NEW VISION IIa

 Image from www.alexgrey.com

Lifting into higher realms
In color coats I shift the walls
They do and don't exist
In radiant hues they bend and penetrate

A threshold to the spirit world
Somewhere in between
Death and invitation to invent
I and future self embrace in soft diffuse

Impatiently debating pulse
I slow mine completely still
Beyond duality’s confines my second core
Awakens many-into-one spins subtlety

It begins an artist’s instrument of thought, an inner sphere’s incision
Unmasked, made weak from all the astral plasma spills
Something sharp has pierced and in the skewering
Instilled a seed of inspiration—cut away my inhibition’s weighty husk

“I want you to create”
A voice astride each minute particle a story weaves
“Take time to be my maker,”
Whispers each tinted splash of brush-blot sheen

Just then an inner light
Shoots in and out of body
To the terrifying wilds
I’m unafraid to go

A barrage of concepts beyond words
A language from the disarray of paint punched through
Imagination’s rainbow merging birth with arcing mind
Blown free of shape, a smeary tale casts back a look in canvas form

I feel the race of heart tear fascination into fashioning
Seed of thought to cellular existence cycles into matter flowering
Left behind through points of skin abrazed empowering
My substance induced altered state is lost, the unseen part of me is gained

Together we progress to any point
To turn illusion on its pregnant skull
My pool of life reflects the me
Concealed in dreams

Alive or dead or
Somewhere in between
I see: a dawn of worlds sees back
—Infinity

Pilgrimages, Mandalas, and Meditations

BoroBudur
As part of this Summer’s creative/spiritual retreat, I made a pilgrimage to the largest Buddhist temple in the world. BoroBudur is an epically-proportioned, three-dimensional tantric mandala, which was constructed sometime between 700 and 800 A.D., with about 55,000 cubic meters of stone. To make the full trip around and up each of the temple’s 9 platforms to the giant stupa in the center is about a 3 km hike, and for much of it, the visitor can experience thousands of detailed ancient carved reliefs, stupas, and statues that line the walls.

I experienced moments of walking meditation stillness, while on this journey. The feeling sporadically resembled the experience of the labyrinth walk. But the intense heat, busy atmosphere from the thousands of other visitors and the visual beauty of my novel surroundings prevented me from drifting into much of a meditative state.

It was also somewhat of a challenge to get to the temple, with hoards of street vendors descending on any tourist in sight. And who can blame them?

BoroBudur is a UNESCO world heritage site and Wonder of the World, and we traveled there on the Buddhist religion’s holiest of days, Waisak—the full moon in May or June. This is an annual Holiday to celebrate the birthday of Gautama Buddha, so there were many saffron robed Buddhist monks on site, as well as other visitors from around the world.

Mandala-the Genesis of Realization
“Mandalas are commonly used by tantric Buddhists as an aid to meditation. More specifically, a Buddhist mandala is envisaged as a "sacred space," a "Pure Buddha Realm,” and also as an abode of fully realised beings or deities.” --Wikipedia

The main reflection that comes to me as I write this entry is how much the Borobudur pilgrimage experience felt like it was there to support a form of creation or genesis. The Mandala is associated with a flower, the womb, realization, and consciousness itself. I believed I was there circling around this mammoth oval symbol of reproductive power to plant a seed of some kind—perhaps to conceive (in the context of giving life to) of something consciously-- and that each step forward on this sacred spiraling walk toward the heart of the central dome would in some way help the process of giving form or shape to whatever inchoate concept I wished to introduce and sustain in my thoughts.

Because of Borobudur, when I now think of a pilgrimage, I consider it as a parallel to the experience of how an idea goes through the different stages of development until it transforms and becomes a creation. As a person makes progress in a grand and spiritually charged environment through forward motion, somehow it makes it possible to bring total attention to the necessary aspects of our lives which need forward motion; to make steps toward fertilizing a dream.

We had been instructed to set an intention when we got to a certain sculpture in the center (the Black Buddha), but now I understand the importance of keeping that intention in mind and alive while journeying through the Mandala’s layers and platforms. I believe this mindful approach can provide an added dimension to the process of engaging in any kind of pilgrimage anywhere, holy or otherwise.

Mendut Meditation
While, I enjoyed the visual beauty of BoroBudur, I would have to wait until dusk, to experience the most memorable and piercing aspect of the trip. This came in the form of a powerful sitting meditation at the nearby Mendut temple. The shrine inside the temple contained a magnificent three meter tall stone Buddha, flanked by Boddhisatvas on either side of him. Flowers, incense sticks, and other offerings adorned the alter in front of the statues.

At every hour on Vaisak, a different contingency of monks would arrive at the temple and pay homage by leading a chant or prayer in honor of their spiritual teacher and prophet.

