INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL APPS.

So before hitting the road for my October cross country trip,  I felt I ought to utilize my phone to its greatest extent by loading up a bunch of applications deemed good to have. However, I found myself less than impressed with the actual use of them. I grew impatient with waiting for the network to keep up to speed and by the time I received the information I needed, it was too late or I was unimpressed with the results. Besides, spending so much time looking down at devices and trying to figure out external applications, meant less time looking around and paying attention to the view outside. Maybe I’m too impatient. Maybe I’m just not that tech savvy. Maybe I’m old-fashioned. Or perhaps I find it much more interesting, adventurous, and reliable to use some of my internal apps: intuition, imagination, inspiration, and ingenuity.

Tech companies can herald the arrival of the next great thing and sell us on all getting all those external application we ought to have to make our life easier, but I still find the greatest joys in life either come free from Mother Nature or can be found within. We can easily hone and be happy with the internal apps we already have access to.

But no, I’m not against the use of new technology– it's how we use it that defines our culture and times. Some contemporary art utilizes the latest advances in technology to some really remarkable results, but we have to find a healthy balance that works for each of us. For me, I like being open to utilizing my internal apps, even if it means I’ll miss a few shortcuts or conveniences the external ones provide. And while I’ll use an external device like a camera to snap some pictures that I can share with others, there is simply nothing better than the internal pictures of my mind’s eye. The images I absorbed in while on the road will embed themselves into my psyche in some mysterious manner and just how they’ll manifest in the future remains to be seen, but one to look forward to.

So use what devices you will, but don't stop downloading some downtime with your internal apps!

SYMBOLS FOR THE REBEGIN 1: CHASING TAIL

Your ReBegin explores various elements within the cycles of creation and destruction and how they relate to our lives. So I thought it would be fun to connect the blog logo into that concept and every so often have the logo through its own series of rebegins*. Right now it exists in a draft stage, eventually it will reach a more polished look, and in time it will have guest interpretations and variations. I’m looking forward to imagining where it may go, and if you have an idea, write me about it!

The logo is inspired by several concepts: the modern day recycling symbol; the familiar symbol for infinity, but with an extra twist; a touch of the good old ancient Yin-Yang; and the, perhaps lesser known, but deeply important, Ouroboros, which is often depicted as a serpent eating its tail.

While a rather odd image to take in literally, an examination of the figurative aspect proves quite fascinating. It embodies the idea that life and death is in a constant cycle, constantly feeding off of and re-creating itself (hence ReBegin). In some cases it is considered the soul of the world and/or the eternal unity of all things in the material universe of which we are bound within. It reveals that one form, the outer reality, eventually is destroyed, but can become another; the inner or unseen realm. Such a cycle has both good and bad connotations, for creation is not always good and all destruction is not necessarily bad. It is a counterbalancing of opposites. It is a paradox worth wrapping your head around (see if you can reach your tail while at it).

The symbol traces as far back as ancient Egypt (1600 B.C.) where it was depicted as either a male and female snake biting each other or black and white snake representing night and day, heaven and Earth. Since then, it has, like many great ideas, gone through various cross-pollinations and transformations (yup more rebegins) as it passed through different cultures. The Greeks adopted the title Ouroboros , which means “tail-devourer.” China and the Hindus have a dragon. In Norse mythology it was called Jormungandr and encircled the world. Even Aztecs and other “New-World” cultures host such an image. In alchemy it is associated with powerful magic, the Wheel of Time, the duality of nature, and the art of developing one’s consciousness through the cycles of death and rebirth.

Ouroborus shows us that creation and destruction are inextricably linked. We tend to think that creation as merely good, destruction merely bad, but in reality they are different facets of the same process. Acts of creation impart destruction, and destruction gives way for creation. The key of the symbol, is that in nature, they are balanced, and one feeds the other.

