Every single work of art is the fulfillment of a prophecy: for every work of art is the conversion of an idea into an image. Every single human being should be the fulfillment of a prophecy. For every human being should be the realization of some ideal, either in the mind of God or in the mind of man. -- Oscar Wilde
Prophecy is revelation.
Inspirations are like mini revelations.
The artist receives messages from their creative source and, through practice, becomes open and receptive to the flow.
Sparks of inspiration are signal flares of the soul that compel the artist to create.
The creative force is an evolutionary urge that artfully animates humanity to fulfill prophecy.
Realizing an ideal like beauty, wisdom, compassion or generosity, means embodying and recognizing ones unity with that principle, a
union of God and self.
Oscar Wilde wrote those lines while imprisoned for being gay.
In his essay "De Profundis," Wilde confesses his identification with the suffering of Christ.
We are now in the season of Lent moving toward Easter. It is a time to celebrate the rebirth of nature and the return of life. Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season invites us to realize our short comings, confess wrongdoings, repent before God and be spiritually reborn. Easter commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Christ and it celebrates the resurrection.
Mark your calendars for the March Full Moon Vernal Equinox celebration at CoSM on Saturday, March 19th where we will worship and celebrate, pray and dance, drum and paint. Experience a creative rebirth at CoSM.
Also, join CoSM Staff and friends for Earth Day Volunteer Weekend, April 22nd and 23rd. Register in advance as a volunteer to freshen CoSM up for spring. For information about volunteering and accommodations write to
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.
Love,
Alex and Allyson
http://CoSM.org
at the foundation of service to the Greater Creator, the Divine Artist that we all reflect. There is One consciousness -- God consciousness more or less awake to its identity. When an artist comes into alignment with the primal creative force, they are moved
toward expressions of depth and authenticity, and their works are in service to the Great Creation.
Alex is currently working on a painting that will be placed in a church in the Southwest. His next painting will be for a church in the U.K. These churches are helping CoSM to renovate and build structures that will accommodate visitors to the Chapel, participants
at events and workshops, and by 11/11/11, an exhibition of visionary art.
Love,
Alex & Allyson
Let's make up a new word. ARTheology is the transmission of spiritual guidance through the arts. The arts have played a crucial role in parable and the recounting of iconic moments from all world religions. Theology, or the collection of knowledge related to the study of God, has influenced the sacred art of every tradition. It wasn't really up to the Tibetan artist what a particular Buddhist Thangka painting would include. There was a prescribed assembly of relevant symbols that gave any image its power. The meaning was imbued on the art from a religious context. Sacred art is clothed in the language of the essential truth of that faith. When the purpose of art is our own salvation or liberation, we trust the good intentions of the author that art is being performed for God's sake.
How can art be redemptive in a post-modern, pluralistic, trans-denominational world? If art's mission is to make the soul perceptible, then all expressions are redemptive for the artist. Creation IS redemption. To complete the soul being perceived by another, the art must be shared. The social context of art is necessarily an ethical arena where the intentions of the artist toward the beholder are central to the message in the work. An artist fulfilling the sacred legacy of their profession, dedicates their work to the liberation of all beings. Their art is uniquely suited to be a tap root to the collective psyche and zeitgeist of the moment, to potentiating an historic evolution of consciousness. When a sacred understanding informs a community of people, the community can make art together, the pinnacle of which is temple building.
While we've been away in Australia and Bali, the CoSM Building Crew Extraordinaire has completed the renovation of the second floor of Grey House, Now, four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, is beautiful and ready for guests.
Come to the Full Moon and consider enrolling in the pre-Full Moon Workshop, and journey with Chef Lumino into "Culinary Shamanism."
Love,
Alex and Allyson
Visit: http://CoSM.org
Many people who receive this newsletter remember the five years CoSM was open in Manhatten. There we met thousands of people who came from all over the planet and had a sacred connection with the art. For the last two years, since CoSM moved 65 miles upstate to the Hudson Valley, we have been traveling the world extensively. As long as the CoSM Collection of art is still in storage and not yet on exhibit at the new facility, we reasoned it would be a good time to travel outside of New York to meet our extended community. So, when invitations for travel came in that would benefit CoSM, we accepted them. Since CoSM is only open for special events*, these gracious invitations have helped pay for expenses and needed renovations at the new facility.
