Cosmic Creativity by Alex Gray (2012)

"Creative artists are mankind's wakeners to recollection: summoners of our outward mind to conscious contact with our inner selves, not as participants in this or that morsel of history, but as spirit, in the consciousness of being.  Their task, therefore, is to communicate directly from one inward world to another, in such a way that an actual shock of experience will have been rendered: not a mere statement for the information or persuasion of a brain, but an effective communication across the void of space and time from one center of consciousness to another. ... The mythogenetic zone today is the individual in contact with his or her own interior life communicating through their art with those 'out there.' "  -- Joseph Campbell, Creative Mythology Any artist in touch with the imaginal realms has stepped into what Campbell calls the mythogenetic zone. So, it's a legitimate question to ask, "What mythology are our artworks communicating?"  The mythology that CoSM is promoting is that we are on the cusp of the emergence of a planetary civilization and that world-wide there is a Love Tribe who recognizes that the human relationship with nature is sacred and needs healing. Art can evolve our consciousness through the contemplative reception of a new map of awareness. Through art, we can upgrade our mythic psychic program. It's crucial -- if we think the earth is crashing and that there is no hope, that is a mythology of doom. If we believe that humanity is entering a consciousness phase shift toward recognition of our common unity, this is a mythology of transformation. Here's another myth: God is the divine artist and the cosmos is the evolving masterwork of creation. We are here to appreciate and co-manifest the holy unfolding aesthetic spectacle.  Join us on Saturday for the pre-Full Moon Experiential Workshop on the Mythic Imagination with two of our dearest friends, Stephen and Robin Larsen, PhDs, experts on archetypal and transpersonal psychology and it's relationship to our own personal journey. Bring journaling and sketching materials. This is what will happen: Using a thousand-year-old Welsh story, Taliesin, the tale of the wizard and bard, the Larsen's will lead us through an archetypal story of initiation and transformation. Ultimately, we'll be invited to find the seeds of our own hero's journey in the bard’s tale of becoming. The Larsen's propose that we will all leave with a magical tidbit of inspiration for some life choice or creative project of our own. Stephen Larsen, PhD and Robin Larsen, PhD were biographers and long-time friends of the renowned mythologist, Joseph Campbell.  From Campbell they learned to discern the profundity of myth, and how deeply it permeates our lives and culture. Stephen is a respected psychotherapist, professor and author of The Shaman’s Doorway, The Mythic Imagination, and about forty other volumes. Stephen directs a clinical center dedicated to helping people with neurological dysfunction and brain injury (stonemountaincenter.com). Stephen contributed an essay to Alex's book Transfigurations. Robin earned a doctorate degree in art history, has exhibited her brilliant visionary art for decades and co-authored six books with her partner Stephen, one with Joseph Campbell. Together the Larsen's authored numerous books on the art of relationships including The Fashioning of Angels, in which one chapter focuses on the relationship of Alex & Allyson. Stephen and Robin are co-founders of The Center for Symbolic Studies (symbolicstudies.org) in Rosendale, New York.   After the experiential workshop, participants are invited to join Alex, Allyson, Steve and Robin in the CoSM Dining Hall for a delicious, healthy dinner created by staff and volunteers.   Dinner guests adjourn to the library where all are welcome to convene for the Full Moon Ceremony beginning at 7:30pm.    For those of you who may still be wondering what happens at a CoSM Full Moon ceremony, we lovingly call it a spiritual variety show. Talented members of the community offer inspiring music, poetry, dance, wisdom and "experientials."  Look forward to Dr. John Dubberstein, master sitarist, Evan Pritchard, scholar and native of the Hudson Valley, the Bridge brothers, inspiration from Alex and Allyson and more.    Following the ceremony will be tribal ecstatic trance rhythms provided by Kidimandi an amorphous group of musicians who have been playing together for over fifteen years. Featured are: Donovan Arthen, Carl Bridge, Martin Bridge, Mark Girard, Jeanette Ladores, Gabriel Mesutti,  Aidan Talbot Giovanna Vechitto and friends. Come for the entire journey or join us for the Full Moon ceremony.   So many artists and musicians and Love Tribers extraordinaire are meeting in Costa Rica for the Envision Festival, it blows our mind. We'll live paint, lead the Body & Soul Drawing Ritual, meet and greet. If it's possible to be there, we say, "Go. Do."   Paradise Resort Artists Retreat is coming up. Now, there's an opportunity to be with some awesome artists. We're taking private meetings with individual artists there to discuss their work and their creative life. What fun!    For the third year, Alex Grey appeared on the Watkins Review list of 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People, moving from #20 in 2012 to #12 in 2013. Check out the amazing list: www.watkinsbooks.com/review/watkins-spiritual-100-list-2013   Love,   Alex and Allyson - cosmic_creativity_420_4.jpg Our friend Roland Griffiths from the Johns Hopkins University Psilocybin Research Team has a question for you: Have you had a Challenging Magic Mushroom Journey? The Psilocybin Research Team at Johns Hopkins needs your help. We’re conducting an anonymous, web-based study to characterize difficult or challenging experiences that people sometimes have on psilocybin mushrooms (i.e. "bad trips," whether the person later regards them negatively or positively). If you’ve ever had such an experience, we’d greatly appreciate it if you would take our survey. Importantly, if you know of others who’ve ever had a 'bad' psilocybin experience, please send them the link and encourage them to participate. This includes people who had a difficult experience long ago. As you may know, our team has conducted survey and laboratory studies characterizing positive experiences with psilocybin. You can see our body of work here: csp.org/psilocybin.  This new survey is an important extension of our research with this fascinating substance. Here it is.  Please share.  www.shroomsurvey.com We deeply appreciate your help.  Thank you. Roland Griffiths, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine IRB approved application NA00080653