Relationship power-games – Introspective art for self-improvement
Relationship power-games can make life unbearable. How to come out of the situation? To come out, we must understand the dynamic; but most people don’t even perceive they are playing a power game. How to realize we are playing a dangerous game? Looking at introspective paintings can help in this and in other difficult situations. They can be useful tools for self-improvement.
Renaissance paintings and many antique paintings had often a deeper, secret meaning. Even world famous paintings, such as Da Vinci’s Last Supper, are full of symbolism. But we lose the keys to understanding those symbols.
Since I like Renaissance paintings and their symbolism, I paint often what I call introspective paintings, where the word introspective means only that there is a deeper meaning, something that we can use for self-improvement.
Self-improvement means trying to achieve a higher self-consciousness and understand more and more what we are doing. Through the following introspective paintings. I will describe what happens in relationship power-games. People play these games unconsciously and very often confuse them with genuine love.
An image (an introspective painting) which represents a game is easier to remember than a reasoning, and can alert us, coming to mind, in dangerous circumstances.
Driven by Unawareness
This acrylic painting shows a man (on the right) who dances carelessly, enticed by the smell of a mate. He behaves as a butterfly that, attracted by a resplendent flower, overlooks the spider’s web. He doesn’t follow his instinct, but his desire.
He is so taken up with his hunting adventure that, when he gets caught and becomes finally aware of the spider presence, he gets amazed by it. He is then so irresponsible that he goes on dancing, even if he is entangled in the spider’s web. This way he gets entangled more and more.
The Plotting Woman (figure below)
She puts into her cobweb all fascination she has and waits. Even if her plots are subtle, the instincts that drive her are brutal. She feels confident, because she doesn’t weave to get pleasure, but to follow her intent and this intent will cause her prey to come to her. The more seductive the game, the more wicked is the trap. And the trap touches certain chords…
A Game Among Forces (figure on top)
The veil has fallen. It’s time to come out of shadows. The power game starts. Cards are now on the table and the fight begins! Most times, love lasts only until they get coupled. Then, in the married couple, this all becomes a problem of balance. When the man is caught, the game becomes hard. It is a game among forces. It drains energy and, with energy, possibilities to self-improvement.
Emotions that attract us, and to which we react, travel along the threads of the telepathic cobweb. This cobweb acts as a trap but connects us all.
Which animal will a hunter catch when he has set the trap?
- Which animal will follow the smelling track of the hunter?
- Which animal will follow its instinct and avoid the danger?
To ignore our instinct to follow our desires means ignoring reality. This can put us into danger (as these acrylic paintings show). Sometimes we act as children. Trying to catch the moon, we lean too much out of the balcony. We give up happiness and self-improvement because we believe we have a right to them. We feel victims of every situation.
We look for happiness in difficult circumstances; we yield to enticements and promises; we struggle and try to bind others to us and it amazes us when everything, sooner or later, slips from our hands.
If we get upset when looking at these introspective paintings, it means we don’t want to look at ourselves in the mirror. Self-improvement is a hard task; only if we notice the threads, we can master the cobweb.
See also: Many play power-games
Aurora Mazzoldi