To build a church for World Spirit, a global community must bless our project with their prayers and financial support. Across America we've met many people in Miami, Gainesville, St. Petersberg, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, San Antonio, Austin, Portland, Ashland, San Francisco, L.A., and San Jose. Throughout the world, in Australia, Austria, Argentina, Bali, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Mexico, Russia, we find the "Love Tribe," turned-on creative people who appreciate that the arts can transmit the mystic condition. A new kind of sacred art is informing this disorganized religion, an international visionary art that finds resonance with the dawning planetary civilization. This worldwide family celebrates all wisdom paths and is committed to an adaptive sustainable relationship with nature. By recognizing the divinity of all life, and standing for peace, the Love Tribe is linked by shared values that transcend nationality, and play a vital role in each society. Multi-racial, multi-generational and far from naive, the Love Tribe senses the radical importance and preciousness of the human experiment. Because of our astonishing capability to consciously commune with the transcendental ground of being shared by all beings, we are pregnant with love energy. The source of all love comes from beyond us, through us, to shine upon and uplift each other on our transformative journey together. Fortunately, most people still believe in love, and love, after all, is God's secret name. The inevitable consequence of love is the building of temples. That is our interactive mission with the Love Tribe.
Be with us this weekend for a Valentine's Day retreat for lovers. We'll make art together, sit around the fireplace and talk about the transformative path of relationship, write love notes and experience Lumino's exquisite cuisine!
Happy Valentine's Day,
Allyson and Alex
Donate to CoSM here....
*CoSM is open for Full Moon ceremonies, for Equinox, Solstice, Halloween and New Years celebrations, workshops and conferences. Help the CoSM Collection of inspiring artwork re-open by 11/11/11 by making a donation of any size.
communion with the Absolute. According to the Buddhist teachings, unless
one has the proper motivation, one will never advance on the spiritual path
or attain enlightenment. A person may do various higher meditational practices,
but if he or she does not have bodhichitta, the altruistic intention to practice and
gain liberation for the benefit of all beings, the practice will come to naught.
Spiritual artists should have compassionate aspirations to benefit others with
their art. Art becomes a service to the divine by being an uplifting assistant
to a suffering world. By alignment of the artistic will with the divine will it is
possible to make art with the intention of a bodhisattva. Buddhist texts
describe the bodhisattva as an enlightened being who has chosen to
remain in the samsaric world of suffering, the wheel of life, in order to
help bring wisdom and happiness to all living creatures. This unreasonable
vow distinguishes the mission and extends the intention of the bodhisattva
beyond the limits of a single lifetime. If one wishes to work with the
bodhisattva intention, then one internally scrutinizes: "Is what I am
doing solely for myself and my own benefit, or am I seeking to benefit
as many beings as possible while attaining my own needs?" Can this
altruistic motivation be applied to art without corrupting the internal
freedom and creativity of the artist?" *
*Excerpt from The Mission of Art by Alex Grey
PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR
Creator of the Universe
All powerful infinite Oneness
Transcendental Force of Love
Networked through All Beings & Things
Thank you for the precious gift of Life!
Everlasting One, safeguard us in the coming year.
Protect, shelter and supply us
With thy grace and sufficiency.
Preserve our bodies, souls, and faith,
All Merciful, sustain and embrace our families,
Our loved ones, our communities,
Our state and our Nation.
Protect Humanity and guide us all
Toward harmony with each other
And the web of Life.
May we each be a blessing
To the world now and in the year to come.
May your boundless creative force
Work through us to inspire and uplift
Our brothers and sisters,
Creating a holy zone of peace, and kindness
In all our relations.
May the creatures of the world
Live in balance with a healing environment.
May radical breakthroughs in
Compassionate relief for the suffering
Dawn this year.
