Each one of us is an individual expression of the God Force and as such it is our role to express that uniqueness in our own special way. Not everyone of us will be artists, writers or inventors, but each one of us has inside ourselves something unique that we need to express. Your challenge is to find that one thing that for you is an expression of your creativity. Don't stop until you find it, it will be worth the journey. Some of us find that early in life and if you were so blessed, good luck to you. For many it will be something that will have expressed itself in our childhood but for many it was crushed by a word or two from people who did not understand our need to create.
For me it has taken many years to discover that I love to tell stories. With the benefit of hindsight it is easy to see what I loved doing, but living through it was more difficult. I wrote my first stories at about about ten and eleven and then I was molested and overnight I became quite dyslexic and for the next twenty years had great difficulty with reading and writing. Don't feel sorry for me because it was this trauma that forced me to be more creative in the way I lived. It forced me to improve as a verbal communicator and the only way I could share informations was through stories or the use of my voice. It was not until my thirties that I could read and thank goodness for computers which have allowed me to write. Even today when I write by hand my brain switches off and I cannot remember what I was trying to say, but with a computer I can write and share my love of the world and my stories.
I hope each and everyone of you can find that within you that creative aspect that is crying out for nurturing. As Joseph Campbell said, "Follow your bliss.'
Chapter 22 - The Gift
"What are you going to create my son?" They were weird words to use, to start one of their teaching sessions. Firstly because it was unusual for anyone other than the Emperor to call Heng, my son and secondly the young man would usually sit and listen to a teaching. This was a change in the dynamic between them.
Heng did not know what to say. He took a deep breath, held it for a moment and then expelled it slowly, allowing the many thoughts in his brain the space to disappear. There when they were all gone, was one thought, or feeling, he was not quite sure which would not fall away. He looked deeper into the thought/feeling only to discover that it was a vision of him painting in the form of the Taoist Artist. He watched his inner self as it sat before nature staring at the mountains in the distance. He sat there, appearing to just be looking, but Heng could feel the inner painter was doing far more than that. As he sat with the feelings he could sense that the inner painter was becoming one with the elements of nature that surrounded him. He had not bothered to pick up his brush because he knew the brush would only be used once he connected with the spirit of nature that sat beautifully before him. Even when he connected with nature he would still not paint, because to paint what he saw was only copying nature and she was much deeper than that. It was only when his own inner truth came forward that he would even bother to pick up his brush and then it could be an hour or more before any paint would touch the canvas and when it did there would a flow about it; there was no hurry, for the artist's truth would show itself in the simplicity and the beauty of the painting his real self created.
He watched in his mind's eye as the future Heng created beautiful landscapes; landscapes which were filled with the essence of the Tao. He went into the mind of the future Heng and he noticed there was great emptiness; not an emptiness from a life not well lived but an emptiness from someone who had learned detachment. The future Heng was empty because he was open to what life had to offer; he was open to the spontaneity of life.
Heng withdrew from his inner world and turned his attention towards the sage. He was not capable of words and was overcome by the experience. He continued to stare vacantly at the sage in the hope that he could help him.
Huo was surprised that the young prince had been able to go so deep when he asked what he was going to create. The young prince was obviously very in touch with his inner truth and it would be easy to instruct him in the ways of Taoist painting. Huo was not a painter but he understood the Tao; he also understood that the energy from past painters was still available and by learning to model geniuses from the past Heng could not only learn to paint but also learn how to go deep within and see the essence of what he was painting.
"Master how do I go from where I am now to what I saw in my meditation. I can barely hold a brush and at best only copy what I see.
"Heng, just like you were able to go into a meditation and connect with your future self, you are also able to go within and connect with all the great artists. All their genius is still available. When you go back to the palace find a painting that you like, then find out as much as you can about the artist and his techniques. Take time to look into his heart and see what feelings they bring up in you; start to experience what the artist experienced. After you have an understanding of the artist then go into a meditation and ask the artist to share his or her knowledge with you. Then go and find something to paint and allow the inner subtle feelings to be your guide."
"But I can't. I do not have the skills of a master painter."
"Heng that is just your ego speaking. All of us come here to learn how to be creative. It is the greatest gift that we are given by the Tao or the Godforce; the ability to create something unique. It is uncomfortable to go beyond the ego's laziness and fears, but to create you need to discipline yourself and move beyond the ego. If you want to be like the painter you saw in your meditation you must discipline yourself. It will take time and many of your early paintings will just be copies of what you see, but with openness and discipline and trust in the inner self, you will see a spark of your own creativity begin to come alive in the paintings.
"Creativity is not about perfection; creativity is about finding the truth within you. Don't copy what you see - paint the essence - when you model a master don't copy what they did but find the essence that is in you and paint that."
And so the discipline began; each morning in the palace Heng would rise early from his bed and go and sit in front of one of the many beautiful paintings that adorned the palace walls. In the beginning it felt foolish sitting in front of these master paintings, because many times nothing happened, but then one morning in the third week of the discipline he was sure he heard something. It was like a voice other than his was whispering into his ears. He listened very deeply. At first it sounded like the words being transported by water which was distorting what he was hearing. He immediately understood that it was his own ego that was getting in the way, so he closed his eyes and went deep within himself.
In his minds eye a picture began to appear, but it was more than a picture, it was like another world existed in his inner being. There in this other world was Heng and the painter Master Chang. Heng bowed to the Master and said, "Teach me."
Master Chang sat in a lotus position in front of a canvas. Off in the distance were mountains surrounded by valleys filled with forests and a magical lake. When Heng looked deeper he understood that the master had taken him to the Forest of K'an and the lake was the Magical Lake of Li.
For a long time Master Chang sat there enjoying the view of the landscape before him. Then he began to paint. Heng watched as the master's brush almost skipped over the canvas and each brush stroke that was left behind seemed to have a life of its own; each stroke giving life to the landscape that stood before them. Master Chang continued to paint, but then a separate part of him began to communicate with Heng. "The landscape painting is one which evokes a feeling of peace, harmony and a mystical union with nature. The artist is looking to connect with the landscape and allow it to give up some of its secrets, expressing the movement of animals, the majesty of the mountains and the ethereal nature of the water. Great art occurs when the artist is in some way a co-creator of life with the Great Tao. When you are painting become the mountain; send an aspect of yourself in the mountain and become the mountain; feel it's feelings and share its story. Then and only then begin to paint the story; the story that you and the mountain have created together. The key is to allow the inner you the space to create from your own truth. In this was way you create something unique; something that adds to the greatness of the infinite Tao."
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