I had a lovely conversation on art as spiritual practice with Christine and Chris, who run a podcast called The Contemplative Life. We discussed the interests and connections between art, walking, wilderness, planetary alignments, and bikes.
Something I should probably unpack is what I mean by “spiritual“. Being spiritual does not necessarily mean being religious, and these terms are often confused with each other.
I would say, “religious” art is a kind of art made for worship or reverence within a religious context, like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. Icons, illustrations for sacred texts, and architecture of places of worship would fall into this category.
“Spiritual” art pertains to art that, from my perspective, seeks to invite connection with the Numinous. I’ve seen the word numinous used regularly by Jungian psychologist and author James Hollis (which by the way, his book A Life of Meaning is essential reading). I love that word – it evokes a mystery, a presence, an unseen but felt something, within, around, and beyond ourselves. It is experienced, and utterly knowable, though often undefinable.
To me, art as spiritual practice simply pertains to a kind of elusive experience of the Numinous that I am either pointing towards, or possibly have had within the experience of the art. Sometimes i have that experience in front of a great artwork, usually sitting in front of a painting in a museum and spending some time with it. Sometimes I have it while making art (achieving that celebrated “flow” status). In my recent landscape work, I am seeking to evoke the experience of the moment when I am in wilderness places, or in the process of long walks where my body feels most alive.
This is what we explore in spiritual companionship, a 1 to 1 talk modality where we explore how the Numinous shows up in your life. If you are ever curious about working with me in spiritual companionship, give me a shout.
I hope you’ll give it a listen, and let me know what you think. Any of it resonate with you? What are the ways you see your own practices as “spiritual“?
