CONNECTION

Today was a busy day at my corporate job. Worked late, and have to turn in so I can get up early tomorrow. Many of my friends are busy with their jobs and lives also - Toronto, Dallas, Buffalo, Houston, Tampa, etc... taking time out to keep your friends informed, and being involved in each other's lives takes time, commitment and hard work.

So Karen who is working on her masters asked a question to get different perspectives, here is mine, but feel free to leave comments of your own, just leave your real name so she can quote you if she wants.

What does SPIRITUALITY mean to you?

To mean spirituality or spiritual is a term that I usually to describe my belief or faith. I do believe in some connection between all living things and the universe that surrounds us and we play a part in effecting. I believe that this connection can be at times called "GOD", however the term God has been used by man to describe many things and can be misintrepreted by people who have a different understanding or meaning of god. Thus I think of the word connection. You have the connection to life, the connection to death, you have connections to the world around you, the people at your work, your place of worship, your friends, your family, and even those strangers who influence in numerous ways but may be unaware of. It is this connection, and understanding of the connections that to me is the understanding of my belief system as spirituality. I believe you can look at the connections between how your mind can heal your body, and people will say that your inner "spirit" helped you to do that. Well what is that inner "spirit" is you. Yes, you. Some people would like that "spirit" to be not you, but the workings of "God" - I believe that this belief was started by those who first formed religion to be a method of communicating things in a way to control people's beliefs as something out of their own control. I believe that the power of prayer is the power of concentrated thought, and that thought can actually be translated into effect... you may say that this happens becuase God makes it happen, but I prefer to consider the fact that we - our individual spirit - can alone or combined with others have an effect on the universe that surrounds us.

I saw a billboard as I entered Houston, last night.
It said "Imagine Peace"
At first it may me wonder, then I noticed it said in small letters below
"Yoko Ono"
I then thought I wish I could get a picture of the sign, then I wondered if all the people that saw this sign that travelled by it, would actually take the time to truly imagine peace - what effect that would have on their lives at that moment and also to effect the future. As an artist I know that you can be very surprised how your own actions, views, thoughts, ideas, and even abstracts can evoke a feeling or action in a person viewing your art. I think this cause and effect can be viewed as "spiritual" - you have transformed a thought into art which causes a reaction that causes action.