NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS 129
than he was in his former life. Lead will play its role until the
world has no further need for lead; and then lead will have to
turn itself into gold. That’s what alchemists do. They show that,
when we strive to become better than we are, everything around
us becomes better, too.” (pp.150–151)In an age of theism and secularism, we often either outsource our
liberation to an external savior or we reject the sacred altogether.
Nature-based expressive arts is a non-theistic practice, but it requires a
sacred outlook. The word sacred comes from Latin sacer, that connotes
something holy that should not be trampled (Trungpa 2013). Holy
refers to that which is whole or wholesome. When we create sanctuary
in our lives, in our practice or in the environment, we hold space for
what is sacred or holy. Often we lack the spaciousness in our lives
for tending the sacred. We are busy and overextended. We are tired
and distracted. Inner alchemy, however, requires space for tending
the lead and inviting the gold. Through the cultivation of sacred
practice, we catalyze change from within.
Sacred practice
Helpful attitudes for nurturing our capacity to live and work
aesthetically include courage, compassion, curiosity, openness,
integrity, trust, hope and reverence. Without practices that cultivate
these attitudes, they can become empty, naïve and meaningless.
In nature-based expressive arts we emphasize the importance of
cultivating sacred practice not only to help us center and ground
in a state of mindful awareness, but also to nurture what is holy
and wholesome.
Sacred practice occurs in conversation with the Earth and may
include writing or painting, body-based practices such as meditation,
mindful exercise or finding a “sit spot” in nature that one returns
to over time. Bill Plotkin (2010) suggests that we need modern
practices for “coming home,” that is, connecting on a regular basis
with our true nature as human beings situated within an alive world.