When You Have Your Art Down to a Science

When you have your art down to a science, you’re onto something.

In any creative embodied endeavor, it can be tempting to push structure, maps and techniques to the side in pursuit of freedom. But freedom isn’t just getting in the car and going — it’s getting in the car with your destination mapped out, a tank full of gas, a bag of snacks, a travel mug of ginger tea, and a fire playlist downloaded. Now you’re ready to go anywhere. Knowledge itself is freedom; but only if we have the skills to map that knowledge into action.

Imagine a three-part braid. Freedom is the middle thread, and the outer threads are the techniques we learn and the maps we follow. In Yogic philosophy, the harmonious state of Sattva is braided into the confines of Tamas and Rajas. In Buddhism, one becomes a Buddha through the other two jewels: Dharma and Sangha. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika says that peace can be found in the pause that braids between the inhale and exhale. The present moment is a sacred thread that braids itself between the past and future. In Hinduism, Vishnu is the “preserver” who weaves in the space between Brahma (the creator) and Shiva (the destroyer).

Nothing exists in isolation, including ourselves. It all exists in the collective endlessness of all things. The three-part braids weave themselves with other three-part braids until they wrap the whole universe in a cocoon of understanding. Once wrapped in this cocoon, we can collectively unfurl into our most truthful selves, becoming medicine for the world.