In November, I had the opportunity to go to London, England. It was a fast, 4-day trip and on my list was to visit Marina Abramović’s latest exhibit of 1200 photos from her Red Period and Blue Period. While I will try to read the artist’s description of their art, I often find it’s written in art legalese and I find myself disconnected from the work itself. I enjoy the experience more when I stand or sit and connect with a piece of art.
I wondered what it was like for Marina to stand in that room and be surrounded by so many photos of her younger self. I wondered what it’d be like for me to be surrounded by that many photos of myself. Here are six of the photos of her exhibit.
What I notice, even now, as I sit with her photos, is that I can feel her Presence. She is fully there in that moment of time. Her Hara is aligned. As I sit longer with these photos I feel shifts in her energy from being protective and vulnerable.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with looking in a mirror for 10 minutes and feeling what it’s like to sit with myself in that way. The first 5 minutes are distracting – neatening hair, closely looking at my skin or eyes. Watching my inner dialogue ponder whether I can look at both eyes at once or one at a time. The laundry list of other things I could be doing. I notice the tension held in various places in my body. Sometimes the time feels endless and sometimes it goes by quickly.
Then I sink deeper and start to notice the emotions I feel below the surface – I see old terror or sadness in my eyes that surprise me. I’m not feeling those emotions at the surface, but they are there underneath. I sit and notice the impulse to fix and then come back to presence.
The Art of Seeing
Years ago, a group of Social Workers (including myself) hosted a workshop for our peers titled The Art of Seeing. It was run by the Mcmaster Museum of Art. Research had shown that medical doctors who spent time in presence with art demonstrated better diagnostic & observational skills. We couldn’t help but wonder what the impact would be for Social Workers in hospital settings.
The event was met by excitement & curiosity from some and frustration from others who were seeking a linear path to excellence in their field.
But often times, the path to excellence or healing isn’t linear at all. Any psychotherapist doing deep work with clients will tell you that sometimes an insight will transform unexpected areas in a person’s life. Healing can happen without an immense amount of will-power to change thoughts or behaviours in a rigid way. Healing at point A leads to healing at points Q, Z and 34.
An Invitation to be Present with You
At home
So if you’re looking for something different out of your regular mindfulness or meditation practices, consider spending time with ANY piece of art for 10 minutes or looking at yourself in the mirror.
OR
You could find someone you trust and sit with them and see how that feels.
With Me
If you’re looking to experiment more deeply, I continue to offer presence sessions where I will sit with you for 50 minutes in-person or virtually in complete silence.
My goal in Presence Sessions is to be energetically neutral: I’m not pushing any of my energy towards you or trying to pull any of your energy towards me. That is often a new experience for many people – to be with someone without any demand to be anything but what they are in that moment.
You can also experiment by adding some intentional presence in a counselling session.
If you were to sit with a piece of art, what might you choose?
