Art is a Way of Knowing
Just when you think you’ve come up with an original idea, you check it in Google and see 91,600 hits for the exact idea that—only seconds earlier—you assumed sprung solely from the genius of your imagination.
This humbling experience befell me when I searched for the phrase “art is a way of knowing” only to discover that it’s a book title by Pat Allen. I don’t know Pat Allen, but I’m sure he must be quite brilliant to scoop my idea 11 years before it occurred to me.
(The lapse of 11 years probably disqualifies me from
claiming that our mutual discovery is an example of
synchronicity, Carl Jung’s
notion that certain ideas or events occur
simultaneously in discrete cultures at the same
time. One of the best examples of this phenomenon
is the independent invention of calculus by Isaac
Newton and Gottfried Leibniz in the 1660s.)
While I haven’t read Allen’s book I see that it
received five, five-star reviews on Amazon. The
reviewers reveal that the book focuses on art therapy
and the unique psychological insights art offers to
anyone seeking personal growth (aren’t we all?).
What do I mean when I claim that art is a
way of knowing? Unlike science and some forms of
logic and math which allow us to gain objective
knowledge of the world, art opens the door to
specific aspects of personal knowledge. For instance,
each day when I’m at work on my current novel
(Exit from America) I
don’t anticipate what will be revealed by the end
of the writing session. I rarely know what
individual characters will say, who will do what
to whom, and where they might end up. It’s a
constantly unraveling mystery of nature—of my
own nature—that I feel privileged to witness.
Early on in the novel, Mavis Helm, a budding Gestalt
therapist, is invited by her client, Fay Flood, to
visit her apartment. I had no idea what (or whom)
might be in the apartment. But behind the door a
beautiful child, a savant of sorts, was hidden away,
waiting to emerge as a central figure in the novel.
Later we are introduced to her father and witness the
events that drive the narrative—the conclusion of
which will be revealed to me (I hope) in the months
ahead.
Another example from the novel: James Wayman (Mavis
Helm’s husband) has discovered a new form of
meditation that he calls White Light Meditation. WLM
offers its practitioners an opportunity to transcend
their egos and experience their natural being
uncluttered by personas and ambitions. James’s
efforts led me into a new world of inner discovery
and personal meaning that I don’t think I would have
experienced without writing this particular novel.
Quite literally then, art has provided the way of
knowing this inner world.
By the way, I Googled the phrase “White Light
Meditation.” Guess what? Only 3,170 hits! I’ve taken
the liberty of registering WhiteLightMeditation.com
and soon you will find a page on this site that will
reveal the techniques you can employ to achieve this
elevated state of self-knowledge.
My thanks goes to James Wayman. I couldn’t have
discovered WLM without you.