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I wonder where does Beauty come from... Why does one perceive it? The existence of this phenomena in one’s psyche is not at all obvious. I speak from my experience. It was not long ago since Beauty started popping up in my head regularly. And in increasing amounts. Colors began to fit together. Shapes were omitting the rules of Feng shui. The Visual Field was becoming progressively harmonious.
In my experience, Beauty is closely linked to meaning I create around specific places, objects, and, more generally, to the kinds of situations, or categories of visual pictures.
The chances of seeing Beauty rise when a person manages to achieve and keep harmony within his life. I divide life into one-day units, so when I speak about keeping harmony, the span of time is as wide as sixteen hours. When does one feel harmony? It is nearly related to perceiving oneself as moral throughout the day, and to having a conviction that one was keeping fidelity to Self-observation, in other words to Being Aware, or to Self-transcendence.
The features given above are general, and each individual will have his own, more specific, focuses of the day. Recently, I focus, among other things, on Connection to my emotional states. While writing, I look for places where I talk about things that I am not convinced of, or use words and formulations which derives from my teachers, or are a sign of me holding some kind of belief which is not tested in my own experience.
Beauty evokes feelings of sadness because it is impossible to ever catch and prolong its appearance...
Earning to perceive Beauty requires previously built potential, momentum. It comes to consciousness as a reward. What is possible, though, is that one grows himself to the point where he allows more Beauty into his life. Same thing with love, and good feelings. It is about training one’s perception to let more Goodness in. The training itself can be perceived as a positive experience and a source of felt harmony.
When I go walking in the evening, I see rural houses with golden lamps shining through windows, and plants hanging on the building. Smells accompany my Experience. I may start to sing. As a result, passersby look at me. What are they thinking?
I train myself in acceptance of awkward feeling.
Can Beauty seen in outside world be the pointer of the existence of it inside of oneself?
In order to catch more moments of Beauty I delicately force myself to slow down my quite quick day tempo - both physical, and mental. This is an interesting thought – it is more important to slow down the mental tempo. Physically I can rush a bit, I don’t mind, but mentally I want to still be in an Aware State. The combination of quick physical tempo and mindfulness is even more alluring to me.
When my thought space is minimized, I transport my resources right into Visual-sensational Field. To tweak the new quality of experience, I add hearing (check out Shinzen Young’s seeing-hearing-feeling mindfulness technique). I heard it once, or twice, and it strikes me as true that visual and hearing spaces of awareness are closely connected. Together, they form a unity of Beauty.
At some point in the walking journey, my whole attention goes to an activity of singing. Walking routine is a perfect occasion to discover, rediscover, and connect with most Recent Passions. With things that are truly enjoyable.
I want to note at this point that singing – singing particular songs, sparks joy within me because I have memories tided with those melodies. This music is a part of a bigger structure in my mind. And because of that, it has the potential to build momentum, which provokes seeing Beauty. Same thing happens when I create some piece of art. Without a wider context, it wouldn't evoke feelings. Only when it is related to a bigger structure, e.g. a goal, and this substantial goal is set in the right time, and I keep my rules while making it, the Beauty of it can be seen.
I cannot count how many times I have doubted the honesty of my writing today. It tempts me to delete the last phrase, though.