I am an Iranian American, a widely published and exhibited award-winning artist, and a recipient of the University of Delaware Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement awarded to alumni who have exhibited a great promise in their professional and public service activities.
In 1986, when the New York Museum of American Folk Art and 3M Corporation launched a national competition for the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration, 28 regional and national judges gathered in New York City to judge 1200 pieces of submitted artworks. They were judged for originality, overall appearance, design composition, and technical expertise. I was delightfully blessed for becoming an award recipient of that competition.
I was already trained as an artist under the tutelage of a Japanese teacher when I enrolled in the University of Delaware and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. I later earned a Master of Science degree in Interior Design from Drexel University, followed by a Master of Fine Arts scholarship to Temple University, Tyler School of Art.
In hindsight, I now realize that I was on an evolutionary path with a yearning
desire to understand life at a much deeper level that could satisfy my curiosity.
I didn’t quite know what was it that I was looking for, but all
I knew was that the more I studied and learned, the more
interested and curious I became.
My life had become a cornucopia of skills and know-how that were gradually acquired throughout my evolution.
I had traveled to many parts of the globe and had become acquainted with many diversified cultures. I was genuinely interested in everything I was doing and enjoying my accomplishments; but there was a persisting void within me, like a longing for something that I could not clearly define and know how to satisfy; but nevertheless, a few questions kept me preoccupied regarding good and evil, life and death and the universe with all its phenomena.
Knowing what I know today and looking back through my rearview mirror, I realize that all
along I was looking for a communion with the Source of Creation within Myself!
At the end of my studies in fine arts, and after 9 years of college, I fell serendipitously in love with philosophy – the love of the pursuit of wisdom – a pivotal blessing that drove me to embark upon studying Eastern Spiritual Philosophy, a subject deeply rooted within the ancient wealth of my Persian heritage, Zen Buddhism and well defined through the disciplines of epistemology; a branch of philosophy that unravels nature, methods and the boundaries of human knowledge. This was an endeavor that illumined and clarified my entire perspective on life and took me home to my true Self; and as Rumi puts it very eloquently poetic: “…to my beloved, the Source of Creation.”
As a multi-disciplined artist, interior designer, educator, the Art of Transformation Consultant, I can say with full certainty that my spiritual and intellectual skills and abilities have reached a point of release. A critical point when I became aware of the Source of Creation within myself and my creativity expanded into an exploration of Life itself as an inclusive canvas of art.
The Art of Transformation is a matured and ripened consultation / mentoring system for an exclusive breed and lineage who seek personal fulfillment and clarity beyond the short-lived gratifications of the material universe – the elusive quest of most people that is much like drinking saltwater for satiating thirst, which only exasperates the desire; a mirage that continues to beckon the thirst of the unconscious seekers toward a pool of freshwater but delivers only a barren land.
If we define ART as a form of skill and ability that expresses and produces practical, desirable
and beautiful results in a given field, then life itself becomes the greatest canvas of art; an art that
necessitates the inclusion of a variety of physical, sensual, spiritual, and intellectual skills
and abilities to live it masterfully with joy – a state of Ecstasy* that is often achieved by highly
creative people in the arts, sciences, sports, and others.
But here is the caveat: Ecstasy is the product of a transformation process, where every aspect of one’s life runs through a fine sieve, where the self-erected barriers gradually fade away; a threshold that when crossed it reveals the truth behind the concealed masks of one’s environment and the veil of mystery over the face of Good and Evil falls off. This is when life begins to reveal its Magic! through a gladdened and peaceful heart that transcends the soul!
Personal Transformation is a very esoteric ancient spiritual process that originated deep within the
Ancient Eastern Hemisphere with a backbone solidly placed in divine virtues. A very magically skillful process that manifests a new externally desired condition by a change within the internal reality.
This is an endeavor not much suited for the fainthearted or the dilettante seeker, but for the
brave hearts and true seekers who desire a path of a heightened state of awareness, where one
can transcend over his false perceptions and dark shadows that lead toward a new door in
the middle of nowhere to discover and begin a new and wholesome companionship
with Himself as an extension of the Source of Creation!
It is a path strewn with many Karmic challenges to overcome and observation of rules that although not enforceable, but when broken, they make life mysteriously uncooperative and at times even brutally punishing; nevertheless, handsomely rewarding when they are diligently observed with integrity and courageously applied.
Becoming an Art of Transformation Guru branched naturally as a complementary dimension to my creative work; a consultation service designed to help and awaken one’s “Innate Creative Forces and Abilities” by hacking the roots of his perceived barriers to recreate life as a meaningful and evolving new work of art; an art that its purpose is to create beauty, immersing and bathing oneself in truth and tap into the beauty of the soul to experience a communion with the Source of Creation.
The title Guru (teacher/mentor) was given to me by those who I have helped
to experience a Personal Transformation and a new Magic in their lives.
One of the rewards of such consultations is when a new client says:
I wish I had met you a long time ago!
We cannot arrive at the presence of Truth before we discover and become fully acquainted with the true essence of our own being, the Beauty of Truth – our Spiritual Essence, our Inner Magic, the Source of Creation that is mysteriously trapped in our being by our false perceptions, self-denials and foisted conditioning of our environment that are desperately longing to be released.
The distilled summary of what I have said here is deeply buried within the quote below from Rumi for only the brightest minds to perceive and pursue.
With love and bliss,
Iran Lawrence
*Ecstasy: defined further below.