  Images: Acrylic originals 2012-2014 | The Space is Held In the new age and therapeutic community there is this metaphor of holding space. This basically means that (ideally..) the therapist or the facilitator is allowing people in the space of a workshop or a therapeutic context to be and feel how they are, without judgment, and without interference. This is done for various reasons, probably the best one being that it allows space for parts of each-other to been seen and acknowledged in accordance with the healing process. Worth noting is also that sometimes its motivated by a desire of the facilitator to appear more 'with it', and so project an idea of themselves as being stronger than other people. This isn't necessarily bad, because we all take it in turns to be strong for each-other, as long as its conscious, and no-one is being exploited by the illusion. The business and marketplace is essentially primed for and orientated around the projection of salable power, and novelty. Its interesting that the 'spiritual marketplace' is so subject to the current cultural attitude of retail therapy. Its not that the work being taught is valueless, but only that it must be marketed in order to register in the consensus paradigm as valuable. Similarly, strength and stillness can sometimes be a presenting social armor to protect a vulnerability. The coping mechanism of never showing weakness is a common trait in this context of psychic competition. Never showing weakness, however, is a good way to get sick. I'd like to use this context to present a foundation of spiritual practice. For this I'd like assume that the contemporary motivation of spiritual practice is integration, peace, happiness, healing, power or some combination or subjective interpretation of these things. In the shamanic traditions the journey into darkness is an essential motif. In the teachings of the Buddha Gautama Sakyamuni, Dukkha, or suffering, is the first noble truth. The heroic journeys of the mythologies of ancient cultures inevitably present trial and challenge as the hurdles in the path to peace and harmony. Its only through our relationship to the suffering of life that we grow and strengthen. The miracle of healing is the transmutation of the darkness into beauty and meaning in relation to the whole. Dogma can been seen as the prescription of appropriate ideology and methodology in accordance with tradition. It is inherently cultural in the sense that a group of people within an institution of knowledge more or less subscribe to it as a superior model. Dogma defines the parameters of the unknown, at best in the interests of learning, at worst in the interests of control. The seeker appeals to the dogmatic structure in the face of the uncertainty of the unknown. Dogma is a safety blanket. In the practice of techniques of spiritual awareness, whether seeing the externalization of creative process, or in meditation or embodiment, the space of the unknown is held ready for the practitioner. It is the same space that holds all of creation. It is labeled variously as God, the Great Spirit, the Void, Oneness, the Mystery, the Cosmos, or the Universe. The edge of learning in authentic spiritual practice is the shortest distance between the known and the unknown. Practice is paving the way into the unknown. For each stone laid, there is the space available for it. The quality of workmanship is subject to the attitude of practice. There is no path without the space. Worship or devotion are loaded terms, and can conjure up images of irrational world views, blind faith, charlatanism. Misunderstanding around theism, spirituality in general, and religion have tainted the act of worship. Real worship is a practice of attention and awareness on the space that is held for the presenting experience. Worshiping the space, whether internal as in meditation or external as in creative expression, is the process of maintaining relationship to the space. In experience, space is unknown. The space is held, by its very nature. The rational response is gratitude for and love of the space of the unknown, that allows for the unfolding of experience, endlessly and without judgment. The space is infinitely patient. This is why we can say God is Love. The interference of dogma in social and interpersonal contexts is either informative or restrictive. The dogmatic map of experience is not the territory of authentic relationship to reality. The reclamation of the the right to assign meaning to personal experience is the empowerment available in spiritual practice. Mysticism is the worship of the mystery of reality in the present experience. The development of practice is the unification of the subject of practice and the practitioner. The integration of the mystery is spiritual and psychological freedom, and so the practitioner is free to practice. The space is held. Michael Ellis. |
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Dance footage from Dharamsala, Himchal Pradesh, India - 2014
Other clips from Tasmania, Victoria and NSW, Australia.
The resource of spacial presence that our ancestors knew and lived, both human and animal, is still available to us in the modern world. Uncovering and developing this resource for application in the contemporary context is fundamentally healing, empowering and accessible.
There are powerful primal underpinnings to why physical awareness of ourselves, the people around us, and the space we are in, is a skill to develop. Tracking Perception is practicing spacial awareness, leading to deeper experiences of the present moment. With practice we can be more alert to changes in our environment, socially and physically, allowing us to respond with initiative and care. Being present to the physical space we are in is an essential element in relaxation, confidence, and understanding of our present context. Being centred in the space can lead to deepening awareness of the way other people are in the space, and by extension, the shifting dynamic of group consciousness. As natural beings, we have in times past had a deeper relationship with the natural world, grounded in connection to space and place. The methods involved in training and improving this experience need to both address the barriers or challenges to being present, and develop the skills that allow a state of presence. More advanced practice results in a sophistication and deepening of the spacial experience. The biggest barrier to presence will be different for different people, but the main one is anxiety or tension. If we take that tension on the spectrum of relaxation, and also that we can get better at relaxing, then the process begins with methods to move from tension or resistance towards an relaxed awareness. The word transmutation is the best suited to describing this process. With practice, we can take the social and spacial dis-ease, and use it as a teacher to move to the resolution of these issues, and further integrative practice is essential to mastery. This video, as with all of my videos, is a response to a particular state of mind I was in. I had just watched a whole lot of police brutality videos on youtube... I'm not even sure why. I feel an incredible anger and pain at the violence inherent in systems of governance...this video is an expression of the desire to dis-identify with the hierarchy that make it possible. There is nothing 'rational' about this work, the poetry is stream of consciousness and the video came together around it. I do my utmost not to judge the value of my creative work, leaving it to the past, and moving on to the next project. *the riot footage is from the Melbourne occupy protests Bullet Proof Psyche
The invincible psyche of the outcast mighty fuck you and your drawn out unsightly graceless and disgusting hierarchy bring back the old gods of honor and love fuck you and your shit stained glove I renounce all material wealth I renounce all material wealth and, get it, the consensus media maim-train of fear and pain this is ended now, I renounce the victim upset this bullet proof mind is silver and untouchable and I Identify with that which cannot be said the end of Michael is the end of the living dead I send back my name to the burning pillar fuck you and your disgraceful disintegration I don't vote and never have, Its a fact I actively discourage the policy making hypocrisy shaking the ground with this decided proclamation up above there are storm clouds gathering lets define spiritual fulfillment as the right to relax the integrated psychology expects no reflection this is because its reclaimed all projections the whole is a beast unto itself and the whole world rolls over to the upstart whelp where is your honor cos mines on my sleeve I live in the right place, left in the breeze the authorship of self claimed authority is wielded like divine sentimentality breath it out cos the air is free, give up the struggle to be somebody I renounce myself, I die hereby I've eaten my fears, and blessed my ears being glorified in immortality the bullet proof psyche |