While it had a tall spiral ceiling, the shrine was a tiny space relative to other places of worship I had visited, and its compactness created a much more intimate setting for myself and the four others in my group who had received special passes to attend the meditations. It was a stark contrast to the heat and vast open spaces at Borobudur and it did not take long to slip into what Arnold Mindell would call the "Second Attention," or the altered state.

The chants were delivered and amplified with such intensity and devotion that it was hard not to be entranced by the worshippers’ voices. But the chants in combination with the ancient temple’s bright colors and visual majesty, the intoxicating aroma of flowers and incense, and the mental image created by the Buddha, made it difficult not to be completely enthralled by the experience.

It was one of those rare and rich spiritually synesthetic moments, when multiple senses feel stimulated at the same time. Except, as a meditator I felt like I had to try and disengage from them all. Of course, I failed miserably and gave up on that task. Instead, I intended to open my heart to the feeling, my Third Eye to the unseen imagery, and my body to the presence of Spirit.

Special thanks to Carrie-Ann and my Alex Grey Retreat friends for capturing such beautiful images of BoroBodur and Mendut.

Alex Grey Retreat Reflections

I had the pleasure of staffing a creative retreat with internationally renowned artists, Alex and Allyson Grey, and wanted to provide a brief write up of my rich experience in their company.

Alex Grey's work has been described as psychedelic, shamanic, clarevoyant, spiritual, visionary, life altering and an exploration of polarities. He has developed art work and set designs for bands such as Tool and Nirvana and he teaches workshops for the Omega Institute in New York.

As a person, Alex is kind, extremely contemplative and sensitive. A soft spoken, philosophical and spiritual scholar as well as accomplished artist, he carries great hope for the future of human consciousness.

Both he and Allyson were a source of inspiration and wisdom throughout the 10 day experience; and although Alex welcomed interaction with others in the group, he seemed more at ease when sketching, reflecting or writing in his own quiet solitude.

My impression of Alex as an artist is that he has an advanced capacity to access his own unique and authentic power source. You might call it a symbiotic connection with the higher self that merges the inner and outer (nonphysical) realms-- or a fully developed "secret language" as his wife Allyson might put it. Grey's vision and perception allow him to channel information from those unseen worlds to the physical one, as a conduit or bridge-- finding a way to capture and bring back his encounters and share them on the canvas. One might call Alex Grey one of the few visual ambassadors to the spirit world doing integrative spirit work.

A fan of Ken Wilbur's philosophical writings, Grey told me that he was testing applications of Wilbur's theories on the world of art and artists. He commented that each person's version of how the world is perceived and experienced is simultaneously individual and collective. The conversation with art is a question of getting from one to the other and cycling back again, according to Grey. Much of the forward motion along this cyclical progression hinges on how far the artist is willing to take their visions from the conceptual inner world to physical manifestation, dissemination and openness to societal scrutiny.

In consideration of art as a healing expression, it strikes me that getting out of the "spirit" or "world inside the head" and into physical form is the most essential stage for anyone with a creative story trapped within them. Some are content and at peace even if their art fails to see the light of day, just to give form to their thoughts.

It may be more about honoring and expressing the energy that spawned the creative impulse in the first place than trying to carry it out into the outside world for me. That being said, it's only when I produce and receive feedback about how my art is received that I get a better idea of how to package and refine my secret language to better communicate my individual creative world's contents.

What I most admire about Alex is his awareness of the depths of his responsibility as an artist and healer. He understands that his gifts have launched him into a position of service that comes along with success.

It may be this call to service that explains why both Alex and Allyson are intent on helping to build a bridge between mindscape and physical reality for others through their workshops and other projects. Their workshops, for example, each start with a guided meditation or journey through the individual's inner world, placing focus on allowing the artist to feel stillness, safety, and peace; to better capture essential inner symbols and images. The Greys understand that laying emphasis on clearing and opening the mind to its natural creative power is the best and perhaps only way to unearth the artist and her abundant supplies of artistic treasure.

Anyone who has developed a craft, found their unique creative voice and who feels compelled to deliver their message has the rare ability to give form to the formless; therein, I believe, explains Alex Grey's popularity and the love he receives from his supporters.

The Greys are touring the world to lead workshops for other artists and to build a network of support for their vision in progress, which they call the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (COSM)-- a place for artists to come together to promote spiritual and creative integration and expression. This is a multimillion dollar project and it is still in its fledgling phases, but land just outside Manhattan has been purchased and the design for the chapel is already complete.

I am deeply grateful to the Greys for sharing their time and insights. I wish them the very best in fulfilling their important vision and invite you to be part of the COSM project. Visit their website for more information and upcoming events.
 

Thanks to Chris, Jessa and Joe for sharing their pictures with me.