Drawing as a Sacred Activity Simple Steps to Explore Your Feelings and Heal Your Consciousness

by Williams, Heather C.

• ISBN13: 9781577312246
• ISBN10: 1577312244
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-23
• Publisher: New World Library

Summary

Like many people, Heather Williams was not encouraged to embrace her creative side during childhood and as a result turned her back on part of her inner life. Beginning with an explanation of how she reclaimed her artistic impulses, this book invites readers to explore their own resources for creativity. With a·step-by-step approach to personal development in the tradition of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain and The Artist’s Way, it teaches not only the technical skills needed to draw but also ways to delve into our inner lives for healing and inspiration. The book is divided into three sections: Pencils and Perception (observing and drawing what is seen in the physical world); Crayons and Consciousness (drawing the interior landscape); and Ink and Intuition (drawing on one’s intuitive wisdom). With 300 black-and-white illustrations, this is an easy, fun way to unlock creativity and unleash the spirit.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
introduction	3	(1)
The Benefits of Drawing	3	(2)
Perception: Three Aspects	5	(2)
Three Different Ways to Draw Out Your Feelings	7	(1)
Love Is Essential	8	(3)
Learning Differences and Visual Thinking	11	(2)
Left and Right: Two Ways of Seeing and Thinking	13	(3)
The Balancing Act	16	(2)
Mistakes and Accidents: Another View	18	(1)
Interpreting Your Drawings Lightheartedly	19	(1)
How to Use This Book	20	(3)
part 1 pencils and perception Exploring Your Feelings toward Objects, Nature, and People	23	(68)
Introduction	25	(1)
The Adventure of Seeing	25	(2)
Trusting Your Eyes	27	(2)
Why Feeling Is So Important	29	(1)
Looking with Soft Eyes	30	(2)
Basic Directions: Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal	32	(6)
Extended Directions: Being Willing	38	(2)
Intersections: Focusing on Essentials	40	(2)
The Visual Key to Drawing What You See	42	(2)
Constellations: Seeing the Pattern	44	(3)
Collisions and Transitions: Flowing with Light and Dark	47	(6)
Drawing Exercises	53	(1)
Doors: Passages in Consciousness	53	(2)
Windows: Your Outlook on Life	55	(2)
Tables: Supporting Your Interests	57	(2)
Chairs: Claiming Your Authority	59	(2)
Clothing and Drapery: Roles to Play	61	(2)
Trees: Being Rooted and Reaching Out	63	(5)
Plants and Flowers: Your Growth and Blossoming	68	(2)
Distant Hills: Broadening Your Perspectives	70	(2)
Animals: Lessons in Unconditional Love	72	(2)
Introduction to Drawing the Human Form	74	(3)
Hands and Feet: Standing Up and Handling Life	77	(2)
Your Own Face: Mirror Work	79	(2)
Another's Face: Suspending Judgment	81	(5)
The Human Form: Seeing with Compassion	86	(5)
part 2 crayons and consciousness Exploring Your Emotional Feelings	91	(74)
Introduction	93	(1)
Exploring the Interior Landscape	93	(1)
Emotional Feelings and the Nondominant Hand	94	(4)
Who Needs to Draw Out Their Feelings?	98	(2)
Creating a Safe Environment	100	(1)
Unconditional Love Is Available	101	(2)
Drawing Exercises	103	(1)
The Inner Child Character	103	(2)
The Mother Character	105	(2)
My Mother the Mermaid	107	(9)
The Father Character	116	(4)
Reparenting	120	(2)
Self-Acceptance	122	(2)
Being Alone	124	(1)
Anxiety	125	(1)
Accuse and Release	126	(3)
Safely Expressing Anger	129	(1)
Forgiveness	130	(1)
Emotional Overwhelm	131	(2)
Intimacy and Power	133	(1)
Dialogue with Another's Essential Self	134	(1)
Body Wisdom	135	(8)
Art Is Love	143	(3)
Releasing Fear	146	(2)
Letting Go of Shame	148	(1)
Creative Freedom	149	(1)
Dissolving Depression	150	(2)
Creating Money	152	(1)
Something's Cooking!	153	(1)
Keeping Thoughts Fresh	154	(1)
Dreams and Nightmares	155	(2)
Stick in the Mud	157	(2)
Navigating the World	159	(3)
Consulting the Elder Crone/Old Wise Man	162	(3)
part 3 ink and intuition Exploring your Intuitive Feelings	165	(20)
Introduction	167	(1)
The Journey of Unfolding Consciousness	167	(2)
Intuitive Feelings Are Seldom Logical	169	(2)
Change: The Threshold or Liminal Experience	171	(3)
Victor Turner's Threshold Chart	174	(1)
Leadership and Liminality	175	(3)
The Value of Not Knowing	178	(2)
Drawing Exercises	180	(1)
Taking a Minute	180	(2)
Stop, Drop, and Feel	182	(3)
Recommended Reading List	185	(1)
Recommeded Web Sites	186	(1)
Exercise Index	187	(1)
Permissions Acknowledgments	188	(1)
Acknowledgments	189	(2)
About the Author	191