Nepo - Drinking from the river of light: the life of expression

There are those who water

the seed of light that no one sees.

They are visionaries.

And those who hold others, feeling

the power of what they can become.

They are teachers.

And those who care enough

to love the truth of what-is

until Heaven is revealed

here on Earth.

They are sages.

Few are celebrities.

Few are rich.

The best

are often silent,

deflecting attention,

bowing to the gift.

This is for them

and their lineage

and the hope

that we can do this

for each other.

MN

You use a mirror to see your face,

you use art to see your soul.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Contents

The River of Light

B oth Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo left a trail of unfinished art greater than anyone else in modern history. Still, they are regarded as two of the most talented artists who ever lived. They are extraordinary examples of how the journey of expression is more important than the final product.

William Blake is another inspiring example. Toward the end of his life, Blake endeavored to illustrate Dantes Divine Comedy, the medieval epic poem that follows Dantes transformative journey through Hell and Purgatory into Paradise. Blake created 102 watercolors, planning to engrave them all, but he only had time to begin seven.

More than his immense effort to create art, Blakes innate devotion was to immerse himself deeply in the thickest currents of life. Though he couldnt finish engraving his illustrations, I imagine that, at some point, the life-force Blake was so devoted to began engraving him. What more can any of us ask for but to be created by the very thing we feel compelled to create? This is where the holy work of effort leads, regardless of its trail.

Recently, while in London, I stood before one of Blakes illustrations. It was a sketch of Dante on his knees, drinking from the River of Light, which descended from somewhere unseen like a waterfall. In this sketch, drawn three years before his death, Blake brought into being a portrait of himself. As I stood before it, over two hundred years later, I knew in my heart it was a portrait of me as well, and of every writer and teacher who ever lived.

For when we express, when we let out what is in, regardless of how, we are drinking from the River of Light. And that act, that devotion, allows us to glimpse the fabric of the Universe and the web of connection that holds life together. Glimpsing this, we are forever enlivened.

When I write, Im only trying to reach the River of Light that informs all life and to drink from it, so I can be a conduit for life-force in the world. When I teach, Im only trying to bring those who are willing to the River of Light, where we can drink and look at each other through awakened eyes. For I firmly believe that all forms of expression and education are meant to awaken the love that is possible in the world.

And so, you dont have to work to find what is lasting and enlightened. You simply have to open your heart and let whats there flow. The rest will follow. Expression will find you. For water finds water, light finds light, feelings find meaning, and love finds love.

The Life of Expression

A s no one can live without inhaling and exhaling, no one can live without feeling and expressing. The life of expression is how the heart breathes and how our spirit grows in the life that carries it.

As meditation is an ancient art that deepens our relationship to how we breathe, writing is an ancient art that deepens our relationship to all that matters. And just as the reward for practicing meditation is not that well become great breathers but that well become clear vessels of life-force, the reward for practicing a personal form of expression is not that well become great writers but that such practice will help us wake closer to life.

I want to affirm from the outset that this inquiry into the life of expression is not just about writing but the unnamable process under all art formsthe process of perceiving and feeling our way into life. And more than whatever we might create, the value of inhabiting this timeless process resides in how it helps us come alive by staying in conversation with life. So, while the examples and stories from different fields of creativity help to reveal this process, this book is not just for writers and artists but for anyone intent on staying close to the pulse of life.

As one form of expression, writing, whatever form it takespoetry, story, memoir, or reflectionis a personal and necessary conversation with the Universe. And while there are many outstanding books that focus on craft and language, this book focuses on the irrepressible aspects of expression, how the forces of life enter us and leave us, and what they do to us on their way through. The exercises throughout are intended to introduce you to the skills of vision, perception, feeling, and articulation, which are the veins and arteries by which Spirit moves between us and the world. Whether we consider ourselves artists or not, we perceive and express as a way to extract what is essential to live.

Retrieving this book has allowed me to shape and share a lifetime of inquiry about the life of expression. It has given me the chance to explore the art and practice of writing as a means to unfold our spiritual growth.

The book began as a popular, two-day intensive workshop offered at the 2013 and 2014 Sounds True Wake Up Festivals. Since then, I have evolved that workshop into this book, which focuses on how bearing witness to the truth of living reveals the mysteries of life. As the journey unfolds, you will be invited to explore the paradox of effort and grace, and to personalize the life-force that comes through the creative process. As you become more familiar with your own voice, you will be introduced to the expressive work of being.

The arc of the book explores how we are constantly being shaped by life into finer instruments of care and expression. The deeper we go, the more attuned we become and the more we join with everything around us. Whether your writing is published or not, whether your music is recorded or not, whether your art is in a gallery or not, whether your garden is given a prize or not, or your cooking is featured in the local paper or notinhabiting a personal life of expression is its own reward, by which we strengthen our connections and find our way.

The journey of the book is designed to help you personalize the way you take in life in all its varied mystery. , Becoming One With, examines the rhythms of wakefulness and sensitivity that open before us as we get closer and closer to life. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, the hope, the goalfor you and meis to wake up to life through our enlivened practice of expression.

I have also discovered that this book is not meant to be read all at once. In writing this book and in reading it, I have found that vast terrains open if you give yourself time with each story, metaphor, and exercise. Therefore, I invite you to enter this book as you would a train traveling across Europe. You can take the express or you can realize that your experience of Europe is really in the stops you make along the way. I invite you to read and consider, then stop and explore the stories and exercises while living your life. For this book is meant to be experienced and journeyed with. When you find yourself speeding up, I encourage you to slow down and live where you are more fully by practicing your own sense of expression with each chapter.

When I speak of poetry, I mean more than the careful arrangement of language on a page. Rather, I mean the authentic life of expression that rises from us when we touch into the depth of life. As John F. Kennedy understood, this serum from underneath our trouble restores us when weve lost our way: