View my original post about Spiritual Creativity here!

Objective:

– Become familiar with ways in which spirituality influences artists
– Discuss the differences between spirituality and religion
– Examine spirituality as a generative force and a well spring for creativity

Reflection:

I found this assignment to be interesting and also surprising in some ways. Grey, the author of the assigned reading for the week, described an experience he had after ingesting DMT. I was surprised that this was included in our reading on spirituality, however, I found that I was more open to the idea after I finished reading. In the end, I realized that spirituality is not simply a belief in a higher power, but also state of being.I liked Grey’s quote when he stated, “Art is the transmission of states of being. Viewers appreciate art because they resonate with those states of being. No matter what state of being is expressed in a work of art, universal creative spirit is the prime mover behind all art media,” (Grey, 79). I hadn’t thought of spirit in this way before.  Rather than describing spirit as an existing presence beyond the human body, Grey described it as a state of mind. I appreciate this different take on spirit, because it taught me about a different point of view than the one I had.

I also appreciated discussing my own views on spirituality and religion. It was a good experience to be introspective and reflect on my own feelings about religion and spirituality. As stated in my original post, I do not consider myself to be especially religious because I do not follow the teachings of a certain religion, but I do believe in a higher power, or greater being, beyond just being human. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my own thoughts and to share them.

In addition, I appreciated being able to form new opinions. After completing this assignment, I formed the opinion that unless one truly understands the differing opinions of other people about religion and spirituality, we cannot be fully knowledgeable and solidify our own personal opinions. I like to think of myself as a very open person who accepts people of all different opinions, and I truly enjoy discussing people’s opinions and letting them know how I feel. I think that these discussions and the transmission of knowledge between people is very important in understanding not only each other, but ourselves as well. I really appreciated the assignment for this week because it allowed me time to get to know my personal beliefs even better.

I chose this Christmas photograph because it represent religion and spirituality to me. I chose this quote because it is in contrast to the religious-themed photo. I believe that understand both perspectives are important in relating to and accepting the many people and beliefs of the world.

Future:

In the future I hope to continue to be introspective and to allow my thoughts and opinions to grow as I learn more about spirituality and religions around the world. This will allow me to understand the various perspectives of people I meet, and will allow me to understand their creativity and art pieces better than I would have.

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