Seamus
Berkeley

For a few years now, I’ve been taking a break from teaching art. I realized at some point that just teaching the basics wasn’t quite enough for me. It wasn’t that the basics weren’t good, but I wanted to focus on what truly matters when creating art. What’s been on my mind is that the act of making art itself isn’t as important as the state of mind or the experience we can enter when creating.

In my own work, I’ve been taking time before starting anything new to sit quietly and look at the scene or the subject until it speaks to me, rather than me imposing my own ideas onto it. The challenge I’ve been facing is how to explain this process and how to teach someone how to enter this state of quiet mind.

About a year ago, I learned about a practice called, it’s a Buddhist practice, called sky gazing. When I heard about it, it really resonated with me because it’s very similar to my own practice of sitting quietly with the subject. And more recently, I came across a book called “Awe”, which suggests that, in order to find happiness, we need to experience awe for a least a few moments every day.

This also aligns with what I’ve been thinking about what to teach in my art. One part of this approach is summarized in the tagline for my website: Beauty in the Ordinary.

With certain exercises or practices, I’m confident that anyone can experience moments of awe.

What’s awe?

I’m pretty sure we can all remember moments in our lives when we reacted to a setting or scene with words like “wow” or “awesome” or “amazing”. One of the most common settings where we’ve experienced this is likely a sunset, a colorful sky, or the beauty of a floral arrangement. These moments might seem like they can happen at random, but they can actually be sparked by simply pausing for a few moments each day to take in the world around us and I like to call these moments “meditative seeing” or “contemplative seeing.” In these moments, we gently let go of the constant chatter in our heads, focus on what we’re actually seeing, and then let the setting speak to us in the silence of visual perception.

In my art coaching, I offer practices that can help guide your mind into this state of calm, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings and open your mind to a deeper appreciation. When you’re in this state of deeper awareness, your experience shifts to one of calm, appreciation, tranquility, or awe. If this sounds like something you would like to explore, please visit my art coaching website, and you will find information on how to sign up for a complimentary free half-hour session. I’d look forward to visiting with you online and talk about these ideas and how to experience a little more awe in our lives.