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"You [an actor] are not a creator...you are channeling...
_____ Morgan Freeman, Jr., Actor
For actor, Morgan Freeman, Jr., creativity is an unfolding, not a doing. Whether he is being the chauffer in "Driving Miss Daisy" or a convict in "The Shawshank Redemption," acting for him is not about figuring the character out, as much as being open to being the vehicle through which the character is expressed in the world.
As I observed his interview with Charlie Rose, I was moved by the way his eloquence regarding his own process of creativity illuminated the principles of the Kabbalah Four Worlds and Tree of Life.
When we open ourselves up to our true I AM nature, and allow It to guide us and give us our actions, our identity ceases its futile attempts at achieving success, approval, and security in the name of the Finite Me, and becomes the vehicle for the infinite I AM to express itself through us. The joke, of course, is that when this transmutation occurs, all that we need is given to us---not through struggle and effort, but as an act of Grace.
The World of Origination is the home of infinite I AM Awareness.
The World of Creation is the realm in which I AM's intention to express its BEing, and bring forth its expression into the physical world, takes place. This is the world from which St. Frances of Assisi generated his Life Principle, "O Lord, let me be an instrument of Your Peace."
This is the dimension from which I AM generates and organizes the multiplicity of its expressions through the vehicles called YOU. Your expression is unique to you: "I AM an actor," "I AM an artist," "I AM Love," "I AM a catalyst for transmutation," "I AM the Light and the Way," "I AM Wisdom," etc. This is the timeless invisible realm of creation that organizes and shapes the visible world of space and time. Our primary Field of Being in this realm, I call our Life Principle. All thinking, feelings and actions are shaped and guided by the Life Principle.
Those of you who have participated in Core Wisdom know that your authentic Life Principle cannot be figured out through intellect or logic. The Core Wisdom process allows you to open your heart and intuition to your inner wisdom, and be in an open receptive state. Then, I AM's expression as YOU reveals Itself to you as luminous unfolding.
This week, I'm going to focus on the Third World of Creation: Formation. This is the dimension in which our created intentions begin to take form. This is the world that Morgan Freeman speaks from in his comments about the creative process of an actor. It applies to every creative process.
There are six Sefiroth or principles of the Tree of Life expressed in the World of Formation. They are 6 steps in the fulfillment of Intention into reality. I invite you to map them on to your own experience as we review them.
1. GRACE: This is the first creative principle of Formation. When we are open to receive, then we are open to the gift of Grace.
The Hebrew word for this Sefira is "Chesed," which literally means, "loving-kindness." It is the full unconditional giving of Spirit.
Grace may appear as possibilities, ideas, inspirations, realizations, directions, a "still, small voice," co-incidental happenings or synchronicities. It is the home of intuition, of a knowing that is unlimited by time or space. When we are present to Grace, we are also present within ourselves to feelings of certainty, awe, wonder, and gratitude. We have a sense of being given a gift, a guidance that we can trust.
A good, practical example of a gift of Grace was the piece of marble that Michelangelo was able to buy as a young man, from which he carved his great sculpture of "David." At that time, Michelangelo would not have been able to afford such a piece of marble, but the piece had been worked on already by another sculptor and then abandoned, and all others who saw the piece of marble, declared it ruined and unusable. This marble that Michelangelo got "wholesale" opened the path for him to fulfill his destiny. Only he saw its possibility, and trusted his inner vision.
2. DISCERNMENT: this is the principle that allows us to be aware of the gifts of Grace that we receive. It is that Sefiroth that allows Grace to be known. Discernment is organized by the Sefiroth directly above it in the Tree of Life, BEING, our Life Principle. This shapes what we can perceive and discern. I have met people whose default Life Principle was something like, "it will never turn out," who had great gifts of Grace presented to them, but had no capacity to discern them. The Infinite I AM does not hold back its gifts. It is only we who are deaf and blind to their presence, and then wail about the absence of that which is always there, waiting for us to awaken.
Using again our example of Michelangelo, every other artist perceived only a ruined piece of marble. When Michelangelo looked at that stone that would eventually become his first acknowledged masterpiece, he is reported to have said, "In that marble, is my David." He discerned the finished piece within the rough-hewn marble. Then he "merely" had to carve away everything that was not David!
Discernment is not a function the agreement of others. It is a function of an inner knowing.
