Man on the Cross

Artist Tom X

Fine Art Print 8" x 10"
On Cold Press Watercolor Paper

The Man on the Cross is the quintessential archetype, the mother of all archetypes. The image of a man bound to an angel represents one of life's deepest realities. It is the reality which both encompasses and transcends the fluctuations of the phenomenal world, through and outside time.

Whether man is aware of his situation or not, he is restrained by his reality as he flows through it. In this regard, the angel represents the eternal here and now to which man is bound. She is the enduring present, the one eternal moment, the everlasting unfolding, the visible and the invisible, all that is, all that lies beyond the apparent and the transcendent.

And then, there is man, the symbol of humanity, threaded through the cosmos, often in a state of disconnection, fragmented and lost, but depicted here in deep communion with the angel. The binding represents his situation and his greater potential, which he might actualize if only he could come to understand his situation fully, and thereby, initiate himself into full self-realization. The angelic form also alludes to a higher form of love.

To contemplate our situation as the Man on the Cross is to offer our love through prayer to the Absolute, to God, to the divine within all of life. This is Prayer Absolute, a prayer of contemplation, and ultimately, of giving from the heart through a life of service.

More specifically, the method of Prayer Absolute is a sequence of contemplations designed to fulfill our work obligation to help the Absolute. The purpose of this prayer of contemplation is to activate the principle of resonance, to bring ourselves into an elevated state, to act as a lightning rod and consciously ascend to the cross, momentarily alleviating the suffering of the Absolute through atonement -- at-one-ment.

Use this image as a tool to initiate your own transformation, along with these Six Contemplations aroused in this specific sequence:

1. Contemplate the vision of the world through the eyes of the Man on the Cross.
2. Activate a feeling of pity for the suffering of the Absolute, at the same time allowing yourself to be lifted up to the highest dimension voluntarily taking the place of the Being of the Absolute.
3. Activate a yearning to take the place of the Absolute on the Cross.
4. Try to realize your own ignorance; we really do not know what it feels like subjectively to suffer as the Absolute suffers.
5. Immerse yourself in the sensation of helplessness as you remain in eternal fixation upon the Cross.
6. Feel a sense of communion as you partake in the mystery of helping the Absolute.

Tom X Artist Bio:

New Orleans-born artist (b.1944-2001), TOM X, has emerged as one of the great American painters of our age. His art was exhibited at the Denver Art Museum in 1976 with shows following in New York, Vancouver, and Sacramento.

Leaving New Orleans, TOM X went to study at the acclaimed San Francisco Art Institute. In the late 70s he moved to Vancouver and later to New York. During this time he met the artist and teacher E.J. Gold. Involved with Gold's teaching, he was inspired to focus on uncovering and cultivating the extreme potential of the individual.

"I'm convinced you don't need to learn how to paint and draw, instead you unlearn how to see -- and in the process become a drawer or a painter."

The sensations evoked when immersed in TOM X's work provide a sense of liberation and ecstasy, for some an "out of body" experience.

The work of TOM X embodies his attitude -- "To draw and to paint is to live. For me it's like breathing."

This powerful angelic image by this shamanic artist is a gateway to contemplation and has the ability to awaken higher emotions.