Posts Tagged ‘art’

Welcome to Kala’s Bohemian Blog, dedicated to the Bohemian Ideals of Truth * Beauty * Freedom & Love, and packed with inspirations, ramblings, magical moments and musings, all intended to serve as a traveling companion along your journey. I invite you to join me here as I delve into the Mysteries of the Universe, Rediscover the Magic in the World Around Us, Embrace the Divine, Release the Inner Goddess, and Reawaken Your Spirituality!

Here today on the blog, we’re exploring the inspiration and delight of art. Those who know me well, know my love of reading and hardly a day goes by where I’m not found with a book in hand. When a book captures my attention, I enjoy reaching out to the author to discuss their work with them.  Today is one of these moments, as I reach out to chat with artist, psychic medium, and author Melissa Harris. Melissa Harris shares her art and her life as a feast of creative exploration. She expands portrait painting to open doorways into souls and sojourns in New York and Paris to learn to paint only what she loves.

In her autobiographical book, Painting Outside the Lines: The Life of Psychic Arts Melissa Harris,  Melissa reveals her beliefs about the truths of some general traits of the artist and the common ingredients of an artist’s life. She proclaims, “For me, there is no other choice but to paint.”

Painting Outside the Lines is a visual feast, vibrant, sensuous and soulful. As we enter the world of the artist as seer and adventurer, Melissa’s expressive work captures the universal stories of our own human experiences. If these oils, watercolors and collages are her medicine, this healing spreads across the pages, inspiring us to express our inner world and ignite our visionary nature, a reminder that even erratic and ever-evolving lives can lead to graceful changes and that, truly, “anything is possible!”

Let’s explore the world of Melissa Harris, as she joins us here on Kala’s Bohemian Blog…

Kala:  Melissa, wonderful to speak with you again. I truly enjoyed your book and the behind the scenes dialogue that describes your art.  What painting of yours do you feel most accurately describes you as a person?

Melissa: Ha Ha!  I had to laugh at this one because in the end they are ALL self portraits.  I would give you a different answer at a different time on any given day!  I am thinking about “Isabel’s Desire” on page 56 of the book.  We see here a woman getting dressed to go out looking in the mirror in a quirky outfit, reflective, with an open drawer and a man’s tie on the drawer handle.  There are two shells on the dresser.  The painting is chock full of symbolism for me.  I created a romantic pink ambiance with a lamp from another time period.  Even though I did this painting around 1983 or so I still relate to a reflective woman having to get herself dressed to go out in the world (I am by nature a bit of a hermit).  My ongoing explorations of myself in relationship could be represented by the tie.  I have and maybe always was a mermaid so the shells…..I prefer anything antique to modern, hence the atmosphere, and I love to dress creatively in ways that express my mood.  The painting “Reflecting” on the double spread on page 179 is also very much a self portrait with a bit of distortion in the perspective (representing how I feel “different” than much of the time as well as the suggestion of Spirit behind me, knowing that my guides and friends in Spirit are always with me.

Kala:  As an empath, psychic and artist, you mentioned the challenges of living in a large city with these gifts, versus living in rural areas in touch with nature. What advice would you give to others who have these types of abilities and struggle to stay grounded in metropolitan areas?

Melissa: I call upon several means of protection if I feel I need it.  I often wear a necklace of blue tourmaline with a chunk of blue kyanite,  which rests just at my throat chakra.  Kyanite supposedly keeps energy moving so I feel that if I freeze up in fear that I will be able to release that quickly.  And because it keeps energy moving I imagine it moving any disturbing energy that may be directed at or moving toward me continuing to move right along.  If I am feeling jittery I also sometimes visualize a cocoon of white light around me with mirrors on the outside that deflect any negative energy  in my field.  I stay very aware and am proactive in terms of avoiding uncomfortable situations.  I was mugged with serious harm to my face, especially my mouth so I am very cautious.

Kala:  In the Creatrix series, there is a work by you of woman walking with butterflies titled, Anything is Possible, which is one of your most successful commercial pieces. What do you think it is about this piece in particular that reaches out to so many people and inspires its worldwide appeal?

Melissa: I always tell people that in truth, it was not one of my more profound painting experiences in that I don’t have a magical story behind it.  I think, according to feedback from people that its’ appeal is mostly due to a feeling of hope that it conveys.  The colors are light yet strong which give it an uplifting feeling.  The subject matter itself is positive in that we see a sunrise, a woman in a posture of receptivity and grace, and butterflies which, although they represent transition are simply beautiful in and of themselves.  I’ve had people tell me that they have used it for moving through illness or as comfort after a loved one has passed away.

