Art As A Spiritual Practice

As artists, one thing we are often told by others is to “Have faith,” both in ourselves, and in our art. But in the face of self-criticism and doubt, faith often seems like a monumental task. Self-help books are no better, as they tell us to just “keep at it” and we can work through those doubts. But these doubts are real. The self-criticism is real. And all the monkey mind monsters that our own mind projects upon us are real. The Buddha’s teachings direct us to analyze the mode of appearance, meaning how something appears to be, and the mode of underlying reality, meaning how something actually is—its true nature. —Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso,  “ The Path of Faith and the Path of Reasoning ” The things that often keep us from having faith are both real and unreal. The self-doubt that keeps whispering in our ears is real to us. The voice is loud and  persistent. So how can we just ignore it? Rather than ignoring it, we need to look at it objectively. One way is to w...