This is my entry for this week's Art Explosion contest hosted by @juliakponsford. The theme is awakening which for me signifies something larger than merely waking up, so I chose to interpret a spiritual awakening as the theme for my entry.

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The Entry

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The Inspiration

Krishnamurti says that truth is a pathless land, meaning there is no shortcut or route to a spiritual awakening. There are several theories and ponderings on what it means to achieve enlightenment however, and some of them are visually represented here.

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• The Chakras
  Chakras are believed to be the energy centers of the non physical body through which energy flows through. The seven chakras are reprsented by the colours of the rainbow and starting from the base of the spine they are the root, sacral,
  solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye and crown chakras. Having all chakras aligned and in balance is considered important for spiritual progress. I also chose to use a silhouette of a person meditating because many people believe that dissolving the ego is essential for spiritual awakening.

• The Snake
  The snake represents two things. The first is Kundalini, the primal energy that resides in us and upon awakening travels up the spine through the chakras. When Kundalini reaches the crown chakra a person is said to have achieved enlightenment. The second is the Ouroboros , a Greek symbol of a snake eating its own tail to signify infinity. It also represents the eternal now, and how one can transcend time and space to arrive at a plane of infinite now and possibility.

• The Astral Plane
  The astral plane is where the non physical body goes while asleep or meditating. The eyes within the snake form represent the eyes that can see into the astral plane. The background of the universe also is meant to represent it.

• Flower of Life and Metatron's Cube.
  These are two forms of sacred geometry that have a lot of meaning behind them. Read more about the Flower of Life here and Metatron's Cube here

• DMT
  Surrounding the sacred geometry and connecting the snake is an abstract representation of the chemical structure of DMT, a naturally occurring chemical that is released upon birth and death. It's also found in many plant species and can be ingested as part of shamanic ceremonies towards spiritual growth. It's known as the spirit molecule due to its association with profound spiritual insight.

• Sun and Moon Cycles
  The Sun is represented by the yellow triangle and the Moon by the stages of its waxing and waning. They signify a cycle, and the routine of waking up and sleeping we all follow.

• Celtic Knots
  The waning moon ends in Celtic knots that are another form of sacred geometry and represent the interconnection between all things.

• Turiya
  All this is happening within a larger eye that is opening towards Turiya which is the state of pure consciousness that transcends the other forms of it. It's the state beyond time and space, and where the boundary between self and the world has already been broken. You are the world, the world is you, which to me is the highest form of spiritual awakening.

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The Process

First, I picked out the best images to use. To do this I used google's advanced search option to give me royalty free images that can be modified as I see fit. This gives me a a bit more variety than pixabay. Most images I use in my blogs that aren't my own come from here.

I used Adobe Illustrator to combine my images. I used the image trace function to get my silhouette and add the chakras on top.

I used the clipping mask tool to get my eyes.

For the snake I used an existing image, reduced its opacity and traced over it with the brush tool. I did it with a mouse, so it was a bit tedious but got easier once I get used to the flow of the scales.

I superimposed an image of the Flower of Life and Metatron's Cube and added them to the art board.

I added a background using the best image I could find that had decent colours and could possibly depict the 4th dimension of Turiya.

To add a little originality I used some of my photo hacked hand drawings. I later swapped this one out for another that I thought fit better.

I added the Celtic knots and Moons, and a few finishing touches later I'm done.

I experimented with a different background using a fractal I'd made with Mirror Lab, but preferred the original better.

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