What this painting asked of me became incredibly powerful medicine. Its unfolding allowed me to fully anchor into in a field of grace as one of my nearest and dearest soul friends crossed over into the next plane. I felt her with me in every brushstroke: effortless, at ease, and totally ensconced in joy, love, and a radiant, mysterious sense of adventure that echoed a deep sense of familiarity
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 Imagery of hands offering support in all directions has been evolving with me since the beginning of the pandemic.
As so much of the world that I knew, and the facades I identified with, began to drop away, I became inexplicably drawn to the circle and the color indigo as a means of self-soothing. Meditating on this singular shape and color was a way for me to establish a sense of certainty within myself, to feel anchored within the chaos and not-knowing that felt so overwhelming. The circle is one of the most ancient symbols used by humanity to communicate; it was utilized long before written language came into existence. As such, connecting with the circle connects us with the very roots of our evolution as a species: a sense of deep interconnection and belonging that has been with us long before we arrived. While the wisdom of the circle is both ancient and timeless, Carl Jung was the first westerner to observe and document how people naturally gravitate towards circular shapes during times of upheaval and transformation. He began working with the mandala as a means of understanding his own individuation as well as that of his patients. Resting within the mandala (Sanskrit for “sacred circle) allows both the viewer and creator to access a sense of calm within chaos; it is a powerful tool of the subconscious for calling back fragmented parts, of inviting wholeness and a sense of timelessness. Ancestral Study no 13, 7”x7” acrylic on paper. Influenced and inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, a connection who years later is my greatest gift from my studies at Umass Amherst. This particular image is a representation of all 1024 hands that comprise the 7 generations of the 512 people that have formed and shaped your unique genetic imprint. You exist in the center of the golden Vesica Piscis. It is a portal into ancestry both past and future, spanning seven generations in both directions of linear time. Working with this imagery connects the viewer with the whole of humanity and what’s known as Seven Generations principle: a sacred philosophy honored by many indigenous cultures, a vital code of ethics that is crying out to be remembered.  Ouroboros is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. While the etymology comes from the Greek for “tail eater”, ouroboros has been depicted as early as 1600 BC in ancient Egypt and is even included in King Tut’s tomb.
The premise of a snake or dragon consuming its own tail symbolizes wholeness and infinity; it speaks to the natural cycle of destruction and creation, representing the unity of all things material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form. In Jungian psychology, ouroboros is an archetype of the process of individuation. One of Jung’s most frequently quoted phrases that I often reference in my teaching speaks beautifully to this phenomena: “Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will rule our lives and we will call it fate.” Individuation is the process of bringing the unconscious parts of ourselves to light; a welcoming in of all the aspects of ourselves that have been repressed or denied: individually, culturally, societally. Through this process of excavation, illumination, and integration of these denied parts- the self that feels inadequate, the self that feels ashamed, the self that compartmentalizes feelings, the self that feels like a burden to others, the creative self, the playful self, and so on...we call back our Soul’s divine birthright to inner harmony, wholeness, and connection to the unified field of Grace. This piece came to me like a flash of lightning and was completed over Easter weekend on 4/4. It features one of my beeswax ancestral mandala studies, heavily inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, and includes 44 beings/88 hands- numbers that weren’t pre-planned, but ones that I learned afterward hold powerful vibrations of healing. 20”x20”, mixed media on canvas, 2021Ouroboros is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. While the etymology comes from the Greek for “tail eater”, ouroboros has been depicted as early as 1600 BC in ancient Egypt and is even included in King Tut’s tomb. The premise of a snake or dragon consuming its own tail symbolizes wholeness and infinity; it speaks to the natural cycle of destruction and creation, representing the unity of all things material and spiritual, which never disappear but perpetually change form. In Jungian psychology, ouroboros is an archetype of the process of individuation. One of Jung’s most frequently quoted phrases that I often reference in my teaching speaks beautifully to this phenomena: “Until we make the unconscious conscious, it will rule our lives and we will call it fate.” Individuation is the process of bringing