That Which is Unseen

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18

Of all the different art forms I have dabbled with, the performing arts - in particular - training in movement and voice - I find, often endures the agony of intangibility in its process. Perhaps its the subtlety that is explored in these processes:

Let your "impulses" guide you.

"Receive" the sensations

"Allow"

"Be present"

"ground yourself."

It is not product but process driven. And therein lies our frustration. We have been inculcated with the value that there is not point without product. We demand the tangible. But God asks that we see with spiritual eyes and not depend on that which are tangible.

When we struggle to find a handle/ grasp on such concepts, we use imagery to help us enter into these somatic experiences.

Here's one from Butoh:

A person is buried in a wall
A person is buried in a wall

He/she becomes an insect
He/she becomes an insect

the internal organs are parched and dry
the internal organs are parched and dry

The insect is dancing on a thin piece of paper.
The insect is dancing on a thin piece of paper.

The insect tries to hold falling particles from its own body.
The insect tries to hold falling particles from its own body.

And dances making rustling noises.
And dances making rustling noises.

The insect becomes a person who is wandering around.
The insect becomes a person who is wandering around.

So fragile, she could crumble at the slightest touch.
So fragile, she could crumble at the slightest touch.

Imagery is a powerful thing. Perhaps hidden in our subconscious, as it has been hidden in folklore and legends of old.