Written by Silvana Wiggins.
A Transpersonal Art Therapist shines the spotlight on the many healing benefits of art and also reveals some simple processes you can do yourself.
Recently I found myself at a loss trying to console my five year old daughter, Charlotte, after her ‘really bad’ day at school. We’d been at home for an hour and nothing I did seemed to be helping, so I resorted to my art therapy training and asked her to draw her feelings. Within a few moments and with a few pastels, my child did what came naturally. She was able to express her emotions through her art, using symbols like lightning to depict her mistakes and the rain to portray her sadness. When she’d finished, she looked up and asked, “Now do you understand?”
For the first time that afternoon I got it. Through her art and her personal symbology, I was able to step into Charlotte’s inner world and see things from her perspective. The mistakes she’d made at school that day were a very big deal to her – as big as lightning in fact – and they were making her miserable. Using her symbolic language, I gently explained that while lightning may be bad, it’s part of nature, just like making mistakes is part of being a human – everyone does it! She then drew a black butterfly to depict herself as being bad. I reiterated that mistakes don’t make you bad, they’re just a bit of a pain but can also help us to learn.
I then asked her to draw something that made her feel good, so she drew a rainbow and she described each piece with some descriptive words: ‘poo’ for the day she’d had, and ‘pretty’ and ‘nice’ for how she wanted to feel again. After expressing herself creatively, something in Charlotte shifted and she was able to move on. Where words had initially failed, art had allowed the two of us to get to the heart of the matter.
Regardless of age, culture or background, art allows a person to relax, open up and explore themselves and their lives from a new perspective. When I use art with clients, I can usually trust that it will take the session to a deeper and more authentic level.
Creative expression engages the right side of the brain, bringing a person into the ‘now’ and bringing awareness into their bodies. Our bodies store our memories and carry innate intelligence and can teach us things if we take the time to stop and listen. For instance, have you ever had an ‘aha’ moment and felt your body’s reaction? Something inside is telling you “this feels right”. The same thing happens when you are producing art as it allows you to tap into your body’s wisdom.
Through art, you are also able to tap into your unconscious and authentic self via the symbols and meanings in your work. Art and symbol have long been hailed as the language of the soul. So by creating art, you are taking a journey beyond the ego direct to the messages from your soul – allowing you to source the answers from within.
In Transpersonal Art Therapy, there is no judgement or analysing by the therapist. Just as I had travelled into my daughter’s world, a transpersonal therapist travels into the client’s world, exploring the symbols as they relate to that individual and their unique experiences. Based on the shamanic model, transpersonal therapy considers the whole person – their mind, body and soul – and it encourages a person to reflect inward, to identify patterns and blocks in their lives and to recognise and integrate their own resources and potential.
Art therapy, which has been around for thousands of years, is becoming more widely adopted today to help deal with the spectra of human conditions; from stress, anxiety and depression to crises, life transitions and spiritual emergence. Increasingly people are starting to realise the important role that art has to play in the healing process.
The wonderful thing about art therapy is that you don’t have to be a Picasso or da Vinci to reap the many benefits of creative expression. Anyone can use art anytime to help deal with life’s stresses and to find meaning and direction. It’s also a great way to relax, let go and have a bit of fun.
The following are some simple processes you can do yourself:
When you want to feel contained or more centred, draw a mandala: Derived from the ancient Sanskrit word meaning, ‘sacred centre’, a mandala is a circle that can be used to represent your own universe. Everything that you choose to place inside that circle is a reflection of your world and what’s inside you. For example, you can use colour, imagery or symbols to reflect what belongs to you inside the mandala, and outside the circle place anything that is not yours or no longer serves you. This can help clarify a sense of what is yours and what is not.
Mandalas have also been used by many different cultures around the world and across time to represent a spiritual journey. Carl Jung drew mandalas to record his own personal journey. A series of mandalas can help create a sense of story and movement and allow you to see your story and transformation take shape.
When you feel stuck or uptight or don’t have the answers, create a line drawing. Close your eyes and feel into your body. Then choose a crayon and start moving it across a large piece of paper in a continuous line, and as an extension of your body, until you are ready to stop. You can use your non-dominant hand if you like. Once you’re done, open your eyes and examine your creation. You may discover symbolism that relates to your life in some way. It could be the colour, the shapes or the mood, and it may even help shift what is going on for you. You can also enhance areas of the line drawing that may stand out for you by filling it in with more colour and artwork – a way of filling in the story.
Unlock your dreams by recording them in art. If you want to unlock the messages from your dreams, draw one of your dreams and start unpacking the symbols and general feeling of that dream. Recording your dreams in this way can help you shine a spotlight on your unconscious world allowing you to take a good look at the many symbols that dance in and out of your dreams each night. What do the symbols mean and why do some of the same symbols keep making an appearance? Who are the characters of your dream and do they represent some part of you? You can also draw your ideal dream ending. This is a great tool for anyone experiencing nightmares or repetitive dreams.
Create your own art journal. Use art to journal how you are feeling on any given day. Give each art piece a title (something that may reflect the general mood of your drawing). This is another way of recording your life, relationships and emotions without the need for too many words and over thinking. Over time you may see themes and patterns in your art that may mirror patterns in your own life.
Finding meaning in your art. When you are finished creating, have a look at your piece and ask yourself: What does it remind me of? What is it saying to me? What is the mood of my drawing or artwork? What are the symbols and what do they represent in my own life? What feelings do I have when I look at this picture? What am I drawn to? Where do I feel that in my body? Why do I think this came up now? What do I like and dislike about my art? And if this is about my internal life, what is it saying?
Have a conversation with your art piece and start unlocking some of the symbols from your unconscious. Symbols may jump out at you or they may evolve. You may be surprised at where your art can take you. Thomas Merton once said, ‘art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. As my own daughter Charlotte put it, “I feel better now and I want to play”.
Silvana Wiggins is a qualified Transpersonal Art Therapist who works with both groups and individuals in Sydney’s Hills District. Email: [email protected]
