Intuitive Painting Power

Intuition. We all have it. On some level we know how much we need it. We even have a sense that our lives would be a whole heck of a lot better if we listened to it more.

But our relationship to it is conflicted at best. Can we trust it? Is it real? How do we know we’re not just making things up? Doesn’t listening to a still, small voice inside your own head make you a crazy person? Where does it come from? Why is it so darn unreliable?

Helping people to answer some of these questions is one of the main reasons that I do what I do. I experience my intuition as a valued friend, creative companion and trusted adviser who provides me with ongoing, sound guidance that keeps me in the flow and tuned into my souls authentic purpose.

It has kept me safe but also vibrantly alive, steered me away from some potentially disastrous choices and led me into some of the most fulfilling, nourishing and adventurous experiences of my life.

And it became an incredibly powerful and vitally important presence and force for me as a direct result of devoting myself to the intuitive painting process.

I would like you to have the same kind of dynamic relationship with your intuition.

Which is why I created this workshop.

 

What is intuition?

Your intuition is a completely natural and FABULOUSLY powerful way to get direct and useful information about yourself, the world and other people that doesn’t come through what you can see or touch or hear OR through your logical and rational thinking processes.

Intuition is that gut feeling, those flashes of insight, those hunches that seem to show up from completely out of the blue, yet bowl us over with their uncanny brilliance and wisdom to shine a clear light onto an often murky path. It’s knowing things without knowing how you know them.

Intuition is that part of you that knows what you really want and need… not what you are supposed to want and need… but what will genuinely feed your heart and your soul.

Intuition is fast, simple and direct. It’s incredibly uncomplicated. It gets right to the core of things. Very, very quickly.

Intuition is often smarter than you ever imagined you could be.

If you learn how to disentangle it from things like your projections, anxieties and expectations, it’s surprisingly accurate. It’s an early warning system. And a source of profound inner guidance.

Intuition is that thrilling ( and sometimes terrifying) experience of things suddenly becoming obvious …  like getting the answer to a puzzling question, recognizing without a doubt the optimal direction to take, or experiencing that crystal clear sense of “Ah ha!” …. deep in your bones without having to wonder or worry if it’s the right thing or not.

Intuition is a universal solvent, dissolving seemingly impenetrable blocks  and unraveling apparently unsolvable predicaments.  It has the ability to almost magically sort through massive and often confusing amounts of data to find straightforward and elegant solutions to complex problems.

And finally, intuition is a direct conduit to spirit, the dreamtime, the divine, and the energy of love that surrounds, informs and infuses everything.

Why do I want it?

On a very practical level, it will make your life way easier because it is like a homing beacon that hones in on what’s truly important and meaningful to you.

It’s a hotline to your essential self.  It allows your life to be more on track. When you are letting your intuition to run the show, you spend less time dithering around and feeling confused about what to do next.

When you are plugged into your intuition you just know.

And you begin to trust that knowing. Which means that you begin to trust yourself.

Your capacity for focused intention becomes much more powerful and you begin to see the workings of synchronicity and coincidence in your life.

People show up through chance meetings to offer guidance and support, you end up being in the right place a the right time to take advantage of helpful opportunities, you have a greater sense of flow and purpose as events unfold in a more fluid and effortless manner.

Your intuition was designed to help you with all kinds of dilemmas.

Ranging  from huge, monumental, big picture, life changing questions like “Who do I marry?” and “What is my true work?” to “What color should I paint my bathroom?” and “Should I buy the 1966 red Mustang convertible or the sky blue Prius?”

It can help you gain clarity and give you guidance when you are struggling to heal your body and your soul.

Your intuition points you in the right direction and helps you to connect with your unique destiny and hearts desire.

For example, your intuition is the part of you that knows that what you really need to do to fulfill your life purpose is to become an opera singer.

Your logical mind was meant to come up with strategies to implement what the intuition decides on, like working out the details about signing up for singing lessons. Or finding the right kind of paint (for those chartreuse bathroom walls).

And finally, we are here on this planet to become all of who we are.

We are beings of vast proportions filled with multitudes of gifts and capabilities. Our intuition is constantly prodding us to expand and grow into the fullness of our true nature which includes our connection to spirit, to each other and to the earth itself.

