- Work here means a process under continuous processing towards a shifted-right artwork. Shaping is not for the sake of the final “good” artwork as a product. Rather, shaping is the processing of the here-now through dialogical exchange (coaching/consulting/therapy) between the persons along the takes (i.e. gives and takes as aesthetic response) of the rehearsal.
- Resource comes from the above resource-full work-oriented EXA approach. Resource comes from the Epoche of our pre-understanding so that we come close to the essence of the intended upon phenomenon and by the same token welcoming the advent of the Third. Ironically, it is a kind of “unconditional” positive regard through the intention of both shaping as in the work-oriented approach and bracketing of our ( ). Otherwise, unconditional positive regard could be a kind of power structure: the therapist is the only one exercising the right, in fact she does not possess to begin with, of welcoming the other person. And, the client’s right of resource is tramped.
- Enactment [as an agreement of the exchange of unconditional positive regard between the persons] is the creative collaboration of the persons’ spirited-process of shaping; and being shaped by the coming of the “angels” and the oblation of the inspiration of the “Holy Ghost”. Here-now, creativity and spirituality are intertwined as in the shamanic traditions in ancient Chinese culture(s), e.g. Nine Songs, in which the gods resurrect in the shamans’ bodies through ecstasy and then differentiation. Enactment creates the Ensemble – the surface with the breath and depth of both persons and “spirits” in which “events” (versus daily lives) are embodied through de-centering.
- We are de-centered to different realms of reality in the surface mentioned above. Through the embodied events, here-now in the surface, we are de-centered from the literal reality to the imaginal reality and centered in the effective reality. Sometimes, we are touched by the [embodied] transcendent when we are de-centered to the deepest most of human psyche or to the uppermost of the realm of the Third.
Transcendent (philosophically, able to go beyond oneself to see its limitation of the mind) is our greatest resource.
Resource (gift) comes from limited resource in conflict situation, in which Deepest exchange of respect comes from genuine disagreement.
- Shift agent and her intervention are therefore limited-enough to bring the parts of the system into agreement, by the same token, out of respect. The “politique de l’oeuvre” is not from you but the angels in the work/the angels in the wound. They have come into the exchange of presence with you so that your work has become peculiarly yours. Then we may describe the transcendent moments phenomenological-ly in terms of transpersonal experience.
Transforming conflict (or, most people traditionally call it conflict resolution) is both a practical, down-to-earth topic and inevitably such a topic that touches the questions of evil and thus transcendent. Evil is not simply a concept but is experienced as disorders in us through alienation, suffering and death. Transforming conflict through de-centering is to experience the order into the seemingly chaotic and safe universe. Depicting evil in arts is not just to mirror our dread, or, to release our toxic emotions at best. On classical tragedies (e.g. Euripides or Shakespeare), Simone Weil contends that the work “consecrates a love for the good that is found only in the depths of affliction.” Psyche represents itself through both “images of suffering” and “images of salvation.” Or, in an image, will often contain both pathological and sacred dimensions at the same time. In these unexpected places of human conflict and suffering depicted in arts, we may rediscover the transcendental nature (while Weil called it “sacred” roots of art) of art. Just as Expressive Arts Therapists Stephen Levine suggested, “An adequate theory of interpretation would have to leave room for the sacred dimension of the image as well as for its pathology.”
- The transformation is always in the surface and therefore the agent’s response-ability is to facilitate the client staying with the embodied event in the surface and receiving the gift mediated from the angels in the work/wound. We may sense into the poetry of the I: “Do not lose the surface” in tension with “We are all one.” (As the limited use of I, of both the therapist and the client as experts in their aesthetic response and presenting struggle respectively, in the surface. See also substitution theory)
In response to the above EXA approach, we may need to address two questions of the basic inquiry on humanity and art.
- What is Art? First about, what is beauty? In the Chinese aesthetics, “the big lamb is beautiful.” [Chinese character: 羊lamb + 大big = 美beauty] This Chinese sense of aesthetics has strong relation to the feast of worship the heavens and earth, and the spirits in these realms. Yet, the Dionysus’ elements are missing. Rather, it is the Tao’s spirit of Wu-Wai in which individual freedom is realized by transcending the heavens and earth in silence and solitude. Therefore, we need to synergy other traditions such as the ecstasy-celebration of Tragedy in Nietzsche’s sense and the anti-alienation/spectacle daily praxis in the public space of Situationist International. In short, art may be considered as both a earthly and “spiritual” daily praxis being taken into basic human actions from eating to walking. And, this could be a form of imagination and realization of Wu-Wai as individual freedom in the public realm.
- Who am I? I (intermodal)transfer therefore we are
Consciousness is the basis (and the problem?). In both Camus and Zen Buddhism, they have tried to challenge the correlation of the human mind/consciousness and the phenomena of the outside world. Thus, Zen Buddhism suggests “compassion” as an all-embracing/non-discerning heart so that the cause-and-effect [karma] cannot encage I anymore. “色即是空All manifestations lead to Nothing.” While Camus’ “The Stranger” practices this compassion in the ironic non-compassionate manner by narrating his story in the form of his stream of consciousness so that our poor habits of arbitrarily organizing daily experiences in a seemingly cause-and-effect manner are exposed. Both attempts may be enriched by “I transfer therefore we are”, the study of intermodal transfer EXA through a Chinese culture lens. I will briefly give you two examples and let you to explore other possible dialogues in the future. For one thing, Qin (Guqin) – ancient piano in Chinese culture – the pianist would mediate on a Chinese ink painting and play the piano at the same time in an intermodal transfer manner so as to forming aesthetic style in daily praxis that was relating to her qin styles, temperaments, tuning systems, fingering techniques, qin making and string making skills. Another example would be the Chinese “musical” instrument GONG – it was usually used in the courtroom to call you to the center; call to respect one another. Also at the end of the trial session they would do it one more time so we may now go in peace and reconciliation. In fact, it is a call to “consciousness” in a very different sense. Ancient Chinese culture do not seek for a system or try to understand what is consciousness, we start from respect – call for respect; and stay in that poetic meaning of daily life. In short, knowledge is poetic meaning with the undertone of respect. This undertone is the belief that “空即是色Nothing (the supreme doctrine) is the manifestations.” Phenomenological-ly, the GONG sounds!
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