Brandon Locher is a multimedia artist and music producer who at the moment lives and works in New York, NY. Since 2006, he’s had greater than 60 releases beneath varied names and creative media, together with audio recordings, visible artwork, multimedia artwork, and sound artwork. He’s been practising the Transcendental Meditation approach for the previous two years. Right here’s what we realized about his artistic work and the way his TM follow enriches his life.
What are your passions? What does a typical day in your week seem like?
One of my largest passions in life is just course of. I’m usually reminded of a passage from “Confessions of a Mountain Climber” by the artist Agnes Denes. “I’m a mountain climber, and there’s no means out however up. Not for the height–I’ve lengthy since understood about that–however for the mountain. You create the mountain, and then you definately climb it. Not for the ultimate peak; the problem is the method and the journey, and the unattainable solutions are the lure.”
This assertion has at all times resonated with me as a result of I really feel course of is totally important to every part in life. I’ve found I benefit from the fruitful outcomes extra profoundly once I take time having fun with the method and journey to completion. Course of is concerning the right here and now and waking as much as this very second.
I’ve been enjoying piano, studying books, and watching movies for leisure recently. Usually, I’m engaged on music or paintings in my studio for no less than 6-Eight hours a day. I’ve discovered it very useful and useful to construction my day however to permit tons of selection inside all of the completely different elements. Day-to-day I’ll be making radically completely different music, consuming completely different meals, and experiencing inspiration and sweetness in unknown locations.
Do you see your self as any person who took a leap of religion to stay a extra artistic life or do you suppose it type of simply occurred?
Fortunately, it simply occurred
I’ve at all times been desirous about self-education, principally gaining extra data that may be recycled again into my artistic practices and day-to-day life. Creativity, intelligence, and bliss are important components to stay a fulfilled life, and I really feel it’s my pure being to evolve in direction of a extra artistic life.
Studying Maharishi’s phrases, “Growth of happiness is the aim of life, and evolution is the method by which it’s fulfilled,” made me perceive why my thoughts at all times appeared naturally drawn to gaining data and in the end attaining my full potential. It’s related with the legal guidelines of nature. Creativity, to me, is pure achievement and happiness. My fantastic feeling lies within the act of being – bringing collectively values of absolutely the into relative existence with my expressions of music and artwork.
Are you able to converse extra about your drawing follow and its connection to transcendence?
I’ve at all times thought of artwork as a collection of issues that have to be solved, and I’m usually drawing myself clear options solely to create a brand new drawback for a future work. Since I began practising Transcendental Meditation, I’ve seen the move and feeling I skilled my complete life whereas drawing is similar to the best way I really feel once I transcend to extra delicate components of our thoughts and in the end attain the supply of pure artistic intelligence.
I’ve just lately discovered it useful to attract instantly after my morning meditation as a result of I really feel extraordinarily settled and at peace. Many artists consider that struggling, melancholy, or negativity assist give them a artistic edge. Once I was in my 20s, I additionally believed that you simply wanted to carry on to that anger and struggling to in the end be artistic. I’m grateful I’ve lastly found that in my case, struggling isn’t essential to stay a life of creativity and happiness, and, subsequently, the act of creation is at all times a reduction from any struggling or sorrow in my very own life.
My drawings are created out of an appreciation, admiration, and love for the pure atmosphere and universe. I vastly get pleasure from occupied with macrocosm and microcosm and seeing the identical patterns reproduced in all ranges of the cosmos, from the biggest all the best way right down to the smallest scale. I consider, on this system, the midpoint is Man, who helps summarize the thriller of the cosmos. Drawing helps me set up peace and concord inside myself and in the end with my environment and atmosphere, too.
How does your atmosphere play into your life?
I really feel a really robust sensitivity to my atmosphere, and I’m at all times making an attempt to assist elevate my very own environment. I’m a complete homebody and really feel fully content material staying at residence. Subsequently, I need to create an atmosphere and environment that assist service and help my artistic intentions and needs.
Listening to Maharishi say, “The universe influences the person and the person influences the universe,” helps me perceive why I’ve at all times felt a connection to the atmosphere at massive. I’m one to ritualize not solely my home life but additionally my artistic practices as effectively, and sometimes these are one and the identical to me. My studio has at all times been in my residence, and, in a way, I’m creating paintings and music for my residence. I’m repeatedly cultivating my house so it’s inspiring and always feels contemporary. It may be so simple as having contemporary reduce flowers that assist elevate my normal consciousness. I like to curate my house as a ritual for creating, and creating can also be a component of that very same ritual.
Each you and your sister are artists. Was artwork and creativity an enormous half of your childhood?
My sister, Olivia Locher, is an excellent photographer recognized for her sarcastic strategy to studio pictures. Throughout our childhood, our dad and mom inspired us to daydream and to by no means flip away from our goals. I’ll be turning 37 in a number of months, and I really feel like I’m removed from being a “grown-up” as a result of my life continues to be centered round creativeness because it was in my childhood and adolescence, in the end, because of my dad and mom permitting us each the liberty to discover and develop with out too many pressures or constraints throughout childhood.
What are your three favourite “instruments” for a wholesome and pleased life?
The quick tempo of life doesn’t enable an actual second of silence. Subsequently, I’ve discovered the Transcendental Meditation approach to be the best technique to pause and reset myself. Studying books gives me a lot data and inspiration. Probably the most grounding factor is consuming effectively. I’ve been a vegetarian since 2000, and for a few years I principally ate “vegetarian junk meals.” It now feels acceptable to eat all natural and wholesome, home-cooked meals. I additionally actually get pleasure from rising and juicing wheatgrass; it’s a good way to start out the day!
How lengthy have you ever been practising the Transcendental Meditation approach, and what impressed you to study?
I’ve been practising Transcendental Meditation for 2 years, though I’ve been surprisingly desirous about Transcendental Meditation since 2011, once I learn Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch. I at all times knew about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi from The Beatles and different pop-culture data, however once I learn David Lynch’s e-book, I believed to myself, “Wow! Now this feels like one thing for me!”
Quick ahead 9 years, and I spoke with Bob Roth, who casually talked about how simple it was to enroll and study the Transcendental Meditation approach. The following day I attended a fast introduction and began meditating that very same weekend!
My sister has been practising TM since 2012, and the constructive results her meditation follow has performed on all features of her life are inspiring and vibrantly current, and seeing these outcomes straight was an enormous affect for me to lastly study as effectively.
What was your notion of meditation generally earlier than you realized TM? Did that notion change after your first few experiences meditating?
Previous to studying Transcendental Meditation, my notion of meditation was that it concerned some kind of mental play. I believed meditation was mentally difficult or a barely tough activity for the thoughts, however this was fully flawed pondering as a result of I rapidly found that Transcendental Meditation is an harmless, easy, and really simple approach.
You possibly can study extra about Brandon and his physique of artistic work at www.brandon-locher.com or comply with him on Instagram.
To study extra concerning the TM approach, you’ll be able to join together with your native TM trainer here.
