The Healing Benefits of Arts in the Time of Crisis

​In this time of crisis and self quarantine as the coronavirus spreads across our country, it’s very easy to go into a place of anxiety and fear. Take a deep breath and remember, we can access a state of peace and healing within ourselves even while we’re at home, socially isolated.

Think back to a moment when you’ve created something, anything at all.  Something where you were fully immersed in the moment in time, away from all other distractions.  
 
How did it make you feel? What seemed to want to express itself through you? 
 
When you are a creator, an artist, a vibrant flow of energy flows through your whole body. You remember that you are part of something greater. 
 
Meister Eckhart says it beautifully, “Whatever I want to express in its truest meaning must emerge from within me and pass through an inner form. It cannot come from outside to the inside, but must emerge from within.”
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​Creating art can help us to access a healing state, tapping into a deeper and more peaceful part of ourselves. A place of inner stillness without the busyness of the mind that happens in a crisis like the one we currently find ourselves in. 
 
In this creative space, we can enter a feeling of flow and freedom, free of separation and physical boundaries. A space without limits. A space for self-healing and personal expression in this unusual time.  
 
Human beings are naturally creative.  It’s part of our nature. 
 
And being creative brings us back to this state – our true nature. 
 
Our true nature that brings us to a place of balance and a place of health. 

​As you dive into your own creative endeavor, your artistic process may be smooth and flow easily at times. It may be bumpy and chaotic at other times. It may move quickly. Or slowly. 
 
But, it’s not a time for judgment or critique.  Nor for thinking. This is the time for presence in the moment.  Surrendering to the process and that which moves you from within. Surrendering to what your being needs to express in this time of crisis in order for your own healing and inner peace. And for the world’s.   
 
And when your creative moment is done for that time, you’ll probably feel a sense of completion for that day. You may even experience a sense of gratitude for what came into being in the process. You can rest and relax some, filled with a greater sense of peace.
 
The sweet nectar of the Divine has been brought to Earth through you. 

In my artistic endeavors, I always remember that at age 42, when St. Hildegard felt God commanded her to write down and share what she’d experienced, she did not act on this call to create immediately. 
She felt insecure and inadequate.  Unable to write. 
Soon, after that she became sick and she interpreted her illness as a consequence of her lack of action in what she felt the Divine was calling her to do.
After some time, she gathered her courage and strength and began to write. She was able to move through her resistance, and she felt her own strength grow, as Divine inspiration moved through her. 
But maybe you don’t think of yourself as an artist?  The good news is you don’t have to!  You are a creator – one who creates out of the materials that long to be used for creation. 
 
As human beings, we’re naturally creative. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover how much art you have inside of you. Yearning to be explored and come out in the world in this time of crisis. 
 
Which artistic endeavor calls to you today to access your own healing and inner peace? 
·       Music
·       Dance
·       Painting
·       Drawing
·       Clay/Pottery
·       Weaving
·       Writing
·       Gardening
·       Cooking
·       Using objects – beads, glass, jewelry
·       Something else?
 
As you engage in art, in creating, energy begins to flow. For energy flows toward creativity. 
 
And where energy flows, a powerful healing force can arise.  For yourself. And for the world.
 
Creativity is not a solitary movement. This is its power. Whatever is touched by it, whoever hears it, sees it, senses it, knows it, is fed. That is why beholding someone else’s creative word, images, idea, fills us up, and inspires us to our own creative work. A single creative act has the potential to feed a continent. One creative act can cause a torrent to break through stone. -Clarissa Pinkola Estes
 
In this time of crisis and social isolation, discover how art can support you and begin the flow of a powerful healing force.
 
Check out my FREE Healing Library for more practices that will support you in this time of crisis.