Are we, as humans, conscious enough in our acts of creation so that the destruction we leave behind as a result is balanced and imparts more life? Or are we merely blindly consuming away without feeding the cycle? For there to be a future, there must be rebegins that honor this ancient principle, that of the soul of our world.

How can you explore and interpret Ouroboros in your personal life?

Bon appetite!

*The lower case rebegin is both a verb and a noun to describe transformations and the capitalized ReBegin is a noun to describe this site or a specific unit of transformation – make sense?

The ReBegin is Here & Now

WELCOME

Art is life. Life is art. Art is the heart, soul, essence, and language of life. It communicates by means of every sensory perception we possess. This blog is dedicated to exploring the concepts and various methods of living a life of art and making art of life, and the transformative, meaningful, and healing affects that such a journey creates. Our future will undoubtedly look quite different than our current reality, but one constant that has been around, at least since recorded history, is our calling to communicate and connect to the world through art.

We are in a continuous process of creation, destruction, creation again from destruction, and destruction again from creation. Within that cycle we can draw power for our own personal ReBegins to flourish. New directions are forged from the fertile ashes of past experiences, and Your ReBegin honors experimentation, risk, diversity, and choice, among many others, as the building blocks of life’s grand journey. The process aims to reveal aspects of our hidden and higher selves through art and may even feel like a kind of spiritual process. Everyone has a different experience in the life of art, but whatever it may be, it is an ongoing adventure worth investing our time in.

Why this blog and why now?

For me, living a life of art has been the greatest source of vitality, insight, reassurance, and bliss during life’s inevitable tough times. It may seem frivolous in times of crisis, but art is a beacon that can help lead us through it.  I pledge to express what I feel are the important lessons learned, both the ups and downs of the journey, and engage in a discussion of what is yet to be learned from living a life art-fully. As a lifelong artist and newly formed creative consultant this site is integral for my own journey as well and forces me to not just conceive of the talk, but walk, write and be it as well.

I must admit I hesitated for years before launching this site. I made excuses based on feeling a lack of authority on the matter, fears of saying the wrong thing, stepping on other people’s toes, or sounding too much like what other people have said on the matter.  But every time I read someone else’s approach to an artistic life, it’s honey for the soul keeping me in flight. I feel it’s time to share more of my own visions and to site references of those who have inspired me. We are all manifestations of the Divine Spirit in all the various forms possible. We exist and therefore we are important or we never would have been in the first place. Let’s honor and cherish that by expressing our own unique variation of the Divine Spirit!

What do ReBegin and ReEvolutionary mean?

Simply put, they are concepts of transformation based on natural cycles, connected to the ancient concepts of Ouroboros, the Phoenix, and the eternal return (more on this subject next week). Just as seasons go through cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth, we go through them on a multitude of levels (emotional, spiritual, mental, psychological, etc.). Additionally, we live in a Universe of constant motion.  Our planet rotates around an axis and revolves around the sun, which in turn revolves around the galaxy, which in turn revolves around the Universe…and who knows what else beyond that?

To have a ReBegin is to take what you have learned from past cycles and apply it toward a new endeavor.  Here, I focus on artistic ReBegins (because life is art, art is life). It can be as simple a matter as creating a new art object or much grander in the shape of a rebirth of the creative self.

To be ReEvolutionary, is to add in the idea of evolution to revolution, so that with each new experience, we gain a wider/deeper consciousness that propels us onward in the cycle. Imagine a spiral staircase, and with each new turn of the cycle we move upwards! Although, sometimes I’ve found myself feeling more like I was spiraling down! This would really weigh upon me, but we all go through that in some way, shape or form in our lives. It’s part of the cycle and gives meaning to having a ReBegin – so we can take those downward (or sideways) experiences and use them as a resource to begin anew.  The map of our lives will have many twists and turns, some self-generated, and some imposed upon us, but experience that journey as an art form in itself and you’re on Your ReBegin!

Ok, enough for now. I vow to keep these blog entries as concise as possible! More to come!

BLISSINGS!

Jason ReBegin