I first encountered (and attempted) Meditation when in high school while teaching myself yoga from a book. I don’t think the session went too well.
For many years after that, I would find books on meditation or listen to a talk and then practice the newly learned method for awhile.
This dalliance ended one evening, in 1985, in the basement of a Roman Catholic church on the upper east side of NYC when I listened to and learned from Fr. Thomas Keating.
I learned how to practice Centering Prayer that evening. That very first time I sat with all those others in that big room, I felt the deep peace within that was familiar to me from those times when, working in the studio I was “in the flow”. Centering Prayer became not just a practice but a rudder in my life.
“The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity.”
― Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Finding our center is at the core of both creativity and spirituality. Through both practices we are drawn to be more compassionate with ourselves and others.
Each practice is, at heart, a conversation with all beings. We seek fellowship.
Practicing Centering Prayer opens one to the interconnectedness of all beings, our capacity for compassion is broadened. I also strive to expand my capacity for compassion and to sustain the feeling of interconnectedness, and peace, in order to communicate it to those who view my paintings, as I work in art. Artists seek to create a bond with the viewer who will eventually look on the piece and create meaning for themselves.
Realizing that the energy that flows through and around me is the same energy flowing through and around every being, I use color and light, to convey the experience I have had.
Looking around us we do not see energy but we do see light and color. Light reflecting and bouncing off objects gives them definition. In this way light gives form to energy. Color communicates emotion and movement. I take in the world and create paintings using my external and internal experiences as raw material.
The banners on this website are slices of paintings. The paintings themselves are available for viewing and for sale at www.RMCimini.com. On this site you may also order prints in various sizes and on differing media, (papers, canvas, clear acrylic or aluminum) to fit your budget and your living space. You may also select an image to be printed on a mug, or puzzle, a tote bag or phone case.
I sincerely hope that my work has in some way brought peace to you.