CO-Creating reality: A Meta-state of awareness

As an autodidactic artist, I’ve been exploring the essence of art, along with artistic culture and art history. My approach to creating art has undergone a transformation in recent years. Where I once focused on illustrating ideas and inspirations, I now follow my aesthetic interests in a more intuitive way. A friend of mine collected antique mirrors that fascinated me. The combination of the craftsmanship, the gold frame and the reflective silver surface intrigued me. It felt as if something about these mirrors was calling to me, drawing me into the next phase of my artistic journey. This muse, which is often represented by women in art, was, for me, these mirrors. They were something to be pursued—something hidden in them, waiting to be found. Now, three years later, because I pursued it, I feel like I’m in a different place as an artist. Both I and my way of working have been transformed, and I’m reaping the fruits of it.
After realizing that there was something for me to explore with these mirrors, it took about two months for the first idea to emerge. I remember lying in the bath, visualizing three overlapping mirrors with arrows shot into them. I was very excited by this idea; it felt like I had struck gold. I could sense the symbolic, mythological, and metaphorical references within it without being able to put them into words yet. The entire process—from receiving the idea to creating the artwork (in secret) and then finally revealing it to friends and family—was incredibly satisfying. I titled the piece “The Truth About Reality.”
After creating this artwork and new ones inspired by it, I felt there was still more to uncover. After discussing it with many people and reflecting on it, I believe the essence is this:
There exists a state of cinematic wonder where we are active participants in the world while simultaneously being conscious of our role as spectators. Our senses are heightened, and there is a wonderful surrender to life—a letting go—combined with a more in-the-moment feeling of control and influence. In this collaborative “in-between” or, as proposed in this hypothesis, meta-state, creativity and discovery can flourish. It’s similar to the flow state I sometimes experience when painting. I actively interact with the canvas through painting and observation, going back and forth between applying paint and stepping back to see what is happening—how the colors and hues interact with each other. I am doing and observing “at the same time.” Most of the time, I enter this zone when reaching for something new. New people I like to meet, challenging projects I want to undertake, and big goals I want to reach. Or I could say it like this: I’m aware that I am interacting with a possible future reality that is coming into the present. I like to call this “co-creating reality,” the place where we experience becoming. The conceptualization of this idea began with the notion that a mirror reflects two things simultaneously: your reality and the reality. When we look in a

mirror, we can become aware that we are both spectator and participant. Or, as Professor Dick Meijer says in my Mirror video: “It’s a sort of bi-directional flow of information. An image goes to the mirror, and the mirror reflects back, and then you react to it, changing the figure in the mirror.” Knowing this and truly being “into” this knowing is what produces this meta-state. It is information experienced, literally. We are in the present, where we exist always in-formation. The more attentive we are to this phenomenon in our life, the more perceptive we are of this flow. To explore this mirror phenomenon more deeply, I think it is crucial to look at how our perception works.

Perception

Our minds can only perceive small fragments of reality, which gradually assemble into our comprehension of life. Every moment, millions of events unfold simultaneously, yet most remain beyond our awareness. When something captures our attention, it becomes our reality—a reality crafted by our focus and memory-driven ability to discern. In this process, pure perception is often replaced by memories or knowledge. We start mapping memories, and with that, biases onto the world we experience. Attention is the gatekeeper, selecting what our reasoning mind engages with, thus shaping the network within our brain. By engaging with the world, we program our ability to perceive it through giving meaning and ascribing value to things. This is how we program our reticular activating system, often described as the filter for our mind, which selects what we are aware of and notice. We could say: what captures your attention captures you.
To me, this leads to a profound conclusion: our perception of the world, our reality, and our life is constructed from the elements that have seized our attention or those we have consciously focused on. Recognizing and truly being aware of this opens us up to a vast field of potential, revealing that there is much more to see and experience beyond our current reality. This awareness is inspiring, as it signifies that there is still so much to see, hear, and taste. On the other hand, it can be frightening because discovering new surroundings and information increases stress, as new territory may pose potential dangers to our established order of life. Being truly aware of this field of potential is distinct from merely understanding the concept. To stay or become aware of this dynamic reality, I think it is very useful for one to develop or rekindle a playful approach to life, as it involves continually engaging with new information, which can be hard on our nervous system.

Recognizing the Play Element

Again, there is a significant difference between simply knowing this meta-state exists and actively experiencing it in your life—it requires practice. As mentioned before, we exist as both a spectator and a participant in this dynamic interplay we call life, constantly shaping and being shaped. This is where it becomes useful to be more playful. Like a game, you need to be aware of your involvement in it. Playing involves experimentation—acting, receiving feedback, and then reacting to it. Playing well requires full engagement and surrender to the game itself. The more that you have been exposed to the game, the other players, the rules, the freedoms within the game, and your own capabilities, the more pleasurable and effective your play becomes. However, before you can excel at anything new, you must be willing to risk being wrong, as trying new things often means not knowing exactly what you’re doing at first. Through practice, you can begin to navigate unfamiliar environments and start to feel comfortable with discomfort. By exposing ourselves to new information, people, and experiences, we awaken something within us that we might not have known existed otherwise. In psychology, it’s common to help people overcome their fears by gradually exposing them to what they fear. By moving toward fear instead of running from it, people discover that they are more courageous, capable, and strong. Playing with fear allows one to begin overcoming it.
To strengthen this argument about play, I live and work in the city of Groningen, and from my house, I can see the former residence of the internationally recognized author Johan Huizinga, who wrote Homo Ludens (Playing Man), published in 1938. While contemplating the role of play in my work and life, I discovered Huizinga’s work. In Homo Ludens, Huizinga argues that play is not just a pastime but a critical foundation for the development of culture and society. He suggests that

many significant cultural activities, from law to art, have their roots in play, stating that “play is older than culture.” What I’m trying to express, Huizinga articulated decades ago. I deeply resonate with his belief that play is a source of renewal and transformation, continuously providing fresh insights and making a strong case for a playful approach to life.
In conclusion, this meta-state of awareness is not just a fleeting experience of wonder but a state that can be consciously accessed and nurtured, especially when we recognize the play element of life. Embracing play allows us to tap into new creative potentials, see the world with greater clarity —though the experience can sometimes feel like a dream—and engage in the continuous process of transformation. By adopting a playful and engaged approach to life, we open ourselves to new possibilities, inviting us to explore and co-create our reality with a sense of wonder and discovery, much like the wonder we often see in children.