In these times of radical change and upheaval I’ve heard a number of people question the relevancy of this inner creativity work or making art at all. It can seem like this focus on healing and internal awareness and exploration using art is no longer necessary when so many things in the outer world desperately need our attention.
But I truly believe that this work is more important than ever for a number of reasons.
First of all the world is falling apart. So many structures and old ways of being and doing things are disappearing. So much of what we have long experienced to be reliable and dependable is now wobbly and shaky and tottering on the edge of collapse.
During times like these it’s incredibly hard to find any kind of sense of equilibrium, firm footing or solid grounding. The big problem is that we can’t look to the outside for those things anymore because they’re just not there. More than ever we need to find that sense of groundedness INSIDE of ourselves. We need to become even MORE deeply connected to the natural equilibrium of our bodies and hearts, feelings and creativity, instincts and intuition to help guide us through these rough waters of cataclysmic change.
The intuitive painting process is beautifully designed to connect you with that firm and solid inner sense of yourself. Making art from your soul without looking for outside approval is a reliable conduit to a true sense of your own power. Learning to separate that inner voice of judgment from the clarity of your intuition provides a trustworthy gateway to an unshakeable sense of deep inner knowing.
We also need ways to process the immensity of feelings and emotions that are coming up because of all the external disruption. This process is a wonderful nervous system regulator because it allows us to move the stuck energy associated with grief and fear and helplessness that are often activated during times like these and teaches us how to reconnect with our deep core of strength and potency and the endless source of our courage, boldness and sense of enthusiasm for simply being alive.
We also live inside of these various systems of patriarchal oppression… racism, sexism, abelism, and gender … and we have all internalized those systems in a profoundly unconscious way. This process is designed to get us in touch with our true authentic self that includes our capacity to stand up for ourselves and to experience loving ourselves for who we are… not who the culture says we are supposed to be. When we can see ourselves reflected in our artwork from a place of radical self acceptance, it helps to heal that internalized sense of shame and not enoughness that is a painful hallmark of these patriarchal structures.
This wild heart expressive arts intuitive painting, soul art process also brings us up against ways that we oppress ourselves through self judgment and inner criticism, by pushing too hard, ignoring our feelings and needs for rest and for play, by looking outside of ourselves for approval, and by not trusting our own impulses and inner rhythms.
And helps us find our way back home to trusting in our authentic needs and desires and re-learning the wisdom of true self care.
Finally, this process is designed to happen in community. We paint in circle with each other as witness, inspiration and wisdom. Painting in community fulfills that need to be part of something bigger. In a conscious creativity circle we experience a sacred container of unconditional love and support. We feel profoundly connected to other people through the magic of the creative process. We allow ourselves to be seen and held with compassion and to feel the truth of how much we are all the same and grappling with the same issues. We feel so much less alone and connected to that river of humanity that has always weathered these storms of tumult by banding together from a place of knowing we can create an even better world through the power of our love and creative imaginations.
If you would like to be part of this creative movement for healing and change either come and paint with me in one of my Wild Heart Painting Online creative circles or consider joining me in my Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program where you can be the agent of positive change by bringing this sacred work to the people in your communities.
0 Comments