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AWARENESS and INTUITIVE THINKING
Awareness and Intuitive Thinking are inextricably linked together. In fact, Intuitive Thinking has been experienced by many artists. However, it has probably been experienced in a state of unawareness. Normally we pay little or no attention to what is going on in our minds, and focus only on what we are trying to do or achieve on our canvas (focus is on the external). However, becoming aware of the goings-on in your mind (focus on the internal) could be very important to your art, as you may discover when you read on.
Artists must be dreamers as well as realists, and skilled painters, too. As artists, we live with one leg in the physical world and with the other one in the sipritual world. Sometimes, we may become acutely aware of that, and wonder what it means or what is happening.
Our consciousness, of course, is the active awareness of our physical existence - physical reality. The conscious mind is the arena in which our Intellect operates - the well-known Left Brain activities such as reasoning, logical and analytical thinking where we deal with physical reality. This is a function of our Intellect - an ACTIVE AWARENESS - our mental wheels are turning very rapidly and with great intensity. We reach out with all our physical senses and keep them on the alert, because it is important to our physical survival.
ACTIVE AWARENESS is more like BROADCASTING over the airwaves - its focus is on dealing with the EXTERNAL environment.
But, we are blessed with yet another kind of awareness. And this is a PASSIVE AWARENESS of things that come to us by means of our Intuition.
PASSIVE AWARENESS is more like RECEIVING information from the airwaves. Its focus is on sensing our INNER environment.
Our passive awareness (Intuition) lies just below the surface of our consciousness. This kind of awareness is relatively well developed in artists and artistic people with a definite creative inclination - the so-called Right Brained people. The individual's degree of Intuitive awareness is directly in proportion to his or her degree of sensitivity to things unseen (the intangible or spirutual realm).
When we are "in the zone", absorbed in the creation of art, we immerse ourselves in Intuitive Thinking, even though we may not realize it or understand what is happening. When we are "in the zone", time seems to stand still and it seems we can do no wrong. The painting seems to paint itself! This happens when we are living IN the moment FOR the moment, acting on the impetus provided by our Right Brain/Intuition. Intuitive Thinking provides us with the KNOWLEDGE of what is Right (or not right) with what we have done, or are contemplating doing, with our art or life).
CREATIVITY AND THINKING
Now, let's explore creativity and the TWO KINDS OF THINKING we engage in: Intuitive Thinking and Intellectual thinking.
Whether we realize it or not, when we think we naturally engage both the Right Brain and Left Brain. That's how our thinking process works automatically, all by itself. We really pay no attention to the thoughts themselves, and we simply come to a conclusion or make a decision, and that's it. Up to now, we have had no clue that there might a another, better, more perfect way of thinking!
When we have drawn a conclusion or made a decision, we are satisfied that we have done the most important thing: drawn the conclusion or made the decision, which will allow us to take action based upon that conclusion or decision. And all without awareness of what really went on in our heads! Scary!
When we do stop to consider how we arrived at that conclusion or decision, we just remember or replay all the reasons, ramifications, whys and wherefores we gave ourselves that we felt justified that conclusion or decision. But we are never really quite sure that we made the right decision, are we? Be honest now - isn't that how it goes?
When this type of mental procedure plays out when we are painting, we feel the frustration in our decision-making process. And the doubts! The agonizing DOUBTS! Are we about to do the right thing for the painting, or not? How can we be sure? So, maybe that is when we resort to just "trying things out" on the canvas. And we all know where this folly leads: straight into an artistic morass!
Repeating this process over and over again does not improve matters - it gets us nowhere. It is like banging our artistic heads against the wall! What we don't understand is that it is NOT that we don't know how to paint (in the physical sense), but that the problem is in our (otherwise artistic) heads! The problem is in HOW we think. HOW we think.
