Co - Souling Art to Heal

"In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions. When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop finding comfort in the sweet territory of silence?" 

---

Art Therapy

Have you ever watched a small child, maybe 2 years old, crayon in hand, beating her hand against the wall or the floor or the paper? Have you stayed still enough to witness the delight of surprise at the marks made?


Somewhere in the process of "growing up" so many lose the delight and surprise of mark making. Art therapy seeks to re-ignite that surprise and in doing so opens pathways in the brain and heart long shut down. Art therapy is a way to "see inside" and it can be relaxing, affirming, restorative and healing. If you have lost the joy in making marks art therapy is for you. Even if you are already "an artist", maybe more importantly if you are, art therapy will force you to "drop your guard" of knowing to allow you into a space of "seeing". 

Yantra and Mandala

Visual representation of the cosmos and the divine, mandala and yantra are simple tools that can be used as a meditation in themselves. The world is full of symbology through shape and colour. The symbology inherent in form have meaning both universal and personal.


The Shree Yantra below is an ancient symbolic representation of many aspects of the divine feminine and is worshipped in many ways. It is both a symbol of creation and dissolution. Which way is up for you? Can you see the difference? 


Experience the power of her energy by printing the image and begin colouring. It's a great way to start, there's no right or wrong - simply begin at the centre and work your way out, using colour pencil is the easiest way to start.

Likkit Japa

This beautiful ancient yogic practice of written repetition of mantra is deeply soothing and relaxing. Do it small, do it big, do it however you are moved. The universal symbol of AUM - the cosmic sound of all that is, is the easiest and most direct symbol to use. 


Simply set yourself up in a quite space, silence or soft ambient music only as you mentally repeat AUM with each stroke of the pen. Fill your page in any and all directions. 

Archetypes

Jung describes archetypes as the repeating patterns across time and cultures. They are the reoccurring characters and images that hold collective meaning for us all. The eyes of devi; a mother with babe in arms, tall trees stretching to the light; a drop of water suspended to a leaf.


Through reflection on archetype we can come to perceive the universality of the human experience and identify our own recurring patterns. In the The Women's Wheel of Life, Elizabeth Davis draws on 13 archetypes of women to give meaning to the phases of a woman's life. This model informs Gauri Ma's creative work and on the Women with Spirit program is used to direct and inspire enquiry into "why here, why now".

Myth and Story

"Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestations". Joseph Campbell


Every culture, every country, every person has a story.  
A story with meaning, imagery, myth.


The ancient Rig Veda, Upanishads and Puranas of India - said to be the first written stories, the Old Testament that binds together the three major religions of the current era, stories of the gods and goddesses of Greece and the Mediterranean, fairy tales, traditional story from all cultures swim and morph together. The oral stories of Australia's first peoples that tell of creation and the dreamtime. Told and retold in a thousand different versions, with as many meanings 
as there are ears to hear.


We all have  a story that deserves to be heard. To sit in a held space, a circle; as peers, to listen and to speak shares a wisdom beyond the one as we see ourselves in the other. All as one.