Art and the Movement of Spirit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_Reni#/media/File:Guido_Reni_-_St_Filippo_Neri_in_Ecstasy_-_WGA19295.jpg

I attended an art exhibition recently at Free Columbia in Philmont and a young artist named Eloise featured her work.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.  It was not just her talent but also the story behind it.  

In particular there was this one painting that showed a human figure and what seemed to be emanating the spirit of God from it. The colors were fantastic, but more than that I was happy to learn that the artist had something of what might be called an ecstatic experience while doing the art.  I'm reluctant to say exactly what she might have experienced but she did share that "she felt taken over by something bigger than herself and wondered how much to let go and allow it to take her over and how much of herself to keep in it."

What a wonderful inquiry to be in at 24! 

This got me thinking about how we approach Spirit. 

• "Opportunity favors the prepared mind" ~ Pasteur.    When we engage in activities that allow us to go inward we can begin the approach that altered state of consciousness.  Art is a path inward.  Meditation is a path.  The gathered meeting of Quakers is a path. 
• How much is too much?  I wondered about what Eloise was describing.  Where does the influence of spirit begin and end? How much of our own will forces come into play in the ecstatic state? If one believes in spirit(s) how can one be sure about who we've invited in? 
• Is an ecstatic religious experience merely a psychotic episode?  I'd have to say "it depends" on the message.  It is possible to be taken over by dark forces. Christ was tempted in the desert.  In Matthew 4:4, Jesus rebukes the devil's temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, saying, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."  In the Quaker tradition the ongoing revelation might be considered the word of God if we receive that message when we are connected to Source.  As Quakers we Discern and even Test messages. 

I invite readers to find an opportunity to enter that ecstatic space; whether it be in Quaker meeting or in a forest or on a lake.  God is present in all of creation.  It matters not where we find it ... only that we do. 

~ Joseph OLejak