Kala: I noticed in your book that many of your pieces have windows or doorways as part of the scene. What do these openings represent for you?

Melissa: I think I once read someplace that women in particular tend to choose doorways and windows as subject matter.  That must be because they have often been very restricted in their lives.  I haven’t been able to put my finger on why I myself have chosen them.  Maybe it’s the idea of opportunities ahead, a way of looking to the future. It’s also the unknown and I love surprises and the fact that we, at least in this country in this time have a large degree of control over our circumstances and can create our own realities in many ways.  Oops, that was quite a run on sentence but I like doing things off the cuff.

Kala: In your book, you mention working through your emotions in your art. If you couldn’t paint to release and reflect who you are, what other avenue would you choose?

Melissa: Maybe writing,.  I’ve only recently discovered this.  Although I don’t think three dimensionally I also enjoy clay and metalsmithing, but we have to make choices- and there is only so much time- so I tend to stick to 2-D.  I also make sure to keep moving to help keep my outlook bright.  It’s true I’m an emotional woman and I tend to do something physical each day, even if I am not attached to emotion.  My top choices for this are Zumba, because it’s a form of dancing, and swimming.

Kala: Throughout history, many artists, writers and creatives describe being caught in the passion and engagement of the art they are working on and that the creation of the project produces an energy that is very satisfying and all-encompassing. Your book is candid and engaging, as you share the life of an artist and how this line of work affected your relationships and lifestyle choices. Is the work itself, the art, a deeper relationship of its own, that perhaps consumes the artist and becomes in a sense, the mistress?

Melissa: Absolutely, which is why many of my partners have not been able to deal with a relationship with me.  There is always “another lover” calling me, either out in the studio or in the landscape we are driving by.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made them stop the car and wait while I paint something we are passing by, or at the very least photographing it.  If I am engaged in a piece it’s always with me and I dream about it and choose colors in my dreams and wake up in a hurry to get back to it.  It consumes me for the time I am dancing with it.

Melissa Harris’ book Painting Outside the Lines can be found on her website along with information about her art and her Spirit Essence portraits. Visit her website http://melissaharris.com/

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

About Kala Ambrose: Noted wisdom teacher, author, intuitive, inspirational speaker, and host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Radio and TV Show, Kala Ambrose’s teachings are described as discerning, empowering and inspiring. Whether she’s speaking with world-renowned experts on the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show, writing about empowering lifestyle choices, reporting on new discoveries in the scientific and spiritual arenas or teaching to groups around the country, fans around the world tune in daily for her inspirational musings and lively thought-provoking conversations.

Kala is the author of four books including the award-winning 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled, Ghosthunting North Carolina,  The Awakened Aura: Experiencing the Evolution of Your Energy Body and now, Spirits of New Orleans: Voodoo Curses, Vampire Legends and Cities of the Dead.

A highly interactive teacher on a mission to educate, entertain and inspire, Kala writes for the Huffington Post, the Examiner, AOL, Yahoo and Fate Magazine and presents workshops nationally on the Mind/Body/Spirit connection including Auras and Energy Fields, Developing Business Intuition, Haunted History and Wisdom Teachings at the Omega Institute, John Edward Presents Infinite Quest, the Learning Annex, LilyDale Assembly, and Daily Om.

Kala's Secret Spells Doll

Does Life Imitate Art or Does Art Imitate Life? In this case today, I’m starting to wonder..

A dear friend recently gave me the most enchanting and delightfully unexpected gift. It was a Barbie doll and I know what you’re thinking — “why would someone give Kala a Barbie doll?”  To see the doll is to understand, as this particular doll is described as “Secret Spells” and she has long red hair. If this isn’t funny enough, the name of this doll is “Kayla” and the description for the doll explains that…  “Kayla goes from ordinary school girl by day – to – Secret Spells girl at night.”

The doll comes with a purple butterfly ring and wears a green butterfly coat. The butterfly has always been one of the symbols for my wisdom school as the butterfly symbolizes life, death and rebirth and is the signature stamp at the end of each lesson given to students.

Included with the Kayla doll are three colorful bottles, which are similar to those I use when teaching about the ancient techniques used to cleanse and recharge the aura.

