1. Flick-Gazing. [For here now and at the art museum later.] Simple
way to counter neuronal habituation which, to a greater or lesser degree,
normally deadens everyone's senses. Nerves, circuitry and the brain itself
go to sleep on a constant signal, awaken on a changing signal. Arousing
the sensory nervous system by rapid change of stimulus (as in sequential
rapid montages) lets you perceive with far more aliveness.
Training plan, phase one: the "flick-gazing" exercise conducted here,
by yourself or, preferably, in a group. [Originally published in my book,
How To Increase Your Intelligence.] See if, by
looking at a different face or different feature of this room every half
second or so for 3 to 5 minutes, you don't awaken your vision to see
nearly as much of what you were looking at during that half second as you
normally would by staring at it. The importance of vision--80% of the area
of the brain is involved in visual response. This simple flick-gazing
trains that much of your brain to handle more information far more
quickly. If that increases intelligence, then make the most of it!
Training plan, phase two: (Here, now, on a walk through the landscape
or streetscape just outdoors; the Art Museum later). While here, alone
with a tape recorder or preferably with a live partner or so: pick at
least one, preferably two partners from here who will also be going over
to the museum. Here, describe in detail what you encounter, to tape
recorder and/or live partner(s). (Teachers: this is also a great thing to
do for your classes, especially before any field trip, not just visits to
an art museum!) At the museum, each of you together (a) remind each other
to flick-gaze at the works around you on exhibit; (b) do so yourself; (c)
immediately from flick-gazing, orient on one or two especially outstanding
works to examine with awakened eyes, pointing out and describing in detail
to each other all the features which to you are so special about that
work.
"Brainstorming" rule of Description: if it occurs to you in the
context, go ahead and say it. Keep on finding all the fresh things to say
about it which somehow further describe it.
Note: this descriptive phase should run 10-20 minutes, and reach
a point where it becomes a real challenge to convey through your language
the effects you are describing. The more you have to "reach" to
effectively describe such effects, the greater your gains in your own
powers of language, observation, and intellect!
Further note: working with partners as urged here, will let you master
the techniques to such an extent that you not only transform the special
experience tonight at the museum but then are able forever after to use
these ways on your own to enrich your life whenever you are in a beautiful
setting, artistic or natural. If you opt not to work with partners
tonight, you may or may not have enough of any of the techniques to be
useful to you.
2. Cleansing the Windows of Perception: using a breathing meditation to
clarify, among other things, vision. Preferred: that form of the
psychegenic "Calm-Breathing Patterns" known as "Noise-Removal Breathing,"
originally published in Beyond O.K.
Phase One: group training here in this breathing pattern.
In brief: With each slow breath, breathe in as if you were breathing in
from below and from behind. Breathe in as if you were
breathing in all the way up from the very bottoms of your feet, while
releasing each breath luxuriously out through normal channels. Luxuriate
also with the feeling of as-if your breathing were coming in and working
its way through all the tissues and cells of your feet, ankles, legs and
lower body up to where you release and profoundly let go through
normal channels. Make each next breath feel more luxurious than the
previous slow breath; manage to let go still more with each next
slow breath out than with the previous breath out. Like the wind swirling
around corners of buildings, swirling up debris and dry leaves and
carrying them away, let your incoming breath seem to be swirling through
all your tissues and cells of your feet, of your ankles, of your lower
legs, swirling through all the nooks and crannies and swirling up and away
whatever didn't belong there - all tensions, toxins, tiredness like those
dried leaves. Let these release in your outgoing breath, as they hit the
open air let them release into hot bright sparks of fresh new life energy.
See how much of the tiredness or other stuff, other "noise" that didn't
belong, you can sweep up and away out of various parts of your body and
turn into those hot bright sparks of fresh new life energy....
.....Make this into a well-practiced, very good feeling, meditation,
5-20 minutes at a time. See if you can get in at least 3 rounds of such
practice before you go to that art museum experience....
.... Fix your gaze upon some feature of the room or landscape across
from you, or later at the museum upon some work of art... Sweep your
incoming breath through that space between you and what you are gazing at,
sweeping up and away whatever had been between you and fuller, richer
perception of what you are gazing at.....
Phase Two: with your previously selected partner(s), at the Museum,
using the Noise-Removal Breathing to intensify/ clarify perception of
select works of art, comparing notes in detail with your partner(s) as to
what this breathing brings into view for you about that particular work of
art.
3. Seeing Through And With The Eyes of the Artist. Experience "putting
on the head" of some artist to "become" that artist. First, here,
experience an imaginary garden landscape, describing to your partner(s)
every detail. Then bring in the artist, describe her or him or it, to live
partner or to your tape recorder. Imagine putting on the head of that
artist, as concretely as you can. Waft forward into that imagined artist,
bring your eyes to where the eyes are of this artist so you are looking
through and with those artist's eyes. Bring your ears and other senses to
where those of the imagined artist's are, so you are listening and sensing
through and with those of the artist. Use her or his senses and
sensibilities to look around at this same garden landscape and amazedly
detail what the artist is seeing that you hadn't noticed before you became
that artist. Then and only then go through some of the experience of that
artist creating his/her art.
At the Museum: with your partner(s) (or pocket tape recorder), view
select works of art first with objective (your own) eyes; then put on the
head and eyes of that work's artist, richly describing in detail to
one-another the resulting changes in perception of the painting or
sculpture.
Note: this "putting on the head of the artist" is also used to actually
and rapidly learn the skills of the artist, and can be used to accelerate
and enrich the learning of virtually any subject or skill. It is a form of
"Periscopic Learning" or "High Leverage Learning" as trained in detail in
the book Beyond Teaching And Learning. In turn, this type of learning
method is only one of a dozen major types of accelerated/enhanced learning
method now in world use. Some types, as does "Periscopic Learning,"
feature use of forty or more specific individual methods and techniques,
each of which conveys years of learning or sophistication within hours of
practice. The first mention in the literature of periscopic-type learning
as an accelerated learning procedure was Schroeder and Ostrander's early
report on art classes (and later music) conducted by Russian hypnotist
Vladimir Raikov.
4. Tuning into the Infinite Aesthetic Hologram--(whimsically, this may
also be referred to as "tuning into the G.H.P.B.S. network broadcast"--the
Galactic Holomindartcast Public Broadcasting Service!)
Here: learn to Image Stream, as per previous Winsights entries,
or send for your set of free instructions how, to
Win Wenger.
At the end of the Museum experience or immediately thereafter, while
you are still with one or both partners: Let your arts-stimulated image
streaming faculties show you their art gallery. While you describe back
and forth with your partners, let your "Arts Channel" Image Stream show
you works of art possibly even more beautiful than those you have been
viewing at the Museum.
This "Arts Channel" happens spontaneously anyway if you do some
practice in Image Streaming, and the arts reward is so strong we don't try
to interpret the meaning of the images in that channel--we just detail and
enjoy the beauty. You may be astonished at how intensely your
beauty-perceiving faculties may be activated.