Explore Spirituality Through Art

spiritual art Spirituality and Art? When people hear that I have combined my two passions of creativity and spirituality into a series of SoulArt courses they wonder how those two things go together.

As I explain how we explore spirituality through art, they often respond with limiting beliefs, such as:

‘I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.’

‘I’d like to learn to meditate but I can’t get my mind to calm down.’

But, I know that there is an artist in each of us and that each of us can more deeply explore our own spiritual nature.

I get excited when I hear self-limiting beliefs being expressed because I see a real opportunity for personal growth. Transformational insights occur in our classes countless times. It’s always thrilling when people begin to make discoveries about themselves and unlock their inner potential. They begin to discover that being creative opens a flow state which is like meditation.

In SoulArt classes, you connect with your intuition.

Not everyone has had the opportunity to express themselves creatively through visual art. But, everyone is creative. Maybe you are a writer, musician, gardener, or chef. You might realize that when you are creating, self-limiting beliefs fall away. Self-expression brings about feelings of joy. Even more, creativity begins to blossom and grow in your life. And, when you are creating, you access a part of yourself that is unbounded. Freer. And connected to something larger than yourself.

Self-limiting beliefs begin to dissolve and fall away.

We all — especially women — need to work on silencing our inner critic. Sometimes self-limiting beliefs about not being creative or not being able to access intuition have spilled over into life itself. You can hear it in the negative self-talk that people express. Underlying the notion that they are not a creative person is a silent belief that they don’t deserve love, happiness, joy, or fulfillment. In SoulArt courses, as we explore spirituality through creativity, we transform inner self-limiting voices into a belief in unlimited possibilities.

We explore our own divine nature through the art we create. One discovery we make is that creativity is like meditation.

In class, we learn and practice several types of meditation. And then, we explore the meditations creatively in our art journals. For example, a beautiful lovingkindness practice, body scans, and relaxation and mindfulness meditations. Another way we combine spirituality and creativity is to practice guided mantra meditation using some soul-filling Sanskrit mantras. These mantras almost seem magical in the way they open us up to affirm new ways of looking at ourselves. We learn the Sanskrit, but also the enlightening meaning behind the mantras. Then, as we create in our journals to continue the meditation, we now have a visual reminder of how the meditation made us feel.

The art journal pages remind us of our powerful affirmations. We recognize that repeating them is a kind of meditation that stays with us during the creative process. I have access to my own inner creativity; find joy in creativity; connect to the source of my creativity.

Creating in our art journals is a metaphor for building the life we want.

We see that we can create not only what is in our journals, but we can also create our life. A creative response can always be cultivated to respond to whatever challenge life throws at us.

I have been deeply inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s book; Big Magic. In the book, she explains that the level of your joy is connected to how deeply you live your truth. She exhorts us to allow ourselves to only have the greatest expectation of the joy and creativity you can have in your life. She explains it doesn’t mean you have to write a symphony or create a masterpiece.

‘Maybe what you are creating won’t hang in the Louvre, but your work is a powerful symbol that you can live a creative life.’ – Elizabeth Gilbert

Creative living means connecting with the inherent worth within you. Creativity is a wonderful aspect of being human. It gives you continual access to joy, appreciation, love, grace, and fulfillment. When we are in a flow state of creativity, it is a type of meditation. We feel challenged enough to be provoked into full engagement, yet also free enough to sync into complete union with what’s happening at the moment.

When I am creating, I can lose myself in the project and think an hour was just a few minutes of time.

When we find ourselves fully immersed with a feeling of energized focus and enter into that flow state, it is a very productive and creative state of mind that can make us feel happier and more relaxed; a type of meditative experience. In a flow state, we connect to our inner wisdom and in this way, we understand the divinity within ourselves. It is a tangible way to explore our spirituality through creativity.

When you have entered a flow state, your ego withdraws and all else falls away: there’s just you, and the activity you’re focusing on.

In class, we notice when sudden, vibrant energy emerges, and we feel at peace, connected, and happy. Those types of feelings are indicators of being ‘in the flow.’ This is because we are experiencing the bliss of entering a mindful, meditative state of being. When we find that moment of positive focus, our bodies relax, and the feeling of flow washes over us.

It doesn’t have to be creating visual art that puts you in a flow state. For example, some people find it in other creative pursuits like writing or singing. For me, I love turning to a fresh journal page and letting ideas, paint, and images flow. The joy of playing around with color, collage, and images focuses my thoughts and acts as a cathartic release. In this way, it’s easy to explore spirituality through creativity.

Gratitude and thanks to the Soul Artists who have shared their work for this article; Kathy Kellum, Teresa Henke, Tricia Strahler, Cheryl Thompson, and Sandy West

If you would like to learn how to explore your spiritual nature creatively, we would love to include you in our Tribe of Soul Artists. Learn more.

The initial course, SoulArt Meditation is a powerful spiritual, creative practice designed to help you connect to your own divine nature. It’s an active exploration where you detach from judgment, tune into your inner guidance and enjoy the process of creation.

Creativity can be a powerful catalyst to explore spirituality.

As you experience your ability to be creative, you practice detaching from judgment and perfectionism. You remember that you have the courage to stretch, explore, trust your inner guidance, experiment and take some risks. And through this creative exploration, you have a transformational experience that connects you more deeply to your own spirituality.