Big questions occupy our religious musings: ‘what extent does hard work help us find salvation or enlightenment? Is that impossible, out of our hands, or do our efforts make a difference?’ In Japanese Zen, this debate is between Jiriki and Tariki, or Self-power and Other-power. Jiriki Vs Tariki Jiriki (自力, one’s own strength) is the […]
Authenticity, Impostor Syndrome and Creative expression
γνῶθι σεαυτόν (Know thyself) Oracle a Delphi Feeling like a fake can be a real issue with creative expression and finding success. I get this feeling of fakeness when the art seems to come too quickly. I often think it should be more involved more complicated, more difficult. The attitude art has to be a […]
Finding your art style through elimination
Finding our artistic style is part of the process of becoming an artist. We struggle to define it even as we paint and draw our way towards it. Part of the journey is asking ourselves what art we like and dislike, what influences inspire us. We struggle to answer what our style is because it’s […]
Personal Development and The ‘Improvement’ myth
‘Self-improvement is masturbation. Now self-destruction…’ Tyler Durden Fight Club. In facing my anxiety and depressed moods, I’ve read my fair share of self-help books. But after many years, I became somewhat disillusioned with the genre. My quest for personal development leads me to read, listen and watch so much advice. But a part of me […]
Successful creativity requires a system
The problem with my art right now is it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere; creativity is challenging. I thought it because of the low level of my commitment, which is partly true. I’m unclear about my vision, goals or how to get there—another task to work on. But also I don’t seem to have […]
Zen Buddhism: philosophy of Bewilderment
In my quest to understand Zen I thought like many people that there was a truth you had to understand or an answer to grasp. I learned just how wrong I was and in doing so learned what Zen and Buddhism offers us. Zen does it’s thing by undermining peoples expectations, destroying their sense of […]