Building Bridges

The world is in crisis and we are collectively going through ‘a dark night of the soul’.   As we become increasingly aware of the many ways that we’ve gone wrong, waves of collective grief and sorrow rise to the surface.  Observing our fractured world, we question how it will be possible to build the bridges that can heal the deep divisions all around us.  We are realising that it is imperative to learn very different modes of thought and behaviour.

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Meditation and Creativity

Having trained as both an artist and an holistic therapist, I have no doubt that colour, form and light have a profound effect on us, that images play a vital part in healing and that beauty is restorative.    

Research has shown that our immune systems are boosted by the sense of wonder we may experience at the beauty of nature, spirituality and art.  Neural networks in the brain have been shown to respond to harmonic principles.  And if we so choose, the process of making art can be a means of devotion.  We can connect to a higher consciousness and to healing energies through meditation and creativity. 

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Smoke and Gold

At the time of writing, it is winter in the North of England and lately there’s been snow, hail, sleet, frosty mornings and icy winds.  I’m glad to be able to light a coal fire sometimes and sit and watch the flames.  

There’s a whole process of clearing ashes, chopping kindling wood and fetching coal and this led me to consider a few things about tending the hearth.  Recently the chimney-sweep came and I was reminded of my father, who used to be a fireman.  He had often attended chimney fires and warned me of the dangers.

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Creative Change

Every one of us emits an electromagnetic field.  These fields of energy and the information contained in them change according to what we are thinking and how we are feeling.

Our emotions affect not only our own nervous system but others around us in profound ways. Each person’s individual energy affects both the collective energy and the environment.

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Spinning a Yarn

In Art and Alignment, I tell of different ways that art, writing and creative activities helped in my recovery from a life-threatening illness.  In the section called ‘The Object In Hand’, I describe how I was at home convalescing after a major operation and beginning to regain some energy.  I found that sitting in a chair, sewing bits of textiles together, which wasn’t something I would normally have done, was helping me to feel better.

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An Open Hand

If we clench our fist and then very slowly allow the hand to uncurl and open, resting there for a moment and repeating this a few times, we can feel how the energy changes between these two states.

If we clench our fist and then very slowly allow the hand to uncurl and open, resting there for a moment and repeating this a few times, we can feel how the energy changes between these two states.  The tight fist is tense and grasping, needy and defensive, greedy and aggressive.

The open hand is peacefully inviting; it lets go and is able to give, receive and co-operate.

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Art and Alignment

‘Bright Flight’ ~ Louise Oliver

Art and Alignment  is concerned with connection and expression.  It looks at the importance of strengthening our connection to our higher self and engaging with creativity and imagination.  Creative activity, when aligned with higher awareness, can bring the messages of the soul into physical expression and become a powerful force for healing.   On the Art and Alignment webpage, there is free access to booklets and videos containing personal stories, which reveal a process of growth and healing through creativity.  These accounts give a perspective on personal alignment and the soul journey.  

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