I ask my instructor what was going on...this couldn't be what mediation was meant to be, could it. He gently explained I was simply letting go of all the tears I had been holding on to, afraid to feel.
DeleteFuture and Nigel and Diana, I cry at the end of yoga... A professional once told me that we all have a well of tears within us. Everytime we cry, we empty that well little my little. Certain fears, events or tragedies in our lives contribute or create this deep abyss within us. Crying is a way to release.. it is actually ph balancing as well as soft music, yoga, meditation and stillness. The body does not want to hang on to difficult things and facing the fears or ugliness builds strength .. even if it sounds cliche'. As your body lets go of the acidic, it becomes stronger.
DeleteI'm going on a cruise at the end of February and cannot wait to disconnect from the world for a week. Unfortunately, with my second job (President of the local teacher's union), I have to be "on call" 24/7/365. Sometimes a forced disconnect is a great time to reboot.
DeleteI, too, went on a 3-day cruise for my wife's high school reunion. (And I kept singing the Gilligan's Island theme song in my head with the line "a 3-hour cruise"). It was like being locked in a casino with a 24-hour free buffet. I was going crazy until I discovered there was a climbing wall on the cruise ship. Even though I am not good with heights, that wall saved me from jumping overboard. I could "tune out" on it. Yoga works for me, too.
DeleteDavid
How do you share a pic on Blogger if using an iPhone? This relates to last week's discussion, but I am cleaning out the garage and found that little pink crocheted vest that my grandmother made me as a child! I had to laugh. I haven't seen it in years! She did love the bright pink colour! I have half a mind to make some kind of purse out of it. Was really thrilled to find it! I honestly didn't know that I had it!
ReplyDeleteOn stillness..... I have to say that my journey with "being still" began quite a few years ago. And really not intentionally either. I have my autistic son Michael to thank for this, really. As I became more aware of and in time to his needs for the types of stimuli he needed and the types that he didn't need, this also shaped my life too.
ReplyDeleteI have come to love even more soft music and Christmas tree lights, when it isn't Christmas. And to appreciate stillness and quiet. Many times in the evening, we sit quietly together in Stillness. Sometimes with music and sometimes without. After the demands of the day,Michael needs this quiet time to decompress before he can sleep. And I found that it helped me too. What a gift this child has been to my life! I have learned to slow down, and pay more attention. Michael notices so much more than I do. And sometimes he shares that with me. So over time, we have established some routines. And our house is mostly quiet. Budget cuts after my divorce got rid of a land line, answering machine, and cable tv. What a blessing in disguise! I do watch movies occasionally, but Michael isn't a movie watching person, and I like spending time with him.
Sometimes my stillness might lead me to some wonderful snoozing in my chair. But it is refreshing and obviously something my body needs from time to time.
I have to say that I am happiest when having stillness time with a cup of hot tea in my Panamas, Michael in the sofa close by absorbed in his Ipad (but always on silent), and my dog sleeping nearby in his doggie bed. Because of the traumas and things I have experienced in life, I do crave this stillness. I find that if I allow myself to have it, then I can approach the rest of my life with more energy. I truly enjoyed reading this affirming book, and I'm sure that I will read it again soon. Stillness is a life therapy that I now require. But I also find this to be true if the creative process. It benefits me so much internally, that I cannot live without it. It is as necessary to life as breathing.
I realized how important practicing stillness while being home was after reading your post. I mean, being "nowhere" is different than being home. My ideal plans for vacation are being home doing nothing. Life can get so hectic that we rarely get the down time to even just be still at home.
DeleteSo would you say your adventure is within?
DeleteI find myself sometimes waking up in the middle of the night not being going back to the sleep. This happens when I don't decompress before bed. I find that taking a shower relaxes me and in a sense washes away all the stress of the day away. Stillness can be refreshing and at times we don't realize how much we need it.