Along with a mixing pot to make secret potions, Kayla’s accessories also include a magic book intended to store secret information and magical tools inside.  She’s there with her book against the backdrop of a full moon and star-filled evening sky, which is known by my friends as my favorite time to work and write.

Growing up with the name Kala it has always been rare to see my name on any product much less a doll, even though the makers did add a “y” to the name, as it is more commonly spelled these days. Yet to find a doll that is focused on the metaphysical world and is represented with long red hair and my name, is downright funny! The universe has such a great sense of humor and when we take the time to look around, we find these synchronicities and cosmic giggles in our midst.  This friend really made my day with this gift which makes me smile every time I look at the doll here in my office.

Want to see more of the Kayla Secret Spells Barbie?  She’s available on Amazon, check her out.

Kala's Secret Spells Doll

On this episode of Explore Your Spirit with Kala, Kala speaks with Alice and Richard Matzkin. Painter Alice Matzkin and her sculptor husband, Richard, contemplate growing older in their nearly 100 paintings and sculptures. In their award winning book, The Art of Aging, painter Alice Matzkin and sculptor Richard Matzkin share the wisdom of elder mentors to look for the positive side of growing older and to come to acceptance and appreciation of their aging.

In this beautiful and touching book, a couple – painter Alice Matzkin and sculptor Richard Matzkin – explore the experience of aging through their art. In a series of projects that confront their fear and curiosity about growing old, they examine physical changes, sensuality and relationships, aging parents, spirituality and death. Drawing on their personal experiences and the wisdom of older mentors, they conclude that the elder years can be a time of ripening and harvest rather than stagnation and despair. Their art features well-known people such as feminist Betty Friedan and potter Beatrice Wood, as well as friends, neighbors, relatives and themselves. Both artists find a source of creativity in the older nude body. This profusely illustrated book contains a wealth of inspiration, especially for those about to enter their later years.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW ON EXPLORE YOUR SPIRIT WITH KALA RADIO

More about Alice and Richard Matzkin:
The Matzkin’s have written an award-winning art/inspiration book, THE ART OF AGING: Celebrating the Authentic Aging Self, produced a 45 minute documentary video on DVD, WOMEN OF AGE: Portraits in Wisdom, Beauty and Strength, featuring paintings and interviews of 21 elder inspiring women, and designed a wall calendar, NAKED TRUTH: Celebrating the Beauty of the Aging Feminine Body, featuring paintings of nude elder women age 58 to 87. They appear on television, in print media, on the radio, and offer presentations at universities, conferences, and medical schools. They live and work in Ojai, California

“An angel can illuminate the thought and mind of man by strengthening the power of vision”. ~St Thomas Aquinas

My dear friend Paulette Salo is an angel artist. She began painting professionally and exhibiting at art shows in 1964, during which time she has owned two art galleries and exhibited her own artwork, along with other artists. Paulette travels extensively to paint murals for individuals, architects and designers. For the past four years, she has painted angels – her own interpretation of the angels of peace, love, hope, happiness, joy, compassion, protection, and healing. Paulette was intuitively led to paint angels, including personal guardian angels for people.

When Paulette and I first met three years ago, I was immediately struck by her aura, as the energy radiated with white and gold colors and I could see that she was surrounded by light beings who were working with and through her. I enjoyed speaking with her so much that I invited her to be a guest on the Explore Your Spirit show to talk about guardian angels. The interview with Paulette can heard here in the EYS show archives.

Paulette consults and paints angels for people as she travels around the country. She also paints angels at no charge, for children and adults in hospitals with life-threatening illnesses. She’s an incredibly talented artist who also paints wall and full room murals which are so realistic that one has to be careful not to walk right into the wall thinking they are entering another room.

Paulette’s latest project is her series of “Itti-Bitti books”, which are small inspirational books packed full of inspirational and encouraging thoughts, accompanied by her art.  Her first book is Talking to Your Angels the Easy Way, which offers simple, heart felt wisdom on how to just open up and ask your angels to communicate and surround you in your daily life. These pocket-size books make for a great gift for anyone who could use a little encouragement in life, as a reminder that they never walk alone.

For more information about Paulette, her angel art, her murals and even pet portraits, contact her via her website which is: www.paulettesalo.com

Have you ever wondered what the inside of your body and the energy fields surrounding it look like? As a psychic who sees auras, I’ve often wished that I had the artistic ability to draw what I see. Luckily, for every wish put out into the world, it is answered. While I am unable to fully draw the images myself, artist and visionary Alex Grey continues to create powerful representations of the human body, as detailed as any medical illustration, while projecting the light and energy surrounding each of us.

