Light Up Your Soul

2. PREPARE FOR SUCCESS Inspiration for the week Get ready to explore a new phase in your life with me. Alice in Wonderland followed the rabbit out of curiosity and gained more wisdom while making new friends. Her message to you is that it is safe to try new things. Your perception is going to open up, and your intuition, vision and creativity will increase and flow. I know that you are ready for this new adventure.  2.1 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This book contains five lessons that guide you through your creative healing journey. Each week addresses one particular topic relevant to help you heal from anxiety and depression. Additionally, each of the lessons include one major art journal prompt, which I am going to guide you through step by step. To give you more options to deepen your art journey, I have created some additional free bonus lessons for you, which you will be able to download from my website: http://www.alexkhealthcoach.com. Some of the art is based on fairy tales. Fairy tales are mystic stories that bring us back into our childhood where we could be just the way we were without worrying about others and their opinions. I aim to take you back into that innocent space and heal your inner child at the same time. Furthermore, I share with you some additional art journal prompts so that you can get into this creative space on a daily basis to make it a lasting habit. 2.1.1 WHY YOU DON’T NEED TO BE AN ARTIST For some of you, the word “art” or “creativity” may freak you out. Maybe you think you are not an artist or not creative. Some of you might say, I can’t even draw a tree, how can I create art? This is a valid point. When I was in school, I was told that I sucked at painting. This led me to never try to paint or draw a single picture. However, something shifted in me in recent years, and one day I felt an urge to paint. I came across the mixed media art technique and fell in love with it. I told my inner voice, who was still arguing with me about not being a painter, to be silent and decided to paint regardless. I never regret that decision. I began to love the process of painting because it is relaxing, releases any stress of the day and it is fun. I started to be more experimental with the process and enjoyed it so much. At the same time, I also experienced that my subconscious was releasing old hurt by merely playing around with colour. When a day later I meditated on a particular topic I had some challenges with, the same colours and symbols popped up without even thinking about my art journal exercise from the day before. It shows how powerful being creative is. I created more art and suddenly felt this urge to paint faces and figures, especially whimsical girls. Whimsical girls are pure fantasy, and the body proportions don’t matter. You can’t stuff it up as it’s supposed to be out of proportion. Believe me, I received some funny and critical comments when I showed my art to my family and friends, but it didn’t trigger me anymore. There is no right or wrong in art as it is limitless. The result doesn’t matter. What matters is being in the process of creating and to follow your intuition. I continued painting and started an art journal, just for fun. I played with colour intuitively and enjoyed the time doing it so much that I couldn’t wait to get home every day to paint. In this book, my goal is to take away your inner critical voice and for you to just enjoy the process. You can follow along with my instructions to get you started, but I also give you the option to learn to trust your intuition and use the colours you feel drawn to without worrying about the outcome. Even when you can’t draw a figure, face or anything, you can use magazine cut-outs or photos and paint over them, write some meaningful words, use stencils or stamps, and Voila!, there is your art. Anyone can do it. Test it out, and I can guarantee that you will get addicted to creating in your art journal. Your art journal is your private space. Nobody gets to see it, so if something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t matter. Move on to the next page. After you’ve followed through with all activities and creativity prompts, you will be able to see your progress and might discover a new hobby or even become a paid artist one day. You never know! Have no fear to test it out; you have nothing to lose. 2.1.2 HOW CREATIVITY AND COLOUR CAN HEAL YOU Once you get creative every day, you will be surprised how healing it is. Not everyone likes to meditate and to connect with themselves because of the fear of what might come up. But with art you address both: it is replacing your meditation and it helps you to connect with your subconscious while having fun. Doesn’t that sound great? Did you know that colours have a healing impact on you? I always loved vibrant but also pastel colours, some more than others. I noted that colours had an effect on my mood and started doing some research about it. Colours have various healing properties. When you just imagine being surrounded by a specific colour, your body, mind and soul starts to relax and heal. Each week I will incorporate different tones in your art journal prompts and explain how they will help you.