Aesthetic group

by Marinus Jan Marijs

The methods of transformation: The aesthetic methods

The aesthetic methods which are aimed at human transformation, which means developing to higher levels of consciousness include : Bhakti yoga, Christianity, Taoism, Islam, Sufism. These methods are mainly directed at emotions and image-thinking, devotional, prayer, reading poetry, allegorical interpretation, religious painting. These methods are easily accessible. But those who chose this orientation without supporting methods or exercises from the other main groups (cognitive, social, moral, spiritual) hardly ever reach higher mystical levels of consciousness. However there are some remarkable exceptions of people how had high level mystical experiences after using this approaches. Most important in this method is the directionality of a person on that which transcends the physical, hedonism and egoism. As a system it has the problem that by rejecting logic, it is easily corrupted. Most of the Guru systems are corrupt, manipulative and even when their leader(s) as individuals are spiritual highly developed, the societal/cultural level on which their systems/world view/approach is functioning, is most of the time not higher than feudal. This with dominator hierarchies, discrimination of woman, with no respect for individual freedom and self-determination. Even Christianity with its pure and extraordinary high starting point, became corrupted: slave trade, anti-Semitism, wars, and even now a great part of the so-called Christian churches are not against having nuclear weapons of mass- destruction, despite” Thou shall not kill” and the Sermon on the Mount. Faith however which was intended as trust in trans logical intuition, which finds its origin in a direct contact with the central order of things/the Divine, became having faith in emotionally loaded pre-logical ideas.

The method of prayer however has a working principle which can be explained:

when one transcends the mental/intellectual processes one can enter into a stillness of mind (level 8) in which one can have intuitions/deep insights that have created science, mathematics, logic and philosophy. On a higher level (9) this stillness deepens in which one can have inspiration, which is generated by a contact with a kosmic force. This is at the heart of all great art. On a still higher level (10) one finds revelation. The meaning of prayer is to concentrate on one image with such an intensity that all other images disappear, finally one Lets go this last image and one enters at the level of union (11) with the divine.

José Gallegos y Arnosa. Spanish painter, 3 May 1857, 20 September 1917.

Rudolf von Alt  (1812 – 1905)

David Roberts   (1796 – 1864)