One of my first paintings!
Dr. Mike Samuels writes "For I believe that the voices of the inner worlds speak to us in a language that, in our world, is most similar to art. It is below words, it is above silence, it is closest to poetry and music...Art is the energy of healing."
There have been a few times when I have been ill that I used my expressive arts to help access those deep seated emotions. There is a real connection between stress-producing emotions and illness. We can help our bodies heal from illness if we give our bodies access to speak through art!
I find great release in painting and I must admit some trepidation. I have been painting this week after months of doing not much. Lately, I've had pain in my lower abdomen and have had to wait to hear from the doctor (hurry up and wait, hurry up and wait!) I'm waiting today to hear from a test. As I was thinking about writing this blog, I thought I would share some of the artwork I've done for physical healing like the picture above. I was having a lot of trouble with asthma and diabetes so I did some releasing art and then just gave myself over to creating this abstract painting for healing. It was a revelation to me to see the number of birds that emerged from this abstract. All throughout the painting I saw bird shapes. I love the colors that are part of this painting. I can also report that my asthma and diabetes have gotten better. I was able to get off of one medication for asthma (and haven't had to use my nebulizer for several months!) and I am working on losing the weight that is the direct cause of the diabetes. Both of these are slow going and the healing is very gradual.
This is my healing picture from my latest bout with pain! The V should be down!
Art helps in the process of healing. Even the World Health Organization is studying the effects of the arts on holistic healing. I find it personally compelling. I know I would be a lot worse health wise as well as emotionally if I didn't do this work! What I have learned from this artwork is that I have more work to do. Whenever black appears in a painting, I know that there is more involved that is not quite ready to be revealed yet. That is left for the next time. It's part of what makes healing a real journey.
At the same time, any kind of painting seems to create spaces inside of me in the deepest part of my soul. I feel as if I am riding a stallion that will run wild if I let it loose, I'm just a little out of control! Or I feel as if I am being harnessed myself, that I am the horse. I can't wait to get back to it and yet I am also wanting to put the brakes on. Perhaps it is because in the painting I am doing I am not doing healing work? That is the difference for me. In doing Art and Healing, I am allowing my body, mind, and spirit to speak without trying to control how it looks. And in painting an image I am controlling the color, image, and look of the painting.
Lindsay at Tybee Island Beach, unfinished.
I am finding that there is much that I learn from both writing and art. I'm learning things about myself that I would never have known any other way. At the same time, I am also participating in my own healing work and it is helping me to be able to use my gift even more (even if it feels like a harness). If you have some physical problems happening, you may want to see what your body may be trying to tell you. In an earlier blog, I described how to access, release, and transform. Try it using craypas or crayons and just allow yourself to see what comes up! Remember to use your non-dominant hand in the releasing work. This helps you think with a different part of your brain. Journal with this artwork for some time to give yourself clues in what it is about. Look at the earlier blog to see what the colors that come up have to tell you. Then allow yourself to create an artwork of healing. You may be surprised at what comes up. I have done sculpture, watercolor, collage, as well as acrylic painting with these transforming artworks. Allow yourself to use whatever you need to use. Trust your spirit to tell you! Also remember to let yourself view this artwork for 3 minutes every day for a couple of weeks. You will know when to move on to discover the next area of healing. I'll let you know what happens!
