Expressive Arts: A Fun Way to Connect to Your Inner Wisdom
The joy of using the arts to celebrate life and create an avenue to Source, variously known as our Higher Self, God, Spirit or Divine, is not questioned in the indigenous world. Yet, Western society is not so kind to those who express their power in this way. The feminine energies of intuition, creativity and harmony give way to logic, speed, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Burdened by society’s expectations, many people are understandably afraid to quiet their minds and risk delving into unknown territory. Yet, more than ever, with all the distractions and divisiveness many of us face on a daily basis, reclaiming our creativity can help us reach our potential and experience freedom and joy.
I reclaimed my childhood sense of creativity and awe during a weeklong seminar held at the Omega Institute during Fall of 1999. There, in my first course at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, I learned to submit to the force of creative expression and delve into my unconscious, bringing forth personal images, symbols and experiences to feed my soul.
Until that point, I had no awareness of how stifled I had become or how far I had strayed from my core. My experiences that week provided avenues for me to move quickly into what Ken Wilber, philosopher, calls “Unity Consciousness,” a state of identifying with the Universe. This, he says, is “not an abnormal state of consciousness, nor even an altered state of consciousness, but rather, the only real state of consciousness, all others being essentially illusions.”
I share what I learned, through my artwork, talks and workshops where my participants’ and my experiences with expressive arts continually remind me of the hidden magnificence within each of us. Creativity is a playful and beautiful avenue to Source that feeds our souls and provides a perfect vehicle for reaching our potential in this logical, fast-paced world. We don’t need to please or placate others. All that is required is to embrace the creative process as a gift and to appreciate the opportunity it affords us to slow down and learn to trust our own inner guidance.
Many are looking to find balance, clear old patterns or behaviors that hold them back, and embrace positive futures. One way to facilitate these things is through expressive arts. When we drop our defenses and remove the voices of doubt and criticism, loving spiritual guidance can flow through our bodies and allow our true selves to emerge with clarity and grace. Movement, artwork, collage, journaling, poetry, and slowing down are some of the activities that help us understand on a deep, cellular level that we are all connected and that the “I” we experience on most days is limited.
For eleven minutes, we closed our eyes and danced in silence, witnessed by a partner and paying close attention only to our own inner experience. In my mind, I saw flames rising from the ground, surrounding me with energy. My body moved with devotion and exuberance between the earth and the sky. I felt engulfed in a comforting and powerful force. I was one with my Essence, a powerful, feminine energy connecting earth and sky that I had not known before.
My own Wild Woman Within.
That journal entry, written after an Authentic Movement session, reminds us that we are all much more than our bodies. With movement, we are able to release tension, let down our protective veils, and allow feelings and images to arise. We are reminded that we are multidimensional, energetic beings who have access to many realms of reality. The journal continues.
Moving to the drawing materials, my hand swept across the page. The color was quick and energetic. The figure that emerged had arms raised in joy, dancing amongst the flames. My partner, who had been a loving witness to my inner journey, drew the same picture.
She had “seen,” on an energetic level, the scene I was experiencing.
The connection between us was palpable.
Moving our energy silently from dancing to drawing allows us to experience an interrelated form of creativity Natalie Rogers, Ph.D. and pioneer in expressive arts therapy, calls the “creative connection.” When we move it helps us get into our body. This helps us be more present to the process of creativity in new ways. Combining one art form with another stimulates and nurtures us which helps new information from the life energy of our being, rise to the surface.
Here are additional experiences you can explore on your own or with a group to help you access unity consciousness through expressive arts.
Collage
Accomplished intuitives and novices can quiet their minds and express emotional goals by creating collages using magazine pictures. In my workshops, I create a safe and fun atmosphere that promotes self-exploration.
The participants feel free to create, play, and be inspired by their own, internal guidance.
I lead a guided meditation, and then give everyone time to flip through pictures and words in hundreds of magazines, literally to their heart’s content. They rip and clip anything that jumps out at them. What they produce is a concrete reminder of their highest potential, which serves them throughout the year.
The task of creating a visionary collage is best served by silence. “The silence allowed me to really listen within and be guided. I so rarely do that,” is a comment echoed by many.
For a lot of people, this is their first experience tapping into the flow of their subconscious without the need to impress others.
Soon enough, Spirit takes over the process. The woman who needs to heal her relationship with her mother, a Holocaust survivor, finds among the hundreds of magazines a picture and article that explores the topic. The budding entrepreneur, reticent to market her children’s clothing line, finds a photograph of the New York retailer she has been wishing to approach.