May each of us fully surrender to
God’s plan in our lives
And enjoy the amazing journey
Wherever our path leads us.
May God grant us success in our
Creative and spiritual lives,
Removing all obstacles to the
Highest realization and liberation,
Establishing each of us in thy Transcendental Joy
And granting us wisdom and skillful means
To implement God’s plan of Love and Light
For all beings.
Happy 2011!
love,
Allyson and Alex
Stars are being born and dying in the great nebula, planetary systems are in a state of dynamic flux, developing increasing complexity with capacity to host life and awareness. Science has revolutionized our comprehension of the vastness of the cosmos.
Over a century ago, the philosopher R.M. Bucke suggested that the experience of cosmic consciousness is occurring with greater frequency as humanity evolves and with noticeably expanded reports in modern times. Uniting with the nature- field expands the identity of the individual beyond the bounds of body and ego, realizing the universal Self.
The unitive mystical experience is the basis of religion. The Koran says, "To know oneself is to know Allah." The watchword of Judaism, the Shema, says, "Adonay is One." God creates a universe in order for the cosmos to become self-aware. Realization and alignment with our source activates and empowers our channels of invention and discovery.
Creativity is an evolving cosmic force, the spark that activates inspired action. Pyramids, ancient stone circles, and temples were all built in alignment with the heavens. Through modern technology and space programs, science is peering into the depths of the universe and mysteriously reconnecting us to our origins.
The new volume of CoSM Journal explores tradition, technology, science and spirituality, deepening our relationship to cosmic consciousness. Visionary artists, poets, futurists and philosophers are invited to join our CoSMologue in celebrating the creative force.
Join us on this voyage. Sponsor space on starship CoSM Journal #7; theme: CoSMic Creativity,
Email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to participate in the historic new volume of CoSM Journal.
The mission of Art is to make the Soul perceptible. Woven through the
40,000 year record of world art is the evolution of human conscious-ness.
The iconography of Art history shows the unfolding creative spirit. Great works
of sacred art in every age and culture have depicted wisdom masters, leaders, and
heros in order to represent the pinnacle of evolved consciousness at the time.
Contemplating those icons can catalyze an evolutionary shift of consciousness
in the viewer. In the Orthodox Christian tradition, this is known as theosis,
coming closer to God by contemplation of icons.
Art has a function and a mission to interpret the world, to reveal the condition
of the soul, to encourage our higher nature and awaken the spiritual faculties
within every individual.
"Art can be a form of worship and service. The incandescent core of an artist's soul,
a glowing God's eye, infinitely aware of the beauty of creation, is interlocked with a
network of souls, each one a facet of the Vision Crystal, part of one vast group soul.
The group soul of art beyond time comes into time by projecting symbols through
the artists imagination. God's radiant grace fills the heart and mind with these
gifts of Vision. The artist honors the vision gifts by weaving them into works
of art and sharing them with the community. The community uses them as
wings to soar to the same shining vistas and beyond. "
-- The Mission of Art by Alex Grey
http://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/cosm/viewOnlineEmail.jsp?emailId=nS0DQQw%2FQuE%3D
As each moment arises,
Appreciate it aesthetically,
Contemplate it symbolically,
Like the expression of the greatest
Most profound artist composer Dramatist.
Ultimately, all events and Artifacts are Emanations of
One Cosmic Creative Force.
Follow the light of love
Back to the core of your being
And bring divine radiance
Into all of your expressions.
We are here to celebrate
A new alliance of creativity and spirituality.
As artists of our own lives,
We use the medium of our consciousness.
To appreciate living In the unfinished
Masterpiece of the Great Creation.
Look at anything until it becomes a
Sacred Mirror and you see God there.
Our world, our Cosmos,
Our relationship to others and to the world,
Is a holy co-creation.
Each of us is a living breathing miracle
Of the evolutionary creativity of the cosmos.
Creative Evolution – Alex Grey
The Soul wants us to grow new organs of perception
To aid in our survival.
