Creativity and spirituality

BRIAN BARNETT shares his thoughts on the creative process and how it relates to spirituality.

I have often wondered about the connection between spirituality and creativity.  I have two old friends, both retired teachers, neither of whom are religious or have any interest in spirituality. One loves music and is sent into reveries of bliss when listening to a live concert of Beethoven’s quartets. The other lies on his back in the jacuzzi and describes floating and drifting off into some state that is deeply calm and expansive. I have discussed meditation with them and how I have a subtle feeling of inner calm and expansiveness, as well as a feeling of being connected to the world. I use the analogy of calm waters, when one can see the bottom of the lake, which is obscured when the waters are choppy.

I have wondered about creativity as a form of spiritual practice. Artists playing music often report that they experience an altered state of consciousness and the audience picks up on this. It might be a sarod player using the mournful tones to connect with the hearts of the audience, or a jazz improvisation that is “out of this world.” Sonny Rollins would practice on the Brooklyn Bridge for hours into the night perfecting his technique.

Meditation is partly a skill to get into a relaxed state and heart connection. This skill then becomes automatic and the state is acquired in just a few moments. Perhaps the skill becomes so perfect that it is no longer a conscious process. It begs the question of whether there is a similarity between meditation and the creative state of artists. There are so many sublime classical pieces that are transformational. Does the genius of the composer’s state of mind continue to be present when the piece is played years, or even centuries, later.

These may be states of natural meditation, but without daily practice may not become states that progress from thinking to feeling and experience. It might be that the very act of composing and playing is the spiritual state for that artist.

When traveling in Europe, I visited many art galleries and often stood transfixed before paintings and sculptures. Some of them had a powerful energy that I imagined was some part of the artist’s energy still present in the work. When comparing the feeling of observing a copy of the same work, while the visual beauty was present, the sensation was absent. I remember standing before one of Rembrandt’s self-portraits, looking into his eyes, and being transfixed by his gaze. I felt that he was baring his soul to the viewer. When looking at Van Gogh’s landscapes, I imagined that I could feel the sun beating down on his head as he applied the thick paint to capture the scene. Was this the energy experienced by the artist, during the process of creation, still present in the completed painting?

While painting, I remember feeling lost in time, immersed in the picture. When listening to and playing music I have felt a deep connection and raised awareness. While my efforts were hardly great art, I felt a subtle taste of creativity and its connection to spirituality. The very act of creativity may be the attempt to reach the beginning of a spiritual experience. In the words of Robert Browning, “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp.”

While painting, I remember feeling lost in time, 
immersed in the picture. 
When listening to and playing music 
I have felt a deep connection and raised awareness. 
While my efforts were hardly great art, 
I felt a subtle taste of creativity and its connection to spirituality. 
The very act of creativity may be the attempt 
to reach the beginning of a spiritual experience.