The images of beauty, nature, love, and hopefulness that emerge in these collages speak volumes to the desire of all women to deeply embrace beauty and connect to what has been lost. This gentle process opens the door for people to reclaim their power.
Another advantage of all my workshops occurs as participants are encouraged to share their work. As each piece is witnessed, the hopes and dreams of the person explaining their creation are validated. The open-hearted and non-judgmental sharing touches all in observance and is a reminder of the deep connection we have to one another.
Journaling
Free writing, or journal writing, about an issue that concerns us, often leads to a connection with our personal source of guidance. It is important that we allow the pen or computer keys to dance under our fingers and trust the words to flow through us rather than struggle to create them. Stopping to edit or criticize destroys our flow. When practiced regularly, journal writing enables Spirit’s voice to be heard.
If we want something revealed to us, we must begin with a clear question. Intention is everything. Having a dialogue with our bodies is a useful technique for exploring physical symptoms. Our bodies are constantly communicating with us. We just have to listen and interpret the symbols.
For example, at one time I was coughing phlegm and having difficulty breathing. I suspected pneumonia and was scared. I began with a question.
Dear clogged throat, what are you trying to tell me?
The fact that you cannot breathe sometimes is an indication of your being hidden under the dark fabric of a shroud. We know you have made a contract to let go of the forces that keep you down. We are so pleased about that. We are celebrating you. Now, let’s be sure you are serious. We want to give you a clear way of working with the energies you say you are ready to move. You have been afraid to exert your will, to speak your mind, to stand up for yourself and be counted.
Now, self-care is of maximum importance.
I listened, wrote, and did as I was told, which was to rest and begin speaking up for myself. You see, I had uncovered a psychological as well as a physiological impediment. Once I had this epiphany and acted upon it, my illness went away.
Poetry
It may be years since that tenth grade poetry class that taught iambic pentameter. I see that as a positive thing. The further we are from needing our self-expression to look a certain way, the better off we are. Flowery language spoken from deep within the heart can reveal a truth unknown to one’s intellect. The biggest hurdle is getting past the fear of writing. Poetry and other forms of writing are especially helpful in delving into pain to discover what the soul wants to reveal.
Allowing oneself to cry, sing, growl, and find expression on paper can be very healing. The creation becomes a mirror of our innermost thoughts in a form that can be used repeatedly to inspire and support our growth. As I experienced burgeoning insights, fear, and my struggle to adjust to changes in my life, I was not sure where, when, and with whom to share. I addressed my confusion in a poem that helped ease my mind.
Letting Go and Receiving
The drive to experience our higher self requires all our identities to rearrange themselves. Psychological blocks have to be faced and old habits transformed. Harnessing the images of dreams, visions, and mystical experiences in our artwork tells our unconscious mind that we are ready to face these challenges courageously and to move into the unknown. The support we receive from the Universe will be relative to what we can handle.
I had my own mystical experience soon after a major letting go period (more on that another time!) This resulted in my spending thirty days in silence and receiving 23 paintings I call
The Alphabet of Vibration. They are vibrant, Hebrew letter mandalas that include symbols from many spiritual traditions as I am dedicated to bringing people together beyond differences to remember we are all interconnected.
I started with the first letter of the alphabet, Aleph. The arms of Aleph raise up to heaven and down to earth from the central column of Aleph’s body. Fires of creativity and transmutation rise from all directions, announcing the importance of bringing heaven to earth in new ways during these transformational times. 
When I listened deeply, I heard, in my inner knowing, this message from Aleph. “Bridging the worlds - heaven on earth - within your body, requires feeling all your experiences - difficult and joyful ones- and letting them flow through you without judgment. As you witness and honor these experiences as the teachers they were always meant to be, you relax and are more able to feel the peaceful state that resides deep inside of you, beyond outside conditioning.”
Support
Delving mindfully into expressive arts requires people to drop their defenses and move into often unexplored areas of self-awareness. This path requires courage. Support is very important for encouragement and depth of experience.
Many of us have forgotten how to be still and listen to our inner guidance. As we peel away the layers we wear for self-protection and love, we need support to welcome the person who is emerging.
In this fast-paced world I value human to human connection. I enjoy helping people slow down, connect in small groups, put their own energy into their self expression, and remember who they truly are - multifaceted human beings of joy and peace.
It is important to have support as you delve into this alternate form of self- discovery, because often what is uncovered may be both encouraging and challenging. To do this alone, without a personal support system, may be stressful to the soul. I encourage you to share your work with trustworthy others or seek group settings that provide safety and nurture for this experiential work.
The road isn’t always easy. But, like the butterfly’s journey, it doesn’t have to be so hard. Engaging in expressive arts is enriching, revealing, and fun.
