The lessons of Greece are

enjoy yourself with your friends

have village parties for any reason

Church days,  icon days

saints day

and for no reason

e.g. the porc party,

so you make a poster

invite everyone on the island

cook some pork

and give everyone free food

free wine

a live band

always Greek dancing

take time off to enjoy yourself with your friends

and give the whole village

free food and wine and dancing

not a bad idea

the village party was

the first art and healing

dance turned into boiling energy,

and spiritual practice

music into hymns

"On this day the religious feelings of the believers find strongest expression. The whole population of the island and many visitors, who disregard the winter storms of the Aegean offer their thanks to the Great Mother and Proctress. who deigned to reveal Her Holy Icon for the salvation of all those who really believe.

In the evening the school-children lead by the orchestra of the Church march through the streets holding lighted multi-colour lamps and singing various hymns referring to the finding of the Holy Icon."

healing art in Tinos Greece, school children sing and hold candles celebrating the finding of the icon which heals and makes miracles in 1823. This is a celebration ceremony , singing lights, dancing prayer

for healing from the virgin Mary for the whole year for the island the the family

for miracles healings balance....

(download)

Click here to download:

30th_January_-_Anniversary_of_.zip (4.48 MB)

I once led an art and healing group with women with breast cancer , to make mandalas, and 6 out of 8 the the women drew angels.....

you start by making art from where you are in your life right now: make art from the breast cancer experience, whatever comes to you mind, start there and let it move

Finally, you can  make art.  Next  is the art process itself, to draw, to move, to write, or start a song.  It is really simple.  As simple as breathing or being in love.  The experience of art and healing can be visualized as taking place on four spirals: the spiral of lived experience, the spiral of transformation, the spiral of empowerment, and the spiral of love.  This description of how art and healing takes place is not theoretical, it is real.  It comes from the experiences of people who have healed themselves with art, music, and dance, and it is taken from research at The University of Florida, Gainesville, from the actual stories they have told us.  It starts from right where you are now.  The first spiral of lived experience starts from your illness, your depression, your problems, your joy.  The four spirals or art and healing are about you starting out from your life, about making the first piece of art simply from who you are now.   We think the four spirals are useful for you because this way of seeing art and healing divides the process into four parts that you can look at separately.  Its framework helps you to understand  that the process is easy and automatic and yet powerful and profound.

The entire healing process can be pictured in your mind’s eye in metaphorical form as a journey on a sacred spiral.  The spiral down can be imagined as a concentric pathway of creativity.  Spirals are concentric forces that bring a person down into their own inner creative energy.  When we reach the center of these spirals we will reach the center of our heart where we are deeply connected to the world.  Within the center of the heart, an inner eye opens up, the eye of awareness and witness.  From the center of our spirit, we experience our inner connectedness .  As the art comes out, you see that everything comes out, and you are like everything.  This is about birth.  The art is what you are giving birth to.  The art in this sense is an offering that heals you, an offering directly from your heart.

If you have breast cancer or love someone who has breast cancer , give the gift of healing with art.

its not hard.

Making healing art is easy.  It is one of the most powerful tools anyone has to heal. Anyone can heal themselves with art.  There are four simple steps to begin. The steps are the same if the person is healing themselves or a person they work with.

The first is to reclaim your inner artist. The second is to make a studio to create the space and time for yourself to make art to heal. The third is to choose a media that is natural for you to begin with. The fourth is to begin to make art with the subject that is the most meaningful and compelling in your own life- you.

Art, like a wall you build in a new house, has something there to see at the end of each day. Healing  art is real, tangible, and can be seen, felt, or heard, healing follows. 

Reclaiming your inner artist

·      Realize you want to be an artist

·      Let go of insecurities

·      Let go of fear

·      Say to yourself, "I am an artist"

·      Broaden artistry to include your whole life

·      Realize that being an artist is natural

Making a studio 

·      Create space in your busy life

·      Make a commitment

·      Regard art as the most important thing you do to heal yourself

·      Make yourself the focus of your healing process

·      Make the studio beautiful

·      Put in personal things to make it deeply yours

·      Make it convenient and accessible

·      Create a routine to make art every day

·      Give  yourself attention and listen to yourself

·      Create a boundary around yourself

·      Create sacred space with a prayer or altar

Choosing a media

·      Don't worry about which media you choose

·      Remember a time when you were most creative as a child, Which media did you use?

·      Which media resonates with your flow of energy?

·      Which material comes to your mind first?

·      Which process comes to your mind first?

·      What is your secret desire?

·      Allow yourself to experiment

·      Be open to choices ahead

·      Choose one