DeleteThings feel the most hectic for me when I am doing the things I have to do instead of the things I feel I was meant to do. I now understand that taking care of people is one of the things I was meant to do, much like you, Diana. And I have done everything I was meant to do for my children, enthusiastically watching them play sports that I would never bother to, engaging them in their interests that weren't mine, and I would be still for them for their well being. When they were asleep, I'd work late into the night.
DeleteI think the main idea about The Art of Stillness is that you don’t have to go anywhere in particular to find peace of mind, its all about your state of mind.
ReplyDeleteI felt I was on one polar end of a spectrum in regard to life experiences than Iyer, who had the luxury to travel for not just business, but also leisure, living and working in Manhattan, and being able to be a “psuedoretiree” as his dad put it. He had the desire and the means to do what he felt in his heart in order to shut out the daily grind of a high profile life. Understandably, he had to step back and examine his life and come to the determination to choose a positive outlook on life.
I am going to a be a bit critical here, but I do get the idea of stillness. My thoughts were acknowledged in the book when Iyer spoke of a female caller that phoned in on a radio program in which he was a guest on, to tell him that while that works for a male travel writer from Santa Barbara, how could this work for a single mother that simply cannot find the time of day to mediate for two hours (54). Iyer’s response was to just find a babysitter.
My point is that if you grow up poor, underprivileged, and in the heart of intersectional systems of oppression, a positive outlook on life is all you have.
That peace of mind though, reminds me of the life of photographer Sebastiao Salgado who spent years of his life photographing the migrations of people in third world countries all over the world. In his TED talk, which I have provided a link to below, he talks about how seeing so much death and injustice took a nearly grave toll on his mind/body/soul. He had to stop photographing those subjects and shift his focus to nature and allow himself to heal. His doctor told him he needed to do this or he would deteriorate further. He took on a project of reforesting his parents land in Brazil, and I think the results are amazing. He became invigorated in environmental justice that was critical to his homeland.
I think we have to find ways to recenter ourselves and regenerate that work for us and our lives. For me, I regenerate with animals, and in nature. Even if it’s a walk through a nursery, I visit each plant and try to think of its healing properties. Aside from that I can’t imagine not regenerating with sex. I think sex and sexual energy are part of keeping mind/body/soul in balance. This is why I found the details of Thomas Merton’s journals (34-37) very strange. Really self tortuous. I also hate when women and their sexuality are viewed as corrupting forces to men.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sebastiao_salgado_the_silent_drama_of_photography#t-989380
Corina, I very much enjoyed reading your comments about the book. I agree that he writes from a certain point of privilege. And I didn't understand his infatuation with Cohen. I'm not familiar with Cohen, and so some of his attitudes there seemed like more of a man crush than anything else.
DeleteAlso, I think that "place" does matter. I would much rather "go nowhere" in Scotland surrounded by beauty, than in my industrial neighbourhood in central Texas. That is my opinion.
And i appreciated your comments about women and sexuality. Well said.
Good points, Corina. I don't think any over all rule applies to any group of people...regardless of class or culture. Yes, Iyer has lived in what i would regard as wealth but I think that is one of his points is that all that travel, all that adventure did not satisfy him at his core. I think his audience ( TED TALKS) represent above average incomes and he is trying to tell them to take time to just be...without all the trappings.
DeleteI agree that sexual energy can be spiritual. In fact, for me, I hold three things sacred ( and by sacred I mean that which I respect and honor)art making, meditation and sex. With each I evoke all the senses, lose track of time and the past/present/ future all come together.
I took the lament about Merton as much about his committee to celibacy as it was about the women.
Diana, look up Cohan..many think he should have received the Noble Prize in place of Dylan. He is an amazing song writer. And he is known for his time spent in meditation or at an Abby.
DeleteLeonard Cohen is one of my favorites as an artist. His poetry is so stream-of-consciousness and intuitive and just plain art. I love it. What a loss.
DeleteThank you! My goal has always been "to own no car and go nowhere."