the unconscious parts of ourselves to light; a welcoming in of all the aspects of ourselves that have been repressed or denied: individually, culturally, societally. Through this process of excavation, illumination, and integration of these denied parts- the self that feels inadequate, the self that feels ashamed, the self that compartmentalizes feelings, the self that feels like a burden to others, the creative self, the playful self, and so on...we call back our Soul’s divine birthright to inner harmony, wholeness, and connection to the unified field of Grace. This piece came to me like a flash of lightning and was completed over Easter weekend on 4/4. It features one of my beeswax ancestral mandala studies, heavily inspired by late mentor Richard Yarde, and includes 44 beings/88 hands- numbers that weren’t pre-planned, but ones that I learned afterward hold powerful vibrations of healing. 20”x20”, mixed media on canvas, 2021 Who else has experienced the phenomena of “becoming nobody” through a creative practice? Simultaneously dissolving from your self and feeling intimately connected with the whole of aliveness itself. It’s the way I feel in nature, too! It’s what lights me up! Let me know in the comments :) 🗺 🌌 🎨
Original hummingbird heart chakra painting available on Etsy or via email. Full video on my YouTube channel. In this video, I share how as a professional artist and creativity coach, I work with hummingbird energy and the heart chakra through my artwork as a tool for cultivating inner resilience, joy, and vitality during challenging times. This mixed media painting features a dreamlike topographic map background that holds the container for the vibrant floral, hummingbird energy. Save 10% on nature-inspired artwork, yoga mats, and enchanting original paintings with code YOUTUBE. Original mixed media hummingbird artwork available here. Heart chakra hummingbird floral art prints available here.  Something I feel isn’t discussed enough in the “follow your dreams” space is the incredible amount of trust and faith in the unknown that this path demands. These are qualities that anyone hungry enough can develop within themselves. It requires:
-an acceptance of your worthiness to dream, -a willingness to show up for your dream, -a fortitude for taking action on the dream no matter the approval or acceptance from others, -and a tolerance for being square in the middle of the discomfort of having no guarantee of outcomes of the dream- simply doing something for the sake of how it feels to be connecting with that which brings you joy, meaning, or vitality. Many days this requires an hour by hour, sometimes even breath by breath reminder as we decondition paradigms of scarcity and not-enoughness, and recondition an inner knowing and sense of aliveness. It’s a discipline and practice that Elizabeth Gilbert says must be held both seriously and lightly. I love the paradox of this truth. >>>What else would you add to this list?<<< let me know in the comments. ---- Links to the beautiful acrylic painting originals of Southern Spain Mountainscape and Cosmic Saraswati Peacock as seen in image above from my home art studio :) I was so fired up to recently reconnect with my good friend Dr. Jonathan Pearlman on his podcast years after our transformation journeys began at Prowess Fit⚡️ This ended up being a very vulnerable and passionate conversation around how pursuing various passions helped me learn and integrate greater levels of awareness, aliveness, and wholeness through: -Fitness -Yoga & Mindfulness -Art & Creativity -and becoming an Outdoor Adventurer🏕 “Who am I in this practice? In what ways am I holding myself back? Who do I WANT to become?” and ultimately, “How do I want to show up for this life experience?” are just some of the questions that each of these practices has posed for me over the decades. Each modality has helped me learn more about overcoming my own self-destructive conditioning, and RECONDITIONING that which allows my soul to shine, through dedicated effort and purposeful practice, and we explored a lot of them in depth in this interview.🔥 We talked a LOT about mindset, and how our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality. This is the first time I’ve shared this openly about the shadow side of the journey, and what I learned through various dark nights of the soul: from feeling like an unworthy misfit in art school, to navigating grief of divorce, to managing my own fear and anxiety with COVID 🙄 I’m beyond excited for our next convo, simply for how amazing it will be to look back with even more perspective on all that is transforming within us right at this moment, even if we can't SEE it. 🌱🌸🌺🐝 It's amazing how so often, life only really makes sense in retrospect, and that's really where mindset comes in: it's about having trust and faith in the unknown, and finding ways to connect with what we love even when it doesn't make sense to our rational minds. I'm so glad we got to explore this together! 🦅🌈 Doctor Jonathan Pearlman D.C. specializes in the Gonstead Method of chiropractic in Dallas Texas and adds nutrition consultation (with an emphasis on proper ketogenic and whole food eating) with gut rehab as a Complement to the practice.
