The concept of mindstream is the english interpretation of the Buddhist philosophical idea of being consciously aware from one moment to the next. A mindstream can be a finite period or can be a part of an infinite period of consciousness. There are may texts referring to this process as a stream of thoughts and images that allow one to gain insight into themselves as a part of the universe.
In my work
Much of the work I produce has some element of the mindstream, I often find my hands making movements and gesture that I don't consciously think about, especially when working in collage or with mixed media. Throughout the years I've been making art, I've had to become semi-aware of this phenomena being present in how I work so that I can still maintain a level of cohesion within the pieces I produce. Mindstream, in conjunction with research and planning, has helped me create some of my best, most honest works of art.
Quotes from experts
"In Vajrayāna Buddhism the subtlest state of consciousness is known as clear light. In terms of categories of consciousness, there is one type of consciousness that consists of a permanent stream or an unending continuity and there are other forms of consciousness whose continuum comes to an end."
Gyatso, Janet (1998). Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary; a Translation and Study of Jigme Lingpa's 'Dancing Moon in the Water' and 'Ḍākki's Grand Secret-Talk'. Princeton, New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.
Ryhs Davids interpreted Professor de la Vallee Poussin stance on mindstream to be "not as one permanent, unchanging, transmigrating entity, as the soul was in the atman-theory, but as an 'essential series of individual and momentary consciousnesses...'"
Davids, Rhys. Stories of the Buddha: Being Selections from the Jātaka. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 2000. Print.
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