{Andy Butler}
music by Andy Butler/video by Shambhavi Sarasvati
❝I find that we have to leap over a hurdle in our time-poor society when deciding to engage our creativity. It’s just like deciding to sit down on the meditation cushion. Even though I am engrossed and incredibly alive while in the process, and I find myself grounded, vividly aware, and fulfilled afterwards, I have to move past my resistance.❞Apprenticeship is our best relationship to this alive aware reality. Following step-by-step. Being practical. Enjoying the process. Recognizing that there is no mastery, only infinite learning.
video by Andy Butler/no sound
❝ Since childhood, creativity has been a portal for me. ❞
I would sit at the largely unused, upright piano we had in the house. I needed some way to stay out of the fray at home.
I looked at the white and the black keys on the keyboard, pressing one, then another, then the two together, trying to hear what they meant to each other, to understand their relationship. Before I knew it, I would have escaped much of the chaos around me.
When I began meditating, I had to first practically talk myself into giving away thirty minutes to the endeavor. “It’s a waste of time,” some tape in my head seemed to say on loop.
Before I knew it, I had discovered another portal, a magical one that offered the possibility to deeply rest, letting my small self recognize its true nature as the vast Self.
I express myself through many different mediums. I like to tell stories, so I write. Using my hands has been revelatory to me, so I sculpt, draw, and make jewelry. Here, I am sharing the different ways that healing, relaxation, and joy take place when I actively enter into the play of creativity.
~Andy Butler
About
Andy
Andy Butler is an artist best known for his collaborative musical project Hercules and Love Affair. Hercules and Love Affair gathers together world-class artists such as Anohni, Sharon Van Etten, Mashrou Leila, and many more. Andy's music can be heard in movies, including the Oscar-winning Lion, and has soundtracked many a fashion runway.
Andy has been meditating for two years. In 2020, he discovered Trika Shaivism and Jaya Kula after hearing a podcast with Shambhavi. He currently lives in Belgium.
Andy’s Instagram