MINDFULNESS BY ART

“Dance ek ART hai ART!”

Heard that somewhere? Obviously, you did, when Deepika Padukone said this while making all her team members to understand the dedication required to learn dance (an art). (Film – Happy new year)

So today, we are going to talk about this very word ART which is the most insufficiently defined term till date. The reason I’m saying this is because the definition of art and whether it can be or should be defined, remains controversial even at this point in time and hence defining art has remained a notoriously difficult task since ancient times. Nevertheless, for our convenience let me put before you my exclusive understanding of art. Art, according to me, is something which is produced implicitly to simply make you FEEL. It has a certain degree of aesthetic attached to it and is created to conduct a release of palpable emotions. It is that beautiful medium through which you can have a conversation with just emotions.

I am sure, by this time, names of various art-forms might have popped up in your mind and definitely, I don’t want to limit it by naming them. But certainly, I want to draw your attention towards that one emotion which all of the art forms have in common, no matter whether it is in a literary, visual or aural form. Did you guess it?

Ecstasy! Yes … absolutely correct. Making an art or even observing it gives us a great sense of joy. This overwhelming feeling of great happiness is far better than the high, which is illegally sold in the markets. It provides us with same type of experience as a person can have while they meditate and that is the very reason behind many artists considering art as a form of active meditation.

Saya Bahman, a visual artist says, “Adding small gold flakes next to each other while I am painting is a meditative process”.

Gina Telcocci, a contemporary sculpture artist says, “I don’t need no other meditation—making art is meditation”.

Just like meditation, art helps us to remain in the present. It makes us feel the emotion PRESENT. Let us understand this with an example:

Consider yourself as an artist who is in the process of painting a portrait. You are filled with some emotions from the past and some thoughts for the future. But just as you pick up the brush and start moving it on that canvas, you are more into those lovely colors that are present before you. You will be more engaged with how to create an aesthetic piece from those colors. Your attention will be on the lines and curves made by that brush, while you move it all over the canvas. You might experience an eyegasm as you keep your sight fixed at those strokes of blended colors. You escape that commercially faked reality and enjoy the emotionally stable state of mind.

How’s that? Throughout the journey of painting that canvas you are neither thinking of the past nor of the future. Amazing! Right? The same thing goes with all the other forms of art.

ART IS AN EVERYDAY THING

Art as meditation is not a new concept. It has been in human culture for time immemorial. Confused? Relax! I am here to provide you with some examples, which shall certainly remove this question mark on your mind. The following are some everyday instances on which we never turned our lines of thinking.

• Every time we are about to pray, it is obvious for us to either decorate the place (around that figure which we believe in) with some beautiful flowers or something which soothes our senses. It may include the diyas, candles, incense sticks, etc. At big places like temples or some peace centers, the decoration is on a large scale, the backgrounds are mostly covered with graciously folded long colorful drapes. At big monasteries, the monks themselves execute this task as they consider it as one way of active meditation. 

• Indian household decoration for festivals is never considered to be done unless there is a neat and pretty rangoli in front of the doors. A traditional Indian art form to remain with oneself (meditative state) usually drawn after completion of daily chores. 

• Try visiting some famous monasteries or temples, you will find there people spending their time in front of the idols or any open space, arranging hundreds and thousands of something tiny (which may be flowers or candles or colorful pebbles, etc.) to form a giant design. I had one such experience at Boudh Gaya (Bihar). It fills you with peace and energy at the same time.

• Ever imagined why do we pray in some musical rhythm every time? One of the reasons probably maybe because it keeps us immersed at the moment. Now, remember the morning times of school assembly. That sound of three thousand students in my school, praying and singing the national anthem together, still echoes in my mind. That is the aural art, which kept us in a mindful state for those few minutes of the morning. The same is the reason behind kirtans sung at most of the Indian religious places.

• The trending Mandala art is also said to a form of meditative art. Along with it, there has been an evolution of various new practices like art journaling, doodling, etc. to inculcate art as an alternative to meditation. 

• Other fun activities like juggling, tutting, solving Sudoku or puzzles (mostly used in Jain religious Satsangs as a tool to inculcate a meditative state) or even that "Staring" game, everything is an art which keeps you in the moment.

These were just a few which you can think of. There are many such.

Now, as our ritual goes, let us have a look at what worldwide researchers have to say on this.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THIS

Art is such a colorful path to well-being. It is said to be a natural way to practice mindfulness where you no longer force yourself to focus on something (like breath). The process of creating art itself keeps you concentrated. Remember those times when you are having a coffee date with your beloved ones, listening to your favorite tunes during your journey, or just sitting on the beach, you got so immersed that you suddenly realized two hours had gone by without you realizing? This experience is something researchers refer to as flow, and it turns out it’s really important for your mental and emotional health. It also turns out that it’s particularly common during art-making.

Complex brain imaging scans can show us just how art changes the physiology of our brains almost similar to meditation. Contemplation, observing, and taking in beauty, all stimulate pleasure centers within the brain by increasing blood flow by up to 10% in the medial orbitofrontal cortex. This can lead to an elevated state of consciousness, well-being, and better emotional and financial health.

As I mentioned previously, not only art-making but observing arts also gives us the same experience. This is because of the mirror neurons present inside us. Mirror neurons are neurons that fire both ways when a person acts and when the person observes the same action performed by another. This brings us back to a very basic concept in human evolution which involves learning through observation. When you observe a profound piece of art you are potentially firing the same neurons as the artist did when they created it thus making new neural pathways and stimulating a state of inspiration. This sense of being drawn into art is called embodied cognition.

Also, studies show that both creating and observing art can reduce cortisol, the stress-hormone. Doing something you love also releases endorphins – the feel-good chemicals that combat stress and reduce pain.

Though art cannot be said to fully replace meditation practice, still it comes with its own benefits. It’s kind of doing a subtle meditation with an added bonus of being able to share some of the images that come with this process.

As rightly said by Thomas Merton, just like meditation, 

“Art enables us to finds ourselves and loose ourselves at the same time”.

Penning down my thoughts seems to work like meditation for me what works for you? Let me know in the comment section below. 

Author                            Shruti Ramteke
Co-author and editor   Piyush Janbandhu 

If you like the Blog and find it informative do follow us on Instagram - @wonder_wis for each new update
We promise you two blogs per week which won’t take more than 5 minutes of your day.
Please comment below your thought and opinions on the topic.
Every feedback is valuable to us, for its the only way to grow we believe. You can also mail us your takes and suggestions at wonderwisdom7@gmail.com

Do follow our Blog and Share it with your friend and family, for our ultimate aim is to reach out to an array of new and random folks.