Quote:
Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot  It depends on what you mean by genius.
I don't think anyone can claim to be a genius, unless he actually produces works of genius. However, the actual production of any artistic work begins in the artist's mind. Example here:
In other words, Michelangelo looks at a big block of raw stone, and in his mind's eye, he already visualises the figure he will make from it.
The visualisation must come first. Quite similar to blue feathers, actually. |
Well, yes, we may have differing ideas as to what ‘genius’ and ‘great’ mean.
For me, it would be someone like Mozart, who could hold a whole symphony in his head, then write it down with hardly a single correction. Then again, a composer could work for years on a work and it could still be considered ‘great’.
The truth is most of us are average, by definition. There are only a few true greats who truly stand out, who can manifest ‘great’ visualizations, precisely because of their genius. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to improve, in fact, I support that, but for Tolle to talk about having a vision of becoming a great artist and manifesting it, whilst working in a restaurant, is rather fatuous and gives people false hopes.
I agree that visualization comes first, but in the case of geniuses (from what I have read), a magnificent work can inexplicably manifest in their mind with little conscious effort. The genius comes in communicating, through their chosen medium, that internal experience.