Chapel of Sacred Mirrors

Alex Grey is an American artist whose paintings are mostly spiritual, having to do with the human body, the soul, and the universe. While attending the Boston Museum School he met his now-wife Allyson Rymland Grey and experimented with LSD which, according to his biography on his website, "induced mystical experiences that transformed his agnostic existentialism to a radical transcendentalism." They became much more aware of their inner selves and beliefs through their entheogenic (derived from Greek, literally meaning becoming divine within) endeavors. At Harvard he began to study the human body in different respects varying from cadaver dissections to exploring various methods of healing energies.

Alex had training in drawing anatomy and this was one of the building blocks that led to his creation of the 'Sacred Mirrors.'

The 'Sacred Mirrors' is Alex Grey's 21 painting series that explores the human body and spirit through all walks of life, both before during and after. The goal of the paintings is to take the viewer of them through a visual tour of their inner self, mind, body, and soul.

"In a cosmos of billions of galaxies, in a galaxy of billions of stars, there's a planet with billions of people - the only one we know of - and every breath we breathe is a miracle. Our hearts pump, we see, we feel, we taste, we touch the world. And sometimes we forget the pure wonder of our brief journey on Earth. My life is committed to making artwork that wakes people up to the miracle of life, the value of being human, and the transformative power of love. There are moments when we see behind the opaque curtain of life, when the infinite One shines through the skin of the Beloved and we recognize the game we are in, the journey we are on, the powerful beings that we are and the truth that is worth living for." - Alex Grey

This man is absolutely an incredible inspiration. Now I can assume that some people may thing that he is a hippie, or a religious or spiritual radical, but the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors is open to all people, of all ages, race, and religion. As they state, "the mission of COSM is to provide an enduring sanctuary of visionary art to inspire every pilgrim's creative path and affirm the values of love and integral wisdom." I decided to dedicate today's post to this topic because I was reminded of it when I wrote the last entry about spirituality, I was reminded of the awe-inspiring artwork of this visionary artist. Essentially, Alex Grey has done and is currently doing all of this amazing things to help open people's minds and not to make them believe one particular set of beliefs, but to better understand whatever it is that they personally believe in. It's like helping someone see within themselves when their vision has been impaired, or they just haven't seen anything inspiring.

The idea that there is a place where anyone can go, and they can experience art and spirituality and open their eyes, and their minds to their inner beliefs and the beauty of all of the wonders of the universe and are encouraged to do so is unbelievable. The mix between transcendental art and all around good natured people that are part of this movement is such a beautiful thing to take into consideration, if everyone were a part of something like this, we probably wouldn't need to worry about any more wars. Everyone has their own way of looking at themselves, the world, life, death, the afterlife, but this artwork speaks volumes to anyone that views it and each person is open to their own interpretation. Below are just a few samples of Alex Grey's artwork.

This painting, entitled "Artist's Hand" is very symbolic in my mind to the art of Alex Grey, how his art opens people's eyes, with the eye in place of the bristles of the brush, you can see the different people and religious/cultural figures in the top left corner, which represents his focus on a hyperawareness to those kinds of important pillars. Towards the bottom there are evil looking creatures which seem to be being tormented, possibly from the lightness coming from the art itself.

This painting, "One" makes me think of love. The love between two human beings making this mental and spiritual connection, represented by the two heads conforming together. To me the eyes throughout the painting represent both the universe and the mind's eye, and they are flowing back and forth between the two people that are experiencing this unbreaking connection.

This painting is called "Oversoul." It reminds me of the experiences that I've had that I referred to in the previous entry of spiritual and mental occurrences and is like a human being catching a glimpse into their soul, their higher powers and levels of being.

This painting, entitled "Wonder" can apply to many people in many different places in their life, whether it be mental, spiritual, geographic, or anything at all. I think of when I was a child looking up at the stars and wondering if my wishes would really come true if I found a twinkling one, looking up at the sky and trying to imagine what it would be like to fly up there and just explore. The forehead of the child portrayed in the painting is illuminated and makes me think of the third eye, of which is significant in many different forms of spirituality, culture, and religion, but varies depending on each sect. Sometimes referred to as the "chakra," the third eye is thought to be the part of us that connects to inner realms and higher levels of consciousness. It is often connected with instances of clairvoyance, visions, precognitions, and out-of-body experiences. Everyone has it, but not everyone can harness and actually use these abilities. Those that can are often referred to as "seers." In the Hindu religion, when women wear "the dot on their forehead," it's actually called a "tilak," and it represents the third eye. The intricate details that are floating in the sky remind me of a flow of knowledge and information, similar to the belief that all thought processes operate on an electrical impulse frequency and travel through the open space.