The
Hidden Sphere
(of Artistic Concerns) Cecil Orion
Touchon
15
Go to look at the work of the ancient masters.
Their work is subtle and mysterious.
There is much in these masters that is too deep to grasp
with reason.
Our only knowledge of them is through the objects that
the centuries have guarded.(1)
Their work shows the depth of patient striving; a sensitivity
to the subtle nature of form;
a respect for the materials with which they worked, that
always will inspire admiration.
Many examples there are of the object that shows
the clarity, fluidity and simplicity of the creative
harmony
in which these masters were absorbed.
Can we develop within ourselves such patience
and sensitivity that our muddled minds become clear?
Can we rest in that clarity until we become uncluttered
enough to express the fluidity of the Creative Harmony?
(2)
The masters seek to be empty rather that full.
Because they continuously let go of everything that they
have become,
the Creative Harmony forever fills them with new creative
power.(3)
footnotes
(1) “The student is not an isolated force. He belongs
to a great Brotherhood, bears great kinship to his kind. He takes and he
gives. He benefits by taking and benefits by giving.
Through art, mysterious bonds of understanding and of knowledge are
established among men. They are the bonds of a great brotherhood. those
who are of the brotherhood know each other, and time and space cannot separate
them
The Brotherhood is powerful. It has many members. They are of all places
and all times. The members do not die. One is a member to the degree that
he can be a member, no more, no less. And that part of him that is of the
Brotherhood does not die.
The work of the Brotherhood does not deal with surface events.
Institutions on the world surface can rise and become powerful and the
can destroy each other. Statesmen can put patch upon patch to make things
continue to stand still. No matter what may happen on the surface the Brotherhood
goes steadily on. It is the evolution of man. Let the surface destroy itself,
the Brotherhood will start it again. For in all cases, no matter how strong
the surface institutions become, no matter what laws may be laid down,
what patches may be made, all change that is real is due to the brotherhood.
If the artist is alive in you, you may meet Greco nearer than
most people, also Plato, Shakespeare, and the Greeks. In certain books--some
way, in the first few paragraphs you know that you have met a brother.
You pass people on the street, some are for you, some are not.”
(2) “I am clearing my mind of all art nonsense, trying
to accomplish simplicity and purity of vision for Life itself, for that
is more important to me than anything else in my life. I am trying to return
to the earlier conditions of my inner life, and take out of experience,
as it has come to me in the intervening years, that which has enriched
it, and make something of it more than just intellectual diversion. It
can be done with proper attention and that is to be my mental and spiritual
occupation from now on. In other words, it is the equivalent of what the
religious-minded do when they enter a monastery or a convent and give up
all the strain and ugliness of Life itself - and if I were younger with
the same experience I am not at all sure I wouldn’t do something like that
now.”
(3) "To realize that we are one with the Creator as
Beethoven did is a wonderful and awe-inspiring experience. Very few
human beings ever come into that realization, and that is why there are
so few great composers or creative geniuses. . . I always contemplate all
this before commencing to compose. This is the first step.
When I feel the urge I begin by appealing directly to my Maker. . . I immediately
feel vibrations which thrill my whole being. In this exalted state
I see clearly what is obscure in my ordinary moods; then I feel capable
of drawing inspiration from above as Beethoven did. . . Those vibrations
assume the form of distinct mental images. . .
Straightaway the ideas flow in upon me, directly from God, and not
only do I see distinct themes in the minds eye, but they are clothed in
the right forms, harmonies, and orchestration. Measure by measure
the finished product is revealed to me when I am in those rare, inspired
moods. . . I have to be in a semi-trance condition to get such results--a
conition when the conscious mind is temporary abeyance, and the subconscious
is in control, for it is through the subconscious mind, which is a part
of Omnipotence that the inspiration comes."
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