dharma art

At this point and time in my life, I am often asking different questions. I am looking to live life differently than the previous decades. Less accomplishments and doing, more living and being. Chogyam Trunpa calls this the "the art of living" and he says this is where our art must begin. Like ancient masters who have practiced for years, we too must practice. Our practice is our intentional daily lives. The way we fold our clothes. How we make our bed. The attention with with we wash dishes or clean our kitchen. When our basic foundation is ordered we can move out into the world with less neurosis and confusion. {we hope!}

We can bring that way of being to our art. Until we are that we of being, we have no art. We have struggle and ego and aggression and confusion.

When I meditate, which I don't do nearly enough, I can feel the difference. It is a practice that grounds me. I see things and people and situations more clearly. I let go. I am calm, despite the crazy conversations that spontaneously take place inside my head. If I am not meditating, I can spiral down into a million stories. None of which serve me well. None of which most likely resemble any truth of actual reality. But for me, for that moment, it is real.
When I meditate, I have signaled to my Self that I matter. That I am prioritizing my life to take care of my well-being.
Those parts of me that work without my interruption appreciate it greatly. Those parts of me that struggle and strive and toss and turn welcome the permission to just "do nothing" and be, if only for ten minutes out of my day.

Sundays are sacred for me and this is where dharma art reveals itself- in the quiet, in the calming down, in the space where the divine can be heard and allowed to show its grace.
How to make everyday our sacred dharma art?




copyright 2009 Alisa Barry