What the Heck is Artful Alchemy?

ALCHEMY [al-kuh-mee] (noun) the miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious (e.g. turning lead into gold)

ARTFUL [ahrt-fuhl] (adjective) done with or characterized by art or skill

Artful Alchemy is about transforming a common life into your golden life through skillfully facilitated art practices.

Why art?

Art is a jumpstart into a new way of thinking, a new way of feeling, a new way of being. The shift can be explained with just a little left-brain/right-brain theory.

The Western World values the left-brain and downplays the value of the right-brain. Most of the time most of us are operating from our left-brain because that's what we've been taught to do. That’s all well and good. The qualities of the left-brain are very helpful and necessary if we’re to get anything done.

However, the predominant voices in the left-brain are the Ego and the Critic. The Ego’s like the map-keeper; it holds the map to things-as-they-are and has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, because then it always knows where we are and what’s going on. So, the Ego, while a useful character for holding us together, takes its job so seriously that it really doesn’t allow us to make significant transformations. The Ego’s sidekick is the Inner Critic. The Inner Critic is the one who says, “You’re not smart enough, rich enough, good enough, deserving enough.” So the Ego says, “Let’s not change a thing,” and the Critic says, “And even if you wanted to, you’d never succeed.” Not a very conducive dialogue for life transformation.

That’s where the power of the right-brain comes in, with a whole different set of qualities and voices. If you want to know what your heart truly wants, the answer can only come through the right brain. If you want to connect to your higher wisdom, to spiritual guidance or to the pure spark of the inner child, then tune into your right-brain. This is where the truly life-transforming ideas will be found. If you want to break out of a dull, common, status-quo way of being and create your golden life, your right-brain is key.

But how to tune out or bypass the dominant, left-brain voices of the Ego and the Critic? Stop speaking their language. Their language is verbal; it’s words. Have you ever noticed how you tend to go ‘round and ‘round about a problem, with the same words replaying over and over again in your head? Break the cycle by breaking out of verbal mode.

What is the language of the right-brain? It’s non-verbal; it’s visual; it’s art.

Try it sometime. If you have been stuck in some way, or if you are facing a challenge that you can’t quite figure out how to tackle, stop thinking about it in words. Draw a picture instead. Draw a picture of how things are, then draw another of how you want things to be. I guarantee you’ll get a whole new perspective on the matter.

Meet Scarlett

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about our “Shadows,” especially since the recent release of The Shadow Effect from co-authors Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson.

Briefly stated, Shadows are those unsavory aspects of our personalities that we’ve repressed, but which continue to subconsciously wreak havoc in our individual and collective lives. If, however, we can bring those aspects of ourselves back into our conscious awareness, we can discover and harness their gifts. This is what’s known as “embracing the Shadow.”

Does that mean that if I have a rage-aholic Shadow, I should embrace that rage and go around consciously hurting people? No, of course not. It means that if I look consciously at the source of all that rage I might be able to take the energy of anger to make positive changes in the world, to right some wrongs. Or maybe I can take the physicality of that energy and channel it into marathon running. Once the rage has a safe and productive outlet, it doesn’t have to sneak up on me (or those around me) anymore.

This past Saturday, I led a group of women in an exploration of a Shadow Self through mask-making and journaling. My own mask, and the work I did with it, was quite revealing and healing.

For the past several months, I have been working to develop the structure and direction of my Artful Alchemist practice with my wonderful coach and EFT master, Rev. Anne Presuel. During the course of our work together it has become apparent that I have HUGE resistance to all things marketing.

In a recent session together, Anne helped me to tap into a key image for what I’ve been resisting. The visual that represents my distaste about sales and marketing is that of a prostitute standing on the street corner hiking her skirt. I don’t want to prostitute myself, I don’t want to sell my soul, I don’t want to be all flash (and flesh!), I’m not interested in offering a quick trick or a fast fix, I don’t want my work to be all about the money, yada, yada, yada. Wow! Juicy Shadow stuff!

So, guess what shadow I chose to explore with my mask-making?

Meet Scarlett, my Shadow Prostitute:

She's actually a rather lovely painted lady and I'm growing quite fond of her. Here are a few excerpts from what she had to say to me through journaling dialogue:

“I am Scarlett, but NOT Scarlett the Harlot as you’ve been thinking of me. Think more along the lines of Scarlett O’Hara. I am strong and resourceful, but not afraid to use my own beauty.”

"What are you afraid of, darlin'? Little Ole Me? Why, I don't bite Baby Girl, unless of course that's what you want."

“I am the one who knows she’s got it. I ain’t afraid to shine, to sparkle, to PUT IT OUT THERE.”

“I am the one who knows my worth and demands it. AND GETS IT!”

“I am the one who entices with flash, but delivers substance.”

"I can help you be a better business woman. Believe me, you get pretty money-savvy turning tricks. You don't get taken advantage of for long. Not when you decide to run your own show, anyway."

Oh, my dear Scarlett! Let me embrace all of that!