DeleteDavid
My wife grew up in abject poverty. Houses w/o any plumbing (water fetched with a bucket from a well), dirt floors, leaking roofs, scavenged food of questionable sources, wounds stitched with needle and thread w/o numbing, clothes made from old tablecloths, shoes optional. Silence is critically important for her, otherwise sensory input overwhelms her and she is thrown back in survival mode. I completely honor this.
DeleteDavid
I feel rather uneducated musically to not know about Cohen. I did know about Dylan. I'm still researching, but there is a lot of culture that I feel I "missed" when my children were young. I refer to some of those years as my cultural black hole. And I guess Cohen was one that fell in!
DeleteI'm glad to find him now though. From what I have read so far, he expresses pain and suffering and the tensions in life very well.
I realize that I am "familiar" with the sound of the music. But never really paid attention to the lyrics. After listening to Cohen,I probably need to re read the book. He is pretty darn cool.
DeleteI really enjoyed this book. Thank you for assigning it. I took away from it that we need to spend more time understanding ourselves before understanding others. I also took away that it is so important to take time out of our busy days to reconnect with ourselves. I find it difficult at times to find time to be still. I have an app on my phone/watch that leads me through guided meditation once a day and reminds me to breathe periodically during the day. It's a great way to refocus, especially if it's been stressful.
ReplyDeleteYou said it so succinctly. It's knowing ourselves that matters more than knowing others. Only if we know ourselves can the latter be truly possible. I just hope that stillness isn't the only prerequisite for knowing ourselves.
DeleteDavid
DAVID here:
ReplyDeleteThis was a difficult read for me because I am anything but still. My wife had to coach me on how I am still, but the truth is I firmly believe in the “move it or lose it philosophy”, not because I am older but because I have always been this way. When I first tried to meditate, the instructor said’ First, clear your mind of all thoughts.” I said, “you mean there are humans walking the earth with no thoughts in their minds?’ “Uh oh”, was their response. But I can focus my mind and meditation works by focusing on an idea that I will manifest, then deconstructing it until it’s raw materials. Then I know it can be made. That’s as close as I come to Iyer’s “Personal Nowhere”, or in my case “Now here!”
I have tried to simplify my life, eschewing what most would call “fun” and substituting making things for it. That’s been the most sustained fun I’ve ever had. I related to the ideas about traveling. I am like Jules Verne, who imagined trips to the Moon and submarines 20.000 leagues under the seas. He never traveled more than 80 miles from his birthplace. I’m good with that, as long as my birthplace stays wonderful. When I travel, it is never for fun, but for my career. I’m better at it than I was, but the only interesting thing I might find through travel is a better place to spend the rest of my life that stays wonderful. Lately, I wonder where that could be. The world shrinks and nowhere seems wonderful as we become unable to live with each other with respect. I travel best in my mind and as Cohen wrote “And wondered if travel lead them anywhere.” I appreciated that he saw Nowhere as not leaving the world, but “stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly…” I do travel best in my mind, Vertically rather than Horizontally as Pico Iyer described, “exploring the ways in which we remake the world in more permanent form in our heads.”
I am embarrassed about my inability to embrace sitting still. Am I a workaholic? Never thought so, but others describe me that way. But I only do the work I must or am enraptured by. The description of the happiest man in the world did not resonate at all for me. I seek to be the most satisfied person I can be and look back at a life without regrets, having built the inner landscape Iyer describes. But I won’t be sitting still. Maybe this is denial? But I work on huge art projects that can take 2 years to complete working 6 days/week. I do that less, now, because my mind travels faster than I can manifest things and I want to move at that speed. Later, Thomas Merton is quoted saying that if you are still “with the set purpose of seeking contemplation or…happiness, you will find neither.” I agree with that, but even more with his thoughts about the laws of the contemplative life, that “you don’t sit down to solve problems: you bear with them until they somehow solve themselves. This reinforces my belief that all ideas existed since or before the creation of the universe. You don’t come up with them, you simply find them.
