Source and Inspiration

2 Febuary 2007 - This text was presented as a spoken lecture, as part of a series of lectures on 'artists and their inspiration' at the Walter Maas Huis in the Netherlands. 1100 words.

SUMMARY

Oomen presents five reflexions on the subject 'artists and their inspiration'. They each link to his 'inspiration' on this matter, the five stages of conciousness as mentioned by S.I. Kahn: intuition, inspiration, vision, revelation and enlightenment.  The first reflection starting with a single question, to the fifth and longest reflection, composed of five paragraphs, where he gives some insightful views on this elusive subject.


__________________________________________________________

MAIN TEXT

(1)
What makes one get up every morning, to devote given time doing what has to be done?


(2)
Sufi Inayat Kahn speaks about five stages in the development of consciousness.

The 1st is intuition.

The 2nd is inspiration.

The 3rd is vision.

The 4th is revelation.

The 5th is enlightenment.


(3)
Consider the generation of electricity through rotating magnetic fields in a metal object.
At first there is the assumption that a metal contains a potential high energy, which we can call an intuition.

Now the metal is subjected to two different combinations of magnets, pulling their force from four sides of the material, which will cause it to start a rotating movement. The material gets inspired.

The speed of the rotation will increase, creating high tensions in the material, up until it is energised to its full potential and the movement will slowly come to stop. The inspiration is fullgrown. A vision is developed, ready to be released.

If we wire the metal it will bring about a revelation of its energy, passed on and transported through any medium that will serve as a carrier of its electricity.

If we connect a lightbulb to this electricity, we are enlightened.


(4)
I would like to name the fact that I am sensually aware of my physical existence the most primitive intuition I have. What we call an animal instinct, is the first stage of our human intellect. It is being aware of existence by acting to our basic needs to stay alive: eating, drinking, resting, protecting oneself to any cause that would endanger its life.

To get the matter of my being inspired, alike magnets pulling force on a metal, the impulse of something existing outside of myself reflecting its energy on me, is essential for the energizing of potential power. A cat’s tremendous energy will be unleashed as soon as he becomes aware of the mouse in front of him.

Only by proceeding through time, through uncountable every day repetitions of these inspirations it will lead me to a vision, where the inspiration has materialised itself into a deeper state of being. Not dependent on the triggering of outside sources anymore, it becomes a self-referential power source.

The energy this power will generate, in whatever material or spiritual form, are revelations, like an appletree giving fruits after blossoming. Revealing means uncovering that what is already present, but not yet discovered. A revelation result from the fact that a vision provides you with a sight you did not have before.

As soon as these uncovered views of extremely high potential are succesfully balanced with all other existence, it might be enlightenment, not just for one, but for all.


(5)
I remember some time ago I started to make sketches for a new project. Not completely conscious of my patterns of thinking, just putting ideas on paper freely still without critisism, I noticed that instead of starting to compose music, intuitively I had started to draw spaces that I imagined for the work to sound in. Only after completing a couple of them, I discovered that designing the space triggered me to imagine the shape and character of the music, and provided me insight on the matter I tried to reflect on. At the emediate moment inspiration comes from the doing itself, and really only from the doing. Intuitively I start an action and by doing it inspiration starts to flow, enforcing me to search for a vision on the matter.

Somehow inspiration to think about something in the first place comes from a specific subject that grows upon me, which is the result of even deeper layers, the reasons why I want to make art, the reasons why I am alive. Considering this specific state of inspiration as present at any stage in a working process, life’s work, or life itself, always starting from an intuitive notion, possibly leading to creation, the attempt to accuratly locate inspiration in the body, mind or soul is doomed to fail. It is so highly dependent on a specific coming together of elements at a given moment in time how outside matter is consciously received. Therefore the spark that inspires is constantly changing, just like life around you, and your own individual course that determines how and what to receive. Like two pairs of north-south poles generating energy, the whole world reflects itself on you from all directions.

With time all inspiration accumulates, and a vision is revealed in a way so clear and simple you don’t understand how it couldn’t have been clear before. This is because first one needs to climb the rock to be able to view where he is afterwards. Although any creative process has a start and an end, the unknown in between is what the artist strives to uncover. Many view the artist as one who imagines everything at once and then concretizes his work. If you don’t know where you are going, one might read it as a lack of talent. If you know where you are going, but along the way you discover unforeseen paths, one might read it as a lack of determination. If the end is already in full sight when you start, one can better turn and take another road to find something new.

I believe nobody, and especially not artists, should limit themselves in considering their source of inspiration by narrowing it down to a describable subject, a neat package of material that you can put in the closet. You will find it changed form, colour and smell the moment you finished your description. To make the potential energies that my being contains come to full blossom, it requires the communication between me and daily life I live to be an open invitation, a chance to be honest with oneself at every possible moment.

Keeping interaction between myself with moments, space and other human beings precise and attentive, it will provide any subject to be worth getting inspired from. If we let a source prove itself by the actual practicing of it, we won’t fool ourselves getting stuck in a dead end, for any limited subject will eventually be exhausted as a trigger for energy, or at least has to be redefined and therefore change all the time to stay alive. We maintain our creative self  by inviting the other with open arms, time and time again.