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Genesis As a practicing artist and Reiki Master, I have always been interested in the interface between my own expressive work, and the way that this seems to me to be a powerful manifestation of the inherent creativity of the Universal Energy Field, and the expression of this same energy through the Reiki system. Both use the hands of course, but they also both use the mind, and it is only really in the balancing of one's own energetic nature and bringing synchronicity to both the intuitive and intellectual aspects of being that effective art can take place in a meaningful way. This in essence is what Reiki does and artistic endeavour is thus, for me at least, another way of engaging with the UEF. Not all artists 'do' Reiki of course, but Reiki does add another dimension to the practice of art, and in many traditions this is seen very much as a meditative process that enables the artist to further their own spiritual journey through engaging in a deeply penetrative exploration of the physical and metaphysical worlds through the creative act. One of my artist heroes is the American Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko, who during the 1950's painted a series of stunningly beautiful pictures that tapped deeply into the subconscious/spiritual aspects of what it is to be human. Some of these were painted for a chapel, but later ended up in the original Tate Gallery in London, where I recall spending many hours in front of them as an18 or 19 year old art student. Sitting and contemplating these paintings was possibly my first consciously spiritual experience, and as such they had, and still do exert, a massive influence over me and my work as an artist. To express spiritual transcendence simply through the medium of a field of pure colour is an accomplishment that defies understanding in a rational sense. So 'Genesis' - the image reproduced here, is very much indebted to the work of Rothko and the way that he was able to open the door to the infinite through his formal and visual skills as an artist.
More than this however, I am mindful of the story of Usui's satori experience on Mt Kurama, and the beautiful description that has been given (and seems to be rarely mentioned these days) of his seeing 'millions of little bubbles in all the colours of the rainbow'. This seems to me to suggest the manifestation of 'tigle' (Bindu in Hindi), which occurs during deep meditation on energy centres from the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. The image then is an effort to literally transcribe this experience into a concrete visual form. 'Genesis' first appeared in the Lucis Trust exhibition 'In the Tracks of Hercules' and is one of a series of pictures that I have been working on over the last year or so. The collection will hopefully form an exhibition on the theme of Reiki for some time at the start of 2007. |
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The following article appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of the UK Reiki Federation magazine 'Resonance' to accompany the cover illustration - right.
In 'Genesis' I wanted to explore more fully the Reiki symbols through the medium of painting and drawing, and the image reproduced here is one of the results of this process. It is based on the Power Symbol, and as we know this symbol has many hidden depths along with its more apparent uses and attributes. In this sense it reveals and conceals at the same time. It normally has a clear visual form that is unmistakable but it can take a great deal of effort to uncover and understand all of its qualities and meanings. In the image I have tried to suggest this aspect by in part showing and in part hiding the elements of the symbol - its look.