Iyer also notes that his greatest surprise is that the wisest people about setting limits on new technologies are the ones who developed it, advocating turning them off regularly. I appreciate what hands can make, what machines guided by hands can make, and what minds guiding machines can envision. No one should fear an idea, but not all ideas should be manifested. Some should not even be communicated unless, as Bill Viola says, “it’s the man who steps away from the world whose sleeve is wet with tears for it.” Amen to that.
My mother always said that we have all the answers inside of us, if we just listen. I have always accepted stillness to get those answers. If we teach ourselves to not listen, then we may feel compelled to find someone else to tell us the answers. They are usually not, but it takes the burden of self-knowledge off of us. If we learn to listen to ourselves, it becomes certain and takes but an instant. Doubt takes forever and a lot of stillness to quiet.
David, I appreciate your honesty in admitting what an impossible task sitting still can be. Meditation to me is connecting the mind, body, and spirit and soul to achieve a inner quiet. I usually meditate just before bed and look at the day as a tapestry in reverse order of events.
DeleteDavid I know how you feel. For the longest time I too couldn't sit still. I found that focusing on one thing helped me. While here in Beijing I took a class on Zen painting and out teacher had us meditate for the first 10 minutes. We cleared our minds but he had us focus on our breathing. It helped to have a focus. I also found that being still for me was hard when I had so much clutter around me. I forget who said that out our life or rooms are sometimes a reflection of our inner mind. I have found my self more at peace in the last year because moving abroad forced me to purge many material things that I was holding onto. In last year embracing minimalism has really made a difference in my life.
DeleteDavid, there is a wonderful form of meditation call "mindful walking" where you walk slowly simply taking in everything you see...cracks, small flowers, a piece of paper...you are moving and observing.
DeleteI really appreciate all the advice and thoughts. I hate the "old dogs can't learn new tricks" saying, because I have learned a lot of new tricks and will continue to do so throughout my life. But it comes down to this: I have been self-aware since I was 18 months old. I can remember things then with crystal clarity. And I have always been a tangential thinker. One of the greatest challenges for me at TTU was the frequent implication that I somehow needed to change how I thought to be a good scholar. It really shook me. But the way I think has served me extremely well for more than half a century and I have accomplished many things as an artist and educator. So, a year ago I just decided I was fine, to quote a former TTU Graduate Advisor, "you always know what you are doing."
DeleteI actually can meditate pretty well, but the challenge is to quiet an overactive mind that is having really interesting thoughts that make me who I am. Admittedly, my best ideas come when I'm not trying to solve a problem (like Iyer's book mentioned). But stillness is something that I don't do well. Never sit me on a beach or ask me to "lay out" and get a tan. Let me swim in the ocean and investigate the tide pools!
David
David, most of my “still” times are when I'm actually doing something. When I engage in certain activities, such as painting or running, I am able to expand my thoughtfulness and work through unrelated challenges and recenter. I have not been able to pull off organized or regimented meditation. It just doesn't seem to work for my mindset and physiology.
DeleteWeek One
ReplyDeleteMy Dear Friends,
Maia Chpak here joining in for the introductions. Being a bit of a Jack-of-all-trades and having a kind of a child-like curiosity about the world I have meddled in many visual art media and have tried many crafts. Added the passion for Waldorf Education and teacher training in that area, one is almost expected to have some sort of appreciation for craft, or as they call it - handwork. In Waldorf Education schools dedicate an entire class to handwork as a matter of fact, because it is valued as an integration tool for several disciplines such as mathematics etc. I have also taught a handwork class of first and third graders in that environment in the capacity of a teacher’s aide. It is curious to me how differently the status of crafts is rated in the world of visual art, seen as a younger brother to high art, and yet many contemporary artists have sought the vocabulary of this intimate visual language associated with domesticity and the familiar and using it in the realm of high art.
The first craft I had tried was lace making as an after school club in Moscow, Russia. We used cushions, pins, and wooden pegs. Then came embroidery, sewing, macramé, knitting, crocheting. My mom was a big influence, since as a Russian engineer she was naturally an avid seamstress, and also taught a community art class to children, which included doll making, wood burning and papier machete.
