The Prism of Self, Episode 462
We begin with Rick Rubin’s“The Prism of Self”. A conversation about the welcome and unwelcome, our inner multitudinousness, bringing forward what’s been in the shadows, discernment, and how art and open conversation can make room in our lives for more of the vast complexity we each are.
Hosted as always by Lizzie Winn and Justin Wise of Thirdspace.
Our source for this week:
The Prism of Self
Defining one’s true self is not so simple. It may be impossible. We inhabit many different versions of a changing self. The suggestion to be yourself may be too general to be of much use. There’s being yourself as an artist, being yourself with your family, being yourself at work, being yourself with friends, being yourself in times of crisis or in times of peace, and being yourself for yourself, when by yourself.
In addition to these environmental variations, we are also always changing within. Our moods, our energy level, the stories we tell ourselves, our prior experiences, how hungry or tired we are: All these variants create a new way of being in each moment.
Depending on who we’re with, where we are, and how safe or challenged we feel, we are changing all the time. Moving between different aspects of self.
We may have one aspect that wants to be more bold or subversive, which wrestles with our more agreeable, conflict-avoidant self. There may be a dreamer aspect, aspiring to inhabit vast magnificent worlds, at odds with our pragmatic side that questions our ability to make our dreams real.
There is a constant negotiation occurring between these various aspects. And each time we tune in to a particular one, different choices result, changing the outcome of our work.
In a prism, a single beam of light enters and is broken into an array of colors. The self, too, is a prism. Neutral events enter, and are transformed into a spectrum of feelings, thoughts, and sensations. All this information is processed distinctively by each aspect of self, refracting life’s light in its own way, and emitting different shades of art.
For this reason, not every work can reflect all of our selves. Perhaps it’s never possible, no matter how hard we try. Instead, we might embrace the prism of self, and keep allowing reality to bend uniquely through us.
Like a kaleidoscope, we can adjust the aperture on our vision and change the results. We may aim to work from one particular aspect, like taking on a character, and create something from our darkest self or our most spiritual self.
Those two works won’t be the same, but they both come from us and they would both be true colors.
The more we accept our prism-like nature, the more free we become to create in different colors and the more we trust the inconsistent instincts we hold while making art.
We don’t have to know why something is good or wonderful, if it’s the “right” decision or if it reflects us accurately. It is simply the light our prism emits naturally at this moment in time.
Rick Rubin
from ‘The Creative Act’
Photo by Ruan Richard Rodrigues on Unsplash
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