Self-Realization and the Art of Listening

One of the great reasons for art's existence is to act as a spiritual mirror for the people of a society.  In every piece of True Art we see a piece, shade, reflection of ourselves.  This is how we tell if an artist is for real or not; and if the artist is not in deep communication with him/herself, this deep, elusive, human truth does not show up in their work.  When this 'honesty essence' isn't present, the consumer isn't moved past purely aesthetic(or perhaps nostalgic) appreciation.  So why so do many pathetic, drooling artistic failures recieve such widespread recongnition when some of the trully genius contributers are virtually unknown and often scoffed at?  Art exists on a higher plane; not only the artist has to find this level of expressive purity, but the consumer also must rise to the level of the art personally.
      High Art is, without fail, created from a space of meditation.  In every note or brush stroke the artist is asking, 'Who am I?' and clearing the channel of the Muse enough to recieve the answer.  This question and answer saturates every facet of their work.  Given this, it is not reasonable to think that the consumer could fully assimilate the work on the normal, scattered conciousness that most people live their lives in.  Approaching High Art from this level of awareness is like standing in front of a mirror with your eyes closed.  You reach your hand out, away from yourself, and feel a smooth hard surface that could be a mirror, but which could also be a window.
    Standing in front of my first original Pollock, I came upon something I soon realized was very important.  I thought, 'If that's Jackson Pollock, then Who Am I?'  And so I began to understand why High Art is High and the level of interaction needed to understand any of it.    
    In meditation, one might ask, 'Who Am I?' and then lunge upward through the forehead in seek of the answer; this happens again and again until they might lunge once more and this time not come down.  Filled with light and disorientation, again the question, 'Who Am I?' but this time the same voice answers, 'Who is this 'I' you speak of?'  At this point the person is merely a place for light, a womb for the Almighty seed, purely receiving.  This is how music must be listened to.  This is how we begin to hear what the great musicians are talking about and why they are great.  The entire body must be transformed into merely a place for sound.