Originally Posted by
Kotei
Hi all,
for me, there has to be a "still point", too. That is a kind of mental thing, not bodily. I usually arrive there by motion :-).
In the right setting, I have to start playing with physical things.
In garden design, there is only a rough idea and a phase of searching and selecting materials, considering the right surroundings for the individual plants, the seasons, the development over the next decades.
When at the place of action - some hours or days of shovelling stuff, cutting plants, preparing the place, playing with what I find - calms my mind. With bigger projects, this involves try and error even with big machines, workers and moving tons of material... some planning is needed... but it happened not a single time, that I did not alter that later ;-).
Not actively pressing and thinking about the details, but somehow feeling how form and function fits into the overall scenery, how shaping the earth, walking through it, alters cognition.
Being open to what is perceived. New ideas pop up that way, too.
When involving architects, that you need over here, for getting detailed plans for official build-permissions,
it's always very difficult. They often ignore development over time, the surroundings (what japanese gardeners call the 'borrowed landscape'), creativity while building and much more. Imho, what makes a garden a work of art is more than 50% the gardener, not the designer. (I am trying to be both, but of course need help here and there).
I have no meditation practice, that is directly related to the above, but indirectly, I feel Zazen being a 'training' for what is needed for my creative process.
Being open to what happens.
There is no right, no wrong. No good, no bad. A place beyond judgement.
Acceptance of what is possible and what not.
Staying concentrated on what I do, not hunting other thoughts and not pushing too much, either.
Feeling a safe place to experiment.
I got reminded on Zazen here and there, while watching the old 'Creativity in Management' talk from John Cleese.
Gassho,
Kotei sat/lah today.