Grow Your Own Way Wellness

Many in our community have shared that they are fascinated and in awe of the impact Intentional Creativity has on their lives - the way that it works to catalyze healing, becoming aware of ourselves in deeper ways, and feeling so much better than we did before we started! There is a mysterious or enigmatic part of it that often feels hard to fully articulate - just how is this happening!? #Mystery indeed!

Shiloh Sophia offers the following perspective on this from her writing on Medicine Painting:

"While Intentional Creativity does explore some facets of quantum mysticism, it is mostly rooted in choosing the practice of making, being in inquiry and observing what happens. Healing naturally arises when we are engaged in states made possible through self-expression. Creating in this way reduces stress, increases energy, awakens awareness and a capacity to navigate our human experience.

We know that holistic medicine asks us to see the entire human being as an integrated system - you are likely familiar with the mind, body, spirit language. Ancient practitioners knew this - but somewhere along the way with specialization we started treating symptoms or parts instead of the whole. When there is something in the body that is hurt, it also exists in the mind, the spirit, and the field of energy around the person. Yes, all living things have fields of energy - it is not a spiritual idea but a scientific fact! In shamanic traditions they know full well that to heal, an individual must invite healing in all of their systems. If this does not happen, the cure or medicine will not work as effectively as it could.

When practicing Intentional Creativity we have the clear awareness that the WHOLE person is involved regardless of whether they are working to heal something specific in the body, mind or spirit. We invite all aspects of the being to be present. We work in the field, to heal, as well as in the body. We invite people to be at cause for their own healing by integrating and working in all the different aspects of themselves. We acknowledge that there is a field outside of the body, and a field emanating from the heart (see HeartMath Institute), and we bring conscious awareness and engagement here throughout the medicine painting process."

In this writing, Shiloh Sophia speaks so beautiful about the way IC is a practice that is inclusive of the many parts of ourselves that need to be included in order for healing to happen. It is way of working with creativity that sparks us to actually live better lives that are more present, weaving in ritual, connecting with others in circles of belonging, tuning into our values and desires, and becoming better able to stand for - to live into - what we believe in and what matters to us!

This is the feast table of IC that can fill us up in so many ways. There are some mysterious aspects that still remain, like how our Muse chooses colors! Yet, so much of it comes down to the science of how change happens, and the way a devotional creative practice can shape our awareness at the level of our brain where new neurological patterns can be created. You can think of it as a practice that ensures a healthy whole human ecosystem - one where all of the component parts are in dynamic equilibrium, working together, informing each other, symbiotic.

What we know for sure is that IC has incredible benefits for those who practice it. The Mystery we celebrate today is that which caused you to choose to say yes to this practice and take up your paintbrush or pen with intention for the first time!