Art and Spiritual Transformation: The Seven Stages of Death and Rebirth

Eversole presents a seven-stage journey from the darkened soul to the light of spiritual illumination that is possible through the world of art.

by Finley Eversole, Ph.D.

Eversole presents a seven-stage journey from the darkened soul to the light of spiritual illumination that is possible through the world of art.

He introduces a meditation practice that moves beyond the visual content of an art form to connect with its embedded spiritual energy, allowing the viewer to tap into the deeper consciousness inherent in the artwork and awaken dormant powers in the depths of the viewer’s soul. Examining modern and postmodern artwork from 1945 onward, Eversole reveals the influences of ancient Egypt, India, China and alchemy on this art.

He draws extensively on philosophy, myth and symbolism, literature and metaphysics to explain the seven stages of spiritual death and rebirth of the soul possible through art. These would include the experience of self-loss, the journey into the underworld, the experience of the dark night of the soul, the conflict with and triumph over evil, the awakening of new life in the depths of being, and the return and reintegration of consciousness on a higher plane of being, resulting finally in ecstasy, transfiguration, illumination and liberation.

To illustrate these stages, Eversole includes works by abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko, and modern visionary artists Alex Grey and Ernst Fuchs, among others, to reveal the powerful and liberating forces art contributes to the transformation and evolution of human consciousness.

$24.95 — Inner Traditions, One Park St., Rochester, VT 05767.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 28, Number 5, October/November 2009.