His collection entitled Sacred Mirrors, has been compiled into a book published by Inner Traditions. Alex’s work expresses the sacred spirituality of the human body and its connection with the divine energy field. The Sacred Mirrors art collection portrays different sexes and races in peak levels of radiant health and has been displayed around the world. When viewed in person, each piece is life sized, allowing for the feeling and sensation of gazing into a mirror to view the various layers of the body.

Power-filled pieces in their energy and representation, I was first introduced to Alex Grey’s work in 1990, coming across a disarming print of a man sitting on a consciousness grid entitled Theologue-The Union of Human and Divine Consciousness Weaving the Fabric of Space and Time in which the Self and Its Surroundings Are Embedded. From that first interaction with his work, I was enthralled and longed to see more. The next piece of work that I came across was entitled Dying and to this day, I think it provides one of the best representations of the soul leaving the body that I have ever seen.

Along with essays on the artistic and spiritual journey of Alex, other wonderful pieces of art are shared in the book including, Gaia: The World Soul and the shamanistic interpretation of Journey of the Wounded Healer. One of my personal favorites is Sophia. With no doubt, I believe Alex Grey to be the best anatomical artist of our time, bringing the interior of the physical body to light while expressing the metaphysical energy bodies surrounding us in order to explain who we are in all of our miraculous cosmic layers.

Musician, composer, poet, and singer Cari Cole, has walked the shaman’s path to create music that inspires and heals. ’Transformational Music’ is what listeners are calling her ” Circle of Fire” CD, inspired by the teachings of don Miguel Ruiz (NY Times best-selling author of The Four Agreements).  Cari’s angelic and powerful voice, combined with her soulful and empowering lyrics, inspires my mind body and spirit so deeply, that I knew I wanted her song “Beautiful Life” to be the intro song for the Explore Your Spirit show to set the tone and energy for every show. As gracious as she is talented, we were thrilled when she agreed to allow “Beautiful Life” to be the introduction to the show on Explore Your Spirit with Kala.

Originally from Minneapolis, Cari Cole has been a musician and songwriter for most of her life. She sang the folk songs of Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan as she wrote her own and found her way to New York City at the age of 19 where she joined a rock and roll band.  She went on to teach voice in New York, founded her own voice studio, was a soloist in The Metro Mass Choir and performed everywhere from CBGB’s and the infamous Bitter End in NYC to Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and The Apollo Theatre where she shared the stage with legendary singers such as Cissy Houston, Beth Nielsen-Chapman and Martha Wash to name a few. Although she is best known as a vocalist and songwriter, Cari is also a versatile musician: playing piano, acoustic and electric guitars, dulcimer, and flute. In the teaching arts, she is regarded as one of the most notable in voice studies, working with four-time Grammy Award winning recording artist Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Diane Birch, Chrisette Michelle, Courtney Love and the legendary band of Journey among others.

Cari Cole was on the Grammy Nominations Ballot for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for 2004 and has won and placed as a finalist in numerous contests such as the Independent Music Awards (Best Female Artist), Independent Acoustic Music Awards, DiscMakers Songprize contest and was a 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 ASCAPlus Award winner. Cole graces the pages of Billboard Books author Daylle Schwartz book “I Don’t Need a Record Deal! Your Survival Guide for the Indie Music Revolution” as an indie artist on the rise. She was selected as the AOL Musician of the Week/Tonos.com and debuted her The Circle Of Fire record at Carnegie Hall.

Cari knows that having a great music career is the ultimate dream. It’s endless creativity, superstardom and a great lifestyle. But here’s the thing, you have to know what steps to take. You have to know how to chart your path and get yourself on the right track. You have to know how to walk the delicate line between Creative Type and Business Mogul. Most people burn out and miss key opportunities because they don’t know how to put it all together. They just keep plodding along hoping for a BIG break or to “get signed”.

Cari says… “If this is you, it’s not your fault! It’s just that no one’s ever taught you what to do”. Cari has coached the best of the best and she knows from 23 years of experience exactly what it takes to move from your dreams (reliant upon others) to your inner DIVA (in your control).

Cari’s coached many singers and helped them to achieve their goals. She is now offering a Free Teleseminar on how to move from your dreams into being the diva you were born to be!

