Focal Points in France:
Ego Flows Down River; the Pond Self-Empties
3rd in our series on artful practices that bring more peace.
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in creative times
ego flows down river-
the pond self-empties
This haiku moment was experienced near the Chateau Orquevaux, France, viewing the village brook flowing under a bridge on Saturday morning, July 2, 2022.
Flow
Have you flowed?
Felt like the brush, pencil, shutter, or dance shoes were guided by another power?
Have you experienced the inner shock of glancing at your watch and realizing that part of your timeline’s gone missing?
Where does the self go when we are in the flow?
Self-Emptying
That is what flow does to us… gives us a glimpse into the experience of self-emptying… the experience of no-self. And self-emptying makes room for something divine to bubble up within us, and transform into unconditional love.
What happens when we’re in flow seems magical… one might imagine, as the brush dips into the pallet, that a paint-fairy flicks her wand, casting a golden spell on our minds… so that the self-emptying flows our ego into another place; what remains is the silence of our True and Authentic self joined erotically in communion with the Spirit. Unconditional love, is loosed in the world.
Flow is “Erotic”
To many, “erotic” sounds like sex, and while it does include sex, it is a much broader force in the universe. It is the creative, generative, nurturing, gestating power all around us. It is so vivid in spring as new creation breaks out of winter’s rest, in summer as successive raptures of bloom feed the bees and hummingbirds, in fall as seed-time covers the meadow and forest with tiny life-preservers, and really, even in winter as roots delve deep into the soil to form flourishing networks among the mycelium, making the meadow and forest a single living organism rather that confederation of individuals.
War is the opposite of the erotic, and the inhibitor of unconditional love; it is mind-numbing, anti-creative destruction… there is no love in it. Rather than self-emptying, it is other-emptying as it seeks the elimination of the enemy and “collaterally”, those others unfortunate enough to be in the way.
Flow as a Practice of Peace
Getting into the flow state as an artist is a deliberate practice of peace. Letting go of the self so that the authentic parts can shine in use non-violently makes the alchemical connections that flow unconditional love into a world that is so very thirsty for love.
So, make love not war… make art and let go of the self… let unconditional love flow…
If this resonated, we have others:
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The Rev. Ron Steed serves as an Episcopal Deacon in Southeast Connecticut and has served the New London Homeless Hospitality Center in a variety of ways. He writes haiku and lyrical prose that he hopes will help others put the head and heart in right-relation.
Top writer in: Art, Haiku, Sermons, and Episcopal Church.
Ron and his wife Roxanne live in Mystic, CT. Roxanne Steed is an artist, instructor, and mentor in watercolor, specializing in oil and watercolor-journal paintings in New England and Europe. Her website is RoxanneSteed.com
