Art Is Healing

As said by Eileen Miller- Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist. It is about inner exploration, creative expression, social harmony, global connection, and respect for nature. Art finds one's beauty and emotional power from within. The secret of art is not the mechanics or technical skill that creates art- but the process of introspection and different levels of contemplation that generate it. While exercise maintains the body and meditation calm the mind, it is art, which binds both the mind and the body together; and hence is said to heal. It is a form of healing and recovery and provides solace at times of stress. It helps safeguard mental and spiritual health, and reduce barriers between people, cultures, languages, and most importantly, ourselves.

Proven, and not an astonishment, that the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. With nuances of the sanative powers of art and meditation, many people often characterize them as to be doing the same functions. However, it must be known that Meditation can be considered as an art, but Art cannot be consumed inside 'meditation'. Meditation is a process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts, which in turn, develops concentration, whereas Art is the application of human skill and imagination. Meditative Art, or the Advanced Art, is a newly developed form of Psychotherapy, which involves the encouragement of free self-expression through painting, drawing, music, and dance. It emphasizes the acceptance of feelings and thoughts without judgments and is seen as a remedial or diagnostic activity.

Not only this, but Art has also been used to spark social change and increase awareness about destructive facets of economic and social development. It has the power to change opinions, instill values, and translating experiences across space and time, and give voice to the politically or socially disenfranchised.

With the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) introducing the integration of Art into teaching methodology and amalgamating it into academics, links between education and culture have strengthened. Even according to the American Art Therapy Association, artistic expression may decrease anxiety, feelings of anger, and depression. This creative process can also enhance cognitive abilities, foster greater self-awareness, and help students regulate their emotions. Studies have shown that expressing oneself through art has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience in healthy older people. The beneficial effects of creating aren't dependent on a person's skill or talents.

Thus we can say that Art is a holistic healing process rather than only subjective. At any moment of time, we are the sum total of prevailing states of our mind, body, and spirit. An understanding of what we are, and what we require, and how we ought to be addressed and educated, and what we are constantly capable of, is all around us and has always been around us. The art of any culture or period of time brings out this mindfulness to work for the benefit of society and the individual.