How do I get me some? If it’s so natural, why do I need to learn how to do it?

Everyone is intuitive…It’s a capacity we are all born with. It comes with the basic package of being human. However, our western materialist culture systematically trains our natural intuitive capacities out of us.

We actually learn to actively mistrust our intuition. We are taught that it’s not valid. Not real. That it’s weird. Which makes us weird if we put any credence in it.  So we stop tuning into that particular channel on our internal radio dial.

But that doesn’t mean it’s stopped broadcasting. It just means we’ve stopped listening.

What does intuition have to do with painting?

There are lots of different ways to get back in touch with your intuitive voice and to reclaim your intuitive self. Meditation and spiritual practice can definitely open up some of those channels again. So can being in your body through practices such as yoga or Chi Gung.

But using the process of intuitive painting as a tool to recover and develop your intuition is the avenue that has been incredibly powerful for me and my many students. And as far as I’m concerned, the most effective AND the most fun.

When I think about the challenge of finding my way back to my intuitive flow I often think about it in terms of the left brain/right brain split. Which is an unfortunate by-product of western culture.

Now, the left brain and right brain are ideally meant to work together as a team. The right brain (the intuition) gives us clarity about what to do (should I go to graduate school or start my own business) and the left brain comes up with a workable plan to achieve the stated goal, complete with details, charts and schedules.

It’s a beautiful, functional marriage when it’s working the way it was designed to work.

But we learn from an early age to override the intuition with logic and rationality. We stop listening to our hearts. We stop being open to the genius and wisdom that the intuition has to offer.

We demand that it be logical and reasonable, when on the surface, following our hearts does not always make obvious rational sense. Especially if we are caught up in basing our decisions on what we think we’re supposed to do or when we are trying to live up to other peoples standards or cultural expectations.

We become left brain dominant and can no longer hear our right brain promptings very clearly…. if at all.

Which means we are trying to get the left brain to do the right brains job. And frankly, it’s just not very good at it. It’s not what it was meant to do.

Intuitive painting is like going to the gym for your right brain. It’s a process that supports you in building up your intuitive muscles.

And one of the ways that works is that when you walk into my studio you are strongly encouraged to leave the left brain at the door and only pay attention to those right brain inspirations.

Getting back in touch with your intuition means you need to get your left brain out of the way… at least for a little while. And learning the principals of intuitive painting can help you do exactly that.

What we will do at the workshop.

Well, of course we will be painting… a lot. There will be two scheduled painting sessions a day and the studio is open and available to you anytime for the duration of the workshop.

But I will also be teaching you how to use the painting process to access and strengthen your relationship to your intuitive self through talks, exercises and meditations designed to help you recognize when and how the left brain tries to take over and what you can do to get yourself back into your intuitive, creative stream.

You will be getting information about how your intuition works and then immediately applying that information to developing intuitive skills as you paint. Which means you will have a visceral and living experience of intuitive connection throughout the workshop.

And you will walk away from these five days with a strongly grounded, felt sense of what it really means to be in your intuitive flow.

Some topics we will be covering:

• What IS intuition and how to tell the difference between your intuitive voice and messages from your judging mind.

• Discovering where your intuition hangs out and how to easily find it. (Hint:  It’s not in your head.)

• Why you need to surrender your desire for mastery and perfection if you’re going to be able to hear what your intuition has to say. (*Bonus* A little known, super simple painting technique that will really allow you to let go of control.)

• How the messages from your judging mind are secret code for where your intuition wants you to go next.

• Why present time is the only time as far as your intuition is concerned. And how to stay connected to the here and now through your creative process.

• How making space for meaningless experience is one of the quickest ways to step into the unknown which is the intuitions preferred hangout.

• Why trying, efforting, pushing and having expectations all create huge roadblocks to intuitive information and some easy and fun techniques that allow you to relax and let go.

• The role of timing and your intuition. Learning to wait for and identify the precise, optimal moment when something needs to happen.

• How to paint without a plan, a goal or a previously decided upon outcome and how painting in this way prepares your mind to hear those intuitive messages more clearly.

• The intuitive wisdom of doing things badly.

• Painting as a process of dreaming while you are awake and the role of the unconscious in your intuitive life.