The philosophy of
The Art of the Fool and its educational methods
The Art of the Fool strives to awaken a conscious life of love in freedom, and freedom in love, through Play.
To Play is to have imaginations, receive inspirations and intuitively create. It requires flexibility and elasticity.
It is the living experience of authentic vision and insight and it will guide us through these times of rapid and epic change.
The development of this art is my life's work as an educator and artist. In this era of materialism and technology, how do we access and then transform the wisdom tradition into terms our age can recognize? In the future, how can such wisdom safeguard the act of living life with freedom, love, and moral integrity? Such questions inform my performances and workshops.
The Art of the Fool is dedicated to improvisation and intuitive creation to meet the real needs of the moment. It relies on imagination and inspiration developed through consciousness studies and artistic practice, so that every performance or workshop reflects the unique time, place, and participants. This is supported by deep preparation and begins with content - a story to tell or a lesson I wish to teach, so that I am equipped with a goal and the appropriate knowledge base and experience to bear it. But the original content is merely an important means to an end. It is not the goal.
For example, I may want to teach students how to play with their voices. That is the content. But this content merely serves to develop the confidence to explore and create with the body. The exploration brings self-understanding, and when played with others in the world, it develops an understanding of that which is outside the self. The conscious and empathic observation and play with the self and the world serves the ultimate goal of developing love in freedom and freedom in love.
Through the art of the fool, the initial or prepared content of any performance or lesson is vitally important, but the performer or teacher must be ready at any moment to sacrifice it, create anew or adapt in the moment in order to serve the greater goal. This flexibility and elasticity, when nourished by prepared content, is the vessel for the wisdom of our age. It is greatly needed in order to guide us through these times of rapid and epic change.
When I am teaching or performing and I have the discernment to perform the "Right Deed", I Am the Fool; when I don’t, I play merely the fool. Discernment between the two is the main quest and research practice I work with alchemically, both personally and with my students. We can play in the moment either way, and knowing where we are depends on the development of consciousness.
The consciousness of the Fool within the Self determines the quality of the experience for performer and audience as well as teacher and student. It determines the quality of the art so that now and then insight slips in. When all else fails, the clown comes out to make sure we don’t take things too seriously - Grace provides for healing and silly fun. It can be difficult, but is by nature innocent, friendly, and forgivable!
Dawn Nilo
Educational Methods
(See the School for educational activities)
Development of consciousness
Through conversation, awareness, and concentration exercises, we strive to develop the capacity to objectively observe and direct our own actions, feelings, and thoughts. This work is called developing the witness consciousness. We bear witness to the emerging Self, authentic and wise.
Sense and imaginal awareness
The play of the Fool is the careful stimulation and observation of what we perceive through our senses and imagination. We pay close attention to what we see, hear, feel, taste, smell, think and do. Directed properly, our attention leads to perceiving the world in a much larger, more aware and awake way. Physical perceptions become poetic, bright and especially dynamic. Imaginal perceptions open to a realm of experience where we can explore what is real in the imaginal. Between the two, we play. This builds capacities for intuitive creation and improvisation.
Empathic Learning
By taking the time to become familiar with the space around us, our bodies, and the community, we build the necessary warmth and safety for learning. Once a deep sense of trust has been established, we are able to observe, and be observed, with empathy and love. We pay attention and are interested in one another, authentically seeing and being seen. Sharing through the light of the eyes, we see the self anew in the reflection of the other, and share in his or her beingness, without losing the Self. Conversation is practiced as a social art, providing for reflection, feedback, and learning. Thus we are our teachers.
Intuitive creation and improvisation
For the artist, the ability to bring forth and make visible what is not yet known or seen requires the capacity for intuition and the will for creation. The ability to play with what already exists or is thought to be known, so that it is seen alive in its essence, requires the capacity for improvisation. Improvisation can transform knowledge into wisdom. Creation brings about what does not yet exist, improvisation gives it new life. These capacities are nurtured and educated beyond time and space through Grace. This requires Nothing, which is surprisingly hard to find and is found in the oddest places. Thus we spend much time listening in to what is quiet, slow, still and beyond, as well as to what is rushing loudly in right here and now.
The transformation of experience in to Art
Through work and play, we transform the pain and joy of the human experience into understanding and wisdom through art. We explore and play with polarities such as leading and following, power and helplessness, expansion and contraction, masculine and feminine, individuality and union, and the real and imaginal. With practiced artistic skill, we strive to give what we have gained freely to the world through the art of living, teaching, performing etc. We Play consciously on The Great Stage!