PIA can deepen your meditation practice. If you start to make judgments about what is more or less valuable, you can express that experience in your PIA. In fact, when you are fatigued or stuck in some aspect of your regular meditation practice, PIA may open your stuck places and bring energy to your practice.
Among other things, PIA allows us to experience the equality of each moment while simultaneously expressing the uniqueness of each moment. After a PIA session, meditation tends to be deepened. PIA can shift one beyond left brain thinking, organizing, planning, figuring out….by including these functions, but not being attached to them. PIA is like meditation practice in that it will evolve and deepen with regular practice.
PIA is not art therapy. Art therapy is an expressive form of therapy using art materials. It’s a healing modality and also enables the art products to give information relevant to therapy.
Yes, ideally, after the age of 10.
The Practice of Immediacy in the Arts is best learned by direct experience. The 3 instructional videos on this website show how to do PIA. For individual or small group video coaching, please get in touch via the contact page.
PIA can be used as a method for making art.
As an awareness practice, not being artistic or creative makes no difference—it could be to your advantage as you may have fewer preconceptions. When ideas about “not being artistic” emerge include it and give expression to that thought in the media you are using.
Return to the basic instructions when you have that question and also express the question in your PIA.
Experience is too rich to express everything. If you become aware of ‘worrying about expressing everything,’ express ‘worrying.’ If you become aware of ‘how much should I express?’ express that in the media you are using.
There is nothing wrong with resistance or being blocked/stuck. In PIA, these are experiences arising in the immediacy of the moment—include them and give expression to them via the media you are using, then notice what you’re aware of next (ex: thought, fan blowing, incense smell, body sensation, crackle of paper…….). If the resistance or being blocked/stuck is because you believe you need to create an acceptable or beautiful finished product or because some form of fear has taken hold, using your media, include and express that thought or fear, then open to the next moment.
One of the effects of PIA is learning how to swim in the midst of things no matter what one’s ideas, fears and opinions.
PIA helps you go beyond your limitations (judgments, frustrations, being stuck, blocks) by including them—giving shape and form to them. By opening to not knowing, expressing what you are aware of as it shows up, expressing expectations as they are occurring, your creative juices can have an increased possibility of flowing in directions you haven’t yet explored. You might be surprised by what emerges as you include your reactions to what’s being created. Also, PIA can seed a new creative piece and then you can develop it further without PIA. I call this revised PIA (PIA+).
If during PIA a goal comes up, express it…….then, what’s going on now? Thinking? Truck sounds? Hunger? Hard floor? Confusion?
Most Practice of Immediacy is messy but occasionally one may experience being carried along by a creative wave or current that may have a certain energetic feel to it. It may feel as if you are being lifted up and carried along by a creative flow that directs you towards certain media, forms, textures, colors, music, words. The result of this flow may be an expression that is unified or fragmented, intelligible or unintelligible, familiar or remote……..In any case, what you have made is not the expression of a pre-conceived plan, but of not knowing in action. If you do try to plan, control or desire a creative flow, express ‘planning,’ controlling,’ or ‘desire’ in the media you are using.
Most people can practice PIA as it is an expression of your experience, moment by moment. If you think you can’t do PIA, include those ideas—thoughts—feelings in your PIA.