After months of soul searching, I have come to the conclusion that my purpose on this planet (for the rest of my days) is to become a conduit for re-introducing the feminine aspect of the divine into the collective consciousness. Intuitive ways of knowing and creativity are necessary antidotes to the out-of-balance patriarchal-consumer forces poisoning our world and psyches today. Experience as an actor has taught me that creativity allows for the development of empathy and compassion, attributes which are absolutely necessary in serious discussions about improving global relations. The premise that creativity is a manifestation of the divine is the basis of my personal worldview.
Creativity allows for flexibility of thought ("thinking outside the box"), enhances problem-solving skills, and establishes powers of empathy and understanding, all of which
lead to greater diplomacy. If America is to truly light the way to freedom for the rest of the world, then creativity and diplomacy must become as great, in our culture and in our leaders, as our dependency on oil.
As an actor, one of the greatest gifts I received as a result of training was to view
others’ strengths and flaws as mirroring my own. An actor has to find an experience within his or her life that allows him to empathize as much as possible with a character in order to portray the character honestly. The actor is compelled to find something in his or her own nature that is on some level similar to the character. The universality of our humanity/divinity can be accessed through this creative play.
For example, an actor may have to take on the role of a murderer. The actor may have never killed a human being, and so does not have that personal experience to draw upon. Using Stanislavsky’s "magic if": "If I were this character, in these circumstances, how would I behave?" - IS A technique an actor might use to play George in "Of Mice and Men." One could argue, on the most basic level, that George is a "murderer." However, there are so many shades of gray surrounding the extenuating circumstances that lead to his decision and subsequent actions that one ends up empathizing with George rather than blindly condemning him in black or white terms. Standing in separation and judgment, saying, "I would never behave like that!" is not an option for an actor, as that kind of thinking is not conducive to the acting process. This type of separation-stance is taken by those who see all people as "the other," the "stranger." As an actor, one must find common ground between oneself and the character. Even if the actor does not condone the character's behavior, he must find a way to understand the behavior and empathize with the reasons why the behavior was manifested. This process of exploring all the aberrant behavior as well as the noble actions of human consciousness is the epitome of diplomacy. It is easy to stand apart in judgment, creating a sense of separation and superiority, which is why so many people do it: from political parties to sports teams to Presidents. It is infinitely harder to find common ground, to look for the good in someone "despicable," or to see thy enemy as thyself. From JFK to Martin Luther King, from Gandhi to Nelson Mandela, isn't this the message that the most beloved leaders throughout time have communicated?
Nelson Mandela said: "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended." For many years, I walked through life as an actor. Later, during recovery from trauma, I realized that the Theater Arts had given me the very tools I would need to navigate the "dark night of the soul" that accompanies trauma and recovery. Through visualization; through conversations with "wise-women" characters in my imagination; through the relationship I have created with the most dark, cavernous places of my being, I have navigated my own labyrinth and found the portal to that place that is sacred and universal in all of us. Pain is one of the most powerful teachers that we have in this life. Transforming pain into compassion via empathy is the greatest triumph of the human spirit. Transforming that empathy into action that (according to Mandela) "respects and enhances the freedom of others" is a soulful goal that can lead to an alternate reality of unity, rather than one of fear and domination, and is the seed-thought of the new culture of higher consciousness that is being nurtured in our world today.
Kathryn Preston 2008
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