7-31-07

Been working on "The Alchemist to Mercury pt. 2" a lot. I added the "clouds" today. It's getting closer...The mountain intimidates me.
If i had the flu it lasted for only a couple of hours. That was good.
Thinking about a lot of things. More soon...

Pocket

So,it feels like I have the flu.It's trying to get me. It'll probably be a lost day.

Some thoughts

I'm disappointed to realize that everything I'm passionately involved with is surrounded by fools. Martial arts still has the "our style is better than yours" nonsense, and art has realism vs. abstract still going. How long will all these things be issues? Probably always. I was just introduced to a painting group that thinks real art died before the impressionists! "All modern art is a sham" and non-western art is insignificant. It always shocks me to discover how closed artists are. I will admit that I'm naive to think that artists are open mided people. So many aren't, they're concerned with their piece of real estate as most of us domesticaed apes. And martial artist tend to be fools who want to kick your ass if you don't acknowledge how great they are.
Now I am generalizing but it seems like these types are the only ones you hear from. I've met some beautiful people in both art and martial arts. I'm just sick of monkey politics.
On a much lighter note I've re-discovered just how sexy 80's era Bananarama were..they're still hot but damn! I was only eight when they came out but they definitely created my ideal woman. Now if I can only figure out where my love of asian women comes from we'll be set.

Tired

Finished reading "Heliogabalus:The Crowned Anarchist" yesterday. It deserves another reading.
There's more I want to write about but I need sleep.

Psychomagic

What is Psychomagic?


Well, the short answer would be that it's a form of psychotherapy invented by Jodorowsky and practiced only by him, his son Cristóbal Axel (who starred as Fénix in Santa Sangre) and his wife Mariana Costa, that combines art, Eastern philosophies (particularly Zen Buddhism), mysticism and modern psychotherapy to heal patients with emotional problems. Louis Mouchet's 1994 documentary La Constellation Jodorowsky contains footage of one of Jodorowsky's weekly Paris workshops in which he treats patients at no charge.

So, is Psychomagic just a rehash of previously existing religions, philosophies and schools of thought? Not at all. To better understand what Psychomagic is, read what Jodorowsky says about it.


What does it take to be a psychomagician?
According to Jodorowsky:
# A true therapist cannot be trained in less than five years and a psychomagician in no less than seven years.
# A psychomagician must first be an actor, artist, poet, writer, painter, mime, musician, etc. He should have mastered all art forms.
# Studied a martial art, Eastern philosophies and shamanism.
# Experimented with hallucinogenic mushrooms and other elements.
# Have an occupation outside of being a therapist to work free of financial pressures.
# Be familiar with tarot, alchemy and cabbala.
# Had contact with a well known healer.
# Been psychoanalyzed, know the history of psychoanalysis and its many theories and know the works of Freud, Jung, Grodeck, Lacan, Erickson, Dolto, etc.


Psychomagical advice

1. A ten step recipe to being happy, by Alejandro Jodorowsky. When in doubt between "doing" and "not doing," choose "doing". If you're wrong at least you'll have the experience.
2. Listen to your intuition more than your reason. Words forge reality but they are not it.
3. Make some childish dream of yours come true. For example, if you wanted to play but were forced to become an adult before your time, save some 500 euros and go play them at a casino until you lose it. If you win, keep playing. If you keep winning, even if it's millions, continue until you lose it all. It's not about winning, but about playing with no end.
4. There is no greater relief than to start becoming what one is. Since childhood, we're coerced into other people's destinies. We are not in this world to pursue the dreams of our parents, but our own. If you're a singer and not an attorney like your father, abandon your law career and record your album.
5. Stop criticizing your body right now. Accept it as it is without concerning yourself with the stares of others. You're not loved because you're beautiful. You're beautiful because you're loved.
6. Once a week, teach others the little or lot that you know. What you give to them, you give to yourself. What you don't give to them, you take away from yourself.
7. Every day, look for a positive story in the newspaper. It's difficult to find one. But, amid all the atrocities, somehow, there always is one. A new species of bird was discovered; comets transport life; a boy who fell from the top of a five story building landed unharmed; the daughter of a president intent on drowning herself was saved by a laborer with whom she fell in love and married; young Chilean poets bombarded the palace of La Moneda where Allende was assassinated with 300,000 poems from a helicopter; etc.
8. If your parents abused you when you were a child, calmly confront them in a neutral place that is not their territory, developing four aspects:
This is what they did to me.
This is what I felt.
This is what, because of that, I now suffer.
And this is the reparation that I ask. Forgiveness without reparation has no use.
9. Even if you have a large family, assign yourself a personal territory where no one may enter without your permission.
10. Stop defining yourself: allow yourself every possibility that could be, and change paths as often as necessary.