Here’s your opportunity to find out more about the music business. It’s Your Time, Go Explore Your Inner Diva!

Faith, Hope and Charity, is it possible that one small gift could give the recipient all of these things and more? In a world where what makes the news on a daily and hourly basis is the reporting of the failures and shadow side of humanity, we’ve lost our perspective on what is real in daily life. The fact is, on most any given day, something terribly devastating won’t happen to you and if that day does come, there are enlightened, compassionate human beings who stand ready to be of service and gather at your side.

With this thought in mind dear readers, we’ve reached the last and perhaps most important gift in our 12 Gifts of Enlightenment Series, which is: Give the Gift of Hope.

The Health Arts Network at Duke (HAND)  holds a vision of integrating the arts with healthcare and has been accomplishing this mission since 1978, offering literary, visual and performing arts to staff, visitors, patients and their families. HAND is recognized nationally as being one of most comprehensive hospital arts programs in the United States. On the HAND website, Kevin Sowers, CEO of Duke University Hospital states, ‘As we think to the future of the delivery of healthcare, more and more, we will be faced with the challenges of further understanding the mind, body and spirit connection. The arts draw on all three pieces; the mind, body and spirit. I believe advancement of our understanding of psycho-neuroimmunology and the impact and influence of the arts on healing and well-being will be an important component of the future of the delivery of healthcare’.

Offering an admirable array of services, HAND has an Artist in Residence program, where professional musicians perform at patient bedsides and waiting areas, maintains an inventory of over 2000 original artworks through the medical center, including placing original art in patient rooms, and features a touchable art gallery collection, accessible to children who are awaiting eye surgery.

Readily apparent at HAND is the outpouring of compassion and love in these programs. As a writer, I was particularly drawn to a program called the Write for You Literary Art program. Led by Grey Brown, the Literary Arts Coordinator for HAND, the program provides free journals to oncology patients, patients receiving bone marrow transplants, psychiatric care patients, high risk pregnancy mothers on long term bed rest, cardiology patients, recipients of organ transplants, family members of patients, and patients referred to the program by care givers. The program provides patients with the journals and organizes group sessions to write and read poetry and offers participants the opportunity to share their journaling if they feel comfortable doing so. According to Grey Brown, many patients are in long term care, spending their days in the hospital. One example of a therapeutic group exercise is ‘seasonal journaling’, which allows patients who are indoors to connect with nature and the seasons through their writings,  sharing their emotions and memories with others.

The program reports that the journals can help patients and their families reduce stress, explore feelings they have associated with both their illness and their healing journey, express gratitude, track physical and emotional changes on a daily basis, make notes to discuss regarding their health care, record personal feelings, fears and prayers, as well as track their medications and treatment schedules.

When speaking with Grey Brown, what I felt strongly was that the journals offered the gift of hope. There is a power in writing and in sharing and expressing those thoughts with others. For many people, journaling allows them to step out of the fray and connect with their thoughts as they physically engage in the act of writing them down. During this process, the writing releases the emotions and allows for a healing process to begin. I asked Grey, who has run this program since 1998, why she chooses to do this work, for certainly, it takes strong character and an open heart to work with patients who are dealing with life threatening illness on such a personal level. Her reply was, ‘I’m doing what I know to do, I have an ease in the hospital, it makes me happy. What I love about the patients is that they are living in the moment, it’s a privilege for me to be in their midst’. Grey, who is also a poet, began the program offering journals to the pediatric bone marrow transplant patients and families and since then it has spread to serve the six other organizations mentioned above. Her future plans for the program include expanding to community settings creating groups which combine poetry, journaling and healing as well as providing journals to hospice programs.

HAND’s  Write for You journal program, is in need of your help. In the past, some publishers donated journals to the program, but with the decline of the economy hitting the publishing industry very hard, HAND is no longer receiving journals from the publishing industry. If the spirit calls to you, Give the Gift of Hope, contact Grey Brown at HAND and send a journal to their program or a donation to purchase journals. The very journal you send today, can be in someone’s hands tomorrow, bringing peace, comfort, and hope. Let’s change the news and change the world, one step at a time. Share the news with others about HAND and encourage friends, co-workers and groups to participate and send in journals and donations and lend a helping hand. In the words of my favorite poet, Maya Angelou, ‘I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver’.

Gentle readers, as we draw to the closing of the 12 Gifts of Enlightenment, my wish is that these gifts have encouraged you to try some of them in your daily lives as well as offered inspiration as gift ideas for the metaphysically inclined people in your life. May the new year bring you great blessings and joy.

