Prayer and meditation are both an effective means of navigating worry and negativity in the face of personal challenges and trials on a spiritual level, however we may afterwards still find our minds immersed in problem-solving, in a constant fight against our fears, and an imagined, inevitable doom. As a result, as artists, we can become creatively lost and stagnant, and new ideas and inspiration are blocked. When combined with the act of creativity, prayer and meditation can release a heightened sense of calm that balances and centers, refilling the reservoir of patience within, as we await the resolution of our circumstances.
The arts, by their nature, require a consistency and level of patience from conception to final delivery that is conducive to a life of faith. Pottery is an art form that requires such patience and skill. While watching ceramics artist and designer, Eric Landon of Tortus Copenhagen Studio at work on Instagram, you can not only see his passion for his gift, but you also see someone who is reverent to the process of creation. In every video, there is an inner peace and fulfillment that permeates through to the observer in his prayerful composition and crafting of the clay. While in that space of creating, there is no room available for fear, worry or negative thoughts, as he is solely focused on his creation—a creation that is being engineered by an inner conversation, synching mind, body and spirit.
In scripture, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah both wrote of the relationship between the Creator and humanity, likening it to that of a potter and his clay. As artists, there is a dual level of prayerful composition taking place, where each of us our simultaneously being shaped through our prayer and conversation with the Creator, even as we are creating. When we remain connected with the Creator through prayer and the act of prayerful composition, we allow not only our individual lives to be shaped, but our creative capacity becomes further defined, shaped and sharpened as well. When we engage in our creativity as an alternative to chaotic worry, we allow for a takeover of our conscience and inner storyboard by the Creator, where we can rest from our worry and simultaneously sync to a greater source of strength, peace, artistic intelligence and intuition.
Multi-genre artist and bassist, Thundercat, spoke on the therapeutic effects of creativity in his personal life during an interview with Huck Magazine:
“There’s always art and music you know? [Music] is definitely therapeutic and the way to express certain things, different emotions and stuff like that. That’s what it’s been for me. It’s been very therapeutic. I look at it like that.”
The act of creation produces and inner light from which we can navigate our way through darkness—that when paired with a life of faith, prayer and meditation, further cultivates a peace that passes all understanding.
Play your way out. Write your way out. Sing your way out.