Later on I had tried stained glass, glass blowing, paper making, felting, spinning, and clay.
My hope in this class would be to explore the blending boundaries between so-called high art and craft. I am currently working in clay, and might continue working in that medium to ask the subversive question of where the handwork ends and the high art begins.
Responses
Hello Corina!
I also enjoy things radical and the radical potential of craft making. After all, it does make the message more subversive if it is packaged as the everyday piece of art. I also love murals, the pics of women and men marching in front of your mural in support of women's rights and all else you stand for and get passionate about. Miss you and am very happy to have you in the same class. Chicano feminist soap?...
Hello Diana!
I can relate to your allusion of the link between crafts and communities, as most crafts are learned in this manner, passed down from generation to generation and flourish in the church circles, family gatherings etc.
I do not own a television set. One of my many attempts to instill stillness and mindfulness in my home. I do listen to music, and enjoy it very much, but try to limit that too. My belief is that simplicity of day to day existence and boredom are the best food for creativity and for being centered.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep the clutter in my home to a minimum, well… with a three year old daughter, as much as possible. Yet another attempt at stillness of the mind and soul and a quiet awareness of my own being.
I sing a lot, because I love to, because my child loves to hear it, and because it brings me spiritual awareness and a focus.
I limit the use of electronics and have a hard-set rule of no electronics at the dinner table. I confess, I had broken that rule a few times within the past month. I try to serve simple meals for myself and my child in order to avoid the clutter of way too many choices, in an attempt to raise awareness of what we eat, and an appreciation for the meals that I serve. To give myself a foundation of centeredness and stillness for the day, the week, and the lifetime.
I drink just plain water most of the time… just for simplicity and awareness… and because I get thirsty.
I try to use simple kind words, in limited portions out of respect for my daughter’s childhood.
Maia, how do you feel your choices in life style align with Iyer's life style?
DeleteI got rid of television 2 decades ago. It's predominantly drivel. and reality TV is pathetic. Get a life! Been begging to do a performance where I see how many times I can skip my smart phone across a lake, but my family says I have to be "available" (for drama?). Computers may be next, except as tools for designing (no social networking (nit-witting). I'd like to say I keep clutter out of my home, but many artists are low-level hoarders, myself included. Any horizontal surface is susceptible to having stuff stacked on it. My clutter is good. Anyone else cluttering up my space with their clutter is fouling out. Hypocritical? Certainly! My life does not align with Iyer's life very well on the physical plane.
DeleteDavid
Teaching is extremely rewarding but equally draining; I experience compassion fatigue necessitating me to locate my quiet place to rejuvenate. – “making a living and making a life sometimes point in opposite directions"
ReplyDeleteI struggle to get elementary students to settle into the creative process when they view art as a release from the rigidness of the classroom. Invariably, just as they get into a creative mode, it is time to clean up and go. They are restless upon entering my art class but fight cleaning up after 55 minutes. They want to stay. I feel block scheduling is so much more beneficial. It was hard on my son who graduated in ’09- he couldn’t keep track of textbooks and spirals. With all students, grades 3-12, having a chrome book in my district, I feel block scheduling is actually favorable to the 21st century learner. Yes, they would have a small amount of time to actually be still or think about the art they are making.
My profession requires so much interaction and talking- I am completely empty at the end of the day. My most quiet destination place is New Mexico, Taos to be exact. There a several miles away from the square is a little inn that has been renovated years ago by a loving salt-of-the-earth couple. No air conditioning, only a little fan. You are greeted by Stormy the half wolf in the mornings at breakfast- which are completely homemade. The best part of all is the quiet.. it is SO quiet. No one bothers you, the owners respectfully keep the inn like a sanctuary. I do very little talking just letting my body absorb the quiet. This is only way I have found to fill me up, put me back, and clear my soul. Interesting how the body desires extreme quiet as a way to recharge from excessive noise.
I have been enchanted many times in NM and that Georgia O’Keeffe found the same quiet I found. I have been out to her house several times and I can just imagine how quiet it was with her in it.