Spiritual Communication and Beauty

Earlier, Daibhidh posted a great question:

“Is it possible that material communication, with our bodies, could in some way be integrated with spiritual communication, of our spirit or essence (whatever terminology you choose to use) so that we can again understand each other on an even greater, transcended level?

I would like to ask a similar question: is it possible to communicate Beauty?

One one level of communication, a oil painter uses physical stuff like brushes, paints and paper to make a painting. On another level, she uses colour, shape, texture, tone, contrast and light to communicate. On another level, there are perhaps common objects made up of these textures and colours: a water glass or a tree. And on another level, all the objects come together to create a state- the large scale communication. This may be an emotion, an idea… anything.

Some think that language is limited- but so too are the base objects that a painter uses. Is it possible to communicate spiritual concepts and concepts of beauty? Does that communication require that the other person already has some intrinsic knowledge of beauty? How do those who are unaware of beauty come into contact with it then?

Any ideas?

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

WOW…I love your mind Davie…

 It probably has do with what others percieve to be beautiful from an experiential standpoint. What one might see as beautiful, is ugliness to others.ie: an anorexic sees thier body as ugly or fat, but others may find them beautiful. Then they say physical beauty is inside, in which beauty resides and is seen from the inner eyes.

So do we have to have the same perception of what is beautiful in order to comunicate it to others? Since beauty is merely a conceptional word and like truth and justice cannot be “seen” as such by physical eyes, could we communicate a sense of beauty without words, or pictures or frame of reference…( hopefully I am staying on topic here)

As such unless we have that intristic shared knowledge is it possible?

I do see beauty in nature, but it is beauty I find. Can I communicate it to others? Hmmmm….

I wonder if we can learn the vulcan mind meld Spock used on Star Trek…

Do we compartmentalize our idea of beauty by our prejudice with our own sense of what it means to us?

If we could not use words, I might offer you a sunset, a puppy(or kitty), a smiling grandmother, a budding flower or a full open flower.  Is not a smile beauty? I might think this might be the closest thing we can communicate that I can think of…

YOU????

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

Good question axiom. I suppose one answer is that “Beauty is in the eyes (and mind, I would add) of the beholder.” as the saying goes. The answer, I think, is very abstract, amorphous. I have designed houses, written poetry, painted in oils, and designed and constructed landscapes and, no doubt, any one of these is the individual expression, a communication, of the 'artist' in the first place. After that - well!
The 'tools' are merely the means to the communication!
I hope someone else does more than I have in answering your challenging question!

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

so, in my stupid sufferings, it occurred to me
taht i came up with my own answer.
sorry for the mysticalisticism.

fellow pilgrim,
you seem so startled
that i worhip at your very feet-
come back!

what we worship we inevitably
become.  your words have brought me here
to the place where you stand,
the place where the smell
of the darkness is strong.

alas, but your leaving, leaves me
on my knees,
in dust,
and while i myself carry the seed
of my own divining rod,
the outer conveys the inner,
and so i run from myself
again, and again,
and again.

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

Yes, a bit of a late addition to the question posed…
Can we communicate beauty? I think we do just that every time we compose, sculpt, paint….  sure, we can never get another to experience a painting, song, or other expression on the very same level as we do, but in so communicating, can at the very least instill some bit of inspiration, some catalyst for their own communicating of beauty, feeling, spirituality….

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

The question is “How does one define beauty?” There is the rub, and what stymies the whole matter!
()

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

I dunno, it's far too different for every person. For example, I find a close up photograph of lichen on brick more beautiful than a photo of a supermodel in a magazine, and others might say What's with the lichen on a brick?? (What can I say, I'm a texture person.) Half my honeymoon photos were photos I took of dilapidated peeling paint and bricks and shambling architechture around New Orleans instead of shots like Me + Andrew in front of ________ mueseum/statue/restraunt.

If there's a macrocosm for an expression of beauty, its expressed in the collective of all of our microcosmic views. Beauty is individual.

Or maybe I've totally misunderstood your question here. Thats also possible.

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

“Or maybe I've totally misunderstood your question here.”  Oh, no, you haven't! you have illustrated it in more ways than one! Each of us has our own perception of everything and this creates the complexity that is life!! :-)

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

everything in the world is beautiful, this is what i believe.
through all that we do we communicate what we hold as most beautiful, especially when one delves into and produces something coming forth from the creative side of oneself, like a painting or a poem or a story..etc etc
everything communicates to everyone, and spiritual communication can be recognized easiest through body language or photos or the written word
i know that no one's replied to this thread in awhile, but i just wanted to add my small opinion on the topic :)

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

Perhaps in the end, we're simply left with our devices / means for communicating it as we see it, experience it… and can only hope / wish that such expression isn't totally lost in 'the message' so-to-speak, and perhaps that the individual on the other end just might see things similarly enough to recognize whatever it is for beauty as well…  (?)

Re: Spiritual Communication and Beauty

OH! for telepathy!!