Cocreation: A Celebration of Self-Recognition
The Unified Perspective
Have you ever realized that you have the choice to look at your reality from a unified perspective? Like choosing to see the person in front of you as a part of your Self? And yet, even when we’ve touched this awareness, a sense of separation from our surroundings often lingers. This is natural and happens because our minds aren’t wired to reason beyond duality. Why? Let's dive into it. Will we be able to uncover deeper understandings of our true nature?
Consider a situation we all know: sharing a harmonious experience with another human being. No matter what the experience is—so long as there’s peace and harmony—it’s valid. Even in these moments, the mind creates a subtle sense of separation. We draw lines—between self and other, subject and object—because that’s how we're wired. And yet, when we become fully present, something deeper can arise. Our awareness begins to transcend the mental framework, moving beyond the boundaries of reason. With such surrender, we tap into a deeper view—a unified perspective. In truth, this perspective isn’t new. It’s simply remembered when we become present. Now why is this so significant?
Looking through the lens of the unified perspective reveals a strange paradox: a non-dual experience dissolves the very notion of Duality, even as it relies on it to be perceived. If Duality were to coexist with Non-Duality, that coexistence would itself form a new duality—undermining the non-dual. Life, then, is the artifact of this tension.
In practice, we always choose a lens—consciously or not. The moment we wish to speak, act, think, or move through the world, we intuitively adopt a dual perspective. It’s not a flaw; it’s how interaction becomes possible. And remarkably, we can learn to hold both lenses at once.
To make this more tangible, let’s ground this understanding in a simple, living metaphor.
Recognizing the Source
When two beings experience what we call Love, from the unified perspective, they’re like two hands of the same body—meeting again after a long, often traumatic journey of separation and forgetting. In recognizing each other, they remember their shared Source. And in that moment, the Source becomes fully present, aware of itself through the mirror of reunion. It is a profound celebration.
Now imagine you’ve been on a long, enchanting journey—so absorbing that you’ve forgotten where you came from. Traveling for many years, you totally lost track of time. One morning, waking up in a place you had only seen at night, you suddenly recognize it: this is where you came from! Then it clicks—the old woman who welcomed you last night—she’s your partner! Can you imagine the celebration in your heart?
Self-Recognition is not much different. But here, it’s an existential happening—one that transcends all layers of Being. Take a walk in nature. Look at a flower. Alone, present, in front of Nature's creation, you're inevitably there without any pretending, without anything to hide, who would you hide it from anyway? Yourself? In the silence of this direct encounter with Beauty, you recognize your Self in the flower.
If we chose this kind of perspective in each situation, in each perception, the peace we’d feel within would be profoundly fulfilling.
But if Recognition is so natural and fulfilling, why are these experience so fleeting?
An unavoidable Self-Deception
We experience ourselves as incarnate—material, transient beings. When we discover our true unified nature, we come to realize that we had to deceive ourselves—because that’s how our transient experience came into being. Let me explain.
To be aware of ourselves, we need to perceive ourselves. Perception inherently suggests duality. Therefore, we existentially require Self-Deception—to limit awareness, and then close the circle with Self-Recognition. Just like returning home by accident while journeying through the Unknown...
Even if we feel we have the choice to see reality either from a dualistic perspective or from a non-dualistic perspective, we actually never leave the non-dualistic perspective. We only embed the dualistic viewpoint within the non-dual by creating a kind of self-deception.
In truth, nobody is unaware of their divine nature.
Look into someone’s eyes with Self-Recognition—they’ll know that you know. We veil this truth temporarily to focus on our personal journey, but our essence remains undeniable.
This looping of forgetting and remembering is the very pattern that Alchemy is able to map and the alchemist seeks to master.
The Alchemy of Cocreation
Studying the process of Self-Recognition reveals the underlying mechanisms that we call Alchemy. The main principle guiding an alchemist is: As above, so below. As within, so without. Mirrors and fractals, so to speak. From a unified perspective, making art is inevitably a Cocreation. Either with the Source directly, or indirectly, through a collaborator. Applying the principle of alchemy, the Source is the Artist. The Alchemist. The Architect. You. A dialogue opens up between the visible and the invisible. A collaborative process with the Infinite.
Have you ever lived an experience of cocreation with other people? Did you notice that, when we align our intentions, when we cooperate (and stop competing), we end up feeling more in tune with ourselves. Here, we can feel Unity Consciousness and start to notice how intentions cascade through all layers of Reality... Things begin to flow effortlessly—we finish each other’s sentences, we have similar intuitions... We discover that Cocreation catalyzes Self-Recognition. In conclusion, to cocreate is to align intention across the different layers of our Being. A movement from abstract to tangible and the other way around—while staying rooted in Unity.
This isn’t just theory. Let me show you how this unfolds in my own work.
Tattoos as Alchemical Artifacts
Designing and making a tattoo for someone is the perfect opportunity to cocreate on something meaningful, isn't it?
In my work as an artist, I guide people through this unveiling. The process begins not with ink, but with self-inquiry. Imagine that during the entire design process, you are not allowed to actually see the design. During this phase, you're invited to visualize and imagine how the design might look. In this way, cocreation happens primarily inside. Only once the initial intention is purified and brought to life by the artist will the design be revealed. This moment reveals whether the design reflects your inner vision. And if it does, it becomes a confirmation that what you visualized and what has been manifested by the artist has always been connected! It’s not a "first look"—it’s a recognition! That moment is sacred—it offers a glimpse of your true nature, an experience of Self-Recognition. An experience of Unity.
This is the heart of Alchemy: the art of turning the ordinary into the sacred by recognizing Unity. This directly shapes the way I approach my creative process as an artist. The process Heartkemy offers is more than art or occult practices. It's profoundly transformative alchemy! Tattoos are more than ink on skin—they become living artifacts of the shared alchemical journey experienced in Cocreation.
I See You
Now simply remember this: With Presence, we can—at any moment—transcend separation and awaken a primal familiarity: I see you, and in seeing you, I see myself. I recognize my Self. We don’t discover this truth—we remember it. The veil of separation is temporary, a purposeful forgetting that lets us savor individuality. Cocreation thins that veil.
