Contemplative Creativity

"The artist and monk are indeed one."

In her book The Artist’s Rule, Christine Valters Paintner follows the legacy of other spiritual teachers like Evelyn Underhill and Matthew Fox, each of whom discerned an affinity if not unity between the paths of contemplation and creativity. She writes,

The way of the monk and the path of the artist are teachers of slowness, of savoring, of seeing the world below surfaces.

Later on, she expands this idea.

The artist and monk are indeed one. Contemplative practice nurtures our ability to see and hear the holy at work in the everyday. Creative expression gives form to this vision and shares it with the world so that others can begin to discover God in their daily lives.

We live in a culture with a bias toward mathematics and science and against art. When public schools face budget cuts, arts programs are often the first to go. We rarely think of engineers or technicians as poor or starving — yet the “poor starving artist” is practically an archetype in our society (one that, I might add, many artists work hard to prove wrong!). Meanwhile, many people assume, perhaps after an unhappy experience with art during their schooling, that they have no talent and that art is for other people, but not for them.

But what if all of these ideas are simply myths (in the “it’s not true” sense)? What if everyone has a creative heart just as surely as we all have silence between each heartbeat? What if the call to a spiritual life and the call to be creative is, in fact, one call?

This doesn’t mean every practitioner of contemplative prayer needs to paint or play the piano or write poetry. Artistry takes many forms. Creativity is the energy behind cooking a good meal, tending an abundant garden, creating an inviting home, or raising happy and self-confident children.

Silent mystical prayer gives us not only intimacy with God, but also an inner well of inspiration and possibility that allows us to visualize, and manifest, beauty and wonder in our lives. It’s been said that every person is a special kind of mystic. Likewise, every mystic is a special kind of artist. Have fun discovering your unique and lovely creative voice.