If you’ve missed any of the featured 12 Gift’s of Enlightenment, click here to view each of the gifts:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five Six,  Seven, Eight, Nine,  Ten or Eleven.  Click on the subscribe button on the top section of this page, where you’ll be notified via email each time a new article by yours truly appears.

Hoping that your days are merry and bright,
Kala

More about Kala Ambrose:
Kala is an award winning author, intuitive and talk show host of the Explore Your Spirit with Kala Show. Her thought-provoking interviews entice listeners to tune in around the globe! Described by her guests and listeners as discerning, empowering and inspiring, she speaks with world renowned authors, artists, teachers and researchers delving into metaphysical, holistic and paranormal topics. Kala’s  book, 9 Life Altering Lessons: Secrets of the Mystery Schools Unveiled delves into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian mystery schools and explains their wisdom teachings. Kala lectures on Esoteric Teachings,  Developing Business Intuition, Working with Auras, Chakras and Energy Fields, and Wise Woman Wisdom (also known as the Divine Feminine). Kala’s Guided Meditations CD’s include Spirit of Hawaii and Egyptian Mystery Temple and Tibetan Mountain Journey.  More info: www.ExploreYourSpirit.com

Enjoyed this article? Kala welcomes your comments and reads them all. For more articles by Kala Ambrose, visit her main page at National Metaphysical Spirituality Examiner.

As a parent, you may not realize that your child possesses many of the answers to life’s challenges—right in her own imagination. Through learning and practicing visualization, kids can develop emotional self-care skills to help themselves with a variety of everyday, practical concerns.

These imagination tools can help your child:

• Love, accept, and appreciate himself.
• Reduce pain and heal other physical ailments.
• Overcome fears, such as fear of the unknown, abandonment, doctors, disasters, and dying.
• Deal with bedtime issues such as insomnia and bedwetting.
• Cope with death, divorce, and other losses.
• Handle anger, hurt, and frustration.
• Achieve success at school and in sports.
• Live peacefully with siblings and parents.

Here are nine imagination tools you can teach a child to help her deal with stressful times
and navigate the challenges of growing up.

TOOL #1: Use the Balloon Breath.

With her hands around her navel, have her breathe slowly and deeply into her lower belly so it presses into her hands like an inflating balloon. The balloon breath has calming effects and facilitates a waking state of focused concentration and receptivity to positive suggestions. Kids can use it to calm down before musical performances, soothe anger or hurt feelings, or wind down at night, for example.

Tool # 2: Discover A Special Place.

This is a safe, special place within your child’s inner world where he can relax, regroup, or take mini-vacations from the stresses of life. It’s a place to pose endless questions about life issues, and create numerous positive, possible solutions. Your child might visit his special place to find courage before taking a difficult test at school, or to get away from a bully’s harsh words.

Tool # 3: Consult an Animal Guide.

This is an imaginary guide—a kind, loving, and protective creature—that helps children tap into their wisdom. It’s often safer and easier for animal friends to offer solutions to problems in creative ways, than expecting logic and linear thinking to do the work. Your child’s animal guide can help her fall asleep, or practice patience at school in long, boring classes, or be brave before a trip to the doctor.

Tool # 4: Conjure up a Personal Wizard.

Wizards come into play when animal friends “just won’t do.” His Personal Wizard is a mentor and magical teacher in human form who brings a different level of wisdom: human but extraordinary. A wizard can give advice, conjure up special powers such as math answers, and even cure troubling feelings like jealousy, anger, and grief.

Tool # 5: Receive Gifts.

Gifts from imaginary helpers can be thoughts, objects, or ideas that symbolically provide children with exactly what she needs in the moment to help her. Gifts can be obvious or require further explanation by the animal friend or wizard. Sometimes gifts are hidden and need to be unwrapped or dug up. When a child goes to her special place and asks a wizard or animal friend for a gift containing the solution to her problem, she often finds the answer.

Tool # 6: Check in with Heart and Belly.

This tool is comparable to suggestions of “listen to your heart” and “pay attention to your gut feelings.” Children are encouraged to take a few minutes to “check in” with their heart and their belly, and to notice what messages are there for them. The heart and belly often have two different, but equally important, messages to relate.

Tool # 7: Talking to Toes and Other Body Parts.

