tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post2254144253037573227..comments2016-10-25T17:01:56.456-07:00Comments on leigh & harriet : Atheism for Artists: Practical GainsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-29324451313225282392013-07-27T22:45:42.303-07:002013-07-27T22:45:42.303-07:00That link is great! I especially enjoyed the modi...That link is great! I especially enjoyed the modified #4: "Our lives are a manifestation of creative energy; it benefits us to align our own efforts with that energy for as long as we are able." It's just such good common sense. Also, #9: "It is safe to open ourselves up to creativity, insofar as anything in life is truly ‘safe.’" If I recall correctly, I also had to revise the ten core principles, and I think that was one of the sticking points for me.<br /><br />I think it's interesting that Phoenix entirely rejects the externalization of creativity. I actually know a few atheists who agree with me that the *metaphor* of a muse or something that comes from outside you sometimes feels the most accurate. But the most useful thing I found when working with The Artist's Way was to make it mine. So any- and everything that felt inauthentic, I revised. I refuse to chant something over and over that feels false to me, and certainly doing so wouldn't help anyone be more authentic to themselves (something that feels like an obvious prerequisite to creative work). So yes, I'm a big fan of making things work for oneself.<br /><br />The only hard thing about The Artist's Way, in my opinion, is that to really get something out of it you have to work your ass off and spend a lot of time on it. It's serious personal work. In all seriousness, I was mostly able to do it because I'd recently had my life upended by a break-up, and an accident that left me unable to walk for two months. So I had a lot of free time, and decided to put it to good use. Not that I recommend getting in any accidents to give yourself the free time. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-79515423143382038722013-07-10T13:16:34.088-07:002013-07-10T13:16:34.088-07:00Interesting post. I've recently been handed th...Interesting post. I've recently been handed the Artist's Way, and I'm willing to give it a go. I'm not at all sure of what or where I'm going with my writing, acting, singing and other creative processes these days; If I'm going anywhere at all... so, even doing the morning pages has been great for me. I've had a morning writing discipline in the past, and a love it. The problem is that I just don't believe in god. Every once in a while she makes the book atheist-friendly by quoting something smart from Carl Jung or offering a substitute for god like acknowledging yourself as a part of the Universe. But, it's a hard time. This person here... -> http://taephoenix.com/2012/12/27/a-skeptics-guide-to-the-artists-way-core-principles/ <- ...replaced the ten commandments, oops, I mean core principles with her own ideas.<br /><br />Anyways, not sure where I'm going with all this, except to get some support as to whether or not I can even do it, and how I can avoid throwing out the baby with the bathwater.Thelonioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03362905219663649906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-47895490237856322142013-03-29T23:02:35.562-07:002013-03-29T23:02:35.562-07:00Thanks, Christine. I often feel almost frightened...Thanks, Christine. I often feel almost frightened of how good I am at coming up with rationalizations. And frequently not even for things that I will like, or will make me happy in the short run, but just actions and behaviors that allow me to keep re-enacting the same, comfortable patterns I've grown accustomed to.<br /><br />Taking responsibility and empowerment seem so important to me lately, and it worries me that acting as if there were no god/God/gods makes me do that. I find myself far too eager to shirk responsibility when I pray.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-42288903092418776272013-03-22T10:56:28.601-07:002013-03-22T10:56:28.601-07:00Hi Terra Leigh, I just discovered your blog throug...Hi Terra Leigh, I just discovered your blog through facebook and clicked on this post because I was interested in how you would link atheism and art. I've gone through my own spiritual searching and have reached similar conclusions. I completely agree with you that we don't choose what we believe for having reasoned it out. We change our beliefs, if we change them, primarily because it feels right. I'm not saying that I think there's no objective truth, just that we human beings are very, very good at coming up with rationalizations.<br /><br />For me, my actions matter more if there is no god to make things happen. It's up to me to make things happen. I've found that sense of responsibility empowering. Though I don't consider myself an artist, I think the same process of taking a beating, then getting back up and having another go at it, applies no matter what you're trying to accomplish. You have to fight back the internal and external critics. But I'll grant you, creative work is especially hard in that way.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769359971820055113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-11042557908512888912013-02-11T10:06:14.883-08:002013-02-11T10:06:14.883-08:00Art is so stinking hard!! Sometimes I feel like I...Art is so stinking hard!! Sometimes I feel like I must be making a mistake, uselessly complicating things, because when the moment of inspiration hits, it's practically effortless. But then you're left with this discombobulated half-formed monster of a piece, and you have to finish it. There is nothing easy about finishing it.<br /><br />I will say that I seem to be getting a handle on my own process as a writer, and that helps a lot. I feel like I can trust myself more now than I did in my twenties. But I had to go through more years than I care to think of agony just to figure out what that process is. And of course, I'm sure it will change in the future. Nothing alive ever stops being alive, unless it's dead.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05848788698504374414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5563262991864041873.post-23716901745360943912013-02-04T21:19:50.049-08:002013-02-04T21:19:50.049-08:00Imagine there's no heaven...
You've hit u...Imagine there's no heaven...<br /><br />You've hit upon some big truths here, sister. <br /><br />Art is hard.<br />Everyone is creative.<br />Never wait.<br /><br />This seems like simple advice, but like much simple advice, we have a lot to cut through before we can get to it, if we remember it at all. And something always seems to get in the way of it, so it's not so simple after all.<br /><br />We wait, because art is hard. We don't believe everyone is creative, or at least that we are not included in "everyone," because art is SO hard. Unless it's not, on certain blessed days. And then we are tempted to wait for one of those days again.<br /><br />In the mean time, life is so full of distractions, even when there are no children around, even when God doesn't become an excuse. It pays to write these simple notes to ourselves, just so we don't lose the simple advice that cuts straight through to the best kind of life.<br />John Opsand Sutherlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12190181386169492055noreply@blogger.com