3. RESONANCE: When all aspects of our being --physical, emotional, mental and spiritual--are in resonance, there is the experience of harmony, balance and flow. There is no sense of fragmentation or conflict. There is a sense of wholeness, within and without. When we are connected to our I AM nature, and are open to receive, the gifts of grace that we discern appear as being in perfect harmony and balance. In sports, they call it a sense of being "in the zone." There is a heightened sense of awareness in all the senses, and the experience of being fully present to life. Mental chatter quiets down, and we are guided by the infinite Silence.
Resonance is the center of the Tree of Life, its very Heart. In yoga, it is analogous to the Heart Chakra. When we are in resonance, we are attuned not only to the infinite I AM, but also to the world around us. All judgments and evaluations drop away, and we are present with brilliant clarity to what IS. When our heart is open and we are resonating with the world, what is present is Compassion, Unconditional Love --agape. We fully delight in the love and joy of others. We have a deep understanding and empathy for those stuck in a worldview of good/bad, right/wrong, control/be controlled, and shackled to an emotional palette that is limited to fear, anger, resentment and despair. Beyond appearances, we are present to the I AM that resides in each and every human being.
A great actor, to fully embody a character, has to be able to fully step into that characters world, to view the world from that place. That is Compassion. When we are able to listen, see, and feel the world of another within ourselves, then profound intimacy and understanding arises. Resonance allows us the gift of experiencing the world deeply beyond our own individual perspective.
Resonance is what allows us to know at the intuitive level what path to take, what color to use, what plan to approve, what song to sing in that next moment.
4. PASSIONATE COMMITMENT: This is the creative principle from which imagination springs forth. It is the wellspring of solutions, plans, designs and structures that resonate with the fulfillment of our intention. It is the fuel that allows for our creations to be made manifest. Without passion, no idea or possibility will be fulfilled. This is the inner generated world of feelings and emotions that allow us to say, "YES!" and keep going, even when there is no outer evidence of the senses to back us up. This is the focused passion of our Intention, which, like a laser beam, cuts through the barriers that others succumb to. It is the passion for fulfilling what we envision, so that we are not stopped by naysayers, detours, or by the other stops and breakdowns that may occur in the process of bringing our vision to fruition.
5. ARTICULATION: This is the principle that gives form to our imaginings in the service of our intention. This is where the notes and melody take form for the composer, the images for the artist, the blueprint and design for the architect, the right cadence and walk for the actor, the deal for the entrepreneur, the equation for the mathematician, the dance for the choreographer, the insightful question for the therapist, the steps of wellness for the healer.
The Hebrew word for this Sefiroth is "Hod." It literally means "Glory" or "Praise." When we are able to give form to our vision, it reaches back and illuminates the infinite Light of Creation that is the Source of all form.
Recall a time you heard a piece of music that moved you, that opened your heart in awe and wonder. It may have been a mass by Bach, or a lone crystalline voice singing, "Amazing Grace," a Capella. Perhaps the music for you was of sight and not sounds. Standing on a beach at sunset. Standing before one of Monet's water Lilly paintings. Or the unforgettable moment of your child's birth, when, in that instant, you knew what the miracle of life was all about at a level beyond words.
When we articulate our vision, when we give substance to our creative intention, and are moved and awed by what shines forth, we are the vehicles for praising the magnificence of the infinite Creator. We are the human vehicles for appreciating and celebrating its glory.
6. IDENTITY: Identity is the Sefiroth, the principle, through which all the others above express themselves. It is the Foundation for all the principles of Formation. When we know that we are not our identity, then our identity becomes a powerful vehicle for our I AM expression in the world. Then our persona, our individual way of being, our memories, ways of moving, sexuality, tone of voice, body motions and facial expressions, are all in the service of the Creative Spirit, expressing itself fully as YOU.
Recall a time that you were in that flow, and you will realize that in that moment, all self-consciousness dissolved. You, as a self-concern, were not present. Yet, you were fully present as Awareness itself --- your body, mind and heart all in harmony, fully expressing your Self with joy, love, and freedom.
From Formation, the infinite energy we are unfolds into the World of Manifestation, the world of physical form.
This is your true nature. You are I AM expressing itself in the world. You are LOVE itself, open to receive and to give.
Listen to the I AM within and let it guide you home. As Kristin Zambucka puts it so beautifully in her book, "Ano' Ano The Seed:"
"It is then that you will hear a voice within yourself. 541-488-7687 |
