Jung described our shadow as not only what we disown that is negative but what we disown that is positive, such as our joy, happiness, freedom, potential, and I would add our ‘True Nature.’ What do I mean when I say True Nature? What comes natural to us – apart from our learned behaviors. Of course our environment and the conditions of our life structure what feels like our true-selves, but in essence these are our conditioned behaviors and we learn them in order to cope or not cope with our lives. I have spent over three decades exploring what my true nature is – and it will be a continuous process of rediscovery for me. This exploration has entered my dream-space many times. One dream in particular has inspired many images over many years.
I dreamed I was a spider dangling from a single silk thread of my own making and free from the human conditions of my human life. The dream was so profound it has stayed with me all these years. It has also yielded many threads of thinking. A conversation I had with a patron of my artwork inspired me to write this post.
He had been meditating for 5 days on retreat and wanted to buy some prints of my work – but he had to know what I had in mind when I created the piece with the woman surrounded by light – as it was different from all the other pieces where the woman were surrounded by dark space.
I told him that this piece was inspired by Jung’s take on our unconscious shadows. What we may fear the most is our true potential – what lights our path – our excellence. What we may fear the most is letting go of our fear - not what is obvious to us in our darkest times – but letting go of our fear of being loved – being joyful – being absorbed in creativity – being truly happy – being free – being and expressing our true nature. The Rope in the image is whatever we are holding onto – the crutch if you will – and each individuals journey is to let go – the vast space is the unknown. In this image called flight – perhaps the individual is letting go of what she already knows of herself – and taking flight into what is unknowable – into her true self. The birds around her soar and take flight already – and what holds them up is the ground of love.
To quote a meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche – True Freedom (enlightenment) is like free falling – with a parachute – but there is no ground below.
My Art is a process of creativity – even the meanings of each piece change as I write about them and talk about them. The important thing is that when you look at any of my art – only more questions and no solid answers come – then I will know that I have done my part.
