Thoughts on Form and Function
When creating a properly functioning teapot, there are a few rules to follow. The shape of the pot itself affects how well it holds heat, a cube or spherical shape is best for handling thermal stress. The walls should be thin enough so it’s not overly heavy, or awkwardly imbalanced when pouring. Spout placement, angle, and lip shape all affect how the hot tea flows and where. The lid should fit properly, so heat isn’t lost, but also not fall off when pouring, and there needs to be a steam hole to prevent “glugging” (my own word) so no untoward splashing happens as you pour. Handle shape and placement needs to be considered and well thought out so that the pot can be easily held while tipping. All of this for ease: form supporting function. Follow the form, or else you’ll end up making a hot mess. Literally. All over the table and your guest’s lap.
Poetry follows form, storytelling follows form, all art does. And form is not universal. Cooking, baking, the art of creating chocolate: There are basic rules about form in art to create an intriguing experience, no matter what the medium. The rule of thirds, iambic pentameter, etc. Language follows form, gardening follows form, building strong structures follows form.
Proper form is essential for proper function, which is all about creating an experience. Once you understand the form, you understand more deeply the function, which allows you to deepen, stretch and play with what is contained within the form. You can build a fatter teapot, oddly shaped as long as you follow the basic rules of the form. Instead of black tea, you play with herbs, mixing new kinds of tea with different ntentions. There is space for creativity when you have your space with the form.
My style of bodywork is rooted in form. As a beginner, it was a tool to help me touch the tissue deeply without fear, allowing me to feel each layer of tissue, creating success in treating the body as a new practitioner. After finding mastery in this form, I began to feel boxed in by it, it got in my way rather than supported my intention. However, this, I realized, was my own resistance to having form. When I was able to blow a rose, to stop resisting, the form led me to more deeply understand the function, which allowed me more room to stretch within the form. With my attention on myself and what I feel in the client’s body, I am able to work creatively within the form and with excellency.
There is art in mastery of form.
There is form in spiritual and energetic practices: bowing heads and closing hands in prayer, to humble oneself so that one might receive communication with the divine, be listened to. There is the passing of the peace, connecting neighbor to neighbor, again, with humility, the function: peaceful communication and an agreement to be in equal relationship with one another, the lord above all. Meditation, done in lotus, hands in mudra, hoping for a step towards ascension. Herbs dried and then burned, circles drawn, particular words spoken: all for particular functions: for protection, for healing, to manifest…
At Art of the Seer, a place of imagination, freedom and creativity, we too have a form. Seated in a comfortable chair, with feet flat on the floor, eyes closed and in a quiet, private space allows us to have our attention on ourselves: the body is grounded and is taken care of and supported, our attention focused on what we’re seeing, saying hello to, and learning.
Settling into form allows for so much growth, so much mindful awareness. So that we don’t have to worry if we’re “doing it right” and can instead focus on just being, and being present.
When our attention is pulled to other distractions, when form is thrown to the wayside, it takes away from the experience and it diminishes respect: for the relationship between body and spirit, for the space being held for us, for the communication, and for the work we’ve already put into get to where we are. By not following form, function is lost. And in this space, the function is embodied spiritual growth
Once one has mastered form, it becomes second nature, because you deeply understand the function. The teapot is easily formed, so there is room for stretching, for movement, to create artfully a teapot that is expressly you. The form of a reading, the prompt, acting more as a map than a rigid set of rules, allowing so much room for creativity and curiosity to lead your way. But still the form of how we sit stays the same.
Sometimes the function evolves, and then therefore so follows form. Things at Art of the Seer change fast, and as we grow, things like agreed upon form may change. You’ll notice ways we communicate, the spaces we create, the ways we practice (all forms) change as the intended function develops.
Form doesn’t create or demand perfection. Form can be followed while still being messy. But it’s a landing point to keep one grounded as one explores and learns about Self.