The body is a repository for lots of hidden information. With this tool, children discover where and how they stash different feelings in their body. Kids then find they can have a dialogue between emotions and/or symptoms to find answers to their concerns. For example, your child might discover that his stomach knows exactly why it hurts every day 30 minutes before school starts—it doesn’t want Mom to leave, and it’s afraid she won’t come back.

Tool # 8: Use Color for Healing.

Color is especially helpful in healing pain. Feelings and symptoms often have different colors associated with them. They can be unique to each individual and change over time. You can teach children how to imagine a color, such as ice blue or deep forest green, cooling down his hot fever. When a child imagines color inside or surrounding her body, it can be a remarkable tool for transforming pain, shifting emotions, and accessing healing energy.

TOOL #9: Tap into Energy.

When words are insufficient, a loving touch from a parent can do wonders to restore calm and well-being. For example, you can help a child “pull the pain” out of his head by holding your hand about three inches from his forehead to give him a direction in which to send his pain—out and away.

You’re now armed with nine simple, efficient, and totally free options to mix and match—depending on the situation and your child’s favorite. When we teach our kids effective imagery techniques to solve their own problems, it can transform their world.

* * * * *

More about Charlotte Reznick…

Charlotte Reznick, Ph.D is a child educational psychologist, an associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA, and author of a new book, The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee, 2009, $14.95). More information at: www.ImageryForKids.com

I love to collage – I have been doing it for about 30 years, professionally. When I look back on my drawings and artwork as a child, I find collages with stars and hearts and princesses-many of the archetypal images that I use even now.

One of my fondest memories is of making a dish garden.  We are all collages – the way we dress – the way our homes look, our dressing tables.  And a lot of the way we see things, our taste is comprehended in this same way.  How does this picture look here – are the curtains the right color with the couch – are these earrings too long for my face?  These are all judgments that we might bring down into the art of collage.

We all collect things – photographs, stones, shells, cards that your friends send, dried flowers from a trip.  Collage can be a way of re-cycling – of creating a life story or a visual diary out of reminiscent objects or images that convey an important time in your life.  You may make one once a year for a Christmas card – or today we are going to try and identify some of our own personal symbols and incorporate them into a personal “inner” portrait – to capture our essence and make magic that way.  To empower and imagine the way you might like things to be.  To make a stage set, to act out your hopes and dreams.  Or you might want to make an inner portrait of someone else.

Another way you might think of this collage piece is as a “treasure map” – you can even add words and affirmations to the image so that when you see it, it stimulates your confirmation of that goal:  “Success” – “finding the perfect mate” –“good health”.

I would like to convey how important it is to be open and in tune with your unconscious and spontaneous self.  Try to be as a child.  There might be something that falls out of the magazine by accident.  You notice a bird fly by.  Everything is synchronistic. (Jung’s story of the scarab.)  You pass a yard sale and stop by – there is the perfect object that you’ve been wishing for.

As far as materials go, anything goes.  We make a big mess when we collage.  You need a lot to play with.  These materials are your palette.  You want a pile at hand, so that you can develop a flow.  At some point you  might see that the only thing that will do is a purple flower in the right hand corner – in that case you will have to stop and search – but you might run across a perfect tiger that you would not have even thought of if the other thing hadn’t come up.

Often when I needed something, I find someone comes to the door with the exact right thing, right when I need it, or in the mail.  It’s very nice.

There are no accidents – that is why collage is such a therapeutic technique.  When we develop our abilities to visualize – we can achieve many goals – we can create our own reality.  By making these decisions it strengthens our decision making abilities on a daily basis.  By getting in touch with what colors we like, by trusting.

To begin with, all you need is probably right in your house – and we have to use right there.  A patch of wallpaper, leaves in your yard, …..  If you have old drawings, you can recycle those.

If you really get serious, you can experiment with different glues and paints.  I know a woman who uses left-over eye make-up.  My sister goes running and finds flattened cans and metal pieces that have been run over by cars.  Many of us go to yard sales and flea markets.  But its like photography – you can spend a lot of money and go crazy getting the perfect equipment, but you can also get a great photo with a simple little camera.

So, start simply.  And don’t be too precious about cutting into things. There are no mistakes with collage – you can fix anything. Have fun!

