Feng Shui, Inner Knowing and Learning New Things
Learning New Things, Part One: Unconscious Incompetence
Painting Class - My Starry Night
Last weekend I happened upon a summer festival where there had been a juried plein-air art show. I only caught the end part as the awards were being announced. The adjudicator was explaining that the pieces they awarded prizes to were those that had captured the energy and spirit of the festival. They were not necessarily the most technically developed among those who had entered the competition.
He went on to say that if someone sticks with painting long enough their technique would improve but eventually they would hit a wall and that wall is Themselves. In other words, in going deeply into any art (and probably all and everything in life) our biggest block is not skills and konwledge, but what we find inside ourselves with all our human mixture of fear, pride and ego.
This got me thinking about feng shui, inner knowing and how the 4 stages of learning all fit together.
The 4 distinctive stages of skill development are: 1 - unconscious incompetence, 2 - conscious incompetence, 3 - conscious competence and 4 - unconscious competence.
Unconscious incompetence is when you don’t know what you don’t know. It is in this ‘beginner’s mind’ that we are often the most joyful and happy, not yet being aware of the rules and the ‘right’ way to do things. The painting ”My Starry Night” I did in an art class as an interpration of Van Gogh’s style is just such an example. I had fun painting it and I enjoy the mystical quality about it.
There is no real reason to move from unconscious incompetence in the creative arts, either in your own creative endeavors or in purchasing art work for your home. Interior Alignment ™ says that if it feels good, it is good feng shui.
Many famous folk artists fall into this category. Nova Scotian painter Maud Lewis sold her paintings for under $10 when she was living and I recently saw one original being auctioned with the estimated selling price of $3,500 - $4,500. I do not know why certain pieces of art or artists becomes so valuable, but I do enjoy Maud Lewis’ art. They have a good energy about them.
It may be that we feel pressure, both from ourselves and from others around us, to move too quickly out of beginner’s mind. It is almost as if as soon as we show some interest and promise in an area we feel compelled to become as good as we can and sometimes in this pursuit, the pleasure is dimished. How great it would be if we could take up painting, drawing, dance or singing and be joyful in doing an activity just for the pleasure of doing it without expectations.
On ‘hitting the wall’, in the first stage even though you may be perfectly happy, critical feedback from others can burst your bubble which can then lead to fears arising; leading to self doubt and loss of confidence. Of course it is other people’s own fears and self doubts that lead them to be critical in the first place.
The wall can stop you in your tracks (you give up — pronouce yourself a failure and never try again), or it can represent an opportunity to move to the next stage where you begin to learn and develop. Another possibility is that you can break the wall down and continue doing what you were doing, enjoying the blissful beginner’s mind. Remember, if it feels good, it is good feng shui!
© Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2008. All rights reserved.
