Art & Spirituality
How Does Art Contribute to Spirituality?
To Sober and Quiet the Mind
Art – music, dance, theater, poetry & visual art – is a potent tool pointing us to and reinforcing our recognition of our own inner joy.
A work of art (or improvisation) that is performed or exhibited as a demonstration of excellence – such as an acknowledged masterpiece of a culture – has great power to move, to communicate profound ideas, to inspire. Many renowned works of art are works of great spirituality.
A work of art may also be designed specifically to create a space for transformation. Twentieth-century experimentalist composer John Cage wrote about his frustrations in attempting to communicate emotions through his music. Evidently, his attempts often backfired, resulting in the opposite response from the audience than he intended.
Cage described his solution in this way:
I was determined to give up composition unless I could find a better reason for doing it than communication. I found this answer from Gita Sarabhai, an Indian singer and tabla player: The purpose of music is to sober and quiet the mind, thus making it susceptible to divine influences (emphasis added).
breathe · intone · inspire
Similar to Mr. Cage’s quest to “sober and quiet” the mind, I have sought to evoke positive energetic responses from audiences through music and poetry recitation. By energetic responses, I mean creating a context to set aside the presentation of narrative and lyrical content, as well as the emotional flights that stories and lyrics typically inspire, in favor of instilling a sense of calm, centeredness, and openness.
In 2019, I organized a vocal ensemble called voix (nouvelle) that gave two performances in Santa Cruz of breathe · intone · inspire, a sort of vocal “flow sequence.”1 Drawing on a rich history of chant, yogic practices, and sound healing techniques, along with a sampling of Western classical music references, the program seemed a different sort of offering from what audiences normally experience at concerts and stage productions.
Afterwards, I received a number of testimonies from members of the audience, who reported experiences such as,
“Timothy Duncan and the dedicated performers of the breathe · intone · inspire created something profound. I arrived for the performance after a stressful day, not knowing what to expect. Within minutes of receiving the ancient sounds, a harmonic resonance vibrated throughout my body and there appeared to be no separation between audience and performance. At the same time I was alert and stayed present throughout the performance. It stays with me.”
and,
“The sounds and rhythms were often unexpected that came from the mouths and bodies of the singers. I was transported and moved by the sounds as they were so unique and from other dimensions.”
Read more testimony from audience and participants.
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Footnotes
The Wikipedia article on the Sun Salutation describes this popular hatha yoga practice routine as “a practice in yoga as exercise incorporating a flow sequence of some twelve gracefully linked asanas.” breathe · intone · inspire was organized as a linked sequence of poetic and musical movements forming a “a vocal concert of healing, universal spirituality, and global transformation.”↩︎