To grow a planetary ear and eye
A planetary body and mind
A cosmic ear and eye
A cosmic body and mind.
Conditions on earth are always shifting.
Adapt to new conditions or become extinct.
Adapt and survive is the creative evolutionary imperative of art.
The imagination is home of the Soul,
A roost for demons and angels.
An eternal being flowing through many lifetimes.
Listen to your angel to hear the sound of evolution.
See the vision of evolution.
Dance the dance.
Some angels evolve the mind through the eye,
Some through the ear.
Some through movement of the body.
The sounds, visions and motion of the angelosphere
Are heard, seen and felt in echoes of human creativity.
All the world's scriptures are just these.
Keep looking until you see.
Keep listening until you hear.
Keep moving until you embody the divine.
Our creations mirror our Souls,
The artist is a Soulbird
Singing an evolutionary song
Helping the flock change direction in mid-flight.
The Greys have been great supporters of NewRealities and I
greatly support their work and vision to create a sacred chapel
for their art. It is not only a beautiful idea it is an important part
of our cultural and spiritual evolulition. Support Cosm at
www.cosm.org - Alan Steinfeld NR founder.
Creativity is a spiritual path for many artists. Entheo-art, art that
points to the God within, is a sacred creative manifestation of
visionary culture. Entheo-artists paint the transcendental realms
from observation. The viewer, especially one with a dilated psyche,
comes into contact with the visionary source through contemplation
of the artwork, uniting with the transformative evolutionary creative
force working through the artist.
After of a life of studying the rise and fall of civilizations,
Arnold Toynbee posited that civilizations exist to give birth
to better religions. In Roland Griffith's Johns Hopkins study,
a majority of spiritually inclined subjects had a full-blown mystical
experience after a single dose of psilocybin. The mystical experience
is the foundation of all religion. Visions that glimpse divine
imagination catalyze the primary religious experience. Religion
is not just tradition and dogma. At the heart of religion is a life
lived in relation to the creative force of the Divine.
In the entheogenic state, our perception of self-existence is altered
and our life path and the way we relate to others and the world is
transformed. For those that have a mystical experience, an enhanced
moral compass may play a part in activating stewardship of the ailing
planet. Entheogens have catalyzed reconnection with and compassion
for all life. This awakened "ecology of being" translates from the
spiritual world to the physical, promoting creative, even visionary
ways of remediating our ailing environment and aesthetically
transmitting unitive consciousness. Many who have experienced
infinite Oneness claim to have seen themselves as a part of a
light web of souls. Co-recognizing our interrelatedness is at the
heart of visionary culture and is a harbinger of universal spirituality
and the dawning of planetary civilization.
Could God Be Yearning to Know Us?
The supreme Godhead is greater and beyond all consciousness
and knowing. All words and concepts fail to grasp the Great
Mystery of the transcendental cause of existence. Yet the
unknowable God must also yearn to be known, for why else
would the Infinite One reveal itself to us through the mystical
experience of communion with the visionary realms? This is
why the mystical experience is the most healing event in a
person's life. The unknowable reveals itself in theophanies
of the divine imagination.
Without a cosmos, God cannot be known and loved by creatures.
Every moment, God creates a staggering masterwork to astonish
and inspire us if we could but see it. So it is that a temple or any
work of sacred art first appears in the mind of the mystic as a
theophany to be shared, that God may be revealed, that the
unknown may be known. Artists labor to translate the vision
into tangible form as an offering to spirit and to uplift people.
Those who know not God carry the sadness of the unrevealed.
This is why the soul yearns to know God, why we seek to know
our deeper selves and why the Koran states, "To know oneself is
to know Allah." God is the hidden treasure longing to be known
and by that knowledge we are healed and brought into the light
of love and wisdom.
Children yearn to delight their parents. Given a supportive
environment, young people will sing a song, draw a picture, do
a dance -- look for ways to please Mom and Dad. All they offer can
never repay the gift of life and care given them by their parents.