More About Monte Farber and Amy Zerner:

Internationally known self-help author Monte Farber’s inspiring guidance and empathic insights impact everyone he encounters. Amy Zerner’s exquisite, one-of-a-kind spiritual couture creations and collaged fabric paintings exude her profound intuition and deep connection with archetypal stories and healing energies. For more than thirty years they’ve combined their deep love for each other with the work of inner exploration and self-discovery to build The Enchanted World of Amy Zerner and Monte Farber: popular books, card decks, and oracles that have helped millions answer questions, find deeper meaning, and follow their own spiritual paths.

Together they’ve made their love for each other a work of art and their art the work of their lives, with over two million books in print in fourteen languages. Their other best-selling titles include The Chakra Meditation Kit, The Tarot Discovery Kit, Karma Cards, The Enchanted Spellboard, Secrets of the Fortune Bell, Little Reminders: Love & Relationships, Little Reminders: The Law of Attraction, Goddess, Guide Me!, The Animal Powers Meditation Kit, Astrology Gems, True Love Tarot, The Instant Tarot Reader, The Psychic Circle, Wish Upon A Star, The Pathfinder Psychic Talking Board, The Truth Fairy, Spirit of the Ancestors Altar Kit, Vibe-Away!, The Mystic Messenger, The Breathe Easy Deck, The Healing Deck, and The Ghostwriter Automatic Writing Kit.  More info at: www.TheEnchantedWorld.com

Since the first cave paintings, we humans have found creative ways to express ourselves with art. We naturally draw, paint, and doodle to capture thoughts and feelings. Art has also been used throughout history for healing. Studies show that it creates brain wave patterns that enhance the autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance, and brain neurotransmitters. While doing artistic expressive art, the body’s physiology shifts from stressed to serene.

It’s often easier for a child to talk about pictures than about himself or his feelings (grief, anger, shame, etc.). Drawing will allow your child to express difficult feelings or to disclose what he might not share verbally. Your child’s artistic expression will give you a clearer sense of his inner struggle, an insight that will help you guide him.

Drawing also increases your child’s awareness of his inner world and creates a window onto that landscape. In addition, a child’s artwork can be a launching point for conversations that reveal her thinking about the world around her.

You don’t have to be a trained therapist to use some art therapeutic techniques with your child. Just stock up on a variety of supplies—giant rolls of paper, colored paper, crayons, and a variety of markers, including scented, metallic, fat, thin, even markers that change color as they write over another color. Then try the following art exercises to explore new ways to communicate with your child.

Draw a self-portrait. On a large sheet of paper, trace your young child’s body. Have her fill it in. Older children can design and complete their own. Drawing increases your child’s awareness of her inner world, and it’s easier to talk about a drawing than to express troubling feelings.

Picture the future. Artwork is also an effective starting point when you’re working with clear end-goals, like getting a good night’s sleep or reducing a fear. Have your child draw two drawings—how things are now and how he’d like them to be. Kids often hang these pictures in their bedrooms to remind them of their desired direction.

Show and tell. After an imaginary journey, such as a walk through a special place she imagines with her eyes shut and tells you about, have your child draw her experience. The picture gives you both something to look at and discuss. If the drawing illustrates a problem—say, a dangerous goblin or a fire at home—ask her what might solve the situation. She can even draw the solution right onto her picture.

Accept every drawing. Some kids have a tough time committing their mental pictures to paper; they fear they won’t measure up. Reassure your child that anything he creates is fine. Sometimes all that comes are strokes of bold color evolving out of a wonderful or terrible feeling that is finally set free on paper. Praise each one. They are the artifacts of your child’s inner world.

Talk to the image. Once your child has spilled his feelings on paper, he can converse with them. He might use his picture of Fear to ask what it needs to calm down, or to tell it to leave. It’s much easier to speak to feelings when they’re outside than when they’re gnawing away at his tummy.

Take artistic action. It’s a great release when a child can draw her angry, hurt, or upset feelings, but pictures don’t have to be static. She can erase part of it, or draw over it in “healing” colors with a changeable marker—an immediate transformation that feels magical. She can even rip up or throw away the paper. These actions can offer a hurting child a sense of control and satisfaction.

Capture the memory. The special places your child visits on her imaginary journeys are personal healing sanctuaries. Hanging pictures of them somewhere private but visible will remind her that she can return whenever the need arises. Drawings of trusted animal friends and wizards can help her remember support is always near.

* * * * *

More about Charlotte Reznick…

Charlotte Reznick is a child educational psychologist, an associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA, and author of a new book, The Power of Your Child’s Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee, 2009, $14.95). More information at: www.ImageryForKids.com