I knew the answer and I told him I considered myself to be a spiritual person that did not have a particular denomination.
That was what he was looking for and he seemed satisfied with the answer.
However, I kept thinking about the question after I got home... and Friday and now Saturday.
The answer is essentially the same, with one very important caveat.
My religion is art.
And it even sounds a little strange to write it out and say it, but it's very true.
For all of the reasons people seek out religion... I find those answers in art and the creative process.
A once saw a guy named Shaun McNiff speak on searching out the shadow (a talk in Jungian ideas- not unlike the purpose of this blog)... and he said something that caught me off guard.
He said his religion was expressive art and creativity and it sounded really freakin crazy at the time, but also stuck with me.
So when I finally started to delve into the subject more in different ways, the same things kept popping up.
During meditations I would fall into a pattern of quieting the mind and suddenly begin visualizing things that felt authentic and important. And as soon as they came, my eyes would open and that was it. And I'd be damned if I could meditate again after that. All that was left was a compulsion to either write it down or draw it out.
I also began researching the topic. Book after book led to alternative ways to feel connected, find meaning and solutions to problems as well as a sense of inner peace. I read and saw documentaries on being happy- that eventually led to the concept of FLOW.
Flow- is considered to be the trance-like state that occurs when you are absorbed in a process that utilizes both hemispheres of the brain.
Wikipedia's definition-
"Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does."
And the more I search, the more arrows I find pointing toward the same direction.
Art.
Making art.
Looking at it.
Understanding it.
Feeling it.
Talking about it.
Using it.
Learning about it.
Art is my religion.
I find what I need in it.
And its an incredibly powerful and frightening idea.
Because on the same token I feel I have to say...
No, I'm not crazy.
Society just doesn't know how to handle this shit effectively, so we gotta figure it out for ourselves.
