Art therapy- Why should you care??

Art therapy- Why should you care??

Art therapy- Why should you care??

It is in images that the brain memorizes and thinks. Would you be able to remember your own face or your sweet heart's face only in words? If we can make a mental map or image of what we know or wish to remember we will never forget it. People know this, hence we use diagrams, maps and visual aids in education. Our subconscious has all its memories in images, the childhood home, friends, school, your first love, your favourite place everything. It has in its folds what you know and also what you don't. According to Freudian philosophy our conscious is just the tip of the ice berg, our subconscious has in it much more, than we can imagine.

Many ancient cultures knew the importance of our subconscious, hence for thousands of years art has been used as a tool for communication, as a means of group interaction, conflict resolution, diagnosis and self-expression. The therapeutic use of art has existed for centuries with a variedness that echoes the varieties of artistic experience and requirements. It has been used to bring out the inexpressible in an image. Art has endured through time immemorial as a means of healing power. Shamans still use carved figures to facilitate a relationship with the gods; Navaho medicine men continue to heal with sand paintings. The cavemen used the cave paintings as hunting magic, to ensure they get a good pray.

The 40,000 year old Aboriginals culture of Australia has their whole culture revolving around the art which originates out of their dreams. They believed that when a person sleeps , the spirit of the person takes over the body. Hence they would never wake up a sleeping person, because that will disturb the spirit. Hence whatever they dreamt was supposed to be a communication from their spirit and hence their ancestors and gods. All their beliefs and faith is built around dreams and images originating from them.

The ancient Tantra and Yoga is based on images. A yogi is supposed to concentrate on one of the seven chakras to heal and restore the balance of the body. A tantric is guided through visual imagery by his/her guru to finally become one with the ultimate spirit. It is believed that the god is formless but since most people cannot visualize and pray to a formless "being", hence all images have some symbols of their deities.

In almost all Indian cultures and black mark on the forehead will keep you away from the evil spirit. The image of a monster at the facade of the house or vehicle will keep away the evil spirits and keep you safe from accidents. Image of sunrise is supposed to be good for your career, image of a diety couple in romantic mood like "Krishna, Radha" or "Shiva Parvathi" is good for your married life. Image of a lion with open mouth, will eat your wealth, he being the official transport of Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. Pregnant women should look at images of people whom they want their child to take after. For example if you want a Sachin Tendulkar, look at his photo when you are expecting. Sculptures making love at some ancient temples were said to encourage the process of procreation when the human population was seen to be declining in the area. The Khovar art in Hazaribagh region, done by the bride's female relatives is associated with fertility and happy married lives of the newly wedded couples.

One of the most commonly prescribed techniques for insomnia or people who find difficulty in falling asleep is of relaxing imagery in bed. Such people are advised to imagine themselves in their favourite place and imagine doing things there. For example they can imagine themselves in their favourite holiday destination and imagine themselves in the beach or the hills. Or they are told to imagine some boring scene like visualizing 1000s of sheep jumping over a fence one by one. This is supposed to bore people to sleep.

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