As a Reiki Practitioner, I create an environment within myself that allows healing energy to flow.
In a similar way, as an Artist, and one who often works intuitively and with energy painting, I use mindful rituals to clear any blocks to creativity, and this allows me to follow creative energy as I work. I call myself a Reiki Artist as it seems the most accurate definition of how I work.
Healing through the arts is not a new concept, and is certainly not restricted to formal art therapy or expressive arts.
Creativity is an important part of the human experience, and in my opinion an especially crucial ingredient in the recipe for happiness for those of us wired with creative minds, whether it be card-making, cooking, painting or welding sculpture from old farm machinery, or whatever creative pursuit floats your boat.
There is a shift that happens when we are absorbed in a creative project.
The mindfulness when we are “in the zone” releases us from the tangle of our “spaghetti mind” and de-clutters our thoughts. Our focus drops down from our mind and settles in to an intuitive and embodied rhythm as we are led on a journey, following the energy of the creative ideas and directions as they flow. Doubts and self-criticism fall away as we emerge into wonder and possibilities, holding hands with our inner child as we feed our soul with creative activity.
When we add reiki to a creative practice, the intention of the creative work shifts.
Sometimes it can be all too easy to find yourself caught in a trap of perfectionism or your own high expectations of results, especially as an artist who earns a living from sales of their work. Bringing reiki into the picture shifts that mindset. Instead of approaching a painting with the vision of a saleable piece in mind, it now becomes more about the journey of making, being open to where the energy is leading us or what can be learned. A portal is opened, energy and inspiration flow, and blocks to wellbeing are shifted and can clear.
My creative time has now become a sacred practice of wellbeing, a valuable gift for which I feel much gratitude.
I try to be mindful of what energy infuses into my work, because it is my intention that any negative energy that is expressed in the artwork is transformed on the canvas into something more positive and supportive for the viewer. My life and art is now all about the acknowledgment of what is or has been, of inner transformation, and about the possibilities of what is to come.
The medicine is in the making and also within the artwork itself.
I’ve found that combining reiki and the art process to have powerful healing benefits, not only while engaged in creating, but also infused within the creative piece. And it still amazes me that the healing power is not restricted to only my story within the artwork. It fascinates me that when others view an energy painting they see their own story within, their own meaning, and they feel their own energy shifting. As an artist that helps me to let go and re-home some of my works as I feel they have an important purpose out in the world. Having an energy artwork in your home, I believe, can bring healing to the home and its occupants, and help you to manifest the life you want.
I often see by colours rather than forms in my mind and imagination, so it is natural as an artist that this energy work would extend to my art, in my painting and other creative practices.
I often see streams or waves of light and colour while I channel reiki, and that can unintentionally come through my paintings. I have been experimenting and exploring following this energy as I paint, in watercolour, ink and also acrylic paint. It has been exciting, scary, emotional, surprising, insightful and at times a bit on the wild side, and the possibilities are endless.
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