On Being an Embodied Artist
About a Certain Ideal
I’ve always held the old Greek ideal of kalokagathia (the union of the mind and the body) in high esteem.
Nowadays I would call my ideal the “Embodied Artist.”
Who is he?
He’s an artist who takes in reality primarily through the body and the senses (and that includes the sixth sense and the inner vision!). Who understands that the visceral (and the intuitive!) is the best and primary way to respond to reality and to make decisions. Who lives in 3D rather than 2D.
And yet, in spite of my natural inclinations, the society’s conditioning is that intellectual activities and the mind are the highest expression of the human being.
My journey began as a thinker, stranded on the island of “intellectualism”. It’s only when I began exploring – through acting, martial arts practice, various forms of training – what it means to be “embodied” in your artistic and other life pursuits, and finally understanding that it’s the earthy, rough, concrete, physical works of art that speak to me, that I finally felt “home”. Something clicked.
This “home” are all the pursuits and art forms that involve the body and the senses, both as a creator and the audience – acting, film directing, dancing, music, theatre, martial arts, even fashion. And in the realm of the written word, it’s fiction and history (which talk about real, flesh-and-blood human beings, not abstract concepts) rather than, say, sociology.
Cultivating the “embodied artist” in ourselves has a lot to do with moving the “locus” of our being from the head into the belly. Over-activity of the mind brings our energy upwards and disconnects us from an important part of our existence. The “belly locus” creates a sense of balance and harmony and integrates all the aspects of our being. This is the only right place to make decisions from, as they will be made while taking into consideration all of ourselves.
Yes, I don’t mind intellectual stimulation – I enjoy it. Like everything, it has its place in life. But I’ve come to realization that even my activities of the mind are of an embodied kind. I have zero patience for abstract concepts, devoid of any anchoring in reality. Start talking to me about Platonic “Oneness” and my eyes will glaze over and I will begin thinking about something else.
Important note: being an “embodied” artist, and someone highly attuned to the physical is not the same as materialism. God, spirit guides, angels, supernatural reality, intuition – it’s all as concrete to me as the body. All these phenomena can actually be part of a lived experience that definitely takes place outside of the realm of the intellect. But they are real and tangible to me.
Our intellectual, sophisticated society, however, does not make it easy to cultivate this state. We are drowning in information, a lot of them irrelevant to our lives, often without filtering them. Society demands that we make decisions “rationally”, i.e. based on the mind, which – when you really think of it – is not really rational at all, as it only takes into account only 1/3 of ourselves. The increasing significance of digital spaces makes us live in 2D more than 3D.
And make no mistake – I am not immune to this. But since I’ve become aware what kind of state I do want to live in, I’ve decided to consciously cultivate it and live in it as much as I can.
And although the irony of using the least embodied medium of the written word is not lost on me, I want this blog to also be a journal about being – and cultivating – an Embodied Artist within.
If you enjoy my creative work and you’d like to express your appreciation, please consider buying me a virtual coffee at BuyCoffee.to – it’s a Polish equivalent of BuyMeACoffee, equally legit and easy to use. This would make it so much easier for me to keep going with my creative work. Thank you!
There’s more for you to explore!
Urban fantasy: If, by any chance, you like urban fantasy, come over to my other publication, HugoVerse, where you will be thrown in the world of adventure at the threshold of magical intrigue, history and international espionage.
Patreon for my YT channel: I’m also developing with my DOP friend a genre fiction web series YouTube channel called Mad Quest Studios. There will be a paranormal thriller, urban fantasy (yes, HugoVerse will get its film version there), martial arts series and action adventure series. If you’d like to follow what we’re doing and see if you like it, join us FOR FREE on Patreon.
Instagram: For a visual diary of my embodied artist’s journey and some lighter stuff, consider visiting my Instagram.