They may be too young or inexperienced to contribute materially
to their parent's worldly needs. But their lively exuberance and
youthful innocence refreshes the spirit of a loving parent
nonetheless.
God is the ultimate Mother/Father Creator of the Cosmos.
God is already everything, the super-abundant source and
sustainer of all manifestation. Responding to God's infinite
gifts, a child of God, a mystically conscious person, naturally
wishes to make an offering, some token of thankfulness for
the blessing of existence which, with all of its woes and trials,
is still the greatest gift any one of us has been given. Just like
a good parent, God does not demand these tokens, and given
God's super-abundance, the Almighty certainly does not need
them. Yet we wish to thank God, even continuously if possible,
as a way of showing our appreciation for the divine mystery play
in which we have been offered a role.
The deepest veins of creativity in the human soul are the wellspring
of all devotional art and sacred space. A temple can be an enduring
manifestation of gratitude by people of kindred spirit who join
together to make an offering. Creating sacred space taps the
fount of loving awareness and thankfulness for God's holy gift
to all of us. Let us join together and make our offerings.
However great, our contribution will always be small tokens
for our creator, but with "right effort and intention," God may
delight in it and rain down on us blessings of love.
Here is a longer NewRealities discussion with David about his work: http://www.newrealities.com/NewSciences/podcasts/Anderson
 Art has always been an inspiration for physicists |
They would probably see all three dimensions from all perspectives at once. Actually it was said that Albert Einstein often asked the same question in a slightly different way. He always wondered what would it be like to view the world if you were riding on a beam of light.
Remember as we move faster and faster toward the speed of light, at the speed of light we would see everything compact into a single point and we could see everything at once. But again, with most great vision and achievements, “to do one must first imagine.” And just like science fiction art has also inspired science in many ways.
In fact, while Albert Einstein was asking this very question, a great artist with no knowledge of Einstein’s work was already laying the groundwork for his new painting style called “Cubism.” This artist was none other than Pablo Picasso.
Cubism: A Multi-Dimensional Being's View of our World
 Picasso's Les Demoiselles |
Before this, for example, the different surfaces of a cube would require an observer to walk around through space to view them in sequence, and this takes time. But in a cubist painting the need to walk around an object in space and time is removed and the collection of visual fragments would let the viewer experience the entire object from a single point in space and time. Perhaps the only other place in the universe from which an observer could actually see these ideas would be from astride a beam of light.
 Monet's Rouen Cathedral |
Monet, who painted the entrance to the Rouen Cathedral in forty separate works that in essence tried to capture a cathedral that existed in time as well as in three-dimensional space.
And Cezanne, who in a single painting, would move in time around the painting creating work with perspectives that were distorted.
Dali and Escher: Capturing Curved Spacetime and Manipulating Perspective
 Dali's Persistence of Memory |
M. C. Escher’s works use a clever manipulation of perspective. What appears to be correct to the eye, on closer examination, is wrong.
Escher takes what we think is our clear understanding of the shape and nature of three-dimensional space and makes us consider other kinds of geometry.
Constantin Brancusi: Integrating Time in Sculpture
 Constantin Brancusi's Never-ending Column |
These works show the great river of time turning the wheels of life in his table of silence which leads to a walkway through time to the gate of the kiss, a symbol of life, marriage and new beginnings.
And then on to the never-ending column, a remarkable work capturing the characteristics of time that both art lovers as well as physicists could appreciate.
Belbruno - Capturing the Creation of Our Universe in Art
 "Cosmic Fireflies" by Dr. Ed Belbruno |
His recent work is towards abstract expressionism that portrays a fascinating concept that he has recently been able to translate to the canvas: microwave radiation.
The radiation is left over from the big bang that created our universe about 14 billion years ago. The radiation has permeated the universe ever since and it is still lurking, passing through every being on earth. Ed Belbruno's capture space and time is truly a unique blend of art, mathematics and science.
Conclusion
is in artistic expressions to capture an image of the microwave radiation left over from the big-bang creation of our universe.
To do one must first imagine. There are many more examples where art and science fiction have intuited science fact.
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