# Failing does not exist. With each failure, we change paths. To arrive at what you are, you must go through what you are not. The greatest happiness is to become what you are. In every sickness there is: A prohibition: You are prohibited from being what you are.
# A lack of consciousness: When you don't realize what you are.
# A lack of beauty: When you lose beauty, you become ill.

Ballast

I'm having a fantastic day. There's just something great about the sun being out and working on art. It's probably 75 degrees here, I've got my iced coffee going...Days like this bring back a lot of good memories, memories of other days like this. Painting the pillars on "...Rome", started "The Alchemist to Mercury #2". I've let go of wanting to paint "good" and instead I'm just letting it do what it wants to do. I've always preffered doing it that way but sometimes weird pressure to show that I'm good wins over. Who really cares?
Listening to "The Holy Mountain" soundtrack.
Last night I saw "The Pirates of the Carribean pt. 2" for the first time. Emma wanted me to see it so we could check out pt. 3. I really dug the bad guys in that film.

Xanadu

Had one hell of a time getting motivated today. Touched "The Fall of Rome" a bit, started a portrait of Michelle Yeoh but in general I wasn't too inspired.
Found my old friend Robyn who I haven't spoken to in eight years. That was pretty exciting.
Had a dream that I told my "stalker" off and that I won't teach him MA. Things I can't do in reality, I guess.

Revelation

It's always odd to discover how difficult painting is. Trying to get a good blend on "The Fall of Rome" and so help me it just wouldn't work! I ended up taking it into another direction that I like, but the initial problem was driving me nuts. To me being a painter requires an ability to improvise and change direction, just like a martial artist. In the martial arts, if your brain gets stuk on a mistake, you're dead. Now, I know a mistake in art won't kill you but is it necessary to torture yourself over one effect instead of trying another that might work better? Unfortunately a lot of people are more interested in technique instead of emotions or the pleasure that comes from seeing something really odd, but that's okay. It's not the artists place to be concerned with that. People will like/dislike for any reason they want, some of which can be legit, others can be crap. It's not our place to worry. It's our job to get our work done with as much honesty as possible, and honesty doesn't always exist in perfect technique; but then sometimes it does. There are no absolutes.

Disappointments

Didin't get to have the meeting today for the CD release party.I'm kind of disappointed. Supposedly it will happen during the week sometime. I also attempted to get in with an online gallery devoted to surrealist art...surrealist and then some. I got rejected. It's not that big of a deal. It's rather cool that I don't fit into any of those categories...either that or I'm a really shitty artist, which is always possible. The conclusion that I have come to is that it's better to be legitimized by yourself rather than any outside indiviual or group. And trying to become a member of a scene is silly too. It's much better to make your own scene with your friends and folks that are on the same page as you. And that's easy to do. Banish the negative thoughts and influences and reinforce all the good ones.

Meeting

Met about showing art at an open house. I don't think my stuff will quite fit into that area, but it's worth a try. I feel that my paintings should be rented, but that may not happen.
Tomorrow having a meeting about exhibiting at a CD release party. That sounds much more fun.
Watched "The Holy Mountain" by Jodorowsky (for the millionth time, but this time on DVD) and "Sweet Movie" by Makavejev (same).
Landon was around today.

One

Started work on "The Fall of Rome"