Living in the
Field of Beauty
Resensitize and Re-orient to the Beauty
in and around us.
A 5-week journey into the art of Devotion.
Tues 27 Jan, 3, 10 and 17, 24 Feb 7pm SAST on Zoom
AN INVITATION
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It (beauty) makes you want to evangelize. Beauty is the quality of things seen for what they really are. If we could see the world as it is, perhaps it will all strike us as being sublimely beautiful. Maybe art is a matter of taking or framing little bits of the world and polishing them a bit so that the beauty that was inherent there can be available to others.
JF Martel (What beauty can do to the soul, youtube)
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We've been conditioned to believe that productivity is the path to meaning. That if we just optimize enough, achieve enough, accumulate enough—we'll finally arrive at the life we want.
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But what if we've been looking in the wrong direction?
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What if, instead of doing more in 2026, you chose to see more? What if you made beauty—not your to-do list—your compass?
Developing a deeper relationship with beauty offers an antidote to modern living. And in a time of constant pressure to be more productive and more perfect, choosing beauty as your guide is a radical act.
'Living in the Field of Beauty' is a 5-week course that explores how to restore our relationship with beauty: the bridge between the human and the sacred, the mundane and the magnificent.
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Course Outline
We'll explore the Four Gestures—practices for cultivating a conscious relationship with beauty. Over time, they restore your capacity to be moved, to be changed, and to encounter the world as something alive and sacred.
Week 1: Introduction
What is beauty? What different forms does it take? We'll explore possible definitions and share our experiences. Then we'll introduce the four gestures we'll practice over the coming weeks.
Week 2: The Gesture of Subsiding
Subsiding makes space for the sacred. It's a practice of rest—what the Carmelites call "a long, loving look at the real." We'll develop your capacity to be undone by beauty: to be interrupted, altered, and claimed by something that asks nothing of you except your presence.
Week 3: The Gesture of Reaching
Once we've created space, something begins to move through it. This week explores what it means to become a conduit for beauty—to dance with creative force rather than control it. This is a practice of devotion: reaching toward what wants to emerge without grasping at outcomes.
Week 4: The Gesture of Perceiving
Clear perception is a skill we can cultivate. We'll explore practices for receiving beauty: sensory attunement, slow looking, and learning to track what John O'Donohue calls "the glimmers." This week is about training your capacity to notice beauty when it encounters you.
Week 5: The Gesture of Expressing
We explore what it means to become an instrument of beauty through play and participation. Expression isn't just making art—it's how you inhabit your life and move through the world. We'll get curious about what kind of beauty wants to find expression through you: beauty of body, mind, word, and deed.
The Details
Who This Is For
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Artists, writers, and makers who've lost a sense of inspiration or aliveness in their work
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Anyone feeling tired, uninspired, or overcome by the grind of daily life
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Perfectionists wanting to break the cycle of control and move toward a more integrous participation with life
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Anyone seeking a deeper, more creative and nourishing orientation to the world
Please Note:
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This is not a course in aesthetics, art appreciation, or developing cultivated taste. Nor is it an intellectual breakdown of classical philosophy—though we will weave in some of these concepts as part of the practice itself.
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Join Us:
27 Jan, 3, 10, 17, 24 Feb 2026 7pm till 8:30pm on Zoom
International: $180 USD
Early bird (until December 31, 2025): R2800 (approx $160 USD)
South Africa: R1,950
Early bird (until December 31, 2025): R1,700
(For payment plans, please email me anel.hamersma@gmail.com)
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Includes:
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Weekly practices, handouts with supplementary readings and reflections
Each session follows a rhythm: reflection, teaching, contemplative exercises, and a daily practice to develop between sessions.
This course offers a framework, but the real work happens in the dailiness of your life. By the end of five weeks, you'll have a complete practice to return to throughout your life—four distinct ways of engaging with beauty that become woven into how you move through the world.
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My name is Anél
I've been a traditional African doctor for 25 years. My initiation dramatically reshaped my understanding of what it means to live in relationship—with the earth, with mystery and with the invisible threads that guide our lives.
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I believe that many of the medicines we need today lie in the ways of seeing that pre-industrial cultures have practiced for milennia. I weave together ancient ritual, soulful tools, and creative practices to help people gently break free from the tamed constraints of modern life—without burning everything down in the process.
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My work invites you into a quieter, more reverent way of being—one that honours your soul, your story, and your place in the greater living world with humour and heart.
FAQ's
​Do I have to be an artist or creative person?
Not at all. This course is for anyone who wants to cultivate a deeper relationship with beauty—no artistic experience or creative background required.
What if I miss a session?
All sessions are recorded and available for one month after the course ends.
How much time will I need each week?
Besides the 90-minute live session, allow 15-30 minutes daily for the weekly practice—simple contemplative exercises woven into everyday life.
Is this a religious or spiritual course?
The course draws on contemplative traditions and includes spiritual language, but it's not tied to any specific religion. It invites your own sense of meaning and the sacred.
What if I start the course and find it's not for me?
Cancellations made up to 14 days before the start date receive a full refund minus a small processing fee. After that, we can discuss transferring to a future offering.
What makes this different from other courses on creativity or mindfulness?
This isn't about producing better work or being more present—it's about reorienting your entire relationship with the world. The Four Gestures give you a repeatable framework that deepens over time, rather than a one-time technique.