You can reach him through his website at: https://www.drpearlmantv.com/ Paramount Chiropractic & Wellness Office Located at: 1201 Richardson Drive, Suite 130 Richardson, Tx 75080 See his other social media at: https://www.instagram.com/drpearlmantv/ https://www.facebook.com/drpearlmantv https://open.spotify.com/show/1XFFXw8... https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... #health #Wellness #plantbased #detox #headacherelief #Chiropractic #Ketogenticlifestyle #ketocoffee #exercise #art #inspiration #motivation  Beautiful new friends in Kathmandu, Nepal. April 2019. For International Women's Day I want to invite you all to sincerely congratulate yourself every time you do something that requires faith in yourself, even if you don’t get the results that you want. This is the mindset that will bring unfathomable amounts of gifts forward from within you, and the world NEEDS your courageous heart now more than ever. Stay strong. Keep going. Keep growing. Keep glowing and flowing. Be your own hero. Train every day like the warrior you are and be stronger than any thought or belief that holds you back from being fully lit UP and for God’s sake, LET GO of playing small so others feel comfortable. Be brave and let that beautiful heart of yours shine through. Let yourself be as wild and messy and untamed as nature herself and make the damn “mistakes” Make the art. Write the screenplay. Sing the song. Tend the garden of your soul. Laugh and dance and cry like you mean it. Spend regular time with your soul in solitude considering just how much your presence matters in this world at this time. Surround yourself with those who see and honor your true radiance. Let’s build a bonfire of light, fueled by the benevolent ancestors around the world who built the pyre, and burn away any narratives within that are preventing us from accessing the power of own courageous hearts.  Let’s let our grievances, jealousies, fears, and insecurities be our teachers rather than our enemies.
Let us create the psychic garden bed for our daughters and granddaughters and great-great-great-great granddaughters to flourish in knowing the worth, power, magic, and grace within their sacred hearts long before they enter the womb of creation, by creating peace within our own inner beings And, let’s honor the men out there who see and support us. They're also navigating generations of collective trauma and wounding, and need our compassion more than we can possibly imagine. Much love to you all, and I look forward to sharing in more adventure retreats soon! The vision is already in place! If you're someone like me who has been relentlessly pursuing a path of self-development for decades, but you keep running into the same issues over and over again in your life (say, your love life!), chances are you have some #shadowwork that needs to be illuminated and integrated. 🌕🐆 In an interview with @drpearlmantv yesterday, I shared a bit about my transformation journey since 2013, and was surprised to hear myself say this past year was when "I learned to become the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." 😭💜💕 As I heard myself say these words, I knew this was a result of the shadow work I had done over the last six months, and I wanted to create a post about this, because I know other people out there are quietly struggling with similarly confusing patterns of trauma and drama, not knowing how to get help, or maybe they’ve attempted to get help in the past but nothing has worked, and now they’re internalizing this as shame, as I had done for years. I’m here to point you folks towards one of the BEST resources I’ve found for coaching around shadow work and healing trauma: Joe Drogo, PCC, CPC, thanks entirely to a phenomenally synchronistic word-of-mouth referral.
Whenever a professional comes to me as a word of mouth referral from a friend or colleague, it really helps me cut through the confusion of trying to navigate the masses of information out there. I'm so grateful he was recommended as someone who I would benefit from connecting with!
The progress I made with Soul Coach Joe Drogo, PCC, CPC in just a few months was more progress than I made in the last 7 years of working with coaches and therapists, or in 16 years of dedicated yoga study and practice. As a yogi, I resonated with our shared language and understanding of the psychology of the chakras, and together we were able to work from the ground level to heal the trauma that I had been carrying from formative years, breaking free of the samskaras that had been holding me in patterns that were limiting my ability to access my power and potential. Now that I know what it's like to experience this kind of healing through Shadow Work, I can't help but feel a passion to break any stigma around it and advocate for it wholeheartedly. This is the kind of work that heals the whole world! If you're frustrated by your own limiting patterns and ready to claim the life and love you're intended to live into, fully and whole-heartedly, take the bold leap of faith and invest in yourself with @joedrogo_lifecoach. I can promise the Universe will meet you in kind 🦋 Share this post with a friend who needs to hear this message! 🦅  Dudh Kosi river, sourced from Mount Everest. Lukla Valley, Nepal If my work as an artist were Nature, the source of my inspiration resides in the crisp altitude of the Mountaintop, where the mind is quieted by the mystical expansiveness of the vibrant panorama, the body dissolves into aromatic alpine winds, and the heart swells from the sheer awe of witnessing that which Life is revealing. The work itself is the River that sings: cleansing, purifying, sustaining, and nourishing life into existence. I am that which holds the River: steady yet yielding to her free-flowing vivacity. As I give shape to her form, so, too, she gives shape to mine. She arises through diverse streams of curiosities, merging into a harmonic confluence of inspiration that flows through my being with colors more vibrant than the eye can see. It has taken many twists and turns through desolate lands to discover this wellspring; steadily building a momentum of yearning to live into the gifts she so generously bestows upon those who seek to know Her.  Dudh Kosi river, sourced from Mount Everest. Lukla Valley, Nepal |
Joanna Elizabeth
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