#48 Art of Soul

The Art of Soul is about living the artist’s life and mastering the art of living as a whole human being. “The ultimate aim of the artist is to lay hold of the art of living. Be a master of living for the soul creates everything.” Bruce had a clear vision about what it took to be an artist of life: “Requirement to be an artist – purity of heart.” “The aim of art is to state in aesthetic creation the deepest psychic and personal experiences of a human being.” “An artist’s expression is his soul made apparent. Behind every motion, the music of his soul is made visible.” Bruce Lee believed that we are each artists of our own lives. We don’t have to create creative artifacts or achieve the status of an artist in society in order to be an artist. “Art is the way to the essence of human life. The aim of art is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities – thought, feeling, will – to the life rhythm of the world of nature.” This is about co-creating your life with the world and revealing your soul. Everyone has their own expression of artistic activity, whether it’s in your relationships or actually an artistic creation. This is the personality as a reflection of our soul, not our social persona we put on for show. “The artless art is the art of the soul at peace.” When you start to cultivate what makes your heart sing and you start to flow with that, that brings a sense of centeredness and peace which is fully self-generated. “All vague notions must fall before a pupil can call himself a master.” These vague notions hold you back and cause you to drift in a place of uncertainty. “The true artist has no public. He works for the sheer joy of it, with and element of playfulness, of casualness. Art reaches its greatest peak when devoid of self-consciousness. Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he is making or about to make.” There is true freedom in being yourself. Be as weird as you want to be. “Simplicity is the last step of art and the beginning of nature.” When we simply and honestly express our soul, we become more natural—closer to nature. Take Action: What makes your heart sing? How could you share that? How could you unfold your personality and make who you are more visible? If you’re just starting this, it doesn’t have to be the world, it can just be one trusted co-conspirator who won’t judge you who you can be honest with. #BruceLeePodcastChallenge: June 12, 2017 - June 26, 2017 A 2 week action challenge to integrate Bruce Lee’s philosophy into your daily life. One winner will be picked to be a guest on the Bruce Lee Podcast! Go to brucelee.com/podcastchallenge for more details! #AAHA Our shout-out goes to Korean American actor and musician John Cho. He’s best known in his role in the Harold and Kumar movies, and plays Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek reboot film series. Cho is open about experiencing racism in his career in Hollywood and purposely pursues roles that break Asian stereotypes. He has said that one of his biggest frustrations is how Hollywood seeks to follow trends and acts like followers of culture rather than starting and leading social trends or artistic movements. We think you’re awesome John Cho! #BruceLeeMoment This week’s moment is from listener Thomas N.: “Long days of study were overshadowed by frantic thoughts of whether I could be approaching the task in a more efficient or intelligent way. Bruce says: "Like everyone else you want to learn the way to win, but never to accept the way to lose. To accept defeat—to learn to die—is to be liberated from it! So when tomorrow comes, you must free your ambitious mind and learn the art of dying." That was it. I had to accept the possibility of failure, stop trying to find ways to weasel myself into success, and simply do.” Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast