“…that we wholly participate.”
August 22, 2008
Post by Kent Wing
IN JUNE OF 2008, while writing the final chapters of his book, Talking to Tesla, An Artist’s Dream Journal, Alex was invited to give a series of informal readings allowing friends and curious readers the opportunity to hear excerpts, ask questions and give responses to the unfinished manuscript. I’m closely associated with the book project and have been delighted by what I hear each time I attend one of these readings. The comments are widely diverse (and sometimes whacky) but deeply honest and often painfully personal.
One night an attractive woman nearing what looked to be in her mid forties stood up and said, “For the past twenty five years I’ve been involved in the day-to-day work of attending to the needs of children and running a household with my husband. It’s good work and I love it, but tonight, from the things you read, I realized there are things in my life I’ve put away and left unattended. It’s as though a private door has opened that has been closed for a long time and reawakened memories, dreams and creative interests that are still important to me.”
I’ve heard something like this on several occasions at different readings. Each time I’m left with a sense of awe at the mystery of what is commonly experienced through the unseen in our private lives—if we allow for it. The renowned, ancient Egyptian scholar, R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz observed, “Esotersim can neither be written nor spoken, and hence cannot be betrayed. One must be prepared to grasp it, to see it, to hear it. This preparation is not a knowing but a being able, and can be acquired only through the effort of the individual himself, by the struggle against all obstacles…” .1
For me this idea of “being able” is expressed in Alex’s own words when he said in a recent interview, “What is exacted from us… is that we wholly participate”.
[1] R.A. Schaller de Lubicz, Esoterism And Symbol, Inner Traditions International, p3
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Hi Kent! I loved reading this today. Just was contacted by Alex. All this time, being away, I have been a sculptor for the Summer Solstice Parade here in Santa Barbara, for the past 19 years. I have been building gigantic structures/forms, taken from sketches, grabbed from fleeting glimpses and visions, making them real. Making them into concrete 3-D forms, dressing up participants, painting their faces and sending them off! Parading down a street where a community interacts, screams and waves, running along side, the looks on faces, the energy….Then its all torn apart, ripped up and thrown away. It took a few years to get used to the aspect “temporary art” being the nature of the event, throwing away my art! I call it Celebrational Art. It really is about “wholly participating” and engaging the mind/body/spirit, sharing the joy, feeling the energy, watching the expressions and then whhoosh….it’s gone. “Like a magic trick” But aaahhh, the essence, the lingering! Thank you, Kent.
Thank you Diane, it was so good to hear from you. Being allowed to share this work with Alex has been an incredible experience for me and has deeply effected my own painting as well as my view of life.
Enjoy the book and be sure to stay in touch.