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Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments:
An Entheogen Chrestomathy
Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Paula Jo Hruby, Ed.D.
Author Index | Title Index
Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alex Grey.
Grey, Alex, with Carlo McCormick. (1990).
Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International.
ISBN: 0-89281-257-5 hardcover
0-89281-314-8 paperback
Description: Paperback,
96 pages.
Contents: Acknowledgments,
preface, 3 essays, Sacred Mirrors-the Plates, progress of the
soul, endnotes.
Excerpt(s): On June 3,
1976, we simultaneously shared the same psychedelic vision: an
experience of the "Universal Mind Lattice." Our shared
consciousness, no longer identified with or limited by our physical
bodies, was moving at tremendous speed through an inner universe
of fantastic chains of imagery, infinitely multiplying in parallel
mirrors. At a superorgasmic pitch of speed and bliss, we became
individual fountains and drains of Light, interlocked with an
infinite omnidirectional network of fountains and drains composed
of and circulating a brilliant iridescent love energy. We were
the Light, and the Light was God. (Preface, Allyson
and Alex Grey, page 7)
The secret of all genuinely spiritual
works of art is that they issue from nondual or unity consciousness,
no matter what "objects" they portray. A painting does
not have to depict Buddhas
to be spiritual. This is why, for example, Zen landscapes are
so profoundly sacred in their texture, even if they are "just
landscapes." They issue from a nondual awareness or unity
consciousness, which is itself Spirit. At the height of transcendence,
Spirit is also purely immanent and all-pervading, present equally
and totally in each and every object, whether of matter, body,
mind, or soul. The artwork, of no matter what the object, becomes
transparent to the Divine, and is a direct expression of Spirit.
The viewer momentarily becomes the art and
is for that moment released from the alienation that is ego. (In
the Eye of the Artist: Art and the Perennial Philosophy, Ken Wilber,
page 14).
Sacred art objects are like repositories of transcendental
energy that can "charge" the receptive, contemplative
viewer. The artist's primary medium is consciousness-the animating
force that directs or infuses all other media. Inspiration for
the Sacred Mirrors emerged after I had a series of mystical
experiences that caused me to redefine my view of consciousness
and the self. I felt that my body was no longer just a solid,
isolated object in the world of separate forms and existential
anxiety, but more like a manifestation of the primordial energy
of awareness that was everywhere present. The mystical experience
is not some dreamy fantasy, as anyone who has ever had one can
agree. ... The mystical experience is a transformative contact
with the Ground of Being and, although it is beyond description,
it gives people an expanded appreciate of life. During times of
cynicism and despair, experiences that empower people to heal
conflicts and choose life are especially valuable. I wanted my
paintings to visually chart the spectrum of consciousness from
material perception to spiritual insight; and to function, if
possible, as symbolic portals to the mystic domain.
The Sacred Mirrors are a series of twenty-one
images, consisting of nineteen paintings and two mirrors, that
examine in fine detail the human physical and metaphysical anatomy.
Each image is forty-six by eighty-four inches and presents a life-sized
figure directly facing the viewer, arms to the side and palms
forward. This format allows the viewer to stand before the painting
figure and "mirror" the image. A resonance takes place
between one's own body and the painted image, creating a sense
of "seeing into" oneself. The Sacred Mirrors
may be used as a tool to visualize and focus healing energy to
particular parts of the physical and metaphysical bodies. (pages
31-32)
Compilation copyright © 1995 – 2001 CSP
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