Creative Awakening: Drawing from the Unconscious
by Jeanette Amlie

During my training in art therapy, I realized early on that ART IS THERAPEUTIC. And although it is often very helpful to have someone witness and guide you in discovering meaning in the images that are created, it doesn't necessarily require someone to assist you in creating the images themselves. I also knew from my undergraduate degree in Art many years before that formal art training rarely encourages the budding artist to find their authentic inner Soul Voice. So this process of Creative Awakening evolved out of my own experimentation in finding ways to use spontaneous drawing and painting to explore the inner terrain that often lies below words and the censoring of the intellectual mind.

You really can have fun with this process & glean a great deal of insight as well. I love to use black paper & oil or water color pastels because they really pop off the page & even very simple shapes & lines can be very powerful. I have found this to be a very rich source of inner wisdom & guidance & feel blessed to be able to share it with you here.

1. Often I begin the process with a series of exercises which are designed specifically to discharge held stress, tension & what I call 'static' in the body, mind, nervous system & energy field. Yoga, Tai Chi and other systems of working with the energy+body would be useful too.
2. I then follow this with a meditation that helps me to identify & track somatic ('felt sense') responses in my body. This is described in greater detail at the end of the videos mentioned above. This process allows some of the 'static charge' in our nervous system, body and mind to dissipate, allowing us to drop more easily into a deeper place of intuition and awareness, below the censoring of the intellect. During this phase it's important to allow the body to react naturally as it rebalances your energy & this could include deep breaths, tingling, twitching, energy streaming, twinges, emotional release etc. Simply allowing this process is deeply healing in-and-of itself and can open a door to our inner guidance that facilitates creative expression.
3. After this I will check in to find out what is asking to come through for my highest benefit. Often I begin the process with a question or query for inner guidance related to something I seek guidance on. Sometimes I have simply noticed emotions or physical sensations that I wanted to understand. Yet sometimes I simply ask my inner guidance for any images/words that would be useful for me at this time. 
4. At this point I focus on relaxed breathing and simply begin dropping deeper into my body awareness & the core essence that I truly am. This process may expand beyond our physical body or take us to a deeper level within ourselves. The most important part is to dismiss any doubts or admonitions the mind may insert, which often is just conditioning that keeps us from accessing our inner guidance. Then start noticing any colors or shapes that begin to emerge.
5. At this point I generally have black paper & oil or water pastels in front of me & waiting so I don't have to break the flow of energy. Then I simply allow myself to pick up whatever color in whichever hand I am compelled to use & begin making 'marks on the page'. Sometimes I get a full image/vision that I want to reproduce, but often the most powerful images just pour through me without censor or comprehension until I am done. And sometimes it is simply the feeling of the marks and the movements themselves that are the most healing part of the process.

The final step, which can be the most amazing, is to set the drawing up where you can easily see it & simply observe it, as if it can 'talk to you'. You might find yourself asking it questions or wondering about a particular aspect of it you don't understand. Or you might come back to it later or on another day to have a fresh conversation from a slightly distanced perspective. I have been amazed to find that often years later I will be in a particular place or situation & suddenly realize that I 'drew this' a long time ago, but did not understand until now what it meant! Often times my 'Soul Drawings" as I call them aren't ready to be seen by others for some time until I have processed them, which is the case with many of the ones I am sharing here on this website. 


A wonderful book that can help if you feel a bit resistant to just diving into the creative process is "Visual Journaling: Going Deeper than Words by Barbara Ganim & Susan Fox, which is readily available through most online sources. 

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