In the infinite sphere of the soul, one part of which is experienced as colors, another sounds, another movements, and so forth, all vibrate simultaneously, so that a vibration in one region communicates itself to another. From these vibrations of the diverse regions of the soul an accord results, and this accord is life; and when this accord is expressed, it constitutes art. And it so happens that this is the expression of life, the reverberation of life itself.
—Pierre Leroux, Pertaining to the Poetry of Our Time, 1831
Reverberations of Life
Our lives are an endless stream of moments; a mysterious display of shifting visions, feelings, sensations ...crisp and flaky lichens encrusted to an old stone wall; scents of damp moss and fallen lilac under the dry shavings of a birch tree; cold shimmering jewels of moonlight scattered on ice encrusted snow... these impressions follow down the paths of our senses, into our hearts and minds, and lay to rest within our souls.
Residing deep within us, they dwell mostly in the unconscious parts of ourselves; and though rarely seen or felt, they play a part in the sense of who we are, and who we come to be.
From time to time, these inner moments, or noumena, are reawakened. In a spontaneous instant, something in our environment —a pungent smell, a bitter taste, a haunting melody— arouses a strange yet familiar feeling inside us. Much like two strings sounding in unison, the outer vibration of the phenomenon we experience speaks to something in the depths of us, drawing out a similar resonance from within.
These noumena can appear quite vivid—such as the fragrance worn by a past love, awakening emotions as tacitly real as if their presence had returned... or rather vague, like the familiar voice of a stranger, whose face we cannot place, yet feeling somehow to be known.
Although there are countless numbers of these remembrances, they all share a common quality —in the instance of re-collection, we are reminded of something that feels somehow important to us— something that had receded from our conscious mind, but our soul did not forget. Like an ancestor visiting us in a dream, we meet our memory for a moment as it echoes the presence of its past, and then dissolves into the sleep from which it came.
Metaphor
As individuals, our minds have a limited capacity to feel unity. We can only take in parts of our experience—we see the world of time and space linearly, moment by moment, with one individual point of view within each moment, and only one limited perspective within this point of view.
Yet, as science and the great contemplative traditions reveal to us, the world, and all of space and time, does indeed exist as a unified, vibrating whole, composed of an infinite number of 'parts'.
One way to experience this mysterious unity is through the discovery of relationships. Not intellectually, but on an experiential, feeling level, one can observe how apparently separate phenomena seem to intuitively relate to one another—such as a calm feeling of melancholy, a song written in a minor key, and a moonlit ocean.
Once we begin to perceive these correspondences, there arises the desire to name them, which is done through the use of metaphor.
The great conductor, composer, and pianist Leonard Bernstein spoke of how metaphor can 'accomplish the supremely difficult task of providing a name for everything'. Bernstein explained how music can be seen as a powerful metaphorical language that gives voice to our inner worlds, and in so doing, creates a way to communicate the deeper experiences of the human condition that otherwise could not be shared.
Alchemy
Whether born from corporeal memory or creative fantasy, truly great, and truly meaningful works of art invoke these metaphorical 'vibrations of experience'. Awakening noumena in both creator and perceiver, such art draws all into a mutual state of resonance, through the fundamental feelings of experience we all share.
Just like the alchemical perfumers of the old world, who boiled down their carefully gathered botanicals in hopes of revealing their quinta essentia, the artist aims to capture the living energy of our experience; to distill it down into a potent artistic form, and through creative expression, reverberate its essence back out into the world.
The power to receive, transform, and express the energies of life is an extraordinary gift given to human beings. Throughout all times and cultures, unique individuals have devoted themselves to this special craft, placing the immense time, effort, and sacrifice required into works of art that arouse feelings of depth, beauty, and meaning within all who are drawn into their presence.
Like memories of those passed long ago, the creations of such individuals remain. Carrying on like streams into a river, flowing along with all those who have come before, they wait to be remembered, to be born anew, and reverberate within our souls once more.