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HOW WE USE BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN
All this trouble, confusion, frustration and uncertainty in painting happens because of ONE thing only: It happens because our Intuition and Intellect are being misused. Used in an UNNATURAL way. Used contrary to the way they were designed to be used. (And, by the way, this creates the friction/conflict that is the root cause of unhappiness and stress in life and art.)
It is the unnatural relationship between our Intuition and Intellect that causes the CONFLICT between our Right Brain and Left Brain. We are ignorant of this because we lack awareness and understanding of the qualities of these two magnificent powers with which we have been endowed. We have been ignorant all our lives of the magic that lies hidden within us, waithing to be discovered and brought out into the light.
It IS possible to become aware of - even familiar with - our two kinds of thinking, and actually CHANGE their discordant, DISFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP into a wonderfully HARMONIOUS, free-flowing and CREATIVE experience! We can become aware of, and understand, which part of our brain contributes what to the creative process. And which part of our brain actually BLOCKS the creative process.
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HOW DO WE DO THAT? In thinking about a painting, our Right Brain BRINGS TO LIGHT the Intuitive INSIGHT of what looks right or wrong about our painting. This is something our Left Brain/Intellect is absolutely incapable of doing - it can only pass JUDGMENT in a very judgmental, PERSONAL way, and tell you things like: "You're never going to be a great artist" or "You'll never learn to paint". This is not true, of course! But the point is, that our INTELLECT cannot know what is right or wrong - about ANYTHING. It can only be opinionated and judgmental and even emotional about our art. Our Intellect CANNOT discern True from False or Right from Wrong!
On the other hand, our Intuition simply PRESENTS to us the truth/reality about the painting. And we just KNOW in a WORDLESS, PASSIVE way what is right or wrong, what our painting NEEDS. This passive knowing is something we cannot make happen by force of will, by sheer effort, or by some trick or cleverness (all part of the Left Brain territory). Intuitive insight simply comes to us when we have a need to know - of its own accord - without any effort on our part. It couldn't be easier!
Then why is it so hard to know what to do when we're painting? I will say it again: It is because our Intuition and Intellect are being MISUSED, i.e. contrary to the way they were designed to be used - and not acccording to their special abilities.
Thankfully, we can learn to recognize how our domineering, dictatorial Left Brain/Intellect overpowers our gentle Right Brain/Intuition. We can do this because each part of our brain has its own distinct characteristic qualities allowing us to easily distinguish between them.
Once we can distinguish between Right Brain/Intuitive and Left Brain/Intellectual thoughts, we can permit our Intuitive idea or insight to come to its rightful place in the forefront, and then our Left Brain/Intellect can take that Intuitive idea or insight - and together with its impressive store of acquired knowledge and information - it can apply its learned skills and know-how to the painting - to materialize the idea on the canvas, by actually OBEYING (instead of the usual overriding!) Intuitive knowledge as to what is right for the painting. This is a CONSCIOUS CHOICE we can make, while objectively observing our thoughts as we are painting!
We can EXPERIENCE PERFECT CREATIVE FREEDOM and discover our PERSONAL VISION of ART by LIBERATING our RIGHT BRAIN/INTUIION from the SHACKLES and TYRANNICAL CONTROL of our INTELLECT.
On the next page I will reveal THE SECRET. Be aware though, that in order to understand what Intuitive Thinking is all about, you cannot just skip everything and only read The Secret. It is not something where you canjust "scan" the page and get the gist of it. (You've probably found that out by now.) Our life-long conditioning and programming is not quickly overcome. It is a deep subject and a sensitive subject that touches us where we live, and it takes much contemplation and pondering, and HONESTY (to ourselves about ourselves), to arrive at objectivity in our thinking.
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After you have cogitated on all these thoughts about thinking, you may want to discuss it with me. If you do, please contact me by clicking the link shown below - I'd like to hear from you!
Links to some other websites that have something to do with me or my art are shown here. Please visit them, if you will.
Thanks for sticking with Intuitive Thinking!
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Maria Smith Art
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