Image & Consciousness:  as the Individual

"Making the inner meet the outer is the function of the artist."  --Joseph Campbell

In my work as an art therapist, I was trained to understand how imagery relates to an individual's psyche. 

While I found this work to be intriguing, after a few years I found the current practice of psychology to be a rather limited paradigm, especially in light of the concept of the collective consciousness and the new definitions of "mind" that have been offered by scientists and spiritual teachers alike.   I spent several years trying to unlearn the perspective in which I was trained. 

I have begun to understand that in the process of creating imagery I am sometimes immersed in a greater process of awareness.  This seems to occur when my individual awareness is a single point of focus, in the present moment.  Some may call this meditation; others a form of prayer.  I prefer to simply refer to it as a focusing of the wholeness of my mind.  By doing so, I am effortlessly connecting to the collective consciousness. 

I have begun to understand that I can utilize this process of focusing with imagery in a two-fold way.  I can approach it with a desire to gain knowledge and insight about topics I have never otherwise studied.  I can also approach it as a method of manifestation.  These are two separate sessions, done with quite different intentions, and at different times.  Of course, nothing in life is ever black and white.  I have noticed that the pieces I have done with the intention to learn also attract experiences and other images into my life (process of manifestation) that continue my learning process on that topic.  Likewise, as I am creating images about things I want to manifest, I have found that I am also learning more and more about that particular topic, as well. 

Seeing images as powerfully connected to our consciousness is perhaps a big shift for many people.  And yet, we are all using these processes all the time, though most people do so without awareness.  (See Imagery & Consciousness Collectively)    Advertisers use this knowledge daily in prompting people to act, based on the images they are exposed to in magazines and television.  These images are carefully designed and placed to grab customers' attention and focus. 

As an individual I value images for what they communicate in knowledge, as well as the great beauty and joy they bring to my life.  Monet's "Water Lilies" have spoken to a deeper part of myself than I can articulate or even care to try to verbalize.   Van Gogh's brilliant colors and rhythms affect me in ways which words can never describe.   The images that appear beneath my own hands surprise me with the timely relevance of their expression in my life.  They add a depth to my awareness and a richness to my experience that makes my life an adventure to which I awake each day with great wonder and awe.  It is my hope that as a species we will open our eyes again to the importance that images can play in our lives.   We can then rediscover our primary language. 

1997